ACT 3
The girl called Hildegard swallowed once, then dropped into a low, squatting position, holding out one hand palm-upwards. She began to speak in a loud voice.
“I come to call upon your honorable house, and though it may presume upon you, I ask that you please allow me to introduce myself.”
She was a young girl with hair tied into two short braids, and though her willful and determined eyes made a strong impression, her overall appearance was still rather cute.
She was also dressed rather well, suggesting that she came from an affluent background.
“First, I am grateful for your time, and that you would agree to hear me,” Hildegard went on. She proceeded to recite the rest of the ceremonial greeting she had memorized, making sure to enunciate each word clearly. “As I am clumsy and uncouth, I most humbly ask that you would forgive me should I show a lapse in displaying the courtesy rightly due to you. I understand that this is the first time I have had the honor of meeting you, good sir.”
The first impression was always essential.
If she could display her ability to perform this formal greeting without mistakes, it should quickly improve her image as exemplary among the superiors of this organization.
She couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.
“I hail from the territory of the Claw Clan, from the village of Zaltz at the base of the Himinbjörg Mountains,” she said. “I am called Hildegard, and I am fourteen years of age. Last year, when I journeyed to visit the sacred Hliðskjálf tower, I received the blessing of the goddess Angrboða, and her gift of the rune Úlfhéðinn, the Wolfskin. Realizing it was my destiny, I joined in the campaign to subjugate the Panther Clan. However, I have still yet to exchange the Oath of the Chalice with anyone. I am a novice warrior, a child without a sworn parent.”
The man standing opposite Hildegard went wide-eyed at that last line.
Of course you would, she thought, snickering in the depths of her heart.
Because Einherjar were blessed by the gods with the power and protection of runes, they possessed combat abilities that set them far apart from the ordinary people without them.
In this era of constant warfare, any clan would surely be desperate to get their hands on such a powerful warrior, as would any faction family within a clan.
In fact, Hildegard had already received proposals from two other factions, asking her to become a child subordinate with them.
But the Oath of the Chalice was a firm and sacred pledge, and once it was exchanged, one could not easily discard it. That being the case, if Hildegard was going to swear the Oath of the Chalice with someone, she figured it’d be best to pick someone from a family that was rising in power, which would lead to better opportunities for her own career.
And that was why she had chosen to come here.
“I had the good fortune of staying for some time as a guest of Lord David, assistant second-in-command of the Jörgen Family,” she said. “However, if I should only be able to pledge my Oath of the Chalice to one parent in this life, I would wish more than anything to swear myself to the Mánagarmr, Lady Sigrún, the warrior whose name rings throughout the land. And so I have come, though I know the request be brazen. I hope that you might think well of me.”
Inwardly, Hildegard sighed in relief. She’d managed to finish reciting the whole thing without messing up once.
Since she’d grown up far out in the country, these kinds of formal greetings were really difficult for her. But at least the first hurdle was cleared now.
“I appreciate your kind and courteous greeting,” the other man replied. “Please, forgive my delay in introducing myself. I am Bömburr, second-in-command of the Sigrún Family.”
“...!” Hildegard suppressed herself from gasping in shock, but her eyes went wide.
That was only natural, for she knew exactly who this man was. She’d done some cursory research on this faction, since she was planning to swear her Oath of the Chalice with them.
In addition to being the Sigrún Family’s second-in-command, Bömburr was also the vice-captain of the force of elite soldiers known as the Múspell Special Forces Unit.
This was completely unexpected; she’d never figured she would end up meeting face to face with such a hugely important figure in the family.
But, this might be a stroke of good luck, Hildegard thought. Her mind raced.
Straightening her posture, she once again bowed her head in respect. “I am most honored to make the acquaintance of someone so renowned. I have heard much about your glorious achievements.”
Of course, she was only going through the motions.
Honestly, she’d never heard Bömburr’s name until doing her research on the Sigrún Family. And even when she had learned about him, he hadn’t had any glorious kills to his name at all. His accomplishments were all boring and run-of-the-mill.
And seeing him now, he was short and a bit stout—he looked a little sluggish for a warrior. He didn’t have any intimidating presence. He just seemed like a boring old middle-aged man.
Hildegard could only assume he’d made it into his current position in Sigrún’s faction by sucking up to her.
Still, this was the head of the child subordinates in the family Hildegard was trying to get into. Considering her future career, there was no harm in making sure he thought well of her.
“Ha ha ha!” Bömburr chuckled. “I know it’s just empty flattery, but it still feels pretty good to get praise like that from a young woman like yourself.”
“Oh, no, I promise it isn’t empty flattery at all...” Hildegard protested.
Even though that’s exactly what it is, she added in her heart with a sneer.
Of course, Bömburr had no way of hearing the girl’s inner voice, and so he responded only to her spoken words.
“Oh, please,” he said with a chuckle. “Really, there’s no need for that. Anyway, you wanted to enter our family, right?”
“Y-yes, sir!” Hildegard was grateful the man had moved the conversation along; she’d been worried she might not be able to keep up the polite act.
“I’m sure you probably know this already, but we’re one of the more militaristic factions in the clan,” Bömburr said. “Our daily training regimen is very strict, and there’s a much higher chance of dying in battle, too. You still want in, despite that?”
“That only means we have more opportunities to make a name for ourselves in the field, does it not?” Hildegard asked, the corner of her mouth curling upward.
She’d studied the basic etiquette and manners she’d need to get in good with the higher-ups in the family, but she didn’t intend to act like a well-behaved girl, either.
This was a world where strength meant everything. If she came off as merely polite and obedient, she’d only end up being used and abused. She needed to show that she also had some teeth.
“Heh. Okay, then,” said Bömburr. “It looks like you’re just the kind of person our family is known for. And I’d certainly like nothing more than for us to get a strong Einherjar in our ranks. Let me welcome you with open arms, Hildegard.” Bömburr held out a hand.
Hildegard grasped it, and the two shook hands.
And so began Hildegard’s one-way ticket to success and status.
...At least, that was what Hildegard imagined it was, but the reality turned out to be much less rosy.
“Why do I have to do this kind of work?!” She angrily slammed her hoe against the ground.
As an Einherjar warrior, she should be wielding a sword, spear, or bow.
And yet, she’d been forced to wake up before the sun was even out and sent over to these stinking stables, where she was supposed to do dirty work like cleaning up horse dung.
It didn’t make any sense at all.
This was work meant for mediocre people, not a hero chosen by the gods like herself.
“What do you mean, ‘why’?!” a bearded man who looked to be around twenty shouted back at her. “It’s ’cause you’re a trainee who just joined the other day. Don’t go whining and complaining on your first day of chores. Just shut up and get to work!”
“Rrgh.” Hildegard immediately felt furiously irritated with this man.
She had received an offer to swear the Oath of the Chalice directly with Jörgen’s assistant second-in-command, one of the high-ranking officers of the Wolf Clan.
What business did this man have talking to her like he was above her? He was still a low-ranking member of the family despite already being twenty, after all.
It was so offensive, it sickened her.
“Maybe you should watch how you talk to me, if you know what’s good for you.” Hildegard crossed her arms and raised her chin defiantly, shooting the man a threatening glare as she spat the words at him. “I’m an Einherjar of the rune Úlfhéðinn, the Wolfskin. I’ll be rising through the upper ranks in no time.”
As expected of a mere novice, apparently her words frightened him a little. She was able to sniff out his fear with her incredibly perceptive sense of smell.
Her lips curling into a wicked grin, she kicked the hoe at her feet over to him.
“Wh-what the hell are you doing?!” he shouted.
“I’ve decided you can do this stupid work,” Hildegard said. “Who knows? If you prove yourself useful, maybe in the future I’ll consider throwing you a bone or two.”
“Ngh...!” The bearded man couldn’t even form words in response.
That was, perhaps, only natural. It would be far more odd for him not to be furious after being so thoroughly insulted by some fresh recruit, someone below him in rank.
“You...! How dare you!” The man clenched his fists tightly, then lunged at her.
It seemed like he was quick to anger, and quick to throw a punch, fitting for the family he was part of. Hildegard also got the sense that he had some experience fighting.
However, from her perspective, he was so slow that it was almost boring.
She easily caught his oncoming fist in the palm of her own hand, then squeezed, hard enough for his bones to make noise.
“Gaagh! St-stop that! Stop it! Let me go! Aaauughh!” The man started shouting and crying out in pain. It was pathetic; she hadn’t even applied half of her strength yet.
Hildegard stared right into the wailing man’s eyes, and spoke in an icy tone. “‘Stop it’? ‘Let me go’? Maybe you don’t understand the position you’re in right now?”
“Ugh... P-please let me go. Please, I’m begging you.”
“Hee hee, yes, that’s right.” Hildegard smiled, a smile that showed exactly how much contempt she had for him. “You need to realize exactly where you stand.”
In that instant, the man pulled himself back up, his face bright red, and he brought his other arm up to strike at her... but then he let out a breath, and lowered it back down.
“I see you’re not stupid, at least,” Hildegard said with a sneer.
“Ngh...!” The man clenched his teeth, and didn’t respond.
He was surely angry and frustrated, but after that single attack, he’d come to terms with the fact that he stood no chance of winning against her in a fight.
“Gah!”
The bearded man cried out in pain again as, suddenly and without remorse, Hildegard thrust her other hand into his rib cage, digging in with her fingernails. He grasped at his stomach and collapsed to his knees.
Hildegard looked down at him. “And what are you waiting for?” she asked in a sharp, threatening tone? “Quit loafing around and start cleaning.”
She then turned her back on him, as if she’d completely lost all interest.
Even if he did decide to try and attack her from behind, she could handle someone of his level. That was what she was making thoroughly clear: The stark difference in their strength.
Eventually, she heard the sound of the man picking up the hoe. Then the sound of it being thrust into the hay.
It seemed that the man had decided it was better to submit to Hildegard than to try and stand against her.
Hildegard grinned. Finally, now she was freed of that annoying grunt work.
“Hey now, what’s all this?” a familiar voice called out. “Taking care of the stables was Hildegard’s job, wasn’t it? You need to make sure she does it.”
Surprised, Hildegard whirled around. It was the second-in-command, Bömburr. As always, he looked too relaxed for someone in his position, an idiotic grin plastered on his face.
Back when she’d first laid eyes on him, it had made him seem dull and boring, but now it felt a little unsettling.
“Ah, uh, but...” The other rookie soldier looked timidly back and forth between Hildegard and Bömburr.
Hildegard let out a sigh. She wasn’t going to be able to talk her way out of this.
“This sort of work doesn’t suit someone like me, sir. So I gave it to someone more fitting.” She spoke without a hint of shame, as if she’d done nothing wrong.
Bömburr gave a long, weary sigh, and scratched the back of his head.
“It’s not really about who’s more ‘fitting’ for it, though. New members start off doing the hard chores. That’s how we do things in this family.”
“For the family known as the most powerful and militaristic faction within the Steel Clan, everyone seems pretty hung up on manners and formality,” Hildegard sneered. “Lord David was willing to make me his sworn little sister, and told me that eventually he would have me swear the Oath of the Chalice directly with Lord Jörgen. Considering I gave all that up to come and join this family, this sort of treatment is just terrible.”
Indeed, Hildegard couldn’t accept any of this. She was a chosen Einherjar of the gods; she was gracing them with her membership, and yet they’d dared to make her do chores like any other lowly newbie.
She couldn’t take them seriously.
“Oh, no, no, you need to trust me when I say that I actually consider you to be very valuable, okay? And besides, if we’re talking about the Sigrún Family, then we’re talking about the Múspell Special Forces, right? Don’t you think that getting the chance to work a lot with horses is going to come in handy for your career going forward?”
“Ha! In that case, start teaching me horse riding techniques. I came to this family because I want to get out on the battlefield and earn some glory, and make my way up the ladder as quickly as possible. I didn’t come here to do chores.”
Hildegard spoke bluntly, laying it all out. At this point, she didn’t really care if they kicked her out.
Fortunately, she hadn’t exchanged the Oath of the Chalice with anyone yet. She could still join another faction.
For an Einherjar like herself, there were surely plenty of people eager to have her as a sworn child. She didn’t feel any sense of attachment to this family, given how they’d treated her.
She was honestly expecting Bömburr to tell her to get out right then and there. Instead, he laughed.
“Heh heh! Heh heh heh!” He laughed as if he were enjoying himself, without a trace of anger. It was completely opposite to what Hildegard had been expecting.
“What’s so funny?” she demanded.
“Ah, sorry. Didn’t mean to be rude. We are a family of strong-willed warrior-types, after all. So we actually get a lot of kids like you coming through the door. Not many of them are so bad they start acting out on their very first day, of course.”
“Khh...!” Hildegard felt her teeth grinding together in anger.
Bömburr had just insinuated that she was no different from any of the mediocre peons in the rank and file. It was a humiliating insult.
As if to make light of how angry she clearly was, Bömburr just kept on talking, the grin still on his face.
“So then, why don’t we settle the matter of your treatment in this family with a Yggdrasil custom, a one-on-one duel? Strength is everything, and the strong shall rule over the weak. That’s how this world works. And that fits in with your own style, too, doesn’t it?”
“Perfect,” Hildegard said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
She licked her lips, and her fighting spirit welled up through her body and into the air around her.
Whatever he looked like, the man in front of her was the second-in-command of the Múspell Special Forces.
Even she could tell that he had to be hiding strength that didn’t show at a simple glance. However, even taking that into consideration, she was still absolutely certain that she was much stronger than him.
“Okay, so when do you want to do it?” she asked. “I’m ready to start right now, if you are.”
“We can’t do it right away,” Bömburr replied. “Your opponent’s not even here.”
“What? You mean you’re not the one who’s going to fight me?” Hildegard asked, a bit let down.
She made clear from her tone that she was also saying, “So, you’re scared of fighting your own new recruit?”
However, her attempt at an insult failed to put the slightest crack in the Múspell vice-captain’s unconcerned demeanor.
“Well, you’ve got a problem with how our family does things. So, it’s only right that you settle that by fighting the representative of that family, don’t you think?”
“Ah...! Then, my opponent will be...”
“That’s right. The mother of our family, captain of the Múspell Unit, and strongest warrior in the Steel Clan: Lady Sigrún.” Bömburr’s lips curled into a grin.
Hildegard guessed that he had probably been expecting her to shudder with fear upon hearing Sigrún’s name.
Certainly, that made sense considering how famous Sigrún was for her strength and skill.
She was a fierce, veteran warrior, responsible for killing many powerful foes, not least of which was Yngvi of the Hoof Clan.
Thinking about it normally, she wasn’t someone a fourteen-year-old novice could ever hope to win against, even with the powers of an Einherjar.
But... for the young Hildegard, the title of Mánagarmr, “Strongest Silver Wolf,” was also one of her goals.
Taking her low rank into account, she had figured it would probably take some time before she would get the opportunity to challenge Sigrún to a fight. She’d never imagined it would drop into her lap this easily.
“Like I said before, I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Hildegard said.
The smile spreading across her face was that of a savage beast.
Three days later, Hildegard found herself in the inner courtyard of the Gimlé citadel, standing face-to-face with a living legend.
“So, you’re Hildegard?” the silver-haired woman asked.
“Yes. Thank you very much for agreeing to fight me today.”
At first glance, Sigrún looked like a young woman with a slender, even delicate build, with bright silver hair tied roughly into a single, long braid. She had an icy, hard beauty, reminiscent of the pretty glass artworks that were currently so popular.
However, in contrast to that pretty physical appearance, Hildegard’s animal-like senses were telling her this was the most dangerous creature she had ever faced.
Even just standing across from her like this, she could sense a terrifying power.
And even though Sigrún was standing still, without seeming to be guarding or at the ready for combat, she had no openings whatsoever.
She had an aura of profound strength, borne of countless time spent honing and cultivating her skills. The weight of that power pressed down on Hildegard, threatening to crush her beneath it.
So this is the Mánagarmr, Sigrún! She had to admit to herself that she’d grossly underestimated this person.
But even so, she couldn’t let herself get defeated in spirit before the fight had even begun. If she did that, she’d lose whatever chance for victory she had.
Hildegard tensed up, concentrating her energy in her stomach, and glared at the woman.
Sigrún’s eyes widened a bit. She seemed slightly more interested now. “Well, now. You definitely look ready for a fight.”
“Hmph! You may be calm right now, ma’am, but I will make sure you do not stay that way for long,” Hildegard replied.
Sigrún nodded. “I look forward to that. Bömburr, give us the signal to start.” She threw a quick glance to her vice-captain, and gestured with her jaw.
As if ready and waiting for that command, Bömburr raised his right hand up high, then brought it down, shouting, “Begin!”
As soon as his voice rang out, Hildegard used her full strength to kick off the ground and leap directly to her left.
The rune Úlfhéðinn, the Wolfskin, as its name suggested, gave Hildegard increased physical abilities on par with a ferocious wolf.
Her initial move was made with every ounce of speed available to her, and to a normal person, it would have seemed as if she’d literally disappeared from sight.
Her feet kicked hard against the ground once more, and she changed direction, leaping forward to attack Sigrún from the side.
“Haah!!” She struck, bringing down her sword with all her might.
It was a blow so powerful it would have instantly killed a full-grown boar, but Sigrún caught it easily with her own wooden sword.
“You’re quick. You move about as well as Albertina. Of course, the really scary thing about that girl is that she doesn’t project any killing intent.”
“Grrh. Seyah!” With a growl and a spirited shout, Hildegard launched into her next attack.
She’d known right from the start that she wasn’t going to win against Sigrún after only one strike.
She refused to back down, and let loose with a relentless barrage of sword strikes.
What’s more, they were full-strength attacks without any restraint or regard for her opponent. She was fighting for real.
Her opponent, however...
“Hmm. You’re not just swinging blindly, either. It looks like you know your fundamentals. You must have been blessed with a good instructor.”
Sigrún gave a thoughtful, dry analysis of Hildegard’s power and skill, even as she continued to deftly turn aside all of her sword strikes.
She was deliberately remaining on the defensive, not making any attacks of her own.
If Sigrún wanted to, she could have already long since ended this match with ease. Hildegard, fighting her head-on, understood that more than anyone else watching.
Don’t underestimate me!
Hildegard unleashed everything she had. She used her powerful leg strength to leap this way and that, quickly changing her position, mixing in false starts and feints to try and misdirect her foe.
“Gah...!” she cried out in exasperation, for she couldn’t even land a single hit.
No, it was worse: She couldn’t even get the icy expression on Sigrún’s face to waver even the slightest bit.
“All right, I’m going to attack too,” Sigrún said coolly.
“Ah...!”
With a whoosh, Sigrún’s wooden sword cut through the air, timed perfectly between Hildegard’s own attacks.
Hildegard barely managed to block the blow, but if she hadn’t been warned of the attack beforehand, she wouldn’t have been able to react in time.
That fact only injured Hildegard’s pride even more.
“How about this?” Sigrún called.
“Khh! Grrh...!”
Now that Sigrún was attacking, the balance had shifted completely.
In no time, Hildegard was completely on the back foot, doing everything she could just to fend off Sigrún’s attacks.
And what was most frustrating of all was that her opponent still wasn’t fighting seriously. She could feel it from the impact of the clashing swords: Sigrún was holding back, so that she could stop her sword just before a clean hit at any time.
“Compared to your attacks, your defense still needs work.” Sigrún kept on going, dryly evaluating Hildegard while maintaining the offensive.
She wasn’t trying to win, just trying to measure Hildegard.
It was like she was being completely toyed with.
“Hmm, so that’s all you’ve got,” Sigrún added. “All right, I got a good understanding of your skill. Time to end this.”
When she heard those words, Hildegard felt like she heard a sound from inside herself, as if something within her snapped and gave way. “Rgh...!”
As the daughter of the village chief, she’d lived her life with others serving at her beck and call.
Even when she’d been with the David Family as their guest, there had been nobody else capable of standing up to her in a fight. She had always been on top, looking down at others. She couldn’t stand having someone taking her so lightly, looking down on her like this. It was unforgivable.
“‘That’s all you’ve got’?” Hildegard roared. “All right, then. I’ll show you what I can really do!”
“Really, now? If you’ve got more to show, hurry up and do it. You don’t need to hold back.”
“Don’t blame me if you regret it, all right?” As she said this, Hildegard let go of her rational mind, and gave herself over to the creature in the depths of her heart, the Beast.
Ever since the moment she’d awakened to her rune, Hildegard had felt the presence of the Beast that had also begun dwelling within her body.
Let me fight. Let me feed. Let me kill. The Beast growled those demands from within her, but until now, she’d managed to keep it suppressed with her rational mind.
But now, for the first time, she let the Beast run free.
“Wha...!” Suddenly, Sigrún jumped backward, having felt a powerful aura from Hildegard. It seemed to burst out from her, like a shockwave.
A sixth sense for danger was one of the abilities granted to her by her rune Hati, Devourer of the Moon. And right now, that sixth sense was screaming at her.
As her eyes met Hildegard’s, Sigrún felt a cold shiver run down her back.
By her evaluation, Hildegard had surpassing physical strength and dexterity for someone her age, but mentally she was still weak, and too full of herself. Still a novice as a warrior. That was what their fight just now had revealed.
However, the person in front of her right now seemed like someone completely different.
Or rather, it was like something, a creature with Hildegard’s appearance.
“GRAAH!” Hildegard screamed, and leapt forward to attack.
In complete contrast to earlier, now her attacks were large, imprecise, heavy swings like those of a complete amateur. However, they were coming at a ridiculous speed, much faster than before.
“Khh!” Sigrún quickly blocked, but felt the sting of the impact run through her hand. It wasn’t just the speed; each attack carried much more force behind it, too.
“GRRR.... GRAAAAAH!” Hildegard snarled and bellowed as she unleashed one attack after another.
There were wild punches and kicks mixed in with the sword strikes now.
There was no form or pattern whatsoever. The attacks were inconsistent and irregular.
They seemed like nothing more than unthinking, random strikes that relied on nothing more than pure physical strength.
“Hrgh!” Sigrún grit her teeth. Young though she might be, she was also a veteran fighter who had honed her skill through the crucible of countless battles, against a slew of powerful foes.
The increased speed and power had thrown her off a bit at first, but she regained her composure, and used the Willow Technique against one of Hildegard’s wild swings.
Hildegard’s weight was shifted, her body thrown off balance.
“Sei!” With a spirited cry, Sigrún unleashed a powerful strike directly into her opponent’s exposed back.
Hildegard was sent flying, and nearly hit the ground face first. But at the last second, she planted her hands on the ground and flipped around as deftly as a cat, and landed safely.
“As far as the match goes, that would have been my victory, but...” Sigrún trailed off. Indeed, that had been a clean hit against her opponent’s back.
If this had been a real fight, it would have been fatal, and so was enough to call the match. However...
“URRUUGHH!”
The eyes that glared at Sigrún across from across the courtyard were burning even hotter with rage.
Clearly this wasn’t over, by a long shot.
In fact, Sigrún wasn’t even sure if Hildegard could hear or understand her right now.
“Úlfhéðinn, the Wolfskin,” she commented. “It lives up to the name.”
“GRRHH!” Snarling, Hildegard lunged forward again, not even remembering to pick up the wooden sword she’d dropped and instead attacking with her bare hands.
She really was nothing more than a wild beast right now.
It would be easy enough for Sigrún to fend her off with her own wooden sword, but it didn’t seem like she’d be able to stop the girl while holding back on using her full strength.
And if Sigrún did use her full strength, she might end up gravely injuring a promising new member of her faction, which was something she wanted to avoid.
“Good grief...” Sigrún at last tossed aside her own wooden sword. As a punch came flying at her, she grabbed Hildegard’s right wrist.
She pulled her opponent towards her by the arm, and then did a sweeping kick to take her legs out from under her.
As her opponent fell face down, Sigrún quickly circled behind and pulled the arm up while kneeling on her back.
“GRAAAAH! AAAAAH!” Of course, Hildegard screamed and flailed, but Sigrún kept the girl’s right arm in a lock, and pulled it up more.
There was the muffled sound of Hildegard’s joints being strained...
“GWAAGH!” Hildegard cried out from the intense pain.
Sigrún resolved to hold her in this position for a while and see if she calmed down. However...
“GRUHH... URAAAAH!” Suddenly, Hildegard used purely brute strength to push Sigrún bodily off of her.
“What?!”
Sigrún had a slender build, but she was physically quite strong, at the very least in the upper tier in terms of pure power among the known Einherjar.
Hildegard had been locked in a disadvantageous position that made it difficult for her to leverage her own strength against Sigrún.
Yet, despite both of those factors, Hildegard had overpowered her. Sigrún went wide-eyed at that revelation.
“GRRAH!”
“Damn!”
Even as Sigrún was recovering from her surprise, Hildegard righted herself, and she wildly swung a fist down at Sigrún.
Sigrún tilted her neck and dodged it at the last minute, but a kick quickly followed.
She blocked it with both arms, but it was powerful enough to send her flying.
She hit the ground rolling, and used the momentum to regain her footing and stand up.
Hildegard stood watching her, panting heavily and snorting.
She still looked eager to keep on fighting.
Sigrún didn’t feel like she was in any danger of losing if this continued, but she no longer felt like she could stop this girl’s rampage without hurting her.
“Good grief... You’re quite the fighter indeed. You’re not going to stop until I break one or two of your bones, at least.” Sigrún let out a small sigh, and then she switched her perception.
This was not a match. This was a battle.
“...!” This time it was Hildegard who leapt backwards, putting distance between them.
Her heightened, primal senses must have picked up on the aggressive energy coming off of Sigrún.
For each step forward Sigrún took, Hildegard took a step back.
It was at that moment that, unexpectedly, Sigrún heard a very familiar voice.
“Hey, Rún!” Yuuto called.
In that instant, Hildegard’s body sprang into motion.
It appeared to be a purely reflexive action, without any thought.
Her wild instincts had told her that she couldn’t possibly win against Sigrún, and so she was taking advantage of that brief moment when Sigrún’s attention was diverted in order to try to escape from the area as quickly as possible.
However, she had tried to escape in the absolute worst direction possible.
“An enemy atta—Eek?!” Felicia had instinctively moved in front of Yuuto and started to draw her sword, but she wasn’t fast enough, and she cried out as she was kicked aside.
“Father!” Sigrún’s master, the young man who was her object of love and loyalty, was in danger. She ran to him as quickly as she could.
She no longer had any options.
She placed a hand to the hilt of the real sword at her hip. But what happened next surprised her.
“...!” With a gasp, Hildegard leapt back away from Yuuto.
Hildegard’s face was running with a cold sweat, and her whole body was shaking.
Sigrún felt the air around them change, and her expression grew taut.
“An assassin? Who sent you?” Yuuto addressed the beastly girl in a cold, deadly tone. Her body shuddered violently.
There was visible anger in Yuuto’s eyes. That was perhaps only natural, for he had just watched his precious adjutant get attacked right in front of him.
Hildegard started making pitiful, whimpering noises like a dog, as if she couldn’t withstand Yuuto’s hard glare. She rolled over onto her back, with her arms and legs bent, exposing her belly.
Indeed, she was assuming the same position as that of a dog supplicating itself before its master.
“Wah?!” When Hildegard’s mind returned, she was lying on the ground, looking up at the sky.
She didn’t have any clear memories of what happened after she’d unleashed the Beast within her.
The one exception was a fuzzy memory of experiencing a powerful terror, more powerful than any fear she’d felt before in her life. All of her muscles and joints ached terribly.
“Ow, ow... Big Brother! Big Brother, are you unharmed?!” a woman cried.
“I’m fine,” said a man’s voice. “What about you, Felicia? Are you okay?”
Hildegard turned her gaze over in the direction of the voices, and saw the unfamiliar man and woman in question. They seemed to be talking with each other.
The woman had golden hair, and was unbelievably beautiful.
The man was young-looking, and had dark black hair.
Wait, black hair?! Hildegard’s mind reeled.
She leapt up from her back, repositioned herself so that she was kneeling, and hanging her head low, shouted, “P-please, forgive my insolence!”
There was only one man she knew in the Steel Clan who had dark black hair: Suoh-Yuuto, the reginarch himself.
“Don’t bother trying to act your way out of this,” Yuuto said coldly. “It’s too late. I’ll ask you once more: Who sent you?”
The reginarch’s voice was quiet, but it carried the unmistakable message that she would answer him.
He stared right into her eyes, his icy glare piercing through her, and she couldn’t move her body.
Her pride, her standards of not letting others look down on her... none of that mattered anymore to her.
All she could think or feel was how afraid she was of the young man in front of her right now.
When she had faced off against Sigrún for their duel, she had felt enormous pressure from the silver-haired warrior, but to put it bluntly, this was on an entirely different level.
She could hear her own teeth chattering.
“Answer the question.”
“Ah... awawah...” Hildegard could barely breathe. She didn’t have it in her to form any words.
What’s more, she didn’t know what sort of answer she was supposed to give him.
Just what had the Beast done while it was free?
All she wanted to do was run far, far away.
But the air around her felt as heavy as stone, pushing down on her, and her legs felt like they were rooted to the ground.
The fear was so overwhelming, that she thought she might lose her mind.
“Whoa?!” Suddenly, the black-haired young man let out a shout, as if something had surprised him.
In that brief moment, it felt as if the bindings on her body and mind were loosened a little bit.
She hastily opened her mouth, desperate to say something, anything, before the young man’s gaze fell on her once more and rendered her unable to speak again.
“I... I am... Hildegard, my lord, a n-new... a new recruit in the Sigrún Family. I deeply regret any r-rudeness I may have shown earlier. P-please, I ask for your forgiveness.” Her forehead pressed against the ground, she was only able to get a few stammering words out at a time.
She didn’t fully understand the situation, but what was most important right now was to keep her head on the ground and express her apology, and obtain forgiveness for whatever might have happened.
That was all she could think of at this point.
“Hildegard?” the reginarch said. “Ah, right, you’re the Einherjar that I heard joined the David Family. So you’ve switched to Rún’s family, then?”
“Yes, Father,” replied Sigrún’s voice. “About four days ago.”
It seemed Sigrún was standing close nearby, too. Hildegard didn’t lift her head to look.
“Father, attacking you is an inexcusable offense,” Sigrún declared. “I deeply apologize for what my new recruit has done.”
“Ngh?!” Hildegard could feel all of the blood start to drain from her face.
She’d attacked the reginarch? That was a crime punishable by death on the first offense!
That’s it. My life is over... she thought. She was overcome with abject despair.
Sigrún continued. “While I understand that ordinarily it is a crime that might demand the death sentence, the truth of the matter is that fault lies with me as her superior, for being unable to supervise and control her properly. If anyone is to be punished, it should be me.”
Shocked, Hildegard lifted her head to look at Sigrún.
Even Hildegard would admit that she had acted terribly towards the family she had just joined, but even still, now the head of that family was trying to save her.
Hildegard remained on the ground, touched by that act of compassion. Yuuto, too, seemed impressed. He gave a small sigh.
“You know I can’t punish you for that. Look, I don’t really get what happened, but the point is that this girl’s not an enemy, right?”
“Yes, Father. You can be certain of that.”
“Okay. Then in that case, I’ll leave you in charge of her.”
“I am grateful for your benevolent decision, Father.”
“But then, why did she go and attack me in the first place?”
“In order to test her abilities, I had been working her over a little in a mock duel. However, apparently when she attempts to use her rune’s maximum power, it causes her to forget herself.”
“Seriously? That’s a real pain of a rune if you ask me.”
“Indeed,” Sigrún nodded. “However, her incredible physical strength and speed are very impressive. If she could learn to control herself better, she could become as strong as me, or perhaps even much stronger.”
“Huh, really? Well, Rún, if you’re praising her that much, she must really be something.” Yuuto glanced over at Hildegard, his gaze now filled with interest.
There was no more of the crushing pressure or piercing sensation that she’d felt before.
However, there was still an undeniable presence about him, a powerful charisma befitting the hero who had gone from leading a single weak, tiny clan to ruling a superpower that held multiple clans under its sway.
“Hey, don’t worry about what happened anymore,” Yuuto said, addressing Hildegard. “Everybody makes mistakes. I’ve already forgotten about it.”
He placed a hand on Hildegard’s head, and ruffled her hair a bit.
If anyone else had done something like this to her, she would have been absolutely furious with them, but for some strange reason, she didn’t feel the slightest bit of annoyance when he did it.
In fact, she could feel a warmth spreading in her heart, like a sense of security.
“Do your best, okay?” Yuuto added. “I’m expecting great things from you.”
“Y-y-yes, my lord!” Hildegard cried out her reply in a stammering, shrill voice.
The reginarch looked a little startled by that, but then he gave her a little smile, and in that moment she felt her heart pound a single beat like a hammer.
A feeling she didn’t quite understand began to well up within her, and she looked up at Yuuto with an expression of pure bliss.
“Um... You’re free to leave now, okay?” The reginarch looked a little troubled, and averted his gaze a bit.
“Huh?! Oh! A-apologies, my lord, for taking up your valuable time!”
“Uh, no, that’s not what I mean. Um, you know. You probably want to go change out of those clothes, right?”
“Huh...?” At this, Hildegard finally looked down and noticed the wet stain on the crotch area of her pants.
She then noticed that there was a small puddle around her feet.
That could only mean one thing...
Thinking back, when Yuuto had been interrogating her, and she’d felt overwhelmed by the pressure, there was that moment where he’d been surprised. Was that when...?
Hildegard turned to look to her right.
She saw the faces of the Múspell soldiers who had all gathered.
She looked to the left.
Again, there were Múspell soldiers lined up and watching.
The blood that had drained from her face in her moment of despair now rose back up all at once.
“P-please excuse me!” Unable to remain still any longer, Hildegard dashed away as fast as her legs could carry her, speeding out of the courtyard like a fleeing rabbit.
Hildegard stood atop Gimlé’s sacred Hliðskjálf tower, gazing out at the twilit cityscape.
The only sound was the cawing of the crows. They sounded oddly forlorn to her ears.
She had changed into some fresh clothes, but couldn’t take sitting alone in her tiny room with only her thoughts. After wandering around aimlessly for a while, she’d ultimately found herself here.
“I could just jump off,” she murmured. “Perhaps that would at least end my suffering...”
She contemplated for a moment.
“But no, if I did that, I would just be known as some woman who wet herself in front of a public audience, and then killed herself because she couldn’t suffer the shame. I’d be that and nothing more.”
The scene rose unbidden to her mind’s eye again: the wet puddle on the ground between her legs. It was too much to take, and she began wildly stamping both feet and pulling at her hair.
“In front of the lord reginarch of all people, how could I do something so... so...! Aaaahhh! Aaaahhh! Aaaahhh!” Unable to continue, she simply yelled wordlessly into the void. She couldn’t stop herself.
Each time the memory and image came back, she howled and flailed about. She’d been repeating that cycle ever since arriving at the tower.
“I know! I’ll go on a journey. I’ll travel to a land where nobody knows who I am, and try starting over. Yes, that’s the best thing to do.”
“No, no it isn’t,” a voice from behind interjected.
When Hildegard turned around, she saw a familiar, silver-haired girl.
“Lady Sigrún...”
Sigrún nodded once, then came over next to Hildegard, sitting against the low roof wall. “So this is where you were. I’ve been looking for you.”
“You would have been better off not looking, ma’am,” Hildegard replied.
Sigrún shook her head. “That’s not an option. Not when it concerns such a promising new recruit in my family.”
“I do not need any consolation,” Hildegard said, puffing out her cheeks and turning her head to one side.
“I’m not trying to console you,” Sigrún said. “I don’t do flattery. I can’t, really.” Her expression was stern, and she spoke in her usual cool, laconic manner.
True, it was hard for Hildegard to imagine someone this blunt going out of their way to compliment her just to make her feel better. However, it was still praise she couldn’t accept.
“But I didn’t even manage to lay a finger on you!” she cried.
As far as she could recall from the memories she retained, throughout the duel she’d been completely at Sigrún’s mercy. The silver-haired warrior had swatted away her every attack as easily as if brushing away an insect.
Hildegard hadn’t even been enough of a challenge to make Sigrún bat an eye.
“That’s not true.” Sigrún held out one arm, covered by a leather glove and gauntlet that ran all the way up to almost her elbow. She removed the armor to reveal a deep blue bruise right in the middle of her forearm.
“I got this when you kicked me,” she said.
“I-I’m sorry...” Hildegard quickly apologized, but she didn’t actually remember doing it. It must have happened after she’d let the Beast take over.
She wanted to bury her face in her hands. It was supposed to have been a duel with wooden swords; what pride was there in kicking her opponent?
“You have nothing to apologize for,” said Sigrún. “Injuries during training are a normal, everyday issue. In fact, you are the very first person in my family who was able to injure me at all. You should be proud.”
Sigrún put a hand on Hildegard’s head and tousled her hair a bit.
“P-please stop that.” Instinctively, Hildegard pulled away from Sigrún’s hand.
Sigrún looked confused. She tilted her head slightly, her hand still resting in the empty space where Hildegard’s head had been.
“Hm? You didn’t like that? Whenever Father praises me, it feels good when he strokes my head in that way, so I was trying to do the same.”
“Y-you are right, it did feel wonderful when the lord reginarch pet me on the head... but just now, that felt unpleasant, like I was being treated like a little child.”
“Hmm. It’s harder than it looks.” Squinting at her own empty hand, Sigrún nodded to herself, as if impressed. “Even when it comes to a pat on the head, Father is truly an amazing man.”
Hildegard couldn’t hold back a laugh.
With anyone except Yuuto, this woman was cold and unsociable, brusque and unyielding. She was famous for it, known as the “frozen flower.” Someone like that taking something as trivial as a head pat and puzzling over it so seriously looked a bit comical.
“Hm? Did I say something strange?” Sigrún asked.
“Ah, no, I was just thinking to myself how happy I am. Putting a bruise on the current Mánagarmr is a glorious achievement.”
Hildegard couldn’t very well give the true reason for her laughter, so she looked down, and quickly came up with an excuse.
Still, what she said wasn’t a lie, either.
She really was proud of herself for having accomplished something that no one else had been able to.
“Yes, it is,” said Sigrún. “You really are promising. And that’s why I can’t afford to let any other family have you. I can’t promise it’ll happen very soon, but I think that eventually, I could arrange things to have you exchange the Oath of the Chalice directly with Father.”
“D-do you truly mean that?!” Hildegard’s head whipped around to look back at Sigrún so fast she almost pulled a muscle.
“Yes. I don’t lie,” Sigrún replied matter-of-factly.
“Woww...” Hildegard let out a long, emotional sigh.
Swearing the Oath of the Chalice directly with Suoh-Yuuto, the reginarch... that level of status would put her alongside the patriarchs of the branch clans. It was an unthinkably huge leap upwards.
She’d certainly never get the opportunity for that sort of promotion in any other clan faction.
And then there was the reginarch himself. In person, he had been so dashing, so gallant and commanding.
Deep in her heart, Hildegard swore to herself that she could endure a little shame, if it meant she might eventually be able to serve him as his direct subordinate.
“A-all right, I understand,” she said at last. “Lady Sigrún, I would like to stay in your family. I will do my very best, so please take care of me!”
“I see. That’s good to hear.” Sigrún nodded. She then held up one finger and said, “However, there’s a separate issue we have to deal with.”
Her tone changed. It was clear this next subject was not up for negotiation.
“You attacked Father, and you need to atone for that crime, and for the crime of hurting Felicia, as well.”
“Hey, Hilda! Go fetch some water!”
“Y-yes, sir, right away!” Hildegard shouted that reply as she ran out of the guard station.
She ran until she reached the nearest well, then hoisted up a bucketful of water. Transferring the water to a bucket she’d brought with her, she returned to the guard station.
She scooped the water out with an earthenware cup, placed it in front of one of her fellow Sigrún Family soldiers, then got another cup and repeated the process until everyone had some water.
Once she had finished distributing the water, one of the soldiers said, “And Hilda, make sure you clean the stables properly. The toilets, too. Got it, piss girl?”
“Kh...! ...Y-yes, sir, I understand.” Her face flushed a deep red from the humiliation, but she clenched her fists and endured it.
Piss girl.
In the span of a single day, that nickname had spread throughout the Sigrún Family. That was only natural, though, after so many of them had witnessed what happened. Most all of the principal members had been there as an audience for the duel.
Just you wait, Hildegard thought, grinding her teeth. One day I’ll show you. All of you...!
With the fires of indignation burning in her heart, Hildegard kept at her eyes fixed on her dream of a rosier future, one with power and status... and pushed ahead through another day of doing filthy grunt work.
“Your Majesty, I am most pleased to see you again after so long!” Fagrahvél gave his greeting from one knee, with one fist planted on the floor. “I was worried for your health, as I had heard you were troubled with an illness. However, it is a great relief to see that you appear to be in better spirits again.”
Fagrahvél was the patriarch of the Sword Clan, the powerful nation which served as the northern guardian of the imperial capital, Glaðsheimr.
As for his relation to Sigrdrífa, the current divine empress, he was her “milk brother,” meaning that he had been raised by the same wet nurse as she was. They shared a firm, familial bond, and in all of Yggdrasil, there was no one more loyal to her, or to the Holy Ásgarðr Empire.
His appearance was so stunningly beautiful that all who saw him caught their breath, and despite what such unblemished beauty might suggest, on the battlefield he led his armies with furious strength and adept command, and so he was known as “The Shining Sword.”
It was a name that held a reputation on par with the Battle-Hungry Tiger out in the western lands, and the two men were often referenced together.
“Yes, well met,” said the divine empress. “You have done well in making the long journey here.”
Sigrdrífa’s—Rífa’s—face was hidden from him by a dividing screen, but out of the corner of his eye, Fagrahvél could see her silhouette as she nodded.
However, there was something about her voice that felt slightly off.
It was Rífa’s voice, without a doubt. They had grown up together as children; there was no chance he would mistake her voice for another.
However, the way she addressed him was strangely distant. Like she was a different person.
“Ah, if it pleases you, there was another matter I wished to ask about,” Fagrahvél began. “I have heard that your upcoming marriage to Lord Hárbarth had to be postponed...”
“Yes, unfortunately, my body has still not fully regained its strength, so it had to be done.”
“...?!” Fagrahvél kept his head bowed, but he furrowed his brow suspiciously.
Just now, Rífa’s voice had sounded disappointed.
She had always hated the idea of her planned marriage to Hárbarth.
She hated Hárbarth himself—despised him completely.
Postponing the marriage was something that should have overjoyed Rífa, not disappointed her.
“More importantly, it seems that the situation is quite lively in the lands to the west of your clan, is it not?” she added.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Fagrahvél. “Recently, the Steel Clan has been increasing in strength at an incredible rate.”
“Yes, and what a terrible annoyance they have become.”
“...Yes, ma’am.” Fagrahvél hesitated for only a moment, then chose to nod and voice his agreement.
His suspicions had grown to the point that now he was sure something was wrong.
He knew about the events that had occurred in Iárnviðr, thanks to reports from his subordinates.
He knew that Rífa cared deeply for the patriarch of the Steel Clan, Suoh-Yuuto.
What, then, had happened to those feelings?!
“If things continue at this rate, they stand to become a great threat to our beloved empire,” Rífa said coldly. “There is no longer any time to hesitate. We must act, and act now. Do you not agree?”
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login