Interlude 5
“Aaaaah... This is so comfortable,” Rífa said with a wide, slack-jawed smile that was quite slovenly for someone of her station.
It was something that Erna and Thír, the servants assigned to her by Fagrahvél, should normally have pointed out to her, but the two of them were likewise lounging comfortably, with similar dreamy expressions of pleasure.
The three of them were together in a private room in the new high-class inn that had recently been built in the eastern district of Iárnviðr. They were now in this state because of putting their feet into the warm kotatsu set up in the center of their room.
“We would love to just stay curled up here forever...” Rífa said dreamily, and yawned. “...No, that won’t do! We said the same thing yesterday, and the day before that. To spend any more of our limited time resting would be an insult to Fagrahvél, who went through so much trouble for our sake.”
“Ah...!” Erna cried.
“Y-yes, quite right!”
Upon hearing their beloved patriarch’s name, Erna and Thír both returned to their senses.
Rífa gave them a satisfied nod, and continued. “Right, then let us go to one of these so-called taverns tonight.”
“You mustn’t!”
Rífa scrunched her face up in a disgruntled scowl as her two servants rejected her demand without a second’s pause, and in perfect unison to boot. She was a girl whose mood and expressions changed easily and often.
“Explain why,” she demanded. “We’ve heard that information naturally gathers at such places. We have only so much time left. There could be no more suitable location than this to begin with, if we wish to become more informed.”
“That is of course true, but taverns are also places where many men gather,” Erna said. “Such men are often drunk, and without their inhibitions. I believe that three women entering such a place would inevitably find themselves in an unsavory situation, eventually.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Thír agreed. “I think at least a few drunken patrons would approach us out of curiosity alone.”
“Then you two only need to protect us. We just want to go see what it’s like!”
Despite their attempts to persuade her, Rífa stubbornly refused to accept their words.
We might never again have such a chance to see places in the outside world on our own.
If Rífa simply gave in here, she would surely carry the regret with her forever, and she didn’t want that at all.
However, these two girls were charged by Fagrahvél with ensuring her safety. It would seem they weren’t planning to follow her orders when it came to things that might endanger that.
“No, even for Einherjar like us, it’s uncertain if we could protect you properly if we were largely outnumbered,” Erna objected. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Yes, we can’t allow it!” Thír cried. “Lady Rífa, you are the one who carries on the most sacred and noble bloodline in all of Yggdrasil. Please, endure the disappointment of not going.”
“Mmmph...! So, even though we asked you this earnestly, it’s still no good?” Rífa puffed out her cheeks and pouted, then asked her two attendants again, in confirmation.
Silently, they both nodded firmly in response.
“Very well, then...” Rífa’s shoulders dropped, and she hunched over, seemingly disheartened—
“Læðingr!”
—and in that instant, she reached out to place a hand on each of her servants’ chests, and spoke a word of power.
“What?!” They barely had time to raise their voices in surprise, and their bodies collapsed weakly onto the tabletop of the kotatsu.
They had fallen prey to a seiðr magic that restricted the body’s freedom of movement.
“Ghh...! We were careless!” Erna cried.
“But this isn’t... enough to...”
Erna and Thír still resisted with all their strength, and grasped the kotatsu rim, desperately pushing themselves back upright.
“Ohhh, impressive, just as expected from the Einherjar that good Fagrahvél chose,” Rífa smirked. “We struck you directly on the skin with Læðingr, and yet you are still able to move. Well, then... how about this? Gleipnir!”
“Gnh?!”
All of a sudden, the remaining strength in their arms vanished, and the two Einherjar only managed a grunt as their upper bodies again collapsed onto the kotatsu. This time, they weren’t able to push themselves up again.
Gleipnir was a power to bind and contain supernatural forces. It was a seiðr mainly used for apprehending and restricting Einherjar.
Rífa exhaled. “Whew, that was quite tiring. Activating two seiðr in succession without any rituals or incantations does take its toll.”
She looked down at Erna and Thír as she wiped the sweat from her forehead and bangs.
In that moment, the two faces looking back up at her were overcome with shock.
“Th-that... that’s...!”
“It can’t be...!” Thír exclaimed.
“Mm? What, surely the two of you were aware?” Rífa chuckled, as if amused by their surprise.
Her two eyes, staring haughtily down at them, each contained a shining, golden rune.
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