Chapter 19

Naturally, since he was— “I am grateful to be granted a visit by the great Lord Odin.” Hearing that, her visitor—Odin—flashed an almost inhuman smile as his one visible eye narrowed slightly in apparent amusement. He was the All-father, the one who had reached out and made contact with humanity when they were on the verge of outright collapse while struggling with unknown enemies. A real live god who had made himself known. Humanity had teetered on the brink of destruction when they discovered they had no way of dealing with enemies that were alien in every which way and totally unaffected by all the weapons they brought to bear. That was when Odin appeared before humanity and gave them the means to fight the pillars—Valkyries. Ever since, Odin sided with humanity and cooperated with the IPO, continuing to awaken those girls with the aptitude to become Valkyries and sending them to the front lines. Naturally, this meant every Valkyrie had received Odin’s divine blessing from him personally. It was as true for Alma and Natalie as it was for Lisbeth and Leili. And Rusalka was no exception. Rusalka had also become a Valkyrie by directly receiving his divine blessing. “” If Valkyries were the irreplaceable signal flares declaring the start of humanity’s counterattack, then he was the deity who gave birth to those Valkyries. But why was he here—? “Is it that hard to understand why I would be here?” “—Ngh!” “There’s no need to be so shocked. It’s a simple feat to read something floating on the surface of a human heart. And you’re my adorable daughter. It’s only natural for a parent to understand their children’s inner thoughts, is it not?” Odin shrugged, smiling. Each and every one of his friendly, endearing gestures only served to increase Rusalka’s wariness, though, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. “Hmm. I have so many daughters who feel at ease in my presence, which only makes your reactions all the more precious, Rusalka. You need not steady yourself so. Even if I am unmistakably a true deity.” “Thank you very much for your kind consideration, Lord Odin.” “So formal. You could always go for something with a bit more filial love imbued, like Father.” “That’s…” Rusalka was at a loss for how to respond to Odin’s proposition. Part of it was concern about being a bit discourteous to a self-proclaimed god so casually, but there was a more fundamental problem, and that was how he looked. Honestly, it was just too weird to call someone who looked like that Father— “” The figure sitting on Rusalka’s bed, legs crossed—Odin, the deity hailed as humanity’s greatest guardian—looked like a small boy who couldn’t possibly be more than twelve or thirteen years old. He had a black eye patch over his left eye, and his wide-open right eye had a striking red iris that Rusalka could see herself reflected in. He looked like a mysterious, bewitching boy with an indescribable mystical allure. His voice and gestures seemed almost childish as well. While Rusalka assuredly was struck by a sense of awe whenever she met with him, she simply couldn’t bring herself to call him Father. “Haaah, you too, huh?” Having sensed her strong resistance, Odin shook his head. “My daughters all have different relationships with me, but not a single one of them will call me Father. Is this appearance really so lacking in gravity? If so, I suppose I may have made a bit of a mistake.” “No, you need not feel bad, Lord Odin. I believe your appearance is very… It’s very adorable. I do not dislike it.” “Oh? Is that so? I see, I see, so you have a thing for little boys, then. You seem pretty close to Alejandro, so I had assumed your interests lay somewhere along those lines—” “Both of those theories are incorrect.” She immediately interjected as Odin hypothesized with an amused look on his face. Her expression paled as she realized that her reflexive response had been very rude, but Odin’s eyes widened just a little bit at her instinctive denial before he burst into laughter. “Heh-heh, that was a pretty over-the-top response. As for whether it was your supposed interest in young boys, Alejandro, or both, well, perhaps I shall refrain from probing too much.” “You may probe either if you wish. Both are extraordinarily disheartening suppositions to leave unchallenged.” Again, she was struck after the fact by the thought that she might have been speaking rather impudently, but she also hesitated to correct her statement in order to maintain a firm and resolute stance against either accusation. And with the retreat of the overwhelmingly solemn atmosphere that had filled the room when she first noticed Odin, Rusalka finally managed to find the presence of mind to look back at him. Odin was rumored to have lived since ancient times, but his appearance was not only quite young; he also dressed in casual attire that only emphasized his childish image. He was wearing modern apparel with bright colors that made him seem like an energetic young boy and not an ancient, solemn god. If she was forced to say whether the outfit suited him, she would have to say it did, but— “—Oh.” “If it is difficult for you to converse, then I’ll do this. It should be a little easier now.” With that remark, Odin was suddenly clad in a beige-colored robe. It looked like a mantle from olden times, and while everything else about Odin’s image seemed to take a modern feel and design, it certainly helped impart the sense of an old, eternal presence. “Your expression has changed. In a good way, my child.” “…What brings you to see me today, Lord Odin? I can’t imagine you would go out of your way to visit random Valkyries. And I’m…” “Not a special Valkyrie? Less powerful Valkyries… As I recall, you girls were called Seconds.” Odin touched a slender finger to his chin as his eye glimmered eerily. Rusalka tensed, feeling like he was peering into the depths of her heart with that red eye. Odin wasn’t wrong, of course. Unlike before, Rusalka no longer viewed her lack of power as a second-generation Valkyrie as such a terrible flaw. But it was entirely natural to believe that Odin would direct his attentions and favor on those Valkyries who were the most skilled and performed the best. Just like with Amy, the First. “It was unfortunate what happened to Amy. But that does not mean my love for my daughters would fade, nor would I favor any one in particular over the others. A god’s love cannot be measured in human terms.” “Reading my mind again?” “You should realize by now that you have a tendency to let your feelings show, as surprising as that might seem. Even if your expression doesn’t change, it still shows in your eyes. Your eyes are blue like the skies, and they can change easily, just like the sky.” Rusalka raised her hand to one of her eyes at that. It was something she had never heard before. As she covered an eye for a few seconds, making them both one-eyed for a brief moment in time, Odin’s lips relaxed just a little bit. “My child with hair like a moon’s tear and eyes like the sky, I have come to you this evening with a request.” “—A request for me…Lord Odin?” “Yes. None other than you.” Rusalka’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as she remained kneeling, and she lowered her head again in reaffirmation of her submission to Odin. “Whatever it is you desire, Lord Odin, if I can be of service.” “You need not worry. There is no one more appropriate than you for this. Have faith in Odin’s eye, which sees through all. Though having said that, my eye is imperfect and hardly sees much of the future anymore.” Shrugging, Odin narrowed his eye, as if lamenting the limits of his power. But he quickly hid that disappointment and raised his hand, pointing to one side of the room. There was nothing but a wall there—his finger was pointing to something beyond it. “In the forest a few dozen kilometers to the southeast is a man-made structure that was abandoned decades ago. A facility nestled deep beneath the ground.” “A facility in the forest…” Mapping the base’s surroundings in her head, she had a general idea of the location of the structure Odin was referring to. An underground facility that had been abandoned decades ago was likely some kind of air-raid shelter from the war or something along those lines. “There are two sisters hiding there in hopes of staying away from human settlements. I want you to retrieve the two of them and protect them. Can you do that?” “Sisters? Protecting civilians is, of course, our job. But…” “I understand your confusion. Why would I go out of my way to ask you specifically to rescue two sisters who were left behind, right? The reason I can’t move myself is simple. Were I to act, it would become far too large of an event. It would no doubt incite those tiresome pillars, and I can’t allow the two of them to become caught up in the fighting that would almost certainly ensue.” “Who are these sisters that you would take such an interest in them, Lord Odin?” His voice remained flat and steady, but it was incredibly obvious how attached he was to the pair. Just when it seemed odd how long Odin remained silent when she pointed that out, he spoke again. “Yes, I suppose there are several ways to choose my words here, but…those sisters are both daughters of mine.” “—You can’t mean…Valkyries who deserted?” From how Odin looked, the worst possibility came to mind as she pressed him for information. Valkyries received a divine blessing from God, were granted Deus ex Machinas, and flew through the skies to carve out a future for humanity. But not everyone who received that blessing was able to continue flying wholeheartedly forever. There were those whose hearts had broken after numerous battles against the pillars and deserters who refused to fly as well. The IPO had a policy of tacit acknowledgment of their unique circumstances, and starting with the third generation, when a Valkyrie deserted, they were not court-martialed or brought up on any sort of charges. But that was merely a judgment by humans made with consideration to the sheer weight of what was being demanded of Valkyries. It would not be that surprising that a god like Odin might come to a different decision regarding how to handle them. But if Odin was planning to have her tie up some deserter Valkyries to bring back and force them to fly against their will, then however disrespectful it might be, she was going to have to voice her opinion. However— “Worry not, Rusalka. I have no interest in chasing down those who have fled. It is a harsh thing to say, but forcing those whose wills have broken back out onto the battlefield will only result in more wasted deaths. I don’t wish for that, either.” “I…see… In that case, it seems all the more reason to ask: Who exactly are these sisters?” “I said it, didn’t I? They are, without a doubt, my daughters. However, they are not quite there yet.” “In other words, they have that much potential? That’s…” Rusalka finally understood what Odin was asking of her. Every Valkyrie had been granted her blessing directly by Odin. However, every Valkyrie from the second generation onward had been volunteers who had passed tests gauging their aptitude. There were none whom Odin had personally chosen from among humanity as being suitable to be a Valkyrie—none since the First. Since Amy. “Save those sisters, Rusalka. Both of them will play critical roles in determining the outcome of Ragnarök. They are crucial and irreplaceable to humanity.” “Yes, sir!” Tasked with a role far beyond anything she could have imagined, Rusalka felt her soul trembling as she responded. Deep in her chest, she felt an intense sense of exaltation at being given such a task, alongside the hope of renewing humanity’s counterattack against the pillars. As that feeling filled her whole body, Odin nodded to Rusalka. “I’ll form a rescue team and go find those sisters right—” “No, that won’t do. Why do you think I came all the way here to meet with you specifically?” Rusalka had envisioned telling Alejandro and then putting things in motion immediately, but Odin stopped her in her tracks. Unable to answer the god’s question, Rusalka’s eyes widened. “Why is that? I intended to join the rescue team myself, so…” “The existence of those two girls cannot spread beyond the absolute minimum who need to know. At this base, just you and Alejandro. And…hmm, I suppose Natalie and Lisbeth.” “Natalie and…Lisbeth, Lord Odin?” If those were his choices, then obviously he had some reason for it, but even so, Rusalka could not help but find the choices indecipherable. Rusalka and Natalie were the squadron leader and executive officer for Sigrdrifa. It was not generally considered a good idea for both of them to be absent from the base at the same time. And for Lisbeth to be the last one rounding out the team— “Dissatisfied?” “No, sir. If you believe it is necessary, then we will face this mission with just those members.” She had her questions and her doubts. But there was no hesitation in her reply. Odin smiled deeply, satisfied by her response. “Then I’ll leave you to it. I have high hopes for your success, my child.”