Two weeks have a way of flying past before you even know it.
The first of those weeks was spent livening up what the Underworld called a "party." The last of those weeks? Watching a bunch of kids literally rock out until they couldn't play their instruments anymore.
I'm not much of a musician myself, of course, so I basically made Schwe take the lead there. I was just around to make sure none of them did anything too silly or outright stupid.
Thankfully, it seems the girls have their act together for now.
As for the said act? Well, I'll have to wait for the actual music festival for that. As I said, I'm not much of a musician, so I couldn't have helped there even if I wanted.
Not as though I had that choice, since the girls pretty much kicked me to the curb when it came time to practice their act specifically.
I know what each of them is doing, or playing, but the actual routine? It's going to be a complete surprise for me.
Honestly? I'm looking forward to it, especially since they went through such lengths to keep it under wraps.
But that's for later.
As for right now?
"Ahhhh~..." I let out a deep breath as I stretched my arms up, feeling that crisp Norse cool air around me, "Been a hot minute since I've been back here…" I mused, catching Schwe rolling her eyes knowingly off in the corner of my sight.
Back in Asgard, officially, this time!
And a whole different part of it this time, too!
Well, not all that different. Just further out from what I guess could be considered the center of the realm? The capital?
Or I guess maybe the World Tree?
Instinctively, I turn my head toward the lumbering spire of wood in the far, far horizon.
Yeah, it's way further away than it was last time. I can basically only see the shape of it.
A cursory glance up shows a mostly clear blue sky, interlaced with a few puffy white clouds here and there.
The 'sun' isn't distorted by seemingly nothing out here. I hope that means if I fly up, I won't crack my skull against the World Tree's branches.
I could do without that particular brand of humiliation. Again.
Schwe snickers, for definitely no particular reason whatsoever.
"...this place, isn't it more of a city than a town?" Zekka abruptly asks, saving Schwe from her fate.
Although, to be fair, she isn't exactly wrong to ask that.
This is supposed to be Schwe's hometown, where she was born, but in some respects it looks more like a city than what I think was supposed to be a Norse city last I was here.
As we landed closer to the edge of town, with a mere turn, it's very easy to see the expansive crop fields that seem to wrap around the entire area, currently empty from the cold, preparing for the next planting season.
Beyond that, I'm not seeing a lick of the large palaces or golden abodes, not a single massive building like those out here. Instead, it's an array of colorful, but more standard-looking, Nordic-style buildings stretching along stone pathways.
It's significantly more cramped here, with the buildings less spaced out, and the people bustling along the paths certainly don't help sell the place as a country town.
Wait. Stones paths? The last settlement I was in had these well-worn sandy paths instead!
Wait a minute. Don't fucking tell me.
"This particular area is under the direct jurisdiction of Lady Freya," Schwe began, holding up a finger matter-of-factly with a smile on her face, "that's why there are many living, traveling, and trading here."
I think about what she said for a single second.
My conclusion? There are actual paths here because this Freya is in charge of it.
Not Odin.
It lines up too well not to be the case for me, and I've already accepted it as fact as soon as the thought passes.
I resist the urge to sigh so deeply that I implode upon myself into a black hole.
Though speaking of Freya, I don't think she appeared in the novels. I wonder if she's around for the festival? To be completely honest, whenever I think of Freya, I always think of the one from Danmachi.
Hopefully, her appearance here gives me something to override there.
Definitely curious regardless. The Norse Gods could use better representation than the All-Maidenless after all.
Breaking me from my thoughts, Schwe actually leans a bit closer to me, her smile turning a bit mischievous as she almost whispers, "Now, Rose-paisen's hometown is really deep in the sticks, ya know?"
In an instant, Schwe has redeemed herself and shall be facing no further consequences for her snark.
Why?
I just got the image of Rose in a country cowgirl outfit.
Doing a country girl accent.
Fuck yes.
Speaking of, Rose is supposed to be following us over in due time, so she will be joining us after she finishes up a few errands.
Before she does, I have a new mission to fulfil. All thanks to Schwe.
My grin stretches from ear to ear, my smile even more radiant than the 'sun' in the sky, as I send it back to Schwe.
She nods, her smile shifting slightly as well.
I nodded right back.
I don't think we're nodding about the same thing, but I possess within my mind peak regardless.
All shall be well.
Then the maid, ah, I'm sorry, the manager, spoke up, Elta.
She clears her throat, taking a step forward, ahead of the rest of the club, who are all still looking around in wonder.
"Before we go to the inn at the center of town, a few things!" She begins, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
Well, mostly everyone, the shrimp is gazing at a food stand.
I give her a quick wack for good measure, causing her to let out a silent shriek, which is quickly overridden by their manager continuing to speak, "Right, so, as you are all aware, we are scheduled to stay here for a week…"
I immediately start zoning out, though, because my memory is perfect and I already know all this.
Nothing against her personally, it's just literally that. I'm not a hyperactive girl who needs reminding of these things a second or third time.
I'm actually glad she's the one doing it, since, for whatever reason, Elta elected to stay out of the band itself, and instead she was made the band's manager.
Although the cotton candy hair would make her stand out more as part of the band, wouldn't it?
Anyhow, she goes on about how the festival's preliminaries are tomorrow, how the main event is on the last day, and so on.
"...Public safety should be fine." Elta goes on, stating rather blandly at first, only for some urgency to creep in, "However, I heard that a little while ago, a Valkyrie patrol had an incident that ended with them losing a part of their memory. Act, being fully aware that this is not Kuoh Town."
The other girls seemed only slightly put off by that bit about public safety, but then that fear or concern didn't seem to stick long.
Meanwhile, I was just confused.
Memory-altering? Isn't that a pretty standard thing on this side of the world?
Thinking about it a moment more, yeah, but not within the supernatural world itself. I can't recall a time memory-altering, or outright wiping, happened outside of safeguarding the supernatural's existence from the mundane.
Weird stuff.
Also means something is definitely going to happen during this festival.
Fun!
Also. When the hell did Elta have the time to go looking for stuff like that?
Though speaking of fun…
Unlikely to be related, but in town, I can sense a certain aura, even from all the way out here.
I wonder how strong he has gotten since the last time?
"That is all for the itinerary." Elta finished at last, breaking me out of my thoughts, "Now, as the preliminaries are tomorrow, I'd advise we commence with practice for the day." She states, only to give a clearly very fake sigh, as she checks her wristwatch, "Except, it would appear we have arrived too early to check in at our inn…" She gives a small smile as she glances at everyone.
She didn't even have to ask, as one, sans Schwe for obvious reasons, everyone cried out at the same time.
"LET'S GO SIGHTSEEING!"
I chuckled, before anyone could even think to turn and ask for my permission on anything, "Go, have fun, you lot. Though if you get in trouble, just remember," I start walking away, waving as I did, "I don't know any of youuuuuu ~!"
I receive a couple of jeers and dramatic scoffs at my words, but it should be fine.
Unless something big happens, I can expect they'll be fine. Besides, I'm not here to baby them, just be their safety net, and watch over them.
Something I can do just as well while wandering around the festival!
Now, where to start…
~ A New Sun ~
I clasp my hands in front of my face, maintaining as much of a straight-laced facial expression as I could possibly muster.
"So." I start, a quick breath through my nose, as I stare right at the old guy behind the food stand. "You're selling deep-fried undead meat?"
"W-WHA- No, no!" The old man stumbled out, "It's draugr meat! DRAUGR!"
An image of the Draugr from Skyrim immediately entered my mind and refused to leave it.
"Right." I agreed with him, "Undead. That's what a draugr is, right? Your folks' version of a zombie?"
The old man continued stumbling and tripping over his own words, unable to get anything clearly out, before he finally slumped against his stand, and waved me off, "Just, j-just go, brat. Please."
Heh.
I wave the old man off, "A pleasure, sir." And turn, walking straight back into the bustle streaming throughout the festival.
Much like a big Japanese festival, there's a ton of stands, shops, and attractions laid out down a central road, in this case leading straight up to the building where I assume the music portion of the festival is going to be held.
Beyond just Norse places, like the one some old guy just tried to scam me at, there's also a bunch of clearly Japanese places, definitely a product of the whole alliance and cultural exchange thing we got going on.
Thankfully, not a single hostess club insight.
There is, however, an exorbitant number of Japanese food places.
Mostly stands for simple things like skewers, but there were also quite a few dessert and ramen places as well.
Which, you know, if people around here really do eat draugr meat, then I can see why there was such a demand for non-undead sourced food.
Okay, that's not fair. Last time I was around, the food was actually normal and pretty damn good. I have no clue where shit like draugr meat came from.
Guess they're really pulling out all the stops for tourists?
Whatever, so far so good though.
I still can't read the prison time spreadsheet that is Norse rune writing, though.
A real shame, I can only imagine the kind of puns I'm missing out on.
I stop as I hear a shriek, a small one, less shock and fear than pain or anything of the sort.
With a tilt of my head, I find the source, an older lady with a crystal ball…running away from me as far as her old little legs will take her.
Huh. Okay then?
I narrow my eyes, focusing my vision on her crystal ball, which has an image of me emblazoned in it, glaring with a golden aura wrapped around me.
Ah. I think I got it. Fortune teller, right? An actual witch, a woman who probably thought I was some random foreigner, tried to read my future and saw my divine self.
Poor lady. Serves her right, though. I wonder if I could sue?
Shockingly enough, no one else around seemed to mind or care for the old ladies' antics, so I kept on walking as before.
I figured I've explored enough by now, seen everything I really wanted to check out. Rose isn't here, so I won't be able to hit up the costume store quite yet, and there's no real point in holding this little meeting off.
My feet take me right in front of a specific ramen stand, where I then stop.
All in all, this particular ramen place doesn't look much different from the multitude of others I passed up on the way here.
The big difference? Whose inside.
Well, to be fair, it's three specific people, but in this case, I only really care about one guy in particular.
"Hmm, this stands miso ramen is fairly good, but the previous stand just down the street had better shoyu…" A familiar voice muses softly, clearly deep in thought, accompanied by a light slurping sound.
"Once again. I ask. Please." Another voice, also familiar, but far more light and tired, added, "Can we get anything else besides ramen?"
"I concur." One last familiar voice, far more posh and critical, "We've been at this for quite a while; at this rate, our upcoming training session will be rather…heavy."
"That's what I'm saying!" The second voice goes on, "So, how about we get cotton candies and candy apples?"
The third voice sputters in bewilderment, "That is not what I am referring to! At all!"
Heh. Some things never change, huh?
I step up and pull back the curtain, finding exactly the three people whom I expected.
Vali, the White Dragon Emperor, his face half buried in a bowl of ramen, with three empty bowls around him already.
Bikou, the current Monkey King, slumped against the counter with a single finished bowl right in front of him.
Lastly, there is Arthur, the scion of the Pendragon Family and Wielder of Caliburn, the English bloke is barely halfway through his current bowl.
Poor guy.
I cross my arms as I just stand there, taking in this scene. None of them, not even Bikou, has noticed me yet.
I've got my power on a real tight leash right now after all. Need to, what with all the people around and such.
Shockingly, the person tending the stand isn't in front of the counter at the moment; whoever it is, probably in the back trying to keep up with whatever Vali ordered, is my bet.
Ah, well.
"You must allow some time for-" Arthur, mid-attempting lecture, turns just a bit more, his glance brushing over me.
With that, he instantly freezes.
Honestly, I'm just glad it isn't instant rage. Maybe he did learn his lesson after all?
Bikou lazily lifts his head from the counter, finding Arthur standing there, stock still, "Hmm? What is-" He follows Arthur's gaze, and much like him, freezes upon finding me.
Except Bikou leaves his mouth hanging open comically wide.
I give the two guys a small wave and smile.
Rudely, neither returns it.
The only one left in complete unawareness so far is Vali himself.
He mumbles to himself something about the broth before taking the bowl itself, bringing it to his mouth, and knocking the rest of the contents back.
The now-empty ramen bowl is set down with a satisfied sigh from the silver-haired half-devil, "Alright. Arthur, Bikou? Shall we-"
Vali stops as he looks between his companions, seeing their shock, he turns around himself, and just like the two of them? He freezes as well, his eyes going wide.
My smile turns into a grin.
Unlike the other two, though? Vali doesn't remain frozen still, his mouth tugging upward into a smirk.
"Chuuni Dragon." I nod his way.
"Kusanagi." Vali states back with a nod of his own, "I didn't expect to see you here. Although considering all the cultural exchange with the Shinto, perhaps I should have seen it coming?"
I give him a so-so gesture, "I'm actually here chaperoning a group for the music festival, not for the cultural exchange stuff."
Vali blinks at that, "...really?" He asks, legitimately thrown off.
"Well, ya know," I shrug, "when you're so strong, and there's no one around to fight you, you find things to fill your time."
Almost immediately, even though no aura was raised, the air became thick.
Vali's gaze instantly sharpened, his smirk growing dangerous, "Is that so, Kusanagi?
Bikou groaned and flopped back down on the counter, "Not aggaaainnn…"
Arthur clicked his tongue and looked away, saying nothing.
"Mhmm." I hum out nonchalantly, "Unless, of course, you have something to say about that, Chuuni Drago?" I casually wave a finger his way.
His eye twitches, yet, to my surprise, he instead takes a breath, and seems to reign it all in, "In due time, Kusanagi, in due time. And, in fact, for that alone…I expect a rematch once this festival is over."
"Oho?" I raise an eyebrow, "After? Such restraint. Why only after the festival, if you don't mind me asking?"
At that, Vali's gaze grew significantly less competitive and far more serious, "Because we have reason to suspect an evil dragon is going to show up around here, and may potentially try…something."
Arthur's gaze snapped toward Vali, "Vali, telling him…!"
Yet, whatever Arthur was going to say, Vali waved him off, "Relax, Arthur, it won't hurt. Kusanagi won't go out of his way to leak it, or do something stupid."
Well, I see someone still has an iron pole rammed up their ass, huh?
"Yeah, I'm not sure why I would?" I huff, not really offended, just confused, but that was quickly replaced by curiosity, "Anyhow, an evil dragon, you say?"
Vali leans against the counter, arms crossed in a way I'm sure he calculated to look cool, "Indeed. Although don't misconstrue me telling you this as asking for help, Kusanagi. Should you find this evil dragon, I want you to inform me. It is mine to put down."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that. Of course, he'd call dibs, the dick.
Although I guess that's fair, since this guy was his original target to begin with.
I let out a sigh, "Fine, fine…" I wave him off as he chuckles and, feeling the tension in the air lighten, along with seeing as I'm here, I figure I may as well grab a bite to eat.
"Ramen?" I ask plainly.
Vali's eyes immediately light up, but not in that competitive battle-hungry way, "If you want ramen, personally, I recommend the stand at the street corner." He sagely advises.
I tilt my head at that, "Huh? What makes you say that?"
"They have the best tonkotsu," Vali states simply, before pushing off the counter and walking out.
I blink at that. Well, that is my favorite ramen-
Hey, hold on just a second!
"How do you-"
I barely managed to turn halfway before I was interrupted by him calling back.
"You seem like the type."
My eye twitches, and, completely ignoring the groaning of his two companions who reluctantly move to follow, I swiftly follow after him.
I don't know if I should be impressed by his deduction or offended. Maybe both. I feel like I just got profiled…via ramen?
In any case, that ramen better be delicious, or else the ass kicking he's going to receive later will be far worse than it would have been before!