Winds of Change (DxD)

Japan, Kuoh

Jin Skyward

"…Rias… C'mon…"

"Hmph!"

Haa… She won't stop moping. Rossweisse in the end, took my offer. So, she didn't become Rias's [Rook]. She's still quite upset about it. So, Rossweisse is still a Valkyrie and not a Devil, and Rias is currently missing a [Rook] and eight [Pawns].

It's been a few days since and… Well… Yeah, she's a bit huffy about it all. Every time I get close to her, she just turns away or moves. Haaa… Geez, Rias.

"Rias. I'll try to help you find new pieces, how about that? I am heading back to Asgard in a few days. I'm also planning to meet the Shinto Gods and I'll try to get in contact with the Egyptian Gods…. C'mon…"

She freezes and looks back at me with a little pout… Adorable but please, geez.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Fine…"

Chu ~

She walks back over to me, wraps her arms around my neck, and kisses me. She then starts to shower me with kisses…

"Talk about a complete change… Sheesh…"

"I'm still young!"

…

Asgard

Brynhildr

It's been a few days since Odin-sama came back from his… 'Vacation' from Japan, he has told us that the meeting was canceled since they are leaving the alliance to Jin Skyward, the Middleman. However, he will visit our realm again in a few days with the intention of signing an alliance.

With that in mind, we are currently preparing for his arrival. When he first came here it was just to formally meet him, since then… His deeds and name have spread across the supernatural world. At first glance, they seem… Admirable, almost noble.

To unite us all… However, it came out that he just did it to gain a harem. Many laughed at it but still found it admirable. I am unsure whether to call him stupid or honest. But he is still making progress with one of his recent alliances with the Greek Gods.

What draws people to him? Right now… It is obvious, but what about then? When he first started…? He is a kind and considerate person but that usually isn't enough. He isn't too charming, and his looks are above average, so what draws people to him?

Right now, as I said. His name, deeds, and achievements have spread. So, when you meet him… You have a sense— An idea of what to expect out of him I do not understand… He was too casual towards Odin-sama and his sons.

He was lazy and didn't train… No, that's my own assumption, perhaps he does train… Whatever the case, our realm is formally preparing for his arrival. He is already well-liked here by many. I can assume it will only strengthen over time.

"Brynhildr."

I turn to see…. Vidar-sama! I stop and speak with him.

"Vidar-sama, how can I help you?"

"Jin will be coming here in a few days. Father asked if you and Rossweisse could be his guides… He apparently heard he will be touring our realm more than his first few visits."

…Guide him? As in tour guides…? Will I be able to last…? I haven't met him since his first visit here, although I briefly saw him when, tch. Those two went on a date…

"Brynhildr?"

"…Yes, of course, Vidar-sama. Excuse me, I was lost in thought."

"Worry not. Jin is a man shrouded in mystery. After all, one can't blame themselves for thinking about him. Though, from what father has said, he and Rossweisse have become quite close. She may finally find herself a man! Haha, that's quite something."

"…Yes."

"Mmmm, that's all I had to say, as you were."

Vidar-sama nods to me before leaving. Jin and Rossweisse have gotten close…? My junior will have a boyfriend before me…? For some reason or another, that annoys me…

"Brynhildr-senpai!!!"

I turn around to see more of my juniors calling for me, I walk toward them… No rest here, I must continue with my work.

…

Odin

"Hmm…"

"Father was it really necessary in leaving your bodyguard— Rossweisse back in Japan?"

I looked up from the erotic book I was reading, and my son Thor, the God of Thunder asked me such a strange question.

"Of course, I see it as a necessary step for her. Both for her to grow as a person and for her to finally be with Jin. Distance isn't the problem, but if she stays as my bodyguard, their romance will move at a snail's pace."

"...…..."

"What?"

My son was staring at me like he had seen a ghost. Was what I said that strange? I'm not just a geezer and pervert you know… I can act like an actual leader from time to time…

"It's nothing, father. I did not expect that from you. But yes… I see where your reasoning is coming from. Rossweisse always looked at her phone whenever she had time."

"Bah! Of course, she was! She denied it but she was already starting to like the lad after their date!"

Thor chuckled. Of course, after the day of their date, Rossweisse was hounded by her fellow Valkyrie about many things. They questioned her relentlessly and even gave her a brand-new moniker! And it's 'The Valkyrie who tamed the Red Dragon Emperor'! Or 'The Middleman's Valkyrie girl'!

I expected Jin-boy to be aggressive but… I did not expect him to ask her on a date with her that soon. However, it's a positive thing.

"So will we join the alliance, father?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want the cultures of the factions and pantheons that are allied with Jin! Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels, Irish Gods, Greek Gods and soon-to-be Shinto Gods!"

"Did you know? I ate quite a bit of the cooking by Jin in his home, especially some Irish dishes during my stay, and my, they were delicious! He even made some Greek specialties."

"…..You're after the food then?"

"Culture! Son! The culture! The Goddesses of those pantheons are out of reach, knowing Jin. He will be after them, whether it is intentional or not."

"I have heard from Azazel-boy that he has made Artificial Sacred Gears, their technologies will also be shared with us. The Irish Gods and Greek Gods also have access to this, perhaps we may be able to create our own?"

With that, Thor's eyes lit up. Yes, Sacred Gears are usually out of reach for being other than humans or hybrids. However, it is now possible thanks to Azazel and his research.

"…Father, If I'm not mistaken, Rias Gremory's [Knight], Xenovia Quarta also had a brand-new Sacred Gear that is on par with the original thirteen Longinus. Jin was the one who crafted it, wasn't he?"

"Hmmmm, yes. I was there, I did not ask him about it, but if what that young devil said was true, then yes. Jin can create Sacred Gears with the power and potential of Longinus."

"Then should we not request him to make one? Surely, he will do it."

I see where your thinking is going, son, however…

"What kind of compensation would Jin want? My son, that's clearly more than simply wanting a kill, a capture, or other mundane requests. It's creating a tool, a weapon that can 'break' the balance of this world."

"Jin-boy is well-meaning at heart, but he doesn't do things for free. Now, if you become good friends with him, then I would assume he would do certain things for free. But we are in a unique relationship with him, as with the other factions and pantheons."

Thor nods and closes his eyes. I don't think Jin would agree to it without a hefty compensation. What would it be? I do not know… Perhaps asking for a Valkyrie? Have I or my sons do something humiliating? I can see Jin-boy doing such a thing.

"That aside, after we sign the alliance, will Jin be staying here?"

"Yes, from what he said he will be bringing Rossweisse with him here, perhaps someone else from his harem? But he will be exploring our realm more."

My son nods and begins to think. This is our main island. It's quite large. There's Rossweisse's home, which is a mix of agricultural countryside to the south and a modern city to the north.

The Dark-Elves Island, the Industrial Island with the Agricultural Island. It's the same as Rossweisse's home, except the North is the industrial part, while the South is mostly agricultural work. And finally, an Island that my sons have homes in, it's a mini-version of this Island.

"Will Jin go to the Dark Elves? Perhaps to the Dwarves working on the industrial island?"

"I don't see why not? He's certainly interested in exploring many realms created by the supernatural."

I can only hope none of my sons challenges him to a battle… It will be entertaining if they do though! Hohoho!

…

Japan, Kuoh

Kuoh Academy

Lunch

Jin Skyward

"No, you idiot, like this!"

Slam!

"No, this!"

Slam!

It was lunch and I was in the classroom. Rias hadn't called everyone to the clubroom so we were enjoying lunch in our own way. Tsubaki was there as well, although I had opted to stay in the classroom.

Najima, Kouta, and a few of the other guys had put some tables together and were playing the knockoff Yugioh card game. I wasn't playing because… I had no cards so I was just watching them.

"I summon, Pipouosu in attack mode!!!!!!"

"You need to sacrifice two cards for that, you idiot."

The other guy's facepalm. This was Kouta's first time playing the game. The card he put down had four thousand ATK and DEF… I really don't believe he's that stupid, perhaps he's just hyped?

"I synchro— Bleh!"

Kouta tried to synchro summon something and was punched by one of the other guys who lost his temper… It was a brawl. Just then Sona came in as well and frowned at the two fighting. She along with Tsubaki walked over to try and scold them but—

The other guy who hit Kouta first took a swing at her; Sona dodged it but had a look of surprise. Damn… Is this what you call a 'nerd rage'?

"Wryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Dio?! The guy howled like Dio and started frothing at the mouth. Now he was just swinging around himself wildly…. Now what will you do President Sona?! But!

Why is he looking at me?! He suddenly charged me! What the fuck?! Why?! I had nothing to do with this?!

[I mean… If you take into account your own status in the school, and you know. Akeno and Ice Princess.]

What's that got to do with the current situation?! That's one weird leap in logic! But it's kind of believable!

The guy was quickly approaching me. How do I deal with this? The guys were looking in my direction in anticipation, I glance at Sona and Tsubaki.

'What do I do?'

They had a look of shock at the sudden communication. Sona shook her head.

'As painless as possible, if you can.'

'No promises.'

The guy reached me and I quickly did a sidestep and put my foot out, making him trip and his face slammed against the wall.

"Oof my dude."

"Got 'em!"

"Sasuga— Oh shit, he's not done yet!"

I look back at the guy and he had gotten up with a bleeding nose and looking even more pissed off. Haa…. Dude, please give up. He started throwing punches at me and I say.

"Someone please get a teacher…"

Rosaweisse had already started as a teacher and... The students gave her some titles. Might as well get her, actually.

'Rose?'

'J-Jin?!'

'Where are you right now?'

'I-In the school faculty room…why?'

'Please come to my classroom, I'm currently dodging some normal human raging at me.'

'Huh?! Okay!'

Slam!

That was fast...

The door opened again and came a very angry Rossweisse with another teacher and Azazel. They tried to calm him down, and reason with him, and… Yeah, no it didn't do anything. I look at them and they gave me the okay.

"Sorry, dude."

I dodge one more punch and grab that arm. I then lift him up and slam him to the ground… The guy stopped moving after that.

"Damn, why do we need to have school drama today of all days…?"

I kneeled down and felt for a pulse. I confirmed that he was still alive and breathing. I didn't kill him, thankfully. This is self-defense, right? It is… If the parents try anything legal… I can just drag it out and make them financially broke.

{Okay, that's evil.}

It's an IF scenario, Albion, but if they really do, I will do that. Azazel and the other teacher got the knocked-out student and Rose stayed behind to ask about what had happened and why it started.

"Haaa…. How troublesome."

The classroom eventually returned back to normal. Rose and I look at each other before she left. I was sent with Najima and Kouta to the infirmary to see Griselda since she was the school nurse.

"Damn man, I didn't know you could fight."

Kouta was holding his nose while looking at me, Najima also looked curious. I just sigh at them.

"I just did some self-defense classes back in Ireland. I mean the students there get in fights way more often than here."

"Seriously?"

"I think just my school though, but I did sometimes here other schools had full-on brawls."

"Ireland's wild…"

"I think that's just western schools in general…"

We kept on talking about random crap as we finally reached the infirmary. Once we got there, Griselda was in her nurse plus nun uniform. She looked quite sexy in it… These two horndogs agreed as they just stared at them.

Smack!

"Come on you idiots, quit gawking."

"Ow! I'm the one injured here?!"

She was sitting on a stool watching our interaction. I just shook my head and pulled the two inside. Once there we explained what had happened to Griselda and she smiled at us.

"We will need to bring the other injured here, but I need to treat Kouta-kun now. Najima-kun, can you tell Azazel-sensei to bring him here?"

"Yes, Griselda-sensei!"

Najima quickly left and Griselda started treating Kouta. It was an easy fix so he was sent back to class with a large band-aid on his nose.

"How is school treating you?"

"Everyone has been nice to me…. Jin, please don't get into fights."

"Come on, Griselda… I defended myself! I even held back from retaliating until the teachers got there! You heard it from those two idiots…"

Griselda quietly giggled to herself… Haa, was she teasing me?

"Jin?"

"Hmmm?"

"You're traveling to Asgard in a few days… Are you planning on bringing anyone else apart from Rossweisse?"

"The girls know so… They just need to tell me if they want to come, if not, then it's just Rossweisse and I. I'm on good terms with everyone in Asgard, but I'll probably bring some over when I travel to Egyptian Mythology. I don't know anything about them."

"But… I probably won't bring any of the second-year girls. I think they'll need all the time they get to get prepared for their trip to Kyoto. I think Rose will go with them, as well as Azazel. I'll be in Kyoto too since I need to visit Yasaka and Kunou."

"Huhu, it's like a father away on long business trips going home."

Griselda chuckled at her own joke. I guess so? I mean we do text and call, sometimes she uses the communication feature on the ring. So it's not that problematic. Sharon also reports back to me so…

"Jin, can I come with you?"

"Sure, I don't mind. I can just make an avatar for you during our absence. I'll get back to class then. Lunch is almost over."

Griselda doesn't answer me but I do feel her gaze on my back. Huuu… I wonder why she wants to go? Well, maybe having a representative from Heaven isn't a bad thing. So there are three of us for now anyway. I'll see when the time comes.

…

After School

Occult Research Club

"You… You want me to work with you on a contract?"

"Mmm."

We were all in the clubroom and it was after school. Shirone had approached me and asked me if I could accompany her on one of her jobs. I hadn't been asked this before and I was sort of curious.

"I don't mind, but why?"

I take the sheet of paper from her… It says that the human wants to do a photo shoot. Since they have been reading the supernatural newspaper, they know the Middleman and the Red Dragon Emperor are close to this devil household.

So, a request came through to have the 'Hellcat' and 'Oppai Dragon' be in a photo shoot. He'll advertise it in the human world and the supernatural world.

"Interesting… Sure, I don't mind."

I usually hang out here after school, so the girls don't expect me to come home for another few hours. Let's see how this goes then.

"Well… It does request the both of you so it's fine."

Rias nods and doesn't mind so it's set…

…

Using the piece of paper, Shirone and I teleported into a large studio. There were various types of equipment around and the people inside were stunned that we actually came.

"Oh my! So it is real! A devil and… Uhm… The so-called Middleman?!"

"Yeah, she's the devil. Call her Koneko. I'm a humanoid dragon, the Middleman, Jin."

A flamboyant man dressed in very luxurious and colorful clothing is stunned to see us. There were also others there and they also shared the same look. He nods and continues.

"I'm Kishiro, these are my staff. Anyway, how do we proceed?"

I looked at Shirone and she explained to them what the deal was and what would happen. He didn't mind so he ushered us to change into the clothes they had prepared. From my brief glance… Nothing too outrageous.

I was put into a male's changing room and Shirone was in the females. I was alone since there were no other guys when we had teleported in. Maybe they had already gone home? I quickly got dressed and stepped out. It was some fancy-looking clothing, they probably had names for these…

Shirone also stepped out. She also looked quite fancy in hers. We snicker at each other and join back with Kishiro-san.

"Marvelous!!!! The both of you look amazing! Now come here! Let's start the photoshoot!"

…

It started and we were made to do very weird poses. One where we had to do a move in tango, others were also… Questionable, but nothing that I thought was too bad. We were then asked to change into different clothes. I quickly changed and again we were outside…

"Is it always like this when you do photoshoots?"

"...Yes…"

Ahhh…. She was used to it. She sounded a bit lifeless about it… I feel for you, Shirone. We quickly got back and another round of photoshoots happened. This carried on for at least an hour more until he was satisfied with it all.

"Thank you! As a result of this, my blog on the supernatural will skyrocket! As well as the human world!"

Shirone nods and proceeds to finalize the contract and deal with him. Once it was done, we quickly left the studio by teleporting away.

…

We had teleported back to the clubroom and… Rias was the only one there. Azazel and Griselda who had been here earlier were absent.

"Hmm? Welcome back. How did it turn out?"

"It was fine, the guy was interesting…"

"Is that so? Anyway, Azazel-sensei headed back to Grigori for something, and Griselda-sensei returned home for the day… I heard she's accompanying you to Asgard?"

Shirone puts her completed piece on Rias' desk. She tugs on my arm and we share a brief kiss before she leaves again.

"Yeah. She asked me during lunch. I didn't mind so… She's traveling with me. So far, it's her, Rossweisse, and me. If anyone else asks, they can come."

Rias makes a sigh and closes the book she was reading.

"I wish I could go…but since I need to deal with this territory, as well as be [King] I can't really leave all that often. Although Sona is here, both of us are needed. If it was the weekend, perhaps."

"I can always make an avatar for you."

She shakes her head.

"No… It wouldn't work… Haaa… Thank you though, Jin."

I shrug and make my way to her; I look at the book she was reading and…it's another Light novel. 'I've reincarnated 19 times, but on my 20th, I became a villainess! But, I'm a guy!' That's one mouthful of a title…

"A long title there, is it interesting?"

"Well… It's a guy that has to act like a girl, so yes, it's focused on comedy. No romance advertised."

Rias and I sat down on the sofa and started reading it. She wasn't too far into it so she didn't mind starting over.

…

Later that night

Skyward household

Dinner

"So I'm returning to Asgard again to form the official Alliance. That's in a few days. Griselda and Rossweisse will be coming with me. Anyone else want to go?"

Reni frowned and puffed her cheeks. It seems like she wanted to go but couldn't. I looked at her, then at her teammates. They just shook their heads.

"Azazel had to go and give us a mission! Mouuuu!!! I can't be with Jin in Asgard!"

Griselda who was beside her started to pat her back. She really was upset. I'll comfort her later… I look at Valerie and to my surprise, she shakes her head… W-What?! I'm genuinely surprised…

Shigune puts her hand up and I nod.

"Actually… Azazel said he wanted you to bring someone with you from the Fallen Angel's side… He said to call him and you'll find out that way."

What? Why? I mean… If that's the case I'll need a devil with me, but if not I'll just… Fuck it, I'll do it after dinner.

"I'll teleport over to Grigori and check for myself, after eating."

[Kukuku.]

{Huhuhu.}

???????????????? The fuck is wrong with these two?

'Brain damage.'

[No! We just have an idea of who is tagging along with you!]

....Right. It's obviously Penemue, duh. The two dragons didn't answer me but just snickered at me...??????

"I'm coming with you!"

"But—"

"With! You!"

"Okay…"

Reni insisted on going with me… It won't take too long, everyone just chuckled at her. Did she really want to go that much? ...I'll ask Azazel about it.

…

"Pfft— That looks like something out of an anime."

It was after dinner. Everyone was doing their own thing. The majority of them were in the living room as was I. Natsume pointed at me as a few girls snickered. That's right, Lavinia Reni was quite literally clinging to me like a koala to a tree. Both arms and legs were wrapped around me.

"I can feel her extensive love for me… This way…"

"Mmm!"

"A-Anyway, we'll get going. I'll see you guys in a bit."

…

Grigori

"..."

I had teleported to the lobby of Grigori. There wasn't much left here. Since Azazel did tell me that they were planning to relocate to the Underworld, in the Fallen territory. Since this place is located somewhere in the human world… I wonder what will happen when they fully leave?

"Um Reni… Are you planning to stop hugging me and walk…?"

She responded by hugging me tighter. I'll take that as a no. I looked around and checked the entire place, but there were only a few more people left. We made our way to Azazel's office. I flashed stepped there to save time and arrived there quickly.

Once there I pushed open the doors. Inside were… Azazel, Shemhazai, Penemue and… Raynare? They turn to look at me who has just stepped in.

"Oh, Jin…? What in the world is happening there?"

"She's upset that she can't go to Asgard with me, so she's trying to be with me for as much as she can before I leave."

After I explained myself, they chuckled at me with the exception of Raynare who looked nervous. I give her a nod and so does she.

"So, you came here to see who's coming with you, right? Shigune-chan should have told you."

"Yeah. So my guess is…"

I glance at Penemue but she shakes her head. During the dragons' cackling, I was surprised... I look at Raynare, and she looks back at Azazel.

"I see so, it's Raynare?"

"Yeah. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"No. It's fine, we made…. Amends. We're starting anew so it's fine. Anyway, here. I'll notify you through this."

I give her my phone number; she nods and I turn away.

"That's all then, see you then. Oh right, what will happen to this place after you fully leave, Azazel?"

"I mean, put it up for rent or sell it… Money is money after all."

"I see."

After leaving the room, we didn't immediately go home, so Reni became confused and poked me.

"We're not going home yet?"

"Just gotta check if Shuri and Baraqiel are still here."

I quickly flash stepped to their home and… Yeah, it's gone. Nothing but empty space there. So, they moved to the Underworld already, huh?

"They're not here."

"Yeah. It seems they're already in Fallen territory in the Underworld. Let's go home then."

…

Jin's soul

"I'm here then."

[Partner.]

{Jin.}

The two dragons were in their human forms and were playing chess. Cúntóir was watching from afar and Rudra was the arbiter, I guess? Anytime Ddraig tried to pull an 'illegal' move, Rudra slapped his head.

"Jin. So, are you ready to try making contact with Velgrynd?"

This caught the attention of the others, who set aside the chess board and came over to us. Rudra especially looked eager… He had this glint in his eyes.

"I mean… That's why I'm here, right? So what do I have to do?"

"Kiss me."

"E-Excuse me?"

I was taken aback by Cúntóir's demand, even the other three were looking at her strangely. She giggles to herself and shakes her head.

"Forgive me, I was joking. I just need to hold your hand, Jin."

She steps towards me and holds both my hands with hers. She closes her eyes and…. Well, nothing happened. I get it, it takes time. So we'll just wai—

Kshkshkshkshkshksh!!!

Behind Cúntóir, white clouds, or puffs of smoke start appearing. A figure of a female starts to materialize and…

"Velgrynd…"

Velgrynd started to appear. The azure blue hair was kept in twin buns with black ribbons and deep gold eyes. She wore a dark-colored qipao dress with a golden dragon pattern as well as white long gloves and white thigh-length boots both adorned with gold ornaments.

She looked confused as she frantically looked around— Until she spotted all of us and her eyes widened.

"Ru…dra? Two Rudras? What's going on?"

Rudra walks over to her and explains the situation to her. Cúntóir opens her eyes and looks at Velgrynd too. Once he was done explaining things to her, she had a pained expression on her face. She looked at Rudra and back at me and sighed.

"…I don't accept it. There has to be a different way."

"Unfortunately, my soul has come to its end. I can't be reincarnated or be saved. Once a soul has run its full course…then we can't do much about it. I also reincarnated myself numerous times, Velgrynd. That definitely did more damage than anything else."

"He is correct, Velgrynd."

Cúntóir joins in their conversation. She looks at Cúntóir with a complicated expression.

"Since Rudra basically reincarnated himself over and over, his soul was damaged over many times. If he let the natural process of reincarnation happen then he would still have many years left in him."

Rudra laughed as he shook his head.

"So it was my fault, wasn't it? We can't change the past, nevertheless. I'll leave her to you, Jin."

Velgrynd scrunched up her face and looked at me. Her emotions and feelings were confused. Right now, I was also 'Rudra' but 'Rudra' was also beside her, so she didn't know what to think. After all, I did fuse with one of his soul fragments.

"…I need time to process this… Where am I actually?"

"Inside my soul. You're not physically here… I would think you're still traveling the multiverse…. Rudra did you tell her about…?"

He shook his head.

"I thought I would leave that to you. Come, the three of us will talk about it. Excuse us for a bit, you three."

Rudra looked at the two dragons and Cúntóir, they didn't mind so the three of us walked over to a different corner of my soul. When I first came here, I had changed this part.

"…It's peaceful in here."

"You can thank Jin for that. He changed it."

"I see."

I felt like a third wheel here in a way. Velgrynd felt a bit… Hostile to me? Haaa…. Whatever. I just need to explain what has been happening to her. We arrived at an empty spot, so I snapped my fingers and created a bench.

Rudra sat in the middle, I was to his left and Velgrynd to his right.

"Now… Where do we start?"

"I would say the beginning."

Rudra and I looked at each other before chuckling. And so we did. From what Rudra could remember and what I could remember. We relayed to Velgrynd what had happened so far, my death, who and what reincarnated me, the real truth to her. Rudra's involvement and recent events.

She had a range of emotions during it, but her previous hostility to me was gone and it had been directed to Nyarlathotep. But that didn't mean we became best friends.

"Those two males were dragons? They seemed quite strong."

"I'm more surprised you hadn't had an outburst yet."

"You can thank Cúntóir for that, as well as me. I believe she is being forcefully calmed down in here."

Rudra looks at me and closes his eyes, and then opens them back up.

"It seems so, haha."

"I'm not that bad!"

"Yes, you are."

"Khhh!!!"

Velgrynd blushed as she glared at me… Wait what? Why me?

…

A few minutes later she got up after talking about more things, which both of us found confusing.

"Where are you off to?"

"If what you said is true then I want to fight those two, no, I want to fight Jin as well."

"That's not possible."

Cúntóir had appeared and told her that. Velgrynd looked confused so Cúntóir continued.

"As I previously mentioned, you are physically not here… You could say you're here spiritually, like a hologram, try touching Rudra."

She does as what Cúntóir told and…. Her hand passes through him. She seemed a bit surprised and tried again, and again, and again…. This repeated for a few minutes as she looked quite distressed. She finally stomped her foot like an angry child and huffed.

"When will I be able to meet Rud— Jin?"

"…Once he evolves, it will be soon, I believe. However, you can come back here like this if you wish to speak to us."

"I see…"

Velgrynd didn't look too disappointed. I mean she can see Rudra again so it wasn't so terrible. Also, she nearly called me Rudra… I feel like that's bound to be a recurring thing.

"Jin, Cúntóir, can you leave us to chat for a bit? I wish to tell Velgrynd some things."

"Sure thing."

Cúntóir and I left. I carried her, and she looked satisfied with herself. When we got there, huh. I didn't expect them to be here. Ddraig and Albion weren't alone. I could see Elsha, Belzard, Amaris and Garrett.

"Oh! The man of the hour has come back!"

Garrett was the first to notice us and he exclaimed, notifying the rest. We walked towards them after I landed near them.

"Hey there, Garrett, been a minute. I didn't expect to see all of you here."

[Uwoo…. Partner…. This is like a dream…!]

Ddraig bear hugs me and starts comically crying…. What in the world is happening?

"You've found yourself an interesting wielder, Albion."

Garrett pats Albion on the shoulder and he sighs.

{Jin is an interesting individual, never a dull moment around him.}

"It's been some time, Jin."

Elsha—

Boing ~ Boing ~

"…"

"Eyes up here, mister."

Elsha had leaned forward, and her chest jiggled making me look at them. When I looked back up, she had a small smile on her face.

"Yeah…"

Everyone started to speak to one another, Garrett and Belzard wandered off and started to have their own conversation. Everyone else stayed with each other, with the exception of Amaris as she had gone away and was staring at the scenery in front of her by herself.

Nudge ~

I felt someone nudge me, I turn around to see Albion gesture with his head to go to her… Sure, whatever… I walk over to Amaris and we stare at the scenery together. If I'm not mistaken her first name has a few meanings…

In Hebrew, it means 'Promised by God', and in old Irish, 'Child of the Moon'.

"Hey, Amaris… Do you have a hobby for sky gazing?"

I see the corners of her mouth form into a smile—

"Is it because of my name?"

"Just a hunch…"

"I do… I remember looking at the sky a lot when I was alive. This place isn't bad, you also have the same hobby, Jin?"

"Yeah, I like it."

We fall into silence again. I didn't really know in what to talk about to her… She's a mystery, the same with Garrett. I did just meet them recently. All I know is these two were the strongest White Dragon Emperors before Vali came to be.

"You're Irish, yes? How's Ireland these days?"

"Same old, same old, nothing much changed… Drunk teens doing their thing…"

"I see… Jin, Garrett already said it but, use [Divine Dividing] more."

"I know, the next few places and fights I'll have I'll use it more. I already revealed I have my own to the supernatural, so I don't need to hide it anymore."

Satisfied with my answer, she taps me on the shoulder and walks back to everyone. Another mysterious person…what secrets do you hold? I just shake it off and join back with the others. It seems like those two aren't done talking yet.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!"

"....?????"

When I arrived at the bench— Belzard and Garrett were shouting 'chug' towards Ddraig who was downing… A large bottle of beer? I look at Cúntóir and she just shook her head disappointedly. No, not just her… The rest of the females felt the same.

"What happened? How did we even…"

"I don't know… One thing led to another and Ddraig is now chugging beer."

Elsha answered me as we look on at the rowdy bunch. Albion was also then pulled into it, he looked really uncomfortable— But Garrett just shoved a large bottle of beer towards him and he reluctantly started drinking it.

"What's happening here…?"

I glance to my side to see Rudra and Velgrynd had returned… She had puffy eyes, was she crying? Rudra sees me and he smiles sadly at me. I'll ask him another time then…

The rest of my time inside my soul was relatively peaceful… Velgrynd eventually had to go. Rudra and I saw her leave. But before she walked away, she was staring at me intently… Um… Did I do something?

"...Because Rudra said so, I will go along with it. I will be interacting with you more, Jin Skyward."

Rudra shook his head and sighed. I guess that's not what he wanted her to say?

"Let's try getting along from now on."

"Sure thing."

She nods and disappears. She and Cúntóir were speaking earlier, from the small bits and pieces I heard, it had something to do with how she could come back here. Cúntóir also… Did something, so I guess it ties into that?

"Uh…"

"Let her be, it will take her time to adjust to this. As I mentioned before she's quite a hotheaded individual, she cares not for complicated plans and schemes. She's also very loyal to me, but seeing as how you're also 'me' in a way…. Well we'll see in the future."

"You have a very strenuous and complicated future ahead of you, Jin. I wish you luck, for however long I have here… I will lend you, my aid. Do not hesitate to ask me."

"Sure thing. Rudra."

He holds his hand up for a fist bump, I chuckle and bump fist with him…

…

A few days later

Japan, Kuoh

Jin Skyward

"….Uuu…."

"Haaa…."

Reni was genuinely sad and heartbroken that she couldn't go with me… I had asked Azazel about it and… He wouldn't budge in the mission thing. She was crying and I felt like shit… God… It's adorable though, does that make me a bad person…?

But seriously, what is happening? She wasn't the only one like this… I look at Akeno and Kuroka… Yeah, those two.

"Haa…."

"I don't want to eat anymore nya…."

Kuroka was curled up into a ball as Shirone was trying to comfort her, while Akeno was just lying on the couch with zero energy and motivation in doing anything… They had been like this the last few days…. Cúntóir, any ideas?

Cúntóir: Answer: Perhaps it's because of your bond with them? They just feel less motivated with the thought of you gone. They are the ones that's been with you the longest.

Chu ~

"Mmm… ~"

I give Reni a quick kiss and say.

"If you can get your mission done quickly then just call me and I can—"

"Yes! Natsume! Shigune! Let's go!!"

Reni gave me another peck on the lips before she grabbed both girls and teleported away. The two didn't have enough time to react and had looks of shock. I turn to the rest—

"I promise to try and return home as soon as I can. Kanami, you have free rein… If you have any questions just ask the girls. Anyway, I'll see you guys soon."

"Roger that, boss!"

Another one that started to call me boss… I shook my head and teleported to Asgard.

…

Asgard

I had teleported to Asgard with Raynare, Rossweisse, and Griselda. I had contacted Raynare the night before and told her to have someone teleport her to my home at a specific time. Azazel took it upon himself to make sure she got there on time.

Her powers were still sealed so… I have to protect her for however long I'll be here. As we teleported in… The Valkyrie guards look at us and smiled, they had no problems in letting us through.

"Welcome back, Jin-san."

"Yeah, glad to be back."

I greet them as we walk past them— Once through the entrance…I was greeted by a very lively and crowded Asgard. Is some festival happening or something? The other two were also amazed by it, Rossweisse was the only one not affected by it.

"Rose? Is a festival happening?"

The silver-white-haired beauty shook her head…. Then what's happening? I doubt they'd do all this just for me… It would be absurd.

"Brynhildr-senpai messaged me, this is being done because of the alliance that's going to be signed."

So that old geezer is agreeing to it! He definitely won't let something like this pass… Being able to exchange culture between these factions, he did get a taste for some Irish food from me, as well as Greek ones.

"Let's get going then… They'll need to read over the documents. They'll keep increasing as more factions and pantheons join the alliance. But I do try to just keep the relevant things in it."

"I saw you preparing it the last few days… The amount has increased since I saw you present it to the Greek Gods."

"Yeah, I did discuss these with the other leaders. Mainly the Three Great Powers, I then sent some copies with updated info on them to the allies with us. Anyway, it's not too many. Originally Azazel and Sirzechs had around five hundred pages worth of crap to read through."

It was small when the Three Great Powers first signed it, then it increased when I formed an Alliance with the Irish Gods, West Youkai Faction and then Greek Gods.

"How much did you reduce it too?"

"Two hundred and one. It's still a lot but… I believe most of it is relevant. The things I removed can be communicated through word of mouth. Or I can answer those questions for them."

I answer Griselda's question but she still looked shocked. Yeah, five hundred down to two hundred and one. It'll only keep on increasing you know? I grab Raynare's hand and she looked mortified.

"Since your powers are still sealed, I need you to be as close to me as possible. I can't have you die, so you'll be stuck to me until we leave this realm."

"…O-O-Okay…"

Since we're here to conduct business, Raynare was wearing an all-black business suit, Rossweisse had her usual outfit and Griselda wore her nun outfit since I guess that's what she typically wears?

"Alright, let's get going."

We start walking towards Odin's home and I was greeted by many people there, they ranged from youkai's to Valkyries and human magicians? Were they from Grauzauberer or just solo magicians? Maybe they heard that I was coming here and also came here themselves…

Griselda and Raynare were looking around the place as it was the first time they were here, it did look quite well. But I'll also be like then once we explore more of this realm… Floating islands in different sizes that are in the void. I wonder if they have water flowing down into the void too?

It didn't take us long to reach his home and the guards there also let us through. We step through the entrance and—

"Welcome back, Jin, Rossweisse."

Brynhildr was there, she was wearing her suit this time and she nodded at us. I guess we're following her.

"How have you been, Bryn?"

"…I have been well, well done in stopping Loki-sama. He is currently sealed underneath this island, we are also thankful for those seals you gave us to use, Jin."

Right. After the battle and after I repaired that place, I accompanied Odin back to Asgard, he led me to some sort of room beneath his home and there was some sort of crystal there. Loki was placed in it, and he as well as his sons' added seals onto it. For added protection I also added some of my own, so if the Khaos Brigade tries to recruit him… It'll be impossible to break him out.

I also added seals to the room… Hel, his daughter can't enter it, she can only look through the doorway…. It didn't take long for us to reach the same room as I had been to multiple times. Brynhildr pushes them open and we all step through.

Unlike the last time, she joined us instead of leaving… On the table in front of me were several Norse Gods, some I recognized and some I didn't. Therefore, I used [Observe] on them. Odin, Vidar, Thor, Freyr, Baldur, Hel, Gna, Fulla, Hlin, and Surtr. There were also other… Higher-ups there. They looked stiff.

Vidar is a very tall and somewhat rugged-looking man with shoulder-length, unkempt blond hair, a beard, and blue eyes. The jacket he wears is sophisticated. It has an orange, fur-laced coat bearing several belts and crosses. Each leg of his pants also has a cross to match the jacket. He also wears black fingerless gloves.

Baldur has long straight light blonde hair and green eyes. Baldur's outfit consists of a white blazer with gold embroidery. He wears it with a white dress shirt and a blue tie. He also wears it with a black-grey vest and a black belt with a sun logo as the belt buckles. His pants are grey colored dress pants and he wears it with white boots.

Hel is a beautiful woman with a tall figure with long white hair with red eyes and wears a Nordic Goddess gothic dress.

Surtr has long wild red hair, and orange eyes. He has golden ornaments on his wrists and neck. He's also wearing some kind of red toga? With a green-colored wing attachment… He certainly looked the most unique out of everyone. He was also drinking wine out of a golden cup.

Gna, Full and Hlin were all wearing maid costumes, they each were different.  Hlin has long blonde hair that stopped at her waist, she has red eyes. Fulla has short white hair and had… Almost hazy blue eyes, she had two swords on her waist. Finally, Gna has long green braided hair that also stopped at her waist, she also has green eyes.

"Hohoho! Jin-boy you finally arrived! You've also brought companions! And Rossweisse!"

Odin says that as Brynhildr goes to stand behind him, so she's his new bodyguard, huh? While also being the strongest Valkyrie…how do you even manage?

"O-Odin-sama…"

"Oh right, you're fired, Rossweisse. Though I would guess you figured that out."

Everyone on the table shook their heads as Odin laughed as per usual. Rossweisse sighed but wasn't too bummed out about it. She's currently a teacher in Kuoh as well as… My first employee, I guess? I mean I do pay her, so…

"I'm here, Odin. So, should we get on with it?"

"Straight to the point, I see… Very well, Jin. Let's—"

Bang!

As soon as I heard those words… I snapped my fingers and summoned the documents from my [Inventory] onto the table they were on, a few of the higher-ups got a fright. Odin looked at the number of documents he had to go read through and his eye twitched…

"…A-All of this…?"

"Odin…this was originally five hundred pages. I had to go through that myself and keep anything relevant…if Azazel and Sirzechs had their way…. You'd be going through five hundred instead. This is all two hundred and one pages. Take it or leave it…"

"…I'll take my chances with two hundred then, very well. All of you grab five pages each and start reading!"

Vidar looked like he was going to pass out, Thor and Baldur just chuckled… Hel looked like she wanted to kill me. The rest did as they were told… If I remember correctly… Gna, Fulla, and Hlin are maids for Odin's family…

"Jin-boy, are you interested in my family's maids?"

".....I can't even look at women before people start assuming that, huh?"

"Hohoho!"

He didn't even answer me and just laughed. The three maids look at me and smile before they go back to reading, whatever… We're not needed here so we'll leave.

"We'll get going then, I'll come back when you're all done."

"Yes… Yes…"

He waved his hand at me as he was busy reading. I shrug and start walking out of there, I pulled Raynare along as she was shaking like a leave in front of those Gods. Even more so since she had no power.

Grab ~ Squeeze ~

"Are you?"

"Huh?"

Rossweisse looked a bit concerned? She had grabbed my arm and hugged it…. Please don't tell me you're talking about what Odin said?

"…I just looked at them, Rose…"

I just shook my head and tried to move this conversation along.

"Well, take this as a holiday. I want to explore this place a little bit more. We'll also be going to your home island and meeting Göndul, right?"

"Ah— Ah ye-yes… We'll be meeting granny."

"Hmmm, we get to meet Rossweisse-sensei's grandmother? I wonder if she has pictures of you when you were a child~"

Rossweisse turned red and Griselda's teasing... I didn't think she would start teasing her all of a sudden… I shook my head and kept on walking, Raynare was silent since she had no idea in how to respond to this. At least she's behaving…

Open ~ Close ~

We heard the door behind us open and close, as well as footsteps quickly approaching us. The girls looked behind us.

"Brynhildr-senpai?"

"I have been assigned to be Jin's guide and escort throughout his stay… Wherever he goes, I do too."

Brynhildr joined us as she explained why she had run to join us. An escort, huh? I guess this is my group for now… If Reni, Natsume, and Shigune finish their mission on time, then I'll have even more here.

"Hmm… Then, I guess, we're going to explore this island more before we go to Rossweisse's home island!"

""Then I'll guide us.""

Rossweisse and Brynhildr say that at the same time. Both of them stop and look at each other… A weird tension suddenly appears.

"…Let's just walk around… I've been here before but not everywhere."

Not wanting some kind of weird fight to happen I interrupt their stare down and suggest that. The two of them turn to me and then back to each other before they nodded. I guess that settles that, huh?

…

"Oh? Ye here for food lad? Been a while! Ye got even more famous, eh?"

I had decided to pay a short visit to the small place that Rossweisse and I had eaten at before. It looks like Andvari is doing well… Hell, his business seems to be booming.

"Oh just stopping by, it's still too early for that…unless you do takeouts, Andvari."

"Unfortunately, not yet lad. But me wife's been telling me to start it up. I'm considerin' it."

Wife? He has a wife? She wasn't here last time… I see him grin and pat me on the shoulder before turning to another customer who had come up for something.

"Aye, we have been married fifteen years. Thanks to the teleportation pads and the magical trains on each island, getting from place to place is quite easy. Even for us lot that ain't too good with magic."

Teleportation pads and magical trains? And here I thought Asgard was behind a few years…I guess not. Andvari keeps helping the customer until he was done and looks back at us to continue.

"Aye, I believe our home is in the same place as Odin's bod— Former bodyguard. Even in the same little town. We have a little diner there too."

I look at Rossweisse and she nods.

"Granny and I go there frequently. In a way, we're regulars…anyway, Mama Mia is as good of a cook as Andvari."

Mama Mia?

[Here I go again!]

{My my!}

'...'

The two dragons break into a song and I forcefully cut the link. I didn't want to hear that….

"I see, well I guess we're going there for dinner then. Anyway… We'll get going then. Maybe before I leave, I'll come here for some grub."

"Ye better lad!"

We start to leave as I wave my hand to him. Odin and now me, because we go to this place, it got even more popular. If that kangaroo idiot waited he'd be like that too… Whatever, he's a lost cause now.

Once we were out in the streets, we got a few glances and greetings. I look around trying to find….well the pads.

"Hey, so… How do we find those pads? I mean I won't go yet but it won't hurt to know."

Rossweisse points to a certain building that had a glowing rock in it.

"If you see those, that's where they are at, Jin. There are four on this island as they split into the other four islands. There's one in the North, South, East, and West on this island. My home… We take the south one."

I nod and glance at Brynhildr. She sees this and sighs.

"…My home is to the west."

"Cool. If we have time, maybe we can have a pit stop."

She doesn't answer me so I left it at that. Time to explore a bit more then… After that, we went around the main island of this realm. It was a lot more unique than I had thought. There was a 'Red-light district area' courtesy of Odin and Vidar. I, well, we did go there briefly but quickly left.

While there weren't any Valkyries… There were other beings there, youkai, and what surprised me was some fallen angels and monsters. But it was quite populated even in the morning. Horny transcends all, right?

There was a pool center but we didn't go since… Well, Rose said we couldn't. Probably because they didn't have any swimsuits. But there were a lot of shops for weapons and armor. Quite a lot of them were being run by dwarves…

According to Rossweisse and Brynhildr, the Dwarves mostly live in Rose's northern part of her island, the industrial and agricultural island, and the Dark Elves Island. They apparently get along so they share it.

…

It's been around two hours… Rossweisse received a call from her granny an hour ago and said that we should just arrive for lunch since she's cooking it. That's why we decided to extend our tour here.

Raynare had been silent for all of it, but her emotions didn't lie, she was fascinated by all of it. An excited glint in her eyes all the way through. At times like this, she seems like a normal girl, huh?

We had arrived at that building with the glowing rock, inside it was mostly white marble with fancy furniture in it. Not many people were there, but a Valkyrie stepped onto it and she vanished, a purple and red portal appeared behind her and sucked her in.

"Is that, instantaneous or…?"

"It will take ten seconds to reach the islands."

"I see."

Seeing as no one else was there… We stepped onto the pad, when idle it glows a soft red, but when activated it glows green. Once everyone was one it turned green and the portal appeared behind us and we were sucked in.

If…I had to compare this transportation to something I previously knew about… Then it's like the warp in Borderlands 2 when using the Fast Travel. We were flying through a purple and blue world and like what Rossweisse said… It only took around ten seconds…

…

We had arrived at a similar-looking place and like over at the main island, not many people were here. Rossweisse and Brynhildr left the pad first followed by Griselda, Raynare, and I. We go out of the building and—

Fwoshh ~ Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiingggggg!!!!!

This island's breeze hit us and…a large city was in front of us. In front of us were many buildings, however, unlike the ones on the main island, they all practically looked the same. The roofs were all colored in red and the walls were white. They all ranged in different sizes…

Rossweisse and Brynhildr started walking and we followed them. I briefly look behind me and there was a giant rocky wall behind us, is that where we came from? Also, there were buildings on and on top of the giant cliff.

"I didn't know there were animals here."

"What did you think our realm was like…?"

The two women gave me weird looks and I shrug… I mean I don't know? I didn't exactly expect the Irish God's realms to look like they did, the same with the Greek God's realm…

Like the main island, there were many shops here and everyone carried on with their normal lives. But I could see there were more dwarfs here unlike on the main island. I wonder how many will be on the Dark Elves Island and industrial island?

"You heard the train earlier, right?"

"Yeah."

"We will use that to go down south. It should take around an hour to travel max. This island is quite substantial after all. The rest vary in size, but I do believe this is the largest, the main island is the second largest."

I see, we continue to walk as Rossweisse and Brynhildr told us about this place. We eventually come to a different part, in front of us was a small bridge, to the far left…I could see rails, is that where the train was? So, we're going towards the train station then…. Why didn't they just make those portal things for transportation? Well, whatever…

Below the bridge was…water? Wait, a river?"

"You guys even build artificial rivers, huh? Does this flow off into the void? Like the ones on the main island?"

"Yes. However, this river is quite long as it goes from north to south. You will see it in Rossweisse's home."

Heeee, that's pretty cool…is there a river like that in the human world? The one that comes to mind is the Amazon River, but I think that's longer?

"Fish here! Fresh!"

"Like socks? I do! Why do you think I sell it?"

"River tour! Just five euros per person!"

A guy just selling socks…? And a river tour… I didn't think they would have something like that. Even on the bridge as we walk on it, there were many merchants trying to sell things, even some food vendors… The street food of Asgard…

…

As we were approaching the train station—

"Rossweisse?"

A voice call's out Rose's name. We turn to our left and see a male and female. The female looked like an older version of Rossweisse. She had the same silver-white hair, her eyes were emerald green in color. She— I would assume is also a Valkyrie since she was wearing her battle armor.

Beside her was a middle-aged man… He had short bushy brown hair, blue eyes, and a small beard. He was human but… I could feel his lifespan wasn't normal. I wonder what that's about? He wore a grey business suit.

"M-Mother! F-Father?!"

They both smile at her and approach her. They hug briefly before her mother sighed.

"Brynhildr, it's been a while. I take it you're well? I hope Rossweisse isn't causing too much trouble."

"Yes, I have been well, ma'am… Rossweisse has been easy to deal with and a very hard worker."

"I see, that's good to hear. Who might these be, Rossweisse?"

Brynhildr and her mother had been talking and finally, they turn their attention to us. Rose nods.

"T-This is Jin Skyward, he's the middleman and Red Dragon Emperor. He's here to make the alliance official… Though he's currently out since he gave Odin-sama and everyone else documents to read through…"

They both gained a surprised look and smiled.

"I see… The Middleman, it's an honor to meet you. You're a lot younger than I thought you would be."

Her father puts her hand out for a handshake and we shook hands. Her mother did the same thing.

"My apologies, I'm Resi, Rossweisse's mother, this is my husband, Willermus. We were on our way back to our jobs… Forgive us Rossweisse…"

Rose shakes her head.

"N-No! It's fine, it's an honor to work with our Gods… I understand, don't worry! G-Granny and I are usually fine back home…"

They both had apologetic smiles aimed at Rose, they hug her one more time.

"Thank you for being understanding…we have to get going now. Until we meet again, Rossweisse, Brynhildr, and Midd— Jin."

They nodded before walking away from us. I glance at Rossweisse and she had a very nostalgic look on her. She closed her eyes before looking back at us.

"Now then, let's get going. Our train should be arriving soon."

…

The train station didn't look anything too fancy; it was like any other one in the human world. Platforms, benches, and the like. We had our tickets and were waiting for it—

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinggggggggg!!!!!!!!

To arrive— Never mind. The train looked like the bullet trains of the human world, with a round nose, slick white design, and the works. We wait for the ones inside to get off and enter. We find a bunch of seats that were unoccupied and sat there.

Rossweisse and Raynare sat beside me while Griselda and Brynhildr were across from us.

"So, an hour's journey ahead of us, huh? What can you tell us about your little town, Rose?"

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiingggggg!!!!!!!!

That was quick, the train rang again and the ones who were slow about getting in or buying their tickets started to rush and get in. After waiting a few seconds, the door started to close, and then—

Zoom!!

"Wha—"

The bullet train rocketed forward! Raynare was caught off-guard and she started to fly forward but since I was holding her hand the entire time, I caught her and pulled her back.

"Are you okay?"

"…Y-Yes, sorry…"

I lean back in my seat and look at Rossweisse. Looks like she was waiting for the train to start before she told us.

"…It's nothing special. I lived with my grandmother, Göndul since my parents were away at work for most of my life. It's a small to medium-sized town in the countryside. There are quite a lot of rice fields, the town itself isn't anything special and… Granny's home that's just a little bit outside it."

"Above the town… Is something new."

She looks at me and smiles.

"Once Thor-sama lost against you, he…. Um, he made a small castle above our town, he raised the earth and built it there. Now, he doesn't stay there that often, but when he does… It gets quite hectic there."

"Why?"

Rossweisse shook her head. I guess she doesn't know the reason… No, I think he made it because of Odin's comment? About me taking her all those months ago.

"Apart from that, it's like any other town. A few shops here and there, homes, and a lot of greenery, open space, and mountains. It's a quiet place…"

Rose had that nostalgic look on her again. I guess she loves that place, huh? She's also a granny's girl to boot…

…

It's been around fifty minutes and we're close to her home. I mean, in the last ten minutes, the view from the window has mostly been a lot of open fields and nature. So I would assume we were close… Everyone else had fallen asleep, so Raynare and I were the only ones awake.

But the views I saw on the way here were something… There was a small, how do I say this… Border, I guess? Somewhere in the middle… It was quite obvious where north and south ended. Once all the modern buildings and the 'city' life ended, there was a lot of nature.

Trees, animals, and the like were everywhere, there were also a few small towns here and there, but it was mostly nature towards the south. Rossweisse said some of those towns were mostly youkai and other beings residing in them.

"…How have you been?"

"Good…"

Raynare answered me but didn't take her eyes off the window. How do I even talk to her normally? Even while in my home for a short time, she was nervous and looking at Asia. The girl had already forgiven her.

I tried to continue the conversation but… She gave me one-word answers or just shrugs, so I stopped. I guess I'll try another time.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiingggggggg!!!!!

The train rang out once again, the girls slowly woke up due to it. Rose looked out the window and smiled. I follow suit and, so that's her little town, huh? While we were still far… It did look small, the castle was on an elevated hill on the left.

Beneath it was the town and beside the town was a large lake, I could see the sun glimmering off its surface. Behind the town were many rice fields and around it were mountains and just trees. Can't wait to explore it.

…

It took around two more minutes but we reached the station for Rossweisse's town. It was normal, a little run down, but normal. No one else got off.

"Lead the way, Rose."

We weren't near it, the place where the platform for the bullet train was quite far from it.  But it had some shade above it, as well as the natural shade from the trees around the place.

"Yes, follow me."

Brynhildr and Rossweisse walked in front of us as they spoke. They left us to just take in the surroundings as we walked. After the initial sea of trees, we come to a small clearing and we had a better view of the fields…. It seemed, well, endless.

"T-There isn't much here so I suggest we fly there…"

The rest didn't have any problems with it but seeing as how Raynare can't fly I had to carry her. Rossweisse and Brynhildr started to float and Griselda let her Angel wings out. Since I promised them, I let out my [Divine Dividing] out. Raynare looked surprised.

"...Huh?! H-H-H-H-H-H-How do you have that?!"

"Don't worry about it, anyway, let's go."

…

It didn't take us long but, we eventually reached one of the entrances to the town, we flew over a little bridge that wasn't too far from there, we also flew over a house, it looked like a Japanese house…. Rose said she enjoyed quite a lot of here youth there… Whatever that meant.

We landed and I let Raynare down, she was a blushing mess the entire time. That's the most I got from her…

"By the way, Rose…where does Göndul live at?"

"We flew over it actually… It's back over there."

"Oh, the Japanese house we flew over?"

She smiles and nods. So, we're checking out the town first, huh? We quickly enter the town and it was normal. Old wooden houses with brown, black, or red roofs. The ground was made out of stone but…  It had wear and tear in them since there were a few cracks, small plant life, and flowers were strewn about.

"Rose-chan!"

"Oh, Rossweisse is back!"

"Big sis Rossweisse is back!!!!!"

Suddenly the town folks recognized Rossweisse and started greeting her. She blushed and waved to them. Is Rossweisse popular in her hometown? A few of the locals came up, they even recognized Brynhildr and greeted her too.

We sat back and let them catch up and talk for a little bit. Eventually, a big enough crowd had gathered that they noticed, Griselda, Raynare, and I.

"Big sis Rossweisse, who are they?"

A young boy pointed at us. Rossweisse giggled and pat the boy on the head. The other adults also look at me, a few eyes widening… Probably figuring out who I am.

"That man is the Middleman and Red Dragon Emperor. He beat Thor-sama a few months ago, remember?"

The kids' eyes got wide and then—

"Oppai Dragon!!!!!"

I smiled at the kid and my mouth twitched. Whatever… They're happy about it. The kids started to gather around me and started to sing the Oppai song… I humored them for a few minutes until the parents whisked them away.

"I won't ever get used to that…"

"You did well, Jin."

I awkwardly smiled at Griselda as she tried to praise me. Well, at least I'm getting money out of this gig…even if I'm not exactly the one acting. The merchandise and all that… Though I have no use for it. I'll just save it up so I can pay my employees in the future, or donate them to orphanages or charities…

"Let's keep going, shall we?"

We nod and follow the two Valkyries around the small town. There was a single blacksmith shop here, but… It's beside the local tavern and it's just a glorified extension to the tavern. Apparently, in the rare cases, someone does order a weapon or armor, the one running it is quite skilled.

Most of the buildings in the town were either houses, apartments, or small businesses. There was only one hospital here and a large square for the market. It's quite active even now, but it's usually crowded during the morning or towards the evening.

'Crowded' in terms of this little town… Like the other places I've visited, the lights are floating and are powered by Norse magic. There is a school here but, it just teaches normal subjects and not anything about fighting.

If they wanted to do that, they would need to go to the main island or find someone to help train them and apply to be a Valkyrie or some form of work for the Norse Gods. Rossweisse leads us somewhere… We find ourselves in front of a certain shop, it was the tavern.

We go inside and it was like the one on the main island… Could this be Andvari's wife's diner? Once we go inside, there were also a few patrons in there. They turn to look at us and cheer.

"It's Rossweisse! Looks like she brought home a boyfriend!"

They burst into laughter, but someone interrupts them—

"Wait a minute… The boyfriend is… The Middleman guy! Woah! Rossweisse struck gold, huh?!"

Another round of laughter, Rossweisse just laughed along with them. None of the teasing seemed hostile, so this was probably a common occurrence.

"It's been a while, everyone… Is Mama Mia here today?"

I glance around and could only see younger staff working, I also check with [Observe] and found no one called 'Mia'.

"Nope, she said she got a call from your grandmother, actually! Maybe she's over there helping?"

"Mama Mia went to granny?"

I see… I put it together, and so does Rossweisse. Maybe Göndul asked Mama Mia for help in making lunch? I mean we are arriving today, so it makes sense.

"I-I see, thank you, Indi."

"No problem!"

They all went back to drinking and talking among themselves. We quickly left the tavern once we found out about Mama Mia's situation.

"So, are we going to your home now? It's nearing the time most people have lunch."

"Y-Yes! Let's fly back! We can come back here before we leave for wherever you like to go next."

I nod and we fly up into the sky. Once we did, a few kids saw me and waved to us, we quickly fly towards Rossweisse's home. The closer we got… The more we could see of it. It really was designed like a traditional Japanese home…

We land by the gates and take in the sight of her grandmother's home. The pathway was made out of small rocks and pebbles. There were also larger rocks around the place as a sort of decoration, a few bamboo trees planted around, and a small pond.

The house was your typical traditional Japanese home, I wonder why they chose to build it like this, is Göndul perhaps an…. Otaku…?

Slam!

The door to the home suddenly slammed open! Out came a…. Woman! She has brown eyes and long brown hair. She wears some sort of apron in front of her clothes which consisted of a blue above-the-knee dress with long puffed sleeves and a white collar.

"M-Mama Mia?!"

[My my!]

{How can I resist you?!}

...….

"Oh? Rose-chan! Welcome home! Göndul-obaa-san is just in there cooking, I'm going to go and get some ingredients, so lunch will take a little more time to finish!"

The woman now called Mia looks at us and nods.

"Hmmm, so this is the Middleman, huh?"

She grins and winks at Rossweisse.

"You caught a good one, Rose-chan. Better put a ring on him soon!"

Rossweisse blushed as Mama Mia started to walk away. She stops by me and pats my shoulder.

"Oh right, the name's Mia Grand, you probably met my husband Andvari Grand, right? Stubborn old fool. I'll be visiting him in a few days. If you're still around, come and join us."

She says that and then leaves. What an energetic woman… She seemed like a fun person to be around though. Rossweisse doesn't say anything but starts to walk towards the door.

"She may not look like it now, but her, Andvari, and Göndul-sama were quite well known back in the day."

Brynhildr says that as we follow Rossweisse in. Once we were inside, we could smell a mouth-watering aroma throughout their home. We follow the smell and Rose, and we found ourselves in the kitchen.

There was Göndul, busy away at the stove humming to herself.

"Granny I'm home."

Upon hearing that, Göndul turns around and has a smile on her. She puts down her kitchen utensil and hugs her granddaughter, they stay like that for a few seconds before parting. She looks at us and nods.

"Brynhildr, Jin, and his friends, welcome to my home. It isn't much, but… Please do enjoy your stay."

I let go of Raynare's hand and she took it back immediately, once she did… She realized what she had done and slapped my hand away.... You were the one that grabbed it back lady… I shook my head and went to Göndul.

"I'm good at cooking Göndul if you wan—"

"No, no, you are the guests. Leave the cooking to Mia and I. Just go and relax."

"Bu—"

"No, buts!"

I sigh and went back to stand beside Griselda. I look around the room and it's quite cozy, typical Japanese kitchen, regular old brown dining table, and chairs, nothing fancy. I would have guessed that she would have had a lot of money.

Do they not get paid a lot for being… Well, working for the Norse Gods? I would have imagined that they would. Seeing as how dangerous their jobs could potentially get. Rose grabs my arm and pulls me away, the others follow.

We get to… The living room? A fireplace, medium-sized TV, a few couches and chairs around, tables, bookshelves, and decorations around the place.

"So, this is where you grew up in, huh?"

"It's quite homey, Rossweisse-sensei ~"

"Hmmm, I haven't been to your home before, Rossweisse."

Everyone else commented on the place as they sat down and looked around. Rossweisse didn't say anything and just looked around. I let go of Raynare's hand again as Brynhildr and Griselda started to chat with one another. Raynare just started to twiddle with her thumbs…

Azazel… What was the point of her going with me? While we started anew, she isn't exactly that responsive. Whatever, I'll just wait for her to be… I glance around the room and found that Rose had left. Mama Mia also had come back. I left the living room and followed her aura.

It climbed up the stairs. The walls on the right side of the stairs had pictures of a young Rossweisse with her parents. It also had pictures of her cousins or family relatives? A few with Göndul and other people I didn't recognize.

Her aura was outside a door that had her name on it, I knock on it but got no response. So, I put my hand on the door and it pushed itself open, I guess she didn't lock or fully close it. Once inside it was, well, normal.

A single bed, a desk, shelves, a wardrobe, and other items necessary for a bedroom. It fit what Rossweisse would look like at first glance… A strict and hard-working woman. Take that down and you get a deeper and more girly Rose.

"Rose?"

Thud!

She jumped and hit her head on a shelf. I didn't think she would be lost in thought. I chuckled at her and she puffed her cheeks.

"J-Jin…?"

"Did the nostalgia get to you or something? Haven't you been down here? Or were you preoccupied with your job as Odin's bodyguard and didn't have time to come back down?"

"Yes, you're right… I didn't have time to visit granny. I also didn't get a chance to visit her much, I always felt bad about that."

"I wish I co—"

"Rose!!!!!!! Jin!!!!!!!! Lunch!!!!!!"

The loud voice of Mama Mai resounded throughout the household, it felt like the house shook. We both chuckle before going down to have lunch.

…

Göndul had put on some kind of classical music while we had dinner, it was going well as everyone was chatting with the exception of Raynare. She had asked Rossweisse about her job, and what she was doing.

Göndul was shocked to find out that her granddaughter had been fired and now was living in Japan working as a teacher. I had also hired her for my future restaurant, I was already paying her and she was earning… Quite a lot.

"So, Jin Skyward. I heard that you have a harem going for yourself?"

"Uh yes, ma'am?"

She nods sagely, Mama Mia had joined us for lunch and was chuckling to herself.

"The women of the supernatural are a lot more understanding about these sorts of things, Jin. If you tried that out in the human world, oh boy."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"If my husband tried that on me…"

That woman had the creepiest smile on her, and the aura around her also changed… I guess she's the few that aren't too fond of it? Unless she has another opinion on it. Seeing our confusion, she adds.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't mind. But if he did it behind my back, I would have a problem with it. You, yourself have announced to the entire supernatural world your intent. So most women who become interested in you… Know what they're getting themselves into."

[Smart woman.]

{Indeed.}

'Harem…'

Huh? Wait, that voice… Velgrynd? You're there?

'…'

'Sorry, Jin. Yeah, she's here. We're as surprised as you are… Though Cúntóir did explain it to us. She's been… Watching and listening since you got to Asgard.'

I see, looks like Velgrynd's there as well, huh? Well sure, whatever. She can find out what can of person I am…

…

"And this is when Rose first went into kindergarten."

We had finished lunch around an hour ago after it, we stayed there just chatting about anything and everything. Göndul is certainly an interesting woman, she told us many tales of her youth, she was quite active and a powerful magician and Valkyrie.

As sad as it was, her husband passed when they were quite young, well in terms of the supernatural. So she was mostly on her own until… Rossweisse arrived, and after that she taught her everything since her parents were away a lot. That's how Rose became a granny's kid.

Mama Mia was also an interesting person, she had a lot of things to share but… From what I could tell, she had the pants in her marriage, well, maybe it's equal, but Andvari didn't seem like a person who would…

Well…never, I'm not sure, Zechs seemed intimidating when he first showed up, when I read the Light novel…but seeing the dynamic he had with Grayfia, now I'm not sure with Andvari. All three of them were Ultimate-class fighters, and that's just raw power…who knows about their technique or experience.

"Huhuhu ~ Rossweisse-sensei's cheeks were quite chubby when she was young ~"

We were currently in the living room as Göndul showed us many of Rossweisse's childhood photos. Everyone was interested, even the silent Raynare. They were all gathered around her as she flicked through photos and told us a little story about them.

Rossweisse was obviously embarrassed so… She was in a corner covering her face out of embarrassment. As much as I would like to comfort her… I do enjoy hearing these, sorry Rose. Mama Mia had left earlier since she had to attend to her tavern. We would be going there for dinner tonight.

"This is… When Rose became a middle schooler, she's starting to look like her now, right? The chest isn't there yet though."

"Granny!!"

Rose looked mortified as she stared at her and me. She then covered her chest with her arms…. I wasn't even looking but sure. Even staring at the photo, she had that strict look on her, I wonder when she started to have that face on her?

…I had asked earlier since I was curious, If any kind of trouble was happening here or on any other island. But they said no so… I don't think anything will happen here. It just seemed like a regular countryside town.

Well, that's for here and her own thoughts…that doesn't mean it will hold true. Whatever, I'll see by the time I get to those places.

…

Nighttime

"Pah! Give me another one Mama Mia!"

"Aye!"

We were in the tavern and were having our dinner. It was even livelier than in the daytime, many of the regulars were here, but apparently, word spread that Rose was back, as well as bringing her 'Middleman' and 'Oppai Dragon' boyfriend, so…. There were even more customers. Mama Mia was quite happy with that outcome.

Smack! Smack!

"Lad! So, when are ye getting married to Rossweisse?"

Rossweisse who hadn't drunk anything since she didn't want to…. Be well, drunk, blushed at the question that was aimed at me.

"Uh, in the future, probably after I graduate college or something."

"Here that?! Haha! Good on you lad! Rossweisse, you better invite us all!"

Another round of applause and laughter went throughout the tavern. At least the folks here are nice and friendly… It beats having to tiptoe our way around assholes. Göndul was fine with this as she ate her filling, she also joined in on the banter at times.

"They're certainly a lively bunch."

Griselda who had drank a few beers looked a little flustered. She was leaning against me for support. Raynare…. Well…

"Hahahah! Another one please, Mama Mia!!!"

—Had cut loose. While she could hold her own, she had drank too much and had become outgoing and open… She was being rowdy and energetic like the rest of the patrons here.

"Will Raynare be fine…?"

Brynhildr was also still with us, she had said she would be by my side until I left Asgard, so yeah, she was sitting to my other side. She had opted in not drinking any alcohol so she was sober. I had drank some but I can't get drunk so… I just had the awful taste of beer in me.

"Maybe… I'm responsible for her so leave her to me."

"Would you like another serving, Jin?"

I turn my head and Mama Mia was back over the counter. She prefers being called that, she said only her husband calls her Mia, as well as Göndul. Even the Norse Gods refer to her as that, why? I dunno, I didn't ask.

"No, thank you, I'm fine."

Though…Cúntóir…

Cúntóir: Answer: It's 11:02 p.m.

We should start heading back soon…

…

"Hic… Jwwiiin…"

We were flying back to Göndul and Rossweisse's home. We left around ten minutes ago and it's nearing midnight. I was flying using [Divine Dividing], I had Raynare in my arms as she went in and out of consciousness and Griselda was hugging me from behind since she was also quite drunk.

I would say, 'Can sisters/nuns even drink?' but… I did change the system so, after reincarnating she shouldn't have a problem…

It didn't take us long to arrive back home. We quickly enter and Rossweisse showed us to our rooms for the night—

"If you want to sleep with Jin, Rose. I do not mind, but keep the noise down, okay?"

"...….G-G-Granny!!!"

"…Heh."

"Jin!"

Bonk!

Please don't hit me out of embarrassment, I'm still carrying a drunk Griselda… Thank God for putting Raynare in her room first, she was out like a light.  Göndul just smiled at us as she went into her room.

Rose eventually got over her own embarrassment and led me to Griselda's room and then to my room. We stop there—

"Good night, Rose."

"…G-Good night, Jin."

She quickly left and I shrugged; I went into my room.

…

"…I can't sleep… This has to be some kind of thing… Like, an illness or something, also…"

Göndul wasn't in her room. I had felt her leave it, I thought she may have wanted some water or something but, she hadn't left the spot she was at for the last ten minutes…

[Perhaps she did it on purpose, Partner?]

{Hmm, maybe she wants to speak with you privately. I do feel her directing some of her mana towards your room.}

Yeah… I did feel that earlier but wasn't sure… Haaa… Whatever. Let's have that conversation with dear old granny Göndul. I quickly got up from my bed and quietly left my room. Everyone else was asleep, except Rose… Even Brynhildr was knocked out already.

I quickly went downstairs and followed Göndul's mana and aura. She was by the back of her home on the porch, when I arrived there, she was looking at the moon and the bamboo she had planted.

"It took you a while to come here, Jin."

"Sorry… I was… Speaking with Ddraig and Albion."

[Part—]

{He isn't lying though; we did briefly speak with him.}

[...…]

"Is that so? To think you would have two Sacred Gears within you…"

She chuckles to herself and then we go silent. I stare up at the sky and the moon was slightly bigger than the one in the human world. Did they do that on purpose?

....Rose left her room, and I could feel her… She was listening to us. I'm sure Göndul is also aware of this.

"Jin are you serious with my granddaughter?"

"…Yes."

Göndul stared at me after I gave her my answer. I can see where she's coming from, I mean I'm quite honest with what I want out of my job, I announced it to the world. She also was married once and never again, maybe she has mixed feelings about this? But she's quite calm right now.

"I have been worried about Rose since she left my home. Her parents rarely come home so it was left up to me to raise my own granddaughter. However, I don't blame them… Even back in my day, I was almost a workaholic."

"You mentioned earlier that you met her parents on the way here, yes? Haaa…. They're on good terms. I just wanted them to spend more time with her. I was quite surprised to hear when she became a teacher in the human world, even more so when you said you hired her for your future business."

"…I am also to blame for her current personality, perhaps even her life so far. I was quite strict with her. When Rose was younger, I warned her not to get involved with bad boys or recklessly lose her chastity to them…"

Göndul chuckled and continued.

"But Rose interpreted that as not having any sort of intimate relations with any men until marriage… I only wanted to do good for her, you understand, right? I always pestered her about finding a man whenever I found the time to visit her. I just didn't want to worry about her anymore, she's quite clumsy at times. I'm sure you've seen it."

That I have… A bit too many times in the [Pocket Dimension]...

"So when I first heard about you and saw you with her, I was quite shocked. But seeing both of you interact today..."

She let out a satisfied sigh and smiled.

"I can rest easy. Please take care of her, she's my beloved Rose, after all."

"...Leave her to me, ma'am. I swear I'll do right with her."

After that, I felt Rossweisse leave through the front door, instead of going back up to her room.

"I'll get to sleep then, I believe Rose wants to speak with you after our little chat, no?"

She gave me a wink and slapped me on my back. She chuckled to herself as she went back upstairs to her own room.

[Valkyrie.]

{Get!}

You're both idiots.

…

Once I felt Göndul enter her own room I decided to join Rose outside. Once out there, she was wearing a one-piece white dress with blue polka dots with white slippers.

"Ros—"

Grab ~ Pull ~

She smiled at me but before I could finish saying her name, she grabs my arm and pulled me away. I didn't question it and let her have her way. Our fingers intertwined and we walked silently through the silent rice fields, our own footsteps were the only noise present.

After a little while, we come back to a little bridge with a small stream of water. She lets go of my hand and walks over to the railing once there she leans against it and watches the water flowing down. Not too sure in what to do, I join her.

"You heard everything?"

I start and she nods while sporting a small blush.

"Well, she gave me her blessings, though… I would like your parent's blessings somewhere down the line as well."

She nodded again without saying anything. Well, better make it official with her.

"Ros—"

Chu ~

Rose wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. I was a bit caught off guard but I kissed her back. We stayed like that for a full minute before pulling away from each other. She stared at me before laying her head on my chest.

"…I'm a serious person, I prioritize work and being professional. I missed out a lot on my own romance and youth. I was made fun of it for a long time, but you came along. Truthfully, I was skeptical about you when I first heard of you."

I don't blame you. I am the harem-seeking dragon after all.

"Even still, I'm clumsy and can make rash decisions at times… I also have a bad tolerance for alcohol…"

I snorted and she lightly hit me.

"I have weird quirks, like buying things that are as cheap as one hundred yen and also wanting to open a one hundred yen shop in this small town in the future…. Even still, you accepted me. You treated me like a normal girl my age."

"…If we do… Um make it official, because of my job… It will be looked down upon and frowned upon."

She finally looks up at me, a serious and determined face on her.

"Even still, I don't care. I love you, but we do need to keep this… A secret while in school…"

"A forbidden and taboo love, huh? I don't mind, Rose."

"Don't say it like that! Even if it's true…"

She buried her face back into my chest and I kissed the top of her head. We enjoyed each other's company for a brief while longer, under the night sky of Asgard.

…

We had arrived back at her home; I was about to enter my room when… Rossweisse grabs the back of my shirt. Her other hand was on her chest as she blushed.

"J-Jin… C-Can I sleep with you tonight…?"

I blankly stare at her and she quickly corrected herself.

"I-I-I don't mean it in that way…!"

I chuckle and nod. Rossweisse smiles as she heads back to her room. I walk into mine and wait for her. A few minutes later she entered wearing a quite erotic pink nightgown. She was blushing while she joined me on the bed. I had expanded the room and bed so we had more space.

"That's quite erotic…where did you get it?"

"…R-Reni and Ingvild help me pick it out back in Kuoh…"

"I see… Well, goodnight, Rose."

We went to sleep in a spooning position, she was little spoon and I was big spoon…. Tomorrow, where shall we go…? Maybe, the dark elves and dwarves? I'll ask Mama Mia and Göndul about it before we leave…

…