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“Wait, are you saying Odin sent the Valkyries to steal the souls of the dead?”

“Y-Yes! I tried to stop him, but that old man Odin is so stubborn!”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

At my cold words, Freya quickly covered her mouth.

What she had to say didn’t matter right now.

What’s important is that Odin, how dare he, invaded the realm of souls that I’m responsible for.

So…

“Odin has crossed the line.”

“Eek…”

Even if the doom of the gods was approaching and he was desperate, there are things you can and can’t do. He really went ahead and did that.

I can’t forgive this. No way.

“Was he so frantic in the face of destruction? That fool Odin. But serves him right. He won’t be able to travel between the Divine Hall and the human world now!”

“What? A-Um… Odin has been doing this for quite some time now.”

I tilted my head at Freya’s words.

“A long time ago?”

“Yes. It was long before rumors about destruction started circulating.”

Hmm. Interesting… So, it’s been that long.

“This trash…!”

“Eek! I’m sorry!!!”

Despite my words not being directed at her, Freya flinched and shrank back. Did I accidentally let out a killing intent? She trembled, cowering.

Ahem. No, wait. Rather than just venting my anger… It’s better to get as much information as possible from Freya.

Honestly, I could smash everything to pieces… But that would cause unnecessary suffering to innocent beings.

I might not like the gods who made things difficult for Baal, but I still need to carefully distinguish who deserves punishment and who doesn’t.

Sometimes I feel like just forgetting everything and wrecking everything… But if I act recklessly, I doubt this world will remain intact.

Didn’t Indra say not to give up on this world…? Hmm, is that right? It had roughly that vibe. Anyway.

I suppressed my anger a bit and threw a question at Freya.

“What did Odin do with the stolen souls?”

“Well, uh…”

Freya hesitated, then carefully opened her mouth.

“He… Um… That he uses the gathered souls to make soldiers called Einherjar. Using Odin’s power, even if their bodies are destroyed, he resurrects them to fight and employs them as the Aesir’s troops in wars against other gods…”

“Soldiers?”

“Yes. Individual powers of Einherjar are pitiful compared to the gods, but if gathered in countless numbers, they can be made to exhaust the powers of other gods. At the same time, they absorb faith from those gods to strengthen themselves.”

“Huh…”

I rubbed my forehead at Freya’s words.

So right now, souls that should be going to the underworld instead are being stolen and recycled into soldiers, and he’s planning to use them while also gathering faith for battles with other gods?

Did he really think he wouldn’t get caught doing this? Or did he think he made enough of a value out of the soldiers to make me… and the other gods of the underworld be enemies?

And how exactly did the Valkyries manage to sneak past the reapers and steal the souls?

I really can’t make heads or tails of this.

“How did they fool the reapers?”

“The reapers?”

“Yeah. It shouldn’t have been easy to deceive the reapers who collect souls.”

If they got caught stealing even once, the word would surely get back to the underworld.

How on earth did they manage to steal souls without getting caught by the reapers?

“Well, um… there are many deaths on the battlefield where wars occur, right?”

“Right. Lots of people die.”

“In such battlefields, the souls get released in such large numbers that the reapers typically gather the scattered souls all at once after the fighting is over.”

Hmm. I guess that’s convenient for the reapers.

If they had to collect every single soul every time someone died in battle… how many reapers would need to be deployed to the battlefield? Honestly, it would be a waste of manpower.

From that point of view, handling it all at once after the fighting makes it much more efficient.

“Above that battlefield, in the form of a crow, they secretly swoop in to ambush anyone with usable souls, kill them, and steal their souls. They might move a blind arrow to hit the target or slightly twist a blade or axe to deal a fatal injury. By killing those who shouldn’t have died, they can steal their souls without the reapers noticing.”

“Killing those who shouldn’t have died?”

“Yes. Normally, they kill outstanding warriors destined not to die in war and steal their souls. Then it’s not a death according to their lifespan, so the reapers frown and scratch their heads, but then just let it slide. Plus, in a scenario where there are heaps of corpses, they might not even notice a single missing soul.”

Hmm. What a clever method they’ve thought up.

“Was that method thought of by Odin?”

“Yes? A-Yeah. It was Odin’s idea. I opposed it because it was too dangerous. I told him it could lead to us being seen as enemies by the underworld and put the Aesir in danger… but he insisted it was necessary for the Aesir.”

Odin. What a cunning old fox.

Is that smartness of his only being used to steal souls? How foolish!

“Then… how many of the Aesir gods are involved in this?”

“In that? Uh, um… Probably Odin himself and the Valkyries acting under his orders, and the leader of the Valkyries… uh, I… um…”

“Oh? So you’re involved too?”

“Uh, that’s…! It’s because I’m the leader of the Valkyries! If I give them orders, I inevitably get the reports! I didn’t want it to happen! I’m just a middle manager, you know! Orders come from above, and I had no choice but to pass it down! So… argh! I had no choice but to do it!”

“So, did you do it or not?”

Freya lowered her head at my firm words.

“I… I did it… I gave the orders…”

“Then you’re guilty as well. You realize that, right?”

“I-I understand! But please let me defend myself!”

“Go ahead.”

Freya darted her eyes around, sighed softly, then prostrated herself on the ground.

“Forgive me! I’ll do anything! Just spare my life!”

She acted like she was about to give a solid defense, but in the end, it was desperation for her life.

An attractive appearance yet disgraceful behavior.

But if she’ll do anything, there’s still some use for her.

“Anything?”

“Y-Yes! Anything!”

“You just said you’d do anything, right?”

“Eep!”

At my cold words, Freya flinched and hiccupped.

“J-Just don’t say I should die, and I’ll do anything!”

“Alright. I won’t say you need to die. You are in a position where you can’t refuse Odin’s orders.”

“Yes! Yes! Exactly! So I’d appreciate it if you could consider the circumstances of what I did!”

Freya groveling more than I expected. The beauty of the Aesir is gone, replaced by the goddess merged with the floor.

But it’s fine!

“Alright. Then I’ll use you. In exchange, I’ll spare your life.”

“Really?!”

At my words, Freya looked up at me with joy.

“A-Um… if possible, can you spare the Valkyries’ children too?”

“What?”

“Eek!!”

Freya prostrated herself again.

“I-I’m so sorry! The Valkyrie children were just following orders! It’s Odin who’s in the wrong! Besides, they’re like my daughters! If possible, please don’t give them too harsh a punishment… Um, I’d be grateful!”

Hmm. The Valkyries. It’s annoying that they stole the souls…

But they’re low-ranking gods who can’t refuse orders in the first place.

If I think about it that way, they might still have some mitigating circumstances.

“Fine. I’ll let the Valkyries off.”

“Really?! Thank you!”

“However, they will have to face punishment.”

“P-Please show mercy before the Goddess of Life… don’t give them too severe a punishment.”

Once again, Freya pressed her forehead against the ground. What a pitiful attitude for a goddess.

But since she did wrong, punishment is necessary. So let’s see…

“I’ll use you when I punish Odin later. After that, I’ll give you and the Valkyries some tasks. That will be your punishment.”

“If it’s a chance to hit that old man Odin on the back of his head, I’ll gladly do it! But tasks… what kind of tasks?”

Freya hesitated slightly in her question. I smiled at her.

“It won’t be something too difficult.”

Just no retirement involved.

 

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