"Hildr, Thrud, and Ortlinde. Go find out who's making that racket in the city and make her shut up!"
Activating the Rune symbols on the table, Samael summoned the three attendant Valkyries and issued the order in a chilling tone.
"As you command!"
After hearing the instructions, Thrud bowed respectfully, then led her two sisters to the scene to cut off the source of the noise.
Before long, the commotion subsided. Feeling much better, Samael's brows relaxed. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, looking thoroughly at ease.
"Laa~ aa~~"
But in the next instant, that dry wail, like nails scraping glass or a saw grinding over iron spikes, rose to a truly inhuman level. The demonic, brain-piercing melody made even Samael's soul tremble.
Bang!
The Ancient Serpent's heart clenched so violently it nearly stopped. The cup in his hand instantly crumbled to powder, and the splashing tea stained the long table with glaring blotches.
"Someone!"
Samael froze for a moment. Then, with the muscles in his face twitching violently, he forced the icy word out through clenched teeth.
Dozens of breaths later, the three figures who had just returned from the scene entered the side hall in a daze, their minds still completely blank.
"I told you to keep order and clean up the scene. How did it turn into this?"
Samael's face darkened, his expression grim.
"The person involved is the newly enthroned Emperor of Rome. She said she came to promote goodwill and friendship between our two nations. If we forcibly detain her, it could create a diplomatic dispute."
Thrud lowered her head and answered in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, her face full of embarrassment and shame.
"Nero? So it's that little disaster..."
"And Brynhildr is there too. Also, there's another silver-haired, red-eyed girl with strange markings on her body. She says she's the King of the Huns. She's very strong, and there are too many civilians nearby, so we didn't dare make a move..."
"Then tell them to come see me!"
"That lady refused. She said she wants to make her own way and insists on finishing the performance first. Once she earns enough funds, then she'll come meet you."
"She's not asking for money. She's asking for death! Aren't the executors from the Temple of Justice and the nearby guards doing anything about this?!"
Listening to the singing go more and more wildly off-key, Samael felt his temples throb and ground out the question through gritted teeth.
"Judicial enforcement... after debating with the parties involved, they couldn't find grounds in the code to punish her..."
Thrud paused and glanced slightly behind her.
Only then did the Ancient Serpent notice the female judicial executors outside the door, clad in white robes embroidered at the chest with golden scales and a sword. At the moment, every one of them looked utterly broken, sunk into deep self-doubt.
They had lost the legal argument. Completely, undeniably lost.
Even now, they still had no idea how they had been talked into returning to the Areopagus.
Tch. Sure enough, ever since the citizens' assembly replaced the courts and mob opinion started running rampant, fair and rigorous judicial trials had been gradually hollowed out. The legal talent of this generation was embarrassingly bad.
Even Thrud, who had gone to the scene, was too honest. She was used to following rules and procedures, and was no match at all for a brat backed by a certain overgrown bear.
"Forget it. I'll go myself!"
With a cold laugh, Samael rose to his feet, turned into a streak of light, and shot across the skies above the Areopagus straight toward the source of the noise.
Boom!
A moment later, a red-black meteor wrapped in Ether flames crashed down toward the street corner where the crowd had gathered. A violent blast of air swept outward, whipping everyone's clothes loudly in the wind.
Yet despite the dramatic entrance, it did not disturb the "soul singer" in the slightest.
Samael reached forward with one fingertip and touched the space ahead. Ripples spread through the invisible air. Then he looked around with a black expression, his face growing darker and darker until it resembled the bottom of a long-blackened pot.
On the stage, Altera held the Sword of the God of War upright in her hand. Its brilliant blade spun with a buzzing hum, casting colorful light over the lead singer at the center of the venue and over the emptied-out space around her, leaving mottled patches everywhere. With a blank face, she silently cheered for the singer, her blood-red eyes never leaving the basket of pastries in the shop window, while her throat bobbed from time to time.
At the center stood an elegant stage built from gorgeous metallic constructs. The lively accompaniment, boosted by four metal boxes facing the audience on all sides, roared loudly enough to sweep everything away. And there, the little tyrant stood with half a cup of wine in her left hand and a cylindrical object, thick at the top and narrow at the bottom, clutched in her right, singing with her eyes closed in heartfelt passion.
This singer, lost in her own performance, wore a magnificent gold-and-red formal outfit adorned with intricate semi-metal ornaments. Behind her, a row of metal pipes like pan flutes stood out especially clearly, and in time with her off-key singing, they kept blasting out shockwave-like booms into the surroundings.
At one side stood Brynhildr, forced into working as an accomplice, drawing Rune symbols that served to amplify the sound.
But the moment she saw Samael arrive, Brynhildr panicked and stopped maintaining the Runes. Her lovely face flushed red with shame, her head sank into her chest, and she did not even dare meet the gaze of the one she had once served, looking completely at a loss.
As for the nearby audience, they stood there in the wind listening in "rapture," mechanically clapping without a trace of feeling. Their expressions were numb and blank, like puppets set out all around the venue.
A closed theater, rainbow lights, mobile subwoofers, a live stage, a microphone, volume-amplifying Magecraft arrays...
Good grief. And that wasn't even all. She had even pulled out Mythological Regalia.
Was this really how the true Machine God body granted by the Pantheon was supposed to be used?!
"Nero!"
The corner of Samael's mouth twitched. Snapping back to himself, he immediately strode forward, pressed a hand onto the tyrant's shoulder, and forcibly turned the swaying little menace around to face him. His tone was so cold it was practically frosting over, and the veins bulging on his forehead looked like twisted worms.
"Prince... uh... Your Excellency, you've also come... to behold... my radiance. I am... the brightest... morning star... upon this stage. Today's singing... has been delightful... and very successful. But I enjoy... rejoicing with the people, so I didn't summon you... Since you're already here... then join my carnival too...
Umu... I saved... the accompaniment spot for you... Hehe... how about I call you my player..."
Nero forced open her heavy eyelids, her gaze hazy and unfocused, her body swaying gently from side to side. A thick smell of wine drifted from her lips, and a foolishly sweet smile spread across her flushed face.
At that moment, the tyrant's left fingertips slid aimlessly along the contour of Samael's chest muscles, sending a tingling sensation across his skin. Her blurred eyes carried an indescribable languor and seductive softness.
Samael's mind swayed for a moment. But then blood surged to his brain like erupting magma, his teeth grinding audibly as he forced the grim words out from between them.
"Thirty seconds. Turn off the speakers and come back with me to sober up. Otherwise..."
As the knuckles of his right hand cracked loudly, a sinister air spread across Samael's face.
"Hm? Only fools... resort to violence.
My learned teacher, the Empire's wise prince. If you wish to reject this revelry, I permit you to use the words of a wise man... to refute this gift. If you win, you may enjoy a new blessing."
Nero paused for a moment, then lightly tapped her pretty lips and patted her chest as she made the offer, her flushed cheeks glowing with delight and provocation.
This brat is seriously drunk. She wants to debate me?
Hmph. I drafted Greek law with Themis herself. As an authority in the world of verbal combat, I have never lost. Time to teach this child how the world works.
But overflowing with confidence, Samael failed to notice the smug, crafty gleam hidden in those emerald eyes beneath the colorful lights.
Historically, aside from her hopelessly skewed singing talent, this tyrant's gifts also included unmatched eloquence.
Ten minutes later, Nero stood there with her hands on her hips, looking unbearably pleased with herself, while Samael crouched off to one side, contemplating life.
Nearby, Brynhildr bit her lip and timidly stepped forward, wanting to comfort her shaken former lord. She tried to speak several times, but under the eyes of the crowd, hesitation welled up in her heart, and she kept stammering, unable to get out a full, fluent sentence.
After a long silence, the Ancient Serpent slowly understood why he had lost. Clarity returned to his eyes, and his teeth itched with frustration as he finally grasped the heart of the problem.
At first, he tried talking morality with Nero over the noise disturbance, and Nero countered with human rights. Then when he discussed human rights, that damn girl shifted the topic to the inclusiveness of the law. When he argued legal judgment and enforcement, Nero started playing politics. Then when he moved on to political analysis, the tyrant simply started acting shameless. Finally, when it was his turn to get shameless and use force, Nero somehow looped right back around to morality and condemned his autocratic behavior.
A thug is not the scary part. The scary part is an educated thug. Against a monster like this, falling into the trap through one moment of carelessness was hardly unjust.
"Inspired by Apollo, god of the arts, my awakened genius has already composed and performed a fourth original piece, The Light of Rome! Please enjoy!"
...The L-i-g-h-t of R-o-m-a, my name is N-e-r-o~~♪...
Just as that murderous music was about to begin again, a righteous flying kick dropped from the sky, knocking over both the square subwoofer and the vibrating panpipe-like tubes behind it in one go.
"What the hell are you singing so early in the morning?! Are you going to let people sleep or not?! I've been putting up with you for ages!"
Amid that furious, frizzed-up roar, the pink-haired fox shrine maiden ground her teeth and protested. Just as the little tyrant turned around, puffed out her chest, and got ready to pull the same trick again, the back of her neck suddenly went numb. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell over stiff as a board.
With practiced ease, Tamamo-no-Mae put her in a Chinese-style tortoise-shell bind, stuffed the soul singer's mouth, then rapidly formed seals, laying down no fewer than twenty sound-sealing restraint spells in the space of a few breaths. After that, like a virtuous wife and mother returning from the market with a softshell turtle in hand, she handed the culprit over into Samael's arms.
Wait. Why was I trying to reason with this brat in the first place?! Looks like just knocking her out was the right answer all along!
Staring at the now obediently sleeping Nero in his arms, Samael finally came back to himself. The corner of his mouth twitched as he realized Nero had thrown him off from the very start.
"Curse Arts. Great Sun Illumination !"
Immediately afterward, Tamamo-no-Mae secretly formed hand seals. Warmth spread from her body, and the golden glow produced by surging Ether, a power derived from the Sun God, diffused into the surroundings. It pulled back the poor audience members whose sanity had been blasted to zero by that indescribable sound, dragging them out of their confusion and restoring their senses.
The battered citizens, legs weak, looked as if they were about to break down crying with their heads in their hands, terrified that the mind-piercing demonic noise might strike again. Supporting one another, they stumbled and scrambled away from the scene as fast as they could.
Tamamo, you really are a good fox!
Seeing the chaos brought under control, Samael felt greatly relieved and cast an approving look toward the heroine who had restored order.
Oh my, don't praise me that much. You'll make me blush.
Besides, solving a problem for you shouldn't only earn me verbal praise, should it? People who make outstanding contributions deserve rewards worthy of them. You're a king, so you should understand that better than I do.
So when it comes to my reward, you'll have to come claim it yourself later.
With a smiling gaze, Tamamo-no-Mae sent her thoughts through divine resonance, then gave him a charming yet playful wink, swayed her hips, and headed home to catch up on her sleep.
But after this incident, the shops along the street began closing one after another.
Clack...
Just as the dessert shop owner was about to lower the shutter and close for the whole day to soothe his wounded soul, a pale arm marked with floating star patterns suddenly slapped against the window.
"She still hasn't paid..."
Altera stared fixedly at the basket of pastries inside the display case and dryly repeated herself.
"No need to pay! This is on the house! A gift for you! I swear by Athena, I mean it!"
The slightly plump shopkeeper jolted all over and, moving with such speed it was almost a blur, snatched up the basket and shoved it straight into Altera's arms.
The sheer speed of it made Samael seriously suspect the man was hiding something and might well be descended from Hermes, god of swiftness.
"Paying for things is good civilization..."
Altera blinked in confusion, swallowed, and murmured the line again.
"No, really! Thank you all for supporting my business. This isn't a sale, it's a gift! Please go somewhere else..."
The pitiful shopkeeper, wiping cold sweat from his forehead and nearly crying, trembled like he had Parkinson's the moment he recalled what had just happened. His legs nearly gave out. Almost in tears, he all but begged as he handed over the basket, forcing a smile while pleading with these calamities in human form to go ruin somebody else's shop.
"Forget it, just take it. I'll have the loss reported and handled through the Areopagus."
As the owner lowered the shutter, locked the doors and windows, and hurriedly dragged heavy objects over to barricade the entrance, Samael looked helplessly at Altera, who stood there clutching the basket and hesitating in a daze, and spoke up to reassure her.
With Samael's promise, the King of the Huns finally hugged her haul in satisfaction and, led along by several Valkyries, walked off with her head down, eating as she went.
After leaving the aftermath to the nearby guards, Samael finally returned to the side hall of the Areopagus.
But another figure followed him inside step by step.
"I caused you trouble... I'm sorry... please punish me..."
Brynhildr stepped forward, one hand lightly pressed to her chest, and shamefully asked for punishment.
Samael lifted his head and quietly looked at the Valkyrie, letting his gaze rest on her.
The Valkyrie's slender body twisted uneasily. Her face grew even more embarrassed, and she lowered her head further, whispering her plea in a voice as soft as a mosquito.
"Your Highness... please don't... look at me like that..."
"Nero dragged you into fooling around, and with your personality, you're not good at refusing people. It must have been hard on you. Alright, enough about punishment. None of this is your fault. Escorting that girl across the Sea of Chaos while keeping watch against Altera couldn't have been easy. You must be tired too, so go get some rest."
Samael chuckled and shook his head, his gaze clear.
Behind every lawless brat, there is always an adult enabling them.
But the one most responsible for Nero's antics was probably a certain stubborn glutton, plus a cup of wine that this brat had somehow gotten hold of to work up her courage.
"Please don't... cover up my guilt for me... don't... be so gentle... I'm afraid I might..."
Brynhildr pressed her right hand tightly against her chest. As her emotions surged and she raised her pretty face, the sorrow and self-reproach in her expression did not lessen in the slightest. In her violet eyes burned a smoldering fire.
"Stop! You want punishment, right? When I heard Nero singing earlier, my cup shattered. That counts as your leftover offense. Come here and help me wipe the table."
Seeing that expression, Samael's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly pointed at the tea stains on the table and immediately found this stubborn Valkyrie something to do, lest too much idle time leave her lost in her own thoughts again.
"As you command!"
The Valkyrie brightened at once, nodded firmly, and quickly stepped forward, lowering her head as she briskly and efficiently wiped the water stains off the table.
Splash...
However, after pulling out a chair and sitting down nearby, Samael lowered his head and looked at the patch of tea stain on his trousers. His gaze turned aggrieved, and the muscles of his face twitched slightly.
"I... I'm sorry... I was in too much of a hurry..."
Brynhildr stammered awkwardly. As if possessed, she took the towel and moved it toward the stain.
"I promise I won't cause any more trouble this time..."
As she spoke, the Valkyrie hurriedly reached out, trying to make up for her mistake.
"Ahem, no need, really, no need. I can handle it myself..."
"...If possible, please stay still and let me..."
Samael placed a hand on Brynhildr's fragrant shoulder and tried to stop her with a dry laugh, but the more he did so, the more urgently the flustered Valkyrie bent down with stubborn determination.
Bang!
At that exact moment, the carved wooden door was violently thrown open. A pink-haired rabbit-eared girl, brash as ever, burst into the hall while dragging her two sisters behind her, shouting excitedly.
"Big Sister, you came back to the Areopagus after stepping down? We..."
In an instant, Hildr's eyes locked onto the two figures tangled up in front of the desk, and her brain short-circuited.
At that moment, the Valkyrie trying to fix the problem had her hips raised as she bent under the desk, one hand pressed against Samael's thigh, her head positioned near his waist and abdomen, while Samael had both hands on Brynhildr's shoulders as if exerting force.
"..."
"..."
Thrud and Ortlinde looked at each other, both utterly blank.
"Ahem, let me explain. It's not..."
"We didn't see anything!"
The moment Samael opened his mouth, Hildr hurriedly raised a hand to cover her face. But through the gaps between her fingers, her darting eyes were still sneakily peeking toward the back of the desk.
"We don't know anything!"
Thrud turned her head aside, thumped her fist against her chest, then dragged the rash little fool next to her back out of the hall and thoughtfully shut the door behind them.
"You can continue..."
Being pulled outside the door, Ortlinde closed her book and offered that reminder with complete naturalness and sincerity.
Samael turned to look at the mortified Brynhildr, his gaze full of grievance.
Now even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't wash this clean.
***
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***