A few days later, I sat in the same ballroom, but this time it was turned into a reception for guests. I sat on a slightly elevated seat, Guinevere standing on my right and Mostima on my left, watching how a small group of people entered the room.
They wore a form-fitting white and black bodysuit-like armor with a high collar covered by a short, white hooded cloak. This is paired with a white skirt that features high side slits, revealing most of their legs covered by a thigh-high dark boots. Their cloaks were accented by wing-like accessories around their waists, gold for the leading four figures and silver for others, and two bracelets with white shas attached to them.
Behind them were two 'wings' made of light, looking almost like an Omega letter from the front. I could feel that it was a manifestation of their slight divinity. Most of them had their faces covered by the hoods, but I could see that they were something like homunculi; only the leading four were noticeably different. They revealed their faces, only to show almost Liberi-like wings on their heads; only their leader possessed a dragon-horn-like ornament in her hair instead.
-"We greet you, Justiciar of Britain."-The icy-blue-haired woman with 'dragon horns' bowed to me.
Behind her, all but the leaders knelt on one knee before me, making me raise an eyebrow.
-"Speak, what brings you here, Valkyrie?"
-"We were asked by All-father to bear gifts and deliver his message."-She motioned the remaining three standing Valkyries to hand the items to my Knights. They checked them before passing the message scroll to me. I opened it and started reading what Odin wanted me to see.
The message was rather direct, the first part spoke about their actions on British soil, assuring that he will order to cease any hostilities as a show of goodwill, but there was no apology or anything like this, only information. It was good to see this assurance, as I never expected god, let alone a Nordic God, to apologize.
In the second part, I found the main reason for this message. Odin explained that most of the Gods of the Norse Pantheon disappeared into nature, only a few holding with what remained of the faith in their countries. He suggested an alliance and exchange. We were not to pursue any action against the Norse countries, especially anything that would harm the religion, in addition to helping the Norse Pantheon return to the real world after the new age arrives. In exchange, he'll grant me one of the Authorities of his Pantheon.
I showed this to Mostima and Guinevere, both surprised by the prize and the demand. But I could read from their thoughts that it was a worthwhile trade, as in their eyes, even if the Norse Gods returned, their power wouldn't be enough to threaten Britain after those twenty, if not more years. Instead, it could help us establish a friendly relationship with them early, allowing for better diplomacy later. The divinity was also an important thing, allowing me to further accumulate power as I needed.
I sent a quiet message to Artoria and Morgan and waited for them to appear. Soon, the space rippled, and reflections of Morgan and Artoria appeared. Guinevere showed them the message, both of them showing a surprised but thoughtful look.
-"It almost seems too good to be true."-Morgan commented.
-"I'm a little worried about how much assistance we'll need to provide to 'help' them return, but everything seems like a great deal."-Artoria added.
-"I suspect that while a prize like Authority seems great, in truth, it's a burden due to needing faith to exist and function. Odin can't use them, and they only drain resources, so he can give them as a gift, not only gaining benefits, but also getting rid of the burden."-I speculated.
-"This is most likely close to the truth."-Morgan nodded.-"It'll also burden you with the same drain on faith, but it's nothing for you. The whole population of the Norse region is about 1MM, and it's safe to assume that not even half are believers, with at most 10% being fervent believers who provide most faith. You, meanwhile, have at least 5MM fervent Sankta and who knows how many other believers."
-"That's why I'm inclined to accept. It won't harm me and can help me, while establishing a positive relationship between our forces."
-"I support it."-Artoria nodded.
-"I'm also not opposed."
-"Then the decision is made."-I turned to the waiting Valkyries.
A pink-haired Valkyrie handed me a branch that disappeared the moment I touched it, filling me with a new power. I could feel a connection being established between the Valkyries, making me widen my eyes in surprise even greater than before. When I checked my stats, I confirmed what had happened.
______________________________
…
Noble Phantasm:
Læraðr: Authority: B (New)
The tree standing tall in the Valhalla, providing shelter and sustenance to all within. It's the source for all Valkyries, a shard of an ancient enemy of the Planet. It allows the creation and existence of Valkyries, who are absolutely loyal to the owner of this Noble Phantasm. The upper limit of normal Valkyrie is the rank of this skill, while their number is purely limited by the available resource.
______________________________
I looked at the Valkyries still before me, instantly noticing that the contract between us had an influence on them. Not only did they now possess halos like Sankta's, but their 'wings' also changed to look like Sankta's, only an Omega-shaped aureole remaining behind their new wings.
I could now feel their strength, gauging it to be around a weak Servant, a Knight of the Round Table would manage to defeat three of them in single combat, with at least seven needed to defeat someone like Bedivere or Agravain. As for the top combat powers like Lancelot or Artoria, then the numbers stopped to matter entirely, as the jump in quality was too great.
Only the four leaders were somewhat stronger; three Valkyries with Liberi-like characteristics were of average strength for a Knight of the Round Table, while the Valkyrie with 'dragon horns' was a league ahead of them, easily reaching the strength of current Bedivere. I could also feel that while she was also bound by the covenant, it was much weaker when compared to others.
For now, I knew that the present few Valkyries are all that remained of their kind. I could also feel that I could support the existence of about 500 of them without any issues, and twice as many if I had to push myself. This was a rather sizable force that, while not helpful in fights on a divine or even heroic level, was invaluable in the case of mortal wars as champions to lead armies in combat.
I collected my thoughts and gave my status to Artoria and Morgan to read through, while I looked at the Valkyries who waited for my orders.
-"Before everything, I want to know your opinion on the current situation. What do you wish for and what do you want to avoid?"
-"Lord, we don't have many wishes; we exist to serve."-The blond-haired leader answered.
-"What about you?"-I turned to the Valkyrie with 'dragon horns'.-"I can feel that you are different."
-"I'm Aslaug, daughter of the previous Great Valkyrie, Brynhildr. My mother ascended to the position of Goddess and gave her title to me."-She looked me in the eyes, and I could feel the discomfort of being traded as a commodity.-"I hope to be of use as a warrior."
I was able to understand the meaning between her lines; she wished to be a warrior and only a warrior, meaning not being subjected to anything that would require her to be a woman. She knew that in her current situation, her fate lay in my hands, so she tried to test the waters.
-"Good."-I nodded.-"I'll appoint you as my Knight and commander of all Valkyries. When Margaret returns, you'll be working with her. You all will be living in my Azure Dream, working on a rotating schedule with free time and training. Do you have any questions?"
-"Yes, Lord."-A black-haired leader bowed to me.-"What is our purpose?"
-"For now is to adapt to a new reality. Later, you'll be my elite force, but more importantly, your current purpose is to find 'self' ."
-" 'Self' ?"
-"Yes, 'self' . I don't need unfeeling robots, I need real people. So your task is to become real people."
-"Yes, Lord."
-"Also, don't call me Lord, just call me Son like others."
-"Yes, Son."
I nodded and looked at Artoria, who returned my stats to me.
-"As expected of All-father. The gift was something you need, but nothing that could threaten him."
-"It's also an Authority that is expensive to upkeep, as we expected."-Morgan looked satisfied with what happened.
I then turned the Valkyries one more time and extended my hand toward the blond-haired leader. She understood my meaning and handed me the last 'gift' from Odin, my spear covered with his blood. I took it back and looked at it, feeling that most of the runes had been destroyed by the power of that throw, making this spear nothing more than a memento. So I placed it in Azure Dream, where it could be seen by guests.
After that, I asked Mostima to take the Valkyries into Azure Dream and tell them everything they needed to know. Artoria and Morgan also returned to their matters, leaving Guinevere and me alone. I looked at her and found her also looking at me.
-"How about a walk?"
-"It'll be a pleasure."
The rest of the winter passed without any other accidents or issues, marking the good start of my third year away from the front. I monitored from Gloucester how all the reforms progressed, working on my techniques in my free time. The arrival of Valkyries caused some stir in Laterano, as their existence as my absolutely loyal followers caused them to become instantly popular there.
When they visited, they instantly got surrounded by children, and the emotional stimulation from Empathy caused their first real emotions to be born in them. Since then, they would visit Lateran every time they got some free time, finding their own hobbies in the process. But what all Valkyries fell in love with even more were the guns. In just a week, each of them started to carry both an automatic gun and a handgun.
I also learned the names of the three other leaders: the black-haired Ortlinde, pink-haired Hildr, and blonde-haired Thrúd. Three of them started to act as my maids and attendants, and much to Qingyan's annoyance, they tried to take over even her secretarial tasks. She almost electrocuted them when she found out, causing three Valkyries to develop a slight phobia of her.
Three of them became especially interested in cooking aside from their individual hobbies, such as Thrúd's video gaming. It happened by accident; a few days after their arrival and visit in Laterano, they joined my Knights and me during one of our evening 'playdates', playing board games and eating snacks. Among said snacks were cookies and cupcakes prepared by Lemuen and me, and they instantly fell in love with our sweets.
But they quickly found that they couldn't compare with Sankta's generational talent in baking, but they also found out that none of us know how to cook well. So we struck a deal. I would prepare cakes and other pastries or confectionery items every week, in exchange, they will take care of my meals. As making sweets was my hobby, I didn't mind having one more reason to make them, so I was all for it. They quickly expanded their cooking to cover all my Knights and close people who would be present for the meals, gaining a lot of goodwill in the process.
But the biggest change occurred with Aslaug. Before, she at least pretended to be polite, but after getting to know me, she let go of that pretense and returned to her normal, meaning blunt and short-tempered, self. But she still maintained respect for those who could defeat her, meaning all my Knights and priestesses had to fight her at least once to prevent her from talking down to them. I also had to beat her up once, but after our fight, she followed my commands without issues, even learning some etiquette in case she needed to appear in high-society events.
But most unexpectedly, she formed a great friendship with Qingyan, despite their personalities clashing in almost every aspect. I would often see them fight in the training room, but after every such battle, they would work together on something, Qingyan acting as the brain while Aslaug was the muscle. The combination of Aslaug's directness and Qingyan's meticulousness was not to be underestimated.
Overall, everyone got along with Valkyries well, their arrival bringing more help than trouble. Well, everyone but Altrouge. While not exactly hated, she despised Valkyries due to their connection to gods, especially Odin, who once annoyed her rather seriously. It wasn't an outright enmity like Zeus, who tried to assault her, but enough to cuss him out at every given occasion. She finally let go of her bad feelings after tasting their food, but she still complained from time to time.
-"Ugh, how could you agree to ally with that bastard?"-She sat on my office desk and complained.
-"I learned not to put my emotions, especially hatred, before what mattered."-I looked at her from my work.-"You need anything?"
-"Yes. My sister has woken up. I hope you can help me to find and talk to her."
-"Oh? Where?"
-"On the mainland. I believe that her target is somewhere in the Alps."
-"Then I'll end my work and depart with you. Do I have to prepare anything?"
-"I don't think so, but if a fight breaks out, I suggest having something to restrict and seal her. With your current strength, you aren't exactly her match."
-"You truly know how to entice someone to do something for you."-I rolled my eyes at her.
-"I'm just telling the truth."-She shrugged, but I saw the smile on her face.
-"I'll have some tool prepared then, but I hope to avoid fighting. Maybe…"
-"You and your plans…"-She interrupted me.-"Can't you just live? Without all that planning and overthinking?"
-"Can't. That's just how I am. No matter how worthless plans are in the face of some circumstances, it's still better to be prepared."
-"I don't care."-She jumped down and walked toward me.
I knew what she wanted, so I just took off my gauntlet and gave her my right arm. She grabbed it and bit into my skin, drawing some of my blood. She asked me for my blood once after I asked her not to attack Sankta after another anemic worker was found, and she agreed if I provided her with blood instead. I agreed, and that's how this situation started to happen almost every other day.