20 Feas

On the way to the Main Hall, I got to know the Valkyries better.

Other than Hildr, Thrud, and Sif, who were the third, second and first place respectively in the Valkyrie Corps, going from 4th ranked to 10th:

4th - Syr

5th - Hlokk

6th - Rota

7th - Skuld

8th - Kara

9th - Sigrun

10th - Freya (A/N - Not the actual Freya, just someone with the same name.)

I won't go into detail on each individual's appearance as it didn't matter too much. But the common details between all of them was the blonde hair and blue eyes, along with an athletic figure. They were all of varying heights, however, they were all taller than Hildr which they teased her endlessly about.

While she teased them back about their, according to her, hilariously low IQ's.

All in all, it was a fun time walking with these women who had near-instantly accepted me as one of their own. A Shield-Brother as they called it.

I wouldn't be lying if I said I enjoyed actually belonging with a group of people who were like me - Non-human. Not that I didn't feel like I belonged with Miles and the girls, it just felt...different I guess?

I guess it would be similar to saying you feel more at home in your native homeland even if you can speak all the languages in the world and could be welcomed anywhere. No matter what, you'd always feel more at ease at home.

And that's what the Valkyries, Thor, and Asgard felt like; Home. Maybe it's my naivety picking up again, but I felt that they truly cared for me and other than the Strength and Sage Force they knew enough about me that most of my 'secrets' were laid bare. But they still accepted me, though I did know this was partly because of the fact I'm an Angel. Not that I care too much about that fact.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like it here.

Outside of my own head, the group of us had finally arrived at the Main Hall with Thor stopping me from walking into a wooden wall as I was thinking too much.

This obviously caused a round of teasing from the Valkyries, especially Thrud who was in her big-sister teasing mode or something weirdly flirty like that.

"Hmm? Do you need one of your Shield-Sister's to guide you, Michael~?" Thrud said this as she hugged my arm with a teasing smile.

She wasn't wearing any armor, instead choosing to wear some baggy training clothes, so I could feel my arm buried beneath two mounds of heavenly fat.

Luckily I was used to things like this - Nat had tried to get me to blush and feel embarrassed whenever she could. Apparently, it was mental training but I once heard her talking to herself about keeping people from corrupting me and leading me astray or something like that - so when I felt the heavenly sensation, I kept a straight face.

"That won't be necessary, Thrud, I was just deep in thought," I smiled at her before moving away from her. Much to her annoyance, apparently, as she started pouting when I didn't react. Unbeknownst to me, she was mainly annoyed that I'd even pull away from her.

(A/N - Don't worry, the MC isn't dense like a Jap Harem Protagonist. He just needs time to learn more about women and romantic relations, then he'll be better at this sort of stuff~)

Anyway, after this, we entered the Main Hall where I and the other Valkyries sat down at a table and Thor pulled out a horn from who knows where.

*OOOUUMMMMM!*

The colossal sound echoed throughout the hall and out into the city of Asgard.

Seconds after he'd blown the horn, multiple chefs came into the hall before standing and saluting at Thor.

As Thor discussed with them the food and drink he wanted for his feast, I looked around at the Hall in more detail.

The table we were sitting on was one of many and even then our table was about 15 meters long which spoke volumes about the room's length.

Unlike outside where the Hall looked to be made of Gold, the insides were primarily wood and stone, with the ceiling and the support beams holding up the ceiling being wood, while the floor and the walls were made of dark grey stone.

Torches adorned the walls, yellowish-orange flames flickering in each of them, illuminating the massive tapestries behind them.

I thought that was a massive fire hazard but maybe some Vanir or Aesir Magic could make the tapestries fireproof? That doesn't seem too far-fetched.

All in all the Hall looked to be about 170 meters long and about 30 meters across allowing for 3 lines of 10 of the long tables I was now sat at.

I marveled at how many people this place could hold but I was brought out of my thought by a tap on my shoulder.

Shaking my thoughts back into line, I looked at the person who'd tapped me and saw Hildr looking at me with a curious gaze.

"Wonderful, isn't it? I have many wonderful memories in this Hall, especially with Mother..." her face went sour and dark for a second before she bounced back and looked at me, "I've heard from Prince Thor that you can control fire...can you show me?" she looked unsure of what she'd said, like she thought I'd be offended or something.

Stifling a laugh, I looked at her, "Yeah, I can show you, but it'll cost you," I smiled mischievously at the Valkyrie in front of me.

I saw her light green eyes go into thinking before they widened and her face went a bit red, "W-what would you require as p-payment?" my smile grew further as I knew what she was thinking.

"Hmm? I don't want anything dirty, Hildr, who would think a Valkyries have such dirty minds~" some of the other Valkyries had been listening to our conversation and started laughing when I teased Hildr. Some even gave me proud smiles, as if I was learning their ways or something.

Hildr got a bit flustered but I put a stop to it with a gentle, reassuring hand on her shoulder, "I was joking, Hildr, all I want is for you to tell me more about the Runes and the Rune Crafting you spoke of before. That's fair, no?"

Hearing what I said seemed to cause Hildr to do a 180 as she wasn't red from embarrassment anymore, but instead excitement as she looked at me with eager eyes, "All you want is for me to speak about something I love? Then it's a deal, Michael!" she moved my arm from her shoulder and grasped my forearm with her hand, in a sort of weird handshake.

Or should I say forearm shake?

Instinctively I grasped her forearm in return and she stood up before leaning her forehead onto mine. This action continued for a few more seconds before Hildr opened her eyes and separated from me, sitting down once more.

"We've made a promise, now show me your Flame control!" she looked at me with eager eyes still and I was still a bit confused about what we just did, but I guessed it was a sort of promise between Valkyries or something similar.

Pushing the thought to the back of my head, I lifted one of my arms up before a red flame covered my hand.

This alone got some 'ooh's and 'ahh's but I went a bit further and made the flame leave my hand before collecting it into a ball.

Once it was condensed into a ball, I manipulated it into a mini-spear. Once it's appearance was that of a dart-sized red spear, I let it zip around our table, using my Sage Force to guide it on a path which wouldn't hit anyone.

The Valkyries seemed stunned by this ability before they were entranced by the spear flowing around them like it had a mind of their own.

Hildr, at some point, had brought out a notepad and had started to rapidly scribble down some things as she watched the spear with utmost focus.

The most affected, however, was Thrud who looked not at the spear but at me who was concentrating while guiding the spear.

In her eyes I looked like some kind of illusion, once meant to lure her away with the bait being the perfect man for her.

Little did I know this would be the start of a very lengthy headache for my stay in Asgard.

Finally, however, the spear landed on my hand before I absorbed the flames back into my body. I didn't need to do this, I just thought it looked cooler than dispersing the flames mid-air...

The Valkyries instantly started bombarding me with questions: What was the size limit for the weapons I could make? Could I only make certain weapons? Can I make more than one weapon at once and control it like I just did?

Long story short, a lot of questions about my ability to create weapons. Which, to be honest, is exactly what I'd expect from a group of warrior women.

Hildr, however, went into a serious mode where she asked me some more in-depth questions.

"How much energy does it take to create that? And is there a limit to how much fire you can summon?" she looked exactly like a reporter with her pen and notepad as she asked me questions. It made her look surprisingly beautiful.

Coming out of her own stupor, Thrud glared slightly at Hildr, "Hildr, you can't go asking about his abilities like that! A warrior's abilities should be their best-kept secret for the ultimate advantage in battle!" her voice sounded oddly jealous and I couldn't figure out exactly what had made her so.

Before Hildr would start apologizing, I looked at Thrud, "Thrud, we're all Shield-Brethren, no? So, I can feel at ease with telling and showing you my powers. Plus her questions weren't too invasive, so there's even more reason that I can answer them," I gently smiled but firmly admonished her. Seems she does have a bit of a temper.

Thrud seemed taken aback for a few seconds before her shoulders slumped a little and she nodded her head, "I apologize for my outburst at you Hildr," she turned to me and smiled gratefully, "Thank you for keeping me in line, Michael, this sister of yours is very thankful~" she winked at the end of that so I knew she was pretty much fine.

Though I do wonder what's got her in such an easily aggravated mood, I let it go as she would probably tell us if it was something serious.

Anyway, my mind was once again brought to something new when I smelt something absolutely delectable being brought into the Hall.

I turned my head toward dozens of servants carrying platters of food, with another dozen or two carrying big jugs full of different kinds of alcohol.

The first table they filled was obviously ours before they continued to fill other tables. As the tables were being filled, Thor brought out a smaller, longer horn out of his pocket.

Seems like convenient magic...

*DUDUDUDOUUMMM!*

The sound from this was much higher in pitch than the first one and it seemed to bring a...festive mood? Well, that's the best way for me to explain it.

As I was wondering what this horn was meant for, my answer was quickly given as I saw crowds of jolly people being to enter the Hall.

They each sat at a table, talking and chatting with one another but they all looked toward Thor and therefore our table with questioning eyes.

Something I seemed to see was that people who looked fitter and more like soldiers/warriors sat closer to us. We were at the very end of the Hall, near a big golden throne (seriously, why is everything in Asgard Gold in color?!). I guess this could be to do with status? In a society such as Asgard's, being a warrior and how good a warrior you are, probably does decide your place on the social ladder.

Thor went up onto the Throne, standing just in front of it. His face was jovial, like always, but there seemed to be a sort of...mischief there as well? What's he planning?

"Welcome, everyone!" his booming voice brought everyone else's chatter to an end as they all fully faced him. Seeing this, Thor let out a laugh, "What's with the serious faces, my friends? Have some mead or some wine, eat until your guts burst! Because tonight we feast for the announcement of my daughter's first mission outside of Asgard!" hearing what he said, I lifted an eyebrow in curiosity, while Thrud furrowed her brows in confusion as she looked questioningly at her Father.

It seems that just like her Father, Thrud has massive popularity with the people as they all lifted a glass of alcohol and cheered. All of them cheering together sounded like booms of thunder.

Asgardians sure are loud, huh?

Using my enhanced hearing, I learned that Thrud has been cooped up in Asgard for all her life, only ever being taught about the other 8 realms by her tutors and her Father whenever he was around. It seems that for a Soldier, and even more so for a Valkyrie, going to another realm to do a mission is sort of like a coming of age ceremony.

I spoke to Hildr about it and she seemed incredibly envious of Thrud's chance to go to another realm. But she did inform me that most Soldier's go on pretty boring missions for their first mission. Though with Thor as her Parent, I highly doubt that will be the case.

Before I could continue with our chat, Thrud got up and rushed over to her Father who'd sat down on the Throne with Sif sitting on his lap. Both I and Hildr looked over in slight interest at what was about to happen.

Sadly, before that could happen, the Hall's door burst open and a group of women entered the room.

They were led by two women. Two very tall women.

One was even taller than Thor at around 7'1", while the other was the same height as Thor at 6'6". Both of the women looked as if they had giants blood flowing through their veins.

The taller woman looked around, specifically at the men, with a look of pure disdain and contempt on her face. She had red hair and cold green eyes. Her body wasn't overly muscular but you could tell she packed a lot of muscle within her curvy figure.

She was wearing a red tube top which fully covered her bust but left her midsection for everyone to see. The tube top stretched upward at her right shoulder and continued down her right arm and stopped at her wrist. Her left arm was left bare apart from her forearm which had a metal bracer attached to it.

It was a peculiar style yet it suited her.

She wore matching red tight pants which were secured with a black belt, finished off with yellow-golden boots which looked like a mixture between pirate boots and combat boots.

She had yellow lighting bold decal going up the outside of each leg, which only secured my guess on who she was; Thundra.

"...Jesus f*cking Christ..." I let out an aggravated breath as I turned my sights to the short woman who instantly gave me a much higher feeling of danger.

A beautiful face, a dignified expression, and piercing blue eyes. All framed together by beautiful flowing black hair which she let flow onto and down the front of her shoulders.

From what skin I could see, she had an olive-colored complexion which only made her eyes stand out even more.

She would've been a supreme beauty but...the hatred in her eyes and the coldness of her eyes really diminished her overall beauty. I guess she's a Rose with thorns, huh?

She was wearing a full body latex suit which was a dark green color, almost black if it weren't for the torches in the Hall. The latex suit had multiple yellow lines which wrapped around her body before connecting with one another.

I knew who she was. She was Deidre Wentworth, also know as Superia. Founder of the Femizons.

And she and Thundra were walking over to the Valkyries with a smile on their faces. Problem - they had just seen me, a man, with the Valkyries.

Guess I was gonna have to wait to eat...