62.
62.
It was the natural order of things that the night sky should be steeped in darkness.
Across the dark blue canvas where only starlight and moonlight should have shimmered in silver, a meteor blazing with white flame streaked.
[Kugung-! Kugugung-! Hwareureureuk-!]
With a roar that seemed to burn the whole world, the meteor traced a long tail of fire and crossed into the west.
At that clamorous sight, which lit up the entire night sky as if a flashbang had burst, the fragile human city that had sunk into deep slumber awoke in an instant, and soon the people trembled violently, invoking the names of every god they knew.
Perun, Hel, Odin, Thor...
Amid the whirlwind of divine names, I stood alone at the highest point of the city and fixed my gaze intently on the star's fading trail.
'Do meteors normally fly that low...?'
Unlike those who sought the names of gods, I knew perfectly well what that thing was.
Outside this Earth, in a cosmos so vast it could only be called immense, there were countless lumps of rock, and that was simply a rock that happened to be drawn by Earth's gravity and made an unplanned landing on this human planet. It was not some divine punishment or anything of the sort.
...Unless even that was to be called the will of the gods, in which case I had nothing more to say. I simply meant that from a rational standpoint, that was the case.
However, seeing the people of Novgorod wailing in every direction, it became clear that in this world where the boundary between superstition and reality did not exist, I needed to shake up my people's religious outlook a little.
For fear was born of the unknown.
I ought to share what I knew with them, so that only the brilliant reason of humanity might illuminate this world.
While everyone lifted their heads to gaze at the sky, I instead lowered mine to observe the humans, and in my heart, my resolve hardened further.
*****
The people who had been howling that the entire world was about to end, praying in terror, swiftly changed their tune the very next morning when none of the calamities came to pass, declaring that the meteor of the previous night had been a sign from the gods celebrating my great expedition.
Come to think of it, did these people not live every winter witnessing the aurora that unfailingly appeared...? Perhaps because of that, their adaptability to nature's anomalies was astonishingly remarkable.
Though half of it might have been living in a state of resignation...
Indeed, the natural environment of Northern and Eastern Europe was exceedingly well-suited for generating every kind of superstition. Divination I could perhaps tolerate, but given the people's earnest devotion to sacrifices, religious reform was urgently needed.
It felt as though a flame rekindled in my heart, which had admittedly grown somewhat lax after the journey to Rome and Constantinople.
I promptly informed Rurik and Oleg that I would be departing for Árós.
What was surprising was that, following Djur of Kiev, Oleg of Novgorod also requested to serve under my command.
Since the troubles with Polotsk, Kiev, the Magyars, and the Khazars had all been resolved, he declared that his place was at his king's side, and I eventually granted his request to follow me. Rurik, for his part, subtly revealed a corner of private delight.
He pretended otherwise, but it seemed he indeed harbored a quiet rivalry with Kiev. Seeing the various interests of different places seep into my court, I reflected that I must keep the balance well.
At any rate, after bestowing a blessing to drive away all the misfortune scattered by the meteor, as earnestly requested by the city's people and Rurik (...I merely invoked Hel's name, placed my hand upon the ground, and prayed for the well-being of the city folk), the grand fleet — which now numbered forty ships following behind me — once more entrusted itself to the river.
"May the wind and the waves protect you...! Farewell, Konungr Helgi—!"
"Stay well—! Knyaz Rurik! Until we meet again—!"
"See you again, brother!"
Standing at the prow, I exchanged farewells with Rurik, who had come down to the docks to see us off, and then we crossed Lake Ladoga, still impossible to distinguish from a sea, pushing west, ever further west.
Until we crossed the Baltic Sea once more, calm and gently subsiding beneath a mild wind.
We spent a full week singing, rowing, and traveling in high spirits, and soon reached Gotland, where we bid farewell to several merchants.
Shortly after, we passed Uppsala, the gateway to Árós, and at last arrived at my homeland.
My city. My people. The place where my family dwelled.
News must have already reached them, for amidst the great crowd that had gathered, Sveinr, catching my eye, blew his horn with all his might and then bellowed at the people.
[Buuuuuuuu— Uuuuung—]
"He went! He saw! He conquered!"
"Uoooooooh—!"
"Konungr Helgi! Konungr Helgi!"
"Sveinr! Sveinr Right-Hand!"
"The Konungr has triumphed again!"
"..."
'That line must have made quite an impression...'
My vanguard commander, Sveinr, and all those who had accompanied this expedition proudly thrust out their chests. Leon the engineer, who seemed more thrilled by the fact of exploring an unknown world than afraid of arriving in a strange land, looked around with a flushed face, while the boy Constantine stood beside me in a gallant posture.
He wore a decidedly resolute expression. Yet, a trace of startled wonder he could not conceal flickered restlessly in his eyes.
I ruffled admirable Constantine's hair, scooped him up with one arm, and leaped over the prow.
Hup— tch.
[Cheok!]
The ground, familiar in texture beneath my feet, welcomed my return.
"Sssssuup— huuuuu—"
Drawing a deep breath amid the cheers and applause of the crowd, I felt the friendly, cool air fill my lungs.
"I shall introduce you to my family, Constantine. If you have no objection, they are also the people who will become your family from now on."
"Yes, understood, Konungr Helgi."
Constantine, whose brown hair and skin a shade more coppery than the Norsemen stood out distinctly, nodded his understanding, and beyond the boy's small face, one by one, familiar figures began to enter my field of vision.
Björn, laughing; Mother Asta; Mother Áslaug; Björn's firstborn son, Erik. And Hrólfr and his son, Hrolager.
After holding them in my gaze for a moment, I immediately strode forward with vigor.
Behind me, the disembarking men bustled about in orderly succession. Amid their activity, cargo of every sort piled up — gold and silver, harnesses of tough leather, jewel-studded ornaments, chests containing purple cloaks, and all manner of other goods.
Unlike the merchants of Árós, whose eyes were fixed upon that dazzling spectacle, my family beamed radiant smiles, watching only my gait.
"Mother."
"You have returned safely, Helgi."
"It is a true relief that you came back unharmed."
With my two mothers, a gentle embrace.
"Björn."
"Helgi."
With Björn, a rough embrace.
Erik, Björn's first son, whose body seemed to have grown much stronger, had fundamentally been quite frail compared to his father or his brother, Refil, so I was very glad to see Erik extending his arm to me first.
"Erik. How long has it been...! It is so much better to see you improved...!"
"Thank you, Konungr Helgi. The people had already been hearing of the strongest one's journey through the merchants. Now that you have returned safely, it is a stroke of fortune for all Norsemen."
"...Yes, I am glad to see you too, Erik."
Only the build differed. He was truly Björn's son.
My nephew, about two years my senior, had inherited Björn's ironclad spirit exactly. Looking at Erik, my capable adjutant Refil felt, by comparison, flexible.
After shaking my head toward a proudly smiling Björn, I then exchanged greetings with Hrolf and his son Hrolager, who stood stoutly beside him.
Hrolf... looked like the same old sly fox as ever. And Hrolf's late-born son, Hrolager, though he had seen my face several times in private, still stiffened up the moment he saw me.
It felt... like seeing a slightly smaller Seutorolpeu.
The lad gazed curiously at Constantinos beside me, and since these two little ones were of a similar age, it seemed they would become good friends.
'Come to think of it, it would be good to establish an educational institution...'
The Imperial University I had seen in Constantinople. The masterpiece of Caesar Bardas. To build a school of that scale, we immediately lacked both the books produced by Norsemen themselves and the teachers to instruct the children... though it seemed we had to at least make a start.
'Let's put aside the complicated matters for later and first grasp the current situation.'
"Now, first let us all go inside. We shall share the detailed tales indoors. Hrolf, is there any mead left?"
I had specifically emphasized to the Jarl of Gotland to include wine on the list of future purchases from Constantinople... but I still preferred the taste of mead.
That sweet and sour flavor, with a lingering trace of sweetness...! Drink it with wild raspberries, and that place becomes Asgard.
"Of course, Konungr. The bees are so numerous they have become a problem, so the underground cellars are filled and overflowing."
Hrolf spoke with a grin.
It was not only Hrolf; the moment drink was mentioned, all the men around me let out a 'heh heh' laugh. But, Hrolager, why were you laughing like that...?
"Drink is good, but shouldn't you eat something hearty first? I prepared this and that with the servants starting from the morning, so it would be best to get yourselves tidied up and then meet."
"Hahaha! Understood, Mother."
Well, you do not really notice it when eating, sleeping, and traveling with other men, but when you camp rough, you basically end up smelling like a beast.
As if she could not stop us, my mother Asta shook her head and pushed my back, and I pretended to be shoved along while telling Refil and Hrolf to finish unloading, let the warriors rest, and then come to my longhouse.
'I ought to give generous rewards to those who joined this expedition.'
Especially, though the Emperor, the Varangian commander, and Jarl Yngvar had implicitly offered lavish conditions, not a single one of the warriors from Árós who had accompanied me volunteered for the Varangians.
Those two had not been headhunting behind my back, and I had given my consent, yet the sight of them shaking their heads and saying the master of the Garmr Brotherhood was only Helgi Ragnarsson was truly moving and something to be grateful for.
But how should I put it? It also felt a little chilling. This was not mere loyalty... it was a bit more...
A feeling as if a secret society centered on me was being formed without my knowledge.
Having been at the heart of Rome, I seemed to have grown excessively suspicious. Seeing mere shadows brought assassins and poison to mind... Though inwardly I shook my head, certain it could not be so, I had not prevented my Rus friends from volunteering for the Varangians.
Rurik, Haskuldr, Djur, and others had been unexpectedly rather proactive about it. And the Emperor too, perhaps because he had felt a considerable need to expand the central army—more precisely, for personal troops under the Emperor's name—had expressed a desire to hire especially high-caliber warriors from me.
The mercenary trade held merit worth serious consideration. Gaining combat experience and raising strong warriors was an important task. Especially in the matter of anti-cavalry warfare, was the Empire not the world's foremost at present?
Of course, there was a more pressing matter right now.
"Helgi, did you happen to see a meteor tearing through the sky on your way back?"
"Hmm? Of course I saw it, it flew remarkably close, no?"
"Thanks to that, the Godi went into an uproar. Uppsala got noisy for the first time in a while. It was no small trouble stopping those bastards who wanted to offer sacrifices immediately to quell the gods' wrath."
Were there still such fellows remaining?
The children were taken ahead by the two mothers, and the Norsemen warriors, who like me had begun wearing their hair swept back in ones and twos, slowly headed home following Björn and me.
Just as my spirits were lifting from the cool breeze and the well-paved stone road, I pondered Björn's words and suddenly realized that his tone of speech had changed slightly.
"No, wait, Björn. You once said you would treat me as a Konungr, but you have reverted to the tone of a brother?"
When I displayed a mischievous smile, Björn likewise put on a faint smile.
"There is no longer any need to make an old, retired brother, who has been hauled out and thoroughly worked to the bone, aware of his own station. For you are already a sufficiently excellent Konungr."
"Haha! So you brought Erik along because you did not want to suffer alone?"
"Of course, there is no small measure of that. But Erik is better at using his head than Refil or I.
This time too, Erik neatly organized most of the enterprises you had set in motion. The western roads, the work of compacting the land between Árós and Uppsala... I simply stood guard alongside Hrolf."
"Oh my, Jarl Björn! How could you say such a disappointing thing! How hard I toiled, might the Konungr misunderstand or not?"
At Björn's not-exactly-a-revelation, good-for-nothing Hrólfr sprang up, and everyone around laughed.
Indeed, Hrolf got along with Ivar like kindred spirits. Both being sly dogs...
He was practically the opposite of the rigid Björn. Usually, it was Hrolf and Ivar who were on the receiving end.
"Goodness. Hrolf, calm yourself. I already anticipated it."
"No—"
"Anyway, Björn. Those Godi you mentioned earlier, where are they all now?"
Ignoring the protesting Hrolf, I asked Björn in a somewhat lower voice.
At that, the atmosphere having changed in an instant, Björn answered me.
"It seemed all the Godi in this land had gathered, so naturally they are at Uppsala. Though Árós may be the heart of the kingdom, are the important rituals not still conducted at Uppsala?"
"Uppsala, Uppsala..."
So that was how it was.