EP.22 Hraesvelgr -2
EP.22 Hraesvelgr -2
Hadn't everyone imagined flying through the sky at least once?
I was no different. A long, long time ago, I'd had that very thought while watching birds soar freely.
A dream of traveling the world on nothing but a pair of wings.
It was an adventurer's romance, one of the countless dreams of wingless humans.
And that day, I finally achieved that dream.
Just in the worst possible way.
"The scent of a young male...! How rare! How many decades has it been since I last caught this scent?!"
"U-Um... ma'am...?"
"You little rascal! Call me big sis!"
Realistically, between a Great Divine Beast who'd lived for thousands of years and a human who'd barely scraped together twenty, wasn't "big sis" a little too shameless?
"Then... elder sister...?"
But I had no choice but to obey Hraesvelgr.
Just calling her "ma'am" once had been enough to make my knees go weak from her fury.
If I'd called her "grandma," I might have already been dead.
"Elder sister, huh... I like it! I'll let it slide, just this once! So, what did you call me for?"
"Um, could you please put me down?"
"Why?"
"You see, I'm a physically frail human, so being suspended this high up is, well, unavoidably terrifying."
"Hmm~! Don't worry! I'll put you down soon enough."
"Really?"
"Sure. In exchange, my nest is currently swarming with some hussies, so we'll head somewhere quiet instead, and there, you and big sis here can have some nice, pleasant fun...♡"
"Somebody save me!!"
As if it weren't bad enough that I was already getting drained by my own companion Divine Beasts, now a Great Divine Beast was trying to wring me dry too.
And to top it off, the Divine Beast trying to kidnap me had preserved her chastity for as long as she had lived.
Having starved for men over thousands of years, the backlash was bound to be insane.
I could only see five seconds into the future, but my mind was already auto-playing images of Hraesvelgr after she got a taste of carnal pleasure.
"Haa...!! To think such pleasure existed...♡ I've been missing out for a thousand yearrrrs!!"
"P-Please, that's enough...!!"
"Sorry!! Just a thousand more times! Only a thousand more, I promise...!!"
I'm going to die.
This is definitely going to kill me...!!
Before it even started, my life was already flashing before my eyes. I thrashed and struggled, trying to escape somehow.
But the vice-like grip Hraesvelgr had on my shoulders was far too powerful to break free of on my own.
"Husband! I'll save you right away!!"
"Miho...!!"
She wore a blood-chilling smile, but right now, my fox companion was more reassuring than anyone.
Miho scooped up a random rock lying around and hurled it with all her might at the space above me.
The rock flew through the air, blasting a shockwave as it broke the sound barrier.
But before it could even touch Hraesvelgr's body, it ricocheted off in another direction.
"A pointless effort. Having become one with the wind, there's no way a mere rock could hit me, is there?"
"Ah...!!"
The information Yata had given me suddenly came to mind.
With her wings spread, Hraesvelgr became the wind itself.
Meaning, her body melded into the air and turned into wind.
If that was the case, aside from me and Tia, no one could sense Hraesvelgr, let alone attack her.
It was a desperate situation, but to turn it around, Tia was the one who could help me right now.
"T-Tia? Can you help me out a little?"
"Yeah! Otay!!"
"A baby dragon? What could a tiny lifeform like that possibly do to help?"
Hraesvelgr didn't yet know that Tia was a Wind Dragon.
From her perspective, it made perfect sense to be puzzled by a baby dragon flying her way.
But among all my companion Divine Beasts, Tia was the one whose power absolutely could not be underestimated.
"Yuu~? How should I help yooou~?"
"First, can you cut the wind holding onto my shoulders?"
"Otay!"
At my request, Tia immediately sliced off Hraesvelgr's ankle.
My body was flung into the air and began to fall, but in an instant, Alice dashed over, caught me, and performed a clean rescue.
"Thanks, Alice."
"This much is basic."
Meanwhile, the giant eagle summoned the wind and regenerated her ankle, shedding her wind form and revealing her true appearance.
The figure was so majestic that I instinctively gulped.
But surprisingly, the one who was shocked wasn't me—it was the eagle.
"So you're a dragon with abilities of the same lineage as mine. It's the first time since Tiamat! Since you use a name similar to Tiamat's, are you a descendant of hers?"
As befitting a Great Divine Beast who had lived for eons, Hraesvelgr mentioned the being who was the origin of Tia.
Tiamat, huh... I hadn't thought much of it when I named Tia. But now I was curious about that existence.
"Do you know Tiamat in detail?"
"Of course I do! Since our abilities were similar, we were fairly close friends. Though in the end, that traitorous wench went and got married behind my back."
"You seem quite fixated on marriage."
"Naturally! I've lived for thousands upon thousands of years! Thousands! So, tell me, does it make any common sense for the number of years you've lived to equal the number of years you've been a virgin?"
"That... really is absurd."
"Right?! Over thousands of years, everyone I know finds someone to love and lives happily ever after, one by one, so why am I the only one left behind? Where did all those guys who used to say they liked me go? Connections never last, so now I'm even going out of my way to approach men myself...! And they call me a Great Divine Beast! Call me an unapproachable being! They come up with every excuse under the sun to reject me!! They should just be honest and say they don't like me because I'm too old!!"
"I-I see."
I could feel the deep anguish in every word Hraesvelgr spoke.
So that's what they call an old maid's hysteria...
"And on top of all that, just the other day, that crow wench I know was bragging about forming a companion relationship with a human, even though it violates the rules...!!"
"Huh...?"
That sounded an awful lot like it concerned me...
I was about to ask if she meant Yata.
But the look in Hraesvelgr's eyes as she stared at me felt anything but ordinary.
So I swallowed my words and shut my mouth.
"So now, I can't take it anymore...!! I don't care if it's a human male! Divine Beast Rules? I can break them any number of times! I want to marry a man and be loved too! So, human, won't you marry me? Huh? I'll treat you well!"
She tried to kidnap and drain me just moments ago, and now she suddenly claimed she'd treat me well...
It was utterly impossible to trust her.
Her story was truly pitiful, but I decided to refuse.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think that will be possible. In the first place, I already have numerous companion animals..."
"You mean you're virile? That's even better! I don't care about polygamy, as long as you love me properly!"
"Even so, suddenly getting married to someone you just met is..."
"I heard that crow wench formed a contract within hours of meeting you, too? Let's just get to know each other gradually? Like our sexual compatibility, or our favorite positions, you know...♡"
It was a situation where no excuse I could come up with would work.
There was no other choice. I'd just have to be frank...
"I'm sorry. No matter how willing you say you are, I don't think it's possible for me."
"Right, I figured as much... Then I have no choice!"
"You'll give up?"
"No? I'll just force myself on you and then make you form a Companion Contract with me?"
"..."
She's completely hopeless.
"Then, with thanks for the meal, I'll dig ri...!!"
"Don't cross the line, you old lady."
A black object had been rapidly descending from a point even higher than where Hraesvelgr was.
It slammed down precisely onto the crown of the drooling eagle's head—Yata.
A perfectly executed crow dive attack. It slammed Hraesvelgr's body straight into the ground.
"Guhh...!! Marriage! Marriaaage...!!"
Despite taking an attack that looked painful even to me as an onlooker, she was still fixated on me. Seeing that, I couldn't help but shake my head.
Grandpa Qilin, just when exactly can we expect to see your defeat?
***
The crow Hraesvelgr had mentioned was indeed Yata.
It was obvious, given that the eagle's eyes were glaring at Yata as if she wanted to kill her.
"You two were on close terms with Hraesvelgr?"
"Yeah, our habitats are close, and we're both female, both avian Divine Beasts. It'd be strange if we didn't know each other."
"Mmph!!"
"If you knew her, you could've given me a heads-up."
"Sorry. She's a slightly embarrassing acquaintance to talk about."
"Mmph!!"
"That, I can kinda understand."
"Right?"
"Mmph!! Mmmph!!"
Hraesvelgr was bound by Fatal Light restraints Miho had created.
She'd gone crazy after getting brutally rejected at her latest blind date, so we'd restrained her temporarily, as we were told she needed to be tied up to calm down.
But she didn't show the slightest sign of calming down.
If anything, she seemed even angrier at Yata's words and actions...
"You can untie her now."
"Is that okay?"
"It's fine. The very fact that she came out without breaking those restraints herself means she's calmed down."
"Huh?"
In that instant, I heard a soft rustle as the restraints binding the eagle fell to the snowy ground.
When I turned my head, a woman with long, wavy platinum-blonde hair stood where the giant eagle had been.
She was a statue-like beauty with bewitching eyes and a single teardrop mole, a prominent nose, and cherry-red lips.
Her face alone was remarkable, but her chest was so large it rivaled Kor's, and her body proportions were perfect. She could justly be called a peerless beauty capable of toppling a kingdom.
"Whew~!! It's been so long since I've taken human form."
"H-Hraesvelgr...?"
"How about it? Beautiful enough to make you want to pounce on me right now, aren't I? Go ahead, release all your lust into these voluptuous breasts of mine...♡"
"Dear husband, don't be fooled by appearances. She may look like that, but what's inside is a several-thousand-year-old woman."
Yata whispered the magic words capable of making anyone wilt.
I hadn't actually had any lustful intentions toward Hraesvelgr, but the effect was incredible nonetheless!
To the point where Hraesvelgr's lovely human form no longer registered as the opposite sex.
There's a reason they say ignorance is bliss.
"Hey!! Did you sell off your business ethics or what?!"
"He's my bonded companion, not just anyone's. I figured he had a right to know."
"Fuck! Look at you, killing two birds with one stone while mocking me? A single woman's life is so miserable it's unlivable!"
"You know what to do if you're jealous."
The two birds were having quite the entertaining conversation.
Despite everything, the fact that they were friends seemed to hold true.
"Whatever, you're not the important one anyway! The most important thing is the heart of the person accepting me!"
"Huh...? You still haven't given up?"
"Of course not! There are no Divine Beasts left who would accept someone like me. So this is my last chance. If even you reject me, human, I'll be single for life!"
"Even if you say that..."
"Please, I'm begging you. If you form a contract with me, I'll do anything! Housework, obviously, but I'm also confident I can accept any position, any play, any sexual appetite you have!!"
When she begged this desperately, it was awkward even for someone who was trying to refuse.
But right now, the fox's murderous gaze and, equally, the rabbit's mournful stare—she still hadn't been able to form a contract—were boring painfully into the back of my head.
If I formed a contract with Hraesvelgr here, I'd be guaranteed death and a crushing guilt complex at the same time.
A truly terrifying situation where I was damned if I died and damned if I lived.
Whatever Hraesvelgr's personal circumstances, I had no choice but to bow my head to her.
"I'm sorry again, but I must respectfully decline."
"Couldn't you consider it just one more time? For the last time?"
"No matter how many times I think about it, I'm afraid it would still be difficult."
"I see..."
Hraesvelgr despaired, going so far as to kneel in the snow.
It was truly pitiful. To think that a Great Divine Beast, whose very existence was magnificent, would despair this much over something as trivial as marriage...
"Then let me ask for just one thing. Just one single thing."
"Yes?"
"Human! My virginity...! I want to lose my virginity!!"
"..."
Just as I felt dizzy from that speechless spectacle, the crow behind me was smiling as if mocking the sight.
"Give up. It's easier if you give up."