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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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[Snort! Snort! Sniff- Snort! Snort!]
The reindeer, snorting loudly, were smaller than I expected. It seemed the massive ones I’d seen in documentaries were difficult to domesticate. Reaching about waist-high on an average person, they looked sturdy, but it was clear why they couldn’t replace horses.
They felt more like… donkeys than horses.
But the important thing right now wasn’t these animals.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Konungr Helgi Ragnarsson. My name is Eret. I travel between the Sami lands and the Konungr’s lands, buying and selling necessary goods…”
The man who introduced himself as Eret was a middle-aged Sami man.
He looked a little different from us, smaller in stature, and entirely wrapped in leather, so only his face was visible.
However, I was gradually losing focus on his voice, appearance, and everything else around me, my gaze captivated by only one thing.
“This is my daughter, Inga.”
Eeee- Neee- Droooo-
As my transcendental senses focused entirely on one sense, sight, the surrounding time seemed to slow down.
Forgetting smell, hearing, touch, and other senses, a being exuded an intense visual presence in my mind.
Standing next to the reindeer, which snorted like a cow, stroking its neck with her white fingers, the woman’s hair was the gold of a late summer wheat field.
Just standing there, her blonde hair seemed to scatter blazing life around her. Her facial features, arranged in a miraculously delicate distribution beyond that golden hair, brought extreme pleasure to my enhanced vision.
‘Pleasure? Can I call this pleasure?’
No, should I call it gratitude…?
My mind, which I was confident would remain unshaken in any situation, felt like it would fly away, and the senses throughout my body, including my heart, gradually raised my body temperature, as if preparing for battle.
I neither enjoyed shonen manga nor believed in romance movies, yet…
There was a term for this state I was in.
“It is an honor to meet you, Konungr Helgi. My name is Inga.”
The sight of her white teeth and red tongue moving between her red lips, below a round nose bridge, filled my vision.
The sound that flowed through her throat was soft and, at the same time, slightly trembling.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Inga. And…”
What was this person’s name again?
“It’s Eret, Konungr.”
“Forgive my rudeness, Eret. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Hmm-?”
Bjorn, standing stiffly behind me, let out a puzzled sound at my rare blunder.
Glancing sideways, I saw my brother’s eyebrows arched in an inverted V, a smile slowly spreading across his face from the moment our eyes met. It was exactly the expression he wore right before teasing Ivarr and Hrolf.
“The reindeer are truly beautiful, Inga.”
“Y… Yes? Thank you, Konungr Helgi.”
Oh dear, I meant to ask Eret. I ended up asking Inga. Inga. I-N-G-A. A soft name.
“Uh… My daughter and I run a small reindeer farm, Konungr. If you wish, we will offer you some reindeer at any time.”
Bjorn was starting to chuckle silently at my strange behavior, and Eret began to sweat.
But those two drab men had long since disappeared from my attention.
I barely managed to tear my gaze away from Inga, who lowered her head to hide her slightly flushed cheeks at my question, and then awkwardly asked Eret to head towards the longhouse.
“Your words alone brighten my mood. Then, shall we go to my longhouse? We should discuss the details there.”
“Thank you, Konungr!”
“Thank you, Konungr.”
[Snort- Snort-! Sniff-! Snort-!]
The two reindeer, dissatisfied with the chattering humans who were just standing around, snorted loudly. Suppressing my gaze, which kept drifting towards Inga’s fingers as she soothed them, I turned and headed towards the longhouse first.
Does the body rule the mind? Or does the mind rule the body?
In fact, it’s a foolish question. If the mind is generally the work of the brain, and the brain is part of the body, then the mind is the body, and the body is the mind.
Therefore, it must be a natural consequence that my mind, possessing the vigorous body of a 19-year-old, kept drifting towards Inga.
“-So, as we were returning after trading as usual, suddenly, with a sound like the whole world splitting in two, the dark night sky became as bright as day…!? My daughter and I quickly hid beside the trees with the reindeer, but the phenomenon, like a massive thunderstorm and lightning, showed no signs of ending…! It only intensified…! Hel, protect us…!”
Perhaps the honey mead had calmed his nerves, Eret’s story of his midnight adventure was exciting, but I was preoccupied with something far more interesting, letting his tale go in one ear and out the other.
Of course, everyone except me—Bjorn, Refil, Storolf, Leon, even my mother—seemed captivated by the story of this man, overflowing with the talent of a bard… Halfdan, who had already left for Roskilde to meet his prospective bride, wasn’t present.
‘Thank goodness. I would have been teased by my two brothers otherwise.’
Enjoying the captivated audience’s reaction, Eret, after quickly wetting his throat, continued his story.
“Even amidst Thor’s relentless hammering, my daughter and I didn’t lose our courage and watched the spectacle silently…!”
“…”
At this point, Inga’s soft eyes, with her impressive long eyelashes, narrowed slightly, but Eret didn’t even notice.
“And then, like a hundred reindeer crying out at once, a sharp shriek, [Eeeeeeek-!] and then… Boom-!”
“Gasp!”
Eret, expertly pacing his story, made a gesture with both hands as if something was exploding at the climax. Storolf, more engrossed than anyone, gasped. Eret’s low voice, releasing the heightened tension, concluded the story.
“The phenomenon, which seemed to paint the entire night white, disappeared in an instant with a dull thud…! At the same time, no birds sang around it, and not even the shadows of birds could be seen. The world held its breath silently, and my daughter, the two loyal reindeer, and even I were engulfed in fear…! But I had to move. I had to protect my daughter and the two reindeer.”
“…”
Now Inga’s gaze, beyond narrowed, had completely cooled, but Eret still remained oblivious.
“Carefully, we approached, crossing the scorched earth. The unpleasant smell and heat enveloped me, but a Sami man doesn’t give up easily! Finally, peering into the massive crater amidst the rising smoke, I discovered it.
The star that fell from the sky…!”
“Ooooo-! Hel…!”
“Storolf, where did you hear the words Konungr has been saying for the past week? This has nothing to do with the existing gods, it’s solely due to the laws of nature.”
“…That’s what they say, Jarl Refil…! If Hel hadn’t protected us, it could have fallen on Aarhus!”
“That’s true.”
‘A star that fell from the sky… Was it ore?’
Whether it was stone or iron was important… The thought crossed my mind that the item brought by the Sami reindeer merchant before me might be more valuable than I thought.
Refil, faithful to principles, and Storolf, faithful to instinct, had become a comedic duo, bickering with each other. Since they joined around the same time, they seemed to have become rivals of a sort.
I silenced their squabble and spoke to Eret to satisfy my curiosity.
“Honorable Eret, reindeer herder. You may not know, but in my eyes, this meteorite is worth its weight in gold. I will pay you accordingly. If you desire anything else, please tell me.”
My heavy voice drowned out all other voices in the hall, and the eyes of the disappointed people widened, their gazes fixed on the meteorite once more.
Eret, startled, waved his hands at me.
“How can you say such a thing…! Konungr Helgi. Although my daughter and I are not wealthy, and are but a humble family caring for a herd of reindeer, we are not those who would offer something to the Konungr expecting a reward…!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that everything in this world has its rightful owner. I brought this to the Konungr without knowing whether it was a precious object or a harmful one. As payment, if you would grant me some grain to feed my reindeer, that would be enough.
The rest belongs to the one who recognizes its value.”
“Huh-”
“Eret, a truly honorable Sami.”
At Eret’s rough but charismatic words, everyone, including myself, let out exclamations of admiration and looked at him with respect.
‘He’s a merchant, but he knows how to gain more by not being greedy.’
Perhaps embarrassed by the reactions, unlike when he was excitedly telling his story, Eret waved his hand and, placing the object in its owner’s hands, said he and his daughter should be going… but surprisingly, it was his daughter, the beautiful Inga, who stopped him.
“Father, the reindeer must be tired. Wouldn’t it be better to rest for a few days and recover from the journey…?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? If we’re going, we should go now-”
[Snort! Snort! Sniff! Snort Snort!]
[Snort! Snort Snort Snort!]
The two reindeer and one father unanimously protested Inga’s words.
“I said let’s rest for a bit…”
“Oh, alright… They do seem a little tired…!”
[Snort- Snort-]
[Sniff]
However, the expressions of the two animals and one human, who had subtly turned their backs to me and glanced at Inga, instantly changed from curiosity to something akin to fear.
Turning back to me, Inga said with a smile,
“It seems we’ll be imposing on you for a few days… I hope we’re not too much of a burden, Konungr Helgi.”
How can even her voice be so beautiful?
“Of course, Inga. The doors of my house are always open to you.”
I smiled gently in return.
A soft, warm breeze blew between us, and neither of us paid any attention to the changing expressions of the people around us.
It was spring.
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Waifu spottes