NOVEL WEB It’s not a matter of weakness!… It’s just incompetence. (ಠ_ರೃ)
*Vol.1: Tales of a God.
Chapter 27 - It's not a matter of weakness!... It's just incompetence. (ಠ_ರೃ)
Here is the new chapter!
Thanks for waiting!
*Name Caption (You can adopt {ð = d} and {Þ = Th} to make it easier):
Balðr = Baldur/Balder (first son of Odin and Frigg).
Höðr = Höder (second son of Odin and Frigg).
Without further ado, enjoy the chapter peasant!
- Location: Midgard / Thor's house.
Pov. Third-person.
In the house of the strongest Norse god, Asgardian royalty along with Nanna and Sif found themselves curious about strange architecture and things they had never seen before.
"What's that for?" asked Hermod, pointing to a large box made of some metal.
Hel promptly answered her curious cousin's question.
"Ah! Thor told me the name once, it was... 'fridge'!" said Hel.
While most of the royalty was in the so-called 'living room', Hermod got bored of doing nothing and just waiting for his brother Thor to return. So he decided to explore the house, with Hel following close behind.
"Oh... And what does it do?" asked Hermod.
"Well, Thor told me how it worked, but I didn't quite understand…I just understood that it preserves the food," Hel said.
Hermod was confused.
"Preserve the food?" asked Hermod.
"Eh…yeah, I didn't understand that part either," said Hel.
Hermod then shrugged and proceeded to further investigate the area Hel called the 'kitchen'. Which, for Hermod, was a much smaller space than what might be considered a standard kitchen.
It was then that Hermod identified another object.
A very strange object.
As soon as Hermod raised his hand to catch the target someone held him back.
"No!" shouted a frightened voice.
It was Hel who was holding Hermod's forearm.
The other brothers came as soon as they heard Hel's scream.
With Balðr in the lead.
"Hel? What happened?" asked Balðr.
Hel, realizing she had caused a scene, was embarrassed and let go of Hermod's arm.
"Ah... You see... I don't think Thor will like you touching anything... Especially that thing," Hel said, pointing to the object that had piqued Hermod's curiosity.
Balðr was confused, as was the rest of the group, and looked towards the object.
It was then that Nanna, who had approached the group along with Sif, declared.
"Looks like a...beverage pitcher?" said Nanna, in confusion.
Sif seemed to disagree.
"Pitchers aren't small... Also, it appears to be made of metal," Sif said.
Balðr, as curious as to the group, looked at Hel.
"Cousin, could you tell us what it is? And what is it for?" asked Balðr.
Hel seemed to have grown more nervous about everyone's gaze.
"Well… Thor called it a 'coffee maker', and I didn't quite understand when Thor explained to me what it was for… He just said he make the 'precious' with that," Hel said.
No one understood Hel's explanation.
What was the 'precious'?
"Well, although I'm curious what that 'precious' would be, we'd better stay together in the 'living room.' We are under the 'law of the guest' but the host, who owns the roof over our heads, is not present…" said Balðr, looking at Hermod.
Hermod seemed to disagree.
"Come on Balðr, I'm sure Thor won't mind if we explore his house a bit," said Hermod.
Hel seemed to disagree because she didn't think Thor would like someone going through his things without permission. But before Hel could comment, Balðr replied.
"No, and this is not a discussion Hermod, WE are going to the 'living room' and WE will await the return of our brother and host, Thor," said Balðr, with a serious tone and facing Hermod.
Hermod knew he couldn't go against Balðr, he wasn't such a fool.
"*sigh*... Very well then," said Hermod, with a defeated sigh.
It was then that the door to the house opened.
Thor, accompanied by Frey and Freyja, had returned.
Vidar, who was the first to return from the kitchen, was the first to notice.
"Ah! Brother! You finally arrived! Shall we enjoy the rest of the evening and continue to celebrate your 'name day'?" asked Vidar.
At that moment, Thor looked at Vidar and the others who had come out of the kitchen area to greet Thor.
"Yes Vidar, we can continue," said Thor.
Thor then looked at Hel.
"Hel... Could you please take them to the deck? I'll cook something…" said Thor.
Hel then lit up.
"Certainly cousin! This way guys," Hel said, leading the guests to the stairs.
Though the vast majority of people followed Hel.
Two people didn't follow the 'queen of the underworld'.
It was the Vanir siblings, who chose to stay in the kitchen while Thor prepared something to cook.
"…You should have followed them," said Thor, as he removed some ingredients from the fridge and pantry.
"…We would like to speak with you," Freyja said.
"Well, although I'm cooking, my ears are 'open' for any conversation," Thor said.
Freyja then looked at her brother.
"Do you think... that if I show to the rest of the Vanir gods that I'm strong... there will be no rebellion?" asked Frey uncertainly.
Thor then stopped for a moment and turned to look at Frey and Freyja, before returning to what he was doing.
"You don't 'learn' to be strong... You are 'forced' to be strong," Thor said.
Frey hadn't understood what Thor claimed... But Freyja seemed to think about that.
"What do you mean by that? Who forces me to be strong?" asked Frey.
But who answered the question was not Thor.
"...Life...isn't it?" asked Freyja.
"Yes, more specifically the position Frey is in right now," Thor said.
Frey then looked at Freyja.
"... Life?" asked Frey uncertainly.
Freyja looked at her brother.
"You didn't choose this Frey, I understand you. You don't want to fight, and you want an era of peace without conflict, but... For one of our standing, as the royalty in a warrior society, that kind of peace is not... 'Acceptable'. In fact, in a way, we are 'forced' to be who we are because of our birth," Freyja said, in a somber tone.
This seemed to have affected Frey, as did during the end of the conversation about Kostr when Thor asked him how he can be the god of peace if he refuses to preserve it.
"Your sister is right Frey... But that's not the only reason," said Thor.
This caught the attention of the Vanir siblings.
"You, Frey, were thinking of an 'ideal world' for you. But, you must understand that this 'ideal world' is just a mirage... Because reality tends to be disappointing," Thor said, looking at Frey.
"...So, if you think my peace is just a 'mirage'... Can you tell me what peace is for you, Thor?" asked Frey, curious.
Thor thought for a moment, then went back to cooking as he answered.
"Peace is... You can lie down in your bed without worrying about the outside... For me, peace is more of an individual achievement. But enough of that, if you want to show your people that you are their leader, you must understand that you may not get the 'peace' you want to fight for, but you will get the obedience of your people," said Thor.
After Thor stated, it was then clear to Frey.
Thor did not want him to fight for the Vanir gods to be 'at peace' during his rule.
Thor wanted Frey to fight for the Vanir gods to obey him.
While Frey would like to condemn such an action... After all these conversations, he knew he needed to fight.
Because only by fighting would he establish his dominance as the Vanir heir.
"By the standards of our society, you weren't weak Frey… You were incompetent," Thor said.
Frey remained silent, just accepting the truth of Thor's words.
"Well, the fight against the Slavic pantheon across the archipelago, it's been scheduled for a week… So, do you have any idea who you're facing?" Freyja asked, looking at Thor.
After some thought, Thor responded.
"I don't want to jump to conclusions...But it is almost certain that the leader of the current Slav pantheon will fight," said Thor.
This seemed to shock Frey and Freyja.
"Perun?! Perun may fight?!" asked Frey.
"Perun is the current leader of the pantheon, as well as being one of the heads of the 'Triglav', as well as being a battle maniac… So, in a way, he may fight," Thor said, shrugging.
If Perun fought, it wouldn't be surprising to Thor.
The question is: 'Who would be the other Slav representative?'
Veles? That was out of the question, as Veles had a rivalry with Perun.
A rivalry that claimed to be an endless struggle that 'changes the seasons' throughout the year, so Thor doubted Veles' support for this situation.
So Thor had no idea who the other representative would be.
"Anyway, we won't know until the time comes," Thor said.
The Vanir siblings exchanged nervous glances. But they didn't know what else to say about the fight, so they remained silent.
It was then that Freyja remembered something.
"Thor... What was that box you gave to your father, Odin?" asked Freyja, curious.
When Thor heard the question he stopped cooking for a moment.
Until he gave a smile.
A very vindictive smile.
"Well, let's just say that King Odin will be quite 'impressed' by the gift," Thor said.
Freyja didn't understand, but Frey seemed to notice Thor's smile.
It was a smile that caused goosebumps...
"Gift?" asked Freyja.
"Oh yes… I'm sure it will be a 'gift' he will remember very well~" said Thor, as he went back to cooking.
- Location: Asgard / Palace / Odin's Room.
"*sigh* this meeting did not go exactly as I predicted..." said Odin, with a tired tone.
Frigg then sat up in bed.
"Well, you know Thor. He tends to surprise us with another… unique perspective," said Frigg.
"You're right... The brat is not easy to predict" said Odin, with a small smile.
It was then that Frigg asked a question as she went to the wardrobe to take off her clothes for the night.
"By the way, what did Thor give you before he left?" asked Frigg.
It was then that Odin looked at a small package in his hands.
"He said it was a…gift. But today is his 'name day', why did he give me something?" asked Odin, curious.
Odin thought Thor would be angry after Kostr's attempt... But at the end of the conversation, Thor gave him a gift.
It was then that Odin saw a small blue button on the box. And, out of curiosity, he pressed the button.
"Shit!" swore Odin, in a low voice, as he looked at his index finger, which now had some blood-forming.
It felt like something like a needle pierced his finger. It was at that moment that Thor's voice emerged from the… Box?
"Greetings my old man, if you're hearing this then you pressed the button on the package I handed you. This is a little gift made by me, from the corrupted ice and a few more things, the statue is quite resistant to magic and physical attacks... Hope you like it... I know I WILL like it" said Thor's recording.
"A... Statue?" said Odin, confused. But honestly, Odin was more concerned about Thor's latest statement.
It was then that the package opened.
Inside the package was said statue.
It looked like a statue of a... Dog?
The statue was a little strange, the dog was sitting like a guard dog, but... It looked like it was 'holding' some sort of 'sword'.
It was then that the recording continued.
"Behold... Doggo"
For some reason... Odin didn't like the name one bit.
But he dismissed his worries, after all, it was just a mere decorative statue.
An odd statue, but still a mere statue.
"So my love, what was it?" asked Frigg.
It was then that Odin saw the state of dress of his lovely wife.
In fact, 'there was no dress'.
"He-he, maybe we'd better leave it to talk about Thor's gift for later, now I have a 'duty' as a husband~... A VERY more important duty" said Odin, as he dropped the 'Doggo' statue to the ground.
Frigg just smiled and walked towards her husband.
What Odin didn't know at the time is that the statue was 'linked', through the collected blood, to a particular hormone.
The hormone?
Oxytocin.
Commonly referred to as the 'pleasure hormone'.
The statue was specifically linked to oxytocin enhancement levels.
After a short time, the level of enhancement of oxytocin present in Odin's body was 'higher than the established standard'.
Resulting in the 'activation' of the statue.
Neither Odin nor Frigg saw that the dog statue's 'eyes' began to glow from a sky blue color to a blood-red color within a few seconds.
It was then that as soon as Odin was ready to 'go to the main course'... A 'macabre' voice was heard across the room, interrupting Frigg and Odin's amusement.
"NO - HORNY"
That night, for a few minutes, the king of Asgard and one of the most feared gods in the Norse pantheon... Screamed like a little child.
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Well... That's it, folks!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter peasant!
Forgive me in case of grammatical errors... I tried. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I still haven't figured out how to link the paragraph images... Someone, please help me!