Ch.187Chapter 187

While stroking the hair of the half-exhausted, sleeping Skadi, Wendigo recalled the previous night.

‘…How did I manage that?’

They had gotten swept up in a strange atmosphere and intertwined their bodies, but he hadn’t really expected it.

Honestly, for Skadi to handle it was a bit… the size was too large. To put it more crudely, it was no different from a bludgeon.

Nevertheless, Skadi not only endured it but even made rather cute sounds until she nearly passed out—

Thwack!

“I’m insane.”

Wendigo smacked his own head as soon as the impure thoughts arose. He must have gone mad with joy from using something he thought he’d never use in his lifetime.

“Squeak squeak!”

“…?”

Wendigo adjusted his creaking jawbone and turned his head at the familiar sound. He looked curiously at the squirrel that had climbed onto the windowsill.

The white squirrel with pink eyes waved its paw at Wendigo as if greeting him happily.

“Could it be… Frigg?”

Wendigo asked the squirrel with a dubious expression. Looking into those sparkling pink eyes strangely reminded him of Frigg.

The squirrel let out a bright chirp and shook its head frantically. Unless the squirrel had eaten some poisonous mushroom, it was clearly a gesture of affirmation.

It even beckoned toward the window as if asking him to follow, making it obvious that this squirrel was being controlled by Frigg.

“Squeak!”

Once Wendigo seemed to recognize its identity, the squirrel jumped down from the window with a single chirp.

Wendigo stared blankly at the sight and…

“Sigh… I should have known.”

He covered his face and sighed. He wouldn’t know the exact details until he investigated further, but one thing was certain.

That pink goddess must have been involved in this matter somehow.

* * *

Wendigo quietly left the cabin so as not to wake Skadi and followed the squirrel deeper into the forest.

As he followed the squirrel, he remained vigilant. Gods weren’t particularly trustworthy beings to put faith in based on contracts alone.

‘Honestly, Alfodur doesn’t seem to keep the gods in check very well either.’

Starting with his wife, who couldn’t stop badmouthing her husband.

If she really couldn’t stand it, she might cause trouble by saying, “Come to think of it, it’s not my life at stake but Alfodur’s, right?”

He wondered if she would really be that terrible, but the fact that it wasn’t impossible was extremely unsettling.

The squirrel, which had been running ahead, stopped once they were a reasonable distance from the cabin.

“Squeak squeak squeak!”

“Stop here?”

Following the squirrel’s instruction, Wendigo stopped and looked around.

Sure enough, an unusually large raven was looking down at him.

“…If you’re trying to hide your identity, you might want to stop appearing as a one-eyed raven.”

“CAAAW!!!”

The raven spread its wings with a loud cry. Its single eye showed a strange irritation.

The raven took off magnificently and darted like lightning toward the squirrel…

“Caw! CAAAW!!!”

“Squeak squeak! Squeak!”

The raven circled above the squirrel, screeching chaotically. The squirrel covered its ears with both paws and screeched back just as loudly.

“I don’t have a hobby of watching other people’s marital disputes. If you have something to say, shed those animal skins and speak.”

Wendigo looked at the scene with disdain. What was the point of these supposed spouses fighting every time they met?

At least they had some decency—after glaring at each other for a while, the raven and squirrel backed away simultaneously as if by agreement.

Crack, creak.

The raven’s body twisted and expanded, transforming into a human shape with uncomfortable sounds.

Feathers fell from the raven’s body, which had taken on the appearance of an old man, and from within the feathers emerged a worn robe that covered the old man’s body.

Finally, the old man grabbed a staff that sprouted from the ground and waved his hand while scratching his nonexistent eye.

“Hmm… Despite being the king of gods, this is quite undignified.”

“So you did care about dignity. So… what’s your scheme?”

In response to Wendigo’s sharp question, Alfodur replied with a disappointed expression.

“Scheme? I don’t particularly enjoy sweet things like love. Most marriages tend to end with happy endings.”

“…Indeed, your tastes may be perverted, but they’re far from lustful.”

“It’s a bit harsh to interpret it that way.”

When Wendigo nodded in understanding, Alfodur grumbled with a dissatisfied expression. But it wasn’t wrong.

His tastes might not be admirable, but Alfodur could be called a pervert with principles.

Like brewing tea with complex procedures and etiquette, his pleasure came from watching a human gradually change over a long period.

Why would someone like that participate in something like this? It could be a violation of contract that might lead to his annihilation if an accident occurred.

“Hmm, I’m glad you believe in my innocence.”

“So what did Frigg do that made you wait near the cabin? If it was something dangerous, according to the contract—”

“Wait, wait! Calm down. I don’t know what dangerous thing you’re thinking of, but such a thing is impossible from the start, so don’t worry.”

“Am I supposed to believe that?”

Wendigo asked Alfodur incredulously.

Though they lived like neighbors now, when Wendigo first met Alfodur, he was a con artist. And what con artists do best is make baseless assurances.

“Don’t we have some history together? Isn’t it too much not to trust me?”

“It’s because of our history that I don’t trust you.”

“Tsk tsk, smart indeed. I’m saying this because I really have measures in place, so don’t worry.”

Praising Wendigo’s attitude, Alfodur reached into the air. With a brilliant multicolored light, a shimmering scroll appeared.

It was a scroll containing a contract written under the name of the Creator God. However, the number was strange.

What started as one scroll poured out from the air in a cascade.

“……”

“These are contracts I received from the Northern gods in ancient times. Back then, everyone was so naive they didn’t even think they could be scammed.”

As Wendigo stared in disbelief at the scrolls rolling on the ground, Alfodur chuckled with delight.

Just from his reaction, he could tell Wendigo was dumbfounded.

Snap!

After sufficiently enjoying the reaction, Alfodur snapped his fingers. All but one scroll disappeared.

He picked up the scroll lying on the ground.

“This is Frigg’s contract. Because of this, she can’t defy me… Ugh!?”

“Can’t defy you? You crazy old man!”

Appearing from nowhere, Frigg leaped like an agile squirrel and delivered a kick to Alfodur’s back.

The clean dropkick sent Alfodur crashing into a tree, and Frigg snatched the floating scroll. She put it in her mouth and chewed it with hatred.

Gulp.

“Because of this damn scroll, I couldn’t even find new love… Hmph!”

After swallowing the scroll, Frigg crossed her arms and grumbled like a sulking squirrel. Wendigo watched the scene with curiosity.

If she hated it so much, why did she make the contract?

The answer came from not far away.

“Hmm… You should have read the contract carefully before signing. Did I ever discourage you from reading it?”

“I didn’t know you were a con artist back then!”

“Haha, you should have been suspicious even of a cup offered by your lover.”

‘…So it was marriage fraud.’

She must have believed her lover would be like her—a goddess crazy about love. There are people in the world you can trust, but trusting a scammer god like him…

Wendigo looked at Frigg with pitying eyes.

“You’re garbage.”

“But garbage with grand ambitions. If I hadn’t put a leash on these bad guys, the Northern people’s lineage might have been cut off entirely.”

Unable to deny this rebuttal, Wendigo shook his head. Indeed, gods were clearly beings better left alone.

“So, what did Frigg do that made a busy person like you wait near the cabin?”

“Well… nothing too extraordinary. To be more precise, she was… a sort of helper to you two.”

“For once you’re speaking the truth!”

“A helper…?”

In response to Wendigo’s question, Frigg nodded vigorously.

People naturally want to share things they think they’ve done well. Few dislike receiving attention and gratitude.

“I’ve been holding back for sooo long! While other gods chose new heroes, gave blessings, and met with them, I alone held back!”

“This one isn’t usually known for patience, so I was honestly surprised. Five golden dice and a permission to descend to the middle realm…”

“I understand the permission to descend, but… what are these golden dice?”

“They’re a kind of cheat dice, you could say. Used for bestowing blessings or secretly providing help.”

While other gods spent their golden dice to bestow blessings on humans they favored, Frigg had been saving hers for this day.

And she boldly used all her dice to give Skadi blessings and help.

Once when causing the unseasonable downpour, once when the cabin door broke, and finally when bestowing love’s blessing on Skadi… not once, but three times.

“I was a bit worried when blessing Skadi. I’ve given such blessings plenty of times in the past, but back then it didn’t matter how lavishly I bestowed them.”

But now she had to bestow blessings according to certain rules, so Frigg rolled the dice following those rules.

If the blessing had been insufficient, there would have been major difficulties in consummating their love.

“Skadi might have ended up getting stabbed by a sword, but it seems the blessing wasn’t lacking. Right?”

Frigg spoke while using both hands to indicate the size of Wendigo’s lower part. Just hearing it was dizzying enough, but the added gesture made it twice as disorienting.

However, it was an awkward situation to get angry about. After all, it was thanks to the goddess before him that he and Skadi could be together.

As Wendigo looked at Frigg with a complicated expression, Alfodur struck Frigg’s head with his staff.

“Eek!?”

“That’s nothing to brag about… Let’s go back now that we’ve seen everything. We don’t have any more time.”

“Whaaaat!? But I haven’t seen the most important scene yet!!!”

When Alfodur urged her, Frigg grabbed his collar and shouted loudly. Alfodur scolded her with an annoyed expression.

“Do you really think it makes sense to watch these two mate, of all people?”

“…Watch what?”

Belatedly understanding the meaning, Wendigo looked at Frigg with disgust.

He had thought she was a relatively friendly goddess, but she had been watching with such intentions all along?

“But the fruit of love is always… mmph!?”

“Save your nonsense for when we get back… We’ll be heading back now, so take care. Well, I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”

Subduing Frigg, Alfodur dragged her toward the forest while waving his hand.

In a way, she was a benefactor, so it wouldn’t be strange to feel sorry for Frigg being dragged away, but strangely, he didn’t feel particularly sorry for her.

Wendigo waved his hand to see them off.

Indeed, gods were most likable when they were out of sight.