Waltrautesan no Konkatsu Jijou - Chapter 3 - Part 5

Surtr, the ruler of the fire world of Muspelheim, had accurately captured the locations of Loki and the boy as they approached (as well as the location of the Valkyrie emitting a fearsome light from her eyes).

Whether it was due to being a giant or due to being an evil ruler, Surtr was large.

For one thing, he was over 4 meters tall. He also held enough energy within him to activate a magic sword with destructive power on a great enough scale to burn down the world tree.

When Loki landed on the ground, he was surrounded by an army of the Muspell giants who resided in the fire world and an army of the evil spirits dispatched from the underworld of Niflheim. However, Loki merely casually raised both hands with a thin smile.

Surtr said, “What are you here for? Surely you know what this place is.”

“My side may have changed when I became brother-in-law with Odin, but I originally had giant blood flowing through my veins.”

“Blood of the giant world of Jötunheimr. You have no connection to Muspelheim.”

“Are there a lot of different kinds of giants?” asked the boy innocently.

Still smiling, Loki answered, “The neighboring Vanir were originally considered a type of giant rather than a type of god. They are a lovely example of how race does not determine whether you are good or evil.”

“Oh…”

“Normally, giants are 3 to 5 meters tall. But when the Vanir became gods, some adjustments were made so they would be the same size as you humans. Even the goddess Freyja who is known for being the most beautiful in all of Norse mythology originally came from the Vanir. In other words, she has giant blood.”

“So there really are all sorts of giants,” said the boy with his eyes sparkling.

However, Surtr was not going to remain silent.

The Æsir had unilaterally decided the residents of Muspelheim were giants who had headed down the path of evil for some reason other than their race, so that should not have been surprising.

Plus, Loki had been purposefully choosing his words in order to apply damage to Surtr while using the boy’s innocence as a cushion.

And the boy was completely unaware it was happening.

“What is that?” asked the boy while pointing to the army of evil spirits surrounding them.

Despite how ridiculous an idea it was, it was possible he thought they were there to welcome Loki and him.

“They are evil spirits who have allied with Muspelheim’s forces,” answered Loki.

It may have seemed odd for evil spirits to be the enemies of the gods, but the gods used the war dead of the Einherjar as their own soldiers. They were the spirit soldiers on the evil side, so they were known as evil spirits. The line drawn by the Æsir was very simple and quite unfair.

And the ones who commanded the Muspell giants and the evil spirits were Surtr, a giant, and Hel, the queen of the underworld who possessed giant blood. But just like the Vanir had originally been giants, Surtr and Hel both possessed the attributes of gods as well.

In other words…

The organization of the heavenly world of Asgard and the fire world of Muspelheim were actually very similar. The primary difference was the location itself.

If Muspelheim controlled the world, they would be the ones known as gods.

“…Oh, so they’re evil spirits,” muttered the boy with his eyes wide.

However, he did not grow terrified or try to run away from those “repulsive things” like other humans would.

For some reason, he pulled some snacks from the bag on his back, placed them on a makeshift plate he had made from a large leaf, and held them out towards the evil spirits.

It was like he was giving an offering.

And then the boy held his hands together and spoke.

“N-Namu…”

The army of evil spirits very nearly ceased to be evil.

“H-hey!! You are the ultimate army filled with hatred for the final battle of Ragnarök! Why are you all getting that cheerful look!? And the Namu Amida Butsu is from a completely different setting!!” frantically shouted out Surtr as he very nearly suffered a severe loss of military strength.

“Hah hah hah.” Loki’s smile was as pure as that of the (formerly) evil spirits. “It looks like all that chatting we did midflight paid off. But not even I expected it to go this far.”

“Loki, you joker! What the hell are you here for!? Are you here to attack Muspelheim as one of the Æsir!?”

“I am both an Æsir and a giant. To be blunt, I have no interest in that kind of division.” Loki grinned. “I am the one who almost destroyed the Æsir by kidnapping Iðunn so that they lost the method of producing apples of immortality. And I fathered the greatest foes of Asgard: the great wolf Fenrir, the great serpent Jörmungandr, and the queen of the underworld Hel. …Doesn’t it seem that you owe me more than I owe you?”

“Mhh…”

Surtr’s anger was cooled.

“So why are you here?”

“My objective was complete from the moment I set foot on this land.”

“What?”

“Also…I know.” Loki ignored Surtr’s confusion and placed his hand on the head of the boy next to him. “While we’re here, how about you grant this boy’s wish?”