Legion (2)
It was when Tae Ho and Bjorn were exchanging gazes of unluckiness and sympathy when Reginleif looked at the warriors in the banquet with a gallant face and raised her sword again.
"Warriors! Have you checked your own legions?!"
"Yes!"
"Ohh!"
"Yeah!"
The warriors yelled excitedly. They were yelling so much that you'd think they'd damage their ears or throats. Reginleif laughed in satisfaction.
"Then, today's banquet ends here! Follow the Valkyries that will be leading you to your legions! A warm and comfy bed will be awaiting you! You will truly be entering Valhalla!"
"Ohh!"
"Valhalla!"
The warriors got excited again. Their faces were those that had come to the place they were dreaming of.
Tae Ho felt a distant difference in temperature between him and the warriors. He then let out a long sigh. Bjorn patted Tae Ho's shoulders again.
"Hm, I will be going now."
"Thanks for all you have done."
Tae Ho thanked him. Bjorn stood up and said, "I belong to Tir's legion. Let's meet again."
Tir.
It was a name he didn't know either. However, it felt nice as it sounded similar to Thor.
As Bjorn left with soft steps, Tae Ho, who had been looking at his back dumbfoundedly, looked at his surroundings once again. Soon, Valkyries were lined up at the entrance.
"Thor!"
"Odin!"
As the Valkyries started to shout the names of the Gods, the warriors yelled and ran towards the Valkyries.They filed into lines and the lines on Odin and Thor's side were overwhelmingly long.
"Tir!"
"Heimdal!"
The other lines in front of the Valkyries also became long. Tae Ho slowly got up and then waited for Idun's name to be called, but he couldn't hear it.
'Shall I go a bit closer?'
There were hundreds of warriors lined up but half of them were at Odin and Thor's lines. On top of that, they were all respectful and waited for their turns so it wasn't that difficult to approach the Valkyries.
After passing by the Valkyries that were shouting the names of Gods, he could finally hear the name he wanted.
"Idun~ Idun~"
It was a spiritless voice but she was clearly calling for Idun.
Tae Ho turned his gaze to the place where the voice was coming from and could see a red-haired Valkyrie that was seated in the corner on a carton box.
She was a real beauty that would outstand even the other Valkyries, but she had a dull expression. She was chewing on a branch of a willow tree and her seated posture was also slouchy.
In addition, she was the only Valkyrie that had no one in her line.
He felt uneasy about that but he couldn't do much. Tae Ho approached the Valkyrie.
"What do you want?"
As Tae Ho approached, the Valkyrie frowned and questioned him. It seemed like she really was asking though.
"Um, I belong to Idun's legion."
"Huh? There's a newcomer?"
The Valkyrie just blinked as if she was surprised. After that, she stood up and unfurled a small scroll.
"Wow, it's true."
Tae Ho unconsciously closed his eyes tightly. Then, the Valkyrie put back the scroll on her waist and then patted Tae Ho's shoulder with an awkward face.
"Yeah. Anyways. Cheer up."
Why did they keep comforting him?
Tae Ho opened his eyes instead of asking a question. The Valkyrie who seemed to be languid, smiled and said, "I'm Heda."
"I'm Lee Tae Ho."
He was wondering if she'd show a similar expression to that of Bjorn's, but she just seemed to accept it and nodded.
"Right, then shall we go?"
Heda pushed away the box she was sitting on with her feet and hurriedly asked Tae Ho.
"Um, is there no one else?"
The number of the warriors gathered at the hall amounted to hundreds. But Tae Ho was the only one belonging to Idun's legion among them?
Of course, looking at Heda's expression, it seemed like that was true. However, he still wanted to confirm that. Heda replied with a sincere expression.
"Yeah. You are the last. But you are also quite peculiar. What were you thinking when you desired to come to our legion?"
"Yes? Desired?"
A desire. So it wasn't a forced assignment?
At Tae Ho's question, Heda tilted her head and then smiled brightly.
"Ah, you were a merry-go-round? Well, your name is kind of peculiar."
"Um, what do you mean?"
"Normally, they enter the legion of the God they worshipped when they were alive. That's why our legion is always lacking members, because Idun isn't a battle God. What warriors like our battles, right? Wow now that I think about it, how long has it been since a newcomer has entered our legion?"
Heda looked at Tae Ho as if it was marvelous.
Tae Ho felt really distant after hearing the words 'newcomer' and 'long'.
"Anyways, guys that didn't worship any particular God spin the merry-go-round. Um, welcome anyways. So cheer up."
Heda patted Tae Ho's shoulders once again.
'I remember the old times.'
The pro gaming team he first entered was really a ditch.
"Hey, hey. Stop staring and feeling so miserable. Let's go."
Heda talked brightly and then pulled Tae Ho's hand. As he was being dragged by her, they went out of the hall and saw a port that had quite a lot of ships.
"We are getting on the ships here to go to our respective legions."
As soon as Heda finished explaining, the Valkyries and the warriors came pouring out.
"Warriors of Odin! Follow me!"
"Let's go! For Thor!"
The Valkyries, who had great military discipline, led the warriors and got on the ship. The other Valkyries that had many members had tens of members, and the ones that had a few only had around ten members.
'I will at least travel comfortably since there's nobody else.'
He was thinking rather positively when Heda pulled his hand again.
At the end of the port there was only one wooden boat next to the lined ships.
"Hey, get on."
Heda made a hand gesture after jumping into the boat. Tae Ho looked at the ship that was next to them instead of getting on immediately.
"We don't have that many members. So what do we need a big ship for?"
Heda's answer was reasonable. In the end, Tae Ho got on the wooden boat.
"Do you want to smoke one? You look like you need one."
Heda smiled while grabbing the oars and then touched the box that was next her with her foot. Inside it was a tobacco pouch and a pipe.
"We are departing!"
The sound of the horn trumpet erupted with a big yell. The big ships departed one by one, starting from the one on the left.
Heda filled the pipe with tobacco, either to give it to Tae Ho or to smoke it herself.
"Hey, it's fine. We also have one strong point that's not a shortcoming compared to the others."
Even so, it was still a God's legion, so blessings would also exist.
"What is it?"
As Tae Ho asked a bit expectantly, Heda put the pipe in her mouth and said,
"That is..."