Meeting Odin

Once the eyeglass what finished I simply sealed it with the instructions as well as a letter in a special package used for inter religion delivery. The letter was basically stating that I hoped to be granted an audience with the king of Asgard in order to present what I hoped would be a great opportunity for him. I mentioned that if everything went well, it might lead to some information regarding the attack on his wife.

I also stated that I was a devil acting as an individual and was NOT representing a group, family or faction. No need to tip off a certain magical girl so that the goodwill I would eventually gain be associated to the new satan faction, or worse, my father.

The only problem in my endeavour was when Celina asked me what was I offering to the king of god. She was nonplussed by my idea, and clearly not approving of my creation.

Happily for me, despite being useless at everything she tried to do, she was really taking her role as my maid at heart, and thus, did not insist. She simply gave her opinion while looking at me extremely disapprovingly for a few minutes. Which made me happy. That was exactly the kind of attitude I expected from her : to give me ideas or opinions if she had some, and then let me choose whether I decide to ignore or act on them.

Furthermore, the moment I told her I was happy with her attitude, she blushed, stood straighter and showed me a very big... Ugly smile. A happy one sure, but still... I really needed to do something. My maid just HAD to be a great eye candy after all. It was almost in the job description.

Anyway, one thing was for sure, for her to react that much to a simple compliment, it proved to me that she really needed some positive reinforcement. Which I would be glad to provide during the following years.

In the end, I did get a summon for Asgard after a few days. The letter being send by a very creepy raven. The thing was just staying there, looming on me like I owned him or something.

The funny thing was when Celina went to give him some water and food. She tripped, hit him in the face with some bacon, and then drenched him with the water in the bowl. No need to say, he looked offended and went away.

Good job Celina.

Not that I was going to admit feeling much better with his departure. I was a devil for Satan sake. I did have a modicum of pride. And I admit I liked the feeling of worship I saw on Celina face each time she saw me do "impressive" feat. So, no way I was going to ruin my image by admitting that ravens creep me out.

***

The first time I set foot on the domain of Asgard was an experience. The air was charged with a feeling of ancient power and fatalism. As if everything was already decided, and was moving to a single point in time. It was kind of oppressive, and depressive to be honest. Being there always makes me wonder if we truly control our destiny, or if our free will is just an illusion of choices determined by events surrounding our life, all of it organised by a greater being.

I realized at that moment that it had been a good idea to let Celina at the workshop.

There wasn't only this to Asgard though. There was life. Lots of it. The air sang of battle, feasts, and legends. It was making me more embolden.

The clash of both feeling needed a bit of time to adjust to, but my guide, a Valkyrie named Bruggä, told me it was normal to feel a bit impacted if it was my first time visiting a religion site of power. Apparently I would have felt something similar if I had decided to go to Olympus, Heaven (not that I would dare put my foot there), or any other mythological site.

It took us a few minutes to go from the teleportation entry point of Asgard to the celestial hall, where was situated Odin's throne. It allowed me to adapt to the atmosphere and calm myself for what was to come.

The throne room was exactly as I saw it in one of the available memory I found in the Gremory compound : Big, almost empty, and ostentatiously golden.

But the more eye catching element was easily the All-Father sitting on his throne with a very very oppressive spear in hand. And some creepy raven on his big golden throne.

I was honestly expecting the jovial and perverted god I saw in the anime, but I was taken aback by the seriousness of the situation. It was almost looking as if I was going on trial with all the soldiers standing in the hall and the Bruggä still standing next to me.

Yeah... Not what I was expecting. I guess he's more friendly with faction leaders, or protagonists. Whether said protagonist is an idiot did not seem to count. The fact that I alluded that I had some information about his wife murderer might have done that too.

So I took a breath, made a respectful bow, and started to talk :

Alexander : "All-Father, king of Asgard, it is a pleasure and an honour to meet you, and I thank you for taking the time to grant me an audience."

Odin : "Raise you head Alexander Gremory. As for granting you an audience, how could I not after reading your claim that you have some information I have been seeking for the last 300 years. I'll admit your gift intrigued me enough to decide to take your letter seriously. The fact you are only 8 years old made the matter all the more intriguing"

Alexander : "I'm 9 since last week you majesty, and do not misunderstand, I don't have any information myself." The moment I said that I could clearly feel his mood souring so I hastened my reply. "I was very specific when I said that if thing went well, you'll have said information, but not from me. I simply wouldn't even know where to look for. After all, if you couldn't find anything with the resources at your disposal, how could I ? Like you said, I'm just a kid"