65

Catching Sheep

The house was under construction at a rapid pace, with the foundations built that day, growing like a tree in Landvety.

Forseti went to the Brave Hunter Tavern, not far from there.

As the war with the Frost Giants intensified, the Brave Hunter Tavern was not as lively as it used to be, but it was still full of people, and the aroma of barbecued meat wafted everywhere.

Forseti hadn't had a decent meal while wandering in Jotunheim. The meat of the ice bear was dry and hard, tasting like chewing wax. The ice worm's meat tasted good, but without seasoning, the experience was quite unpleasant if the barbecue wasn't cooked properly and the poison wasn't dissipated.

Therefore, smelling the thick meat scent from the Brave Hunter Tavern, Forseti couldn't help but lose himself for a moment.

"Rack of lamb!"

"How many do you want?" the tavern attendant asked.

"I want ten servings!" Forseti replied.

"Okay, ten roast lamb chops, please wait a moment," the tavern attendant confirmed.

Forseti found a table and sat down, shaking his legs and waiting. After a while, the grilled lamb chops were ready and served, and he immediately began to feast, gobbling them down until his mouth and hands were soon covered with bright golden gravy.

As he was eating, Forseti felt stuffed with roast lamb from his mouth to his throat and swallowed hard. He suddenly remembered one thing: he was an adult and could drink openly.

"Servant, have a bottle of mead," Forseti ordered, and he ate the barbecue with the mead. Asgard's mead seemed similar to Earth's spirits, but to Asgardians, Earth's spirits were like beer.

For a moment, Forseti, regaining his rational thinking about food, frowned at the five grilled lamb chops left in front of him. Why did he order ten?

As Forseti was eating and wiping his mouth, a nearby table burst into laughter, and the group got up to leave.

"Tialfi!" One of the men at the table walked to the door and suddenly shouted, "Have you encountered a four-horned goat?"

Forseti turned his head and saw Tialfi entering from outside. He hurriedly greeted him: "Tialfi, you are finally here. I ordered the lamb chops for you."

Tialfi was stunned when he saw him, then seemed to recognize him: "Forseti?"

Forseti said, "I just got back from Jotunheim. How are you doing? Haven't met a four-horned goat yet?"

"No, I think I'm probably cursed by fate," Tialfi sighed slightly, sitting down. "But I won't give up."

Forseti thought for a while: "I remember that if you catch a four-horned goat, you can go to Nornheim to participate in the hunting festival?"

"Yeah." Tialfi began to eat the lamb chops.

"Have you been to a hunting festival before?" Forseti asked.

"No, but my brother participated, although he didn't get anything," Tialfi replied.

"Tell me about the hunting festival," Forseti said.

Tialfi explained, "There's nothing much to say. You get the reward from Lord Ullr if you catch the best prey at the hunting festival. When my brother participated, the champion was Baldr, who caught a giant dragon and the heart of my brother's dream goddess."

"Dragon?" Forseti blinked, "There are dragons in Nornheim?"

"Dragons can travel the universe, so they can appear anywhere in the Nine Realms. Asgard has seen them too, but they are more common in Nornheim. Of course, there's the fire dragon of Muspelheim, the pet of the flame giant Surtur," Tialfi said.

"How's the dragon's fighting power?" Forseti asked.

"Do you want to slay a dragon?" Tialfi smiled.

"Uh... just asking," Forseti said.

"The dragon is the king of beasts in the universe, and the weakest adult dragon is above the average level of an Aesir warrior. If you're lucky enough to meet a young dragon that's left alone, that's all there is to it. But this kind of thing rarely happens," Tialfi explained slowly.

He added, "There are two main criteria for evaluating prey at the hunting festival: strength and rarity. If you can catch a baby dragon, although not powerful, it is very rare and might earn you the top spot."

Forseti thought for a while. Among the five ingredients yet to be collected for the talent mixture, the blood of a young dragon was probably the most difficult to find. Since Nornheim was one of the most common places for dragons, and it was within Asgard's domain, it seemed he had to go there to find it.

He pondered and said, "Tialfi, how about I go to the forest with you to catch sheep in the future?"

"Are you sure you want to follow me?" Tialfi asked.

Forseti hesitated. Would his luck be offset by Tialfi's?

But he decided not to believe in such superstitions: "Sure."

Tialfi's appetite was much larger than Forseti's, and he devoured the five grilled lamb chops effortlessly, patting his stomach. "Shall I take you there now?"

Forseti had nothing else to do, so he nodded: "Let's go."

The two immediately left the Brave Hunter Tavern, crossed a wooden bridge, and entered Landvety Forest. The vegetation here was incredibly dense, with towering trees and grass so thick in some places it could serve as a table.

Green filled their sight.

"Bah... baa..." After a few steps, they heard the innocent bleat of a sheep.

Tialfi said, "That sounds like a baby sheep. You don't need to bother."

"What if it's the baby of a four-horned goat?" Forseti asked.

Tialfi was silent for a moment. "Then you still don't need to bother."

Forseti suddenly remembered that Tialfi adhered to a creed that seemed strange to others: never harm children, even those of sheep. Because of this, Tialfi had previously missed the cub of a four-horned goat, thus missing the hunting festival.

He wondered what Tialfi had gone through to hold such a strange persistence.

"Baa—"

Another goat bleated, sounding much heavier.

"Let's check it out. It might be a fat sheep—only the Fat Sheep Tavern will pay for it," Tialfi said.

They followed the sound and soon saw a goat in the grass, eating. When it saw Forseti, it screamed and ran away.

"It's just not fat enough," Tialfi said, not intending to chase it.

They continued wandering around Landvety Forest, encountering many sheep along the way, but Tialfi felt they weren't fat enough and didn't catch them.

After more than two hours, they finally encountered a big fat sheep, full of meat and looking perfect for barbecue.

"Baa—" The big fat sheep ran away screaming. However, it was probably too fat to run fast. Tialfi chased after it, grabbed its horn, and dragged it to the ground.

"Baa—baa!" The big fat sheep struggled in terror but was held still by Tialfi. He drew out his knife and ended it with one swift motion.

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