Not only the children, but also the adults who were to walk out through the gates on the chosen day were in a panic.
"Ah, ahh... How could something like this happen?"
The man knelt there in despair, his mouth half open as he looked up at the other Masters in the sky.
"Without that Master, how are we supposed to reach Valhalla?"
The Master Norla had killed truly seemed to have been a leader-like figure among the Valkyries.
"D-Don't worry too much. There are still other Masters, aren't there? The gods surely won't abandon us, right?"
The woman beside him tried to reassure him, cold sweat streaming down her face.
"Prepare to keep fighting."
Fujimaru Ritsuka licked his lips and gave a cold snort.
"Even if they see us as villains preventing everyone else from finding happiness, we still have to keep fighting here!"
"Take down those Masters—all of them! Norla, Mash!"
"Be careful not to hurt any ordinary civilians!"
"Got it!"
"Mm!"
"I won't fail."
Perhaps her conversation with Kirschtaria had given her something to think about. Ophelia sat alone in her room, muttering to herself.
"I must live up to Lord Kirschtaria's expectations."
"Nourishment—"
Perhaps Ophelia was not alone after all.
The shadow of a Valkyrie appeared in her room.
"Whenever the topic turns to the tree, you always make that expression, Ophelia."
"Could it be that you dislike Scandinavia? That you think this is not where you belong?"
She was one of the lower-ranked Valkyries.
Ophelia did not answer immediately, merely staring blankly for two seconds.
Why was it that lately...
It felt like her room had been receiving an awful lot of visitors.
And they were all the sort who particularly liked showing up uninvited.
"Ortlinde. I don't feel that way."
With a soft sigh,