Chapter 161: Chapter 230 – Trust and the Lack of It

“Atra!” Bryn gasped at her friend, quickly growing redder.

“What?” The scholarly Valkyrie glanced at her over Ast’s shoulder. “Aren’t you curious what kind of children we would have? It’s always been just Valkyrs and Valkyries getting together for ages. Even though the gods didn’t like when it happened, there are legends of other races producing offspring with our kind. And it’s of no doubt that the gods themselves indulged in the bodies of their servants, especially if we were made to their liking.”

“She certainly doesn’t lack the drive.” Grea snickered, nudging the blushing Tina with her elbow.

“That doesn’t mean you can throw it at him just like that!” Bryn continued while gesturing at Atra with quite flustered movements. “It’s indecent, improper, rude, and you just met today!”

“So what? What’s the problem here?” Atra raised a brow at her. “It’s not like I’m asking for him to love me or take me as his partner. All I need is just a little bit of his seed in my womb. I might be just some random inexperienced academic but I’m sure I would be able to at least make him feel good with my body in return for his cooperation. I might look frail but I’m quite fit and durable. I won’t break. Probably.”

“That’s not right…” Miria muttered barely audible words under her nose as she gazed at the floor with rosy cheeks. “Even we didn’t get to have Master’s babies yet…”

Bryn sighed heavily, massaging her forehead. “You have no idea what you are talking about. You certainly wouldn’t be so daring if you saw it.”

Asterios chuckled wryly and placed his hands on the short Valkyrie’s shoulders. “Let’s slow down a little bit. The kiss was fine since it wasn’t much, but I wouldn’t personally call sharing a very intimate moment with the goal of conceiving a small thing.”

Atra turned her face to him and showed an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. Maybe I’ve really been a little bit too hasty. I’m quite easily swept up in my emotions.”

“It’s alright. We all do get like that sometimes.” Asterios nodded, gently squeezing her shoulders with a reassuring smile. “While I don’t mind seeing to someone’s request if it’s in my power to do so, such an arrangement involves more than just my person. It’s related to all my current mates too. Ignoring the matter of sleeping with a complete stranger while I have them, it’s my first mate’s privilege to bear my children before everyone else, as long as she doesn’t waive that right to someone else.”

Miria’s face exploded with crimson when Asterios took a peek in her direction with a tiny smirk, clearly announcing that he hadn’t missed her quiet remark. Grea tried her best to withhold her giggle while the other girls smiled at their feline friend sweetly. Miria’s tail danced behind her back like crazy and her cute ears twitched furiously as she hid her scarlet face in her furry hands.

Catching Ast’s gaze once more after he returned his eyes to the front, Atra trailed with her palm over his chest. With a tinge of rosiness plaguing her cheeks, she inched closer to his belt, passing Ast’s firm stomach, feeling every bump of his abs, and sighed dreamily.

“I’m getting a little jealous of you, Bryn…” she whispered, tearing her gaze off Ast's body and directing it at her friend. “Have you…?”

Bryn furrowed her brows for a split second before getting all red too and frantically waving her hands. “Gods, no!”

“Is it because of his similarities with the Scourge?”

“No! I mean, yes, it was like that in the past, but not anymore! I’m just not one of Master’s chosen mates!” Bryn hastily denied. “Anyway, it’s not the time for things like this!”

“Then when if not now? It’s not every day you find a man in a world where they don’t exist. This could be the only chance I get in my life. It’s not like I can travel to a realm full of them like you do. And even so, it’s not guaranteed that I will get to meet someone as strong, kind, and… sexy.” Atra blushed with more apparent crimson as she met Ast’s eyes again. “I can tell that he’s special. Even if he isn’t a god, laying with a Dragon is almost equally… captivating.”

“While I can’t deny the last part, there’s always a chance that there might still exist some survivors in one of the lost realms, no?” Silvia asked, stepping more into the view. “And with how things constantly develop, I wouldn’t be surprised if Asterios found a way of helping others cross the realms too, after figuring it out himself. I can clearly see him coming to you and everyone here the first thing after achieving that and guiding your race to a more habitable world, possibly with plenty of normal males from various species.”

“What Silvia said is most certainly right.” Selene nodded with an impish smile. “You’d surely find at least a few worthy individuals amongst them. And if you don’t… Well, you could always do your best at trying to capture our beloved’s heart. It definitely won’t be easy as the crazy researcher’s spot is already taken.”

“Crazy horny researcher,” Grea corrected her while puffing out her perky chest. “And I ain’t giving that dick away without a fight! I would tell you to come at me at any moment but that’s unfortunately reserved only for him now!”

The girls chuckled softly as Asterios shook his head. “It’s as they all say. Let’s maybe focus on the time-sensitive things first. We can think about everything else after the Descending Spire is safely in our hands. Who knows? Maybe it will share some secrets with us that will be helpful in what they mentioned. All the places related to my parents had something.”

“Fine. I might have made myself look super impatient but there’s no one better at waiting than me.” Atra smirked softly while fixing her glasses and she finally stepped away from Asterios. “I won’t hold you back for any longer, then. Come and visit me at my house tomorrow. I’ll start thinking about how to convince the Council to grant us the highest possible clearance. That should be enough for you to find some solid evidence for your friends back at Tyr.”

“We appreciate it greatly, Atra.” Bryn smiled gently at her short friend. “See you later.”

Bidding farewell to their new scholar friend, they exited the messy chamber after Atra deactivated all the formations she’d put up earlier. It took a moment and they understood just how careful of a person she was, weaving so many different spells into her research room to prevent anything from coming out of it unintended. Or perhaps others trying to peer past the walls and spy on whatever was happening inside.

Bryn had to guide them out of the extremely complex archives and they returned to the outside world after about fifteen more minutes of wandering around the shelves, bookcases, pulpits, and such. The sky was still decently bright, though they could notice the first signs of the approaching evening.

Since they weren’t on Tyr anymore, they had to find a decent place to spend a night at. Some of them could of course return to their original world, or move with Bryn back to her ARK while leaving a person or two on Brage as an anchor, they saw no reason to risk it when they could just make use of an inn or something. Therefore, Bryn led them to the one place she knew personally, located close to the center of the flying city.

“I have a question,” Miria asked as they were walking down a busy street, passing countless valkyrjas moving in all directions. “I just noticed how many elderly and children there are here and realized that we haven’t seen almost any on your ARK. Why is that?”

“Now that you said it, I see it too.” Selene nodded with slight wonder.

“Very observant of you.” Bryn smiled gently. “The reason for that is Brage being the hub of knowledge and history. It’s only natural that the scholars teach our young here, where they have the access to all their records, instead of spreading over all the ARKs. Whenever children grow out of their infant stage, they are transferred with their guardian to Brage and attend school here for about ten years. Then, they can choose their desired occupation and receive a three-year introduction from the retired experts before heading out to their station.”

“Interesting. That would explain why Tyr is full of mature, able-bodied valkyrjas.” Grea rubbed her chin. “I guess it’s an effective system when the living space in the entire realm is restricted to only twelve flying cities that aren’t too far one from another.”

“It certainly helps each ARK focus on their responsibilities without having to worry about the children and elderly but I don’t know if I could get used to a life like that,” Tina admitted.

“I agree. It would be hard to part with my mom if I had to move to another village for thirteen years after giving birth to my kittens, or having her move out after she became older and less able.” Miria nodded sagely.

“There are as many supporters as those who oppose this tradition,” Bryn said. “But, we all understand that building local schools, making copies of all the necessary materials, raising warehouses to hold all that knowledge, and managing everything in each ARK separately is an incredibly complex and costly venture. All that effort and resources could be put elsewhere, in the places that really need them at the moment.”

“Yeah. Your people have very strong integrity. They are willing to sacrifice their individual needs or comfort for the sake of everyone,” Asterios commented. “That’s commendable. It doesn’t come as a surprise that you guys are managing to live better than decently with such an admirable mindset.”

“That’s all we can do in our current situation when all hope for a significant change has been lost.” Bryn smiled wistfully.

“Well, let’s make sure we give your people a new one then, shall we?” Grea grinned, throwing her arms over Ast’s and Bryn’s shoulders.

Miria cheered joyfully and everyone agreed, bringing a jubilant smile onto Bryn’s lips this time. She locked gazes with Asterios and nodded appreciatively, sporting a faint flush on her soft cheeks.

They soon reached their destination and walked inside a spacious inn built for the travelers just passing by Brage on their journeys. From the outside, the building looked almost exactly the same as many others, taking a very square and geometrical shape, closely resembling an aged library. It was hard to find something in a different style anywhere on the scholarly ARK.

Bryn reserved a single room for all of them without mentioning anything about going separate ways this time. Grea and Selene grinned at Asterios behind her back and he just rolled his eyes at the two of the most mischievous of his mates. Tina and Miria giggled together at them while Silvia showed a delicate smile, enjoying such interactions with her new sister-wives, or sister-mates as the girls preferred to call them.

A room with eight single beds greeted them and Miria’s face fell instantly. Bryn hastily apologized with an awkward chuckle, explaining that she had completely forgotten about this standard. Since it was an inn for travelers, almost every room was prepared in such a configuration so that no one was uncomfortable amongst the bigger groups where the people could be complete strangers or only partially involved with each other.

Grea got to work immediately and began pushing one of the beds while grunting heavily. Selene quickly picked up on her intentions and used her spiritual arts to levitate all of them around the room, setting up a single, giant mattress in the far corner. They had never seen a bed this massive and Miria was ecstatic to spend a night on such an amalgamation.

Since it would definitely cause a scene if they showed up in a public bath, they chose to visit Selene’s realm to wash up, going in pairs to be completely safe. Miria joined up with Selene, Tina with Silvia, Grea cheekily announced that she needed some alone time, and Asterios ended up paired with Bryn. Since the gorgeous Valkyrie had nothing against it, he didn’t punish the cunning demon woman.

They decided to play a two-on-two version of rock-paper-scissors for the order and Asterios beat everyone with Bryn almost effortlessly. Chuckling at each other, they stepped through the portal Selene opened for them and went to enjoy themselves in the beautiful baths in the fox lady’s mansion.

“I’m sorry,” Bryn apologized suddenly after they had been taking care of themselves in the water for about ten minutes.

“For Atra?” Asterios smirked softly, glancing up at her.

“Yes. Her curiosity has always been strong but I didn’t expect her to be this fascinated by gods… and men.” She chuckled wryly.

“Don’t think too much about it. I certainly appreciate her honesty. She seems like a nice girl, though I’m not sure if I would like to take it that far with her.”

“It’s understandable. You are already surrounded by so many amazing mates. All the other women must be heavily overshadowed by their beauty and charm. And I think it’s wonderful how you value their comfort and opinion on your relationships. It’s very sweet.”

“Thank you.” Asterios nodded with a warm smile. “But, I don’t think they overshadow anyone. Everyone has something unique about them. Just like your gorgeous golden hair and the kind, sunny smile that often adorns your beautiful face make you stand out amongst the others. Or your remarkable, curvy body and your extremely captivating chest.”

A deeper, rosy shade tinged Bryn’s cheeks as she glanced down into the water while scooping some of it into her palm and pouring it down onto her front. The clear liquid trickled down around the perfect swell of her ample, round breasts as she smiled to herself timidly.

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“Do you really think so?” she asked quietly, sneaking a peek at his face.

“I know that you consider your figure unappealing, especially your chest, but it’s the exact opposite. Trust me, as a man, those are incredibly hard to resist.” He chuckled softly. “I can’t speak for the Valkyrs, unfortunately, but anyone who focuses only on this one single aspect of your body is either blind or a complete idiot. It’s all the parts that make you whole and beautiful. To be honest, where I come from, with all your features, you would be hailed as having the perfect child-bearing body when compared to your petite friend.”

Bryn’s eyes widened briefly and she quickly dropped her gaze once more. Asterios smiled awkwardly to himself, afraid that he might have taken it a little too far considering how insecure Bryn was about her figure. A deep silence fell onto them as they continued to bathe together.

When the time came for them to leave, Bryn calmed down enough to accompany Asterios out with just a slightly shy smile. They hastily dried each other off enough not to drip on the floor and jumped back to the girls with their bodies wrapped with comfy towels. As the second pair went in, the others helped with Bryn’s feathers and hair.

With everyone fully done about half an hour later, they crashed on the bed together. Ast’s girls piled up on him completely naked but he tried to assure Bryn that she didn’t have to follow their lead, actually wearing something to bed. 

In the end, the Valkyrie decided to join in as she was and they made some space for her in front of Asterios. It didn’t take long before he was pressed into her and she was pushed into him. Thankfully, Bryn only chuckled quietly at their position and wrapped her arms around Asterios as there was no better place to put them. He did the same and they soon dozed off in each other’s embrace.

In the morning, Asterios woke up in mild darkness. It confused him to some extent as he was pretty sure that it should be morning and he didn’t remember the windows in their room having shutters or curtains. Another unusual thing was the soft, tender sensation pressing into his cheeks from both sides.

Trying to move, he noticed that he was tightly held in place. After looking around a little bit more, he realized what kind of situation he was in.

There was no doubt that the pleasant sensation on his face was Bryn’s impressive breasts as she hugged his head to her chest. Additionally, it seemed that she had somehow covered them both with her wings, locking them inside a warm and comfortable cocoon that didn’t let almost any light through.

Sensing the other girls being awake and watching them with pure amusement, he chuckled to himself and attempted to wake their winged friend up by lovingly grazing over Bryn’s back. In response, the Valkyrie squished him even more into her ample peaks while mumbling something under her nose, which she pushed into Ast’s hair from above as she rested her face on top of his head.

After a good while, she lazily opened her eyes and blinked a few times. Noticing something wrong, she furrowed her brows and quickly realized what was going on. Soon, one of Bryn’s wings unfurled from around them and revealed her deep blush as she dearly squeezed Asterios to her body. The girls chuckled at them and helped both of them up.

Sharing a quick breakfast with the other patrons of the inn, they wasted no time and headed straight for Atra’s house. The scholar Valkyrie was already awake too and they immediately ventured out toward the central castle. She had supposedly called for the Council to gather and everyone should already be waiting for them.

They walked through a similar palace like the one in Tyr but naturally in a slightly different fashion, dominated more by square motifs literally everywhere. The number of armored guards was much lower too, which felt quite logical considering that their first ARK was the military-focused one.

The meeting chamber seemed to be the only universal thing as numerous valkyrjas still stood by the edge of a round table. Miria pouted adorably, expecting to see a grand square or rectangle instead and Grea huffed to the side something about the lack of consistency.

Right from the moment Asterios and the others walked in, all the gazes were directly on him. The winged ladies whispered between themselves much livelier than the Council members from Tyr. They were still quite confused but not as shocked or flabbergasted as their sisters-in-arms from the other ARK.

“What is the reason behind this sudden gathering, Atra?” one of the valkyrjas asked while crossing her arms under her chest.

“There’s a MAN standing right next to me at this very moment. Isn’t that enough of a reason?” The caramel-haired Valkyrie snorted to the side and fixed her glasses. “But, since I’m painfully aware of how busy all of you are with your own studies, let me get straight to the point. I need full clearance for him and his companions. They have been sent by Tyr and they are heading to Odin, more accurately to the Descending Spire right under it. They are going to take it back and activate Tyr’s Aegis. That’s why they need to know as much about it as they can.”

“That’s suicide!” a different woman shouted.

“Here we go again.” Grea snickered with a wide grin.

“Wait. I heard something about this,” someone else joined in. “It’s a fresh rumor but he supposedly became the Champion of the War Games while coming out victorious in a four-on-one battle that almost destroyed the arena. A full mobilization was announced after the match and the entire army of Tyr is preparing for the upcoming conquest.”

“Precisely!” Atra pointed at that Council member. “My friend here, Bryn, is their representative bearing the Tyr’s Wing. He and his companions showed enough power to convince the entire ARK that they truly can succeed. It’s our duty as scholars to aid them with our knowledge and assure that we really take the Spire back!”

“Have you confirmed that he is indeed a man?” the first speaker asked again.

“Uhhhh…”

“I have only recently become aware of the depictions of the ancient men but I can testify under an oath that my master, Asterios, definitely is one. I saw everything that can be seen, including his acts of procreation,” Bryn replied confidently with her cheeks tainted with the faintest blush.

“Yeah!” Atra nodded with a wide smile. “And that’s why—”

“We can’t grant your request,” the same person interrupted her.

“Wait what?” The short Valkyrie didn’t hide her shock and confusion.

“He closely resembles a god and could very well be one,” someone else said.

“I know! Isn’t that amaz—”

“All the gods abandoned us and ran away, forsaking not just our race but all the realms. We can’t give access to our sacred records to someone who might be one. He could have returned to use us again, aiming to steal something from the Spire and bring it back to the rest of those traitors,” an older valkyrja stated coldly.

Atra’s mouth fell agape as she looked between the people who had spoken. “Are you serious right now? Do you know how much lost knowledge we could recover if we succeeded?”

“That could be his goal too,” the same woman shot her down instantly. “He might have been sent to destroy or retrieve things that those bastards don’t want us to get our hands on. They have always been controlling and petty, as the legends say.”

“Additionally, Atra, how could you involve a person from the outside in the guarded secrets of our race?” The woman who had begun the meeting almost spat at Bryn and her friend. “Did you forget how heavy such transgression is?”

Before Atra could reply, Asterios stepped forward. “She didn’t involve anyone. I was the one to reach out to Bryn first by summoning her into my realm. I was the one to approach Atra in hopes of receiving your help. Your secrets are safe. We don’t care about them. All we need is the information on the Descending Spire which is the goal of our expedition. We will leave immediately after learning as much as we can.”

“Do you think we can trust the words of an outsider? We can’t know what kind of tricks you could have used to manipulate our sisters-in-arms into following you. You will get nothing.” The last woman sneered at him.

Asterios sighed softly. “We don't mean anything bad. You can send someone with us to keep an eye on our movements. We have already worked with one of the Councils and gained their support. If I remember correctly, your people value high-quality alcohol, which you should currently be trading for with Tyr, right?”

“So what?” she growled.

“My family is their current supplier and it was Bryn's initiative that led to the establishment of those relations. I think it could be considered a small favor she did for you, and you could kindly consider aiding us as repaying it. If that doesn't sound right to you, we could possibly whisper a word or two to a few people and work out some better terms, such as increased quantity perhaps.”

The rude valkyrja opened her mouth but didn’t get to bark a reply before someone sealed her it with a hand from behind.

“Give us some time to discuss this situation amongst ourselves. It’s a lot to take in and the topic is extremely serious, thus the raised emotions,” the perpetrator said and a few women nodded to her words.

“Time is of the essence here so please, don’t delay this for too long,” Asterios said and turned around, starting to leave.

The girls quickly caught up to him alongside the petite Valkyrie and they walked out of the meeting chamber. There was no reason to stay there and argue endlessly.

“I’m sorry…” Atra apologized with a dejected expression as they entered the open air. “I had no idea they would be like that… I thought they would be ecstatic about the chance to learn more about our past…”

“It’s alright. I can’t exactly blame them for being so hostile. They brought up quite sound arguments.” Asterios patted the short girl on the head.

“What now? Do we just hang around and wait for their decision?” Miria asked curiously.

“I’m afraid that it won’t come that fast, nor will it be a positive one considering how strong the opposition against gods is. We, scholars, bicker amongst ourselves for weeks about the tiniest topics. They will try their best to delay it as long as they can. A slight raise to the alcohol won't change that much.” Atra sighed heavily and then straightened her posture, looking straight ahead. “If they don’t want to help, we will help ourselves. There's a lot at stake here, including the life of my close friend. I’ll get you to that information no matter what. Let's go.”

 

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