"Ah..."
"..."
Half an hour later, Akeno had completely gone limp.
At that moment, she felt as though her entire body, bones included, had softened like slime. She could not summon even the slightest bit of strength.
Only a faint trace of awareness remained, but she could no longer control her body at all.
Even her posture was rather awkward.
Although she was lying face down, one arm was pinned beneath her while the other rested behind her back.
Rather than sleeping, it looked more like she had fainted.
Rod left the room without paying too much attention to Akeno's condition. After all, no matter how weak a Devil's constitution might be, it could not be that fragile. She would probably recover within a day.
Although it was a holiday, someone was already awake in the first-floor living room.
Kuroka was lying on her back across the sofa, her smooth, slender legs dangling over the backrest. She paid no attention to the fact that her panties were exposed beneath her skirt. Both hands gripped a game controller while her eyes stayed locked on the screen.
Kalawarna and Walburga sat on either side of her, watching Kuroka play with tense expressions.
Judging from the snack bags scattered across the floor, Rod could tell that Kuroka had pulled another all-nighter.
Still, Rod did not bother with her.
"Master."
Seeing Rod appear, Kalawarna and Walburga hurriedly stood up.
"Breakfast is ready. Would you like to eat now?"
Raynare appeared from the kitchen as usual.
Rod nodded.
Before long, a table filled with different cuisine dishes was placed before him.
While they waited, some of the other girls also woke up and came downstairs.
During breakfast, Rias noticed that Akeno was not at the table and asked where she was.
"No idea. She's probably still lazing in bed."
Rod said.
But the moment his words fell, Rod immediately sensed several gazes staring at him.
Koneko and Kuroka had both smelled the special scent on Rod.
Lavinia and Asia, having spent the night alone, had guessed where Rod went.
Xenovia and Irina knew Rod was a womanizer. Akeno had deliberately seduced him last night, so it would have been strange if Rod had actually held himself back.
"I see. Akeno really has gotten a little lazy lately. Maybe her training has just been too intense."
The moment the girls heard Rias say that, they were shocked.
You believe that?
Something this obvious, and you still haven't noticed?!
Still, everyone tacitly chose not to point it out.
"I'm sorry! I behaved terribly last night!"
After everyone had eaten their fill,
Rossweisse appeared before Rod with a face full of apology and unease.
Dressed in a suit, the girl bowed before Rod and apologized, her heart filled with anxiety.
After waking up that morning, she had immediately remembered how drunkenly she had behaved the previous night. Although remembering what she had said made her feel incredibly embarrassed, what she cared about more than embarrassment was whether she could still keep her job.
"It's fine. I actually found it pretty interesting. I didn't expect the normally serious Valkyrie to have that kind of personality deep down."
Rod spoke with a cheerful smile.
"What surprised me even more is that you're a Valkyrie from Norse mythology, yet you can't handle even a little alcohol?"
"I can drink. Only a little, though."
Rossweisse answered honestly.
"Before I started working for that rotten old man... I mean, Odin-sama, I specifically trained my alcohol tolerance back home so I could deal with situations like that."
As everyone knew, the gods of myth loved feasts and pleasure, and the Norse gods were even more extreme in that regard.
From mortals to deities, there was practically no one among them who did not like drinking.
Small banquets happened every three days, and large ones every five.
As for the heroic spirits in Valhalla, aside from fighting, their daily lives consisted of eating meat and drinking alcohol. As Valkyries who served those heroic spirits, even if they were not great drinkers, they at least had to be average.
But Rossweisse could not exactly be called someone who could not drink.
It was more accurate to say that one drop was enough to get her drunk. Her whole vibe was completely out of place in Norse mythology.
"Then what happened last night?"
"Uh... I accidentally drank too much. If it's only a little, I'm completely fine!"
Rossweisse patted her chest confidently.
"Then let's drink a couple glasses first."
After saying that, Rod pulled a bottle of Lafite from his storage space. The date was genuine: 1982.
Rod poured half a glass and handed it to the girl.
Seeing this, Rossweisse's eyes nearly narrowed into slits. There was no resistance toward the wine in her gaze, only the desire to keep her high-paying job.
Then she boldly declared in her heart that if she got drunk again today, she's not a true valkyrie!
But the moment half a glass went down, everyone heard a thud.
Rossweisse, who had been overflowing with confidence just moments ago, collapsed onto the floor like an exhausted animal and began sleeping soundly.
"That's it?"
Rod helplessly put the wine away.
"Drag her back."
He waved his hand.
Mittelt immediately walked over, skillfully lifted Rossweisse by the shoulders, and carried her back to her room.
She did this not only because she was eager to please Rod, though that was part of it, but also because she had her own personal reasons.
After Rossweisse woke up that morning, she had thanked Mittelt. Before long, their awkward small talk had turned into casual conversation about daily life.
When Rossweisse mentioned that she liked going to hundred-yen shops to buy cheap goods and waiting in malls for discounted items, the Fallen Angel Mittelt immediately found common ground with her. The two had even agreed to go shopping together during their next day off.
Rod paid no further attention to the drunk Rossweisse.
Seeing Asia feeding Fenrir and his two children high-grade dog food, he suddenly thought of something interesting.
He took Mjölnir from his storage space.
Lightning power spilled outward, making the people present feel as though their hair was standing on end.
"You should all recognize this. It's the divine artifact held by Thor, the God of Thunder in Norse mythology. Although this is a replica, its power is still not weak."
"Whoever among you can pick it up and use it, I'll give it to her."
The moment Rod finished speaking, the eyes of the people present lit up.
Although everyone here was a supernatural being, no one would ever complain about having too many trump cards.
Moreover, this was the only replica of Mjölnir, and its attributes were powerful.
"I'll try, nya!"
The instant Rod placed Mjölnir on the table, Kuroka was the first to raise her hand.
Then, without caring whether Rod had agreed or not, she immediately grabbed Mjölnir's short handle with both hands and tried with all her strength to lift it.
But forget lifting it from the table.
Even moving it by a single millimeter was a luxury.
Kuroka's face reddened from exertion as she stared at the short-handled hammer in disbelief.
She had even used senjutsu just now, yet it had not moved at all.
This was simply ridiculous beyond belief!
"Let us try instead. According to legend, to wield Mjölnir, one must possess a pure heart in order to lift and use it. As Angels, Mjölnir should naturally be no problem for us!"
Xenovia spoke with absolute confidence.