Although Odin had no idea how Rod had connected the word "hammer" with an insult, he quickly explained the weapon's origins.
"This is Mjölnir..."
"Hiss!"
Before he could finish, Azazel sucked in a sharp breath.
Mjölnir, the Hammer of the Thunder God, was one of the Asgardian gods' most precious treasures. It symbolized the power of thunder and possessed overwhelming destructive force.
It stood at the pinnacle of divine artifacts alongside Odin's Gungnir and Freyr's Skíðblaðnir, forming the core treasures of Asgard.
No one had expected Odin to be so generous that he would actually give Mjölnir away as a gift!
Wait.
Something was wrong.
What was Thor supposed to do without his hammer?
"What will Thor do if he loses his hammer?"
Azazel asked instinctively.
Odin glanced at him.
"Thor is the God of Thunder, not the God of Hammers."
"Of course, this Mjölnir isn't the genuine article. It's a perfect replica of the Hammer of the Thunder God. Even so, it still possesses tremendous power."
"After Loki appeared, Rossweisse contacted Asgard. Thor had someone retrieve it from the dwarves so it could be used against Loki."
"But Loki and Fenrir were defeated before it arrived, so the hammer was only delivered now."
"I decided I might as well give it to you."
"No wonder you were being so generous. It's a fake."
Rod curled his lips.
For a moment, he had truly thought it was the real Mjölnir.
Odin immediately bristled.
"kid, don't underestimate a replica! Though its power is inferior to the original, it is by no means weak. It also contains divine lightning."
"However... only someone pure of heart can draw out Mjölnir's true power."
"Either way, I've paid you. Whether you can use it has nothing to do with me."
"Fine."
Rod nodded and reluctantly accepted the replica Mjölnir from Odin.
The moment it entered his hand, he felt its considerable weight.
Still, unlike what he had imagined, it was not so heavy that he could not lift it.
Rod remembered that in the Marvel universe, Mjölnir was protected by a special law. Only those it recognized as worthy could lift the hammer. No matter how physically strong someone was, they could not raise it otherwise.
But the Mjölnir of the High School DxD world clearly had no such characteristic.
The only difference lay in whether someone could wield the power within it.
The moment he received it, Rod quietly tested the hammer.
He discovered that he could not mobilize the divine lightning inside.
His expression did not change as he placed it inside his storage space.
"And since you're a mercenary, we'll follow mercenary rules."
"Five million euros have already been transferred to your bank account. Don't go around telling people that Norse mythology refuses to pay its debts."
At that moment, Rod's phone vibrated.
A loud female voice announced,
"Five million euros has been deposited into your account."
Only then did Rod nod in satisfaction.
Compared to the difficulty of dealing with Loki and Fenrir, the amount of money was admittedly rather stingy.
But aside from the money, his gains from this mission had been enormous.
And the greatest gain of all was Fenrir.
A genuine Transcender-class existence.
Although its intelligence dropped significantly once it entered battle, its destructive power was completely real.
"F-Five million euros..."
Xenovia and Irina, two miserable working stiffs, immediately stared at Rod with envy, jealousy, and resentment when he once again flaunted his account balance.
They had only ever seen that many zeroes in their dreams!
But someone else reacted even more strongly.
The moment Rossweisse heard the voice notification, her entire body went into a daze.
"Money... So much money. F-Five million..."
Once she recovered, she stared at Odin with blazing eyes.
"Odin-sama, about... about increasing my salary..."
"Ahem. In that case, our business here is finished."
"Once my journey is over and I return to Norse territory, kid, you absolutely must come and have a drink with me."
Faced with Rossweisse's request for a raise, Odin pretended not to hear her.
After saying goodbye to Rod, he immediately left the living room and boarded Sleipnir.
"We'll be leaving too."
Azazel waved and followed him onto the carriage.
Baraqiel looked reluctantly toward Akeno among the crowd.
But when he saw that she was not even looking at him, disappointment washed over him. Without saying anything, he quietly boarded the carriage.
"Odin-sama! Odin-sama... Did you hear what I said about my salary?"
Rossweisse was still highly emotional and continued chasing Odin while asking about her raise.
Odin merely covered his ears and looked toward Azazel beside him.
"Azazel-chan, once we reach Kyoto, you need to help me find a suitable geisha house. I haven't seen any big breasts in days."
"Don't worry, you dirty old man. We Fallen Angels happen to operate several hotels in Kyoto. Every geisha inside was carefully selected. I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"
"Hehehe! Excellent!"
The powerful steed flew into the distance amid the lecherous laughter of the god-king and the Governor, accompanied by Rossweisse's relentless demands for a raise.
A teleportation circle also appeared beneath Grayfia's feet.
Before leaving, however, she stared intently at Rod's face and asked the question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time.
"Rod-sama, have we met somewhere before?"
"?"
Was this some new type of pickup line?
Rod was confused.
Even surprise appeared on the faces of Rias, Sona, and the others.
Before Rod could answer, Grayfia continued in her usual cool tone.
"Forgive my intrusion."
The teleportation circle beneath her feet then shone brightly, transporting her back to the Underworld.
Grayfia's strange question left Rod somewhat puzzled, but he did not take it to heart.
Because of the Loki incident, Rias, Sona, and the others were all granted time off.
And because of the information Azazel had provided, Rod found some time to teleport to the Khaos Brigade headquarters, where he found Ophis watching a movie alone.
"Ophis, I'm here."
Hearing the familiar voice, Ophis raised her head slightly.
She did not speak, however. She merely pointed toward the screen, clearly indicating that she wanted to keep watching.
Rod sat down behind her with practiced ease and pulled her into his arms.
Ophis shifted around several times until she found a comfortable position.
Just like that, the human and the dragon watched the entire movie together.
"Ophis, has anyone asked you to create a new type of snake recently?"
Rod asked.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"Cao Cao, and the people who call themselves the Hero Faction."
As usual, Ophis kept her answer brief.
"They left not long before you arrived."
At that moment,
Rod's phone suddenly began to ring.
The name displayed on the screen was Jeanne.
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