It had been a full day and night since Shirou's summoning to this world.
He and Salter were staying as guests in Gelda's house. The awestruck villagers kept bringing them baskets overflowing with juicy, ripe berries, as if to appease these "envoys of the gods." At least finding their next meal was no concern.
"Crunch, crunch..."
The constant sounds of ravenous eating filled the room.
Shirou glanced over at Salter, who was voraciously devouring berries by the fistful. He sighed, reminded again of her seemingly bottomless appetite. Ever since her transformation, she had absolutely no restraint. Watching her wolf down the food with abandon, he nibbled on a few berries before feeling full.
Salter noticed his gaze and protectively shielded her hoard of berries, like a wary lioness guarding a fresh kill. She watched him distrustfully as he smiled and bit into the plump blue berry in his hand.
The fruit reminded him of an apple, with blue skin and sweet, slightly tart juice. Quite tasty.
After a moment's hesitation, Salter reluctantly selected two of the ripe blue berries and pushed them toward him, though her eyes still followed them longingly.
He looked at her in surprise. Since when did this ravenous lioness learn to share food?
Wait...this scene felt familiar somehow...
Then he remembered. Back at Ector's estate in Britain when they first met, Artie had also shared her food with him, with the intention of making him her knight... Although of course, things turned out the other way around in the end.
Shirou understood what was on Salter's mind. She probably wanted the method he used to allow the survivors from the Age of Gods to keep on living.
He didn't mind Salter learning from him, so he gladly took the two fruits.
Consider it tuition fees, he thought with a hint of amusement.
He took another bite of the plump blue berry, savoring the sweet tang of juice.
Shirou worked efficiently. After just one day, he had already obtained some basic information he needed about Village No. 23.
First off, this was indeed Scandinavia.
The Norse cosmology originated from an enormous World Tree with a three-layered structure – the upper world of Asgard, Vanaheim and Alfheim where the gods lived; the middle world of Midgard for humans, Jotunheim for frost and mountain giants, and Svartalfheim for dwarves; and the lower world of Helheim, Niflheim, and Muspelheim, home to the fire giants.
Shirou was currently in Village No. 23, located in Midgard, the middle layer of the World Tree.
Secondly, the background of this world felt odd to him.
In the Scandinavia he knew, before Ragnarök, the gods led by Odin kept the giants suppressed as they ruled. But that wasn't the case here. From what he gathered, the famed destruction event of Ragnarok hadn't occurred in this world. Instead, the bizarre incident of the "Vanishing of the Gods" took place.
About 2,000 years ago, all of the gods led by Odin vanished, without exception.
With the gods gone, the once-suppressed giant clans quickly rose up in rebellion, attempting to overthrow the vanished gods and seize control of the world.
The world then descended into chaos.
In just one year, the human population in Midgard dwindled down to just 10,000.
Humanity didn't become extinct - not because the giants didn't go all out, but because one year after the gods vanished, one returned from the disappearance. That was Skadi, now the only remaining god in this world.
Skadi rebuilt Asgard, spread her divine power throughout Midgard, and used the Valkyries to drive the giants out of Midgard, restoring order to the middle world once more.
People thought dawn had arrived and happiness was near. But that's not how things turned out.
After Skadi returned, another god also came back from the disappearance – Hel, the death goddess and ruler of Helheim!
Hel commanded the giant clans, constantly trying to invade Midgard and Asgard. But she was unable to defeat Skadi, while Skadi was also unable to defeat Hel.
The two gods formed a confrontation - the giant clans on one side, the Valkyries on the other. This stalemate had persisted for over 2,000 years now.
Neither could overwhelm the other all this time, though border clashes still occurred frequently.
Villages near the borders, like Village No. 23, were often raided by giants. To help these villages barely cling to survival, the primitive practice of human sacrifice developed. Yes, villagers would be selected and offered to the giants in exchange for the chance to keep existing.
You could describe it like the ancient days when people made human and animal sacrifices to river and sea gods, hoping for good weather and bountiful harvests. It was an extreme version of trying to appease disasters by burning money.
This was all the information he had managed to get from this village.
Shirou was very interested in the historical event of the "Vanishing of the Gods" in this world. In his opinion, it led to the current situation. But that event was over 2000 years ago. Clearly its secrets couldn't be uncovered from a small village like this.
To learn those kinds of historical secrets, you'd have to get the intelligence from important figures here,
Such as Skadi or Hel!
Actually, he could've learned about this world faster, and figured out his position, if he'd been summoned successfully by the Council. Unfortunately he was shot down halfway.
That was quite a pity.
He quickly finished the berries in his hand - that was his lunch.
Getting up, he walked outside to see Gelda pruning the branches of a blue fruit tree in her garden.
The blue fruit tree was a strange one. The whole world was covered in lethal snow and ice, yet this tree still grew - flourishing amidst it all and producing many blue fruits that sustained human life.
"Are you looking at the blue fruit tree, honored envoy?" Gelda put down the pruning shears when she saw him, and asked aloud.
"Yes." He smiled.
"Honored envoy must be reminded of Lady Skadi when seeing this tree." Gelda said with a smile.
"Yes. Seeing it, I'm reminded of Lady Skadi, after all..."
Shirou didn't finish. Gelda subconsciously continued with a smile, "After all, we have this thanks to Lady Skadi's grace."
"Mm, yes," he nodded.
Looking at the tree, he thought - was this the blessing of Skadi's divine power?
Gelda hummed, using the shears to snip a protruding branch.
The cut branch turned into blue ice crystals as it hit the ground, finally disappearing like spiritrons into the soil.
Such a fantastical sight didn't make Gelda exclaim with wonder - on the contrary, it seemed mundane to her. This showed she was long used to such magical scenes.
"Gelda, what's that tune you're humming? It sounds nice," he asked.
"You think so?" Gelda smiled. "My mother taught it to me."
He didn't probe further.
Gelda was the sole occupant of the sparsely furnished house. No parents, friends or relatives. What that signified, he had enough emotional and intellectual intelligence to comprehend the reason.
"Mother said this is the Spring Song. Oh yes," Gerda seemed to recall something. She turned, her large watery eyes looking at him eagerly as she asked, "Honored envoy, everyone says Asgard where Lady Skadi lives has spring all year. What's spring like?"
Shirou didn't know what Asgard looked like, but he was a talented liar.
"Spring is a lively season full of hope and beauty. The young wheat in the fields grows vibrant green, stretching out like waves. Golden wildflowers sparkle among the green. Willow trees sway gently in the breeze, their tender new leaves yellowish green, like groups of fairy maidens dancing gracefully in green dresses. Nestled amidst the willows, peach trees burst into brilliant pink blossoms. The green and pink make a simply gorgeous sight. The flowers give off an intoxicating floral scent that draws busy little bees to buzz and dance while collecting nectar." Shirou said with a smile.
"How lovely... Just as my mother described!" Gerda said happily, her smile both cheerful and full of anticipation.
Anticipation for what, exactly? Perhaps just for colors other than this barren whiteness that surrounded them.
But Gerda said no more, her gaze drifting into the distance. Behind the excitement in her eyes was a numbness, an acceptance of the bleak world as it had been for over 2,000 years.