In Loki's Honor

As usual, I was alone in a room with a lot of dead bodies. The guards outside either listened to our heated debate or the Gods sealed the room so no sound escaped7. It was fifty-fifty. While I contemplated getting out through one of the ventilation windows up in the chapel's roof, it would beg the question of why I wasn't either dead or inside the room.

And I would be framed for the murders I committed. I worded it that way because that's what happened. It wasn't Apricot that killed the Hierophant, Baron, and Knights. It was the Death Princess. For some reason, I felt compelled to add to that legend. Some sort of pride or sense of self-worth rooted deep in Apricot's psyche.

But it gave me time to loot the bodies properly. The knights didn't have anything but the Baron had some hidden coin pouches with gold and platinum coins. Some had only one coin, others had two or three. The guy was paranoid but why did he carry that many coin pouches? Why not stash the coins in his house?

Financial institutions weren't a thing. There were moneylenders, the third oldest profession in any world, but they were the perfect blend of a loan shark and slave merchant. Those that fell on loans were actually selling their future freedom.

But I digress. After I finished rummaging through the bodies, I set them as they were and cleaned myself, erasing the traces that I'd touched them. Then I cleaned myself and sat next to Bundeus' statue to wait.

Galbarar, god of Truth and Justice offers you the Project Title (ultra-rare) perk. Allows people that {Appraise} you to mentally discern your active title and recognize it as truth. This effect works even if your Status is hidden or modified. This perk can be toggled on and off at will. Do you accept? [YES] - [NO]

I think that's their solution to people not recognizing my {Hero} title when they {Appraise} me. I accepted and allowed the title to "show". There was no physical change, no words floating above me. They would know when they appraised me. Turning it on and off demanded as much effort as blinking my eyelids.

The doors opened one hour later, and a priest of Bundeus entered, taking care to dodge the big pools of blood. If you ever spilled a whole gallon of anything on a level floor, you know the size of the pool if you add a liter to the pool. He approached me and bowed.

This priest was rather old, maybe in his fifties. His level was forty-one so he was someone high in the temple. I had no idea of the regalia but his clothes were very well decorated with golden thread. He was probably the boss of this temple until the High Hierophant came.

"Milady {Hero} Apricot?" He asked in a very respectful tone. A calm and well-modulated voice I expected from a priest back on Earth.

"Yes, that's me," I answered.

"Our Lord Bundeus sent me a vision. I am to guide you back home and lend you some knights to your personal security detail."

"What about the dead?" I pointed at the beheaded corpse of the High Hierophant.

The priest scowled. "Our Lord told us of the High Hierophant's betrayal. That he denied the very {Hero} our Lord anointed and conspired with the Baron to murder you. Their names will be forever reviled in the church's annals."

Talk about a change of heart. I stood up and straightened my dress. Staring at the priest, I asked, "Can I go now?"

"We need the evidence that the Baron's son was involved with diabolism."

Oh, right. I was talking about that when the Hierophant told the knights to shut the door. And they probably overheard our conversation from the door. People were shouting. I fished the signet in my bag. Rummaging through the contents caused a lot of shuffling and clacking of metals. The priest raised an eyebrow and I took one of the Baron's pouches with a few gold coins.

"Brother, here's the signet ring. And here is a donation to the temple. Let it be known that I am not at odds with Bundeus and I ask for forgiveness for previous slights."

He didn't understand but he took the pouch. After a glance inside, he smiled. "Your tithe was accepted. Let's Rejoice!"

"Yes! Rejoice!" I feigned to be excited too. A gold coin was a lot of money. But I had to go on my way. "Well, there's nothing else for me here. Lead the way."

The priest and I walked out of the chapel and he waved some initiates and minor priests to enter and clean the mess. I thought that things were too surreal. But Galbarar did say that Bundeus' faithful would not act against me. I surely didn't expect this.

The four surviving knights of the six that brought us here stood at attention when the priest gave them their orders. Escort me wherever I go, protect me and my House. Capital H, because he was calling me 'milady'.

Outside, we met the Baron's personal retinue. Testosterone was at an all-time high. The Baron's men looked at me, the knights boxed me in a protective formation. Let me tell you, these Greek breastplates were surely sexy. If I only were interested in men, I'd be in heaven.

"Where is the Baron?" One of the henchmen asked.

"That heretic is dead," The priest that I hadn't seen following me said as he walked around the knight formation. "He and his diabolist son will earn their punishment."

The henchmen were not happy. But the priest wasn't done. He hummed some kind of hymn and whispered, "{Divine Voice}."

Then he spoke and the people around the temple stopped to hear. The people the next street as well and I couldn't see past it but by the number of birds that took flight, he was sending his voice over the whole neighborhood.

"The great and magnificent Lord Bundeus, god of the Sun and War, has decreed his judgment. The Baron's fourth son, Pavel Hendra, was found guilty of diabolism and assisting his wicked coven in the summoning of a Demon Lord in our fair city! Baron Hendra was found guilty of conspiracy to betray the {Hero} anointed by Bundeus and was executed on temple grounds. All is well and our Lord's Justice delivered us from our darkest moments. Rejoice!"

The henchmen wearing the Baron's colors looked around. It wasn't a good day to wear the Baron's colors. The words "pitchfork mob" came to mind but most of the townspeople in this area of the city weren't farmers. The spirit, however, was there.

"Get them!" Someone shouted from the middle of the crowd.

The Baron's men ran for their lives. The angry mob, fueled by divine chicanery, gave chase. The rumors could spread like wildfire. The priest's proclamation might even cause a riot. And all that passed on Apricot's brain was that Anjou might get flustered by the news that her forerunner suitor was charged with diabolism. Fortunately, she wasn't even engaged yet. I could swear on any stack of holy books of all religions that I'd never before felt unconditional love like what Apricot had for her family. They were her world.

"We should move before the whole city catches on fire," I told the knights.

"Yes," the aged priest said. He faced the knights and ordered, "See that the lady {Hero} gets home safely and cooperates with the household guard to bolster their defenses."

"As Bundeus wills," One of the knights said to be parroted by the other knights and the priest.

Anjou was more than flustered. She was inconsolable. The news made her into an unwed widow. The Baron's estate was currently being besieged by an angry mob. The townsfolk didn't riot and destroy the city. They organized and marched on the Baron's gathering more people. They weren't ruffians. These were hard-working men and women that held a lot of repressed resentment. The demon was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

The injustice people like the tax collector or the magistrate spread didn't affect only our family. And they didn't stop when I assassinated these men years ago. Those that replaced them were just as worse. Truly, it wasn't so bad during the time it took for them to ease into their new office but that was just a few months. I didn't care. I murdered these men because they hurt my family and not for justice.

Just like now. Everyone in my family was safe in the house. The citizens could burn themselves to the ground or rebuild the city. I didn't think it was my problem. I closed the shutter of my window and went to sleep.

The next morning I pretended to be indisposed and confined to my bedroom to escape and visit the plantation. I took the treasure with me, frozen in a block of ice to stop it from rattling. There I went straight for the Master's office. He wore a face of grim amusement.

"Hello, milady {Hero}. I didn't think you would show up so soon," He said as I stepped inside.

I removed the pack from my back and sat on the chair in front of his desk, "I need your help to sell some items."

He leaned forward, the fingers of his hands entwined, "Like the jewelry, you stole from the High Hierophant?"

"Yes," I said with a straight face. Sarcasm was lost on Apricot. "And all the other nobles I've killed. I think I might need a lot of currency soon."

I took the pack on my lap. It was heavy but most of that was ice. You would think all the valuables I stole amounted to a lot of gold, but honestly, it was only one or two kilograms.

"And why is that?"

"I ate the core," I told him. "I don't think you know yet."

He stared at me. "Of course I know! Helena ran here after you left with the Baron and the knights!"

"Who's Helena?"

"The agent I sent to your house to work as a [Maid]."

"I didn't know her name was Helena," I also felt a little guilty for not trying to learn but in my defense, I tried to not get too close to her. If one of us had her cover busted, the other would be safe.

"It isn't."

"But you just called her that."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nevermind. Let me see the items. I doubt the artifacts the High Hierophant wore weren't enchanted."

Nenandil thaws the stuff and I start to put them on the desk. She also dried them because my fairy is awesome. Long story short, the Master had 55 levels in {Evaluate}, putting him in the master tier of the Skill. While I could {Evaluate} most mundane items, he could glean information about almost any item.

The items from the Hierophant weren't enchanted. And I know the reason. Being a priest, his items probably were enchanted with divine magic. And that magic became Loki's snack when I touched it. Damn.

"Color me impressed. They're just trinkets. I can see the runic diagrams where they engraved the prayers, but there's no enchantment whatsoever. But it is not a recently-primed item. There's wear on the inside engravings."

Sharp as always, my Master.

"I gained a perk to eat magic," I volunteer.

He leans forward menacingly, "And you snacked on the holy relics of the High Hierophant."

I glance upwards and sideways with a small frown, "Maybe."

I hear the Master head hitting the backrest of his chair. "How much Exp was the Hierophant worth?"

"I'm not comfortable sharing the value. But I gained a level and a good headstart on the next."

He stood up and poured himself a mug of amber liquor. After taking a deep swig, he came around and looked at me. "Sometimes I regret not killing you when I took you to the charcoal plant," He said and smacked his lips.

"It's not too late," I replied without challenging him. "I only beg you to keep my family safe."

His hand flicked with amazing speed. But instead of cutting my throat, he patted my head. "I can't. Like mold, you've grown on me. My Princess of Death."

What better father figure could a little psychopath as Apricot want? And before anyone objects, I was not a psychopath - and I would agree - that's only because my mind was tempered with the memories and thought patterns of my previous lives. Were Apricot to wield the power I have without my ingrained sense of ethics, sensibilities, and previous knowledge, she would exactly that. The bottom line was, living inside this body and peculiar mind was an awesome and terrifying experience.

"I'll get you your gold coins. We just need to melt and press them out of this gold. I'll tell Trevor to do it. It is better to melt all the jewelry and sell the cut gemstones alone."

Trevor was the guild's resident blacksmith. But one thing surprised me, "You can make coins? Here?"

"Yes. It is just a matter of pressing the coin face on the metal. What people worry about counterfeit coins is that they might not be made of the metal they think it is. We're working with pure gold and silver here. There's no problem. Come, I'll show you."

The coins I've seen weren't poorly made. Some were bent, misshapen, or shaved but the design wouldn't be amiss in any modern numismatist's collection. Back on Earth faking the molds would be a daunting task, but this world had magic and Skills to cheat with.

The better part was that I didn't have to pay a big fee on the conversion.

Everything was going along too well. It made me afraid.