Chapter 29 - I don't know who you are.
Of the three people who had just entered the courtyard, the woman Hati had identified as Luna was by far the most charming.
She looked mostly the same as she did back on Earth; even her snowy white skin had carried over, even though most nature fairies had skin colours that leaned towards a light earthiness. Her oval face and green-coloured, almond-shaped eyes were also still there.
Her face was regal in its beauty, and combined with the overflowing pride in her eyes, most people standing in front of her would feel unworthy of being in her presence. Her face was slightly slanted upwards as if to look down on the entire crowd gathered there, but no one seemed to notice or care. Or perhaps they thought it was deserved.
The only thing that had changed about her was her straight green hair reaching to her waist, which used to be blond, probably a consequence of being a nature fairy.
Her clothes projected a mixture of sex and intimidation while showing plenty of skin. Clearly, she knew her beauty and how to use it while relying on the heavy punishments for messing with future spirit companions to ensure her own safety.
Her shoulders and D-cup breasts were covered by a tight-fitting cloth with some metal parts mixed in, especially around the shoulders. It showed just enough cleavage to make people want more while exposing her stomach and arms, except for two pieces of metal that adorned her lower arms and looked like armguards.
Meanwhile, her legs were covered by a long skirt that had several slits in it, both for ease of movement and to show glimpses of her smooth legs.
Except for the hair, she truly was the spitting image of Luna, but the thing that convinced Hati without a shadow of a doubt was the feeling he got when he looked at her. It was the same feeling he had when he met Luna for the first time back on Earth: a nearly overwhelming desire to dominate.
Something that Luna had apparently felt about him, too, back then: something he realised now came from the sin shards, pushing their hosts towards the inevitable contest to decide the leader between the two of them. Undoubtedly, this woman had the other half of his sin shard.
Meanwhile, Sif was surprised about her son's outburst and looked at him while asking, "Hati? Who is Luna?" Hati, still stuck in his own chaotic thoughts, ignored her. Luckily, Mia was just as surprised as Sif and decided to answer for him,
"Luna is my granddaughter and one of the future spirit companions that just arrived, but I have no idea how your son knows her. Weren't the two of you confined to your house, Sif?" Then, directing a suspicious look at Hati, she asked him,
"Tell me, boy, how do you know Luna?" But when he kept staring in the distance towards Luna and ignored her, Mia went in to grab Hati.
Fortunately, she was stopped by a wrinkly hand belonging to a frowning Erik. "That's close enough, Lady Mia. I am also interested in the answer to your question, but if you think you can get physical with my grandson while I'm here, you are sorely mistaken."
Although both Mia and Erik were fifth-revolution Einherjar, Erik was further along in his focal ranks and was thus more powerful than her. Stopping her without causing a commotion was not easy for him, but he also wasn't straining himself too severely.
Mia glared at him before she looked back at Hati and then at Luna, who was now staring in their direction. She was stunned to notice that her granddaughter, who would typically give almost no one the time of day, had, at some point, ended up in a staring contest with Hati.
Hati was looking for any sign of recognition but was dismayed when he only saw confusion in her eyes. 'Does she really not remember me? Was I the only one reincarnated with my memories?
Or… does she want nothing to do with me, now that the effects of our connection have worn off and is pretending not to know me? Is- Is that even really Luna, or just the next person to end up with the other half of my shard who just happens to look similar?'
His thoughts were going a mile a minute, but at that thought, he frowned and immediately tossed it away.
His pride took the reigns as he calmed down and started thinking logically, 'No. That would be too much of a coincidence, and her being here would line up with the words from that disembodied voice. Whatever the truth, I must find it and act accordingly.'
Breaking eye contact with Luna, he took advantage of Erik's confrontation with Mia and his mother and uncle's confusion about the situation to grab Astrid by the hand and jump into the crowd.
The crowd had noticed nothing of what was happening behind them nor that Luna had been stuck in a staring contest for a whole minute. They were simply too entranced by not only her but also her fellow fairies, who, even if less charming than Luna, were still a sight to see.
Astrid was entirely confused about what was happening, but she quickly realised what her master wanted her to do and did not hesitate. She took the lead and pushed her way through the crowd while moving towards the fairies.
Since most of the youths here had, at the very least, reached rank nine in their heart focal, Hati would be entirely unable to get through the crowd by himself, especially considering his size. Luckily, the escorts had moved to the side, as they were not part of the event.
They weren't really needed anyway and were more of a status symbol since the youths were expected to behave themselves without constant oversight or receive punishment.
Meanwhile, an announcer had started to introduce the three fairies by telling the crowd their names, elements, ages and families they were born in. But Hati was not paying attention to any of this, as his only thoughts were about reaching Luna to confirm the status of her memory.
Naturally, people were disgruntled by the two people elbowing their way through the crowd, but when they recognised them as the people escorted here by those big shots, they decided to let it go.
When the announcer finished his introduction, it was time for the people to meet the fairies. The idea here was for all the youths to meet the three fairies individually to not gang up on them.
Obviously, the more influential and powerful youths were up first, and, luckily, with Astrid's help, Hati was both. Astrid was very talented, and even while having started two years later than most of the other people here, she was still one of the most powerful.
Unfortunately, at the front of the line, they ran into a problem by the name of Garth. He had been standing at the front near Luna the whole time and was about to meet her when Astrid and Hati tried to get past him.
He blocked Astrid's way and scowled at the two of them with disdain, saying, "You think I will allow a mere maid to pass me? And you! Regardless of who your family is, you think a crippled mortal has more right to see Goddess Luna than I do?"
Hati rolled his eyes, immediately recognising the signs of a man turned into a simp by Luna, as he had seen this many times back on Earth.
Combining her personality with her looks and the ability from her pride shard truly was a deadly combination for unprepared people of all genders. Unfortunately, he couldn't just kill this person like he used to do in the past.
Of course, he had Astrid, but ordering her to attack this person seemed like a bad idea, even if she probably would obey him. So he thought of another plan that included pissing off this person in front of them. And he knew exactly how to piss off one of Luna's simps.
"Hmpf, Goddess? She looks more like a self–important, moderately pretty bitch."
Everyone around Hati immediately looked at him while wondering how many times he had fallen on his head as a child, but Garth's reaction was much more exaggerated.
Looking like he had just swallowed shit, he charged at Hati with visible fury. Hati looked at the approaching fist as if looking at an insignificant fly while thinking, 'It really is too easy to piss off these kinds of people'.
Just before the fist reached him, a dainty hand grabbed Garth's arm while a chilly voice was heard, "You dare attack my master? You'll have to step over my cold, dead body."
Hati had realised that, while ordering Astrid to attack Garth outright was obviously a bad idea, things would be entirely different if Garth were the first to attack, and nothing would enrage a simp as much as insulting their love interest.
Noticing a fight was breaking out, the people around them immediately spread outwards from Hati, Astrid and Garth.
As Astrid and Garth started trading blows, it was clear that their strength was similar enough that neither of them would get one up over the other any time soon.
While they were fighting, Garth kept yelling something about avenging his Goddess and how a mere maid dared to stand in his way, but Hati didn't really pay attention to that.
He quickly moved past them and finally ended up in front of Luna, whose eyes had never left Hati's figure during this time.
Her melodious voice sounded as she said, "I don't know who you are, but I would appreciate it if your maid didn't wreck my toy. I worked hard on him, you know."