Offering to the Goddess of Harvest...

This was also the help Promise had sought from Thrud over half a month ago.

He hoped that she could bring the goddess of harvest, Sif, to Midgard.

In Midgard, he would present the offering he had been preparing for so long to the goddess.

Hearing her words Sif thought for a moment, then softly said to Thrud, "My child, Idunn actually told me about this a long time ago. Not only that, she even punished Loki together with your father.

Although I am happy that there is such a lovely child in the mortal world who has been weaving such an offering for me, if it weren't for the bet with Loki, I would have been very happy to go with you to meet him. But..."

As she spoke, Sif showed Thrud the golden hair she now wore.

"Do you really think that child named Promise can win this bet?"

Thrud remained silent for a while, then gently shook her head and said.

"I don't know. I only promised him that I would bring you to him.

And since that's the case, Mother, I think you should meet him, because that offering... is very special."

This unexpected answer made Sif blink her eyes a few times.

"Very special... really?"

"Yes," Thrud nodded.

Seeing this, Sif couldn't help but scrutinize her daughter in front of her.

Thrud was a very serious child, so she knew she was unlikely to lie. But still...

"Thrud, could it be... you care about that boy?"

"Care about him?"

The Valkyrie tilted her head and thought for a moment, then nodded under Sif's curious gaze.

"Yes, I do care about him."

Because he is the last memory of Sister Brynhildr in this world... Thrud thought so in her heart.

However,

"...It seems I really have no reason not to go now."

Clearly misunderstanding something, Sif smiled gently.

Thrud, on the other hand, tilted her head slightly, obviously not understanding her mother's meaning or the teasing in her eyes.

Thus, Sif followed Thrud onto the white horse.

They transformed into a brilliant aurora and traveled from the Rainbow Bridge to Midgard.

By the time the white horse galloped, bringing the Valkyrie and the goddess to the mortal world, it was already sunset.

Under the glow of the setting sun, Thrud led the radiant-haired goddess Sif to a golden wheat field.

"Mother, you just need to wait here."

As Thrud spoke, following Promise's initial instructions, she turned and left.

Sif looked at Thrud's departing figure and stood obediently in place.

With a smile on her lips, she kept looking around.

At this moment, the goddess of harvest was filled with curiosity about Promise.

Whether it was because of the favor shown by Goddess of Youth, Idunn towards him, or Thrud's seemingly awakened reaction, Sif was full of anticipation for Promise.

But what she didn't expect was that several minutes passed, and Promise still hadn't appeared.

Just as Sif was growing impatient and starting to frown in annoyance,

"Beautiful goddess, may I ask.. are you the one Brother Promise asked me to wait for?"

A timid, childish voice suddenly rang out beside Sif.

The latter was startled and instinctively turned towards the direction of the voice, only to see a little girl, about six or seven years old, holding a delicate wreath, standing behind her.

When Sif looked at her, the little girl was startled and subconsciously took a couple of steps back.

Looking up at the incredibly beautiful goddess in front of her, the little girl's eyes were full of admiration.

"...Promise?"

Sif quickly realized that this must be the boy Thrud and Idunn had spoken of.

So, she nodded.

Then, she saw the little girl holding out the wreath in her arms towards her.

"This is..."

Just as Sif was puzzled,

"That big brother said this is the offering for you, the beautiful goddess."

As she spoke, as if remembering something, the little girl placed the wreath on her own head.

Then, under Sif's slightly stunned gaze, a beautiful head of golden hair grew from the wreath.

The golden hair was clearly not as beautiful or dazzling as Sif's current locks, but at this moment, in the gentle breeze of the setting sun, it swayed gently like the golden wheat fields around them.

Sif stared at the golden hair cascading from the wreath, completely stunned for a moment.

After all, she was a goddess, so she naturally saw the essence of the wreath.

The material of the hair was indeed very simple, mostly made of wheat stalks.

But Sif saw that each strand of hair was a wheat stalk, and each stalk came from a different person.

They had given the stalks to the boy, who had woven them into strands of hair, each carrying a blessing for her, the goddess of harvest.

Some blessings were sincere, others not.

But that didn't matter, because they had all come together to form the golden hair.

"Beautiful goddess, are you really the goddess Sif?"

The little girl spoke again, not waiting for Sif to respond, and then smiled innocently, "Well, you are so beautiful, you must be the goddess Sif that my grandmother always talks about, the one who protects us and brings us bountiful harvests."

"When Brother Promise told my grandmother that he wanted to make an offering to the goddess, she was so excited that she personally wove the final strand of hair for you. She wanted to see you so much, but she can't get out of bed anymore..."

As she spoke, the little girl took off the wreath from her head.

She stepped forward, carefully looking at the goddess in front of her, and handed the wreath to her, saying, "So I came in her place...

And I'm sorry, goddess, you must be angry because I was late. I had to run really far to pick flowers from the mountain to decorate this wreath.

Because it's an offering for you, goddess, I thought it had to be very beautiful."

Under the setting sun, the innocent girl, holding the flower-adorned wreath in her arms, stood in the golden wheat field, smiling as she presented it to the goddess who symbolized harvest.

In the distant woods, the little bird Shini and the Valkyrie Thrud watched this scene, imprinting it in their eyes.

If one had to describe the scene in front of them in a single sentence, both Shini and Thrud would likely say the same thing.

It was like... a painting.

Not only that, but this scene also caught the eyes of Idunn, the goddess of youth, and Skuld, the goddess of fate.

"...Harvest," In the sacred realm of Asgard, by the Well of Urd, the goddess of fate, dressed in a long black gown, serene and mysterious, couldn't help but whisper softly.

Clearly, she had fully understood what Promise's offering to Sif truly was.

It wasn't just a dazzling head of golden hair—it was the harvest itself.

The offering Promise had presented to the goddess of harvest, Sif, was the bounty of Midgard, the mortal realm.

This corresponded to the information Idunn, the goddess of youth, had once shared with Promise.

Sif loved her golden hair so dearly, that she would tend to it with care every day.

When Loki cut it off, her sorrow had been profound because that golden hair symbolized the harvest of the mortal world—the golden wheat stalks, the gold of the fields.

She had lost it, and now, Promise had brought it back to her.

"The golden hair Loki presented symbolized beauty and wealth, because it was crafted from the rarest golden threads and the exquisite skill of the dwarves."

"But what he forged was the harvest of the mortal world, the duty she had nearly forgotten in her pursuit of beauty and wealth, and that innocence..."

The one who spoke these words was not Skuld, the goddess of fate.

The voice came from a somewhat aged and deep-voiced one-eyed god.

He sat on a high throne, with two black ravens perched on his shoulders.

He raised his gaze, watching the conclusion of this event.

He saw the goddess standing there, stunned for a long time, but in the end, she still reached out with trembling hands and took the beautiful wreath from the little girl's hands.

"...Heh."

And so, the god seated on the throne smiled.

"Loki, you've lost."

At this moment, Promise, of course, knew nothing of this.

He wasn't even as deeply moved by the scene before him as Shini and Thrud were.

His gaze simply shifted back and forth between Sif and Thrud as a big question mark hovered above his head.

Because, to the naked eye, the two of them looked strikingly similar.

It was as if they were mother and daughter...

'Strange, I thought all Valkyries were 'daughters' of the great god Odin?'

Such thoughts naturally arose in his mind.

In fact, Promise, who had created this scene before him, didn't even realize that he had returned 'harvest' to the goddess Sif.

The reason he chose such an offering for Sif was actually quite simple.

Nothing more than sheer familiarity...

After all..practice makes a man perfect.

During the Greek Age of Gods, he had interacted with gods daily, especially goddesses.

So, when it came to making a goddess happy, Promise had far too much experience.

The title of "Goddess Hunter" wasn't earned for nothing!

Thus, even if there was no such deeper meaning like returning 'harvest,' Sif would likely have chosen Promise's offering.

Because while this offering might not be as dazzling as the treasure forged from golden threads, for the gods, it was far more precious.

To put it simply, showing off this wreath would easily spark envy among other goddesses...

After all, who didn't have a treasure or two?

Replicating Goddess Sif's golden hair forged from golden threads wasn't entirely impossible.

With rarer materials, one could even create something better.

But this wreath was different. It required more time, effort, and it might not even be replicated.

Not to mention it was deeply connection to Sif's divine duties and authority.

So while it might not be as beautiful as the golden hair forged from golden threads, it was undoubtedly more romantic!

And romance, whether for women or goddesses, was undoubtedly the highest level of weaponry!

Thus, when night fell, the goddess wearing the wreath took the little girl's hand, brought her home, and then returned to Thrud.

Sif finally met Promise.

At this moment, she looked at him with gentle eyes, smiling, and didn't say anything unnecessary.

But in her heart, she had already made up her mind.

Once she returned home, she would grab Thor's hammer and have a serious talk with Loki!

As for Promise, while he was curious about the relationship between Sif and Thrud, he didn't say anything unnecessary either.

In the quiet of the night, he took out his lyre and played a beautiful melody for the goddess who had come to the mortal realm.

And thus, Promise received the long-prepaded branch of World Tree branch from the goddess of harvest, Sif... In fact, after the goddess of Youth, Idunn mentioned this and later she sensed something between her daughter and Promise, Sif had already prepared the gift.

Therefore, regardless of whether Promise could offer a satisfactory tribute, she had decided to bestow this gift upon him.

.

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