There was no doubt that Rowe had just been staring at Hoddle, and the blind man had noticed.
As someone blind from birth, Hoddle naturally didn't include eye contact in his repertoire of body language. He didn't even turn toward Rowe and simply continued speaking, his voice as hoarse and gloomy as ever, giving the impression of a sinister villain: "But... I don't need eyes either."
It seemed this man had some kind of extrasensory perception—perhaps sharper than mere eyesight. Rowe thought.
Rowe responded with an awkward yet polite smile.
The group pressed further into the Nornheim forest, encountering several wild beasts along the way. However, they were mostly common predators—tigers, leopards, and wolves—that no one was interested in hunting.
This hunting festival wasn't a casual game. It was a competitive duel between the princesses, Skadi and Hela. Only rare beasts could make a difference in the outcome. Capturing ordinary animals was meaningless.
But rare beasts were, of course, rare.
For three consecutive days, Hela's team encountered nothing worthy of pursuit.
Finally, on the fourth day, their luck changed.
"A crystal deer," Hoddle said flatly, the first to notice the creature's presence. As he spoke, he nocked an arrow onto his bow with swift, practiced motion.
Thwip!
The arrow zipped through the forest, flying straight into a thick clump of grass.
"Yo—"
A snow-white deer burst from the grass, limping and frightened. Its leg was grazed by the arrow.
With a blur of motion, Heimd left behind a trail of afterimages, reappearing before the group with the deer in his grasp. He smiled. "Its horns are beautiful."
The crystal deer looked like any other deer, except for the majestic, translucent antlers atop its head—horns made of an actual crystal-like substance called deer crystal.
Despite its low combat ability, the crystal deer was regarded as a rare and prestigious quarry in Nornheim due to the value of the deer crystal. In most hunting festivals, capturing one could almost guarantee a good ranking.
Of course, a live capture was preferred. The team bound the deer carefully and handed it to Bart.
Bart looked helpless, but he was the most suitable person to carry their spoils. Hela, as a princess, naturally wouldn't carry prey. Heimd was the speedster—essential to quick maneuvers—and shouldn't be weighed down. Rowe was too short, and Hoddle exuded an aura of distance that made others hesitant to hand him anything.
Thankfully, Bart was tall, strong, and stoic—carrying the deer posed no problem for him.
Seventh day.
Moo-moo—
A one-eyed bison collapsed with several wounds and ropes binding its limbs.
"Rowe, it's bleeding quite a bit. You should treat it," Heimd said, crouching beside the beast.
Rowe stepped forward without hesitation, placing his hands gently over the wounds. A soft golden glow of holy light shone through his fingers, and the bison's wounds began to heal rapidly.
Hoddle's expression shifted. He seemed intrigued—perhaps even troubled—by Rowe's magic.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Hoddle asked, "Is that your divine power?"
"No, just a type of magic," Rowe answered, not elaborating as he continued healing. Soon, the bison's major injuries were completely treated.
The one-eyed bison was a fine capture. Though not a rare beast, it possessed considerable strength. Rowe himself wasn't confident he could defeat it alone.
But against Hela's elite five-member team, it had stood no chance and was subdued quickly.
Everyone looked at the bison in silence. Hela frowned slightly.
It was obvious—the team's combat strength was too overwhelming for the average prey.
Still, they hadn't dared to split up. The looming threat of trolls made dispersal too risky. If even one group encountered a troll alone, it could prove fatal.
At that moment, Hoddle spoke: "Your Highness, so far we've only managed to capture a crystal deer and a one-eyed bison. If we continue like this, our odds of winning are low. I suggest we split up and search a wider area."
Hela hesitated. "But the troll…"
Hoddle continued, "I believe that fire-bathing beast we encountered earlier escaped from a troll. That means it's already returned to the wild. There likely aren't any trolls nearby. Otherwise, we'd have run into one by now."
Hela pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Let's regroup at the meeting point first."
The team moved out, Bart still carrying their prey—crystal deer in one hand, one-eyed bison in the other.
They soon arrived at the lakeside meeting point, where several other teams had already gathered with their captures. Among them were members of the three squads aligned with Hela.
The noise of the gathered beasts filled the air.
"A crystal deer and a one-eyed bison—not bad," said a light elf who rode atop a flying cat and was in charge of cataloging the prey.
"Meow," the flying cat purred, sniffing at the deer and bison with keen curiosity.
"Moo!" grunted the bison.
"Meow meow meow!" the flying cat jumped back in surprise, then retaliated with a defiant hiss, baring its teeth at the larger creature.
After a moment, all of Hela's allied teams had arrived and turned in their captures.
Hela asked, "Any signs of trolls during the past seven days?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Hela let out a long breath. "Looks like we were too cautious. There probably aren't any trolls nearby."
"In that case, we'll revert to six squads and fan out again."
"…We regroup at the next meeting point in seven days."
"Yes!"
After reassigning the six squads, Hela's personal team was reduced to just three members—herself, Heimd, and Rowe.
They departed from the meeting point and ventured back into the forest.
As they traveled, Rowe elbowed Heimd playfully. "Hey, do you know that guy Hoddle?"
He was dying to know more about the blind man, but Hoddle's heightened perception had made it difficult to speak freely earlier.
Before Heimd could reply, Hela turned around and said, "He's Balder's cousin."
Balder—the champion of the previous hunting festival and a legend in his own right. He'd slain a dragon alone and possessed extraordinary divine power over light. He was known throughout the Nine Realms as the God of Light.
Balder was the only one under two thousand years old in Asgard to have been granted an official divine title.
If the Nine Realms were to nominate their most promising youth, Balder would be the favorite—likely at the top of the list.
He was so dazzling that Karnira, the only biological daughter of Duke Norn, had openly pursued him.
Hela continued, "But his relationship with Hoddle is... strained. Balder is the god of light. Hoddle is blind—his world is nothing but darkness."
Rowe nodded thoughtfully.
Hela added one more detail. "By the way, your light-based magic bears a resemblance to Balder's divine power."
Rowe's curiosity about Balder only grew deeper.
Hiss—
Suddenly, the shrill cry of a horse echoed overhead.
All three looked up in unison—and saw a Pegasus galloping through the sky.
"Pegasus!"
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