Chương 91: Chapter 89 - Highschool Again

Chelsea had expected an introduction or maybe a speech. Possibly someone announcing her arrival. Instead, the Valkyr simply walked to their seats and sat down. That was it. Thousands of people had gathered for a feast, and apparently everyone already knew who she was. Chelsea hurried after Passion before she accidentally sat somewhere she wasn't supposed to.

"Where do I go?" she whispered.

"You're between me and Absolutes," Passion whispered back.

"My left side." Chelsea nodded and slipped into the open seat. Then she looked to her other side and immediately realized she had found the largest woman she had ever seen. She had seen her, obviously. She was always the tallest of the Valkyr, hanging near the back of the group. But she hadn't actually noticed her. Uncle Dewey and Fiona were huge people. This woman made both of them look… not small. Because they still emanated large. Maybe… reasonably sized? Chelsea discreetly used The Eyes.

Jamie, the Valkyr of Absolutes Interesting. Absolutes was a subclass. Which meant there were probably far more concepts and specializations than she originally realized. Her eyes wandered around the table at all of the different women and the concepts they represented. Then she noticed something else. Someone was missing.

"Hey," Chelsea whispered.

"Where's Freya?"

"Freya doesn't make public appearances," Passion replied.

"Oh." Chelsea frowned slightly. Doing the loner thing again. She made a mental note to check on her later. The Valkyr all bowed their heads. Chelsea immediately followed suit. A brief prayer was offered in thanks for the feast to Freya. Once it ended, the Valkyr began serving themselves. Chelsea looked over the spread. Roasted meats, stews, different types of fresh bread and vegetables. Everything looked incredible and rustic. When she was eleven, Chelsea accompanied a cousin to his family's hunting property.

The rabbit stew made from a rabbit her uncle had shot earlier that day carried the same rustic feel. Unfortunately, none of the food in front of her qualified as food. As usual, she had to breathe through her mouth to keep from gagging at the smell of the vegetables. Chelsea reached into her bag and pulled out a heart and placed it on the ornately carved plate in front of her. Several Valkyr's heads whipped toward her.

"You're really going to eat that in front of us?" one of them asked with obvious disgust. Chelsea checked. Jasmine, the Valkyr of Duty"Better get used to it," Passion said.

"I want to see her eat it," Suffering added. Chelsea laughed.

"It's really not that exciting." She picked up the heart. Then she stopped. Something smelled wrong about it. Chelsea frowned at it and sniffed it. Then sniffed it again. The table slowly went quiet, watching her. Chelsea licked it experimentally. Several Valkyr looked horrified. Chelsea looked thoughtful.

"Not this one."

"What's wrong with it?" Duty asked.

"Pretty sure this one is half-elf." Chelsea looked in her bag and noted it came from the batch Aunt Bea gave her a couple days ago. Must have been some necromancer cult or something. The table went silent.

"You can tell?" Deceit asked, finally letting the curiosity win.

"Of course I can?"

"How?" One of them asked from her left. She thought for a second.

"How can you tell when milk has gone bad?" Suffering looked fascinated.

"So you don't eat elves?"

"Nope." She responded.

"I thought elves hated demons because they ate them." One of them across the table said. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Chelsea shrugged.

"I'm sure some do eat them." Suffering tilted her head.

"Then why don't you eat them?" Duty demanded. Chelsea thought for a moment.

"Same reason you don't eat grass." Several Valkyr looked confused.

"Grass?"

"Technically it's edible," Chelsea explained.

"But it's not food."

"I ate grass once as a girl," Absolutes stated from beside her. Chelsea slowly turned. Absolutes maintained a completely serious expression.

"I don't recommend eating grass." Chelsea immediately reached over and patted the larger woman's arm.

"See!? She gets it.." Absolutes recoiled as though struck.

"Don't touch me." Chelsea withdrew her hand instantly.

"Ah," Passion said.

"Absolutes doesn't like being touched."

"Understood." Chelsea nodded.

"Sorry about that. I'll do my best to respect your space in the future." The giant woman stared at her for several seconds. Then slowly nodded. Chelsea considered that a small victory. She pulled out a different heart. This one smelled correct. Finally, she bit into it. A few seats to her right, Suffering's eyes lit up. The woman leaned forward slightly as Chelsea's fangs sank into the muscle.

"You're seriously enjoying that?" Deceit asked Suffering.

"You're not?" Suffering asked back. Suffering didn't even try to hide her fascination.

"She's eating a person's heart."

"I can't even watch. It's so..." she shuddered, pressing a hand against her forehead as though the sight physically pained her. Several of the women seated across the table appeared to agree. Chelsea caught more than one grimace. Duty had stopped eating entirely. Justice looked determined to focus on literally anything else in the room. Even Truth's expression had shifted to disgust slightly.

"We may need you to eat regular food in our presence." The comment came from Virtue, who sat beside Chelsea's newest friend, Brea. Virtue's tone carried the sort of polite disapproval that somehow felt more insulting than outright hostility. Chelsea lifted the half-eaten heart in her hand.

"This is my regular food." Blood dripped onto the plate below. She glanced between them, genuinely surprised by the reaction.

"Never took Valkyr for the squeamish type."

"That was a person, and you are eating them like cattle." Virtue's voice sharpened enough that several heads turned. Chelsea shrugged.

"Shouldn't have been doing evil stuff." The answer only seemed to aggravate her further. Chelsea continued before Virtue could respond.

"Do evil and get eaten. Seems fair to me. They were being killed anyway. May as well put their body to good use." Several horrified expressions appeared around the table. Chelsea took another bite. The silence that followed somehow felt louder than the conversation. As lunch continued, Chelsea gradually realized what the situation reminded her of. A high school lunch table. The comparison settled into place so naturally that she nearly laughed.

The women across from her felt remarkably similar to the popular girls who always seemed to have strong opinions about everything. Not necessarily bad people, but certainly people who expected the world to function according to their standards. Their side of the table felt different. Messier. Quirkier. Much easier to relax around. Though despite the constant bickering, neither side appeared to genuinely dislike the other. It felt more like a family that had spent far too much time together.

Chelsea found herself studying everyone while the conversation flowed around her. Absolutes, seated to her left, seemed incapable of viewing anything in shades of gray. Every statement was precise. Every opinion was definitive. Every discussion somehow circled back to battle, honor, or personal responsibility. Chelsea wasn't sure whether Absolutes had ever spoken a sentence that contained uncertainty. Law, meanwhile, felt oddly out of place. The woman spent nearly as much time judging people as Virtue did.

If Chelsea had been forced to sort everyone into groups herself, she might have placed Law on the opposite side of the table entirely. Freedom barely managed to complete a sentence. Every time she started talking, Principles interrupted her. Freedom looked annoyed enough that Chelsea suspected this happened constantly. The longer she observed, the more confident she became that she had figured out at least part of the group's structure. Their numbers seemed connected somehow. Pairings. She was fairly certain of it.

As the conversation drifted around her, she quietly organized everyone in her mind. She already knew Passion and herself were linked. Passion had confirmed Suffering and Deceit earlier. Law and Absolutes seemed obvious once she started paying attention. Across the table, Truth and Virtue practically moved as a unit. Freedom and Principles were impossible to miss. That left Justice and Duty. The pattern fit too neatly to be coincidence.

Remembering eleven new people was going to take some effort, but the pairings helped. If she remembered one person, she only needed to remember their partner.

"Havoc?" Chelsea blinked and looked up. Passion was watching her with amusement.

"Hmm?"

"We were thinking of going back to our room and skipping training tonight." Passion folded her hands in front of herself.

"That way we can help you understand the dynamics around here a bit better. I'm sure a lot of this is a shock." Both Suffering and Deceit had leaned slightly around Passion and were watching Chelsea expectantly.

"We know you're eager to train, but—""No, that sounds great." Chelsea answered so quickly she nearly interrupted her.

"Thank you. Seriously. I would love that." The three exchanged small smiles. For the first time since arriving, Chelsea felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. There was still an enormous amount she didn't understand, but at least someone seemed willing to explain it. When the meal finally ended, all twelve Valkyr rose almost simultaneously. Chelsea had been warned it was coming. Even so, the synchronized movement remained unsettling. She hurried to stand with the rest.

"Aside from the blood all over her face, she didn't embarrass us." Virtue's voice drifted over from nearby. Chelsea looked over. Virtue wasn't even looking at her anymore. For some reason, Chelsea kept getting the impression of an extremely wealthy girl who had spent her entire life judging people from a comfortable distance. The feeling grew stronger every time Virtue opened her mouth.

"You're all dismissed," Truth said.

"Please return to your daily activities. Passion, assist Havoc in getting settled." The order was met with immediate obedience. Truth turned and left. Virtue followed at her side. The others dispersed throughout the hall until only Passion, Suffering, Deceit, and Chelsea remained. Chelsea shifted awkwardly.

"So..." The three looked back at her. Passion smirked.

"Let's head to the room." They made their way upstairs together. When they reached the rooms, Suffering and Deceit peeled off toward their own door while Chelsea followed Passion inside. The moment the door closed, Passion turned toward her.

"Okay." The confidence she'd shown downstairs seemed to weaken slightly. Chelsea watched her fidget with one of her sleeves.

"Before they come in, there is something I should probably warn you about." Chelsea waited.

"They are going to say things about me." Passion rubbed the back of her arm.

"Opinionated things. Possibly things that sound rude." A faint flush had appeared on her face.

"Don't come to my rescue. They're my two best friends. This is just... kind of what we do." Chelsea's smile widened. Passion looked uncomfortable.

"You are probably going to hear things." She released a long sigh.

"They won't all be completely untrue." Chelsea found herself even more curious now and laughed awkwardly. The reaction seemed to help a little. At least Passion stopped looking as though she wanted to flee the room.

"Just remember they're trying to embarrass me," Passion said.

"That's the actual goal." Chelsea nodded.

"I can do that."

"Good." Passion exhaled.

"Because they're both absolutely going to enjoy this." The sound of approaching footsteps echoed from the hallway. Passion closed her eyes.

"Oh no." Chelsea glanced toward the door. The footsteps stopped outside. A moment later came a knock. Passion looked briefly toward the ceiling before opening her eyes.

"They're here."