CLANG

CLANG

CLANG

The sound of my hammer striking the anvil was barely muffled by my headphones. The steel being molded into a short, full-tang blade, a survival knife for an enthusiastic bush crafter who just couldn't bear the thought of using a store-bought blade. Honestly, the knife is looking pretty good, nothing fancy, but will still be serviceable for quite a while as long as the customer respects and cares for it.

Being a blacksmith in the modern day isn't a very lucrative career, however, there are still a great many people who need steel goods for cosplay, LARP, or reenactments. I became a blacksmith a few years ago...... I was 16 I think the first time I lifted a smith's hammer, and I've loved it ever since. Long hours kept me away from parents who hated me, for no other reason than that I wasn't the daughter that they wanted. they never wanted a son, they wanted a girl they could spoil. They found out after I was born that my mother wouldn't be able to carry a second child, so they blamed me and treated me like a servant more than a son. I lived like that for 13 long years, until I had enough money to move out at 18. Now my parents only come to see me to try and mooch off of my limited success stating that 'I owed them for taking care of me for so long'. Needless to say, I haven't spoken to them in a while.

BEEP...BEEP...BEEP

"Damn, 9 P.M.  already?" I muttered as I turned off my alarm and removed my headphones.

"FJJOR!!! Quitin time!!" my boss shouted from his office on the other side of the workshop

"Yeah, I know, I'm going. Have a good weekend Mr. Gray"

With that, I marked my time and left the building. I had to run through an absolute deluge of rain to make it to my car, the wiper blades just barely keeping my windshield clear enough to drive. I was nearing home when I got a notification. It seems my mother had sent me a message. 'You had better have money for us this week you useless child, I swear if we don't receive payment from you this time I'll.......' that was the last thing I saw before I heard the screeching of tires on asphalt. I looked up just in time to see a bus crashing into My driver-side door, then my vision went white.

On that fateful day, August 17th, 2023, Fjjor Riedman died in a freak car accident, ending a life that brought him nothing but strife. He was very much looking forward to beginning his stay in Hel, however what happened next he did not expect.

When I opened my eyes he saw not the gates of Hel, nor the glorious mead hall of Valhalla. What I saw instead was a large office absolutely filled with different forms of plants. I sat up and felt a slight weight on my lap, looking down, there was a white cat with long fur and rather pointed ears. A quiet purr could be heard from the small animal when I reached down and started scratching behind their ears. Years of internet history and an overabundance of cat videos have taught me that if a cat is sleeping on you...YOU. CAN. NOT. MOVE. And that was fine I had no idea what was happening so standing up didn't really seem all too pressing of a matter.

"She seems to like you," said a melodic female voice from somewhere off to my left. Upon looking I saw someone who could only be described as Beauty Personified. Long, braided blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Large breasts bordering on extreme, a voluptuous ass, and thighs that were, if I were to describe them accurately, were thick with at least two C's maybe three.

"Where am I, the last thing I remember was getting hit by a bus so I am guessing that my life has ended" I stated calmly as I continued to pamper the cat currently sinking even deeper into my lap.

"My, my you are taking your death much better than I thought you would," the beautiful woman said somberly with a tinge of what sounded like guilt, though I don't understand why.

"Well, accidents happen and rather than be unreasonably upset about something that I can't change, it's easier to just accept that I died, besides, if this is the realm of the gods as I assume it to be then you may be able to understand that my life left me nothing to miss. I have no reason to long for a life I was just living to see end" I said softly with no disdain. I was living to live and that's it. I had no friends, no love, and my parents were as evil as you can be without killing me.

"Yes....I am aware of the circumstances of your life so allow me this courtesy," she stated as she stood up and walked in front of me, then knelt down and prostrated, before stating "I, Freyja goddess of love and family deeply apologize for the unnecessary hardship you had to endure in your life, I had made a mistake when you were conceived, you and another child were created on the same day. The other child, a girl, was supposed to be born to your parents, while you were supposed to be born in a different world. I understand any ill feelings you may have and I swear I wi-"

"It's ok" I muttered gently as I slowly ran my fingers through her hair, "Everyone, Gods and Goddesses included, make mistakes, I won't vilify you for a mistake you already regret so please sit up Lady Freyja"

"Huh?" Freyja muttered as she looked at me with tears beginning to escape her eyes, "You're not mad?"

"Did you know that my parents would abuse me?" I asked while gently wiping the tears from her eyes with my thumb

"N-NO, Of course, n-not, I wouldn't have allowed them the blessing of creating life had I known how they would be" she stammered as she continued to cry

"Then I reserve any ill feelings I have toward the ones who actually hurt me," I said confidently. I brought my hand away from her hair and her head followed for a bit before a light blush graced her cheeks. She quickly righted herself before clearing her throat and stating, "Anyway now to get to why you are here and not entering Hel. As I accept full responsibility for my mistake I was planning on granting you another chance at a life hopefully happier than the one you left however, another goddess offered to let you be reincarnated in the world that you were originally destined to be born into, so we decided that would be a better alternative"

"May I know the name of this other goddess?" I asked

"Melania, Goddess of the forge," she said confidently as the door to her office opened. A tall woman with vibrant red hair and orange eyes that seemed to dance like a morning flame entered the room. The most interesting part of her body was the two long tails and pair of vulpine ears.

"Good evening Freyja," the vulpine goddess said in a chipper tone then turned to sit next to me, before lightly kissing my cheek and with a sultry voice muttered "Hello Fjjor, I've missed you"

"M-MELANIA, YOU CAN'T JUST KISS PEOPLE LIKE THAT" The goddess of love exclaimed," Besides he is a mortal, Find a god to satisfy you"

"Correction, he is MY mortal, and I have loved him since the day he lifted his first hammer, and you know as well as I do that our pantheon only has one god and he has a harem of ascended mortal women" Melania stated while hugging my arm.

"AAAAAnyway" I interrupted, "Exactly how would this reincarnation work? I don't need to vow to vanquish the demon lord or something right?" I asked. I've read my fair share of isekai novels and would rather not be the hero of a world that I do not know about. I know that sometimes people need to be brought in to have an outside perspective or blah blah blah point is I don't want to fight a fuckin demon.....sue me.

"The demon queen? oh OH, no we already have a heroine to fight for the freedom of Roas. No, I want you to have a fulfilling life of peace, and love that is all" the forge goddess said with a fiery smile. "So if you choose to be reincarnated I will have Freyja place you with a family who would love nothing more than to pamper and care for you to make up for the travesty that was your childhood. Furthermore, you will also receive my blessing as the Goddess of Fire and the Forge granting you access to Fire Creation Magic as well as increased skill proficiency with blacksmith tools."

"I'm sorry? magic....skills....what in the flying fuck are you talking about?"

"Roas has a system similar to what you humans call RPGs" Freyja added

"Yes so you will have all the power I can grant you so that you can have a nice life, or at least be able to defend yourself should something come up" the fiery goddess concluded

"Also you will receive my blessing of ice and love" Freyja said "giving you Ice Magic and The Boon of the Feline, making cats adore you, and making Feline beastkin slightly more agreeable, though only because they will see that you have my boon not because it controls them"

"Ok I will accept your offer then and try to have a life worth the intervention of two beautiful goddesses" I said with a wry smile

"Good," Melania said before kissing my cheek again. "You will be reborn a Fenrir Beastkin as they have a closer connection to the gods than their  Lupine counterparts, so from this day forward you shall be known as Fjjor Fenris and with that, I wish you luck, my handsome blacksmith"

"Thank you, my beautiful Lady," I said and kissed the hand of the Goddess of the forge, "And you Lady Freyja" and I kissed hers as well.

"Please enjoy your new life Fjjor" Frejya said "may we meet again under better circumstances" and with a flash they were gone and my new life began.......i wonder whats in store for me?