The Goddess of Beauty
The Goddess of Beauty.
Freya, the Goddess of Beauty.
Of all the deities I had known, she was one who held no small significance for me.
Even now, the events of that time remained vivid in my memory. The tremendous incident she had set in motion.
She had craved love. She had wanted someone to share her heart with.
And so she had fixated on me... and brought about her own ruin.
The affair shook all of Orario to its foundations, and every Familia in the city rose up to denounce her.
And yet, even then, she remained a queen. Rather than resorting to petty tricks, she flung down her gauntlet and dared us to face her head-on.
Her trust in her Familia. And her obsession, which refused to yield an inch even in the face of all that.
The battle against her went beyond ferocity — it was downright merciless. On my own, it would have been utterly impossible.
Without Mia's aid before my eyes, my master's betrayal, and Ottar holding back, the one who would have met her ruin that day was not her — it was me.
No, to be precise, we both would have been destroyed.
"Hmm... why isn't he answering?"
"...!"
When I came back to my senses, Lady Freya was standing right in front of me.
Kneeling down at close range, gazing up at me — from that single sight alone, I could understand why she was called the goddess of beauty.
Youthfulness and maturity. A freshness intertwined with intoxicating allure.
Her Charm had no effect on me, but her mere presence carried a terrifying power of its own. Innocence, and yet the polish of a seasoned warrior all at once. A goddess of the heavens had set her sights on me.
I figured this might happen...
I'd felt a gaze on me during training, so I'd expected as much — but now that it was actually happening, it was a little overwhelming. Given everything that had passed between her and me, all the more so.
Resolving this the same way as in the future... probably won't work, will it?
She wasn't Syr now, to begin with. No — for that matter, a being called Syr probably didn't even exist yet.
Right now she was solely Freya, the aloof Goddess of Beauty — not a girl writhing in the throes of love.
"Did you... need something from me...?"
"Ah, so you do answer. That's a relief — I was about to get my feelings hurt, thinking you were ignoring me."
As she said it with a soft, laughing smile, she radiated the kind of charm that could captivate every man alive with that alone.
Though there was also a certain woman behind me going, "Ugh, barf," and retching.
"...?"
I could sense someone behind me brimming with curiosity. Ais at this age could very well be charmed the instant they made eye contact. Letting them meet was a bit too dangerous.
"Oh my... so my Charm doesn't work on you?"
"...!"
In that instant, a chill ran down my spine.
Those innocent eyes had, at some point, come to hold a god's omnipotence within them.
Silver eyes swept over me as if undressing me with a glance. For an ordinary person, this alone would have been the end of it.
Either ensnared by Charm, or brought to their knees before a god's majesty.
That was the typical reaction. In other words, the normal reaction.
But me?
"Oh my."
I took a small step back.
Unfortunately for her, I had already built up a considerable resistance. I hadn't lived a life pathetic enough to be undone by this much.
That said, it wasn't as if I felt nothing. Perhaps a god's aura was simply something one could never grow used to.
"Oh, what, you got charmed after all?"
"...No, I didn't. Quiet."
"You totally did. All that acting tough, and then you folded the second she batted her eyes at you."
Mia snickered like it was the funniest thing in the world. Lady Freya took one look at her and immediately scrunched up her face, glaring daggers.
Her beauty and divine presence combined — under normal circumstances, that alone would have forced anyone's head down in submission...
"What."
But she wasn't normal either.
A heroine whose foul temper didn't lose out even to the Hera Familia's. She was not the sort of person who gave a damn about anyone's opinion.
The only individual who could clench her fist and glare right back, no matter how displeased Freya looked.
Watching the two of them, I couldn't help feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.
How should I put it — it was like watching friends bickering with each other.
So this Freya was actually quite laid-back back then, huh.
"Um... did you need something from me...?"
"Ah."
As if remembering herself, Lady Freya gave a demure cough and straightened her posture.
If the future members of the Freya Familia had witnessed this, they would have lost their minds — but to me, it was just a somewhat taxing sight.
Even after all this time, women remained my weakness.
"Normally I dislike being this blunt, but... I don't think I can afford to beat around the bush with you, so I'll say it directly."
She extended her hand toward me and gave a benevolent smile. The kind of smile that made you want to fall to your knees and worship her on the spot.
"Won't you join my Familia?"
Smiling brightly as she said it.
Well, what could I say — even to the her of this era, I was apparently special.
Being acknowledged by a goddess was an honor, but...
"...I'm sorry."
I had no intention of joining her Familia now.
It wasn't that my parting with her had ended badly, and I knew she wasn't the kind of goddess who went to such savage extremes. Even so, I had no intention of joining any other Familia at this point.
From her perspective, it might have been humiliating — but that wasn't something I could change.
I met her silver gaze head-on. My lone eye stared back at her.
"..."
A distant light flickered in her eyes. She had probably judged that my heart could not be turned.
But there was no way she would give up here. The me of now could shake her off, but the best outcome was not fighting at all. How was I supposed to persuade her...
"...Fine. I understand."
"I see, but... huh?"
"If it can't be done, then it can't be done."
With that, she simply turned her back to me.
There seemed to be a trace of embarrassment in her, but the last expression I caught on her face was one of genuine acceptance. What was with that?
"...You're taking this more gracefully than I expected."
"Oh my, were you hoping I'd grab hold of you and refuse to let go? Sorry, but I'm not a woman who offers the same chance twice."
The words were abrupt, but her voice practically dripped with sulkiness. Then again, if she knew what she'd go on to do in the future, she wouldn't be able to say that with a straight face.
"...Truthfully, I'd love to make you mine even by force, but..."
She lifted her gaze to the sky and spoke as if murmuring to herself.
Running her fingers through her beautiful hair, her voice carrying a wistful note.
"You already seem to possess something that cannot be shaken."
— Subduing you by force doesn't seem feasible either.
Watching her grumble that and then withdraw without a fuss, I couldn't help feeling complicated about it in more ways than one.
If only she had been like this back then too — the thought that it shouldn't have ended the same way flashed through my mind for an instant.
She was no different from the Freya of the future, and yet. Even so, she was not the Lady Freya I knew.
She was not Syr.
That single fact stirred up a whole tangle of emotions in me.
What had been different? What had changed?
Had I changed — or had she? Or had it all simply fallen apart?
Watching her back, those were the thoughts that came to me.
"Ah..."
As she drew away, such a pitiful sigh drifted back to us.
"Oh my?"
Ais, standing behind me, was blushing as she stared after Lady Freya.
"Ah."
"Looks like she got caught in the Charm. I must have used it without meaning to."
Apparently, Freya's Charm had reached Ais after all. The Ais I knew would have been able to withstand it to some degree, but the Ais of now was green in all sorts of ways.
Still, of all things, it had to be Charm... This had gotten complicated.
"Oh — how about this? If I release this child's Charm, will you join my Familia?"
"Ehh...?"
"Hey, isn't that way too sleazy, even for you?"
"Wh-what is?! Everyone does this much! It's nothing at all!"
It really was nothing, compared to back then, when she had charmed the entirety of Orario.
Come to think of it, being able to do this much and holding herself back — maybe she actually did have some conscience after all?
But she must have decided this was her opening, because she gave a graceful fufu and pressed me for my answer.
She was acting exactly like a blackmailer, and yet because she was a beauty, somehow it came across as cute. Truly a strange thing.
Her actions were those of a blackmailer, though.
"No, thank you."
I politely declined her offer. Ais was Loki's dependent anyway, so I doubted she would just leave things be — but just in case, it was better if I handled it myself.
"Huh...?"
I took Ais's hand and summoned flame.
The fire blazed up and, in an instant, wrapped itself around Ais's whole body.
Like the warmth of a hearth melting the cold from one's body, the flames enveloped Ais and drove out the power of the Charm that had bewitched her.
Before long, the Charm released its hold. The unfocused look in her eyes snapped back all at once, and Ais, unable to grasp what had just happened, began looking around in confusion.
"...A skill... that resists Charm...?"
"No way. Resisting a goddess's Charm is one thing, but that wasn't resistance — that was a full dispel. Is that even possible?"
Normally, no. But it had become possible.
Because I was a dependent of Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth. Against Charm, I had no choice but to be strong.
The Sacred Flame admits no impurity of any kind; it holds only purity and cleanliness within it. My goddess's flame still remained within me, staying by my side even now.
"Sigh... so even that won't work."
"You insane woman."
"Ow-y?!"
WHAM—!
A giant's fist came down squarely on the crown of the goddess's head.
The Goddess of Beauty clutched at her head, tears welling in her eyes.
"What was that for?!"
"That's my line! Using Charm on a child! And what was that — 'join my Familia and I'll undo it'? What kind of goddess are you? You're a blackmailer, that's what!"
"You're one to talk about manners!"
"Don't give me that! You thought if you played it just right, you could reel him in — don't even try to pretend I'm wrong!"
A sudden squabble broke out between the two women. Um, excuse me — we're the victims here, so why are you two fighting each other...
"...?"
"...It's nothing. Let's head back."
Ais tugged at my sleeve, demanding an explanation, and I fed her some suitable half-truths as I led her away toward the Loki Familia's home.
We had put a good deal of distance between us, but I could still hear the two of them going at it.
Honestly, it was a bit of an undignified sight... but to me, that version of her looked far, far better.
Because she looked truly happy, bickering and laughing with Mia like that.
Her parting words wouldn't leave my head, and hiding the heart that had grown faintly turbulent, I quietly walked on.