"Did you enjoy the show, Goddess Freya?" Light asked, causing Syr to visibly freeze before looking towards her with clear confusion, followed by subtle amusement hidden behind her mask.

  Light knew that being so direct with someone like Freya could result in unforeseen problems, but she was confident such a future would not occur. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say she did not fear whatever the Goddess could throw at her.

  However, this was not blind confidence.

  She was immune to the Goddess’s Charm ability through her system skill, and if Freya were to reenact what she did in canon, brainwashing the entire city, Light trusted in her own mentality and resolve to endure indefinitely.

  Even if Freya forced her into numerous “baptisms,” making her fight to the brink of death for hours every day, only to be healed and thrown back into battle again and again, so what? She already did that to herself every day inside her domain. A little more training would not break her.

  Then there was the personal aspect of Freya erasing people’s memories of Light.

  Light was not particurly close to anyone anyway. Yes, she would rather not have people simply forget about her, especially Loki, but it was manageable. If the worst happened, she could provide Loki with a skill book containing her charm-negation ability.

  Additionally, Light was confident that Freya’s interest in her had not yet surpassed mere intrigue. Rather than waiting for her fascination to fester, removing the problem of her lurking in the shadows early would give her a better chance to shape whatever the Goddess was feeling in a much healthier way.

  "Hmmm?" Syr tilted her head cutely, feigning confusion. If Light did not know better, she might have believed her act. Rather than being the Goddess of Love, Beauty, and Sex, she should have been the Goddess of Acting. "Did you confuse me with someone else?"

  Light stared bnkly at the waitress, her true emotions hidden behind a fa?ade of mild amusement. Seeing that Freya still wanted to py her games, Light rolled her eyes while passing the brown bag to her.

  "I thought we could have a serious conversation, but it seems I was mistaken."

  With that, she prepared to leave. However, as she turned away, she once again felt the sensation of Syr’s hand gripping her wrist, this time with a little more force than before.

  "Come with me," Syr ordered, her tone practically a command. All signs of her previous cuteness had vanished.

  Although gods in their true form were unspeakably powerful, so much so that they could apparently destroy the world, whether that meant in a single punch or through their divine abilities was open to interpretation.

  However, in their earthly forms, they were merely vessels, no stronger than the average human. Light could have stopped Syr, or rather Freya, from dragging her away, but she decided to let it happen.

  Freya dragged Light to a dimly-lit back-alley street, somewhere devoid of foot traffic. After making sure no one was around to witness, she swiftly transformed. In an instant, the green maid outfit disappeared, repced by a bck and red flower-patterned dress that clung tightly to her figure, covering almost nothing but the essentials. Her grey hair turned a brilliant silver, and she grew slightly taller.

  Despite the slight increase in height, Light was still half a head taller than her.

  Watching the transformation in real time, Light could not help but be amazed. Freya truly deserved to be the Goddess of Beauty, with perfect proportions across the board. Her waistline was so fwless that anyone who saw it would feel the urge to hold on and never let go. Her chest was neither too big nor too small, walking the fine line between eroticism and elegance.

  However, despite all this, Light had a single thought: Only second to Yuri.

  Her judgement was not clouded by love. Subjectively, Yuri was simply more beautiful. However, If pressed to expin why, she would likely struggle to give a convincing answer, probably offering something vague like, "It is just the feeling they both give off."

  Light was confident Yuri could have had any girl in the world, and that was no exaggeration. She had never met a woman who had not fallen in love with her at first sight. Despite all that, Yuri had chosen her. Light, who was not the best looking, nor the smartest, but had the conviction to do just about anything to be with her.

  Freya pushed Light against the alley wall, pcing one arm beside her to block her path.

  However, before Freya could speak and set the mood, Light excimed, "My first kabedon in this life… I did not expect to be on this side of it though."

  Seeing Light ugh so carefreely, entirely unbothered, Freya's eyebrows furrowed. With a snap of her fingers and no further instruction, she summoned her children, who appeared out of nowhere and blocked both ends of the alley.

  Freya expected to see a flicker in Light’s soul, the emergence of fear, but even this did not stir her. Abandoning her attempts at intimidation, she asked, "How did you know it was me?"

  "Is that really important?" Light tilted her head before her smile grew wider. "Now this is a proper conversation, unlike that small talk earlier."

  "Are you aware of the situation you are in?"

  "I am."

  Once again, Goddess Freya was struck by a wave of bewilderment. Now that she thought about it, when she had revealed her true form in all its glory, the usual expression of infatuation had not appeared on Light’s face.

  Does she believe herself to be more beautiful? Freya found herself mistaking Light’s thoughts to be mirroring her own back when she first saw her. The thought awakened a competitive spirit within her—one that even Ishtar, a fellow Goddess of Beauty, had never managed to provoke.

  "I could capture your heart in an instant, making you willingly throw everything away to be by my side," Freya decred.

  "You could," Light admitted, but she immediately realised her mistake. Letting her guard down for a brief moment, she had forgotten who she was dealing with, a goddess who could naturally see through all lies.

  Wincing at her slip, Light was unsurprised when Freya frowned. In the next moment, her eyes glowed pink, unleashing the true power of her charm, which she normally kept fully sealed. The full force of Freya’s divine allure washed over Light but had no effect. The young woman just stood there leaning against the wall without a single change.

  "Because I’m enjoying this conversation, I’m going to pretend that didn’t happen." Light swatted Freya’s hand down, causing the Goddess to stagger back a step. Although Light had expected this kind of reaction and successfully blocked it, she was still slightly annoyed that Freya had tried to brainwash her. Perhaps the Goddess thought nothing of it, treating it as just another aspect of who she was, but that did not excuse the action.

  On the other end, Freya’s mind was racing uncontrolbly, trying to piece together an expnation from the limited information she had. Is it because of her strange soul?

  Watching Light’s still-rippling purple soul, as it always did, this was the only answer Freya could come up with. However, rather than feeling threatened that her ace in the hole had failed spectacurly, there was no sign of displeasure on her face. If anything, she looked even more excited.

  There were three things Freya honoured most: Love, Heroism, and Bravery.

  Light, who had stepped in to defend her despite learning she had never needed to, had already proven her Heroism and Bravery. All that was missing was Love. If she could complete the trinity, perhaps Light could one day become her Odr—her soulmate.

  "You really are immune to my charm."

  "Wouldn’t it be boring if I wasn’t?"

  "I suppose it would." Freya chuckled lightly, her voice a delight to the ears.

  Light also noticed some of Freya’s Familia members blocking the path were beginning to tremble, presumably with rage. If she could read their minds, they would no doubt be thinking something along the lines of, "Why does she get to enjoy our Goddess's ughter?" or "Why is our Goddess ughing with such a weakling?"

  "How about we have a little fun?" Light proposed, seeing the mood lighten up.

  "I’m listening." Freya stopped chuckling and leaned in closer, intrigued by what would come out of those beautiful lips next.

  "We both get to ask one question, and the other person has to answer honestly. Nothing is off-limits," Light proposed, gauging the Goddess’s reaction.

  "This seems a little one-sided, does it not?" Freya tilted her head slightly. "How will you know if I am telling the truth?"

  "You’re Goddess Freya. If you give your word to be honest, I believe you would not go back on it." Light knew Freya was as prideful as she was beautiful. There was no world in which she would dishonour herself so pointlessly. At worst, she might answer vaguely, but Light was already pnning to do the same depending on the question anyway.

  Freya was slightly taken aback, not expecting Light to actually trust her so much. "I agree. As a Goddess, it is only right that I allow you to ask the first question."

  "Why, thank you for your generosity," Light chuckled before her sarcasm faded. "Why are you interested in a poor little Level One like me?"

  Freya nodded, already expecting this question. "I was born with the ability to see the souls of others, and yours happened to catch my eye. Does that answer suffice?"

  Light had suspected as much, but at least now she had confirmation. There was nothing she could have done to prevent this situation. Perhaps she could have avoided the Hostess of Fertility, but that would have just been kicking the can down the road, not a real solution. Unfortunately, the Goddess had not mentioned anything specific, so Light could only assume her soul differed due to her being a reincarnator.

  "Now it is my turn. Remember, no lying—I will know." Freya pyfully warned. "What are you?"

  Light was tempted to simply answer ‘human’ and be done with it. "You’re going to have to be more specific."

  "What makes you special?" Freya rephrased the question but deliberately left it open to interpretation, ying a small pitfall for Light to stumble into.

  "Hmmm, you’re really putting me on the spot." Light knew what Freya would be most interested in—her unique soul. So she framed her response around that. The key was to answer truthfully and satisfyingly while still hiding the complete truth. "I suppose if I had to answer, it would be the fact that this is my second chance at life."

  No mention of Earth, no implication that this world was fictional. Her words could even suggest that she had simply reformed after a drastic event. There were so many ways one could interpret her answer, and in the end, it created more questions than it answered.

  There was only one reason gods and goddesses descended to the mortal world. They were bored and sought enjoyment they could not find in heaven. While others might find such an answer frustrating, a goddess like Freya would relish the chance to discover the truth for herself. If it were given to her easily, where would the fun be?

  "Second chance?" Freya’s eyes widened. "You mean reincarnation?"

  "Now that would be a second question," Light teased, smirking. "And that’s against the rules."