Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena POV.
The portal had left us in the tent outside of Orario. Freya looked all around her before her eyes shone with understanding. She looked at the tent before looking at me. I just smiled and shrugged.
I didn't care if she realized that I was the one who provided the magical tents to the guild for sale; after all, she would find out many more important things soon.
Freya simply shook her head before continuing to look around. A teleportation circle then appeared in front of us. Freya tensed slightly, and I could see her immediately force a smile as she watched the people emerge from the circle. Bella, Becca, and Lucy appeared.
Becca glared at Freya before shrugging, then walked over to the refrigerator in the corner, took out a can of soda, opened it, and began to drink large gulps, before sighing happily.
Lucy, snorted playfully while shaking her head. She walked over to one of the high chairs on the island near the kitchen, grabbed one of the snacks that were always placed there, and threw it into her mouth. I could see her eyes glow slightly red as the information passed through her optics.
Finally, Bella. She just glanced at Freya, then smiled broadly as if she'd won the lottery, before staring at me.
"My dear, an unpleasant goddess wandered into the tent," Bella said playfully. I could see Freya's eye twitch slightly.
"Bellatrix, it's... a pleasure to see you again." Freya said falsely, Bella snorted dryly.
"A pleasure, since when? We have very different memories. Are you a masochist that you enjoy my presence so much?" Bella mocked with a derisive smile. I rolled my eyes.
"No, but you are." I interrupted, approaching Bella and smacking her butt while using magic to make it hurt more than it should. Bella's punishment was still active, so she yelped in pain, instinctively clutching her butt and glaring at me. Now it was Freya's turn to smile broadly.
"Oh, my Odr, you've just given me the best news in the world." Freya purred, a smile spreading across her face almost sadistically. I snorted. I approached Freya and smacked her butt end with the same magic. Freya squealed in pain, jumping in surprise. She clutched her own butt, pouting as she glared at me.
"Rules. Freya, you don't need to fake a smile in front of her. If Bella acts like a brat, you can hit back, but as I mentioned, nothing truly hurtful or that will cause problems for us."
"And that goes for you, too, Bella, no crossing the line." I said, pointing the gun at Bella. She just snorted. "Anyone who doesn't behave, I'll make sure to punish you." I threatened ineffectively. I heard Rebecca's loud snort; she now had a half-eaten hamburger in her hands.
"I'm sure it's a huge sacrifice for you, if the punishments are like the ones we just had and involve groping their butts." Becca mocked with a sneer, and I smiled broadly.
"It's their punishment, not mine," I said with a cheeky grin. Bella and Freya huffed loudly before glaring at each other. A new circle appeared, and Riveria emerged with a sigh.
"Did you really have to kill Ishtar, Sera? At least some warning would have been nice, all of Orario is-" Riveria stopped mid-sentence when she saw Freya, her eyes widening slightly. "Freya-sama… what a… surprise to see you here." Riveria said cautiously. I relayed the recent conversation to her, which made Riveria relax.
"Riveria Ljos Alf, it's a pleasure to see you again," Freya said with a much more genuine smile than when she looked at Bella. "It seems I'll be joining this group, at least temporarily, though I hope it will be permanent. I hope we get along well," Freya said, and Riveria simply nodded.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Freya-sama." Riveria replied easily. Freya smiled contentedly before turning to Lucy.
"It's also a pleasure to meet you both," Freya said gently as she looked between Lucy and Becca.
"Lucyna Kushinada, just call me Lucy." Lucy said with a nod, and Freya nodded before looking at Rebecca.
"Rebecca, if you want to kill something, I'm your girl," Rebecca said with a wide smile. Freya blinked slightly before nodding.
"As you know, my name is Freya, goddess of Beauty and Love. I am here to make Serena fall in love with me and accept being my Odr." Freya said with a huge smile.
"And how's that going for you? Two rejections in a row? That's probably a record for you, until she rejects you again." Bella mocked, and Freya glared at her.
"It's only a matter of time, don't worry, my dear, my Odr won't resist for long." Freya said confidently as she removed the robe covering her entire body, revealing her body covered by her skimpy dress. Freya not only had a beautiful face; her body was equally impressive.
Slim waist, voluminous hips and chest, flawless skin, smooth and a light, immaculate, bright pink, and the black dress that hugged her figure only enhanced that beauty, even more so because that dress was terribly scarce.
It barely covered Freya's private parts; in fact, it covered her arms and legs more than her breasts, which were almost completely uncovered, or her hips. The wide cut on one side left very little to the imagination as to how little it covered her buttocks and crotch.
Freya simply crossed her arms beneath her ample breasts and pushed them upward. I could hear Rebecca whistling.
"Why haven't we slept with her yet?" Becca asked, confused, while blatantly looking at Freya. Freya smiled petulantly as she looked at Bella, who just snorted mockingly and took a step forward.
"Don't get too excited, goddess. Rebecca would sleep with anyone, even someone as disgusting as you," Bella mocked as she approached Freya, who just smiled.
"I may be disgusting, as you call me, but I'm here; it's only a matter of time before I warm the bed of my beloved Odr," Freya said confidently.
"And until that happens, I'll be the one sleeping with Sera, and I'll enjoy every moment," Bella mocked. I could see Freya's eye twitch.
"Good things come to those who wait. She may be... satisfied with you right now, but I assure you, there are so many things I can... teach her as the goddess of love." Freya purred. Bella narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth again. I just sighed wearily as I tuned out of the argument. Really, of all the things they could start arguing about, did it have to be this?
I grunted in annoyance before the link opened, with Riveria and Lucy immediately joining in.
"No... I don't know either of them very well, but are you sure it's a good idea to let them argue? I heard things about not bothering Freya," Riveria asked cautiously in our minds as we watched Bella and Freya exchange sharp words.
"Oh, definitely. Bella's a brat. She likes being annoying for the sake of being annoying. She's enjoying her argument with Freya. And Freya, even though it might not seem like it, is enjoying it just as much. I can feel her emotions. Freya..."
"For her, her Charm is absolute, literally, in this world, you can count on one hand the people who are completely resistant to the power of her full Charm, Bell Cranel and the three great virgin goddesses, and possibly no one else, that means she never had a real opposition."
"Most of the opposition she faced was because she allowed it. She knew she could solve all her problems with just a fraction of her Charm, but that was boring for her, so she didn't use it. But knowing she had the option to use her Charm left her with a... feeling of fighting against children. Let's say, the fighting and the opposition only exist because she allows it."
"Freya knows her charm doesn't work on Bella, so the fight is more 'real,' more genuine. She's enjoying that feeling, even if it doesn't seem like it." I thought softly. Riveria hummed while nodding mentally.
"Just admit it, you like watching those two fight over you," Rebecca teased, joining the conversation. I heard Lucy chuckle softly. I just groaned inwardly.
"Looks like they're not the only ones I need to punish, " I thought hoarsely. Rebecca just smiled lasciviously.
"Make it as hard as you can." Rebecca purred provocatively. I rolled my eyes, waved my hand, and snatched half the burger from Rebecca.
"Hey!" Becca complained as she lunged towards the burger, only to crash into an invisible wall.
"Relax, I'll make dinner." I huffed dryly. Rebecca huffed back, but she stayed still. "And you two, stop arguing, or find a better topic to do it on." I said sharply, smacking both of their butts again, making them squeal once more. Bella glared at me before smirking at Freya. Bella lunged toward me and hugged me possessively, pressing her entire body against mine and burying her face in my chest, all the while keeping her eyes on Freya.
Freya grunted before doing the same, grabbing my other side, and hugged me softly but firmly, making sure her chest was pressed against my body. Still, unlike Bella, her clothes were much thinner and even skimpy in some places, so I could feel most of her body and curves directly.
Bella narrowed her eyes dangerously as Freya smiled mockingly, slowly beginning to move and rubbing her body against mine. I felt my eye twitch slightly before I freed myself from both of them. I tapped their foreheads with a spell that inflicted enough pain to make them both wince and back away.
"Oh! Was that necessary?" Bella complained with a grimace. I sighed.
"Yes, it was," I said curtly. "Now, Freya, we have a lot to discuss while I prepare dinner, and while we eat, and possibly long afterward. This will take some time," I said with a sigh. Freya blinked as she massaged her forehead, but she nodded as she sat down on one of the high chairs at the kitchen island.
Or rather, she tried. She tried to imitate the way Lucy was sitting, but it didn't work. She seemed too stiff, sitting on the high stool; it definitely wasn't something she was used to. I sighed in amusement, waved my hand, and transformed Freya's seat into a more comfortable one.
Freya blinked, looking at her seat as she sighed in relief.
I started talking, mostly, I didn't really hide much about the whole situation around us, from the Waifu Catalog, the templates, the underworld, and everything else. We had already finished dessert by the time I finally finished talking.
The other girls only chimed in when it was necessary to add something. Becca practically ignored the entire boring conversation as she stuffed herself with food. Freya also ate quickly, though with much more elegance than Becca, even though I had basically left her with enormous amounts of information—apparently, my having prepared it was an important part.
"And that would be it, then, what do you think?" I asked, staring at her. "I'm just a person using templates of other people or entities, yet, do you still think I'm your Odr?" I asked directly. Freya just blinked and stared at me.
"Of course," Freya said without hesitation. "Stop asking that, it's still insulting," Freya reprimanded. "And it bothers me that you were able to grow stronger through this, The Company? No, not at all, luck is still a part of you, that doesn't change anything, especially the shape of your soul."
"You may become stronger thanks to those templates, but it won't change at all how your soul looks. Young Rebecca has two sources of this Light, one is yours, the other is her own, and they both look really different. No offense, but even in small amounts, yours, my Odr, is more... alive, brighter, more impressive than young Rebecca's."
"Souls... can change with experiences, they can shine more brightly if they are able to overcome adversity, they can dim, become clouded and murky if doubt and negative thoughts corrode the mind; a soul is not immutable, it is a reflection of a person."
"A baby isn't born with an unpleasant soul; there's no such thing as innate evil, but it does have the potential to become that way. And that's what I like to see: how a soul is capable of shining more brightly, how it can break through difficulties and emerge even more radiant."
"And you, my Odr, you are brilliant, your templates interfere with your soul, but that's because they change what you are, you are still you, only you, you have your uneven edges, imperfections in different places of your soul, doubts that plague your mind, but your soul still shines like something I've never seen before."
" You... you have your own path, you know who you are, what you want, and there's not a single doubt about that, and that's what makes your soul so brilliant. You're... amazing, and if you told the truth, you'll only grow even more, shine even brighter." Freya said softly, but sounding completely in love. I stared at her while trying not to blush, and finally nodded.
"Very well, I'll stop insisting you're wrong," I finally said. Freya just smiled broadly. "But still, about the seal, what do you want to do with it?" I asked curiously. Freya glanced at me briefly.
"Is it... necessary that I have it?" Freya asked with a hum.
"If you want templates, some power, or to benefit from talents and defenses, yes," I said honestly. Freya just nodded.
"In the future I will do it, I... I am the goddess of love. I have sought and longed for love for hundreds of thousands of years. I want... I want to live this moment completely with my emotions unaltered, I want to feel this... true love until I conquer you."
"And when we are both completely lost in love, then I will use the seal, which will not change the love I feel for you," Freya said easily. I looked at her in surprise and finally nodded.
"If you're sure," I said with a smile. Freya just smiled seductively.
"I am, my Odr, but unfortunately for you, my declarations of love will have to wait until you admit your love for me to avoid the seal," Freya said with a flirtatious smile. I paused slightly. The seal also worked with a declaration of love; I had just mentioned that. I tried to recall both memories of my encounter with Freya.
To my surprise, in neither instance did she say she was 'in love with me,' so the seal was never placed on her. What a coincidence.
"Well, I'm really hoping you make it." I said playfully, Freya, just smiled happily.
"Oh, I will, my Odr, don't worry, and by the way, until I have the seal, you will have to protect me... intimately, I am just a poor unprotected goddess, without my Familia and without any advantage." Freya said dramatically.
"Don't worry, I'll do it." I huffed playfully. "Now, I have to show you a lot more, especially Danmachi." I said easily. Only Freya and I hadn't seen it; the others had already watched it, so they definitely wouldn't be glued to the screen for hours watching the replay. It certainly didn't bother me enough to be a problem.
Riveria returned to Twilight Manor, apparently having allowed Haruhime and Aisha to have a room for the night to sleep and rest before they met with Loki. She also had to be present because of the whole problem of Ishtar's death.
Lucy approached GLaDOS, and the two began coding and modifying Quickhacks. Meanwhile, Rebecca and Bella, apparently not satisfied with massacring dozens of floors on their own, returned to the dungeon.
I created a portal to the underworld, to the mansion, and I created a time bubble and locked Freya and me inside while we watched Danmachi.