"Sigh… he really has had one hardship after another."
After returning to her residence, Freya couldn't help voicing a quiet sigh.
Thinking back on everything Bell had gone through since arriving in Orario, even she found the sheer amount of misfortune hard to describe.
Granted, some of those hardships were things she had intentionally arranged.
But even if she excluded the parts she engineered herself, the troubles that befell Bell were far from ordinary. It was as if every problem in the world insisted on landing squarely on him.
Freya stood before the tall window, quietly taking in the scenery outside.
This was the highest point in Orario, from which one could overlook nearly the entire city. Yet this view was something only the Familia God of the strongest familia was allowed to enjoy.
But at that moment, Freya turned around and looked at Ottar, who was still kneeling on one knee behind her.
"You're still here?"
Right now, Freya Familia was wavering in the wind.
The core of Freya Familia was Freya herself. And now that Freya's heart was no longer centered on her familia, the internal situation had grown complicated.
She hadn't returned to this home atop the Tower of Babel for quite some time.
"Freya-sama."
As always, Ottar's face showed no emotion. But the lack of expression on his face didn't mean he lacked emotions.
"The only one I wish to offer my loyalty to is Freya-sama. No matter what others think, I will not leave Freya Familia."
Seeing even this faint sliver of emotion on Ottar's face, Freya still wished he would show a little more—perhaps anger, perhaps resentment.
"You really are the same as ever, child."
"You have the same intense possessiveness as the others, yet you always place your loyalty above everything else."
Freya wished he could show a hint of rejection. Maybe then, he could find a future of his own.
In the past, Freya had been able to lavish affection on these children. But now she could no longer do that—she had to draw lines and set boundaries.
Her love had to be placed first and foremost on Bell, the one she had recognized as her other half.
And for the children of her familia… some part of her attention would inevitably fade.
"I'm very sorry, Freya-sama…"
The young boar-man lowered his head, unsure whether he had caused trouble for Freya-sama.
"No need to apologize, Ottar."
Freya didn't consider Ottar a burden at all. In fact, among all her children, he was likely the one who had grown the most.
"This isn't your fault. It's purely mine."
"After finding the other half that truly matters, my heart naturally shifted entirely to him. For a Familia God, that's something I absolutely shouldn't do… but my possessiveness toward that child makes it impossible not to."
Ottar understood that clearly.
"This is Freya-sama's will."
Hearing his response, Freya gave a soft, helpless smile.
"You really haven't changed at all."
Ottar lowered his head slightly.
"If this is truly Freya-sama's will, then I wish to continue protecting you."
"Hah… I was honestly thinking that if you wanted to leave, I would let you go. But you say something like that now—how am I supposed to send you away?"
Freya complained with a gentle smile.
And at this point, she truly had no intention of letting Ottar go. If this was his resolve, then until the day all her children left one by one, she would allow Freya Familia to continue.
"Bang!"
Right then, the door to the goddess's chamber was kicked open violently.
Freya didn't panic. She simply watched the children who stormed into her room through the ruined doorway, helplessness in her gaze.
"Don't enter like that. It's far too violent."
"That's only because Freya-sama said something completely abnormal—so we rushed in!"
The one speaking was Allen. His usual icy silence, his pride that never allowed him to voice his true thoughts—both were gone.
Right now Allen's face was twisted with poorly concealed agitation. After learning Freya-sama intended to disband the familia, his jealousy erupted uncontrollably.
And he knew exactly what that meant.
It meant Freya-sama wanted to sever her past connections—because of that man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Freya-sama, are you really going to disband Freya Familia?"
Faced with Allen's almost accusatory tone, Freya didn't deny it.
"That is indeed my intention."
Allen's breath caught sharply.
"Because of him?"
His voice was full of hatred. At this moment, Allen wanted nothing more than to tear that unknown intruder to pieces with his own claws.
Seeing Allen like that, Freya let out a soft laugh.
"Pfft~"
"Ottar doesn't have such intense possessiveness, yet yours surpasses even his, Allen."
"But Allen, you failed."
That single sentence extinguished Allen's fury instantly. Like a defeated stray cat, all his fighting spirit collapsed on the spot.
Yes—failing Freya-sama's trial was the real problem.
Failing to see through the truth Freya-sama hid from them… that was the trial each of them had been given. Everyone's test was different, yet fundamentally the same.
Only one person had seen through everything without undergoing a trial at all.
Behind Allen, a handsome elf in white robes pushed up his glasses, shaking his head with reluctant resignation.
"Damn cat, we failed Freya-sama's test. That is the simple truth."
"Freya-sama didn't favor any of us. Failing to see through it—that's our greatest flaw. Isn't that right, damn cat?"
Hedin's feelings were complicated as well. Seeing Freya-sama this happy made his heart twist. The painful part was knowing he wasn't the one who brought her that happiness. If he had been… he would probably be ecstatic to the point of madness.
But failing the trial—that was on each of them.
Freya-sama's reactions had already revealed so much, yet during the trial they had been consumed by emotion, blinding them to the truth.
So Hedin felt both envy and jealousy toward that white-haired brat.
Right now, he too wanted nothing more than to kill that brat and take Freya-sama back.
"…Tch!!"
Allen clicked his tongue harshly and crossed his arms, standing off to the side. His face, however, looked like he was one breath away from bursting into tears.
Hedin stepped forward, then knelt on one knee, his expression earnest.
"Failing Freya-sama's trial is our own failing. No matter how jealous we are, we will restrain ourselves."
"So please… do not disband the familia."
One after another, the others also dropped to one knee.
"Freya-sama, we beg you."
Seeing her children kneel, Freya sighed helplessly. It seemed they still weren't willing to give up.
'Bell… I'm sorry. It looks like I'll be leaving you with another problem.'
But Freya did not reject their plea.
"If that's the case, then this time I'll grant your wish."