Chapter 3: The Five Unspeakable Days
Five days had passed since Keyaru awakened his past life memories...
With this timeframe, other DanMachi transmigrators had probably already properly joined Familias...
The busty Hestia likely hadn't descended yet at this point, but Orario offered plenty of choices—the understanding onee-san Hephaestus, the flat-chested Loki, or even "I am Ganesha!" wouldn't be bad options either.
Yet he... this life's Keyaru who shared his name with the "Cursed Hero"... was still entangled with Syr, the incarnation of the goddess Freya... Damn it...
While other transmigrators desperately avoided this perverted woman, he couldn't even dodge her, directly facing her overwhelming presence!
With vacant eyes, Keyaru wandered through the pitch-black basement before letting out a sigh.
"Dissolute, acting entirely on whims!"
"Wicked, imprisoning innocent youths!"
"Perverted, an old man transforming into a young girl!"
"As for why the great god Ouranos hasn't classified you as part of Evilus..."
"This world ultimately operates on the principle that might makes right, wouldn't you agree? You pervert peeping at me through the door crack..."
Just as Keyaru finished speaking, the iron door creaked open, revealing a gray-haired girl dressed in shop attendant attire who entered with a cheerful smile.
Ignoring Keyaru's blunt remarks, Syr maintained her innocent expression, her snow-white hands clasped behind her back as she bounced over to his side.
"This is a world full of color and variety..."
"The entire world is divided into the Heavens and the Lower World. The Lower World is constantly eroded by monsters emerging from the massive Dungeon. Even with heroes present, people still live in dire suffering... while the gods look down upon it all from their lofty positions..."
"Finally, one day, the bored gods chose to seal their Divine Power and descend to the Lower World! Through their own blood, they grant blessings to the children of the Lower World. Those who receive these blessings have their potential unleashed, and to repay the gods, they form numerous Familias!"
"Since then, Familias have become the basic units for combat, exploration, and production. Thus began the epic tales of Familias, yet the altars of heroes continue to vanish one after another!"
"I've inexplicably spouted a bunch of obvious things that everyone knows. Do you understand why, Mr. Keyaru?"
Amused by the smiling girl before him, Keyaru ventured a guess:
"Is it to showcase how incredibly powerful Miss Syr's Familia is?"
"Even the King standing at the peak of Orario speaks to Miss Syr with such respect. Isn't that because your Familia makes even the King afraid?"
Syr shot a sharp glare at Keyaru, who was still spouting nonsense, and even her good temper began to wear thin.
"You've already figured out my true identity, haven't you? Mr. Keyaru~"
Silence... Silence... In the end, it was Syr who broke first...
"You truly are a troublesome one, Mr. Keyaru. Though your soul is turbid, its murkiness feels entirely different from that of the Lower World's children!"
"It's as if... one is simply chaotic without any aesthetic appeal, while yours carries a hint of morning mist, a glowing haze..."
"But this differs from the beauty I seek... It's irritating. This feeling irritates me so much that I want to thoroughly humiliate you, Mr. Keyaru!"
As she spoke, a certain aura began to emanate from Syr... Amidst a dazzling radiance, the innocent gray-haired girl vanished, replaced by the majestic and captivating goddess Freya, who stands at the summit of Orario!
Her long silver hair cascading down, the goddess leaned forward, her profound purple eyes locking with Keyaru's gaze.
"To think I'd encounter such an interesting situation right after parting with Alfia..."
"As the Goddess of Beauty, I cannot deny beauty in another form!"
"But Keyaru, do you understand?"
"My greed makes me want to collect all the treasures of the lower world! And you... are different from Alfia. Even when treated like this, your soul shows no sign of dimming!"
"What exactly makes your soul so stable and unchangeable?"
With each word spoken, Freya's face drew closer to Keyaru's...
Unclear about who might be standing outside the door... if it were Allen or one of the Gulliver Brothers, Keyaru thought it better not to make any rash moves for now...
"Lady Freya, may I disrespectfully ask who is currently guarding your safety?"
The goddess who was nearly pressed against Keyaru froze upon hearing this, never expecting him to suddenly ask such a question.
This made the goddess, who had always believed she controlled the situation, twitch at the corner of her mouth before replying in a faint tone:
"Vana Freya. Why? Is there a problem?"
Allen...
Keyaru's eyes showed weariness as one of his hands, freed by Ryuu, dropped limply.
This picture of a helpless family man completely at her mercy made Freya feel as if she had swallowed a pound of bitterness.
For the first time, she felt such intense disgust toward the unknowns of the lower world!
"By the way! Lady Freya, do you know the whereabouts of my patron god?"
"That guy ran off right after engraving the God's Blessing on me. I don't even know my own Ability Score..."
Keyaru's words sparked a flicker of helplessness in Freya's purple eyes.
Asmodeus...
This fellow who was always an insignificant presence in the heavens has actually taken in quite an interesting child in the lower world!
Under the schemes of Loki Familia's "Braver," Asmodeus, as one of the few surviving Evil Gods, managed to completely absolve himself of capital crimes. Even Freya had to admit the opponent truly had some skills.
But... in today's Orario.
With Ganesha Familia's city guards patrolling incessantly every day, and the gods in the lower world being merely mortal vessels, it's extremely difficult to commit major evils under the watchful eyes of adventurers—especially when Asmodeus' only known Familia member is Keyaru...
What exactly is the other party waiting for by remaining in the lower world?
Freya didn't understand, but as the goddess standing at the pinnacle of Orario, she too had her pride!
A minor deity naturally wasn't worthy of her attention!
If not for Keyaru, the name Asmodeus wouldn't even have reached Freya's ears...
Freya didn't tell Keyaru that she hadn't even bothered to deliberately investigate Asmodeus' whereabouts, merely curling her lips into a smile as she gently stroked Keyaru's cheek.
When her pale palm made contact with Keyaru's face, Freya abruptly transformed from her goddess form back into Syr.
The girl innocently rubbed the boy's nose with her fingertip, her beautiful face filled with the uniquely girlish mischievousness.
"You know what?"
"Lion unfortunately got sent out of Orario by Mama Mia to purchase fresh ingredients... So these days, your meals will be taken care of by Syr~"
"Come on, try it... the delicious food made by Syr's own hands~"