Expectations And Reality

Ever since the incident where Riveria had accused him of wanting to peep on the girls while they bathed, Isaac had grown far more cautious with his use of the Eyes of Hermes. Still, he didn't stop using it completely, as it was simply far too useful of an ability to not utilize just out of consideration for others. What he did instead was to figure out a way to make it undetectable. After all, if nobody knew about it, then there was no problem.

It didn't take long for him to realize why Riveria had been able to notice it - the mana that he released into the surroundings didn't behave like the naturally present mana at all. It stuck out like a sore thumb, making it possible for anyone with advanced enough senses in regards to mana to detect his surveillance.

Thankfully, this problem was solvable. He only needed to let every single bit of mana perfectly follow the natural mana flow of the environment… which was far more difficult than it initially sounded.

Everything had to be controlled manually at all times - so far, so good. That was what he had been doing before as well. But now, he also had to analyze the mana flow at the particular spots at which he placed his own mana, then he had to follow these movements perfectly. The sheer mental burden of this was staggering, and during his first few tries, he had only managed to control a few tens of drops of mana sufficiently well enough.

This number would have undoubtedly increased with practice, but before he even needed to rely on that, he had already ascended to godhood, giving him more drops of mana, a higher ranked Mana Cultivation and also a vastly improved brain. All of this combined led to him being capable of controlling hundreds of bits of mana perfectly!

Of course, he didn't need to keep up such a wide area of undetectable surveillance at all times, so he usually restrained it to just a few tens of meters around himself, which pretty much gave him what people would call 'eyes on the back of his head'. Only if someone attacked him from afar could they take him by surprise. But no matter what, an attack from further away would need to travel that distance, giving him ample time and opportunities to react once he detected it.

Due to his continued close observation of the world's mana, when he laid eyes upon Syr for the first time, he immediately noticed multiple oddities about her. First of all, her body seemed to fully consist of mana - or at least, the outer, visible shell did. There was no way for him to see anything past the surface. At the same time, although her body was constructed from mana, it was also an actual physical body. If one didn't pay particularly close attention to her, one would never realize that something was off, no matter how sensitive one's mana-related senses were. This certainly explained how nobody that Isaac knew of had ever noticed anything like this about the charming waitress.

Secondly, there had been a very, very thin 'thread' of mana connecting Syr to… well, someplace else. He hadn't actually traced it back to its source, as he doubted that even with his vastly improved mental faculties, he would be able to bear the load of sending out his mana that far. Orario was still a bit too large of a city for him to be able to theoretically reach every corner of it when using his Eyes of Hermes.

All in all, Syr almost resembled a kind of marionette in his eyes. Combining all of this new information with the few guesses that he had already made when he had read the novel series back in the day, made him come to a conclusion. To make sure that this possibility was indeed correct, he still had to ascertain a few things, which was one of the reasons as to why he had chosen to unmask the poor girl.

From what he had been able to observe, the physical transformation that had made Freya into Syr ran far deeper than just shrouding her in a different appearance - her whole body, literally, was altered. This, obviously, also included her vocal chords, as she had a completely different voice now that she had returned back to her normal self. Judging from the lack of Divine Energy in her body previously, she had truly been converted into a wholly mortal body, cut off from Divinity and Arcanums alike. It may have been one made of and held together by mana, but it was a mortal body nonetheless.

"It's fine, it has already happened. Now, is it my turn to ask questions yet?"

Noticing how Freya had seemingly calmed down again, sporting an ever-flirtatious look on her face, Isaac simply smirked, apparently without a care in the world.

"Sure, go ahead. I already have all of the answers that I wanted. I'll need to ask something of you later, but until then, feel free to state your questions."

His lackadaisical attitude slightly annoyed Freya, but she chose to not let it show. After all, she knew far too little about the man in front of her to make any overly rash moves. He was unaffected by the charm that she naturally exuded, which she chalked up to him being, evidently, a deity like her. As she had a lot of experience dealing with her kin, she knew exactly what to do.

'Let's see how you react to this.'

With an enchanting smile on her face, she used her Divine Energy to continually raise the intensity of the charm that she was exuding and funnelled it in his direction. But very quickly, she noticed something odd. No matter how much energy she poured in, the expected reaction didn't happen. Normally, anyone, regardless of gender, would already be groveling at her feet, begging for her attention. She would have stolen their hearts and bodies, driven them mad with lust and romantic desire. Even Ryuu, who she hadn't focused on at all, also showed that she had grown far more affected - she was blushing up to the very tips of her ears.

In stark contrast, the only reaction she got from Isaac was an appreciative glint in his eyes and a satisfied nod. Wasn't that… far too underwhelming!?

Seeing her efforts produce basically no results, Freya furrowed her eyebrows and stopped wasting her energy, causing her charm-levels to return to normal. As Isaac had given her free rein with her questions, she didn't bother beating around the bush.

"Why are you not affected by my charm?"

A somewhat embarrassed, but also conflicted expression appeared on Isaac's face, then he released a sigh.

"The reason is far more simple than you probably imagine. It's no secret technique, and no special ability. It's just… while I can appreciate beauty, I am incapable of feeling sexual urges for that alone. Unless there is the basis of romantic feelings, beauty won't affect me in such a way at all."

This trait wasn't unique to Isaac, but even in his old world, it had been exceedingly rare. So rare, in fact, that most people would simply scoff at the ones who stood out because of it. The masses could never truly comprehend the fact that others that weren't them… were simply different. The majority was primarily controlled by their bestial nature and propagation instincts, while an extremely small minority wasn't whatsoever. Ultimately, there was nothing 'right' or 'wrong' about either.

While this trait alone was already enough to withstand the goddess of beauty's charm, there, of course, were other reasons as to why Isaac wasn't affected as well. Chief of all was the fact that his soul couldn't ever possibly be affected by Freya. As this body of his was, in essence, just an avatar that his soul controlled, even if she had been capable of influencing the body, it would never be able to reach his true self.

In any case, there was no real reason to hold back the small crumb of information that he had just shared, especially because Isaac intended to be on friendly terms with this talent collection addict. Only a true madman genuinely wanted to make more enemies. Was there a need to deliberately offend everyone that he crossed paths with? Of course there wasn't!

Isaac's explanation left the goddess stunned for a moment, then she started to massage her forehead with a resigned expression on her face.

'He just had to be the most troublesome kind of person…'

In her exceedingly long life, Freya had come across many people who had been able to resist her charm. Some had possessed rare skills that enabled them to be immune to her influence, some had control over the same Divinity as she did. But the most difficult to deal with and also the least numerous group out of them all was the one that Isaac belonged to, which she had dubbed 'the romantics'. These people weren't asexual, as they were indeed capable of feeling sexual desire. There was just a condition which first had to be triggered for this desire to come into play, that being 'being in love with someone'. Only the target of their affections would ever be able to flip that special switch that Freya had so much first-hand experience with.

Once, she had been interested in such a person, such a romantic. She had spent a long time making them fall in love with her naturally, and had indeed succeeded in conquering their heart and body in the end. Because of this, she was aware of just how much investment would be necessary to control Isaac… it was simply not worth it. There wouldn't even be a novel experience involved.

"Alright, I understand. Then here is my next question. You seemed like a regular adventurer, a mortal, to me before, but now I see that I was mistaken. Why do you play that kind of role?"

When he heard her words, he just rolled his eyes.

"Are you not doing the same exact thing?"

Left slightly flustered, the goddess played it cool and cleared her throat.

"... fair enough."

"To tell you the truth, the reason for my current state is my desire for an interesting journey. I'm sure you can sympathize."

He wasn't lying to her, as his current incredibly weak and restricted self was indeed the result of him consciously restraining himself for the sake of this goal. Still, what he said successfully served to mislead Freya, as his words led her to assume something completely different. This wasn't her fault, though, as she could have never even imagined what kind of entity she was currently sharing a table with.

An understanding smile played across the goddess' lips, as she nodded. What he had mentioned wasn't all too different from her own circumstances...

"I hope you can forgive me for unmasking you like this. I don't have a habit of lying, and I sort of owed your friend here a favour."

Isaac showed a somewhat guilty smile as he tried to explain his previous actions. Thankfully, with a kind expression on her face, Freya waved her hand.

"It's all water under the bridge. Let us not speak to others about our secret identities from now on."

The reason as to why she behaved so magnanimously was that both of them had a grip on the other's weak point right now. If she exposed that Isaac was a god, he would surely let everyone know about her identity as Syr as well. Both of them would end up having their lifestyles impacted heavily, and there was simply no need for this. Of course, she could take more drastic measures to shut him up, but once he was eliminated and sent back to Heaven, couldn't he just spread the news there? In the end, a mutually beneficial agreement was the best option.

After Isaac expressed his approval, he finally got a chance to state his aforementioned request.

"Would you be so kind as to release Ryuu from her charmed state and explain the situation to her, at least vaguely?"

A heavy sigh escaped Freya's lips. Before she did as requested, she stared deeply into Isaac's eyes, a dangerous aura shrouding her.

"Thanks to you, I would have to do so anyway. But… what are you planning in regards to her…?"

In response to the ever-increasing threat that Freya exuded, Isaac stayed unnaturally calm and showed a gentle smile. Secretly, he felt relieved that his guess had been correct: The goddess actually genuinely cared about her Elven coworker.

"Although she seems to have come to terms with her past, from what I have observed, she has also been unable to take steps towards the future. I want to give her an opportunity. Remaining stationary isn't necessarily a bad thing, and can lead to an enjoyable life. But ignoring unresolved issues is always a suboptimal solution."

Once she had processed Isaac's words, Freya nodded slightly, then she consciously reduced the amount of charm that Ryuu was confronted with, causing the Elf to snap out of her spellbound daze and blink confusedly for a few moments. In her charmed state, she hadn't been able to focus on anything but the goddess' beauty, she hadn't even been able to think. Not a single word that the two had spoken had been registered by her.

Suddenly, she seemed to recall something and turned to look at Freya in absolute shock.

"Goddess Freya, are you… really Syr…!?"

It wasn't weird for her to recognize the identity of just who exactly it was that had been hidden behind the guise of her saviour. After all, she had met Freya before on multiple occasions in the past, when the Astraea Familia had still consisted of more than a single member. She had only seen her from a distance back then, and they had never spoken with each other. Nonetheless, this kind of beauty, a being embodying the very epitome of the word, wasn't easily forgotten.

A slight but gentle smile that was very reminiscent of the one that Syr would usually show appeared on Freya's face.

"Yes and no."

The worried Elf hadn't expected these words, so she widened her eyes in surprise and confusion.

"What… exactly do you mean by that?"

Having anticipated this question, the goddess nodded slightly.

"You see, one of my children, a lovely girl by the name of Helun, has a very special Magic that allows us to share senses. It can also make both of us transform. One of the forms we can take is the one you've grown so close to, 'Syr'."

In all honesty, Ryuu didn't know how to react to this revelation. Her thoughts and heart were currently an absolute mess. She didn't even know what she was feeling anymore. Was she sad or afraid? Was she intrigued or excited? Was she hurt or flattered? She couldn't tell.

Right when she was about to break down into tears due to all of the confusion, a pair of hands grasped hers gently, and she looked up to see an unimaginably beautiful face right in front of hers. Although it was Freya's… her posture, her expression… even the exact amount of strength that she put into her hands… it was all so familiar.

"I took the chance to become Syr because I wanted to live a normal, mortal life. While I'm her, I can fully rid myself of the burden of my Divinity and truly do what I want to do. I can be free. Please don't think of me any differently now that you know who I really am. Syr is who I want to be, and both Helun and I see you as a friend. I understand that it might be hard to accept, with me being a goddess and all, but---"

Before she could fully explain herself, Ryuu had already started to weep uncontrollably, completely disregarding Isaac's presence… well, maybe she had just forgotten about him. She wasn't sad or heartbroken… rather, she felt an indescribable warmth in her chest, and just couldn't control her feelings any longer.

In the past, Freya had always seemed to give off an unapproachable, high and mighty air. But right now, she truly seemed just like her friend and saviour, like Syr. Due to her, back then, she had found a reason to continue living. Due to her, she had experienced so much joy. She was just… grateful. And happy to not have to lose the friend that she had finally made after all of that suffering.

With a slight smirk on her lips, Freya hugged the crying girl to her chest, just like she had done a few times before. This time, however… Ryuu had some more comfortable pillows to rest on.

To be polite, Isaac had averted his gaze from the two. He would have preferred to let them have such a touching moment in private, but now that he was already here, the least he could do was to become as unassuming as possible. For a moment, he had played with the idea of blurring his existence a little, but then he discarded it. Doing so would just let Freya know more about his capabilities, which didn't align with his goals.

Inwardly, he was shocked at what the goddess of beauty had revealed. As he was far more adept at spotting lies than most people, he was certain that she had spoken from the heart. Her current image differed heavily from how she had been portrayed in the novels, where she seemed to almost be an antagonist at times.

'Is that the influence of a Divinity?'

Until now, Ais hadn't felt her Wind Divinity affect her in the slightest, her behaviour also hadn't changed at all. The reason for this was the system, which warded off such outside influences automatically. Because of this, he hadn't been sure about how exactly the minds of the ones who possessed one were affected. But seeing the drastic differences between the Divinity-ridden Freya and the person she truly wanted to be, Syr… this personality-altering influence really couldn't be ignored.

It took a while, but Ryuu's tears finally dried up. When she noticed that she had cried in front of a man - even worse, Isaac - she couldn't help but blush in shame. Quickly, however, she managed to show a cold and expressionless face again, although it was plain to see that it was completely fake.

As the situation seemed to mostly have been resolved and there was no need to remain as she was, Freya turned to face Isaac, a slightly annoyed frown on her face. It wasn't directed at him, but something else.

"I'm starting to feel uncomfortable in this form. May I turn back?"

A quick nod to complete the formalities later, Isaac and Ryuu got to observe the transformation process again. It only took a couple of seconds, and it felt like they were watching a deflating balloon… at least in certain areas.

"Phew, that feels a lot better. Less restraining as well~"

With a playful grin on her lips, Syr stretched herself and closed her eyes blissfully. Unabashedly ignoring the happy goddess turned waitress, Isaac focused on Ryuu, as there was still unfinished business.

"To finally answer your previous questions, I didn't really do anything to Syr. I'm just pretty good at sensing and observing mana, so I realized that a Magic was in play and figured out a few things based on that. As for your friend, she noticed that I had managed to see through her and was shocked. That's all."

Judging from what she had just experienced, Ryuu had to admit that his explanation made sense. It was very likely to be the truth. She was also relieved that nothing bad had actually occurred. Initially, she had feared the worst… but thankfully, Syr hadn't been harmed. Come to think of it, should she call her 'Freya' now? Wait, that wouldn't be fitting, as Helun was also a part of Syr, right? There had to have been a reason as to why the two chose to be known by that name. So… she decided that she would just continue calling them Syr.

Seeing the usually expressionless Elf sheepishly smile to herself while looking in Syr's direction, Isaac couldn't help but smirk a little himself.

'The foundation has been laid.'

His plans related to Ryuu were a little more long-term than just this second encounter. Now that she undoubtedly had grown closer to Syr, in a way, she would feel indebted to him. One day, she might feel the need to repay him - especially if he happened to help her out on more than just this occasion.

"Oh well, my job here is done. I'd better be on my way, I wouldn't want to worry my familia too much."

With these words, Isaac got up from his chair and was soon led out of the tavern by the two waitresses.

"We hope to see you again soon~!"

Sporting her usual behaviour, Syr waved their customer goodbye, while Ryuu only nodded at him and mumbled a "Take care".

After waving back and shooting them a smile, Isaac quickly disappeared into the dark of the night.

When the two were still gazing out into the streets, suddenly, both of them were hugged from behind by their coworkers. Syr was held in place by Anya, while Ryuu was embraced by Chloe - both of them were Cat People. Meanwhile, Lunoire, the other human employee aside from Syr, just stood next to the four of them with an expectant grin on her face.

"So, why did you two not even bother introducing us to this 'friend' of yours? He seems quite dashing! Don't you know that sharing is caring?"

The teasing tone in Chloe's voice caused Ryuu to blush slightly from embarrassment. Quickly, she retorted annoyedly.

"It's not like that! Besides, he's taken, so don't get any ideas."

As usual, the words that the inexperienced Elf had chosen were all too easy to pick apart for the naughty cat girl that had wrapped her arms around her.

"Oh~? So what you're saying is that you would be getting ideas if he wasn't?"

They had known each other for a couple of years now, and she knew exactly which buttons to press to annoy Ryuu. Ashamed at having been played with like this, the prim and proper Elf popped a vein and her expression turned ice-cold from silent fury.

"I swear I will give you a good beating today…"

The very moment when she had pushed her too far, Chloe had already distanced herself and started giggling.

"Hehe, then catch me if you can!"

For ten or so minutes, the sounds of quick movements and mischievous laughter rang through the Hostess of Fertility, before being abruptly ended by two loud THUDs. As the two had been a little too unrestrained, Mia had decided to knock some sense into these troublemakers before they could make even more of a mess.