Arriving at the Guild

"Uh..."

Ash was quite weirded out by the woman's strange behavior and didn't know what to say.

After she called out to him once again when he was about to walk away, she just stood there right in front of him without uttering a single word... for a while;

Her extraordinarily beautiful face was out in the open without doing anything... just foolishly gawking at him.

Her eyes ran all over his body, from his partly scarf-covered face, his torso, and down to his feet.

Her stares were like someone who expresses a great deal of appreciation for something for the first time in their life...

"Remarkable... Truly remarkable... And so beautiful... The most beautiful color I've seen so far..."

She muttered inaudibly that even Ash, with his enhanced senses, couldn't clearly make up her words despite the distance between the two of them.

It was as though her lips were moving but no sound came out of it.

'Well... This is getting quite a bit more uncomfortable...' Ash thought.

Although he felt it's unpolite to just leave then and there, he decided to speak to the woman for the last time and go on his way, however...

"I'm Freya, the Goddess of Freya Familia..."

The woman, now revealed herself as Freya, spoke to him in an alluring tone while giving Ash a gentle and charming smile.

She slowly approached him without breaking eye contact.

And although clad covered, Ash could see that within her every move, her every step exudes elegance, fitting for a Goddess such as herself.

'Hmm... Freya... So she's a Norse Goddess, and the Norse Goddess of Beauty, Love, Fertility, War, Gold, Sex, and Divination at that...'

'I guess that explains why she's dressed like this since she doesn't want to reveal herself in public?' he thought with uncertainty.

Freya then stretches out her hands. One leaning on his broad chest with her palm, while the other sensually caressing his cheek with her slender fingers.

But she didn't bother to try and remove the scarf covering the lower half of his face but instead...

"How should I call you, child?"

She asks while still leaning on his chest and running her fingers on his cheek, but that's not all.

Ash soon noticed that the irises of her eyes were glowing in a purple hue, intensifying further the natural color of her eyes.

This is actually one of Freya's divine abilities that comes with her, being as a Goddess of Beauty.

The ability to charm anyone she cast her gaze on with these glowing eyes...

'He wasn't ensnared with my beauty alone the first time he saw my face... Then let's see if this still doesn't work...'

Freya was challenged at the thought while her eyes still fixed at him.

Her heart was beating so fast and couldn't help but repeatedly asks herself 'how would she feel if it doesn't work? would she feel disappointed?'

She could currently feel that every part of her is shuddering with the building pleasure as the thrill dragged on, and her curiosity unsatisfied.

And when she saw that Ash wasn't taking a step back, speaking, or doing anything, her smile bloomed even more, and thought that it's working.

But deep inside of her, she could feel a tiny bit of disappointment, until...

"What beautiful eyes!... Is this one of your abilities as a Goddess?... What does it do?"

Ash exclaimed and asked. He was truly mesmerized by her enchantingly glowing eyes and couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

Even though he's completely unaware of what it's capable of doing. So much so that even his mouth underneath the scarf was a bit agape.

As soon as Freya heard what he said, and how he acted the same without the slightest hint of anything except his sincere admiration with her eyes, her eyes widened once more...

'H-how... How can that be!?... He wasn't affected by my charm ability...' she thought dumbfoundedly.

She couldn't help but feel quite baffled and think how many times, the stranger in front of her brought surprises upon surprises.

And that tiny bit of disappointment she felt just a while ago fully vanished...

"... Oh, as for my name, well... It's too long so you can just call me Ash..."

'... Interesting... This is getting more interesting by the minute... HE is getting more and more interesting for me to let go.'

'I want him... I want him for myself... I MUST HAVE HIM, but...'

Freya is having her inner monologue, generating different kinds of plans and schemes for every kind of scenario.

'Hmm... I'll bide my time... You will fall into my arms soon... Oh~, the pleasure!...'

And while she's deep in her own thoughts, Ash noticed another weird behavior from her.

He could see that her body is shivering for some unknown reason, while her breathing was getting more and more ragged.

'What's wrong with her now?...' he thought.

Seeing Ash's questioning eyes, Freya tried to regain her composure and hurriedly spoke before turning to leave...

"We shall meet again soon, my dear..."

---

Guild Main Building...

After his... 'weird' encounter with Freya where she left with a flushed face, body shaking, unsteady footing while panting after saying her last words for the time;

Ash went on his way and finally reached his destination.

And upon entering, he finds himself in a wide and spacious hall within the walls of a building filled with adventurers;

Guild personnel in typical white-collared office attire manning the counters and advising their respective adventurers...

"Finally, here I am..."

[*... Indeed Host...*]

He wanted to register as an adventurer as soon as possible because he could finally begin a new chapter 'adventure'.

But when he saw that every one of the counters is quite busy at the moment, he began looking around for something he could use to pass the time...

"Hmm?"

He noticed something in the corner which caught his attention.

'... This should be where they post announcements, quests, and anything related to the dungeon.'

Step by step he went towards what would seem to be a bulletin board but before he could get close enough to see and read the contents...

"E-excuse me, Sir. Do you... do you perhaps need help with something?"

Ash was approached from his right by a stuttering beautiful young lady with a height that barely reached his chest.

She has long brown hair flowing freely at her back, enchanting emerald eyes beneath her glasses, and pointy ears.

A slim body, clothed in a white long-sleeved collared shirt underneath a black vest. Fitted pants that accentuated her slender legs, and black shoes. The same attire as the people behind the counter.

She is currently clasping her hands together and would sometimes massage her knuckle.

She seemed to be slightly flinching while looking at him and couldn't even maintain meeting his eyes for seconds, clearly showing her low self-esteem...

'Hmm? Why is she nervous?... Ah, and judging by her attire, she works here...'

'Although... this is probably her first time at work just by seeing how she behaves in front of me...' he thought before greeting her...

"Oh hello there, Miss..."

"Ei-... Ahem...I mean Eina... Eina Tulle..."

The young lady, named Eina Tulle replied, clearing her throat and straightening her posture, trying her best to look... or at least to show her confidence as a member of the Guild.

"Well then, Miss Tulle. As a matter of fact, I do need help with something..."

Ash then proceeded to tell her that he has just gotten into the city, wanting to explore the famous Dungeon but was told that he needed to register himself in the Guild first before that would happen.

"... I see. Well, normally the procedure would be handled at the counters but as you can see, it's quite... busy at the moment."

"Indeed... but?"

"But I think I can help you with that. If you could please follow me inside one of those private rooms..."