A fallen woman???
Bell took a closer look at Freya.
Dressed in a flowing pale pink gown—so unlike her usual style—she exuded a different kind of allure. It reminded him of the feeling: "I searched for him a thousand times, only to find him suddenly at the edge of the lights."
Like a reunion with someone long missed.
Like falling in love all over again.
That was Bell's strongest impression of Freya's transformation tonight.
He could tell this was the aura Freya was always meant to have. Perhaps this was the love goddess's own interpretation of "romance."
Right now, Freya couldn't be further from anything like a "fallen woman."
Of course, even without tonight's look, Bell knew the phrase "fallen woman" was entirely unfit for someone like Freya. After all, calling a virgin goddess that was a bit much.
He bowed slightly, his tone calm but puzzled.
"Freya-sama, as a virgin goddess, it's not appropriate to use the phrase 'fallen woman' to describe you."
He didn't lower his voice. He simply said it as he would in any normal conversation.
The courtyard had been quiet since Freya arrived. Quiet enough that their exchange could be heard clearly by nearly every adventurer present.
Especially that one phrase—"virgin goddess"—which sent a ripple through the crowd of adventurers and gods alike.
Even the core members of Freya Familia were visibly shaken.
"Virgin..."
Hestia stared at Freya, who looked unusually pure and demure tonight, with an utterly stunned expression. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't picture Freya as a virgin goddess.
Unexpected... but not implausible. Hephaestus was surprised, but not overly shocked. In her mind, it actually matched Freya's true character quite well.
"Pfft!"
Loki, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all. She'd seen through that woman's nature from the beginning. For someone like Freya—who viewed all of existence as her domain—how could she ever submit to someone else? Only if she chose to.
"That flirt is just that—a flirt. She's not on the same level as that tramp Ishtar."
Loki didn't bother lowering her voice. Everyone heard her loud and clear.
Now, all eyes turned toward Freya, their expressions turning a bit... odd.
Freya, the famed "Orario socialite" and goddess of beauty, was actually a virgin goddess?
So where did those stories about her conquering male gods come from? Even if she maintained her purity, would all those male gods simply play along?
But Freya said nothing in her own defense. She merely smiled softly, her curious gaze fixed on the unusual child before her.
"Why would you say that?"
Freya didn't deny being a virgin goddess. Instead, she was curious—how had this child figured it out?
Yet her words had inadvertently confirmed that Bell was telling the truth.
All of Freya's core Familia members stared wide-eyed. Even Ottar, whose face rarely showed emotion, was visibly surprised.
Bell, of course, had his own reasoning.
"It was simply a guess based on my understanding of Authority and my personal perception of the gods."
"Oh? Let's hear it."
"Yes."
To Freya's surprise, she found herself genuinely interested.
A guess about Authority and the gods? It was the first time she'd heard such words from a child of Genkai.
"Gods descending from Tenkai must seal themselves. This seal refers to the sealing of divine power—the foundation for using Authority, just like how magic is the foundation for mages."
"The seal on a god's body is extremely strict. The sealing ritual can suppress 99.99% of divine power. Even if a god could still access some of it, it's nearly impossible for them to affect the world on a large scale."
"However, the seal is maintained through the god's own consciousness, meaning they can unseal their power at will. But if they do, the built-in banishment ritual in the seal will instantly return them to Tenkai."
It was clear he'd done his homework. Freya hadn't expected Bell to know so much about the gods' seals—he even knew the details.
"I'm surprised you know this much about the gods' self-sealing."
Bell smiled faintly. Wasn't it only natural to prepare for the unknown?
"Just professional curiosity. With help from Goddess-sama, Hephaestus-sama, and Loki-sama, I've gained some understanding of the seal."
They're not exactly the cleverest people, Bell...
Still, Freya didn't call him out. Some things were better left alone. She didn't want too many gods taking notice of Bell—it would only bring trouble.
"So? Surely the gods didn't teach you how to uncover my secrets?"
"Of course not."
Bell didn't bring up the gods' self-sealing to explain everything, but to set the premise for his deduction.
"As the goddess of beauty and love, you govern both love and lust. Your allure and appearance are direct manifestations of your Authority."
"Humans and demi-humans in Genkai share three fundamental desires: sleep, hunger, and lust. Meaning, your Authority extends over nearly the entire population."
"Your beauty is the trigger. I don't think there's anyone in Genkai who could resist your charm. The moment someone is drawn to you is when they fall under the influence of your Authority. So, can what they see truly be called real?"
"At the very least, I don't believe someone under the grip of desire could resist your Authority by sheer will and attempt to harm you."
"Even if your divine power is sealed and you can't use all of your Authority, just the portion you can wield is more than enough to affect people in Genkai."
Freya couldn't help but applaud the boy's insight.
Clap, clap, clap!
"Your reasoning is quite impressive. But even so, you still haven't proven whether I truly am that kind of goddess."
Bell knew that well. But he had already pointed out that Freya met the most critical condition of a virgin goddess—along with his guesses about her divine nature and one very strong clue.