"Will you come to my side?"
Freya, in her youthful girl form, revealed an expectant smile as she rested her chin on her hand and looked at Elise.
"I know the chances are low, but I truly want to be with you..."
Freya stood up and spun in place, as if presenting herself.
"Well? What do you think of how I look now?"
"For your sake, I deliberately shed my original body and transformed into a pure maiden once more!"
"If you agree, then from now on, this love will belong only to you. No matter what you desire, I can give it to you!"
Her tone had also become extremely gentle, completely different from the Freya Elise had known before—so much so that it was as if they were two entirely different people.
From this perspective, it really did seem to be exactly as she said.
Freya had approached Elise many times before, and the content had always been roughly the same—nothing more than hoping Elise would join her Familia.
But how could Elise so easily leave Astraea?
Her relationship with Astraea was not something that could be explained with mere words.
So the possibility of Elise agreeing to Freya had always been zero.
Even if Freya had done so much for her, she still could not accept.
"I..."
Elise hesitated—not over whether to accept Freya, but over how to refuse.
Even with her eyes covered, unable to see anything, Elise could clearly sense Freya's emotions...
A blazing, flame-like love!
"Sigh..."
After thinking it over, Elise finally let out a sigh. She truly couldn't find a good way to respond, so she could only give a poor answer.
"I'm sorry..."
The moment those words left her mouth, Freya's expression changed. It turned into one of disappointment, then sorrow, and tears gradually welled up in the corners of her eyes.
"Mm... I had already guessed as much..."
The gray-haired girl in front of her wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes and replied, "But hearing the rejection directly from your mouth still makes me feel inexplicably sad..."
"..."
Elise could only remain silent.
Not just Freya—Elise could not accept anyone's confession, not even a god's.
Elise had always maintained her purity, because it aligned with her ideal image of a saintess.
Ordinary feelings could be touched upon lightly, but deep emotions were something she did not wish to become entangled in—let alone a blazing love like Freya's!
So she had to refuse!
Looking at the sorrowful Freya, Elise also felt uneasy.
However, she did not intend to comfort Freya. After all, she had just rejected her—if she tried to console her now, it might only make things worse...
It would be better to send her back to her Familia as soon as possible. If Ottar and the others took care of her, Freya would probably recover more quickly.
But before Elise could speak, Freya beat her to it.
"In that case, could you agree to another condition of mine?"
"Don't worry—it's just a trivial little wish of mine..."
Elise nodded in agreement. Although she couldn't accept this goddess' love, a small wish like that was certainly within her ability.
...
The Hostess of Fertility—kitchen.
"I didn't expect your wish to be this..."
At this moment, Elise and Freya were both inside this modest kitchen.
Water flowed into the basin with a splashing sound.
Freya stood by the sink washing vegetables, while Elise stood beside the table, preparing ingredients for stir-frying.
"I really didn't expect this to be your wish..."
"Is it that surprising?"
Yes—Freya's so-called small wish was simply to have Elise cook a meal for her.
The area around Freya's eyes was still red, making it obvious she had been crying earlier.
Even so, she still forced a cheerful expression.
"A long time ago, I heard from Demeter that your cooking skills are already on par with some gods."
"But it feels like such a pity—after all this time, I've never had the chance to taste it even once."
"So I wanted to take this opportunity to properly try it. You'd better make something absolutely delicious, or I won't let you off!" Freya said half-jokingly.
"Understood. Just look forward to it!"
Elise rolled up her sleeves, neatly arranged the prepared ingredients, and then...
The knife rose!
"Wow!!"
Freya watched from the side in amazement. She truly hadn't expected to see such a method of cooking in the lower world.
For example, when Elise sliced a carrot into thin strips, the cut pieces actually flew neatly onto the plate on their own.
This wasn't something an ordinary person could possibly do, right?
What normal human cooks like this?
Although she had plenty she wanted to comment on, now wasn't the time to interrupt Elise.
If even the slightest disturbance affected the final dish, it wouldn't be worth it.
To prepare a lavish meal for Freya, Elise devoted her full attention, aiming to create the most perfected dish she had ever made.
Unbeknownst to her, this serious attitude captivated Freya even more.
They say a man is most handsome when he is serious. Even though Elise wasn't in a male body now, Freya was still completely mesmerized by her.
"So beautiful... I still want to..."
Then, in the very next moment, Freya's expression changed drastically. She quickly pressed her legs together and turned her body to the side.
After confirming that Elise was still focused on cooking and hadn't noticed her, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
This is bad... it leaked again...
"No, no! I absolutely have to restrain myself right now!"
Freya had thoroughly investigated Elise. According to the information from her subordinates, the group that spent the most time with Elise consisted of pure young girls.
Coincidentally, an interesting child had appeared within her Familia—someone who had devoted everything to Freya. That was why she had taken on this pure maiden form.
At the same time, this was also an appearance Freya had once used in the heavens. In a sense, it was also truly herself.
For this confession, Freya had put in considerable effort.
From their interaction just now, she had indeed noticed a subtle change in Elise's attitude—it seemed slightly more friendly?
That was a breakthrough of enormous significance!
The previous Elise had been extremely cautious even about approaching Freya.
So Freya had to cherish this opportunity. She slapped her cheeks lightly and adjusted her expression.
"I'm not the same as before anymore! Don't overthink it—you're just an innocent girl right now!"
"So take this time to spend properly with Elise!"
Perhaps in the future... there would never be another chance...