3
To the residents of the town, it was called the oasis mansion, and true to its name, it was built in the middle of the island at the heart of the oasis, its majestic dome bringing to mind a palace. It was constructed of a white stone that reflected the sun, inlaid with golden decorations to create a dazzling image. Surrounded by date trees, it was the largest building in all of Leodo. It could house hundreds of itinerant entertainers and play host to a days-long feast.
It was the most fabulous of villas that only the wealthiest of people—more specifically, the town’s wealthiest merchant—could afford to live in. However, at present, that luxurious estate had been claimed by a certain goddess as her own.
“What are you doing? Food and drinks all around, please.”
In the great hall of the villa.
An extravagant fountain—a sculpture of a water elemental pouring water—inside the manor was trickling away in the background as Freya’s sweet soprano voice rang out. She was sitting atop a sofa set several steps above the ground, looking down as well over a hundred former slaves hungrily devoured the dishes being brought out one after the other.
Both because of having been forced into slavery due to the impact of the war as well as due to the careless management of the slavers, they had not had a filling meal in a long time. They downed glass after glass of water and wine while grabbing meat and fruits with their bare hands and stuffing their faces.
However, it was not an unsightly scene of people abandoning all manners and reason but a scene of exultation at being alive. They were no longer bound by chains or manacles. Freed from their shackles by a goddess’s whims, they were in high spirits, tears flowing as their withered spirits were reinvigorated.
“Mr. Bofman! We don’t have enough people!”
“I know! Reach out to people from the other trading companies! Tell them we’ll pay for it if we have to—just get them over here!!!”
Meanwhile, the merchant Bofman and his trainees were caught up in a chaotic furor. They had brought the slaves to the estate, bought up all the food they could find at the bazaar, and were preparing countless courses for everyone as if it were a banquet. But the employees of the estate—whom Freya had also inherited from the previous owner of the estate—were extremely understaffed. Anyone could tell by the way they were running dishes around the estate, and employees of the Fazoul Trading Company were being forced to pitch in as well.
“Was it some mortal philosopher who said that wealth is not for feeding your own ego but feeding the hungry? Hmm, if Loki heard me saying that, she’d probably laugh herself to death.”
The first thing she had done after acquiring the oasis mansion was to provide a bit of charity to all the slaves she had freed. Not so much out of a philanthropic impulse, but as the bare minimum of resolution to follow through on what she had done. If she had bought up all the slaves and wrecked the market because it was an eyesore only to come out the next day and say, “All right, you may do as you please,” then her grace would have been called into question. To her, beauty was not simply a lovely appearance. It was fundamentally based in a character that was befitting a sovereign. And most importantly of all, they were now all her property. So given that, she would accept them all with a smile and have them attend to her as she saw fit.
“Lady Freya, please have some!”
“Oh, thank you.”
One of the slaves who Freya had saved was holding out a tray with a colorful assortment of fruits. The brown-skinned beauty paled in comparison to a goddess, of course, but she was nonetheless blessed with looks that would charm many a man. However, it was clear from her eyes that she was enraptured by the goddess. And not just her. All of the beautiful men and women who were set to be sold as the playthings of the wealthy were attending Freya. Not because she had demanded it but of their own volition. Some poured wine, and others fanned her with giant leaves. They were obviously entranced by her, vying for the chance to wait on her hand and foot. At any moment, someone might have led an elephant in to perform for her.
But Freya had by no means truly enthralled them. They were merely filled with a deep sense of loyalty and respect for the alluring goddess who had saved them. It was a scene that occurred purely due to the queenly presence, the absolute charisma that Freya wielded.
An observer could almost hear Freya saying “A harem? A reverse harem? As if either could possibly satisfy me.” The lurid fantasy of having dozens of beautiful men and women serve them was one that every mortal had surely dreamed of at least once, and each and every one of the people around Freya was entranced by the silver-haired goddess just as deeply as the members of the familia that had sworn loyalty to her.
It was the pinnacle of luxury.
“Lady Freya, thank you for saving us!”
And there, a young boy and girl approached the goddess. There was no one who would scold them as rude for speaking out of turn. Their pure, earnest thanks were what everyone felt.
“What are your names?” Freya asked.
“M-my name is Y-Yona!” the nervous boy responded.
“I’m Haara!” the younger girl answered cheerfully.
“I see. Those are nice names. But Yona, Haara, you don’t need to thank me, because I only freed you all for my own sake.”
That was the unvarnished truth. She had not had any kind of merciful or charitable intentions in granting them their freedom. It had all been self-centered, just the whim of a fickle goddess. Yona and Haara tilted their heads, not really comprehending what she said, but they quickly adjusted themselves.
“Ummm, Lady Freya…there was something I wanted to ask!”
“Hee-hee, go ahead. What would you like to ask?”
“Can we join your familia?”
The boy and girl responded with an admirable question. They probably wanted to repay the goddess who had rescued them in their time of need. Faced with those adorable children, Freya responded with a pure smile and no ulterior motives.
“No, not yet. First, you should help out at Bofman’s company.” Freya admonished the children with a smile.
“Wah?!” Bofman, who was rushing around, stopped in his tracks at suddenly being called out.
She fully intended to leave all the slaves she had bought with the Fazoul Trading Company when she returned to Orario.
“Your souls are still just seeds. They’re not even developed enough to be called immature. I love beautiful flowers and adore sparkling jewels. So first, you must gain some experience in this desert land.”
The qualifications to join Freya Familia were entirely based on the goddess’s mood. Freya looked not just at ability but at the sparkle of a person’s soul and chose only those capable of becoming Einherjar. That was why they were the pinnacle. That was why they were the strongest. Freya Familia was a place where those who only had talent and nothing more would quickly become stepping-stones for their peers in the intense internal struggle that unfolded every day. If immature, undeveloped children were thrown into that, they would undoubtedly be struck down and meet a tragic end. Because of that, Freya was strict in her choices, allowing only those beings capable of becoming suitable followers of hers to join.
At the same time, she made the choices she did because she appreciated the children, because she loved them, and most importantly, because she had hopes they might show her something new and unknown.
“And once you’ve grown more, when your souls begin to bloom, if you catch my eye…when that time comes, I’ll gladly welcome you into my familia,” Freya added as she reached out a hand and stroked the little girl’s cheek.
“Y-yes, ma’am!” Haara responded, her voice brimming with joy and determination.
Judging from the brilliance of those children’s souls currently, if they were to bloom, it would only be after around ten years. However, perhaps with the potential inherent in mortals, they might betray her expectations and reach their prime in just five years or maybe even sooner. If that came to pass, Freya would gladly welcome them in, whatever their age. She always kept her word. That was the kind of goddess Freya was.
“Lady Freya, if it pleases you, I’d like that, too!”
“Please allow your humble servant to sit at the lowest seat of the table of your followers!”
The children’s requests opened the floodgates, and even the adults began approaching with their supplications. Freya maintained the same stance as she had with the children, while promising to welcome those who were capable and caught her attention as noncombatant members—those who would not receive her ichor and not gain a status. In short, they would be believers who would support Freya and her familia. She had not particularly been expecting this development, but it ultimately meant she was able to increase her network of supporters outside the city.
Despite the fact that a clear line was being drawn between them and the goddess, the former slaves’ devotion to Freya did not waver in the slightest. Every one of them approached the goddess who had saved them and thanked her with an unpracticed formality generally reserved for addressing royalty.
At some point, the feast turned into an audience of people lined up before her.
“Bofman, hire any of these children who wish to work for you. If their loyalty to me is true, then they should rise in stature and become great successes. After I return to Orario, I’ll leave this estate to you, so do as you please……Bofman, are you listening?”
“Y-yes, of course, Lady Freya…”
Having finally finished everything, Bofman shakily returned to Freya, exhausted. It was finally sinking in just exactly what it meant to be subjected to the whims of a goddess—just how heavy a load it was to serve as Freya’s companion. Absurd and unreasonable requests were the norm. With naught but a single command, he would find himself carrying out tasks that by any measure of common sense should have been impossible.
The various costs incurred would be paid back later from Freya Familia’s deep pockets, but even still, he was being forced to bear a significant burden and pushing his limits. He had gained an emaciated look that was a common affliction among the people who tried to curry favor with deities in a calculated fashion.
“L-Lady Freya…my trading company, of course, but I personally have spared nothing in my dedication…so if you might find it in your heart to grant me a reward at such time as your desire has been fulfilled, I would be eternally grateful…gweh…hee-ho-ho…!”
And because of all that, it was inevitable he would continue to hope for some extra return. His eyes were glued to the goddess’s bare legs that he could practically smell as he laughed with a creepy, raspy voice. Freya turned around, feeling almost a sense of wonder as four shadows silently appeared.
“What do you think you’re doing, swine?”
“Did you wish to be castrated, swine?”
“I’ll carve out those eyes of yours, pig.”
“Filthy pig.”
“Gweeeeh?! W-wait! Wh-what are you…?! Stop! My arm! It doesn’t bend that waaaaa—gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The loud, satisfying sound of a kick landing rang out, followed by a dull thump as Bofman’s swollen body was slammed headfirst into the ground. Immediately, he was placed in a submission hold that threatened to create some new places where his limbs could bend as his whole body creaked.
Four prums were pushing him down to the ground in a pose exactly like that of a pig splayed on all fours.
“Oh, you were here?” Freya asked.
“We combed through the entire residence to be sure no assassins or suspicious elements were here,” Alfrik, the eldest of the Gulliver brothers, responded.
From the moment their patron goddess had bought the oasis mansion, they joined Ottar and the others in investigating the grounds from top to bottom, and upon discovering a fool so rude as to look the wrong way at the goddess, they brought down the heavens’ wrath upon him.
Leaving the restraint and torture of Bofman to his brothers, Alfrik removed his sand-colored helmet, revealing his clear blue eyes. And then he looked down at the man below him as if he had caught a glimpse of the vilest sewage imaginable.
“Filthy swine with ulterior motives are not fit to be at Lady Freya’s side. May we have a little time to punish him?”
“As long as he’s still useful. Don’t finish him off. He is necessary as my eyes and legs here in the desert.”
“Understood, milady.”
Alfrik saluted and then he and his brothers forcibly carried Bofman away.
“Lady Freya?! Please save meeeeeeeeeeee!” Bofman called out a strangled cry for help as he was hauled off.
The former slaves were startled by the sudden appearance of the Gulliver brothers and started sweating bullets in terror even after they left. It was not hard to imagine the fate that would befall the foolish merchant dragged outside. Their decision, which was the wise response, was to forget what they had just seen and continue to pay their respects to Freya.
“—Oh, so you came.”
And then, she appeared right as the line was starting to peter out. Brown skin and disheveled black hair. The girl with such pretty purple eyes. Ali, the slave girl Freya had fallen for at first sight—the person who had the potential to be the goal of this journey, her Odr.
“…Thank you very much for saving me earlier.”
There was a nervous tension to Ali’s expression as she said her thanks by mimicking the form that the others had used. Freya’s eyes narrowed as, for just a second, the girl seemed about to put her hand to her chest before stopping herself and bowing inoffensively instead.
“Ali, how is your body doing?”
“Thanks to you, I’m doing much better…”
She had been freed from bondage and brought along to the estate as a result of that, but her face looked much healthier, probably because of getting enough water and food. But something about the way she spoke was awkward. It almost seemed like she was uneasy or on edge about something. Nonetheless, though, Freya’s smile widened, as if even that awkwardness was amusing.
“Then tonight, come to my room,” she said, putting a finger beneath the girl’s jaw and pulling her in.
“!”
Their faces were so close that the slightest shift might have had their lips touching. The goddess’s silver eyes reinforced the command. Ali’s body quivered as the alluring goddess looked into her eyes from so close—but again, she rejected Freya’s gaze. Biting her lips, her cheeks flushing, Ali forced herself to look away, fleeing the goddess’s charms. A simple girl who had not even been granted a deity’s blessing, let alone leveled up. There was no more holding back Freya’s curiosity—or her sadism.
“My shopping was a bit extravagant today, but—you were my heart’s desire.”
“Gh…?!”
“Which is why you won’t be getting away,” Freya whispered in Ali’s ear as she let the girl go.
Ali staggered back, but her face was badly twisted. There had never before been a mortal who looked like that while being allowed to bask in Freya’s presence, which only served to increase the goddess’s anticipation. As the former slaves’ shocked gazes focused on the girl, Freya stood up from her seat.
“Clean yourself up for tonight. And when you come to my chamber, wear something to show off your lovely figure.”
Freya instructed Bofman’s trainee girls to take Ali to the bathing area. Ali was stunned, and for just a moment before the attendants reached her, she quickly scanned the surroundings. Seeing that, Freya let an “Ahh” slip out as if she had just remembered something and gave the girl a warning.
“I said you wouldn’t be getting away before, but to be clear, that was not a threat, just a simple fact. My followers are even now watching over this estate. So don’t bother trying anything silly…” Freya said as she left the room, seeming to be enjoying herself.
Her words and smile left the girl utterly astounded. Outside the residence, the sun started to set. The night was only just beginning.
Desert nights are chillingly cold. It was common knowledge in the sandy regions of the world that the intense heat of the noonday sun vanished dramatically come nightfall.
However, that was not the case for Leodo.
It was all thanks to the oasis. The water took more energy to heat up than the earth, and once it was warm, it took longer to release all its heat and cool down. The water absorbed the light of the noon sun and released the heat at night, so at any place with an abundance of water, the difference between day and night lessened. On top of that, the palms and other foliage around the town also had the effect of trapping some of the heat radiating from the ground as the air cooled down, moderating the evening chill. Because of that, the night in Leodo was easier to endure than most anywhere else in the western Kaios.
That was why Freya could comfortably wear a thin negligee in her room as she waited for the girl to arrive.
“Should be any moment now.”
Enjoying herself as she sipped the expensive wine that the Fazoul Trading Company had procured, the goddess checked the time.
The location was her bedroom, which had been cleared of people. The chamber on the highest floor of the oasis mansion was dimly lit by magic-stone lamps. The orange light blended with the night air, creating a dreamlike mood. Lounging in a luxurious chair, the goddess recrossed her seductive legs as she suddenly turned to the person beside her.
“Bofman, are you okay?”
“Y-yes, Lady Freya…I’m okay…This filthy swine would never do anything rude in milady’s presence…”
The only other person in the room was Bofman. When Alfrik and the brothers released him, he was badly worn down. At a glance, he seemed quite haggard, almost like he was on death’s door. He had surely endured a harsh punishment imposed by the brothers.
As evidence of that, he was being quite careful not to look directly at Freya’s chest, despite the fact that her night gown was quite boldly cut around her bosom. If it were the earlier him, he would have been gulping audibly, but for now his fear was winning out.
…Well, it was not that he was scared of her body so much as her followers’ excruciating punishment, but it left her with mixed feelings to see him trembling like a scared piglet around her like that.
Before long, the door opened.
“…Pardon me.”
Ali was brought in by the attendants. Her figure had changed dramatically from that of the pitiful slave earlier. Her disheveled hair had been brushed out nicely, and she was wearing a neat regional dress. Every nook and cranny of her body had been cleaned, and a hearty amount of perfumed oils had been applied. The faint scent of jasmine wafted through the room. Her flawless brown skin was more than a match for the finest silk. Even Bofman, who was scarcely glancing at Freya, was taken aback by her beauty. It would’ve been difficult to find many slaves as beautiful as she.
“Welcome, Ali. You’ve become quite lovely. I hardly recognized you,” Freya commented.
“Thank you…”
“Or was it that you intentionally dirtied yourself up in order not to stand out?”
“…”
“Hee-hee, don’t look like that. It was just the thought that came to mind, is all.”
While the attendants bowed and left the room, Ali approached Freya’s chair, unable to hide her stiff expression. It was clear she had her guard up against the goddess of beauty, who had grown attached to her. Freya observed the girl closely as she set her wineglass down on a small side table.
“…What did you want of me?” the girl asked, wringing the words out carefully.
However, her attempt to cut to the chase was denied when Freya moved on to something else altogether.
“Ali, do you deplore the current political situation? Or do you perhaps resent what is happening currently?”
“…?”
“The war between Shalzad and Warsa that caused you to be enslaved…what do you think of it?”
“!”
The change was dramatic.
Ali, who had largely been looking down from the moment she entered the room, immediately raised her head at Freya’s comment, and her light purple eyes flared. Freya’s eyes narrowed slightly in response.
“I was just curious. Will you not answer my question?”
Faced with the goddess whose smile only seemed to grow deeper, Ali responded by—refusing to answer and closing her eyes.
“You! You’re before the Lady Freya! Such insolence is—!” Bofman immediately began to scold her but was halted mid-sentence by Freya’s raised hand.
“Apparently Shalzad’s fallen capital is still filled with screaming.” Freya paid no heed to Ali’s silence as she pressed the attack.
“…”
“Most of the royal family has been executed, and only a few still survive.”
“…”
“What must the people of Shalzad be thinking right now?”
“…Gh!”
Ali maintained her silence, occasionally trembling as if struggling to hold back a torrent of emotions threatening to break free. The goddess continued to lob questions at her, but the girl persisted in her silence. Unsure of how to react to such an odd scene, Bofman kept glancing back and forth between the two of them, decidedly left out of the loop.
“Bofman, tell me what you know about the prince of Shalzad who was said to have escaped from the enemy.”
“Yes? Ah, yes ma’am, of course,” Bofman looked surprised by Freya’s sudden question as he responded. “The prince’s name is Aram Raza Shalzad. He is the first and only son of the king, who was executed when the capital fell. He was rumored to be peerlessly handsome…If I recall correctly, he was sixteen years old.”
“Did he have any sisters of a similar age?”
“…? No, not if I remember correctly, at least. The king of Shalzad was apparently not blessed with many children. The prince bore both the royal family’s expectations and their obligations…”
Freya’s smile did not falter as Bofman finished his explanation. And the girl before her looked like she was trying to endure an onslaught with her eyelids clenched shut. The light of the single magic-stone lamp in the room flickered. Finally, the goddess spoke with an air of confidence.
“Ali, you look like you would be quite handsome dressed in men’s clothes. With the proper attire…yes, I’m sure you could pass for a prince…”
At that instant, Ali’s mask broke, betraying her efforts at controlling herself. With Freya having said that much, even Bofman could guess what she was implying as shock spread across his face.
“Ali, earlier, you were about to perform the proper way to greet a deity, but you stopped yourself at the last moment, didn’t you?”
“…Gh!”
“That was the correct way to pay respect to a deity that the average inhabitant of the desert would likely not have known, let alone a slave, wasn’t it?”
While all the former slaves in the estate were giving their thanks, when Ali had approached Freya, she had started to do something different and then stopped short, instead resorting to an inoffensive bow. It had betrayed her as someone who knew the esoteric method of formally addressing a deity. Her awkward movements revealed her unfamiliarity with pretending to be an unknowing commoner, and Freya’s eyes had not missed it.
“And regardless of how I try to press you, you respond with only silence. Only someone who knows full well how to interact with deities would be able to do that.”
“Wh-what do you mean?” Bofman asked, half in shock.
“Gods can see through all the lies of children. The most effective method of dealing with a god’s questioning…is silence,” Freya explained, not taking her eyes off Ali.
Mortals could not deceive deities. Or more precisely, the gods could see through all manner of deception. However, even if they knew someone was telling a lie, it was not possible for them to know what exactly the lie was. With their arcanum sealed on the mortal plane, they could not see all the way into mortals’ hearts. Because of that, silence was the one and only means of resisting a deity’s questioning that mortals had, and it was an effective one.
“In this desert realm, where familias are generally connected with the military, normal people would not have much opportunity to interact with gods. And there surely would not be many who could reflexively respond in the most effective way…Not if they had not already been trained to do so.”
In a place where many gods and goddesses gathered, like Orario—where it wasn’t too hard to find an adventurer who had been caught lying to a god before or something like that—it was plausible someone might have trained themselves to respond that way. But this was the Kaios Desert, far away from the Labyrinth City. Most of the familias here were treated as part of the military of any given country, from what Bofman said before. That meant that the patron god who led the faction would mostly interact with the nation’s elites. In that sort of an environment, someone who purposefully maintained their silence when dealing with a god would have to be a person who interacted with gods on a daily basis or someone who had been trained that way in order to prevent information leaks.
“I-if someone received that kind of training, then it would surely only be someone among a select group of merchants or nobility…or royalty,” Bofman said, turning pale, finally realizing everything.
In other words, Freya’s questioning of Ali had been a bluff to confirm that she was indeed someone of high-class origin. The actual answers she might have given were irrelevant.
“And more than anything, I could feel it when I first saw you. You possess a dignity that separates you.”
A tiger biding its time, waiting for the right moment to strike. From the moment she laid eyes on Ali in the bazaar, Freya realized her true nature.
“Th-then that means Prince Aram is…!”
“Not a son, but a daughter. Raised as a prince by a king who was not blessed with many heirs. A rather conventional sort of trope.”
It’s not conventional at all! Bofman thought, starting to sweat as he shook his head.
Most likely, while her country was being attacked, an incident had occurred and she had been captured by slave traders. Or perhaps after the capital had fallen, while leading the resistance against Warsa, she had been separated from the rest of her allies and wound up in chains. Bofman’s face paled even further.
Now aware he was in the presence of the prince, or rather princess, of a country in a difficult situation, he was surely calculating the merits and demerits of the knowledge that had just fallen into his lap.
“If news spread that Prince Aram was actually a princess…given the current situation, I wonder what would happen?” Freya’s lips curled up sadistically for an instant.
The silent girl’s eyes snapped open.
“You dare blackmail me?!”
Her tone and mood changed in an instant. Just as Freya had observed before, she displayed the majesty of royalty in spades. Even the self-proclaimed wealthy merchant Bofman quivered at her rebuke, intimidated by the presence her small body seemed to project. However, Freya did not budge one bit from her elegant seat.
“Of course not. I’ve no intention at all of blackmailing you,” she responded casually.
“Wh—?!”
“On top of that, I have no interest in either country or the war that is going on. You, and you alone, are what I am interested in.
“I teased you because I wanted to see your true form,” she added with a smile that did not contain any malice. Ali’s body stirred beneath the goddess’s gaze. It had apparently dawned on her that she was seeing something not of this world.
“…You are truly the Goddess Freya, are you not?”
“Yes. How many times must I say it?”
“Then, Goddess Freya, I would like you to set me free.”
Finally, Ali stopped pretending to be a wretched slave and spoke with a royal demeanor while resisting Freya’s alluring appearance.
“You have my utmost gratitude for releasing me from slavery. Truly, I mean it. However, as you have realized, despite being a woman, I am playing the role of the prince. I have somewhere I must return to and a people that I must save.”
“…”
“I swear I shall repay this debt someday. So, please, allow me to go back to my country.”
Ali’s purple eyes met Freya’s head-on. She surely recognized that a deity might consider her request unreasonable, but her expression was unyielding. She was being targeted by Warsa and could not be sure what fate awaited her tomorrow. And even if she managed to link up with Shalzad’s army, what could the prince of a country that had lost its capital offer to repay a goddess?
Bofman was initially overwhelmed by Ali’s regal presence, but just as he was about to point out that there would be no value for the goddess in doing that, Freya again checked him with a wave.
“Very well,” she responded without any hesitation again.
“What…?”
“You may do as you please. I asked what I wanted to ask, so if you want to go somewhere now, I won’t stop you. You may go as you please.”
Ali blinked over and over. She had expected to be rejected outright, or at least to have some sort of over-the-top compensation scheme forced on her by a cruel goddess. She was visibly bewildered by Freya’s response.
“It’s not like I bought you out of a desire for an enslaved puppet in the first place,” Freya said. And then her lips curled into a smile. “However, somewhere down the line, you can be sure that I will claim that repayment you mentioned.”
Ali was roused from her shock by a bolt of tension that shot right through her the moment she heard those words. Her face looked strained as she nodded, like a criminal making a deal with the devil in the fables of old.
“…You have my thanks, goddess of the world beyond.”
Her gratitude was a mere formality. Freya stifled a little giggle.
“That’s that, then. Bofman, take her to her room.”
“I-is this really okay?”
“Yes, this is fine.”
Bofman nervously double-checked with her, but Freya simply urged him on placidly.
Finally, the female attendants summoned by his service bell appeared and led Ali away. As she was leaving, Ali glanced at Freya, but Freya just smiled back at her.
The sun peeked out over the sand dunes stretching out to the horizon. As the darkness started to fade, the Kaios Desert’s temperature increased as it escaped the cold embrace of night.
Morning had arrived.
“I overslept…! As if I’ve got any time to waste!”
Ali leaped out of bed not long after sunrise.
The room she had been led to last night was magnificent, and the soft bed had lured her into a comfortable sleep. She had been constantly on the move, both before she was caught by the slave traders and after they had captured her, pushing her to the limits of exhaustion. Thanks to the inviting bed and a full night’s sleep, though, most of that exhaustion was gone, and her head was clear.
She frantically started moving, readying herself for her journey. She wanted to avoid becoming indebted to Freya any more than she already was, but she did accept the travel clothes that the attendants had politely offered her.
At that moment, the only other clothes she had to her name were the slave rags, the dress that Freya had given her for their rendezvous last night, and a light nightgown—and all of which would have drawn unnecessary attention if she walked around outside in them. Given that she intended to leave Leodo and needed to avoid revealing her true identity, Ali did not really have a choice, so she begrudgingly accepted the travel clothes.
I can’t figure out what that goddess is thinking. She said I was her heart’s desire, but then immediately let me go…No, don’t think about it. It’s already clear she’s the kind of deity that it’s best not to get involved with…
Ali had absolute confidence in that analysis as she left the oasis mansion. As she was passing through the gate, the catman standing guard there audibly scoffed in annoyance. Ali was thrown off by his inexplicable hostility, but it was not long before her confusion was resolved.
As she crossed the big wooden bridge connecting the island in the middle of the oasis to the northern side of the city—
“…Why are you here?”
Ali stopped, her face tensed when she saw the goddess leaning against the railing of the bridge, clearly expecting her.
“Because I was waiting for you,” Freya responded, intentionally dodging the actual question.
“Wh-what do you mean?! You said last night you were letting me go…!” Ali shouted, paying no heed to the stares of the other people crossing the bridge.
“I said that I wouldn’t stop you, but I didn’t say anything about not coming with you.”
Freya was wearing the same clothes as she was when they first met the other day: a short white dress and red hood, a matching red fabric wrapped around her waist, and a black skirt. The clothes that Bofman had arranged for her were breathable and easy to move in, so they would make for convenient travel clothes. Though Ali had no way of knowing that.
“You?! Come with me?! What are you talking about?!”
“The only thing I’m interested in is you. I told you that last night. So I’m going to watch you. I want to observe you from up close.”
Ali abandoned her royal gravitas for a moment as her eyes opened wide in unveiled shock.
What are you talking about?! Are you crazy?! That doesn’t make any sense! she screamed in her head. She was utterly confused and well past the point of caring that the goddess could accurately read her state of mind.
“In what way will your soul transform? Will it shine even brighter? That’s what I want to see. What I want to confirm.”
—To know whether you are suitable to be my Odr.
That last part, however, did not reach Ali’s ears as her exasperation reached its limit.
“Do you think this is a game?! I must get back to the army as soon as possible for the sake of my country! I don’t have time to deal with a goddess’s flights of fancy—” So I have no desire to be shadowed by some weirdo goddess! was what Ali was about to add, rejecting Freya, but—
“What about traveling expenses?” Freya’s one question stopped the girl in her tracks. “It seems you plan to leave this town, but have you made all the necessary arrangements?”
Ali was at a loss for words as the goddess continued.
“I fully understand that you have no desire to be further indebted to me. However, what can you do by yourself? I don’t know where you plan to go, but it’s not someplace you can easily reach by foot, right? If so, then how will you cross the desert?”
Freya’s points were all sound and undeniable. Ali was currently broke, and without the funds to prepare for a desert journey, venturing out into the sands was not just foolish, it was suicidal.
It was not as if Ali had not considered that when she left the manor, though. This was Israfan, after all. There were merchants here who had close ties to the Shalzad royal family. If she was dressed as a man and identified herself as the prince, it would be possible to get help from them, but—
“Which reminds me of something Bofman mentioned. The situation in Shalzad is currently extraordinarily unstable. Many merchants are wagging their tails for Warsa, as they currently hold the advantage…If you started announcing yourself as the missing prince, they might decide the reward for turning you in is better than the risk of hiding you and providing assistance.”
Freya rested her cheek on one hand as she, by all appearances, read Ali’s mind.
“Are there any merchants who were close to you personally rather than just aligned with your country? Is there someone who would actually set aside profit to side with Shalzad out of loyalty?”
Ali’s optimistic plans and the straws she was grasping at were all swept away by the goddess’s smile. Without a personal connection with a merchant, none of the trading companies would extend their hands to the prince of a floundering country. And because Ali had had to keep her real gender hidden, she had rarely had any chances to build such connections. Other than those who already knew her secret, she had not been allowed to interact with other people any more than was absolutely necessary.
“Traveling alone in the desert at such a young age…you might just end up in a slave train again, you know?” Freya commented with slight smile.
“Grrr…!!” Intercepted at every possible angle, Ali could do nothing more than groan in frustration.
“If you’ll allow me to accompany you…then I’d be willing to help you, though.”
Freya was still smiling as she offered Ali a way out.
For Ali, who did not have many people she could rely on—any, really—Freya’s offer was like a blessing from the heavens. It was possible something worse might happen because of it, but at the very least Freya would not try to help Warsa or hurt Shalzad. If she were going to do that, she would have done it already. Ali suspected that what she had said the night before about not caring about the war was probably the truth.
But getting played around with like this is just…!
Even so, though, Ali still didn’t want to let her have her way. It was a combination of caution when dealing with such an incomprehensible person as well as the pride of a prince who knew better than to trifle with deities—but most of all, it was a childish rebelliousness. She just could not stand the smug way the goddess was smiling. Her beauty was such that it threatened to allure Ali, even though she was a girl, too, but Freya’s gaze had a certain feel to it, as if she was looking down on mortals or perhaps appraising them. That, combined with the goddess’s egotistical actions, and Ali just could not help finding Freya distasteful. Despite her own pathetic situation and the direly needed help, she insisted on holding out.
“My compensation.”
“…!”
“You swore that you would repay me some day. Today is that day.”
That was the clincher. Just as Freya said, Ali was the one who had promised to repay her. It felt an awful lot like minor quibbling, but if she reneged, it would be a stain on the honor of Shalzad—indeed, the request Freya was making was cheap relative to what she owed, so much so that it was debatable whether this request could really be equivalent.
She wanted to tear Freya a new one and scream at her to quit screwing around, but she restrained herself as her shoulders slumped.
“I’m the one who made the promise…and I’m the one being helped here…so I’ll allow you to accompany me…”
“Very good. Thank you.”
In the end, Ali was forced to dance to the goddess’s tune. And the reason the catman had scoffed in annoyance was probably because he had realized it would all end up like this. It was not through any fault of Ali’s.
At least she was able to repay her debt quickly.
“However! Promise me you won’t just get in my way all the time!” Ali refused to budge on that one point.
“But of course. I promise.” The goddess simply responded with a provocative little smile.
Resigned to her fate, Ali started walking.
When they crossed the bridge over the oasis, Leodo was lively as noon approached. The bazaar in the northern part of the city was booming, more than equal to the bazaar in the southern half of the city that Ali and Freya had passed through the day before. Compared to that one, the sides of the streets here were filled to the brim with shops and people lined the road. Camels loaded up with goods were having difficulty moving through it.
“Now that I think about it, is Ali a fake name? Should I call you Aram?”
“…My true name is Ali. Out of respect for my dying mother’s wish, my father did not steal away my individuality. Though there have been times I wondered if I might end up forgetting my own name…” Ali explained.
We’re in the middle of a giant crowd here…Were you seriously about to start calling me by the name of a prince whose disappearance is the subject of so much rumor? She kept that snide quip to herself, though.
Around that time, Ali lightened up on the formal tone toward Freya. It was not how deities were supposed to be addressed, but she nonetheless started using a tone that conveyed her annoyance a bit more readily. However, Freya did not seem to mind it at all. In fact—
“I see—then I’ll call you Ali from now on.”
She responded with a smile more befitting a girl enjoying herself than a goddess. She seemed happy, as if anticipating how this encounter of theirs would develop. Ali unconsciously was drawn in by that smile and time froze for a few seconds.
“Ali, make sure you entertain me.”
“Gh…! Do I look like a clown to you?!”
But that overbearing manner of speech she had was enough for Ali to be able to confirm again that she just could not really get along with this goddess.
“So, where are we going? Surely you don’t plan on just walking back to Shalzad like this?”
“…There is a hidden fortress along the border between Israfan and Shalzad. The plan was to meet up there with my retainers in the event that the worst-case scenario came to pass, and we were split up. That is where we are headed.”
It was impossible to lie to gods, so given that they were going to be traveling together, there was no point in hiding it. Freya said “Hmmm” as she brushed her hair behind her ear.
“Now for my questions. What funds do you have available?” Ali asked without looking at the goddess as they weaved through the crowd.
It was quite a ways to the border and the hidden fortress when their starting point was Leodo. Food and water would be necessary as well as a means of crossing the desert. Obtaining passage aboard a desert ship would likely be impossible, but at the very least they would want camels. And protection. Thieves and monsters were plentiful in the Kaios Desert. Without some skilled bodyguards, the two would not be able to safely cross the desert. It would be faster to join up with a caravan, but given her secret, Ali was reluctant to spend time around too many other people.
While Ali was thinking through all that, Freya responded without any delay,
“What funds do I have? None. I don’t like carrying something as unwieldy as a bunch of gold coins. I just promised contracts with my familia to Bofman for everything.”
“What?!”
Ali stopped moving at that and swung back to stare at the goddess with an expression of disbelief on her face.
“Wh-what do you mean?! You said you would take care of the preparations! That’s why I even…!” Ali moved in, about to ask whether Freya had been lying to her all along, but she was stopped by Freya’s next words.
“This is our first trip together, though. I don’t want to bring Bofman’s money into it.”
It was almost like she was saying this was a date for just the two of them. Ali was taken aback, hit again by a sense of wonder. She had long since lost count of the number of times this goddess had stunned her.
I’ve felt it ever since I met her…but she is a really, really strange goddess.
Overwhelmingly beautiful, high-handed, and supernatural. One moment her cool smile was causing shivers and bringing slave traders to their knees, the next she could sound like an innocent little girl like just now.
Ali had no way of knowing, but this side of Freya was one that she never displayed in Orario. The side of the goddess that Ali was seeing here was one that Freya had literally never shown anyone except Ali.
“…So then what are we going to do? We still don’t have any funds,” Ali asked in a quiet voice, having missed her moment to get angry. The goddess’s only response was to leave her behind, though, walking ahead.
“On-site procurement,” she said as she headed toward a tavern.
Despite being a popular bar, it was well appointed both inside and out. It almost looked like a salon for well-to-do socialites. Freya smoothly headed inside, as if she had been looking for it in particular while walking through the bazaar. Ali frantically followed behind while hiding her face, and by the time she entered, the goddess was talking to a pair of men.
“Hey, mind if I join?”
“Huh?”
The men were seated around a table, playing a board game. The human who turned back with a puzzled look on his face froze like a statue when he saw Freya. And a split second later he was very obviously lovestruck.
“M-milady, is there something I can do for you?”
“I just said it, didn’t I? How about a match?”
Glancing at the beastman who had a similar lovestruck expression, Freya ushered him out of his seat and sat down at the table. Ali was having trouble keeping up, wondering what Freya was doing when she finally realized it.
“You’re a merchant, aren’t you? Not only that, you must be quite well off to be gambling here before noon.”
“Y-yes, indeed! My name is Nahzo, one of the big four in this town!”
Everything from the well-tailored clothes and jewels in plain view to the fact that they were drinking the best quality of wine in broad daylight, it was clear they were merchants. And not just any merchants, but quite successful ones at that. The man Freya questioned responded with an obvious desire to flaunt his success.
And what does he even mean, “big four”? Is that guy who got up also a top four?
Ali looked over with an air of annoyance at the waste of time as Freya’s eyes narrowed like a cat’s.
“If I win against you, will you do me a favor?”
“A-a favor?”
“Yes. I’d like you to give me all the money that you currently have on you,” Freya responded with a brazen request.
Ali stared at the goddess, feeling What are you even saying, lady? levels of shock and exasperation. And the man sitting across from her had exactly the same sort of look on his face. Glancing over at the other merchant, he responded with a wry smile and a look of consternation.
“E-even if it is a request from a goddess such as you, that’s a little…”
“If I lose, I’ll give you my body. For one full day, you can do as you please.”
At those words, though, the man locked up.
He could run his hands over her body. Those voluptuous breasts. That alluringly narrow waist. The man audibly gulped. In the blink of an eye, his gaze became like that of a hyena at a full feasting table.
“…Are you sure about that? It might be rude to say, but if you’re going to wager that much, then I won’t really be able to hold back.”
“I look forward to it. I mean what I said and would never tell a lie.
“I will have you listen to my favor, so I’ll make sure the wager is sufficient to bring you to the table.” When Freya put it like that, the man’s lips cracked into a desirous smile. Ali was dumbfounded by the negotiations happening before her eyes before finally cutting in frantically:
“W-wait! What do you think your body is?! Betting yourself on something like this…!”
“Oh, are you worried about me?”
“O-of course not! It’s just that I can’t sit idly by and watch such licentious behavior!” Ali stammered, turning red as she raised her voice.
Freya’s shoulders trembled a bit as she restrained a giggle at Ali’s response.
“I’m grateful for your concern, but I’m going to have to ask you to just let it go this time,” she said. “When the time comes that you want something, it’s reasonable that you would put something of equivalent value on the line to get it, right? At the moment, we don’t have anything else to offer other than ourselves. So there’s nothing to do but wager that. If I can’t at least do that, then I would be a fool for saying before that I would cover your travel expenses.”
“B-but…”
Freya held out her hand as Ali approached her, still resolutely against this bet. Reaching out her thin fingers behind the girl’s neck and pulling her close, the goddess whispered so that only Ali could hear her.
“You’re going to be the next king, aren’t you?”
“!”
“Then don’t forget this. No matter how great the policies implemented by a wise leader, no matter how skilled at war a ruler might be, no matter how tyrannical a despot might be, by laying claim to the title of king, each and every one of them will have to engage in countless gambles.”
The voice whispering in Ali’s ear threatened to melt her mind as it left her awestruck. She froze for a second before suddenly pulling away from Freya. Pushing her hand to the ear the goddess whispered into, she could feel a loathsome heat burning in her cheeks as she glared back at Freya. But at the same time, she could feel an inexplicable wave spreading through her chest.
And because of that, she did not say anything more to try to stop Freya. The admonition she had just received was like a divine revelation.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we begin?”
Freya recrossed her legs as she turned to the merchant. Her opponent nodded, looking like he might start licking his lips at any moment as he arranged the pieces on the board. Realizing something, Ali broke free of her stupor and approached Freya again.
“D-do you know the rules? The games here in the desert are different from the rest of the continent. They can be quite complex…!”
“Not in the least. It’s my first time seeing this game, so it should be fun.”
Ali came close to collapsing when she heard the carefree response. Ali had bounced through a range of different emotions the past few minutes. There was a hint of anger in her voice as she quickly explained the rules.
The game they were about to start playing was called Halvan. It was one of the most popular games in the Kaios Desert region, along the lines of the continent’s chess or the Far east’s shogi. And as Ali alluded to earlier, the strategy involved in Halvan was more complex than that of chess or shogi. Someone who had just learned the most basic of basic rules about the pieces’ movements and formations had virtually no chance of winning. At least that was what Ali thought, and the merchant on the other side of the board who had undoubtedly amused himself playing Halvan countless times before was chuckling to himself, assured of his victory.
After Freya finished attentively listening to the rules, she just said—
“I got it.”
And then, toying with one of the pieces in her hand, she declared:
“We don’t have time to waste, so let’s get this over with quickly.”
And then, about fifteen minutes later…
“Th-that’s not…?!”
In a corner of the tavern, Ali and the beastman exclaimed as the human man looked down at the board in shock. It went without saying, but it was a complete and utter victory for the goddess. She had finished it with a quick attack, not needing any pauses at all to think through a strategy.
“All right, then, I’ll be taking your wallet.”
Smiling at the wealthy merchant who was about to slump out of his seat, Freya held out her hand. The man’s eyes glanced back and forth between her hand and her silver eyes before weakly holding out his wallet. The sparse crowd in the tavern had all been drawn into the game of Halvan and was shocked that the beautiful goddess won. However, Freya seemed to have already lost interest as she left the tavern. Ali, who had been standing stock-still while watching the game, snapped out of her stupor and chased after Freya.
“Wh-what was that?! You were lying about never having played it before, right?! It was stunning how badly you trounced him…!”
“Even having descended to the mortal realm, deities are still all-knowing. There are lots of amusements here we’ve never thought of, but once we grasp the key points, we’ll win.
“In fact, I’m a little hurt you thought I wouldn’t win,” she added, as if her victory was as self-evident as the sun rising in the east.
When she put it like that, Ali did not really have any kind of follow-up. There were certainly a lot of foolish gods in the mortal realm, but this just reminded her again how deeply absurd deusdea really were.
“All right, then, we’ve collected our war funds—I mean date funds. Time to go shopping.”
“It’s not a date!”
Ali fired back immediately, but only just barely. She was getting worn down dealing with the goddess.
The two of them proceeded down the lively street, Ali getting half-dragged along by Freya. Because the bazaar in the south of Leodo had the desert ship port, it had more of a trading influence with all sorts of products gathered together. In contrast, the products gathered in the northern bazaar were more aimed at travelers and locals. Packaged rations, travel clothes, and all sorts of day-to-day necessities were on display there.
Almonds were apparently popular at the moment. A beastman with thick fur, perhaps unable to deal with the intense heat, was sitting in the shade of a building as he ate some ice cream. “Oh, so they even have ice rooms in the desert,” Freya commented. Then she laughed a little at herself as she glanced over at a stall where the ice cream vendor pulled another treat out of a magic-stone cooler.
“Move along. Don’t go buying stuff we don’t need. We need to get food and water first—”
“Ali, let’s try that kebab. I’m curious what it tastes like.”
“—Have just a little self-control!” Ali finally hit her limit and shouted at the free-spirited goddess dragging her around from stall to stall.
Her face was still deep in the shade of the hood she was wearing, but the volume of her shout betrayed the fact that she had forgotten about trying to conceal her identity.
She could not tell whether Freya recognized what she was feeling or not as the goddess simply smiled back at her. Freya was just doing as she pleased in order to experience the sorts of things that could only be experienced there in the desert.
Ali gave strict instructions for her not to move while she went to get water and food, but unsurprisingly the goddess had not listened, and when Ali got back, she was buying some other seemingly pointless things at a different shop. The purchases were various expensive magic-stone items.
“Hey! What are you buying?!”
“You were taking care of the preparations we need for the trip, right? So I decided to gather the indulgences we need so we can enjoy the trip.”
“You idiot! Traveling through the desert is difficult enough as it is! And all the more so for an outsider who did not grow up here and has no experience walking the desert!” Ali was staggered, about to fall over as her anger exploded.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re hard-headed, Ali? Worrying about what the future holds is not a bad thing necessarily, but focusing too much on it robs you children of the wealth of your lives. Optimism is the refuge of fools, but a wise man always has a vice or two to amuse themselves. That applies as much to kings as it does to anyone else.”
The goddess’s admonition was implicitly patronizing, and—though the goddess had no intention of doing so—just further antagonized Ali because it was the same as the gossip that had been spread behind her back in the palace.
For example: “The prince is too serious.”
Ali’s cheeks reddened as Freya’s words struck home, and she responded with her most defiant stance of the day.
“I—I have a duty that I must fulfill no matter what! I don’t have any time or mental capacity to spare to be enjoying myself! If you’re going to accompany me, shouldn’t you be considerate of that?!” she said in a rather childish tone, pressing the goddess to listen to her.
“I don’t want to. I have absolutely zero intention of turning this trip into some boring journey like any other,” Freya responded without a care in the world.
Her response was the very embodiment of divine freedom, and it left Ali wishing she could tear the goddess’s head off. And upon seeing the girl’s frustration, the goddess just giggled, enjoying herself. If anyone who knew the goddess could have seen her there, they would have been shocked. She was not just allowing Ali’s back talk, she even seemed to be relishing it.
“She’s quite enjoying herself today…”
“Today, too, you mean. She’s been enjoying herself ever since coming here and finding that girl.”
Among the goddess’s followers scattered around the pair and watching over Freya from the shadows, the eldest prum brother and the white elf exchanged words. Some of the followers looked dour as they watched the goddess and girl, while others made no effort to hide their distaste, but the boaz warrior alone simply observed the two, his eyes narrowing as he studied the carefree goddess’s radiant smile.
“Nggggh! Whatever! Moving on…The next thing we need is protection! Let’s find a mercenary familia to hire…!”
“We don’t need that. Let’s just go find some camels instead. We’ll need them to carry the stuff we bought anyway. If possible, I’d like to travel while riding, but do you think it will hurt my bottom?”
“Hey! I said don’t just go wherever you want!”
As her followers watched from the shadows, the goddess continued to drag the girl around at her own pace. Freya was in a good mood as she continued gathering the provisions for the trip, which led to Ali shouting in frustration time and time again.
There were four entrances to Leodo: the desert ship port constructed in the south and gates in the north, east, and west where travelers and caravans traveling on foot and by camel were entering and leaving the city at brisk rate.
Freya and Ali left from the northern gate.
“The fortress is not close enough to reach in just a day or two. There are several relay points along the way where we can rest. We’ll spend the nights there before setting out again. For today we’ll head for one of the northern oases.”
“Do as you please. I’m just along for the ride.”
Each straddling a camel loaded up with bags, the two of them set off across the sea of sand that stretched off into the horizon. And it really was like a sea of sand. So much so that camels were called the ships of the desert until literal desert ships took the stage. The dunes made an amusing sound as the camels’ legs stepped into the sand. In terms of comfort, horses were generally considered more reliable. Ali was already used to how it felt, but Freya was left furrowing her brow in quite the dignified manner, which gave Ali a brief moment of schadenfreude, but—
“Are we going to just keep moving at all times? It seems like it would be more comfortable to travel at night,” Freya asked, seemingly already bored.
“We’re not the only ones who feel that way. There are many animals and monsters in the desert that are nocturnal. Factoring in the possibility of being attacked, it’s best for us to move during the day. And more importantly, I don’t have any time to waste. I need to link back up with the army as soon as possible,” Ali explained brusquely.
That was what she said, but in the end she knew that monsters showed up when they wanted to show up, paying no heed to people’s convenience.
Ali had bought a sword for herself for self-defense at the bazaar and had previously been trained to proficiency, enough for the bare minimum of self-defense, but compared to a mercenary, her combat ability did not amount to much. If she got surrounded, it would be over in an instant.
Ali had gotten into it with the free-spirited goddess already about leaving without finding guards first. She had no idea what the deity was thinking, but in the end all that worry was for naught.
“?Gh?!”
The giant desert lizard was executed instantaneously, not even allowed death throes. The two-meder-long, four-legged carnivorous monster was laid low by a spear tip that flashed like lightning. That was the fifth one, and Ali still could not follow the action with her eyes.
The group of monsters that had appeared before them, attracted by the scent of prey, was eliminated in the blink of an eye by a catman with a silver spear.
“…So that’s what you meant about not needing guards.”
“Yes. My children are here. I had originally intended this trip to be without them, but since they decided to tag along, we might as well put them to work.” Freya nodded.
That was when Ali finally understood the goddess’s nonchalance. Of all the factions whose fame had spread around the Kaios Desert, Freya Familia was known as the strongest. With that sort of protection, Ali had indeed been foolish for trying to hire mercenaries.
“But if they’re guarding us, then they could just stay beside us…Where are they even hiding…?”
She glanced at Allen, who had appeared out of nowhere to protect them—or more specifically, to protect Freya. The catman, wearing a simple cloak over his head, just swung his spear once to clean it as if he thought everything going on was pointless. And when it came to Ali, he treated her as if she weren’t even there.
“Not very sociable, is he…So is he the only one tagging along while the others stay back in the town?”
“They’re all here. They’re a bit overprotective.”
“Wh-what? Where?! Other than him, I can’t see any of them!”
“Right beside us. They’re just maintaining a little distance so as not to be an eyesore while protecting us.”
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