Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

She looked up.

I saw it through my tear-stained eyes.

I saw lilac petals drifting under the crimson sky.

Her "first love" has faded away.

Volume 18 Final Chapter: Double Cast

—Have you figured out what your "wish" is?

The "voice" that keeps echoing in my heart, troubling me, asks a question.

The girl (Seele) who should have been buried long ago asked this question, and I no longer use the daughter of the gods (Herren) as an excuse, but frankly admit it.

What I yearn for is not "love," but rather—"longing."

For a long time, my heart has been tormented by the longing that I cannot have because I am the "Goddess of Love".

My "beauty" can charm everyone.

Those who are devoted to me will give me everything they have if I ask for anything, and will obediently submit even with tears in their eyes if I refuse them.

This is "love," a "love" distorted to the point of near selflessness.

No one in the world, regardless of gender, will harbor any "love" for me, and vice versa.

Who would develop romantic feelings for someone who is practically subservient to them?

Whether it's the daughter of the gods (Herren), the golden daughter (Haise), or the kin (Otto and others), even though these pure yet strong children who yearn to become more beautiful are willing to do anything for me, and I find them both adorable and endearing, it is ultimately "love".

Everyone would say that "love" is more sublime and more fulfilling to the soul than "longing".

That statement is not wrong. Just as I once lost my mind, there is nothing more unstable in the world than "love".

That being said, there is no other emotion in the world that can color the world like it.

Love is like fertile land, while longing is like the flower field I always end up in.

Although the flower field cannot nourish or feed people, nor can people cultivate or till the soil for it, and cannot forge a relationship of mutual support forever; yet when it blooms in full glory, it paints the world with more vibrant colors than anything else.

I certainly don't want the so-called eternity, but rather to be a fleeting flower.

...No, let me make things clear.

I'm tired of both loving and being loved.

Therefore, I began to yearn for "love".

"Infatuation" is a more immature and unstable emotion than "love," and it can make a person feel anxious, like an innocent little girl.

Later—a chance encounter with "love" truly changed my world.

"Infatuation" is no longer a dream for me; it has transformed into a more tangible "wish."

The only person I can admire is the boy (Bell).

Whether in the mortal realm or the heavenly realm, only the boy (Bell) can grant my wish.

I was overjoyed when I learned that "charm" couldn't work on the boy (Bell) who attracted me.

I firmly believe that after experiencing "admiration" with the boy (Bell), I might be able to come into contact with "love" that I don't know about.

However, the fact that "charm" could not affect the boy (Bell), though I didn't want to believe it, meant that he had someone else he admired, and that his longing was so strong that it could not be swayed by my power.

How ironic.

I can only feel "love" for objects that I cannot have.

This means I will eventually experience heartbreak (the end). And because what I pursue is "love," I am destined to face a breakdown.

How could there be such an excessive goddess in the world?

I really am a difficult woman who loves to pester and cling—and I can only admit it now after he saved (hurt) me.

My "wish" is... a "first love" that I can never have.

Is that all?

...?

What else is there besides that?

When I frowned and asked the girl (Seele) who asked the question again, I heard a stunned sigh.

—You're really hard to deal with. You're so reluctant to let go of your pride, pretending to be oblivious. At this point, you're practically sick.

The sigh turned into the voice of a goddess (someone).

Strange? I am the goddess (Freya), and the role-playing of both the girl (Seele) and the goddess (Freya) by one person also started because of me.

At this point, I finally noticed.

Who is "that person" who plays the girl (Seele) and the goddess (Freya)?

—The boy (Bell) once told me, please tell him "the real me".

This was the request he made to me when I proposed hosting a war game.

"The real me"?

Who is the "real me"...?

—Your current attitude is the answer, isn't it?

A field of flowers stretches out.

The sky turned to dusk, and the earth was covered by a field of blooming red flowers.

No longer do I shed gold from my eyes, but instead, I slump down in the sea of ​​flowers, my eyes flowing with a clear liquid.

A gentle breeze caressed my light gray hair.

I opened my pale gray eyes wide as I finally arrived at the flower field.

—At least don't leave any regrets.

The "goddess" turned and left.

The "neck yoke" has disappeared.

Since that day, I have never looked at what happens after I arrive at my fantasy (dream).

*

The first-ever "faction war" – ultimately won by the "faction alliance".

The news of Freya Familia's defeat caused an uproar around the world.

The map of power has been completely rewritten, the original balance has been broken, and a new "hero" is about to be born—this is the rumor circulating throughout the lower realm, causing great turmoil. Will it be the melody of the gale or the roar of the clock tower that will squeeze into the list of contemporary "hero candidates"? The feat of defeating the strongest faction (the Freya Familia) has aroused countless speculations, and even ordinary mortals who are not gods firmly believe that "the wheels of time are about to turn."

As for Orario, the center of the uproar, it was naturally shocked beyond measure.

The adventurers, returning triumphantly from the "Ruins of Osa City," were greeted with enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. The labyrinth city was so lively that even the young goddess (Hestia) was almost overwhelmed. People not only lined the streets to welcome them but also spontaneously organized a celebration.

The people praised it loudly.

The adventurers were in high spirits.

The gods greeted them with enthusiastic applause.

Even after the competition ended, the afterglow of the fierce battle remained, and the city was filled with jubilation day and night.

It wasn't until the morning of the third day after the war game ended that the bustling city, which had been noisy for days, finally quieted down as if it had closed its eyes and fallen asleep.

Why did we lose?

Freya muttered to herself as she poked at the empty wine glass with her slender fingers.

Before dawn, the goddess sat at the empty bar counter of a tavern, tilting her head like a child. Mia, who was forced to drink with her, couldn't help but sigh.

"Is that even a question? You only have yourself to blame for making enemies everywhere you go."

"Even so, I still think we can win. Even if Loki and the others join the battle, depending on the tactics, we should still be able to handle it. In the end, at least I should be able to get Bell."

Despite Freya's utter disbelief at the result, Mia still wore a utterly dumbfounded expression.

"There are probably a lot of people who want to protect that kid."

"Is that all?"

"...And then there's probably that inexplicable, whimsical relationship with those busybodies who are infatuated with you, right?"

"I see." Freya said, then closed her lips tightly and stopped poking the empty glass with her finger.

To be honest, even with what Hedin and Helen did, Freya still believes she won't lose. However, since she started the factional war with "love," she might also suffer defeat because of "love."

It was because of the intertwining of various kinds of "love," will, and longing that the boys were able to grasp that less than one in ten thousand chance of winning—this was Freya's conclusion.

"Miya, this drink is on you, okay?"

"Stop joking, you silly goddess. Don't you realize you're the one who woke me up this morning? You'd better settle this score too."

"But I have nothing left now."

After this war game ended, the Freya Familia, which lost in the "Faction War," was disbanded.

Hestia, who was regarded as the leader of the faction alliance, did not make such a request. It was purely because Freya and her group were too arrogant in their actions, including the matter of "closing the world". Moreover, after their actions were exposed, they even demanded to hold a war game. Many people believed that Freya could no longer be allowed to do whatever she wanted. Therefore, the goddesses who participated in the war proposed to separate Freya from the family that enabled her to cause trouble, so that she would have no more confidants to rely on.

Although the male gods who acted as "resonators" and the children who worshipped Freya like "believers" immediately protested, they were silenced by the words, "Shut up, all of you!" Compared to those who were watching the battle, the winners of this war naturally had a greater say, and the people were also filled with fear of the goddess's power, so no one stepped forward to dissuade them.

Upon learning of Freya and the others' defeat, Lloydman, whose face turned pale and then purple with sympathy, initially tried to help them, but ultimately failed to overturn the winners' demands and public opinion. Even within the guild, he was not immune to being stabbed in the back. Forced by circumstances, he had no choice but to follow the tradition passed down through generations in Orario, declaring the goddess (Freya) exiled in the name of the guild headquarters, but strictly forbidding the city's fighting force—the valiant warriors—from leaving the city.

"How could Otto and the others possibly obey anything other than the goddess Freya?! Doing so would only repeat the mistakes of Apollo!!"

"That's what the incredibly haggard 'Guild Pig' said."

Meanwhile, the Freya Familia's vast assets were confiscated. Except for "Battlefield," which was placed under the guild's management, the rest was divided equally among the winning Familias—those that participated in the faction alliance. The Ogmar Familias and other Familias, who had been as depressed as if in mourning before the war, were now overjoyed. This situation was certainly unpleasant for the losers (Freya).

Freya had assumed that if she were defeated, she would be immediately sent back to the Celestial Realm, and she felt that such a punishment was lenient—

"Whether it's humiliation, shame, or disgrace, we must make Freya lose all face."

But the reason for doing this is probably due to the idea of ​​the Goddess Alliance.

The entire lower realm knew that she had become a fallen queen in name only.

Now that the [Family] has disbanded, the criticism and ridicule directed at her may continue for centuries to come.

The guild's explanation was that despite Freya's many atrocities, she had not been sent back to Celestial Realm because of her significant contributions to Orario. However, she had long suspected that this was the result of some "good-natured" people helping to mediate.

"After all, it was me who asked to gamble everything... so there's nothing I can do about losing everything, right?"

Freya's only remaining possessions are the clothes she's wearing.

There were no followers. She announced to her clan, "Don't follow me. Strive to become heroes here." Led by Haze, the children who had never disobeyed Freya before insisted on disobeying her orders. However, when she said, "If anyone doesn't behave, I'll use 'Charm' to keep you in Orario," many of them collapsed to the ground in tears. Only Helen, after waking up, seemed to feel that she had no right to grieve, so she lowered her head, showing a forced expression of grief.

Therefore, Lloydman doesn't need to worry about this to the point of having a stomachache.

No one died in this war game.

Freya has given strict orders to her clan members not to kill their opponents.

After all, she had started the war based on ugly selfishness, and she would feel uneasy if she accidentally killed someone else's child. More importantly, she felt that Bell would never be one of her people if someone died.

Conversely, even if the factional alliance came with murderous intent, she firmly believed that Otto and the others, along with Haci and his group of comforting gray-faced individuals, would still be able to keep their actions within reasonable limits and not take lives.

"...In that case, let's just work and earn money as usual."

"No way! Everyone's demanding that I, this troublesome and capricious goddess, get out of Orario by today."

Mia stared at Freya, who was getting up from her seat, with a disdainful look.

Judging from her eyes, she seemed to be trying hard to avoid showing her emotions.

"...A little goddess once accidentally let slip that although the infatuated goddess couldn't stay, at least a 'city girl' could be given a break."

Upon hearing this, Freya stopped at the entrance of the tavern.

"...No. That would be too pathetic."

However, Freya, who managed a forced smile, did not change her mind.

"So... goodbye, Mia. I had a great time these past few days."

As Freya, dressed in a long robe, pulled up her hood and left, a heavy sigh came from behind her.

Freya pretended not to hear and strolled to the main road on the east side.