Chapter 9: A Creepy-Crowly's Redemption

(This chapter was uploaded Sunday 30/April/2023 5:00 PM, time zone GMT+3)

('1), ('2), ('3), etc. means that there is some explaining for the thing in the notes at the end of the chapter.

(-------------------------) -> line break

"..." small moment of silence

"Talking"

"He-" Someone was interrupted.

'Thinking or mental conversations'

[Abilities' names, chanting and spells' names]

{System}

Don't shy from commenting on a typo or suggesting a modification to certain things that didn't make sense to you.

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.

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(Third person PoV. Nephelont is nearly 6 years and 7 months old)

"Are we really going there?" Nephelont asked.

"Yes, we're going. Now, stop asking the same question again 'n again" Welf said.

"Is it really that exciting to go there specifically?" Hestia wondered aloud.

"Of course. Of the people who read the book I told you about years back, lots of us wanted to be there, to see the legendary pub in person" Nephelont replied.

"That was not meant to be a question" Hestia was starting to get irritated. The boy was too excited that he has been loudly repeating the same thing.

"Aiz, would you be holding our son? It has not been that long since the last attempt at his life" Nephelont has been under the threat of assassination for a long while.

After Aiz openly carried him in her arms while visiting the Wheat Manor, people remembered the ongoing rumor.

A group of adventurers has been spreading the rumor that the infamous "breaker of a thousand hearts" has gotten married and had a child. The rumor also entails the identity of the father being Bell Cranel.

After some more strolling around together, trying different jagamarukun flavors every now and then (Every. Single. Day. They. Could.), people started recognizing the resemblance they have to each other and the fact that Nephelont's face was nearly a carbon copy of his father's.

The attackers were mainly Evilus members. Those who were caught took their own life. True lowlives, who targeted a "weak" child to take revenge on his parents.

"I will" Aiz agreed. Bell was going to be always on guard on the way there.

"Mommy, can you hold me in your arms?" Aiz did not consider it and immediately took him in her arms.

"Should we go, then?" Bell asked rhetorically.

As he passed by his wife and son, he ruffled his son's soft hair.

"HEY!" Nephelont brushed his father's hand off himself. "Only mommy can do this to my hair" He then layered his hands protectively over his head. "and Eucleia" He added with as small a voice as he could manage.

They marched towards the Hostess. They were silent all the way. No one wanted him to notice their shaking shoulders; they were holding their laughs since they heard his whisper.

Thankfully for them, Nephelont buried his head in his mother's shoulder. He did that a lot when he was embarrassed.

They went through the streets of Orario, vigilantly, until they reached their destination.

As Nephelont heard the creaking of the Hostess' double door, he raised his head to look at the marvelous pub before him.

It was as he heard (read) in the stories and saw in the anime. It was nicely decorated. Its decorations were not excessive either. It also had an unexpectedly relaxing atmosphere, maybe from the lack of rowdy customers tonight, or maybe because of the calm music playing in the background.

"Welcome, dear custome-NYaaAaaAAA" A waitress came to usher them in. Sadly, her infamous clumsiness was apparent as she tripped on nothing and fell to the ground face first.

"ANYA" Mia Grande, the proprietress, hollered at the cat girl. If she did not view her staff as her daughters, she might have fired such a clumsy waitress.

"Allow me to guide you to your table, white hair nya" Anya got up and acted like nothing happened.

"Before that" Nephelont looked at his mother. She knew what he wanted. She let him walk on his own. She did not know, however, what he wanted to do after that.

Oh, how they will regret letting him go. They went to the table and watched him go.

Nephelont went behind the counter. He took a calculated risk... and kicked Mia's leg as hard as he could. The people present paled at this haunting scene. Someone dared attack Mia Grande, behind her bar's counter, no less.

"Pretty gutsy, eh? Why did you do that?" Mia found him calm. 'He either doesn't know me, or he is fearless. Probably the latter. Children n' their fearlessness'

"Reasons"

"What makes you so fearless? Don't you think I will attack back?"

"Come on, you wouldn't harm a ch..." Nephelont started talking in a bratty tone, only to shut up and open his eyes owlishly when he felt himself being lifted from the scruff of his shirt.

'This much shouldn't harm an unblessed child like him, his mother is there, too. This oughta be fine' Mia thought to herself. She was going to throw him at his parents.

In his panic, he instinctively tried to escape without thinking of what the method was.

Everyone saw it. They saw the child Mia was about to launch turning to dust. The only two who did not panic were Aiz and Eucleia. They both knew he was fine still. It did not mean they were not anxious, however.

Heavy amounts of gravelstone dust started gathering around Aiz, and sensing her son there, she prepared herself. His form gathered in her lap comfortably.

"YEAH, I DID IT!" Nephelont felt victorious. He did something he wanted to without much immediate consequence.

"You're gonna pay, a lot" He did not feel so victorious anymore.

Nephelont looked at Mia like she murdered his family. Tears started to fall down his face. "You *sniff* didn't need to *sniff* to do that. YOU MEAN GIANT. YOU COULD HAVE SPLATTERED ME ON THE WALLS" Those who knew him knew that he was acting. Those from the Hostess did not know that. They thought he started crying.

"Umm, sorry?" Mia was confused. The child was so confident that she thought he was brave. 'He wasn't, huh? He's still a child, after all' She thought.

"Son, you can stop acting" It was more of a request. It was fun seeing people falling for his act, but today is a party day. Bell did not want this to hold them from having good party.

"Party pooper" Nephelont stuck his tongue out.

"Bad habit" Aiz reprimanded him. He listened to her without a word, he got his tongue back inside his mouth.

"You should've your party first. You're gonna enjoy it a lot, aren't cha'?" Mia will make him pay for it.

"We are gonna enjoy it" Nephelont smiled brightly. He wanted to see how thin he can get Mia's patience before she went out for blood, his blood.

The plates have already been diligently arranged by Ryuu and, surprisingly, Syr. Syr would normally start talking to Bell, especially in big days. It did not make since to Nephelont that she would rather work now.

"Is there any work left for the waitresses?" After the meal was finally done, Nephelont asked. It was directed at Mia.

"None. They are done once they clean the place. What do you want?" She was interested in why he asked.

"Can I have some alone time with Syr?" He tried his best to look cute and appealing. He had a personal mission he needed done.

The entire pub halted into stasis. Nobody moved and some even stopped breathing. Eucleia lost her grip on her spoon and its contents went flying everywhere once it hit the table.

Mia scrunched her face to a death glare. "You, you ain't gonna flirt with 'er usin' your age as an excuse, 're ya?" She cracked her knuckles. She will have no mercy on those who flirt with her girls, child or not.

She prepared to tickle him until he conceded, since he is a child. If he was a young adult, or older, he would have had a few too many broken bones once she was done with him. The others, however, did not catch onto her peaceful intentions. They started to think of ways to protect him from her.

Nobody, aside from Mia, noticed his face going all red and releasing steam. "WHATEVER DO YOU MEAN?! I ALREADY HAVE EUCLEIA! ALL I WANTED TO SAY IS SOMETHING CONCERNING AN INTEREST OF HER'S" That was until he started shouting in denial. He was flustered at the thought of intentionally, or openly, flirting with a woman.

He would not betray Eucleia's trust and go after some other woman if not forced. Even then, he would explain it to her first. He would not be so blatant about it.

Nephelont took in a breath to calm down. "Mommy, can you actively stop hearing what we say upstairs? It's very privy for Syr" Aiz nodded. She wondered how he figured that ability of hers out. Maybe he already developed the same ability and just assumed that she has it?

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(Syr (Freya)'s PoV)

How cute. He got embarrassed, so much that he revealed his love for another woman other than me.

He said that it was something I will find interesting that which he will tell me. I will give him a chance.

"I don't mind, mama Mia. I want to hear the young rabbit's words"

"Hmm? That will have to wait after shift is over" Victory. I can hear him and judge if it was interesting.

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(Returning to third person PoV)

Nephelont followed Syr to her room. As they sat on the edge of her bed, she pinched his cheeks.

"Shtahp" He pleaded. Syr found it adorable, so she continued.

"Freya, shtahp" She halted at her name being called.

(AN: I had to pinch my own cheeks to know how these words would sound in this situation. It hurts)

"My oh my, how did this sweet child know that it is me?" She, in a self-proclaimed act of mercy, released his cheeks so he could talk more coherently.

"Of course it would be you. Helun wouldn't be able to probe souls" He spoke as a matter of fact.

As she attempted to talk, she was cut short. "Before we sidetrack, let's go into the matter of interest I mentioned. It was meant to you as Freya, neither Syr, your social mask, nor Helun, your doppelganger, are as concerned with this as you are. The reason I wanted to talk to you is mainly your supposed friendship with miss Ryuu" She sharpened her expression as she reverted to her real self, Freya. Her divinity detected his words as the truth.

"Our friendship is a reality. Do not dare speak of it lightly. Now, speak, child" She urged the child before her to hurry and speak. She was irritated. How dare he question Ryuu's and her friendship?!

"Duly noted. As for your friendship with her, the more you hide your real self from her, the more hurt she will be. That will make her more likely to think of your relationship as more of a willful person and a person who was a toy to them. Pour your heart into it, and maybe, she will accept your apology for keeping her in the dark and lying about your identity. Miss Ryuu sees you as her dearest friend. Do not lose her. Tell her the truth today, before she accidentally hears it from somewhere else. If that happened, it would impact her mind much more negatively. Your friendship may become strained or even end for good" Nephelont ranted what he thought is good advice and waited. He awaited her answer and wanted her to tell him it.

What he said was built on the information he read on Freya in the wiki. He hoped that the things he read there were mostly true even in an alternate universe like this one.

'My... friendship with Ryuu is at stake?!' She paled in fright. She came to see Ryuu and the other waitresses as her friends, especially Ryuu.

Her poor decision was to conceal herself for too long. She could have told them her identity after they saw her Syr persona as a friend they can trust. She hid from them under the excuse of her passive charm affecting them. Thankfully, the magic she uses conceals it completely. What she did not account for, however, was the fact that she could have told them her name without undoing her spell. Her passive charm would not affect them and their view of her then.

"Wait here" She commanded, albeit she sounded weak and shaken. She was shaken at the possibility of losing the only few people who became her friends, not because of her charm, but because of what they saw her as.

She exited the room and went downstairs. The people there were stunned, seeing Syr pale and tears threatening to spell from her eyes. She gave no room for qualms to form in their minds. She immediately grabbed Ryuu and went back up.

They entered her room with Ryuu ready to order Bell to punish his son for what he did to Syr. She was surprised when Syr suddenly hugged her.

"Syr, what have come to you? Did Bell's son tell you something hurtful?" Ryuu was not sure how to handle this unusual happenstance. It was apparent in her jittery voice.

"Umom" Syr shook her head from side to side, indicating that that is not the case.

"He pointed out something I have wronged you in, our friendship. I want to correct the path we are taking now, before it is too late" Her eyes were spilling tears while her voice almost became sad cries.

"What are you talking about, Syr?" Ryuu was puzzled. 'Why is Syr crying then?'

"I have been hiding my real face and name from you all. I feared that my true self would force you to be or deter you from being my friends. But Nephelont opened my eyes to a side of our lives, one I didn't see before now. I want to be truthful to you girls. I don't want to lie to you or hide from you, implying that I couldn't trust you. I don't want to betray our friendship, only to then lose it as a result. Ryuu-"

"Shhh. I... will take some time to sort out my feelings about this. Thanks for telling me the truth yourself. It makes me happy. Take your time and tell us at your own pace" Ryuu, as confused and uncertain as she started to feel, some part of her wanted to keep this friendship with Syr. Since Syr came clean herself, as opposed to being forced to do it, she can continue to be friends with her.

"Before that, I can help you reveal your secret much more safely" Nephelont, who was hiding under the bed and lowering his breathing sounds this entire time, said. "It'll be in a way that what you feared would not be as bad. The others might display different levels of irritation among other emotions. But that is something that's bound to happen someday. You better take the brunt now, before it blows out of proportion and goes out of control. Oh, by the way, when you reveal your identity to them, continue acting like you did when you were disguised as Syr. It would make sense, since Syr is essentially another you" He proceeded to bring hope to Syr (Freya) and at the same time stun Ryuu, who did not notice him, somehow. Maybe she was too absorbed in Syr's words that she has never seen him or heard his movements or breathing.

"Did you see or hear all-"

"Yes, I saw and heard everything you two did or said after entering this room" Ryuu got a case of pink cheeks. It was hard to notice when all they had in the room was a single magic stone lamp that did not illuminate the place enough.

"How- Why did you stay here?" Ryuu was about to ask him how he was not noticed by her. She quickly corrected herself and asked him why he stayed what he said. She narrowed her eyes a little bit.

"Syr wanted me to stay here. And if you knew that I was here, that might've influenced your answer to her. That's why I hid under the bed" Nephelont explained.

"Anyway, Syr, look my way for a bit" Syr started to calm herself down and slowly detached herself from Ryuu. "What do you think about my offer?"

"Can you really help me?" She was uncertain if he could really help or if he was bluffing. She did not trust her lie detection ability this time because of how absurd his suggestion sounded.

"I'm part mortal. You can just tell if the mortal me lied. That ought to tell you If I really could help you. My answer to such a question is yes, I can help you. Just swear to not reveal my method to anyone and we're good to go"

"I swear on my ichor," Syr (Freya) started wiping her tears away, filled with determination to tell them tonight. She wanted to do it while she was filled with this weird unintentional bravado. "I swear to keep closed lips on your secret" She decided to trust him and her ability to detect lies, of which she detected none in his words.

"Fuu, hahaha, good, good. That's the spirit" Nephelont started laughing mirthfully. It was cause for joy when he saw someone be truthful about who they are with their friends.

"Miss Leon, if possible, I ask of you, take me to my mother when I faint. Knowing them, they wouldn't appreciate the lady" he gestured with his head towards Syr (Freya) "to hold me in her arms"

Nephelont did not wait for Ryuu's answer and started. 'System, help me create an Arcanum spell that suppresses the natural passives of the caster's divinity. I want you to make it the easiest to pass on, with only a simple physical touch and intent from me specifically. We don't need to see the chaos that would ensue if every god could use this'

{... Roger}

Nephelont started visualizing how the spell worked in his mind. As a response to making a spell related to it, his divinity flashed in front of the two occupants of the room. Both did not know how to react to that.

Freya stared, wide-eyed. She did not think that he was a divine like herself, knowing who the parents are. She was certain for another reason though, he did not have the aura that the deities naturally permeated, that was up until he did this unknown thing. As for Ryuu, 'Why does Bell's son have any divinity?!' she just blanked out.

"Lady, be quick. I'll pass out soon. YOU are running out of time here" Nephelont urged Freya to hold his hand so he could pass this new spell to her. His voice was nearly muted.

Freya stretched her hand out and touched his in a hurry. Once she did, the spell flowed into her head.

"This new spell has a semi-permanent effect that seals away the passive abilities of your Arcanum. Its effect's lifting condition is the active use of one of the passives it seals off ('1). The chant is [Suppress passive divinity, Divine Concealment]. Use it *yawn* well" Nephelont was on the verge of falling to sleep's sweet clutches as he talked. He thankfully finished talking before passing out.

"[Suppress passive divinity, Divine Concealment]. Thank you. Truly, thank you" Freya immediately used her newly learned spell. She thanked him for this great favor he has done for her. It was a favor great enough to bring her to tears, those of relief and happiness.

She left Nephelont slumped against a wall and came back to Ryuu.

"As you can see, my real identity is Freya. Syr was the me who could mask her charm behind a spell and a different identity" Freya said, as she finally lifted her spell for one last time.

"I saw you as a dear friend of mine. I treasure this bond and want to keep it. Will you... still accept me? Even after lying to your face for years on end?" She was becoming hesitant. Her bravado started crumbling. "Do I still... have a chance?" She was desperate for an answer.

"Will you tell the others?" Ryuu herself was unsure.

"I am planning to tell them tonight" Freya was looking down, afraid of seeing Ryuu's face. Even though Freya was physically taller than Ryuu ('2), she felt smaller than her at the moment. She was grabbing the sides of her Hostess outfit.

"You are still my friend, Sy- No. you are still my friend, Freya" Ryuu has sprung to action before her thoughts caught up. When she came to, she was embracing Freya.

She thought to herself 'I think... we can keep our friendship going. Although, I will keep on calling you how I am used to' while a small smile formed on her face.

"We should go tell them, before my boldness disappears" Freya looked at Nephelont's slumped form. "I know what he said, but I want to be the one taking him to the sword princess. Can I?" She looked back at Ryuu.

"... I do not know" Ryuu thought it over but reached no answer. She leaned down to take him. She then looked at Freya and handed him to her. "It should be fine for you to take him there"

"Umm" Freya smiled. She carefully cradled the boy she became indebted to.

When they came downstairs, Freya did not use her disguise as Syr a cover anymore. She came down uncovered for everyone to see.

"Huh?! Why are you here, Freya? Wearing a waitress' clothes of all things? Is it some new fashion of y-"

"Hestia, this is not the time" Freya walked right towards Aiz, who was bewildered. 'Why is goddess Freya carrying my son?' She received him from the goddess.

"Mia, I come clean today"

"Finally, huh? Tis' about time you did"

"What?! Why does Syr look like lady Freya all of a sudden?!" Anya got disoriented when she saw Freya but smelled Syr. She opted to believe that the one in front of them now is Syr based on her smell. Anya thought that she might need some new pair of glasses to correct her vision.

"Can anyone hold Anya in place for a moment? I have something of utmost importance to say" Lunoire trapped Anya in her chair in a choke hold.

Anya struggled to breach free of the hold to no avail. "Air, breath" Anya started slapping lightly at Lunoire's forearms. She wanted to breathe. It was becoming painful as air was not allowed in.

"Can someone call for both May and Chloe? They deserve to hear this too" Freya requested.

"?" Lunoire raised an eyebrow in question.

"Yes, Lunoire. They need to be told this with everyone else"

"Anya, go call Chloe. I will get May. Syr, you have a lot of explaining to do" Lunoire called her co-worker with the same name she knew her with moments ago.

"Gladly" Freya gave a small, but definitely happy, smile. It was comforting when Lunoire chose to call her by the same name as before. It made it clear that she was willing to accept her.

"I thought I would not be let free? Did they already go?" Chloe came out from her room. When she saw Bell, a dangerous glint sparked in her eyes. It was amplified further when she spotted Nephelont.

*Crack* The sound of wood breaking echoed in the pub.

Nobody knew from where Anya got the broom. They knew she broke it on Chloe's head to protect a child's innocence. Why she chose that extreme solution, however, nobody knew.

"NYA. ANYA, THAT HURTS" Chloe was so surprised that her verbal tick came back.

"Don't look at little white hair like that nya. He is too innocent for your tendencies nya" Anya nodded sagely while saying so. She thought that her actions were fine and justified as they are. They were, although they were also extreme.

"ENOUGH, YOU TWO" Both got chills. "Sit down an' lis'en to 'er" Mia pointed her thumb towards the undisguised Freya, who was laughing at her friends' antics.

"Bell Cranel, Ais Wallenstein, thank you for bringing this child to this world" Freya bowed her head down in appreciation for their child's help.

While her head was lowered, she did not see their reaction to the esteemed goddess of beauty, Freya, bowing down to a pair of mortals to thank them. The reactions the occupants of the pub had ranged between surprise, amazement, wonder, puzzlement, shock, being weirded out or a mix of the mentioned emotions. The common thing between them is that they were left in utter silence.

"Goddess Freya, please, raise your head" Bell was the first to recover. He could not accept a deity bowing their head to him. They were higher beings, after all.

"Thanks again. Your son helped me immensely in a matter I could have ruined if left on my own" Freya said as she raised her head.

"I want to, first and foremost, apologize to all my friends and colleagues who I hid my true self from. I do not think that it was excuse enough to hide myself from you, but I did it to prevent my passive charm from affecting the way you act around me. Now that Nephelont helped me hold that at bay without me hiding behind my spell, I will not hide my real self anymore. I will continue to act the same way I did before this as Syr ('3) is another part of who I am. It would not do to deny myself by my own hands. You can call me in either way at your leisure" She started calm and collected. As she talked, her voice showed the things she wanted to hide, mostly tension.

The staff of the Hostess came together around her, forming a circle.

"NYAAAAAA! SYR IS SYR NO MATTER THE APPEARANCE!" Anya shouted frustration. She did not understand most of what happened around her for now. But if one thing was certain, it was that she will forgive Syr for her mistakes and would treat her like before.

"Just don't do it again" Lunoire said calmly. She was willing to accept the fact as is and see how the goddess repents. She still saw her a friend of hers.

"You will be on cleaning duty for a number of weeks without any breaks or weekends" Mia said her piece and went back to listening to the other girls. She already knew who Syr was under the disguise.

"You'll have ta learn how ta cook in front of me" Chloe was going directly for revenge. Her revenge might end up saving someone's stomach in the long run, however.

"Chloe, you don't know how to cook" Ryuu said while interlocking her fingers with Freya's. She may have gotten closer to Freya without realizing it.

"That hurts my pride" Chloe clutched both hands over her heart in mock hurt in her voice.

"Since all of us seem to forgive her, can I get my usual head pat?" May asked. She was embarrassed but it was paramount for her to confirm this. She would not be able to focus on her cooking if her mind longed for head pats that were not there anymore.

"Oh?! May, I didn' 'now that you liked the head pats?!" Mia turned towards Freya. "Hey, Syr, keep fawning over her. I don' want my chief to lose efficiency jus' 'cause she lacked affection" Mia covered her mouth with her hand while smiling brightly at the scene before her.

May was cutely blushing and expectant of the incoming affection, while Freya was giggling at her.

"Thank you for accepting me" Freya formed a smile more genuine than any she had before.

"Father, don't break Freya's heart with refusal of her feelings or a long wait that may never end" Nephelont murmured in his sleep. He was shuffling in his mother's lap and said that in his dreams. Unluckily for Syr, she was truly revealed to them.

...

...

...

Syr's face was frozen in fear. She was exposed in front of her love interest's wife.

"Knowing him, he must have been sure about it" Bell said.

"You will explain" A forceful Aiz shoved Nephelont towards Bell without any warning and promptly dragged the frozen Syr upstairs.

The occupants of the pub were not done with the shocks tonight, it seems.

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(In Syr's room)

"Talk" Aiz's authority showed here. She normally did not act the part, but when she did, she was not to be refused.

"I admit. I have feelings for Bell. You do not need to care about me, though. I decided to wait for his next reincarnation. He is all yours in this life" Syr tried her best to push a disaster away from her. She did not know that the disaster she mistakenly thought would come was never to be.

"What do you see in him?" Aiz needed to confirm things before giving her verdict.

"I came to see Odr in him. That is the name given to the person I chose as my husband. I saw how he was happy being with you, so I decided to give up for now" Syr answered.

They spoke further on things private for the two ladies.

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"What did ya talk 'bout up the'e?" Mia asked.

"It's a secret" Syr put her index finger in front of her mouth to emphasize the secrecy of the matter.

"Oh?! Keepin' secrets, 're we?" Syr knew what was coming after, she mentally prepared herself.

"What'll you do with the customers, though?" Mia asked. People's reactions to this big reveal are not guaranteed, especially the rowdy adventurers who come to this pub. It would be for the better if they never knew. There is no obligation on Syr's part to tell everyone about herself.

"As I said before, mama Mia. I am as much Syr Flova as I am Freya. I will let everyone know it. The only reason I hesitated to tell my friends at first was that I feared to harm them. Now that I told them safely, nobody's opinion matters to me anymore" Syr's smile turned devious. "If they had a problem with it, they could talk to Bell"

"Eh?!! Why me?!" Bell was caught off guard when she mentioned him rather than Ottar. Ottar was strong enough to deal with almost anything or anyone that could pose a threat to her.

"You are friends" Aiz reminded him gently.

"Thank you, Bell. You agreeing to protect me calls for a reward. I should cook something for you" Her eyes shimmered and sparkled. She was going to make him a hearty meal tomorrow.

Everyone, from Bell, currently the strongest adventurer, to those unblessed, they all shuddered remembering the meals she cooked.

"You, come here" May's voice was calmer than usual.

"Yes, my lady May" Syr took on the role of May's subordinate.

"I have had enough with your mockery on the art of cooking. You will have to learn how to do it properly before serving food to anyone" May may not have been an adventurer, but she was one convincing young lady when it came to the kitchen. She will not accept someone brewing disasters right in front of her, especially in HER kitchen.

"YES, MILADY!" Syr performed a militaristic salute towards May.

"Hmph" May huffed in satisfaction. She was going to make a better cook out of her friend and coworker.

The rest laughed at the scene. It was the beginning of a long-lasting friendship that was going to get strained previously. It was rescued by a young man that was going to be forever remembered favorably by the goddess he helped.

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End of chapter.

'1: [Divine Concealment]:

Yeah, I know it is creative of me to name it that.

So, let me explain it in more details.

[Divine Concealment]'s only job is to seal away the passive effects of the caster's Arcanum. The passive charm of goddess's of beauty being one such passive is a fact in this universe.

In the og DanMachi, goddess's of beauty like Freya had a natural charm to them, other than their beauty. They could turn off that charm at will.

In this AU, they had an especially strong charm that acts on its own. They cannot reel it in by force, either. If mortals spend more than enough time with them, the charm will either permanently warp their minds or they will become resistant to it. The exceptions are their familia members, who would not lose their minds no matter how long they staid beside their goddess's. They will still get their minds changed as time passes no matter how resistant they are, though.

This ability was designed so it could force that into a hibernation-like state. It requires Arcanum to work rather than mind, seeing as mind is not an efficient suppressant of Arcanum.

'2: Ryuu's and Freya's height difference:

According to the wiki, Freya is 5 cm (~ 1.97 inches) taller than Ryuu.

'3: Freya's alter names:

Real-life Freyja had multiple names, according to the wiki.

The list of names:

- Gef.

- Mardöll.

- Skjálf.

- Thröng.

- Thrungva.

- Valfreyja.

- Vanadís.

- Hörn, which was adopted as Horn or Helun, one of Freya's familia members. Yes, Hörn is another name for real-life Freyja.

Guess the last one. You would not get it. Did you guess it?

- Sýr.

While reading the the DanMachi wiki page on Freya, I reached the section that spoiled me on what happened to her friendship with the Hostess's staff. I wanted to include an element of my own touch, as a part of this AU, and the result was the thing you read above.

You see, Freya, as Omori wrote her, allowed for her selfish tendencies to take control of her actions. That resulted in many of the problems we saw in the og DanMachi.

This Freya here did not allow her selfish tendencies to take control, and as a result, her reaction to Bell falling in love was to keep helping him get stronger and waiting for his next reincarnation to have him as she pleases. She reasoned with herself that she did not want to trouble such a dedicated man with the idea of having more than one partner. She did not want a man who may never look her way because of his undivided love for another woman. That problem would have been solved on its own after he reincarnates and his memories get erased. Hence, her resolve to await his next reincarnation.

If this chapter felt forced, tell me how I can make it better. I do not know how things like emotions work and tend to not know how the person I am looking at feels. That also sadly applies to when I read how a character behaves. I just do not understand human behavior as a whole.

Yeah, a human that does not understand how humans think and feel. That's gotta be spiraling down to something later.

I may be able to understand human thinking after trying to construct the personalities of my OC's and imitate the already existing characters' for some more time.

For Nephelont, I want to make my best impression of him being a "Mama's boy". He is attached to his mother and seeks her affections all the time. When his mother says anything, he is more likely to do it without a much thought and then prefers to not take anything from her in return. He may think about the morality and the legality of his mother's requests and orders and discuss them with her but he would never refuse her for no good reason. If he does not like something? He still does it if his mother wants him to do it, after considering the above conditions. He never wants her to get hurt, neither emotionally nor physically. Gods forbid someone insults her when he is in earshot. I want him to look and act the part, to stay true to that character trait.

Well, it is time I addressed a matter of importance.

Some of you might see both Nephelont and Eucleia acting in an undecided manner, their personalities are not stable and keep on changing. Simple. Children are more susceptible to mentally changing with their experiences.

That, and:

"The brain finishes developing and maturing in the mid-to-late 20s. The part of the brain behind the forehead, called the prefrontal cortex, is one of the last parts to mature. This area is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and making good decisions."

That is one reason why both of them act like children. Nephelont returned to being a child. That was partially since his soul influences his actions sometimes while his brain, the most important part of making a decision, is still developing from 0 until maturity at mid-to-late 20s. Nephelont still has the brain capacity of a child. I used "brain" here rather than "mental" to emphasize his physical lump of nerves, his brain.

Eucleia, on top of not having a fully developed brain, still did not experience puberty, which may be a sharp turning point for a teenager's personality. I know someone who, upon experiencing puberty, transformed from one of the sweetest creatures in existence to one menace you do not want to know at all. There are others who may become better, too. It all depends on how well the people around the teenager support them. The better support they have, the better personalities they develop. Although I can assure you, Eucleia will preserve her good traits as her personality should radiate with sunshine and rainbows from how good I want to show her.

One last thing for this note. I originally wanted to make a huge timeskip to when Nephelont is going through his 10th year. Problem is, I would skip too much of his training and skip too many important stuff in doing so.

Anyway, here I say my goodbyes to you.

Stay well, people.

Goodbye.