Chapter 743

At the Benevolent Mistress Tavern, the poster girl was preparing for the noon business hours when hurried footsteps came from outside.

The half-hanging tavern door was pushed open, and an elf wearing yellow-green clothes walked briskly into the shop, like a green leaf blown by a gale.

"Xier, something terrible has happened!"

Upon seeing Xier holding a broom and cleaning the shop's hygiene, Ryu spoke with some anxiety.

"Eh, Ryu, weren't you going to find Broly to do morning training together? What happened?"

Freyya Xier looked at this friend with some curiosity; from the other's somewhat fluttering soul, she could tell the other was rather urgent.

"Huu—"

The elf shop assistant took a deep breath in and let it out, and only after calming her breath did she tell her friend what had happened in the morning.

"Huh, Mr. Broly can actually transform into Miss Ais's appearance, that's quite rare..."

Freyya Xier was somewhat surprised; transformation magic was not unfamiliar to her, although hers should be called human-transformation magic, a divine art gained through a promise with a child.

"Ah, Xier, that's not the point. The point is that the Nine Magic Princesses of the Loki Familia, on the grounds of better training the Sword Princess, arranged for the Sword Princess, the Thousand Elf, and others to go reside at Hearth Manor."

Ryu directly emphasized the key point.

"But, what of it?"

Hearing this, Xier merely tilted her head, expressing her confusion at her friend's anxious state.

"Uh, Xier, you like Broly, right?"

"Mhm, I like him, so what?"

"Then didn't I just say that the girls on the Loki Familia side are all a bit too intimate with him, eyeing him covetously?"

"Mhm, you said it."

"Then how can you remain so calm knowing that several youthful, lovely girls are about to live under the same roof as the opposite sex you like?"

Ryu was very confused; she herself had never been in love, but she had seen people in love.

And which of those people didn't guard their partner tightly? Whenever an extra threatening person appeared in a romance, mutual hissing was possible, even directly brawling and tearing into each other — such situations were not uncommon.

But her friend Xier, after hearing her explanation, still wore an expression of not being nervous in the slightest, making her suspect whether her friend truly had feelings for the Saiyan boy.

【That's because I know the reason why his soul shines so captivatingly...】

Freyya answered in her heart.

Children in the Lower World, when just born, have souls like blank white paper; as time passes, children gradually grow, and due to different life experiences, they begin to dot different colors onto their own souls.

Some children's souls dot out ordinary colors, but some can dot out extremely beautiful colors.

Freyya generally calls souls possessing extremely beautiful colors 【Gems】, and souls that might become beautiful colors 【Rough Stones】.

As the Beauty Goddess who reveres beauty, her favorite thing to do is to polish 【Rough Stones】 with potential into 【Gems】.

Since a soul's color is generally determined by a person's experiences, personality, and qualities, the polishing method also varies from person to person.

For instance, her children — some shine brilliantly when protecting her (Ottar), some only blaze to the extreme when protecting their own country and people.

Freyya's thoughts drifted to three months ago, to that Restoration Prince she met during a willful outing; that girl who succeeded the throne to become King for her country and people possessed a soul of shining color.

And the brilliance of the other's soul was because the other bore the responsibility of a King, and also had the awareness to fulfill the duty of a King.

And Broly's soul — after hearing the Saiyan boy's story, Freyya knew the reason his soul was brilliant was because, in different worlds, he had once encountered different girls; those were the colors left on his soul by the girls he met in those places, painting upon it.

But Broly's soul canvas still has a large blank area; he is both a Gem and a Rough Stone that can still yield more beauty.

In the process of continuing to encounter different girls, continuing to pursue other girls' happiness, his soul can become even more beautiful and brilliant; for such a perfect matter, the Beauty Goddess naturally would not refuse.

【But, conversely, if one stops the child from continuing to do things that make his soul beautiful and brilliant, it might cause his soul to become ordinary and unremarkable...】

For reasons like this, Freyya couldn't bring herself to be frank with her elf friend.

"That's because, I believe in Broly!"

Thoughts turning in her heart, Freyya Xier gave a barely passable reason.

"Ah, Xier, your trust is a bit too naive. Today I saw at the Loki Familia that Broly that guy doesn't mind at all being hugged and nuzzled by other women."

Ryu only felt her friend's trust in the Saiyan boy was wasted, but this also had to do with the two not yet having concretely established a clear male-female relationship.

"Then Ryu, what do you say I should do?"

Freyya Xier cooperatively showed a worried look and asked the elf.

"If you truly like Broly, then establish a clear male-female relationship with him as soon as possible; only after having this relationship can you justifiably demand that he not let other women randomly hug and nuzzle his face."

Ryu seriously gave her advice.

"But, I like him, that's true, but I haven't decided on establishing a relationship with Broly yet."

The poster girl said with some difficulty.

【He hasn't seen my Goddess true form yet; I still want him to see my Goddess true form, and then recognize Xier's identity...】

Freyya pursues fated encounters; she feels that like Helen, being recognized by the boy as having similarities to Xier at that moment, that encounter with the boy would be the true fated encounter.

"?"

However, Ryu cannot read minds, so when Xier said 【haven't decided yet】, this elf's face showed a dazed expression.

What does it mean to like someone yet not have decided on establishing a relationship? What difference is there from a bad woman stringing someone along as a spare?

An honest heart, the justice soul of the Astraea Familia, made Ryu form this evaluation of the human girl before her.

However, Xier is also her life-saving benefactor; Ryu instinctively didn't want to have any negative evaluation of the girl, so her complexion became somewhat complex and colorful.

"Then aren't you afraid someone else will snatch away the person you like? At that time, if Mr. Broly establishes a clear relationship with someone else, it'll be too late for regrets?!"

Ryu couldn't help but remind her.

"Mhm, Ryu, you're right..."

【If this is built on the premise that a person can only have one partner...】

"Then..."

Just as Ryu was preparing to urge her friend to go to Hearth Manor right now, to establish a relationship with the Saiyan boy in advance.

*Smack—*

The quest board girl stepped ahead, pressing her palms together and bowing toward her in a pleading posture.

"So, Ryuu, can I ask you a favor?"

"Ah, what is it, asking me a favor at a time like this?"

"I want you to move into Hearth Manor as well, and keep an eye on Mr. Broly's situation for me before I truly make my decision."

"Hah?!"

"Is that okay?"

"No no no, Syr, what does this have to do with me? Why should I go live at Hearth Manor?"

【Because you're also one of the girls Broly wants to encounter~】

"That's because you're the friend I trust the most."

The quest board girl raised her head, looking at the elf with a completely sincere expression.

"Ah, even if you say that, what reason do I have to move into someone else's Familia residence so openly?"

"That's simple. You can just use Miss Ais's reason — say you've hit a bottleneck in your skills and want the other party to help you break through your swordsmanship bottleneck."

"Ah, but Broly is a swordsmanship master. A lie like that could never deceive him."

Ryuu hurriedly waved her hands. Back at the Loki Familia training grounds this morning, the Saiyan boy had already evaluated her swordsmanship.

"But the only person I can ask is you, Ryuu. You don't want to see the boy I like get stolen away by someone else and end up living his whole life all alone, do you?"

"Then you go make it official with him!"

Even the Gale Wind Elf couldn't help but shout at this point.

"But I haven't decided yet. If I change my mind later, it would hurt the other person. I don't want to hurt anyone."

The quest board girl spoke with a kind-hearted look.

【So you're hurting me instead, making me charge in on your behalf?!】

"That's not right. Why do I have to go live at Hearth Manor? You go live at Hearth Manor yourself and watch Broly yourself — isn't that the same?"

Ryuu thought of a blind spot and immediately spoke up.

"Ah, that's because I have deep ties with the Freya Familia. With my older sister serving as a maid beside Lady Freya, as the younger sister I can't just blatantly move into another Familia's residence. It's a Freya Familia rule. I don't want my sister to be driven away by the Goddess because of my business……"

However, Syr just patched it over directly. As for whether the Freya Familia actually has that rule — hah, isn't that entirely up to her, the Goddess herself?

"Uh……"

"Please, Ryuu, just help me out~"

The quest board girl took the elf's hands and shook them with a spoiled, wheedling motion.

"Aah, there's just no dealing with you. Count it as me owing you one!"

Ryuu sighed and soon left the tavern again.

"You want to push Ryuu into that boy's arms that badly?"

Mya the Little Giant, hunched over the counter doing accounts, asked the gray-haired girl in front of her after the elf left the tavern.

"Broly's soul is very beautiful. Girls who encounter him can always find happiness. I just want Ryuu to find happiness, to no longer be bound by the past, so her life can move forward."

"In my eyes, he's just a somewhat philandering brat."

"That's because you, Mama Mya, can't directly see the truth beneath that child's surface. Broly's true soul color is something I can see clearly."

"A god's perspective, huh. I certainly don't know."

Mya nodded, not denying the point.

"Still, I understand you pretty well, Syr. As the Goddess aspect of you — are you really willing to share the partner you like with others? Even if that liking might just be a passing fancy?"

"Hmm, that certainly is a problem. I really do feel a bit upset, a bit uncomfortable inside when I see that child getting along intimately with other girls.

But this little bit of upset, this little bit of discomfort — I think it's fine. Because that child Broly is too tempting. Even if he brings me a little discomfort, I'll allow it."

"Is that so?"

The Little Giant Mya narrowed her eyes. She felt this deity hidden beneath a girl's posture must be holding something back, but she didn't intend to press further.

"Of course."

Syr nodded in reply, but the deity hidden beneath the girl's posture actually just had absolute confidence in her own charm.

Freya was confident that after the Saiyan boy saw her true Goddess form, he would become infatuated with her — more infatuated than with any other woman he had ever encountered.

"Eh, Ryuu, you're coming to stay on my side too?"

At Hearth Manor, after Broly had arranged rooms for the three including Ais who had come over and told them to go bathe, the tavern's elf miss came seeking him out.

"Mr. Broly, would it be a disturbance? I can pay the accommodation fee."

Ryuu felt her ears growing a bit hot. Even her form of address had reverted to the original honorific one. She was a bit nervous — afraid he would ask why she came to stay here, and that she'd have to give that somewhat awkward excuse in response.

"You coming to stay doesn't disturb me at all. As for the accommodation fee — not needed."

"Eh, you agreed?"

"Mm."

"Uh, Mr. Broly, you're not going to ask why I'm coming to stay at Hearth Manor?"

"Is there some special reason?"

Broly looked at this tavern elf shop assistant miss with some curiosity.

【Ah, if I'm supposed to say it's to prevent him from overly intimate contact with other girls for Syr's sake, I can't even get the words out right now~】

Ryuu averted her gaze, replying guiltily: "No, not any particularly special reason."

"Then, Ryuu, I'll arrange a north-facing room for you."

Broly said.

"As for the room, Mr. Broly, could you arrange me next to Miss Ais's room?"

Liu immediately replied; she was clear on what she had come to do.

Of course, only Liu herself was clear on that, but from Freya's perspective it was actually: 【Broly, I've already pushed Liu to your side, so you'd better fulfill the promise you made me before and make Liu become happy~】

Compared to Riveria's straight-ball assist, Freya's assist was more subtle and reserved; her asking Liu to help spy on the other girls' relationships with the Saiyan boy was false — sending Liu before the Saiyan boy so she might leave a thick-ink-heavy-color mark on Broly's soul, that was the truth.

"Uh, Liu, you didn't bring any luggage?"

After bringing the Tavern Elf Miss to the vacant room, Broly only then noticed she had come empty-handed.

"Tonight, after I finish helping out at the tavern, I'll bring my luggage over."

Liu replied with one sentence, but her face was already flushed bright red.

She hadn't thought of this matter on the way over, and now she had made a mistake.

"Then do you want to go take a bath? I can give you Lili's clothes to change into."

"La la..."

The bathroom door was pulled open; hearing the sound, the elf girl directly shrank into the hot spring pool, and when she saw clearly the person who had entered was the Tavern Elf Miss, also an elf, she asked with some surprise: "Miss Liu, didn't you say you were going back to the tavern to help out? How come you came over to this side too?"

"Lefiya, is that even a question? She's definitely also come over here to bathe."

Tiona said, standing up from the hot spring pool.

"Liu, do you need me to help scrub your back?"

She asked.

Facing the enthusiastic Amazon girl, Liu only felt her heart being interrogated.

Others treat her with sincerity, yet she herself came with another purpose.

"Not needed, thank you..."

Liu wanted to refuse.

"Don't be so polite!"

However, Tiona directly walked over, very familiarly pulling her onto the chair, squeezing some body wash onto the towel, and then scrubbing her back.

"How about it, do you need the pressure a bit harder?"

Liu: "..."

Guilty, she couldn't resist the Amazon girl's tugging, but what surprised Liu even more was that she discovered she did not reject Tiona's presumptuous contact.

(Chapter End)