We are both women.
At first glance, that statement didn't seem to have any problem.
Although Freya was a deity, she was undeniably a goddess—there was absolutely nothing "extra" below.
As for Elise, there was no need to even mention it. As a member of a pure goddess' Familia, bearing the title of Saintess of Scales, she was undoubtedly a girl!
But that was a lie!
No matter where the problem lay, Elise's statement—"we are both women"—was absolutely a lie!
In this world, the gods could see through lies!
"Just now... did you use charm?"
Although it hadn't been obvious, in that brief moment, Elise had clearly sensed something was off—something had influenced her.
That sensation reminded her of the time she had attempted to assassinate Ishtar... she had felt the same thing back then!
"As expected of you—you realized it so quickly... but honestly, this is quite ridiculous. My charm can only achieve this much now?"
Elise had been absolutely certain that Freya would use charm on her, so she had specially developed a Stigmata to counter it. As long as she was meeting Freya, she would definitely have it equipped.
Freya's current state was rather special. This should be the "Syr" state from the original story—if one didn't look closely, it was difficult to even tell she was a deity.
Because of this, Freya's charm had been weakened. Combined with Elise's anti-charm Stigmata...
In just an instant, the charm was broken!
Even so, it still managed to influence Elise slightly, allowing Freya to make the dazed Elise say that line...
"We are both women!"
To be honest, Freya hadn't expected things to turn out like this at the beginning. Or rather, no human or god—perhaps not even Astraea—could have guessed it.
"But none of that matters now. There's only one thing I want to know!"
"Why was that statement just now a lie?"
"Could it be that one of us isn't a woman?"
Freya left her seat and came to sit beside Elise, her gaze sweeping over her from top to bottom.
Smooth, fair skin. Delicate features. A full, well-proportioned figure...
"No matter how I look at you, you're an absolute beauty. For a human, you're excessively beautiful... though perhaps that's due to my blessing."
"Well? Aren't you going to explain?"
"..."
Faced with Freya's aggressive questioning, Elise had no choice but to remain silent. This was the only form of resistance mortals in the lower world could offer against the gods.
Elise knew very well that she absolutely could not respond to that question.
She was fully aware that while her body was female, her soul was not purely so.
Thus, when facing a deity, Elise became extremely cautious, paying close attention to every word and action.
But she had never expected Freya to first use charm to lower her guard, then extract information from her.
Indeed, there was a saying—"A thief may guard against others for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days." Elise had been caught off guard, allowing Freya to succeed.
However...
"You don't seem very surprised?"
Yes—after learning this, Freya did not display the shock Elise had expected. It was as if she had already anticipated it.
"That's right. I've suspected this for quite some time now. Ever since you kissed me back then..."
Freya's words made Elise freeze. The time she kissed Freya... wasn't that before the assassination of Ishtar?
What Elise didn't know was that because of that kiss, Freya had glimpsed a portion of her soul...
"After I began to suspect it, I carried out quite a bit of investigation. I must say, you hid it extremely well... even when I had members of my Familia investigate, they found nothing."
Freya wrapped her arms around Elise's arm, rubbing her shoulder against her as if savoring the contact.
"A few days ago, quite a number of adventurers wanted to join your Familia, didn't they? I wanted to see your heroic bearing, so I disguised myself and went to take a look. I didn't expect to gain such a pleasant surprise!"
"Today's meeting was simply the final confirmation. Even if you remain silent now, it will only make me more certain!"
"You're a man... aren't you?"
Freya leaned in slightly closer, pressing her body against Elise. If she could, she wanted to go even further—but that would definitely make Elise dislike her...
"Who would have thought? The world-renowned Saintess of Scales is actually a man!"
"This would truly shake the entire world!"
"So what?" Elise turned her head expressionlessly. "Do you plan to announce this meaningless piece of information to the world?"
"Of course not!" Freya pouted unhappily. "You really think too poorly of me!"
"If I did that, you'd definitely hate me, wouldn't you? Only a fool would do something so thankless!"
"You know, sharing secrets is a great way to deepen a relationship. I still intend to take things further with you!"
Freya had always been searching for her destined partner—the legendary Ord.
Ord could only be male, and must be male.
Whether it was descending to the lower world or traveling across it all, everything she had done was for the sake of finding that Ord.
Just look at the upper ranks of the Freya Familia...
The boar-man Ottar, the cat-man Allen, the white elf Hedin, the dark elf Hogni, and the four pallums—they were all male!
Everyone wished to gain Freya's love and become that one and only Ord.
But unfortunately, for who knows how many years, Freya had never once felt love from anyone.
Except... Elise!
The only possible candidate for Ord had turned out to be female. Even Freya had nearly given up at first.
But now, the situation had completely reversed. Having confirmed the truth of that matter, Freya was absolutely certain—her long-sought partner was right before her!
"How fascinating. No matter how I look at you, you're a woman. You even possess the potential to bear children... yet deep within your soul, you're of another gender entirely."
"Don't say things like that out loud!"
Elise took a moment to steady her emotions before asking seriously, "So why did you call me here this time?"
"After all this, we should get to the main point, shouldn't we, Lady Freya?"
Elise slightly shifted her body to evade Freya's sneak attack, casually delivering a light chop to her head.
"Yes, it's time to get to the point."
Freya returned to sit across from Elise, her tone turning resolute.
"I am now completely certain—you are the partner I have been searching for all this time!"
"I like you. I love you. I want to be with you forever!"
"Will you come to my side?"