Capítulo 3: Meeting a Goddess
The woman who called herself Freya was... strange. That was Bete's first thought while facing this anomaly of a woman.
Covered from head to toe in a black, hooded cloak, the woman was obvious hiding from something. She at least certainly didn't look like a nobody. Her pure silver hair, vibrant violet eyes, and perfectly sculpted ruby lips suggested that she was someone of high status.
Otherwise, he couldn't see anything too dubious. No weapons, no smell of blood, not even callouses or signs of an experienced fighter. However, he would be a fool if he were to let down his guard. Every sense Bete had screamed at him to be wary.
'She's obviously not a close-range fighter. Potentially a mage, but my instincts tell me no. Then why do I feel this kind of pressure?'
In his young life, she was probably the most beautiful person he had laid his eyes on. Of course, that only raised his suspicions. A strange, breathtaking beauty suddenly approaches you in Orario for absolutely no foreseeable reason? Yup, it's a trap.
'...'
Bete could feel a sense of approval from the voice which only solidified his initial hypothesis.
"Well?"
Her voice was ethereal and sweet, perfect to lure anyone's secrets out.
"Do you mind introducing yourself?"
The Werewolf swallowed heavily. There was no visible threat or danger, yet he felt more pushed back than during his last fight.
"Bete. Bete Loga," he finally said quietly. He felt compelled to show at least some minimum respect in this scenario. "I just arrived in Orario less than a week ago."
Freya clapped her hands together with a pearly white smile.
"Bete! What a wonderful name! And looking at your appearance, I assume you come from the northern plains outside of Orario? Oh! Do pardon me if I'm incorrect. I didn't intend to be offensive."
Everything she said was perfect. Too perfect. So perfect it made his ears itch. Even her action of catching her mistake seemed like a pre-planned fake.
"I wasn't offended. Yeah, I'm from the plains."
He didn't want to give out more information than he had to. Although Bete tried to keep his irritation out of his voice, it still sounded cold. Fortunately, Freya didn't seem bothered. If anything, her smile widened.
On the other side, Bete was getting more and more bothered with every second he spent with this mysterious woman.
'Should I use that? I can easily find out who she is...'
'!!!'
A sense of alarm, not from himself but from the voice, signified that would be a foolish idea.
Meanwhile, Freya's gem-like eyes sparkled with an unusual fascination.
'She's strong enough to be able to avoid or deny it? Is the voice in my head weak or is Freya just a monster in disguise?'
Bete suddenly paused.
'A mysterious, powerful woman with no signs of fighting... a woman that comes up to you in the middle of the dungeon city of Orario...'
His mind was left with only one possible solution.
'Goddess.'
Yes, that would make perfect sense.
Except for one thing: What in the world did a goddess want with him?
She already seemed powerful and attractive enough to gather more than a handful of devout warriors. Why did she personally approach a random Demi-Human child who just stepped foot in Orario without anything behind his name?
Still, Bete felt a lot more confident after figuring out the identity of Freya.
"You seem a little disoriented, Bete. And very tired."
The goddess suddenly reached out and cupped his small face with a pair of velvet gloved, warm hands.
"!"
Freya attentively examined his beast-like features while she traced her thumbs over his cheeks.
"Hmm."
With a faint hum, she let an index finger slide into his mouth and brush against his canines.
"?!?!"
If he didn't feel so confused and invaded, Bete would have honestly enjoyed the treatment.
"You look like you need some aid," she whispered, after a full minute of scrutiny. "Would you like to come with me?"
Somehow, her eyes seemed to see past Bete's corporeal self, to something deep inside him. It was unnerving to say the least.
As aggressive as he could be, the Demi-Human knew not to show blatant disrespect to an actual Goddess. Still, Bete didn't want to be too friendly either. He had to draw a line at some point. This Goddess was practically dragging him to her house less than 10 minutes into their first encounter, for fuck's sake.
"No thank you. I heard that I shouldn't follow strange woman home."
Freya's eyes widened with amusement while she folded her hands over her heart in an expression of hurt.
"A strange woman? Me?"
Bete resisted the urge to snort at her faux-injury.
"A random woman comes up to me in Orario and asks me to follow her home. You tell me, what would you do?"
Freya giggled. "Why, I would take the kind woman's offer with glee and serve her with all of my... I mean... I would follow the beautiful woman and be showered with love and kindness!"
"..."
'She's dangerous...'
"I... think I'll still pass."
"Hm..." Freya pouted adorably. "May I at least get a proper reason?"
Bete shifted his eyes around, wondering if there was a way to escape forcibly. Did she have guards around her? Probably.
"You, uh, you're not... my type?"
He wanted to tape his mouth shut even before he ended the sentence.
". . . ?"
The goddess' smile froze, the corner of her lips twitching.
"T-then what is your type, if I may ask?"
"Someone more innocent who genuinely cares about me. Also, someone with large breasts so they can-"
Bete forcefully slapped his hands over his mouth.
". . . I see."
"..."
"..."
They both shared an awkward moment of silence, neither knowing what the other was thinking.
"I-I didn't meant it-"
"No, no. We all have a certain type of person we fancy. Even someone like myself can't fit everyone's unique palates."
Bete didn't know what to make of that statement. Was she calling him weird?
Despite her words, Freya's trembling eyelids still seemed to indicate unrepairable damage done to her mental. At least she seemed to quickly recover her composure.
"Well! I didn't want to reveal it this early, but this will definitely change your mind... I am actually a-"
"Goddess?"
"..."
For the first time, her astounded expression seemed genuine
'Fuck! You and your big mouth! You just wait, I'm gonna hire Shil Pwift to Fleggs Tape you shut!'
"Are you sure you're new around here?"
Freya thoughtfully traced her fingers over her full lips, apparently reconsidering her initial plans.
Bete struggled to come up with an answer. Finally, he slowly nodded.
"Yeah."
"Little wolf... you seem to get more and more enthralling the more I talk to you."
The Goddess licked her lips seductively, eyeing his entire body once again.
"How did you know I was a Goddess? Aside from my looks?"
'Damn, this is one egotistical deity. Is she the Goddess of Narcissism? Narcissy? Cissybiatch?'
"You smell like one," Bete lied, instead of revealing his thoughts.
"Oh… I do hope that's a compliment."
He couldn't tell if she was annoyed or entertained by his comment, but without a doubt, there was a hint of curiosity.
"If it doesn't bother you, what exactly do I smell like?"
"You smell…" Bete sniffed "Sweet… Powerful… Dissatisfied... and… Lonely."
The white haired woman widened her eyes. Honestly, even Bete was surprised by his sensing abilities. He was just reciting things off his head based on what came into his nose.
'What the hell? How am I smelling this?'
Bete was just a normal Demi-Human. Sure he could easily distinguish between sausages, blood, weapons, and pissed pants, but he didn't remember having the ability to smell emotions or incorporeal ideas.
'...'
Something told him the voice had a hand in the new change. Still, he wasn't one to complain about free gifts.
"Oh… oh my…" Her small smile began to stretch wider and wider. "Lonely, you say. Then why don't you ease my loneliness by joining me? How would you like to become a part of the Freya Familia, little wolf-"
'Never!'
"No thanks," he instinctively responded.
Bete was almost thrown off by the intensity of the voice's sudden return.
'What's wrong with him?'
Freya wasn't easily deterred by his denial.
"Now, now. Don't be hasty. We are one of, if not the top Familia in Orario. We can provide with countless opportunities to nurture a potential future powerhouse such as yourself."
Bete narrowed his eyes.
"What gives you such confidence that I would become a powerhouse?"
She laughed, her eyes bending into delighted crescents. With a flick of her gloved hand, Freya tossed over a shining object.
"?"
Bete instinctively caught it.
"It's a sign of the Freya Familia's top echelon. You can have it. It'll bring you much help. It's also proof of my sincerity."
It was a golden badge stamped with the head of a man with a winged cap. He assumed that was their emblem.
"With the resources and nourishment we can supply, you would only have to do the bare minimum. For someone like you with such fiery eyes and an interesting soul... I guarantee that within 10 years, you'll become a First Class Adventurer."
Bete cocked his head sideways.
'What the hell is a First Class? Does that mean I can go on flights and not get kicked in the back or have idiots lean their chairs back in my face?'
Freya seemed to have caught her mistake based on the confusion reflected in his own eyes.
"Of course! My apologies. A First Class Adventurer is an accomplished Adventurer of Level 5 or higher. In other words, I am saying you can reach Level 5 within 10 years."
The Werewolf was still wary.
"Is Level 5 a high level around here?"
Freya stifled a giggle.
"If other Adventurers heard you, they would give you a beating just for saying that. Even Level 3 or Level 4 is already an impressive achievement that can net them a high position outside of Orario. Level 5 is a threshold that most living beings never even get to experience. In fact, most people can go 10, even 20 years without leveling up."
Bete gulped. He finally realized how incredible this offer was, as well as how much influence Freya held.
"A-and you're doing this why? I'm just a nobody who recently arrived in Orario. There's plenty of better candidates."
"Well you're certainly not a nobody. You're someone who caught my eyes. That in itself is enough."
Her confidence in herself truly was overwhelming to the point where even he was swept up in her pace.
'A Level 5... I could probably easily slaughter that monster at that level.'
The woman reached out from her dark cloak, revealing a hand open for a reciprocal action. She was looking for a sign of his confirmation.
The Werewolf took a moment to stare directly at the Goddess, then back at the hand. It seemed to be calling him... enticing him. Her forefinger slightly twitched, almost to beckon him to her side.
'A free ride. That's basically what this is. If what she's saying is the truth, I can achieve my goals easily. So why does this feel so... wrong?'
"..."
'...'
"Well?"
Bete made his choice.
He reached out and tightly grabbed Freya's gloved hand. It was comforting and soft, a warmth that he truly missed. He could stay here and remain with this beautiful Goddess...
"I'm honored you think so highly of me."
Then, the Werewolf swiftly retracted his arm back.
"But with all due respect, Miss Freya, you're not the Goddess I'm looking for."
Before she could say another word, Bete rushed away without an idea of where he was headed, merely knowing that he should probably get away.
.
.
.
"How interesting..."
In Freya's hand that was still warm from holding Bete's smaller one, a shining object was placed in her palm — her Familia insignia, returned without use.
From behind, a towering Boaz with a huge greatsword strapped to his back emerged.
"Lady Freya, was the result to your satisfaction?"
One of the most powerful goddesses in Orario touched her glove against the bottom of her shapely nose.
"Ah... perhaps... I may have found an interesting pet."
With a sharp inhale, Freya engraved the Beast-Human's scent into her memory.
"He just needs a little training."
'I'm not your type? Well we'll see about that~'
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
noveler132
noveler132 There's going to be many of these little interactions in following chapters. Btw, I'm trying to make most things as lore-accurate as possible including the characters' dates, levels, and appearances. For most things apperance-wise, I'll base them off the anime. Of course, there's some things that I'm going to change intentionally.
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