Orario.
Leading me to Freya's room on one of the top floors of the Tower of Babel, which, incidentally, belonged entirely to the family of the aforementioned goddess, Ottar bowed and silently withdrew. Without hesitation, I unceremoniously opened the door and entered, then began to look around.
It was a spacious room with high ceilings, where one of the walls consisted entirely of panoramic windows without glass. Surprisingly, the furnishings were sparse, as there was only a double bed, a sofa, a small round table with a bottle of wine and two glasses, and a carpet. All this took up no more than a quarter of the room's total area, which immediately brought to mind an association of emptiness, and a conscious one at that.
Freya herself was sitting on the sofa in a pose that I would describe as a wife diligently waiting for her husband. This effect was reinforced by the outfit she was wearing. It was a white ankle-length nightgown without a tight fit or large areas of exposed skin, which surprised me. And, of course, she noticed. But that wasn't the end of it.
As soon as I looked at her and examined her, her gaze toward me changed. More precisely, it changed several times in a couple of moments, where I could clearly detect surprise and doubt, quickly followed by joy, sincere joy, and impatience. And, perhaps, the penultimate emotion was stronger than the others.
- "It's pretty nice here, even if it is a little empty," I said, pushing aside unimportant thoughts.
- "Were you expecting something else?" Freya asked cheerfully, pouring wine and handing me a glass. "Please, try it. It's my favorite variety."
- "Something more befitting a goddess with your type of power. And I think I'll pass on the wine. I'm not a fan," I shrugged and, creating a cup of coffee, took a sip. And this action, of course, surprised the goddess, because the first magic was used to create it.
- "What an interesting ability," she commented with a smile. "And it perfectly matches the personality of the person who possesses it."
- "Let's get down to business," I said, rolling my eyes, to which Freya nodded amiably. "Since you called me here, you must need something. And, what a coincidence, so do I. How about we play 'Question and Answer'?"
Besides, I had nothing else to do. Until someone does something, of course.
- "Oh, of course," she nodded, maintaining a friendly and welcoming expression. "According to the rules of etiquette, I should speak first, but I'll let you go ahead. As long as every word that comes out of our mouths is completely sincere. After all, I've heard about Loki and her suspicions in this regard, and suspicions of lies from the goddess of lies couldn't have come out of nowhere."
I raised an eyebrow.
It was a rather strange request. Why was sincerity so important? Especially from someone like her, as I had expected behavior reminiscent of Aphrodite herself. And in general, the atmosphere was strange compared to what I knew and had seen before. However, it didn't matter, because I would still get the answers to my questions.
- "As you wish," I shrugged, and Freya nodded approvingly, the impatience in her eyes doubling.
- "Go ahead, ask," she demanded, half-heartedly. "I give you my word as a goddess that I will tell only the truth and nothing but the truth."
- "Why are you so interested in me?" I asked, deciding to save the most important question for last. "As soon as I appeared in the city, I could physically feel your gaze from this room. And after the banquet, it even intensified."
- "The color of your soul," Freya began. "Unlike anyone I've ever met in my life, your soul is not a single color, but two. An aggressive black glow gently envelops a snow-white core, and neither color opposes the other, but rather complements it, as if forming a perfect union."
Well, I suppose her interest was understandable, because the gods were like that when something caught their attention. The black color obviously belonged to the black hole, as Lady Death described it, but what about the core? I suppose it was my Soul Mirror, although I'm not sure about that.
- "Okay," I nodded. "Now it's your turn."
- "What kind of girls do you like?" she asked with interest and mischief, causing my brain to shut down for a moment.
- "Excuse me?"
- "What do you like in girls?" Freya rephrased the question slightly. "Your wife has a very unusual personality, and I would like to know what you liked about her. As with Tiamat, if it's not a secret."
I rubbed my temples, torn apart by expectations, because the question about my strength was much more appropriate, but I had to keep my word.
- "As cliché as it may sound, it's her personality," I began, closing my eyes. "Morgan is extremely domineering, assertive, vengeful, and touchy. And she's not very good at expressing her feelings. But Morgan is sincere in her intentions, and I think that's what I like about her. Besides, it's never boring with her."
I paused and took a sip of coffee.
- "Tia is practically her complete opposite. She is gentle, caring, loving, and perhaps too kind. It's just nice to spend time with her, especially just lying in each other's arms. That's all, I think," I finished, opening my eyes, and at that very moment, the first thing that caught my attention was the expression on Freya's face.
It was a mixture of hope, joy, impatience, and desire that seemed familiar to me. I saw something similar when I first met Mistiora from that wicked world, when she saw something she dared not dream of. Here...
What was the goddess in front of me dreaming about? Obviously, it has something to do with me, and... Anyway, never mind.
- "Now it's my turn, Lady Freya?" I asked casually, to which she initially showed no reaction. After a couple of moments, Freya finally came to her senses, but her answer was not what I expected. The same was true of her expression, which seemed somewhat melancholic.
- "Would you like to hear a story, Romani?" she suddenly asked.
- "I don't think that's what we..."
- "I'm not stupid, and I understand that I can't influence you with force, gifts, or anything else. You're not him," Freya interrupted me. "However, I ask you to listen to my story."
- "Why the eagerness?" I raised an eyebrow. "There are many mortals, but for some reason, you decided to tell your story to me?"
- "You are a stranger. You and the entire Tiamat Family," she said calmly. "Ouranos shared this with me, even if I had to pay the price for it."
- "Interesting," I smiled. "But I don't understand what difference that makes."
- "You are not bound to this world and are not constrained by its rules," Freya continued, then looked at me with almost pleading eyes. "Please, Romani. Listen to me, and you will understand everything."
I thought for a moment, then finished the coffee in my hand and created another cup, twice as large.
- "Well, then, begin, Lady Freya..."
-0-
Griselda didn't know what to expect when Romani sent her to this establishment. Once there, she still didn't know what to do, because he hadn't given her any money or detailed instructions.
In the end, Griselda simply sat down at one of the empty tables, politely asked the waitresses to bring her some water, and began to recall the last words Romani had said to her.
Despite the degree of irritation he caused her, she still respected and trusted him, because, after all, He himself trusted him. She remembered every moment in this world where Romani, as he himself said, did not seem like an immature child to her, but she still could not understand what she was supposed to make of it all.
Every word he said at that moment was like the preachers from the Church, when they talked about everything and nothing at the same time. But how was this personally related to her?
With these thoughts, she lost track of time and just stared at the tabletop until, at some point, a glass of water was placed in front of her. And when Griselda looked up to thank the waitress, her attention was immediately captured by the dragon's eyes and toothy grin that appeared before her.
- "We have unfinished business, don't we?" asked the Beast.
Without thinking twice, the nun tried to summon the True Longinus to her hand, but she was too late. The Beast in the body of the waitress with light gray hair snapped her fingers, and Griselda immediately lost consciousness.
The last thought that echoed in her head was a question...
What was Romani planning?
-0-
A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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