Freya's voice was as sweet as candied fruit.
But to Artemis, it was a silver needle tipped with poison, piercing straight into her heart.
Why?
Why had Freya told her this?
Was she trying to show off?
Mock her?
Or was it simply a prank?
Countless questions surged through her mind, but there was only one thing she could be certain of. In some regard, she was far behind the Goddess of Beauty.
Pierce through her...
How could she possibly do something like that?!
The more Artemis tried to laugh it off, the more those words stayed with her.
Just imagining the boy's face sent a tingling current through her body.
"It seems Hestia was right. Artemis really is a closet pervert."
Freya covered her mouth and laughed, her silver eyes reflecting the blush on the Moon Goddess's face.
She did not lower her voice when she said it. Clearly, she meant for everyone to hear.
"Freya, what did you say to Artemis? She looks like she fell into a furnace."
Hestia tilted her head and asked.
Judging by the words "closet pervert," it had to be something extremely embarrassing, but Hestia still held on to some hope. Her dear friend blushed at the slightest thing when it came to Bell, so surely she would not have done anything too outrageous.
"It is not a topic for children."
Freya slowly walked back to her seat.
Artemis was like a kite with its string cut, completely stripped of her earlier composure. No one knew what she was thinking as her emerald eyes remained fixed on the tabletop.
Because of her earlier shock, some of the black tea in front of Artemis had spilled. The crimson liquid dripped onto her thigh, setting her already burning cheeks even more aflame.
"Do not treat me like a child. Hurry up and tell me what you said."
Hestia puffed out her cheeks and pressed her.
"You can ask Artemis."
Freya looked at the utterly flustered Moon Goddess and smiled meaningfully.
"Artemis, what did Freya say just now?"
Hestia obediently followed the suggestion and changed the target of her question.
"..."
Artemis said nothing, only staring at the slowly dripping black tea.
The Goddess longed for the [Unknown], and the love she had never experienced was one part of it.
Artemis had always deliberately avoided such matters, sealing them deep within her mind. But Freya had pointed straight at them, opening Pandora's box and filling the Moon Goddess with endless shame and imagination.
"She will not tell me. Freya, come on, just tell me..."
Hestia's tone carried a hint of pleading.
At first, she had only been a little curious, but Artemis's reaction only made her want to know even more.
"Freya, if it is inconvenient to say aloud, you can quietly tell me first."
Astraea offered a moderate suggestion.
"That sounds rather nice too..."
Freya glanced at the dignified yet gentle Astraea and said thoughtfully, "But I suppose I will tell all of you. What I was talking about with Artemis just now was the topic of losing one's virginity."
"..."
Time froze for Artemis.
She had not expected Freya to say it so openly.
The other Goddesses were equally stunned.
Astraea hesitantly looked at the Goddess of Beauty's silver hair, unable to read her intentions.
Was this a prank, or was there something more behind it?
She was supposed to be a proud, aloof Goddess. Why had she suddenly brought up such a topic?
Hephaestus nearly dropped her teacup. Her earlier prediction had been wrong. Compared to Loki and Demeter, this incomprehensible Goddess of Beauty was the most dangerous presence at this tea party.
Was Freya deliberately guiding the situation this way?
And what was her goal?
Amid all those questions, Hestia was the first to react.
Or rather, her mind was not suited to digging into the reason. She simply blurted out her shock by instinct.
"W-w-what are you talking about?!!!"
Hestia's eyes went wide.
Among a group of Goddesses who had all preserved their virginity, Freya's words were no different from setting off a wide-area fire magic.
"Mm... Artemis and Astraea both have lovers now, after all. Is this topic really that strange?"
Freya calmly took a sip of black tea.
"When you put it that way, I guess it does make sense... I even saw Artemis lying in Bell's bed this morning..."
Hestia nodded and murmured.
When it came to love, one should not cling to the past, but look toward the future.
In Hestia's view, Artemis was sinking deeper into love step by step. Bringing it out into the open like this might actually help the relationships between the Goddesses, rather than letting it create a rift in their friendship.
"Hestia, I did not do anything!"
Artemis argued with a flushed face.
"Oh? I never expected Artemis to be like that in private."
Realizing the topic could no longer be changed, Astraea immediately shifted tactics and pushed the Moon Goddess into the center of the storm.
"I am surprised too. I thought Artemis and Bell Cranel's relationship was definitely platonic, the kind where even holding hands would be out of the question."
Hephaestus softly joined in.
"I told you, it was a misunderstanding. I really did not do anything!"
Artemis glared fiercely at Freya.
As the one who had ignited the topic, the Goddess of Beauty watched quietly from the side, a faint smile appearing and vanishing on her lips.
"I do believe you..."
Seeing her friend fight so hard to defend herself, Hestia immediately changed sides like a reed in the wind.
Since morning, Artemis had been insisting that she had only hugged the boy's arm because she was still half-asleep. Aside from that, she had done nothing in bed.
Hestia did not doubt that. She was just somewhat unhappy about it.
She let her bashful friend off, but Freya had no intention of stopping there.
"Hestia, you should think about it carefully. What Artemis just said was only that she has not done anything [now]. As for what happens [in the future], she did not say."
Freya lifted the corners of her mouth and continued, "The same applies to Astraea."
The Moon Goddess and the Goddess of Justice had never experienced love before. Precisely because of that, the romantic relationships they had formed with the boy were worth thinking about more deeply.
The two Goddesses would not change their hearts or abandon their lover the way people of the Lower World might. They would surely treasure this hard-won love and continue walking forward with him.
And somewhere along that journey of love, sooner or later, the Goddesses would cross that line with the boy.
That was what Freya wanted to know. Their true feelings.
"Artemis, Astraea, I want to know. If you had known from the start that one day you would cross the boundary of chastity, would you still have made up your minds to keep walking beside Bell Cranel?"