The Cat Holy Maiden is So Cute

"Huh?" Freya's face flushed as she lowered her head in unease. "Do you really have to see it?"

"Yes." Ansu nodded as if it were only natural. "Didn't you say so yourself? You would do whatever I asked of you."

When he used to play 《Sword of Evernight》, 【Heart of Radiant Radiance - Freya】 was a very popular female character. This was mostly due to her righteous and kind personality, combined with the cute image of a beast-eared girl.

It was just a pity that Freya rarely displayed this form, much to the regret of the players.

Now that he had the chance, Ansu certainly wasn't going to let it pass.

"But..."

Freya lowered her head even further. She truly couldn't understand why the Chosen One insisted on seeing her other side as a demihuman.

It was a filthy lineage, what the Church often called 'a symbol of impurity, corruption, and savage bestialization'...

But in the end, she let out a helpless sigh.

"Fine, if it is the Chosen One..."

"I suppose it is okay."

Freya lifted her head slightly and said cautiously, "But you must promise not to tell anyone about this!"

"Of course..."

Before Ansu could finish his sentence, he saw the pink hair on both sides of Freya's head bulge slightly.

Then, like a magic trick, a pair of fluffy, cute cat ears popped out.

"My mother's people came from the Staya Tribe in the northern part of the continent. They migrated to the Talin County region over a hundred years ago..." Freya softly recounted the stories of the previous generation.

"And my father was a young nobleman from a declining family. When he was wandering through Elvin Village, he met my mother. It was love at first sight for him. He even voluntarily left his family and gave up everything just to be with her..."

It seems your father was also a demihuman girl lover... Ansu thought.

He had good taste.

He smiled as he observed the Freya before him.

The girl stood there timidly, her smooth pink hair cascading down to her waist like a waterfall. Amidst the parting of her hair on top of her head, that pair of fluffy, pointed ears twitched sensitively, perhaps hearing some nearby movement, looking exactly like a real feline's.

He just wondered where her incredible sense of smell came from. That trait clearly should have come from a dog...

"H-Have you seen enough?" Freya's face was beet red, looking as if she wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into. "If you're done, I'm changing back!"

"I haven't shown this form in a long time, so I'm a bit out of practice. I'm afraid I won't be able to change back..."

"Mhm." Ansu nodded.

He saw Freya hurriedly return to her original appearance and couldn't help but feel a slight pang of disappointment...

Freya truly did despise her identity as a demihuman.

"Freya," Ansu attempted to comfort her. "I know you've always been afraid of your demihuman identity being exposed, which is why you've lived so cautiously in human society. But I don't think you need to feel inferior because of your bloodline."

Freya raised her head, staring blankly at Ansu.

"Seriously, isn't it very cute?" Ansu curled his lip. "The Church really doesn't know what's good. Those old men don't understand aesthetics."

Then again, those old fogies of the Church probably preferred cute little boys...

Ansu inexplicably thought of this dark joke.

"C-Cute?" Freya's expression was a bit dazed.

Since she was a child, her mother had always required her to hide her identity to avoid unnecessary trouble. This was the first time she had ever heard someone describe her demihuman appearance that way...

But looking at Ansu's expression, the Chosen One seemed to be serious...

This left her very confused.

"Freya," Ansu suddenly posed a question to her.

"The people of the Church have always claimed that only the Church can save the world from all suffering and bring eternal light and happiness."

"So I want to ask you, does this saving of the world include demihumans?"

"Of course..." Freya started to speak instinctively, but soon she hesitated.

"This... according to our doctrines and the Church's scriptures, it seems... demihumans have never been mentioned. But I believe they should be included..."

Ansu smiled faintly. He said nothing, merely watching Freya quietly.

Even she, a Holy Maiden, had to be so cautious. The truth seemed self-evident...

"The Goddess shouldn't be so narrow-minded..." Freya would never question the deity. "After all, She existed before humans and all other things were born. Her holy light blesses every living creature in the world..."

"The deity is the deity, and the Church is the Church," Ansu pointed out, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. "Freya, you mustn't confuse the two."

"Ah!" Freya's eyes suddenly widened. "You mean..."

Ansu didn't continue the topic, stopping while he was ahead.

On one hand, what he said was indeed the truth. The current Church was a mess even at its highest levels, let alone 'saving all sentient beings.' On the other hand...

There would surely be many situations in the future where he would need to use Freya. He didn't want her to feel conflicted between him and the Church.

After all, he was a genuine Chosen One. There was no need for the Church to act as a 'middleman' between them...

Ansu saw Freya looking preoccupied and didn't press further. He agreed on a time and place for their next meeting and left the small chapel.

After Ansu left, Freya remained with her brow furrowed, all sorts of strange thoughts constantly popping into her mind.

The words the Chosen One said today had caused her once-firm worldview to waver.

They had also planted the first seeds of doubt regarding the self-contradictory Church...

...

"I really want to join the Church..."

"The treatment for those theology major students is just too good! They get to see the beautiful Holy Maiden fluttering around in front of them every day..."

As soon as Ansu returned to the classroom, he heard the group of people around him whispering about Holy Maiden Freya.

"Do you really want to join the Church? You're just sexually frustrated, aren't you?" It was finally Kevin's turn to snap back. He looked at those classmates with a mocking expression. "And you said I was the one hallucinating! I think you guys are the ones dreaming every day!"

The classroom became even more rowdy.

Ansu couldn't help but think that Holy Maiden Freya's presence at the academy had indeed caused quite a stir. Now, probably seventy percent of the students attending Archbishop Paul's lectures were there for Freya...

But who would have thought that the Holy Maiden, who looked so pure, beautiful, and taciturn, had such a hidden side in private...

Seeing them argue more and more heatedly, Ansu pulled Kevin back.

"By the way, you have a performance on the Open Day, right?"

"Yeah." Kevin nodded. "Our Drama Club will definitely put on a show for the guests. Why?"

"Who are the guests from the Church?" Ansu stared at Kevin. As the school's resident know-it-all, Kevin had always been an important source of information.

"Besides Holy Maiden Freya and Archbishop Paul, there's also Archbishop Terry and Archbishop Leonard..."

Those three again...

Ansu's brow furrowed slightly, his suspicion of those three deepening.

There were only four days left until the Open Day. If he wanted to prevent the tragedy concerning himself, he had to hurry...

He and Celia had to dig out the mastermind and deal with him.