~{West Main Street-Dusk}~
"Nya... sho tired..."
"Mama Mia really is a slave driver..."
Under the nighttime sky of Orario, the feline waitresses of the Hostess of Fertility, Anya and Chloe, swayed as they tiredly walked through alleyways while holding paper bags full of produce. While most attractive females would actively avoid walking through such secluded areas that'd leave them vulnerable, neither catgirl was concerned about such a thing.
There aren't too many people who are threats to them, after all.
"The Monster Feria always makes us so busy, nya..." Anya sighed, holding a large bag in her arms.
"And Syr took the day off too. Who does she think she is, leaving us to do her work!?" Chloe huffed, holding an equally large bag.
After spending hours dealing with waves of customers because of the festival, business had finally slowed down to hold only the usual adventurers of the night. As such, Mama Mia had taken the chance to send her two employees to purchase more ingredients to refill their basically empty inventory.
The two walked through a shortcut of alleyways heading to their pub, not looking forward to cleaning up after the busy day they had.
"This sucks, we haven't even had the time to go looking for white-haired-kun!" Anya grumbled as the two reached an intersection of alleyways.
"Oh yeah, I forgot Syr wants us to look for him, nya. I would love to pass cleaning the toilets-"
Both waitresses paused as a set of vibrant white hair briefly entered their vision, passing through the intersecting paths ahead of them before disappearing into one of them.
"Nya? Was that...?"
"...white-haired-kun!"
Their exhaustion vanished in an instant.
"Nyahaha! Goodbye restroom duty! Chloe, meow take the bags while I bring white-haired-kun back!" Anya declared with a thumb at herself.
"Eh? Meow mean you're taking the bags, right?" Chloe corrected.
Both girls turned to each other with blank gazes, and it was at this moment they realized the same thing about Syr's offer.
There can only be one.
Bags of ingredients dropped to the ground as both level fours bolted forward in the narrow space, hoping to grab the white-haired boy first. They reached the left path the boy had taken and slid to a stop at the entrance, finding him nearly at the end of the pathway.
"Stop nyright there!" Anya pointed dramatically.
"Nyeah, cute tushy-kun!" Chloe added, eyeing his soaked and drippingbehind, not even questioning why it was like that.
Who was she to question free eye candy?
"Huh!?" At the sudden voices behind him, the white-haired boy sharply turned around in alarm.
While Chloe had only caught an initial glance of him on the morning he had first run away from Syr, seeing a clearer image of his youth and innocence made her eyes instantly dilate with shortening breath.
"Nya!? He's just my type! A little younger, and he'd be perfect!" She thought with sparkling eyes, only to blink in confusion as she realized that the boy was actually holding someone in his arms, a short woman wearing an even shorter dress with-
*Boing! Boing!*
"GAH!" Lightning struck behind Chloe as her now pure-white eyes stared at the massive mounds.
"Bell, who are these girls!? Don't tell me you were actually seeing them behind my back all along!?" The child-like yet developed woman suddenly cried out. However, her child didn't respond, for he turned pale at seeing the girls' uniforms.
"White-haired-kun!" Anya cheerfully spoke up with a wave, oblivious to Chloe's shock or the boy's growing horror. "I'm gonna need nya to come with me! Okay?"
That snapped Chloe out of her astonishment, and she turned to Anya in outrage.
"Nya!? Hey! He's coming with me!"
"Why would he go with meow!? I'm the prettier one!" Anya snapped at her coworker.
"As if! My body and tail are far more slender! I'm a cool beauty, nya know!?"
"Hmph, but my boobs are bigger!"
"Nya!? I swear we've had this argument before!"
"We did?"
"Whatever, let's just have white-haired-kun decide-Nya?"
Turning their heads again, the waitresses no longer saw anyone ahead of them, only a lone tumbleweed blowing by with perfect timing.
"...He ran away!?" Both women shouted.
Not wanting to lose their ticket to passing restroom duty, both girls kicked on their level four speeds and sped down the alleyway with determined glares, neither willing to slow down and risk the other getting ahead.
Only... this worked against both felines, for when both reached the corner and sharply turned with the most minimal movements, they crashed into one another and were sent tumbling down the path.
"NYA!?/NYA!"
And to make matters worse, both rolled into a ball down a sudden slope, gaining speeds with indignant cries until the ground returned to an elevated level, where they flew out of the alleyway and onto the main road.
Passing people shouted in alarm as the two cats rolled right past them with high acceleration, keeping their speed until they crashed into a stationed cart, sending balls of a particular vegetable flying.
The gray-haired man running the cart wailed as he fell to his knees.
"NO! MY CABBAGES!"
Chloe and Anya groaned within the shattered remains of wood and vegetables.
"Nya-oh..."
Mama Mia is gonna kill them.
"Bell!? Bell! Who were those girls!? Why did they ask you to go with them!?" Hestia demanded, primarily out of concern this time rather than jealousy, when she saw how scared her unofficial child was.
"I don't know! It honestly scared me!" Bell admitted, not daring to look back as he carried his goddess through the alleyways, following routes he had memorized over the last few days. "Maybe the minotaur skin wasn't enough for them?"
"What!? You mean they wanted to rob you again!? Bell, we gotta tell the guild or something! Wait, why didn't we tell them about the first time you were robbed!?" Hestia pointed out as they exited the alleyway and entered the road right by their church.
"I don't know! With everything that's been going on with the system I just never really thought about it! Look, let's talk about this later; we're home!"
He used his back to push open one of the church doors before running through the nave and stepping down into the safe sanctuary that is their basement.
"Phew, we're here..." Bell sighed in relief as he finally relaxed, his body slumping as it lost tension. Stepping inside, he gently kicked the door closed behind him before placing his goddess on the ground, much to her disappointment.
"Hestia, I have so much to tell-GWAH!"
To Hestia's confusion, Bell suddenly turned around and covered his face, even crouching with red ears.
"Huh!? What's wrong Bell!?" She moved in front of the boy, only for him to squeak and turn away again.
"Y-Your dress!"
She blinked in confusion before looking down at herself.
Having been pressed against a completely soaked Bell, Hestia's pure-white clothing had absorbed quite a bit of water, and with it being moderately thin, it was now completely see-through. And considering that bras didn't appear to be a concept in the world...
Bell saw a lot.
The short but big goddess yelped and instinctively covered her chest with her arms, cheeks flaring red as her twin tails shot up straight like bunny ears.
"Bell saw me!" She thought in dread.
Only... to stop and think about it, to which a giddy smile formed instead.
"Heheh~ Bell saw me~"
"Oh, Bell. You know that if you want to see them, all you have to do is ask!" She giggled.
"H-Hestia!? Please don't joke like that!" Bell stammered, refusing to turn around or uncover his eyes.
"Huh!? Joke!?" Hestia responded in outrage, uncovering herself. "How dare you disregard my affections like that! Get over here!"
The goddess dove at Bell from behind, her wet chest landing right on the back of his head as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, firmly pressing herself against him.
"EEEEEEEK!"
Bell's cries of embarrassment went on for several minutes as Hestia kept herself latched on, but soon, the boy managed to pry her off and get them to change out of their wet clothes. Hestia changed into a replica of her white dress that seemed to be the only type of clothing she owned, while Bell only had another pair of pants and was forced to go shirtless from lacking much other clothing of his own.
Not that Hestia was complaining, not one bit.
What followed was the two sitting on the bed as Bell told Hestia everything that had transpired in the instant dungeon. The unidentifiable monsters with no magic stones, the 'title' feature he gained, the giant boss snake, and then... the 'Violas' he had encountered afterward.
Hestia was silent throughout his entire recount, but she was left pale and dumbfounded by the end.
"I-I-!" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, placing her palms together in a praying motion. "Okay, there are so many things I'm freaking about, Bell, but I've done this enough to know I should probably go in order, so... First off, you fought a giant snake!?"
"It actually wasn't that bad." Bell downplayed with a chuckle. "It was strong, but it wasn't too hard to fight once I got over how large it was. Its name was only orange, so I knew I could kill it. Ah! That reminds me, I know what the colors of the monsters' names mean! They tell me how strong a monster is compared to me."
"Good to know, but still!" Hestia said, staring up at the boy in concern. "That sounds like it was horrifying!"
"I mean, it was a little, but that was because there was a moment the snake reminded me of... th-the lord." Bell shamefully looked down, a little angry at himself at the shiver that came just by thinking of the monster.
"Oh Bell..." Noticing this, Hestia scooted close and hugged him, with Bell returning the embrace with one arm.
"I'm okay." He smiled sadly and moved on. "Fighting the boss was a lot simpler than I had expected. And I got some cool rewards from it!"
Excitement quelling the momentary somberness, Bell held out his hands with his palms upward and, with a simple thought, both Rasaka's Fang and Venom Gland instantly appeared through blue pixels.
The inventory function really is convenient.
"Whoooooa! That's so cool! It's a fang as a dagger!?" Hestia geeked as she eyed the blade with sparkles in her eyes.
"Uh-huh! Although, I'm not sure about this other one." Bell said, showing the pouch in his palm. "It says it's an A-rank item that'll give me a skill to increase my defense, but it's also a venom that'll permanently weaken my strength."
"An A-rank item that gives you a skill!? That's amaz-! Wait, did you say it's a venom that'll lower your strength?" Hestia cut herself off with a raised eyebrow of suspicion.
"Heh, I had the exact same reaction." Bell giggled, a sound that might as well have been gold to the goddess's ears. "The defense buff is good because it reduces twenty percent of physical damage I take, but I'd be damaging my muscles and permanently decreasing my strength by thirty-five percent, so I'm not sure I wanna use it."
Hestia's face scrunched up in agreeing hesitation, only for a flash of realization to replace it.
"Wait, did you say that it's venom? Didn't you get a skill against stuff like that?"
A moment of silence fell over them.
"I... Status!"
With widened eyes, the boy looked forward and scanned the very first skill he had obtained.
Longevity-All diseases, poisons, curses, and status effects are healed. Sleeping will explosively increase regeneration ability.
"You're right, Hestia!" He exclaimed, shooting up from the bed with his dagger disappearing back into his inventory so he was only holding the pouch. "If my skill fixes all status effects, then it should fix anything bad trying to change my body like this venom!"
"Eh? Does that mean you're gonna drink it!?" Hestia asked in horrid concern yet morbid curiosity.
"Well, the system gave it to me, right? And its item type is potion rather than poison, so it shouldn't actually hurt me besides trying to give me the debuff." Bell reassured her.
"I... guess that makes sense, but I still feel uneasy about you just drinking literal venom." The woman cringed.
"...Now that you're saying that, that does sound disgusting," Bell admitted with a queasy grimace, only to shake his head. "No, I can't hesitate! Bottoms up!"
He craned his head back and poured the pouch's thick purple contents down his throat while Hestia anxiously watched, wondering if they should've at least gone near the Dian Cecht Familia first in case anything bad happened.
Thankfully, Bell didn't drop dead, but the moment he finished the last drop of venom, he pulled the pouch away from his mouth with a gag.
"Ugh, bitter!"
[A harmful substance has been detected in your body.]
[The effects of 'cure poison' will be activated.]
His disgust turned to intrigue as he saw messages pop up.
"Huh? Cure poison? So Longevity uses varying effects depending on what's negatively affecting my body?"
[3,2,1... 'cure poison' has been completed.]
Item: Rasaka's Venom's effect, 'Weakened Muscles' is fading.
Item: Rasaka's Venom's effect, 'Rasaka's Armored Scales' has been added.
"It worked!" He cheered.
"Really!? So now you have another skill without the bad part!?" Hestia asked in excited relief.
"I'll check. Status!"
[Skills]
Longevity-All diseases, poisons, and status effects are healed, and sleeping exponentially increases regeneration ability.
Sprint-Mana Cost 5(+1/Minute). Activates to increase your movement speed by 30%. Costs 1 mana per minute to maintain. "Your running has strengthened your legs."
Unyielding Spirit-When below 30% HP, all damage received is reduced by 50%. "You have an unyielding spirit."
Rasaka's Armored Scales- Physical damage reduced by 20%.
"It's there! Now all physical damage I take goes down twenty percent!" Bell turned to his goddess with a heartfelt smile. "Another skill to help me always come back to you."
The goddess's eyes shined as her lip began quivering.
"Beeeeeeeeeeell!" She threw herself at him with a wide hug, the boy catching her with a light laugh.
Hestia praised her child in name for several minutes during their embrace, and she tried holding on for even longer to keep her face pressed into Bell's naked chest, grinning lewdly at his decently built muscles compared to when he had started off as an adventurer a few weeks ago.
But now, it was time for more concerning manners.
"Hestia." Bell started in a serious tone, sitting across the woman after getting her off him. "After I killed the boss, the dungeon completely disappeared with all the monsters created by it, so I'm sure we won't have to worry about any instant dungeons ever spreading them into Orario."
Hestia looked evidently relieved but waited for Bell to go on.
"But... after everything changed back, that's when I saw those plant monsters I mentioned."
Hestia froze at the reminder, even paling a bit when she remembered what she had heard at her job.
"B-Bell, are you sure they were plant monsters!? Like, absolutely sure!?"
The boy blinked in surprise.
"Yes? Do you know something?"
She rapidly nodded her head.
"I heard people talking about something that happened at the Monster Feria today! They said that monsters suddenly appeared on East Main Street near Daedalus! Plant monsters! Not only that monster from MonsterPhelia Escaped!"
Bell gasped in horror.
"Plant monsters and Monsters from the dungeon too!? So it wasn't just in the sewers!? Did anyone get hurt!?"
Hestia looked down with crinkling eyebrows. "I don't know. I only heard that they suddenly appeared; then I went looking for you! I was so worried that they were from the instant dungeon and that they somehow... got past you."
She raised her head back up, staring into his ruby eyes in concern.
"I feel really uneasy about this, Bell. The different kinds of monsters in two different places on the same day? That isn't natural."
The boy looked down with a frown.
"I think so too... We have to tell someone that they're in the sewers, like the Loki or Ganesha Familias."
"But Bell, you can't just walk over and tell them! There's no way they won't ask what you were doing in the sewers in the first place! That'd make you look suspicious!"
Bell grimaced. "We can't just say nothing! What if the monsters get out of the sewers and start hurting people!?"
"Just send them a letter or something!"
Bell stilled, frown shifting into embarrassed realization.
"Oh, right. I guess that works. Should I ask Miss Eina to send it?"
"Sure, if you want to leave a trail back to you." Hestia deadpanned.
"Ah, right..." Bell sheepishly chuckled. "Okay, I'll find a way to get it to them without being seen."
It wouldn't be good if people started pestering Eina because of it.
"Good." Hestia nodded, only for a smirk to form as she crawled forward and sat up with her hands on his arms. "But now we have more important things to talk about."
Bell tensed. "There's something else?"
"Our date, Bell!" Hestia exclaimed with a squeal, shaking his arms.
The albino teen blinked, recalling the faint promise he had made the few days before heading into the instant dungeon.
"Oh right, I forgot about that."
"What!? How could you forget!? You promised me!" Hestia whined, eyes immediately starting to water in heartbreak.
"I-I'm sorry! It's because of everything that happened!" Bell panicked.
It took several minutes for him to calm down his whining goddess, the two concluding that on her next day off, they'd finally have the outing she'd absolutely kill for.
~{Hostess Of Fertility- Late Night}~
"ARE YOU TWO IDIOTS!?"
Anya and Chloe trembled from their seizas on the ground, the entirety of the Hostess of Fertility shaking from their boss's powerful voice. Mia Grand stood before them with arms crossed and fire in her eyes, her hair even floating upward from pure anger alone. The rest of the staff cleaned the closed restaurant around them with unsympathetic looks of disappointment directed at their coworkers, with Ryuu particularly miffed as she absentmindedly dried dishes from the kitchen.
"Not only did you both literally drop all the ingredients I told you to get, but you even destroyed someone else's business!? All from trying to kidnap some boy!?"
"Nya!? W-We weren't trying to kidnyap him!" Chloe abruptly said.
"Nyeah!" Anya confirmed. "We just wanted to-!"
"Shut up!"
Both girls shut their traps with shivers at Mia's dark look.
"From what you told me, all you did was tell him to go with you before fighting over who'll bring him back first! If he remembered your uniforms from the time Ryuu threatened him-!"
The mentioned elf flinched.
"-then he probably thought you were there to hunt him off the streets or something! What's the matter with you two!? You're lucky that even if he goes yappin' to the guild or the Ganesha Familia they most likely won't take him at his word! Be glad that we're known for chasing out men rather than chasing after them!"
"That sounds kinda messed up when she puts it like that..." Lunor sweat dropped as she wiped a mug.
"But can't avoid paying for that cabbage stand you idiots somehow crashed into! Everything is coming out of your paychecks, got it!?" Mia snarled.
The scolded girls shamefully nodded in acknowledgment.
"And you've both got a week each cleaning the toilets now!"
"Nya!?"
Anya and Chloe snapped their heads up at the dwarf in disbelief. Mia simply returned their shocked expressions with a glare.
"You both caused this by trying to avoid it, so it's only fitting that's what you get! Now get back to work!"
Seeing they had no hope of avoiding their fates, both girls hung their heads in defeat, with gloomy auras surrounding them as they stood up and separated to do different tasks.
As for Mia, she stomped her way to the back of the pub.
"Can't believe this all because of some boy..." She huffed in frustration as she disappeared into the next room, but not before shouting one last thing.
"Next time, actually TALK to the kid instead of just trying to bring him here without any context! I don't need the Ganesha Familia coming here asking if we're trying to abduct young boys!"
"We could just blame Chloe if that happens..." Lunor mumbled.
"Nya!? What was that!?"
"Nothing!"
Anya sighed in sorrow as she lay against one of the tables and half-heartedly wiped it, tears in the corners of her eyes as she whined about the unfairness of the world. As she lamented her suffering, Syr subtly swept the ground in her direction, an innocent smile on her face as she stopped beside her.
"Are you alright, Anya?"
"Nyo..." Anya muttered, weakly turning her head to the human with vibrant, watery eyes. "I tried to bring him back, Syr! I really did, nya!"
"Yes, yes, I appreciate it." Syr thanked her while gently patting her back. "Did you at least learn anything about him?"
"Nya? Mmmmmmm..."
Anya stood up and put her index fingers on each side of her head, closing her eyes with her face scrunching up as the rusty gears in her brain turned with screeches.
Ryuu and Lunor deadpanned as they practically saw smoke coming out of the catgirl's head before her eyes snapped open like receiving a revelation.
"Nyaha!" She snapped her fingers before standing proud with hands on her hips. "The short lady with big boobs he was carrying called him Bell!"
Syr's smile grew wider.
"Oho? You did mention that he was carrying a woman. How did she look?"
"Nya? Ah... Mmmmmmm..."
Once more, Anya closed her eyes and focused as hard as before, making everyone sweatdrop as more smoke poured out of her head.
She jumped as the image hit her.
"Nya! I remember! She was really short with twin tails and a tiny white dress, but she also had some huge boobs! I mean some serious honkers! A real set of badonkers! Packing some dobonhonkeros-!"
"We get it, Anya!" Lunor cut her off with an indignant shout.
"Ah? Nyahaha... sorry." The catgirl shrunk back with a laugh.
Still drying the dishes, Ryuu's neutral eyes gained the slightest hint of hope.
"Bell..."
As for Syr, her smile was reaching her ears by now. "Thank you, Anya." She said, reaching out and patting the girl's head, bringing joyful purring from the girl. "That'll help a lot."
With that, she turned around and went back to sweeping the ground, a plan calculating in her mind. She got all the information she needed. Hearing the boy's name would've been enough, but that very specific description of who he was carrying...
She already knew where to find him.
Hm, it'll be Ryuu's turn to go shopping in two days, so if she plans this out just right...
Perfect.
~{Orario's Walls-Dawn}~
As if he hadn't conquered a dungeon all on his own yesterday, Bell was back on the walls to finish his daily quest once more, already completing the ten-kilometer run. His breathing was gentle compared to his harsh exhaling from scorching lungs on day one of his new exercise regime. Sweat glistened off his muscled frame as he jogged to a stop right by the stairs, hearing the familiar ping of the system alerting him that he had completed all his exercises once more.
"This is starting to feel easier now." Bell smiled as he felt the cool glow of the status recovery clean his fatigue and sweat, stretching his firm arms as he enjoyed the feeling of relief wave over his body.
"Maybe I can start holding the status recovery now? It'd be incredibly useful in Orario's dungeon, and in any more instant ones the system makes. Speaking of which..."
Still shirtless, Bell accepted the random item box, the item appearing in his hand. He didn't immediately open it, instead opting to stare at it curiously.
"What if I get another key?"
It was something Bell couldn't predict, the distribution of keys he'd end up receiving. If he has to guess, the dungeons will only get stronger as he grows, and he can't do anything about them besides completing each one in order to survive. Not only that, but there's no telling when he'll actually get another key, considering he'll be receiving them from the random item boxes, which are, as the name suggests, random.
With that in mind, Bell opened the box.
[Healing Potion]
Item Class: E
Type: Potion
A potion that restores a moderate amount of health upon consumption.
No key... but then again, he supposed it only makes sense. He isn't that lucky.
Or would it be unlucky?
Bell shrugged to himself before vanishing the potion into his inventory. He then had Rasaka's Fang flash into his hand, spinning the blade to get a feel for it.
"It's too large for my current sheath..." He noted, looking down at what had held his previous guild dagger. While his first weapon had been narrow and straight, Rasaka's Fang was larger with a unique design, so he couldn't store it in his first weapon's sheath.
"I guess I'll have to keep it in my inventory." Despite thinking this, Bell didn't see it as a problem. It'll save him money from not needing a sheath, and keeping the dagger in his inventory is the easiest way to summon it anytime with a single thought. And if anyone questions it, he could just put it off as a unique skill that only works with his weapon, nothing crazy that would catch a deity's eye.
"I should still buy another dagger since my first one broke. Even if it won't be that good, having a second weapon is smarter."
Nodding to himself, Bell crouched and picked up his shirt and leather jacket, only to freeze.
Why does it feel like someone is watching him again?
He turned around, only for the isolated area around him to show no change. There wasn't a single person in sight, yet Bell could still feel something directed at him. It didn't feel as intense as when the system had warned him of being watched the two previous times, but it was still nagging at him.
...Well, the system wasn't warning him that anyone was 'peering into his being' again, so it's probably fine.
Besides, who'd even be watching him all the way up here in the first place?
~{Guild Pantheon-Morning}~
"WHAT!? You want to go down to the seventh floor already!?"
Bell cringed at his advisor's loud voice.
"Miss Eina, please stop yelling..."
Realizing she had another outburst, Eina became a bit embarrassed, only to look stern as she put a closed sign in front of her booth and beckoned Bell to follow her.
The two went into one of the private rooms to talk, and the moment they took seats across each other, Eina went on another one of her tangents about rushing down too early.
"Bell, I know you said that you'd be growing faster, but really!? Isn't this too much!? You've only spent a few days on the sixth floor, and now you want to go to the seventh!? Aren't you overthinking this!?"
"I'm not." Bell didn't hesitate to answer confidently, cutting off Eina's lecturing and bringing a look of shock from her.
"I-I um... B-But Bell, the dungeon's difficulty shoots up enough past the fifth floor, but suddenly going to the seventh and onward is practically suicide for a rookie adventurer! The Killer Ants there are even known as 'newbie killers! All your stats should at least be G-rank if you even want to even think about going there-!"
"That's fine then. All my stats are at least E-rank now." Bell smiled, making the half-elf freeze in place.
"Eh...? E!?"
Bell nodded. "Heh, I got a lot stronger."
Eina stared incredulously at Bell in silence, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Am I really just supposed to take your word?"
Bell's eyes softened with fondness.
"I'd never lie to you, Miss Eina. I care about you too much for that."
His response brought a hard blush on the woman.
"Y-You can't just say that while smiling and expect me to be okay with letting you go, Bell! Th-That's shameful!"
"Eh? Shameful!? Miss Eina, my stats really are at least E-rank! I wouldn't lie to you about that!" Bell insisted.
Realizing that the boy hadn't intentionally attempted to charm her into letting him go, Eina felt a heap of embarrassment. But it wasn't hard for her to shove it down and search the young adventurer's eyes for any sign of a lie, only to see the same genuine earnestness he always carried.
But even then...
"Y-You still have to pass the seventh-floor test with full marks before I let you go!" She declared, hoping it'd at least slow him down.
Bell's eyes lit up.
"Yes! I'm ready for it! I made sure to study hard!"
He even studied for it that much!? Was this young rookie really that sure he has to go lower so soon!?
About half an hour later, Eina received her answer.
"A-A perfect score?" She uttered, staring at the perfectly answered test in her hands.
Bell grinned and mentally thanked the system, for he had no doubt that it's his sense stat letting him remember things so much easier.
"...Bell?
"Yes, Miss Eina?"
"...You didn't cheat, did you?"
"Why is that your first assumption!? You were watching me the whole time!" Bell actually looked hurt by the accusation, making his advisor frantically wave her hands.
"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry, Bell! It's just that... Y-You usually get some wrong answers on your first tries, but you got a perfect score instead!"
"I studied a lot..." The boy pouted.
"I..." Eina looked down at Bell's work in shame. He worked so hard to show that he's ready for the next floor, yet here she was, doubting his efforts because of her worries. Even now, she's still anxious about letting him go deeper despite proving that he knows everything he needs to know.
"Bell? Could you...?"
'Show me your status?'
Eina stopped herself before she could even finish her words. She's overstepping enough as it was, forcing Bell to always get perfect scores and holding him back from his desired pace. Asking to see his status would be one of the biggest violations a guild employee could commit.
Not to mention...
'I'd never lie to you, Miss Eina. I care about you too much for that.'
Bell had so much faith in her... Why isn't she showing that faith back?
He's clearly shown to have changed in a few ways. He still acted as sweet and innocent as before, just with a newfound confidence and initiative. He still seemed just as eager to get stronger and go deeper into the dungeon, but it no longer seemed to be out of childish foolishness of treating it like a fun adventure. Rather, it seemed that he finally saw the dungeon for what it is, fighting in life-or-death situations. He's even shown his determination and preparation to move forward by getting a perfect score on the seventh floor's test on his first attempt.
How could she put down his efforts like that?
Eina opened her mouth, about to grant permission for Bell to traverse the seventh floor, only to close it in frustration. He was still only wearing the basic guild chestplate. Not to mention...
"Bell, what happened to you dagger?"
The adventurer stiffened before giving an uncomfortable laugh.
"I-It um, sort of broke... But I got a better one!"
He quickly reached a hand behind him, hiding a blue flash, and brought it back to show his new weapon, which Eina gasped at the sight of.
"Amazing." Although she wasn't a blacksmith, Eina had seen plenty of weapons held by adventurers, and Bell's new dagger was clearly of high quality. "Bell, where did you buy that?"
"..." Bell coughed awkwardly. "I, um, didn't buy it..."
Eina's eyes bulged in their sockets.
"BELL!? Don't tell me-!?"
"I didn't steal it!" Bell quickly added in panic after realizing what his words implied. "I got it after killing a monster!"
His advisor raised an eyebrow.
"A monster was holding a weapon like that? I'm gonna need some context, Bell."
"It wasn't using it! It only had it on its body, so I was able to get it when I killed it!"
Oddly enough, Bell answered without lying once the whole time. After all, the giant snake hadn't been using the dagger, and yes, it had been on its body, considering it had been one of its fangs.
So yeah, he's not lying!
...
Wait, when did he suddenly learn how to misdirect the truth?
Eina noted how Bell maintained eye contact with her, indicating that he was telling the truth. At least she could see that he was still as earnest as ever, and yet, that brief nervousness she saw made her think there was something more to it. For an adventurer holding such a weapon to lose it on the upper levels of the dungeon... Either it was stolen, which Bell would never do, or its original owner had been a starting adventurer who let the strength of their weapon get to their heads, resulting in their downfall.
It wouldn't be the first time such a case has happened.
"Bell... did you see anyone near the monster?"
The boy blinked in surprise at the question.
"Er, no? It was just me."
"So its owner is completely gone... poor soul."
"Okay, Bell. I'm glad you got a better weapon." Eina sadly smiled, knowing that it was at the expense of another.
As for Bell, he couldn't help but feel a bit confused by his advisor's acceptance. But hey, he's not gonna question it. Makes it easier to avoid mentioning anything about the system.
"I guess that covers that. So I guess all that's left is... Bell, are you free tomorrow?"
"...Hm?"
~{Northern Orario-Dawn}~
Bell felt incredibly nervous and, funny enough, it wasn't even because of his date with Eina coming up.
Wait, is it gonna be a date?
Thinking about it... No, it didn't seem so. After all, Eina had told him they would just go out to find better armor for him. That hardly sounds like a date, even if spending time with Eina outside her job sounds really lovely...
Ah, no! He's gotta focus right now!
Bell gulped down air within one of the alleyways near the Loki Familia headquarters, the Twilight Manor. It was an enormous structure connecting several towers to form a singular building surrounded by outer pathways and gardens, all enclosed by moderately tall walls encircling the entire vicinity.
The young adventurer stared at the building feeling as much dread as he did in awe, shakily holding a bright yellow envelope containing a letter about the plant monsters he found in the sewers. He had already delivered a first letter to the Ganesha Familia by throwing it over the walls around their home (not knowing that the angry guard hit had immediately torn it up rather than read it), and now all that's left is getting the second one to the Loki Familia.
"Phew... Here goes."
Bell cocked his arm back with the letter between his index and middle fingers. He just has to get the letter over walls only a couple dozen yards away. He hopefully shouldn't be seen either, thanks to the darkness of dawn and the shadows provided by Orario's walls.
"Hyup!"
With a wide, overhead swing, Bell flung the letter into the air, the envelope spinning like a blade as it soared in a perfect curve over the walls of the Familia home.
Bell pumped his fist when he saw the letter disappear.
"Yes! I-"
"WHAT THE FUCK!?"
Bell jumped with a squeal of dread from the roar of a furious werewolf.
"WHICH PIECE OF SHIT THREW THAT!?"
Not hesitating for a second, Bell turned around and sprinted away like a scampering animal.
After that terrifying close call, Bell finished the Daily Quest (gaining a pen from the random item box) before nervously waiting in front of a statue in the center of a plaza, the morning sun shining brightly on the area.
He stood nervously while turning his head left to right, looking for any sign of the half-elf he's supposed to meet.
"Hey, Bell!"
Hearing her voice, the boy smiled as he turned his head. "Ah, Miss Eina-!"
Bell lost his words the moment he laid eyes on Eina, mouth turning dry in stunned silence. He had grown so accustomed to seeing the woman in her guild uniform that he hadn't even considered seeing her in anything else. So to his surprise, his advisor was wearing a white blouse with a red skirt, thigh-high black socks, and brown boots, finished off with her glasses missing from her pretty face.
The woman walked over to him with hands behind her back, her present smile enlarging when she saw the effect she was having on the speechless boy in front of her.
"Good morning! You're really early, aren't you? Don't tell me you were looking forward to shopping with me that much?" Eina teased.
Bell finally snapped out of it, his cheeks reddening as he shyly looked down.
"E-Eh? That's um..."
Eina giggled. "Don't worry Bell, I've been looking forward to this, too."
She stepped forward and slightly leaned forward to him, making Bell look away.
"Don't you have anything to say about my outfit?" She smirked.
Bell turned back to her, his mouth moving before his brain did.
"I almost mistook you for a goddess."
"E-Eh?"
Eina's face turned beet red at the bluntness of Bell's words, while Bell himself clasped his hands over his mouth with his face turning full crimson.
"S-Sorry! I didn't mean that! Wait, no! I mean I did but-! Um-! I just didn't-! It wasn't supposed to-!"
Eina watched Bell trip over his words multiple times, her embarrassment at being compared to a goddess turning into amusement at his fumbling, bringing a feminine giggle as her blush faded.
"You've changed, Bell, and yet... this part about you is still exactly the same."
When Eina said she would take him to find armor, Bell didn't think that meant going up Babel and entering one of the Hephaestus Familia's shops.
His advisor reassured him that they were going to an area that'd be much more affordable, but Bell could feel his wallet shivering in fear as they walked by shops with weapons priced at...
"Th-Thirty Million Valis!?" He gasped as he pressed his hands against a display glass holding a large sword with a gold hilt.
"We're heading for the upper floor, but this is also part of the Hephaestus Familia's store. Although, it's mainly where all of the highest quality gear is sold. Don't worry, Bell, I don't want you buying anything from this area... Bell?"
Bell's eyes were completely engrossed in the blade behind the glass, his eyes seeing something that Eina couldn't.
[Temper's Edge]
Item Class: C
Type: Greatsword
Attack: +50
A greatsword of power and endurance. Medium magic conductivity.
"It's C-rank? Rasaka's Fang is C-rank too... DOES THAT MEAN RASAKA'S FANG IS WORTH AT LEAST THIRTY MILLION VALIS!?"
"Bell!? Are you alright!? Why did you suddenly get so pale!?"
The boy robotically turned his head to Eina, eyes blank.
"S-Sorry Miss Eina, it's just... learning a weapon's worth is really shocking."
Eina merely tilted her head confusingly.
After that financially shattering revelation, Bell shakily followed his advisor into an elevator to the upper floor of the same shop, one far more affordable for him since the weapons and equipment present had been made by newer blacksmiths. It helped calm his nerves and relax now that he finally had a selection of equipment he could choose from.
He didn't think about how he could probably buy half the things here if he sold Rasaka's Fang.
Looking around the back of the store since Eina was looking elsewhere, Bell walked around in awe. Everywhere he focused his eyes, messages from the system would pop up to reveal every piece of information about any armor he examined. It efficiently helped him sort through the armor he didn't want to buy, only...
That was a lot of the armor here.
"E-rank, E-rank, E-rank again..." Bell sighed as he realized that most, if not all, of the surrounding armor was the basic of the basic and didn't have the stats to justify spending all his money on them. He shouldn't be surprised, though, seeing as this was all the work of newer blacksmiths.
Putting down an old chest plate, Bell took a few steps further around shelves of boxes before his eyes caught sight of a box with brighter steel-like armor, evidently recent.
"Hm..."
Stepping up to the box, Bell reached in and pulled out a reflective chest plate.
[Pyonkichi MK-II Chestplate]
Item Class: D
Type: Armor
+3% Physical Damage Reduction. Light magic conductivity.
Set effect will activate if this item is equipped along with:
-Pyonkichi MK-II Shoulder Pads
-Pyonkichi MK-II Arm Guards
-Pyonkichi MK-II Knee Pads
Set Effect 1: (Locked)
"...What?"
Bell blinked in bewilderment, the excited feeling from finding a D-rank piece of armor also adding confusion from the new feature he found.
"A set effect?" He gently ran his thumb on the chestplate with wide eyes. "So if I put on all the pieces, I'll get a bonus effect?"
Peering back into the box, Bell found the rest of the mentioned armor inside, each with effects similar to the chestplate, including the hinted bonus effect.
He stared in wonder as he flipped over the chestplate and found the creator's signature on it.
"Welf Crozzo..."
Did Crozzo even know about his armor's effects, like the set bonus? Or was he unaware, and it had merely been by chance due to his abilities? Or what if it's the system that's specifically granting Bell any additional effects with this armor?
Because if these effects, including the set bonus, are always on armor or weapons regardless of the system... Seeing them would help him find only the best equipment and uncover any secrets they hold.
Grinning excitedly, Bell looked at the price, only to flinch.
"9,900 valis!? Ugh, that's almost all I'm carrying on me..."
If only he could sell his raikan fangs for valis instead of system gold. Even if they're from the system, they're still monster parts, right? Maybe a blacksmith wouldn't ask questions about their origin if the parts are good enough to make-
Wait a second.
Bell pulled out one of the Raikan fangs and stared at it curiously.
"Can a blacksmith make equipment out of these?"
The thought brought yet another surge of excitement. Can monster drops he collects from the system be used as material instead of only being sold to the system's store? He'd have to find his own blacksmith, one he could trust (or at least not ask questions) in order to figure this out, but if he really could have equipment made from these items...
That'd open a whole new door of potential.
Dusk was falling over Orario when Bell and his advisor returned to the plaza, the boy smiling ear to ear as he felt the weight of his new armor in his small pack.
"Thanks for coming with me today, Miss Eina." He said as they stopped beside the statue where they had met for their date.
"You don't need to thank me, Bell. I was the one who asked you to come with me in the first place." Eina smiled. "There is one thing I wanted to ask, though."
"Hm?"
"Where do you keep your new dagger, Bell?" She asked curiously, making him tense. "I saw you pull it out yesterday, but I didn't see you carrying any kind of sheath for it."
"Aha, well..." Bell nervously scratched the back of his head. "I don't have a one for it. The only sheath I have is the one I had for my guild dagger, but it's too small."
"Oh, really? Maybe I should've bought you one of those too..."
Bell paused. "Too?"
Eina's smile returned as she brought her hands from behind her, revealing a green piece of armor she had been hiding.
"Bell, take this."
"Huh?" Despite his confusion, Bell reached out and received the item. "What is...?"
[Lizard Arm Guard]
Item Class: E
Type: Armor
+2% Physical Damage Reduction.
"An arm guard? Did you buy this for me, Miss Eina!?"
"It's a present." Eina beamed. "Make sure to use it well."
"What!? I-I can't accept this!" Bell stammered, shocked that such an attractive and well-meaning woman would buy him such a gift.
"I wish you would, Bell. For your sake, not mine."
Bell quieted as he saw his advisor's smile turn sad, her eyes losing some of their light as she looked down in forlorn memory.
"You never know when an adventurer is going to die... I know a lot of adventurers who never came back. You almost didn't come back."
Bell stiffened as he saw himself bleeding out on the altar, making him tightly grip the armguard.
"I don't want you to die, Bell." Eina continued, looking back into his eyes. "I always want you to return home. So what I'm saying is..."
She tilted her head and gave him a shy, close-eyed smile that made her practically glowing.
"I guess this is for my sake? When I saw how hard you were working, I wanted to help. I want to make sure you always come back, Bell. So... take it, okay?"
Bell felt his heart soar at the beautiful image of the kind woman before him, and he couldn't stop himself from reaching forward and wrapping her in a tight, heartfelt embrace.
"EH!? B-B-Bell!?" Eina cried out, her face bursting red.
"Thank you." He whispered, those two words full of emotion. "I'll always come back to you, Miss Eina, I promise. Thank you for being my advisor!"
Eina's growing embarrassment ceased from the pure gratitude she heard in Bell's voice. She relaxed in his arms with a soft smile forming, returning the hug with closed eyes and her hands on his back.
"Thank you for always putting up with my selfishness, Bell." She whispered back.
...
...
"Bell?"
"Mm?"
"A-Are you gonna let go now?"
"Eh-? AH-!"
Realizing how intimate his embrace was with such a beautiful woman, Bell jumped back as if having been burned, his entire body resembling a tomato.
"I-I'M SORRY!"
As he started a spiel about impulsively acting on the moment and how he was so sorry for invading her personal space, Eina merely smiled, ignoring her rapidly beating heart.
"Yup, still exactly the same."
"Ugh... why did I do that?"
Bell groaned into his hands as he went through a few alleyways leading back home. His cheeks were still burning from what he had done, despite Eina waving it off with a smile rather than calling him out on it.
"It's not like me to be that... brave?"
He was actually surprised he hadn't completely shut down after having hugged Eina so close like that. The only other person he's ever hugged that tightly is Hestia, and that's because he's gotten used to her tight embraces after so many of them.
Bell's eye twitched as he walked into an opening of sunlight leaking into the alleyway he was walking through, prompting him to look up at the reddish-purplish sky.
"Ah, it got later than expected." He muttered, absentmindedly moving into a slider wider path.
His squinting eyes shot open as he sensed something, prompting him to turn left just in time to see a small figure in a red hood running right at him with their head down.
"Ah, careful!" Bell caught the person in his arms as they ran right into him, hearing a feminine grunt signifying a young girl as her hood fell back, revealing a set of chestnut-colored hair. The girl didn't look up at him; instead, she realized she bumped into someone and lowered her head in apologetic submission.
"Are you alrirght?" Bell gently held the small girl by her shoulders as he got the briefest of glances at her small frame.
A sudden shout cut off any sort of response he could've received.
"You're not getting away anymore, you damn PALLUM!"
Bell felt the girl tense in his arms, telling him all he needed to know. He looked forward and saw a furious man with dark hair in a ponytail running towards them with his sword swinging.
Quickly letting go of the girl, Bell got in front of her while summoning Rasaka's Fang, holding up his weapon to meet with the opposing blade. With a cracking sound echoing on impact, the sword bounced off the dagger, making the aggravated man stagger back in surprise.
A moment of silence ensued as all three pairs of eyes widened, for when Bell had parried the sword back with his new weapon, a small crack had engraved in the man's blade.
"Uh oh."
"Y-You cracked my sword!" The man partly stammered in disbelief before shifting back into unbridled fury. "You little shit! Are you with her!?"
"Eh!? Um, no... B-But that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you cut down a small girl like that!" Bell retorted.
The man's eyes darkened.
"Tsk! Then I'll kill you first, you brat!"
[Warning! You sense someone with immense bloodlust in close proximity.]
Bell felt it.
He felt it right before the sound of the alert had even come up.
Bloodlust.
His pupils shrunk as his breathing hitched, instincts kicking in as he quickly brandished his dagger and took a defensive position with a still form and pin-prick eyes.
Bell couldn't see it, but for a brief moment, his ruby-red eyes glowed ominously with a tinge of purple.
The angry swordsman froze in place with wide eyes, suddenly feeling something off about the boy in front of him.
All seemed still... at least until a new voice arrived.
"Stop."
Both males shivered at the icy voice that could freeze entire oceans.
Bell looked and immediately felt a bout of dread fill his veins. Both holding a bag of groceries each, he saw not only the beautiful bluish-grey-haired waitress from that restaurant but also the captivating short-haired elf that had pinned him to the wall, the former lighting up when she saw him while the latter menacingly glared at the man holding the sword.
"Aha! Look Ryuu, we found him!" The human girl pointed excitedly.
But Bell was barely even paying attention to her because of the elf.
"She's strong!"
He could practically see an incredible aura of power radiating from the waitress. She's definitely a higher level than him, overwhelmingly so. She has to at least be level three for Bell's senses to be warning him like this, so much that even though the elf doesn't have a name portrayed above her head, he has no doubt she'd have a red one.
"Tsk, can you all just stay out of this!?" The unwelcome, furious man snapped at the new arrivals, not seeing the same thing Bell did. "Get lost already you-!"
"Stop barking."
Right then, the elf's glare became outright murderous, her aura flaring even more prominently to the point where Bell broke into a cold sweat and backed up.
"I don't want to resort to violence... I always end up going too far."
He wanted to run, especially when he remembered his last meeting with the elf, but he didn't want to suddenly leave the pallum girl behind him.
Taking a subtle glance over his shoulder, Bell realized that said girl was already gone.
He could have run earlier! Damn it, could he still run now? No, they were both looking at him now, even ignoring the other man, who was hardly a threat.
"You won't have to worry about him." The human girl spoke to him cheerfully. "This man was just leaving, right?" she finished threateningly at the swordsman.
The aggressive man was shivering at this point, both out of anger and fear towards the elf he could tell was dangerous.
"Ngh... Damn it!" With his angry cry, he turned and ran away, leaving Bell with an even more dangerous threat than before.
Just his luck.
The human girl's smile grew bigger as she approached him. "Now that he's gone, we can talk! It's finally nice to meet you, Bell!"
Oh no. They know his name.
In a last-ditch effort, Bell turned around and activated Sprint to get away. But he didn't even get two steps before a hand yanked his left back.
"Gwah!?"
He almost swung his dagger on instinct but managed to hold back, knowing that he'd be taken down in less than a second if he did so, violently, at that.
"Excuse me, we wish to speak with you," came the polite voice of the elf who had grabbed him in an instant. He could feel her holding his hand tightly, not intent on letting go. Taking a nervous gulp of air, he slowly turned back to the girl, who now had a neutral gaze on her impassive face.
"...Please don't hurt me." Because what else is he supposed to say against a beautiful woman that can kick his ass? His gramps had always told him that was one of the most terrifying things a hero can face, especially when they're angry!
But surprisingly...
"What?"
Out of all the reactions he expected to receive from the elf, a look of scandalized horror wasn't one of them.
"Harm you? I would never do such a thing to an innocent person!"
"What?" Now Bell was just confused, his expression matching his current feelings. "But... didn't you rob me at knifepoint with the other girl?"
The elf's expression somehow turned even more mortified.
"R-Rob you!? That's-! Why-!? Is that what you've been thinking of us this entire time; common criminals!?"
"Well, much more prettier, but..."
"Heehee, it seems like there's a teeny misunderstanding here." Bell turned to the giggling girl beside him, her gleaming eyes staring into his own in clear interest. "First, let me introduce myself. I'm Syr Flover, and this is my friend, Ryuu Lion. We both work at the Hostess of Fertility; you've seen the pub, right?"
"Um, yes?" Bell returned, still incredibly nervous being around the elf, Ryuu.
"And you're Bell, right?" The human girl, Syr, continued with a big smile, yet it only made him tense.
"N-Not to be rude, but... how do you know my name?" He asked cautiously.
"Our coworkers heard your companion mention it when they had... encountered you yesterday," Ryuu answered, still partially annoyed as she recalled the trouble they had caused.
"I'm really sorry about them!" Syr spoke up, hiding cutely behind her bag of produce. "I asked them to help me look for you! I just wanted to talk to you again so we could give you back the drop item you left behind."
Bell gasped.
"You still have it!?"
Syr smiled behind the bag, seeing that she hooked him. She peeked at him cutely, putting on a quivering lip and guilty-looking watery eyes. "We do. I really wanted to give it back and thank you for being so kind when you helped me up, but then you kept avoiding me... That really hurt, you know?"
Rather than panicking and immediately apologizing at the sight of her growing tears, Bell stared perplexed at the human girl. Something felt off for some reason, another weird feeling that he couldn't quite explain. But what it's telling him is...
"Are you... fake crying right now?" He asked aloud.
Syr's eyes widened, as did Ryuu's.
"Wha-!? How could you say that about a woman's tears!?" Syr stammered, caught off guard by the call out.
"You're very perceptive."
"Ryuu!?" Syr turned to her friend in betrayal.
"I was right?" Bell was surprised by that. It had only been an odd feeling...
"Mister Bell." Ryuu started, ignoring her pouting friend as she stared into his eyes sincerely, "I wish to apologize for my actions before. At the time, I had assumed you had ill intent toward Syr when you were simply trying to help her. I acted without thinking, frightening you and making you lose an item of value."
She bowed her head.
"I'm truly sorry."
Bell felt his cheeks redden from receiving such a formal yet sincere apology.
"I-It's okay! You were only looking out for your friend! I think it's really admirable that you were willing to act so fast for her! I forgive you!" He spoke in quick succession.
Ryuu lifted her head, looking relieved.
"Thank you. It had been bothering me for some time now... I didn't harm you badly, did I?"
"No, I was fine," Bell reassured.
"Great!" Syr cut in happily. "Now that that's over, want to come with us so we can give your monster drop back?"
"Right now? Er..." Bell started unsurely, seeing as it had already reached night during their talk.
"We'll also treat you to a meal!" Syr hurriedly added, hoping to convince him. "Pleaaaaaaase? Ryuu is even going as far as to hold... your... hand." The waitress trailed off with a look of disbelief.
Bell and Ryuu blinked at the statement before looking down at their clasped palms.
It was then that the reality of the situation hit them.
Ryuu's eyes widened in pure astonishment, cheeks reddening.
She's holding hands with a man!
She hadn't even thought about her aversion to touch when she had reached out and grabbed the boy so that he wouldn't run away from her. And even more so, she's been holding his hand for the entire time up to now.
And even more more so, she still wasn't smacking it away despite the realization!
The words of her former Familia captain flashed through her mind.
'Ryuu, if a man ever comes along and is able to grab your hand, don't let him go!'
"It can't be!"
As for Bell, he saw the exact moment Ryuu's realization of their contact struck; the immediate widening of her eyes, her shortness of breath, and her tensing posture as she stared at their connecting limbs.
Blood rushing through his face, Bell was the one to pull away while jumping back.
"I-I'M SORRY!" He shouted for the second time in the day as he got into a perfect ninety-degree bow, knowing how elves avoided the touch of others.
Even after he let go, Ryuu stared at her hand like a puzzle to be solved, that gaze then moving to Bell with a hint of fluster.
"No, I was the one who had reached out to you. You have no need to apologize." She said, looking away somewhat bashfully.
Bell didn't look up, nor did Ryuu look at him as she organized her thoughts in the following silence, with Syr staring incredulously at her friend from what she had just seen.
"...May I ask for your full name?" Ryuu asked after a moment, slightly hiding her face behind her bag of groceries.
"U-Um... Bell Cranel." Bell answered, still bowing.
"Mister Cranel then... Would you consider our offer to dine in our pub?"
It was then that Bell finally looked up at the elf, surprised that she hadn't been offended in any way by their prolonged touch. She still seemed caught off guard by it, but... maybe she didn't stress about it as much?
"Well..." He stood up and took a moment to think about her offer. It was already getting late, and his goddess would get worried sick if he didn't return soon. He's scared her far too many times lately because of the system, and he'd rather not keep doing so through his own inconsiderate actions.
He's deeply relieved that he doesn't have to worry about anyone hunting him down anymore, but no doubt Hestia would still be worried and a little suspicious of the girls and the pub because of what had happened involving them so far. He would have to go to the pub regardless to collect the minotaur skin, but he might as well use the chance to bring his goddess and clear everything up.
Plan in mind, he smiled.
"My goddess is waiting for me to get home right now, so I can't go today. But if it's alright, can I stop by for dinner tomorrow and bring her with me?"
"Of course!" Syr immediately responded brightly. "We'd love to have you both!"
As for Ryuu, she nodded in understanding, hesitantly turning her eyes back to Bell with a hint of curiosity in her returned calm gaze.
"That would be fine. We also owe her an apology for the trouble we've caused you. Was she the woman you were with when Chloe and Anya found you?"
"Assuming you're talking about those two cat people, then yes." He looked down fondly as he thought about her. "She's precious to me."
It wasn't long until Bell said goodbye to both women, promising to visit the pub the next day, and started running home, a huge weight of worries removed from his shoulders since he learned that all his concerns had been one big misunderstanding.
As for Syr and Ryuu, they watched him disappear on his way, with the former then turning to the latter with astonishment.
"Wow, I didn't think he'd be able to touch you, Ryuu." She pointed out, bringing a slight blush to the elf's cheeks. "He must be something really special, right?" She teased at the end.
Ryuu merely looked back down at her hand in wonder, once more recalling her former captain's words.
'Ryuu, if a man ever comes along and is able to grab your hand, don't let him go!'
...
"Does... Does it count if I'm the one who grabbed his hand?"
That question would bother her for quite some time.
~{Ruined Church-Night}~
"What!? Are you serious, Bell!?"
The adventurer nodded in confirmation to her question, seated cross-legged on the bed across a wide-eyed Hestia. He had only just arrived home before telling his goddess about his encounter with the two waitresses, explaining what happened and their offered apologies for their actions towards him.
"Uh-huh. They even have the minotaur skin still with them and invited me to eat when I go to their pub tomorrow to get it."
Hestia gasped before crawling up to him, grabbing his shoulders.
"But Bell, what if it's a trap!? Those hussies could be using your innocence to trick you into walking right in their territory before doing unspeakable things to you!"
"...Like what?"
"I said 'unspeakable' for a reason, Bell!" She returned, cheeks pink.
Slightly confused but getting the idea that he shouldn't go alone with them, Bell smiled and put a palm on Hestia's head, gently rubbing it.
"I can take you with me. They told me that their pub tends to stay open for later hours of the day. We can go there together after you're done with work."
Slightly relaxing from Bell's rubbing her head, Hestia cooed as her body loosened up, slumping against the boy's chest.
"Mmmm... but are you sure, Bell?" She still asked.
"I am." He answered assuredly, continuing his caressing. "It felt like they were being completely sincere, I don't know why..."
Hestia looked up at him, and her cheeks puffed in annoyance.
"There you go trusting girls again, Bell! Were they that pretty!?"
"Huh? No no no, it's not like that!" The boy quickly put down her assumption with pink cheeks. "I don't really know how to explain it! I sort of just... knew?"
His explanation didn't seem to convince the goddess in the slightest, judging by her twitching eye. But at least she didn't immediately forbid him from planning to go to the pub.
"I'll go with you there... but it won't count, okay!?"
"Huh? What won't count?" Bell tilted his head.
"It won't count as our date, okay!? We'll go out another time where it'll be just us!" Hestia huffed.
Bell blinked a few times in surprise before an amused smile took to his face. He gave his goddess's head a few reassuring pats before answering her.
"Of course. I'll be looking forward to it, Hestia."
The short woman's expression finally brightened as she tightly wrapped him up in a hug with her head on his chest, nuzzling herself against him while muttering happy things.
The pair went to sleep afterward, with Bell dozing on the couch while Hestia grumpily slept on the bed, annoyed that he wouldn't sleep on it with her. They had slept together on the sofa the day they returned from the Dian Cecht Familia, so why not now!? Sure, it had only been because both had been emotionally vulnerable after the fifth-floor incident, but that didn't mean they had to stop now!
"Stupid Bell..." Hestia whined as she waited until the boy was asleep, to which she left the softness of her bed. As per habit, she once more slipped under the blanket covering Bell and snuggled against him, resting her head on his chest.
A smile of bliss formed on the goddess as she felt the gently elevating chest of the mortal, wishing to never have it stop.
"I love you, Bell." She whispered, easily slumbering away thanks to the warmth of her child. The sounds of their breathing filled the room as midnight arrived, introducing the start of the day.
And brought with it was a subtle purple glow covering Bell.
Bell's internal clock had him waking up somewhat before dawn, as he usually does. He opened his eyes to the gently lit area of the church's basement, blinking a few times to wake up... only to realize that he was already awake with no tiredness whatsoever.
"Huh?" He still had to rub away the morning crust in his eyes, but aside from that, there wasn't any sign of sleep inertia that'd usually come from waking up. No blurriness in his vision, no feelings of grogginess, not even a single yawn coming out of his mouth.
"Odd..."
Waking up early and jump-starting himself for the day had never been hard for Bell, but it had never felt this effortless. Yes, it had become much easier ever since gaining the system, no doubt from how it improved his body, but there had always been some form of tiredness whenever he got up.
Bell frowned a bit as he moved to sit up, only to pause as he registered the extra weight on his chest, looking down to find his small goddess right on top of him, snoozing away.
"She really has to stop climbing in with me..."
With expert movements developed from weeks of escaping in the morning, Bell wiggled himself out of Hestia's grasp while simultaneously replacing himself with a pillow for her to hold. Smiling satisfactorily that he didn't wake her up, the novice adventurer stood up and headed into their bathroom while stretching his arms, feeling no morning heaviness in his body.
"If anything... This is probably the best I've felt waking up." Putting it off as another thing of the system (because what else can it be?) Bell entered the bathroom while pulling his shirt over his head, placing himself in front of the sink where their chipped and slightly cracked mirror stood. He leaned forward and splashed his face with water to give it a quick clean, wiping it down with a towel before looking up to see-
"Eh?"
Bell froze as he caught sight of his reflection. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked back up at himself.
...
"WHAT THE WHAT!?"
In the other room, Hestia shouted as she was startled awake, tumbling off the sofa and crashing to the floor with the blanket and pillow falling on top of her. But she didn't linger as she sat up, awake in an instant just from hearing her favorite mortal's distress.
"Bell!?" She climbed to her feet but yelped as she almost slipped on the blanket, stumbling into the bathroom and catching herself in the doorway. "Bell! Are you okay!? I heard you scream-!"
The rest of her words died the moment her bewildered Bell turned and presented himself with outstretched arms.
"Hestia! Look what happened, I changed!"
Incoherent sounds came out of Hestia's mouth as her pupils dilated to the brim like a cat, her mouth hanging open and her breathing all but stopping.
Her Bell, her adorable Bell was right in front of her, but more.
If her mind had been able to think coherently at the time, Hestia would've said it was like he had suddenly grown up while still keeping everything already perfect about him. The baby fat on his face was gone, leaving him with a sharper chin and strong jawline for an equally handsome and cute face; his snow-white hair was neater and naturally swept to his right while still looking soft to the touch but even silkier than before; and his lean frame was more defined than ever, holding magnificent biceps, glorious chest muscles, and marvelous, stunning, ravaging-
"Aaaaaaaaaaaabs!"
Overloaded by all the blood suddenly rushing to her face, Hestia fell back, with all of it bursting out of her nose.
"Hestia!?" Bell caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground, alarm all over his dangerously stunning face. "What happened!? Speak to me!"
"Bwehaheh, abs..."
"HESTIAAAAAAA!"
A goddess reached enlightenment that day, and not far in the future, many others would face the same fate.