"Ah! Celestial Sword. Thank you for coming. Although... I suppose it's Celestial Sword King now, isn't it?" Finn says with a smile.
"Yes, but you know I don't care about that," I say back.
Even if my new alias sounded cool, I would never admit it.
I can see the pair of teasing smirks from my wives right now.
"Is there a reason you called only me though?" I ask.
I was confused.
While I was the strongest in the Familia, Alise was still the captain, and Lyra was the one who made all the plans.
If our relationship with Loki wasn't so close, it would almost be seen as an insult.
"No reason, really. I just assumed you would be easier to relay the information to," he shrugs.
Ah. So he didn't want to deal with Lyra haggling.
"Is it because I said you wouldn't have to deal with expenses?" I ask.
He scratches his cheek in guilt.
"Ha. I see. Anyway, while I said those big words, I still don't really understand what happened. From what Ais said, it wasn't just a rare monster or an irregular," I say.
"No," he shakes his head, "it was... a stampede, you could call it. There were so many of these monsters that they filled the whole corridor. And once we retreated to the 50th floor... there was a giant version of it."
...
"A giant, new breed of monster... in the Safe Zone?" I ask slowly.
"Yes. But more specifically, not only a giant monster but also a horde of the ones we found on the lower floors."
Well, that's not great.
"And this was they dropped," he says, handing me a magic stone.
Except, unlike normal magic stones, this one was coloured a bit differently.
"...Does it work like a normal magic stone?" I ask.
"From what we tested, yes. But it's still odd," Finn remarks.
I roll the magic stone back and forth, contemplating what exactly this means.
Was the colour important? Or nothing.
"While the new monsters can be dealt with easily by having a few strong magicians, what is more troubling is the lack of information and how the dungeon seems to be changing," Finn continues.
"Yeah. With Evilus rearing its head, we might have to fight a battle on two fronts," I add.
Or perhaps... was it connected?
And what about Knossos? Were they a part of this too?
"Three, actually," Finn says.
Raising my head in confusion, he explains, "Rakia seems to be preparing for another war. At least according to Lord Hermes."
"Pff!" I laugh, "Ares' country? Their strongest fighter is a level 4, last time I heard. If they try anything funny, they're in for a bad time."
Finn nods, "I suppose so. Now that we have a level 7 that will fight for more than just their Goddess. Speaking of... I'm surprised Ottar hasn't challenged you yet."
I shake my head, "I've been avoiding that guy ever since I became level 6. From what I've heard, he wouldn't think anything of fighting in the middle of the city."
"That does sound like the King... Anyway... is your offer of an investigation expedition still on the table?" he asks.
"Yeah. Or, at least I'm in. But I'm sure the girls would want to check on what's happening. But if we do, it should be a small party of elites. No one under level 5... except Lefiya, maybe," I say.
"Then I suppose we're done here. I suggest that your Familia acquire some new weapons, or at least have your current ones enchanted. Unless you plan on dealing with this new species by yourself, that is," Finn says, extending his hand.
"...I'll see. Will you be getting some new weapons?" I ask, shaking his hand.
"Well, we can't do much with our current ones, so yes. But what will you be doing in the meantime?" he asks.
Thinking back to Bell, and how badly Stella wanted me to spoil and train him, I answer, "Just... some things."
----- 1 Day Later -----
Knocking on the door, I hear someone scramble from inside before it opens to reveal Bell, who had very obviously just awoken from a good night's sleep.
"S-Sirius? What are you doing here?" he asks.
"Good morning to you too. Now can I come in? I have a gift," I say.
"S-Sure!"
The boy, still skittish, then invites me into the... house? Chruch?
Home. I'll go with home.
"Ah~? What the heck is going on?"
Looking over to the bed, I see a dishevelled Hestia slowly get up, rubbing her eyes.
...I couldn't believe she was on the same tier of existence as Mother Astraea.
No, considering the fact she was the one who was tasked with caring for the holy flame, or whatever it was called, she was technically in a higher tier than Mother Astraea.
There was definitely some nepotism going on, that's for sure.
"Huh? Y-You! You're-!"
"Bell's trainer, yes. Now Bell, go sit on that couch."
While he was confused, the boy followed my instructions.
"Umm... what exactly-?"
"Read this."
Interrupting him, I toss him a grimoire, which he fumbles over before slowly opening the page.
"Okay? But why-"
He then falls to the side, fast asleep
"Huh!? What happened!" Hestia, now wide awake, jumps over to Bell.
Checking up on him, she then turns to me with a face filled with fury.
"You. What did you just do to my Bell?"
'Her Bell'?
Okay, something definitely changed while I was gone.
Not that it mattered though.
"Nothing bad. In fact, he'll be extremely happy when he wakes up. Now restrain your divinity. You don't want to get sent to Tenkai on accident, do you?" I say.
Knowing my words weren't a lie, Hestia calmed down before taking a seat next to her child.
That worry... at least I knew Hestia was as good as a Goddess as I thought, but even then...
Wait. Lili had been acting like a giggly little schoolgirl ever since meeting Bell, and even Eina, the stern guild advisor, showed a few faces I hadn't seen before.
This boy... was he a womanizer?
Perhaps that might be too harsh, but my point still stands.
Even Ais was acting weird.
"Huh? What... happened?" Bell says, groggily sitting up.
"You read a grimoire. And judging from your little nap there, it seems to have worked. Now Hestia, update his status please," I say.
"G-Grimoire!? T-Those are really expensive, aren't they?" he says in shock.
Yes, Bell... yes, they are expensive. Really... really expensive.
With the room setting alight in a soft glow, Hestia takes a page off of his back as her eyes widen in surprise.
"W-What... the heck?" she exclaims.
"What is it, Goddess?" Bell asks.
"N-Nothing! You got a magic, is all! Just like Sirius said. Congratulations."
I watch in confusion as she rubs her finger across the bottom of the page before handing it to Bell.
And her face... it was both excited and displeased at the same time.
How weird.
"So what is it, Bell? Anything good?" I ask.
"Y-Yeah," he says in shock, "it sounds really good!"
"Oh? What's it called?"
"Firebolt!"
His hand then sets alight in flames before it shoots toward my face.
Slightly surprised, I cast a small shield of stellar magic just before impact, his magic dissipating into thin air as it collides with it.
"U-Umm! S-Sorry!" he says, getting on his knees.
"It's fine. But an instant cast, huh? That's good... very good."
I was a bit worried about having to train him like Lefiya, as without the girl's natural talent in magic, it would take a while for him to be a good magic swordsman.
But with this... well, it made things quite a bit easier.
"...Don't go into the dungeon for a while, alright? Magic is a great weapon, but if used poorly, could lead to disaster. I'll be training you in that too, got it?" I say.
"U-Understood! Do I... come with you now?" he asks.
I shrug, "Sure. But I won't go any easier on you just because it's the morning. Actually, considering how much money I just lost, I'll be going pretty hard on you."
"I..."
Oh?
I expected him to flinch, or cower, or something of that effect, but he seemed... excited, almost.
"I'm fine with that. No, please train me as hard as you can!" he says, bowing.
Well, would you look at that?
I guess he must have found a reason to get stronger or at least a hint of it.
That would serve him well.
----- 3 Hours Later -----
"Hmm..."
His magic... Firebolt... it was quite strong.
Not in the sense of an ultimate attack or anything, but it was extremely useful.
It's chantless, like mine, but he seems to need to say the name of the magic for it to work. But that could be fixed later on.
Even now, it could be used quickly in the middle of combat, making it a great compliment to his agility-focused skillset and growing combat style.
Unfortunately, the power is quite weak... especially at long range, it turns practically useless.
Anyway, having seen him use it a few times, I had a few ideas to test to mould into his combat style.
"Hey Papa! What's- AHH!"
Stella, entering the training grounds, then sprints toward Bell with worry before holding his collapsed form as she tries to use her magic to heal him to no effect.
"Calm down. It's just a mind down," I say.
"Huh?" she looks up at me, "Mind down? But then that means..."
"Yes, I got him a grimoire. You happy?" I sigh.
"Thank you, Papa!"
She then runs toward me and jumps into my arms.
Oof... she was definitely getting stronger, that's for sure.
Soon I wouldn't be able to take her tackles as easily as I do now.
Holding her up with my arm, she grabs onto my shoulder while looking at the still-collapsed Bell.
I could use Aqua Corona or a potion to get him awake... but I just needed the time to think for now.
"Anyway, what's the magic like?" she says, eyes shining in expectation.
"It's chantless... and could probably be quite versatile once I train him enough," I answer.
"Oh... but what does it do?"
"It shoots a fireball. Or is it a bolt? I don't know, but this is basically what it does."
I then raise my hand and chant a mock "Stellarbolt," before firing off a bullet of stellar magic, the attack creating a cloud of dust as it hits the ground.
"Quite weak right now. But he also doesn't have magic stats, so that's to be expected," I say.
"Whoa... but it looks cool! What do you plan to teach him?" she asks.
Putting a hand on my chin, I think about the first image that popped into my mind when I saw the magic.
It was long ago... back when I was on Earth, so the memories were foggy.
A blonde-haired kid... with a mouth that reminded me of Bete.
Using explosions for movement during combat, doubling as an attack method for medium range... yeah, something like that would work.
"Some stuff, I guess," I answer vaguely.
It might be pretty hard, but the kid did say he wanted to get stronger, no matter what.
So what was I to do but oblige?
I just hoped I could train him to be strong enough in the time I had left before the investigative expedition.
----- 5 Hours Later -----
"Get him the meal set, please. No alcohol."
"Aye, got it... Say, he isn't your son or anything, right?" Mama Mia asks.
"No," I shake my head. "He's... a Familia friend."
"Got it!"
Haa... why was everyone asking me that?
Were we that similar?
"Umm... you didn't need to take me here," Bell says from the side.
"Nonsense. You trained hard, so you should regain your energy. I'm not planning on easing up tomorrow," I say, patting his head.
As we wait for our food, the door to the tavern opens to reveal a very rambunctious Loki Familia.
I guess they were celebrating their dungeon dive... even though they didn't achieve their goal.
But surviving was reason enough, I suppose.
"Oya! You have a table for us?" Loki says.
"Of course!" Syr answers, "Just right here."
That girl, who I now confirmed to be a closet pervert, had been looking at Bell and me ever since we sat down.
Usually, she would happily come over and sit, forgoing her job, but this time... she just stared.
And with weird eyes that almost seemed... hungry.
I decided to ignore it though.
"Thank you for your hospitality. Ah! Sirius. Would you like to sit with us? We'll be comrades soon, after all," Finn says.
Lifting my head, I met eyes with Ais, who gave me an acknowledging nod and smile, before turning my gaze to Bell, who had decided to hide his face with his hands.
Hmm... sorry kid, but you'll have to deal with your feelings one way or another, unless you want to hide until you become a level 6.
"Sure. Do you mind if my little apprentice here can join?" I ask.
"Of course. But apprentice, huh? I guess you really like teaching," Finn says with a smile.
I feel my eyebrow twitch.
Nope. Not in the slightest.
But troublesome kids keep coming to me and forcing my hand.
Grabbing Bell by the collar, I then carry him to the table before placing him in between Ais and me.
"U-Um, I-"
"His name is Bell. Bell Cranel. A newbie adventurer," I say, interrupting his stammering.
Ais looks at him with interest, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Too bad Bell was too embarrassed to return her gaze.
"Bell Cranel... It's nice to meet you," Finn says respectfully.
"U-Umm, nice to meet you too-"
"Tch."
Bete's wonderful face decides to make some noise.
Haa... I had expected this.
"Why the hell's a newbie sitting here? Shouldn't you be begging to be saved or something?" he spits.
"Bete. Stop," Riveria says.
"Tch. Fine," he says.
Looking down at Bell, I noticed he was now averting his eyes from everything but the table.
"Oy. Head up. You're aiming to get stronger, right? Such words should be used as motivation," I whisper, nudging his shoulder.
Raising his head, our food and drinks then arrive, somewhat alleviating the awkward tension from the air.
"So, Bell... what brings you to Orario?" Finn asks.
"I..." Bell then looks down, his face slightly red. "I want to be a hero."
"Pff-! Ouch!"
Bete laughs, but a quick kick from under the table shuts him up.
"Well... I suppose you're like me, then. And there's surely no one better to learn under than Sirius. Good luck," Finn says.
Glancing to my side, I notice that Ais is also looking intently at the boy, with something close to... longing?
Oh... no way... it can't be, right?
Haha... no. It can't. She's just... interested, is all.
She's probably just trying to find a way to apologize to the kid.
A few more such dull conversations pass as everyone downs their respective drinks before Bete, cheeks flaming red, decides to speak up once again.
"Oy Ais! Remember that Minotaur you killed yesterday? Well, not the Minotaur, the kid that was scared shitless afterward! The tomato one!"
Bell freezes.
"Bete," I say in warning.
"What? The kid ran off like a little rabbit! A fucking weak one at that! Don't you find it hilarious?" he cackles.
"I'm warning you," I say.
"Warning me? Hey, if some weak-ass loser wants to waste the Sword Princess' time, then why is that my problem?" he says.
"Then why are you here?" I ask.
"Eh? What do you mean?" he says, confused.
"You said you hate weaklings sitting at your table, right? How about we have a little spar then."
His jaw snaps shut.
Always the same with this guy. He can dish it out but has trouble taking it.
Grabbing the still-frozen Bell by the collar, I get up before tossing a few coins onto the table.
"Don't bare your fangs if you're just gonna tuck your tail between your legs afterward, little doggy."
Before Bete could try to argue against me, I walked out of the tavern, dragging Bell behind me.
"You okay, kid?" I ask him.
"Huh!? Ah! Y-Yeah, I'm... I'm fine," he murmurs.
A lie.
I could tell. He was embarrassed right now.
I mean, having that stuff said about you while sitting next to your crush would make anyone ashamed.
And I know the worst part about Bete's words.
They're right. Well, except for the one about wasting Ais' time.
Bell was weak, he did run off, and he was scared.
And I also knew the best way to relieve these feelings.
"You got your swords on you?" I ask.
"H-Huh? N-No, just one," he answers.
"Haa... didn't I tell you to stay armed when out of the house? Here, take this."
I then hand him my dagger, Starlight.
"Don't worry about breaking it. It has a Durandal enchantment on it," I say.
"W-What do you mean?" he asks.
"You're feeling like shit, right?"
He clenches his fists.
Thought so.
"The best way to take out those feelings is with a good fight in the dungeon, where you can shut your brain off and just fight. Although it's unsafe, with me being here, you'll be fine. So let's go."
And so, we began making our way toward Babel.
- A/N -
Yo, sorry for the long wait compared to usual. I just began writing a new series, and this time, I'm waiting until the 'arc' is finished before posting, which has been... much better. Both in the stress of posting consistently and the quality (since I'll do an overview and edit the whole thing before posting).
Anyway, it's not that I don't have ideas for this series, but it's simply that my newer one is fresher in my mind, and the words seem to write themselves. Because I want to 'strike while the iron's hot', so to say, the updates on this fic won't be as frequent, but it's not a hiatus/discontinuation either.
Thanks for reading!
"Ah! Celestial Sword. Thank you for coming. Although... I suppose it's Celestial Sword King now, isn't it?" Finn says with a smile.
"Yes, but you know I don't care about that," I say back.
Even if my new alias sounded cool, I would never admit it.
I can see the pair of teasing smirks from my wives right now.
"Is there a reason you called only me though?" I ask.
I was confused.
While I was the strongest in the Familia, Alise was still the captain, and Lyra was the one who made all the plans.
If our relationship with Loki wasn't so close, it would almost be seen as an insult.
"No reason, really. I just assumed you would be easier to relay the information to," he shrugs.
Ah. So he didn't want to deal with Lyra haggling.
"Is it because I said you wouldn't have to deal with expenses?" I ask.
He scratches his cheek in guilt.
"Ha. I see. Anyway, while I said those big words, I still don't really understand what happened. From what Ais said, it wasn't just a rare monster or an irregular," I say.
"No," he shakes his head, "it was... a stampede, you could call it. There were so many of these monsters that they filled the whole corridor. And once we retreated to the 50th floor... there was a giant version of it."
...
"A giant, new breed of monster... in the Safe Zone?" I ask slowly.
"Yes. But more specifically, not only a giant monster but also a horde of the ones we found on the lower floors."
Well, that's not great.
"And this was they dropped," he says, handing me a magic stone.
Except, unlike normal magic stones, this one was coloured a bit differently.
"...Does it work like a normal magic stone?" I ask.
"From what we tested, yes. But it's still odd," Finn remarks.
I roll the magic stone back and forth, contemplating what exactly this means.
Was the colour important? Or nothing.
"While the new monsters can be dealt with easily by having a few strong magicians, what is more troubling is the lack of information and how the dungeon seems to be changing," Finn continues.
"Yeah. With Evilus rearing its head, we might have to fight a battle on two fronts," I add.
Or perhaps... was it connected?
And what about Knossos? Were they a part of this too?
"Three, actually," Finn says.
Raising my head in confusion, he explains, "Rakia seems to be preparing for another war. At least according to Lord Hermes."
"Pff!" I laugh, "Ares' country? Their strongest fighter is a level 4, last time I heard. If they try anything funny, they're in for a bad time."
Finn nods, "I suppose so. Now that we have a level 7 that will fight for more than just their Goddess. Speaking of... I'm surprised Ottar hasn't challenged you yet."
I shake my head, "I've been avoiding that guy ever since I became level 6. From what I've heard, he wouldn't think anything of fighting in the middle of the city."
"That does sound like the King... Anyway... is your offer of an investigation expedition still on the table?" he asks.
"Yeah. Or, at least I'm in. But I'm sure the girls would want to check on what's happening. But if we do, it should be a small party of elites. No one under level 5... except Lefiya, maybe," I say.
"Then I suppose we're done here. I suggest that your Familia acquire some new weapons, or at least have your current ones enchanted. Unless you plan on dealing with this new species by yourself, that is," Finn says, extending his hand.
"...I'll see. Will you be getting some new weapons?" I ask, shaking his hand.
"Well, we can't do much with our current ones, so yes. But what will you be doing in the meantime?" he asks.
Thinking back to Bell, and how badly Stella wanted me to spoil and train him, I answer, "Just... some things."
----- 1 Day Later -----
Knocking on the door, I hear someone scramble from inside before it opens to reveal Bell, who had very obviously just awoken from a good night's sleep.
"S-Sirius? What are you doing here?" he asks.
"Good morning to you too. Now can I come in? I have a gift," I say.
"S-Sure!"
The boy, still skittish, then invites me into the... house? Chruch?
Home. I'll go with home.
"Ah~? What the heck is going on?"
Looking over to the bed, I see a dishevelled Hestia slowly get up, rubbing her eyes.
...I couldn't believe she was on the same tier of existence as Mother Astraea.
No, considering the fact she was the one who was tasked with caring for the holy flame, or whatever it was called, she was technically in a higher tier than Mother Astraea.
There was definitely some nepotism going on, that's for sure.
"Huh? Y-You! You're-!"
"Bell's trainer, yes. Now Bell, go sit on that couch."
While he was confused, the boy followed my instructions.
"Umm... what exactly-?"
"Read this."
Interrupting him, I toss him a grimoire, which he fumbles over before slowly opening the page.
"Okay? But why-"
He then falls to the side, fast asleep
"Huh!? What happened!" Hestia, now wide awake, jumps over to Bell.
Checking up on him, she then turns to me with a face filled with fury.
"You. What did you just do to my Bell?"
'Her Bell'?
Okay, something definitely changed while I was gone.
Not that it mattered though.
"Nothing bad. In fact, he'll be extremely happy when he wakes up. Now restrain your divinity. You don't want to get sent to Tenkai on accident, do you?" I say.
Knowing my words weren't a lie, Hestia calmed down before taking a seat next to her child.
That worry... at least I knew Hestia was as good as a Goddess as I thought, but even then...
Wait. Lili had been acting like a giggly little schoolgirl ever since meeting Bell, and even Eina, the stern guild advisor, showed a few faces I hadn't seen before.
This boy... was he a womanizer?
Perhaps that might be too harsh, but my point still stands.
Even Ais was acting weird.
"Huh? What... happened?" Bell says, groggily sitting up.
"You read a grimoire. And judging from your little nap there, it seems to have worked. Now Hestia, update his status please," I say.
"G-Grimoire!? T-Those are really expensive, aren't they?" he says in shock.
Yes, Bell... yes, they are expensive. Really... really expensive.
With the room setting alight in a soft glow, Hestia takes a page off of his back as her eyes widen in surprise.
"W-What... the heck?" she exclaims.
"What is it, Goddess?" Bell asks.
"N-Nothing! You got a magic, is all! Just like Sirius said. Congratulations."
I watch in confusion as she rubs her finger across the bottom of the page before handing it to Bell.
And her face... it was both excited and displeased at the same time.
How weird.
"So what is it, Bell? Anything good?" I ask.
"Y-Yeah," he says in shock, "it sounds really good!"
"Oh? What's it called?"
"Firebolt!"
His hand then sets alight in flames before it shoots toward my face.
Slightly surprised, I cast a small shield of stellar magic just before impact, his magic dissipating into thin air as it collides with it.
"U-Umm! S-Sorry!" he says, getting on his knees.
"It's fine. But an instant cast, huh? That's good... very good."
I was a bit worried about having to train him like Lefiya, as without the girl's natural talent in magic, it would take a while for him to be a good magic swordsman.
But with this... well, it made things quite a bit easier.
"...Don't go into the dungeon for a while, alright? Magic is a great weapon, but if used poorly, could lead to disaster. I'll be training you in that too, got it?" I say.
"U-Understood! Do I... come with you now?" he asks.
I shrug, "Sure. But I won't go any easier on you just because it's the morning. Actually, considering how much money I just lost, I'll be going pretty hard on you."
"I..."
Oh?
I expected him to flinch, or cower, or something of that effect, but he seemed... excited, almost.
"I'm fine with that. No, please train me as hard as you can!" he says, bowing.
Well, would you look at that?
I guess he must have found a reason to get stronger or at least a hint of it.
That would serve him well.
----- 3 Hours Later -----
"Hmm..."
His magic... Firebolt... it was quite strong.
Not in the sense of an ultimate attack or anything, but it was extremely useful.
It's chantless, like mine, but he seems to need to say the name of the magic for it to work. But that could be fixed later on.
Even now, it could be used quickly in the middle of combat, making it a great compliment to his agility-focused skillset and growing combat style.
Unfortunately, the power is quite weak... especially at long range, it turns practically useless.
Anyway, having seen him use it a few times, I had a few ideas to test to mould into his combat style.
"Hey Papa! What's- AHH!"
Stella, entering the training grounds, then sprints toward Bell with worry before holding his collapsed form as she tries to use her magic to heal him to no effect.
"Calm down. It's just a mind down," I say.
"Huh?" she looks up at me, "Mind down? But then that means..."
"Yes, I got him a grimoire. You happy?" I sigh.
"Thank you, Papa!"
She then runs toward me and jumps into my arms.
Oof... she was definitely getting stronger, that's for sure.
Soon I wouldn't be able to take her tackles as easily as I do now.
Holding her up with my arm, she grabs onto my shoulder while looking at the still-collapsed Bell.
I could use Aqua Corona or a potion to get him awake... but I just needed the time to think for now.
"Anyway, what's the magic like?" she says, eyes shining in expectation.
"It's chantless... and could probably be quite versatile once I train him enough," I answer.
"Oh... but what does it do?"
"It shoots a fireball. Or is it a bolt? I don't know, but this is basically what it does."
I then raise my hand and chant a mock "Stellarbolt," before firing off a bullet of stellar magic, the attack creating a cloud of dust as it hits the ground.
"Quite weak right now. But he also doesn't have magic stats, so that's to be expected," I say.
"Whoa... but it looks cool! What do you plan to teach him?" she asks.
Putting a hand on my chin, I think about the first image that popped into my mind when I saw the magic.
It was long ago... back when I was on Earth, so the memories were foggy.
A blonde-haired kid... with a mouth that reminded me of Bete.
Using explosions for movement during combat, doubling as an attack method for medium range... yeah, something like that would work.
"Some stuff, I guess," I answer vaguely.
It might be pretty hard, but the kid did say he wanted to get stronger, no matter what.
So what was I to do but oblige?
I just hoped I could train him to be strong enough in the time I had left before the investigative expedition.
----- 5 Hours Later -----
"Get him the meal set, please. No alcohol."
"Aye, got it... Say, he isn't your son or anything, right?" Mama Mia asks.
"No," I shake my head. "He's... a Familia friend."
"Got it!"
Haa... why was everyone asking me that?
Were we that similar?
"Umm... you didn't need to take me here," Bell says from the side.
"Nonsense. You trained hard, so you should regain your energy. I'm not planning on easing up tomorrow," I say, patting his head.
As we wait for our food, the door to the tavern opens to reveal a very rambunctious Loki Familia.
I guess they were celebrating their dungeon dive... even though they didn't achieve their goal.
But surviving was reason enough, I suppose.
"Oya! You have a table for us?" Loki says.
"Of course!" Syr answers, "Just right here."
That girl, who I now confirmed to be a closet pervert, had been looking at Bell and me ever since we sat down.
Usually, she would happily come over and sit, forgoing her job, but this time... she just stared.
And with weird eyes that almost seemed... hungry.
I decided to ignore it though.
"Thank you for your hospitality. Ah! Sirius. Would you like to sit with us? We'll be comrades soon, after all," Finn says.
Lifting my head, I met eyes with Ais, who gave me an acknowledging nod and smile, before turning my gaze to Bell, who had decided to hide his face with his hands.
Hmm... sorry kid, but you'll have to deal with your feelings one way or another, unless you want to hide until you become a level 6.
"Sure. Do you mind if my little apprentice here can join?" I ask.
"Of course. But apprentice, huh? I guess you really like teaching," Finn says with a smile.
I feel my eyebrow twitch.
Nope. Not in the slightest.
But troublesome kids keep coming to me and forcing my hand.
Grabbing Bell by the collar, I then carry him to the table before placing him in between Ais and me.
"U-Um, I-"
"His name is Bell. Bell Cranel. A newbie adventurer," I say, interrupting his stammering.
Ais looks at him with interest, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Too bad Bell was too embarrassed to return her gaze.
"Bell Cranel... It's nice to meet you," Finn says respectfully.
"U-Umm, nice to meet you too-"
"Tch."
Bete's wonderful face decides to make some noise.
Haa... I had expected this.
"Why the hell's a newbie sitting here? Shouldn't you be begging to be saved or something?" he spits.
"Bete. Stop," Riveria says.
"Tch. Fine," he says.
Looking down at Bell, I noticed he was now averting his eyes from everything but the table.
"Oy. Head up. You're aiming to get stronger, right? Such words should be used as motivation," I whisper, nudging his shoulder.
Raising his head, our food and drinks then arrive, somewhat alleviating the awkward tension from the air.
"So, Bell... what brings you to Orario?" Finn asks.
"I..." Bell then looks down, his face slightly red. "I want to be a hero."
"Pff-! Ouch!"
Bete laughs, but a quick kick from under the table shuts him up.
"Well... I suppose you're like me, then. And there's surely no one better to learn under than Sirius. Good luck," Finn says.
Glancing to my side, I notice that Ais is also looking intently at the boy, with something close to... longing?
Oh... no way... it can't be, right?
Haha... no. It can't. She's just... interested, is all.
She's probably just trying to find a way to apologize to the kid.
A few more such dull conversations pass as everyone downs their respective drinks before Bete, cheeks flaming red, decides to speak up once again.
"Oy Ais! Remember that Minotaur you killed yesterday? Well, not the Minotaur, the kid that was scared shitless afterward! The tomato one!"
Bell freezes.
"Bete," I say in warning.
"What? The kid ran off like a little rabbit! A fucking weak one at that! Don't you find it hilarious?" he cackles.
"I'm warning you," I say.
"Warning me? Hey, if some weak-ass loser wants to waste the Sword Princess' time, then why is that my problem?" he says.
"Then why are you here?" I ask.
"Eh? What do you mean?" he says, confused.
"You said you hate weaklings sitting at your table, right? How about we have a little spar then."
His jaw snaps shut.
Always the same with this guy. He can dish it out but has trouble taking it.
Grabbing the still-frozen Bell by the collar, I get up before tossing a few coins onto the table.
"Don't bare your fangs if you're just gonna tuck your tail between your legs afterward, little doggy."
Before Bete could try to argue against me, I walked out of the tavern, dragging Bell behind me.
"You okay, kid?" I ask him.
"Huh!? Ah! Y-Yeah, I'm... I'm fine," he murmurs.
A lie.
I could tell. He was embarrassed right now.
I mean, having that stuff said about you while sitting next to your crush would make anyone ashamed.
And I know the worst part about Bete's words.
They're right. Well, except for the one about wasting Ais' time.
Bell was weak, he did run off, and he was scared.
And I also knew the best way to relieve these feelings.
"You got your swords on you?" I ask.
"H-Huh? N-No, just one," he answers.
"Haa... didn't I tell you to stay armed when out of the house? Here, take this."
I then hand him my dagger, Starlight.
"Don't worry about breaking it. It has a Durandal enchantment on it," I say.
"W-What do you mean?" he asks.
"You're feeling like shit, right?"
He clenches his fists.
Thought so.
"The best way to take out those feelings is with a good fight in the dungeon, where you can shut your brain off and just fight. Although it's unsafe, with me being here, you'll be fine. So let's go."
And so, we began making our way toward Babel.
- A/N -
Yo, sorry for the long wait compared to usual. I just began writing a new series, and this time, I'm waiting until the 'arc' is finished before posting, which has been... much better. Both in the stress of posting consistently and the quality (since I'll do an overview and edit the whole thing before posting).
Anyway, it's not that I don't have ideas for this series, but it's simply that my newer one is fresher in my mind, and the words seem to write themselves. Because I want to 'strike while the iron's hot', so to say, the updates on this fic won't be as frequent, but it's not a hiatus/discontinuation either.
Thanks for reading!
