Hello Fanfiction readers! It is I, Ashbel Longhart, here to bring you another chapter of my DanmachixDark Souls story. I keep saying how I won't be doing chapters until I lessen my workload, but ideas just keep coming and I did this chapter right here. I wasn't planning on releasing this until much later, but I need to free up some space so here you go, people, who really love this story. I mean, seriously, the amount of Fav's and Follows is insane! Cue disclaimer.
(Disclaimer: I do not own Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka, Danmachi for short, or Dark Souls. Both belong to their respective owners. I just own this story and nothing more. Please Enjoy.)
Anyway, a quick recap: Bell met Lillie for the first time and went dungeon diving for some money...That's it. Anyway, it's time for some jolly adventuring!
Is It Too Much To Ask To Be Left Alone?
Grace 7: A Strange Adventurer(More Quests)
"You've already found yourself a Supporter?" Bell nods his helmeted head at his half-elf advisor, having told her about his partnership with Lili yesterday. "I thought you were the only member of your Familia. Did you get a new member?"
"No, she's from a different Familia," Bell explains. "Her name is Liliruca Arde from the Soma Familia, and she helped me quite a bit yesterday."
"A Supporter from a different Familia..."
"Should I have not accepted her aid?" Bell asks, tilting his head. The half-elf couldn't help, but notice that the knight made a habit of doing that a lot, mostly to express his confusion.
"No, no, it's completely fine," Eina said, waving her hands in front of her. "It's just that, well, you said she was from Soma Familia, right?"
Bell nodded. "Yes, why? Is there something strange with Soma Familia?"
"I wouldn't say strange..." Eina said as she opened a drawer and scrolled through its contents until she pulled out the information about Soma Familia. "The Soma Familia is a typical case of Dungeon explorers. Their Levels are above average among major Familias, being mostly filled with Lv. 2 and 1's, but they differ from the others—They're also involved in commerce."
"Commerce?"
"They sell liquor," Eina explained. "They don't sell much and their selection is small, but it's reputed to have exquisite flavor."
"Oh?" Bell made a noise akin to interest. Was he interested in the liquor? She knew people his age were curious about alcohol, having seen many others drink it, but he really shouldn't be drinking at his age.
"Wow...More importantly, they have quite a large member-base. I didn't know about this," Eina said as she read more about the Soma Familia.
"So this Soma is highly worshipped?" Bell asked and the half-elf nodded.
"It seems so, even though no one knows much about this god, good or bad, at all."
"Hmm..." Now Bell made a sound that Eina that he was suspicious of something. He then asked, "What can you tell me about this God?"
"Well, I heard he's famous for having no communication with the other gods. It's said he's never shown up at a God's Banquet. Even worse, they wonder if any other god actually knows him."
"And yet this Gods has so many people in his Familia worshipping him." Bell pointed out.
"Yes..." Eina said, starting to see why Bell was so suspicious. This God wasn't well known compared to others, yet he has so many in his Familia. This contrast was quite...extreme.
"There's nothing unique about the Familia, but..."
"But?" Bell repeated, prompting Eina to continue.
"This is only my personal opinion," Eina said before explaining. "Adventurers from the Soma Familia have this strange air about them. They say they compete among themselves against their own comrades...almost desperately. How can I put this...These Familia members are for some reason desperate for something, and it's affecting them negatively."
"So you disapprove of me partnering with Lili?" Bell asked.
"Well, not really," Eina said, surprising the armored Adventurer. "It's true the Soma Familia is a bit mysterious, but you don't have to worry about conflicts between Familias. No problems with Soma either. As long as you're careful enough to avoid irritating other members, it'll be okay. As I said yesterday, I want you to have someone at your side that isn't a..." The half-elf glances down at Sif who had been minding her own business while she and Bell spoke. "Well, you know."
For Bell's part, he simply nodded, understanding what Eina was saying.
"Anyway, the rest is up to you, Bell. You've made this decision on your own and thus you have to take responsibility," Eina said. "Though, if I may ask, what do you think about this Liliruca person?"
"Well, she certainly isn't lacking in her skills as a Supporter, and she seems like a good person. Although..."
"Although...?"
"...Miss Eina," Instead of answering, Bell brought up another question. "Are Supporters scorned by Adventurers?"
Eina blinked at the sudden question but answered nonetheless, smiling sadly.
"Yes. Full-time Supporters are deemed lower in status by full-fledged Adventurers. I'm sure you know why without me telling you..." The knight simply lowered his head which told Eina all she needed to know. "Not everyone can become infinitely strong, even with a blessing from a god. To be honest, such failed Adventurers are likely to change to full-time Supporters and become easy targets of contempt."
"...despicable." There was a faint red glow from under the slit of his helmet. While Eina didn't know if the feat was still her imagination or not, she knew that it was a clear sign that Bell was getting angry.
Gulping, Eina tried to change the subject and lucky for her, she had one laying right on her desk.
"Um, Bell? I've got a Quest for you."
The red glow under his helmet faded, much to the half-elf's relief as Bell looked back up at Eina who picked up the paper detailing the Quest.
"This came in a few days ago," Eina said, handing Bell a Leftover Quest.
Leftover Quests were, as the name implied, Quests that had been left over. The Guild received Quests from people every few days and were showed up on the Notice Board alongside the news. However, the Guild had the decision to display what kind of Quests that got to be displayed. Should there be anything left that wasn't deemed important enough, the workers were told to either hold onto them or throw them away. The one Eina was handing Bell was one such request, one of many she had shown him this past week. The knight had requested that the half-elf show him any leftover Quests that he could do after learning about their existence a few days back.
The Quest she gave Bell went as followed: a village quite a distance away from the city was currently suffering from Monster attacks, destroying crops and injuring people. From the description given, the Monster that was plaguing the village seemed to be Goblins. The reward was mediocre, probably why this Quest had been overlooked by other Adventurers until it was taken down, but she knew Bell would not care about such a thing.
Reading the Quest out loud to himself and Sif since the wolf couldn't read(something the half-elf took relief in as she was still wondering how the Monster understood them), the knight discussed with Sif whether they should take the Quest. After a while, the knight looked back up at the half-elf. After a week of seeing him go on Quests, Eina guessed...
"Anything else?" Yep, he was asking for more Quests.
"Hold on." Holding up a finger, Eina went through another drawer where she kept any Leftover Quests and pulled out one that, after a bit of thinking, seemed good.
"Here we go." She handed the Quest paper to Bell for him to read. "It's a simple request from the Miach Familia. It says they need a certain plant to brew potions, but I suggest meeting them to get more details."
"I see." Was all Bell said as he read over the Quest.
"Now I know I shouldn't be giving you personal request from other Familia, but you're acquainted with Miach and the Quest isn't that difficult," Eina said. Bell had a good relationship with the God and his Familia as it was where Bell normally got his potions from. She didn't know why Bell had suddenly decided to get the ones the Guild offers, but she didn't make a big deal out of it.
Bell suddenly looked up at her and despite the helmet, Eina felt that the knight was staring at her confused. Then, as if remembering something, he said, "Y-Yeah. Miach, yeah, it's been a while since I've last spoken with him."
Eina raised an eyebrow at the knight's strange behavior but decided not to call him out on it and went back to explaining. "Whatever plants they need, the location is close to the village in the first Quest so you can knock out two in one day."
Bell hummed in acknowledgment at Eina's words before finally making a decision.
"I'll take it."
"Sorry, I'm shoving this onto you, even though you just got back to Dungeon diving." Eina apologized.
"Don't be, I was the one who asked to see any Leftover Quests that you have," Bell said, rolling up the two Quests given to him and putting them away before turning to leave with Sif following close behind. "I'll see you later."
"Good luck," Eina quickly said and the knight simply held up his left hand before clenching it into a fist. Strange gestures aside, the half-elf, while confident that he would return unharmed, wished for the knight's safety.
Bell Cranel was strange. That is what Lili thought about her current employer as she walked through the market area to restock her supplies. She was running low on bolts for her ballista as well as a few smoke bombs and poison bags. Just because she was a Supporter doesn't mean she didn't know how to at least fight back against Monsters, even if her way didn't work on every Monster. She was a Supporter after all.
She didn't know why she was even thinking about the armored Adventurer. Sure he was kind to her and albeit strange, but she didn't exactly feel safe around the man despite his strength. She had thought he was some gullible, goody-two-shoes person. It certainly explained all the armor. She had approached the man in order to teach him a lesson, have reality slap him in the face as it did her. But the second they stepped into the Dungeon, it was like he was a different man.
What had once been a reserved, but talkative man had turned into a silent killing machine. As they made their way down to the 10th Floor yesterday, he had mercilessly cut down any Monsters that got in their way. Once they got to their destination, the speed and power he displayed were unreal to someone of her level.
A first-class Adventurer. Bell had to be a first-class Adventurer. The abilities he displayed yesterday did not belong to a rookie. She probably should have guessed after he dislocated Ged's jaw when she ran into Bell the first time. But if Bell was a first-class Adventurer, then why did no one know about him? With strength and armor like his, he should have been famous, but as she gathered information about him, people only knew about him due to the wolf he had by his side.
"Here you go." The store clerk hands her a bag of bolts which she took. After paying the man, she took her leave
Bell Cranel was strange and mysterious. He was an enigma. He was different from other Adventurers, but an Adventurer nonetheless. Just because he paid Lili fifty percent of yesterday's profit with her didn't mean she instantly trusted the armored man.
She had to cut ties with him. That is what Lili decided. But on the other hand, that armored Adventurer made really good money. Out of all the Adventurers she's "teamed up" with, Bell made more than what a party of rookie Adventurers could scrounge up. Of course, the Magic Stones they collected came from the 10th Floor, but her point still stood that Lili was making more money then she's ever had before.
If she stayed working with the armored Adventurer, she should have enough money to finally leave her Familia once and for all by the end of this year! But then again, staying by that man's side was not good for her safety. The man known as Bell Cranel hasn't done anything to her yet, but with how he acted in the Dungeon plus the Monster wolf he kept by his side, Lili didn't feel as safe as she should be.
In short, the Pallum girl was stuck in a bind. Should she cut ties with Bell, she would be safe. But if she stayed with him, she'd be free. Yes, it was quite a dilemma.
*clack-clack-clack*
Suddenly, she heard the familiar sound of clacking metal. It was hard to forget the sound as she had to listen to it constantly yesterday. Turning her head, she hoped it was just someone else walking around in full body armor, but such people were quite rare. Nevertheless, she prayed to whatever gods and goddesses were willing to listen.
"Oh? Is that you Lili?" But it seems the gods were much too busy to hear her prayer as she saw Bell wave towards her. And of course, by his side was his faithful companion, Sif. Making sure her dog ears and tail were still on, she turned towards the man she had been thinking of.
"Hello Master Bell," Lili had the guts to at least greet him before turning to Sif. "And a good day to you too, Miss Sif." Said wolf barely spared her a glance before it decided to look around the market area, finding the stores more interesting than her. She didn't know if she should feel relief or insulted.
"What brings you to the market area?" Bell asks, his helmet hiding his expression. She had tried to get the man to take the helmet off so she could see what her employer looked like(and maybe try to steal the helmet later), but he stubbornly denied her request every time she asked.
"Lili is just restocking some of her supplies," Lili said, taking out a small bag simply called a poison bag.
"What is that?" Bell asks, not recognizing the item in Lili's hands.
"In Lili's hands is a poison bag."
"Poison bag?"
"As the name implies, it's contents is filled with poisonous gas from a Purple Moth. The poison itself isn't deadly to most Adventurers since the poison comes from such a weak Monster, but it is effective to weak Monsters," Lili explained.
"I see..." Bell said as he eyed the bag in Lili's hand with...interest? She wasn't sure because of the helmet, but it felt like interest from the way he hummed.
"If Lili may ask, what is Master Bell doing here?" Lili asked simply out of curiosity.
"Same as you, I am here to restock on supplies," Bell said.
"I see," Lili said as she glanced down at the pouches and throwing knives hanging by Bell's waist. "You sure do like to be prepared for anything, Master Bell."
"Of course," Bell said in a tone like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "One can never be too careful."
'Well Lili wishes you'd dialed it down,' Lili thought to herself. His belt of pouches was strapped on tight as well as his armor, making it hard for Lili to steal anything from this man, not like she could though with how the man acted. Seriously, there was cautious, and then there's just plain paranoid. But, he did make a good point.
"True," Lili responded back to the knight, placing the poison bag back into a small shopping bag she was using. "Well, Lili should leave you to your shopping. I'll see you at the Dungeon, Master Bell."
"Oh, I'm not going to the Dungeon today." Just as Lili was about to leave, she froze at Bell's words.
Say what?
"Say what?" Lili repeated her thoughts out loud as she turned to look at the knight in surprise.
"I'm not going to the Dungeon today," Bell repeated to the Pallum. "I'm doing a Quest."
"Huh?" A Quest? He was doing a Quest, but he wasn't going to the Dungeon? How does that make any sense?
Noticing the disguised Pallum's confusion, Bell then said, "The Quest I'm doing takes me out of the city. That's why I'm not going to the Dungeon today."
He was leaving the city? There were Quests that actually let people do that? Why was she only hearing about this now?
"I-I see..." Lili said, keeping her thoughts to herself. "Well then, I guess Lili here will have to seek employment elsewhere."
"Sorry, I'm just now telling you this." The knight apologized and in response, she shook her head.
"It's fine. Lili still has money left over from last time, so she's good even if I don't find work today." Lili said as she turned to leave. "Until next time, Master Bell." And maybe then, she can discuss the ending of their contract. Here's hoping he doesn't react the same as the last guy, though she had a feeling such a thing was highly unlikely.
Then again, he was an Adventurer. All Adventurers were the same.
"Lili, wait!" The Pallum did just that as she turned back to the knight.
"Please don't feel bad for Lili, Master Bell. Moving from Adventurer to Adventurer is normal for a Supporter like Lili. You don't have to cancel your Quest just so you can help Lili out. Go and do your Quest." Really, no matter what she did, this knight would not stop acting kind. She had told him the consequences of doing that to someone like her, but he would just not listen.
Though, if she were being honest, Lili was quite envious of Bell right now. She had been born in the Dungeon City and had lived here her whole life. Meanwhile, Bell got to go outside of the city, something she had wanted to do for so long but knew that if she tried to run, she wouldn't get very far let alone survive. As much as she hated it, the city of Adventures was the only life she knew. And after all she's done to survive, saving every Valis she could get so that she could finally leave her Familia, leaving part way would seem anticlimactic, like all the abuse she had gone through would be meaningless.
She wanted to run, be free, but only after she cut her ties with the Soma Familia.
"Actually," Lili was brought out of her thoughts by Bell who then proceeded to speak to her something that would leave her shocked.
"If you're having difficulty finding work, why not join Sif and I on our Quest?"
Lili's eyes widen at the proposition. He was asking her to accompany him on his Quest. The Quest that would take him outside the city. To the world beyond the walls of Orario.
...
...
...
"Lili needs to get her stuff first." And just like that, Lili accepted before she could stop herself.
"Sure. Meet me at the West Gates by noon."
"Okay!" Lili, speaking in a voice filled with something she would later figure out as excitement, nodded her head before taking off. For the first time in her life filled with hardship, the Pallum felt excited.
The Blue Pharmacy. It was a simple name belonging to the rundown store that was the home of the Miach Familia. It had not always been like this, in the past, but circumstances out of anyone's control has lead to the Irish God's current lifestyle.
Miach, God and owner of the Blue Pharmacy sighed to himself as he looked at his supply cabinet. He was starting to run low on ingredients used to make potions, the store's main source of income. It was a simple matter of going out to buy more and he had the money, but the business has not been going well as of late with few people coming in to buy the store's products.
'I wonder if anyone's accepted the Quests Naaza sent to the Guild,' Miach thought, remembering that his one and only Familia member had sent a few Quests to the Guild in hopes of getting anyone to come by and do a few requests for them. It's been a few weeks since then and no ones come by, either meaning no one was interested or the Quests had gotten taken down.
"I wonder if I should ask Hestia's child for help...?" Miach muttered out loud before shaking his head. Bell was a good kid, but he was still a rookie. He wasn't ready to take Quests yet.
*BAM!*
The God jumped in surprise when the sound of the door being kicked open was heard. What soon followed was a loud, "I'm coming in, FUHAHAHAHA!"
'Great...' A bitter expression made its way to the Gods face as he walked out from the back and came upon the last person/God he wanted to see right now.
A middle-aged old man with graying hair and beard wearing white robes with intricate golden embroidery. Miach immediately recognized the god as-
"Dian..."
Dian Cecht, God of healing, smiled at him mockingly. "Hey there, Miach. Thought I just drop on by and see if you've got the money for this month."
To the side, Miach saw Naaza send a glance his way and Miach motioned for him to handle this.
"I'm sorry, Dian, but I don't have this month's money," Miach reluctantly admitted, keeping calm.
"O~h Rea~lly~?" In a mocking tone, the God of healing stretched out his sentence while smiling. "I could have sworn I told you to have it by the end of this week."
"I'm sorry, but I just don't have the money right now. Business has been...slow lately."
"Has it now? I couldn't tell." Again, the god continued to smile mockingly at him. As much Miach wanted to shut him up, he refrained himself. Conflict between their Familias would just end badly for him.
"Well, since you don't have the money, I guess I can give some extra time, another few weeks or so," Dian said before smiling wickedly. "However, if you can't gather the money until then, then I'll evict you of your store."
"What!?" The eyes of both Miach and Naaza widened in disbelief at the god before Miach spoke in protest. "You can't do that!"
"Yes, I can. After all, who was it again that helped your poor Familia member when you came begging on your knees?" At Dian's words did one of Miach's eyes twitch while Naaza visibly winced from behind the counter, rubbing her right arm. Miach had to use every ounce of his willpower to not tackle the god in front of him for that low blow.
"Well, I better be going. If I stay here any longer, I might just get sick from how rundown this place is. See ya later!" And with that, Dian laughed as he left the shop. Following behind him was a Familia member of his, Airmid Teasanare. The silver-haired doctor silently bowed to them before following after her god. How some as polite like her worked under Dian, Miach would never know.
"Well, that's just great," Naaza said bitterly, laying her head down on the counter as she glared at the door.
Miach meanwhile simply sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He felt like one of these days, he was gonna deck that god right in the face, consequences be damned.
"Any luck with anyone accepting our requests?" Miach asked, turning to the brown haired Chienthrope.
"Nope," Naaza said, tone still bitter. "They've probably been taken down by now."
"It can't be helped if no one's interested," Miach said. The Quests they had posted requested Adventurers to venture out of the city. But most Adventurers today preferred to go to the Dungeon instead and there was more than one way to get potions in this city.
"Well, I'm heading out to buy more ingredients and grocery. Mind the store until then, okay?" Miach said, placing a reassuring hand on the Chienthrope's shoulder before heading towards the door. These were tough times for sure, but they'll make it through this, somehow.
*ring!*
Suddenly, the store bell rung as the door swung open. At first, Miach thought Dian was back to make more useless banter, but to the god's surprise, it was a man in full body armor standing around the same height as Naaza. The god was further surprised when accompanying the armored man was a wolf almost as big as Naaza who froze up at the sight of what was obviously a Monster.
"Um, hello?" Miach greeted the armored man, a bit nervous but tried to put on a brave face while he tried to unfreeze his Familia member.
"Hello," The armored man greeted back in a polite, but also dispassionate tone. How he pulled that off, the god didn't know as the armored man looked around before asking, "Is this the Blue Pharmacy?"
"Yes, this is the Blue Pharmacy," Miach said while keeping an eye on the wolf by the armored man's side. As of right now, it was simply minding its own business, looking around the store.
"I'm Miach, the owner of this store. How can I help you?" The god asked and in response, the armored man took out a rolled up piece of paper.
"I'm here to do a Quest."
Miach felt himself blink at that and he felt Naaza unfreeze at the man's words.
"Oh...OH!" Miach shook himself out of his stupor and gathered back his nerves, trying to look professional with Naaza trying to do the same. He then asked, "How can we help you?"
In response, the armored man handed the Quest paper to the god and he unrolled it to see which Quest the man was taking. He recognized it immediately.
"Ah, this one."
"It says to collect something called a Blue Mountain Flower, but I do not know what it looks like." The knight explained.
"And so you came by to see if we had any to show," Miach said, figuring out why the knight was here though was slightly confused. Everyone should know what a blue mountain flower looked like.
Nevertheless, turning to Naaza, he asks, "Do we still have any?"
"Hold on," Probably still surprised that someone had come by to do a Quest after they had just talked about it, the Chienthrope rushed to the back and a minute later came back with the needed plant.
"Here it is," Naaza said, showing it to the knight.
"So this is a Blue Mountain Flower," The knight said, looking down and getting a good look at the plant. The shape of it resembled a rose as the petals were, obviously, blue.
"Blue Mountain Flowers aren't that hard to find, they can be found almost anywhere, but they don't grow around here," Miach said, speaking about the whole city area of Orario as a whole. "It's quite a bit away, but there's a forest where you can find them. I'd like it if you could bring back at least 10 flowers."
"I understand," The knight said, taking the Quest-paper back and rolling it up. "I shall return with your requested items."
"And we'll have your reward when you return," Miach said with an appreciated smile before quickly saying, "Thank you."
The knight simply nodded as he turned and left the store, motioning for the wolf to follow as the door closed with a soft click.
"Well, at least we don't have to worry ingredients anymore," Miach said to Naaza with a smile. Of course, there was more that went into making potions, but he could get the rest later.
Naaza herself showed off a small smile before she made a face of confusion. He noticed this and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Well..." Turning back to the door the knight had just left through, the Chienthrope said, "Didn't that guy sound kind of like Bell?"
Blinking, Miach thought about Naaza's words while thinking back to his conversation with the armored Adventurer and true to the Chienthrope's words, the knight did sound like the blessed child of his friends, Hestia. Thinking about it now, he hasn't seen the boy in quite a while. Looking back to the door the knight just left through, the god thought to himself...
'That couldn't have been him...could it?'
With a grunt, Bell got off the carriage, having finally arrived at his destination. Behind him, both Sif and Lili got off as well, stretching their limbs to shake off the sleep in them. The carriage drive had taken a good couple of hours. They had traveled quite far, Bell noticed. Depending on how things went, Bell estimated that he should be able to return to Orario by late night should no problems occur.
"You okay?" Bell asks the Supporter who was taking much longer than Sif to get her limbs back in working order.
"Lili is fine, she just hasn't ridden in carriages often," Is what she said as she finally finished her stretches and adjust the giant backpack she was carrying.
"You seemed to enjoy the trip here," Bell pointed out, remembering how the proclaimed Chienthrope was a bit starry-eyed as they rode in the carriage earlier.
"Well, can you blame Lili? This is the first time I've stepped out of the city," Lili said, blushing a little.
"Wait, this is the first time you've been out of Orario?" Bell asked, a bit surprised.
"Yes. Lili has lived in the city all her life. This is the first time she's seen the outside world," Lili said. That certainly explained why the Supporter had been so excited when he offered her a chance to join his Quest. She was excited at the chance to go outside the city walls.
"And? How was it?"
"The outside world is a lot...brighter than Lili imagined." Bell was just gonna take that as 'she liked it.'
Nodding, Bell began to look around the village they had arrived at. It was a simple place, fairly large compared to most villages he's visited in the past week. He could spot a well not too far from his position. To the far east of the village was a forest, fairly dense from what he could see and close to the fields the villages uses to harvest plants and vegetables. Due to how close the harvest fields and forests were, he could see how the Monsters got close enough to destroy the crops and injure anyone that was near, no doubt farmers.
'First off, got to talk to the chief of this village.' Bell thought, already walking through the village and towards the biggest house here.
"Ah, Master Bell! Wait for Lili!" Bell heard Lili called out as he heard the Supporter following close behind, but Bell did not stop until he arrived at his destination. It seems word of his arrival had spread as there was already someone waiting for him. An elderly man wielding a cane to support him. He wasn't at an age where he would fall over without the cane, but he was approaching close to that age.
"Are you the chief of this village?" Bell asks in an almost dispassionate tone, getting straight to business.
"I am. Are you the Adventurers sent from the Guild?"
"Yes." Wasting no time, Bell pulled out the Quest paper and held it to the chief. "Here is the proof."
The elderly man scanned the request paper in his hands before nodding. He then looked at Bell and who he had with him.
"Is this all of you?"
"Yes." Short and fast was Bell's reply, already seeing the doubt in the man's eyes so he made sure to appear confident. That's what people wanted to see when taking a Quest. Seemingly satisfied, the man gestures with his head to follow him and Bell did so with Sif and Lili following close behind.
"Hey, is that the Adventurer?"
"Must be. Look at that armor he's wearing."
"Isn't it a bit dirty though?"
"'bout time someone showed up."
"What's with that wolf he has following him? And how's that girl carrying such a big bag?"
"Here's hoping he can take care of the Monsters. Need to put food on the table, you know?"
Already, people from around the village were whispering amongst themselves. While he didn't exactly have super hearing, the villagers weren't exactly quiet in their whispering. Nevertheless, he ignored all the whispering and gestured Lili to do the same as the small girl looked a bit nervous.
"We sent out that request a week ago. I was beginning to think no one was going to come," The elderly man said, looking thankfully at the small group following him until he led them to the fields where men and woman were already working on harvesting the crops.
"Are you preparing for a harvest festival?" Bell asks, recognizing the signs based on what little memory he had left of his old self.
"Yes. We started around a few weeks back when one morning, we found all our crops ruined." The elderly chief explained. "We had the guardsmen go out at night to investigate and discovered Monsters, all Goblins, eating all our crops. They chased them away and the next day, they set out into the forest to go take care of the Monsters."
"But they never came back, did they?" Bell asks and the man nodded. He thought as much. Since entering this town, there were very few guardsmen that were stationed around, telling Bell they were either understaffed(which was unlikely), or something had happened.
Goblins were infamous for being the weakest Monsters in the world and no doubt, the ones found on the surface would be much weaker than the ones found in the Dungeon. Even without a Falna, a normal man should be able to take care of a measly Goblin. And yet the Quest had described that this village needed help against the Goblins and wanted the source to be stomped out. That meant there is something else besides the Goblins.
"This seems awfully suspicious," Lili whispered to him. no doubt coming to the same conclusion he did. Nevertheless, these people needed help and he would aid them.
Turning to the forest, he saw it was neighboring a nearby mountain. To the left and right of it was nothing, but plains for miles and miles. After double checking everything, he began to ask questions.
"How steep is that mountain?"
"Huh?" The village chief blinked at Bell in surprise before quickly answering. "Y-You should be able to pass on horseback so not that steep."
"Any caves?" Bell's next question came in an instant, forcing the elderly man to respond quickly.
"Y-Yes. One of our woodsmen found one. We think that's where the Goblins are housed at."
"Are there any other caves?"
"I don't believe so."
"I see." Bell hums to himself as he crosses his arms.
A cave. It's not the first time Bell's been in one, but he suspected there was going to be very little room for him to swing his sword around depending on how big the cave will be. He could still stab things with it but having short swords, knives, or even a spear would be better for him as it gave him more options in attacks. Perhaps when he got back to Orario he should buy more weapons for different situations. While he was more used to swords, he couldn't use it everywhere.
'Something to think about for later,' Bell thought as he turned to Sif and Lili.
"Here's what we do." First, he turned to Sif. "Sif, I need you to stay here." Immediately, the wolf sent him a look of disbelief before it turned into one of denial. Bell instantly had his explanation ready. "I need you to guard the villagers should anything happen while I'm gone."
"Master Bell, you do realize you're having a Monster defend people here, right?" Lili said, pointing out the Undead's absurd request.
"Then can you deal with a group of Monsters alone should they appear while Sif and I are gone?" Bell asked and Lili instantly saw why Bell picked Sif and not her.
"Lili sees your point," The Chienthrope said before asking, "But what should I do?"
"You can either stay here with Sif or come along with me. I'm fine with whatever you choose," Bell said and he spoke the truth. If Lili came with him, then he'll have someone to watch his back. If not, then that was fine too. After his experience in Lordran, he was quite used to fighting alone.
Bell watched as Lili looked between himself and Sif, unsure of what to pick. After a while of going back and forth, she finally came to a decision.
"Lili thinks she'll...come along with Master Bell."
Bell nodded. "Alright then. Fair warning, you might have to leave behind your bag depending on how big the cave will be."
"Lili believes she will be fine. Her body is small, after all," Lili said in a manner-of-fact tone.
"Alright," Turning to his loyal canine friend, Bell gave the wolf specific instructions to watch over the village and it's people in case of any Monster attacks. Sif somehow managed to develop a sour look on her face, and in response, he gave the wolf a look that made the wolf relent.
"I know you don't like people very much, and I'm not asking you to get along. I just need you to protect them in case anything happens while we're gone. Can you do that for me?" Reluctantly, the wolf gave a hesitant nod. "Good. If it'll make you feel better, I can get you those barbequed ribs you like so much." At that did the wolf's ears perk up and her tail started to wag. It looks like the promise of food had gotten the wolf happier.
'Here's hoping my wallet survives.' Bell thinks to himself as he turns to the village chief. "We'll be heading out then. Where is the cave located?"
"At the base of the mountain. Just cut straight through the forest and you'll find it there. You can't miss it."
"Got it." With a nod, Bell gave out a few more words before he departed. "Come nightfall and neither Lili and I come back till then, assume we are dead and request for more help later." With that, the Undead drew the claymore sword on his back, stabbed it into the ground next to him, and left it there for Sif to use later as he and Lili headed into the woods.
"Master Bell, you could have said something more encouraging than what you said earlier."
"It's better not to get their hopes up." Was the Undead's response as he searched the ground while they walked. Eventually, he found what he was looking for.
Footprints. All inhuman and tiny, no bigger than a child. No doubt these belonged to the Monsters plaguing the village which meant they were on the right track.
Speaking no words, Bell motioned for the Supporter to follow him as he led the way. After about a half an hour of walking, they finally found what they had been looking for. The cave.
"This must be it," Lili said. Bell didn't respond back as he drew his sword, held up his shield, and walk into the cave with the Supporter following close behind. Igniting a flame in his hand, their surroundings were illuminated, allowing the two to see where they were going.
The cave was big enough so Lili didn't have to leave behind her backpack, but there was barely enough room for Bell to swing his sword. He'll have to watch how he swings and stabs his weapon around. There were many times where he died due to his weapon getting caught in something. After the first few deaths, he learned his lesson.
For the next hour, Bell simply walked at a calm pace with Lili following close behind, bringing up the rear as the flame in Bell's hand was their only source of light. In hindsight, maybe he should have brought a torch with him. That way, he could use it as a makeshift club if the wood was sturdy enough. He should keep that in mind the next time he went out on a Quest.
"Ugh!" Lili let out a noise of disgust as, after walking for more than an hour, they had come upon a dead body. The flesh of the corpse was shriveled up to the point where a few bones were seen sticking out, informing the Undead that the body was about finished decomposing. Wounds that hadn't been tended to cover the body. From the looks of it, the man had been ambushed. he corpse was garbed in basic leather armor and armed with a round wooden shield and a spear.
"Judging by his armor, Lili thinks this is one of the missing village guards," Lili said, holding her nose as the corpse smelled of decay while trying to swat away some flies. Bell simply grunted in agreement.
In contrast to the girl, Bell wasn't the least bothered by the smell as he inspected the corpse. After Blighttown, nothing was too smelly for him. There wasn't much on the corpse, barely anything really than what was shown, so Bell ended up taking nothing, but the spear which was still in good condition.
'In a place like this, it's better to use a spear.' Bell thought to himself as he sheathed his sword and armed himself with his newly obtained spear.
"You're just going to take that?" Lili asked, sending a questioning look at Bell as she stared at the spear in his hands.
Sparing a glance at the dead body next to them, Bell gave out a cold reply.
"He won't be needing it." With that, Bell continued forward, missing Lili's body shiver as she followed after him but with more distance between them than earlier. Bell had a feeling why Lili was further away from him, but he didn't let it bother him. Pillaging dead bodies had become second nature to him after his experience as an Undead. He did it without thinking and with no hesitation, not bothered by disrespecting someone's body and more concerned about what he'll get from it.
For the next hour, the two walked in silence, coming upon a few dead bodies along the way which Bell made sure to check to see if he could get anything from them. Most of them were armed the same way as the first corpse they found earlier with a few exceptions. From those exceptions, he acquired a hunting knife, a hand ax, and what he recognized as a Light Crossbow. It even came with a few bolts to use. As he took all these, he asked Lili to carry them as his hands were full. By doing so, while he had his back turned, he could feel the girl sending him looks of disgust. Again, he didn't let this bother him as he continued forward before stopping and extinguishing the flame in his Pyromancy Flame. Why?
Because they had finally found what they had been looking for.
Hiding behind a corner, both Bell and Lili peeked out to see the sight of ten Goblins, all sound asleep. Scattered around them were bones, no doubt the remains of what used to be the rest of the guardsmen. Peeking out further, the Undead spotted another Monster amongst the Goblins. Like them, its skin was a green color but the creature was bigger than the average man, reaching two meters as it was built like a bodybuilder, and resting at its side was a club that looked like it had been carved right out of a tree.
"A Hobgoblin," Lili identified the Monster, pointing over to it wherein its mouth was a single piece of bone. Bell already figured what the bone came from. "That's probably what killed all the guardsmen."
'So that's a hobgoblin.' Bell thought, this being the first time he's seen one in person. He'll have to make note of this in his Monster Book later.
"No wonder none of the guards came back. Hobgoblins are found down in the Middle Floors. Even if this one is weaker than those in the Dungeon, it still looks pretty strong," Lili whispered before asking the Undead, "Master Bell, what should we do?"
'Kill it, of course,' Were Bell's thoughts as he thought about what to do in this situation. He couldn't just blindly charge in there, that would only wake all the Monsters up and he'd be swarmed. Even if they were weak Monsters, Bell never underestimated a foe before him, always considering the chances of them killing him. He had been killed before by enemies he thought he could handle only to be proven wrong multiple times. What he had to do here was wipe all these Monsters out in one fell swoop, or at least reduce their numbers, and his Pyromancy would do the job nicely...but...
"Master Bell, what is that you're holding?" Lili asked, having watched the armored Adventurer pull out a round-like item. Bell's response was one word.
"Firebomb."
"Huh?" Before Lili could process what Bell had just said, the knight summoned forth a flame from one of his fingers, lit a loose piece of string until it caught fire, and then threw it over at the sleeping hobgoblin.
*BOOM-FROOSH!*
"GRAAAAAAAAAH!?" Upon contact, the Firebomb Bell had thrown struck the hobgoblin's face and exploded. The in-pain Monster cried out, awakening the other Monsters as it held its face to elevate the pain. But with most of its face and head blown off, the hobgoblin soon fell and died, crushing two Goblins under its weight. Bell had expected more out of that.
"Perhaps we should use more black powder next time?" Bell silently acknowledged the voice in his head, making a mental note for later before focusing back on reality.
All the awakened Goblins let out cries of alarm and confusion, searching left and right to find who had killed their leader. Taking advantage of their confusion, Bell stepped out from his hiding place, a Great Fireball already in his hands as he wasted no time throwing it, killing all eight remaining Goblins as the AOE consumed all of them before they knew what had hit them. Soon, the cave was filled with painful cries, intense heat, smoke, and embers, all of which did not bother Bell in the least.
"*Cough-cough-cough!*"The same could not be said for Lili as the small girl teared up and started coughing when the smoke hit her eyes and entered her lungs. Realizing his blunder, Bell quickly produced a piece of cloth from one of his pouches and handed it to Lili who looked at it in surprise.
"Cover your mouth and nose with this," Bell said as Lili hesitantly took the cloth from the Undead and quickly wrapped it around so her nose and mouth were covered.
"Is it already over?" Lili asked, still coughing a little, but not as much as before.
Bell didn't respond back as he held up his spear and walked forward into the smoke den. What remained of the Monsters were nothing, but tiny piles of ashes, not even a Magic Stone was left behind. Disregarding these, the Undead stepped on and over the piles of ashes and searched the premises. Besides the ashes, all that was left were the bones of the guardsmen, ruined equipment that no doubt used to belong to the now dead guardsmen, and to the right was a pile of dung, slightly charred.
"Ugh!" Lili expressed her disgust when she laid her eyes on the dung pile. "Couldn't the Monsters have done their business in a separate place where it wouldn't pile up?" Bell didn't respond back as he approached the dung pile and knelt down to it. "Master Bell? What are you-Ugh!" Again, Lili let out a cry of disgust when the Undead unhesitantly dug his hand into the dung pile.
"Master Bell, what are you doing!?" Lili cried out in surprise and disgust, her face morphing to match the latter feeling.
Again, Bell did not respond as he picked away at the dung pile, not in the least bothered at the smell and what he was doing. It wasn't the first time he's picked through shit. This was one of many habits Bell's formed during his experience as an Undead. One was the kicking of doors much like he had done constantly at the Guild's door. To him, every door had a hidden trap behind it though he's managed to rein in this habit as of late. The second habit he's formed is after he took care of any enemies attacking him, he would search the area constantly for anything whether it be hidden items or secret passages. Thus the reason why he was literally going through shit.
Finally, after picking through the pile of dung, he found something. Wiping away the literal shit covering it, in Bell's fingers was a black ring with a small red jewel in it.
'A Ring. And one I've never seen before. Wonder what it does?' Bell made a mental note to test out the Ring later to see if it had any special effects. Most Rings he found had special effects though considering he already found a plethora of stuff to take back with him maybe he should give the Ring to Lili? With that idea in mind, he turned to the Supporter and presented the dung-covered Ring.
"Want it?"
"Hell no!" An instant reply came from the Supporter who backed away in disgust. "That is disgusting Master Bell!"
Shrugging, Bell pocketed the Ring and stood up. If she didn't want the Ring then it was her loss. Even if the Ring didn't have any effects, he could still sell it for some money later.
"Let's head back."
"Already ahead of you!" Without waiting for the Undead, Lili bolted out the den with the intent of getting out of here as fast as possible. In contrast, Bell followed after her at a calm pace. Ah, but wait, he should probably bring back proof to the village to show he had completed their Quest. Putting his spear on his back where it just floated there, he grabbed what remained of the hobgoblin's club and carried it over his shoulder.
Walking forward, he soon found Lili waiting for him, no doubt realizing that without him to provide light, she would get lost in these caves.
"Let's go."
"Mmm."
And with that, after making it out of the cave and returning to the village, the Quest came to an end.
It was official, the Adventurer known as Bell Cranel was strange. These were Lili's thoughts as she rode in the carriage that would take her back to Orario. Riding with her were both Sif and the Adventurer she had been thinking about.
Adventurers were all the same. They were selfish and greedy, something Lili has come to see time and time again under the constant abuse she received from time to time. After living in Orario for her entire life and being a Supporter on top of that, Lili firmly believed this so it made things a whole lot easier when she betrayed those that have treated her wrongfully.
But Bell Cranel was different. She had thought, at first, that he was the same as any other Adventurer she's met before, greedy and selfish. This feeling was backed up when he pillaged the bodies of the dead guardsmen. Lili knew she wasn't one to talk considering what she did to survive, but she at least made sure her victims stayed alive when she took from them. But right after he killed all the Monsters with that strange fire magic of his(seriously, where was the chant?), he offered her that piece of cloth to help her prevent inhaling any more smoke. And then she witnessed him stick his hands into that pile of shit. Literal shit! Who even does that!? Sure, he found a nice looking ring and all and even offered it to her, but there was no way she was gonna take anything found in Monster shit! Not even members of her own Familia, crazy as they may be, were that desperate. Not to mention the reward for complete thing this Quest: A measly 5000 Valis. Now while that may sound like a lot of money to any normal person, an Adventurer could make more than that by Dungeon diving. She should know, she's worked with a number of them.
In short, Bell Cranel wasn't like most Adventurers. Was he greedy? She didn't know. Was he selfish? She didn't know that either. Really, the only thing Lili knew was that her employer was just weird. And a bit disgusting.
"Here," Brought out of her musing, Lili looked up to see the armored Adventurer handing her a bag that contained half of the reward. Laying on his lap dozing off was Sif, resting her head down on her master.
Looking at the money offered to her, for the first time in her life as a Supporter, Lili was hesitant in taking the money.
"Lili...barely did anything today." Really, all she did was follow the armored man and threw comments here and there.
"True, but think of this as compensation for carrying everything," Bell said, gesturing with his head to the weapons he took from the dead guardsmen hanging on her backpack. Lili still couldn't believe the village chief let the knight take them. Well, except for the hunting knife. Apparently, the dead guardsman Bell had pillaged from had a family back in the village and the knight had given it to the family when called out. Apparently, he wasn't as selfish as she first thought.
With nothing to retort against Bell's words, Lili took the money from the knight and stuffed it away in her backpack. After doing that did Lili went back to doing what she had been doing since getting on the carriage: looking at the world around her.
A few hours have passed and the sun was already disappearing over the horizon. In a few more hours, the night would fall. But until then, the orange glow of the sun cast a warm glow over the trees, the grass, and the flowers nearby. Even a city girl like Lili could appreciate the beauty around her as it left her in a bit of awe. At least she had something to look forward to when she finally cut ties with her Familia.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Bell suddenly asked. It still surprised Lili just how different the knight was when he was or wasn't fighting.
Lili doesn't answer back, unable to form one. Was she enjoying herself? She certainly wasn't having fun while in those caves with the knight. Just what was that thing he used earlier? He called it a...firebomb? She'll have to question the armored Adventurer later. Right now, there was another question on Lili's mind that she had to ask.
"Master Bell."
"Hm?"
"Lili has a few questions she'd like to ask."
"I'm not stopping you from speaking. What is it you want to ask?"
Taking a moment to herself, Lili asks her first question.
"Why did you accept this Quest?"
The knight tilts his helmeted head. "What do you mean?"
"Why did you accept this Quest?" Lili repeated before explaining further. "The reward is quite small if you compare it to how much we make when Dungeon diving. And you received even less because you split it with Lili. So why do this?"
The knight goes silent, probably pondering how to answer the Pallum's question. After a moment of thinking the knight wasn't going to answer her, he spoke.
"I didn't do it for the reward," His answer surprised Lili as well as his next response. "I did it because I wanted to help those people."
"You accepted this Quest...because you wanted to help those villagers?" Lili asks and the knight nods.
"It isn't wrong to help people when they need it." Is what he said to her. Lili couldn't help but think the knight was being cliche.
"Is that seriously the only reason?" Lili asked. "That isn't very...Adventurer-like."
The knight's response was a simple shrug of his shoulders.
"Okay, next question: Why did you bring Lili along?"
"Because I didn't want to leave you without work," The knight's reply was instant. "Did I not explain this back in Orario?"
"You did, but is that all?" She asked. "You just decided to bring me along out of pity?"
"Maybe?" For the first time, the knight sounded uncertain. "It's just that, you looked envious when I mentioned I was going outside of the city, which made me think you don't get out much. I never expected to learn that you've never ever left the city until today."
Did she look envious earlier? Lili thought she hid her emotions quite well. Just how perceptive was this man? It was kind of creepy, a little.
"Master Bell, do you do these type of Quests often?" Lili asked her third question. From the way he spoke with the village chief, the Pallum got the impression that this wasn't the first time the knight went out to aid a village in need of help.
"I've been doing it for a week now," Was his reply. "Should I feel like not Dungeon diving, I go to the Guild and see if they have any Quests, ones that take me and Sif outside of the city. Of course, I plan on going to the Dungeon tomorrow so you don't have to worry about not getting any work."
'Lili actually prefers if she stayed out here.' The Pallum thought to herself. After Bell had dealt with the Monsters and they returned to the village, the people expressed their gratitude which was immense. It surprised the Pallum by how thankful they were to them. She wasn't used to getting such thanks before, but it was a lot better than the abuse she received form Adventurers, that much she was sure of.
"...hm? Stop the cart." Bell suddenly spoke up, telling the coachman to stop the ride. The horses pulling the cart neighed as they came to a stop before the knight got off and walked into the nearby forest.
"Master Bell? Where are you going?" Lili called out to the knight, but he was already gone, leaving the Pallum girl all alone with the giant wolf who patiently sat. The coachman sent a look at Lili who gave an expression that she didn't know what the knight was doing.
Half an hour later, the knight finally returned from the woods, carrying a bag as his gloves were covered in a bit of dirt. Getting back on the carriage, he motioned the coachman to resume driving. With a whip of the reins, the horses resumed pulling the cart.
"Master Bell, what is that?" Asked the Pallum, pointing to the bag in the armored Adventurer's hands.
Opening up the bag, the knight pulled out what Lili recognized as a Blue Mountain Flower.
"I had another Quest which asked for 10 of these. I had almost forgotten after today's fight." The knight said, putting the flower back in the bag and relaxing again.
A Blue Mountain Flower...Weren't those ingredients for low-quality potions? Who the heck would ask for those?
"You took a Quest which asked for 10 of those?" Lili asked considering they were still quite a way away from Orario.
"Yes." Came an instant reply. Did he not know what those flowers were for? Surely he must know.
"You do know what those are for, right?"
"Potions, correct?"
"Yes, low-quality potions."
"So?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Master Bell?"
"Yes?"
"You're weird."
The knight's reply was to simply tilt his head before shrugging his shoulders. Really, what a strange Adventurer. But, since he hasn't tried to use her as a meat shield, that already made him better than most Adventurers.
Tomorrow, Lili would be back in Orario and crawling through the Dungeon with this strange Adventurer. But as she basked in the warm glow of the setting sun with Bell's grimy armor reflecting some of the rays, a small part of the Pallum felt that wasn't such a bad thing.
And...done. For those who love Goblin Slayer, you can already see the references I put in here. I tried not to make it so obvious, but that's the way the chapter ended up as. Personally speaking, I feel that this chapter is lacking. My previous chapters had a certain...feel to them that made me satisfied with them. This one though, it's lacking that certain feeling, but I can't change it any more than I can. But what are your thoughts fellow readers and authors? Was this chapter good? Bad? Feel free to let me know. In any case, Bell has brought Lillie to the outside world. How this will affect their relationship, we will see. And for those wondering about Bell using different weapons and accessories, here you go. Until then, this is Ashbel Longhart here, signing out. May the sun bless you all.