Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, I was finishing up finals this past week and I had to deal with some college stuff but all of that is over and chapters should come out more frequently.
X
After Bell and Aiz continued to rest a little bit, he eventually fell asleep in her arms. Causing her and her younger self to rapidly blush as she was now holding a sleeping Bell.
'What should I do?' Was all that was going through her mind as it was having a hard time processing the new situation she was in. Mini Aiz regained her composure and found it adorable eventually trying to draw a picture of the two of them together so she could cherish it and remember it forever.
'He's been through a lot, it might be best to have him sleep a little more before we head up.' Aiz thought as she patted Bells hair. 'He cant run away from me while he is asleep, I'm glad he told me about this, I should try to get to know more about him.'
Suddenly she noticed a scar on his neck and she assumed it was from one of the injuries he told her about. As she started to wonder how many more scars he had eventually, she ended up taking off his armor and shirt.
'It might be really bad if he wakes up.' Aiz realized as she stared in awe at Bell's upper body and all of the scars the covered it.
'These must bring you a lot of pain huh?' She thought as she ran her hands over all of the wounds covering his body. 'I let him down, I need to train him more so he can protect himself better.'
Even though she didn't want to, she ended up putting Bell's clothes back on in order to not have a misunderstanding happen between them and have him run off by the situation.
'Didn't Riveria say they were going to check in with Bors? I wonder if they are still down here or if they headed back up to the surface.' Aiz's mind wandered as she positioned herself in the same place Bell fell asleep and took him into her arms one more time. Time seemed to speed up as she patted his head waiting for him to wake up.
X
"WELCOMEEEEE BACKKKKK!" Loki shouted as she tried to pounce on Tione.
Tione quickly dodged Loki and stated "We have to talk to Finn about what we learned in the dungeon from Bors."
"What happened?" Loki asked as her nose started to bleed from landing face first onto the concrete.
"We learned a part of what happened on the Hestia Familia's expedition, needless to say if it were to happen again a lot of people could die." Riveria said in a serious tone. "Once Aiz gets back from talking with Bell we might know the full story but we should prepare for the future."
"Aizy still isn't back yet and she's with that brats kid?"
"Yes, we felt that we could repay Bell for his help in Knossos by talking to him about what has been troubling him recently."
"I guess that makes sense." Loki sighed. "Once Aiz gets back we have to have a talk about her new skill anyways and what to do from here."
"New skill? What does it do?" Tiona asked.
"Chibi's kid also has the same skill, I've already talked to Finn and he thinks we should keep it secret from people."
"Is it Argonaut-kun's white light thingy?"
"Nope it is something even better." Loki replied with her eyes glistening. "Come on let's go."
As the group walked in they found Bete taking a nap to which Loki pulled his tail to wake him up. After a lot of complaining from him, she then informed him that they were going to be having a meeting tonight to discuss some things. She told him to get Gareth and tell him about this. Eventually the group made their way to the Captain's office.
"Alright Riveria, since Aiz is not back yet I assume she is still with Mr. Cranel?"
"Yes the two of them are in the dungeon together, we last saw them on the 18th floor."
"So I am guessing we should wait to discuss Aiz's skill once she gets back right Loki?"
"That's up to you, I don't really care."
"Finn," Riveria interrupted, "We should first discuss what we learned about what happened on the Hestia Familia's expedition first."
"Ah so you found out? I found it suspicious when the guild didn't publish a report on what happened."
"We only know a part of it, we do not know what happened past the 27th floor. If Bell told Aiz what happened she can tell us when she returns."
"That makes sense, so do tell what you know." Finn replied.
"So when we arrived on the 18th floor we started to talk to Bors about what he knew. To which he responded…"
As the executives from the Loki Familia started to talk about what they knew, the tone quickly shifted to something more serious. Finn started to get worried for the future expeditions that his Familia would have to go on in the dungeon. Loki on the other hand started to wonder why Ouranos hadn't told them about this monster before. Meanwhile down in the dungeon Bell was finally able to relax for the first time since this incident.
X
After resting for a while, Bell slowly woke up.
"Good morning." Aiz commented seeing how he was still half asleep.
"How long did I sleep for?" Bell asked her.
"A few hours, I didn't want to wake you up with how much you have been through so I thought it might be better to let you sleep for awhile."
"Ah I'm sorry, it was probably really uncomfortable for you to be in that position for so long."
"No it was fine." Aiz replied. Regretfully, she couldn't manage to get out the words that she enjoyed holding him like that, it reminded her of back when they first started training and she gave him a lap pillow for a long time whenever she knocked him out.
"Hey Aiz?" Bell asked, still enjoying the comfort he was receiving from being held and finally letting go of a secret that was eating him up on the inside.
"Yes Bell?" Aiz replied.
"We should head back up to the surface soon, your Familia is probably starting to get worried."
"I guess you are right." Aiz said dejectedly, she really did not want to leave. She finally had Bell all to herself and she was unsure when she would see him again. "Let's come back sometime to finish collecting my debt."
"Of course, will you please train me again soon as well?"
"Of course." Mini Aiz started to smile again hearing that no matter where he went he wanted to return to her. Aiz herself couldn't stop thinking of how much she started to dread the idea that Bell was in a different Familia.
"Hey Bell? Would you ever change your Familia?"
"Probably not unless I had to. My Goddess offered me a place when everyone else rejected me so going back to them now and throwing away everything I built up with everyone would kind of make me seem ungrateful. Plus there are only a few Familia's that would allow me to go deeper into the dungeon and not try to keep me safe and out of harm's way."
"Which ones are those?" Aiz said as she cursed Loki for not letting Bell join them if he ever applied.
"Probably the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia. If I had to join a different one I'd try to join the Loki Familia, I like all of the people there a lot. The Freya Familia seems too intense for me."
"What do you mean?"
"The Loki Familia seems like a real family where they work together to get stronger plus all of the members would probably accept me but the Freya Familia is constantly competing against one and other."
"So you'd join the Loki Familia?"
"Only if I had to. I want to grow my current Familia to be able to stand next to you guys. I look up to all of you but joining that Familia seems like I wouldn't be able to do what I want to do."
"What do you want to do?"
"My grandfather always told me I should try and be a hero. He always told me a hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice himself for the ones he loves and what he believes in. He said that they are the people who don't make decisions based on how it could affect their reputation, just someone who is willing to throw everything away for what they desire. The Loki Familia wouldn't let me do that and neither would the Freya Familia as I would just cause them problems. My current Familia members all have similar ideals as me though and it allows me to follow what I think is right. Even though we are a small Familia no matter what happens I am going to protect them and the ones I care about."
Aiz was stunned as Bell just put his goal out there like that. Even though she wanted to make him join her Familia so she could always be close to him, she realized that no matter what happened Bell would never change and she was happy and sad because of that.
"I understand now, sorry I just was wondering if you would join mine." Aiz said with a pout after Bell told her he wasn't going to join her.
"That doesn't mean we won't see each other though. Once my Familia becomes stronger we could try to make an alliance so we go on expedition and train together. It'd let you guys have access to Haruhime's magic and Welf's blacksmithing skills once he becomes stronger."
"Haruhime? What does she do?" Aiz wondered what she could offer on an expedition. "Having a blacksmith we could go with would help out a lot. Is Welf the one who makes all your gear?"
"Yeah Welf makes all the gear in our Familia including our magic swords." Bell replied, trying to dodge the Haruhime question.
"You didn't answer me fully." Aiz commented
"Uh it's a Familia secret, if it got out we could get into a lot of problems with everyone else."
"Tell me, I won't tell anyone."
"Do I have too?"
"I'm your teacher so you have to." Aiz said getting tired of the back and forth she and Bell had been having for awhile.
"Fine. She has level boosting magic." Bell commented as he sighed, looking upset as he thought this would get him in trouble with everyone else later.
"What? Level boosting? How powerful is it?" Aiz asked with a level of energy Bell had never seen before.
"I think she has already used it on Bete in the Knossos situation. Basically, her magic allows her to grow five tails and she can give the tails to people. Each tail is the equivalent to a level so she can level me up to become a temporary level 5, you could become a level 7 for around 15 minutes."
"WHAT! I want to try it soon!" Aiz replied like a kid full of energy.
"Well it does have a major downside." Bell commented.
"Oh what is it?"
"You only get half of the excelia you normally would under her level boost. Not to mention it is really weird the first few times going up an entire level. Going back and forth puts a strain on your mind and body as it tries to figure out the new limits that your body has. And finally she almost always has a mind down after using it. Granting 5 people an extra level really takes a toll on her."
"Oh I get that." Aiz replied, sounding suddenly saddened by this news.
"If you really want to try it someday I will ask her if it is okay." Bell replied, trying his best to cheer the sword princess up.
"Really?" Aiz immediately perked up. "I'd love to try it! Will it get stronger as she does?"
"I will ask her and let you know. Um I'm pretty sure that if she gets stronger she will just get additional tails and maybe make the time duration extend. I am pretty sure that the maximum amount of tails she can have is 9. I don't think it will level you up more than one though because I could be overpowering someone like Ottar if it does and that would be too insane."
"Oh I guess you are right. But if we form an alliance in the future she could maybe grant all of the first class adventurers an extra level letting us go even deeper into the dungeon!"
"Yeah you are right." Bell chuckled as he watched Aiz form an expression that made him forget about her stoic nature. "But please keep it a secret for now. If we form an alliance like I hope then everyone will know."
"Alright. I will keep it a secret if you let me use it one day."
"I will. One more thing Aiz."
"Yes?" She replied as her head still rested on top of Bells as he was wrapped in her arms.
"Can you let go of me now?" Bell asked with the blush that never left his face getting redder and redder.
"Oh right." Aiz let go as mini Aiz started to tear up beside her as she watched Bell leave the safe space just for the two of them. Aiz felt that something was missing once he left but she couldn't place her finger on it. However she kept looking at Bell, scared that if she would take her eyes off he would leave her. Bell noticed her staring and decided to look at her.
"Is something wrong?"
"No… you've just changed a lot." Aiz commented.
"It is all thanks to you and everyone else."
Upon hearing him say that she realized how much he had changed her as well. She hoped that they'd continue to grow together.
"Is something wrong?" Bell asked her again as she was zoning out.
"No I'm just hungry." She lied as she didn't want Bell to think she was embarrassed. "Let's go."
"Right!"
As the two of them made their way up the dungeon they both tried to keep up a conversation but were too embarrassed by what just transpired between the two of them in the dungeon. Eventually making their way out, they turned and faced each other as they said goodbye.
"Thank you for taking me Aiz!" Bell said as he bowed with a smile.
"Of course, thank you for coming." Aiz replied. She really wanted to spend more time with Bell and her younger self was egging her on to force him to spend more time with him as well. Eventually as soon as Bell's head came up, she hugged him.
"Thank you Bell. Thank you for coming back alive."
Bell, whose face went beet red at this, was stunned that Aiz had just hugged him. Eventually he placed his arms around her.
"I'll always come back Aiz don't worry."
"Promise?"
"Yes, I promise." Bell replied as they left their embrace. With both of them flushed and getting a lot of attention from the people around them, they both turned around and quickly left. Little to their knowledge, a certain silver hair Goddess was watching the whole scene unfold.
X
'Hm I wonder what happened.' Freya thought. 'Both of their souls have started to shine a lot brighter after coming out of the dungeon.'
She was a little disappointed that she couldn't be the one to make Bell's soul shine bright but seeing the cloud disappear that was over it made it all worth it. She did start to get a little jealous that he and the sword princess were getting closer to him again.
"Ottar." Freya said.
"Yes my lady?" Ottar replied with a bow.
"What do you think transpired in the dungeon between those two?"
"I believe they discussed what was bothering him. As you said his soul has been clouded for a little while and whenever I saw him in the dungeon, he always looked like something was on his mind."
"What do you think it was?"
"I believe something happened on his expedition. The guild has not yet released anything besides saying they ran into a lot of irregularities. And when he came back you saw how close he was to death."
"Yes that did give me a fright." Freya commented. She had a few sleepless nights waiting for Bell to wake up after his treatment "I'm surprised no one besides his Familia knows what happened. If it was a serious irregularity we should've been informed along with the Loki Familia."
"I agree with you as well. We were dealing with the Knossos situation while they went on their expedition however so we may never know."
"That isn't good. Something could happen in the future that could be a danger to my children."
"I agree, I believe we need to know as well so we can prepare. Would you like to go to the guild and ask Ouranos or go to Bell directly?"
"Let's go to the guild first. Inform the rest that we will be leaving soon. Do you know who Bell's advisor is?"
"I do not. We can ask Royman for their name."
"Depending on the outcome of what we learn do you think it would be beneficial to ask Bell the exact details so we can better prepare?"
"I believe that would be wise Lady Freya. If it is something serious that we have never encountered before it would be unwise to proceed without knowledge."
"Alright. We will be leaving soon. Go inform the others Ottar."
"As you wish." Ottar replied as he left to go get the other executives.
Ottar entered the room where the rest of executives normally stay to find Allen arguing with the Gulliver brothers again.
"Why should I care what you say? You are all worthless unless you are in a group." Allen snapped.
"Oh the cat thinks he is important because he gave up his sister for Lady Freya." Grer responded.
"Yes, someone who can't work with anyone is obviously weaker than a group of people who work well together Allen." Dvalinn responded.
"It just means you can't accomplish anything and you just rely on others. You guys are basically the same as the bastards in the Loki Familia." Allen hissed out.
"My, when will they ever stop arguing?" Hedin sighed. "Ottar is something the matter?"
Of everyone in the room the only two that acknowledged him entering were the two elfs, Hogni and Hedin.
"Lady Freya is going to go to the guild soon. We are to accompany her as it could impact our Familia in the future."
"What is she going there to do?" Hedin replied.
"She is curious about Bell's expedition. She is worried that if some irregularity was strong enough to leave him and another level four on the brink of death then it could get strong enough to give us problems if it were to happen again." Ottar replied calmly.
"Why the hell should we care what happens to him? Lady Freya is obsessed with him even though he doesn't do shit." Allen replied.
"She is doing this out of worry for our Familia in the future and she is curious as to what could have left Bell in such a state."
"That makes sense." Hedin responded, he was one of Ottar's favorite in the familia due to how he was able to keep a clear head and think rationally. "Whatever could leave two level four adventurers that close to death deserves some investigation."
"That is Lady Freya's order so all of us are to accompany her."
"Wouldn't it be easier for Lady Freya to ask Bell directly Ottar?" Alfrigg asked.
"She is planning to go to the guild first, if they do not answer her then she is planning to ask Bell what happened."
"Are we sure this isn't an excuse just to see that brat?" Allen asked.
"Even if it was, if Lady Freya wishes it then we are to abide by her wishes." Ottar replied. As Freya entered the room. Instantly the mood shifted from hostility to protection. All of the Familia elites went into a deep bow as they waited for her instructions.
"We are leaving to go to the guild in the morning. I have sent word ahead and we are going to meet with Ouranos. Depending on what we learn I might talk to Bell about this, if it comes to that all of you are to leave us in private. Talking about this may be harder with all of you there."
"If you think that is wise Lady Freya." Ottar replied.
"Alright, we set out first thing tomorrow!" Freya said with a smile hoping that she would be able to see Bell as she left to go to her chamber. Meanwhile, Ottar noticed a lot of hostility radiating off of Allen.
X
'I'm a lot later than I said I would be' Aiz thought. 'Riveria is going to get mad at me.'
Aiz who was currently making her way through Orario and back to her home couldn't help but to smile at the thought of what had happened with her and Bell earlier today. She always thought that despite seeing each other all the time for training and other situations, they were not that close. Even mini Aiz beside her complained about that quite often. But today he had finally opened himself up to her. Maybe not fully, there were still things she wanted to know about Bell.
'It's been a good six months with him.' Aiz blushed. She thought back on all of her time with him and remembered as much as she could. 'Wait, why don't I know anything from before he came to Orario?' She wondered.
'Ouch that hurts. It seems like I still have a long way to go in order to become closer to him.' Mini Aiz seemed to be finally getting through to her as she realized she wanted to see Bell and know more about him. 'If only he was in our Familia, then I could chase off any other girl.' Aiz pouted. She still did not like the idea of all of those girls who liked Bell being around him. As she entered the Loki Familia's mansion she was met with the same rush of chaotic energy.
'I wish I was still somewhere quiet with him.' Aiz thought. 'I should go give my report to Riveria, but how much should I tell her?'
As Aiz made her way up towards the library, someone called out to her.
"Miss Aiz!" Lefiya shouted while running towards her. "Riveria, Finn, and all of the others want to see you so you can tell them what happened with Bell."
"Alright, let's go." Aiz responded in her usual stoic voice.
"Ah hello Aiz." Finn said as she entered the room. To her surprise Bete, Gareth, Tione, Tiona, Riveria, and Loki were all there waiting for her.
"Hello."
"So why'd we get called here?" Bete snapped.
"Aiz is going to tell us the rest of what happened to Argonaut-kun!" Tiona said excitedly. She couldn't help but realize that he was turning more and more into a hero everyday.
"What did the bunny brat do this time?" Bete sighed. As much as he wouldn't admit it he was impressed with the kid, he was weak and forced himself to become strong and stand up to people even stronger than him for what he believed in.
"Well you see he had his deal of irregularities on his expedition with his Familia…" Finn replied as the group who talked to Bors told Bete and Gareth what happened.
"Huh this is something serious now ain't it?" Bete responded. "So why the hell have we not heard anything from the guild about it?"
"That is what I am hoping Aiz can spread some light on." Finn responded casually. "So what did Mr. Cranel tell you Aiz?"
"Well I am not sure how much I should say without him present." Aiz responded, she was honestly thinking of all he went through and if the others heard about it they might try to talk to him about it and that might cause him more grief. She especially didn't want anyone else getting close to him now that he opened himself up to her. She also remembered her promise to Bell about not revealing that Gale Win was alive. "I don't think it would be a good idea to bring it up with him, it was a very hard experience."
"We understand, if we need to talk to him about it we will have you ask him." Riveria told her. By then the room noticed a small blush form on her cheeks. 'Well I'll be. This boy really did change Aiz' Riveria thought.
"Okay. So he told me after being swallowed by the Lambton he and the other adventurer were on the 37th floor…" Aiz told them the story. She decided to leave out the part about Bell and the elf holding each other while naked as it just made her jealous. Mini Aiz wholeheartedly agreed with her decision and made Aiz agree to do something to be closer to Bell like that elf had gotten.
As Aiz was telling the story everyone there was completely shocked. Even Bete looked impressed at some parts of it.
Gareth let out a small chuckle. "Well that youngster really is something isn't he? First going into the colosseum to save his party member and making it out alive, discovering a new safe zone, and he defeated that monster?"
"Yes. I asked him to show me his scars because some parts were so unbelievable but after seeing them I am pretty sure he skipped some parts of what happened down there since he has more scars than the injuries he told me he got." Aiz lied, in reality while Bell was sleeping, she decided to look at his body to see if it was fully healed. As she stripped him she felt embarrassed seeing Bell without a shirt, but she was glad to be able to see it though as he had begun to develop more muscles than before back when she trained him. But once her eyes found all of his scars she freaked out. Mini Aiz started to prepare a bandage around him that was so tight he would never be able to move again.
"So did he tell you how strong this monster was?" Bete asked getting ready to go hunt this monster himself.
"He believed it to be as strong as a level 6 adventurer, maybe stronger. He said the only reason he defeated it is because he managed to injure it early and he was able to use a hit and run strategy a few times."
"This monster is definitely going to be a problem." Finn sighed. "Does he know how it spawns?"
"He does, or rather Ouranos told him how it spawns."
"WHAT?" Loki shouted. "That old geiser will tell him but not us?"
"Bell said that Ouranos doesn't want this information to be spread around because depending on the floor it spawns on the stronger it is."
"Ah that makes sense. So did Bell tell you how it spawns?" Tione asked.
"Yes, he made me promise not to spread it around so he does not get into trouble with the guild though. It only spawns under really specific circumstances, even Bell didn't tell me the exact details, only part of it. It was the same monster that destroyed the Astrea Familia all those years ago so Bell and Ouranos are trying to not let that happen again."
"I suppose we have to respect that. The less people who know about this means a lower chance it will ever spawn again. If we can avoid that happening we will be able to save a lot of lives. I am more curious about this safe zone on the 37th floor. It had to have been uncharted territory because no one has been stupid enough to go into the Colosseum until now." Finn stated.
"He said that without that safe zone there was no way he was coming back alive."
'Oh?' Immediately all of the Loki Familia stopped their trains of thoughts to listen in as they noticed Aiz getting redder.
'She is leaving out a part of what happened down there, did he tell her something that happened with the elf and now she is jealous?' Riveria thought.
"He said it was complete luck that they found it and he doesn't want people venturing into the Colosseum to try to find it since they would die unless they are a high level 5 or stronger."
"I'm honestly worried for that youngin's health after hearing all of this." Garett said with a laugh.
"He does seem like the kind of person who will take on another challenge that he is not strong enough for." Finn replied with a chuckle.
'If he does that again I'll never forgive him.' Aiz thought. She already knew he was ready to throw himself into any situation but she now had this fear that he was going to die and leave her alone. She finally got the hero her father told her about and now she didn't want to lose him.
"Aiz?" Riveria asked. "Do you think Mr. Cranel will show us this new safe area he discovered anytime soon?"
"I asked him to, he said if he can find where he and the other person he was with came out of it, he would show me. He doesn't want me to go into the Colosseum and try to blow it up as it could have been luck that he got there."
"That makes sense, I suppose he is thinking more maturely recently."
"Yes he has." Aiz said softly. Mini Aiz was pouting that she wasn't able to watch him grow all of the time but she was glad he isn't as scared of everything.
"Well onto better news Aizy got a new skill and it is the same one Bell has that makes him grow so fast." Loki said, trying to change the awkward mood that was being created by Aiz's sudden shift in tone.
"WHAT!" Tione, Tiona, Lefiya, and Bete shouted.
"Relax, I think these two might be the only ones able to get it, I don't know why though." Loki responded.
"Bell has the same skill?" Aiz asked.
"Ye, I just talked to Chibi earlier today about it, I think we can expect Aiz to have a faster growth rate, maybe not as fast as Bell as his emotions tend to be stronger."
"What do you mean?" Riveria asked.
"It is a skill that allows the user to grow based on the strength of their emotions. Chibi told me how Bell got it, I have no idea how Aiz did and I'm not sure she does either." Loki responded.
"How did Bell get it?" Aiz asked.
"That is something you should ask him yourself the next time you see him." Loki sighed.
"It seems he might be one of the reasons it awoke in you so pushing you two to spend more time together might help both of you grow faster and that will help both of our Familias and Orario." Finn interjected.
"Okay." Aiz responded, trying her best to control her emotions. 'I get an excuse to see Bell now? I wonder what we should do together? All we ever do is train or go to the dungeon, I wonder if he'd enjoy something else?' Aiz thought. Mini Aiz was already preparing a wedding dress for her as she was getting ready to stake her claim in her bunny.
"Why didn't he tell us about this skill?" Tiona asked.
"Ah about that, his Familia might have not told him he had it." Loki responded in a playful voice.
"They kept his own skills a secret from him?" Tione asked.
"Yup. Since Aiz has this skill Hestia figured she was going to talk to Bell about it to find out if it was the same one he has so she thought it best to do damage control now and tell him."
"Could he have grown stronger if he knew he had this skill?" Bete asked.
"Eh probably who knows." Loki replied. "I suspect after what Aiz just told us he is close to level 5 and can probably level up but he wants to get his abilities higher ranked first. If he knew about this skill he probably would have pushed himself harder in training and in the dungeon so he'd probably be a low to mid level five about now."
"That damn brat." Bete smiled as he exuded jealousy. "Well if his emotions created this skill it means he realized he was weak and that he wanted to get stronger bad enough to form it."
"Exactly, however, he might not take it kindly when he realized that they have been keeping a very big secret from him for a long time now." Finn replied.
"Probably not much we can do. Worst comes to worse and we just send Aiz in to cheer him up so she can grow faster." Tiona said.
"I should inform you all, this information doesn't leave this room." Finn ordered. All of his Familia members nodded as they decided that was enough talking. Bete declared that he wasn't going to let Aiz or Bell surpass him even with that skill and that he was going to become stronger than both of them which lit a fire under everyone. Lefiya, who was feeling down that Aiz was going away from her, was happy that Aiz was able to get stronger and after Bete's comments she realized that she had not yet lost to her rival.
As they all made their way back to their rooms Riveria decided to tell Aiz that they were going to talk as they made their way towards Aiz's room.
"So, I feel that you left out some important details about the relationship you have with Mr. Cranel." Riveria said as soon as they entered.
Aiz started to blush harder than Riveria had ever seen which caused the latter to chuckle.
"I understand you like him Aiz but what happened?"
"He-he told me he had to catch up with someone no matter what and that no amount of adventuring was going to change his goal." Aiz stuttered as she got onto her bed and started to hold her pillow.
"And what is that?"
"He said that there is this girl he loves. She saved him when he was weak and he has been pushing himself this hard to be able to stand beside her and become her hero like she was his."
At that Riveria's eyes lit up. "So he basically declared that he was to become your hero?"
"Well he didn't tell me who it was. He just said she was kind like the wind, a bit of an airhead, and that he wants to be strong enough to be able to give her the world."
At this point Aiz was clutching holding her pillow tightly as she remembered all of their time together today. Mini Aiz had finished her wedding dress design and was getting to work on the rings and Bell's suit.
"Did you push him to tell you who it is?" Riveria asked 'If this went well maybe they already started to date.' She had longed for Aiz for experience anything remotely normal in her life and it seemed Aiz was finding love.
"No. I was going to but he already told me so much today I didn't want to push him. I was planning on telling him how I feel or forcing him to tell me the next time I see him."
'I suppose I can't ask for too much but it seems Aiz made a smart choice in this matter' Riveria thought to herself.
"I think you did the right thing Aiz, may I ask how you want to be with Bell?"
Aiz's face became as red as Bell's was early today.
"I want, I want to have him and not give him to anyone else. I wish he was in our Familia so I could be with him right now. I want to be with him all of the time. I feel at peace when he is around." Aiz declared.
Riveria was stunned and her face proved it. It was wide open to the point that Aiz thought she said something wrong.
"You really do love this boy don't you?"
"Yes." Aiz said softly. "He is mine, I get jealous thinking about any other girl with him. A part of me wished I went through that experience with him so he was forced to spend more time with me. But every time I think about him with anyone else I feel that it wasn't me he was referring to and that he won't accept my feelings."
"I am sure that won't be a problem, That boy, Bell, he loves you Aiz I am sure of it."
"Really?" Aiz asked as mini Aiz looked at Riveria with tears in her eyes.
"Yes, I wish you the best but I do suggest you make a move quickly."
"Why?"
"He is the fastest level 4 in history, not to mention many other people are attracted to him. I doubt he would return their love the same way he would return yours but you should act fast so no one gets a chance."
"I want to see him." Aiz stood up and walked towards the door as mini Aiz pulled her along. She was hoping to get Bell all to herself tonight.
"Wait till tomorrow, a lot happened to the two of you today and not to mention that he has to deal with finding out about his new skill and all."
"I guess you are right." Aiz depressingly said. "I am seeing him tomorrow and telling him I got the same skill because of him."
"That would be a good idea. Well good night I suggest you sleep on what you want to say to him tomorrow and how you plan on confessing your feelings to one and other. Before I leave, what do you plan to become to Bell now?"
"His wife." Aiz said calmly but determined.
Riveria fell out of her chair at that word.
"W-w-wife?! Aiz I think you should take it slow and try dating him for a little while first."
"But I love him and he loves me?"
"Yes but you still do not know all that much about each other yet. He doesn't know of your past and I believe there is a lot of mystery about him that would be good to find out."
Oh. That hit her like a ton of bricks as she realized she would have to open up about her mother and father to Bell. 'What if he runs away and is scared of me? What if he stops loving me?'
"What if he runs away?"
"You two managed to get through that whole Xenos incident, I trust that you two will be able to get through this."
"Do you really think so?"
"Yes I do."
Even mini Aiz was nervous about what would happen if Bell found out about her past. How would he react? She was scared but she wanted to know. If he knew and accepted her she would never let another soul have him.
"Okay, I will try to talk to him about that tomorrow."
"Okay, now get to bed so you aren't too tired when you talk to him."
"Yes Riveria."
As Aiz tried to sleep she found it hard. A single thought kept appearing in her mind. 'I want to be with Bell.' She eventually found herself on the topic of how he would react to this skill. Would he react in a positive manner or would he be upset?
'It doesn't matter, I will put him in a good mood tomorrow!' Aiz declared as mini Aiz agreed with her. Slowly drifting off to sleep she was getting excited for tomorrow.
X
"Goddess I'm back!" Bell yelled as soon as he entered his home.
'Spending the day with Aiz was nice. I hope we can do it again soon. Whenever we have a chance someone always interrupts it.' Bell thought as Haruhime approached him.
"Bell-sama, Hestia wishes to talk to you in the living room."
"Alright let's go, I'll change out of my gear afterwards." Bell declared as he followed Haruhime.
"How'd it go with Ms. Wallenstein?"
"Really well, we talked about a lot." Bell said with a smile not noticing her ears fall to a slight droop.
"I am glad. Does this mean you are over what happened on your expedition?"
"For the most part. I still have a ways to go to get stronger but I am mostly over my fear."
As they entered the room Bell was shocked to find all of his Familia members there. 'Did something happened with the Xenos?' Bell immediately thought.
"Goddess you said you needed me?"
"Yes Bell, first sit we need to tell you something."
As Bell sat in a chair near the entrance of the room he stared at the rest of his party members who all seemed hesitant to speak.
"Did something happen?" Bell finally asked.
"Here." Hestia said as she handed him a piece of paper.
'Huh it is my status from yesterday, I was too tired so I didn't check it. I wonder what is so serious.' Bell thought as his eyes scanned the paper. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until his eyes fell on his skills.
Bell Cranel
Level 4
Strength: S 903
Endurance: A 837
Dexterity: S 924
Agility: S 990
Magic: A 838
Lucky: F
Abnormal Resistance: G
Escape: I
Magic
Firebolt: Quick cast magic.
Skills:
Liaris Freese: Fast growth as long as feelings last. The stronger the emotions, the stronger the growth.
Argonaut: A attack capable of turning the tide in battle.
Ox Slayer: Increased damage against Ox type enemies.
'Wait what is this? Liaris Freese? How long have I had this? Why is it above Argonaut? Is this what is normally blurred out?' A million questions entered his mind.
"I am sure you have a lot of questions judging by your face but let me explain." Hestia stated. "You developed Liaris Freese at level one after you got saved by the sword princess from the Minotaur and made fun of by the werewolf." She sighed then continued. "As you can see it is fast growth as long as your emotions last. Basically your emotions for what you want became so strong they manifested this skill."
"Why didn't I know about this?" Bell asked.
"If you knew you wouldn't have kept it a secret. You would've told anyone who asked you so in order to protect you I didn't tell you. No one else knew about it until the rest of these people wondered why you grew so fast. It was right after you reached level 3 so I told them what happened."
"And no one told me?"
"We decided that in order to protect you we would keep it a secret."
'Does my Familia not trust me? After all we have been through? Why are they telling me now?' Bell thought as he decided to ask one more question before figuring out what he thought.
"Why did you tell me now?"
"You are going to find out anyways but Wallenwhatsit also developed this skill. Loki came here today to ask me about it."
'Why does she call her that? She knows her name.' Bell thought. He honestly was getting sick of Hestia's disrespect for Aiz but he let it go.
"If she didn't develop this skill when would you have told me?" Bell asked his final question.
"Not for awhile. Not until we were strong enough to put up a fight against any other Familia. I didn't want you to get taken away from me Bell."
'Why does she still act like I belong to her?' Bell thought.
"I made the others swear to secrecy that they wouldn't tell you. We tried to do this all to protect you Bell. I tried to protect you." Hestia said, trying to look at the boy who was staring down at his status sheet.
"So you didn't trust me with my first skill. And you wouldn't have told me unless someone else forced you to?" Bell said. Everyone there could notice an annoyance in his voice.
"Yes. We decided it would be better for all of us to be here since we are all involved in this."
'How am I supposed to lead this damn Familia if they don't trust me with my own essentials?'
"I'm going to go to bed and think about this." Bell stated. "I get why you did this. I just need time to think about this now."
"Bell…"
"Please. Just let me be alone right now. I'm not angry, I get why you did this. It's just after all we have been through why didn't you trust me enough with this?"
"That's fine Bell, just know everything we did we did for you." Hestia said quietly, trying to avoid looking into his eyes.
Once Hestia said those words Bell became very angry. Standing up and walking to the door he thought one last thing before walking away.
'Don't lie to me anymore. You did this for yourself.'
The Hestia Familia looked at each other worried about what was to come as Bell made his way to his room. Taking off his armor he laid down on his bed.
'Even my own Familia doesn't trust me, how the hell am I supposed to lead them now?' Bell wondered as he tried to fall asleep.
'I wish Aiz was here, since she got this skill too I guess we are becoming closer? I'd be able to talk about this with her. Ugh why did everyone keep this secret from me? I get what they did and why they did it but I'm not their property! They treat me like their pet sometimes.'
'I need to go to the dungeon alone tomorrow, maybe that will help me think straight. I'll get up early and head there first thing.' Bell thought. As he tried to calm himself and fall asleep his Familia members were talking about what happened.
"That went better than expected." Welf replied.
"I agree, he doesn't seem too angry." Mikoto chimed in.
"Lily thinks we shouldn't say anything until tomorrow. We don't know what his decision is going to be."
"Hestia-sama what do you think?" Haruhime asked.
"He seemed very upset honestly. I think the best thing we can do would be to give him space."
"Alright then I'm heading to bed, we can deal with this tomorrow." Welf yawned as the others quickly agreed with him.
X
'Hm that's odd?' Freya thought to herself. 'Why does he seem so angry and upset?'
She had seen his soul shine a lot of different ways but never like this before.
'Is it because you aren't with the sword princess? Or did something happen in your Familia? It couldn't be the sword princess because you would just be sad. So something must have happened with Hestia to make you this upset?'
'This might be a good time to make a move.' She thought to herself.
As she continued to watch the boy as he fell asleep a small smile crept onto her lips as she was excited about what tomorrow would hold for her.