still working hard in the covid19 startup

but had some energy to write this chapter

piggy

For Ais x Bell fans, the editor of the series has screwed with us enough. Enough bait and switch of other girls for Ais. Enough empty promises to keep waiting on Ais' return. They are just milking the series for shipping revenues. DO NOT BUY ANY DANMACHI MERCHANDISE UNTIL AIS RETURNS TO THE MAIN SERIES! No More Bait and Switch!

After Bell defeated Bete in their contest, there were many consequences. Strangely, almost all the consequences were borne by those in the Loki familia.

Bete, who was still worn down by the fight, was still on Lena's lap. Furthermore, when Lena told him he will be a daddy, Bete fainted. As Bete laid unconscious on Lena's lap, his fellow executives merrily betrayed him by inviting Lena to join the Loki familia, which was quickly accepted. Now Bete has constant parental supervision, much to the delight of Tiona.

Loki, who lost her bet to Hestia, now has to be Hestia's maid for one day. Unknown to Loki, Hermes made a side deal with Hestia, who was happy to sell Loki out. The evil Hestia ordered poor Loki to show up at 7am sharp saturday morning to report duty in full maid uniform. In tears, Loki accepted her fate. That date is only 3 days away.

Finn, the captain, had to honor his promise to take Tione on a date. After Finn recovered from fainting, it was now up to Finn to figure out the details. However, the Knossos situation was critical, so Tione agreed to delay the date until the situation was under control. Of course, that meant holding hands all the time, much to the enjoyment of the other Loki executives.

Ais, the princess, could think of nothing except EVERYTHING with Bell beating a level 6. Part of her was in such terror that she was ready to run away like a scared bunny. What is even more terrorizing and tantalizing to Ais was that Bell seemed to wink at Ais a lot...

There were also gambling debts to be paid. The beneficiaries of the contest were almost all in the Hestia familia. With Hestia members all contributing their winnings to the Lili transfer fund, the fund reached 2 million valis. So they had 8 million valis to go.

As the Hestia members considered different quests to pay the remaining valis, Riveria approached them for an open-ended quest for assistance in the man-made dungeon they discovered. It worked for both sides as the Loki familia needed Bell's cannon and the Hestia familia received the funds it needed to pay Soma.

- Later that Day -

The adventurers only had an idea of what is in the Knossos. What was the most troubling was the 7 empty flasks that Ais believed formerly had jewel fetuses in them. What they cannot decided was if the jewel fetuses are in the dungeon, in the Knossos or in Orario. So a thorough search of the Knossos was needed while the second entrance must be monitored. They decided that the guild had to be involved as more resources are needed. Meanwhile Loki and Hestia requested Hephaestus to build an additional gate so the enemy cannot use the second entrance without an additional key.

After talking to Hephaestus regarding the gate, Loki and Hestia went to the guild to meet with Ouranos and Ganesha. They agreed that all the familias will contribute to the Knossos search and subjugation. That meant bringing Freya into the process. With Denatus on Friday in two days, that would be time getting everyone involved. In the meantime, they did want to do a preliminary search of the top levels of the Knossos to see if there were any more entrances.

- That Evening at the Loki Private Dining Room -

Bell and Hestia ate with Loki, Finn, Riveria, Gareth and Ais. They were still discussing the Knossos, but there were other pressing matters. In particular, Riveria and Gareth wanted to know about Finn's date with Tione.

Riveria smiled "Finn, where are you taking Tione. I hear that she is shopping for a dress"

Finn sweating "We agreed to delay it until Knossos is under control"

Bell "We know that and the hand holding is so cute."

Gareth "But the gentleman must take responsibility and start planning, no?"

Finn giving in "Tione likes seafood, but it is tough because we are not close to the sea."

Detecting the excuse, Bell offered a solution "You can use talaria for the evening. You can fly her to anywhere along to coast"

Gareth piled on "How romantic"

Riveria then took a direct approach "Finn, are you going to take responsibility? The girl is really happy right now"

Loki joined in "Yes, being a hero means taking responsibility"

Cornered, Finn "Bell, thank you. I will take you up on the offer"

Showing no mercy, Bell "So when do you need talaria?"

Cornered again, Finn "Immediately after Knossos is brought under control"

Bell smiled "Sure that is fine"

Finn then changed the topic "Yes, I would not want to miss Loki's day at the Hestia home"

Loki in pain "Ouch Finn" as her captain betrayed her.

During the date negotiations, Ais was really quiet. Riveria did notice.

Curious Riveria "Ais, is everything alright?"

Shy Ais "Yes Riveria, I am fine" though Ais flinched when Riveria used to word 'everything' in her sentence.

Riveria "How is Bete?"

Finn "Bete is helping Lena move into her room"

Gareth laughed "That was a stroke of genius"

Riveria smiled "Will he ever be the same?"

Finn chuckled "Realities of fatherhood"

Riveria "Bete is the pioneer but the pallum can learn from the wolf"

Finn chuckled "It appears you have me at a disadvantage"

Naughty Bell "Captain Finn, if you want privacy, I have my grandfather's old cabin in the woods"

Smiling Riveria "That sounds cozy"

Nonchalant Gareth "A good mood"

Cornered Finn "You guys are enjoying this too much"

Smirking Bell "So what is the Pallums' secret?"

Embarrassed Finn "..." as Riveria, Loki and Gareth laugh evilly.

Thankfully for Finn, Bell changed the topic "Ais, do you want to see my grandfather's place?"

Ais blushed and was barely able to keep herself from running away "Yes Bell" while the thought of EVERYTHING keeps ringing in her head.

Smiling Riveria "Tiona and Tione will be really sorry they were not here"

Smiling Bell "Ais, I will take you after we have dealt with the Knossos and show you everything" as everything kept repeating in Ais' head while mini Ais celebrated.

- The Next Day -

After the additional security gate was built next to the second entrance, the Loki executives and Bell went inside the Knossos for a quick search. While several Ganesha members stayed nearby to watch over the entrance, they looked for additional entrances. Fortunately, they were able to minimize the amount of fighting and also discovered the other entrance. As the Hephaestus familia started building another security gate, the group was satisfied that they have sufficiently secured things for the time being.

- Later that Day -

At the Twilight Manor -

Finn, Gareth and Riveria were meeting with Loki to discuss the plans for Knossos.

Finn "At least we may have prevented the enemy from having easy access to smuggle items and monsters to the surface"

Loki "But we have no idea what has been smuggled"

Riveria "That is true. The jewel fetuses are easily carried by a person."

Finn "Though it seems the jewel fetuses need to be combined with a strong monster to become a formidable demi spirit."

Loki "It is difficult to hide a large monster in Orario and the entrances would not allow an enormous monster to be transported."

Finn "A dragon would be really bad. As would some floor bosses. Especially a black one like Bell fought"

- However In Rakia -

Mars was planning another war against Orario, despite Marius' pleas not to do so. As the military got ready for war, the Crozzo family was discussing Welf. Soon after, an invasion was launched.

- At the Guild -

With Rakia's launch of full scale war, the major familias were brought in to address the attempted invasion. That included Freya, Loki, Hermes, Hephaestus, Ganesha familias. The Hestia familia was also invited given Bell's special gifts.

Finn was put in charge of the Orario army with the assistance of Shakti and Asfi.

Finn "The battlefield will be divided into 4 sectors. Each would be led by a major familia. Sector 1 will be headed by Freya familia. Sector 2 will be headed by Hermes familia. Sector 3 will be headed by Hephaestus and Ganesha familia. Sector 4 will be headed by Loki familia."

Shakti "Right, and please leave at least half of your experienced adventurers in Orario just in case. Please do not undertake any dungeon exploration during this war"

Freya "Fine, Ottar will take the lead. Allan and the Gulliver brothers will stay in Orario to assist with city wall defenses"

Hermes "Asfi will lead for my familia. Half my second class adventurers will stay in Orario and help with city wall defenses"

Shakti "I will lead my familia. Our remaining first class adventurers will watch over the dungeon and Knossos entrances"

Tsubaki "I will go with Shakti"

Finn "I will lead our war effort in our sector. Riveria and Gareth will stay in Orario, with Riveria helping with city wall defenses while Gareth assists Ganesha familia with the dungeon watch"

Finn to Bell "Bell, you and your familia members can come with us"

Shakti "We have 18 hours to make preparations. We will meet back at the Babel before heading to stop the Rakian forces.

- The Next Day -

Bell and Mikoto met with the Loki familia at the Babel. He was happy to see Ais there. Bete was also there but Lena was there to supervise. Poor Tione was unable to hold hands with Finn as she was ordered to help with city wall defenses.

Bell quietly to Ais "Ais, people say that you can learn everything about each other in a war"

Ais nodded but thought "Everything!"

- On the Battlefield -

Ais told Bell to hold off as she uses ariel to scare the living daylights of the Rakian soldiers. After chasing the scared soldiers off, Ais and Bell regrouped together.

Bell "Ais, you were very scary lol"

Ais "Thanks Bell. There was no need for killing."

Suddenly, there was a report about a goddess being abducted from Orario. It was Hestia!

Immediately Bell and Ais went off using talaria to save Hestia. After they reached the city wall area where Hestia was captured, they found Hermes and Loki there.

Loki "Mars grabbed Hestia when she went to get potatoes for making potato snacks."

Bell "..."

Asfi then showed up "I will scout the area in the northern sector. You cover the southern sector"

- In a Mountainous Area -

Mars, Marius and Rakian soldiers carry the captured Hestia, who is screaming at them.

Hestia "Mars, wait till they catch you, you will pay"

Mars winked "Hestia, enjoy your captivity. If you make me feel good, I will be easier on you."

Hestia "You scoundrel!"

As Hestia continued to scream, 2 adventurers dropped in from the sky. It was Bell and Ais.

In the mad mess of the battle that ensued, Hestia fell into a river, with Bell and Ais chasing after her in talaria and ariel.

- An Hour Later at a Mountain Village -

Bell and Ais saved Hestia from the river, but she was recovering from what happened.

The leader of the village, Cam, was kind enough to give them their own hut to rest and recuperate.

Inside, while Hestia slept, Bell and Ais watched over her.

After changing the wet compress on Hestia's forehead, Bell and Ais sat and watched quietly over Hestia.

After a while, Bell looked at Ais with a meaningful look, which made Ais want to running away at top speed.

Bell smiled at Ais and whispered "Let's make good use of the time while we wait" as he pressed against Ais.

Ais thought "... everything ..."