Naturally after receiving such a weird request, Bell decided to share it with the rest of his Familia. It was handy that they were all meeting up at the Hostess instead of the Stardust Garden. Not that he was glad that everyone else realized that the air between him and Ryuu was strained, but he appreciated that they gave them some space. Anyway, after showing them the letter, their reactions were... understandable.
"It's suspicious," Haruhime said quietly.
"Definitely suspicious," Hestia nodded in agreement, frowning deeply.
"Suspicious indeed," Kojiro stated, rubbing his chin with a hum.
"You do know it's suspicious, right?" Solaris asked, sending a flat look at him.
Bell laughed awkwardly before chewing on a piece of meat. Alright so he wasn't the only one thinking like this then. Not that he thought that Hans had anything malicious in mind. But from what little he could tell about the man's personality he wasn't the type to go adventuring into the dungeon. The details themselves were scarce but they painted a weird picture. The time frame was set up to be a week, with some wiggle room. The quest would take place in the lower levels, in the areas of the twenty fifth to twenty seventh floor. From what Bell recalled from Eina's lectures, that place was known as the Water City, due to its massive waterfall, called the Great Fall, and the resulting amount of water surrounding narrow pathways. Naturally that implied water monsters. Bell couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about the idea of going there. It went way beyond the floor level he managed to reach with the Hestia Familia. Still, putting those thoughts aside, he glanced at Kojiro with everyone else, since he was their best expert on the man.
"Do you think he wants to do some research or something?" Hestia asked, tilting her head. Immediately, the swordsman shook his head with an amused snort.
"Absolutely not. The man despises field work."
"Not doing a great job of making this less sus, my man," Solaris commented dryly. The table laughed awkwardly before it died out, a tense atmosphere in the air. But then the captain hummed, crossing her arms as she leaned back. With bated breath, they looked at her, before she snapped her fingers and pointed at Bell. "I say do it."
Bell blinked in surprise. He saw how the others looked at each other, before smiles formed, some shy, some exasperated, yet smiling nonetheless as they nodded in sync. Confused, he raised his hand.
"Didn't you just-"
"I know what we said." Solaris let out a sigh before nodding at him. "What I also know is... you have some heat on you. Better to have you in the dungeon for a while."
Bell's eyes widened. He looked at the others, who seemed to agree with her. Kojiro patted his shoulder before taking a sip from his tea.
"Out of sight, out of mind. That way the rumors will die out fast enough." He thoughtfully hummed before snapping his fingers. "I suppose that's part of the reason Hans wants you on this quest."
"Really? He seems like a meanie," Hestia asked in a skeptical tone, causing the swordsman to let out a small chuckle.
"He does. Doesn't change there is a soft core."
Suffice to say, the girls at the table didn't seem to believe him given the uncertain glances they gave each other. Still, Bell lowered his head, biting his lip. It only made sense. If he kept low for a while, the accusations would probably stop. However... it sounded too much like running away. Not to mention, only he was invited.
"I-I don't know... It feels wrong leaving you guys behind."
Solaris let out a scoff as she stood up. Slapping his back a few times, she showed a wide smirk.
"Hey, it's fine! If you get more experience, that's great! You can act as our guide when it's our time!"
"B-Besides, none of us has Abnormal Resistance besides Kojiro, so... it's safer for you to go past the poison levels," Haruhime added as an argument.
"Before you ask, the entire Familia cannot just leave. The Red Light District still requires our support. Not to mention that nobody else was invited."
At Kojiro's words, his eyes widened. Bell stood up, shaking his head.
"Then I should stay as well!"
He then felt another hand on his shoulder. Turning his head he was surprised to see a certain silver haired maid smiling at him and gently pushing him down with Solaris.
"Bell, if your Familia tells you to take a break, you should just accept it," she commented, waving her finger with a frown. Then she turned to the others, pointedly not looking at Kojiro, before bowing her head with a polite smile. "Sorry, couldn't help but overhear you." She cleared her throat before giving Bell a concerned look. "Anyway... they worry about you. I do too. You need this."
He felt his face flush a bit before lowering his head. The Hostess was nothing but supportive, doing their own part to suppress the rumors about him. It was only one place of many, but he appreciated it. Maybe because of that, he began to consider going alone. His head was in a bad place. Perhaps it also affected his decision making. All things considered, there was nothing bad about this offer at all. There were also no big fires to be put out. He could afford to do this. Not to mention, he would be surrounded by adventurers of his own level, veterans that knew those levels. As if sensing his decision, Hestia giggled and crossed her arms cheerfully.
"Hate to agree with Miss Maid here but yeah! Go on an adventure! You're burning yourself out!"
"We can hold the fort while you're gone." Solaris let out a sigh, shaking her head. "Not to mention we are kinda running low on personal cash."
"Didn't you earn a lot in the casino?" Syr asked, raising an eyebrow. The captain let out a dry laugh, glancing at their goddess.
"Yeah, most of that was invested into... relief efforts."
"Don't look at me like that, they need it more than us!" Hestia threw her arms up in the air with indignation. "Better use that stupid gambling money for the greater good, right?!"
At first Astraea refused to accept that money. Heck, even Bell felt the pain in his heart seeing all that money go away. But in order to take away some pressure on everyone involved, as well as pointing out this was all technically Eris' money they could waste, they relented and used all the gambling winnings on repairs and the like. Because of that, their captain let out a sigh, not nearly as angry as she could have been.
"I wasn't judging." Hestia's pout intensified and Solaris cleared her throat. "...A lot."
"Who will you be going with anyway? I didn't quite hear the details," Syr asked with curiosity. Bell scratched the back of his head, mulling over it.
"Uhm, Shirou, Lefiya, Filvis, Liliruca and Hans." He froze up when he felt a shiver down his spine. He looked at the maid, who had her eyes closed with a gentle smile. Yet he could feel the anger behind it. "Syr?"
"Oh, nothing at all~!" She slammed down the tray hard enough to almost spill the drinks. Clapping her hands together with quite some force, she forced out the cheerful words with a louder volume than necessary. "Enjoy your meal!"
Left in silence, the Hestia Familia only stared at the maid... who was promptly chewed out in the kitchen by Mama Mia. Kojiro barked out a laughter before smirking at Bell.
"Ah yes, the jealousy of a maiden. A terrible thing."
"Ugh."
Ignoring the objections from Hestia and the pouting look from Haruhime, Bell shook his head. Yeah, he was pretty sure that wasn't exactly jealousy. Or at least not directed at him. By now he could tell the difference. Which begged the question: what name caused that reaction?
If he were a betting man, he would say Hans. He seemed like the type to ruffle other people's feathers.
"Just make sure you get back safely, okay?" Hestia asked in a soft tone. Bell couldn't help but smile back before nodding at her and everyone.
"Always!"
/
He spotted her outside Babel next to the disguised figure. He bowed his head a bit when they spotted him, the man waving his hand with excitement. He turned to the Pallum, smiling awkwardly at her.
"H-Hello, Liliruca. I haven't tha-"
Before he could show his gratitude for her actions of the Ishtar Incident, Liliruca raised her hand, a thin smile on her face as she shook her head.
"Lili has no idea what Mr. Bell is talking about. After all, Lili was not involved in this entire mess whatsoever."
The young man flinched before taking a step back.
"R-Right."
Her features softened up a bit before she coughed and turned away.
"Looking forward to working with you," she muttered. Before he could wonder what that was about, he let out a yelp when an arm wrapped around his neck. He looked up, seeing Shirou laugh at him, his eyes seemingly sparkled with excitement.
"Well, ain't I the lucky man?" Letting go, he shook Bell's hand, his grip firm and strong even for a level three like Bell. "Real pleasure doing dungeon diving with the super rookie!"
"Err, thanks." Bell cleared his throat before pointing at him."Uhm, do you always dress up like this?"
"Yup. It's my style."
Nothing more was said. Bell slowly nodded before smiling awkwardly.
"Ooookay."
Guess some people just had their quirks. Before he could continue some small talk, to break the ice, Shirou whistled before waving his arm.
"Oh hey, there are the next ones!"
Liliruca and Bell turned to the front, spotting the two elves in question arriving. The first was the member of the Hermes Familia, politely nodding at them.
"Greetings. Filvis Chalia. A pleasure."
"Liliruca Arde. I will support you to the best of my abilities," she introduced herself as well, pointing at the oversized bag on her.
"Shirou, odds job man!"
"Lefiya Viridis." In comparison to the cheerful man, Lefiya sounded cold. She glanced at the White Fool, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Bell."
"Err, I'm glad you are okay?" He said, checking her body for a bit for any obvious injuries. Immediately, the elf blushed before crossing her arms and turning away.
"Hmph!"
Filvis blinked for a moment, staring between Lefiya and Bell back and forth, as if uncertain. Moments later, she mirrored Lefiya's action, narrowing her eyes at the young man and turning away as well with crossed arms.
"Hmph."
Bell held back a chuckle. He should've probably been offended, but there was something cute about the way Filvis was such a loyal friend, enough to help Lefiya glare at someone. Before he could admire their friendship more, they soon heard the deep sigh of their last member. Looking at him, the relatively tall Pallum walked up to them with his shoulders slumped, bags under his eyes. Bell blinked before tilting his head.
"Are you okay?"
"My head is about to blow up from all the nagging I received, but I'm fine." He looked around before nodding in approval. "Good, everyone's here on time. Let's go."
Without waiting for them, he moved into Babel. THe group blinked at each other before having to hurry after him. It was Filvis who frowned deeply, not even bothering hiding any negative feelings she held towards the author.
"Do we not get any details on the mission?" She asked in a clipped tone. In response, Hans let out a snort.
"What more do you need?" He waved his hand dismissively."Taking a walk to floor twenty five to twenty seven. A week, give or take. You guard me. Simple, isn't it?"
"I suppose so," Filvis muttered through gritted teeth. Lefiya reached for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze before letting out a forced laugh.
"What about formations?"
"Filvis up front with Bell, Shirou in the back, Lefiya in the middle with Lili and I," Hans immediately said as they began to descend the stairs. Shirou laughed, before commenting about how he had their backs, but Bell considered the formation. It sounded good enough. Lefiya and Lili were targets of opportunity. If Shirou was tough enough, their back would be covered. Bell was more the speed time, so he was more suited for the Vanguard without having to worry about the back. He didn't know a lot about Filvis, but she seemed like a magic knight, who could take on any role theoretically speaking. Said elf looked at him, giving him a professional nod.
"I will be relying on you then."
"I'll do my best!" Bell responded back. Lefiya let out a small growl before pointing her finger at him.
"You better!"
"Before I forget it," Hans cut in before snapping his fingers. "Lili."
Liliruca nodded and rummaged through her back before they entered the first floor. Soon enough, Bell had to blink at the cloaks they were given. Two each, one red and the other blue. Confusion settled into Bell and he wasn't the only one as Lefiya and Filvis shared a weird look.
"Just in case," Hans commented as he equipped the pieces. Shirou hummed thoughtfully, wrapping the two new layers of cloth around the rest of his clothes.
"In what case do you need both Undine and Salamander cloth?"
Indeed. The two were the complete opposite of the other. One resisted the burning heat of flames, while the other allowed for more mobility under water and protected against water based attacks. However Lefiya seemed to realize something, her eyes widening in shock.
"Wait, since our expedition-"
"Like I said. Just in case. Maybe we won't have to deal with the Monster Rex. Maybe we will."
Immediately, the group grew tense. They all knew what Hans meant. Amphisbaena. The twin headed dragon that could move between floors. There had been no reports of it having been slain lately. Which meant they could potentially have to deal with a monster that could dive into water, use powerful flames and apparently had an anti magic mist. Suffice to say, it was a daunting monster that Bell was not keen on taking on.
"Let's get moving," Hans said, pulling out a notebook, a feathery pen ready in his other hand. At once, everyone else pulled out their weapons. Homebringer was unsheathed and Bell saw everyone else's weapons. The staff. The shortsword. Two curved blades. Crossbow. Everyone was combat ready. Bell took a deep breath.
It was time to head to the Lower Floors.