5A/N: (Note/Disclaimer) All recognizable characters belong to their respective owners. With Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? belonging to Oomori Fujino and my own original characters.
Note 2:
("Human/Speech")
("Thoughts")
(Attacks/Weapon names/Sounds)
('Other/Foreign Speech')
(Actions/POV)
(Titles/Flashback/Time/Dates/Place)
(Narration & Everything else)
('Inhuman Speech')
("Inhuman/Other Person's Thoughts")
The Hase Jäger Chapter 5
Dungeon Entrance
Past Midnight
Third Person: Omni
"Thank you for the help and making sure that I didn't die in there," Bell said while bowing to the huntress of the Artemis Familia. He knew that if he had spent any longer pondering on the thoughts of getting stronger for Ais, he would end up biting off more than he could chew eventually, despite his master's advice.
"Don't worry about it Bell," Callisto said while taking another fresh look at the 16-year-old, now that he was an Adventurer, he would never really age past his prime. But what really interested her was his strangely magnetic personality, they had been talking on the way up, about how they originally hunted, but even that simple conversation had her focusing on him alone.
"If you need help with anything, please ask me." Bell bowed to the scout… though as his current self he could not do much at the moment, he knew that he had to get stronger to be of help to anyone here, all the adventurers he has met are far stronger than the current him after all.
"... I will." She nods, she noticed his resolute expression… and in that moment, she knew that he would be able to back up those words someday… it may not be today, but it would be sometime soon that he would make due on that promise… Looking at his expression now sparked her drive to do better… and maybe something a bit deeper than that.
"I have to get going… I don't know whether or not Hestia-sama would be inclined to me being late tonight… she gets a bit cranky when she finds out I have been out longer than I was supposed to." Bell said with a nervous grin, shifting back into the rookie perception that had Callisto blinking in shock at how quick and seamless the process was.
"I will see you later!" He yelled behind his shoulder as he ran away… still at a speed that she could perceive just fine… but his abilities are getting high for a rookie in level 1. He got away while she was still reeling, not even paying any mind as she faded from view with the distance between them.
"Why does he look so much like a rabbit?" In her stunning emotional state, she could only really equate him to a rabbit as he bolted. The white hair on his head giving an ethereal glow to him as he ran under the street lights. She shook her head quickly after, thinking about trying once more to get to level 3.
Labyrinth City Orario: Hestia Familia Lodgings
Late Night
"Kami-sama?" Bell asked into the dark basement, it seemed that no one came by yet, including Hestia. As he walked closer to the couch that he usually slept in, he felt the exhaustion of both emotional and physical flow into him at a trickle. He set up a lantern with the little oil that they had, something that would change after he cashed in the magical stones.
"I should write down tomorrow's to-do list," Bell remarked while grabbing a journal from his hip bag, filled inside of it was the to-do list for today, all but one were checked off now that he had repaid his debt with Syr.
"Right, still have to try and find some good wood to use for a bow." He says while rewriting the same entry once more, it had been the same thing that he put into his journal since getting into the dungeon for the first time, he would never have enough money to buy one outright, if he could find any inside the tower.
"It is so hard to find one of good quality that won't snap under stress or its draw strength is too much for me now." He mumbles as he remembers the prices and quality of various bows inside the tower, and not many of them were in there since adventurers liked to go for melee weapons.
"All the good bow makers are already on exclusive contracts are adventurers who make their own bows." He mumbled while writing the rest of the list absentmindedly. The Artemis Familia had their hunters equipped with bows… some of which were personally made, but a majority were custom.
"And I don't want to bother Naaza, she already has alot of stuff to do." Bell mumbled while finishing the final part of the list without much fanfare. Though he himself did not have much time to search for woods that would be good for bow making… perhaps he would find a material that would be useful in the dungeon?
"That's enough for tonight… I hope Hestia-sama will be alright…" Bell said while looking at the battered clock on the mantel of the basement living room. He already knew that they needed to refurbish the place before winter arrives, this place can barely hold the rain at bay, much less the biting cold of the winter. It would be good to have the main hall function as a barracks in case they got a bunch of people at once came into the Familia.
"So much to do… and we had so much more before I was even inside the familia." Bell remarked while leaning back into the wooden chair. The lamp on the desk flickered in and out due to the low flow rate of the oil fueling it. The journal sat in place with a fountain pen that he got from his master. He had only learned recently that a majority of the villagers being literate was a strange happenstance that did not carry over to other frontier villages.
"Right… Hestia-Sama should be back soon." Bell said, he knew that she would likely be hungry, but was not certain enough to prepare a warm food that might grow cold when she got back.
Yawn "I better get to sleep… it is already late…" Bell said while making sure the ink had dried. He replaced what was basically his cartography set into his hip bag. It would be a few days before his other stuff arrived.
Early Morning
"Bell!" Bell awoke to his goddess's call rather quickly, stumbling out of the couch that he was in. It would seem that she had woken up earlier than him by a certain amount considering that she was fully dressed and ready for the day.
"Hai Kami-Sama!" Bell shot up to a stand while being straight as a board. It was almost as quick as whenever his master called to him whence he fell asleep in his lessons on the more theoretical aspects of hunting things, like mathematics and economics.
"Honestly, you slept like a log." Hestia said with a sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose, though she definitely felt far less annoyed with his skill than before. She knew that she would have to look at his status again today since she saw his journal of yesterday.
"But before you go and do stuff, lets get your Falna updated." She said before motining for him to come to the bed. He was just in the process of changing clothes, so his shirt was already off and his back was ready for her to update the blessing.
"He has grown so much." She thought as the numbers reformed infront of her, the digits quickly ticking up as the glow slowly steadied. When it finally settled, she noticed a huge jump in everything besides Mana, far more than the one before this.
"Did you do some extra fighting last night?" She asked while preparing the paper, she could tell that either he was thinking about that Eis girl or just fighting a whole bunch more… since Eis can't take any more room in his thoughts, then it could only be extra battling in the middle of the night… which was particularly dangerous since exhaustion would arrive far faster than before.
"...yes…" He said with a slightly embarrassed smile on his face, it wasn't even a challenge for her to notice whatever he does. So was the power of having only one ward to look after. Though, if Hestia were to ever see his face like this, she would feel an urge to tease him harder.
"Honestly, I told you to be careful." She said while sliding off his back, much to her own longing. The ink was quickly drying, with her making sure to wipe away the skill that had her concerned. Though it was as imperfect as usual since ink cannot be wiped away so simply.
"I know I know… I just can't help but feel so weak whenever I see this place." Bell said while moving to a sitting position, with her handing him his adventuring shirt without much prompting. He swiped it over his head with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Why?" She asked while he looked at the light from the stairs. His Falna slowly faded from his back as he sat in thought. Last night, he knew that he would have been in trouble multiple times if Callisto had not been there for him.
"Honestly… you act so much like him at times…" She mutters out, to the knowledge of no one as Bell could not hear her words. She holds out the paper to him, waiting for him to take a look at the numbers.
"You can't be strong alone, that is the lesson that I have seen played out so many times in both heaven and here. But, you are getting far stronger than before… and far faster than anyone else. You will catch up to that ideal that is running from you." Hestia said, she knew a lot of stories about other gods, many of which they forgot about. While she was no information god, it was surprising the amount of information told at the hearth.
"It grew so fast!" He said while looking at the numbers, once more his agility grew by a huge margin compared to the others. But it was not as steep this time when compared to the others, almost as if the others were trying to balance him out.
"Though I still have quite a lot to learn. Don't get blinded by the results of a previous victory, for arrogance will end you swiftly." He read through it once more before confirming it in his mind, he was showing himself worthy of being in this familia.
"Right! I have to go get these crystals exchanged before I apologize for leaving so suddenly to them." Bell said while getting everything ready once more. He noticed that his starter knife was getting too worn for use, though his master's blade was immaculate, what it was made of and how it was made was still a mystery to him.
"Oh yeah, Bell!" Hestia raised her voice to stop Bell from running out of the door, though in the process causing Bell to stumble a bit before recovering his balance enough to turn to face her.
"Hai Kami-sama?" Bell asked while still in motion, ready to bolt out at any single moment. He noticed that Hestia was going over to the closet to grab something from within.
"I won't be back for a few days since I have been invited to a party hosted by Ganesha." She said while searching the closet for one of her few dresses… the tight budget made it hard for her to find other ones that would fit her stature and size.
"Hai, I will try not to get into any trouble!" He said before running out of the door. Hestia could only sigh as she found the right dress. She knew that while she was gone he was going to get into something again, it was almost like something conspired to make sure his life was as interesting as possible.
_(IS IT WRONG TO PICK UP GIRLS IN THE DUNGEON?)_
Dungeon City Orario: Hostess Of Fertility
"I am so sorry for running off like that," Bell said while bowing to Mama Mia. The restaurant was cleared of customers at the moment as the girls slowly cleaned the various tables and food bar.
"Don't worry bout it kid, you already paid your bill anyway." The proprietress waved him off as he stood straight. Only Syr was out front, and right beside Mama Mia, as the other girls washed and put away the silverware.
"Don't apologize anymore, I can understand why you would run off like that… though other adventurers would have just sat there and taken it or just angrily shout at them," Syr said while looking at him with a slight blush. She had her hands behind her back, hiding something from the young rookie's sight.
"Here, I made you lunch." Bell only took a second to feel as if someone was watching him from the tower before he responded to her. He could not directly pinpoint the feeling that the gaze held, but it was something at the very least.
"Oh… I really shouldn't-" Bell waved his hands frantically as her actions made the gaze on him feel more intense, though it was weak enough for him to not have noticed if he were not trained to do so. The feeling of eyes not just through the clear day but through dark foliage was a needed skill whenever you were hunting a more dangerous foe.
"Please take it… Or can you not?" She asked while bringing the boxed lunch a bit higher, her blush deepening a little bit more as she said so… the gaze was getting progressively more murderous the longer she did so.
"I will be taking it then…" Bell said while taking it from her hands, the gaze suddenly spiked before disappearing, almost as if they were dragged from watching him by something. Syr immediately ran back into the inner area of the restaurant with her still blushing face intact.
"Make sure to thank Syr later, she spent quite a bit of time on it and the other staff is pretty tough about that kind of stuff." Mama Mia said with a smile as she bent down to reach his eye level. Bell already knew that, he could already guess that all of them are quite strong… a product of his teacher always telling him to look at a person's movements.
"Right." He said with a slight smile and a nod of his head. He already knew that she was doing a lot. Though she looked like she had more to tell him, so he looked right at her. She nodded her head at his attentiveness, it was something that people lacked a majority of the time, causing issues for her in the long run.
"Kid, there is no point for an adventurer to try and be something that they aren't. When you are just starting, put all of your energy into surviving. As at the end of the day, no matter what others say or do, how they laugh and jeer at you, surviving will net you the win."
"Right!" He said with a determined fire burning in his eyes once more. He felt that she was talking with such authority and experience that she was a wizened adventurer of a generation far before his. She quickly grabbed his shoulders and turned him to the door.
"Now that you have made me tell you all of this… you better not die. I will never forgive you if you did." She said while still grabbing his shoulders, she had surprised him at the sudden movement. All of her words were from the heart and mind, all of them had imprinted like those lessons from his master.
"Now get to work, you have a lot of work ahead of you." She said, pushing him forwards to the door. Bell could only turn that movement into a light jog, waving behind him.
"Okay!" He said before crossing the threshold of the door. Mama Mia smiled lightly at the door closing, she felt that he would go far… and her experience in training adventurers told her that he would be learning quick with how attentive to wisdom from outside sources he is.
"Now the rest of you, lets get to work." She said while turning back to the girls, all of them had piled up into the opening to the main floor, her grin becoming quite a bit more menacing as she looked at the evesdroppers. They quickly scrambled to get everything ready for the opening hours.
"Honestly kid, you just got that magnetism that I have only seen in a few people." She remarks to herself, only one other hearing it. The hostess turned into the kitchen to prepare the ingredients for tonight's special.
Number of Words: ~2800
Date Completed: 5/14/2021
Notes: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter… this fic is feeling a little lonely now that it is the only fic with a single digit chapter count… though it will change sooner or later.
Review Cove:
FFN:
pix25: Great chapter, seems like Bell's getting stronger each day
Response: Not just stronger, but far more experienced.
the-lost-memories6: Nice story
Keep up the good work
Response: Happy you enjoyed it.
Ao3:
Sadly nothing… almost the same as A Retired Officer's Shop… Oh well.