A/N
For later (day / month / season / year)
My objective with this story was to create an interesting Elven Bell, not to create an OC Bell, but Bell as an Elf, what type? Well you'll half to read and find out. But otherwise, my objective is to keep this Bells personality as close to the originals as possible. He's the same person with different circumstances.
.
Okay, so, I'm very nervous about posting my first personal writing in over… five, no, six-ish years. Please forgive me if it's not up to par.
Also this site is kinda weirding me out with its publishing tools.
I would like to state now though that : This is my story, I will not change it to get more appeal or whatever, I will write the story I want to write, nothing less.
I would appreciate some criticism, as long as it's constructive, however it is not required. Things I'm concerned with are:
1. Bad at writing dialog.
2. Am not descriptive enough about environments.
3. Am worried I changed Bell too much.
Regarding ships, they are so far down the line, that I may never get to them, but I hope I will. They will be either, Ryuu x Bell, or a Harem of Bell, Ryuu, Eina, and Riveria. Notice they're all elves, that's going to be a common theme here. Also I plan to give Hestia a more teasing / motherly personality, and she won't be a main love interest obviously.
The whole Ryuu thing is because I just finished reading 'Like A Fairy' By 'Ventanus'
I highly recommend it.
Also, don't worry about his magic, I've got it figured out.
Also, I don't own Danmachi.
7,354 words in total.
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The light of early morning broke through the openings in the foundation above. Bell was rather groggy, but had been up for several minutes now. His new goddess, Hestia, would wake soon enough, and to the smell of food nonetheless.
Bell had been forced to make breakfast with what little of his rations were left, it was an entree of powdered eggs, and a meat jerky, both obtained from a larger trading hub some ways away from Orario.
The dilapidated… Hell, the basement could barely be called a proper room. The church above a ruin itself. Hestia was worried when they had first arrived, scared her first Familia member would leave upon seeing her 'base of operations'. Fortunately he seemed rather unfazed, Hestia was immensely relieved.
.
It was late at night by the time they arrived here, as Hestia had only found Bell around sunset that evening, wandering through an alley she takes to get home. He had been holding a map of Orario and looked confused, she later discovered that he had been holding it sideways.
She had wanted to help him, but upon hearing who he was looking for, she became very confused.
"I'm looking for the Zeus Familia, it should be around here somewhere… I think?"
She stared at him for several moments, and it took several more minutes on Bell's part to convince the short goddess of his sincerity.
One thing led to another, and with his new information, Bell was lost, until Hestia pitched the idea of joining her familia. It was a swing to the fences, but luckily for her, she hit, and is now rising to the smell of warm meat and… something else.
.
She sat up and found Bell heating up some of his ration meats, only to divide tham between two plates of the meh, smelling eggs.
"Bell? Did you make that out of more rations?"
"Yes, and although powdered eggs aren't great straight, they are more than adequate."
Bell turned the stove off and walked their plates back to the couch Hestia had woken on. Unsure of how she got there.
"I'm sorry Bell, I'm your goddess, and you're going out of your way to feed me the rations you had for yourself…"
"Don't worry yourself, it's my job to take care of you the same as it is the reverse."
She pouted, but didn't refute her first child.
Her first bite was rough, but she was grateful, and adapted quickly.
The eggs were bad smelling, but once they were in they tasted like any other, the meat seemed the same as last night, only warm, not that she minded.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It wasn't until shortly after they arrived that Bell had seen the basement for the first time. Hestia was still worried, until she shook him out of his stupor while staring at the room.
"Bell… are you upset…"
"N-No goddess, it's just, I haven't had a ~ a home in a lot longer that I can recall."
They had sat down for the evening, she had only then realized that she was supposed to get the shopping done on the way home when she went to grab food from the kitchenette. Lucky for her, Bell had some travel rations remaining from the wells of journeying to Oraio. They would eat a course of preserved meats and cheeses.
They sat for a while as the reality sunk in for Bell while Hestia explained the concept of Familias in more detail to him. They had sat for hours at this point when Bell suddenly stopped her with a serious look in his eyes.
"I don't want to keep secrets from my family." Bell stated.
"You don't need to." Hestia countered, touched he'd think of her like that so soon.
They held eye contact for a few moments, then Bell's gaze softened.
"Ok." He nodded.
"Goddess. Can you swear that no one will hear of what I tell you without asking me beforehand."
She seemed confused, "Bell, wh-"
"PLEASE."
There was no room for debate.
"...I promise…" Hestia mentally prepared herself as his eyes turned over, now looking almost like he was disappointed… in himself, like he was ashamed.
"I'm not human."
"...Well… Then what are you Bell…?"
"...I'm a snow elf…"
.
.
.
"Uh, you there's nothing wrong with that Bell…" Hestia deadpanned.
Bell looked to her with a mixed bag of emotions.
He was both happy and sad at that answer, he was happy that she didn't know what he was, it was the purpose of keeping his existence a secret after all. But deep down he was hoping that she would be amazed by it as well. She was the first person to hear this information from him in over a millennium.
Dark feelings appeared, but were quickly swept away as he needed to explain himself to his Goddess.
"You don't seem to understand, I'm a snow elf, Snow Elves aren't normal elves, we have a stronger connection to the world, as well as a longer life span. That is, if you can call how long we would live a lifespan… "
"...Okay then, how old are you?"
Bell took a moment to think, "Maybe... Somewhere from twenty-two to twenty-three hundred years old."
She seemed to start to realize that he wasn't ordinary, he was different, very different. But then her mind caught up with the information, she noticed it, an innocent word with a disproportionate amount of weight behind it.
"Would" she said, as his face grew grim.
"Would, yes… Some fifteen-ish hundred years ago, there was a calamity for us, and I'm the only one of us that managed to escape."
That was it, when she realized why she hadn't heard of them before.
HE was all that was left, HIM, ONE.
Her eyes widened, and she quickly jumped to him, and wrapped him in a warm embrace.
"I'm sorry..." she said, "...I'm so sorry I made you say that…"
Bell's warm smile crept across his features.
"It's ok, you didn't do anything wrong." He said, returning her embrace.
"Can I tell you more about them… my people?" Bell asked.
"Of course you can." Hestia said as she pulled away, showing him her warm and caring smile.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Goddess?"
"Ya-th?" She was chewing her last piece of meat.
"Can I get my falna today?"
Hestia came to a screeching stop.
'I FORGOT TO GIVE HIM HIS FALNA LAST NIGHT?! Darn it, how forgetful can I be! Bell seems really excited too." Hestia looked over to the boy, who was shifting in his seat from excitement.
"YES! Of course! We'll do that right now!"
Bell watched as Hestia jumped up and ran to the bedside and retrieved a small dagger.
"Take your shirt off and lay here!" Bell blushed.
Hestia realized what she had just said, and that Bell was actually an elf as well.
"Ah, sorry. I forgot, you don't really have the identifying ears like other elves, but it's necessary to implant the falna, sorry…" She looked down and twitter her thumbs.
Bell understood and prepared himself for the implant, though he was a bit nervous.
"Will it hurt?"
"Uh… I honestly don't know." She pricked her finger. "I… guess we're gonna find out though..."
"O-Okay then." He grabbed the pillow and hugged it. "Just let me know when you start, all right?"
"Uh, well, I'm already done…"
"Eh?!"
Bell hadn't felt a thing, until he had been informed of its completion. Suddenly, he lost his breath as his back arched in a sharp burst of pain which disappeared as suddenly as it came. Then he relaxed himself and caught his breath, his head was foggy, but soon, a wave washed over him.
He felt like a million valis, there was nothing to compare it to, just a sudden boost in every category he could think of, from his energy to his strength, everything felt improved.
"Are you ok?!"
Hestia was freaking out while Bell reveled in his new power.
"BELL?!"
He was brought back to reality.
"Uh, yeah… I feel… good, great in fact."
Hestia sighed in relief. "Good, now lie back down, so I can make a copy of your status for registering with the guild."
"Yeah, ok."
"Oh! I wonder which spell you got on your falna! Hopefully one of the good ones at least!"
Hestia finished up after a few moments.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
He'd told her about everything he could come up with last night, his lack of elven ears among them. It was a simple story, one of the many noteworthy events before meeting her.
Bell had simply cut them down to human size the same winter the Human-Elven-War broke out, since it was significantly safer to travel looking like a human. That isn't to say he chose their side, far from it, in fact the war had broken out over the discovery that his people, the Snow Elves, had been wiped out by a human country.
The war ended after a few years, with tremendous losses on both sides, however neither lost the urge to fight every century or so.
.
Prior to the extinction, or near extinction. Snow Elves were like a higher authority to the other elven species due to their longer life spans. Infact, on a rare occasion or two, they had even prayed to them.
Bell's family in particular, as they had been the leaders of the Snow Elves as the village chiefs.
He himself could remember his public introduction, which a number of ruling families of the various elven kingdoms had attended.
.
He had been 600 at the time his race was wiped out, still a child, not looking anymore than a human 9.
He explained that his adoptive mother and caretaker, Anny, a traditional elf, had escaped with him and raised him outside the forest of Ryumilua. Then about her passing and his inevitable leaving to explore the world.
Bell was 1,100 when he left the forest, a human 14, and now was 2,300, a human 18.
.
A worthy note Bell made to her was why the Snow Elves had been killed.
It was because of greed, specifically the greed of a human king in the north.
This man, of whom he never knew the name of, had descended on the village and burned it to the ground killing all he could, for one resource he was convinced was more valuable than all the riches in the world, the blood of Snow Elves.
Bell had learned that the king and his people believed that a Snow Elves blood could offer life past human boundaries. So they killed them all, and drank till they could no more.
The next part, Bell could only speculate. He believed that the capital city, where the ideology happily died, was wiped out by a disease that Snow Elves were immune to, of which humans were not.
However, he could only speculate, as no one had ever publicly released information regarding the city's final days.
.
Hestia wasn't able to get over her shock for a good while, before Bell began to change topics to stop worrying her. So he told her about her race's natural magic.
Him having magic surprised Hestia, but upon considering the topic, she saw it as reasonable.
His magic was from before the age of the gods began, so it is a different type altogether, being more for utility, than for combative purposes. However he does have a couple of spells that can be used to fight, but Bell doesn't like to use them, due to the after effects.
For example, one of the two deadly spells is Cinder, a shockwave of energy that will melt anything within 3 meters of him, unfortunately, he always gets heat stroke afterwards.
Otherwise, his spells do things like create a small candle light from his palm, or a water source from his index finger.
All together, Hestia could only sit in disbelief of the things she had learned, and how little she knew of the time before the gods descended.
But most of all, she was touched that Bell would trust her to this degree.
She would never break this trust, she swore to herself, that his secrets were safe with her.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Y-Your, your magic is… how… AND YOU GOT A SKILL?!" Hestia was trying and failing to process his falna.
Bell took the paper.
Bell Cranel
LV 1
STR : 0
END : 0
DEX : 0
AGI : 0
MAG : 0
MAGIC :
Cure Wound - Utility - Short Chanting Magic
Pure Spring - Utility - Short Chanting Magic
Candle Light - Utility - Short Chanting Magic
Cinder - Long Chant Magic
Dark Matter - Long Chant Magic
SKILLS :
Sixth Sense - passive
Bell looked a bit concerned "Uh… Should these be zero's?" Hestia was floored.
"WHAT?!" Bell flinched, "THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT?!"
Bell knew he was missing something, but he nodded regardless.
Hestia face palmed, "Geez. You're only supposed to have one or two spells, not FIVE, and a skill too?! I know you're an enigma all on your own, but there are set rules, and you're just breaking them without trying!"
Bell felt guilty, he didn't think he had done anything special, but once again his lack of knowledge got in the way.
"Ok, tell me everything that's not right here." Bell resolved himself to fix what he could.
Hestia sighed, "Bell, you did nothing wrong, but we, me and you, will need to keep your magic and skill a secret."
Bell nodded. Hestia turned to look at him, and could see the tension building in Bell.
"Huu, relax Bell, nothing is wrong, we just need to lay low and do the best with what we've got!"
Bell met her gaze, it took a second for him to release a breath, his shoulders dropped a bit, and a small smile lifted his features.
"Thank you goddess."
She met his smile with one of her own.
"Of course."
Hestia sat with Bell for several more minutes and explained to Bell the basics of how the falna worked.
.
"So, we need to go to the guild to register me now, correct?"
"Yes, once that's done, you can begin entering the dungeon whenever you want! But I'll be leaving you once were done there, I can't miss my shift at the jagamarukun cart."
"Uh, what?"
Bell was completely lost on what she had said.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bell and Hestia began their trip to the Guild as Hestia explained that she had a job working for a pastry cart, which Bell saw as odd for a goddess from the upper world. He had never heard of jagamarukun, so their walk was educational at best.
They talked through the entire 45 minute walk to the guild, a commute Bell would need to memorise if he were to ever get to the dungeon and back on a daily basis.
When they arrived at the guild, it was just before the big morning rush started, so the counters were less busy than normal, and the employees were mostly busy prepping for the upcoming rush of adventurers.
But there was one guild employee who was covering the front counter, or, maybe the pink haired woman was just slacking off. They approached her, and she quickly noticed the duo.
"Oh, Hello, welcome to the guild. My name is Misha Flott, how may I be of service to you today?"
"Yes," Hestia said, "We would like to register Bell here as an adventurer."
"Oh! Uh, yes, of course, no problem, uh." Misha looked around frantically, until she spotted her target.
She ran over to another guild employee, grabbing the surprised woman by the arm and quickly dragging her over to Bell and Hestia.
"Here's my colleague Eina, she specializes in this matter, so I'll leave you guys with her!"
"Wah?!" Eina didn't get to talk before the pink haired slacker as Bell had named her, was long gone.
"Ah, that- Eh?" Eina finally noticed the short pair of heads at the other side of the counter, before straightening up and addressing them.
"Ah! Hello, I must apologize to you both for that, Misha can be a bit of a troublemaker at times, please forgive her. May I ask what you need assistance with?"
"Uh, yes, we need to register Bell as an adventurer in my familia, if that's not too much trouble…"
"Yes, of course goddess, I'll retrieve the forms immediately." she bowed to Hestia and ran off to a cabinet in the back of the room. She quickly found the form and walked back.
"Here you are, young man. Please fill this out to the best of your ability."
"I will."
"If you would please follow me to a meeting room, we can begin the short interview to guarantee the legitimacy of your familia, then we'll just need the form to complete his registration."
They followed Eina to a back room with two couches and a coffee table in front of a large window.
"Now then, will…" Eina paused, "Bell" he responded. "Thank you. Will Bell be your first Familia member?"
"Yes, he will."
"Alright, then you will be given a minimum level exploration familia tax rate, it will be due at the beginning of every month, and because it's the middle of the month, your payment will be waived till the next."
"Alright, sounds reasonable." Hestia responded.
Bell was busy filling in the adventurers form, and he was stuck on just one question, a seemingly inconsequential question as well.
'Race'
He was freaking out.
He didn't want to lie, he didn't want this to end up coming back to bite him, or more importantly, Hestia in the butt. He didn't think that the guild was particularly concerned at the race of an adventurer of a low tier familia with him as the sole member. But weirder things had happened.
Kinda like that time he and Zeus were stuck in a haunted mansion together, and he tried to seduce the ghost, only for it to ACTUALLY WORK.
To this day, Bell could still remember the awful noises from the other room, which he had to endure while trying to sleep.
Back to the matter at hand though, Bell gulped and did what he thought was best.
'Race : Elf.'
Plane and simple, he could only hope it didn't invite scrutiny.
"Uhm, I finished the questions."
Bell awkwardly handed the paper to Eina, who was finishing up her briefing to Hestia.
"Ah, perfect. It's good to have you with us, Bell Cranel." Bell smiled lightly.
"Huh? Elf?!" Bell's heart dropped. Hestia's eyes widened and turned to Bell.
"You're… an elf?" Eina had a hard time believing it.
"Y-Yes, I'm elven, although I would prefer that that doesn't leave this room and that document."
"...May I ask why that is?"
"Well... I... come from a particularly strict village. When they learned I had ventured out, they… cut my ears... and told me not to return." Bell was staring at the floor.
"I'm… I'm so sorry to bring up such memories, Please accept my most sincere apologies, Mr. Cranel." Eina stood and bowed.
Bell stood as well, "No! Don't worry about it, there was no way you could've known!"
It was a lie, the only lie that Bell could tell successfully.
It was no secret to the companions Bell had over the centuries that Bell couldn't lie to save his life. But that little story he just told Eina, a masterpiece he had practiced since just after the Great Human/Elven war ended. A short story, but one filled with emotion and care. It didn't work the first few times, but after about a year of practice, no one could call his bluff.
Eina seemed to buy Bell's story, much to his relief. It didn't take long after that to have Bell registered as the first official member of the Hestia Familia, and just as soon as that, Hestia had to leave for her job. Leaving Bell alone with Eina in the private meeting room.
"So, Mr. Cranel-"
"Oh, just Bell is fine."
"Alright, Bell. Due to your situation, being the only member of your familia and having no veteran adventurers to teach you, I will be your dungeon advisor."
Bell blinked, "Dungeon advisor?"
"Yes, it is my job to ensure that you are as well equipped as possible when you enter the dungeon. This includes educating you on what equipment you should bring, the layout of the floors you will encounter, and the types of monsters on those floors." Eina pushed her glasses up.
A bead of sweat went down Bell's cheek, He had a bad feeling.
"Oh, then I guess I'll be your student today?"
"No, you will be here everyday it takes for you to learn the ropes of the dungeon." Bell paled. "I don't intend to let you go in there until I've got you as dry behind the ears as possible, understand?"
Einas eyes had an immeasurable gleam of seriousness.
"Y-Yes, I understand, mam."
Eina faltered, "You know you're only a year younger than me, you can just call me Eina. You've asked me to call you Bell after all."
Eina crossed her arms and looked to her knees in a bashful yet dignified manner.
Bell could only look at her with an 'oh' expression.
"O-Of course, if that's what you want… Eina."
Both looked to their knees for several moments longer.
Then they got to work on Bell's studies.
.
They would remain in the small room for most of the day, only breaking for lunch, and when the evening rush started up.
Eina was surprised at the pace Bell was taking in information, actually, she believed that if it weren't for the memorising layouts of floors, Bell and her may have very well finished the two day course by lunch.
She was even more amazed by the amount of information Bell already had about the creatures of the dungeon, at least for those found outside Orario.
Bell refrained though when it came to informing her about his magic. Although it may be a crucial tool, he wanted to give out as little as he could about race based things like that.
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By the time Eina and Bell were exchanging their goodbyes, Hestia had arrived looking for Bell, thinking Bell had been, and still was in the dungeon. She had arrived there to greet him on his way out, only to run into said white mop just outside the guild.
They exchanged their hellos, then Hestia noticed the papers in Bell's arms.
"What's this, Bell?!"
"Oh!" Bell adjusted his grip, "Eina and I spent the day educating me on the dungeon, I'm taking these home with us tonight so I can study them for a small test she wants to give me tomorrow."
Hestia's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Eina? No 'miss' now huh?"
"W-Well… She said that I should call her that since I asked her to call me Bell."
"Ah ha! Cozying up to miss half elf, huh!" Hestia pushed her elbow into Bell's side with a grin.
"Ah? Why are you twisting reality, huh?!" Bell was blushing a bit.
"Ok, ok, If you say so." Hestia calmed down a bit. "Let's go home, ok?"
Bell sighed, but nodded.
.
It was a beautiful night, the light pollution on the lower world was minimal, and Orario was no exception, as the magic fueled lamps which came on at night, were built with light pollution in mind, allowing for a full view of the starry early summer sky. It was nothing short of magnificent.
Bell and Hestia were admiring the night sky while walking in the faint purple glow of the street lamps. It was an optimal night in Bell's mind, he had looked to the stars many times when camping out, and when the weather was like this, he would sleep without a tent and soak in the sight all he could.
All felt right in the world as he looked up, and in his mind, to a more permanent looking future than ever before.
A man came crashing into him, breaking his train of thought.
Bell reacted too slowly, and now thought they were under attack, until he pushed the man off of him, and noticed the man was unconscious already.
Bell looked the way the man approached, only to find a pair of girls in light green maid uniforms, standing in the doorway of a pub packed to the brim.
"Uh! M-My apologies, we didn't mean to do that sir!" The green haired waitress ran to his side, "Are you alright?!"
"Nyu probably shouldn nave stood nare you nyoo, nya."
The waitress turned and glared at the cat for a split second, before returning her attention to ahead.
"I apologize for Anya, she's a dunce." Her hand stretched out.
"Oh, that's alright." Bell took her hand, "I should've been more careful."
"WHAT WAS NYAAaa…" Anya lost her steam as Bell was pulled up by the green haired waitress.
Bell looked at Anya, thinking she was upset that he had gone along with the joke (it was a joke, right?). Until he looked at the green haired girl, noticing her elf ears for the first time, then that her eyes were also fixated on something below, like Anya's.
He looked down to his and the waitresses hands, both together still from when he had been helped up.
He realised he had messed up.
Before the elven Woman could react. Bell backed off and bowed deeply to her, catching her off guard.
"I am so sorry! I will take responsibility for my actions!"
Anya was looking to the poor boy in pity, knowing the elf would flip out over this accident. But to her surprise, the elf had an almost unnoticeable blush, and pulled her arm back in a defensive manner, only to stutter out what she could.
"I-I-Its a-alright, a-ag."
The elf speed walked back into the pub, leaving a jaw dropped Anya, and a mortified Bell behind.
Bell looked at Anya, "I really messed up didn't I."
Anya came back to reality.
"Ah! Go nyow before the odters come to inyestigate!"
She ushered Bell and a bewildered Hestia from the scene of the crime, like a parent hiding their mistake from the other.
Bell began to move, but tripped slightly on the knocked out drunk, and grabbed Hestia, set on getting home asap.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
The next day arrived on schedule.
Bell's mental clock had him up a small time before Hestia, but nothing could come of it, as there was nothing to eat, and all that was left of the night's dinner was a handful of the potato puffs she had gotten from work.
So Bell made a game time decision.
Dear Goddess,
I am long gone, so eat these potato puffs in my stead.
Do your best today and so will I!
-Bell
While walking with the same map from two days ago, Bell heard Hestia shriek at the note. After that, he went from walking down the street, to running full speed.
It was only inevitable that afterwards, he got lost, as one does while trying to find the giant tower in the skyline.
But an angel of sorts was on the way.
.
Bell was flipping back and forth between looking at his map and swiveling his head around every which way to find where he was at. He looked kind of ridiculous in the middle of the empty morning street, not knowing where he was, and having no one to ask directions.
'I was so focused on getting back to the church last night… I completely forgot to look for landmarks…'
"Are you lost?"
Bell jumped when a grey haired girl had suddenly appeared against his shoulder. Never mind that she snuck up on him in an empty street.
It took him a second to calm and notice her clothes. It was the same uniform as the girls from last night.
"Ah!"
"Ah?" she responded with a grin.
"Uh, you're from that pub!" She made an 'O' face.
"If you mean the hostess, then yes I am!" She giggled, moving in front of him. "Do you need some help mr. adventurer?"
Bell smiled, nodding "uh, yeah, I'm kinda.. Lost, heh." his hand found the back of his head.
"Hehe, I see! Well, where are you trying to go?"
"Well, the Gu-." *loud rumbling*
Bell looked down, she did the same.
She began to giggle again, "Sorry, sorry" she tried to stop, "You're hungry? Well then, let's get you to the hostess and feed you, alright!"
Before Bell could protest, she took his arm and began leading him down the street.
"So what's your name mr. adventurer?"
Well… He'd come this far, "B-ell Cranel." His voice cracked.
She giggled once more, still holding his arm "Nice to meet you Bell! I'm Syr Flova."
"Nice to meet you too miss-"
"No miss!"
"...Syr…"
He blushed, she smiled.
.
They had arrived at his last known landmark, The Hostess of Fertility. There was a nice big sign that Bell hadn't seen last night, it must have been too dark.
They began to walk up the stairs to the door when a shadow exited the dark doorway.
"Syr, your back? Where are the gro-?!" It was the green haired elf from last night.
They recognised each other simultaneously.
They both stopped in place.
This piqued Syrs interest, but not nearly as much as when she noticed the dash of pink under the elfs eyes. The elf picked up on this and quickly put on her blank face.
"Hello sir, welcome to the Hostess of Fertility." She bowed.
"Ryuu what was that?!" Syr stepped forward, Ryuu flinched, but held her ground.
"Syr, please not now…" Ryuu refused to stand back up.
"Do you know each other, Bell?!" Syr turned to him, and the elf, now known to him as Ryuu, looked up slightly.
"Eh, uh, well... I accidentally tou-" Ryuu swiftly pinched Bell's arm, drawing a yelp from the boy.
"Me and Anya were throwing out a drunk last night, and... We hit with him…" Ryuu let Bell go.
"Hhhhhmmmmm?" Syr didn't buy it. Ryuu needed an out.
"Syr! Where are the groceries?" Syr was dumb struck then began looking nervous.
"I'VE GOT TO GO!" she announced to the pair, then turned and ran off down the road.
The two looked at the dust outline she seemed to leave, until they set their attention back on each other.
Bell broke the silence.
He bowed "I'm truly sorry for touching you last night." Ryuu quickly shushed him and corralled him out of the door with her down the stairs.
"No, it's my fault for extending my hand, it's only natural that you'd take it."
"But you're an elf, and I didn't notice at the time, but I should've been more observant, so it's my fault."
The argument over who was at fault would have lasted till the morning rush started, however there was an unexpected halt to the conversation as Bell's stomach rumbled for the second time.
"...You're hungry… I see." Ryuu turned and ran inside only to return with a box in her hands.
"Please take this." She presented him with the box.
Bell was confused but accepted it "What's in it?"
"It's my morning rations." Bell looked shocked.
"I can't accept this, what will you eat?!" He tried and failed to hand her the box back.
"I will wait till lunch, but by your clothes, you're an adventurer, it's dangerous to go without breakfast, so take it." She wouldn't take a no from him.
"Can I atleast pay yo-"
"NO, just take it." what she said was final.
Bell felt guilty.
"Then…" Ryuu looked menacing now. "How about I come by later after the dungeon and get something for dinner."
Ryuu looked peeved, but reluctantly accepted.
"Very well, I can't turn away a willing customer, but this is because you want to eat here, not because you owe me."
"Alright." Bell was happy, in his mind, this was a small victory of his own.
Bell had a thought, Ryuu saw a shift in his features. He smiled.
"Hello, my name is Bell Cranel," he bowed, "It's nice to make your acquaintance."
Ryuu hesitated, but followed along knowingly.
"And mine is Ryuu Lion. The pleasure is all mine ." She returned the bow.
They bid their farewells, and Bell began his way to meet Eina for his exam, Ryuu saw him off from the top of the stairs.
She kept thinking, that… for some reason... She felt strangely comfortable around him.
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Eina had finally finished settling in for the day, she was early, and had been expecting someone who had just walked in the door.
"Bell." She called to him, achieving her goal as he jogged to the counter. They shared a nod before Bell followed her to the same room from yesterday.
The rest of the staff were trying to get a look at the kid that had kept Eina from opening till after the counters closed last night. Many were entranced by the cloud of white hair following Eina into the meeting room. None more fascinated than a group of women known to be her personal friends.
They would stay in the room for 3 hours, until Eina and Bell had finished up the last of the information they couldn't squeeze into yesterday's lessons.
"Ok." She fixed her posture.
"Do you think you are ready for the exam?" He nodded.
"Good," Eina handed him the papers. "You already know there's no time limit. Again, DON'T CHEAT. You'll only be endangering yourself in doing so."
Bell's eyes didn't waver from her own, until she walked to the door.
She turned to him before leaving, "Good luck."
Bell turned from the empty page, "Thank you."
He smiled before turning all his attention to the page.
.
She left, not seeing Bell for an hour and a half after. Until the door opened.
Bell looked both ways down the hall, before starting down it, exam in hand. When he eventually reached the end of the hall, right beside the counters, Bell spotted Eina standing at said counter with both her arms crossed, thinking deeply on something.
Bell wouldn't typically try to break someone's concentration, especially when they seemed so in depth about it. But she didn't seem to be doing anything specific,
"...Eina…" he whispered, catching her attention.
"Ah, Bell, you've finished the exam?"
"Yes." he had a nervous smile "can you grade it please?"
"Of course Bell." She took the papers. "Go back to the room and wait, I'll grade these in the staff lounge." Bell again nodded.
.
Bell waited for ten minutes before Eina opened the door, she had good news. She smiled at the antsy Bell, before handing him his graded exam.
' Bell Cranel - - - - - Grade : 99.2 - - - - - 16 / 5 / 2 / 1012 '
Bell took a second to soak the number in, before he jumped up and spouted a quick but joyous "YES!". Before quickly straightening himself and looking at a proud happy Eina.
"I passed right?!" Bell couldn't help grin ear to ear.
"Yes, you passed Bell!" She was genuinely happy, but concerned at the same time.
Eina would never tell Bell this, but she was very concerned about Bell. It wasn't that he was in danger, but his already existing knowledge of the monsters in the first few levels was notable at worst. The other thing was that Bell had only missed ONE POINT, and it was only because he forgot to list the Goblins as a monster spawn on level six, it was an insignificant oversight by him, and Eina would've let it slide if it wasn't the only thing he had missed!
For goodness sake, it was a passing grade at 50% as long as he got the info for the first three levels correct.
"Come with me Bell, we need to register you at the front desk, you'll need the benefits the guild provides, like the money exchange or the public showers in babel."
Bell followed Eina to the front counter, where she filled out the rest of the information with him. They soon finished.
"Ok! You're officially an adventurer now, Bell!" He and Eina were smiling, and so were a couple of the people around them. Bell's smile truly was infectious.
She handed him his ID before sighing, "Bell, I trust you, but don't overdo it, please."
Bell nodded, "I promise to take care."
Eina nodded, "It's the evening now, so don't go below the first level, it'd be bad to over exert yourself after today, alright?"
"Alright!" He replied.
"Remember Bell," Eina started.
"~Adventurers shouldn't go on adventures.~"
Bell had said it at the same time as her.
She pouted at Bell, he had kept calling it her motto since she had said it so often in the lessons, he had picked up on how she put her hands on her hips every time before saying it.
"I'll take care, Eina! Thank you for all the help!" He waved as he ran for the door. She did the same.
Eina continued to look at the door to the guild for several seconds after Bell had left before sighing, only to be startled by a familiar voice.
"You look sad to see him go, Eina."
She jumped, but quickly turned to the green haired elven princess.
"Miss Riveria! Please, don't startle me like that!" She was trying to calm down.
"Sorry Eina, but you make it too easy sometimes." She moved to lean on the counter. "So do I need to go tell your mother you're seeing a boy now?"
Eina blushed, "W-What?! H-How did you get to that?!"
Riviera laughed, then waved her down with her hand. "Relax Eina, I'm just teasing. So, how are you?"
Eina calmed herself "Fine, more importantly, your familia leaves on an expedition tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, we're meeting at dawn to start, speaking optimistically, there's hope we'll reach floor 59."
"Ooh, you'll need to come by and tell me about it!" Eina was always excitable on these occasions.
Riviera sighed happily, "So, how's your mother been doing recently?"
"Oh, good-good, she had a fever a few days ago, but she's back on her feet like normal."
"I'm glad to hear that,*hmph* I've got to go, there's some supplies we missed and need by tomorrow." Riviera waved a small note of paper with a list.
"Oh! Well then, please be safe as always, your highness." Eina grinned while bowing semi-theatrically.
Riveria glared for a second then sighed, only responding by turning and leaving without a word.
'She can deal with it, she teased me about Bell after all.'
Eina returned to her work, she was one of, if not the most diligent workers in the guild.
She worked straight through the afternoon, never taking her break, it wasn't a secret that she was worried about her 'client', most advisers were on their first dive in, but what's worse, was when they didn't show back up in the evening.
Eina worked till there was nothing left in the to-do bin, finishing three days of work in a single afternoon. Soon though, the street lights came on, bathing the windows in purple, and still no Bell...
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Bell stumbled as he entered the guild the next day, almost dropping the package of food he was carrying.
He looked around once inside, spotting the pink haired woman at reception once again.
"Hello miss, do you know where I c-"
"YOU!" She stuck her finger out towards his chest. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"
Bell backed up a step, shocked and confused by the… question?
"Ugh, never mind. Go, Eina's in the conference room sleeping, she was up all night."
Bell nodded to her, not wanting to invoke her rath further. He made good time finding the room, but stopping to knock first.
"Come in~"
Bell opened the door and slowly peaked in, he saw on one of the sun lit couches, a blanket covered mound, Eina, he figured. He took his first step in when the cover moved, and her face became visible to Bell. When their faces met, Eina's eyes widened.
Bell observed several emotions out of her in less than a second.
Confusion, recognition, joy/happiness, recognition again, and finally, unbridled anger.
Bell, now the prey, decided the best course was to run, and so, he moved to exit through the ajar door. However, the predator, Eina, moved faster than he had ever seen a person go, slamming the door shut, nearly taking his leg off.
Bell stared at the closed door with a ghostly expression, knowing he'd been had.
Bell was shaking like a chihuahua. "H-Hi Eina, h-how are you!"
Bell cranel would not be seen for roughly an hour, as he was chewed out by his advisor.
Many of the staff were angry with Bell, Eina was well liked at the guild. But it wasn't until the first of the shouting was heard, did their anger turn to pity.
.
Bell was sitting straight and proper as Eina finally finished her rant.
"What did we learn?"
"To always return after the dungeon, and to not worry my adviser." Bell said like a boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Good. Now then, you have magic stones to be traded I assume?"
"Y-Yes, I got a little carried away and went to the second floor, I left after a few minutes though, and I didn't encounter anything there."
"Ok, well then, based on how many stones you trade in today, I'll decide if you can go down to the second floor or not, but don't venture further without my permission, got it?!"
He nodded sharply. Eina gestured for him to follow him, the guild was now starting to fill with people.
"Miss Eina, why are there so many people here already?"
"Huh, oh, the Loki familia is leaving for an expedition this morning, so people are probably coming to see the familia all together in one place. It's a big familia, and has a number of first and second tier adventurers, too."
Bell nodded. Eina led him over to the exchange counter, explaining how it works and that it's open 24/7. Bell went to place his stones into the tray. Eina expected him to only have a few at the most, he had only been in there for a half evening after all.
What she didn't expect was him to remove his backpack, and pull out three pouches full of stones.
"Bell…" He looked to Eina, "Did… Did you get all that in just a few hours…"
Bell grew confused, "Is this... less... than normal." Bell, not knowing anything about normal yields from the dungeon, stood shrinking in place, while Eina and a red-haired clerk beside her were shocked.
"There's… no way. You had help right?!" the red haired lady questioned.
"Wh-What?"
"There's no way this could be done in such little time on your first day, Bell." Eina was in disbelief.
"...Your total is 3,250 valis…" They stared at Bell.
"Is - Is that not normal?" Bell was fidgeting.
"It is for a pair of mid level ones after a short day." Eina said.
"You didn't steal this did you?" the red haired woman put oh so smoothly.
"Rose!"
"No! I would never!" Bell shouted, startling the pair.
He looked at the two for a moment, worry beginning to seep into him.
"Don't worry Bell, we believe you." Eina reassured him.
'How though…' Eina thought.
Bell finally reached down and picked up the valis.
"Okay, I'll be off then, bye Eina, bye miss Rose."
"Bye Bell! Good luck!"
Bell waved as he headed through the Guild entrance.
He would be back around lunch, having run out of room to fit his magic stones. Then once more at the end of the day, shocking both Eina and the newly acquainted miss Rose with the collective 6,000 valis that he had made on his second day alone.
Bell wouldn't know it, but he became the talk of the guild. It's staff at least.
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A/N
If you've made it here, Thank you for reading, I am grateful you gave me this moment in your life to try and entertain you.
This was created by me after noticing a lack of stories where Bell isn't human, after all, he's in a place where there are dozens of different races with all sorts of different stories that could be told. So I chose Elf, and built a world around that concept.
Now, for anyone concerned, Bell is still the hero of the story, but a notable amount of things will be changed, for the good I hope. But until the 'pass parade incident' I'm going to kinda coast through some things so as not to bore you all to death before getting to the parts that change.
For instance, the Lily ark won't be different enough to mention, so I will likely just skip over it in between chapters, so just assume everything went as normal. We all read the books, or watched the anime and know what happens.
The following chapters will not be as long as this, maybe half, or so, since I just wanted to give you guys a sense of my writing style and make a foundation for this story.
7,354 took a while, and I'm a slow writer.
