And as promised, I continue to translate my work, offering you my second fic in English.
I warmly thank my small group of friends, Lou, Faisselle, Hélios, Asmodeus, Marakeii and WedgeTalankar, for their various tips and suggestions.
And I offer a huge thank to my friend JenamTheBrave, almost co-author of the English version, whose help is extremely valuable to me in providing you with a good quality translation.
Chapter 1: Hot Weather
Beaten. Everything she had built had collapsed like a house of cards. Freya had destroyed everything, her entertainment district, her dignity. She had turned her servants against her with one look, she had never been a match for Freya, not a single time. Ishtar was enraged at her own weakness. Her arcanum had just activated to preserve her flesh, and the pillar of light would soon bring her back to the tenkai, back to a monotonous existence, sorting out the souls of the dead.
Bell Cranel, a kid, a simple adventurer, unknown to everyone a few weeks earlier. If he hadn't had his rare skill, Liaris Freese, he would never have gone up to level 3 in such a short time. If Freya hadn't been interested in him, he would never have evolved to such an extent. If Apollo had not come to provoke him, he would not have become this famous. He and that cursed virginal prude Hestia would still be biting the dust like the lowlives they were.
But of course he resist her charms, of course he met Haruhime, then this idiot Phryne couldn't behave, and that bitch Aisha betrayed her, and then of course the kid's damn sense of justice had to make him act against all common sense, dragging Freya in his wake.
Now she was going back to the heavens, like a nobody. But he was there, she could feel his presence, the kid was still around. Her arcanum was released, she was going to leave the gekai anyway, so she could do this final dance before the curtain fell.
He was within range of her aura, she would only have a short moment, but it was more than enough. A simple blessing, something trivial for a goddess in full command of her faculties. After all, a proper reward would be suitable for the brave hero, saviour of the poor little fox princess, prisoner of the wicked witches bent on sacrificing her. And she would be the one to give it to him. As far as the consequences were concerned, it would probably be a lot of fun, and potentially make Freya's life miserable. He had received The Grace Of Ishtar and she would always be able towatch all of it unfold, thanks to her divine mirror.
The light disappeared, calm returned to the city. The Freya Familia's destruction of the Entertainment District had consequences, but for Bell had bigger fish to fry, like looking after his friends. Haruhime integrated their familia, and so would have Aisha, if Hestia had nod judged her too "dangerous".
The little Hestia Familia had other adventures, not suspecting for a moment that the little seed planted by Ishtar was slowly but surely germinating in the deepest recesses of Bell's falna.
No one suspected a thing until that hot day. The sun had been merciless for several days; Welf, Mikoto and Bell were outside the mansion, doing some repairs. If stripping Apollo of all of his earthly possessions was fun, maintaining his gigantic mansion with hardly a dozen people was less than optimal. Such a house had to be kept orderly, and since they didn't earn enough with five people in the Dungeon, they had to take care of the maintenance themselves.
So, after several days of exploring, the small group decided not to descend into the Dungeon that day. Hestia was at her job for Hephaestus, still paying her debt to pay off the ultimate Swiss Army knife she had given to Bell. Haruhime was doing her usual household chores with a smile and Lili was lost in the paperwork with which no one ever wanted to bother. So the last three were doing some maintenance outside.
However it was hot outside, very hot, and the physical labor did not help to cool off. It wasn't long before Mikoto slipped into something lighter, as for Welf and Bell, they simply dropped the top, showing their sweaty chests to anyone passing by. They could afford it, now that Hestia had finally learned from the other gods how to hide a falna.
Welf was a tall, strong-chested lad, shaped by years of blacksmithing and wielding heavy weaponry. Bell himself had nothing to be ashamed of : despite his smaller size, his muscles had firmed up after several months in the Dungeon. He was leaner, more athletic, so that one could guess that when he was done growing, he would become a very handsome man. Top it all up with his adorable bunny face, and you got yourself some perfectly eadible eyecandy.
And some would try to eat it up indeed, for Ishtar's seed would now bloom.
That day, several women from the Loki familia had gone out to do some shopping. The two Amazoness, Tiona and Tione, had come up with the idea, soon followed by Lefiya. They also convinced Aiz to come with her and even Riveria agreed to tag along. One thing leading to another, they found themselves walking past the gates of the house and could see the three people at work. But only one person caught their eye.
Ha! It's Argonaut-kun! Tiona then said in a very cheerful tone, which made all the women turn their heads towards him. The object of their attention and his two companions had not noticed their presence and continued to work.
However, something a bit subtler had occurred : rather than moving along or even greeting them, they were just staring at Bell, as if lost in some dreamy state. It was once again Tiona who broke the silence.
My, my, you're starting to become very cute Argonaut-kun ...
She said to herself, although her sister had heard it anyway.
He's not at the captain's level, but I must admit he's got some potential.
If Tione wasn't getting all that hot and bothered, it wasn't the case of her twin, who was feeling a disturbance, that of her deepest amazoness instincts waking up and focusing on the young man. She liked him quite a bit already, but now she had moved beyond that : she wanted to have him all. She was suddenly feeling very hot and she knew all too well that it was notbecause of the sun.
For a long time, Aiz had felt a black flame burn within her, a flame born the day her mother had been taken from her, a flame of pure hatred which, sometimes, did not differentiate her from the monsters she massacred ruthlessly, a flame born of her desire for power. But now, as she was looking at the young man who had been catching her attention for some time, another flame ignited within her. If the black flame burned in her heart and her mind, that other one seemed rather to set her belly on fire. However, strange as it seemed, this flame was actually quite pleasant. But it was also horribly frustrating : she felt an excruciating emptiness within her, something she didn't understand and the more her gaze focused on Bell the more the sensation grew. She would later ask Riveria, her loving mother figure who always had an answer for her problems.
As far as the high elf was concerned, she was mute for now, but she too had her gaze focused on a particular shirtless young man. She had one hand over her mouth, looking thoughtful. Except that a careful observer would see that, actually, she was gently biting her index finger. Everyone said of Riveria that she was the "mama" of many people in the Loki familia. But right now, the thoughts running through her head weren't exactly maternal. And anyone who saw her as some sort of pure, higher being due to her nature as an elven princess would be surprised to know that she too knew lust, longing, just like everyone. Currently, all of these hidden felings were focused on Bell. She couldn't explain it, but didn't have enough of her mind to think about it anyway. Had this little bunny always seemed so cute to her ?
Lefiya was also staring at the human. She didn't hate him, despite what her attitude might suggest. She saw him above all as a rival, an intruder in her relationship with Aiz. But deep down, she respected him anyway. There had been the incident with the baths on the 18th floor, but soon after, the fight in the acid pool brought them together. But she was still hard on him. However today, the more she looked at him, the more her thoughts wandered towards scorching-shores, and the more it pissed her off.
Haaaaaa! I hate Bell Cranel! I hate Bell Cranel! I hate Bell Cranel! I WANT BELL CRANEL! Raaaaaaaaaaah! Disappear, impure thoughts!
Her attempt to convince herself was hardly fruitful and she felt she had to leave, very quickly, before her thoughts betrayed her, before she made a gesture or said a word that she was going to regret bitterly. The others had exactly the same thing in mind, so everyone resumed their walk, in silence, but with strange thoughts in their heads.
But it was a long day, and many more people passed by, as if fate itself had interfered with it. Eina was next : she had to give some papers to the Hestia familia and, as she knew they would not come to the Dungeon that day, she took advantage of the low activity in Babel to go and take these to them. Yet, she stopped behind the gate when she saw the small group working, although her gaze was focused on Bell only. From the very first day, she had grown fond of the boy, steadily spilling out of her role as a counselor. He wasn't the first adventurer under her supervision that she appreciated, and she had always learned to put a distance, especially to deal with grief when they didn't return or to avoid awkward relationships.
But she couldn't help but care for him more than she wanted to admit. His gentleness, his innocence, his innate kindness, his sense of justice against all odds, often against common sense. The day she had taken him shopping, she couldn't help but dress up, wanting to catch his eye. But right now, she didn't want him to see her in a pretty outfit, but in something more revealing. And the lessons she wanted to give him had suddenly taken a turn for the torrid. Noting that her thoughts had wandered a bit too far for her taste, she blushed and didn't feel the strength to go any further. Her instincts told her that if she walked into this house she might become unprofessional, so she turned around. These papers weren't that important anyway, their delivery could wait. She would to return to the Guild. And ask for a day off on top of that; she needed to clear her mind.
Another person passed shortly after :one blond elf in a green waitress uniform. Ryuu was doing some shopping for Mia and luck would have it that she passed around, which only gave her a slight detour, during which she perhaps hoped to say hello to Bell. But when she saw him, she was unable to call him. This boy always caught her off guard and it was all the more true that day. Although she wasn't as stuck-up on certain topics as most of her kind, she was still an elf, who didn't like to be touched by just anyone.
The idea of Bell touching her had never bothered her : she had been sure of it since the day he grabbed her hand. But now it wasn't just that, she wasn't just tolerating the idea of him touching her, but actually wanted him to. Seeing his bare chest like that made him want to get naked and rub against him, to have the closest contact, to share his warmth. She wanted to feel Bell's fingers run along her skin. Subconsciously, she hugged her shopping bag tighter against her. She was feeling hot, it was driving her crazy and it wasn't just the weather. Drawing on her training and experience, she managed to regain her composure and hurried off; it was better to get back to the tavern soon, the work would make her forget these strange thoughts.
Then Aisha passed by, probably with the idea of checking on Haruhime, her sould sister, and maybe even tease that poor Bell a little, because it was always fun. But when she saw him shirtless in the garden, sweating at work, everything changed. Instantly, she quickly forgot about Haruhime and focused on the boy.
Ho! Bell Cranel, now that's what I call a sneak attack, you little bunny tease, you...
She accentuated her sentence, licking her lips like a she-predator in front of her next all-you-can-eat buffet. From the start, she had teased Bell by making passes at him, knowing the boy was too nice to have the guts to answer them in kind. It was a all fun and games between them, well, mainly for her. She was only half serious, but if he had wanted to give in to her, she still wouldn't have said no. But now, she no longer wanted to tease, she wanted to listen to the deepest instincts of her amazoness nature, namely smashing the fence, bursting anything that would have the misfortune to get in its way and take the young man to do things with him, far too wild for chaste ears. But she had patience : not now, it was too early and she still had enough respect for the people of this house to know how to behave. But later, she would come back. If she played her cards right, she might even "borrow" one of Asfi's invisibility helmets.
Cassandra had a vision. A vision like she had never seen before. She often saw misfortunes and catastrophes, or else trivial things, but THAT! That was really new. Mustering her courage, she decided to go for a walk, in the neighborhood of her former home. Perhaps her vision about Bell Cranel would clear it upif she saw him in the flesh. After the War Game, she had taken a liking to the boy, especially when she had realized that he was the first to believe in her and her power, and that had warmed her heart, more than she knew. Yet, a vision such as the one she had was beyond mere affection, and she absolutely couldn't see herself doing that sort of thing. But when she saw him in the distance, shirtless, her heart skipped a beat. Now she had only one desire: for her vision to come true as soon as possible; not to be a mere racy dream, but one of her prophecies. Without realizing it, her breathing had grown stronger and her thighs were rubbing against each other. She needed a tranquilizer, so she quickly turned around, hoping that Miach, her new god, would have the right medication.
If there were women outside the house, there were also some inside. When Lili came out to get some fresh air and see how everyone was doing with the chores, she froze in place. Her gaze fell on Bell, shirtless, sweating, and even manlier than she could imagine. Lili had great respect for the young man after all he had done for her. She had feelings too, which she kept quiet about, as much out of respect as out of lack of confidence. She had been shadowing him, and had never really done more than that. But now she didn't want to be in his shadow anymore, she wanted to take over, in every sense of the word, to make him realize that she was indeed older than him. She, who had never really tried to approach him more in a more intimate way, was now burning with desire to find a good excuse to slip into the bath at the same time as him or why not in his bed, in the dead of night. With her rogue skills, she would find a roundabout way to get closer to him. She still managed to get a hold of herself, and hurried back into the house; she needed to keep her cool.
Speaking of cooling, later it was Haruhime who walked over to the small group, carrying a jug of water to them. However, she too froze as soon as she saw Bell. Normally, just seeing his bare collarbone would have been enough to make her throw her off her game, or even knock her cold, but this time it was different. Seeing her hero like this awakened something else in her. The fox-girl was trained as a courtesan and although it turned out that she had never put it into practice, in fact she had a very extensive theoretical background. And for the first time in her life, she was dying to put it into practice. Her thoughts now boiled down to Bell, her, and a whole bunch of different positions. In the end, she was unable to take another step and emptied her water jug herself, as she was feeling very thirsty, for some odd reason.
But despite these many incidents, nothing more happened. The three lads finished their work and the evening went well, aside from the fact that Lili and Haruhime had been silent, discreet and doing everything to avoid Bell as much as possible. They even went to bed early, leaving the young man alone for the evening. Hestia had been invited to a divine banquet hosted by Ganesha and as her familia grew in prestige, she had to live up to her new status. Mikoto had planned an outing with her friends from Takemikazuchi's family. As for Welf, he had an appointing about which he was quite discreet, although some suspected the identity of the person he was going to meet.
Elsewhere…
She couldn't sleep, she was twisting and turning, desperately seeking sleep that did not come. Morpheus seemed to have given a strike notice for the night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Bell again, shirtless, gleaming with sweat, showing off his muscles. He seemed strangely manly, sexy, desirable. She couldn't take it anymore, she was burning inside, she wanted him. Her hands were running over her skin, but she already knew that wouldn't be enough, that she needed more. She needed Bell, his skin, his hands, his whole body.
She stood up, driven by a voracious hunger, a primary instinct she couldn't fight. So, in the cool of the night, under the light of the moon and stars, she set out, towards him, towards the deliverance that her body was asking for. Towards a young man who was far, far from suspecting what he had just unleashedin spite of himself.
To be continued…
