Chapter 8: A New Friend
"My apologies. Sorry to change the topic so suddenly, but there is an urgent matter we need to discuss. There is information that the Kingdom of Rakia is preparing to invade Orario." spoke a thick male voice.
"Very sudden, indeed."
"Don't tell me it's that Ares guy again." grumbled a goddess.
"Isn't it about time we do something about that idiot? He's getting to be a real pain in the ass, seriously."
"Why is Ares worshipped so much in that country, anyway?"
"Maybe it's because he's got a personality that's hard to hate? The children love that kind of thing."
"It has to be his amazing good looks. His visage is almost on par with the goddess of beauty. I'm in the Freya camp, though."
"Got muscles for brains, too."
The table erupted with conversation ranging from pointless joking to absolute seriousness, and back again two or three times.
Each of the gods continued to say their own opinions, the atmosphere relaxed and unhurried. While she had an idea this was what went on, actually seeing this chaos with her own eyes was frustrating for Hestia. It looked nearly impossible to regain any kind of control, but—"Y'all pipedown, now!" Loki's voice suddenly rose above the din. With a reaction speed that Hestia could barely comprehend, all the deities went silent.
"All right, then. Here's what we got. Need ta keep our eyes on Rakia, inform the Guild. Then again, knowin' old man Ouranos, he'll figure it out himself. For everybody else, give yer Familias a heads-up. That clear ta y'all?"
"Understood."
Loki sorted through all of the information and summarized the important points. Since the gods and goddesses from all of the most influential Familias in Orario were in attendance, making sure that all of them heard the most important information was part of her job.
A feral grin appeared on her face as she called out for the naming ceremony to begin, and Hestia was horrified as she bore witness to Set's child Sety be granted the name of Burning Fighting Fighter, which could also be translated as Holy Dragon Knight of the Dawn while Take's child Mikoto, got Eternal Shadow.
She gulped for a moment when Loki shut down any chance of Ais Wallenwhatsit's alias change of happening before she finally grinned at Hestia in a manner to be called a dirty, drooling smile.
"Before we get to namin', there's somethin' I'd like ta know, Shorty." No one objected, as the normally squinting Loki opened her eyes wide enough to let everyone know she had a bone to pick.
"He did that much with our blessin' in a month an' a half—you expectin' me ta believe that?"
Loki slammed the palm of her hand onto her own paperwork on top of Bell's face, glaring daggers in Hestia's direction.
"It took my Aiz a year to level-up fer the first time—a whole year! And this boy does it in a month an' a half?! What're ya tryin' to pull?"
It was eight years ago that a relatively clueless eight-year-old had become the fastest adventurer on record to reach Level 2. Not only that, she was human—a race that was considered to be physically and mentally weaker than many of its counterparts.
News that such a person had set a record like that had spread throughout Orario and the world like wildfire. "It's not like a blessin' is anythin'special. A child that levels up that fast ain't natural. There ain't no shortcut, all of them bust their tails workin' hard ta level up."
Loki went on to say that Falna, the power of a blessing, was not instant. A Status only gave the children a chance. Falna manifested itself differently in each person, based completely on their own experiences and desires. Abilities, Skills, Magic. All of them developed based on Characteristics lurking within an individual.
Even those characteristics were built up from a personal history—and the excelia gained from those experiences warped the power of a blessing, or degenerated it, into its new shape. It was similar to how the size and shape of a flower growing out of the ground can differ depending on its environment during development.
Therefore, it was a stimulant. Falna was completely unaffected by outside forces. To be completely blunt, it was the ultimate key to unlocking inner potential.
"So, spill it, Shorty."
"..."
Hestia could have sworn Loki was breathing fire; the black-haired goddess was drenched in sweat. Hestia had two options right now, either she could use the fact that Bell was related to Alfia, the "Monster of Talent" to explain his prodigious growth, for indeed Alfia had been a Level 7 by 24.
She had been initially miffed when Saber and Lancer had revealed it to her, but she could hardly lambast them when she was keeping her own secret, Liaris Freese, which was the real reason for Bell's growth.
Using the former explanation had its own demerits, as it would draw the scrutiny of many gods who did not know her well as well as make them suspect she had connections to Evilus if she was harbouring a nephew of the Sorceress who had assaulted Orario 7 years ago.
"So ya can't say? Ya wouldn't happen ta be usin' yer divine power, now would ya?"
"O-of course I'm not!" Hestia shouted, with enough rage in her words that even Loki backed down.
Loki then shook her head before she continued, "Okay then, out with it. If yer conscience is clean, this should be easy as pie."
"Ah..."
Loki had accused Hestia of using Arcanum, divine power, to accelerate Bell's growth. A near-panicked Hestia couldn't string enough words together to defend herself.
Hephaistos sat next to her friend with a very troubled look on her face. Her mouth was open, as if she were about to speak but couldn't figure out what to say.
Every set of eyes around the table was now trained on Hestia. Extremely interested in what was going on, all of the gods and goddesses leaned in to catch every single word. Hestia felt as though the room were closing in on her. She had never sweated this much in her life.
I'm finished, said a little voice in her head as she gave up hope. Just then, she muttered, "He's… he's… related… rela…. to.."
Loki scrutinised her further, "Related to whom shorty? Ottar? He's a rabbit not a boaz!"
"My my, what's the big deal?" A beautiful soprano voice echoed throughout the room, no doubt drawn into the conversation by the mention of her own child.
"...Huh?"
"Whassat?"
All eyes left Hestia in an instant and instead went to the owner of the voice. Freya was leaning back in her chair, an aloof expression on her face. "As long as Hestia hasn't violated our laws, then there's no need for her to explain herself, yes? It is, after all, taboo to reveal the inner workings of any Familia. That includes the Statuses and Abilities of any members."
Looking at a lock of her hair, she pulled it back behind her ear. Freya appeared disinterested, as if she were only talking common sense. But it stopped Loki in her tracks.
"...But one month? Can't ya wrap yer mind around that, ya airheaded vixen?"
"Hee-hee, why does this bother you so much, Loki? Your attitude seems rather strange to me...Is this jealousy, perhaps? Is it because Hestia's boy broke your favourite little girl's record? Do you really think Talent is something only guaranteed to come to large Familias?"
"Like I care," Loki retorted with a sneer, though Freya's last point had drawn the murmuring of some of the weaker Familia Gods, who just waited to pounce on Loki if it turned out she was discriminating against them.
"I wonder," Freya responded with her ever-present smile as Loki's pretty face contorted in rage as she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Just as Loki had done to Hestia moments ago, Freya had twisted Loki's words into a corner from which she couldn't escape.
The look on Loki's face made it all worth it for Freya as she smiled smugly in her chair. "Tsk!" Loki clucked her tongue in Freya's direction, looking at her with the utmost fury.
"Of course it's difficult to believe my ears when I hear those numbers...But this boy, by some miracle, managed to defeat a Minotaur despite his low level." spoke Freya, as if she was recalling the texture of a Jagamaru-kun she had ate.
"..." was Loki's response, as she did not see where this was going, atleast not yet.
"If I had to wager a guess, then I would say this Minotaur is the reason. If, perhaps, defeating a Minotaur meant something special to him, then the excelia he gained could also have had more influence than usual...That's what I think."
Every one of Freya's words sent ripples through the meeting room. Each deity looked down at the paperwork in front of them and under the "personal history" column, only to find that this was, in fact, the second time the adventurer Bell Cranell had encountered a Minotaur. But he had defeated only one of them, and had been saved by two older adventurers the first time around.
One by one, the gods and goddesses around the table started murmuring in agreement with Freya's opinion. Even Loki couldn't deny that it made sense, but she wasn't too happy about it.
Takemikazuchi muttered, "Perhaps after being saved by those gentlemen, the boy simply wished to slay a monster on his own at whatever cost! Who among us have not seen what a truly driven child can accomplish?" to which Ganesha sombrely nodded, a vast detraction from his regular personality.
It had been nearly a thousand years since the deities had come down from the heavens and begun bestowing blessings on the children. None of them could hope to predict what possibilities were hidden within each of the people of the world below. Even strange occurrences like this happened every now and again—all Freya did was point it out.
She let a moment of silence fill the room. Then she went on to say that while she was extremely interested, there was no reason to force an answer for Bell Cranel's unusual development speed.
Soon other gods around the table were saying that it would be against the rules to do so. Freya quietly smiled again and gracefully looked over at Hestia. It took her a moment to notice Freya's silver gaze. All Hestia could do, however, was blink, her body still in a state of shock, though she was grateful that Loki's quick nature had interrupted her from learning Bell's relation to Alfia.
An instant later, Freya stood up from her chair. "Oh, are ya leavin', Freya?" muttered Loki, still displeased at having been so thoroughly outmaneuvered.
"Yes. I have something urgent to attend to, so I shall excuse myself now." "Since you're here, why don't ya leave after we've given Loli Big Boobs's child a name? It's the last one, anyway."
"Hee-hee, I apologize, but I can't. Still..." Freya reached down to the table and picked up her copy of the paperwork. She took a look at Bell's face and said,
"Just be sure to name him something cute."
"""""""OKAY!"""""""
All of the gods around the table suddenly looked refreshed as Freya flashed her biggest smile of the day at each of them in turn. The goddesses, however, glared at their male counterparts, as if they were looking at rotten garbage.
Freya turned her back to the table and started to walk toward the door, sending one last grin over her shoulder.
"Well, shall we get down to business and choose a title for this boy?"
"Sounds good."
"But this human...I haven't heard much about him." muttered Set.
"It's the ones you overlook who surprise you." nodded Demeter absentmindedly.
"There are no rumors about him at all, no wait that isn't right. I remember, he's the boy who killed that Silverback on Monsterphilia." while another chimed in, "He and his Familia were the ones to make Soma reform his Familia if I'm not wrong!"
The suddenly serious gods began discussing the boy immediately. Hestia had finally recovered from the abrupt changes of mood during the Denatus and looked up at Hephaistos sitting next to her. Her eyes asked exactly what she wanted to know: "What happened?"
The crimson-haired goddess shrugged her shoulders, a look of frustration on her face as she responded. "I don't have a clue."
"Let's see...White hair with red eyes...A rabbit...How about 'The Good Rabbit, Pyonkichi'?"
"No, that name is already used. A smith named Wel-something used it for a piece of armor already."
"Thought of it before us...!"
"Wel-something...Just what is he? Is he trying to compete with us gods?"
"Hmmm, Ganesha, do you have any thoughts?"
"...I am Ganesha!"
"Yes, yes, Ganesha, Ganesha."
Ganesha's face hardened, as he unleashed something similar to an adventurer's killing intent, silencing not only the god who had just said that, but all other gods before he whispered, "Ganesha Rabbit."
Loki smacked her own face, while Takemikazuchi clobbered the Elephant God on his head with his fist, before sighing out, "I suppose something like Jubilant Hare might work?"
Mayahuel shouted, "Nah! Didn't the kid fight a silverback on Monsterphilia? Name him the Conqueror of Apes!" Dionysus seemed to like the suggestion as he added on, "Yes! Truly, a rabbit that conquered a gorilla!"
Hephaistos tutted, "Forget the ape, he killed a minotaur didn't he? Slayer of Bulls? Nah… Cattle Slayer!" to which Hestia began to tear up as the gods began to mutter in excitement at the name.
"As we try to find a more suitable name, nothing really jumps out at me!"
Miach then spoke, with one eye open, "Nimble Rabbit of Talent?" to which all the gods and goddesses nodded up and down while Take smiled, "Also read as Bright Prodigy? It works! SO it's settled?!"
All the gods nodded, "AYE!", while Hestia wondered how exactly she could explain to Bell he'd been stuck with such a horrible name, that too by Miach and Take no less, her closest friends! However, she stilled when a shadow fell over her body, and she looked up to see Loki standing in front of her.
Loki muttered, "Watch your back shorty… I don't know what Freya's upto but it can't be good… unless she's helping you hide your Bell's relation to Ottar?" as she squinted at Hestia who shook her head rapidly, imagining Bell being renamed King Rabbit if he was mistaken to be related to Ottar.
Loki still seemed suspicious as she sighed, "Doesn't seem likely… but I'll see if I can find a half-boaz in the city to see if they have animal-person ears or not.. besides… not my problem anyway, though whatever she's doing can't be good."
Hestia nodded… and a few weeks ago she might not have connected the dots, but her elder children… had enlightened her that not all was happy in Orario.
====================XeX====================
It was the next day that Bell excitedly waved at Saber has he walked off with Arash in the direction of the Hostess of Fertility. The only reason he wasn't heading to the dungeon already was, well, the unexpected burden of having to provide upkeep for four servants, which he would take time to get used to.
The fourth Servant in question, Gilgamesh, had taken a sighing Lancer with him as they headed for the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon, what with the blonde's vow that he would shatter Bell's record, as he had said yesterday.
Arash as of now had ditched much of his armour, and his bow as well, and he was certainly walking care-free as he took in all the sights around him. Arash then turned around at Bell, his hands resting on his head, as he effortlessly avoided people walking in his direction even as he couldn't see them.
"So… Bell! Or should I call you the Bright Prodigy from now on, Tell me why you'd want to be a hero?" as he smiled at the boy, to which Bell blushed momentarily as he spoke, "Umm… couldn't you read my mind for that?" to which Arash chuckled as he spoke, "I could, but that would be rude now wouldn't it, Bell? And besides, it's fun to find things out like a normal person.
Bell smiled, though he wondered if the label of normal person could ever be put on someone as spirited as Arash. "Umm… I guess it started when my grandfather kept telling me stories about heroes as a kid… and so I was always fascinated by them… I mean since you already know, he kept telling me that if I was a hero, I could save a…." he blushed deeper, "A girl… or many girls, and make a harem."
Arash chuckled at this, as he purchased a few apples from a stand before biting one and speaking, "Saving innocent people is never wrong, no matter what the reason behind it is, but there's more?"
Bell nodded, "Yes… while at first I wanted to make such a thing, but… seeing all you Heroic Spirits… it makes me want to aspire to more, reach greater heights so that I won't just be remembered as a failed womanizing hero but something worthy of a true legend!"
Arash nodded as he laughed, before he held the apple up to Bell's face, who tilted his head as he took it and bit it as well, "I see, under our guidance you wish to become the hero that will complete the last of this world's great quests. A worthy cause, but I think you should know that completing a grand quest is not all a hero must strive to do."
Bell was confused, but then he held his breath as he saw Arash kneel down at the side of the street, with the kindest expression on his face as he offered an apple to a Chienthrope orphan, who looked up in shock, before sniffling and taking it, mumbling some form of thanks as she did so.
Bell looked back at the now half-heartedly smiling orphan, before looking back at Arash who had a complicated expression on his face as he spoke, "I've said this before once in a different time… but even in this city, where gods dwell and mortals fight monsters… you'll find many sorts of people." before he pointed at a dwarf huddling in the corner of a back-alley as he hugged his knees to ward away the early-morning chill, "People who have given up."
He then pointed at a malnourished pallum raising his arms to the sky, "People who have despaired." before finally pointing at a were-wolf staring up at Babel, with a jaded expression on his face, as he sat in his wheel-chair behind a stall, "People who have forgotten tomorrow."
Bell's kind heart was breaking from the sights he was seeing, and wondered how he hadn't noticed them before, while Arash looked over at the boy "To these people… do you think a hero is one who slays a dragon they have never encountered?"
Bell did not speak for a minute, before he responded, "No… to them a hero would be someone who can… who can… pull them out of their misery and help them, right?"
Arash simply nodded, before he went ahead to the Pallum, and began slowly offering pieces of an apple to the boy. Bell made up his mind at the sight and went ahead and bought a shawl from a vendor, and placed it around the half-asleep, shivering dwarf before returning to Arash, who was buying a small trinket from the were-wolf's stall.
Arash looked over at Bell, before offering him a small smile as he spoke, "You really are kind-hearted aren't you? But how would you tell if an evil person is abusing your nature?"
The boy did not have an answer, but Arash ruffled his hair before speaking, "That's a problem for another time I suppose. Well then…. come Master, let's go to this restaurant you spoke of, and besides, we need to get you a new set of armour."
Bell nodded, as he walked behind Arash, but not before he gave one last look at those he had tried to help, and wondering if any of them were evil.
It was a dozen minutes later that the pair found themselves outside the Hostess of Fertility. Arash seemed to find the entire place interesting as he walked off and began idle conversation with Anya Fromel, well it was rather that the energetic cat-girl had accosted him happily at 'accompanying' the so-called, "White-hair boy nyano" to which the Persian Spirit simply smiled and explained his joining of the Hestia Familia.
Bell however, was talking to Syr, "Err, today I'm not going to the Dungeon so err… there's no need for you to give me your breakfast Syr!" The grey haired girl pouted at Bell, causing the boy to nervously chuckle.
She then seemed to brighten up, as an idea had clearly filled her head, before speaking, "Bell… since you're not taking my breakfast…. you're definitely coming around for lunch right!" before she blinked in an exaggerated fashion as her eyelashes fluttered.
Bell tinged a slight red before nodding in earnest, "Yes!", but then Syr put a finger to her chin before asking, "If you're not going to the Dungeon, what are you going to do then?"
Bell smiled as he responded, "Oh err, I'm going to buy a new set of armour, my old one broke when I was fighting the minotaur, and besides I'm showing one of my new familia members around the city."
Syr nodded, before she frowned, "Only one of them?" to which Bell nervously chuckled as he explained that their other member had already gone ahead for Dungeon diving to which Syr tutted in disapproval.
====================XeX====================
Deep below the boy and his waitress friend right now, was an exasperated Raven King trailing an unstoppable Gilgamesh into the 37th floor, for indeed the insatiable First Hero truly wanted to make good on his promise of shattering Bell's record.
As he fought off a Peluda, a dragon monster that used poison, he glanced over at Gilgamesh who he saw was effortlessly crushing a large horde of wolf-head monsters, Loup Garous. As he skewered the beast in question, hastily chucking its crystal into his backpack as he did so, he found Gilgamesh flexing his wrists, clearly mildly happier at the workout he was undergoing.
Gilgamesh looked over at Lancer before he smiled, "Ho!? You're not as boring as I thought you were then Spear-Wielder. You want to Level Up as well don't you?" as he gazed into Lancer's eyes. Lancer sighed, "In a fashion, yes. I want to see what a Level Up can do for a Servant, not because of some mad obsession to shatter a record!"
Gilgamesh shook his head disapprovingly, "Bah, idiot. You can pretend to be an academic all you want, battle's what you're suited for, now come along and help me find that Monster Rex thing, it sounds like it'll be a good fight."
Lancer stopped and huffed at the insult, before he spoke, emotionlessly "The Sword Princess slew it a week ago or so, it will not respawn until three months have elapsed." to which the red-eyed Servant momentarily considered the words spoken before a wicked grin appeared on his face.
"You say that the Roman had to deal with a strange monster because he unleashed his Divinity and destroyed a part of the Dungeon?" spoke Gilgamesh, waiting for Lancer's response.
Lancer muttered, "That didn't spawn a Monster Rex, damaging the Dungeon only serves to get a Juggernaut to spawn, and while the creature is resistant to magical attacks, according to Saber, physically damaging it isn't much of an issue."
Lancer nodded but then his eyes widened, and ironically, he was too slow, as Gilgamesh unsuppressed his divinity and flared it up and down several dozen times, almost as if the hero were taunting the Dungeon to do something without resorting to a Juggernaut.
The Dungeon it would seem had been truly affronted, for soon enough, they were confronted not with a Juggernaut that Lancer had seen earlier, but in-fact two monsters that had the description of Udaeus, both carrying a huge black sword as they erupted from the ground.
If that was not enough above them was a huge black dragon that looked like a winged snake. Lancer groaned, "You just had to do that didn't you?" as he unleashed his Spear, and began preparing to take them all into his Reality Marble if needed.
Gilgamesh simply grinned as he readied Enki, "Come now, what better fight is there than that when we're outnumbered by powerful beasts?" before he disappeared in a blur, re-appearing on-top of the Dragon, having skewered an eye of the beast as he continued to fire a barrage of swords into the wings of the dragon.
The dragon in question was less than pleased as it began unleashing powerful blasts on all sides, which even pierced through the floor of the Dungeon, and narrowly missed Lancer.
As he looked forward at the Monster Rexes, Lancer grinned for no more than half a second as he too vanished from sight, before attacking the Spartoi the Rexes had summoned.
====================XeX====================
As Bell finished explaining, he waved at Arash, who finished his chat with Anya and a Ryuu who had joined in, bowing in farewell as he did so. As Arash came up to the pair, he tilted his head at Bell as he asked, "Oh? Now I see why you were so insistent on visiting this establishment, Bell, if you had such a pretty girlfriend you can hardly be faulted for doing so."
The pair turned a furious scarlet as they denied Arash's words with a "We're not dating!", to which the Servant chuckled good-naturedly "Hmm, I'd thought you were, but if that isn't the case then I'm sorry" as he offered a disarming smile at the waitress who seemed to easily accept his apology.
Bell momentarily stumbled as Arash steadied him, as the Servant clearly recognized the signs of mana-exhaustion, a sign that the Servants far below them had expended atleast one Noble Phantasm. Arash shook his head, before he whispered to Bell to telepathically contact Lancer and Gilgamesh and tell them to take it carefully.
As they went beyond the restaurant while Bell did so, Syr… or rather Freya used her Discerning Eye on Arash, and gasped as she observed that his soul was near-enough to Bell's in its shining transparency. "A pity" she mused, as indeed even if it were so close, it was still slightly distorted in its shape, but if she had not seen Bell, then she would have sought out this Adventurer with all of her might.
Bell thought to himself as he shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked up at the massive structure in front of him. He had decided to visit the same weapon shop to find the equipment he needed, though it was a slight mark of embarrassment for the boy that his first set had been destroyed so easily.
As a light breeze hit his face he thought, "Atleast money isn't really a concern, and maybe Arash would spot something he'd like."
Arash chuckled as he responded, "Not in particular. I'm an Archer, and in raw strength I could fight anything that comes close enough to hurt me I suppose, though I do appreciate the bow I saw in Saber's hands, I really don't need anything."
Bell blushed at this, as he'd kept forgetting that the Servant could read minds, but Arash seemed to understand this as he spoke, "Hmm, I suppose I shouldn't, in a crowded place like this it can become like a minor head-ache.. but that waitress-friend of yours, her mind is resistant to probing… similar to Lily and Lady Hestia."
Bell was confused at this, as he'd never thought Syr was an adventurer or the sort, but he supposed it made sense, as Eina had told him that Mia was a retired Level 6, so if other adventurers wanted to become waitresses, there was nothing really stopping them.
As they walked up the stairwell, taking in the view out of the window, they began walking around the doughnut like eighth floor, taking an occasional look at the works on display.
Arash would occasionally test out the draw strength of most bows, and even the most comically impractical ones seemed to not draw an effort from the Archer, who kept placing them back as he politely thanked the flabbergasted shopkeepers for the opportunity, while archer-type adventurers ogled Arash's own bow as they wondered how much draw strength such a bow would require if he used it as his main weapon.
As they walked into the shop Bell had entered on his first visit with Lancer, he looked around in the back shelves for any successors in the oddly named Pyonkichi line of armours. And to his grave disappointment, he found nothing.
Seeing no other choice, he went ahead towards the customer service counter, refusing to look at any other set of armour as he did so. Indeed it was almost as if Bell Cranel had become a fan of Welf Crozzo without even knowing so.
Just as he got to the front of the store, an angry voice shot out from beside the counter "Why is it always in the middle of nowhere! You have something against me?" and Bell came close enough to see a young human arguing with an extremely exhausted store employee.
The man was wearing a long black coat, but it was in rough shape, and he had a head full of flaming red hair. Bell estimated that the man was a bit older than he was, as he looked over at Arash who seemed to have a conspiratorial smile on his face as he motioned Bell forward to talk to the customer service.
She welcomed him with "Welcome!" as she talked over the complaining smith, while Bell nervously smiled as he asked, "Do you have anything made by Welf Crozzo…? I mean a set of armour in particular… It had a name like.. Pyonkic…" he trailed off as he observed that the clerk's eyes had gone wide and the others in the shop were staring at him.
"...U-um, are you looking for Welf Crozzo's work...?"
"Y-yes. I want to buy armor made by Welf Crozzo..."
Bell had never heard someone so scared to ask a question in his life. Just responding felt like something bad would happen if he said something wrong. But the first person to react wasn't the clerk in front of him but the young man who had been arguing at the other counter just a few moments ago.
"Hee...ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Would you look at that! There is at least one name on my list of clients!" as he had a victorious expression on his face. Bell looked over at Arash who was only gently giggling to himself, no doubt having picked up something by mind reading that wasn't entirely obvious.
After laughing at the top of his lungs, the young man turns to face the clerk before slamming his hand down on the counter. The clerk can't respond, he just stands there doing his best to avoid making eye contact.
The adventurer looked over at Bell before he smiled as he picked up the box, and spoke, "If you're looking for Welf Crozzo armour… then right here!" as he slid it over to Bell who gasped as he observed the shiny, white light armour that was so similar to his former set yet so different.
Welf smiled as he spoke, "Please allow me to introduce myself… fan number one! I'm Welf Crozzo, a low-level smith belonging to Hephaistos Familia. Want an autograph?" to which Bell simply responded, "Eh?"
It was outside that the trio began to speak in earnest, while Welf had an awestruck look on his face as he spoke, "You're the Nimble Rabbit of Talent? No that's a mouthful, I'm calling you the Bright Prodigy, but still! You're the record holder? Now I'm wondering if we should trade autographs."
Arash simply smiled at the conversation, for he had no real reason to interrupt the talk between boys of a similar age. Bell spoke softly, "Umm… Mr. Crozzo, can I ask how old you are…?" to which the crimson-haired teenager seemed mildly annoyed as he spoke, "Nineteen this year… and one more thing, could you please stop calling me Mr. Crozzo? I'm not particularly fond of my family name… or formality to be honest."
Bell nodded, and decided to drop the formality altogether as Arash communicated to do so in his head, "Umm… that's fine then Welf, but your armour's really nice."
Welf smiled, as he spoke, "Doesn't matter if it's weapons or armour… my stuff simply doesn't sell. I don't want to sound too full of myself, but I know I'm making good, high-quality pieces. The only other thing I've sold was returned almost immediately. I can't figure it out…"
Arash cheerfully spoke, "Perhaps it's the naming sense? Naming a set of light armour 'Good Rabbit' isn't very… enticing to say the least." Welf seemed to muse this as he gazed over at Arash before his breath stilled as he saw the bow sticking out from Arash's back.
He whispered, "That bow… it's… a masterpiece." to which Arash simply grinned as he unslung it from his back and presented it to Welf, who like a man in a desert at the sight of an oasis, ravaged it with his eyes back and forth, up and down.
He looked up at Arash before hse spoke, "This… this is easily greater than many, if not all top-of-the line weapons I've seen. It'd be a shame on my existence as a smith if I didn't recognize its quality… but there's no seal. It's not made by Goibniu Familia or my own… nor even Tvashtr from Altena! Who made this? I do not even recognize it's material!"
Arash seemed bemused as he gently pointed at himself, to which Welf jumped up excitedly, "You're a smith? What level of a smith are you!? Level 5, Level 6? Beyond?" to which Arash was quiet for a moment as he rubbed his neck, "Well… I did forge the bow… but I'm afraid my smithing skill is exclusively for bows and arrows. I cannot make anything else, and I mean that."
Welf seemed disappointed but still gobsmacked as if the quality of the bow was so high, "No indeed." thought Bell, it would indeed be that high, for the owner was a Heroic Spirit that Lancer had called to be worthy of the title of Grand Archer.
Welf mused this as he spoke, "I see, I suppose that explains why Bell here didn't have you forge his arms for him, then I guess…." as he turned to Bell, "Lower-level smiths like me have to fight over clients, steal them from each other. Once one of us gets famous, everyone and their mother will go to them, asking for weapons and armour. The same is not true for the unknowns like myself, who stick with adventurers, get their advice and improve our work as we sell it."
Arash spoke at this, exuding a similar brotherly smile as the one on Welf's face as he spoke, "I see… you would like Bell to exclusively shop with yourself? I am not averse to the idea, you seem to be a good man, and if your armour indicates anything, a good smith."
Bell took this well into consideration, as Arash gave him a conspiratorial wink, no doubt indicating that he had read Welf's mind to assess his character. Welf seemed gobsmacked at Arash having exactly laid out his thoughts but he smiled as he spoke, "I think you and me are going to get along just fine even if you aren't my customer! I suppose one smith would recognize what another smith wants either way! So, Bell Cranel, would you sign a direct contract with me?"
Seeing the look of confusion on Bell's face, Welf summed up the meaning of a direct contract, that adventurers brought back drop items from the Dungeon for the smith, who could make strong weapons for the adventurers at reduced prices.
Even further intriguing was the fact that if a weapon was custom made for a particular adventurer rather than general sale, they could have stronger characteristics. As Bell pondered the situation, Welf leaned over and wrapped his arm around Bell's neck, pointing his head in the direction of other shops.
"Have a look over there, past all the swords, axes, and shields, to those guys standing there, staring at us." to which Bell looked over and indeed saw several humans and demi-humans staring at them, expectantly, though some of them were indeed ogling Arash's bow, for even from this distance the fact that it was a master-craft was obvious.
Welf then released Bell as he spoke, "They're all after you, like they would be for all adventurers who level up to Level Two. I might be a no-name Level 1 smith without the Forge Ability or even the Blacksmith one… but I hope you consider my offer."
Welf then continued, "To be honest, I'm happy that you say you like my work, I'd take you on even if you were still a Level One yourself. I've never thought that there would come a day that someone would say they want my work.." at which a frown had appeared on the crimson-haired smith's face.
Arash then nodded at this, "I see, well… Bell, I'd say you should sign a contract with Welf over here… but it's really upto you?" as he twiddled his thumbs to the side, clearly not wanting to influence the decision too much.
Bell thought it for a few seconds before he flashed a bright smile to Welf as he spoke, "That's fine then! I'll sign a contract with you !"
Welf smiled at this, before he smirked at the other smiths, who walked away, shoulders drooped down at having been defeated. He then looked over at Bell as he spoke, "I know this is a little early… but would you be willing to do me a favour?"
Bell tilted his head while Welf continued, "Of course, it's not like I expect you to help me for nothing. I'll make any and all equipment you need for free... but… I want you to let me join your battle party."
Bell was flabbergasted at the thoughts of getting a new set of equipment for free, even if money was not really an issue in the first place, that too for something as trivial as joining a battle party.
Arash chuckled at this as he turned to Welf, "I see, you wish to level up and get the Blacksmith Developmental Ability you spoke about?" to which Welf nodded enthusiastically at being understood.
Arash rubbed his chin for a moment before he spoke, "I think it's a good idea… Bell, you Lily and Welf could form a decent party… with one of us to provide support in-case anything untoward happens."
Bell nodded at this, adding a third member who was not a spirit to their party of himself and Lily would allow them to traverse further without escorts. Welf seemed mildly confused at the emphasis Arash had put on us, but he smiled as Bell agreed to allow Welf into their party.
As they bid farewell to one another, Arash peered into the box before humming satisfactorily as he spoke, "Well, there's your new set of armour! Now it's time to head to that restaurant so you can meet your girlfriend!".
Bell once again began sputtering out denials, but these were ignored by Arash as he walked along, whistling merrily.
====================XeX====================
Lancer groaned as they stumbled into the fading sun-light of evening Orario, for indeed what he had gone through had been extra-ordinarily taxing, mainly due to the blonde annoyance next to him, a still smiling Gilgamesh. Indeed it was almost enough for him to wish that the other Gilgamesh was here…. almost.
He'd been struck with enough force to actually fracture a rib or two when Udaeus no 1 had got him with a swing of its sword, not to mention he had then received a great singing from the blast of that dratted flying serpent directly afterwards.
He had dispelled his armour before they left the Dungeon; for he was sure he'd fractured a collarbone as well, and didn't want to aggravate the injury.
Indeed, to add insult to the injury, the pair were still covered in soot, drawing the eyes of other adventurers who assumed they'd probably run into an Infant Dragon.
Indeed the only reason that he'd not bothered dispelling it was out of exhaustion, while Gilgamesh had not done so simply because, in his own words "It's the mark of our ferocious battle!"
Lancer supposed it could have gone worse, for Gilgamesh had made great haste in taking care of the dragon, no-doubt spurred on because it resembled a snake, and it was well known that Gilgamesh detested snakes, and where the other Gilgamesh might have chosen not to aid him out of some excuse such as "my treasures would be sullied", this Gilgamesh held no compunction for doing the same, as he freely blasted thousands of swords into the enemies they'd ran into.
He sighed, shaking his mind from these thoughts as his eye caught sight of a store that sold desserts, and dropping all royal habits, he spoke "Oi, Oi Gilgamesh! I'm going to buy something from that shop, if you want to, you can join me."
The Mesopotamian Servant raised an eyebrow as he spoke, "Ho? Desserts? I see, come then Corvinus! Let us see if these desserts are worthy of a royal palette." as he strutted forward, seemingly unaffected by the Dungeon dive.
It turned out that they sold the dessert, 'Ice-Cream' that Lancer had grown rather fond of, especially when it was cooked by that white-haired Archer in Chaldea, the strangely-named EMIYA, and in particular the chocolate flavour of the same, and so he ordered two chocolate sundaes.
Gilgamesh observed the pallum scooping the sundae with great interest, while the young man in question began to sweat under the kingly gaze as he added chocolate sauce to the double-scoop. He-placed the two cups on the counter nervously, when Gilgamesh took a spoonful of the dessert and bit it tentatively.
The blonde's eyes widened as he spoke, "Ha! Splendid! Waiter, I'll have three more of these!" before dropping a bag of a few thousand coins onto the counter with a resounding thud, drawing the eyes of the two other patrons in the café.
The pallum's eyes widened as he stuttered, "Umm… sir… usually one pays for the bill after eating…" to which Gilgamesh waved his hand casually, "Then consider it a… what do you call it? Ah yes, a tip. A King should have no concern for wealth. Now make haste!" before he went over to a table in the corner as he sat down, while Lancer smacked his forehead at the man's antics.
The pallum's eyes had widened into the shape of two moons as he nodded with great-speed, before he set out with preparing three more sundaes for the Sumerian King. Lancer sat down as well, slowly finishing the dish as he did so, though he winced when his shoulder had to move.
He supposed that he should get Aurelian to look over it once he returned home, but then he choked on the ice-cream as he saw Gilgamesh casually take off his upper armour before shoving it unceremoniously inside a golden portal that had appeared next to him, which was drawing curious stares from those around them.
"What are you doing?!" he hissed at Gilgamesh, who scoffed, "Those skeletons got dirt on my armour, let it be maintained inside my Treasury, what do I care if mortals admire my magic so?"
Lancer's face twisted into something resembling vexation as he spoke, "And you do not care that you are now half-naked?" to which Gilgamesh began laughing loudly, startling the ice-cream maker Pallum.
"If they wish to stare upon this perfect body, they are welcome to do so. Unlike you, I see no issue in stripping down even further if need be." he announced loudly to which Lancer began coughing in surprise while the rest of the patrons and staff began to blush, for indeed they could not refute the statement.
Outside the shop however a few minutes prior was a certain red-haired goddess, dressed in a beige shirt and knee length-shorts.
Loki, the goddess in question, had been walking around Orario, with Arcs, a Level 2 Adventurer of her Familia as an escort; she was doing this mainly because most of her Familia were gone on an expedition, leaving only a skeleton crew at their home.
And seeing as that she could not molest any of her children in her home, she'd taken to walking to relieve herself of her boredom. But now, she stood outside the ice-cream shop, and spoke, "Oi… Arcs, what's yer favourite ice-cream flavour?"
The tanned man seemed to muse the question for a minute before he spoke, "Err… I suppose its butterscotch, Loki?" to which Loki nodded, "Ha! Not a bad flavour… but it's that flavour with whiskey and coffee in it for me ya know! Come on then, let's grab a bite-!"
Arcs nodded, for he knew he couldn't deny the goddess either way, he wasn't 'Mama' Riveria to be able to rein the trickster in, and besides, he got to eat ice-cream. In his mind it was a win either way.
As they walked in, Loki headed over to the counter, peering over it, as she looked at the Pallum through her closed eyes. The pallum didn't seem to notice her for a second as he looked off to the side, before he suddenly turned and spoke, "Ohh… ho… Lady Loki! How may I help you?"'
Loki grumbled for a second "Some Customer Service ya have 'ere…", but only a second as this was her favourite ice-cream shop in Orario before she spoke, "I suppose I'll get that flavour you add whiskey and coffee too… ya know… dat one! Oh and one butterscotch for Arcs here!"
As the pallum nodded, she went and stood beside the service section,when her powerful ears picked up the following, "Skeletons got dirt on my armour." to which she turned, interested and watched as a flaxen-haired adventurer stripped the armour in question before tossing it into a golden orb that had appeared at his side.
The only skeletons in the Dungeon that Loki knew of were the Spartoi that wandered the lower thirties, and often accompanied and were summoned by Udaeus, the floor boss that her Aisuu-Tan had defeated, but these adventurers were clearly Level 1s as she'd never heard of them, even if their air was impressive.
"Oh!" she spoke, for she recognized the raven-haired man seated beside the haughty blonde, it was the man from Shrimp's family who could drink fifty mugs of ale without much effect. But the blonde was a new one, but he was clearly part of Loli Big-Boobs' Familia as well.
She huffed to Arcs as she blushed at the man's comment on his perfect body, "Some people get all the luck ya know…. that said… I wonder if I can get something out of them as to how that rabbit levelled up so fast" before she left Arcs sputtering at the counter as she marched over to their table, though her inner thoughts were still far more calculative, wondering if Hestia was affiliated with Evilus.
The black haired man turned at her marching towards them, while the blonde's eyes were still closed as he savoured his ice-cream.
The black haired man spoke "Oh! Lady Loki? We didn't expect to see you here." to which Loki nodded before she scowled at the blonde ignoring her, "You're the two from Hestia's Familia, no? Now I've come here to ask one thing. How did your Rabbit Level Up so fast?"
The man seemed bemused as he spoke, "Our Rabbit? I assume you mean Bell Cranel, Lady Loki?" to which Loki waved her hand, "Yes Yes, the Bright Prodigy, him. How? It just isn't logical ya know. Tell me black-hair."
He spoke, a wan smile on his face "You can call me Lancer…. or Matthias if you wish, but as to his level up, well, that is quite obvious, he's a prodigy is he not?" to which Loki ground her teeth, for indeed if this man had said something like 'That's an internal matter' then she could suspect Hestia of some manipulation, but her trickster instincts would not allow her to settle for such a simple explanation.
Before she could open her mouth however, the blonde man interrupted, in a voice that Loki could admit was quite luxuriant, "It is irrelevant." To which she turned, "Hah!? You expect me to believe that?"
The man merely shrugged, eyes still closed, "How fast he levelled up is irrelevant, not because it is an insignificant achievement, but because I, Gilgamesh of Uruk shall shatter that record and render it something to only be worshipped next to that achieved by my own self."
The supreme arrogance of that statement caused Loki's jaw to drop, but a large part of her felt that this man could indeed back up his words with what he said, despite that, she shook her head and spoke, "Oi Matthias or Lancer or whatever ya call yourself! What's with goldy's arrogance? I thought Hestia was the Goddess of the Hearth, not of meaningless boasts!"
Gilgamesh seemed mildly irked at her words, and so he finally opened his eyes as he barked out, "To call my supreme statement of truth arrogance? I shall feed that misconception to you once I've shattered….." he trailed off as his eyes fell on Loki.
For a moment his mouth moved up and down like a goldfish, while Loki herself was confused, wondering why he'd stopped talking. He then looked at his hands in silence.
The silence clung to the air around them for two minutes, with even Loki herself not interrupting, wondering what the man was thinking. Even Lancer seemed taken aback by his silence as he observed Gilgamesh with some concern on his face.
When Loki finally grew annoyed and was about to shout, Gilgamesh finally spoke, his voice low "I believed I lost the greatest treasure to the Holy Sword Wielder. But it would seem I have been proven wrong by Fate… It has seen fit to show me another treasure of equal value and I do not mind it."
Loki mumbled, "Huh? Treasure?" before Gilgamesh stood up, and walked in front of Loki, standing a feet apart from her, but as he'd walked to her, she'd spotted lines on his back as he had turned out of his seat which intrigued her.
Loki looked up at the man, for indeed he stood five inches taller than her, and realised that he could be labelled as handsome as a god, indeed he was more handsome than several Gods of Love that she'd seen, and his body was far more chiselled than even most adventurers.
He began staring at her, causing her to tilt her head in confusion for a minute, before she realised his errant gaze had been in the general direction of her chest, causing her to flush a deep shade of red as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Her face contorted with embarrassment as she uncharacteristically stammered, "D-d-did you.. get a good enough l-look?! You're n-not gonna poke fun too, are ya?! First your goddess… now y-you as well?"
He slowly shook his head as he spoke, voice filled with an undertone that Loki could not quite decipher at that moment, "The women of Uruk…. not even Shahmat could win my approval … and Shahmat was the Harimtu, the fore-most on sacred love-making. But then I found a woman whose beauty was as radiant as the stars in the sky but then… the Holy Sword Wielder stole her away, an insult I swore to never forget."
He continued, ignoring the gazes of his gobsmacked Servant companion, who had an inkling of what was to come, as well as the rest of the people in the shop who did not, "But now… I see you, a star as bright as her, if not brighter. Your lovely figure… its beautiful form… it is so delightfully enchanting… and your hair, the physical embodiment of the lovely evening sky, I wish to caress it."
Loki finally deciphered the tone, it was both salacious and romantic at the same time, before she finally processed what had been said as her divine intuition chimed to her that he had not spoken a single lie.
Her cheeks, neck and ears turned so red one could have mistaken her to be overheating or to be a new tomato-monster from the Dungeon. With her hands cupping the sides of her face, she muttered gleefully, "Lovely figure… beautiful form… no one… has ever…"
Arcs too was gobsmacked at what he'd heard, as he nearly dropped his tray of ice-cream, while his knees shuddered at the words spoken while Lancer's mouth was hitting the table, indeed, even his Raven had also somehow found its way inside and seemed to be similarly shocked as it perched on Lancer's shoulder.
Gilgamesh continued as he looked into the now open eyes of the goddess, while steam threatened to erupt from her ears, "I believed that goddesses were inherently deceitful... but now I see how mistaken I am… no perhaps the goddesses I have known have all been of such nature… and your beauty is unparalleled… and so I must ask you."
Loki was bisexual… even if gods did not often make their sexual proclivities known to the world, nor act on them all that often in Genkai; and even then she preferred women, but her heart skipped a beat at his words, for to be called without deceit as a Trickster Goddess was something she'd never fathomed to be possible.
Before she could stammer out anything, Gilgamesh gently cupped her chin as he tilted her head to look into his eyes.
Loki thought, "Those eyes… that's a nice shade of red… even his face itself… even his very being, it's like… if somehow there was a cornerstone between mortal and god…damn… now I see why Oshun went to 'war' with Riveria… waaaay more clearly than before" as her knees threatened to buckle under the gaze of Gilgamesh.
He spoke, "Be my Empress… and you shall have all you need." to which Loki threatened to erupt as she turned an even darker shade of red that Hephaistos might mistake her to be a heated forge, for she was flat as one either way.
She stammered, "I'm… I'm… I'm a god you know… we can't…" before she was silenced by the man gently placing a finger on her lips.
"It would not matter if you were a human, an elf, a god… or anything else. I would cherish you all the same, and never shall you have a want… for I am the Eternal King." he finished, locking eyes with her as he came in closer, almost as if he would kiss her.
Loki quite clearly, suffered from a sensory overload at this point, as she fainted and nearly fell to the floor, but was deftly caught by Gilgamesh who observed her form in a gentleness that was completely alien to his normal self.
Lancer was the first to arise from the stupor, as he called to Arcs, "Umm… your goddess… she seems to have… fainted? Please ensure she reaches your abode safely… I shall have a talk with my own Familia Member" as he gently extricated Loki from Gilgamesh's grasp before helping the now clear-headed Arcs support her.
Gilgamesh seemed forlorn at parting with his new 'Empress' as he spoke to Arcs, "Take care of her well… you might be her child… but soon enough she shall be by my side." to which the startled man nodded as he took his Goddess home.
Lancer did not speak a word as he paid for their meal before he walked outside the establishment, while Gilgamesh continued to have that wistful look plastered on his face.
He then hissed, "You idiot! What were you thinking when you flirted with her you blasted…. Wedge of Heaven!?" to which Gilgamesh simply laughed, "I merely appreciated the beauty of a goddess that shall be my Empress… to think I should have travelled to the Norse lands after all if I wished for love. The name of goddess of beauty is wasted on Ishtar when she exists… Ah… if only Enkidu could attend my wedding."
Lancer face-palmed at Gilgamesh's inane babblings, and so did not have the energy to remind him that his world's Loki would not be the same as this one.
Back in the shop however, a well-tipped Pallum finally muttered, "So that King likes them flat huh?"
Surprise, Surprise, Proto-Gil likes them flat. But that's chapter eight and Welf's finally here. I'm taking a comment into consideration and going to slow down the pacing a tad bit but not too much that the writing would change.
Oh besides, I keep seeing the occasional comment about how Bell should be Argonaut/Summon Argonaut, to those people I'd like to point out that there exists an incredibly lovely story that inspired this fanfic, Harouki's Heroic Myth and it already exists as a concept in that, so please check that out.
All constructive criticism is welcome, both in reviews as well as PM.
Candidates:
Rider: Iskander, Ushiwakamaru.
Caster: Tamamo-No-Mae, Proto Merlin, EMIYA(S), Alfia.
Assassin: Regend: Saviour of France, Semiramis, Shouten Douji, EMIYA (K)
Berserker: Darius III, Mysterious Heroine X Alter.
Pseudo-Divine Spirit: Ishtar, Chiron.