The Cure
DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. Everything that occurs in this story is of my own creation and the characters abide by the fictional laws in the setting.
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Chapter 6: Misunderstanding after Misunderstanding
Part 8
Bell found himself sitting inside a restaurant, the 'Hostess of Fertility' to be exact, after the silver-haired light-eyed divine woman pulled him inside with the help of the vibrant red sword – Alise, was the name of the woman with that noisy soul. Bell was forced to sit on the inner side of the counter by Syr Flova, the girl whose soul echoed of divinity.
The place was extremely well maintained for a bar, something that once he said out loud, got a massive grin from the owner of the bar herself. Mia Grand, though she preferred to be called Mama Mia.
Bell was certain he'd heard her name from Alfia before, but there was no way the beautiful woman his aunt talked about was the strong looking woman cleaning a mug besides him. That wasn't to say she wasn't beautiful in her own right, but his aunt spoke of someone with curves rivaling her own, so there was no way.
Right?
…
Well, not even he was stupid enough to ask that question out loud.
Though he could do without the glaring elven woman who'd attacked him for simply being next to her extroverted friend, what was her problem anyways? Hadn't anyone taught her it was rude to stare like that at strangers?
Well, if she was going to stare so much, he might as well have a good look at her too!
Skin snow as white, short light-golden hair framing her sharp face, her elven ears just as sharp, with a petite nose and lips. Her ensemble left little to the imagination despite heavily covering her; A dark-green cloak covering her shoulders, the hood's edge sewed in a triangle pattern with the cape falling just below her waist. He could see a dark-red scarf peeking from beneath the collar, one that he was sure could be pulled to cover up to her petite nose.
A form fitting shirt of the lightest of yellow colors, almost white in fact. And held together by strings at both her sides, it had no sleeves, but her slender arms were covered with dark green fingerless sleeves up to above the elbow. What surprised him was that the belly-button area was exposed, the same as a part of her thighs since she wore tight black shorts, similar to Alise, and the two final pieces were the thigh-high dark green tights with the brown boots reaching below the knee.
He hated to admit it, but she was beautiful.
And that wasn't even considering her soul!
"Ryuu, stop." Alise placed a hand on the elven woman's shoulder.
"I don't understand," The elven woman, for he was not even going to deign calling her by name after what she did, kept glaring at him.
Well, he didn't understand either!
"Weren't you the one who did that to him?" The elven woman pointed at him, directly at his face. – Oi! That's rude!
"What? No, I accidentally hit him on the back on my way here," Alise crossed her arms, giving her own noisy glare at the elven woman, "I didn't even finish apologizing before you hurt him!"
"Oh."
Oh, indeed.
Cue, awkward silence from the elven woman.
Huh, he couldn't think souls could contract like that… Cute.
"Ma, ma, there's no need to continue bickering! Here're your meals, Alise, Ryuu, oh and for you too mister…?"
"Bell Cranel" He introduced himself, edging away from the divinity echoing from Syr's soul. "I didn't order anything?"
"I did," Alise jabbed a thumb at herself, "I want to talk with you about your last comment, and thought it'd be good to do it over a meal."
Which comment was it again?
Ah right, friends.
"I'm just too busy to have friends, that's all there it was to it." Bell accepted the plate.
What? He was not going to reject a free meal!
"You're inviting, right?" Bell asked through narrowed eyes.
"Yes," Alise snorted and sat ahead of him, on the other side of the counter, "Ryuu did point out a something important though, how did you get that slap on your face?"
Oh, so that's what the elven woman was pointing at earlier. "I got a new teacher in the healing magics, and I got a bit too excited, gave her a hug and she didn't like that."
He could admit his mistakes easily, unlike a certain someone!
"Pfft," Alise snorted again; Yeah, this girl was loud. She was kind, but loud.
His aunt would definitely find a way to silence her.
Permanently.
Thankfully for her, he was not his aunt.
…
He was not that far off.
"But you don't look anything like a medic." The divine waitress appeared again, mugs in hand that she placed on the counter. Whatever was in there, it smelt good. "You seem more like a swordsman if anything."
Bell scratched his cheek, "I am, my teacher describes me as a magic's swordsman."
"Heeh~ Interesting, you remind me of someone." Syr cutely put a finger to her lips and battered her eyelashes, and Bell had to admit that despite his wariness of the divine waitress, she was cute.
Really cute, the way her fa-
Bzt
Huh?
What was that?
That felt like a charm! What the hell?
"Very interesting, indeed." Syr's face was inches away from him, her eyes no longer a light gray but a vibrant silver with speckles of gold.
This woman!
"You'll definitely have to come by again," Syr whispered before leaning back, her normal smile and eyes back in place. "Please enjoy your meal and let me know if you want more!"
…
"She's dangerous," Bell thought aloud, receiving one sagely nod from Alise and a tilt of the head from the elven woman. "Very dangerous."
"I thought so too…" The elven woman whispered as she sat down, taking her utensils, and giving him one last pondering look before she started eating.
He followed her example, bundling the spaghetti he was served before bringing it into his mouth and he blinked in surprise several times before quickly bundling more again.
"It's good! Right?"
Uwah, too bright, too loud!
Bell munched one meatball from the spaghetti he was offered, "It is."
"You can ask for more, consider it my apology for her," Alise grinned, and took a sip of her ale mug.
…
This wasn't so bad…
It was different from eating with his aunt, but a good kind of different.
Alfia preferred the world to be silent around her, and Bell had grown casting away his need for making noise; So, sitting next to such a lively woman, and the unapologetic elven, while adventurers chatted in the background of the restaurant was a new experience for the young adventurer.
Perhaps, he could grow used to this kind of life too.
But that would come after he'd find the cure for his mom.
"Woah, what serious face there, what were you thinking just now?" Alise suddenly inquired and Bell hesitated to give his response for a moment, but after seeing how far the vibrant woman was going to make amends for her friend's behavior…
"That this is nice," Bell waved at the meal, them, and the background noise, "It's my first time living an experience like this. From where I'm from, I'm used to everything being… quiet."
Two sets of raised eyebrows at his choice of words.
"It's nice knowing there's more to life than what I'm doing," Bell admitted, and for once, far away from his aunt, he could freely say something he'd always kept to himself.
It was true that he loved his mom to death, and he would do everything and anything for her, and he'd swore that he would find the cure for her Godly curse, but that couldn't be everything that was to his life.
Bell was certain he would find the cure for his mom, so… What happens after that, then?
He was fifteen years old already, had started his adventurer career for the sake of finding more resources and knowledge for his mom's health, and finally, after so many sacrifices he'd made when he was a kid – No, he still was a kid, he'd finally found a silver lining to the cure for his mom.
And after curing her, then what?
…
Before, he wouldn't have been able to give an answer at all.
But after meeting Hephaestus, Miss Airmid and now, these two women in front of him, Bell knew there could be more to life after saving his aunt.
And that kind of life was waiting for him, all he had to do was to hurry up.
He had to work harder.
He had to work smarter.
"Thank you for the meal," Bell gave an honest thanks, leaving a small portion of the meal behind as he stood up and dusted his pants, "But I need to continue working on my goal, and I've wasted enough time as it is."
Both Alise and the elven woman frowned, and later harshly whispered, "We're a waste of time, huh."
Yes.
Yes, they were.
Today was his free day, but he wasn't actually planning on just walking around aimlessly. He was going to visit other medical Familias and try to learn anything about useful healing treatments he could try on his aunt to alleviate her suffering from the curse. Bell knew it was very likely they wouldn't tell him anything for free, but it couldn't hurt to try, right?
So, yes.
As rude as his words were.
As of now, the two lovely ladies were a waste of time.
Bell gave a sad smile, placing some coins besides the plate which made the red-haired woman frown deepen, "There's something I must do before I can live this joyful life, I hope you can understand that."
And he was going to leave with that parting comment.
Again.
And again, he was grabbed by the shoulders, two extremely big and strong hands forcing him down on the stool he'd just stood up from.
"Ya' ain't leaving without finishing everything in your plate, kid." The voice of Mia boomed above him, her grip reminding him of the same sensation of whenever his aunt scolded him for being too hard on himself. "Everyone can live a joyful life, no matter what, you have to make the time for it or when you're done, you'll not know what to do with your own anymore."
…
Her words came from experience.
Perhaps, she was the woman Alfia had spoken about after all.
And if she was, then surely, his aunt too would scold him for trying to push away any joy from his life in his search for her cure.
Damned if you, damned if you don't.
"Take it easy for today," Mia gave him one last pat on the shoulders and left with a parting, "There's still tomorrow to achieve what you want."
-0-
She hadn't meant to react that way, and now, it was far too late to apologize for her actions without making a fool out of herself. Even with the help of her dear friend, Alise, trying to make the bridge between them, it seemed the unusual white-haired boy was not too keen on accepting anything that had to do with them.
And then he went and called them waste of time.
Her throat caught fire at that, and she had almost attacked him again for such a rude remark but stopped at the look his eyes gave.
The only time they'd been anything but serene, was when she'd attacked him. Only then, was there rage in his eyes, but besides that, he'd given them nothing but serenity as if he was living everything for the first time.
But now, his look reminded him so much of the same she had in the mirror several years ago.
One born out of desperation, uncertainty, and, worse of all, disappointment in himself.
Hadn't Mama Mia stopped him then and there, she was certain that the boy would've done something incredibly stupid and injure himself in the process.
Just like she had done.
"Tomorrow…" The white-haired boy silently whispered, doing as told by the owner of the Hostess and eating the last portion in his plate.
"Why are you trying so hard?" Her words came out before she could fully think them through, and the slight widening of her eyes was all she could manage before his crimson gaze set on her.
Love.
There was love in his eyes.
"My teacher's sick and I don't have much time left to find a cure for her sickness," His words were soft, spoken as if he was living through the pain of finding out the world was ending, and for all the love his eyes showed when he continued speaking about his teacher, it might as well be ending, "I became an adventurer for her, to have access to more knowledge that could help her, and if possible, cure her altogether."
A woman, huh.
She had seen adventurer's speaking about their lovers in much the same way the boy was doing, yet unlike them where there was a glint of lust and desire, his only shone with care and hope.
"Oh no, what kind of sickness?" Alise, the more emotional and brazen one of the two, asked softly, a hand tentatively trying to reach for the boy to give him some sort of physical comfort.
Comfort he easily rejected, and for a moment she thought he was an elf for how it seemed he hated anything that touched him.
"It's a decaying sickness, and most of what I've tried isn't useful at all," The white-haired boy inhaled deeply, "But we've found a path, and I'll start walking it with my new teacher in the healing magics, and there's a chance that my teacher's cure is at the end of that path, so I have to work harder than I've been doing for her, and I can't waste time."
Oh.
…
She had truly misunderstood him.
Not once, but twice already.
First, when Alise had been apologizing and she mistook the mark on his face as his friend giving him 'what he deserved for being a pervert', something that happened quite often to Alise.
And now, thinking he was calling them a waste of time just for the sake of being rude and not for the fact that he was giving it his all, and trying to give even more, for someone he loved and cared about.
She had truly messed it up, big time.
Her throat felt like there was knot in it as Alise spoke a little bit more with the white-haired boy after that, Alise doing her best to move away from the heavy topic and switching to speaking about their combat techniques and what he had used to stop Ryuu from continuing doing something stupid.
'A Magic Swordsman'
She had fought people with a similar description to what he was partially revealing about his style, yet there wasn't a single person that could do what he had done.
To deprive someone of their sense of balance without so much as a chant, or a touch from a cursed or enchanted weapon.
And as the conversation between Alise and Bell continued, she felt she was just being a nuisance there. One that was not welcomed and considering how little the boy tried to look at her, as if her existence greatly perturbed him, she might as well make herself scarce.
Yet her boots felt like they were laden with rocks, the knot in her throat becoming unbearably tight.
She hadn't apologized yet, after all.
"Mister Cranel," Her voice came out much stronger than she anticipated, the boy's crimson gaze setting on her.
"Yes?"
Two words, just two words, that's all she had to say.
Two simple words.
"You don't have to say it," He suddenly interrupted her moment of gathering courage, his eyes seeing something in her, "It was my fault for blowing up on you too."
It wasn't.
She was the one that had made the mistake first, she hadn't even asked or announced herself before attacking.
"I apologize for that too, by the way. It hasn't been that long since I've obtained a Falna and I can't control my magic well," He scratched his cheek as he used the words that wouldn't come out of her own lips.
"Oh yeah, how long have you been an adventurer?" Alise asked, getting the white-haired boy's attention again.
Her shoulders sagged, once more she was left behind as the two continued talking, or more like Alise continued interrogating him as he wasn't given many chances to ask questions of his own.
A glass mug with a red liquid was set in front of her, and her eyes looked up to see the light-gray eyes of Syr before the waitress's leaned to whisper in her ear, "I heard this can help you speak when your voice won't come out~" and left without she could protest.
She didn't like drinking in public, but perhaps, it was exactly what she needed to undo the stubborn knot in her throat.
-0-
"We should totally have lunches together," Alise offered with a smile and twinkle in her eyes, "I haven't had such an insightful talk with anyone in years!"
Bell could make an educated guess as to why, but for the moment he didn't mind too much.
It wasn't all that bad living such a new experience, for all of Alise's loudness and vibrancy, her kindness and rightfulness echoed louder and cushioned the impact it had around him.
And then the cute little white fairy besides the vibrant red sword that had been slamming its head against a metaphorical desk for the last hour gave one battle cry, and Bell switched his gaze from Alise to the elven woman to see her chug down her entire mug of wine in one gulp.
And then the cute little white fairy wobbled, and Bell was fascinated to see a blush appear on the snow fairy's face at the same time as one appeared on the elven woman's cheeks.
"Eh, Ryuu?!" Alise's surprise probably meant that the elven woman didn't normally drink like that, so why?
"Mister Kuranel!" The elven woman slurred his name, a rosy blush on her cheeks as she tried to look at his face. "Earlier, accident!"
Bell gave a slow nod, watching curiously as the snow fairy continuing wobbling in the chest of the elven woman. "I know."
"I- Hic," She hiccupped, and Bell swore he'd never heard such a cute noise before, "I!"
And her head would've slammed against the counter had it not been for Bell placing his hand to catch it at the last second, he'd seen the snow fairy faint seconds before the elven woman did.
"Ryuu!" Alise's shouted; way too loud for Bell but he understood she was concerned for her friend. "Oh Goddess, how do I even explain this one now?"
Bell raised an eyebrow, and he carefully moved the elf's head to a more comfortable position in his hands, "Do you need any help?"
It was an offer born out of his desire to repay the kindness Alise had shown him for the day; For all his critic about Alise's vibrant nature, Bell knew he was no saint and his own nature probably irked her to some extent, yet she still went out of her way to make friends with him.
Friends.
Something to look forward to making more after his aunt was cured.
"I, well, uhm, if you wouldn't mind?" Alise bashfully asked with a light laugh and scratching the back of her head, and Bell couldn't say no to that either.
Bell waited for Alise to hold Ryuu before he paid for the meals that were supposed to be free and went around the counter after giving a deep nod of the head in gratitude to Mia that she returned with a smirk.
Alise slung one of Ryuu's arms across her shoulders and motioned for Bell to do the same; Wasn't she strong enough to carry her friend if they were high-ranking adventurers?
Alise frowned and pointed at the other side again, yet Bell paused for a second time before he did the same as Alise, "Is it really fine? I read elves dislike being touched…?"
"I trust you."
Oh.
"If she attacks me again, I'm fully blaming you." Bell warned and did as Alise asked, slinging Ryuu's arm over his own shoulder and after another vibrant laugh from the red-haired swordswoman, the two tried to leave the Hostess of Fertily.
Tried.
For the second Bell went first to open the doors, they slammed open and the first thing he saw was another elf surrounded by other adventurers.
A High Elf to be exact.
A seven-colored forest fairy with miniature glasses.
For a second time that day, a weapon was pointed at Bell's face as the High Elf's face turned stern, "What are you doing?"
Oh for f-
-0- Chapter End -0-
Author's Note: Yay~