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 7: Friends and Foes

Part 9

"What are you doing?"

What was he doing?

Really, what was he doing?

AaaaA…

So annoying.

Even the silence that followed the high elf's question was annoying.

Was this all there was to adventurers? Attack first then ask questions later?

"Oi, answer!" Another adventurer snarked out, a silver-haired beastkin cracking his fists.

How annoying.

How incredibly annoying.

"Oi!"

Shut up.

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

"Silence."

And there was silence.

The mindless chatter in the background was gone.

The mugs slamming against the tables was gone.

The windy breeze of that evening was gone.

The voice of the adventurers was gone.

Eerie silence enveloped the entirety of the Hostess of Fertility, and despite the adventurers standing in front of Bell doing their best effort to utter their words and questions, there was no sound at all.

Bell was going to give them a piece of his mind, however someone acted faster than him.

"Wait guys!" Alise stepped up front, still holding Ryuu's arm over her shoulder, and thanks to her connection via the drunk elven woman with Bell, his Skill wasn't affecting her, "It's a misunderstanding!"

Ah, right. Alise was his friend.

No.

Is his friend.

Right?

"Bell's helping me take Ryuu back to the villa!" Alise explained in the shortest way, and the weapon that was raised against him was lowered, and an apologetic look appeared on the miniature nine-colored bespectacled fairy.

The High Elf's lips moved but no words came out, and Alise turned to Bell with a pleading look.

Deep breathes Bell, deep breathes.

"-th the hell was tha-"

But that beastkin could stay quiet, for all he cared.

"My apologies," The High Elf made a small bow with her head. "We were too hasty with our judgement."

"Whatever," Bell huffed and gave Alise his attention, "I'm guessing you don't need my help anymore, right?"

"Yes…" Alise gave him another apologetic smile, "Sorry, it seems I've been nothing but a burden to you today."

…

"You're… a friend," Bell tasted those words in his mouth, "You're not a burden."

'Even if you can be incredibly loud, annoying, and bothersome… But you were also kind, so no, you are not a burden.'

But Bell couldn't say that out loud, at least not yet.

Not when all eyes were set on him, and the pressure of being in public finally set in.

His Skill was no longer active, but everything remained quiet.

As if the show of the day had finally started for all the patrons in the bar, all eyes were focused on the scene at the door where the Loki Familia's usual members had raised their weapons against a sole adventurer, one that had been dragged by a known troublemaker.

Bell hated this kind of silence.

Hated the attention.

'Why are you looking at me'

'Stop looking at me'

'Stop'

'STOP!'

"Are you alright?"

The miniature seven-colored bespectacled fairy fretted in the High Elf's chest as the woman tilted her head curiously.

Bell wanted to say yes, and just get everything over with, but not even his voice could come out.

What was he supposed to say now? An entire life living with only his mom and the Old Man hadn't taught him anything about dealing with situations like this. Sure, he could use his Skills to protect himself but what then? He didn't obtain them to protect himself, he obtained them for his mom's sake!

It didn't protect him from the curious gazes.

It didn't protect him from the judgmental stares.

Right when he was starting to learn, experience, and enjoy what life had to offer besides pursing the cure for his aunt, he was thrown into a situation that he never expected experiencing in his life, and…

He needed Alfia.

He needed someone to stand by his side, to help him cope with the unknown!

"Kurrranel," Ryuu slurred, and Bell's attention snapped to her, "soorrrry!"

And the elven woman lost consciousness again, slumping further in his, and Alise's, arms.

…

…

…

"Pft," Bell snorted, "Heh… mom's right… I'm still a child," he shocked his head, and with a deep breath that made him stand completely straight again, Bell gave his signature serene gaze to the perplexed group of adventurers still waiting for his response. "Yes, yes, I'm fine now. I apologize too for overreacting; it's been a long day for me."

A young boy – no, his soul spoke of one too old for such a small body, perhaps a Pallum or Dwarf then, stepped forward, "How about we make bygones be bygones with a round of drinks?"

Very diplomatic and opportunistic, but Bell couldn't find fault in his reasoning except for one thing, "I don't drink, but I'll accept the offer just this once."

Alise turned to him with a million-watt smile, and Bell was sure that even his friend was happy with his uncharacteristic decision.

- 0 - T.C - 0 -

Bell had said he would accept the offer, and he did.

But!

He never said he would sit with the rowdy Loki Familia.

Especially not anywhere near the obnoxious silver-haired werewolf that, just like Ryuu, got himself drunk with the first ale mug. And speaking of Ryuu, and he couldn't believe he was calling her by name, the elven woman was soundly asleep in the seat to his right, reclining against the wall and across her, on the other end of the table, was Alise animatedly speaking with the High Elf that had pointed her staff at him.

Apparently, said High Elf was a big deal.

An extremely big deal.

And no, he was not speaking about her chest or curves, which her robes did an extremely well job of hiding them.

Apparently, she was royalty. In more ways than one.

Something that the other two elves of the Loki Familia left extremely clear after threatening him to unalive him for sitting anywhere near close to her, actually even breathing was forbidden according to one, thankfully it seemed the High Elf was more sensate than those two and after a thorough scolding from her, he'd been left alone before his magic could silence them.

Like the obnoxious werewolf that continued shouting without any sound coming from his mouth a couple of tables away.

That was one of the two reasons the High Elf sat with him, Alise, and Ryuu. The other being that she was not a drinker, either.

"I'm curious about your magic, could you indulge my curiosity?" She had said, and when she noticed his hesitance, gave another apologetic bow of the head with the words, "I apologize again for my actions, I'm certain you've been made aware of us, elves, disposition to not being touched and Ryuu's one of my treasured friends, seeing you holding onto her while she's unconscious triggered my protective instincts."

And he could respect her for that, really.

Oh, and he also blamed it on Alise.

Something the vibrant red-haired woman took with a vibrant smile, a laugh, and a thumbs up.

Really, that one was going to be the death of him with how much trouble she was getting him involved with.

But well… If he was a little honest with himself, he was glad she was the first friend he made in Orario, one made outside of the protective wings of his aunt and Goddess.

So, with such an honest, upfront, apology, Bell couldn't find it in himself to continue being angry with her, "My name's Bell Cranel,"

It was a start, and one that the High Elf received with a soft smile.

"And I am Riveria Ljos Alf."

Of course, it couldn't have been all rainbows and sunshine, because Bell quickly learned that they were indeed from the Loki Familia, and for a moment Bell had almost exploded on them for the suffering they put his mom through fifteen years ago but…

Alfia had taught him to be smarter than that.

And while it was in poor taste, Bell wasn't above using his friendship with Alise to learn more about the Loki Familia, and later on, learn who was it that spread the word and forced his mom out of Orario.

So, even though Alfia had strictly prohibited him from interacting with the Loki Familia, Bell was going to ignore his mom's words so he could learn more about her, more about the past she said he wasn't ready to learn yet.

Perhaps, there would be a clue there about the cure to her curse.

"So, yeah, Ryuu did that to herself. Scared me half to death seeing her chug down the mug like that," Alise explained the situation with an awkward smile, "Hadn't it been for Bell catching her head, she'd have more than one headache tomorrow."

"I wonder what made her do that," Riveria hummed, glancing at the sleeping elven woman, "It's very unusual of her."

At that, Bell felt like he could throw the bait, "Our meeting wasn't the best, and I think she'd been wanting to apologize but we," Bell pointed at himself and Alise, "were speaking and she couldn't find the moment to do so."

"Hmm," Riveria tilted her head and searched something in his gaze, and Bell was glad what he said was nothing but the truth because it seemed she found it extremely easy to get a read on him, "Yes, that girl tends to have problems speaking her heart out."

The moment Riveria's jade gaze left his, Bell gulped a chunk of air he didn't know his lungs needed, and then her gaze set on him again and made him pause again.

"The way you handled her attack has made me more curious about your magic," Riveria held her chin, and cheek, with the palm of her hand and reclined her weight on the table. Her gaze was filled with honest curiosity, the miniature nine-colored bespectacled fairy of her soul mimicking her emotions by bashfully looking in his direction, then turning away before shyly glancing at him again.

Gods damn it, that was extremely cute.

"The most I can tell you is the name of it," Bell found his voice after a moment of admiration. "Serenity Eden, I developed it thanks to my teacher's influence."

"A teacher?" Riveria's gaze intensified.

"Hai, me and my teacher came to Orario so I can learn more about the world, and possibly, find a cure for her sickness." Bell blinked once he realized he let too much information slip out, he'd already told Alise and Ryuu but that was before learning that they were from the Loki Familia, and… He trusted Alise.

"Sick… Eden…" Riveria blinked, and before Bell knew it, had his hand that rested on the table forcefully taken by the High Elf, and not a second later, she was literally dragging him through the stairs of the restaurant and into the second floor.

"Eh?"

Alise wasn't the only one to release her confusion, as all other patrons in the restaurant paused when they saw a confused Bell being hauled to the second floor by a troubled-looking Nine-Hells.

"Did… Did Mama just…?"

"Eh?"

"OI ALISE!"

- 0 - T.C - 0 -

There were few things Bell expected to happen today, meeting Alise was an eye-opening experience, dealing with the fretting Ryuu an interesting one, meeting the Loki Familia a test to his serenity.

But being dragged into a bedroom on the second floor of a restaurant, one with only a candle lit on a bedstand next to the bed without any other furniture in the room besides a wardrobe by a troubled, and red-faced, extremely beautiful High Elf was something he couldn't put into words.

'So, when a woman takes you to her room, or any room really, what happens next is…'

"My heart's not ready for this." Bell spoke first, crossing his arms over his chest like Alfia did whenever Bell found her doing something embarrassing, like knitting a doll with his shape.

"Eh?" Riveria blinked at his words and noticed where she had actually brought him and her face exploded in red as she stammered, "No! You got the wrong idea!"

Bell gave her the stinky eye, though he did enjoy the way her soul bespectacled fairy fretted, wildly scratching its head and screaming its lungs out, "Really?"

"I'll hit you." Riveria warned with a smile, and Bell snorted, crossed his arms and gave the High Elf a level gaze.

"Why did you bring me here, then?"

"Does the moniker ' The Silence' ring any bells to you?" Riveria matched his crossed arms and gave him a firm stare.

Well, despite the pun, he obviously knew who The Silence was.

The thing was, was Riveria foe… or friend?

Bell lowered his gaze for a second to see Riveria's soul again, and the noise coming from her was a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

There was no harmful intent to be found.

…

"Yes."

And her soul made a dogeza as Riveria hid her face with both hands, "You're related to her."

"Yes."

If souls could feel pain, he was certain that Riveria's soul would be wailing in misery for how hard it hit its head repeatedly against the metaphorical floor it stood on.

"She's your teacher."

…

"Yes."

…

…

…

"I'm so sorry," Riveria uncovered her gaze, one hand muffling her voice and the other coming to rest on her bosom, "I tried to stop it, but…"

Oh.

Definitely friendly then.

"Miss Riveria?" Bell made her pause, "Could you tell me the truth about… what happened?"

If Bell's day had been long, and eventful, his night was double that.

For he learned the truth from someone that was personally involved in the actions that led to his mom being 'exiled' from Orario

Godly Greed.

It all boiled down to that.

And no matter what the Children of those God's tried to do, they had no say in what the Gods decided, and forced them to do.

Not that everyone was forced, as there were many that used that opportunity to raise their own mortal standings.

It made absolutely no sense to him; the strongest Familias in Orario lost one battle against the most deadly foe that ever graced the adventurer world, they lost after beating two of the other strongest monsters to ever grace the adventurer's world, and with that loss, everything was taken away from them.

Their hopes, their dreams, their homes, their friends, their families, their future.

All because other Gods wanted to have what the two strongest Familias in Orario had.

Power.

Control.

A playground for themselves.

Bell was fine with using any opportunity that came his way if it meant learning about his mom, learning about her sickness, and learning about the ways he could do anything for her, like she had done for him.

Like he had intended on using his new friendship with Alise.

But to trample over other people's entire lives to make his 'better', if it could even be argued that it could become better by doing such a lowlife thing…

Oh, he was angry.

No – He was livid.

Did they even realize the danger they had put everyone else with their idiotic, imbecile, stupidity? For fuck sakes, IF those two strongest Familia FAILED to finish that monster, what hopes did the others had WITHOUT them?

Did they not care about what happened to the wor…

They were not of this world.

Right.

They were Gods.

And once they died, they would go back to Heavens.

So, they could play around with the lives of the humans, play with their futures, and when shit hit the fan, retreat to the safety of their Godly domain.

And leave all mortals else to suffer for their entertainment.

Just like Alfia was suffering from the curse cast on her by a God.

For all the care they showed when creating Familias, adopting Children, and giving them their blessing, the Gods were truly the most hypocrite race to ever grace Earth, and that was saying something considering Humans dominated the world.

Perhaps, not all of them were like that. Hephaestus soul and noise certainly spoke of a Goddess truly enamored with her Children and hoping for the best for them, yet that Goddess downstairs… No, those Goddesses downstairs… Their souls…

Truly the most hypocrite of the bunch.

At least Bell learned who was friend or foe.

And as the morning sun shone through the window of the bedroom him and Riveria had spent the night talking about the past, Bell knew that the High Elf was no foe.

In fact…

"I want to meet her, to apologize, and to learn from her."

His mom would probably pummel him within an inch of his life for doing this but…

"If you'll let me learn from you, too."

Bell Cranel would use everything and anything for the sake of finding a cure for his mom.

That is if he survived leaving the bedroom in the company of a satisfied-looking, Royal, High Elf, and coming face to face with most of her Familia waiting downstairs in the Hostess of Fertility.

"Papa!"

Eh?

-0- Chapter End -0-

Author's Note: Riveria's a smart cookie, and she connected the dots pretty quickly. Also, the misunderstandings just never cease to continue, eh?