Hello.
Welcome to the chapter 4 of this commission! Just to clarify each chapter counts as a separate commission.
Also, this is where I announce/remind everyone of my new writing schedule. Rather than trying to do all my commission chapters then doing my own work, I'll alternate. It will be something like this.
Commission A
Poll Winner
Commission B
Poll Winner
Commission A
Poll Winner
And so on so forth.
Thanks once again to SHE Super Heroine Encyclopedia for commissioning this work.
On that note, they want lemons and limes in the future, so I'm making Bell 18 years old.
Danmachi is the property of Fujino Omori.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Different POV narration
Spells and chants
Chapter 4: Things Get Interesting
Lucifer was not one to smile. Expressing happiness was beneath the prince of pride. If he were to express any sort of positive emotion, it would be satisfaction and smugness born from one of his plans working out. The only way one could see this expressed would be the slight curl of the corner of his lips, the closest he would ever get to a smirk.
That was the look on his face at this very moment.
The plan was moving faster than he anticipated. The boy Bell had actually summoned two different monster-girls in less than 24 hours. With each use of the summoning spell, Bell would rely more and more on his denizens for power. And each use would be further temptation of their otherworldly flesh to the boy, humans always coveted and feared what was foreign to them. Not to mention the reactions brought forth by the ripples the was form from his actions. Deities and mortals alike would take notice of his subjects. Some would speculate while the more foolish ones would try to grab Bell and his power no matter the method of doing so.
Just as he predicted.
Lucifer knew the pagan gods well, and their weaknesses and how to exploit them. Had it not been for their direct descent to the mortal realm, they would have lost followers long ago. But now, with the enticing bait in the form of the white-haired boy, Lucifer would have an even sweeter prize.
Oh, how Lucifer could not wait to add to his collection, all without actually lifting a finger!
Speaking of Bell…
When Lily came and formed a party with him, their daily profits were greatly multiplied, even after splitting it 50:50 between the two of them. All she really did was collect was collect all the magic stones that Bell could not either due to time, busy fighting, or not having enough room in his bags. By comparison, the increase brought about by Queen's improvement was nearly three times that amount! Just the sight of all those cold hard coins nearly made Lily drool, an urge that got harder to resist when she remembered that Queen did not need any of it, meaning it would still be split 2 way! And she had no choice but to admit that without the 4-armed woman this would not have been possible due to her more combat-oriented skill set.
Not only was she quite strong, the extra arms meant she could fight off and rip apart more monsters. On top of that, she expanded their area of operation by a lot! Turns out those ball of light she used earlier on the War Shadows were actually bees that she could control and communicate with little limitation. With them, Queen was able to scout ahead with ease, find the different hiding spots of monsters lying in ambush, and cover their backs just in case. They had entire rooms and areas mapped out before stepping one foot in, making their harvest much more efficient. Though they never got an explanation on why the bees were glowing.
Of course, the wide area that they worked with meant they had to walk around a lot more, and Lily had to work extra to collect all the magic stones, practically wincing each time she recognized the ones that were half the size of others due to being killed by Queen herself. Plus, she was sure that the older woman was intentionally spacing out her kills and avoiding picking them up herself just to make her work harder.
As if she wasn't already on edge from the woman's truthful accusation. Every time she looked over, she was looking back with those big bug-like eyes locked on her and a grin on her lips. Every single time, perfectly synced with her own head turn! As if she was always watching her! Though considering those tiny bees she had under her control maybe she did. Whatever the case, Lilly was forced to triple check all her actions, both to figure out how her plans were read and, hopefully, cement the image of a truly loyal party member into Bell's mind. With any luck, he'd trust her so much that in the event that Queen spilled the beans he would still believe her, not taking the words of some strange woman he just met seriously over a loyal party member. It helped that Queen admitted to needing mana from Bell and her kills. Plus, there was still so much not known about her, not even her species! There was no way Bell would trust her so easily.
Of course, Lilly conveniently forgot that it was Bell's naivety that allowed her to get his trust and the fact that she was currently disguised as a beast-kin making her a double hypocrite. Not that she would care either way.
While thoughts of betrayal and deceit ran through the little one's mind, the oblivious white-haired boy was eagerly dividing the profits between the two of them. As far as Bell was concerned, there was absolutely nothing to worry about. If anything, this was cause for celebration! Bigger haul with the same percentage cut meant he got more profits to take him to Lady Hestia. Maybe they could even renovate their home a bit. Sure, it would be expensive but at this rate they might make enough to afford something like that with plenty to spare! He might even be able to get extra armor!
As for the new member of their party, her attention was elsewhere. The monetary concerns and schemes are her mortal companions meant little to her. Instead, her head was turned back towards the tower that held the dungeon entrance and many high-quality stores. However, none of those were the target of Queen's gaze. Rather, it was something that very few could see, and even fewer could see as detailed as she did.
Up at the very top of the tower was a floor owned by and reserved for only one group of people. The Familia of Freya. Without a doubt the most powerful familia in the entire city, the only one with a Level 10 adventurer. It was only natural that they resided in the most coveted places in Orario. Of course, having such renown and possessions would generate gossip among those too scared to face or even say anything to the Familia members themselves, much less their goddess. Such rumors often focused on the fact that Freya was known as one of the more promiscuous goddesses, claiming that she only got such rewards because she slept with all the other potential buyers to get them to change their minds. Some even claimed she was an outright succubus draining the life force of all males, even taking from actual gods themselves! Freya herself did nothing to squash such slander. She did not really care and as far as she was concerned, she was far above such petty insults, literally and figuratively.
At this moment, all that really mattered was that Queen could see the top of the tower, the viewing window, and the outline of Freya herself looking over it all. She knew the goddess was watching Bell, so her presence would raise questions. Eventually she would get her answer, and he would not like it. After all, gods and goddesses were very petty whenever things did not go as they planned. However, unlike the old days, Freya could not simply rain down punishment. She would first have to put in actual work to figure out what went wrong and how to act now. So, Queen decided that there was only one appropriate action to take at that very moment. She raised her and, and waved to Freya.
As if they were equals.
Not only would let her know that her plans had been taken over, but it would also trigger her pride. Not that Queen really cared.
After all, while royalty maybe nothing to a god…
What is a god to a nonbeliever? Much less a resident of the Underworld.
"Well," Lilly said, eagerly grabbing her cut, "I'll get going. See you tomorrow Bell-sama!" She called out while scurrying away, Queen following her with her eyes. Once the smaller girl was out of sight, she turned to her summoner who was counting the money he made for the 4th time.
"You seem quite fond of that girl." She commented with a smirk on her face.
"Well she is the first party member I've ever worked with." Bell smiled as he pocketed each coin 2 at a time. "If it wasn't for her, I would not have as much confidence as I do right now."
"Hooowww niiccce." Queen smiled, drawing out each word, waiting for him to be on his last few coins before continuing. "I suppose that will make her betrayal all the more heartbreaking."
"Her what now?" Bell replied dumbly, dropping his coins into his bag.
"That girl intends to betray you." Queen replied with a-matter-of-fact tone. "The entire time you were in danger, she was considering ways to maximize her own chances of escaping with as much loot as possible." She scratched her chin with one of her lower arms while one of her upper arms made some movements that showed exasperation. "Though I don't know what exactly she could have done in that situation."
"You're joking right?"
"I'm quite serious." Queen nodded her head. "No matter what she did, she'd end up dead either from the War Shadows themselves or some other monster."
"I meant the part about her betraying me!" Bell cried out, disbelief and exasperation in his voice and expression.
"Oh that." She said, slapping her upper right fist in her lower left palm. "She's using you to gain money. And she plans to leave you to die once she's decided she's gotten everything she can out of you."
There was a moment of silence, with Bell just staring at Queen while the woman herself just kept her posture, her expression remaining the same.
"What makes you so sure?" Bell asked, his voice softer than usual.
"Call it intuition." Queen shrugged. "As a leader, especially royalty, it is important to keep an eye out for those who threaten your rule be they from outside or within your own faction."
"That's no reason to suspect Lilly! She's been nothing but helpful ever since we met, even if it wasn't too long ago!"
"Interesting." Queen narrowed her compound eyes, the corners of her lips moving up to form a smirk. "Are you questioning my judgement?" the way she spoke that question sent a wave of terror through Bell's body, as if he was suddenly being scrutinized from every single direction. Swallowing his spit, he managed to speak up.
"Let's wait and see what happens next." He said shakily. "She hasn't done anything that calls for suspicion, but it doesn't hurt to be on guard."
"Hmmmm." Queen hummed. "I suppose that's a fair method of moving forward." He added, the smirk still on her face. "Seem you have some potential after all."
"Potential for what exactly?"
"You'll see." Queen grinned, before stepping back a bit and giving another bow. "With that said, I shall take my leave of you, dear summoner."
"I thought you wanted to see more of the town." Says confusedly.
"I have accomplished my objective for the day." She replied with a grin. "Perhaps next time you can escort me around this hive."
"Not sure that comparison works." Bell mumbled as Queen stood up from her bow. A magic circle formed under her in seconds, followed by a glow of light. Then came a flash of light and she was gone. Bell was surprised that no one was reacted to it, or her appearance in general! In the end, he chalked it up to it being the end of the day and everyone had better things to do and homes to get to.
Speaking of which…
"Hestia's not going to like this."
A few hours later…
Turns out, Hestia really did not like what she heard.
"You used that spell again! It hasn't even been a day and you had to use a spell you barely understand!" Screeched the petite goddess as she wacked her fists into Bell's back. "And you got a different woman! One who claims to be freaking royalty! Are you trying to replace me! Am I not divine enough for you!"
'Hard to tell what about your behavior is godly.' Bell though tot himself. In fact, he couldn't help but wonder if other familias had to go through this sort of thing with their own divine parents. When his back started actually hurting (which actually took a while) he stepped away from Hestia.
"It all worked out." He said, smiling in hopes that it would reassure her. "Not only do I understand more about the spell, but we made a lot more money!" He shook the bag of gold in front of her face, hoping it would placate the goddess.
Unfortunately, it only half worked.
Hestia was distracted for a moment, but quickly shook her head to regain focus.
"Well you aren't using that spell again until you show it to me!"
"Seriously!"
"You can go ahead and do it now, or don't. But if you disobey me again you will regret it!" She raised her arms over her head dramatically. "I will not hesitate to smite you with my heavenly rage!"
Bell was tempted to retort by pointing out that not only had Hestia left her divine powers back in Heaven, but she was the goddess of the Hearth. What was she going to do, drop a house on him? It would at least be better than the rundown church they were currently in.
Instead of saying anything, he just sighed and moved so that he was standing at the top of the raised platform with the altar and aimed his hand at pews. If he had to do it, it would at least be in a spot where the least amount of damage would be done.
"Summon!"
This time, the result was not instantaneous, giving Bell flashbacks to last night.
"I'm waiting." Hestia said tersely, her face stuck in a pouty expression.
"They can be a bit temperamental." Bell replied before holding out his hand again.
"Summon!"
This time there was an actual reaction! The circle and light that came out of the ground was a different color from the last two times, a sort of bubblegum pink. Same with the smoke…
"Why is there colored smoke?" Hestia asked, her eyebrow raised in doubt.
"I honestly have no idea." Bell shrugged. That was when a figure appeared in the middle. And they seemed to be, wriggling? It was hard to tell due to the smoke and the silhouette itself being somewhat formless. "I think that's them?"
"Well in that case," Hestia started, before turning to the new arrival and addressing them directly. "I demand you tell me who you are before I come down there and make you!"
"Sounds like fun!" Came a peppy voice. Within seconds the mysterious smoke disappeared, revealing a strange blob of flesh in the middle of it all. Actually, they were tentacles wrapped to form a perfect sphere. "But I've got a much better idea!" The tentacles came down, all the same time, revealing the person underneath. "The name is Kura the Kraken," she called out (once again it was a she) raising a hand into the air, "so let's get crackin'!"
Bell wasn't sure what to think about this one, other than how different she was from Rosty and Queen.
For one thing, the only reason he could determine her gender was because of her top half. Everything below the waist was tentacles, the same tentacles she used for her entrance, her miniskirt looking like a barrier between the two halves. As for the top half, it was as attention grabbed as her bottom. Seriously, a shirt that definitely small on her exposing plenty of skin with "88" written in such a way that he had to actually look at her breasts! Not to mention the strange hat she wore at an angle, exposing what looked like giant eyes on the sides of her head. Overall, she was definitely going to catch attention no matter what else might be happening.
"And what do you mean by that?" Hestia growled at the new girl.
"I'm talking about getting the man into shape!" Kura cried out, eagerly pointing at Bell.
"Me?!" He jumped back. "What are you talking about?"
"Come one little guy." The squid girl laughed. "You've got to know you're on the scrawny side and that your mana bool isn't the largest. How do you expect us to help out with a strong monster when you can barely keep us out without passing out?"
"You're still here." Bell retorted while fighting down embarrassment and feelings of inadequacy.
"Cause I'm not doing anything, duh."
"She's got a point Bell." Hestia interjected, her teeth practically fused together from how she gritted them. "Having all the cheats in the world won't help if you don't actually get better yourself." Her words sent another metaphorical arrow into his insecure heart.
"Fine." He submitted. "I guess I could use some training." Of course, he started fantasizing about training with Aiz instead of his current partner or any of the girls he'd summoned so far.
"Great!" Kura cheered. "We need to work fast, so lets speed of the stretching part."
"What's that supposed to meeaaaan!" Bells began only to end up screaming as her tentacles shot forward and grabbed his arms and legs, pulling his right up to her, much to Hestia's shock.
"It means," Kura licked her lips. "I'm going to wring out all the knots in your body so that your as loose as can be and ready for action."
Okay.
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