Here is the next chapter! Unfortunately (or fortunately?) it's not an April Fool's one :D
In fact, it's really not very comedic! I have to say, this chapter probably has the most drama I ever wrote xD Maybe it's even a little out of place with Riveria and Bell honestly...
I still hope you will enjoy it though!
Both Riveria and Bell didn't get much sleep that night, each of them… 'occupied'.
Spending his night with little sleep, Bell gave this whole mess a bit of thought, he had plenty of time after all. He thought back on his former familia and on Hestia, he thought back to his first encounter with Riveria (at least the first time he got to talk to her alone), he remembered the training with Aiz and Tiona before the Wargame and how Riveria had helped him out…
And the more he thought about the past, the more certain he began to feel about this future. Riveria had known how bad he must have been feeling. She had looked for him and helped him out. He didn't want to leave her now. At this point, he was certain of her feelings for him (only an idiot would still have trouble recognizing that by now) and… the more he thought about their time together, the more certain he felt about his own feelings as well!
Just before he finally began to nod off, he resolved himself. Telling himself: 'Tomorrow I will talk to Loki about joining her familia!'
The following day, Bell was once again awoken rather early by Aiz and Tiona, as well as a few other girls that had joined them, once again creating quite a bit of chaos as they dragged him around the manor.
Initially, he tried to go refuse their invitations for breakfast and lunch and such things because he wanted to meet up with Loki but, after finding out that she had left the manor and wouldn't return until later he didn't really have anything else to do, so he went along with the girls anyway.
He would have liked to talk to Riveria of course! Just… well, it was hard to catch her alone like this and they could hardly talk openly while the rest of her familia was around…
Speaking of Riveria, she got up rather late that day, her 'studies' having lasted for longer than she had expected, simply because she could hardly manage to read full sentences of that damn book without feeling the need to cry out in shame…
Now, the afternoon already having arrived, she was currently sitting in the library and sipping on some tea while playing a game of chess against Finn. She was putting up a good struggle, but ultimately she was outmatched. Not that she had expected anything else from Finn…
She wasn't really invested in the game anyway though. The elf was just mostly trying to pass some time until…
*Slowly the door creaked open*
A familiar red head peaked through the door, cautiously checking the situation.
It was of course none other than Loki!
While Finn greeted her, saying: "Oh hello Loki. Are you back already?", wondering just why she had left last night in the first place, Riveria completely ignored her goddess, instead taking another sip from her herbal tea.
Loki eyed her suspiciously. She had expected Riveria to be quite mad at her…
"Yeah I am back. Say Finn… was there anything weird about Riveria today?", she asked as she cautiously stepped into the room.
Finn thought for a moment, however before he could answer, Riveria spoke up:
"Yes Finn? Is there anything weird about me?"
She had a gentle smile on her face, a smile that told Finn everything he needed to know…
Within moments, both of the first class adventurers jumped up from their seats, the elf rushing towards Loki and the pallum quick to intercept her!
Loki, bound to the speed of a regular mortal, could of course not react in the slightest. She only realized they had even moved at all when the wind of their movements hit her face.
"Leave me alone Finn! She's gone too far this time!", Riveria told her captain as she pushed the staff she had carried around all day against Finn, trying to break through.
"Riveria, calm down! Whatever it was she did I can't allow you to send her to heaven! Just like I couldn't allow it the last few times either!", Finn tried to persuade her, his grasp around her staff unwavering.
Unfortunately for Riveria, even if he was a pallum, Finn's strength stat was far superior to her own so there would be no opportunity to break through like this.
Fully knowing that, Riveria simply ignored Finn and started casting instead!
His eyes wide, Finn simply yelled: "Run Loki!"
And run she did!
Immediately she turned around and rushed towards the door!
But… Riveria was fast when it came to chanting! Was she going to make it?!
"WHAT'S GOIN' ON HERE?!", the loud voice of a dwarf bellowed, causing everyone in the room to halt.
It was of course the voice of Gareth. Fortunately for Loki, he had entered the library at just the right time.
Surveying the situation, he let out a sigh and simply said: "What did you do this time you drunkard…", giving Loki a slight glare.
"E-Ehm well…", the goddess began, scratching her head, however before she could spill any details, Riveria immediately yelled: "Don't you DARE tell anyone! I swear I will send you back up the most painful way possible if you do!"
Gareth couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that statement. As dumb as it sounded, this wasn't the first time Riveria was just about ready to send Loki back up to heaven! But… it seemed to be even more serious than usually…
"What happened elf?", Gareth asked.
"N-Nothing! Nothing happened!", Riveria told him, her cheeks slowly starting to redden.
"Riveria, we always talked out matters like this. If you can't even tell us what Loki did, how are we supposed to deal with the situation?", Finn finally spoke up.
"I-I- I can't tell you!", the elf insisted. Of course she did! If they learned about any of the things she had experienced with Bell lately they would never allow her to live that down!
Gareth grew irritated at such a comment though!
"Now listen up you uptight-", he began, however he was stopped by Loki who told him: "It's fine, it's fine!"
Then she turned towards Riveria and spoke: "I really went too far this time ok? But I mean, no one was hurt right? And I won't tell anyone either I promise! I am really sorry, so would you forgive me one more time?"
Riveria glared at her in silence for a while… but in the end, she let out a sigh and simply said: "Fine!", stepping back from her showdown with Finn…
Finn and Gareth were a little lost now. They hadn't expected her to drop the subject so easily after how much of a tantrum she had thrown…
Before they could ponder about it any further though, the silence in the room was cut off by an uncertain knock on the door, followed by a boy's voice: "Uhm… hello? May I come in?"
The voice belonged to Bell of course. Hearing him, Riveria could only hope he hadn't heard too much! Just remembering her last few words, she felt he would see her in a bad light with how threatening she had been! She didn't want him to think of her that way!
The color drained from the elf's face as Loki opened the door for Bell to enter…
Fortunately for her though, Bell gave them all a smile, albeit an awkward one, in a way, reassuring her that he didn't think of her any less just because of this! Or… at least he was good at hiding it…
"What is it boy?", Gareth asked after Bell had stepped inside.
Awkwardly he stood there, looking at each of them, his eyes lingering on Riveria for a while, before he eventually looked at Loki and asked: "Uhm… I- I wanted to ask if… if perhaps you would consider allowing me to join your familia…"
It didn't take long after that for things to get rolling. Just for the sake of appearance, the four leaders had Bell step outside once more while they discussed his application, but really… it was practically settled anyway!
With Riveria being the first to declare her support, prompting a surprised look from Finn and Gareth, they decided in a matter of seconds that he would be accepted! Of course he would! After all, all three of the adventurers in the room knew just how incredible he was for a rookie!
And with the familia's leaders on board, Loki simply accepted the decision. Even if they had had their uncertainties though, she had promised Riveria he would be allowed to join if he wanted, so she would have agreed anyway…
Immediately they called Bell back in and told him of their decision, before exiting the room right after, leaving him alone with Loki so he could receive his new Falna…
"Damn, you were fast to join. Was Riveria's body THAT convincing~", Loki teased as Bell took off his shirt, his face turning bright red at having yesterday's incident mentioned.
"N-No! Not at all!", Bell quickly told her, immediately adding: "I- I mean not that I didn't like it! I-I just mean I didn't do it because of her! I- I mean-"
Loki couldn't help but laugh at how flustered he was. These two were a match made in heaven really…
As they chatted a little longer, Loki went to work on inscribing her Falna on Bell's exposed back. A normal procedure really. Nothing special!
At least… there should have been nothing special! However, when she was faced with what Hestia had left behind, that being the skills and excelia earned under her Falna, Loki couldn't help but exclaim: "Holy shit! What kind of monster are you?!"
Bell, of course taken aback by her sudden words, asked: "I-Is something the matter?"
"Is something the matter?! Why yes, yes it is! THIS is the matter!", Loki said, tapping on his back a few times.
Bell was, understandably still confused, but fortunately for him, Loki continued: "An unknown advancement ability, a quick-cast magic, an active skill, a growth ability... do you know how many adventurers would kill for just ONE of these things?! Did you fuck that bitch Fortuna or something?! I mean, I know she gets around, but were you really THAT good to receive rewards like that?!"
Of course rationally think, she knew that he couldn't have received such extreme abilities from the goddess of luck, after all, to begin with gods couldn't 'grant' skills, the only thing they may be able to do is cheat by enhancing their followers with Arcanum but even that would be discovered sooner or later…
"A-Are these things really so rare? And what was that about a growth ability?", Bell asked, unable to really comprehend what was going on with Loki…
Before they could exchange any more words, there came a knock from the door, Finn's voice asking: "Is everything alright?"
Of course they had heard everything. Especially with Loki exclaiming like that! She should really get some more self-control…
For a moment, Loki stayed silent, before eventually asking Bell: "Say… I normally don't do this but… would you mind if I shared your status with these three and we discuss this together with them? To be frank, all of this is a little much for me alone…"
Bell was naturally surprised to hear such a thing! …but in the end, he didn't really mind if others knew his status, he had never really bothered to hide it after all. Besides, these three were going to be his new leaders, so it was probably best if they knew his abilities and such things anyway…
After getting his agreement, Loki called in the three leaders of their familia waiting outside…
She didn't bother explaining much, instead only telling them to lock the door and showing them a sheet of paper onto which she had printed Bell's status after they had entered.
The trio looked at the sheet for a moment, their eyes wide in shock! Honestly… with just this status alone he easily had the potential to be a first tier adventurer! And that didn't even include anything that might still be added over time!
"C-Can anyone explain this to me please?", Bell asked, a little worried as he watched these people he admired look at his status with such shock.
Finally, Gareth stepped back and… simply sighed, saying: "Damn, looks like the youth really has outgrown us huh?"
Riveria gave him a small bonk on the head with her staff, telling him: "Don't act like you are old! It makes me seem old too…"
Normally, this would have been enough to start a fight between them, but Gareth only dryly chuckled at this point, not in the mood for it after seeing Bell's status sheet.
After a moment though, Gareth seemed to regain his fire again! He wasn't one to be depressed after all! "Fine! Looks like I will just have to level up already! Can't lose to some youngster after all!", he boldly said.
"What is it?!", Bell finally asked, a little louder now, getting upset that he was being left out.
"Sorry!", Riveria immediately told him, adding: "We are just… a little overwhelmed." She didn't want him to feel bad or be angry! It was just quite the shock really…
After another pause, she finally explained: "Bell you… Your status… This is like nothing I've ever seen before."
"Is it really that special? Godde-… Hestia, never made it seem like that.", Bell said, a little confused.
"It certainly is. Hestia was probably too inexperienced as a goddess to know it, but this… all of this! It's pretty insane… Hardly anyone has abilities like this! The only ones that I can think of that have or have had comparable skills are first tier adventurers. Well, either that or they went on to become first tier soon enough…", Loki explained.
Bell was, quite understandably, taken aback by this.
"I know you were special, seeing you fight that minotaur but… even I didn't expect something like THIS…", Finn said as he finally handed Bell that sheet of paper.
Of course neither of them was angry or disappointed about this! In fact, having a strong new ally was great news! Just… taking it all in was hard…
Receiving the sheet from Finn, Bell had a look as well… finally noting: "Oh there is a new skill?"
…prompting everything to let out a surprised: "Huh?"
"What do you mean?", Loki asked him.
"'Liaris Freese'… I don't think I've had this skill before.", Bell replied. Honestly… reading the description of that skill was a little weird! It felt great having a growth skill! But… at the same time, having it mention 'feelings' felt a little awkward…
"Impossible! I didn't give you this skill! You definitely had it before converting to my familia!", Loki told him.
"But… Hestia never mentioned it before…", Bell said.
There was a moment of silence in the room. Eventually Riveria suggested: "Perhaps… she was trying to keep it hidden from you?"
Immediately she added: "I just mean… growth skills are very valuable. Perhaps she feared you might accidentally tell someone about it?"
Honestly… that didn't really fit with Hestia being an inexperienced goddess! Really, it was probably a different reason but… Riveria couldn't really bring herself to say Hestia might have just hidden it from Bell due to jealousy…
Speaking of jealousy! The elf was quite jealous as well! Considering his fast growth, he had probably gotten this skill rather early in his life as an adventurer, far before she had gotten close to him! So she couldn't help but feel jealous to whoever he held such strong feelings for!
Riveria wasn't doubting that he probably held feelings for her! Just… she feared that there may be a woman that was far, far more important to him than her! Somehow, just that thought was enough to make her chest feel tight and in pain! Honestly, the only thing keeping her from crying right about now was just how vaguely this was worded! It could be talking about a family member, a friend or a rival as well after all! That was the last straw of hope for her, though that part about being immune to charms was threatening to tear that straw apart too…
Bell, unaware of how Riveria was feeling right now, gave it some thought, noting: "That… may be the case yes. I wonder at what point I got this skill in that case."
"Was there ever a point at which you noticed a strange increase in your growth?", Loki asked him.
Bell seemed to think for a moment, before finally answering: "Well… about half a month after I started out as an adventurer I think. There was some larger increase back then and Hestia just called it a 'growth spurt'. Every update after that had me grow far more than anything before that day. That was… just a day or so after Aiz saved me from a Minotaur on floor five."
Hearing such a specific event come up, Riveria of course had no trouble connecting the dots! It hurt terribly to know Bell held feeling for another woman beside her, feelings that were so much stronger as well! And that woman was Aiz of all people too!
'Oh what a fool I've been! Who could ever fall for some old hag like me anyway?! Of course he doesn't care about me after all! I was so stupid to think anyone could ever love me…', Riveria thought.
It was weird really! In the beginning, she hadn't believed he had any feeling for her in the first place! And yet… yet this hurt so much!
Of course, had she been in her right mind, she may have noticed that no explicit person was mentioned in the skill, that the target of his affection could have changed! However, with worry plaguing her, she simply didn't have the mental fortitude for such a thing!
"I-I… uhm… if you will excuse me, I will have to leave. Sorry…", Riveria said, clenching her fist as she desperately tried not to let her sadness leak out!
"What but we aren't-", Loki began, but Riveria had dashed off before she could finish her words, leaving the four of them behind in stunned silence!
Fortunately for Riveria, sprinting to her room at full speed, she was too fast for anyone to notice the tears that had by now started to freely flow from her eyes!
Once she had slammed the door shut behind her, she immediately locked it and threw herself down onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow as she couldn't help but scream in frustration!
Just the fact that she gave such an extreme reaction was proof just how strongly she felt for Bell…
Left behind in the library, the group of four stared at the open door Riveria had left behind.
Finally, Gareth broke the silence, asking: "Loki… I often think that uptight elf is overreacting but… if this has ANYTHING to do with what you were arguing about earlier, then I think you may seriously need sort this out with her. Don't think I ever saw her like that before…"
"I-I didn't even do anything! …this time…", Loki told him.
She let out a sigh and turned back to Bell who gave her a worried look. Of course he did! He wanted to rush right after Riveria right now! Not that he would have been able to catch up as a level three…
"Alright. Finn, Gareth, you two handle the rest of this talk ok? I will go and talk to mama elf.", Loki finally said, giving Bell a small nod to signal him he could leave it to her.
"Fine by me. Go and apologize to her already.", Gareth said, clearly still convinced all of this was somehow Loki's fault…
Ignoring him, Loki got up and left to go look for Riveria, closing the door behind her…
Bell's talk with Finn and Gareth continued shortly after that. For one thing, they told him all the rules he needed to know about the familia and, knowing of his skills, they decided they would try and focus on allowing him to grow more as well.
It was decided, in favour of his skill, that he would be freed from any duties lower ranking members usually had, like cleaning or cookie, and would instead spend his time in the dungeon with some of the higher ranking members so they could teach him about the dungeon and he would get to earn more excelia. Furthermore, they decided he would also train with any of the executives that wanted to help him out, since they knew he had already been training with Aiz before…
Finally, they just gave him a bit of advice, telling him not to grow conceited with his fast growth and instead stay humble and focused…
Bell for his part, didn't argue about any of this. For one thing, he all of this made sense to him, but for another… well, honestly… he was hardly really paying attention since he could only think of Riveria right now…
At the same time of their talk, Loki had gathered enough information to find out Riveria was probably in her room right now.
Immediately Loki walked over and knocked on the door, only to… be ignored.
Once more she knocked, calling out: "Mama elf? You in there?"
She was ignored again.
Only when she knocked a third time did she finally get a response! Though that response was…
"Go away!"
Plain and simple…
"Oh come on! I just wanna talk! What happened?", Loki asked, not discouraged by Riveria's defensive attitude.
"Just leave me alone!", came her answer.
Loki let out a sigh, mumbling: "I really didn't want to do this Riveria…"
The goddess crotched down in front of Riveria's door. She pulled a bunch of tools out of one of her pockets and… began fiddling with the lock!
Within moments, the lock opened with a small *click*, the door being pushed open by Loki a moment afterwards.
She was faced with Riveria looking up from her bed, her face wet and red from tears. "How did you get in?!", she yelled at Loki closed the door behind her, locking it once more.
With a raised eyebrow, Loki answered: "Did you forget? I am the goddess of mischief! Did you seriously think I couldn't pick some pesky little door lock?"
Now normally, Loki wouldn't have resorted to something like this. She preferred talking things out and, while her usual pervy antics would indicate otherwise, she actually wanted the members of her familia to feel save, so she normally didn't intrude into the privacy of their rooms without permission! Normally, she would have probably tried to make stupid jokes until Riveria would get so angry she would come out and smack her!
But… this time it was different. She could tell from how strongly Riveria had reacted in the library! Whatever had caused this must be something major! Hence why she had felt the need to pick the lock instead…
"Gonna need to find some magical lock…", Riveria muttered to herself, before angrily yelling at Loki once more: "Get out! I don't want to see anyone right now!"
"Sorry, no can do. I ain't leaving until I know what happened", Loki told her in a calm voice.
"Get! Out! Get out! Or I will send you back to heaven!", Riveria yelled, not even bothering to listen to Loki!
Unlike the scared Loki from earlier however, her goddess simply stared her down now, calmly stating: "Alright. Make it quick."
Riveria could only stare at her blankly at such a statement.
This interaction was enough for both of them to understand. Loki knew Riveria wouldn't seriously do it. She was just using an empty threat to get her way! And Riveria… well, thanks to Loki's reaction, she knew she wouldn't convince her to leave either…
So, letting out a sigh, Riveria sank down into her bed, her tear stained face falling back down into her pillow…
After a few seconds of silence, Loki asked once again: "Tell me what happened please. What happened down there with Bell?"
Hearing his name, Riveria was once again reminded of what had caused her to go crazy like this, something that she had temporarily forgotten thanks to Loki's sudden entrance! Almost immediately, she began sobbing again, muttering: "Bell…" into her pillow as fresh tears began to flow…
Picking up on her words and combining it with the sight in front of her, Loki spoke: "Just what's wrong? You are acting like he just rejected you or something!"
Those words hit her right in the chest! Riveria lifted her head up, this time giving Loki a serious glare, telling her: "Shut up! You don't know anything!", before she grabbed her pillow and threw it at Loki.
Normally a pillow wouldn't make for much of a projectile but… with the strength of a level six, even more so, a level six in an emotional turmoil, it could easily become a deadly weapon! Thankfully, due to the tears obscuring her vision, Riveria's aim was off, prompting the pillow to impact about a meter away from Loki's head, creating large cracks in the wall…
"Out! Now!", Riveria repeated!
This time around, even Loki understood that she didn't get to argue here…
She quickly unlocked the door and left Riveria behind…
Riveria didn't bother to get up and lock it again…
Loki hadn't given up yet though!
She wouldn't give up on any of her children that easily!
While she may not be able to help Riveria right now, since she wouldn't open up to her, she definitely knew someone who could help!
She would just drag the apparent root of the problem here and have him solve the issue!
Fortunately for her, she didn't really need to drag Bell around anyway! He was already on his way to Riveria's room, shortly after his talk with Finn and Gareth had ended!
Along with the two other men, Bell had left to check on Riveria once they were done, since all of them were worried about her. They too had hear Riveria was in her room, which was why they had decided to go there.
Their group met Loki halfway between Riveria's room and the library.
Upon spotting her, Bell immediately asked: "What happened? Did you talk to Riveria?"
Loki slightly frowned hearing that question as she would unfortunately have to relay some bad news: "Yeah but… she isn't really listening. Doesn't want to talk to anyone."
Gareth let out a sigh, saying: "Am I gonna have to drag that uptight elf out of there?"
"Gareth, just on the off chance that you are serious, don't even try…", Finn dryly told him. Honestly, he was at a loss here. As the leader of the familia, he felt he held a responsibility to solve this situation, however… he had never had a problem with Riveria like that before! If anything, she had always been by his side, just like Gareth, trying to solve whatever problem they had encountered together with him! Being unable to come up with a solution here somehow felt as if he failed as a leader…
After a moment of silence though, Loki reassured the three of them: "Don't worry too much though! It's not like I've given up on her you know! Actually, I think I may even have a way to solve this whole thing."
Hearing that, Finn's immediately told her: "Really? That's great! What's your idea?"
"Yeah about that… actually, if you don't mind, I would like you guys to just trust me and not ask about it. Riveria's gonna be mad at me if she finds out I told you two about it…", Loki answered him, also giving Gareth a look to indicate whom she meant with 'you two'.
Gareth and Finn looked at each other for a moment. They had known Loki long enough to know that she was serious right now so, while it definitely felt bad not being able to help, not even getting to hear what the problem even was, they decided to trust her anyway.
The dwarf turned to Bell and said: "Alright. Gotta trust Loki on this one. Let's go somewhere else and-"
However, before Gareth got to finish his words, Loki interrupted him, saying: "Actually! I have a need for you here Bell, so I would like you to come with me."
At that, Gareth and Finn were (understandably) quite surprised! Why on earth would she need Bell's help for this when they couldn't do anything?!
Their faces clearly reflecting their thoughts, Loki just told them again: "Please, just trust me on this ok?"
After a moment, Finn let out a sigh and simply said: "Fine."
Gareth too seemed to reluctantly accept this strange situation. He gave Bell a pat on the back, telling him: "Whatever it is you need to do, do a good job alright boy?"
And soon enough, they had left Loki and Bell alone.
"Ehm… goddess? How can I help?", Bell, who was kind of left in confusion at what just happened, asked Loki.
Loki for her part observed their surroundings for a moment… before putting her hands on Bell's shoulders, directly looking into his eyes.
Bell audibly gulped.
"Bell Cranel. Do you love Riveria?", she asked without any context or shame.
Hearing her question, Bell immediately went red and began stuttering: "I-I- Ehm- I mean- Well I-"
Loki interrupted him: "You know, I would tease you about that stuttering every other day of the year, but right now I don't need that bashful attitude. I want a clear answer! So once more, Bell Cranel, do you love Riveria?"
This time around, listening to the goddess clear and serious voice, even Bell managed to stay calm. Without hesitation or doubt, he answered: "Yes. Yes, I do."
Loki let go off of his shoulders, now instead grabbing his arm as she began dragging him to Riveria's room, simply saying: "Great! Now tell that to your girlfriend!"
Understandably, Bell was quite confused. What did any of this have to do with the current situation?!
Before he got a chance to reorganize his mind and ask Loki however, they had already arrived in front of Riveria's bedroom!
Fortunately for them, there weren't that many people in the manor right now, otherwise surely they would have had a crowd of elves waiting in front of the room by now…
"Loki, what does any of this have to do with-", Bell began, now finally trying to clarify everything necessary, but before he had even asked his first question, Loki had opened the door and shoved him inside!
He fell down onto his butt, Loki immediately pulling the door shut after Bell was inside.
Riveria, now sitting at the headboard of her bed, her face hidden behind her raised up knees as she hugged them, barely noticed what was going on. She simply took note of the door opening and closing again.
Thinking that it must be Loki again, she turned towards her and yelled: "Loki, I told you to leave me a-", however, her words were stuck in her throat, when instead of her meddling goddess, she found herself faced with Bell of all people!
Bell was shocked to see her like this! Back when they had been shopping for supplies together, he had thought just how painful it was to look at her sad face. Even just the tiny bit of sadness that had broken through her façade back then had been enough to make him think so. But now? Now seeing her like this hurt him to his very core! It was clear she had been crying and this time she wasn't even trying to hide her pain!
His face full of shock and worry, he clumsily asked: "Just- Just what happ-"
However, before he even finished his question, Riveria's eyes once again began to fill with tears! "No! Leave! Please! I- I don't want you to see me like this…", Riveria cried out, her voice getting smaller with each word.
Unlike with Loki, she wasn't simply feeling anger because he was here though. Instead, it brought a whole mix of feelings! She felt ashamed because he saw her at such a low, at the same time she felt incredibly angry since he had entered without permission and finally, perhaps the strongest emotion currently dominating her heart, was sadness! Seeing the man she loved, while at the same time knowing he would never seriously return her love hurt her more than she had ever thought possible!
She wanted to avoid this painful reality! She turned away. She closed her eyes and hid her face behind her knees again, telling him: "Please leave…", in a small voice…
However, Bell did not leave! How could he?! He had sworn to be there for her if she needed him, so how could he seriously leave her alone when she looked like this?!
He didn't say anything though. No, he was at a loss for words! Instead, he simply did what she had done for him before. He walked towards her and sat down on the bed beside her.
"Please leave…", came her request once again.
He ignored her.
Bell extended his hand and began lightly, gently stroking her head.
"Please leave…", she whispered a third time, this time accompanied by a bit of sobbing.
He ignored her once more.
Instead, he wrapped his arms around her, giving her a tight, warm, reassuring hug.
It felt good… No, it felt great! To Riveria, it felt great having him give her so much attention, so much warmth! But… it didn't dissolve the dark clouds in her heart!
Finally, she lifted her head up again, forcing herself to directly look at him to make her request once more: "Please… leave…"
This time, Bell didn't ignore her anymore. Instead, he looked directly at her and spoke with a calm, but serious voice: "No. I won't leave. I won't leave you alone with this! I won't leave until you stop crying! I won't leave until I see your beautiful smile again!"
Hearing him say such things made her heart go crazy! She wanted to give in to the sweet temptation! She wanted to believe he would stay with her, care for her above all else! But… she couldn't allow it! It would only bring her more pain!
"No… y-you have another woman to care about, don't you? You are just going to leave me all alone the moment she gives you attention, won't you?! I am just a consolation prize for you, am I not?!", she asked, her voice growing more and more heated and angry, but also sad the more she talked.
Faced with such words, Bell was obviously lost!
"What- What are you talking about Riveria?", the confused boy asked, trying to understand what she was saying.
"Don't act like a fool! You are in love with Aiz aren't you?! I am just a side dish to you…", Riveria said, her voice getting smaller now as her sadness seemed to swallow up all her energy from just a moment ago. Once more, her face buried behind her knees as she avoided facing Bell.
Bell was silent. Finally, he began to understand what was going on! Now of course he still had no idea why in the WORLD she was thinking he was in love with Aiz, but that didn't matter! He began to finally understand why Loki had dragged him here and by now, he knew what he had to do.
One of his hands left her body, instead moving in between her knees now to lift up her head from down there! Had she seriously wanted to, she could have resisted, she had the strength to after all! However, she didn't resist.
Her head now back up, her tear filled eyes were forced to look at Bell.
Bell gave her a look full of determination as he spoke: "Riveria, I have no idea where you would get that idea from but…", he paused a little and took a deep breath, before stating: "…but I love you! You! Not Aiz! You are the only woman for me! I may have held feeling for Aiz at some point, yes, but those are long gone! She is just a friend now! I love you and only you with all of my heart!"
It took a lot of courage to convey his feelings so openly and clearly, but… the current situation required it, so he just had to pull through! For Riveria's sake he had to!
Riveria's eyes opened wide. She felt so happy hearing those words! But… but could she really believe them?! She had seen his skill after all!
"A-Are you really telling the truth? I-I saw your skill too! Y-You must still-", she began, unable to believe him after all.
Now Bell could have chosen to talk to her, to convince her with logic! But… he neither had the mental fortitude to do so right now, nor did he think she would even truly accept it even if they talked things out! So, instead of trying to convey his feelings with words, he did it with actions!
While she was talking, he interrupted her, by moving in for a kiss!
In a way, he was now finally answering her kiss from before the wargame! With passion, he pressed his lips against hers, trying to convey his feelings the only way he could think of right now!
The elf was stunned at first… however that didn't last long.
Riveria didn't fight back. No, instead, she embraced it! She freed her arms and tightly hugged Bell, eagerly pressing her lips against his. She just couldn't resist this! He showed such passion, how could she doubt him?!
They continued kissing for a while, simply lost in each other, their mouths reaffirming their love for one another…
Eventually, the two of them separated, both of them breathing heavily by now.
Gasping for air, Bell asked: "Do you… believe me now? Or do I… need to drag Loki here so… she can confirm I… am not lying?"
Riveria, similarly out of breath as him, replied: "No…. I believe you now!"
After a moment of silence, both of them trying to regain control over their breathing, Bell spoke once again: "May I ask… why did you think I was in love with Aiz?"
"I… I just… Back when we met on the 18th floor I already had the suspicious and- and… now your skill… I just…", Riveria tried to explain herself, though she failed her explanation pretty badly…
Nonetheless, Bell somehow managed to understand what she was talking about. At least… somewhat. "So it's about that skill?", he asked.
Riveria nodded her head, telling him: "Y-You said you saw the first jump in your abilities after Aiz saved you. You never met me before that so… so you must have gained this skill due to Aiz…"
Technically speaking, while they hadn't met before that, he had certainly seen her before that! But… that didn't matter right now!
Bell simply gave her an awkward smile, confirming her words: "Yes… at that time, I probably fell for Aiz. She is probably the reason why I gained this skill…"
It was simply the truth. No point in arguing there. However, he continued: "But… things changed. A lot has happened and, the more I interacted with you, the more I found myself falling for you instead! I can clearly say that I am in love with you right now, and no one else!"
"But… your skill is still active right? Doesn't that mean you are still in love with Aiz?! M-Maybe you just don't know it!", Riveria said, finally able to express her concerns and worries.
With those words, Bell finally began to understand why Riveria had reacted the way she did. She had simply misunderstood!
Now able to understand it all, Bell gave her a light chop on the head. It didn't hurt her of course, he would have a hard time hurting her even if he had wanted to! All it did was draw a confused look from Riveria.
Bell spoke with another awkward smile: "You silly elf. Does my skill say anything about a specific person? Does it mention anything about my feelings being unable to change?"
At that Riveria opened her eyes wide, finally realizing what she had failed to understand before!
Slowly, her face began to redden as she started to understand what a tantrum she had thrown over a slight misunderstanding!
Once again, she buried her face in her knees, though this time out of pure shame as she cried out: "I am so sorry! I- I doubted your feelings over such a simple thing! A-And I worried you too! I am so stupid!"
Bell could only laugh at that! She was just far too cute when she was flustered like that…
Trying to help her get over her shame, he decided to change the subject! Never having been in her room before, he looked around for a moment, taking in the sight. Honestly… it wasn't what he had expected! Or… well, it was only half like he expected.
Just like he had imagined, her room was filled with all sorts of books, maps and souvenirs from all sorts of places. It was clear from a single glance it was the room of an elf as well, lots of wood being used for the furniture and many plants decorating the room. What he hadn't expected was the mess though! He had thought of Riveria as a very organized and clean person, but seemingly that wasn't the case after all, at least jugged by the piles of books all around and the general mess in the room. He was also slightly concerned because of the pillow near the door and the wall behind it, showing quite a few cracks…
Finally, he noticed an interesting book on her bedside table. It didn't appear to have any title, but there was a bookmark inserted into it, somewhere in the upper pages of the book, indicating Riveria had been reading it.
He grabbed the book, happy to have found something to change the topic. "Say… this book Riveria, is it good? I have been thinking about starting to read a little more as well and I was wondering if y-", he began, but before he even noticed, the book was suddenly gone from his hands!
Looking around, he noticed Riveria staring at him with a bright red face, seemingly an even deeper shade of red than earlier, tightly holding the book in her hands.
"Bell, you must never read this book! Don't even touch it! Don't even look at it ok?!", Riveria told him with a serious voice.
Hearing her serious tone, Bell stared at her and could only ask: "W-Why? What's the book about?"
"If you know about the contents of this book then I am going to die!", she told him, mentally adding 'out of shame'…
"I-Is it that serious?!", he exclaimed, staring at the book in shock.
Riveria let out a sigh, averting her eyes from Bell. She didn't want to lie to him! Just… she couldn't tell him the truth yet either! And so she said: "N-No it's not that serious! Just… it's not something I can tell you right now ok? I- I am sure you will find out about it sooner or later!"
And saying that, she could feel her face heat up further, imagining Bell 'find out' about the contents of the book once she was done reading it…
"A-Alright…", Bell told her, unable to decide how to feel about all of this.
They sat there in silence for a little while longer after that, seemingly neither of them willing to break this silence. Although it was an awkward one, it was also strangely calming to be able to sit here, just the two of them, and enjoy one another's company…
Reluctantly though, Riveria eventually broke the silence: "Well… I think it's time to leave my room again huh?"
"Seems like it…", Bell, just as reluctantly, agreed.
"I… uhm… Would you mind going ahead? I am just going to sit here a little while longer and like… think of some excuse for all of this mess…", Riveria said with an awkward smile.
"Alright. I will tell Loki you are fine now. Maybe she can think of something to tell everyone else.", Bell replied.
"Loki? Oh yes! I should apologize to her as well! We end up fighting a lot of times, but at least this time she was serious about helping me huh?", Riveria said, glancing at the pillow on the floor, worried that Loki might be mad at her.
She voiced her concerns: "Do you think- do you think she will be mad at me after I kicked her out?"
Bell reassured her however, telling her: "No I don't think so. I mean, she didn't give up on you even after that. She was the one who dragged me here after all. I mean, I planned to come see you anyway, but Loki was the one who gave me a chance to separate from Finn and Gareth and talk to you alone."
Honestly… sometimes, even Riveria couldn't help but be amazed at just how thoughtful Loki could be! If only she was less of a pervert…
"Well… I should get going now…", Bell spoke up once more after a brief moment of silence.
"Yes, you should…", Riveria agreed…
Despite that, neither of them moved…
Looking at each other for a second, both of them simultaneously began moving, their lips meeting once more! They knew they would most likely not get too many opportunities to be together like this, just the two of them, in the near future, so without a need for words, they shared one last, passionate goodbye kiss for now…
After a few minutes of kissing, the two separated again, with Bell finally, reluctantly getting up from the bed.
"So… uhm… see you later, Riveria…", he awkwardly said, as he reluctantly left her room…
"Yes… see you later, Bell…", Riveria answered as she watched him leave…