A/N
Hello, if you are new, welcome! If not, nice to see you again!
I don't want to take up too much time with this, but do know I am grateful you've given me the time of day by reading this, that alone means the world to me.
This Orario is a bit different than canon, I do hope you all like it, or can at least tolerate it for the story. I have some big plans for this, and a solid skeleton to build off of, I plan to get a lot of content out of this, so please stick around.
I would like to state now though that: This is my story, I will not change it to get more appeal, I will write the story I want to write, nothing less.
Please do enjoy.
Total Words: 7191
...
Long ago, the gods were bored, and thus the history of life on Genkai began.
It was a simple rose bush at first, a wonder to all who looked upon the budding flower. But soon all forms of green life came to be, an empty world serenaded by the whistling wind and shaking tree branches.
Then someone had a thought, far off in the north in a tundra where a secluded deity liked to rest away from the others, a creation was birthed from the frozen soil.
The first being was lifted into existence, a few gods and goddesses finding out about this and joining to watch over this creature of sorts. That same deity decided to try and make another, curious about what would happen, and before their eyes, they both shifted and changed, forming into what would be regarded as male and female.
With time came change, some of those once observers stole the idea and created more races like elves, humans, and even dwarves. But the original creator stayed, watching over and making sure they thrived in their peaceful ways.
With time came change, and with change… often war.
The green fields of the south started to soak with red blood, the gods waging bets while one of their kind stayed in the north, nurturing their creation slowly before a sudden storm set in, and all the gods were ripped from Genkai.
When the storm had passed, and the gods returned, there was nothing but charred remains of that northern village that had held the first seeds of sentient life.
The deity was enraged, blood was spilled, and though they knew not the true culprit, there was no care left in them.
But one of those lost people had remained, one had survived.
…
The foundation above constructed of stone had many cracks in it, the light of an early morning seeping through to strike perfectly across Bell's left eye where he was on the worn and discolored couch. Stirring with the new intruder's presence, Bell was left to roll over, but instead, found nothing but air, falling clear off the lumpy cushions.
In a daze, he rose, dragging himself up along the couch cushion to stumble upright. He quickly scanned the room, it not being familiar, though they never really were, before his mind found the last moments of the previous night.
.
It had been raining late in the evening, the two were rushing through one of the more dilapidated districts of Orario, neither knowing quite where they were, trying their best to not slip while running cover to cover. Their cloaks were waterproof to a degree, but in the end still just fabric, the material soaking in the downpour.
They had a stretch with no cover, so Bell led their charge, noticing as he went that a door was ajar and with the low chance of a real population out this far in the district, he went for it, the goddess following behind quickly. After a few moments catching their breath, they looked around the rather large room, Bell taking only a glance to recognize the space as a crumbling church, one long unused, likely for decades or more by this point.
They slowly made way down the center aisle, pews lining each side in various states ranging in barely any more than dusty, to merely a pile of splinters. The stones had holes and shattered glass in various places, piles of rubble where it simply collected from the roof which had gashes all across the edges, streams of water pouring in all around.
"May the flowers of dark, come forth from the night, Candle Light."
Like a match, white light illuminated at the tip of Bell's finger growing to slowly reach the closer walls and all in between. They reached the front soon enough, a statue of Demeter, though not even close to her actual appearance the goddess noted, the origins of that particular carving must date to before the gods first began descending then.
.
Bell was happy that they'd noticed the wood door hidden behind a pile of rubble, though they hadn't the slightest clue who left a couch, bed, and blankets behind, it was a welcomed change of luck for the two.
He glanced over to the lump of goddess swaddles under a thick wool blanket, the morning chill not lost to him while splashing his feet in the shallow buildup of rain in the basement floor. The boy went past, slipping his way through a small opening to another side room, this one with a wall lined in kitchen style counters, his pack atop it as he reached for the drawstring.
They didn't have much in the way of options when considering food so Bell snatched a small sack of the old reliable, powdered eggs. He grabbed the handle of an iron skillet at the bottom of the bag, not a single thing from inside not getting shifted or moved as he did, Bell grumbling about it as he set it atop a magic bunsen burner type item at the countertop. He inspected the item, finding a port for a magic stone, the one inside clear as glass now depleted of its magic.
Lucky for him, Bell pulled out a small baggy kept in that same messy bag, from it he snatched up three small crystals, each being from the outside they weren't as strong as one from Orario's monsters, so more were required. The burner lit up in a glowing green flame, the skillet heating up fast.
He tossed in the egg, then pulled a canteen and slowly poured in the needed water, eyeballing it as there was no real measurement for what he put in. Bell started the motions, stirring and sliding the mushy substance all around, gradually soaking up the water for all it was worth.
On a chance, he looked back, spying the goddess sitting up in the bed, legs unwrapped and hanging from the bed, boots still on as had his been. They were accustomed to harsh conditions as the summer made way for fall, sleeping outside more often than not on the long month's journey to this dungeon city, the only one like it in all of Genkai.
.
A month ago some long ways away, the village was in a huff about something, a new group of people having come into town a mere few minutes ago, but they were nonetheless excitable and abuzz.
Bell was a curious boy, so he of course was drawn to the commotion, spying a cluster of people in the dark evening street, all standing on their tiptoes to try and catch a glimpse of something or someone.
Out of nowhere, the crowd parted, him stopping the approach since something new was going on. The last of them moving as a figure came into sight.
They were standing face to face once she'd finally noticed him, just clearing the crowd to stand at odds. She was beautiful, a woman tall and slender, proportions eerily perfect as he saw them from there, immaculate silver hair paired with violet eyes he almost could swear shifted from that same silver and back each blink.
Her face scrunched in confusion, worry, then concern, but the last one was what spooked Bell.
Disbelief.
.
They had gotten to know one another now, spending several days together once she'd ditched all her new admirers. She was enamored by him and rightly so, that being how he shouldn't exist.
Before her was none other than Bell Cranel, son of Lian and June Cranel of the Northern Village, or 'forest' as the elves liked to call it today. The goddess was one of the few who had been there in the early days of his kind, and she was fully aware they'd gone extinct, well, except now for him apparently.
After a tiring few days of rather long winded arguments and debates, she'd convinced the boy to escort her to Orario.
Along the way she managed to chip away at his shell, him feeling some desire to push people away once they got too close, but she managed to stick it out and come out the other side with Bell still there with her. Because of this, he felt comfortable explaining what happened to the Northern Village.
It was a dark night when a blizzard set in, no real exceptionalness to this weather event, other than how it concealed the raiding party, a human group storming the village in the darkness and raising it for what seemed no true purpose. By the will of his parents, he'd been hidden in an ice cave, not knowing at all what was happening above ground as he traversed the frozen tunnel, eventually reaching the surface by morning.
He wandered the town only to find no one, not even a body among the burning and crumbled cinders of home. A traveler, someone come to make a pilgrimage and witness their kind had by pure chance found him, this person a half-elf girl that took him in, raising him once they'd made it south to her original home.
He lived as an elf, but realized as she aged that he was different than her, and after she'd passed, left his new home in search of answers.
.
Freya and Bell sat just apart from shoulder to shoulder, each with soggy soles on their boots and a blanket around their shoulders, slowly feasting on the egg prepared by the boy.
He spoke between bites. "So what's next?"
"Hm?" She called.
"What's next? I'm not really sure what a 'Familia' entails in this city."
She lowered the plate found inside a cupboard and washed with the water from his canteen, thinking on what it was they should do now. "Well, I suppose we should head for the guild, they likely have rules for how we need to operate coming from the outside."
He nodded along.
"We should find a more-" She looked around them. "-proper living space, and after that, I can go and find work of my own, given how I don't have fighting skills and the such."
Bell thought on it for a few moments, nodding. "We can ask about housing at the guild as well."
She affirmed with an agreeing hum.
He stood up, taking his and Freya's empty plate, stepping into the kitchen area, and dropping them off on the counter. The goddess going back to loathing the concept of 'waking up', Bell reorganized his bag, setting everything how it was originally with the clean skillet back at the bottom where it normally went.
.
They walked down a main road, Bell scrunching his brow at a map held with one hand in the center of a massive migration of adventurers heading for their daily work of slaying monsters and collecting resources. His other hand was taken up as his goddess clasped with fear in her belly of losing him in a crowd like this, the other hand firmly keeping her cloak tightly bound while they walked.
He looked up, scanning the rooftops, spotting a bell tower and a large dome structure atop one building, each in different directions as he identified them easily. Bell looked at the map again, and was met with dismay, realizing they were in a completely different area than he'd previously thought.
Freya had no confidence in his ability to read maps whatsoever, recalling how their month's trip here was only supposed to be two weeks max.
She sighed openly, being drowned out by the crowd moving and bustling.
…
Bell sighed in relief, both him and his goddess standing side by side in front of a rather large door. The outside was built up in a rather… odd style for his tastes, though it wouldn't bother him too much after pressing through the doors, a soft whistle echoing through their ears while it opened.
Bell stepped to the side, closing the door behind Freya as his goddess started towards the front desk at a leisurely pace, picking up once he was behind her again.
The soft rummaging of papers, harsh closing of file drawers, and whisper-like voices filled the morning air, a sense of overwhelming calm swept through the halls. The two slowly made it to the front counter, a few people glancing over to them as they did, but upon arrival, a woman of pink hair and short stature met them.
"Welcome to the guild, is there anything specific I can help you with?"
A small and light silence followed, a small aura of calm glee emitted from the silver-haired woman beside him."I'm here to register my Familia."
If there was one thing that made Bell's day, it was hearing the excitement and joy laced within that simple phrase. He couldn't help the small but unwavering smile, almost a contrast to how the silver-haired woman beside him absolutely beamed in the otherwise stiff guildhall.
She seemingly jumped in place. "Okay, ah- just a moment please!" The pink-haired worker squeaked out, seeming to almost pale at the words, then all but ran for a door back behind the tall counter.
Freya blinked, so did Bell, both of them caught off guard by the amount of panic laced in her words. Freya was still excited, but it had shaken her spirits slightly to see the woman, Misha if the goddess recalled, run like a mob boss had walked in looking for ransom. Seconds mounted before that same door popped open again.
The pinkette was struggling with another employee of the guild and quickly pulling/dragging her towards the counter towards them. They stood in mild shock and confusion of these unfolding events while a new brown-haired woman slowly came to be at the counter.
The woman grumbled at the shorter Misha, scolding her, a woman who cared little for the other's ire. Misha turned to them finally though mid chewing out. "This is Eina! She'll take great care of you!"
"Hey! Wait! I never said-" Eina stopped though, realizing the effort was lost on the already running girl. It was worth following her eyes with the running sloth of a woman, if anything, it was a welcomed vengeance to see the woman trip on her own feet "Wah!" and fall straight onto her face, arms stretched wildly in the air.
Eina had to turn away quickly, hunching her shoulders and snorting out in laughter. Freya wasn't much better, turning away from Bell with eyes closed, a few fingers stretched up over her grin to try and save face. Bell simply huffed in amusement, but stayed watching. "Are you okay, miss?" He called to the downed woman.
She rolled herself to a hip, looking back to him with a small blush, then scurried to stand. She bowed swiftly and ran off again disappearing behind a set of file cabinets to sulk.
Eina took a moment to collect herself, then turned back to her potential clients with a straight, albeit slightly red face that's lips couldn't stop creeping up in the corners. "H-How may I be of service today?"
Freya turned back to the counter, shuffling her feet to affirm her posture, but a grin slid over her face evermore, though different to the one a moment prior, one more of genuine happiness. "I am looking to register my Familia."
Eina blinked the new info in, eyes fluttering while realizing why Misha had dumped this on her. "Ah, I see." She seemed less than thrilled. "Well, please follow me to a meeting room so we can discuss the details in private."
The woman gestured to their right, them nodding and starting over towards the counter's edge. They rounded with Freya's dark blue cloak catching the air as she walked, then started to follow Eina through the short hall, finding themselves at a doorway of which the guild worker opened. They entered, the room made up of fairly neutral walls and a set of dark red couches, an oval coffee table in the center.
"Please have a seat and we can begin." The elf called out.
Freya was first, sliding past the table and taking the furthest cushion of the couch, Bell beside her with an arm's reach between them. Eina stopped at a cabinet that'd been beside the door, blocked from sight at first, grabbing several documents from the top then bottom drawer, and heading next to the unoccupied couch.
Eina cleared her throat, then looked between them both. "So can I assume this young man is to be your first member?" Freya nodded as the elfess shuffled a few papers, setting some on the table and picking up a clipboard to use. "Okay then, so he'll need an advisor? Unless you already had an experienced adventurer lined up to assist him?"
Freya put on a serious face, not wanting to screw up so soon into her next step of life on Genkai. "No, he'll need an advisor if that's possible."
Eina looked down at the page, scribbling a few pieces of info at different points on the page. "Okay, would you also like a financial advisor? We have a few specialists in right now even, should you want to consult today."
Freya flinched back slightly then looked over to Bell who also hadn't thought of that. She looked down for a moment then decided. "Yes, as long as you recommend it."
Eina nodded begrudgingly, it was a safe choice, but the specialists had a tendency to talk people's ears off. She scribbled some more, then checked for the next question. "The typical entrance field is 'exploration', though there are several options. Exploration, Gathering, Public Services, Agriculture, Medical, Business, Industrial."
She was already bringing her pen to write when he spoke up. "Exploration, though, is that changeable in the future?"
She perked up at the return of a question. "Oh, yes, you can always change your Familia's status as long as the guild is made aware of anything as soon as possible. Though you aren't restricted from doing work in other fields, just not as a primary focus Familia wide."
Eina smiled as did the other two, it wasn't often she got her own questions on the already rare Familia signups. Bell and Freya were relieved, at the very least, they knew they could change course if ever needed.
They were all happy with the answer given.
Eina cleared her throat. "So, as per every starting Familia, you will be listed as 'I' tier." They both nodded out of tone.
"And lastly would be the official title." She looked up towards the set of violet eyes. "Though, that is typically just your name, goddess."
Freya smiled. "Let's call it 'Vanadís Familia'."
Eina blinked.
Bell blinked.
Freya smiled.
"What?" Bell asked.
She turned to him. "That was one of my names back in Tenkai."
He blinked again. "One of?"
"Mhm!"
"I wasn't aware deities could have more than one name." Eina commented, speaking what was on Bell's own tongue.
The goddess turned her attention back across the coffee table. "Well, 'Freya' is my traditional name. But back before the existence of 'common' as a language, every one had their own way of saying just about every deity's name, I just happen to have liked that one." She almost seemed to puff up in pride, proud to have respect broad enough to garner multiple names.
Eina and Bell shared a small look to one another in the corner of their eyes, a nod shared between them.
"So, 'Freya Familia'?" Eina already started to write it down.
"Freya Familia." He confirmed.
"What?!" Freya shouted out her confusion.
Bell sighed. "We're not calling the Familia some other name you had centuries ago, that'll only confuse everyone."
She pouted. "B- But I have always wanted to call my Familia that name!"
"But that isn't your name."
"Yes, it is!"
He folded his arms. "So you wrote 'Vanadís' on your entry forms at the city gate?"
"Y-Yes…"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"No…" She slowly drooped.
He felt kind of bad after that, but it wasn't like he was just going to sit by and let her potentially make both their lives harder on a whim. He sighed openly before turning.
She was making a sour expression, eyes on the verge of tears and lip shaking a bit.
"We're not using that name, but… I'll… I'll let you make another request of me."
Like a deer in headlights, her pouting stopped, eyes going wide as saucers. "What are my limits?"
Bell flinched, somewhat scared of that question. "Can I have some time to think that over…?"
Freya pouted again but in a more reserved manner, then lifted her nose with a small frown. "Fine."
He smiled, though now felt he'd walked straight into a trap.
They both turned back to the still here Eina, each of them slowly realizing how improper their behavior had been thus far.
"Sorry…" He looked nervously to her.
"No, it's fine. It's best when a child and their deity get along as well, or as uniquely, as you two do."
They all looked back and forth for a few awkward moments.
Eina unclipped the paper from her board, setting the hard backing down on the table. "Well, goddess Freya, if you would please follow me, I will take you to see one of our Financial Consultants who can help explain Familia taxes and other obligations you will have."
They both stood, though Freya was very much still weighed down by the burden of her future choice. They made it to the door, and with a small clacking of wood, they were gone from the room.
He sat for some time in silence, his mind catching on observing the room itself to pass the time. There wasn't much at all to his surroundings but the two red couches and a coffee table, one of those weird 'analog' clocks on the wall. Sadly this topic of observation wore down regrettably quick.
Bell tapped his knees with firmly pressed hands, a melody not really forming though not for lack of effort.
The world was an interesting place, it only seemed to change by the day anymore. Not long ago he'd spent his days crawling through woods, treading mountain paths, and sleeping under the stars more often than not. Now he was here in Orario where he'd followed his goddess, was inside a city that was far larger than any he'd ever come across, and was even seeing numbers on a clock for the first time.
Of all the three, the last one was the toughest part for him. It was almost like he'd never once associated the passing of time with that of numbers on a circle over the course of Twenty-Three-Hundred years.
His eyes were closed, sighing openly within the silent room as seconds bleed to minutes, minutes to tens-of-minutes.
The door hinges creaked out once, rublette eyes opened, twisting his neck and spotting Eina reentering the meeting room. He smiled as she stepped along the dull whitish-gray flooring, the advisor carrying with her several more documents in arm.
He let that slide from his mind. "So what's first?"
"Well, we start with your registration form as an adventurer, assuming that's your intended field given your Familia's type?" She smiled.
He reciprocated, nodding to her once.
"Okay, so first off, do you know how to read and write?"
"Mmm, I do, though it's been… a while…" He smiled awkwardly.
"That's fine, I can do that for you, though it would be best to freshen up in that field sometime soon for your own sake. Assuming you're new to the city and don't already know this, there can be some occasions in Orario that knowing such is rather- beneficial."
He hummed in confirmation.
She looked down to the clipboard. "Okay, first off is 'Full Name'."
"Bell Cranel."
She wrote as it sounded. "No middle name?"
"No, mam"
"Race? Human, I assume?" She smiled, thinking it obvious.
He hesitated, face seeming more neutral, almost worrisome.
"E-... Elf."
She looked up towards him, pen stopping as it touched the paper, ink slowly spreading over the page. She looked up, eyes widening and drifting to the side, towards his ears.
His eyes slowly drooped towards his lap. "Sorry… I know they don't exactly look it…"
Her eyes shot back to his, taken off the rounded ears as any other race would have aside from most animal species. She couldn't help still flicking back to them unconsciously as she spoke. "No! I'm sorry for assuming, that must've been rather insulting, my apologies. You also have no reason to be apologizing for something that's my fault, so please don't!"
"..."
She looked at him, rather, she glared at him as he looked up towards her. She could see it in his eyes, how he wanted to say that it was, in fact, his fault, but the woman refused to relent. Bell was simply reduced to a nod so that they could continue on with his registration.
She took a moment, staring at him for a few moments longer, then looking down and speaking the next question softly. "Age?"
"...Eighteen."
She couldn't help but notice how he hesitated on that one, but the mood overall wasn't exactly inviting at the moment while jotting that down.
"Place of birth?" She asked, slightly closer to her normal voice.
The mood again soured, this time even worse than the last.
Bell simply stared at her again, Eina able to just tell by his eyes that he was expecting her to feel bad again for asking the questions she did. Bell slowly felt worse and worse for not taking up the responsibility of filling the sheet out himself as rusty as he was with common. In subtle contrast, Eina simply wanted to slam her head across the coffee table ahead, or on her clipboard, though on second thought that might break it.
Bell simply looked down and shook his head slowly.
Eina took a breath and stiffly nodded in confirmation, simply striking the box through.
For a split second, as her eyes crossed the next box, she considered a small joke, wanting to ask if he was in 'Vanadís Familia', but only feeling poorly for considering this. She simply marked down the correct name. Only one question was left, clearing her throat in the agonizingly quiet room.
"So, on the topic of dungeon advisors, I can provide a list of the best we have and-"
"Are you a dungeon advisor?" He cut her off.
She blinked in genuine surprise. "Y-Yes, I am…"
"Then, could you be my advisor?" He seemed nervous about the request.
She was somewhat stunned by him, having thought that he would want nothing to do with her after such… a rough first encounter.
"...If that's not too much of a burden on you, that is." He tacked on, more nervous than before.
She jumped in. "No! No, that would be fine, just as long as you're alright with me."
He sat for a moment, but nodded, something she was starting to wonder about. He did it an awful lot, was this a primary means of speaking for him? She was getting off topic.
"Okay. When would you like to start then?" She called out.
He looked between her eyes, left then right. "Start what?"
"You lessons." She seemed to catch on to his unawareness, Bell not realizing she would put him through her class whether he liked it or not. "I'll be educating you on the dangers faced when you enter the inner city, as well as the dungeon proper to an extent."
He seemed to sink back a bit, though not in a bad way, more so in an 'I'm in over my head, aren't I?' sort of way.
"Are you okay with that?"
He nodded.
"..."
"..."
"Well?" She asked.
He was confused, but spit out a quick. "Yes, mam!"
Eina sighed, but let herself smile.
…
As time passed, they began their lesson, Freya showing back up looking worse for wear given her recent lecture on the taxes she and him were now responsible for, an overwhelming process indeed.
Bell went on with Eina, learning some basics and being given rough maps of the areas he'd most likely end up, told to memorize them over the coming days. Eina wasn't exactly sure why Freya seemed so worried, eying the maps in Bell's hands, but she put it out of her mind soon enough.
Once enough time had passed Eina let him and by extension his goddess go, the two heading to the front desk and gathering information on lodging in both short and long term.
The first stop was an inn, the two establishing themselves for the evening and testing the waters, they'd decide tomorrow if they should return or seek a new abode for the coming days.
Next was food, it didn't take long for them to find a quaint pub along the main road, the food expensive but adequate and then some in proportions, Bell forcing himself not to order seconds simply by the quality of their dishes.
It had sadly grown far too late to wander Orario in search of the available real estate they had info on. The duo weren't exactly looking around for housing in the high-end district, so they weren't going to go snooping around in the dead of night.
They returned to their inn for the evening.
…
The attention of the guild staff wasn't a hard, nor easy thing to steal away. They often found the oddest things interesting, like a rare item being brought in rather than sold to a third party, an adventurer signing up with a unique or otherwise interesting race, or the most unlikely to them- someone coming back for the second lesson from Eina.
'The world must be going mad' Misha thought to herself, seeing as the half-elf led her brushed-off client from yesterday towards a meeting room for that day's lesson. Like usual, the pinkette simply shrugged, then went back to doing just enough to not bother anyone too much.
.
Bell closed the door, the second one inside, Eina going right over towards the file cabinet to scrounge up her lesson plans. The woman was somewhat excited today, she didn't often get to do more than what they covered already since people often dropped her as an advisor simply because she was far too thorough for their preference.
She pulled the binder out, a skip in her step as she turned towards Bell, quickly moving to sit opposite from him. Not a moment later, that energy swiftly was replaced by surprise, then a small hint of embarrassment. As she went to open the binder of dark blue, there was a… noticeable layer of dust across it except for where her fingers had smudged.
She chuckled awkwardly before turning it away, blowing as a cloud lifted to the air and filled the area off to the side. Bell hadn't even really noticed how the sun beamed into the room until now, speckles of dim reflection bouncing off the particles all around them now.
He gave a skeptical smirk. "Not many people take these lessons I assume?"
She could only feel more embarrassed by the moment, shaking her head shortly after. "No… Not many Familia's are just starting out like your's is, and even then, a lot tend to just ignore me or anyone else in the guild when saying they should be careful."
Bell's smile slipped away.
She continued. "I don't even get half as far as the others do though, being as strict as I tend to be, heh." She seemed to lower her own mood. "Are you sure you want me as your advisor? The others can be much easier to deal with…"
Bell nodded without a second thought.
She blinked in surprise even now. "Are you certain?"
Bell looked off to the side, thinking of what to say but not finding any better way to put it.
"Well… If I were to do that, I'm sure I'd go through that same awkward meeting phase again like we had yesterday, so I'd rather not switch it up now…"
Eina blinked, Bell blinked.
She deadpanned. "That's your reason…"
Bell felt embarrassed now, the tables turned so suddenly on him.
The half-elf smiled, eyes closing and neck tilting just barely.
"I suppose you won't mind going through my more thorough course then, yes?"
For some reason, Bell felt like he'd messed up.
.
The next two days rolled by easily enough.
Eina was rather thorough as she'd claimed, detailing everything he'd need to learn for a new adventurer with no seniors in his Familia. Bell was taught everything from the type, behavior, and weaknesses of monsters he'd face for the inner city along with the first few floors of the dungeon, to basic first aid that was heavily detailed in EIna's handmade guide book since the guild didn't provide those like the other resources.
All in all, Eina was ecstatic by the end that Bell hadn't simply pushed the lessons aside, beaming when he'd actually passed the practice test in preparation for her finals. None of this was 'required' by the guild at all, it was all Eina, and at the end of the second to last day, Bell could only feel he chose his advisor well.
…
Eina's heart was racing, an honest smile burning in her heart but not showing on the surface, too much worry in her mind was overshadowing any light from within.
Bell had managed to slug through her course, one which nobody had successfully gone through until, it would seem, now.
She cleared her throat before speaking. "Are you certain you're ready, Bell?"
"I-... am confident."
She eyed him with suspicion. "What was that pause?"
"..."
"It's the maps, right?" She questioned, tiredness in her voice.
He nodded.
Eina sighed. "Listen, Bell, I'll say it again for you. No matter how poorly you do on the maps, as long as you promise not to enter the dungeon-proper, I'll waive that part of the test, alright?"
He took a moment, but nodded. In the inner city, it wasn't all that hard to find your way out, but there were many unique dangers that lay in the shadows, a good few of which didn't exist in the dungeon.
"Good," Eina took another short glance to the sheets of paper ahead of him, the name he printed at one's top already leagues better than when they first started his writing practices. "You already know there's no time limit. Again, DON'T CHEAT. You'll only be endangering yourself in doing so."
She took one last breath, making it last as she mentally prayed over him, hoping to death she would actually see him pass.
The sound of her shoes clicking on the floor was all she heard, lost in thought before nearly closing the door behind her, the sound of him pulling the first page away to work on filling the silent room. She poked her head back in, spying him hunched over in the start of thought.
"Good luck, Bell…" She whispered out quieter than he should hear.
She closed the door, taking another long breath before heading down to the front counter, hoping with all her being that he'd pass.
"...Thank you…" Bell spoke out into the room.
Eina had no idea the boy had better hearing than her.
.
Bell had luckily arrived early in the morning to Eina's favor. She'd overslept this morning and not had time to eat, the perfect situation to have her stomach in knots. This meant that the sun was still very much in the early morning sky, rays of only slightly orange glow breaking into the guildhall.
The half-elf was waiting a little less than patiently, her foot bouncing and her body occasionally shifting in the seat of her desk. Her mind was far too occupied for the mundane work at her desk, simply leaning forward, hunched over herself, and wrinkling the bottom of her vest in the process.
She kept looking back to that clock above the main entrance, half standing to see over the tall main counter she'd met Bell the other day with his goddess, the same goddess that, if she recalled from Bell and her small talk, was out applying for jobs around Orario. She sighed, resing back down after spying 10:18 on the clock, a fair amount of the morning adventurers already off to make money, the guild once again silent of the ragtag few who came in during the morning.
Looking back at the hall which Bell was in, she was starting to wonder if perhaps she'd made her lessons too strict? Maybe she was a little over the top as everyone had said… Even with the allotted room she'd given, not counting the maps when she did grade the papers, she wondered if that'd be enough…
Bell was atrocious with maps, it'll take her a month to get him to her standards, and as an adventurer, he's got to go out and earn money, not sit in a room and study, so she'd make that sacrifice in the name of getting him out there. Just as long as he stopped in every morning and afternoon to make sure he gets in and out in an orderly fashion.
"...Eina!..." A whisper came.
She blinked, eyes fluttering behind black-framed glasses. She turned, finding a mop of white hair poking out from behind the hallway corner.
Eina all but shot up and started with a forcibly calmed haste towards him, dragging him back to the room under the assumption of completion.
.
' Bell Cranel - - - - - Grade : 92.4 - - - - - 16 / 5 / 2 / 1012 '
She couldn't believe it, simply sitting there in shock of it, the boy who couldn't read a map right for the life of him somehow had managed to get half the points from said mapping skills section.
"Did I pass?" He asked from her side, the woman having been silent for some time.
She turned to him in a blink, slowly coming to terms with this, a smile creeping fast onto her. "Yes… Yes! You did!" She was genuinely happy but concerned at the same time.
To reiterate, Bell was bad with maps, and to put it mildly, he just pulled off a small miracle with this one.
.
It was kind of hard to hand over that badge, the one which would allow him access to the most dangerous area of Genkai currently known, but he'd earned it, probably more so than most people in Orario honestly. The general consensus around the guild was that her standards were far too high for the advisee she was given, but miraculously he'd passed all her tests aside from mapping of course, that would need work till the day he retired, of which she sincerely hoped would be his end, rather than the alternative.
But at the end of the day, it was him that walked away towards those large doors of the guild, back turned to her, not seeing how scared for him she was. The guild worker was more confident in his abilities than most that she'd encountered, simply by his willingness to go through such lessons alone, but that didn't necessarily mean he'd taken it all to heart as he should've.
Only time would tell, and that time was coming later today when he was to return and exchange his crystals.
…
He blinked.
She blinked.
They both blinked.
"Did I do something wrong?"
She didn't respond.
"M-Miss Rose? Hello?" He lifted his hand, knocking on the shutters to try and get her attention.
"..."
"..."
"EINAAA-!" Rose called out in a huff, spooking Bell and everyone else for that matter in the relatively calm guildhall early in the afternoon, long before most adventurers return from their work.
The redheaded werewolf rose up and marched off, heading deeper into the guild with a bee in her bonnet. Bell wanted to follow after her from across the counter, but his magic crystals were still sitting in the drawer out in the open, he couldn't just leave them there. His head flipped back and forth, from drawer to quickly disappearing long red curls, ending as she finally did disappear in full.
He was forced to wait on her, the commotion returning as Rose all but dragged the half-elf around to the exchange area. Bell could only watch in confusion as his advisor was motioned to look at the drawer sitting between the two, still open on his side of the divider. They stared, and stared, and stared, Bell getting progressively more uncomfortable while the two seemed overly confused by the sight of crystals piled up to the drawer's top.
"Did I… do something… wrong?"
Slowly, they each looked up.
"Bell-" Eina had a worried sound to her words. "-where did you get all of this?"
He blinked, the answer seeming obvious, but nonetheless answering. "From monsters."
She took a second. "That you killed?"
He nodded, though she seemed to not find the simple response enough. "Yes, I killed the monsters they are from."
She looked back down at the pile.
"Did he steal them?" Rose asked to Eina.
"No, he's a terrible liar, he couldn't have, we'd know for sure…"
Bell didn't know whether to be offended or… well he was just offended. "I didn't steal them!"
They both looked to him for a moment, then sunk back down to the drawer.
"You sure?" The werewolf asked again to the half-elf.
"I'm confident at the least."
'The least?!' Bell thought to himself.
Eina seemed to realize her situation finally. "E-Ah- S-Sorry, but, Bell…" He met her eyes, finding more disbelief than he'd have liked to in them. "You honestly did all this yourself?"
For a moment, he wasn't sure if telling the truth was a great idea, but honestly what else was he going to say? "Yes, who else would have?"
"..."
"..."
"Bullshit." Rose blurted out.
Both Eina and Bell flinched back away from her.
"Rose!" Eina protested.
"What?! You really think a wet behind the ears kid can just waltz in on his first full day with a few thousand valis in crystals and not find that a little suspicious?"
Bell looked to Eina, the woman silently staring back at Rose who crossed her arms, the half-elf slowly succumbing to the suspiciousness of the event.
"...Are you serious Eina?" Bell asked in a deadpan.
"Well, it's not exactly normal for someone's first day Bell!"
He sighed. "Alright, well, what do I need to do so that you'll both believe me?"
"..."
"..."
"Really?" He asked, both of them slowly seeming more guilty by the moment. "You put me through all this and have nothing? No way for me to prove my innocence?"
They all stared back and forth, until Rose broke the silence. "Fine! I'll give you the full exchange, but I'm not dropping how suspicious this all is!"
Bell sighed but accepted the outcome, figuring it the best he could get under the circumstances.
"...Your total is 4,380 valis…" The werewolf stared down the boy.
He could only sigh.
…
A/N
Thank you for reading, I hope this wasn't terrible, it was mostly me slugging through this chapter as the good stuff I want to write starts soon, sorry if it was a bore.
I do hope it was at least somewhat enjoyable at one point or another, thanks again for giving me this time in your day, I really do appreciate it tremendously!
For those of you coming back to see this new content, I really do appreciate it, and I hope this is of your liking thus far.
.
That will be all from me today, I want to get another chapter out soon, though I won't say when. I promise not to do such a long disappearing act ever again until this story is finished.
.
Please be well everyone!
Have a great Thursday/Friday and an even better weekend!