Timeless

Time seemed to have stopped after a pink-cheeked Ais closed her eyes. Bell watched on as he admired his crush from inches away. As his body move by itself, he kissed her softly on the lips. The tomato-red Ais did not resist or protest, so he stole a few more kisses from his crush.

Freya was completely devastated. She knew this could eventually happen, but she did not expect it to happen so soon. With Ottar in the dungeon preparing a test for Bell, there was no one to comfort her. Part of her wanted to be in a pillar of light going back to heaven, but she could not help but continued watching the two.

After kissing, the super-red Bell and Ais eventually got up though both could no longer look each other in the eye. Their relationship had taken an irreversible turn. But they still had to train and so they did. There were still more lap pillows to be had! After their training, they decided to go to dinner at the Hostess.

When the two walked into the Hostess, the entire restaurant became quiet. One could literally hear a pin drop. Never in Orario has anyone seen Ais Wallenstein on dinner date alone with a boy, and any idiot could tell there was chemistry between the two. Syr was beyond green with envy while Ryuu smirked at the popular boy. With Syr a mess, Ryuu took care of the two for the dinner.

Still unable to look each other in the eye, Bell and Ais talked all dinner about getting stronger and strategies in the dungeon. Eventually, the restaurant returned to its noisy state, but poor Syr could not regain her composure. After delivering their main course, Ryuu did talked to the two for a short while and gave Bell some advice about how to level up. After dinner, they walked towards the Babel. They were able to hold hands in the dark, which added to the mood. When it was time to go home, Bell gave Ais a small kiss, and they said their good nights.

That evening, Freya and Ottar went to update Bell, and she was shocked by the latest jump in his stats. He had reached s for all his stats. The Kenki had apparently turbo-charged his feelings. Bell was ready to level, but needed to achieve something worthy in the eyes of the gods. Apparently kissing Ais was not enough. And it had been only 20 days since receiving her falna.

Melancholy Freya "Congratulations, little one. You have reached s in all your stats. You are more than ready to level once you have achieved some single accomplishment worthy of level 2."

Bell "Thank you for all your support, Goddess Freya."

Freya "You will know it when the opportunity presents itself"

Bell "Yes, I will try my best"

Ottar "If something tough happens, remember what got you there in the first place. Do not give in to fear."

Bell "Yes, Lord Ottar"

- On the Last Day of Training -

This was the day before Ais goes off on a deep expedition. Bell had improved tremendously during their training. He was able to react much faster and got a lot stronger. However, there continued to be many lap pillows and also another nap training.

After more intense moments during their nap, it was time for their last sparring session. The sparring was more heated as Bell learned to defend using Ais' parry techniques. For the first time, he was able to counterattack, making a small scratch on Ais' breastplate.

Surprised Ais "This is your first time counterattacking. I must now return to my familia to get ready for the expedition"

The two then headed back into town. Bell walked Ais to the Twilight Manor, and found a private spot a block away.

Bell looking serious "Please be safe"

Ais was happy with his concern "You too, be safe" and gave Bell a kiss for the first time.

After which, there was a longer kiss before separating. What they did not notice was a certain elf that was spying on them in an extremely black mood.

Bell then went to meet Lili for their afternoon dungeon session. His improvement resulted in more and more success. They made more and more money, as a smiling Eina was completely amazed by their progress.

That night, Bell and Lili went to dinner at the Hostess, earning more whispers from the waitresses at the pub. Syr was in disbelief about the start of a harem that Bell was building. Ryuu then teased her about it being a harem of at least 3, making Syr upset.

- The Next Day -

With training ended, Bell and Lili left early for the dungeon. When they reached the Babel, they saw a large number of Hephaestus members and Loki members waiting for the start of their mission. Bell was hoping to see Ais, but she had not yet arrived. Thus they headed down the dungeon and eventually reached the 10th floor.

Suddenly, adventurers started screaming about a minotaur. As Bell and Lili looked around, a powerful bull monster headed for them. With his PTSD trauma of bull monsters, Bell froze unable to react, forcing Lili to push him aside when the mino attacked. The fall injured Lili and so Bell had to protect her. As he battled the bull, he screamed for Lili to run so that they could eventually escape. After Bell yelled at her to run, Lili ran away to find help...

At that point, the Loki familia executives was heading down the dungeon in 2 groups. The lead group included Finn, Riveria, Ais, Bete, Tiona and Tione. When they reached the 7th floor, there were adventurers running up screaming minotaur. After some questioning, they told the Loki executives that the bull was attacking a white hair boy on the 10th floor when they ran away.

Hearing that, Ais saw red and with the word "tempest" in full ariel towards the 10th floor. When she reached the floor, she saw Lili who pleaded with her to save Bell-sama. At that time, a large Boaz suddenly stood in the way.

Ais "Lord Ottar, I need to get through"

Ottar "Kenki, I cannot do that. My familia is having a training session and we cannot allow you to interrupt the training"

Desperate Ais "I must get through", activating Ariel and even resorted to lil lafarga.

However, Ottar was able to resist her wind and actually knocked her back. At that point, Tiona, Tione and Bete caught up to them. As they converged on Ottar, 4 pallums joined Ottar in blocking their way.

Ottar "Before we start a familia war for the wrong reason, I know of your close relations with the boy", which shocked Ais and everyone else in the group.

Ottar continued "Do not be concerned, we value him as much as you do. We are training him and will not allow him to be killed or injured badly. I can bring you to the battle, but you must not join in", at that time, Finn and Riveria arrived.

Finn "That is fine. We will follow you."

When they arrived, they saw Bell squaring off with the mino, and there were already 4 people watching from a standoff distance away to avoid being noticed. When they saw who those 4 people were, they were shocked...