—
"Alright… you know the drill…"
Loki waved a finger in the air as she mused absentmindedly.
"Okay… but, Lady Loki?"
The trickster goddess looked up from where she lay sprawled out in the middle of her bed.
"Yeah?"
Bell's hands crossed at his waist, his fingers lightly twitching at the hem of his shirt.
"…do you mind, uh, moving over a bit?"
She blinked in confusion, before letting out a long sigh.
"Gods, how many times have I told you, I don't need to straddle you to update your status!"
The boy's shoulders jumped up as Loki raised her voice. She pulled herself up and patted the edge of the bed. As Bell sat and pulled up his shirt, she couldn't help but mutter one last comment under her breath.
"Hmph… I'd only consider doing that for someone like Aizu…"
"Huh? Sorry, what did you say?"
"Nothin', Bell, nothin' at all. Lets just take a look at your status…"
It hadn't been too long since the boy's last status update - just before the expedition, actually - but as she gently touched his back she couldn't help but feel excited.
Now… lets see how much you've grown this time…
She pricked her finger with her divining needle, drawing out a tiny scarlet bead of blood. She raised an eyebrow as Bell twitched slightly, watching his shoulders pull back while she drew her finger across his skin.
The corner of her mouth lifted slightly as she remembered the first time he had come to them. The dying, helpless boy who'd been brought before her in Ais' arms was gone. In his place sat someone almost entirely different, yet at the same time still the same. Her eyes flicked left and right, tracing his body. Her warm vermillion eyes brushed over the outline of his arms and the shape of his shoulders.
Her smile grew as she finished her walk down memory lane, and continued to attend to her child's status.
Looks like you've gone and grown some, huh?
A brilliant blue light emitted from his back. The emblem of the Jester, her insignia, had begun to glow. Hovering above his skin was a wall of text, shining and sparkling like a mini light show.
Her eyes swept over the projection from side to side, watching as the numbers and letters began to scramble together and scroll into place.
"Hey, Loki…?"
Bell fidgeted slightly where he sat.
"Yeah? Stop moving."
She lightly cuffed the side of his head.
"I've just been thinking about the Evils again…"
"Oh have you now?"
She continued to watch the numbers roll around and swirl to a stop.
"Yeah. I dunno, I just haven't heard anything from the Captain…"
"Mhmm…"
"…and I heard some other guys talking about how there's supposedly another big expedition coming up…"
"Uh huh…"
"…but I just… I just feel weird, I can't describe it, I — "
"Hey Bell…?"
She stopped and poked him lightly.
"Yeah?"
"Don't worry about those bad guys, aight?"
He lifted his head, turning slightly only to be met with another gentle slap on the side of his head.
"All you need to worry right now is about yourself…"
She pressed a piece of parchment to his skin and watched as the black ink slowly faded into view.
"…and how you're gonna keep on gettin' stronger, okay?"
Holy…
She fell silent as she looked at the page.
Wait… this can't be right…
"Loki…?"
She felt her pounding heart begin to pick up speed as her breath got caught in her throat. She had expected to be impressed, of course, but seeing it before her still made her second guess her eyes.
"…Bell… you…"
Boom!
"—Ah!"
"What the…?!"
Bell almost fell to the side as the bed shook.
"Was that an explosion!?"
The room itself shook as tremors continued to spread through the floor and walls. Overhead, the brilliant crystal chandeliers had begun to lightly swing like pendulums. The paintings on the wall rattled and threatened to fall off their hooks.
"Hold on Loki, stay here!"
Bell jumped to his feet and slipped his shirt back on before moving towards the door.
"L-Lady Loki!"
Before he could reach it, the door was flung open.
"It's terrible! T-The fire..!"
Lefiya had all but thrown herself into the room, her frantic eyes passing over Bell and focusing on Loki.
"Slow down Lefiya, what happened!"
"Ais… she… all by herself…!"
Ais…?
Without waiting to hear another word, Bell slipped past the mage and disappeared down the hall.
"S-Sorry! Excuse me!"
"Wait! Your status!"
"Loki! There's no time for that!"
The goddess turned her eyes back to Lefiya as she stood and looked her over.
"Ais… she took Bete's… and..!"
The goddess reached out and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her back and forth.
"Lefiya! Pull. Yourself. Together. And tell me what the hell is going on!"
"Ah, okay, um, so Ais wanted to bake a cake…"
Wait, what?
"…so Tione jokingly told her that she needed to use fire magic to bake it, but then she took Bete's magic dagger…"
"…oh…"
She blinked and let go.
"W-What…?"
"Is that all?"
"What do you mean is that all!?"
Loki fell back down to her bed with a laugh.
"It's horrible! There's fire everywhere, and the whole kitchen is covered in burn marks, and — are you even listening to me!?"
The goddess sighed as she brought Bell's status paper up to her face, looking at the writing once more while she ignored Lefiya's frantic screaming.
"Geeze… these brats, growing up so fast. 'Yer making me feel like Riveria…"
—
"…so that's where those expenses came from."
Loki sighed, her head in her hands as she rested her elbows on her desk. In front of her, Finn was flipping through a very large stack of papers and documents, pointing out sections from his budget report.
"…and then these next ones come from the kitchen fires from earlier today."
He turned the sheet around to face her, tapping a certain highlighted section with his finger.
"Included here is equipment and building repair costs, compensation for Bete's dagger, and more therapy costs for Raul. Any questions?"
Loki lifted her head, groaning aloud as she pressed her palms against her face.
"Uuuughhh, yeah, just one."
She leaned back in her chair, turning her eyes look up at the ceiling.
"Why?"
Finn blinked in confusion.
"Sorry, why what?"
"Why everything."
"Loki…"
"No, no! Hear me out!"
She flew forward in her seat, lifting a finger in response to the prum's tired sigh.
"If we could just get through the rest of the report…"
"But that's. So. Boring! I don't even get why we have to have these meetings. Just pay what we gotta pay!"
She stood up spreading her arms and turning to look at Gareth who sat next to Finn, his eyes closed and his chin dropped to rest against his chest.
"You agree with me, right!?"
"—Ah, huh, wait, what? I'm here!"
"Exactly!"
Gareth stammered as he woke up, turning his head to look side to side.
"Loki…"
"And you! Riveria! Aren't you tired of sitting through these meetings when you could be, uh, yelling at Lefiya or something?!"
The high elf remained as composed as ever, merely tilting her head and lifting her eyes in response to Loki's proclamation.
"She's with me too! No more boring meetings!"
"Loki… you can't keep doing this just because you know what's coming next."
The goddess froze.
"Ah…"
Without skipping a beat, Finn carried on, flipping to the next page.
"And over here, you'll see my dedicated 'Loki' section…"
Gareth and Riveria leaned forward, interest once more glowing in their eyes as they looked to the copies of the report in their hands.
"Yeah, uh, Finn, we don't… we don't have to…"
The prum just smiled.
"Starting off with the biggest charges, we have, wow, 133 million Valis racked up from food and drink - mainly drink by the way…"
Gareth whistled as he read it out again.
"Wow Loki… that's even more than Tiona's Urga, ain't it?"
Riveria laughed a little as Gareth spoke up.
"When even a dwarf such as yourself thinks it's a bit much—"
"Okay, okay! Next one! Let's just get this over with."
Loki pressed her hands to her ears and sat back down, resting her chin on the desk again.
"If you insist. Ooh, next one isn't cheap either - Ais' dress…"
"Hey! She was gorgeous in that dress - I don't regret a thing!"
"Lets just move onto the next charge, shall we?"
Loki groaned once more as the Prum continued to shame her.
—
"And there we have it. Over 350 million Valis that needs to be accounted for."
"Aghh! You don't need to keep saying that number!"
Loki tore at her hair frantically as the three in front of her continued to laugh. Embarrassment and shame continued to fill her body as they made no attempt to hide their amusement.
"Well, when the others come asking why they need to work overtime in the dungeon, I'll just send them your way, okay?"
She hung her head in defeat.
"…okay…"
"But now, onto a more exciting topic."
Loki lifted her head, her ashamed expression a thing of the past. Her crimson eyes glinted as her lips curled into a slight smile. It was a common expression for them to see. Her misleading smile accompanied by that serious, some would say scheming, look in her eyes.
Likewise, Riveria and Gareth lifted their heads and turned their eyes to Finn as he spoke and unfurled a map of the city across the desk.
"We've had our scouts tearing through known Evil hideouts, used in both past and present, and yet we can't find any trace of them remaining. They most likely withdrew deeper into the dungeon following our last expedition."
He pointed to several areas on the west side of the city, each marked by a red circle.
"These points which we've come to know as the multiple entrances to Knossos have remained under surveillance between our and Hermes Familia's forces."
He moved his finger to rest over a cluster of black circles on the east side.
"These ones are being watched by Freya Familia since they fall within their territory. As of now, none of our allies have reported any suspicious behavior or remnant movement whatsoever."
He continued on, lifting his hand from the map.
"The enemy forces have taken a tremendous blow to their chain of command and manpower following our last expedition. Losing Revis, Ein, Olivas Pact, as well as their Demi Spirit should have crippled their forces. While we definitely haven't seen the last of them, I think it's safe to say that they won't be making any aggressive moves in the near future."
Loki nodded, pressing a finger to her lips.
"So as for the Remnants, now we've got some breathing room then."
"Yes."
"And… what of the ol' man?"
Riveria and Gareth looked at each other, sharing a silent conversation between them.
"We've commissioned as many explorers, trackers, and seekers as we could, but none have returned with any sure sightings yet."
He placed a folded piece of paper on the table.
"But. We do have this."
"Ooh, a letter? I love letters."
"I'm not sure if you can even call this a lead, but… one of our hired trackers returned after more than a year on the road with only this to show for it…"
Loki held the weathered piece of paper up in her hands.
"Geeze… this looks like its been to hell and back - is this blood?"
She squinted as she looked it over, consciously avoiding placing her fingers on the suspiciously reddish brown stain on the bottom right of the page. Some of the words had faded slightly, but otherwise, it was still completely readable.
"To Captain Finn… yada yada… I've travelled the land and sea… blah blah blah… uh huh…uh huuuh…"
She sighed and smiled wearily as she finished the letter.
"Gah… gibberish. Who cares if some random farmer halfway across the world caught a big fish."
Finn nodded.
"That's what I thought too, but since I didn't really know him personally I could be wrong."
"Eh. We weren't particularly close either, buuut I'll just keep it just in case."
Beside him, Riveria picked up the letter and scanned through it quickly.
"Well, no rush. It's a big world after all."
Loki leaned back in her chair, crossing her hands behind her head. She smiled as her mind continued to spin, simply thinking and planning for the future.
"I just can't help wondering, though… where is he now, what he's doing…"
I could always torture Hermes until he gives me something…
She froze, falling silent before sitting up straight and leaning forward.
"What about the other one - the big one?"
Finn shook his head disappointedly.
"Same thing, even less actually. It's trouble enough finding adventurers willing to hunt it down, and the few who've actually taken the job have all returned empty handed."
"Damn. I would've thought that with all the money we're putting into this search effort, someone would've found something by now…"
She picked the letter back up, her fingers gently tracing the lines of text inscribed on the paper.
Where are you…
She blinked slowly, breathing easily as she dropped the letter into her drawer.
You're not makin' this easy on us, old man…
—
"Pfft…"
"Don't laugh at me."
"Sorry…"
"It's not funny."
"It kinda is though…"
"Bell."
Bell laughed as Ais sat next to him, black and grey streaks of ash still blended with her golden hair. They sat up top on the city wall, enjoying their day off and simply relaxing in each other's presence. They leaned their backs against the warm sunbaked bricks of the rampart, slowly picking at the cake placed on the ground between them.
"Where did you get this cake anyways?"
Bell poked a strawberry with his fork, lifting the sweet berry topped with a small spiral of whipped cream to his lips.
"Riveria made it for me after she put out all of the fire."
He looked up in surprise.
Huh… I never would've thought…
"That's cool…"
They sat in silence for a little longer, slowly chipping away at the cake.
"Oh, did you update your status?"
Bell laughed again.
"Ahah… yeah…"
"And…?"
"Well, I ran out before I could see because I heard someone bombed the kitchen."
Ais shook her head and smiled lightly.
"…"
"…"
He leaned his head back to rest against the brick wall behind him.
"So… what's next…?"
She turned to look at him.
"…what do you mean…?"
Bell lifted his hand in front of his eyes, opening and closing his fist. He squeezed down for a few seconds, tensing his hand before letting go and relaxing.
"Well… I never thought that I'd actually come this far, you know…? All that stuff about being an adventurer, about becoming stronger, about becoming a Hero - it was all just a dream."
He flipped his hand around and repeated the motion.
"And so, I find it funny that here I am - after everything we've gone through, that dream - well, it isn't just dream anymore."
He froze, quickly turning to look at Ais with an almost worried expression on his face.
"W-Wait, ah, well, I'm not saying I'm already a Hero, or I'm done or anything, it's just…"
He stammered quickly, his face reddening as he thought of how his words must've sounded like.
"I understand…"
Ais nodded with a smile, relieving him of his meaningless worry. Of all the words she could describe him as, arrogant wasn't one of them. He flashed her a small thankful smile before continuing.
"It's just… now… these adventures that before I only could've dreamed of having - they seem so far behind me. And… well, it feels weird that I'm just impatiently waiting for the next one to come along…"
Ais placed her fork down on her plate with a tiny metal tink. Before her, Bell dropped his head as he desperately tried to express his confused feelings.
He was coming to her, seeking her counsel. Just that tiny thought sparked a slight warmth in her chest.
"I think… that it just goes to show how much you've grown…"
She spoke softly, in a gently and reassuring tone.
"You're not the same person as you were all those years ago. Anyone can see that."
She watched as he let his hand fall to his lap.
"As for adventures - there are always more enemies… always more obstacles to overcome…"
His rubbelite eyes turned to the sky, reflecting the same rosy color as the setting sun.
"You just have to keep on moving forward. Eventually, you'll find another block in the road. Either that, or it'll find you."
It would be a lie to say that her words were entirely her own. This question, this feeling of longing and anticipation was one that she herself had felt before. When that strange sensation overtook her, it was Riveria who had calmed her thoughts. And now, it was her turn to do the same for him.
"There's no need to feel impatient. You're not expected to always know what's coming."
Shff.
Bell turned his head to see Ais move the empty cake box out of the way before shifting over closer to him.
"But if you're wondering what I think is next…"
She rolled a small knife in her hands. Like a miniature sword, it glinted silver as it caught the fading light. Bell watched as she passed it hand to hand, wielding it as if it were a proper sword.
"Those remnants that we faced… we haven't seen the last of them."
She tilted her head forward a bit, letting a few strands of golden hair fall and hang before her. Her eyes focused on the small knife, her golden eyes as cold as the steel in her hands. As Bell watched, she gently ran a finger over the edge of the knife, tracing the smooth shape.
"But Evils or not, they're just another stepping stone towards the final fight."
"…Final...fight?"
She turned her eyes upward, looking to some unseen far-away figure.
"Yeah… against the greatest 'evil' of this world…"
—
"Oh, before I forget. I heard you updated Bell's status?"
Click.
Riveria stopped mid stride at the doorway, turning around and letting the door swing shut behind her. Gareth, as well, sat back down in his seat. His brown eyes focused on the goddess still seated behind her desk, eagerly awaiting her response.
Loki looked up from her desk's bottom drawer where she had begun to file away Finn's massive stack of papers.
"Hmm? Oh yeah… I was wondering when you were gonna ask."
She smiled as she pulled a folded paper out of the drawer.
"Here it is."
She looked down at the sheet in her hands, her eyes once more running over lines of text, tracing the words over and over again.
"And here ya go. Enjoy."
She placed the paper down and spun it so that it faced them. Riveria had sat down a little too quickly, her body betraying the calm demeanor that she was known for. The three leaders of the Loki Familia leaned forward, their eyes widening as they took in the status sheet before them.
"Oh ho…"
Gareth brought a hand to his chin, running his fingers down his beard as he chuckled softly to himself.
"That kid…"
Riveria's eyes softened as she read the sheet. She pressed a hand over her mouth in an attempt to hide the upward curl of her lips.
"What do we have here…?"
Finn smiled, bringing his thumb to his lips as his gleaming blue eyes shone with interest.
Loki's grin only widened as she watched her three most trusted advisors' reactions.
"Eh? EHH!? Whaddya guys think!? He's quite somethin' huh?!"
Gareth leaned back in his chair, slapping his hands against his knees with a laugh.
"These kids, they're makin' us look bad!"
Riveria remained silent, but Loki's discerning eyes saw through her companion's face in an instant.
"Wait a second, Loki - what does this mean?"
Finn tapped the final line on the page, raising his head to the deity.
"You're asking the wrong person for that."
She merely shrugged in response, turning her eyes to look at the emerald eyed mage across from her.
"I... Well… I've been looking at it a bit, but…"
Riveria shook her head.
"I don't know what it means."
"Really? Nothin'?"
"Psh, all that time spent with yer nose in a book and—"
"Shut it dwarf. It's just not in the form of hieroglyphs or any other script I know. In fact, I can't even tell what language it is - I've never seen this kind of writing before."
She crossed her arms, obviously irritated by the fact that the words on the paper escaped her vast knowledge - a rare occurrence in itself.
"If given time, I can probably attempt a rough interpretation, but that's about it. I recall Lord Miach doing something similar for that prophet girl of his."
"Eh, whatever. We can always figure it out later."
Finn tapped the paper, bringing their attention back to the subject at hand.
"So… then this means…"
Loki sighed with a weary smile.
"Yeah. I hate to say it, but Hermes was right."
The Braver and Nine Hell. The Warlord and the Sword Princess - and now, or seemingly soon, their very own adorable rabbit. Never before had such an outstanding group of heroes and warriors of the finest caliber been assembled. Just as the Messenger God had repeatedly proclaimed, a new era was coming - one ushered in by the greatest generation of adventurers in history.
He had spread his joyous revelation to deities all throughout the city, and depending on who you asked, that tidal wave of a new era was either non existent or right around the corner. Hermes, along with Loki, was a firm believer in the latter.
"Change is coming - perhaps sooner than we may think. This kid proves that much."
She rested her palm on the desk, drumming her fingers along the paper. It was strange, for sure, that Bell had this ability to grow in leaps and bounds. But as she took a step back to look at the bigger picture, she found herself agreeing with Hermes. She could see that, inevitably, this boy would end up standing amongst legends such as Ottarl and her very own captain. This boy, this child, that no one believed in - he would take the city by storm, and nobody would see him coming.
"Ya hear that Finn? I'm counting on you to keep the Familia in tip top shape!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm not planning on being left behind just yet."
Loki smiled as her captain shook his head wearily.
"Damn, and here I thought we were just 'bout ready to retire…"
"Heh, you can't hang up the axe just yet old man…"
The whole situation was still unbelievable. It seemed simply too good to be true. While the other gods and goddesses amused themselves with whispers and rumors of heroes such as Ottarl and Finn, Loki had stumbled upon a hidden gem. Now, she held a new piece to the puzzle - a new variable that would change the game entirely. She had no doubts left in her mind that Bell was destined for something great. It was only just a matter of time before his name was known to every person in the city.
I haven't felt this excited in years…!
She almost shivered at the thought of the grand adventurers she would be able to witness. It was the reason why she had left heaven in the first place.
Her eyes flickered back and forth between the three executives leaving her office.
With them by my side, as well as the others…
She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her racing heart beat inside her chest.
This is going to be fun…!
—
Bell Cranel:
Level 5
Strength: ɪ 0
Endurance: ɪ 0
Dexterity: ɪ 0
Agility: ɪ 0
Magic: ɪ 0
Skills:
Liaris Freese
Invictus Amor
—
Pardon my Latin.
It roughly translates to "Indomitable Love"
Not sure where it's gonna lead to, might end up removing it.
I mentioned Cassandra as Miach's child, since one of her skills is supposedly undecipherable and she herself doesn't know what it means. Probably gonna keep the same thing with Bell, since I'm running on fumes right now on what to write next besides the OEBD and Zeus.
We'll see what happens, but anyways thanks for reading :D
