Is It Wrong To Train With Another Familia?


Author's Note: Ahh, this has been a while hasn't it? I actually wrote a good deal of this while I was overseas, I figured when I got back it'd be just a few days or a week or so and I'd have this out, but then I got caught up with a private request that took an enormous amount of time and energy. But that's done now, and I've been able to get back into this and finish this chapter off, finally!

It's a long time coming, but maybe a bit too big. I've been really careful so far to try keep my chapters between about 10-15k words, this one's a bit longer than that. And I'm trying very hard for that not to be a precedent, hopefully the next one will be smaller. I actually didn't quite manage to push the plot forwards as far as I wanted and introduce the next girl, but I think the sex scene here is a bit fun and different and hopefully you'll enjoy it. Next time will be the next girl, guaranteed, for sure.

It should be quite an eventful chapter anyway, so I hope you enjoy it!


Filvis sighed, loudly.

"I don't understand what I'm expected to do. I have already shown you around the city."

She wasn't usually one to complain, especially not about something she'd agreed to herself. But this was a frustrating enough circumstance that she was making an exception.

Once again, she had been sent out to slip through Orario's shadows, to steal away to the Hestia Familia and pass another secret missive to the legendary Maiden of Silence, Alfia.
And then, once again, she'd been told to leave her cloak behind, walk boldly through the main throughfare and to take Bell Cranel on a date.

She'd thought it a cruel extension of the silver-haired woman's humour the first time it had happened, but she was beginning to get the impression that Alfia intended to make a habit of this. As if she truly had nothing more pressing or interesting to do with her time than to walk the boy around the city, or… or whatever it was she was supposed to do on a date. Of course, she'd agreed without hesitation, or reservation. She knew very well her God would have instructed the same. Humouring the Incarnation of Talent was a small price to pay to bring the level seven adventurer on her side.

Despite her gripes, and despite herself, she hadn't found her first "date" with Bell Cranel to be particularly troublesome. If anything, she'd found him to be a surprisingly kind and generous soul, and she'd found herself liking his company enough that she could have seen her old self taking something of a liking to him. She hadn't resented the time she'd spent with him. But equally, she'd had no wish to repeat it. Even aside from the strike at her dignity, being outright goaded into "dating" a human, she wasn't sure how to act, or what expectations were even being placed upon her.

In short, Filvis was annoyed. And she was dealing it by being prickly to the man currently walking at her side.

Bell Cranel, the young adventurer in question and the sole Hestia Familia member, laughed awkwardly at her complaint, scratching his head as he tried to sort out an appropriate response.

Having decided mentally to put his liaisons with Hestia -like the previous night where she'd led him back to the bookshop once again- into a category all to their own, this was Bell's fourth date since coming to Orario. If he was to be generous to himself, he could even add onto that, that it was his second date with the same girl. He was sure there was definitely something to be proud of about that, he was certainly well ahead of any expectations he'd had for his time in the city so far… but as with his previous reckoning, the context of the date was proving to be the sticking point. So far, Filvis was no more open with him than she had been last time, and if anything, she seemed even more standoffish.

Alfia had sent them out on their first date to have her show him around the city, something he'd greatly appreciated and ensured he remembered as much of as he could. But this morning they'd just been sent out and so far, they'd done little more than simply wander aimlessly.

Following his own desires, as well as his Guardian's advice, that he needed to understand more about Elves, he'd asked her as much as he thought he could about Elven culture or ways of life, and received answers somewhere between dismissive and brusque. It hadn't really been a date plan, or a suggestion, so he imagined she'd just thought he was being curious and hadn't bothered to humour him.

But then, she'd hardly been more receptive to the plans he'd managed to come up with.

She'd turned down his suggestion of getting breakfast at a café.
She'd expressed zero interest in watching the performers set up along the main street.
And she'd vehemently rejected the idea of getting breakfast at the Hostess of Fertility.

Which left them currently wandering, without goal or intention, along the Bridge of Heroes, as he tried his very best to think of either an engaging conversation topic, or a suitable plan.

Knowing that Filvis had been pushed into this date, while also knowing that her pride would be far too great to back down from it, Bell was doing his very best to try make it as enjoyable for her as possible. But, for all his earnestness and effort, he was hardly a wellspring of creative dating ideas and to have something like this sprung on him without any chance to seek out for advice had left him well and truly out of his depth.

After the way their first date ended, and with his mind so occupied with everything that'd happened since, it had just never occurred to him that he might wind up on a second date with Filvis, so he'd never given it any thought. Already he'd mentally made a note to improve on that in the future, it was definitely a good idea to have some plans in mind, or at least something he could fall back on at short notice. Perhaps this was something he could ask Eina for help with? She was meant to be his advisor after all, and as Alfia had explained, it was an Adventurer's job to rest properly when outside the dungeon… somehow, he doubted Eina would agree with that logic, but there weren't exactly a lot of other people he could ask for help.

"Uh, well…" he fumbled around, reaching for anything that might leap out to him, "You could teach me some Elvish?"

She stopped in place, turning to consider him. Her eyes narrowed, and once again, Bell was aware of just how little he knew about the forest dwellers outside the stories he'd heard or myths he'd read. Were they protective of their language? Was that a faux pas? He swallowed under her inspection.

"You wish to learn our language? Why?"

"I ah, well, er, it's just like Alfia said? I need to learn to get on with Elves and… and I thought it might help?"

Holding in place, she pierced him with her gaze for several long seconds, and then several more, before finally turning away and relenting. Heaving a slightly smaller sigh this time, Filvis gave the smallest of nods.

"Very well."

Ultimately. She had agreed to this and she didn't have any better ideas for how they were supposed to spend their time.

And so, the rookie country bumpkin adventurer, who barely knew Orario or the dungeon and knew even less about the world at large spent the next several hours of his morning walking through the city streets, walking in place beside the coldly beautiful elf maiden as she began to instruct him in the language of the trees.

As with everything she'd done with him so far, in spite of her cold disinterest, Filvis's dutiful nature shone through as true as ever. Her teaching was amateur, but it was presented with the pride and patience of the long-lived species. She taught him slowly, carefully, and she corrected him firmly but gently. Compared to Alfia's instructions it was less exacting, but also much less scary.

It was hardly how she had expected to spend her morning. And it was a long way from how she might have wanted to allocate her time.

But as with their last "date", walking through the quiet city morning alongside Bell Cranel, explaining the basic nuances of her people's language, correcting his horrendous pronunciation, and even just considering how she would go about teaching a language… was a lot less unpleasant than she'd expected… He made for a frustratingly earnest companion. Even if she was ignoring his efforts, she could hardly miss the way he was clearly trying to let her enjoy herself. He was considerate no matter how dismissive or prickly she acted towards him. And, a small part of her couldn't help but appreciate the idea of a human taking enough of an interest in her people to even want to learn their language.

There was no end to boorish outsiders who wanted to try touch the famously defensive forest dwellers. And just as many that lusted openly at the thought of an elven partner, at claiming such an ethereally young maiden as a wife, or just someone to bed for the night.
Filvis had certainly encountered her share of both. And equally, those that feigned some superficial interest in her people or culture as a way of achieving those disgraceful aims.

But she'd never had someone want to spend a morning just walking around the city, learning more about their ways. And she'd never once been asked to teach them the notoriously difficult way of speaking.

As a level one rookie, he was about as unreliable as it was possible to get. But he gave off a calming sense all the same. And, as they walked side by side, she thought her old self would have smiled, just a little.


"No. I keep telling you, you need to stress the second syllable. Otherwise, it'll sound like you're asking a que-"

"Hu-Oh!? Filvis-san, go-good morning!"

The raven-haired elf's lecture immediately died and she froze in place, jolting to a stop as all colour drained from her already pale face. Abandoning the lesson she'd been giving, she turned away from the boy at her side and -slowly, dreadfully- around to face the hesitant but hopeful voice that had called out to her. The same bright voice that had called out to her so many times already.

"L-Lefiya-san. Hello."

She had only met the Loki Familia elf very briefly when co-ordinating between their two Familia after their Gods met about their shared interests in the hidden problem plaguing Orario. She had only spent a very small amount of time with the blonde-elf, and that time had largely consisted of steadfastly ignoring the other girl's attempts to call out to her, or to talk to her. Unfortunately, for Filvis, ignoring her this time was not an option.

Lefiya, Filvis thought, was good-natured, cheerful, kind… and the absolute last person she wanted to see right now!

The Loki Familia elf laughed brightly, "I didn't expect to run into you this morning, I was ju- oh!" Finally noticing the white-haired man standing right beside her kin, Lefiya's words jumbled to a stop as she suddenly realised, she might be interrupting something.

To Bell, for his whole life, elves had always been an existence that lived only in the stories his grandfather had read to him and the tales he'd heard from Alfia. They had often been given a special reverence alongside deities, spirits and heroes, and of all the races that inhabited Orario, they were the ones that fascinated him the most, the one he'd been the most excited to meet. He'd even asked specifically for an elf advisor at the Guild.

And so, he did the most natural thing in the world.

[Hail, forest-sister!]

Smiling widely, and bowing respectfully, he greeted her… in Elvish.

Filvis winced so hard that the hands clenched at her sides twitched in place. But Lefiya's eyes shot wide in surprise.

What happened next was the most obvious thing in the world.

[Oh! You speak our language!? What a surprise!] she bowed in return, [It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I am Lefiya, of the Viridis tribe.]

Bell blanched, quailing instantly under the high-speed reply that sailed well over his head. He hadn't caught a word of that.

"That's… that's all he knows." Filvis added quietly in koine a painful moment later.

Blushing horribly, Bell scratched the back of his head as he sheepishly agreed with his companion's explanation, apologising as he went.

"I-Oh…" Lefiya had absolutely no idea what to make of any of this, "I see? Well, er, well then, I'm Lefiya Viridis. I've been, well, my Familia is working with Filvis-san's lately."

"Bell Cranel," he offered in return, "It's nice to meet you, Lefiya-san."

She blinked, and then smiled slightly as a mote of tension she hadn't even realised she'd been holding dissipated. It was a silly thing to get worked up about, she knew, but -despite how open her forest had been with travellers- Lefiya could never get used to the frustrating way so many humans seemed to want to address her by her tribe's name. As much as she tried to be above such worries, it just sounded wrong to hear it said from a non-Elf. At least this, Bell Cranel, appeared to have learned some manners.

"So, uh, so, Filvis-san is teaching you elvish? Are you in her Familia?"

Lefiya didn't know much about the Dionysus Familia, they were a dungeon Familia, but not one important enough that she'd come across them before. She wasn't privy to the information their two Gods had discussed, so all she'd heard from Loki was that they'd seemed to be struck by some sort of tragedy recently, and that they were helping them out in the investigation into the plant monsters that'd been appearing in Orario. Peering a little closer at the boy in front of her, Lefiya thought he looked much more like a skittish rabbit than an adventurer important enough to be directly instructed by Filvis, the Dionysus Captain, though. But then, his smile was warm and his gaze was kind, and there was something slightly charming about how awkward he acted, he certainly didn't seem to be particularly used to women, it was even a little cute. Perhaps that was why Filvis was here with him? She didn't recall seeing him at all around the Dionysus house, so rather than an adventurer, perhaps he was a supporter she'd befriended?

"Oh, ah, haha, no," once again, Bell gave an awkward laugh, but the tension was gone and he was talking freely now, "Actually, we're ju-"

"!"

This couldn't possibly be happening.

Staring in open mouthed dread as the conversation played out like a runaway carriage before her, Filvis's world ground to a halt. The absolute worst-case scenario was about to arrive. Filvis's high class adventurer instincts told her that. Everything she'd been told, everything she'd prepared, everything she was still yet to do, was about to come crashing down around her long pointed ears. Bell Cranel was about to explain himself. He was about to talk about how and why they knew each other. And he was going to do it to a person he assumed she trusted. And even worse than that, the person he was about to blab so carelessly to was a highly valued member of the Loki Familia.

It was every nightmare situation she'd envisioned all at once.

Bell Cranel couldn't lie. She was absolutely certain of that. All the dregs of Elven pride and shreds of Elven nature that still resided within her soul told her that. The light in his eyes was steadfast, honest and innocent, and the parts of her that were still Elven sung happily in response, even as the rest of her recoiled from his light.

And so, in that terrible moment of doubt and shame, as her mind raced and her world moved only in fractions of moments, Filvis gathered her courage, steeled her resolve, faced Lefiya directly and made her choice. She had already thrown away her pride and her shame. To do so again was hardly a choice at all!

"W-We are on a date!"

Bell baulked, his own explanation cut off as his eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

But his reaction was practically composed compared to the Thousand Elf! Lefiya reeled backwards in pure surprise, the tips of her long, beautiful ears burning red as she turned her head from boy to elf, staring shocked at each of them in turn.

"A-A-A-A da-date!? With a human? I, uh, wow, F-Filvis-san, I never realised you, you were so open minded!" she stammered, not rejecting the relationship but very much taken aback by the idea of it, "Then, um, then that means, he…"

Lefiya couldn't finish her sentence. But by this point, Filvis was the very picture of elvish courage and resilience, nothing held her back anymore.

"That's right. He's my boyfriend."

The words were ashes in her mouth, and her heart clenched painfully, the image of her God flashed through her mind as she spoke them. But aside from the light dusting of crimson on the tips of her ears, and the shallowness of her breaths, nothing else betrayed Filvis's desperate claim.

Lefiya had barely met Filvis before this point, and the declaration that such an upright and proud forest-elf was walking through Orario on a date with her human boyfriend was more than enough to have sent the Loki Familia girl completely out of sorts. She had no chance of recognising how hard the kinswoman she'd been attempting to befriend was working.

But Bell noticed. He didn't know much, he didn't know anything about what was going on between her and Alfia, but he understood Filvis had her reasons for keeping their meetings a secret. And staring, wide eyed, at her after that declaration now, he could see just how much she was pushing himself. For Alfia's sake? For his sake? For her own? He didn't know. But he knew he was part of the reason she was going this far. And so, as true to his nature as ever, Bell Cranel wanted to help. In the only way he ever knew.

"Ah!?"
"Oh!?"

When you saw a girl struggling, wasn't it the most natural thing in the world to reach out to them?

Bearing a heart filled only with an earnest desire to help support Filvis, Bell took her hand in his own.

The raven-haired elf stiffened in shock, her breath catching in her throat and her surprise coming out as a small wheezing gasp. But, despite that, her body did nothing to reject him. His hand clasped securely around her own, and his fingers entwined tightly around hers.

Once again, Filvis's world crashed to a stop.

She couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't even breathe.

All she could focus on was the feeling of Bell's hand around hers. How frustratingly warm it was. How terribly gentle it was. And how horribly comforting it felt. Her body heated up from her core to the tips of her pointed ears, her heart thundered in her chest and her placid, pale face blazed with a furiously bright blush.

But Lefiya's reaction was even stronger.

"O-O-Oh! I, uh, F-Filvis-san!? You…"

Already horribly off balanced, she reeled back, covering her face with her hands as she peeked out, shocked and red faced, between her fingers at where the two of them were joined.

Elves were the most hopelessly romantic of all the races. An orthodox elf from the deep forests might pledge only to touch, or be touched by their one beloved their entire life. Being raised in a forest that was in frequent contact with travellers, and then having gone to school in the city, Lefiya was nowhere near that traditional or that reserved. She didn't have a particularly strong aversion to the other races, and she didn't even worry too much about the idea of someone touching her, beyond simple propriety and dignity. Even so, she was still an elf, and she was very aware that Filvis was very visibly from a far more conservative upbringing than her own.

From the moment she'd seen her, Lefiya had immediately wanted to connect to her kinswoman. The idea of working with and befriending another respectable, dignified elf- the head of a Familia and top-tier adventurer besides, had been exciting and instantly appealing. And now she was seeing Filvis like this! Watching the elf she'd respected engaging in such a shameless, lewd display right before her eyes, just a meder away from her was more than the poor Thousand Elf could take! Filvis was all but flaunting her relationship in front of her, showing off her cross-species love for all the world to see! They were practically all over each other, right there in the middle of the street!

Her eyes spun from between her fingers, and her face burned so hot she could almost feel steam coming out her ears!

How was she supposed to handle something like this? If she'd known either of them better, she might have had more to say, but Lefiya was practically a stranger to them both and well out of her depth. How would Ais or Riveria or any of the people she looked up to handle something indecent like this!? She didn't know! Thankfully, bringing up the two women she idolised in her panicking mind reminded her of what she was out here for in the first place and gave her the excuse she was looking for.

And so, after quickly squeaking out a harried explanation of how she needed to buy supplies for her Familia's celebration, the Thousand Elf bowed quickly, choked out a goodbye, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Bell released Filvis's hand.

The Maenad returned, furiously, to reality a few minutes later.


Filvis was pouting, red faced, with tears in the corner of her eyes. He would have found it adorable if he didn't feel so guilty.

Actually, no. Bell reflected on that. He still found it adorable regardless. Dropping his gaze, he apologised in his heart. It was by far the most animated he'd ever seen the painfully stoic elf, which only added to the effect. Having led him out of and away from the main throughfare, he'd wound up in a quiet back street where she was currently pacing around in circles ahead of him, alternating between attempting to scold him for his actions and trying to find the right words to tell him off properly.

Filvis, for her part, was struggling to understand how he'd even managed to touch her!

Even before she'd become what she was now, she was a top-tier, level four adventurer, she was praised for both speed and reflexes as well as a kinetic vision suitable for someone fighting in the flexible centre-role of a formation. She was a veteran magic-swordsman, who had explored deep into the dungeon and who had taken down countless powerful monsters. It was absolutely unthinkable, absolutely beyond belief that she could be taken off guard by an embarrassingly green, level one rookie! It should have been impossible for his hand to have even got anywhere near hers! Far stronger men than him had tried it, and she'd always avoided them without even a thought!

The fact that he had sowed a painful seed in her heart.

She knew that she couldn't bear to touch an Elf anymore- even the thought of dirtying one of her own kind repulsed her… so then… did her self-loathing now override her Elven pride? Was she so disgusted in herself that she no longer felt anything at being dirtied by a human, or other species hands? Filvis was hardly interested in trying it out, the thought of a stranger's touch still nauseated her, but the thought that her heart may no longer reject such an invasion was a horrible one. It threatened to crush the tiny bud of esteem that she'd still manage to nurture.

Somehow though, whether through pride, stubbornness or intuition- in spite of her cynical disposition, she believed that wasn't the case. He'd been able to touch her, not because of who she was, but because of who he was. The level one, painfully green rookie had been able to grab her hand, because he was Bell Cranel.

Bell Cranel was not a famous name; he wasn't someone anyone knew and he likely never would be. Compared to the record holder, Ais Wallenstein, or even just a talented newcomer like Lefiya, he was practically a joke, having neither pedigree nor inborn talent. The only important thing about him at all was that he was that the Maiden of Silence seemed to have some connection to him. But despite only knowing him for a few hours, like the naïve fool he was, he wore his heart so visibly on his sleeve that Filvis was sure she had already taken his measure.

He was too honest. Too kind-hearted. Too pure and too honourable. And, from the ridiculous stories he'd told her about his exploits in the dungeon already, he was also far too headstrong, too reckless and too hardworking all at once. It was the worst and most frustrating thing about him. The Dungeon City accepted anyone, there were few moral qualifications towards being an adventurer, many with a troubled past or crimes they couldn't escape from wound up in Orario sooner or later. And in this city full of opportunists, rogues and criminals, he was everything that made her elven nature sing. What dregs of Filvis's forest spirit that still remained delighted in being around him, and in basking in the untainted warmth of his soul. It was the same reason elves were always so very fond of children and he brought that out of her.

But it was also why she wanted so badly to push him away and never deal with him again. Because he didn't deserve to be wrapped up in what was to come. Because she had no way to save him from it. And because she was barely an elf anymore, because being reminded of that only brought more guilt and more pain.

Ultimately, on some level, Filvis understood. The reason he'd been able to touch her, the reason he'd been able to take her hand… was simply because her body felt no need to defend itself from Bell Cranel.

But that didn't mean she wanted to accept it!

Rather, she absolutely couldn't accept it!

Which was why she was currently (and to Bell's mind, very cutely) stomping her foot into the ground in frustration.

Elves were the most hopelessly romantic of all the races, and Filvis had been no exception. She used to dream that her first-time holding hands would be with her God Dionysus. She'd imagined showing him through her home forests, walking side by side under the moonlight as they exchanged quiet conversation, as she told him how much he meant to her and he whispered all the same assurances back to her. Filvis knew she wasn't worthy of such idealistic daydreams anymore, and was far too disgusted with herself to indulge in them. But the memories still remained, locked away deep inside her maiden's heart… and now this human had just trampled all over them!

Rather than the beautiful lush greenery of her home, she'd been standing on some dusty, grey city street! Rather than making sweet conversation, she'd been trying to lie to an overly-inquisitive elf! Rather than the cool and gentle moon looking down upon her, she'd been bathed only in the oppressive heat of the sun! And, worst of all, rather than her beloved Dionysus-sama… her first time had been stolen by an absolute nobody level one adventurer, only one level above a stranger!

And the most humiliating part of it all, was that she couldn't even blame him! She was the one who'd claimed he was his girlfriend; he was only going along with her lie! And his actions had successfully driven away Lefiya, keeping the Loki Familia elf from finding out something she shouldn't! In all respects, she'd lost the battle (a great many battles, an entire campaign!) but won the war. The most painful part of all was that she knew Dionysus-sama would be relieved.

Filvis wasn't acting anything like herself, or like a proud Familia Captain. But right now, the maiden's heart that she'd neglected for so long was crying in agony and she couldn't help it.

And so, she complained instead.

"This is the problem with you humans! All you other races!" she accused, turning to where Bell was obediently going along with her one-sided tirade, steadfastly ignoring his kindness and temperance and instead pointing a finger right before his face, "You, you're all so unbearably shameless! You'll touch anyone at all! You'll hold anyone's hand whenever you please, you don't even think anything of it, it doesn't mean anything at all to you!"

"Th-That's not true!"

She blinked, taken aback. Through all of her ranting, Bell hadn't spoken anything except apologies and remorse so far. She hadn't expected him to reply at all, let alone for him to respond so decisively. Facing her directly, the look in his eyes was surprisingly firm for being the weak and naïve boy he was, and Filvis found her words caught in her throat instead.

"I, well, maybe it is for some people. But at least, it's not true for me. There's no way I have the guts for that! I wanted to help you, because, because I do like you Filvis-san!"

If he saw a woman in trouble, he wanted to reach a hand out to her. It was the simplest thing in the world for him.

Filvis reeled back in disbelief, her eyes going wide and her ears dusting red once more. She wanted to reject his words, to scoff at them as just a convenient excuse or yet another example of human flippancy, but the serious look in his eyes wouldn't let her. Maybe he was naïve, and maybe he was foolish, but he was sincere. There was no doubt he meant was he was saying.

She boggled.

"What… what could you possibly like about me!?"

She hadn't treated him particularly well. She hadn't been very warm or welcoming to him. And she'd made no accommodations at all for all the efforts he'd been making to please her. She'd done as Alfia had asked, and no more. Everything she'd done had been for the sake of winning his guardian's favour, he hadn't been a consideration at all! As far as she could tell he should have been insulted!

But, this level one, embarrassingly green, rookie was utterly uncompromising. As Filvis boggled at his words, he faced her down, more steadfast and more determined than she would have ever imagined possible for the skittish young boy she'd thought she'd known.

He told her how beautiful she was, how he tried not to look at her too much because he'd get shy and lose his footing.
And how kind she'd been to him, how much he appreciated all the time she'd spent advising him and helping him.
How he understood she'd been put in an unfair situation by Alfia, but that he'd was inspired by how diligently and seriously she'd handled herself regardless.
He told her that he respected her pride and how she managed herself, that he wanted to be more like that himself, that he wanted to reliable in the same way she was.

The status on his back was burning hot, and Bell was certain his Goddess was giving him the courage to speak honestly, to bare himself just as he had with her.

His words were unskilled and un-thought out, he had none of the eloquence of a seasoned flatterer, or of a confident hero who easily spoke his mind, they were nothing but the stumbling, rambling, and genuine feelings of a young boy baring the heart he wore so openly on his sleeve. And with each of his words, and all his entangled, unsophisticated attempts at explanation, the crimson sheen on Filvis's ears grew deeper and brighter, and spread further down. Until soon enough, she was staring at him wide eyed, with her pale cheeks flaming red and her hands waving awkwardly in the air before him, trying to calm his tirade and give her a chance to catch her suddenly racing breath.

This whole day had been a shock, it wasn't fair, she wasn't used to any of this! And, as off balance as she was, she wound up getting defensive.

"Th-That's, that's just, because you don't know me! Y-You're being ridiculous, you just like anyone who's nice to you!"

Just arguing back about something like this made her feel even more ridiculous and left her cheeks blazing hotter. But she couldn't help it, she hadn't even been particularly nice to him.

"Maybe," surprisingly, he agreed with the words she hadn't even really meant, "You're probably right, I probably am being ridiculous, I don't know anything about love, or romance, or relationships- even with my Goddess, I'm still just trying to make sense of it."

But he was going to learn. He knew that, he'd promised himself that. His ideal as a hero stood before him. He was going to become a man who would make all the women he cared about happy. And right now, even if his reasons were superficial or laughable, there was a woman he cared about who everyone in the city knew was deeply unhappy.

"I don't know you that well yet, but I know what everyone says about you."

For a third time, Filvis's world slammed to a halt.

He'd asked around about her? Her heart darkened at that thought. Of course he had. Why wouldn't he? After Alfia had practically slapped her in the face with the title the whole city whispered behind her back, who wouldn't have been curious to hear about an elf cursed with an appellation like "The Banshee" and about a woman despised by every elf in Orario. She wondered if anyone had even bothered to tell him her real title, or if anyone even knew it anymore.

"Well, then you know it's better to stay away fr-"

"I don't know anything, I don't understand it at all! Everyone talked so badly of you, like you'd done something horrible…"

He didn't need to elaborate, it was no mystery what he would have been told. Any elf he asked would have scorned her name, if they didn't refuse to talk about her outright. And to any other adventurer she was something between a novelty and a warning, a target of mockery and derision, if not outright anger. She knew all those reactions very well.

"None of it makes any sense to me, nothing anything says is anything like the time I've spent with you," he continued, the force and fire coming back to his voice once more, "It just, it just made me aware of how much I still have to learn about elves, because I can't understand why they hate you so much! Alfia was right about me, I don't understand a thing, I don't know how I'm supposed to deal with elves! But, that's why I want to change, I came to Orario t change myself. I… I want to know, I want to understand, and to understand you."

"Ah."

She was suddenly aware of just why he'd been so insistently asking her about elvish culture and people's all morning. Why he'd wanted to learn the elvish language. She'd thought he was just being inquisitive, or at best, that he was just following his guardian's instructions. He'd been asking for her sake… so he could understand her. So, he could understand why every elf in the city hated her and why she hated herself. Her rejections died in her throat as the blush returned. He was so dangerously earnest, she couldn't help but be humbled.

"I don't know what it's like to lose your comrades," he continued, his voice dropping softer, "But I know what it's like to be left behind, when someone important to you died. It's not the same, I know that, I'm not trying to compare it… But, I know if I hadn't had Alfia, if I'd been completely alone, I don't think I'd have been able to stand it. So… So I hate hearing people talk badly about you, I hate hearing people say even your own Familia stay away from you, I hate the idea that you're alone. I, I know, I'm being ridiculous again, I can't imagine what it's like to lose all your comrades like that, I just… I don't understand why anyone would blame you, just for living? I'm… Filvis-san, I'm glad you're still alive."

Bell didn't know anything about death and loss in the dungeon. And he barely knew anything about elves. But he knew for sure, that if someone he cared about returned, he'd want to welcome them back with relief, not with scorn.

Surprising both of them, Filvis found herself giving a quiet laugh. Not sardonic, not mocking, just a quiet, gentle acknowledgement of what he'd said and the feelings he meant with them.

"A human couldn't understand."

She wasn't alone, she had Dionysus-sama. That was all she needed.

But she couldn't dismiss Bell's care or his words. It was the exact same unnecessary kindness that made the parts of her that were still elven sing in delight, and roil against her corrupted soul. A human couldn't understand, she knew that for sure. But the fact that a human wanted to understand, and that he wanted to reach out to her, even her dregs of Elven pride couldn't help but appreciate that.

Her laughter lasted only a few seconds, but she favoured him with a brief smile afterwards that didn't fade from her lips as she addressed him.

"I'll retract my words then, you aren't as thoughtless as I'd expected," she wasn't sure if she was teasing him or not, but the look on his face made her smile grow just a little warmer, "And, given the nature of the situation, and the fact that you were trying to help me- I'll forgive you for taking my first time. I won't make you take responsibility."

To watch Bell's utterly sincere expression break down entirely made for a very amusing sight. Filvis even found herself feeling a little bad as he reeled back at her choice of words. She was sure her old self would have been laughing outright.

As it was spun on her heel and walked away, further down the alley.

"I'll end our date here. For now, let's return to Alfia-sama."

The whimsical urge to take his hand again was immediately supressed, but she did offer him a few further lessons after he'd quickly scrambled back to her side.


"Cassandra…?"

"Cassandra."

"…Cassandra!"

"Ah-huh, Oh? Uh, Daphne?"

Looking up from where she'd been idly pushing her breakfast around her plate with a dazed smile, Cassandra squeaked quietly at the sight of her closest friend's scowling face filling up her vision.

"Alright, that's enough!"

Taking up her role as the Familia's co-ordinator, and more importantly, her duty as the Oracle's friend, Daphne stomped to her feet, grabbed Cassandra by the wrist and pulled her out of the dining hall and away back through the Apollo mansion. With nobody else being particularly close to either woman and with the entire Familia now thoroughly used to the (typically loud) antics between their skittish healer and forthright strategist, none of Apollo's other children so much as looked up from their own meals, let alone gave any thought to stopping them.

And so, in short order and in spite of her protests and wailing cry, Cassandra was hustled firmly (but not ungently) through the hallways and into a small, private, meeting room used to help prepare for their dungeon expeditions.

Clutching her hands around her waist as Daphne locked the door behind them, Cassandra squirmed awkwardly in place. The force of Daphne's stern glare bearing down on her a moment later did nothing to steady the teenager healer's nerves, and she was left staring uneasily at the floor between them instead.

Watching her friend acting even more tremulous than ever, the red-head could only heave a long-suffering sigh. But she was a determined woman, and more than anything else, she was Cassandra's closest ally. She was more than used to forcing through whatever reservations the timid bluenette held to try help her.

"Alright, out with it," she demanded, placing her hands on her hips, "You've been completely out of sorts all morning. Blushing, giggling, you barely even touched your breakfast. What's going on? What, are you sick? Or in love? Or just being stupid?"

Cassandra didn't respond, but the sight of her hands clinging tighter around her slim waist and the way her face burned redder and redder second by second as she dithered in place gave Daphne all the answer she needed. Her exasperating, hopeless companion had fallen for someone.

"Huh, really… who? Don't tell me it was one of the goons in our Familia?"

Daphne couldn't help but worry. Worrying about Cassandra was hardly a rare state for her to be in, but this time her worry was a little different. While she would never admit it, the fact that the two of them both despised the Familia they'd been forced into, the God who treated them like collection pieces and the "comrades" who held not an ounce of loyalty towards them had always been at the core of what bound both women together as friends. They were stuck here, and neither of them had the leverage or strength to leave, even if they did have somewhere to go- but at least they were stuck here together.

The Apollo Familia was large enough and powerful enough that they rarely needed to interact with other Familia, and Cassandra was hardly the most outgoing person, so it was hard to imagine her having met and fallen for someone in another faction without anyone else noticing. And their damnable God would never allow them to be with an outsider anyway. Which left the only possibility that she'd somehow wound up falling for one of their ever-unreliable companions.

A small ball of tension formed within the strategist as she awaited the Oracle's slowly forthcoming response.

Selfish as it might be, Daphne couldn't help but be a little scared that Cassandra might have gotten close to someone and softened her views towards their Familia. That the companion she always complained about might leave her alone.

"Um, ah…" After several very long moments of hesitation, the lovestruck bluenette slowly shook her head, "No, he's not one of us. Ah, not yet…"

"Huh? Not yet?"

"Ah, well, uh… I think he will be, in the future?"

Daphne sighed, preparing herself for something very stupid.

"In my dream, I recognised my room, so it had to be in here, and, a-and, I-ah, I saw my future…" shifting in place, Cassandra paused, not quite sure how to finish that sentence. The words Husband and Lover both floated through her mind, but she couldn't quite give voice to them. What was their relationship to be? Drawing on everything she'd felt and experienced from her future self, she believed down to her soul that she was his, but she couldn't say with the same certainty that he was hers, "My future… partner."

Daphne sighed again. Deeper, longer and with her usual exasperation. The tension that'd been building within her flowed out, and in its place was tedious frustration. It was, of course, exactly as stupid as she'd predicted.

"Another one of your dumb dreams?" she scoffed, "I should have known."

"D-Daphne! No, it's um, it was definitely, it wasn't anything like the others! H-He's definitely, it was real!"

Cassandra's eyes were wide and her hands balled into fists as she threw back Daphne's words. She was surprised herself at how forcefully she was rejecting her friend's dismissal. She was never like this, she was used to nobody believing her, she always just sighed and accepted it as she mourned her inability to ever convince anyone. This time should have been no different, but somehow, she couldn't bear to have this dream shrugged off just as carelessly as her other visions.

Was it because of how vivid it had been? How different it had been from her usual prophesies? Or… was it because, she herself wanted to believe it was true?

Cassandra knew better than anyone that her visions weren't absolute certainties. That was why she always took them so seriously instead of simply treating them as inevitabilities, that was why she always took a short rest before any expedition or anytime they prepared to explore deeper into the dungeon. Her prophetic dreams warned her of events to come, but if she acted swiftly and decisively, she was often able to avert the course of fate, or at least to soften it enough to keep things from getting too bad. That was, she was sure, one of the reasons why nobody ever believed her. But this time, she knew for sure, that she had absolutely no wish to change fate. This time and this time only, she wished instead that her dreams truly were of a destined outcome.

How could she not, when she'd seen, and felt, just how happy she'd been in that future.

"Please, believe me!"

But of course, her words were as useless as ever.

"Yeah, yeah, just like all the others," Daphne shrugged, playing along with in a whim of indulgence, "What was it this time? 'A white-rabbit cloaked in silence bounding towards the city as the world spins on its axis'? 'A rabbit leaping to the heavens, diving into the sacred flame and wearing it like a cloak'? Oh, or was it about 'The north wind blowing as a tempest while a rabbit sits atop a giant bull'?"

Cassandra had been dreaming about white rabbits a lot lately, and Daphne was sick of hearing about them.

This time however, in a rare show of defiance, the disregarded Oracle remained steadfast. She couldn't have this dream dismissed, not when it had been so vivid and so wonderful!

"I-If, if you want to know, then…"

Cassandra didn't so much finish her story, so much as her emotions finally caught up with her burst of confidence and she became unable to continue any longer. By this point, as she realised exactly what she was saying and the fact that she'd now explicitly detailed most of the fundamental features of her vision, her face was blazing bright red, her chest was heaving and her eyes were once more dropped to the floor, suddenly entirely unable to look at her friend.

"A-And, um, it… A-Anyway, that's what I saw…"

If she had been looking up however, she would have seen that Daphne -in spite of her usual fortitude- was in much the same condition. Blushing vibrantly, with her eyes aghast and body trembling in shock, the red-headed strategist was struggling to even believe what she'd heard, and more specifically that Cassandra of all people had told it to her!

"Wh-Wh-What the hell!? Are… are you trying to claim THAT is vision!? G-Get a hold of yourself, Cassandra!" Daphne was so flustered even her usual condemnation lacked its usual bite, not when her own eyes were wild at the lurid images her friend had so readily spun, "It was, it was bad enough before, but now your silly dreams have become perverted fantasies!?"

"Pe-Pervet-… D-Daphne!"

"You said you don't even know who the guy you're talking so excitedly about was! And yet, you, with him, all th-that stuff…" Daphne, just like Cassandra, had been stolen away and kept as a prized trophy of the Apollo Familia since a young age, neither of them had any chance to form any kind of romantic experiences. The red-headed strategist's knowledge of such subjects was severely limited, and the friend she'd always thought so gentle and innocent had just completely exceeded anything she could have possibly imagined. Just hearing about the salacious vision left Daphne almost as off balance as Cassandra had been, waking up to it, "Ahhh, that's enough, that's enough! I can't believe this! Don't mix up your wet dreams with reality!"

So saying, she stomped awkwardly out of the room.

Just as before, her scolding had lost almost all its usual bite.

Which was why, instead of collapsing to her knees like she usually did when Daphne rejected her visions, Cassandra stayed on her feet, dithering in place with a red face and a burning sense of shame. That hadn't been like her. She was never that impulsive or that headstrong, she'd never once imagined ever talking about such matters, let alone actively describing a sexual experience that she hadn't even happened yet.

Until now her prophesies had only been about despair, and worries. They'd been something she'd dreaded as much as she'd relied on. She'd never before felt this strange sense of hope in her chest, nor the soft heat the ebbed through her whenever she imagined the scene her future self had been in. Was that why she'd reacted so strongly?

She swallowed.

She didn't even know who the man of her dreams was yet, was she really looking forward to him that much?

She shook her head, dismissing the image that began building tantalisingly in her mind once more. Whatever the case may be, right now she needed to chase after her friend, before Daphne thought she really was lost in perverted fantasies!

"D-Daphne! Daphne! Wait, wait, for me!"


That evening, while the Loki Familia was hosting a lavish party to commemorate Ais's prodigious advancement to level six, a much smaller but no less heartfelt celebration was playing out among the two person Hestia Familia and Alfia to mark the occasion of Bell having achieved his long-held wish to learn magic.

Both Alfia and Hestia had some serious concerns about the nature of the Grimoire he'd found, and the especially with the way he'd since claimed to be unable to tell either of them anything about it, where it had come from, or anything at all that had happened since he'd left to return it to Syr. But, for now at least, those worries were put aside and the abandoned Church's underground basement was lit up in delight as they all raised a toast to his success instead.

Hestia had dressed up for the occasion. However, given their desperate lack of funds and thus a very limited wardrobe selection for the young-looking Goddess, that had simply meant putting on a pair of solid white thigh-high stockings as some form of formal dress. But she'd also brought with her a full plate of fried Jyagu Maru-Kun from her job, and a bottle of wine she'd managed to haggle a good price out of on the way home. Bell was dearer to Hestia than anyone in the world, and more full of surprises and revelations than she could have possibly imagined from all her time observing humans. When he'd surprised her with the news about having suddenly learned magic, and headed unarmoured into the dungeon besides, the previous evening as they'd made their way back from their date at the bookstore, she'd almost fallen over in the street in shock (the fact that her legs had already been shaking and she'd been leaning on him for support at the time may have also been a contributing factor). His growth was out of this world already, and he'd already grasped his hands on one of his dearest dreams -two if she included herself-, she was as eager as she was anxious to see just how far he would go.

Alfia hadn't made any such effort towards dressing up, but she'd spent some of the spare funds she'd liberated from the Hera Familia stocks to purchase some nicer ingredients and prepare a much nicer meal than their usual fare. And strangely, even as the wine was doled out the cheers and laughter followed, the Maiden of Silence found herself simply joining in with the occasion rather than scorning the noise and sequestering herself away as she normally did in such celebrations. Perhaps it was simply the fact that her adorable and beloved Bell was the one being celebrated, or perhaps it was the heated pride that had been bubbling through her ever since he'd described the nature of his magic -so very similar to her own- but she'd found herself in an unusual buoyant mood since the moment he'd walked back in through the door that evening.

Bell simply let himself enjoy the occasion, with only the mild regret that Lili had turned down the offer to join them and the small knot of guilt in his stomach that he'd promised Syr he wouldn't speak a word of the Grimoire being a gift from the Goddess Freya. He didn't truly know what to make of the idea that one of the most powerful and influential women in the world had tipped her hand towards him like that, and no matter how naïve he was, he knew for sure that this was exactly the kind of thing Alfia and Hestia would want to know all about. But… Syr was important to him, and she was trying to look out for him, he couldn't betray her confidence. There was no way he could possibly manage to lie to Alfia, and it was impossible to lie to a Goddess, so in the end he'd simply repeated that he couldn't say anything about it and prayed that the issue would pass by. Thankfully, neither woman seemed inclined to sour to occasion by pushing the issue.

And so, instead, they turned their attention to the wonderful meal Alfia had laid out. Made with meat of a rare quality, vegetables harvested by Demeter herself, and mixed with a powerful array of spices, it was an immediate reminder that no matter how calm and placid her personality, Alfia had an intense taste for food! Within minutes, all three of them were flushed red and breathing with heady breaths as they worked through the delightful but dangerous meal.

And they cooled their mouths with the wine Hestia had wrangled. It seemed the shop-keeper had been another one taken in by her young charms and surprisingly crafty negotiation skills, because it was a far better drop than the price suggested. Nowhere near on the level of Soma's legendary wines, or the kind that had graced the Banquet of the Gods she'd attended recently, but a good sight better than the stuff she usually subsisted on with the equally destitute God Miach. Bell wasn't much of a drinker, at least not yet, but as an adventurer he was already considered an adult, and he'd already become a man, so he worked his way through a glass himself while the two most prominent women in his life happily polished off the rest of the bottle together.

And then, while treating the oily Jyagu Maru Kun as some kind of strange dessert, Bell regaled them with the full story of his time in the dungeon, the scope and power of the magic as he'd found it so far, and his encounter with the Loki Familia.

Hestia was on the edge of her seat and free with both scoldings and complaints all the way through Bell's story of going into the dungeon on impulse lacking weapons, armour or a plan, but the story of his meeting with the two legendary female adventurers, and of their agreement to train him over the following days served to cool the no-longer-virgin Goddess's enthusiasm. Instead, she sat back with a slightly strained smile and simply told Bell that she was happy he'd finally managed to clear things up with the Sword Princess and agreed that it was certainly a fantastic opportunity for him, so long as he was careful around the two women.

It was to Hestia's credit that, despite a spike of jealousy and no small amount of worry at the thought of leaving Bell in the hands of the two famous adventurers, she supported his decision to accept the training all the same. She knew just how important Ais Wallenstein was to him, and she knew that the blonde was almost certainly responsible for the skill that graced Bell's back. No matter how much she told herself she'd accepted his feelings for the other woman, and the strange relationship she'd found herself in… she'd had him all to herself all this time, it was still a difficult thing to push those feelings down and accept it in reality, especially as his Goddess. But she did it all the same. Because it was her own skill that graced Bell's back, just as importantly as Ais's, and she knew that Bell loved her just as strongly as she loved him. She knew nothing would change, no matter who he spent time with, and she wanted to see him as happy as he'd made her.

"Just remember, if they invite you to their Familia, you say no, alright!?"

"O-Of course! You're my only Goddess!"

"Hmph, well, good enough. Alright, Bell, learn a lot from them, okay? I don't know much about Wallenstein-san, but I doubt someone like Nine Hells has any dubious intentions, still, take care of yourself all the same, okay?"

Alfia meanwhile took the news with absolute glee. While she still nursed her own bitter resentment towards the Loki Familia and she wanted as little to nothing to do with them as possible, the thought of Bell spending time with and training under two of Loki's most precious flowers was about the most delicious news she'd imagined. Bell's feelings for Ais had always been something she'd supported, but something she'd had to imagine would be some long-term ideal- there was simply no way she'd thought the boy would be anywhere near within distance of the Sword Princess's shadow for at least a decade, something like this was too perfect a chance not to take! And, well, he'd been learning about Elves from the Banshee woman lately, so if he happened to somehow catch Riveria's attention as well, then that was only the better. Either one would make for a fantastic wife for a Hero-to-be, and both of them together would be like something right out of one of Zeus's stories, and a wonderful way to tweak that obnoxious trickster's nose.

And, even more important than her own hopes and dreams for her adorable and beloved Bell's love life, was the possibility they represented in Bell's quest to become a Hero worthy of their attention. The value Ais brought towards Bell's martial aptitude went without saying, anything he could learn from the woman once scorned as the "War Princess" would be a priceless treasure, but to add Riveria's own personal tutoring to the mix was a very special offering indeed! Magic was rare and powerful, those who could teach it with any aptitude at all were few and far between. Alfia had imparted some minor knowledge about spell craft and about Mind regulation to Bell in offhand mentions and stories passed to him through growing up, but none of that would be anywhere near enough to prepare him to actually use his spells with their true effectiveness. Without any other ready answers at hand, the woman once dubbed the Maiden of Silence had been preparing to cast off a bit of her pretence of inability and take on his training herself. She'd always been very careful never to reveal too much about herself or her past to Bell, lest he get caught up in the machinations she'd once been a part of, or lose heart and turn to her power rather than relying on his own. Whatever the green-haired Elf's intentions may or may not be, Alfia was more than happy to rescind the position of magic-tutor to the famed Nine Hells.

"Make sure you listen to them seriously, and that you ask any questions you need. I don't care if you infuriate each of them by the end of it, this is an opportunity you're unlikely to have again. Make sure you squeeze every drop of information and experience from them you can."

"Right!"

"And… there's no reason it should come up, but if they ask about you, and if they ask about me… Use the name I gave the gate guard."

"Meteria? …My mother's name."

It shamed her slightly to wear it, and even more to have him address her with it like this. She wasn't taking her sister's place. But while the name "Alfia" likely still resonated in some corners of the city, there were few left who would remember a civilian member to their Familia, it was a suitable disguise, and more appropriate than trying to establish a fake name and train herself to respond naturally to it.

"Hmm. Actually, I take it back, whatever you do, make sure not to infuriate either of them. Your mission is to squeeze every drop of knowledge from the Sword Princess and Nine Hells, while making sure they both think highly of you by the end of it. Surely that's a more appropriate task for a hero?"

"I-I, I'll do my best!"

From there, the conversation turned to lighter matters. They talked of their past, their future, and how far they had yet to go. The food disappeared, the bottle ran dry, and as the evening twilight turned to night, the basement church was full of hope, cheer and excitement for what still lay ahead before them. All in all, a welcome and warm evening, and a suitable occasion to mark the first of the young adventurer's dreams coming true.

Finally growing tired of the noise, Alfia was the first to step away, reminding them that Bell had a very early start the next morning, and that Hestia had two shifts awaiting her. At the Maiden of Silence's words, the celebration drew to a close, they cleaned themselves up, turned off the magic stone light, and dropped into their respective beds.

At long last, peaceful serenity replaced the earlier clamour. No matter how welcome the celebration had been, or how tolerant she'd been of the racket that had filled her new home, the silver haired woman couldn't ever truly relax until blissful silence reigned instead. Bell's soft breathing and Hestia's small sighs, the knowledge that the people she cared about were here, and were safe, that was all she needed or wanted to hear.

Drawing the sheets up tight around her, Alfia turned to her side and embraced the night, falling slowly into the warm and gentle silence.

And then, she awoke an hour later, to the sound of heavy breathing, muted kisses and the soft creaking of the couch her sister's son was sharing with his Goddess.

It was enough to both immediately wake the Maiden of Silence up, and leave her face twisted up bright red. Thankfully, she was already facing away from them, the last thing she wanted to was to have woken up and seen… seen… whatever it was that was happening behind her.

The fact that -unlike the last time she'd heard the two of them like this- Alfia could very clearly hear the sound of their quietly passionate kisses mixed with the gentle slap of flesh on flesh, left very few possibilities for exactly what was taking place just a few meders behind her. But the sake of her own heart, she decided to believe that she wasn't lying awake, listening to the sound of her sister's son having sex.

"Nhgh, Bell! Bell!" Hestia's voice was a breathless whisper, but there was no missing the ecstasy in her tone, "Hha, I love it, every time! It's so huge… It feels incredible inside me!"
"Goddess! I, I love you too!" Bell's answer was just as sweet as ever, full of love despite the heady lust in his panting gasps, "You're so tight, a-nngh, and so warm around me!"

Alfia winced. Apparently, she was lying awake listening to the sound her sister's son having sex. It wasn't an enormous surprise, given the number of times they'd come home together late at night, or the previous time she'd woken up in the middle of the night hearing the apparent Goddess of Purity's lips sliding up and down Bell's shaft. Really, if anything, the biggest surprise was just how soon this had all happened.

Mortals had legends of Hestia's chastity, how Apollo and Poseidon had both pursued her, and both been turned down. Of course, if Alfia had anything to say about it, she'd agree that it was only natural that the deity would fall in love with her adorable and beloved Bell (who wouldn't?) but knowing that he'd conquered the unconquerable Goddess of the Hearth was still something that left her with no small amount of pride.

"Hha, Goddess! Goddess!"
"Hehe, yes! Bell, hha… it feels amazing!"

Unfortunately, right now along with that pride, it also left her with a withering sense of embarrassment that had Alfia's heart thundering in her chest, and flushed her body with an uncomfortably wet heat.

Clenching her pillow tight against her chest, and unconsciously squeezing her thighs together, the Maiden of Silence, decided she really was far too indulgent and far too easy-going with these two. Since when had she been this nice? She should make a scene right now! She should yell and scream and tell them to stop! She would surely have done that if anyone else had ever even considered encroaching upon her sleep with such noise! But somehow, just as she had the last time this had happened, she found herself stuck in place, unable to say anything and unwilling to interrupt Bell's love life.

Which meant Alfia was left with nothing but her thoughts and the throb of embarrassment pulsing through her body as the sound of soft, gentle lovemaking continued to fill the Church basement. Second after second, into minute after minute. The couch creaked and rocked, Hestia's voice lifted up in half-muffled moans and cries, (her adorable and beloved) Bell's voice answered hers with his own masculine gasps and pants, and the heady, wet, sound of two bodies coming together, seemed to fill every millimeder of the room.

"Nhhaa, Bell, hha… Look at y-you, trying s-so hard to hold back. Hhaa… It's fine, you know? I love it like this… but… I love it even more when you're rougher!"

"G-Goddess, I… I can't! I already, this is already… we're already making so much noise… We'll wake up Alfia!"

"Hehe, it's fine, it's fine, Bell! Mmm, I already told you, you saw her earlier, she drank almost that whole bottle herself, she's totally sloshed, she won't be waking up tonight…"

Red faced, mortified, and with her legs clenched tight together, Alfia jolted in place at that. She had drunk most of the bottle? She distinctly remembered a cheeky, laughably virginal Goddess of the Hearth downing just as many glasses as her! Was that lie how that damnable Goddess of his had tricked her Bell into doing something like this!?

She was really going to have to have words with that Goddess tomorrow morning.

"MNng, it's fine, Bell! Heh, I'll stay quiet, I promise, okay? So, c'mon… Nhha, yes, h-harder! Yes! Bell, mmmm! Make me yours! Nhhaa, Fuck me!"

Again, Alfia jolted in place, this time by the outlandishly lascivious words Hestia was breathing out, just barely quiet enough to still be called a whisper and by the sound of the couch creaking louder and louder with each punctuated word. The Maiden of Silence clenched her pillow harder, she really didn't want to imagine just what that lust-filled joke of a purity Goddess was doing with her hips as she seduced Alfia's sister's son!

"Goddess! Shh, hhaa, you've, you've got to keep it down!"
"Hh-AhhhMMmmmph!"

Thankfully, one of the lovemaking pair seemed to have covered the small divinity's mouth with their hands, because Hestia's increasingly vibrant cries were suddenly muffled.

Unfortunately, the muffled cries were still echoing loudly around the basement, and her words (and actions) appeared to have successfully spurred Bell on, because the sound of the couch creaking and groaning under their exertions grew louder and heavier. And, along with it, so too did the sound of Bell's body driving into his Goddesses… the sound of the cock that seemed to be driving Hestia wild spreading her walls wide and driving deep inside him… the sound of his weight pressing down on hers and his hips crashing down into hers… the sound of Hestia's clinging to his back, and of her legs kicking exuberantly into the air against his every thrust…

Chewing on her lip, Alfia swallowed heavily. Her eyes were shut tight and she very deliberately didn't turn around… but, with the room filled entirely with the heady sounds of dizzying lust, her imagination was more than enough to fill in the gaps. And the mortified embarrassment that was pulsing through her throbbed hotter and harder by the moment.

Second passed by agonising second. Minute passed by mortifying minute.

And all the while, Alfia was assaulted by the warmth desire and passion love overflowing through the basement. The acute danger sense and spatial awareness she'd honed against the deepest ever explored levels of the dungeon were both now working with hyperactive sensitivity, filling her mind an extremely clear mental image of exactly what (she imagined) was taking place behind her.

The fabric around Bell's knees strained as he pushed into the couch with greater force, driving his length into his Goddess harder, faster, with enough power that even both his hands over her mouth wasn't enough to fully muffle Hestia's resulting cries. But, the Maiden of Silence realised to her dismay, he too must have been caught up in his desires, because even as the smaller woman's voice pitched higher, his force didn't wane, and the creaking and groaning of the couch grew just as intensely vibrant as the (barely) stifled moaning and delighted gasping from the Maiden of the Hearth.

Alfia swallowed heavily as the noise wrapped around her and as the image in her mind formed with crystal clarity. No matter how much she might like to ignore it, the reality was that Bell was doing exactly as his Goddess had commanded- he was fucking her. He was fucking her senseless.

The wet, hot embarrassment searing through her left her sizable breasts tingling and her heart pounding in her chest. Her body was flushed with heat and the hands holding the pillow against her were clenched so tight they'd turned even whiter than her usually creamy pale skin.

There was no stopping it now.

Hestia's voice pitched higher still. Her earlier belief that Alfia somehow wouldn't wake up to this racket was being put past any sense of logic as the one pure Goddess's impure delight rang out for all to hear. Again and again, with each creak of the couch, each strain of the fabric, and each time Alfia imagined Bell's cock driving into the small deity, her voice pitched upwards. Listening to the deity clinging tight to the man she loved with both her arms and legs, Alfia was made fully aware of the sound of Hestia cumming so hard she lost her mind.

'Ah…'

And a moment later, she was made just as intensely aware of the sound of Bell's own matching delight. Lying, locked in place, just a few meders away, Alfia couldn't help but listen as the young adventurer she'd known since he was small enough to sit on her palm moaned and gasped with such potent masculinity that she didn't know if she'd even recognise the boy she'd always known if she did turn around right now. The sound of it filled her with strange feelings and her body strained in place.

"Go-Goddess!"
"Bell! Bell! Bell!"
"…Ng…"

The sound peaked and roared to a heady, dizzying crescendo, shaking out from the two lovebirds and echoing around the basement with such unbridled warmth and rampaging desire that it was impossible not to be affected by it.

Hestia's repeated cries of delight echoed vividly through Alfia's ears.
So too the sound of Bell releasing himself ecstatically within the Goddess.

And the Maiden of Silence found herself chewing silently on one of her fingers as her mind unwittingly formed a crystal-clear image of the Adventurer and Deity wrapped tight around one another. Her currently hypersensitive hearing easily painted a vivid painting showcasing each throb and shudder running through them as the couch creaked and groaned softly under the pressure- As Hestia caught her lips with his once more, vocalising her bliss directly into his mouth. And, as Bell unloaded rope after rope of his essence into the woman he loved, again and again, until Hestia was sure she must have been hearing things.

"…"

And finally, eventually, at long last, silence reigned once more.

The, now thoroughly shaken, Incarnation of Talent relaxed out from the ball she'd somehow wrapped herself into. Breathing out a trembling sigh as quietly as she could manage, she slid back into some measure of a feigned sleeping position. Flushed hot as she was, with her breath still racing and heart pounding, she was about as far from sleep as she could imagine, but at the very least, she could finally relax.

The sound of Bell and Hestia's quiet kisses and gentle murmuring filled the basement, but after the clamour she'd just been assaulted by, that was almost soothing.

Taking great pains to ensure she wasn't breathing too loudly, it took several very long minutes for Alfia to properly calm down, and even then, only her rigid force of will kept her thoughts from spinning out of control once more.

'What a disaster. What an embarrassment. I cannot believe I endured such a ridiculous farce,' she scolded herself, twisting around under the covers as the heat cooled from her cheeks, 'I can't believe I didn't bring a stop to it immediately. I should take them each to task right now.'

Unfortunately, even inside the security of her own mind, there was no heat to Alfia's words. As much as she may have ignored it, she knew very well why she hadn't stopped it last time, why she'd stayed silent now, and why she still wasn't going to say anything.

Because as thoroughly awkward and mortifying as it was to hear the explicit details of her sister's son's love live… hearing his clear happiness and contentment filled her with such joy she couldn't bring herself to even imagine interfering.

In spite of her cruel nature, in spite of her cold methods, in spite of the crimes she'd been prepared to commit against Orario, Alfia had done her very best to raise Meteria's son. She could never pay her sister back for the talent and strength she'd stolen in the womb, and she had no illusions or intentions of bringing Bell up as some form of penance. Instead, it had simply been pure love. He'd captured her heart the moment she'd been foolish enough to go see him all those years back, and she'd wanted to do her best for him ever since. For his sake, for Meteria and for herself.

Bell's dream was now her dream. So, she'd come to Orario, so she'd helped him become an adventurer, so she'd pushed him to towards Hestia.

She didn't truly know what Bell would say about her. He was too kind for his own good, really, (she had no idea where he'd gotten that from), but Alfia knew very well that she was far from the warm and gentle guardian he deserved, in her diminished capacity she hadn't made for much of a teacher and with her villainous nature she'd never given him any of the outward affection Zeus had done so easily.

But to know, for sure, that Bell had grown up and discovered love. A love that he felt so deeply it had been engraved on his very Soul, and a love that didn't contradict the feelings he still held towards the Sword Princess.

No matter her other failings and feigned aloofness, Alfia couldn't possibly feel anything but warmth at that knowledge. The Orario that she and Zald had aimed for wasn't here, the city's strongest Familia were almost offensively weak, and rather than living in peace, Meteria's son was holding a weapon in that same cause.

But he'd found his way to happiness all the same. And Alfia wanted to protect that. Even if it was embarrassing, or mortifying to the point her entire body was flushed red in a way she'd never felt before!

"Goddess…"

The boy's quiet words broke her from her musings and away from the small moment of self-reflection, her body perking and up and reacting to him just as it always did.

"Can we… can we do it again?"

"!"

Jolting in place, Alfia's answer came long before Hestia's could, 'What are you saying!?' she screamed mentally, 'Of course you can't! Weren't you the one saying you had to be careful not to wake me up just a half hour ago!? And what happened to your early morning tomorrow!? Bell! BELL! ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO MAKE ME LIE HERE AND LIST-'

"Of course, Bell! Let's keep going!"

Unfortunately for Alfia, the noise began in earnest once more, for several hours more.


Mixed up with a potent combination of nervousness and politeness, Bell arrived atop the city walls almost a full hour earlier than the scheduled time. With Alfia's instruction to wring every last drop of information he could from the Loki executives, and Hestia's much more gentle support pulsing through his mind, his nerves were more than a little frayed. Thankfully, his Goddess had enveloped him with her sweet and tender care last night, so he'd slept soundly all the same and was now bursting with energy from her love.

Following the High Elf's scheduled routine, Riveria and Ais arrived exactly on time. The elder adventurer had made a point of notifying her comrades about an appointment she and the blonde had early in the morning, and made a show of reminding Ais of the same as they'd made their way to the Hostess of Fertility the previous evening. And so, no-one in the Familia had thought either woman was acting particularly strange, nor was there anything notable about them departing first thing in the morning, they slipped through the city streets and arrived at the walls overlooking Orario without incident.

It was, Riveria thought, a rather inspired choice of location and a surprisingly insightful show of shrewdness from the usually painfully straightforward blonde. The city walls were both practically deserted and one of the highest general points of access in all of Orario, it would be exceedingly difficult for anybody to stumble upon them, or to spy on them. That wasn't to say they were doing anything wrong… but all the same, Riveria had very intentionally not mentioned exactly what her and Ais's appointment was. Undoubtably things would just proceed a lot smoother for everyone involved if these inter-Familia training sessions were kept under wraps.

A few moments of greetings and slightly stilted pleasantries followed. Riveria spoke calmly, Ais spoke softly (surprising her by even speaking at all) and Bell spoke in a nervous rush as his eyes practically bored a hole in the stone beneath him.

If Riveria had been just a few decades younger she might have allowed herself to think how incredibly cute the sight of him blushing and dithering before them was, his awkwardness standing in clear juxtaposition to the fact he'd clearly arrived well before them and that he was dressed up in his full adventuring kit this time. Instead, she simply turned her gaze slightly to the side and very specifically didn't think that. A small weight of embarrassment bubbled in her stomach as she thought back to her last encounter with this young human and the absolute failure of her usually-impeccable Elven reflexes in warding him away, but she was easily able to push it from her mind. He was an adventurer, just like they were, and she was an old woman besides; they were here for training, and she was here to support Ais's growth. No matter that she'd been dragged into this, she would see it through seriously.

"Um, ah, Wallenstein-san, th-then, that is…"
"…Ais."
"Huh?"
"Everyone calls me that… does that make you uncomfortable?"
"A-Ah! No, no! I, I ah, I'm fine with that, ah, Ais-san."

Cute. Riveria had to hold back a smile. As much as she'd worried about the girl lately, right now there was no sign of the Doll Princess she'd once known. She had long thought it was a testament to the Loki Familia's warmth and to Ais's own incredible willpower just how much far she'd come from the bedraggled, angry, disobedient girl that she'd once known. And somehow, this boy seemed to have a knack for dispelling even the darkness that'd begun gathering around her lately.

"So then, Ais-san… what should I do now?"
"That's… a good question…"
"Huh?"
"I've been thinking about it… since yesterday, but…"

As expected. Riveria sighed. Ais was hardly one to think ahead beyond her immediate goals, and it wasn't like she had any idea how to actually go about teaching someone anything. She'd been interested to see what kind of answer the sword-princess would come up with for this boy, but the completely empty "I don't know" answer filled with "I'll figure it out as I go along" was about as typical as anyone could have guessed.

Clapping her hands sharply, she knocked the dithering duo out from where they'd gotten lost in their own little world. As much as she was enjoying observing, she had come all the way out here this early in the morning, she intended to see this through properly and to a satisfying conclusion.

"In that case, I shall take the lead."

Turning around, Ais shot her a surprised and jealous look that left Riveria's heart screaming I'm not trying to steal his attention from you! I'm trying to help you! Which was immediately followed by And, didn't you just want to learn why he was getting stronger so fast, anyway!? But she pressed forwards regardless. Unlike those two, she actually had teaching experience. Far too much of it, she thought.

"Cranel-san. Since there are two of us, the most logical direction is that I shall guide your magic, while Ais trains your fighting."

"R-R-Right!" back straight, standing almost to attention, he almost yelled his response. Cute. "Thank you!"

"I will wear down your mind and then Ais shall wear down your body, and you shall become stronger with each. This way you'll also get used to fighting without your magic, rather than relying on it."

He nodded, so she directed him to take his stance. Ais walked over to the edge of the battlements, watching with both interest and impatience, and Bell spread his legs, raising his right hand up to the air between them.

"No, not like that," she corrected the expected mistake, "There's no value in practice that doesn't simulate the real thing, the point is to carve these lessons into your body and mind, so when you're in the dungeon you can act on them instinctively. You're clearly not a spellcaster, and you told us you've only just recently acquired your magic, so you must get used to using it as well as your usual weapons."

"I, right!"

It was obvious, but Bell realised he'd never even thought of it until this moment. When he'd ran off to test his new spell, he'd gone to the dungeon without even a weapon, until this moment he'd never actually fought with both his knife and spell together. It was such a simple thing but doubtless would form the core of his fighting style from now on, and she'd seen through it immediately. Swallowing as he quickly drew the Hestia Knife and took up his usual stance, Bell was reminded again of the gulf of experience that stood between him and the Loki Familia, between him and the woman he idolised.

"Good, that's…"

Right as she'd been about to dive into the lesson, Riveria paused. Even the strictly composed high-elf couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise as she realised just what she'd seen.

"That knife… can I see it?"

He didn't argue, so she stepped forward and carefully took the obsidian-black blade from his hands.

Hephaestus. It really was. She'd thought her eyes must have been playing tricks on her when he'd taken his stance and she'd seen the sheathe on his belt. It was lightweight, and even to her untrained eye crafted with a mastery that she couldn't even begin to describe, there was absolutely no doubting the quality of this weapon. She hadn't truly imagined it would have been an imitation, there were very few smiths brave enough to dare imitate a Hephaestus signature, and fewer still adventurers reckless enough to wear such a forgery openly, but that had been the only explanation she'd been able to imagine for why a novice like Bell Cranel would have something like this.

"Huh?" and just as Riveria had been about to pass it back, again she paused, "It's blunt?"

It was so unbelievable she hadn't even noticed it when she'd taken it into her hands, but looking at it now, and running her fingertip along the edge, the blade was completely dull. Something like this wouldn't cut butter, let alone a monster, unless the young adventurer was running around the dungeon bludgeoning his foes to death.

Again, the High Elf found her mind boggling with a seemingly illogical mystery and unknown variables. Why would a knife of such unmistakable quality be blunt? Why would an adventurer carry a dull knife? Was it a failed copy, some offcut from the forge? She'd never heard of anything like that being sold, but that might certainly explain why a novice might have it? But, how could she possibly believe that something like this was a mistake? And… why was she absolutely certain that just a moment ago it had seemed sharp enough to sever even the sunlight rays cresting the stone walls?

To this, at least, the answer was swiftly forthcoming.

"Ah, right, that's because-" reaching out, and -she noticed- taking great care not to touch either her fingers or hand, Bell carefully took the knife back from her, "That's because it's linked to my Falna. So, it only reacts to me."

Exactly as he said, in his hands and right before Riveria's stunned eyes, the mithril blade glowed softly with a white-blue light as the runes etched upon the surface lit up. An instant later the effect passed and the blade was looking just as imposingly sharp as she'd recalled.

She had her answer. But of course, an answer like that only raised a thousand more questions! It was all she could do to maintain hold of her composure and keep from interrogating him right then and there! Riveria was beyond words, and that knife was beyond description! Even Ais, whose interest in the whole conversation had been treating it like a curiosity was raising an eyebrow at the display.

It was ridiculous, it was insane, there was no words for just how unfitting something like this was in the hands of a newly minted adventurer! This knife was something a legendary hero or Familia captain might have! THEIR Familia captain didn't have anything like this! Ais didn't have anything like this! Why in the world would a level 1 adventurer have something like this!?

And not just that. Magic, a human who could cast spells. And his growth, enough that in a month he'd made as much progress alone as a beginning party might make in half a year, the unprecedented advancement that had taught Ais's attention and kept the Sword Princess waiting impatiently to learn the truth behind his strength even now.

Adventurers were a secretive lot, they were a weapon of power and influence for their God as much as anything else, and their information was guarded jealously, keeping all cards close to their chest. There was a reason that Statuses were typically locked and why inquiring as to someone's personal details was looked down upon. But even so, bogging from anomaly after anomaly, Riveria couldn't help but give voice to her confusion.

"Bell Cranel… just who are you?"

Unfortunately, his answer was just as unsatisfying as she might have expected. Squirming awkwardly under her gaze and inappropriate question, he repeated most of the details she'd learned from him already in the dungeon, how he'd come from the countryside in some no-name village she'd never heard of, how he had no formal training or schooling besides what he'd gained from his guardian, and that he'd come to Orario after his grandfather died for the sake of finding his place in the world. His incredible knife was a gift from his Goddess, and that was the extent of everything he knew about it, even his own questions about its origins had been unanswered by his Goddess, besides the knowledge that it had apparently been explicitly crafted for his sake, to give him the strength he needed.

Hearing about such pure sentiments left a spike of guilt within the Elf at pressing him as far as she had, she knew she was well out of line, but still nothing about his story added up. It was certainly true that a weaker or less famous Familia would have to work harder to entice adventurers to join or stay with them. But, while Riveria had never met Hestia, from the complaints she'd heard in passing from Loki she'd gathered the Goddess of Purity had only descended a few months ago! Rather than being weaker or less famous, Riveria had never even heard of the Hestia Familia, how had she possibly gathered the means to get her hands on a weapon like this?

Her inquiries about his magic bore even less fruit. At that, he simply scratched the back of his head, avoided her eyes and told her he wasn't able to say anything about that.

She could have pressed him.

Finn would have. She knew that.

He was hardly the combative sort, and he was clearly off balance from her questioning. It would be as simple as pushing the pressure onto him, telling him that she couldn't possibly train someone who wouldn't explain such details adding guilt that they'd come all this way here for him and he was holding things back. She very much doubted he would be bold enough to catch the hypocrisy of that statement, or point out that neither her nor Ais had shared any information at all about their own abilities or Status.

"I see. In that case, I apologise for the questions. Your Goddess certainly takes great care of you, doesn't she?"

She sighed.

Her Elven pride wouldn't possibly let her do something so disgraceful. Riveria knew she was already well out of line just going as far as she was. If it wasn't for the fact that she was about to offer him a personal training session, she would have seriously felt a need to make up for such unfair rudeness. This was meant to be a form of apology, after all. The guilty feelings bubbling within her certainly weren't helped by the wounded look she could see Ais shooting her from where she was leaning impatiently against the stone battlements. The Sword Princess didn't care about his magic or how he'd gotten it, she cared about making things right with Bell Cranel, and she cared about learning his strength, the fear that Riveria might drive him away was leaving the blonde on edge. Riveria had meant to use this as a chance for Ais to spend time with the young man, but instead she'd just taken over the proceedings herself.

It was time to fix that, at least.

"Okay, let's begin immediately. Alright, Cranel-san, please, go ahead and demonstrate your magic."

"Right!" clenching his knife with his right hand, this time he raised his left to the sky, pointing away it somewhere over the horizon, "Sagitta Sonus!"

The air rippled and shook, heading off into the distance and then dissipating into nothing. Lowering his hand slightly, Bell blushed as he took on an awkward impression. It hadn't occurred to him just how much less impressive his magic would look outside the dungeon.

It also hadn't occurred to him that both his current companions were at the absolute pinnacle of Orario's modern peak, neither had missed a moment of the effect that had just played out before them.

"Swift strike magic?" Once again, Riveria was taken by surprise, that was certainly unusual, but hardly unknown and, given the type of fighter she'd already pegged him as, certainly about as suitable as it got. The strength of a magical attack almost always depended on the length of the chant involved, something that traded off power for immense speed would be highly valued for an adventurer who was doing the same, "Well, that's definitely going to be useful for you."

"…Invisible?" Ais murmured, pushing off from where she'd been leaning against the wall as she pictured the effect in her mind, "Was that… wind?"

"Hmm, no…" Bending over and picking up a loose cobblestone that'd fallen from the walls, Riveria held it aloft to Bell, before hoisting it in the air, "Here, can you hit that?"

Jumping to attention, he followed her order immediately and once again his magic surged forwards, this time however, the effect was far more substantial! The ripple of air flew into the stone like an arrow shot from Bell's hand and impacted with a bracing roar, a sudden blast of noise filling the early morning and leaving nothing but dust falling to the ground around them.

"Sound…" Ais nodded, not exactly dispirited, but just a fraction less enthused than she'd been a moment ago.

Riveria hummed, just as she'd expected, and she found herself tapping her chin and she examined the remains of the cobblestone. Magic was one of an Adventurer's most closely guarded secrets, she could hardly say she knew the spells and incantations of more than a few dozen fighters outside her Familia, but she also couldn't think of any who attacked with the force of sound. It wasn't unknown, and magic was unusual by its very nature, but somehow the sight of this white-haired boy holding his hand aloft and loosing arrows of sound out to pierce his foes tugged at some dim memory somewhere in her ancient past. A few moments thought brought nothing to mind, and with the boy practically bouncing in place as he awaited her instruction, she wasn't given any chance to properly mull it over.

"Very well. In the future I'll help you get used to regulating your Mind and making it not quite so obvious when you're gathering magical power- but for now, the most important thing is your foundations. You have your weapons, you must make sure you can use them properly. To that end, today, we will test your limits," gesturing the blonde swordswoman forwards, she pointed towards her, "First off, try tag Ais with your spell."

Eyes wide, Bell turned towards his idol, "Um, ah, er… Uh, Riveria-san?" his hands wavered in the air, although he was facing towards her, his raised left palm never quite pointed directly at the Sword Princess.

Ais's expression was as neutral as ever, but Riveria gave a slight smile. That was the hesitation she'd expected, the same one she'd seen in every one of her students. And of course, after seeing his magic blowing through the stone she'd just tossed into the air, and ripping into the dungeon walls like it had before, she would have been taken aback if he'd directed himself at her without a worry. But, that didn't mean such concerns weren't terribly misguided, a very familiar lesson unfolded once again.

"Actually, before that, I need to make certain of your accuracy," she pointed her staff a little to the right of her, "Aim there, please."

With his tension visibly unwinding, Bell leapt to attention once more.

"Sagitta Sonus!"

"And here."

"Sagitta Sonus!"

"And now here."

"Sagitta Sonus! AH!?"

Right as the third shot rang out, Riveria sidestepped, blurring with the incredible speed of a level 6 adventurer as she stepped directly into the trajectory! The spell hit her dead on, lancing directly into her stomach and exploring with a roar of sound and a rush of destruction! …That didn't even so much as ruffle her clothes. The Loki executive was, of course, entirely unharmed. There was absolutely no way a level 1 adventurer's spell, let alone a no-chant spell, was going to do any kind of damage to her.

Making a show of brushing off her dress, she pinned the boy with a stern gaze, "It is to your credit that you worry about harming us. But please, do remember that unwarranted consideration is just foolishness."

"R-Right!"

"Now, try tag Ais with your spell."

With just another moment to steel his nerve, Bell pointed his hand directly at the woman he'd been working so desperately to catch up to and loosed another Sagitta Sonus. The effect was identical, the air rippled and shook as the arrow raced towards her, and then impacted directly onto the Sword Princess without even the smallest effect- he was barely able to blow her hair back a few centimeders. No matter how much Bell told himself he understood the impossible gulf that stood between them, he couldn't help but feel disheartened at the sight.

Riveria, however, was already moving onto her next lesson.

"Good. Now, Ais, move with about the speed of a level 2 adventurer. And Cranel-san, try hit her again."

Pulling herself to her feet, Ais gave a quiet nod, and Bell loosed another shot towards her. Predictably, this one missed entirely.

"Keep going."

Another shot, another miss.

"Again."

Still, her imitation level 2 speed was more than enough to slip right past the invisible arrow.

"Keep going."

Once again, he wasn't even close.

"Ais, don't dodge them specifically, just move normally, let your speed do the work. Cranel-san, keep going."

Riveria nodded, watching as the arrows of sound continued to impact all around Orario's highest walls. Ais wasn't particularly good at holding herself back, and an instruction to move at the speed of a level 2 was far too vague to work as any sort of guideline, but that was fine, that was exactly as Riveria had expected. The Sword Princess's extremely fortified reactions would never let the young rookie have a hope of landing a shot on her, but so long as she restricted herself to just moving normally, and so long as he fired as fast and desperately as he could, then it would make for excellent training.

A roar of sound and the dulled sound of magic impacting with stone rang out all across their section of the battlements over and again as the blonde swordswoman easily walked past where Bell's outstretched hand was pointing and smoothly slipped through the shimmering air that signified his magic arrows lancing towards their target.

Bell aimed, and fired, aimed and fired, aimed and fired. It was all too late. Too slow. Too delayed. He was already well past any thought of worrying about the fact that he was flinging magic at another Adventurer, right now, Ais's graceful and beautiful form was well out of reach.

Gritting his teeth, he tried again. And again. And again. This wasn't enough! He had to catch up to her! He had to work harder!

Faster! He needed to fire more, to trap her in place between movements!
Smarter! He needed to lead his shots, to predict where she was going and already be aiming towards it!
Better! He couldn't stop, he couldn't let up, every pause was another escape from her, his only chance was to catch her with a barrage!

Chasing so desperately after the idol dancing just a few meders away from him, Bell's Falna began smouldering softly in recognition of his efforts.
And slowly, painfully, with his will quickly becoming taxed as he pushed himself further and further… his shots got closer to the mark, and the Sword Princess had less and less room to dance between his arrows as they began moving towards her destination rather than chasing her steps.

"A-Ah! Hha-hhaaa! HA!"
"…Good work."

Ais's soft and stilted congratulations echoed out against the roar of Bell's arrow finally clipping the edge of her boot as she'd made to slip past him one final time. It had taken, in the end, an enormous amount of effort just to manage that much. Even with the top-tier adventurer regulating her speed down to roughly just a level above his own, she still had instincts sharper than he could have possibly imagined and enough battle-experience to make him shake, just chasing her steps had taken almost everything he'd had. And he'd only finally managed to catch up to her shadow by holding his breath, forcing his swirling consciousness steady and firing continuously the moment he'd spotted a chance.

By now, the sun had risen much higher in the sky, Bell's arm was shaking and his head was spinning as his Mind reserves dipped low.

But, Riveria noted with interest, not low enough that he'd scraped the bottom just yet. He was every bit the rookie he'd claimed to be, an absolute novice for sure. And yet, he'd clearly picked up some knowledge about magic somewhere along the way, because the entire time he'd been regulating his breathing and his concentration enough that even after that much he still wasn't at any risk of passing out.

"Good," she congratulated him smoothly, giving him just a moment to catch his breath, "That's one."

"Huh?"

The High Elf's smile was as gentle as ever, but a chill ran down Bell's back all the same.

"One point. Now, do it again. Each time you hit her, you'll get one point. And each time you take more than five seconds between spells, you'll lose a point. If you get to ten points, you win. If you reach zero points, or pass out, you lose. You won't always be in your best condition in the dungeon- things will often get worse right at the worst possible moment. So, from here on, you're going to get used to fighting when you're already at your limit, where you need to make use of every scrap of Mind you can gather up.

He boggled, staring at her with something between disbelief and shock. But the moment she started counting he flew immediately back into action, trying futily to tag the Sword Princess a second time as Ais resumed dancing around his spells once again.

"You'll never make it, standing stuck in place like that Cranel-san, you need to move too! Go, chase her!"

"Ah-hhaa! HA! Sagitta Sonus! Sagitta Sonus! Sagitta Sonus!"

That piece of advice served to tip the balance just slightly more in Bell's favour- the upper walls were narrow, without anywhere to hide or manoeuvre, even with Ais moving around the speed of a level 2, he should have a good chance to pin her down.
Of course, it also made the game significantly harder, as the test of his mental fortitude also became a test of his physical endurance.

And so, the white rabbit bounded around the top of the walls, chasing in vain after the golden wind. His arrows dogged her footsteps and shouts echoed her passing, but even in the narrow strip of stone afforded to her, the Sword Princess walked smoothly, beautifully, and lithely around him. Without dodging, without pausing, and without even the smallest sheen of sweat atop her brow, she slid easily between his very best efforts with naught but the same placid smile on her face.

"3, 2, 1… And that's zero. Well done Cranel-san, you didn't make it today, but for your first lesson, that was an admirable attempt."

He slumped to his knees, his knife clattering away and right hand falling to the stone beneath him, just barley managing to keep himself upright as his head spun and swam through a daze. His chest heaved as his breath came in ragged pants and his back burned red-hot with his Falna, but it all felt like it was far away, as if it was happening to someone else- his vision was foggy and his thoughts were indistinct… everything felt distant, and weak, and he felt as though he was only just narrowly holding to the edge of consciousness by his fingertips.

Having begun their chase with his mental reserves already significantly taxed, the effort of maintaining his concentration enough to fire another spell every 5 seconds had quickly become a tremendous effort. Adding that burden onto the need to keep his body moving, to keep chasing after the fleeing swordswoman as well as having to aim his shots, and to guess her direction enough to even have a prayer's chance at hitting her… Bell had been scraping right along the very edges of Mind Zero for several very long minutes before his score had finally trailed off to nothing.

In the end, he'd made it all the way to the lofty heights of two points before finally losing entirely.

"Th-Thaannk, youu."

He slurred, bowing his head both to the indistinct golden figure looking down at him, and the slightly less distinct green figure appraising his efforts.

"That will be enough for my lessons for today. I'll let you recover for a few minutes, and then Ais can take over. It may be difficult, but learning to fight while your mental energies are diminished will also be good practice for you. You shall find yourself in many such situations in the Dungeon, I'm sure."

That made sense, Bell thought. It was logical. Alfia had told him to make sure he learned everything he possibly could from the Loki Executives, and he was certain he was off to a good start. Riveria's calm and logical teachings, Ais's impeccable foresight and movement, and just the way his body was now fundamentally more used to using his magic in a combat situation. It was all incredibly useful. He was sure of that. And as soon as the world stopped shifting dizzily around him, and as soon as he remembered how to stand up… he would tell her so.

Distantly, as the world faded and reformed around him, Bell wondered if this was why the God Miach had always advised carrying a range of potions…


Ais Wallenstein, the beautiful and deadly Sword Princess, maiden of Loki Familia and star of Orario was facing down against a rookie, level one adventurer. Her gaze was set, her eyes hard and her battle stance readied.

Meanwhile, just a few meders away, Riveria's hands were clenched ever so slightly as she watched the pair with her arms folded and an act of feigned calmness.

It wasn't that she doubted Ais's to teach. There was no doubt the girl had an absolutely incredible amount of battle experience to impart and no lack of desire to do so… it was just that, the blonde also had a certain intensity about her that could sometimes cause problems. And those worries hadn't lessened any when, upon taking her turn, she'd declared that she couldn't teach him like Riveria or the others did for her, and would instead train him directly through combat. It wasn't exactly unheard of, Gareth had done fairly similar things for her… but from an Elf's perspective, it was a rather spartan form of training. Thankfully, while Ais's Desperate had been unsheathed, the sword itself was left resting against the walls while the wooden sheathe was instead pointed at the white-haired boy.

Not that the weapons they were holding made any difference to the pressure of the situation. Just facing off against the newly minted level 6 adventurer, she could see his stance slipping and his arm elbow floating upwards.

The Sword Princess stalked forwards. The rookie adventurer stepped backwards.

"…You're afraid."
"!?"

Ais's soft words broke the silence, but Bell was offered no relief from the pressure as she stepped towards him once more.

"I think it's important for a solo adventurer to be careful… but, there's something you're afraid of," her words weren't meant as an insult or a taunt, just a simple evaluation of the one she was facing against. More than anything, Riveria was pleased to see such serious insight from her, "I don't know what you're afraid of… but at this rate, when you face it, you'll only be able to run away."

Clearly there was some trauma haunting the boy. Some obstacle he had yet to overcome.
Ais's words were serious, and cold, but they were also important guidance. She clearly outlined exactly the future that he faced, and the challenge that yet awaited him.

They were, however, clearly also the last thing this young man wanted to hear. Just meeting him, it was impossible to miss how openly Bell wore his heart on his sleeve, and the moment she saw his expression break and the fear suddenly race across his face, Riveria could tell exactly what would happen next.

"YAAAA!"

He found his courage. He faced whatever terrifying image his memories had conjured before him. And he charged at his foe… without a plan, or strategy, just recklessly throwing himself forwards.

"That won't work."

Riveria winced as she watched Ais's sheath slam into Bell's ribs, and watched the level 1 crashing several meders away along the stone.

"You must never become reckless. That's something you should never do, especially in the dungeon."

There was some kind of delicious irony in the one who'd once been called the War Princess delivering a line like that. But the Elf who'd raised her decided to instead focus on the fact that Ais had grown enough to give such reasonable advice instead. Even if she had done so while delivering a blow far harder than strictly necessary.

Bell groaned in pain, and clenched his fists, barely even peeling himself from the floor. Despite the value of the Sword Princess's cold advice, Riveria doubted he would have even been able to hear it right now- with his Mind already thoroughly depleted and now his body rent across the ground, she doubted he'd be able to speak, much less answer her words. Riveria stepped over with a sigh, preparing to administer some healing magic.

"Can you stand?"

"Ais, give him a moment, I'll-"

"NghhH!"

Once again, the Elf known as Nine Hells found herself surprised by the absolutely nobody adventurer, Bell Cranel. Her feet stuck in place as the boy she'd thought completely unable to continue was suddenly resurrected by Ais's words, pulling himself to his feet and taking up his battle stance once more. He was visibly in serious pain, and obviously forcing himself- but from the way he was clenching down on his teeth and making an attempt of hardening his expression, it was clear he intended to push through it. It seemed he was just as serious about this training as Ais was.

"You aren't used to feeling pain. But you must not be afraid of it."

Once again, Ais's lesson was punctuated by the sound of her sheathe impacting the white-haired boy's body, and him then flying across the walls with a cry.

"Can you stand?"

Again, he dragged himself to his feet. And again, the lesson continued.

"Being alone in the dungeon means you can't leave any opening ever. Keep your eyes open and sharp."

"!"

"Better."

This time he managed to dodge her blow. Although it made no difference, since her swing switched course and instead swept his feet from under him. This time, at least, Bell Cranel was only sent toppling to the ground, rather than thrown back atop the walls.

"Can you stand?"

Of course, from the pained expression as he pulled himself to his feet, it still took a toll on him.

"Just try to follow my attacks for now. Learn to read your opponent."
"Tch!"
"Yes, like that."
"AH!"

He caught her sheath with his dagger that time, but he was a step behind in following it after that. And again, the white-haired adventurer was left crashing to the ground. Again, Ais asked if he could stand, and again he dragged himself into a battle stance at her words.

"…You're not good at blocking, are you?"

Ais's sheathe flashed and seven hits slammed into him this time. Although, Riveria assumed from his perspective it probably felt as if his whole body had been struck at once. Watching him drop to a knee, just barely able to keep himself from keeling over entirely, Riveria winced. This training was getting rough. Really, she thought, there was no need to be throwing him around with this much force, or attacking him with such ferocious speed.

If not for the ragged determination in his eyes each time he dredged himself to his feet, she would have already put a stop to this. For all that Ais was correct in that a trauma of fear haunted this young man, there was no doubting his resolve. But, of course, every top tier adventurer had ironclad resolve. Resolve wasn't enough of an explanation for how he'd managed to conquer nine floors already, and it wasn't enough to bridge even a fraction of the gap that lay between the two combatants right now.

"Too many adventurers just rely on their own status."

"Eh..?"

"They depend too much on their blessing. Ability and techniques are different things," standing over him, as Bell raggedly gasped for every breath he could manage, Ais's lecture continued, "Technique and strategy. You lack both. These things will stay with you, even if you lose your status… Such things… they're all I can teach you."

This was the most Riveria had heard the blonde speak to anyone in almost as long as she could remember. Clearly no small amount of her own heart was being shared in this exchange, and that was enough to keep the Elf from interfering even as she worried for Bell's health. Still, despite how cold Ais's words were, they were undoubtably correct. If there was anything that could overcome power it was technique. And if there was anything that could turn around any situation, it was strategy.

"You have difficulty defending, so we'll focus on that. The goal of this training is for you to read my attacks, and defend. This may be painful for you, but it will stay with you, I think. And I think… you will get closer to your goal."

Ais's eyes were shining with sincerity as she waited for Bell to re-gather herself. Whatever intentions she may have had about learning his secrets, her desire to help him and see him grow was pure.

"Can you still stand?"

"…Thank you!"

Bell pulled himself to his feet once more, and Ais stepped into place opposite him, prodding open his defences just in the way she walked towards him.

And as she watched, Riveria closed her eyes with a small nod. It appeared that she was the one in the wrong, she had underestimated both these youngsters.

Ais's method was rough, but regardless of how many times she'd dragged the blonde into her room and forced her to study, she'd never been one for books or theory. This kind of straightforward training was exactly the kind that she preferred and exactly what came natural to her.

And, despite the doubts she'd had about the young man, some of Ais's sincere efforts seemed to have resonated with him, because his determination was showing through clearly despite how forcefully the Sword Princess knocked him around. If he'd been asked, she was sure he would have requested a slightly gentler lesson, but he hadn't raised a single complaint about his treatment, and only seemed to be focussing on his own failures and mistakes anytime Ais's sheath impacted him- despite the fact that his opponent was a level six who was doing a horrible job of holding back her strength and speed.

Somehow, as messy and ridiculous as it was, it was exactly the situation Riveria had hoped for. His enthusiasm was reflected back on Ais, and the girl once known as the Doll Princess was -at least to the Elf's eyes- clearly enjoying herself.

"I'm impressed, Ais," she whispered proudly to herself, "You don't need to do it like I would, or like Finn would, you're doing just fine. I shouldn't have doubte-"

*THCK!*
"Ghk!"

And right as the words left Riveria's mouth, Ais's sheath slammed into the side of Bell's head and the poor level 1 adventurer slammed facedown to the ground, instantly unconscious.

"…"
"…"

Ais looked a little guilty.
Riveria was aghast.

"WH-What was that!? Ais!"

"…He was meant to… dodge…"

"Th-That was, that was way too fast! How could he dodge that!? That would have taken out a level 3! He's only level 1!"

"He was… getting faster…"

Ignoring the girl's ridiculous words, Riveria flew to Bell's side, demonstrating a flawless example of concurrent casting as she ran, "Luna Aldis!" the forest-green glow of her second-tier healing magic enveloped him, and the cuts and bruises spread out across his skin slowly ebbed away, a moment later his wrenching breathing softened to normal, and his fingers twitched from where they were currently splayed out across the stone.

"Ah… huh..?"

"It's fine, Bell, take a moment to collect yourself."

Ignoring her words, the white-haired adventurer collected his knife and pulled himself groggily to his feet yet again. His legs were shaking unsteadily, but he was at least in a better condition than he'd been in a few minutes ago. Despite having been significantly bruised and having worn more than a few cuts across his skin, Ais's sword sheath wasn't spilling any serious amount of the boy's blood, which meant Riveria's magic could almost entirely restore his strength. Within a moment, the light of determination was shining dangerously bright in his eyes once again.

"S-Sorry, I- I missed that one! I'll do better!"

"It's fine, just… focus on defending for now…"

"Forget about that," the green-haired Elf interrupted, stepping between them before things got out of control again, "Bell, are you even okay to continue? How are you feeling?"

"I want to continue. I want to get stronger, I need to get a lot stronger!" Ais's eyes flashed at his declaration and the ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. Turning to face Riveria, Bell looked over his body, stretching out his muscles in soft amazement as he realised just how much of his pain had been soothed, "I'm okay, thank you, Riveria-san. I… so this is healing magic..? It feels much nicer than a potion, it's… it's like being wrapped up in a warm hug."

Riveria coughed.
He clearly hadn't meant anything by those words, and nothing except praise for her efforts and gratitude for her help.
But, as a woman, and especially as an Elf, she couldn't possibly think about anything except the last time they'd met. The last time when she truly had wrapped him up in a warm hug.
The tips of her ears burned red. But decades of careful composure and forceful self-control meant she was able to keep the rest of her face from blazing the same embarrassed crimson.

"Th-That's good. Just be careful not to push yourself too hard, okay?"

"Hmph."

It wasn't as if they were having a moment. But Ais interrupted them regardless, huffing loudly and brought Bell's attention back to herself…

…And then, stepping towards him, with her arms open wide, she wrapped herself around him, drawing the shocked white-haired Adventurer into her embrace.

"A-Ah, Ai-Ais-san!?"
"Ais!?"
"Hmmm…"

Her arms wrapped around his back, and she laid her head onto his shoulder, pulling him tight against her with a gentle hum. In truth, she wasn't quite sure exactly why she was hugging Bell, it had just felt like something had been missing between them, and she knew she'd wanted to touch him for some time now. The light inside him called to her… and it felt warm.

Bell's head spun in shocked disbelief. His idol, the woman who'd catalysed his desperate desire to grow stronger, the same woman who'd just seconds ago been thrashing him around atop Orario's Walls, was now wrapped tight around him. A part of him thought he was dreaming, another part of him thought something must have gone wrong with the world. Being thrown from one extreme situation to another in such a short space of time, all the minimal experience he'd gained at dealing with women thanks to his Goddess and Syr-san immediately left him and he was stuck in place- nowhere near brave enough to return her hug. But even so, no part of him pulled away from her. Her breastplate dug into his chest a little uncomfortably, but the feeling of her slender arms wrapped tight around him, of her hair tickling his neck and her breath teasing over his skin… it was more than enough to leave his body flushing hot and his breath racing ragged.

Riveria simply watched in mute, bewildered, shock.

After a minute, Ais released him, stepping away as if nothing was amiss and she hadn't just turned his world entirely upside down.

"Which… was better?"

"Ah, ah, hu…" Bell's world was spinning far too fast to make sense of that, "Huh?"

"Which hug… did you like more?"

Riveria's jaw was hanging wide now, all traces of Elven composure completely lost as she wrapped her head around the ridiculous display. She'd never known Ais to have much of a possessive nature, but she certainly had known the girl to have a strong competitive streak… and it seemed that her words had somehow set it off.

"Th-That is, um," Bell's face was blazing red now, enough that she could have sworn steam was coming out his ears. But, regardless of how off-balance the young-man may have been, he'd at least gained enough from his time with the various women through Orario to be able to give a proper answer, "I liked yours more?"

"Hmm!"

Nodding in reply, Ais turned to her with a victorious smirk and Riveria had to fight back the urge to scream that they weren't competing! as her heart echoed the complaint, 'This wasn't a competition! …And why are we comparing my magic against your embrace anyway!?'

But somehow, in defiance of both logic and the Elven propriety she'd tried to raise Ais with, it seemed that the precedent had now been set.

The training continued.
And thirty seconds later, when Ais's sheathe slammed down atop Bell's head, and as he slumped forward unconscious once again…
…The Sword Princess collected him into her arms, drawing him gently into another embrace, and holding him in place against her until his awareness returned.

"Hu-Huh!?"
"Feel better?"

Riveria could only sigh.

If she'd been aghast before, she was outright dismayed now. This was the most ridiculous training session she'd ever witnessed, and she was beyond words in every single capacity. She should immediately call a stop to it, both for the sake of Bell's health as for Ais's dignity… except… somehow, despite knocking the poor boy out, and despite the seriousness with which she was approaching this training, Ais gave off a sense that felt almost playful. And, despite being on the receiving end of what was just barley short of being called abuse, Bell hadn't breathed a word of complaint, his focus remained entirely on his own failings and his determination to gain whatever strength he could as fast as he could.

Another garbled scream rang out and Bell collapsed once again into Ais's surprising tender embrace.

She'd known the girl had trouble holding back, but she'd thought the blonde might have gone a little bit easier on a level 1. Especially when that level 1 was a boy that Ais had seemed fond of, one she was doing this training to apologise to.

Riveria heaved yet another sigh.

It certainly wasn't gentle, and it was far from the training she'd imagined when she'd prepared for this day, but it was true that Bell was also absorbing the knowledge she'd imparted quickly. And, she supposed that almost any man in Orario would be willing to trade places if it meant they could be where the young white-haired rookie was right now.

"I guess this isn't much worse than the way Finn and Gareth knocked her around when she was younger."

That was definitely not true. But Riveria decided to go along with it anyway.


And so, the training continued on, and Bell clawed for any scrap of strength he could get, anything that could possibly bring him just another step closer to the woman he idolised.

Throwing himself forwards, picking himself up, chasing in vain after her shadow, he unconsciously followed Mother Mia, Alfia and Hestia's advice as best he could, dragging himself forwards desperately, pathetically and relentlessly. There was nothing at all cool or impressive about the way he was thrown across the battlements, or how easily and repeatedly he was knocked out to find himself within Ais's soft embrace. But even as his body cried in protest, he picked himself up each time. And even as his heart begged him to stay in her arms, he pulled himself away over and again.

By the time the sun had risen to mid-morning and Riveria called a stop to the proceedings, Bell couldn't say for sure he'd made any progress. The impossible gulf between them seemed as far as ever. Not once had he caught her shadow, and the few times he'd caught her strike her sheathe would twist in the air and he would be cut down just as easily.

But the Falna on his back was smouldering hot, and his heart was unwavering. He knew for certain that this training had been valuable, the knowledge they'd given him and the strength he'd learned was exactly what he'd been yearning for!

Thanking them both profusely, and then bowing to Riveria specifically when she wrapped her up in her warm and gentle healing magic once again, Bell made his way down from the walls with his spirits soaring through the heavens.

There was an eager skip in his step when he gave his morning greetings to Syr.

His smile was shining bright when he arrived at Babel and called out to Lilli.

And his body was practically thrumming with anticipation as the two of them, Rookie Adventurer and his Loyal (hired) Supporter, made their way into the bowels of the Dungeon.

And then, a few hours later, with her fists clenched tight and her heart in turmoil, Lilli betrayed Bell on the 10th floor, stealing the Hestia Knife, and leaving him in her trap to die.


A/N: And there we go! Like I said, while I didn't push the plot forward quite as much as I was planning to, it's still a pretty eventful chapter! A date with Filvis, meeting Lefiya, Cassandra being branded a pervert, Alfia having another difficult night, and finally the training with Ais and Riveria I hope everyone's been looking forward to (I was certainly looking forward to writing it). I felt really bad for having removed Ais's lap pillow from her in the last chapter, so I was looking forward to using this as a chance to even the scales with the Sword Princess just a little. Rather than giving Bell a lap pillow, she's going to hug him each time she knocks him unconscious.

Of course, it'd probably be nicer if she just didn't knock him unconscious, but it's still a good lesson. Probably.

And speaking of lessons, Bell's begun learning Elvish from Filvis and they've finally built something of a connection. And in the process he had quite a different first encounter with Lefiya. And, of course, just a little later on from that encounter Lefiya and Filvis had their own time in the dungeon, and from that point on, Filvis has known there's two people who've taken her hand, despite her reputation. Of course, an Elf doing so means much more to her, but…

Meanwhile, Cassandra's learned that maybe she needs to be a little careful sharing this kind of dream with Daphne. Or perhaps this'll become just another thing for Daphne to tolerate.

But for now, we can look forward to Lilli's betrayal and everything that comes from that.

As always, if you liked this and wanna support me or help get these chapters out faster, or if you want more information about my story statuses as well as weekly updates and any other details can be found at:

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