Chapter 22 - No One Expected This

"Bell!" Eina shouted, but remained rooted to the sofa she was sitting on in the living room of Hearth mansion. Earlier, Bell had instructed Lili to ask Miach's familia to leave as they weren't needed to house-sit any longer. Then bring Eina, Ryū and Hestia to sit in the room they were in now. Plus, not to make any sudden movements until he explained himself.

The mood was incredibly intense as Welf, Lili, Haruhime and Mikoto all watched him with their mouths nervously clamped shut.

"Bell, what is that?" His goddess asked as her gaze shifted towards the cloaked girl at his hide. She already knew.

He silently pulled back the girl's hood.

Bluish-white skin, amber eyes, and a garnet-like jewel in her forehead.

"M-M-Monster!" His half elf lover pointed, she was terrified, while Ryu looked wide eyed in shock.

"It's okay, she won't hurt anyone." He reassured, with both hands raised to calm them down.

"...Explain what happened for me." Bell's goddess asked and he explained everything.

How he found a vouivre girl attacked by monsters, saved her from adventurers, then discovered she could talk. No one else said a word from start to finish. Except when Bell asked the blue-skinned girl to speak to confirm a fact. During his explanation, everyone who was standing found a chair to sit around the living room table.

"...What should we do, Kami-sama?"

Lili asked as soon as his story came to an end. The vouivre girl had a strong grip on his right arm and wouldn't let go. Their goddess was deep in thought, arms crossed over her chest until she slowly opened her eyes.

"...Please don't tell anyone else. We'll wait and see."

She made eye contact with everyone in the room, even the strange girl at his side.

"I'm going to be brutally honest with you all, I really don't know how to take this, I can hardly believe…"

"This… what I'm looking at should be impossible?" Eina stated. She was more qualified to talk about this than the rest of them, having studied hard to equip her adventures with the best monster knowledge available. It was her job.

"Yes, it probably is for most, but monsters and you children of the mortal realms… are enemies. Two entities fated to fight each other. I know that to be true, but I can't turn my back on someone capable of so much fear."

"So…?"

"She can stay here for now." Bell let out a heavy sigh of relief, but not everyone else felt the same. No one spoke out against the decree, not even Eina who was a guild employee. Although she was palming her face, possibly due to all the stress this situation gave her right now.

Hestia then hopped out of her chair with a little grunt of effort. She was anxious, but still gave the vouivre girl a gentle smile, before asking for her name.

Everyone was surprised when she spoke more than just his name. The only thing they heard her say until now. Then the responsibility of picking out a name for the strange girl was thrust onto him.

Wiene was her chosen name in the end.

A combination of "Melusine", the name of a fairy in a hero's tale. "Vouivre" the name of the monster girl's race and a shortened version of his earlier suggestion, Wilusine. Which Hestia then shortened down into something more cute.

Bell shrank in his seat as they all critiqued his name, except Haruhime, Ryū and Eina who complimented him.

"Wiene…? Me… Wiene?"

"Y-yeah. What do you think?"

Still attached to his arm, her lips spread out into an unmistakably joyful expression. It was like seeing the most pure, almost naive, childlike happiness on the face of a surprisingly beautiful monster girl right beside him. Everyone was taken away by her expression.

"Bell, Bell." She let go of his arm in her moment of happiness, then rubbed her face into his unarmoured chest.

"Wait-wait-wait." Taking care to avoid her sharp claws, he held her hands up gently. "Wiene, we need to trim your claws first. Otherwise, you might hurt someone." Namely him. He didn't want to know what it felt like if she accidentally poked him with her nails.

A few minutes later, Welf came back with a set of tools from his workshop.

But Wiene was afraid as he approached her, burying her face even further into his chest. Hestia had tried to introduce herself to Wiene earlier, only to learn that gaining the vouivre girl's trust wouldn't be that easy.

"It'll be okay, Wiene. I'll make sure it doesn't hurt." He promised and the little girl looked into his eyes, as if to seek reassurance. Then she nodded and let Welf begin clipping her claws.

"Can you girls go make some food please, nothing too fancy, because I'm sure everyone's a little hungry after tonight." Eina, Ryū, Mikoto and Haruhime left for the kitchen, while Lili and Hestia stayed behind. Presumably thinking about what to do next with Wiene.

.

When Eina and the girls came back from the kitchen, Wiene eyed them curiously and began sniffing. She had no idea what they were carrying. The guild advisor walked up to Bell, while Haruhime approached the light blue girl with a plate.

"Here, try this Wiene." Haruhime offered in the softest voice she could muster.

As Bell watched them, Eina handed him his plate.

"Thank you, my love." He smiled.

"You're welcome, Bell." She glowed like a goddess under his affection and it made his heart swell with pride.

No one could do that, except him.

Then he turned around to Wiene who still hadn't taken the renart's plate.

"Look Wiene, it's tasty…" A bite and a smile of satisfaction later. "Hmmm…" His exaggeration got the monster girl's attention and she copied his actions.

"Hmmm…" Her childlike hum caught everyone by surprise when she bite into her cake.

She's more of a child than Bell, they all thought.

Nearly all of them smiled as they began eating their late night stack too.

.

Sometime later, Wiene must have succumbed to exhaustion, because she had fallen asleep in his arms. No one was able to pry her off him and Ryū looked hesitant to even try, but when she was about to… Bell stopped her.

"Wait, what happens after we split her up? Because no one seems to have been able to gain her trust yet, except me. So, as much as I don't like this," a heavy sigh escaped his lips as he looked towards his girls. "It's probably best to let Wiene sleep like this. At least until she learns to trust someone else."

Everyone in the room nodded.

"Okay, but she's not sleeping in our bed!" Eina declared. Which he understood, that was meant to be for them only. "However, I'm going to sleep next to you and make sure nothing weird happens!" Her statement was non-negotiable as they all went to their bedrooms and returned with a thick blanket and pillows. No one seemed to trust the newest addition to their familia and slept near him within arm's reach of their weapons. Ready to act on a moment's notice.

Right after the lights went out, with Bell and his elves sharing one of the two sofas for themselves, he gave a quick kiss to both his girls.

"Thank you, for trusting me."

"Always."

"I never doubted you."

They both replied.

"Goodnight." He responded and the two elves fell asleep while holding onto his free hand.

.

When they woke up, Wiene was still asleep and wouldn't let go of Bell.

Which was really unfortunate, because he really needed to go for a pee.

So he gently shook her awake.

"Wiene. Wiene. Wake up, please!"

"Hmm…?" She drowsily responded.

"Can you stay here for a moment, while I quickly do something?" Sensing his urgency, she refused to let go and dug her face into his stomach. Wiene seemed to mistake his sudden rush for danger as she looked around the room, scared.

"It's okay, you're safe." But his bladder said otherwise.

Think. Bell. Think!

"Haruhime."

"Yes!" Her golden fox tail shot up instantly.

"Can you come with me to the toilet?" His careless request invited someone else to shout…

"Bell-sama you pervert! Lili can't believe you asked-"

"Wait-wait-wait! It's nothing like that!"

"Lili does not trust you, so she'll be going with you too!"

It wasn't her who also voiced their objection and so Bell ended up going to the bathroom with Eina, Ryū, Lili, Wiene, Haruhime and Hestia in tow.

Welf stayed put, he wanted no part of this drama.

Much to their relief, Bell only left the bluish-white skinned monster girl just outside the bathroom door and promised to speak with her as he did his business. While the girls promised to keep her out of the restroom.

When he came out, she latched back onto his arm giggled, while Bell could only pray to the heavens.

I hope this doesn't happen all day.

.

Afterwards, Hestia ordered them all to find more information about Wiene, but only to ask from sources they could absolutely trust. With a few exceptions. They could only consult with trustworthy deities, no mortals. No matter how trustworthy.

That meant Ryu couldn't do anything and neither could Eina, who worked at the guild. If they knew, then it would be classified as top secret, something she could never get her hands on. So that left Mikoto, Lili, Welf and Hestia. Leaving only Bell and Haruhime to stay at home. Partially because Wiene wouldn't let go of him and Haruhime didn't know who to speak to. Instead, they spent the day looking after Wiene and teaching her new things. Which was quite easy because she was so curious about everything.

It wasn't all smooth sailing as Wiene tried to take off her cloak earlier, but was stopped just in time. The monster girl was entirely naked underneath, had no concept of decency and refused to wear the clothes Haruhime suggested to her that morning.

Now, they were in the back garden of the mansion. Bell was wearing his dungeon attire from the day before, minus the armour, while Haruhime was dressed in a maid outfit. Lunch time soon arrived and Bell noticed there was one thing Wiene was interested in above all. Food.

"...Yum…"

"D-do you really think so?"

"Yes…"

"That is a rice ball, handmade by Mikoto-san! Would you like to try this fruit?!"

Haruhime seemed to be thrilled, her fox ears standing straight up and her golden fluffy tail wagged back and forth almost as if she were presenting her own cooking. Meanwhile, Wiene quietly nibbled on the food in front of her and glanced at the renart's beaming face. She tried to pat Wiene's head while the girl was busy gobbling down the fruit, but Wiene dodged her hand easily and pulled away.

A frown formed over the maid's face and her shoulders dropped, while Wiene leaned closer into him. It seemed like she was still a bit wary of Haruhime, even though she wiped the monster girl down earlier this morning. So there was a little bit of trust between them.

Once Wiene finished eating, she seemed hypnotised by Haruhime's golden fox tail, mimicking its movements with her body. Haruhime caught on, sweeping her tail side to side and turning it into a game. She dared Wiene to try and catch it, but she failed each time.

Bell's heart sped up as he watched them play. Only yesterday, Haruhime had been scared stiff of the monster girl, but now she was trying her best to bond with Wiene. Maybe she understood the vouivre's fear of being alone and afraid. Then sought to correct that, but no matter what her reasoning was, it was clear she carried about the monster girl.

Seeing them play like that reminded him of him and his grandfather when they used to chase chickens around their farm for fun. Of course, it was a part of their work as farmers, but he always had fun growing up and never felt alone. Just like Wiene right now.

Haruhime was barely older than him, two years, but she looked like the perfect mother while playing with Wiene. The strong maternal vibe she gave off, coupled with her smirk, was driving him crazy. She was easily amongst the most beautiful women he had ever seen, along with Ais, Eina and Ryū.

Plus, the way she built herself up and befriended everyone in their familia over the past month had impressed him. Haruhime would always try to find a way to help others, never complained and didn't ask for anything in return. Aside from Lili and Hestia's complaints about her getting too close to him, which he didn't mind, they all liked her. She earned their respect and Bell found himself wanting more.

He wanted to earn her love too.

But how?

They were currently stuck with Wiene and he couldn't leave her alone.

Or let someone else look after her, not for now at least.

What would allow him to be alone with Haruhime without abandoning Wiene?

Bell couldn't think of a way, but he knew that it had to involve some kind of game.

A set of rules where he and Haruhime would share a moment together, without Wiene noticing. Unable to come up with anything, Bell asked Haruhime.

"Haruhime."

"Yes, Bell-sama."

"I've told you before, you can call me Bell…"

"I'm sorry, Bell-sama, but I can't do that. It just wouldn't feel right."

No matter how many times he told her this, she always responded about wanting to be respectful towards her saviour. Bell asked Mikoto about this and wanted to know he could change it. She said it was a cultural thing and the only way to change that would be to take her as one of his women.

Bell grinned at the memory. Mikoto seemed to be helping Haruhime get closer to him and he wouldn't disappoint them.

"Okay, but do you know of any childish games we could play with Wiene?"

The renart looked off into the distance as she gave it some thought.

"Ah, yes! There is one that Haruhime and I used to play all the time!"

"Oh?"

It turned out to be a game called Oni Gokko or hide and seek. She explained the rules and Bell loved it. This was exactly what he was looking for to spend a private moment or two with the beautiful golden fox girl in front of him.

After a few rounds, Wiene became the seeker.

"Haruhime, over here." He called with an outstretched hand, which she took. "Let's hide together." It was the perfect excuse to hold her hand and speak to her privately.

She glowed with happiness when their hands connected.

"Thank you for all your hard work today, I really appreciate you for that."

"...it's nothing Bell. I was only doing my job. There's nothing special about it." Her cheeks were blooming like cherry blossoms, which made him chuckle.

"No. You've done a beautiful job so far and Wiene's started warming up to you. She might even let you pat her head one day." Haruhime frowned.

Then he patted her head, which forced her to let out a startled cry.

"Found you!"

Oops.

Maybe Wiene had superior hearing and easily spotted them that way.

"Bell. Bell. Can you do the same to me?" She bounced.

"Sure." He tossed a quick smile to Haruhime.

"See? This is how you do it."

Her jealous frown made him laugh again.

They played many more times, before deciding to take a break. Bell was hungry, so he led them to the kitchen.

.

"Wiene, just sit here and don't touch anything unless we tell you to, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Haruhime, are you hungry too?"

"A little..." She had tasted his cooking a few times and remembered them all. Bell's food always made her heart race, but she wanted to do the same for him too. One day. Apparently, food was a very important part of his life as a hobby and she knew he was always experimenting with food during his free time.

When Bell turned around, he came back with a few different pieces of food and two pieces of cloth laid out on the kitchen table in front of them.

"Okay, so here's how it's going to work. I'm going to give you a piece from each of these and tell you what it is. Then I'm going to wrap these around your head and see if you can remember what you ate. Whoever gets the most correct answers will win a special prize.

"A special prize?"

Oh right, Wiene had never heard of those words before. So he did a quick explanation

While Bell did that, Haruhime wondered what the prize was.

Should she try to win or lose on purpose?

Even if she won, would Bell exclude Wiene from the special prize?

She didn't think he would.

"Oh, so let's begin!"

Bell quickly cut up five small portions for each of them.

Chicken, bacon, tomato, lettuce, cheese and bread.

Wiene seemed to love them all.

Then it was time for their blind taste test and he'd feed them with a spoon. Since their guest might bite off his fingers by accident, she did possess the strength of a dragon after all. So he warned her not to eat the spoon too.

The monster girl seemed to have no trouble figuring out which food was which by taste alone. Neither did Haruhime, but she wasn't going to let it end in a draw or steal a victory away from Wiene. So she planned to give the wrong answer next.

"Ready, Haruhime?"

"Yes." She smiled.

Then he took her hand.

Bell, what are you doing?

"!" She gasped as her heart exploded like a firebolt from Bell's hands. "Bell?" She whispered with a tremble in her voice.

Did he really just do that?

Kiss her hand.

"So, what did you just eat?"

He planned this all along!

"... I-I don't know."

A few more deafening seconds of silence and he did it again, eliciting another gasp from her. Louder this time.

"Would you like to know, later?"

Haruhime's heart started jumping between her ears.

Did he just ask me out in front of Wiene?

Her breathing became laboured as she tried to take it all in. Bell, her saviour, was pursuing her. A man, who had not only saved her life when she repeatedly rejected him because of her spoiled body, but had rescued her innocence as well.

Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she shook like a tree under a heavy storm.

"Haruhime, are you okay? Did I-" She cut him off by squeezing the hand holding onto hers.

"I would like to… very much."

"Okay." A few taps from Bell's thumb and she let go of his hand, reluctantly.

With that, the renart lost the food test, but won something far more valuable. A chance for a happy ending, like the stories she grew up on.

"I win. I win. I win!" Shouted a happy vouivre.

"Yes, you do Wiene."

"What's the prize?!" Her excitement was infectious.

"We're going to make something special with all the food you just ate." Wiene's smile was pure and huge, like a child. She licked her lips. "We're also going to be adding something new!"

"Oh, what is it? What is it?"

Bell then brought out an egg, then taught Haruhime and her how to make this dish. He hadn't seen anyone else try this before, so it was more of an experiment than anything else.

First, they filled the cooking pan with water and submerged the bacon in it. Bell explained that this would make it extremely crunchy and very delicious. Both girls were drooling as they watched his cook. Then he fried the eggs in the bacon fat left behind, until it was no longer see through, but white with a runny yolk. Afterwards, he laid a few strips of thick bread slices and let them absorb the flavour from the meat.

The smell made Haruhime's tail spin in circles, while Wiene struggled to keep her mouth closed. Bell then asked the girls to copy him and showed them how to assemble the sandwich.

"Mmmmmmm!" The girls hummed.

"So good!" Haruhime sang.

"I love it!" Wiene declared.

Once they finished eating, the three of them cleaned up the kitchen and taught her various things. Such as how to write her name in the common tongue most used in Orario. Next, they read her a story and took a nap.

When it happened, Wiene snuggled up to Bell in her salamander's cloak. Then, he did something Haruhime wasn't expecting at all.

"Would you like to join us, Haruhime?" He asked while holding out a hand.

Haruhime's entire body shook with nervousness and excitement at the prospect of snuggling up so closely to him.

I hope Eina and Ryū don't mind if I do this.

Hopefully they wouldn't mind, she asked Mikoto earlier and found out he was infatuated with Ais too. Aside from that, Mikoto didn't know if he was interested in anyone else. Her friend would go crazy once she learnt about this though.

Maybe I'll get to spend just a single night with him.

But if he was offering more, then she'd gladly accept within a heartbeat.

When she took Bell's outstretched hand, Haruhime sank into his side. His warm and comforting frame gave her a peace she never knew. It was like all her aches, pains and worries melted away. Her mind was next, but before she lost consciousness, a single thought spoke out to her.

I hope this never ends.

Today was one of the best days of her life so far.

A home where she was free.

A purpose she had chosen.

And a man who meant everything to her.

Bell was more than she deserved.

He wasn't just given to her…

Like all her father's other retainers.

Bell had crashed into her life, completely flipped it around, gained her trust and given her a reason to live again.

No one had ever given her that.

A chance to live as a woman with the freedom to choose her own path.

Her own happiness.

And… she chose him.

Haruhime hoped he would choose her in return.

.

When they woke up, she felt a warm running sensation down the side of her waist. His thumb was gently massaging her there and she refused to say anything, lest he stop what he was doing.

Eventually, he had to when Wiene woke up with a loud yawn and asked what they would do next.

Bell thought of a few other games they could play, before returning back to the kitchen to make more food. He hadn't been able to eat as much as normal.

So they made another blind taste test with eggs, potatoes, onions and ham. A merchant in the food market had recently taught him a new recipe called tortilla Española. It didn't normally have meat, so this was an experiment, but it was very easy and fast to make.

For the second time in a day, Haruhime wondered if Bell was a god of the culinary arts. He certainly had her convinced. Plus, she noticed how Bell always found an excuse to touch her while being respectful about it. Unlike her past customers as a prostitute, Bell eyes never shone with pure lust and his hands always left her wanting more.

However, with Wiene clinging onto him all the time that wasn't possible. Afterwards, the vouivre asked to play another game, but Bell looked mentally exhausted. Haruhime couldn't blame him, they had entertained Wiene all day with only a brief moment to rest. So they all took another nap.

.

When Eina arrived home, she found them asleep in the living room and something surprising as well. Haruhime was very red faced as Bell's head sat in her lap, while Wiene was wrapped around him. They practically looked like family. It made her feel a bit jealous, even if she still felt very wary of Wiene.

"Eina-san, I-"

"It's okay Haruhime-san, if Bell let you then I'm okay with it."

The renart in a maid's uniform opened and closed her mouth a few times, before responding.

"Thank you."

"Mmmmmmmm…"

Both girls looked down at Bell, he was purring against Haruhime's lap with the silliest grin on his face.

"How was today?" The elf asked.

"Good."

"Something happened, didn't it?" It sounded like a rhetorical question as Haruhime's eyes widened.

"Y-Yes… but how did you know?" She couldn't lie. That was one of the things Eina liked most about her.

"You haven't stopped stroking his hair ever since I entered the room and your tail is wrapped around one of his arms, which he's also holding." Haruhime instantly tried to let go completely, but Bell kept a firm grip on her tail.

"It's okay, I told you. Plus, Bell wouldn't touch you if he didn't like you in that way."

Ever since the renart rescued from Ishtar familia had moved in, she noticed Bell never made any attempt to touch her since then.

"Only you girls will get to feel my touch."

He once told her and Ryū in bed.

So what changed?

She'd ask him later about it.

For now…

"Hey, Bell..." Eina kneeled to gently shake his shoulder to wake him up.

"Hmmmm… goddess? Are you the fairy goddess I dreamt about?" She jokingly palmed his face. Bell always teased her and Ryū whenever they woke him up in the mornings.

"Bell…" But Eina wasn't immune to it as her cheeks glowed under his praise.

Wiene woke up right after and backed away from the guild advisor.

"Come on Wiene, what did we teach you earlier?"

"W-Welcome home…" Then she tried to hide behind Bell.

Eina froze as if someone cast a freezing spell on her.

Impossible! Her mind said.

"It's okay, Wiene. Eina-san's a good person and Bell-san trust's her… even more than me." Eina sensed just the tiniest amount of jealousy, but what happened next took her by complete surprise.

"Ha-ha! Stop!" Haruhime was tickling their blueish-white guest with her tail. Then Bell joined in.

"Never! And the only one who can save you is Eina!" He declared and Wiene instantly ran behind Eina's legs, trying to use her as a shield. Eina instantly realised what they were trying to do and played along. For the next, however long, they played a series of games aimed at developing Wiene's trust with the elf.

During it all, Eina realised why Bell had suddenly taken a liking to Haruhime.

She looked like a woman who would make a great mother.

And Bell, a great father too.

They played many games like tag, stuck in the mud and even invented new ones… like pillow fights.

When Hestia, Lili, Welf and Mikoto arrived home, Bell encouraged them all to join in.

Everyone eagerly joined in, except Lili who received several pillows to the face until she changed her mind.

.

A.N.

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

XD

The only reason Ryū isn't there is because her shifts finish late and if you've ever worked in a bar, you'll know it's often SUPER late! Especially if it's a popular one and on a busy night.

This was also super hard to write as I struggled to come up with Eina's, but eventually found my flow! Pretty proud of it myself too.

Because I want each girl's romance to be all memorably unique.

So much so that whenever you rewatch the series, you can't help, but imagine those scenes from my fanfic happening.

Plus, I'll be honest. These chapters are getting harder to write and it'll only get harder when I hit Ryu's arc. So I've been focusing more on writing the slice of life moments that the canon story doesn't cover when there are no noticeable changes to make up for it.

On another note...

I paid for an artist to draw a specific scene from my fanfic and I should be getting the first draft in a few days!

But you, my readers, won't see the finished piece until the 10th of December.

It'll be good! :P

Chapter 22: 4544 words. (Including a few dots that act as transitions and dividers)