Bell had no idea where he was by the point he calmed down enough. Once his embarrassment faded, he realized he really was still a kid. Who would run away just because he got teased?! Sure, the skill and everything about it was super embarrassing but there was no need to escape like that! It would only make things worse! Bell sighed, looking around aimlessly. As far as he knew, he was somewhere in the North East part of the city. But more than that? He had no idea. Scratching the back of his head, he wandered around. Now that he was rather cool, he couldn't help but smile. Level two at last! He couldn't wait to get back into the dungeon and find out how strong he got now! At least now he bridged the gap between himself and Kojiro and Solaris! Not to mention he would get to see how Haruhime reached level two on her own. Outside the dungeon it was supposed to be rather difficult, which spoke volumes of her effort. Welf did mention he lost years from his lifespan supposedly so that was a bit worrying. Still, to know that Haruhime grew that much stronger, most likely with the Divine Arms style refined... He couldn't wait for his swords to be reforged.
His ears twitched when he heard something weird, cutting his musings short. As if an item was cutting through air. Blinking, he followed the noise, as it got louder and louder. Weirdly enough the streets seemed rather empty. Maybe this spot wasn't frequented often?
"What is that... ?"
He stopped in front of what seemed to be an almost abandoned looking bar. The cutting sounds through the air were the loudest when he stood in front of it. It seemed to be in bad shape, yet... alright enough? It was hard to put into words. Nothing was rotten. Just cracks that almost seemed to be on purpose. Gulping, he carefully pushed the doors open and peeked inside. What he saw caused his eyes to go wide.
The red hair was unmistakable. It was Solaris. Her eyes seemed muddled, as if she was lost in thought. Legs were kicked up, put on the table. Despite that, her actions caused Bell to gape, as it spoke nothing of pure skill. With her bag of valis attached to a rope, she was swinging it around like some sort of super long flail. In front of her, on the various tables, several glasses were set up. Despite all the criss crosses and swings at the frail objects' direction... not a single glass broke. Or rather, not one was even brushed by the bag. Even with the curves, the snaps and the circles it made, every swing had so much precision to avoid destruction. And she was doing that while not even properly paying attention! Looking around, he didn't spot anyone else, so this could have been an old and vacated bar... or Solaris knew the owner and they left her be. Either way, he felt his heart clench at her empty look, despite the coolness of her rope swinging techniques. Stepping inside, he cleared his throat, carefully raising his hand.
"Solaris?"
The captain flicked her wrist before glancing at him. She blinked, some light returning to her eyes.
"Oh." The bag of valis landed on her palm. Lazily putting her money on the table she raised her hand with a weak smile. "Hey there. How'd you find me?"
"Err, I was kinda... running around... ?" Bell replied blushing a bit as he scratched his cheek. Solaris scoffed, raising an eyebrow at him.
"What, embarrassing skill name?"
The rookie lowered his head, coughing.
"...Heroic Desire, Argonaut," he muttered. His captain let out a snort. Then her smile fell as she looked at Bell before looking away, rubbing her temples in frustration.
"Haah... why am I still surprised..."
Bell flinched. Grabbing his arm, he bit his lip.
"Did... did we do something... ?" He asked carefully. Solaris froze up, glancing at him. After a period of silence, in which Bell looked into her eyes, afraid but not hesitating, she closed her eyes. He wouldn't move. Maybe this was the wrong move. But he didn't want this to continue. This suffering his captain had to endure on her own. In the end, Solaris twirled her hand at the seat in front of her.
"Sit down, buddy."
He did so, hands on his knees. Silence reigned between them, strained as Solaris tapped the table a few times. Bell glanced at the valis she owned before laughing nervously.
"Err... so you are pretty good with a rope... ?" He asked quietly, trailing off. The Rakian blinked before smiling lightly.
"It's my main weapon." Ignoring Bell's wide eyes, she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Try to buy that somewhere in Orario. Especially a rope, or chain, that can handle my flames. So I have to rely on the good ol' Rakian style spear and shield." She shrugged, smile growing wider. "Until bro finishes up my personal weapon, heaven knows how long that'll take."
"Huh... "
Bell honestly didn't expect that. Then again, he faintly recalled that chain back in Welf's workshop. So that was him working for Solaris' sake? Still, this new information made him see her in a new light. Using a weapon she didn't prefer, she still managed to reach level two as she did. Imagining her using a proper chain or rope in the dungeon... he saw it in his mind. Armies of monsters being mowed down by a burning deadly snake.
"Did you notice how I have literally no friends?"
Her blunt words shook him out of his daydreams. He turned to her, tilting his head.
"Eh?"
"Closest thing is Lil' A but... " She wiggled her hands. "More like colleagues. Most other people don't get along with me. Make fun of me when I say I'm the daughter of the flames. Idiot and what not are words thrown at me."
Bell bristled up. He recalled the first trip to the dungeon they had together. So that was the tame treatment she received?!
"That's-"
"I can't really fault them." Bell was silenced by her words. Solaris scoffed, smiling wryly as she pointed at herself. "I go out of my way to antagonise people sometimes."
"Why?" Bell asked, not able to comprehend anyone would do that. His captain flinched at his quiet words. Rubbing her hand against the back of her hair, she clicked her tongue in irritation, struggling to get the words out.
"...I hate being weak." She shrugged weakly. "So I want to prove myself. Which means being... kind of an ass." Licking her lips, she shook her head. "That's why I don't join Astraea's team as a supporter. I... I don't want to be just a supporter. And I don't wanna piss them off cause I'm pissed off." Sighing, she lowered her head. "Still, I need to be more than that. I want to prove that... " She swallowed her saliva and looked up, her body just looking so small as her voice became a whisper. "That I'm not a mistake."
"You're not a mistake!" Bell shouted immediately, feeling indignation for anyone even thinking that.
"Tell that to this idiot," Solaris said with a scoff, pointing at her heart. "I own the Crozzo name a lot. So it's basically my obligation to live up to the past glory and expectations and what not. I ain't a smith so being muscle is all I can do." She turned her head away, her smile fading as she ran her hand through her red hair with a tired sigh. "Not doing a great job comparatively speakin'..."
"Are you... envious of us?" Bell asked when she fell silent. He knew it was an obvious question. Yet he needed to hear it from her mouth. She hissed, barring her teeth before reigning it back in.
"Hell yeah, I am." A self depreciating smile twitched on her mouth. "Worst is, I shouldn't. You guys are my family. I shouldn't feel this way. I'm mad at your growth. I'm mad at myself for thinking that." A sniff escaped her and she wiped her eyes, looking away. "I'm just weak, aren't I…? "
"That's wrong!"
Solaris jumped a bit in her seat, seeing Bell on his feet after having slammed his hands on the table.
"The fact that you feel bad means you are a good person!" He took a deep breath. "And... and it takes strength to admit your own faults! Besides, you're level two! You stand above most already!"
His captain stared at him before smiling weakly.
"That's not good enough, Bell."
"Why do you want to be strong so much?" He asked in return. He felt empathy, that feeling that nothing was good enough in the face of what he wanted to accomplish. Yet he couldn't understand what her goal was. To relate what she really wanted to do. Solaris tapped the table, unsure how to explain it. Then she closed her eyes, her shoulders slumping.
"...I have dreams since I was young," she began quietly. "About the world being consumed by monsters. There... there was a woman. Beautiful, yet I can't remember her features." She smiled, like a child remembering their favorite hero. "She burned the enemies down. All of them. Then every time she would whisper to me."
"That is?"
"Protect," Solaris replied. She looked down at her hand before clenching it into a fist. "Ever since those dreams started I had magic. And a skill." She smiled a bit. "Specialized to murder monsters." It disappeared as quickly as it came. "If I'm not the best at it, I feel like I'm... I'm worthless." She looked at Bell who bit his lip at her demeaning words. She shrugged weakly as she pointed at herself. "If I can't protect like mom says, what good am I?"
"Mom?" Bell whispered, causing Solaris to scoff.
"It feels like a mom. Maybe it's a spirit. I dunno." She laughed dryly, shaking her head. "I dunno a lot of things, so... Seeing you guys grow strong so fast, have such clear goals. Surpassing me, I... " She closed her eyes. "I don't know. I like you guys. I can't avoid you like others. And I don't want to. Yet this feeling... "
"That's okay."
Solaris blinked before turning to Bell, who smiled gently at her. The words just flowed out, but he felt that he needed to say them. That everything was alright.
"Huh?"
He laughed a bit at her confused expression. He hated that she thought of herself like that... but was he so different? Didn't he also harbor those self doubts all the time? In a way, it was a relief that Solaris wasn't so different. He had no idea if this would help. Honestly he wasn't sure if Solaris would feel better. All he could do was say what was on his mind.
"Envy isn't bad. It just shows how much you want to catch up. To stay with us. That's not bad. You can get mad. You can get frustrated. It's okay."
"That's unfair to you!" She shouted at him. Bell scratched his cheek in response.
"Actually, I'm flattered." At her wide eyed look, he coughed. Looking down, he felt a bit embarrassed. "I... never expected anyone would ever feel like having to catch up to me." He looked up, pointing at himself. "It sort of motivates me?"
"...You're really okay with this... ?" Solaris muttered, unsure after a period of silence. Bell nodded without hesitation.
"It's only human. And just like Lady Hestia and Kojiro will think... we don't mind. You can get past this. We all know that."
"...Heh." Solaris smiled, genuinely since the first time Bell arrived. Shaking her head at herself she let out a scoff. "What a captain I am. Need a pep talk from my own junior." "
She slapped her cheeks a few times. Then she stood up, arms crossed as she let out a boisterous laugh.
"Alright, if you guys are alright with me being frustrated, I ain't holding back!" She pointed at Bell with a wide grin. "I'll scream at you and pull at your legs as I climb up to follow you as much as you desire!"
"That's the spirit!" Bell lowered his raised fist, his smile wavering. "Err, as long as you don't overdo it. And I don't think I'm that far ahead…?"
"Just keep tellin' yourself that!"
With that she dropped some coins and left the building, ignoring Bell's worries at those words. Did she mean him being far ahead or that she should've overdo it? Either was worrying in a sense. Following her, they moved towards the south. Just as they left the rather empty district, Bell couldn't help but smile as he spotted someone, moving alongside carriages. Waving his arm, he approached the person, passing Solaris.
"Hey, Nyx!"
The merchant looked up from her clipboard, blinking before cracking a smile at them.
"Ah. B-B-B-Bell. S-Solaris."
"Greetings," Solaris responded, raising her hands with a smile. The goddess stared at them, or rather at Solaris, silently. The captain began to fidget, leaning away with Nyx didn't even blink. Then she rummaged in her pockets and pulled out an armband. She presented it to Solaris, who stared at it in confusion.
"Here."
She shared a look with Bell, who shrugged helplessly. She turned back to the goddess, tilting her head.
"Err... why?"
"L-Lucky charm." Nyx coughed and looked away, nervously. "Y-Y-You seem like y-y-y-you need it. I-I-I saw you. In the b-bar." She lowered her head, her lips quivering. "Am-Am... I wrong…?"
To that, Solaris smiled, uneasy as it was due to Nyx' presence and took the armband and attached it to herself.
"Nah. It's great. Thanks."
Nyx nodded, her eyes sparkling as much as they could. Turning to Bell she played with her hair a bit.
"You are... level two now?"
"Yes, I am." Bell smiled and raised his thumb at her. "Thanks to you."
Immediately the goddess shook her head, waving her hands in front of her in denial.
"I-I did nothing!"
"If you didn't let us travel with your company, I might not have experienced the journey as I did," Bell countered. She looked down, biting her lip. By now Bell realized that it was a sign she was embarrassed yet happy, trying to hide her own smile.
"If-If you s-s-s-say so... C-Congratulations... " She sighed, her hair strands covering her eyes. "I... I don't have anything…"
"It's fine. Your friendship is more than enough."
"Heh... " She blushed a bit before bowing at them. "G-Good day to you."
Returning to the wagons, Bell watched her start talking to other employees with a smile. He glanced at Solaris, confused why she covered her mouth with what amounted to a perverted giggle. The two of them moved along, intending to pass by the small caravan, idly listening to the gossip the Night Company workers were having.
"Did you hear?"
"About what?"
"There's supposed to be some sort of fire spirit in the dungeon."
Solaris stopped in her tracks. Bell turned to her, worried as her eyes were wide.
"A spirit in the dungeon? Get real."
"Well, it did vanish after people witnessed it first, but... Y'know, big fire on the middle floors is kind of... ?"
"Pah, just a bunch of hellhounds."
"Maybe you're right."
It took awhile to get Solaris moving again. She tried to wave his concerns off, pretending she was just caught off guard for a moment and that it was probably a stupid rumor. Yet Bell wasn't fooled at the far off look Solaris would get as she looked at Babel, mouthing the two words over and over again.
Fire spirit.
