Chapter 88

It was surprising what one could find out about a person if they bought groceries for them, Bell mused with the bags in his arms. Eating habits, interests, things one would never consider until they actually looked at what they bought. It certainly said a lot about people, what they were hiding or what only reinforced the impression of their personalities. Kaguya for example had a sweet tooth which she would always deny, claiming she took pity on Hestia. The goddess was always intimidated enough to pretend that she indeed wanted the sweets, instead of just the cheap stall food they got for her. Meanwhile Lyra was more honest, just wanting food with strong flavors. Probably a consequence of her being blind, though Ryuu claimed that Lyra always had such taste. Stereotypical as it was, Kojiro and Haruhime stuck to the Far East cuisine. Though the Renard had a surprising taste for tougher meats, while Kojiro was content with simple rice. On the other hand, Astraea and Ryuu were vegetarians, the latter adhering to the traditional taste elves seemed to have.

Then there was Solaris. He grimaced at the thought of his captain. She hasn't been home for a while, preferring to stick around on patrols or stay with Welf's home. Their fight still felt so fresh, so he understood the distance. It still made his heart ache however. Looking down at the bags, he sighed. Maybe it was premature or hopeful thinking, but all the hot sauce and peppers would hopefully soon be eaten by her, once she returned. He could only hope she'd cool down from the Xenos issue eventually.

Bell blinked at the thought and stopped in the middle of the streets. His companion, Ryuu, turned to him, with bags in her arms as well, tilting her head with curiosity. He blushed a bit at the cute gesture before clearing his throat.

"Err, I just remembered… I completely forgot." He glanced around, checking if anyone was listening in. However, most people minded their own business as they wandered through the busy streets. Somewhat sure nobody was overhearing them, he came a bit closer with a low voice. "Uhm, what are you and the others thinking about the X-I mean, uh, them?"

Ryuu's eyes widened for a moment before her expression returned back to neutral. She kept her voice low as well as they moved on, Bell keeping close but not too close to invade her personal space.

"The majority of the Familia agreed to support you and them if you so wish."

Relief flooded Bell's very blood before he paused and processed the words properly. His smile wavered as he pressed his lips together for a moment.

"Majority?"

Ryuu licked her lips in consideration before glancing at him.

"Lyra and Kaguya are…not opposed to the idea, but not exactly supportive either. They wish to take an observe and see approach." Ryuu paused before letting out a dry snort. "Or hear approach, in Lyra's case."

Bell laughed for a moment before it trailed off. Not what he was hoping for…but at least it was something. The two of them seemed pragmatic like that. And anything was better than the flat out refusal that Aiz and Solaris showcased.

"Lady Astraea, Alise and Arash are fine with it then?" Maybe Bell was jumping to conclusions but he thought he had a good handle on the Triple A personality. Them actually refusing to help sounded way too alien. Thankfully, Ryuu didn't defy expectations as she nodded with a small smile.

"Lady Astraea always stands for justice, no matter the race. Alise always did have a soft spot for the discriminated as well." She shook her head with a sigh. "And Arash always was rather open with a lot of things."

Bell sensed a sense of camaraderie in the frustration within her voice. He could only assume that Arash, just like the rest of his comrades from 'before' had their fair share of monster interactions. However that worked. At this point they just stopped trying to ask. With that said, there was one person's opinion he didn't know yet. He clutched the bags closer to his chest.

"What about you?" He asked quietly. Ryuu closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"It will be difficult to change the world's mind," she answered in a neutral tone. Before Bell could feel disappointed however, Ryuu opened her eyes, a soft expression on her face as she fully faced the young man. "However, I trust you. If they are like you claim them to be, I'd be happy to help them. I'm not someone who judges anyone on their race. Everyone has the capacity for good and evil alike."

A breath of relief escaped Bell. He felt his legs wobble for a moment, the stress releasing out of his body almost making him forget to keep his muscles moving.

"I'm glad... " He whispered, his heart warm. Ryuu blushed at the sight before looking away, coughing a few times.

"W-why?"

Memories resurfaced, of another girl he loved, whose reaction was not remotely as positive. His good mood vanished as he lowered his head.

"I…had a talk with Aiz…"

Ryuu gave him a worried look before motioning with her head towards something. The two sat on a nearby bench as Bell recounted what occurred. The words Aiz used, her full determination to kill anything like the Xenos. By the end of it, he had his head in his palms, leaning over as he let out a shaky breath.

"I just don't understand. Why aren't they giving them a chance?" He muttered mostly to himself. A hand rubbed his back and he twitched a bit. Glancing up, Ryuu appeared awkward, yet she tried to give him an encouraging smile.

"From what I understand, Aiz seems to be traumatized. Do not hold it against her. And as for Solaris…" She shook her head, biting her lip. "It pains me to admit it, but hate is an easy thing to have in this world. It is common sense and difficult to overcome."

"Solaris is better than this," Bell said without even thinking, heat entering his voice. Ryuu remained unfazed, nodding at him once more.

"She is. But we are not perfect." She stood up, reaching out with her hand with a soft expression. "Give her time. Opportunities. She will come around."

Bell took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he smiled back, grasping her hand, feeling its warmth before he let himself be pulled up.

"Yeah…yeah, you're right."

Picking up their groceries, they wandered down the Shopping District once more, eying the place for any special offers they could pick up on the way. After a period of silence and unfruitful search, Ryuu cleared her throat loudly. Bell looked at her and saw the faint flush underneath her mask.

"How was the talk with Aiz before…the topic came up?"

Bell blinked before chuckling awkwardly. He'd scratch his head if he didn't have his hands full with shopping bags.

"It was awkward at first but it went relatively well?" Ryuu stared at him, focused eyes urging him to go on. Bell hummed awkwardly before feeling a blush creep up on his own face. "She…apologized for her behavior and…s-she said she…missed our sparring sessions."

The elf just stared at him. As if right into his soul. He began to fidget under the look, fearing that he made a mistake. Sure, Ryuu did say she was supportive of his…quite frankly asinine desires, but maybe she still felt jealousy? Yet his misguided thoughts were put to rest as she smiled at him, free of any anger.

"That is good to know."

"Say, Ryuu, why are you so…supportive of all this?" Bell asked carefully. It always felt weird. From the books he read, that Grandpa himself provided, stuff like…p-polygamy were more volatile than this. And yet, here Ryuu was, practically perfectly calm as she strode forward with confident steps.

"I guess I just want you to be happy," she replied, a glint in her eyes as she basically smirked at him with a red tint covering her cheeks. "If I have to share with several women…well, I consider you quite the greedy man. But I'd forgive you. Your smile would be worth it. Not to mention I would always be your number one."

He tried his best to suppress it, but he couldn't hold back the squeal escaping his throat as his head turned into a tomato. Bell felt he lost something when Ryuu uttered those romantic words. But at this moment, he ignored the voice of Grandpa yelling at him to not lose his manhood and instead accepted that his elven…g-g-g-girlfriend was just so damn cool.

"A pity you aren't going for Syr as well."

At her exasperated sigh, Bell winced. He knew that Ryuu cared a lot for the waitress, but to such an extent…

"S-sorry. It's just…not like that."

She certainly was cute. But Syr was more a…regular person he could feel at ease with. To occasionally converse to destress. The idea of romance never even entered his mind to be honest, even with all her teasing and attractiveness. Thankfully Ryuu stopped her teasing and instead nodded.

"Emotions are difficult to control, I understand." She hummed as she looked up at the sky. "Still, I do wonder where Aiz stands with you. She is always a bit hard to get a grasp on."

Bell groaned, feeling a migraine creeping up.

"You tell me," Bell said with an exhausted voice. "Part of me believes she might be interested, but that might just be wishful thinking. Maybe she is just like that with everyone she considers friends."

"Maybe." Suddenly, Ryuu stopped, her eyes going wide. "Oh."

"Hm?" He followed her gaze, seeing what she saw and choked, his face turning crimson once more. "Geh!"

It read the words first. Special offer, fifty percent off. Then he saw the price, which was quite mindboggling. And then, at last, he actually saw it. Pure white, silk smooth enough to make even a baby feel at utter ease. And then the lacy pattern and the way it was cut…

Why was Ryuu staring at a somewhat revealing wedding dress?! Before he realized his mistake of looking at it for too long with his red expression, he heard Ryuu huff.

"Hmph. Pervert."

He turned to her, seeing her head turned away as she crossed her arms, hugging the bags tightly to her body. His mind betrayed him as he saw how it pressed against her form and applied said form to the dress. He mentally burned it with copious amounts of Firebolt and almost dropped his bags with his frantic head shaking.

"It-it-it's not like that!"

"I kid." Ryuu giggled a bit, before she looked wistfully at the outfit behind the glass. "So you like these kind of wedding dresses, hm?"

His head was heating up. His ears were ringing from the effort of keeping up. Yet the soft expression, almost dreamy, it was like she was imagining a wedding. With-with-with him! He had to reply quickly before he'd lose his mind entirely.

"I'm open to everything!"

Naturally his mind betrayed him once more. The moment he uttered the word 'everything', it was like someone did a image show for him. The tradtional Far Eastern wedding kimono he once read about when he was in the Renard Estate. Elven robes that covered most of the body, giving off a graceful aura. Heck, even amazon outfits came to mind. He tried to banish the thoughts, the knowledge that Ryuu looked great in all of those. Yet it was too late. Ryuu stared at him with a blank expression, which caused his face to burn up even more.

"I take it back, you are indeed a pervert." Then, a glint appeared in her eyes once more and she almost looked coy as she leaned forward to his ear, her voice turning into a sensual whisper. "Do you want me to try it out for you?"

A shock went through his entire body, making him shiver as he couldn't form any words.

"Ba-ba-ba-ba-" Then he saw it. As Ryuu retreated, he saw that she was just as red as he was. He jumped at the opportunity, dropping the bags, thankful nothing frail was within them, and pointed accusingly at Ryuu. "Why are you blushing as well?! You are the one teasing me!"

The elf choked, dropping her own bags, before crossing her arms defensively.

"Don't make me sound like a deviant, I have a sense of shame as well!"

Was this what people called a glass cannon? Ryuu could tease but couldn't take any damage herself? The realization was silly. This whole situation was. Thus, he couldn't help himself. At the same time, they both broke out into smiles.

"Haha…"

"Hm…"

The two looked deep into each other's eyes, lost for a moment.

"Whatcha doin'?"

A voice of innocent curiosity. Right next to his ear. With their moment interrupted, Bell jumped and screamed in shock.

"HIIII!"

He spun around, only to spot three girls, two amazons and one elf, staring blankly at him. He covered his mouth with both of his hands, yet it was way too late. His girlish scream was released and heard by all. Lefiya slowly nodded, the most blank yet also the most judging look on her face.

"...wow."

"You surprised me!"

The defense sounded weak even to Bell, as Lefiya's expression somehow turned even more blank and judging. How could it be so judging?!

"...wow."

Distraction, now! His eyes wandered, trying to find something, before his eyes pointed down. He shot his arm out, finger pointed at his target of opportunity.

"Uhm, nice legs!" His brain caught up with what he said and he backed off, hands in front of him as he waved them in a panic. "W-What I meant-"

The Hiryute twins broke out into snorts while Lefiya rolled her eyes in exasperation. Bell blinked at that, glancing at Ryuu who shook her head in amusement as well. Wait, that worked?! Tiona's reaction seemed to confirm it, slapping her new legs before rolling up the sleeves to reveal the silver sheen of them. Bell couldn't help but feel awed. Such intricate design. It looked more like armor wrapped over an actual leg. Sturdy, yet flexible. Such a paradox and yet it seemed to work. Heck, was it actual adamantine? It seemed like it was the same material as Kaguya's arm prostethic at least.

"Hehehe, thanks! Shiny and clean, aren't they?" She stomped the ground in demonstration, cracking it. "Can't wait to break them in!"

"I'm still surprised you didn't take the opportunity to get taller," Tione said, poking her twin's side with her elbow. Tiona bristled up immediately and snarled like an angry puppy.

"Screw you, I'm perfectly fine with my height!"

As if countering her point, the bigger sister held Tiona on the top of her head, easily pushing her back as Tiona swung her arms like wheels, trying to hit her sister. After a while, the smaller twin breathed heavily before wiping the sweat off her forehead. Slapping her hands together, she turned back to Bell and Ryuu.

"So, what were you…" She trailed off. Then she glanced to the side, at the shop, then back at the two of them. On cue, they blushed. Thus, even a tomboy like her saw the signs and her grin turned wide and teasing, at the same time as Tione's.

""Oho!""

Lefiya was the last to catch up. At first, she shook her head between them, confused. Then her eyes widened and she blushed herself. Clearing her throat, she put on a confident air as she waved her hand dismissively.

"Tiona, Tione, I believe there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this."

"There is," Ryuu replied. She reached out and held Bell's hand with a small blush, yet confident in her voice. "We are dating and I was teasing him."

"See-WHAT?!"

Lefiya snapped her head at Ryuu in mid nod, her calmness replaced by utter disbelief. Bell winced. Ouch, okay, he knew he didn't fit Ryuu, but that blatant reaction just hurt. So it was somewhat soothing to his pride when the twins actually patted his shoulders at the same time, with a bit more force than needed as he buckled.

"Congrats, Lil' Argonaut!"

"I'm impressed. Ryuu Lion isn't called one of the Five Great Beauties of Orario for nothing."

Ryuu slowly blinked before turning to Tione. She tilted her head with wide eyes, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"The what of Orario?"

Tione raised an eyebrow at that.

"You weren't aware? Huh."

"Who are the other four?"

They all turned to Bell, who raised his hand innocently. Ryuu pouted, squeezing his hand just a bit harder. He'd find it cute if it weren't for the sheer disappointment that escaped the Loki Familia as they sighed as one.

"Men."

"That's mean, Lil' Argonaut."

"You are disgusting."

"Why?!" It was just a question! Famed titles like these just interested him! Tione snorted at his hurt expression before shrugging.

"Well, to satisfy your curiosity." She raised her hand to count off from. "There's Riveria, Aiz, Alise, Ryuu as you can see aaaaand Shakti."

"Not Kaguya?" Bell asked, a bit surprised. Given that she was famous for being a Far Eastern beauty, he thought she'd be there. He winced when Ryuu poked his side with a deep, pouting frown once more. Tione let out a snort, shaking her head as if the mere suggestion was a joke.

"Minus points for two faced personality."

"That sounds about right," Ryuu muttered. She took a deep breath, sending Bell a dirty look once more, before crossing her arms. "I didn't expect Shakti."

"Professionalism gets you everywhere. Though it's always a head to head race between her and Perseus."

"I see…" His girlfriend turned to Bell, pushing her finger against his chest with narrowed eyes. "Only because I gave my permission doesn't mean you can just grab every woman that has your fancy. Nor should you pay so much attention to them when I'm right next to you."

"I'd never do that!" Bell shouted. Why did everyone think he was some form of natural womanizer?! Sure, grandpa had his stories and what not, but they were stories! He knew better than that!

"Hmm…"

"Please don't sound so doubtful!" He shouted once more. Tiona giggled as Tione winced in sympathy, patting his head as if he was a poor little brother.

"Whew. Good luck with that one, Albion. Women like her never let go of their prey."

"Pot calling the kettle black."

Tione snapped her head to Lefiya with a glare, who was looking away.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing!"

"Well, this was fun! See ya around!" Tiona said, squishing Bell's cheeks a few times before prancing away, her twin in tow. As he massaged his face a bit from the force they suffered from, he blinked when he saw that Lefiya was still in front of them. He opened his mouth to inquire what was wrong. But suddenly, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her, so close that her lips almost touched his ears.

"Did you do anything to Aiz?" She asked in such an eerie calm. Yet it felt like a burning fire searing his eardrums, with the hidden intensity behind them.

"We…talked," Bell said with hesitation. It only reinforced the grip on his clothes.

"About what?"

Bell gulped, his body stiff. Her voice didn't waver at all in emotion, yet he could feel the building anger from the heat that radiated off her. Thankfully, Ryuu came to his rescue, putting a hand on Lefiya's shoulder.

"Please respect their privacy a bit more, Thousand Elf."

The mage seemed sorry at least a little bit as she flinched.

"Apologies." She turned back to Bell, her eyes going blank once more. "But her mood has worsened. If I find out it's your fault…"

"T-then?"

She leaned in closer once more. Her voice was barely audible, a quiet yet strong whisper tickling his hears, her breath brushing against his skin.

"I don't care if you have superior physical stats, I will shove this staff up a place where the sun will never shine." She smiled a not nice smile as her voice turned playful. "Nod. If. You. Un. Der. Staaaand~!"

It almost sounded like Lefiya was trying to seduce him, with the way she emphasized her words, her smile looking coy and her eyes half lidded. Of course that was just Bell lying to himself too hard to make this situation into anything that was not threatening. Thus, he nodded, completely intimidated. Lefiya giggled, a cute giggle if it weren't for the sheer murderous intent barely restraiend by common sense as she stepped back and patted his shoulder.

"Great! As long as we have an understanding!"

With that, Lefiya chased after the twins, back to her somewhat nervous self as she shouted for them to wait up for her. Bell released a breath, almost collapsing as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"...That was a thing…"

"I didn't expect that from her. She usually seems…frail," Ryuu muttered, a bit weirded out at what she just witnessed. Bell couldn't help but gape a bit, looking at the Royal Gale. She raised an eyebrow at him, causing him to shake his head.

"Not my impression. Not my impression at all." Of course he was special to Lefiya. Of course only he had to witness that terror. Silence reigned between them, as they gathered their wits about what just happened. Eventually however, they picked up their groceries and made their way home, in complete peace and silence.

"...Were you aroused by that?"

"Ryuu!"

Almost in complete peace and silence-

/

"We're back," Bell announced in a completely exhausted voice. But then, he tensed up, sensing the air in the room. He looked around. "Guys?"

Solaris wasn't here. The only person not here. In her place and spot, Nana was seated, shivering nervously as she bit her thumb, looking around frantically, unfocused. As if surrounding a criminal, the others were seated around her. with only Kaguya holding her sister's shoulder with worry. Arash looked at them, nodding at Ryuu specifically. Said girl locked the door behind them without hesitation. As the two sat down themselves, Lady Astraea took a deep breath, a frown marring her beautiful face.

"We were betrayed. Someone told the enemy where the Xenos are located. They were attacked."