Hello! I bet none of you expected an update only two days later!

Lucky for all of you, I am getting kind of obsessed with this story now.

Rip to my sleep schedule.

.

Two things to mention.

.

One is that I messed up.

One of the previous 'Fun Facts!' was wrong, I only noticed upon looking back for information that would be referenced in this chapter.

In the fun fact -

'In a past life, Eina tried to make advances on Bell, she was an innkeeper who took a fancy to him.'

- It was actually Ryuu who was supposed to be named, not Eina, this would normally be an inconsequential issue, but... Let's just say it wouldn't make sense.

.

Two is that I will not be executing Hermes, I do think it's safe to say that he would be treated much the same as Ikelos was.

I will be adding in an oc Familia which will pick up his slack, they also have their own place in the lore, but… That's for later.

(Please don't think that the oc's are going to be too involved, I don't want to dilute the Danmachi story too much regarding characters.)

.

Please enjoy!

4,982 Words in total.

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The sky was dark, the guild lights illuminated the street through the tall front windows, one of the only areas not glowing with the traditional purple hue of magic crystals.

Bell slowly approached the guild doors, being alone to a degree as the Loki executives had gone home, Ryuu to the Hostess, Welf to his workshop and Lili… Wherever it was that she stayed at.

The only person still with him was Hestia.

.

Bell slowly peaked his head over the bottom of the window, Hestia watching with confusion about her.

"Bell…?" He turned to her. "Are you okay?"

Bell got a bit flustered, forgetting for a moment that she was with him.

"Ah- Yes, Eina just gets mad if I don't check in at the beginning and end of my trips… And it's been… longer than normal." He chuckled, looking inside again.

Hestia continued to stare. "There's no way she'd blame you for this… Right?"

Bell answered unfazed. "I don't think she would, but I'd like to be prepared for anything..."

"..."

"..."

"So how long will that take?" She asked a bit peeved, wanting to go home already.

Bell slowly turned to her, the look in his eyes seemed younger than he was, though, nobody on Genkai could guess his real age if they tried.

"But… She's scary when she's mad…"

Bell looked a bit embarrassed, and really he should be.

It's one thing to be scared of Mama Mia, but an office worker without a Falna of her own, how scary could she be?

Hestia grabbed his arm, forcing him up. "You're going in, now."

Bell fretted, though he couldn't fight her hold on him for fear of injury.

"B-B-But goddess?!"

Hestia, though not turning back, was extremely curious what could have gone on between the two, not having really heard about her since registering their familia.

The door opened, and in came the adamant Hestia and stumbling Bell, looking as though a mother was dragging her son to return something he'd stolen.

.

From behind the exchange blinds, Rose looked up from her book, being quite enthralled in the tale, an old hero story written by the author 'Jason' from many years, if not centuries ago.

She looked up, rightfully annoyed, though the amount was questionable. But that was all in the past, as she saw a familiar mop of white being dragged behind a lolita black haired goddess.

She jumped up, heart going faster than normal. "Kid!" She called out.

Both Bell and Hestia turned, not having expected someone from that area.

As Hestia looked on, again confused, Bell raised his hand to wave. "Hi Rose."

"What the hell's with that reaction you little jackass?! You've been gone for four days ya know!"

Bell giggled. "Yeah, I guess it's been awhile." They got closer, walking up to the counter. "I-Is Eina here?"

Rose's eyes widened a bit. "Oh shit…"

Bell grew a little concerned. "W-What?"

"We sent her home early tonight…"

"Why?" He asked.

"Well, she's been worried about a certain Little Rookie who disappeared on his first trip to the middle floors. She's been a nervous wreck, and rightfully so!" She glared from over the counter.

"Oh… I suppose that's true…" He scratched his cheek, looking down.

"So what do we do?" Hestia asked, gaining Rose's attention.

Rose's eyes narrowed at the girl holding Bell's arm. "And who might you be?"

Hestia hesitated under her scrutinizing gaze. "G-Goddess Hestia, the person responsible for Bell's Falna."

Roses eyes flashed a brief realization, sighing. She crossed her arms, eyes closed. "Good, we don't need Bell cheating on Eina after all."

Hestia was taken aback by that, though Bell seemed no worse for wear.

"She'd smack you if she heard you saying that stuff." Bell deadpanned, Hestia looking at him incredulously.

"What, no reaction?" Rose prodded. "You two actually going steady now?"

Bell did get a bit warm at that. "N-No, I'm just used to your teasing, you do it more than you realize!"

"Aww, no fun." She pouted, huffing out in relief. "Okay then, you can either come and see her first thing in the morning, or go to her apartment now, which is it?"

Bell and Hestia both found that a little inappropriate. "Isn't her home address a little too private of info to be giving out?" Bell asked.

Rose shrugged. "She's the one who suggested it, wanting to hear from you as soon as possible should you arrive while she's home."

Bell shuffled a little bit, not liking the idea. "I… I think I'll pass. The whole thing just sounds like a bad Idea…"

Rose sighed. "Well, I tried, just show up tomorrow morning, alright?"

"I'll try, but it wasn't a short trip back to the surface, can you let her know I'm back when she gets here?" Bell asked.

Rose contemplated for a moment, before a small grin showed itself. Rose gave a simple nod, saying nothing.

Bell stared back with glazed eyes, knowing this promise was hollow at best.

He sighed. "Alright then, we'll be headed home then."

"By Bell!" She waved as he turned, now being the one to drag his goddess. "Love the ears!"

He simply raised his hand from the other direction, waving in acknowledgment.

The door slammed from the difference in air pressure.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It was still dark as Ryuu stumbled down the back alley, tired beyond reason.

It wasn't long before the sounds of joyous laughter and the stench of alcohol reached her, both all too familiar.

Ryuu slowly opened the back gate, meant for their larger deliveries, leading to the inner courtyard of the Hostess's property. Closing it back up as she reached the other side.

Before long a tall Dwarf came out the back entrance, stopping for a moment after seeing her.

She looked the small Elf up and down, seeing her walk with not nearly the same passion as normal.

"So what happened?" She asked.

Ryuu looked up, simply meeting Mia's gaze, not answering.

Mia called out again, her concern leaking through. "You okay, girl?"

Ryuu continued to look on, before slowly shaking her head, no.

A reflection of light came from her cheek, Mia's eyes widened, bolting out to her in an instant, as Ryuu began crying.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Welf sat down finally, letting his equipment hit the floor without any care.

'I can fix'em if they break…' he thought, before letting himself simply fall down into his bed.

"..."

"..."

"Arrrggghhh!" He hollered out, quickly pushing his tired body from the comfortable mattress.

Welf quickly looked to the ground, feeling his need for sleep as he did, and finding the discarded equipment. He picked the first thing that wasn't tangled, and began inspecting, then cleaning the small dagger.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Lili sat, tired as everyone else, slowly unpacking her bag, feeling a touch confused as the things on top had sunken down a good distance.

She eventually reached the water proof bag that should've held the used towels.

But oddly enough, the bag only had white scraps of cloth. She simply held out the few larger pieces, not sure what to think of the whole situation.

Sighing, she simply tossed them over her shoulder, landing perfectly in her trash bin.

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Bell and Hestia sat quietly, both feasting on what food was still around in the small living space.

He would need to visit the market before returning tomorrow, though, it wasn't like he planned to dive into the dungeon.

A portion of cheese and crackers here, some sliced meats with bread there. All together, Bell didn't mind the simple meal.

"So?" Hestia asked out of nowhere.

"…So?" He looked beside himself where she sat.

"What's it like having ears again?!" Her smile seemed to light up the otherwise dim room, the magic crystals having run out of power since they'd left, the only light coming from the hearth.

He smiled at her, then looked back down to his unfinished food. "It's fine I guess, though, I don't care for all the stares I keep getting."

"Oh, don't worry about that! They're just jealous is all!"

Bell's smile grew, though almost unnoticeable.

"They're so adorable though!" Hestia practically squealed out, causing Bell to blush slightly.

He turned, about to speak himself, but was stopped as her thumb and the middle section of her index finger clamp lightly over the tip of his ear.

They simply stared at each other for a moment, before Hestia noticed the heat developing under her fingers, quickly pulling her hand back.

"S-Sorry! I forgot it's rude to touch!" She blurted out, being quite embarrassed of herself, but nothing compared to the beet red Bell had become.

They sat in silence once again, both feeling a bit awkward.

"A-Alright then, let's update your status!" She said, standing up from the couch.

Bell was eager as well, both to ditch the prior atmosphere, and also to see how much his stats had risen.

He swiftly stood himself, practically diving onto the bed, which felt like being on a cloud to him.

She made way to sit on his legs, looking over the now bare back. She leaned over towards the night stand, gripping her ceremonial dagger. These daggers were given out by the guild for starting a Familia in the city.

She didn't flinch as she might have when Bell first joined her, but now Hestia simply pressed her index to the blade, inciting a select few drops of her blood to ooze out.

She quickly brought the drops to his back, a soft yet bright blue glow taking over the room.

A shiver went through Bell's back. 'That's weird.' He thought.

Hestia moved swiftly and seemingly with passion as the numbers flickered, old ones lifting from his back, new ones taking their place.

After a few silent minutes, Hestia shifted her weight, then brought her leg from across him and over the edge of the bed. Bell pushed himself up, looking to his goddess expectantly.

He assumed nothing major had happened when she just casually handed him the paper.

He unfolded the paper, which he thought was unusual for her to go.

His eyes hit the paper, a look of confusion crossed him, Hestia smirked.

'They're all zeros?... Wait what?!' He thought, looking to the top of the paper.

.

Bell Cranel

LV 3

STR : 589 - 0

END : 623 - 0

DEX : 510 - 0

AGI : 590 - 0

MAG : 768 - 0

Luck: H

Development Ability: available

MAGIC :

Cure Wound Hellacious (Enhanced) - Non/Utility - Short Chanting Magic

Pure Spring - Utility - Short Chanting Magic

Candle Light - Utility - Short Chanting Magic

Candle Burst- Utility - Short Chanting Magic

Cinder - Long Chant Magic

Firebolt - Variation - Instant chant

Dark Matter - Long Chant Magic

Yarelti Gebrdi - Unknown

SKILLS :

Second Sight (Sixth Sense) - passive

Liaris Freese - passive

Argonaut - active

.

He looked up, the reality of this hitting him. "L-Level Three?" A smile creeped onto his face.

Hestia, excited and glowing once more, nodded quickly before springing forward, hugging the excited boy.

.

They wouldn't truly celebrate, having already eaten, and both being extremely tired.

Though Bell had a short-lived boost of energy from the update, it soon wore off. Falling into one of the deepest sleeps he'd had in weeks, short of the times he'd been literally knocked out.

Even with the day being filled with so many good things, his dreams deviated from that trend, showing no mercy.

.

As Bell slept that night, his dreams were coated in sulfur and magma.

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The next morning was bright, not unlike most. But what was different than those other days, was what was roaming the vast network of thoughts comprising Riveria's mind.

She slowly got up, removing her sleep wear, and selecting one of the garments from her clothes rack to wear, most being the exact same robes as all the others.

As she made her way down the halls of the twilight manner, she couldn't help but come back to reality just outside the library doors.

Though hungry for today's breakfast, whatever that may have been. Her mind was more interested in the likely full day of researching and cross referencing ahead.

As she entered, finding the room as normal in it's vacant state, she got to work. Setting her staff down on her chosen table, she began scanning the shelves, looking for anything that might have histories about High Elves.

The large, rectangular room was stacked wall to wall with books, all of which, though not withheld from the public, would be hard to find outside of here.

.

As time passed she found a book which held a good amount of the historical knowledge regarding High Elf lineage, being able to view all the various different lines and where they are now, or have ended up.

Being unsatisfied by the lack of 'Cranel's' or any sign of a line which Bell may originate, she moved on to the next best subject, picking up a new book from the shelves.

'Elves: The various races and ethnicities.'

She read and read, searching desperately on.

After a time, the opening of a door broke her pace, causing High Elf to look up, finding Alicia closing the library door with her foot, hands full from a tray of food brought from breakfast.

"You seem busy Lady Riveria, is there something the matter?" She smiled.

Riveria glared weakly to her, before lowering her head to be propped up by her arm.

'She's never going to drop that honorific is she?'

"I-" 'Gwroow' Her stomach growled. "-Am trying to look into Bell."

This caught her attention. "What's wrong with Bell?"

"Nothing-nothing, I just don't think we know everything we should, he seemed… Off, when talking about himself, and… Well nothing felt clear, like there was something more to everything he let on about." Riveria could now smell the food as Alicia set it next to her current book.

"I assume you haven't asked him directly about this?" She spoke judgmentally.

Riveria sighed. "No, I feel like he'd just try to dodge it, or speak in those creepy half-truths again." A shiver ran down the princesses back.

"Half-truths?" Her face twisting in confusion.

Riveria looked up from the desk. "Yes, I think he's convinced he got past us with them, but he's painfully bad at it. Lying that is."

Alicia huffed in amusement.

The door opened up once more. "Lady Riveria?" called the short golden-yellow haired Elf peeking in.

"Yes-yes, come in." Riveria motioned, sounding tired.

Lefiya did just that, quietly closing the door behind herself.

She scampered over. "Is everything alright?" She questioned while looking between the two.

"Yes, we were just discussing-" Riveria paused. "Both of you get charges so we can discuss this properly."

The two did as ordered, swiftly bringing the closest chairs from a neighboring table.

Riveria set her hands, fingers woven, down on the table in front of her, eying the two sitting to her front right and left.

"So, as I brought up with Lefiya on the original trip up. I think Bell may be hiding a great deal of information regarding himself."

Alicia's eyes furrowed slightly. "But why would he need to do that?"

"I… Don't understand why he would though. He did tell us about how he lost his ears, didn't he?" Lefiya added.

Alicia was thrown for a loop. "Ears?"

Lefiya gasped. "We never told you about his ears?!"

She smiled awkwardly. "No…"

Lefiya squealed with excitement. "Eihihi! Bell's an Elf! He regrew his Elf ears while Lady Riveria was healing him!"

Alicia's eyes opened wide. "Bell's an Elf?" She turned to her senior.

Riveria nodded, taking over for the over excited girl. "His ears came back during my casting. It was unexpected, but I will admit they fit him quite well." She smiled.

Alicia smiled as well. "Well when is the next lesson scheduled?!"

Riviera motioned for them to calm down, all three of them getting off track.

"Back to the subject at hand, I think there is much to be learned about, regarding Bell." They both refocused, though Lefiya still had a happy grin on her face.

"For one, his ears are too long to be a traditional Elf like the two of you." Alicia's eyes widened, Lefiya only slightly, having heard this theory already.

"I can't say for certain, as they're orientated differently, more down then up like most High Elves."

Lefiya looked skeptical. "Is that enough to call him a different race though?"

Riveria shook her head. "No, but it's a possible lead, hence-" She motioned to the book about elven races below her. "-I haven't yet found a race with ears like his though."

Maybe a fluke of genetics?" Alicia proposed.

Riviera thought for a moment. "Perhaps… perhaps…" She looked up. "There's more than that though, he also knows how to read ancient Elven."

Both recoiled from that reveal. Ancient Elven was a form of written Elvish that is considered sacred, the only people who knew how to read and write it were royalty or priests/priestesses from the race.

"H-How did you…?" Alicia muttered out.

"I caught him reading from one of my books during some of the first lessons with him. I didn't want to pry at the time, but he also didn't think much of it when I asked, so he may think it's a normal thing for one to know."

Lefiya spoke up. "That may be because of his people being so isolationist."

Riveria nodded, but Alicia had no context. "How do you know this?"

Lefiya turned to her, beguiling her with the story of Bell's forced leaving of his home forest.

Alicia was too stunned for words, simply staring at Lefiya, and then moving that gaze to the desk ahead. "Is-... Is there anything more?" Her throat felt dry.

"No." Riveria was thankful to have that answer, she sighed. "There's the lesser implicative issue of his strength and growth."

The two across looked at her. "Well, it's uncommon in itself for one to have the magic he has, and the strength of it as I saw while leaving the dungeon. 'Firebolt' if you both recall his quick spell."

Both nodded, though Lefiya was a bit nervous.

"That can go along with his rapid growth, his dangerously rapid growth." She could see them wanting more context. "If he continues growing like this, he's going to get too far down in the dungeon for his experience to hold up."

They both straightened up their postures, knowing how valuable experience is.

"There's every chance that Bell may have the necessary experience from before getting a falna, that his excelia is only catching up, but, I've never seen anyone grow that fast from prior experience."

Lefiya sat quietly, a small moment of silence passing, until speaking up with her own input. "I-I asked Lili about their journey down to the Eighteenth."

They both looked at her. "Go on." Riveria urged.

She hesitated but did as asked. "She said that both herself and Welf, Bell's male party member, had no memories past the Floor Fifteen entrance, even though Bell said they made it to the end of Floor Sixteen before passing out."

The three looked between themselves, not sure what this could mean.

"So he didn't want all the credit for saving them?" Alicia asked, Lefiya nodding. "What kind of new adventurer doesn't want credit?"

Nobody could answer that one.

Riviera sighed. "I suppose we should get to the biggest fish in the pond now."

They both looked up towards her. "His abilities and skill are outrageous, but more than that is his magic."

Alicia spoke this time. "What's so special about 'Firebolt'? Other than the cast time."

"The fact that it's not his only magic."

Both their eyes widened yet again.

"I know for a fact that alongside 'Firebolt' he had a healing magic that can even do things as complex as rebuilding fractured bones, and- a-and the one he used to kill that thing."

They looked at her with curiosity.

"Could you feel the tremors up here on the surface?" Riveria asked Alicia.

It took her a second to recollect any such events, but she nodded. "Yes, the whole city was going wild for a few minutes, it was something on Floor Eighteen then?"

"Yes." Riveria answered. "It was an irregular Goliath-" Their eyes widened. "-Bell killed it with a single spell, one that most certainly wasn't 'firebolt'."

Both sat silently, verging on information overload.

Riviera spoke grimly. "It knocked him out cold, literally, it froze him practically solid. One of the worst cases of 'Ignis Fatuus' I've ever seen."

"..."

"..."

"So he isn't normal." Lefiya stated.

"Not even close." Riviera answered.

"He didn't tell us?" Alicia asked outwardly.

"I don't even think his party knew." The High Elf answered again.

They all sat for some time, thinking of the different reasons and possibilities there were, but none seemed believable to the three elves.

Their train of thoughts halted, as a new voice rang out.

"Riveria?" Called Ais from the library door.

She turned suddenly, not having noticed her before.

"Yes, Ais?" She called back.

"Finn wants to see us three."

Her brow furrowed. "Us three?"

"Me, you and Bete."

Riviera sighed, knowing that this was going to be an uphill battle. She stood, the other two elves following her example.

.

Unbeknownst to the three of them, the next book for Riveria to read was titled-

'Ancient Elvendom: those lost to time.'

A book which would have given all the answers they sought.

.

As the four of them walked, Riveria was ripped from her thoughts.

"He can see in the dark too." Ais muttered from beside the High Elf.

She turned to her in surprise. "What?"

"Bell… He can see in the dark, he said it was a racial trait." Ais spoke a touch louder.

She took this information in, an incredibly valuable thing to know as well.

'A race trait?' Riveria became distracted from the destination ahead.

"Can…" Riveria turned to Ais again, speaking timidly. "Can you let me know what you find about him? Please?"

Riveria smiled. "Of course I will."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"I think we can get the obvious out of the way. Why did you abandon your group on the Twelfth Floor?" Finn spoke in an accusatory tone.

In Finn's office were him, Gareth, Loki, Riveria, Ais, Bete, Lefiya, Alicia, Tiona, Tione.

"I believe you already have that answer Finn." Riveria matched his cold tone.

"Just because there's a few tremors doesn't mean you get to dump your duties to the Familia."

Riveria challenged. "Finn! There were two gods in the dungeon behind us, for all we knew, by turning around we could be saving them. Yes it may seem cruel to our Familia members, but it was Floor Twelve, we had more than enough people to make it safely from there!"

"I can't argue that, but it was still wrong." Finn spoke slowly. "You disobeyed orders."

"They were in danger!"

"They don't matter in this."

An angry look crossed Riveria, one that seemed to make Ais step back though she was to her back side, the two other Elves looking on in worry.

"You would forsake the lives of the gods like they were nothing?" She accused.

"That's not what I said."

"It is."

They stood at odds.

"Finn, we don't know what happened yet. Let her explain?" Gareth asked.

Finn looked to him, eventually, begrudgingly, allowing her to explain. Riveria nodded to Gareth before starting.

"By the time that Bete had caught up with us, we were already on the Sixteenth Floor, and a few hours had passed. No monsters had spawned in that time from the Fourteenth down, we were especially concerned when we arrived at the tunnel from Seventeen to Eighteen, finding it collapsed, everyone on the other side being trapped in with an irregular Goliath spawn."

The eyes of those who didn't already know seemed to widen at the news.

"A monster rex spawned on the Eighteenth?" Tiona asked.

She nodded. "Yes, it was caused by the effects of Hermes scheming."

Loki sighed. "What did that flying monkey get into this time?" She spoke rather dismissively.

"He had an adventurer kidnap goddess Hestia."

Loki suddenly became dead serious. "And?!"

"Bell and the others managed to rescue her, though not without the goddess letting out some Arcanum."

Riveria breathed. "This led to the dungeon reacting with the spawning of the Goliath, the battle would last around six hours, and only ended as we arrived because of a spell used by Bell Cranel, which killed the Monster Rex instantly."

They all stared at her, with the exception of Lefiya and Alicia.

Finn mumbled to himself. "I-It had to have been weakened, of course, yes that's it-"

"The Irregular had a healing ability, the only way to kill it was with an instant kill."

The room was silent, until Ais spoke up. "Bell killed a Monster Rex by himself…"

Riveria stopped to think for a moment. "I-I suppose he did…" Only just realizing the extent of Bell's feat.

"Ar-Are you sure he did it." Finn asked, everyone clearly seeing how distressed he seemed at this.

Riveria nodded to him. "During the time in Rivira just after the battle ended and the day after, the buzz word on everyone's lips was that he was the towns 'Hero' for his actions."

Those who could see Finn, watched as the tendons in his neck tensed.

"...Are you okay-"

Finn cut her off. "Get out."

Everyone was startled by his reaction.

"Get. Out. All of you."

He seemed to not be looking at anything in particular, almost like he was in a daze.

They left in an orderly fashion.

Finn being the only one left to witness his own anger.

.

As Riveria walked the halls once more, she couldn't help but recall her lack of telling Finn about Hermes and the agreement she'd entered into.

She sighed, hoping that his reaction wouldn't be as bad as... that... Though, there was little she could do, and little he could do, having no intention of backing out of her word.

'Gwroow'

She stopped in though. 'But first I need to go get that food from the library.'

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Bell came through the doors of the guild like he was meant to be there, and he was in a way, though it was a bit later than the agreed upon time with Rose, being closer to noon than sunrise.

As Bell did this, he found Eina buried once again in her paperwork, scribing information as though it was her life on the line.

He walked over to her, gaining the attention of various different clerks, all watching with wide eyes as he did.

He stopped just in front of her, not seeing anything wrong with what he'd done so far. Until he spoke.

"Hello Eina."

Instantly, her hand stopped. To Bell, and every other person aware of the situation going down, time seemed to stop with it.

Bell was getting nervous, staring at the frozen Half Elf who continued to stare down at her unmoving hand.

"E-Eina? Are you okay?" He spoke nervously.

'Rose didn't tell her, did she…' Bell cured the red haired werewolf.

Eina slowly looked up, an unreadable emotion in her eyes.

"Eina, please be rational about this!" He raised his hand up to his sides.

Bell was scared, not afraid to admit it.

"Conference room, now." She spoke calmly.

Bell nodded silently, following her as she led him away.

.

Eventually, they made it into the smaller room.

The room was dark, the curtains all but closed, letting in a small few beams enter, giving what little light there was in the otherwise grey and tan shaded room. Bell stood, looking at Eina.

"Please sit down." She spoke.

Being Bell, he did, seating himself on the red couch just to the side of the light beam which landed on said couch.

Before long, Eina found herself beside him on the couch.

Bell, not expecting this, clammed up even more than before.

"..."

"..."

They sat in silence, neither sure how to start this conversation, especially Bell, who expected to be under her fury for showing up five days after his first time down to the middle floors.

"Eina… I'm-"

She cut him off, sounding on the verge of tears. "I can't do this anymore."

He hesitated. "...What do you mean?"

"I… I thought I sent you to your death…" Looking down, the first tear slid down her face.

Bell turned in his seat, wrapping her in the tightest hug he could, Eina not fighting him.

"I-I can't make that call for you anymore- I just can't!" She spoke as loud as she could muster, but that was only above a whisper.

A sob came through, Bell felt worse and worse as the moments passed.

"I came back." He tried to reassure her.

She shook her head while over his shoulder. "I can't know that before you leave…"

He felt his jacket soak through to his shirt, fully realizing the pain she was in for him, trying to hold her closer.

"I'm sorry." He felt desperate to help, but there was no way he could.

She forced her next words out, not wanting to say them. "Your-you're growing fast, so fast that I can't handle your advisory anymore."

Bell froze. "You're leaving me."

She pulled back from his hug, just to the point where they were face to face.

"Eina?" He called in light desperation.

From where she was to Bell, the light of the window came in just right, illuminating the Emerald green of her eyes making the color appear a brighter tone. The hair of her bangs looked a cooler color in the shade, all coming together to create an image he'd never forget.

He looked at her, locking their eyes for seemingly eternity.

"I can't send you off to die… Because… Because…" She got quieter and quieter, until-

She pushed herself forward, locking their lips together.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Fun Facts!

Bell has written 15 different hero stories, all nonfiction and either based on his own experiences or stories he'd uncovered while doing research about his people.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Hello! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

I tried my best, but I've never written romance before. I truly hope that I'm doing at least decently, it's one of the many subjects I need experience and practice in.

.

Finn is a little tricky for me, but he's got a purpose for being like he is so far. Trust me.

.

I would also like to remind you all at this time of two facts.

1. This is my story, I will not change it to get more appeal, and I will write the story I want to write, nothing less.

2. The ship is Bell with Eina, Ryuu, and Riveria. I believe three partners is the golden number, and that any more would lessen the value of that character.

In other words, there will be no more romantic partners than those three, this is absolute.

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I feel uncomfortable writing smut, so don't expect it, though I may insinuate it.

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I thank you all for reading this story, and for taking your own time to read my culmination of original lore.

Whatever time you're reading this, I hope you have a fantastic day and/or evening!