Disclaimer:
I do not own DanMachi or any of those series characters. Nor do I make any money off my writing.
Synopsis:
It's been six years since the fall of Zeus and Hera familias and the world has changed. Its a time where civilians and adventurers alike are terrorized by Evilus, a group that seems content to slowly seep the great city into a pool of chaos. And it's at this time that Gareth Landlock, high-executive of the Loki familia, stumbles across a six year old dungeon orphan in the middle of a crowded street.
Ch 3: Food Friends
Lunch Money (Ryu)
"Mama Mia! I'm here!" Bell called into the crowded tavern as soon as he had pushed his way through the door of the Hostess of Fertility. The heavy oak door slid noiselessly open on its hinges, but Ryu was uncertain if the lack of noise was simply due to its craftsmanship or that the room was noisy enough to cover it up.
Somehow Mia heard the boy's piping voice over the usual background of conversations. She beckoned the young lad forward from where she stood behind the bar. "Come over to the bar boy. If ya dally in front of the doors yur gonna get in my customer's way."
Ryu followed the boy as he skittered around filled tables and chairs until they reached a bar where he hoisted himself up onto a tall stool. Bell then undid the purse from his belt, picked it up and rested it on the clean wooden top with an audible thunk.
"Um… Gareth told me to thank you. He said that Dain was a... half drowned mine rat for forgetting to bring the purse."
"Well, ya just be telling that old Dwarf that the only reason I'm allowing this is because ya were the one that came up with this idea."
Mia started looking through the purse, counting its contents when she glanced sideways toward Ryu. "Yur one of Astrea's. Gale right?" Mia continued picking up coin after coin, obviously having no trouble keeping count as she continued the conversation. "Did the boy run into trouble on the way here?"
Bell looked over to Ryu with a pleading wide eyed look. As his mouth was suspiciously pressed shut into an uncharacteristic thin line, it was obvious to both Mia and Ryu that the look on his face betrayed himself.
"We ran into some hiccups... but were able to sort it out."
"Good." Mia dumped the coins back into the purse. "Boy yur still too skinny, do they even feed you over at that manor house of theirs?"
Bell poked at his own chest in discontent. "I've been trying to grow Mama Mia... but it is taking a long time. Kalos said he is working on a growing potion... but I don't really want to drink that..."
Mia nodded gravely, "That is probably for the best."
Mia slid the coins into her own much larger purse at her waist. "Well there is good news for ya two youngins, it just so happens that Gareth must have known that you two would be coming. He overpaid by the cost of two meals."
"Oh... I must apologize, I'm not..." A shadow fell over the elf, and Ryu's words suddenly died in the back of her throat.
"Are you saying that my cooking is not good enough for you?" That was a dangerous question, one that was full of promises of retribution and potential smiting.
Ryu was suddenly in full panic mode. What was that aura given off by the tavern's owner? "Um.. No, I..."
"Oh! Ryu you have to get something to eat! Mama Mia's cooking is the best!" Bell, unaware of the minor natural disaster about to take place, beamed a wide smile at Ryu from where he sat.
"Ahh... ok, can I... can I have a salad. Please?" The last word seemed to settle the tavern's patron as she nodded and moved toward the kitchen door.
Resigned to her fate, Ryu pulled herself up onto the stool beside Bell. The young boy was swinging his legs in contentment as he looked around the room aimlessly. "Bell, what do you usually get here?"
Bell looked over, his rubilette eyes shining. "Oh Mama Mia surprises me. All of her cooking is REALLY good."
It wasn't long before a brown-haired cat girl in a Hostess of Fertility uniform slunk over, stalking up behind Bell's chair, before she pounced nearly causing the chair and boy to tumble to the ground. "Gotcha, Nya!"
"Anya!" Bell fumbled with the cup of water in his hands before he was able to wrestle it under control and bring it safely down onto the bar top. A bit of water had escaped the cup though, and ran down the front of Bell's shirt.
Anya cocked her head sideways as she let go of the struggling boy. "Bell how are you gona survive if you don't know if someones sneaking up on ya, nya?"
"Anya's right Bell, you've got to be more aware of your surroundings." Another figure dipped around a set of customers, setting portions of food in front of both Bell and Ryu.
She was gray of hair and eye, and obviously a waitress of the Hostess of Fertility from the uniform she currently wore. Her hair was tied into a bun, probably to keep it out of her way of her work, and while she moved with grace it wasn't the fluid nature of an Adventure. She was unquestionably unfalna'ed. But there was also a play of... something behind those gray eyes.
"And look! Now you have water all down your shirt." Syr tisked with her tongue as she took a clean cloth from her apron, moving towards the young boy infront of her.
"Syr!" Bell wined, obviously uncomfortable. "People are looking at me."
Mama Mia's voice boomed from the now open kitchen door. "What am I paying you two out there for? To stand around chatting?!"
""Sorry Mama!"" Both waitresses rushed off in different directions of the tavern.
"They seemed... interesting." Ryu pursed her lips at the exchange.
"I like them..." Bell stated before narrowing his eyes slightly. "Even though they pick on me sometimes, but it's ok." Bell quickly forgot about any discontent as he picked up a fork and started digging into his meal.
Ryu chuckled as she started her own meal. It WAS really good. Eyes wide, she quickly took another bite. Her advanced hearing heard a light scoffing noise and Ryu caught a glimpse of Mia's smile as the kitchen door swung shut.
They ate in silence for a while, enjoying their individual meals, before Ryu spoke up. "So Bell... does your familia come here often?"
Bell swallowed before responding, Riveria always said it wasn't polite to talk with your mouth full. "Sometimes, they like to celebrate by bringing the familia here and stuff. Like we came here after the familia's last expedition... and for my birthday."
"Oh. Did you help out during their expedition?"
Bell rested his elbows on the bar top, holding his cheeks with both hands. "No, Gareth said I was too small to come. Riveria gave me a lot of extra lessons and stuff, and Loki had me help clean out some of the basement..."
"But, since you're in the Loki familia... don't you plan to become an Adventurer?"
Bell stopped and thought about the question for a moment. For someone so young, Bell had surprising moments where he displayed more adult like tendencies. Ryu chided herself then, being only 12 it wasn't like she was coming from a plethora of experience herself, especially when most elfs lived with their parents until they were fifty...
"I don't know... Riveria and Gareth said that I could... but they said it was my choice."
Ryu nodded. "Well, that is very wise. If you don't want to become an Adventurer, then what would you like to do?"
"Um... I like hero stories, is there a job for that?"
Ryu crackled and she started lightly laughing into what remained of her salad.
"Hey! That's not funny!"
"I apologize." Ryu held up the hand that held her fork as she slightly bowed her head forward. "Your answer just caught me off guard. I think what you're talking about would either be a librarian, or a historian."
Bell's eyes lit up. "Oh! Riveria has been teaching me history! Are there actually people that just write stories?"
Ryu shook her head from side to side. "I think it's a bit more complicated than that, but perhaps."
"Um… Miss Ryu?" Bell squirmed in his seat. "You're an Adventurer, right?"
"Yes, but why do you ask?"
"How did you know that's what YOU wanted to do?"
"Well..." Ryu thought back. "I came to the city trying to chase an ideal... but I found something greater, a family. I want to be an Adventurer to help protect them, the ones that I love and care for."
Bell was quiet for a while before he looked back towards the elven swordswoman. "Protecting people... I think I'd like that."
Sleeping Princesses (Bell)
The paper wrapping around the fried potato snack crinkled as Bell bit into the piping hot confection, steam rising from the inside as he pulled away. It was called a Jagamarukun snack, and Bell had been recently introduced to this amazing piece of Orario when Ryu had walked him home from the Hostess of Fertility.
It had been a few days since Ryu had saved him from an unfortunate meeting with the street orphans turned Soma adventurer bullies, and thankfully he had been able to largely avoid the lot of them. Once he had seen the group walking down one of Orario's crowded West Main street, he had cautiously ducked into the alcove of a nearby Jagamarukun stand and promptly purchased another of the addictive snacks. By this time, the allowance Gareth had set up for him running missives was starting to run low due to the habit.
It was a cloudless day and the sun shone bright, a light breeze in the wind. A whiff of smoke slightly stung the boy's nostrils, causing him to sneeze. Looking around, Bell noticed a plume of smoke coming from the northern side of Orario, by the wall, perhaps close to the Twilight Mansion. Bell popped the last of the snack in his mouth as he zipped between adults on the street, racing to get home.
Thankfully, it just turned out to be Kalos' latest experiment in mixing that met with an unfortunate end.
Finn closed his office's window curtain he had been holding back, covering up the framed image of black smoke that had been rising from the grounds below.
Gareth's low chuckle could be heard from across the room. "Hey, at least he didn't do that one in the dining hall, ehh?"
Riveria let out an audible sigh as she proceeded to rub her temples with both hands. "He still has to clean up that soot near the ceiling. He was initially going to use one of the kitchen hoses and spray down the rafters. That would have been an even greater mess than the smoke."
An amazoness leaning against the wall of the room lightly coughed, bringing the attention back to her.
"Yes, Bara?"
Bara was a striking woman, of average height, and dark of hair and eye, her complexion may have been described as average, but the difference was in the way that she carried herself. Shoulders back and unbent, head held high. Of one that knew how to lead and expected those around her to stand up to the expectations she set. She also had an extreme soft spot for one young white haired youth that ran amok around the Twilight Mansion.
The older amazoness had initially come into the familia by Loki and Finn's invitation to help the familia grow by teaching Finn, Riveria, and Gareth the art of leading a familia and assisting in setting up training regimens for the younger members. Those roles had slowly transitioned to the high-executives as they slowly took up and divided the majority of the familia's responsibilities amongst themselves.
These days, Bara led what was known as the Expeditionary Forces for Loki Familia. A group of roughly five to seven individuals tasked with a whole subset of obscure responsibilities, not the least of which involved tracking down Irregulars in the dungeon, scouting of proposed routes before expeditions, and more recently tracking and assaulting Evilus warehouses and minor bases. Its make-up of the more veteran members in the familia made them a formidable force indeed.
Sitting in a chair to her left was Dain, the Expeditionary Forces second in command, he was a stout even for a Dwarf, almost four inches shorter then Gareth but nearly four inches wider around the waist. A long black beard snaked down his front, long enough to tuck into his belt. In contrast to his hair, his eyes were a vibrant sky blue.
Bara glanced around at the three high-executives and Loki before she asked, "I was wondering if there was any word on recent movements of Evilus."
Finn shook his head as he leaned against his mahogany desk. "Nothing concrete. They had been striking warehouses for the last couple months, but those have largely died down. We're asked to continue patrols but that's about it. Fortunately for us, there seems to be a lack of cohesion in the Evilus forces at the moment."
"That doesn't seem to slow down Vallette or Olivas from causing chaos whenever they appear..." Gareth grumbled.
Vallette Grede and Olivas Act, were two semi-infamous high-ranking individuals in the Evilus Organization. Their repeated acts of needless distruction and cruelty spreading their names through the city they regularly terrorized. And both had been on the Guilds blacklist since shortly after Evilus itself arose.
Riveria tapped the armrest of the chair she sat in, a bubble of disconcerting thought rising to the surface of her mind. "Talking about Vallette, Finn I think she is starting to fixate on you. Ever since we shut down the last operation near warehouse 53 she usually attempts to engage you directly."
"Well then, I'd better take care. But I didn't end up calling everyone here to talk about one crazy Evilus member."
"Then what did you need to talk about?" Dian grumbled from the chair he sat in. Dian had been a part of a patrol that just got back an hour or two earlier. He had been trying to get some shut eye before being awoken by the runner from Finn.
Finn considered the Dwarf before he continued. "We'll be needing to start back up the Expeditionary Forces dungeon efforts in earnest, the guild has been complaining that we are not doing enough progress on that front."
"You mean Royman wants us to do that..." Dian muttered.
"At this point there is very little distinction between what Royman wants and what the Guild is. He does make policy." Riveria said as she shook her head in dismay.
Bara bit the inside of her cheek as she contemplated the ramifications. "That will stretch the team pretty thin Finn, if we're required to do double duty."
"I'll personally make sure we don't put your team in that sort of danger. For now, the Expeditionary Force will move half its patrols to Gareth's squad. Gareth I'm sure that's alright with you?"
"It'll be tight, but manageable."
Finn turned back to the amazoness. "Bara, I also wanted your take on a few of the proposed routes for our next expedition..."
Bell sat at one of the low coffee tables in the common room. His head resting in a thick, open book that sat upon the table with a pencil and paper just to its right showcasing dubious calculations that had been written and then erased more times then one could count. Eraser shavings littered the tabletop, some even ending up in Bell's hair, but his brain was too fried to care.
Math... why did all the hard homework Riveria assigned always have to be MATH. Bell glanced over to where a group of the familia's Adventurers were surrounding the largest tables in the room, trading stories and gossip over mugs of ale after the long day. Oh how he wanted to go over there and listen... but Riveria made it clear in no uncertain terms that homework came first before play.
This was a subject that Bell just didn't see the point. Bell could read. People read signs so they knew what a store was, or to read a menu, or a story. History was just a connection of stories. But why spend so much time memorizing MATH? He could mostly add and subtract numbers fine. He had his fingers and toes he could use to help. But why did he have to learn about multiplying and dividing? How do you even use your fingers and toes to do multiplying and diving?!.
Kalos meandered through the back door, rubbing a wet towel over his face.
"Oh hello Bell. What are you working on?" Bell held up his book. "Ahh multiplication and division hu? Perhaps I could help..."
One of the men around the tables yelled back as they noticed Kalos moving toward the table. "Enough Kalos! We all just saw your handiwork in the training grounds today."
"Don't mind these... eh, ruffians. They are just jealous." Kalos looked at the page before he raised an eyebrow to the white haired youth. "So what's the problem?"
Bell flung himself back into the sofa, his back sinking into its softness "I.. don't understand why this is important..."
Kalos thought for a second. "Ok, well… let me give you an example. Think about... geese."
"Geese?!" Bell exclaimed wide eyed, he could feel a cold sweat running down the back of his spine.
Back on the farm Bell had wondered how soft goose feathers were, so he wattled up to a sleeping goose and gripped a handful of its feathers and, like the little kid he was, pulled too hard accidently pulling a few out. His grandpa had run out into the yard after hearing Bell scream in terror only to fall down laughing to the signt of a rabid goose chasing Bell around in circles. Bell still got frightened at the thought of it.
Kalos was taken aback by Bell's reaction. Perhaps a slight modification then. "Um, ok… How about a cooked goose?" The boy always seemed to like food.
Ahh ok, cooked geese were not that scary. At least they wouldn't start pecking you.
"So if you had one cooked geese but Gareth, Riveria, and Finn also needed to eat. If you had to split your geese into four parts so everyone had a piece, that's division. However, if you wanted each of them to have their own goose then you'd use multiplication!"
Ok, things made a bit more sense when you explained it with food. Bell wasn't totally sure about this goose business though.
Tonight's front gate guard strolled into the common room bearing a sealed letter in his hands. "Runner just came, can someone take this up to the Captain? I have to get back to my post."
"AHH! I will!" Bell jumped from where he sat and snatched the envelope out of the guard's hand. Anything to take a break from what he was currently doing.
Bell softly knocked on the door to Captain Finn's study.
After a moment, the door opened and Finn stood on the other side. "Oh hello Bell, how can I help you this evening?"
"Letter arrived." Bell held out the unopened letter, which Finn took. By now Bell had run so many missives for and to the familia that this exchange was almost second nature. As Finn opened the letter and turned to walk back into the room, he left the door open with Bell standing just outside.
"Figures, just one more thing..." Finn muttered as he passed the letter to Loki.
Loki read the first line before exclaiming "Ganaesha is throwing a party!" and shortly after "Let's celebrate!"
Riveria quickly stood from the armchair where she had been sitting. "Um... Loki I really don't think we need to..."
"Hush you! We'll need to get you a dress. The invitation calls for an escort!" Loki took her right index finger and lightly tapped it upon the tip of the high-elves' nose.
And as Loki spun around the room in sudden joy she noticed Bell still standing in the open doorway. "Bell! I've got an adventure for you!"
"An adventure?"
Usually Loki's adventures were only fun for one person, her. She had taken to 'tasking' young Bell with his own 'adventures' shortly after he started to live in the Twilight Mansion. Bell always assumed it was because she knew he liked hero stories. However there was nothing 'heroic' about taking her dirty laundry to the cleaning room or holding her shopping bags...
"Indeed!" Lady Loki straightened her back in a pose reminiscent of a queen issuing a divine order to her knight. "Will thee brave the catacombs under the Twilight Mansion and retrieve one of the legendary bottles of Soma for this special occasion? I beseech thee, haste is of the essence!"
Yep, called it.
Looking over at Gareth, Bell saw the large dwarf shrug his wide shoulders. At times like this it was just better to humor Lady Loki and, like the letter before, it will keep him from having to go back to Kalos trying to explain geese.
Bell made a small bow to Lady Loki and zipped out of the room.
Loki beamed as the boy made his exit. "Did I ever tell you guys? I like that one."
Gareth gruffed from his own seat. "You like that he brings you booz."
"Ahh yes, that too."
Bell raced down the stone steps that led into the Twilight Mansion's basement. The basement was a large affair, a full three whole underground floors that spanned the entire footprint of the massive mansion that stood on top of it. It was a hidden place, and not regularly used by the familia at large, and it was one of the first places Bell explored when he had more free time before Riveria's 'lessons' began.
There were rooms down here for storage of equipment and supplies. Some rooms that had bars on their doors for locking people away. And there were other rooms that had no discernable purpose, as they were covered with dust and seemingly forgotten from disuse and time. But among these was a room full of Lady Loki's pride and joy, the Twilight Mansion's wine and cellar room.
When Bell first found this place, one of the first things he noticed was how surprisingly clean it was in comparison to the rest of the basement. He had assumed that, like in the stories, it was the workshop of some mysterious alchemist. The different bottles containing various poisons, antidotes, and cure-alls. After Loki heard the young boy inquiring about the room to a handful of familia members, she nearly drug the boy back down into the cellar, taking an exorbitant amount of time to explain each different bottle with loving care. And so, Bell became the youngest member of the manor with a working knowledge of Loki's personal stash.
This was also the location of the basement's mysterious locked door, which usually had one of the familia's younger members guarding its entrance at all times of the day. But this day was different, where a guard was usually stationed there was just an empty chair. This was a bit frustrating, because usually the bottles Loki asked for were located on shelves that Bell could not easily reach. At these times, Bell would ask the guard to help. Darn, well he would have to figure it out on his own.
As he reached the small alcove which still held 2 bottles of Soma, Bell tried to stretch but like usual found his height lacking. When was he supposed to grow taller? Was he really not eating enough like Mama Mia said? Bell looked around the room for some solution. Then, an idea struck him.
The boy raced over to the guard's chair and bent to pick up the heavy wooden piece of furniture. Ugh. This was H-E-A-V-Y. He wasn't sure if he could even pick it up off the ground without toppling over. The chair made a skittering sound as it slid over the rough stone of the basement floor. But before Bell could move away, he heard a soft, muffled sob. He set back down the chair looking around.
"Um... Hello?"
Yep, there it was again. And it seemed to be coming from the door... Bell had been down here multiple times to get things for Loki and he had never heard that before. Oh perhaps someone got stuck! What if they were hurt?!
"Hello?! I'm going to see if I can get you out!"
No other response came from the other side of the door besides the sounds of the soft muffled sobbing.
He could run upstairs and get Gareth, Riveria, Finn, or even Bara... but that could take time, and he didn't want to leave someone alone if they were scared. What if they were hurt? Perhaps the guard left the... yes! Bell drug the chair over to the other side of the door. He climbed up on its seat and reached upward using his tippy toes for extra height to grasp the handle to an old key. Thankfully the guard must have left it before they took off.
Bell frantically dropped to the floor and jammed the key into the keyhole, unlocked the door, and pulled it open.
Light from the half-dozen magic stone lamps filled the small room behind the door, and like the cellar itself this place was surprisingly clean for being in the Twilight Mansion's basement, someone had taken the time to keep this place regularly cleaned. In the middle of the room sat a small, raised dias, just wide enough for someone to stand comfortably on. And surrounding the dias was a bluish-white transparent crystal like material that had evidently shattered and now was beginning to transition from a solid, into liquid form.
In the middle of that mess of melting transparent crystal was a young girl wearing a knee length white dress lined in gold who couldn't have been any older than Bell himself. She was on her hands and knees, both seemingly scuffed from a minor fall, and her head sagged in weariness and fright. The girl's long golden hair was plastered to her head, neck, and shoulders by whatever blue goo the transparent crystal was melting into.
"Um..."
Bell knelt down in front of the girl, trying to find the right words to say. And as if she finally realized that someone was there, her head snapped up. Golden eyes searched his own rubilette ones as if she were trying to decide if she should be wary of him, or not.
"Hi... My name is Bell... What's your name?" Bell held out one of his small hands to the mysterious girl. He knew what it was alike to be afraid, to be alone. He could try and be Gareth for a bit. Would that be alright? A genuine smile overtook his face as the girl came to a decision and reached out with her own trembling hand, placing it in his own.
"A-are you hungry? I know where there is some food..."
The girl may have been bit shaky on her feet, but opened her mouth as if to respond. A gargle that sounded just as loud as a goblin's war cry emanated from the girl's stomach.
Bell's smile beamed even brighter, he knew how to help with this. "Come with me!"
And as Bell helped the wafish girl up the cold stone stairs and toward the Twilight Mansion's dining room, familia members in the corridors and common room quickly took notice of their new addition. Who was this new child? Where did she come from? Word soon spread all the way to Finn's office and to those within.
Author's Note:
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your reviews, responses, favorites, and follows. And a special thanks to Bigguy45, USSRParrot, Midsunris, EngineerGaming1, SmilingIceCube, Drake Atlas, ShadowKnight138, NiebieskiLis, and free556655 for your thoughts and ideas exploring magic for our favorite little Bell. It's always interesting to read what's playing across someone else's mind. Personally, it helps me break out of my own little bubble, and explore a greater breadth of ideas and possibilities.
If anyone has thoughts on potential magic alternatives we're still a handful of chapters away from Bell getting his so feel free if you'd like to share. Right now I'm leaning more towards something like what SmilingIceCube wrote about having a utility spell. I feel that may allow for more creativity in the fights. But that still leaves a huge swath of possibilities.
Also, I definitely agree that Bell should probably inherit something.
Like always, please stay safe out there everyone. Sending good vibes and well wishes.
Review Responses:
Zasun chapter 2 . 14h ago
Oh man this is great! I'm really enjoying the interactions between the characters, especially Loki being supportive of Bell. I want to see them get some more time together. She's be a pretty badass mom. All in all I can't wait to read more!
Response: Yea! I had envisioned Loki as being that mischievous aunt type character. A person (or goddess in this case) who ends up watching everything and stepping in when she feels is needed (sometimes with disastrous effects).
OverLordRevan chapter 2 . 22h ago
Great start.
Response: Thank you, thank you :)
Angryhenry chapter 2 . May 21
I can't wait to see where this story goes.
Response: Me too! Well I do know where it is attempting to go, but writing is an act of discovery all on its own.
free556655 chapter 2 . May 18
So uhhh are the pouch of money safe?
Response: Ahh! Yes it is, Ged let go of it when Bell bloodied his nose. Now I just need to go back and add that little line... nice catch btw. ;)
Wrentt chapter 2 . May 18
Possible magic idea:
Forgotten Lullaby - allows the user to use sound magic. Divided in 3 different magic abilities:
1 - rondo - Creates a barrier of sound around the user that blocks magic and physical attacks.
2 - Testament - Creates a wave of sound. The wave can explode by chanting Requiem.
3 - melody - speed and phisical enchant magic that covers the user in a wave of sound similar to ais tempest. While active the user can use the sound wave to vibrate is weapon making it work like a chainsaw and cut through things and monsters more easily.
The user also doesnt make any sound while using it.
Thanks to Midsunris for the creating the Forgotten Lullaby: Testament witch i use to name the magic and the name of the second idea.
Please dont take it bad that I use your magic name idea.
Response: Plz see the author's note about da' magic. :)
NiebieskiLis chapter 2 . May 17
Nice chapter would love to see first ipmpression from Loki members of Bell but this was also good. Wonder when will Bell gets falna ? First visit in guild would be a riot also would be nice to have Eina as advice .
Yes I also agree with diffrent magic my fav would be lightning element with first spell for lvl 1 Lightingbolt like firebolt and in lvl 2 speed enchant with shocking dmg when strike target lets name it lightning rush or jupiter dash My inspiration Thor ragnarok and kennen or you can give him Alfia magic that she gave him as present in future but to upgrade it would be harder than element cuz we don't really know a lot of her magic just wiki
Response: Bell at this point is a young boy full of dreams, what he truly needs is a reason to fight. Unfortunately Eina at this point in time isn't in Orario yet. But she will be soon... her and Misha have yet to progress through their time at the education district before the guild...
Plz see the author's note about da' magic. :)
ShadowKnight138 chapter 2 . May 17
Awesome! I'm really liking how you're involving Gareth more as he doesn't get enough attention. Hmm, on the one hand I would like for Bell to reacquire Firebolt, on the other I'd like to see what other magic you can give him. I can't wait until Ais is introduced and look forward to see how you handle them growing up! My only wish is that this is not a harem route. (No hate to people that like it, it's just my preference.) Other than that keep doing what you're doing! I eagerly await the next chapter.
Response: I can't see this becoming a harem route story. This has nothing to do with the fact or any lack on Bell's part or that he isn't or won't be loveable, but rather that I don't feel that I would be able to write that part of the story justice for the characters involved. As such, I had this slated as being an Ais/Bell story. I feel that by the time the other characters come into the picture they are already going to have a pretty significant bond, and breaking them up could seem like a 'jumping the shark' moment.
Drake Atlas chapter 2 . May 17
I read both chapters now and i am really forward to the next chapters. Gareth definetly need more scream time and hell yeah he is going to be a huge influence i bells like Zeus should be. The day young Bell asks Riveria what a Harem is going to be the day Bell will get another traum like Aiz got and i will fall out my chair from laughing.
I hope this doesnt go into the harem route but that is for you to decide. Zard and Alfia are definetly going to be suprised to see Bell there after all he is their last member. Alfia and Zard will definetly need to think about what they want to do then. Stop and help/train Bell to become a hero or continue and let Bell grow through this experience and form his will to become a hero.
Bell will get a new magic topig: Maybe Bell could get two magics, one to symbolice his closeness to Zeus or better to say his grandfather and the other to symbolice how gareth and the rest of the Loki familia plus other friends saved him form his loneliness. The Zeus one could be a lightning type magic that is similiar to aiz ariel (of course not as op as ariel is) and the second could be earth magic where he can manipulate to make walls or earth spears to block or attack enemies.
Response: I wonder what of Gareth's mannerisms Bell might pick up on... also, I'm really looking forward to bringing Alfia and Zard into the mix. They should start to show up in the next arc.
SmilingIceCube chapter 2 . May 17
His aspiration to catch up to Aiz is a part of when he acquires firebolt and since that is not the case here, it would makes sense for him to get a different spell. Because of his soul, I would expect it to still be something wildly unique. A lot of fanfics give him something op, but I think it would be interesting to see something that seems weak but is actually a very useful utility spell.
Anyways, keep up the good work!
Response: Plz see the author's note about da' magic. :)
Hello chapter 2 . May 16
this was great can't wait till ch 3
Response: Thanks! : D
EngineerGaming1 chapter 2 . May 16
Maybe having bell get Alfias magic would be interesting as it would allude to his biological family
Response: Plz see the author's note about da' magic. :)
NoaRien chapter 2 . May 16
Thanks for all your hard work
Response: Thanks! :D
Midsunris chapter 2 . May 16
It would be nice if Bell will have a magic similar to the Gospel of Alfia, here I dare along the lines of Forgotten Lullaby: Testament
Response: Plz see the author's note about da' magic. :)
USSRParrot chapter 2 . May 16
Give em a ice spell.
Response: Plz see the author's note about da' magic. :)
Bigguy45 chapter 2 . May 16
Since he will be growing differnt he will need a new spell try something with water like one i can think of that can be used and is not to op is the water dragon jutsu from naruto but that will need a chant not really long one but long since the handsigns for it vary like tobirama got it down to 10 or 12 when it is suppose to be 40 or more
Response: Plz see the author's note about da' magic. :)