Today's chapter is rather short but... I still hope you can enjoy it!


After arriving at the library, Bell and Riveria stepped inside, finding Finn and Gareth already waiting there, together with Loki.

"Oh there you two are!", Loki casually greeted them once they entered, Bell closing the door behind them.

"Aki told us to come here since you needed to talk to us. What was that about a quest from Melen?", Riveria simply replied, getting right to the topic at hand. Perhaps she was a little bold, but… well, she may or may not be a little upset about having her kiss with Bell cut short…

"A messenger of the guild visited today.", Finn jumped into the conversation, beginning to explain the circumstances: "Apparently a strange sea monster appeared, one that they can't take care of themselves."

"And… why this meeting? I trust there must be more to it since we are here?", Riveria asked. Clearly a quest like this wasn't worth discussing in great detail! At least… normally it wouldn't be.

Even if the fishermen of Melen aren't able to take care of the monster, surely some of the second class adventurers would be able to handle it…

At this point, Loki joined the conversation once more: "Yes it seems that way. Normally, I wouldn't bother you with quests like this but… It really does seem to be an emergency this time."

The goddess paused for a moment before explaining: "Apparently, the first appearance of this monster was already three weeks ago. It destroyed an entire ship and killed every person on board."

"First, the fishermen tried taking care of the monster themselves, but they lost even more ships and men while trying. At that point, they sent out a quest to Orario, contracting multiple second class adventurers of Ganesha familia…. they all disappeared, along with the ship they were given in Melen.", she then went on with her explanation, her face darkening with each word.

Riveria, now starting to understand the gravity of the situation, stated: "I see, so it's not just any ordinary monster after all…", while putting a hand on her chin, seemingly in thought.

Gareth shook his head, saying: "No. Whatever that thing is, it definitely requires more power to defeat than ordinary adventurers can bring to the table."

"Apparently, the monster only rarely attacked the ships out at sea in the beginning but… the attacks got more and more frequent and by now, no ships can leave or enter the port anymore.", Loki explained.

"Melen is in quite the dire situation. The ocean is the city's lifeline after all. Without fishing and trading, the city is left with basically nothing.", Finn spoke, leaving Riveria to conclude: "So we need to do something about it immediately, correct?"

Listening to those four, Bell felt… really awkward! He definitely wasn't qualified to be here! He was an adventurer after all, not a leader! And to begin with, they even said themselves that second tier adventurers won't be able to do anything… Why was he even here?!

Ignoring the distressed boy, Loki nodded at Riveria's words, stating: "Yes, we will immediately send out a team to take care of it."

She then went on to name who would be part of that team: "The most important members of the team will be Tiona and Tione. They have the dive ability so they are best suited for fighting a sea monster."

Everyone in the room could agree to that. Even Bell understood the advantage of such a development ability when it came to underwater combat!

"Next up, I'd like you to join them Riveria.", Loki went on, though a slightly surprised look by Riveria prompted her to explain her reasoning behind the decision: "These two… they are strong but… a little too unreliable still. They need someone to look after them and keep them in check."

"And you want me to do that?", Riveria asked, looking over at Finn and Gareth for a moment. Finn gave her a sort of apologetic smile, while Gareth just shrugged his shoulders.

The elf looked back at Loki who just said: "Come on! Who better to take care of those two than our resident mama elf?", in a teasing voice, prompting Riveria to let out a sigh, before growling: "I've told you a thousand times already Loki! Quit calling me a mother!"

The goddess just couldn't help but tease her some more though! Turning to Bell, she asked: "But don't you think so too Cranel? She'd make a great mother, wouldn't she!"

"H-Huh?! A-Ahem- I- I mean- p-probably?", Bell stuttered, surprised by suddenly being forced to join the conversation.

Both Bell and Riveria blushed when the topic of Riveria's having children was brought up, causing Finn and Gareth to glance at each other in a bit of surprise…

Trying to get the situation back under control, Riveria stated: "S-Stop it already Loki! Fine, I will take care of them…"

Truth be told, of course Riveria hadn't been chosen just to take care of the twins! They may not be the MOST reliable of the adventurers in their familia, but they would probably have been fine even on their own! At least… under ordinary circumstances.

However, the incident at Melen involving Kali familia had Loki a little worried. Of course she didn't expect something like this to occur again! But… well, she feared that maybe the amazon twins may still have a bit of lingering fear or anger left behind, so she wanted to make sure they had someone around them who could provide them with emotional support when needed.

Those sorts of jobs were mostly pushed onto Riveria…

And, besides that… Riveria wasn't such a bad choice either! The elf was often restricted by the terrain they were fighting in, but when it came to pure offensive abilities, she was one of the strongest in the city, at least when she got a chance to use her magic without restraint! The open sea certainly gave such a chance…

In the end, despite Loki just teasing the elf and not explaining any of that reasoning, Riveria knew these kinds of things as well, which was why she was rather easy to persuade. Not that she had WANTED to decline anyway! After all, she wanted to help the people of Melen as well!

"Well, I suppose the allowance to leave the city is already taken care of in that case?", Riveria asked. She was quite certain in an emergency like that, the guild wouldn't take too long to arrange for their departure.

After receiving confirmation from Finn, Riveria then went on: "Alright, in that case we should inform those two. We will leave tomorrow morning and I expec-"

"Hey, hey, hey! Hold it! I wasn't finished with my totally serious talk!", Loki said, upset that she didn't get to play the 'cool leader' till the end…

"What is it now Loki?", Riveria asked, a little annoyed by their goddess who seemed to fool around even in this situation…

"I haven't announced the last member of your team yet!", the goddess told her.

"Even more people? Even if it's an emergency, I didn't expect the guild to allow so many first tier adventurers to leave the city…", Riveria stated, a little surprised.

At this, Loki scratched the back of her head, answering: "Unfortunately, they are still as hard headed as ever, even with the fate of Melen on the line…"

"Then who is-", Riveria began, but quickly realized what Loki was getting at even as she spoke. The elf turned her head to face Bell now. She had already wondered why he had been called here, so that was the reason!

"Why?! He is a second tier adventurer! A level three at that! This is too dangerous isn't it?!", Riveria stated, angry for even suggesting such a thing.

Bell on the other hand had… mixed feelings about this. Hearing Riveria's words, he understood why she would say that, but at the same time… being rejected like that was quite painful! He had always wanted to protect those important to him. That was the reason for his skill after all! It was the motivation that allowed him to train with Aiz day after day! Being told he was too weak and that by the person he loved most… it lit a strong fire in him, just like when he had denied Aiz's assistance in fighting the Minotaur shortly before his first level up!

As Bell was struggling with his feelings, Loki explained her reasoning behind the decision: "Riveria, he is a wildcard. You know the kind of stuff he did, things no one expected to be possible. You know his skills too. I want to send him with you three as a joker, someone that may be able to turn things around when you don't see a rational way of doing so anymore."

"That's-… Still…", Riveria said. Honestly, she could understand Loki's reasoning! Just… she didn't want him to be hurt…

Finally having made up his mind, Bell stepped forward a little, stating: "I want to go.", with determination in his voice.

Loki slightly grinned, simply asking: "See?", directed at Riveria.

Hearing him state his desire to join the group heading for Melen, Finn couldn't help but grin, while Gareth let out a hearty laugh, saying: "That's it boy! Ain't afraid of a little monster huh?"

Riveria wasn't pleased with this development! Of course she wasn't! She didn't want Bell to head into danger like that!

However, it didn't seem like anyone else in the room would support her if she tried to keep Bell from joining the party…

She looked into Bell's eyes for a moment, seemingly pleading with him to stay here after all! But… of course that was to no avail. Bell gazed right back at her, his determination clear to see in his red eyes!

Realizing that he wouldn't be swayed now, Riveria let out a sigh, finally relenting: "Fine…"

The following day, the group set out for Melen, bright and early in the morning.

With some light luggage, the group was sent off by Loki, Finn, Gareth and Aiz who was, as always, already awake.

A few final words were exchanged, most notably Loki telling Bell: "Make sure to bring back my girls save and sound alright rabbit?", with a teasing grin, a statement that Bell could only respond to with an awkward chuckle, knowing that if anything, they would be protecting him! After all, all three of them were entirely capable of beating his ass if they felt like it…

With some final words urging them for caution from Finn, who seemed to feel uneasy about the quest, his thumb tingling, the party left.

Before long, the group of four had left the manor, passed through one of the four city gates and found themselves on the path towards Melen…

"Ahhhh, what a great day for a trip! Don't you think so too Argonaut?", Tiona asked in a cheerful voice, stretching out her arms over her head as they walked beneath the warm sun.

"W-Well it is quit the nice day but… aren't you a little too cheerful for an emergency quest?", Bell replied with a bit of an awkward smile.

"He's right airhead! Learn to read the mood a little already!", Tione directed a complaint towards Tione.

"Not fair! It'd suck if the mood was all gloomy, wouldn't it? Why don't you try and be a bit more relaxed from time to time Tione?", Tiona complained right back.

Riveria let out a small sigh, she could already tell this would develop into a fight if she didn't say something. "Stop already, both of you! Tiona, it's fine to be excited but don't lose focus alright? Tione, your sister is just trying to keep moral up, which is important. I am sure Finn would agree with me on that."

Hearing her words, both of the twins backed down.

Bell was honestly pretty impressed with how well she handled the situation! She may not like it, but she really did already have the qualities and experience of a mother…

As they continued their journey though, Bell could clearly see Riveria was worried. She kept glancing at him with a worried look in her eyes after all!

The two hadn't gotten a chance to talk to each other anymore yesterday, meaning they hadn't managed to discuss how they felt about Bell being part of this quest…

Riveria just… she felt really concerned that he might get hurt! Of course, with three first tier adventurers around, she probably didn't have too much to worry about… but still! Even Finn's intuition had told him that something was off about this quest and, knowing him for almost thirty years now, she knew to trust that intuition…

Still though, she knew Bell wouldn't be swayed in his decision. Usually, Bell was an absolute pushover, especially when it came to women! But… despite that, Riveria understood that, once he had set his mind to something, he wouldn't be swayed easily…

And so, she had instead resolved herself to do anything in her power to make sure he was save!

Eventually, around noon, the group arrived in Melen.

Melen was only a short distance away from Orario, yet the weather had changed drastically! During their walk here, they had practically been bathed in sunlight, yet the city was clouded and strong winds were sweeping through the streets!

It was clear from the first glance what a hit the city had taken from the appearance of that monster. The streets seemed to be almost empty, only occasionally did they pass small groups of sailors, all of which seemed to be majorly depressed and many of which had bottles of rather strong alcohol in their hands. It seemed that drinking away your pain was a coping strategy not only used by Loki…

Entering the harbour, the already painful scenery grew even worse!

The harbour seemed to be even emptier than the streets leading up to it! There was no longer the hustling and bustling of merchants exchanging information, no sailors hastily loading and unloading cargo, even the characteristic smell of fresh fish was missing!

The harbour almost seemed abandoned right now, save from a few fishermen sitting on the pier and trying to catch themselves some food, an attempted that didn't seem very successful, judged by their depressed faces and empty containers…

Unable to bear the silence any longer, Bell hesitantly asked: "Is- Is Melen always like this?"

Truth be told, despite the circumstances, Bell had been at least a little excited to visit! He had never been to the ocean before after all. However, seeing the desolated town, he quickly lost all of that excitement…

"No. Normally it isn't like this. Normally, it's a cheerful and busy town.", Riveria replied, though honestly… right now, even she had trouble believing that!

"Mmmm…. I can't take this anymore! This is way too gloomy!", Tiona exclaimed, clearly agitated by a scene like this!

Her sudden shout caused many surprised looks to be directed at the group of course.

"Know some decency you idiot!", Tione immediately told her sister, smacking her head in frustration.

"I don't wanna! Who needs decency if all it does is make everything depressing?!", Tiona retorted, clutching her head.

Before a fight could break out however, both of them felt a fist impact on the back of their head!

Both sisters now clutching their heads, they silently looked at Riveria, the only person around that would even have been able to smack them like this…

"No fighting! I explained this earlier when we walked here didn't I? Both of you have a point, try to understand each other a little more would you?", the elf lectured them. She was a little annoyed that they seemed to have forgotten her lesson already! She really was a perfect fit for a mother… though… maybe she should dial back the violence a little, at least when actual children were involved…

Having noticed the commotion, one of the fishermen approached the group, calling out to them in a hesitant way: "Hey you there! Are you the adventurers sent from the city?"

Their conversation cut short, the group of four focused on the elderly man approaching them.

Riveria, the leader of the group, decided to take the initiative: "Yes that's right." To be honest, she feared that, considering the town's current mood, the people of Melen wouldn't be particularly happy about their arrival, after all, the last group of adventurers hadn't been able to help them! And the fact that they had two amazons with them, right after the fight with Kali familia here in Melen probably wouldn't help either... That's why she prepared to take the lead in the conversation and keep everything under control…

To her relief however, such worries were unnecessary it seems!

"That's great! We have been waiting for your arrival already! As you can see we are in a really sorry state…", the old man told them.

Relaxing a little more now, Riveria answered him: "Don't worry, we came to help and we will do everything in our power to try and solve this monster problem."

She made sure to sound both not overly encouraging and optimistic, but also not pessimistic. She didn't want to give false hope or promise everything would be ok now, but at the same time, she wanted to give him something to trust and belief in!

"That's good. I am relieved to hear that…", the man said. It seemed Riveria's attempt at giving him hope had succeeded.

"I can help you find Lord Njord if you want!", he offered, adding: "He should be at his home right now. He is really doing his best to manage this situation…"

"Thank you for the information. Aside from Bell here, the rest of us has already been to Melen before, so we will find our way there ourselves.", Riveria told him.

"I see.", the man gave a short reply, before looking at Bell for a moment, a little hesitantly stating: "I am sorry your first impression of Melen had to be this young man. I hope you will get another chance to visit some time, when things are back to normal."

Hearing those kind words, Bell give him a smile and promised: "Don't worry, I will definitely come and visit again!"

Bell's response was enough to bring a smile onto the man's face, just like it caused the three women with him to break into a smile too! He simply had that kind of effect on people…

After this brief exchange, the four of them made their way to the home of Njord familia…

Unlike the quiet and depressed harbour, the home of Njord familia was really busy! Many sailors were busily strutting in and out of the building, carrying supplies with them or relaying orders. Despite that though, a clear look of exhaustion and despair was visible on everyone's faces...

And in the middle of all that chaos stood Njord, doing his best to live up to the role of a calm, competent leader that was required of him now!

Granted, he looked like he might fall asleep any second now…

It seemed despite being a god of the sea, he hadn't been prepared to deal with a storm of people and requests!

So naturally, when Riveria, Bell and the twins approached, relief washed over his face! After all, their arrival promised some much needed rest for him…

"Riveria! It's great you are here! I am glad that they sent you to help out…", Njord called out to them.

Riveria answered his friendly greeting with a smile: "Hello Njord. Don't worry, we will do our best."

Once again observing her surroundings while the other three exchanged their greetings with the god as well, Riveria couldn't help but ask: "You seem to be really busy… Is all of that due to the monster or is there some other event going on as well?"

"No it's all due to that monster. Not directly related, but I have to somehow inform all the merchants and ships that are sailing towards Melen from other parts of the world…", Njord commented, seemingly more exhausted and desperate from such a job than from the monster in the first place.

The god let out a sigh, stating: "Well, hopefully I won't need to do such things for much longer now, right?", with a slight, hopeful smile.

Giving him a nod, Riveria now got to business. It seems that once again she would take the lead at talking: "So, what are we dealing with? Is there any information you can share with us on this monster?"

Njord took a moment before answering with a pained smile: "The truth is… we don't know."

The group was, understandably, surprised by such a statement.

"You… don't know?", Tione repeated in a questioning tone.

"Yes. Truth be told, none of our sailor returned alive after they were attacked, so we don't have any concrete information. Only vague guesses.", Njord admitted.

"But… Loki said you guys couldn't even leave the shore. If a monster attacks and destroys an entire ship, someone must have witnessed it from the shore!", Riveria stated, her brows slightly furrowed.

Njord gave her a sympathetic smile. It was only reasonable she would be agitated by such a claim after all…

"It's the weather.", he said, before explaining: "This damn storm has been going on for almost three weeks now. It didn't start out as bad as this, but it got worse overtime. And… whenever a ship left the harbour and got attacked, the rain turned so heavy and the waves got so high that we couldn't even see it from the shore anymore. It's almost like this thing is controlling the weather…"

Understanding why they didn't have any accurate information now, Riveria sighed a little, telling him: "I see, so that's how it is. Nothing we can do about the lack of information in that case…"

Quickly composing herself, she then went on: "Anyway, you said you had some vague guesses? They may not be much, but let's hear them anyway. Maybe they are accurate after all."

"Of course!", Njord agreed before relaying what they had uncovered so far: "Judged from the wreckage that was washed ashore, we estimate the monster to be a sort of serpentine monster. It's likely multiple dozens of meders long and we assume it has crushed the ships by wrapping its body around them."

The other members of their group made sure to listen closely to the god, after all, every little detail might be crucial information!

Nodding her head once again, Riveria stated: "I see.", before asking one last time: "Is there anything else? Even if it may seem insignificant, anything could help!"

Thinking for a while longer, Njord eventually answered: "I… don't think anything else comes to mind."

Closing her eyes for a moment, Riveria was just about to continue the conversation, when Njord hesitantly spoke up once more: "Just-! Well, our fishermen aren't catching any fish. Not even monsters in fact! It's like they are all gone since that thing appeared…"

Hearing that, Bell couldn't help but mutter: "Almost as if they are… scared of that monster."

Somehow, this information seemed to ring a bell in his brain. He couldn't quite put his hands on it though! Just… all of this seemed… vaguely familiar…

After receiving that last bit of information, Riveria then went on: "I see. Thank you for all of that.", before she hesitantly asked: "I hate to ask for this but… if possible, I'd like you to prepare a ship for us, along with a few sailors willing to join us. While I know the basics of handling a ship and Tiona and Tione also have a bit of experience, I don't think we will be able to steer a ship on our own…"

Curious as ever, Riveria had learned the basics of sailing from Njord and his men when she had stayed in Melen together with Loki in the distant past and the twins, having worked for multiple seafaring familias, also had a bit of experience when it came to handling a ship! Just… well, they'd need a rather large ship that wouldn't be sunk too easily and handling such a ship on their own with just the three of them (plus Bell, assuming they could explain what he had to do) was a tall task even for first tier adventurers…

Njord however didn't seem to have any problem with the request, simply telling them: "That's not a problem. A ship has already been prepared for you in advance and, while not too many, some of my men are willing to help you as well."

Riveria was relieved to hear that! She had expected that they'd have a lot of difficulty convincing the scared sailor to help them…

"That's great!", she told him, though she couldn't help but mutter: "How great it is to work with a capable god that isn't drunk all the time", in a slightly self-depreciating manner.

Njord could only awkwardly smile when faced with such words, pacifying her: "Now, now. No bad-mouthing your goddess while she isn't around ok…?"

"Achoo!", back at the city, a crimson-haired deity sneezed.

"Are you catching a cold Loki?", a certain prum asked while watching over a chessboard in front of him, the dwarf opposing him clearly on the losing end of their game…

"Nah! I feel like someone just mentioned me or thought about me... Maybe Riveria is missing me already~?", she said with a happy grin on her face…

Once the details had been discussed with Njord, the time for their departure had been set and, together with the crew, the group prepared themselves for the incoming battle…