The Cure

DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. Everything that occurs in this story is of my own creation and the characters abide by the fictional laws in the setting.

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Chapter 11: Carefree Moments

Part 13

Bell's evening went much better after Freya had finally left the Dian Cecht clinic with her new orders, though she still managed to squeeze out a promise to meet in private in seven days' time to report her findings, which Bell very reluctantly agreed to.

The only reason he was on edge to meet her, even though it would be beneficial to him, was because it would be in private. While it was true that he held her metaphorical leash, and could tighten it at will, there was very little for him to gain by doing so.

Unless he wanted to make her suffer.

Which, again, was a thought that lasted way too long in his head, more than he was comfortable with.

Such thoughts were a clear reminder of how immature his heart still was, though he was glad that his mental maturity won over his emotions for once, because otherwise, he'd be running away from Orario after killing a Goddess, reasons not withstanding.

He had gained so much in Orario just to throw it down the drain in one of his emotional outbursts.

Thankfully, Freya had the presence of mind to clean up her mess with her Arcanum before leaving, letting Bell know in her little secret that all Gods were free to use a minimal portion of their arcanum as long as it didn't affect the dungeon, or other God's children… Which judging by the wink she threw after the second statement, she cared little for that rule considering she almost forgot to release Miss Airmid from her charm before leaving for good.

Bell was glad that all he needed to say was Freya's name to Miss Airmid for her to understand why she had a lapse in mind, and Bell silently wondered just how often the goddess played around with her magic to the point that someone as serious as Miss Airmid casually brushed it off.

There were no more further interruptions that evening for Bell in his training with Airmid, and while the first lesson was mostly only a back on forth for Airmid to understand how much knowledge Bell had, which books had he studied, and so on, Bell truly felt like he had made a lot of progress.

Airmid left him with some work to do at home, which was to study his own soul with his magic and ordered him to return in three days' time for their next session which would be a more hands on approach, so he'd better be ready.

He left the Dian Cecht clinic with a giant smile on his face, one that withered slightly at the sight of his mom standing with arms crossed and a pronounced frown on her sharp face under the twilight sky gracing Orario.

"Was the little saint's training that hard?"

Bell awkwardly scratched his cheek, "Kind of. A lot happened, and I'm exhausted beyond belief."

Alfia snorted, "I can see that, you look incredibly tired. Come here."

She opened her arms, and Bell immediately embraced her. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Alfia hummed as she stroked her nephew's back, "Last time you didn't return home early, you appeared with a royal elf the next morning, there's no telling what you'll come back with the next time."

"Ehehe," Bell chuckled nervously and nuzzled further into his mom's caring embrace.

"… You did something stupid, didn't you?" Alfia caught onto her nephew's nervousness, she pulled him back by the scruff of his inner shirt and locked eyes.

"… In my defense, you would've done something even more stupid…" Bell quietly murmured as he looked away.

Alfia blinked, "That bad?"

"Yeah…" Bell scratched his cheek awkwardly and before his aunt could ask what happened, he tried to divert the conversation, "Talking about royal elves, how did Miss Riveria's training go?"

Alfia noticed the conversation shift, but she decided to humor her nephew, for now. "She's a magical genius who lacks talent but makes up for it with pure hard work."

That was quite the high praise that came from Alfia, and something Bell was slightly jealous of since she had never humored telling him her own thoughts about him. The only description he had from a third part of himself was the old man from the mountains, and he said Bell was exactly like his mother… Which really wasn't much to go by.

All he had to go by was what he recently learned about himself, and that came from his goddess Hephaistos, Miss Airmid, and Freya.

"She also possesses more magical knowledge than you currently do, which is why she's staying with us for the night." Alfia added, causing Bell to blink in surprise.

"She is?" Bell asked again to which his aunt nodded in the positive.

"The Nine Hell's resting for now, but after dinner, she will be teaching you about her magical knowledge." Alfia truly intended to work not only her nephew to the bone, but also Riveria.

After an entire day with the royal elf herself, Alfia could honestly say that the only thing she disliked about her was the fact that Riveria's goddess was Loki, otherwise she would've been a prime candidate to inherit her secret magical concepts.

As it was, Bell continued being the prime candidate for them, all he lacked was more expertise, something he would only be able to build on his own, and one of the many reasons she was not so averse to the Nine Hells expanding her nephew's knowledge.

"Er…" Bell winced at the thought of even more mentally taxing activities, something his aunt quickly picked up.

"Was the little saint's training really that hard?" Alfia's question implied she was asking more about the 'stupid thing' he did rather than the training itself.

It was moments like this that he felt his love for his mom bite his ass because all she had to do was ask directly about what happened, and he would tell her, despite the fear of what she would do to him… A fear very well founded within his heart considering how she had reacted that morning to Riveria's appearance and his closeness with the royal elf.

He was used to Alfia being brutal during training, and stern outside of it, but to be pummeled to within an inch of his life because he broke their promise drove quite the fearful wedge into his heart, and this time he'd done something arguably worse…

Almost as if knowing just how turbulent his thoughts were becoming, his aunt brought his head back onto the top of her bosom and caressed his hair.

"I won't pry this time, you're a grown man, and I have to accept that your life is your own, and while you may do things I dislike, it is no longer my place to punish you for doing what you believe is right." Alfia placed a rare kiss at the top of his hair, "Just promise me that when you do something stupid, it's not something irreversible."

He couldn't help sagging into his mom embrace at that, "Thank you mom, I promise I will try."

"You better."

- 0 - T.C - 0 -

Watching over Riveria's soul was quickly becoming one of Bell's favorite past times, how the little nine-colored bespectacled fairy dragged itself across the metaphorical ground as Riveria slouched her way into the dining table was such an adorable sight that Bell almost cooed from seeing it.

Obviously, he didn't, as his concern for how worn out the royal elf looked was stronger.

It was very obvious to Bell that Alfia had been as brutal with Riveria during their training as his aunt normally was with him, yet the victorious smile adorning her lips never went away during the entire dinner.

Hephaistos became the second person to ask Bell what happened to him during the day since he looked almost as worn out as Riveria did, and Bell didn't know how to reply at first because he did not want to lie, not that he could lie to his goddess, but he couldn't just come out and say 'I tamed one of your kind and bound her to myself' right?

…

Actually… He probably could - scratch that, he should tell Hephaistos the truth the next time they were alone because she would be able to help him with what he could do and what to expect from Freya since he knew very little about Freya as a person and not as a Goddess.

In the end, Bell gave a half-truth explaining how his lack of sleep was finally catching up to him after everything he did during the day, especially with how tiring his time inside the Dian Cecht clinic was.

His answer satisfied his goddess curiosity and he was glad that the remaining small talk during dinner didn't touch the subject about what happened during the day again, he was the first to finish and leave the table to wash his dishes, Hephaistos was next and in the short moment they were alone in the goddess' kitchen, Bell told her he had something very important to tell her the next day during their morning training.

A raised eyebrow, and extremely exhausted sigh, and a resigned "What did you do this time…" followed his statement, and Bell had to promise another good, magically infused, shoulder massage to get the goddess to stop looking at him like if she wasn't sure whether she hit the jackpot with him or not.

Bell silently wondered if he was spoiling his goddess too much, but with how much trouble he was bringing her, he felt she deserved a lot more pampering, a whole lot more considering how absurdly tense her shoulders and back were the first time he gave her a massage.

Alfia interrupted his thoughts as she was the next to leave her dishes in the sink, she gave him another motherly kiss to the top of his hair before she retired to their bedroom for the night, most likely to read one of Hephaistos novels and drink the goddess' wine until Bell joined her to sleep.

It was a hard match choosing between heading after his mom and the promise of sweet, restful, sleep in her arms, or spending time with the equally exhausted Riveria and learning more about her and studying her magic.

In the end, the choice was taken from his hands after Riveria washed her dishes, and her soul, the bespectacled fairy, slapped her own tiny cheeks, rearranged her glasses, and brought out a massive book from her glowing body…

What was it with elves and their souls!? Just where did that book come from!?

"Come, Bell, it's time I fulfill my part of our deal." Riveria spoke with a small smile that left Bell feeling weightless for a second, then his face heated slightly when Riveria grabbed onto his arm and made their way to one of the studios in Hephaestus manor.

Weren't elves supposed to abhor physical contact?

"Umm, Miss Riveria?" Bell quietly called her out as they walked, and she hummed in response. "Is it fine for you to be this close…?"

Riveria tilted her head, "Why would it not be?"

"Err, the last time I was this close to an elf, you pointed your staff at me…" Bell uneasily replied.

"Oh." Riveria looked away with a sheepish smile, "I didn't know you were trustworthy then, I do now. Besides, you've made one of my deepest wishes become true, there's no way I would treat you like a stranger after that."

Riveria did tell him she wanted to learn from Alfia and repent for her past actions, which he technically granted her… Huh, maybe he was looking too much into it…

"Do you dislike me being this close?" Riveria asked and made to move away but Bell immediately placed his hand atop hers.

"N-no, I like it! I mean - I was just concerned I was overstepping into your boundaries." Bell quickly explained and he wasn't certain whose face became redder after his slip of the tongue.

"I- I see," Riveria looked away, and she started fiddling with a stray strand of hair. "If you do, I'll let you know…"

Thankfully, there was no awkward silence since right after she said that, they arrived at the studio, though Bell did guiltily watch as the nine-colored bespectacled fairy smacked herself in the head with the book in embarrassment as Riveria arranged the tables and couch for them to sit next to one another.

Unluckily, there was awkward silence after the two sat down next to one another, and neither knew exactly how to breach the silence.

Seconds quickly turned into minutes and Bell realized that most, if not all, of his interactions with other women besides Alfia were always initiated by them… Sometimes explosively… Most times explosively.

Huh… He really was learning more about himself in Orario than he did in the mountains with his aunt. A self-deprecating smile made itself into his lips as once more he knew how immature his heart still was, but such smile quickly turned into a confident grin when he psyched himself up to rectify that and grow up.

"Miss Riveria," Bell's voice startled Riveria, and Bell had to slap his mouth shut when the bespectacled fairy jumped, startled, in place and clutched at its heart.

'Cute'

"Ehem." Riveria coughed into her fist and quickly recomposed herself, "Riveria is fine, Bell, you don't need to worry with formalities considering we'll be together for a while."

'Calm down, heart of mine, she didn't mean it that way!' Bell took a deep breath. "Right, um, Riveria."

"Yes?"

"Did my aunt tell you anything about my magic…?" Bell decided to start with that.

"Yes, she also explained some of your magical strengths and weaknesses," Riveria found herself at ease when the topic turned into her expertise, and the bespectacled fairy fixed her glasses as she opened the book in her hands. "I'm of the believe that a proper mage should train their weaknesses first before improving their strengths, will that kind of teaching be fine with you?"

"Any method will be fine, Riveria." Bell felt his own enthusiasm at more knowledge surface. "As long as I get to learn and expand my knowledge."

"Good! That's a very good attitude, but we'll see if you're true to your words by the end of the night!" Riveria fixed him with a challenging smile, and Bell met her with one of his own.

They soon got lost into their own little studious world as Riveria started to address the many weaknesses Alfia said Bell possessed, with Bell doing his best to keep up with Riveria's high hopes of him.

…

'… Soon, I will no longer be able to call you a child…' Alfia thought as she closed the door to the studio with a troubled smile and left her nephew in the care of the Nine Hells.

- 0 - T.C - 0 -

"You know, those two look adorable together." Hephaestus chuckled and glanced at the twitchy Alfia beside her in the studio.

"Not another word, Hephaistos." Alfia spoke through clenched teeth and continued glaring at the scene in front of them.

It was the next morning already, and Hephaestus was the first to wake up and search for Bell to start their training, only to meet up with a half-awoken Alfia who was also looking for Bell since he hadn't returned to their bedroom during the night.

And lo, and behold, they found him, along with the Nine Hells, in the very same studio Alfia had peeked into the last night.

Sleeping.

Together.

With her son carefreely snoozing on top of the Nine Hells' bosom on the couch, with the Nine Hell arms curled around his back, firmly securing him in place and her mouth resting over his white hair.

Alfia took an extremely long breath which made Hephaestus wonder if she was going to have to apologize to Loki for losing one of her favorite children before Alfia finally looked away from the adorable scene with arms crossed.

"One hour, just one hour more, and you'll wake them up."

"Sure, want me to prepare the soundproof room in advance for your magical lessons with them later?"

"Yes, both of the rooms."

"… But they look adorable…"

"… All three rooms."

'Sorry Bell, seems what you wanted to tell me will have to wait until our next lesson.' Hephaestus mentally apologized.

- 0 - T. C - 0 -

"What did you get yourself into this time?" Alise wondrously asked Bell when they met up outside of the Hostess of Fertility for lunch.

"My teacher, uh, stepped up my training, yeah." Bell gave Alise an incredibly tired smile, he started to wobble in place but before he could fall, a blank-faced Ryuu caught him in her arms much to his surprise.

"Let's get you inside, Mister Cranel, you're in no shape to be standing up today." Ryuu's voice was monotone, but Bell could hear the care in her soul's noise.

"Sheesh, are you sure that teacher of yours wasn't trying to kill you today?" Alise quickly joined Ryuu, and between the two, put Bell's arms over their shoulders and helped him inside the restaurant where Mia received them with a grin and an arm wave.

The three sat in very much the same position as last time on the counter in front of Mia, who also pointed out how roughed up Bell looked and announced she would prepare something special for him to help him out.

"Mister Cranel, if you were feeling so tired from training, you shouldn't have come." Ryuu monotonously said to Bell who was to her right.

"Ahaha…" Bell tiredly laughed.

"This is no laughing matter, Mister Cranel." Ryuu's tone shifted slightly, revealing a little bit of the care only her noise carried moments earlier. "You're dangerously close to a Mind Down!"

Bell blinked, "Oh, so this is how it normally feels approaching a Mind Down huh…"

Ryuu scowled, "You're-"

"Alise! Ryuu! Bell~" An airy voice sing-sang from behind them, interrupting their conversation, and the three turned to find a smiling Syr holding a tray in her arms. "I was wondering when you three would pop by!"

"Hello Syr, it's good to see you're as cheerful as ever today too," Alise amiably greeted the waitress who was quick to place water glasses for all three of them.

"Nothing soothes adventurer's hearts more than a beautiful lady's smile~" Syr winked at all three of them.

"And as prideful as ever, too." Alise chuckled, "Thank you."

"Fufufu, it's nothing, after all, it's my duty to serve you~" Syr directed that part of the sentence at Bell who squirmed in place. "Just call out my name and I'll immediately come towards for you if you need anything else~"

And just as abruptly as she appeared, the waitress was gone with a slight sway of her maid uniform.

"… She's dangerous." Bell said again, but for a different reason altogether from the last time.

"… Yes," Ryuu agreed with him, again.

- 0 - T.C - 0 -

"Heh, Mama Mia still has that magical touch when she's the one who prepares the food." Alise grinned from ear to ear as she patted her belly outside of the Hostess.

"Yes… It has been a while since I last ate her food," Ryuu agreed with her own little smile.

Bell would've voiced out his agreement with them, but he was still speechless about how the meal Mia had served him blew his fatigue away as if it never existed, he was even feeling like he had more stamina in him!

"Judging by your face, you liked it too, eh?" Alise teased Bell with a well-knowing smile and playful tap of her elbow to his stomach.

Bell nodded. "It was amazing."

"Good! Now you're read to go back and kick your teacher's ass!" Alise slapped his back, and Bell stumbled forward, coincidentally, right onto Ryuu.

For a second time, Ryuu caught him, and Bell wondered where her dislike of being touched disappear off to.

"Please don't push yourself too hard, Mister Cranel." Ryuu advised and helped him regain his balance. "If you're not feeling well the next time, you're not obliged to join us for lunch."

"It's alright, Miss Ryuu, I like spending time with you two." Bell admitted with a reluctant smile.

"Awww, come here you!" Alise yanked Bell's only sleeve, and his face collided with her breastplate as Alise rubbed her cheek over his hair, "You're adooorable!"

"Alise, you're hurting him." Ryuu monotonously spoke but Bell, through the painful feeling of being pressed against cold steel, could see Ryuu's soul, the snow fairy, fretting over whether she should help or not and walking back and forth.

"But didn't you hear him, Ryuu!? He's the only one who has told us something so kind." Alise continued holding onto Bell like he was a small puppy, which very much was not. "Can we keep him?"

Ryuu eyebrow twitched, and the snow fairy harrumphed, "No. Mister Cranel is not a pet, now let him go, he's starting to turn blue."

Alise scrunched up her face and made to release Bell from his painful imprisonment, but before she did, she whispered so only he could hear, "I hope you've noticed that she's trying to be more open with you."

"I did…" Bell painfully replied, and he was let go. He was quick to rub his red cheek. "Your armor is certainly well made, ugh."

"Heh, obviously." Alise grinned. "Thank you for coming today even when you were feeling bad, Bell."

Bell continued rubbing his cheek, "It was nothing…"

"Any chances we could snatch you for a dungeon run soon?" Alise tried again.

"About that…" Bell laughed awkwardly, "I was actually thinking of asking you two if you would accompany me today to the first floor of the dungeon to get a feel for it…"

…

…

…

Alise yanked him again, and his other cheek collided with her breastplate again, stunning him again. "Ryuu! Are you sure we can't keep him!"

"No!"

This time Ryuu did react instantly, and she yanked him away from Alise's clutch, though the redhead had devilishly used little strength in her hold, and the result was Bell almost flew into Ryuu's arms and collided comfortably with her unarmored bosom.

"Ah."

Crimson eyes met Sky blue eyes far too close to one another.

"Ah."

…

…

…

Huh, elven souls can blush as bright as the sun, huh… who knew… At least the incoming slap was proof that carefree moments like this were incredibly fun, and adorable, in their own twisted way.

- 0 - Chapter End - 0 -

Author's Note: I have too much fun writing the elves souls, lmao...