"Does it hurt?"

"No, " - Bell, lithe as a willow twig, arched back, testing his long-suffering back. Miach held him back a little so that he wouldn't fall back at all if anything happened, and nodded in satisfaction. Bell looked much better than when they'd carried him out of the Dungeon – his cheeks had returned to color, and his movements had taken on their usual softness. However, Miach and Naaza still wouldn't let him out of bed, only allowing him to stand at the counter for a short time when Bell was getting too bored in his confinement. He also had visitors – another man Bell had saved in the Dungeon, and his group had come to thank him. Bell smiled and answered softly, still rather pale with fatigue – the rescued adventurer kept his eyes fixed on him, murmuring his thanks, and clasped his hands in his own. Naaza sent Bell to rest at the same time that his neck was turning soft red from embarrassment.

"I feel like I've been born again. Is it from the level-up, Lord Miach? "

"I think it's more from a good rest,"- Miach didn't miss the opportunity to tousle Bell's ash-silver hair and enjoy its softness – the red tint of blood had almost faded, remaining only at the tips - " But I'm still impressed. The second level in a little over a month – I didn't think that your aspiration was so great. "

"I'm glad I was able to surprise you, Lord Miach," Bell smiled lightly and a little shyly, but then he frowned and sighed, - " But that's not exactly a reason to be happy?"

"Don't worry. Just like I said, leave it to me, dear child, " - the god squeezed Bell's shoulder reassuringly, - " Everything will be fine. Even if anyone has any questions, I have the right answers. And if any gods decide to catch up with you here, Naaza is always there. "

"In the end, they'll have to buy everything she says, or they'll be thrown out because they're interfering with their work," - Bell laughed, a shadow of uncertainty and worry leaving him as if it had never been there, - " Sometimes Naaza can be quite persistent. "

"Her talent in the trade, " - Miach finally stepped aside, allowing Bell to get dressed after the examination. The light of flickering candles and magic stones gilded the pale, slightly pinkish shoulders of the young man, pierced the silver of his hair with copper and silvered the silhouette. God frowned slightly at his thoughts.

It's not just rapid growth that you need to worry about – Bell is very good-looking in his own right. And sometimes it was enough for some deity to start a persecution – most often it was young beautiful girls, but cute young men also got the same, if not more. Still, most people were used to the image of a" damsel in distress", and the young men had to somehow get out themselves.

Bell pulled on his shirt and pulled on an overcoat – his favorite coat was torn to shreds, so Miach lent Bell some of his own. Naaza has already commented that « He are becoming so similar to you, Lord Miach. You're a bad influence on him»

What does that even mean? Naaza sometimes speaks in riddles, looking as majestic as Danu's grandmother.

"Denatus will be here soon. I'll try to get a normal title for you – you're going to be a hero, "- Miach tried to turn the conversation into a more mundane channel , - " And the flaming red bull fighter doesn't fit into any rhyme i know."

Bell laughed.

"If I have such a title, Naaza will tease me and I will die of shame. so please take care of my future, lord Miach, "- he laughed so cleanly and fervently, like a carefree child, that Miach couldn't help but pull his sweet child into his arms. Bell didn't stay away and returned the hug, snuggling up to his god's chest while still laughing softly.

"I don't promise anything. There will probably be a lot of variations about the rabbit, but I will try to choose something different. "

"Of course. I rely on you, Lord Miach. "

" Miach! It's been a long time since I've seen you, " - Takemikazuchi appeared suddenly. Somewhere on the other side, Hestia was jumping up and down, suddenly deciding to visit Denatus as well, though only as a spectator.

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other, just because you haven't stopped by to check on us," - Miach nodded slightly to Hestia, - " And you, Hestia? Decided to look at how big families are trying to create a show from the next meeting? "

"Yes, so I decided to come cheer for you and Take. Did your kids raise the levels? " - the goddess shook her head - neatly braided braid instead of the usual ponytails swung from side to side, - "Miach, still you're lying, where did you find such a cute boy? "

"Like I said, sometimes you just have to look at your feet and look into dark alleys," - Miach smiled out of the corner of his mouth.

"It's more practical at work. Still, I can't find any children for the Familia, "- Hestia pouted slightly, but immediately cheered up,- " Then I'll take your advice, Miach. In your experience, it helps. "

"That's for sure. I would never have believed that such a young boy could rise so quickly. Apparently, it's true that sometimes you can find a diamond in the dust, " - Takemikazuchi nodded his head in agreement, and suddenly his voice became lower and more serious, - " Miach, you look like you're going to war. It's been a long time since I've seen you like this… it's even a little scary. "

Miach shrugged lightly and looked ahead again. His dark hair was combed back, and his usual half-smile was replaced by something else – as if there was a completely different god here instead of Miach.

"I have something to fear. So i'm relying on you, too. "

"As you say, the likes of us stick together," - the god of thunder and blades nodded confidently, rolling up his sleeves. Hestia sighed, then shook her head.

"There's not much i can do here, but i'll ask Hephaestus. She still likes me, especially since I started working for her. "

Miach nodded curtly and pushed open the huge carved doors that led into the hall. The hour of battle was coming – and yet Miach would have preferred the clash of blades, the whiz of arrows, and the neighing of warhorses to a few dozen gods who were drowned in idleness and boredom.

Denatus hadn't changed one bit – it was still a meeting of the gods, where important things were skipped as quickly as possible to get to the things that were interesting to the gods. Miach is silent and attentively listens to the carefree chatter, noticing the necessary things for himself-it seems that Soma is completely lost in his business, and the Guild has issued a strict ban on him. I should have gone to see him sometime – his condition didn't sound too good. Gods can't die, but they can suffer.

Ares is raising an army – in fact, Miach wouldn't be so comfortable with it if it were another war god. If Ares had been led by Athena, Morrigan, or Ogun, Miach would have been seriously worried – but Ares is a god of war for war's sake, direct and bloody, a god for whom the battle itself is more important than the outcome. Something incredibly complex – the tactics of Athena, the cunning and sorcery of the Morrigan, or the amazing stubbornness of Ogun - could not be expected from him.

Miach seems to have briefly dropped out of the discussion, thinking about everything he heard, as the deities suddenly became much more animated. The time for the distribution of titles, the favorite occupation of the gods, was approaching. Miach closed his eyes, as if tired, and from under his closed lids quickly scanned the crowd.

Goibniu, still stoic and stern, didn't really look at the sheets, his arms crossed over his chest. Miach remembered from his regular visits to Denatus that he didn't particularly approve of the hype around titles. «The name is important, for children and for blades. I make blades – and may the Dagda's mace kill me if I ever entrust the choice of a name for a weapon to a hungry crowd»

Hephaestus noticed the look of Miaсh and gave the barest of nods – Hestia behind her showed God of healing thumb. So she'd talked him into it. Hestia is a good friend, and Miach hopes that she will succeed in finding a family.

Takemikazuchi is on pins and needles - Miach skims through the records and finds his girl. Beautiful and serious – either she will be given a nice title, or for the sake of laughing at her god, they will decide to give something indecent. Miach hoped for the former – Take didn't deserve to be bullied. He is a good father to his children.

Dian Khet defiantly does not look at Miach – and the younger god of healing is heaving inside. He is still not able to forgive my father – I think it is now clear from whom Moralltach got his bad temper. Blood is not water, and it brings with it pain, grief, fear, and anger. Miach only wants Dian to just stay out of it.

The first titles come – the gods burst out laughing at every sentence, except for the god whose child is so carelessly tossing between words. Miach inserts simple sentences, which are immediately dismissed because of their inoffensiveness and softness - this, of course, is what he expected. But visibility must be maintained.

The girl Taka is unlucky – the poor god of thunder reacts too emotionally to humiliations, and the gods pounce on their fellow man like vultures. Miach tries to cheer up his friend by offering at least one more or less acceptable title - Black Raven, symbol of wisdom – but the others hammer his quiet predisposition with their loud mocking words. Miach gently strokes his friend's back, trying to calm him down.

"Don't let them see your weaknesses. "

"I just don't want my children lying in the mud," - whispers the good and unhappy god, - " How am I going to look her in the eye?"

"There will be more levels. Mikoto will become stronger, just like your family, and then she will get a better title. "

"Sometimes I'm afraid of how wise you are, Miach. It's like I'm talking to Athena, " - Take wipes away tears and only twists his lips when Mikoto's title becomes "Absolute Shadow", - "At least it's not some" Midnight Shinobi " or something worse. Sometimes you still need to know the measure.

"Wow, who's that? The Sword Princess is here! "

Attention shifted from small Families to large ones. While all the gods were talking to each other, looking at the children presented, Freya and Ishtar grappled again. Each of them claimed the first place among the most beautiful – Miach sighed. In the Celtic pantheon, the goddess of beauty Clíodhna did not even try to interfere in their showdown. She had plenty of other things to do, though Miach would have loved to see the last druid's daughter rebuff these two. Morrigan was good at it, though – as the goddess of war, she got between Freya and Ishtar and argued until she was hoarse. it seemed to give her incredible pleasure.

"If you touch the title of Aiz, I will devour you as Fenrir devours the Sun and Moon."

And this is Loki - Miach pricked up his ears. Still, most of the time she had the last word – and despite her defiant behavior and notoriety as a prankster, Miach respected her for her love of children. In a way, they were similar - if something had happened to children, it seems that Loki would have turned the whole city upside down.

"Look at this!"

The hour had come for Bell, too. Miach closed his eyes for a moment and offered a short prayer to Danu. The back of his neck felt hot.

"Just a little over a month?"

"Whose is it?"

"Miach…"

"It can't be! He had no one but the hound! He's such a loser! "

"Maybe he made some potion and tested it on the boy. From these Celts everything can be expected, "the most beautiful of the peoples of Ireland."

Miach ignored the bantering jabs and veiled insults, slowly shifting his gaze from one god to the other. It seemed that his calmness was really getting on someone's nerves – the whispers were getting quieter.

"Miach. Explain yourself first. "

Loki slapped the folder of documents on the table, and Miach turned to look at her with unblinking eyes. The trickster goddess looked back at him with the same expression – sometimes the ease with which she moved from amusement to seriousness could be intimidating.

"What do you want to hear, Loki?"- they looked into each other's eyes. Miach might not know her very well, but he knew that if he began to doubt her, he would lose all the respect he had earned.

"A month and a half is not something that our blessing can allow. How did this happen? Or are you hiding something? "

"Everyone is hiding something, my lady," - Miach said, touching his fingers gently to the head where the gaping wound had once been, - " But your curiosity is clear to me. "

"So tell us," - Loki moved closer, and the other gods fell silent, as if listening to their confrontation. Out of the corner of his eye, Miach could see Hestia clenching her fists, Hephaestus frowning sternly, and Freya sighing sweetly as she prepared to say something.

So it wasn't Ishtar. Useful to know.

"There's really nothing to explain. Each child has its own pace of development – the Princess of Swords also became a phenomenon here then. Perhaps people are changing, development is starting to go faster – besides, the Third Great Quest is still not completed, even after all these years. In addition, the growth of my child could be affected by the fact that in these six weeks he was on the verge of death more than some in their entire lives. But these cases have not been investigated. "

Loki fell silent, and Miach smiled to himself. The conversation began to flow in the right direction.

"The monsters on the streets of Orario, the poisoned children of Ganesha, and the Minotaur on the upper floors. Many children suffered from these "accidents". Is it just me, or is someone in Orario overstepping their authority? " - Miach didn't look at Freya, but he could feel her eyes boring into him, - " My child has suffered too much in a short period of time - and if that were the case, he would either become stronger or break down. The third is not given. "

"That makes sense," - Loki said, pulling away , - "But that's a topic for another day. Well," - Loki clapped her hands, her face changing instantly , - " Then it's a good idea to choose a name for him! Who has any suggestions? "

The gods made a noise, and Miach noticed how easily Freya got up and walked to the door. Goddesses of beauty are unpredictable – but now she wouldn't dare in front of everyone. Miach had given Loki too many hints. It remains only to choose a worthy title.

Hello again! The long-awaited Donatus - and Miach's fatherly side comes out (we see you Freya). Loki is my second favorite god))

I forgot to point out in the last chapter that the way Bell stood on the Minotaur blade was inspired by the first duel between Gats and Griffith (I love Berserk and those two)

Now, a question. We can give Bell a new title or leave it unchanged. If so, I wouldn't mind about the suggestions - even though I have a couple of options, they're not too good.

See you next time!