Welcome back, gentlefriends. If you have read to this point, I must give my sincerest thanks for keeping on, when I know the pace must be very slow for some of you.

Now that our hero(?) has survived the first day, let us see how she deals with the wider world.

Chapter 7

"A message?" I asked Hestia, who handed me a bit of paper with a red wax seal on it.

"It came for you while you and Bell were in the dungeon today." Hestia replied, nibbling on a bit of cut green pepper.

It was dinner time, four days after I started in the dungeon. We had gone every day so far, and had been doing fairly well. I was still collecting teethmarks from the various monsters, but it was at least fewer than when I started. I considered that progress.

Thanks to the wonders of magical potions, and my new status as an adventurer, I was able to shrug off the damage like some kind of superhuman. I shook that thought out of my head before I started thinking about my old world and what it would be like to have Falna there.

"Hm." I replied, picking up a butter knife and sliding it under the wax seal. Unfolding it, I did my best to make sense of the letters. "Lets see... Kodori. We have found..." I sighed and sounded out the words slowly, "Information? Information on another Renard. Eina"

"Oh! That's wonderful." Hestia said, clapping her hands together.

"Maybe we should take tomorrow off?" Bell suggested. "Do some of the chores that have been piling up?"

I stretched my arms over my head until my back and shoulders made a series of quiet 'pop' noises. "Sounds good. I think I might want to get some actual armour. As much as Nazza likes teeth, pulling them out of my arms and legs is becoming annoying." I said, rubbing a spot on my arm that one of those rabbit monsters had latched on to. "When does Eina go home?"

"I don't know." Bell replied, "Sun down maybe?"

Bell and I had parted ways at the Hostess of Fertility at what I would have guessed was 10:00 AM. After giving him a firm nudge towards a nervously fidgeting Syr, and waving to all the girls who weren't too busy to wave back, I started walking towards the guild building.

Even though I was dropped literally on my ass in some back alleyway of this city, it was starting to feel like home now. I was getting used to the hustle and bustle, and not having to watch out for things like cars. Despite the city being a major trade hub and hotspot for adventurers, crime was rather low too. The guild would level heavy fines to Familia who didn't obey some of the basic societal laws. No killing, no stealing, etc etc. Not that it stopped some people, but rampant crime was harshly dealt with before it could get out of hand. At least, so I'd heard.

"Miss?" A little voice broke my introspection, "Miss? Are you going to the dungeon?"

I looked around a moment, to make sure I was the only 'Miss' around, and then at the owner of the voice. She was a very short girl, or young lady, it was hard to tell with the vast height differences between races. Wearing a tattered white robe that almost obscured her gender, and DID obscure everything but her round face and a bit of brown hair.

"Yes?" I asked, getting closer to her and getting down to one knee so I could talk to her face. She was just barely over a meter tall after all. "The dungeon? I am taking a day off today."

She looked a little sad, but nodded, "Lilly has seen you and the white haired boy go to the dungeon a lot this week. Lilly was wondering if you needed a supporter?"

I frowned thoughtfully, then shook my head, "I don't know. What does a supporter do? I haven't been adventuring long."

"A supporter carries extra equipment, and harvests magic stones. So the adventurers can focus more on fighting." Lilly explained.

"How about... Meet at the fountain, tomorrow morning." I pointed just down the main street to a huge fountain that decorated the exact centre of town. "I will talk with Bell, and give you our answer then." I held out a hand, "My name is Kodori."

"Lilly is pleased to meet you." She replied, fitting her tiny hand in mine and shaking. "Lilly will see you tomorrow morning then.

Unable to resist, I gave her head a pat after I stood up feeling that she had ears on the top of her head, that twitched at the contact, "Pleased to meet you Lilly." She looked a little embarrassed but didn't shy away.

"Lilly is pleased to meet you too Miss Kodori." She replied and waved at me as I turned and left.

I waited my turn in Eina's line for a few minutes, but when she looked up and saw me waiting, she quickly dealt with the man in front of her and waved over another representative to take her place for the next visitor. "Kodori, this way please." She said, waving me towards the adviser room that I had taken her lesson in.

After we had entered, and she shut the door, she waved me over to a seat. "You have been busy? How are you and Bell doing in the dungeon?"

"It..." I made sure to gather the right words before speaking, "I was not sure at first. I never had to hunt for food, or kill monsters before." I paused, "But I am fine now." I scratched at my arm, "I get bit a lot."

Eina frowned at me, but didn't offer a harsh reply, instead she said, "As long as you are careful, and prepared. Don't push yourself, or Bell too hard."

"I have never met some one so young, who is... who..." I lost the words I was looking for, But Eina waited patiently for me to continue, "Tries hard... Chases dream... Focused... Bell is amazing, really." And it was true. What ever Bell was trying to accomplish, however timid he was out of the dungeon, when he was fighting, he was always doing his best. Trying to be a hero. Something had lit a fire under his butt, that much I knew.

"Bell is very earnest." She said, "Tries hard, always." She replied with a smile, that dissolved into a blush when I teased her with a raised eyebrow and a little smile. "Ahem!" She brushed off my look with an exaggerated throat clearing, "I have information for you. Ishtar Familia has a Renard among them."

"Ishtar?" I asked, rummaging around my head for the name... A fertility Goddess if memory served. Or something like that.

"The Ishtar Familia is one of the biggest in the city. It runs the... red light district..." She commented, blushing slightly and coughing into her hand quietly, "The guild is not allowed to give much information out of Familia. Members are public knowledge. But locations, ability and the like is not."

I nodded, "That is fine... I will have to visit and ask there, I suppose." I scratched my nose, "I will have to find a way to pay as well..."

Eina looked at me, shocked, but I waved a hand at her, "No, that is not how I will pay, but if this Renard is working, I will have to pay for the time."

She still seemed a little stunned at my candid reply, but didn't try and say anything about it. "Ahem... As for getting bitten in the dungeon... Why not visit the guild shop again?"

"I think I will. I was thinking of making my own, too. But I do not know where to get materials." I mused.

"You know how to make armour?" Eina asked, "For materials, you can visit the artisan area of the city."

"Could I get a map?" I asked.

I had decided to simply pocket the map for now, and head to the shop on the second floor of the tower. When I arrived, the same dwarf was there, looking bored as he tinkered with a bit of leather. "Oh, you came back. Fighting bare handed still working for you?"

"It is almost the only way I can. Even things I throw break without hurting." I replied as I entered, "I am thinking? No... thinking about?"

"Wondering?" he supplied.

"Wondering, I need more armour. Chain?" I asked.

"Not many young smiths make chain. Takes too long." He replied, "And you would need to be fit for it. Unless you were lucky and found one on the shelf."

"Takes too long?" I questioned. As a hobby, I made some myself. From wire to ring to armour. It did take a while, but I didn't practice at it much.

"Making the rings. Putting it together. Most go to heavy cloth, leather, or plate." He replied.

"How about scale?" I asked.

"Drakes are a little above you right now, I think." He chucked.

"Metal scale then?"

"Who has time to craft one scale at a time?" He retorted.

I blinked at him, mind turning, and smiled a slow smile. "I know a way, very fast. Rings too. Have some paper? Quill?"

For the next couple of hours, I drew out some simple diagrams of the tools modern day armour makers used to mass produce basic materials. The mandrill was the first. You took some wire, a rod that was as thick as you wanted the ring to be, drilled a hole near one end of the rod, added a crank to that same end, and braced the rod on a a stand. You simply fit one end of the wire into the hole, put the rod on the stand, and turned the crank, holding the wire steady so that when you turned the crank, it would coil around the rod. Use a thin saw on the coil, and you get perfect rings, every time.

This idea wasn't new to the dwarf, but he was surprised I knew it. The metal scales really caught his attention though.

This one could be done two ways. A punch, where you had a thin strip of metal, and a template for the scale. It was essentially a hole punch for paper, but for metal. Press down, and the punch cuts the metal. The second way required more effort to set up. But was much faster in the end. You used a fairly large and heavy wheel, lined with identical punches. As you pull the metal strip through the template, the wheel will turn and cut scales out.

This one he didn't know.

"Lady... I'm going to pretend I didn't see this... But I'll give you the name of the guy who made your armour." He wrote a name down for me on my diagram of the rolling press. "Crozzo." He said. "He's a good kid. Green, but I'd bet you and that little rabbit friend of yours would do well if you did a contract with him."

"Contract?" I asked, carefully putting the paper away inside my shirt.

"Yeah. You agree to only buy armour and weapons from him. And in return, you bring him supply from the dungeon. Crozzo has no sense for names, but he's got talent."

"When I visit the artisan quarter, I will look for him." I said. "Thank you for the advice."

"Yeah, no problem." He waved as I turned and left. "Keep that idea of yours. Sell it to some one."

"I think I will." I replied.

It was late afternoon as I left, and I decided on visiting the Hostess of Fertility before returning home. The lunch crowd was mostly gone, so it wasn't that busy.

"Oh Kodori!" Chloe greeted me as I entered. "It is good to see you." She bowed to me as she would any customer.

I wouldn't have any of that, so I waited until she straightened up and gave her a hug, empty serving tray and all. "No need to bow. We are friends." I said, letting her go and turning around swiftly, grabbing a Arnya's hand before it could touch my tail. I put her hand on my hip instead and hugged her too. "You too, Arnya."

"Aww, you caught me." She pouted as I let her go. "Are you looking for Bell? He was here a while ago."

"Not really." I admitted, "I was just passing by. I was going to do some shopping before going home.

"Ah Kodori." I heard Mia call out as she left the kitchen, "Remind bell to return that book as soon as he finishes reading it."

"Book?" I asked Chloe.

"Some one left a book here last night. Bell was looking bored so he asked if he could take it home and read it." She replied.

"Hm. Maybe I can read it as well. I am not very good at reading yet." I replied.

I spent time at the Hostess until the evening crowd started coming in, catching up with the girls while I was there. I was about to pick up food for dinner when I spotted Lilly, her slender figure and white robe making her easy to spot, despite her size. "Oh, hello Lilly." I called out to her. I noticed that her shoulders stiffened as I did, but they relaxed quickly, and she turned to face me.

"Miss Kodori. Aren't you with Master Bell?" She asked, surprise on her face. "He just ran by a little while ago."

He went to the dungeon? By himself? I felt a little cold spot in my gut. "Oh..." I considered what to do, and decided to go after him. "Thank you Lilly, I'll go after him. See you tomorrow."

She looked like she was about to wave, but I was already running.

Finding Bell wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Thanks to our staying fairly close to the top floors, and Eina's strict lessons, I knew the first three floors more or less by heart now. Most parties were coming back up from the dungeon too, so there were very few monsters about. It wasn't long before I heard something out of place.

Snoring.

I peeked my head into the next room at the end of the tunnel I was following, and saw two figures. One, who's back was to me, was kneeling on the floor. The other, was obviously laying on their back, with their head in the other person's lap. When I entered the room, the one kneeling turned her head to face me.

"You are... Ais?" I asked, remembering the name after a moment. "I saw you at the Hostess of Fertility. With Loki and others."

"Yes." She replied quietly, her head tracking me as I walked around her, and sit across from the one sleeping on her lap. "Well, I found who I was looking for, it seems." I motioned to Bell, "Why is he sleeping here?"

"Mind down." She said, again offering no more words.

"Mind down? What is that?" I looked at Bell. His sleeping face was kind of adorable, I had to admit.

"He used too much magic." She added. "Riviera and I found him here. I stayed."

"Oh. Well, thank you for taking care of him." I said, putting my hands on my knees and bowing to her, "He really admires you, you know."

"urg?" Bell mumbled something before cracking open an eye. Ais looked down at him as he did, and I watched as he pulled his mind together, and put together what was going on. "AHH!" He sat bolt upright, and I grabbed his belt before he could finish getting to his feet and start running.

"Oh no you do not." I said, pulling backwards, my grip unbreakable. He would have to literally drag me or rip his pants off before he got away. I pulled again, dragging him to my side, and nudged the back of his knee with my free elbow.

Ais sat there, her nearly motionless face betraying a little shock, and a hint of a blush at my words a moment ago.

Bell's leg folded up at my nudge, and I sat him down next to me, still holding the back of his pants with one hand. "What do you say?"

He honestly looked like a cornered animal as he looked at me, eyes showing betrayal, then to Ais, his pale face going so red you'd be able to see it from the top of Babel, and after what sounded like a paragraph of random words trying to escape his mouth at once, he finally managed, "Thank you Miss Ais for saving me." Of course, he stammered even that so badly I almost didn't understand it. It didn't help that he ALSO put his forehead to the floor as he said it.

Ais sat there, still a little shocked, but her face relaxed back to being expressionless, and she replied, "You are welcome."

Satisfied that my job as eldest was done, I let go of his belt and put that hand on his back, "Good. We can talk on the way home, Bell." I said in my best 'stern Eina' tone, making him look at me in horror.

Ais walked with us to the entrance of the tower, before heading a separate way. True to my word, by the time we got home, after some shopping for food, Bell was looking suitably chastised for going to the dungeon alone, without his armour, or dagger, or backpack.

Apparently, when he got home after visiting the Hostess of Fertility he read the book he had gotten. He fell asleep part way through, and when he woke up, he had magic. He ran to the dungeon to try it out, and before he knew it, he was sleeping on Ais's lap.

My logical side was pretty much on vacation now. But Bell was pretty much incapable of lying.

"Just don't do it again. And explain that all to Hestia while I cook dinner." I said as I opened the door to the basement, "Oh Goddess... Bell has a story for you."

Bell looked like some one had crushed all his dreams by the time Hestia finished talking to him. I felt kind of bad for throwing him under the bus like that, but knowing Bell, he wouldn't ever do it again. I was starting to recognize how Bell saw our Goddess. It was almost literal worship, mixed with what seemed to be a child looking up to a parent.

It kind of made me feel bad for Hestia, who I was starting to think wanted Bell to grow up faster.

"So, now that we have discussed what Bell will never do again." I said after we had finished eating. "Bell, I met some one earlier, a little cat person named Lilly. She offered to be a supporter for us."

"A supporter?" He looked thoughtful, "We could do more if we didn't have to stop to harvest stones." He admitted.

"We can bring her with us tomorrow then. I told her we would meet her at the fountain in the morning." I replied.

"Umm..." Hestia started, sounding, of all things, nervous. We both looked at her, "I have to go do something tomorrow. I might be gone a few days." At our blinking stares, she clarified, though not really, by saying, "Goddess business. Don't worry. Just take care of each other while I'm gone."

That went without saying, so Bell and I simply nodded.

"Lilly is happy you kept your promise." Lilly stated happily as I waved to her. She was waiting at the fountain next to a truly gigantic backpack. "Hello Master Bell, Miss Kodori." She bowed to us.

"Good morning, Miss Lilly." Bell replied formally.

While the two exchanged pleasantries, I looked at the backpack. It could have easily fit the three of inside of it, with room to spare. "Lilly... Is that yours?"

"Yes!" She replied, easily fitting her arms into the straps. "Lilly is a supporter. She can carry much more than she looks like she should."

A special skill then? I told my logical side to go back to sleep. "All set then?" I asked the other two.

Many surprises were had that morning and afternoon. First, was that Lilly really could carry that huge bag without visible effort. She was surprised at my fighting style, and how every monster that I fought left behind some teeth. She commented on how I should get bitten by a drake, because their teeth were very valuable.

Lastly, was just how good she was at extracting magic stones. She wore a pair of leather gloves, and used a very sharp hooked knife for extraction, and was usually only a monster or two behind us as we went about business. Things were really going well for us.

Until we went to the fifth floor. I was the first to notice, but not know what I was hearing. Bell was similarly clueless, but Lilly gave a shouted warning. It probably saved me from a world of hurt, as I was directly in the path of what ever it was. From the shadows jumped a giant frog like monster. A second one followed it, followed by a third.

I had just rolled to my feet in time to dodge a long slime covered tongue. My ear felt the wind as it snapped back into the mouth of the offending frog. "Lilly, find cover. Bell, I'll go front."

"FIREBOLT!" Or not, I thought as a lightning wrapped spear of fire slammed into the just opening mouth of another frog.

The frog promptly disintegrated, leaving behind a little shard of magic stone.

"Save that for when you need it." I scolded him, "No sleeping on the job today."

"Yes Ma'am." He replied, and we got to work.

I stayed in front, and kept a careful eye on the way the one eyed frogs moved. They looked heavy and squat, like a dog sized bullfrog. One of them contracted its throat, and I reached out a hand at the same time.

Whip-snap. I had timed it just right, and even with the slime covering its tongue, my hand held the appendage tight. I braced my feet and pulled backwards. "Bell!"

He darted past me just as the frog lifted off the ground, and cut it from the edge of its mouth all the way around to its rear. He didn't stop to admire his knife work, instead rushing the second one. I stood behind him, and when he ducked to the side I caught the second frog's tongue just as I had the first. Without hesitation, Bell opened up that one too.

Lilly handed me a rag helpfully, "You two work well together. Lilly is impressed." She said as she knelt to fish out the stone of the first frog.

Bell and I didn't reply. Instead we gave each other a fist bump.

I was just withdrawing my arm from said fist bump, when my ears caught the slightest of noises. "More work to do." I said, turning towards the oncoming monsters.

"I need a bath." I declared miserably.

We all did. The first trio of frogs was only the tip of the iceberg. Afterwards there were three more, then some goblins, some lizard monsters, and then more frogs. Once again, I was covered in teethmarks and now frog spit. Bell was a little better. No teethmarks but he had actually had his head inside a frogs mouth at one point, as we were jumped (ha ha...) by a group in the middle of another small mob of goblins. Lilly was the cleanest, but her arms had soaked up some frog spit from just how many she had to clean.

On the bright side, profit was quite good for the day. And we had only used one potion each. Lilly gave the potion a squint eye, and tasted the last drop of the one I had. "These potions are watered." She said firmly. "Lilly saw the colour was off. Lilly also knows the taste is wrong too."

"Oh... Really..." I thought about Nazza, though Bell quickly defended her.

"I'm sure she has her reasons!" He started, "Maybe her recipe is different?"

"I'll talk to her tomorrow." I said, putting my hand on top of Lilly's head and giving it a pat. I just couldn't help myself.

"Lilly is being tickled!" She said, suddenly hiding behind Bell and sticking her tongue out at me. "But if Miss Kodori is going to talk to the potion dealer, it has to be tomorrow. The monster festival is the day after."

"Monster festival?" Bell and I asked in unison.

Lilly was a little shocked at how uninformed we were. "Ganesha Familia is hosting a monster festival. Tomorrow they will be decorating the streets, and the day after, they will show people the monsters they have captured."

It sounded like a travelling circus. I had heard of Ganesha Familia already. Another one of the biggest in the city, the members were often found policing the streets and standing guard. The bored looking guardsman at the gate, I found out later, was part of that Familia as well. I wondered if the Ganesha here was also a God of wisdom and learning, as he was in my old world.

"Well, I suppose we are taking another day or two off." I mumbled. "Oh, let's find a table, we have coins to split."

We found a table near the fountain, and I upended the bag of coin we had gotten in exchange for our collection of magic stones. I quickly counted and divided the piles into three equal parts, rounding up slightly on one pile because we didn't have any change. "For a good first day." I put the slightly larger pile in front of Lilly, with Bell nodding in agreement at my choice. "You kept us going much faster today than any other day so far."

Lilly looked shocked, and a little worried. It made me think of some one who was expecting to get slapped for expecting too much. That look worried me. I'd seen it all too many times back in my old world. "Lilly didn't do that much. I didn't fight at all."

Bell spoke up, "But without you we would have gotten lost. And ambushed. And had to pick magic stones up ourselves. You did a lot of work too."

I nodded with Bell this time, reaching over and grabbing Lilly's wrist. She started to struggle, but I just placed her hand over her share of the money. "Take it. If you really feel bad about it, bring change next time, so we split evenly."

Lilly tried to meet our gazes as she swept the coins into a little pouch, but couldn't quite bring herself to. "Bell? If Hestia hasn't returned by the monster festival, why don't we take Lilly with us to see the event?"

With Lilly not looking up at us, I winked to Bell, who, surprising me for one so young, picked up on my cue instantly, "Yes! That would be fun, don't you think Lilly?"

"Lilly would like that..." She mumbled.

"Good. Meet here, two days, just after sunrise." I said, putting a hand on Lilly's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "You did well today. See you soon."

I didn't say anything about Lilly on our way back home. But Bell picked up on my mood. He was sharply observant about some things.

Either that or my ears being flat against the top of my head in irritation were a dead give away.

"What's wrong Miss Kodori?" He asked, "You look angry."

We were just in sight of the ruin of the church, so I stopped and leaned on one of the half standing pillars. "I don't have all the words." I said, "This may sound wrong. Or be wrong." I continued. "Some thing happened to Lilly. Not sure what. But..."

"What do you mean?" He asked, standing across from me, sitting on a stone block.

"There is... Different... Difference? Between shy." I pointed to him, making him look a little embarrassed at being called out on his timid mannerisms, "And..." again my lack of words was biting me. So with a sigh, I made puppets with my hands and hand them talk to each other, "You did good today." "Thank you." I made the first hand slap the second, "But not good enough. No food for you."

The look on Bell's face was complicated, but I think I managed to get my point across. "I hope I am wrong, Bell. Seen that face before. Back home."

"Then we have to be good friends for her, then." He said simply.

Unable to refute his simple answer, I nodded, and ruffled his hair. "You are a good person Bell. Stay that way. Wash hands, cut onions, I shower first."

Blushing a little, he nodded his head, and we went inside.

The next morning, after Bell and I had breakfast, and finished our morning exercises, we went to visit Nazza. After a brief exchange of greetings, I simply asked outright.

"Are you watering down your potions?"

Bell, unless fighting monsters, was about as non-confrontational as one could get. I on the other hand, considered this a case of bad customer service. She seemed like a good person, so I kept my tone even.

"Oh... How did you find out?" She replied, sounding bored, though her ears and tail twitched in reaction to my question. "They still work, and I sell them at a discount."

Bell was trying to hide inside his own shadow at this point. I suppose he didn't know how to deal with this situation at all. But before I could answer, another voice, this one male, and speaking words I simply understood, spoke up as I heard feet coming down the stairs behind the counter.

"Nazza? Is that true?"

Her usually bored expression became more animated as she admitted, "Yes! You keep giving out free potions, and we are already in debt. I have to do something to make ends meet."

I heard an unmistakable rattle of metal quietly clicking on metal as she clenched her fist under the long sleeve that obscured her right hand.

"You still shouldn't try to cheat our customers." He chastened her. He was quite tall, with dark blue hair and eyes. His face had that divine touch of good looks, and his smile was warm. "I'm sorry she did this. But she is right. We are in a little distress."

I sighed, suddenly wondering how I should deal with this. Nazza had been cheating us, but Bell had told me he had also gotten a few free potions from Miach, Nazza's God. I started speaking English, so I wouldn't be misunderstood by the God.

"Normally, I would be upset. We risk our lives, and have to depend on what we buy to reduce that risk." Bell and Nazza suddenly looked lost as they stopped being able to understand me, but Miach looked troubled. "But, just deal properly with us from now on, and we will have no problems." I gave him the same fighter's salute I had given Takemikazuchi, "Bell and I rely on Nazza, and would like to continue doing so."

"You are lucky, Nazza." Miach said, returning my salute with a smile, "She is willing to overlook your mistake. But you must never try and cheat them again."

His warm smile vanished for a half second, and Nazza looked like some one took away her favourite thing in the world, before he was smiling again. "Yes Lord Miach." She mumbled, droopy dog ears going flat against her head.

"You speak strangely." Miach commented, "I had heard you just arrived in the city from Bell, but I've never heard that language before.

"I am... From a very different place." I replied, putting a hand on Bell's shoulder, "Bell and Hestia have been helping me learn. They are good people." That time I used the common language, making the God smile again.

"Since this happened, why don't I give... ow." Nazza elbowed Miach in the ribs, "Sell you some potions."

Having dealt with that bit of unpleasantness, I considered what to do with the rest of my day. There was an awful lot of day left, and simply doing nothing with it felt... Kind of pointless.

I chuckled to myself, acknowledging the complete change from my old attitude of 'work is done, sit and do nothing' attitude of my old life.

"Bell?" I said as we reached the door to our home, putting the bag of what would be dinner down.

"Yes Miss Kodori?"

"Defend yourself." I said simply, rushing forward two steps and striking him in the centre of his chest with my open palm and pushing him as hard as I could. Even with the surprise, he had already started to back up and arch his body so that I didn't hit him nearly as hard as I should have.

The impact still sent him back about six meters. Like a champ, he flipped over as soon as his back touched the ground and landed on his feet, sliding to a halt about two more meters after that. He rubbed at his chest where I had struck him.

Since I obtained the falna I hadn't tried fighting an opponent with a real IQ. I'd been able to punch through a goblin's skull, rip the tongue out of one of those frogs, and kick a dog sized lizard in half. I was stronger, faster, and tougher than anyone back 'home' but I was now in a world where that was not only normal, but I was near the bottom.

I wanted to test myself.

"Don't hold back too much Bell." I said, before rushing at him again.

He was fast. Incredibly fast. Strong too. Each time he swung his dagger, I could feel the impact as I blocked his wrist with my forearm right up to the opposite shoulder. But Lunoire and Ryuu were faster.

Even with his advantage in stats, fighting some one stronger than me was normal, and it was soon apparent where this fight was going.

He seemed to know it too after I tagged him again with a strike to the gut. He had half twisted away from that one too, but he took the strike stoically, and suddenly got creative. He brushed my hip with a sudden front kick, and it felt like I got clipped with a hammer. The elbow he threw after that glanced off the top of my shoulder, and my arm went numb for a moment. But when he tried to bring his dagger up, I caught his wrist and stopped the motion cold.

I looked him in the eye, and we relaxed. I let got of his wrist, and we each took a step away from the other. "I see where I am. And where you are." I said, hoping my meaning would translate. He had been fighting nothing but monsters, without fighting an opponent who would think tactically. Where as I was simply weaker. If I had to guess, numerically, I was maybe just over half of his stats. I had never looked at his back while Hestia updated his status, and thus could only guess.

"You are so skilled, Miss Kodori." He said, rubbing his wrist after putting his dagger away. "I am faster, and I think stronger, but you still beat me."

I shook my head, "We fight monsters. They do not really think." I said rubbing some feeling back into my shoulder, "People are... change...changing? No..." I sighed and palmed my forehead.

"Adapt-able." Bell smiled, "I understand."

"Some time before dinner." I said, returning the smile. "Again!"

This time, I slapped his hand just as he drew the dagger, sending it spinning away to clatter uselessly next to the door to the basement.

After dinner, we took turns rubbing the ointment over each other. We both looked like we had rolled down a hill of rocks. I was better than Bell with bare handed combat, but his huge edge of strength and speed brought him to the level of 'painful if I missed'. We were actually having fun though, just as I was with Ryuu and Lunoire.

Bruising painful fun. But as the saying went, bruise more now, bleed less later.

"I wonder what Hestia would have thought about that." I mused.

To empty air apparently. Bell was already snoring on the couch. Not that I had much energy myself. He was relying more on his stats, leaping and jumping out of the way, and it burned through his endurance quickly. He recovered quickly, but in the middle of a fight, that could be deadly.

I wasn't doing much better. Even with my armoured hands wrists and shins, I was still bruised. I was taking the hits properly, but if Bell were any stronger, I'd have been unable to block as I had been. I lay in bed, thinking in circles.

We got ready for the festival the next morning bright and early. I had woken up before Bell, and was already practising outside when he surfaced. He was dressed in his armour, ready for a normal day in the dungeon, except he didn't bring his backpack. I was similarly prepared, mine and Hestia's 'stern talking to' had made sure that we were always ready.

Lilly was exactly where we hoped she would be. Though she was a little surprised to see us looking ready for battle, and still some what bruised looking from the night before. She didn't question us, but I saw that she wanted to. Again I was unable to resist patting her head, and answered her unasked question. "Bell and I tested each other. Don't worry. Lets have fun today!"

I had already noticed on the way to the fountain, that the city was already decked out with decorations and the beginnings of stalls and blocked off areas for what I guessed were going to be exhibits and the like. I was already detecting the smell of 'festival food' in the air.

They both nodded to me as I put an arm over Bell's shoulders, and a hand on Lilly's.

Author's notes.

Ah, still here I see. Good good. I must admit I have a confession to make. After doing a little research, and poking notes, and watching an episode or two. I realized I completely messed up the time line of events.

But, since I seem to have a small following of readers (you have no idea how much I would like to thank you all for that.) and no one has complained, I am simply going to take a little more creative liberty, and flex the time line a little.

I also hope that the longer chapters aren't weighing too heavily on anyone. But since no one has sent any comments to me (well, one person has, you know who you are, and you get a thank you.) I will continue as I have been.

Until next time, dear readers.