Chapter 36

"Come on love." I whispered into Haruhime's ear, "It's time for practise."

"nooo... sleepy..." She pouted, hugging my pillow.

"I only gave you that back rub because you were working so hard yesterday." I couldn't keep my hands off her last night, but instead of a ... mutual effort to relax, I'd given her a massage. By the end of it you might have been able to pour her into a jar.

"but if I go it will ruin your hard work."

"Then I'll do it again later." I put a hand on on her lower back, not quite touching her tail, and whispered into her ear, "And if you don't get up, right now, I'll skip practise too, but I'll make sure everyone in the house hears why." my fingertip drew little circles on her lower back.

"so mean... fine." she pouted, her face blushing slowly.

"So that's MY plan for part of the day. How about the rest of you? Any preferences?" I addressed the two Familia as we put our practise equipment away. I'd told them all about the letter, though I didn't bother giving them my take on the mater.

"There are still many jobs suited for us on the job board." Chigusa said, looking at her Familia members.

"How about a few minor gathering missions?" Ouka asked, looking at me, "Not all of us are armoured, but if there's anything around floor ten we could handle it."

"Could I get a volunteer?" Welf spoke up, "With all these odd jobs, we've got a mess of stuff in storage. We could probably sell some of it, or find out exactly what we are running out of." This got him a collection of raised eyebrows, "What? I make stuff. I only stop when I'm with you guys in the dungeon, or we run out of materials."

"I'll help." Asuka said.

"Thank you."

"Okay, keep safe, don't be afraid to cut your losses if something goes wrong." I grinned at them, "Not like I need to say it, but let's do our Familia proud."

"And me, Ma'am?" Marius spoke up as the others were turning away.

"Up to you. Follow the others into the tower, take a look at the job board, and do your best. Mikoto is second, since Bell is out still." He nodded, and I held up a hand to stop him from turning away, "You did well yesterday. I was starting to think you were fearless, but I'm glad I was wrong."

This puzzled him, "Why... Would that please you? Fear is a soldiers worst enemy, next to hunger and blind obedience."

"It means you took me seriously when I said the dungeon is dangerous. You knew you were out of your depth, and admitted it." I gave the big man a friendly punch in the shoulder, "Knowing your limits, and still finding a way to act is a good quality for an adventurer."

"Do you fear? Seeing you fight, against a weak, and now a strong opponent, I am wondering if you fear anything." He asked.

"Most of my fears, are for others. I'm still worried about my Goddess. Worried for Bell. Worried that one of my friends won't come back from the dungeon." I sighed, "One of the reasons I took you in, it because I have the problems YOU are going to have when you return."

"The burden of leadership." He nodded, "It is heavy, isn't it?"

"Yes. So I train them, I lead them, I teach them. So that I can sleep at night knowing that I've done what I can to keep them alive. The only fear I have for myself, really, is that if I do fall, that they fall with me." He surprised me by putting a hand on my shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze. "Heh, thanks."

He realized what he'd done a moment later, and took his hand away as if burnt. "Sorry Ma'am."

"Just no hugs." I replied. "Now, go catch up. Make sure you have everything. Maybe get Welf to take your measurements so we can get started on your armour."

"Yes Ma'am. Good luck with the... administration." He said the last word ominously.

"I knew you had a sense of humour in there someplace." We shared a chuckle, then he left for the workshop after Asuka.

"Morning Eina." I greeted my favourite guild employee, four of my tails lashing back and forth happily, while the fifth seemed to still be sleeping.

"You... What..." The other two at the front desk, a cat girl and human, had both stopped talking to the adventurer they were dealing with to look at me. "ahem." She looked at me and stepped back from her desk, "This way please."

I made a point to wave at the other two before following Eina to one of the private rooms. "It's been an interesting few days." I commented, "And I'm sure you know about the letter I got?"

"Yes." She replied curtly, "But, since you are early enough, I'd like to chat with you before hand."

Entering the room and seating ourselves, she looked across the desk at me. I watched her eyes trying to follow all of my tails as they waved about over my shoulders at her. "Well, I suppose I'll start with these..." I moved my chair closer to the desk, closing one eye and getting started on my story.

"And since I still had some of that hair cream from Nazza, I've at least got enough hair back to keep my head warm." I finished, brushing a hand over my head and over each ear. "Haruhime did a good job with the cutting before hand, too." She had actually almost refused to cut the fur on my one ear, but relented after I told her I'd look silly with one shaggy ear and one just barely covered.

Throughout my story, from the capture of Ares, to my getting the letter, I'd gotten in a little practise with my new ability, letting Eina play with two of the ghostly manifestations as they hopped and played on the desk, at least one paw or tail always connected to one of my real tails. "You've certainly had an eventful few days." She said as I opened my closed eye and dispelled the two foxes. "If you weren't already in trouble, I'd lecture you on your reckless actions yesterday."

"So I am in trouble then?" I asked, my tails, still on the desk, started doing that irritated pat pat thing. "And you?"

"Yes..." She admitted after a moment, her hand reaching out and petting the closest tail. This of course, got the attention of the others, and they all flopped closer to her hand. "Thank you." She said, "But it's my own fault really. I know the rules, and I chose to break them."

"And you have no idea how much that means to me." I replied, "What can I expect?"

"THERE you are!" The door to the room opened suddenly, letting in an absolutely obese man. No, not man, elf. His ears, with his snow white hair tucked behind them, were longer than Eina's. Had he been maybe forty kilograms lighter, his clothes might have looked good on him. As it was, the guild uniform was stretched to its limit. Pale green eyes looked at me with a mix of irritation and fatigue. "Trying to collaborate with her before her inquisition? Typical half blood attitude! Get back to work before I throw you out onto the street!"

"Dinner later, Eina." I looked her in the eyes as she hastily got to her feet. "On me." It wasn't said as a request either.

With a barely perceptible nod, she turned and left, the warmth of her hand lingering on the end of my tails. There was a tense moment as I looked to the shorter elf, my tails sliding off of the desk to weave behind me. "Follow me." He said after a moment.

Slowly, I stood. I was almost a head taller than him, and I did my very best to 'loom' over him without resorting to aggressive body language. "After you."

I'd never been very deep into the Guild building. Front desk, a few of the consultation rooms, and that was it. The elf lead me further back, up a flight of stairs that made him huff with effort, and down a long hallway. My nose picked up the scent of books, lots of books. This must have been where they kept records. Near the end of the hall, he stopped in front of a thick wooden double door. Taking out a key, he applied it to the lock and entered. I followed him in, and he made sure to shut and lock the door behind us, before walking across the room to a wide desk made of polished dark wood.

He had money. The desk was well crafted, with fine details all over the sides and legs. There were shelves lined with books, the smell, now that I was in the room, hinted that most of them were bound in leather. The magic stone lamps were bright, the light given off under the cream lamp shades was bright and pure, with no flickering typical of a middle or low quality magic stone lamp. This person had money, and status, and his office was showing it off.

I really didn't like him already.

"Let's get this over with then." I said to him as I followed him to the desk. There was a chair opposite him, padded in dark red with a high back and sweeping armrests. Carefully, I sat down, my abundance of tails not really made for close backed chairs unlike the simple ones we had back home.

He clicked his tongue at me when he noticed, and heard, the metal of my bracers and gauntlets touch the wood of the chair. They were still discoloured from heat that the drake poured over me too. "Try not to scratch the wood. Typical adventurer... Always in armour, never dressing for the occasion. Always dirty."

"I wasn't aware this was a formal function." I replied, curling my fingers over the ends of the arm rests, just to keep them still. "And in case you are wondering, the armour is clean. It's just discoloured from the drake I killed yesterday."

"Whatever." He dismissed my explanation with a wave of his hand. "But yes, I agree, lets get this over with. The Guild suspects you and your Goddess Hestia for many crimes against the rules we have in place. Mischief, tampering with status, destruction of property, conspiracy, harbouring criminals and treason against Orario as a whole."

"That's..."

"Furthermore, we are having trouble deciding what to do about it." He interrupted me, "Not only are you, the captain, a murderer, you have brought in a known enemy, a Rakia soldier, and brought him into... the Takemikazuchi Familia."

"He..."

"It is bad enough that you already have that little thief, formerly of Soma Familia, but you involved another Familia with the Rakia soldier."

"Lady..."

"Furthermore, the issue of you and your Familia in many of the recent troubles, involving Soma Familia and the destruction of property near their home, Apollo Familia and them leaving the city, the use of that... flying thing appearing in the war with Rakia, all require addressing."

"I..."

"And finally, the fact that you and Bell Cranel have broken not one, not two, but three levelling records." He was about to look me in the eye, but I think the fact that my shoulders were starting to twitch told he that he would not like what he would see there, "This brings your Goddess into suspect of tampering with your falna, an illegal use of divine power. If found guilty, your Familia would be dissolved, the members banished, and She would be sent back to Tenkai."

"..."

"What do you have to say for yourself?" He asked when I didn't reply.

"I'd say you were only seeing one side of the coin." I said flatly. I knew this kind of person from my old home. The bad manager. Much like adventurers, they also fell into two categories. There were the good ones, who had worked from the ground up, who knew their job, knew, or at least knew enough of all the other jobs, and kept an ear to the ground for any problems. An open office policy.

Then there were the ones who ruled by stick. Finger pointing, power hoarding, all about the money or status, and were quick to blame others for a problem, or brush off the blame when the fault was theirs.

This one struck me as one who was closer to the latter, and I'd spent twenty five years dealing with them. I had to make sure I didn't kick his ego, lest it shatter and send its bits towards Hestia and Takemikazuchi Familia.

"First." I extended a hand, "Kodori, Hestia Familia." This surprised him, but he shifted his bulk forward to accept my hand. Surprising me, he took my hand and gripped it as an equal. Had he put his hand under mine, making me lower my hand to his, he would have been showing submissiveness or a deep respect. Had he put his hand over mine, making me raise my hand to his, it would have been a sign of either disrespect or a show of dominance over me.

But no, he'd shook my hand as a potential equal, though his grip was a little weak. "Royman Mardeel." He let my hand go and settled back into his chair. "Only one side of a coin? I hardly..."

I held up a hand, my thoughts reshuffling in my head. My first impression of him was very VERY far from a good one. But that simple handshake had hinted that something else was going on. But, was I right to think so? "Let me start with this. If at any point you think I am not telling you the truth, we can find a God or Goddess you trust, and have them present."

"I don't think this is something that we should trouble one of them with. They are busy after all." He said, picking up a quill.

"Fine, but I had to mention it. I'll start with personal matters first. Yes, I did murder someone. Amazon Phryne. Formerly of Ishtar Familia. She held a grudge against several of my Familia, and caught us on the nineteenth floor. I stayed behind, and we fought."

"According to..." He frowned as if someone had just told him someone had kicked his dog or something, "Records, you were only level three, and she a level five. There should be no way you could have won."

"Has anyone ever surprised you? Made you drop something you were holding? Surprise can be fatal to anyone down in the dungeon. I just happened to surprise her." I still had mild nightmares about that, my fingernails digging into her upper arm, and her trying to fling me off by swinging her arm like a baseball bat. Even with her one arm being stripped to the bone in some places, she still managed to fight. I suppressed a shiver, "It also helps that I have my own magic. I've never tried to find my absolute limit, but, off the record, my magic stat is very very high."

He wrote something down, "And you and Bell Cranel? Levelling far faster than anyone in the history of Orario?"

"For him, it is a special skill. His determination, drives him forward. That, and the help of his friends to keep him on the path of a hero." I replied.

"A special skill... That half-bl..." SNAP "..."

The sculpted wood of the armrest under my hand splintered like rotted wood. "This is between you an I. Please, keep your thoughts on a person's race to yourself." I noticed that his hands were suddenly shaking slightly, "Sorry. But yes. Bell has a special skill. But, that is not all. He and I, as well as both Takemikazuchi and Hestia Familia train very hard, every day that we aren't too hurt to move."

"Y-yes..." He wrote that down.

"You've been doing this a while, correct? Do you know how an adventurer gains a level? More or less?" I knew that being an employee, even if he was the leader of the guild, he was not an adventurer.

"To my understanding, they must do something that the Gods themselves would notice and acknowledge as an act of a hero." He replied, looking at my hands as I took the splintered bit of wood and started using my fingernails to carve it.

"Yes. So, this brings us to the list of things you blame us for. This... 'causing trouble' thing." I kept my eyes only half on him while I took the bit of wood apart. "Zanis, of Soma Familia was responsible for the destruction of that area, using a magic sword. Bell and I were there, because Lilly, the criminal you mentioned, was basically being held hostage by her own Familia. Under his thumb, she did, indeed, commit crimes."

"The way I see it, Hestia Familia interfered with another Familia. You two had no cause to be there." He replied. His eyes were firmly on my hands as they worked, though his mouth was set firmly in a frown.

"True, on the surface. At the time, Lilly was just starting to become our supporter. But, she was also going to be used as bait in the dungeon, and had Bell and I not 'interfered' she would have been killed. Had Bell and I also not been there, Soma Familia would probably still be doing what they were doing." The wood was smoothing out again, taking shape. "An act of heroism. Isn't it?"

"I will give you that point. With our vow of neutrality, we cannot act without due cause." He replied, letting out a sigh that seemed to deflate him almost enough to fit into his shirt a little better.

"I know. And understand. But, the next point, Bell and I levelling. We hit level two on the same day you know. He had saved my life, and killed a minotaur. As a level one. But, he had also overcome his fear of them. You might not have heard that he was almost killed by one early in his career. Ais Wallenstein, Loki Familia, saved him." I picked carefully at the wood, "I used my magic, a stat boosting spell, and as a level one, killed a drake with a single punch. I had the help of Bell, but I did something that would have ended my life had I failed."

"These were in the reports. I don't see how that matters." He replied, his eyes looking up from my hands and into mine as I gazed back at him.

"Don't you? We both did something heroic, something that the Gods themselves would nod their heads at. I risked everything on a single strike. And Bell overcame his fear, and fought to protect his friends. Heroic acts." A little curve here... "Our level three, after the war game, was the same. For all of us, we trained until we bled, got back up, and trained some more. We planned, we prepared, and in a six against over a hundred, won. My level was likely gained by training, but also planning. Almost all of our strategy was mine." Another line there... "Bell beat a level three. An experienced level three. With skill, hard work, and determination."

His eyes went back to my hands, "Another heroic act. That plan was yours? Truly?"

"Welf, level two after the irregular on the eighteenth. He got over his aversion to making magic sword. Saw that without it, he would be giving up a potential tool to help the people he cares about. Growth, on a mental level. But not only did he make a magic sword, he trusted only himself to use it. Stepping into battle when he could have just handed it to someone else." I carefully twisted my pinky finger to drill a tiny bit into the wood. "And yes. Lilly sneaking in, Welf handling the mages, Mikoto crashing the gate, our friend holding off much of their forces, and me in the air making sure it went like clockwork."

His expression was giving me more clues to what this was really about. As I explained things, his earlier tension was fading away. He seemed dead set on pinning something on me from the start, but now... "I see. And you gained level four by standing up to, and defeating Phryne." He frowned again, though this time it was more towards himself, instead of me, "The... Glider? You called it? That is a problem as well."

"I flew kites as a child." Truth. "I simply made one I could use." Not quite truth. "I also encountered them before I captured Ares. Speaking of the war game, Apollo Familia was working with them. Mercenary work."

He snorted, but his frown turned towards me again, "Losing that many adventurers was a severe blow to the city you know."

"You should know that the Gods do what the Gods do. But, I would also say, that as much as they were my enemy, the ones who left with Apollo loved him."

This made his face soften a bit, making something a little clearer for me. "Yes fine..." He sighed again, "And you bringing in that soldier along with Ares? The report says Loki herself backed that idea? How did you manage to gain her favour like that, with your Familia being, quite honestly, insignificant in scale to Hers."

I nearly ruined the little block of wood at his question. I couldn't tell him it was because I'd let Her feel me up for about three hours while I carried Her on my back. Well I could, but he looked like he was getting on in years, and I didn't want to give him a nose bleed or something, "I let them claim the honour of bringing in Ares."

"I see..." He squinted at me but relaxed a moment later, "And the soldier you brought into the city?"

"You are aware that he is Rakia's crown prince, correct?"

"I'd heard rumour, from Loki Familia captain Finn." He replied.

"Well it's true. I took him in because in a year, after living here with us, and learning, and gaining experience as an adventurer, it's my hope he returns to Rakia and beats some sense into them." I smiled, though with my head down focusing on my little project, I'm not sure he could have seen it, "It is an... umm... Putting something aside for later... banking it... umm..."

He actually smiled slightly as I fumbled for the word, "Investment. I see." He wrote that down too. "I see that part of your file was no exaggeration."

"Yes, I really did arrive here without being able to speak the language. Is there anything else you'd like to ask?" I carefully smoothed what I had been working on with a combination of rubbing it with my thumbs and compression with my strength.

He considered carefully, his eyes going to the paper in front of him, "I am... Surprised. Your file, however sparse," He said that with a 'I know who to blame' tone, "had given me the impression you were simply another violent adventurer. As well, your cold manner when I pulled you in here, gave me the wrong impression of you."

"That was because you insulted a friend, for something she has no control over." I made sure to show him as many of my teeth as possible with THAT smile, he shrank back into his chair as I focused on him, "If you wanted to blame some one for who their parents were, blame the parents, not the child."

His face flushed an angry red, but as I leaned forward slightly, he seemed to swallow his words.

"Eina works very hard. If it wasn't for her skill as a teacher, Bell and I would likely be dead. And we are only two people out of all those she has taken under her care. Who her parents are, or were, has NOTHING to do with her work."

That seemed to rile him enough to speak, "That does not excuse the fact that she hid her reports on you and Bell Cranel! That sort of misconduct would cost her her job if I were a mind to do it!"

"True, she did hide what Bell and I were doing. But she was protecting us from YOU, who until now had nothing but negative ideas about what was going on! You were threatening us by sending our Goddess back to Tenkai, when you didn't even have a clue what was really going on!" I was on my feet now, looming over him from across his desk, "And if your employees would go THAT far to hide something as simple as THIS from you because they KNEW you'd act like this, YOU should really think about WHY!" With the sound of snapping twigs the chair I was sitting on came apart as my tails wrapped around it and pulled.

I might have over done it, but he cowered there in his chair, his face sweating his pupils wide. Carefully, I put the bit of wood I'd been working on atop the bit of paper he'd been writing on. Of course, it was a fox. Crude work without tools, but it was close to what was on the Hestia emblem.

"Many people now, have called me wise. God and mortal both." I started, the bits of chair held by my tails waving slowly behind me, "So, this is my advice. Earn the respect of your workers, and they will work harder, knowing that what they do is appreciated." I backed up, very carefully put the bits of chair in a pile, and stood straight, "Now, I have a question for you."

My instant of anger was gone, and in turn he started to recover from his shock. After a moment of patting his head with a handkerchief, he replied, "What might that be?" Carefully he picked up the quill again, though his hand was still shaking too much to write.

"Who put you up to this?" The quill snapped in his hand, blotting the paper and the little fox with black specks.

"Wha... How?"

"Little things. Your... ... damn... Dislike of a race?" I tried.

"Racism." He answered automatically.

"Racism aside, a lot of little things. Your handshake, your expression when I mentioned certain things, nervousness, willingness to admit your ignorance." I listed, "You respect and fear us adventurers, you worship the gods even though you are not connected like we are, and you like money, a lot." Each point made him twitch a little, "When I came in here, you were set in finding a problem. When there was no problem, you seemed at a loss, but weren't disappointed."

He settled into his chair properly, sighing that sigh that made him seem smaller. "A few of the minor Familia, with connection to the floor eighteen incident, and fairly long list of adventurers have put in a request to have you and your Familia questioned."

Another clue. I suddenly felt a little bad about intimidating him. I knew the Guild had a lot to deal with, but it seemed that this man was fumbling around in the dark just like the rest of them on how to do it and make everyone happy. And when some of those people could kick down a building with nothing but a bare foot... And I was sure he knew that the Guild was just something in place to give the illusion of power. Enough people had raised a fuss and he just had to cave in.

"So now all that's left is what your response will be..." I mumbled, "I have two requests, for the false accusation of me and my Familia." I smiled in what I hoped wasn't a predatory way.

"What but... You can't..."

"First! Choose one person for each department in the Guild. Help them learn their new job, then let them do it. This will put less pressure on any one person when it comes to stuff like this." He was trying to form a response, but couldn't seem to figure out where to start, "Second, find a hobby, and take a little time off. Your weight is bad for your heart, and too much stress can cause problems with digestion."

He deflated a little more, "What your asking is... The Guild is a huge network..."

"The right of leadership is to grant responsibility. And it doesn't have to be overnight. Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot. But from where I'm standing, your work is going to kill you." He blinked at me as if I'd slapped him, "Grant some of your workers a little extra work, assign each team a leader, pay them a little more for the extra work they do. If there is a problem they can't handle, THEN you step in."

"I'll have another chair brought in." He said thoughtfully, "I'd like to hear more."

"I'll replace this one later too." I said, pointing to the pile of chair bits I'd made.

In yet another case of me bringing modern ideas to a primitive culture, I helped start the re-organization of the biggest organization in the world.

"Wel..." That was about as far as Chloe got as I entered the Hostess of Fertility.

"Oh, look, I broke her." I said as I got closer, my collection of tails visiting the stunned cat girl by perching on her arms and shoulders, "Hello everyone."

"Wow... What happened to you?" Arnya wove her way towards me, avoiding the few full tables in the room, the evening rush just starting. I recognized a few of the patrons too, earning a laugh and pointed finger as my tails claimed a spot on the dark haired Chloe, "I've... Never seen her just... turn off like this." Arnya poked her friend's cheek.

"Well, if you set aside a table for two, I'll hover at the bar and tell you. But first..." I stepped past Chloe, who was still sort of stunned, my tails sliding off of her, and very carefully gave her tail a pet.

With a full body shiver, she finished her introduction, tried to get away from my hand, and squeaked all at once, making most of the customers laugh and point. "GAH! You are so mean!" She finally huffed at me.

"Are you bothering my girls?" Mia had noticed, and came over, ladle in hand, though she was smiling. "Good to have you back. Heard some of what happened out of town. I'm glad you're safe."

"Me too." I said with a grin, giving Chloe and Arnya a hug and reminding them they were still on the clock. "Busy night?"

"Not as busy recently though it's picking up again now that that nonsense out of town is done." Mia replied, getting back behind the counter and filling mugs with beer. "Heard you had a hand in that."

Ryuu came by, my tails going to greet her with a gentle brush against her arm and side before returning to rest behind me. She gave me one of her 'good to see you' smiles, but picked up the tray of mugs Mia had filled and left again.

"Well, let me tell you about that."

As I was getting close to the end of my story, Eina arrived, still dressed in her uniform, and looking... Confused. Like her day had simply stopped making sense and she'd given up on sorting it out. "Ah, my guest has arrived." I said as I spotted her, "Two menus please." I asked Mia.

I walked over to Eina, menus in hand, and lead her over to a table Arnya had put a little paper 'reserved' sign on. At least, I think that's what it said. Who ever had wrote it had horrible writing. "You..." She started, her usual grace and poise almost gone as she dropped into the chair. "Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but why did you invite me to dinner?" She opened the menu up and glanced at it.

"I figured I owed you for all the trouble Bell and I have caused you. That, and I don't think he's given you that dinner he owed you. We've been busy after all." I smiled at her, her expression telling me she'd forgotten about that.

"I didn't expect he would actually do it... Though, I wouldn't have minded." She admitted, "But... I've had a very odd evening."

"I'm sorry." I said bowing my head and clapping my hands together in apology.

I opened one eye to peek at her face, watching her expression shift about amusingly as it went from puzzlement to realization. "You're the one who caused that?"

"Do I give you a congratulations?" I asked hopefully.

"Um... yes? For some reason he promoted me to... something he called, 'Team Lead' of consultation." She said, putting her menu down, "Basically I continue doing what I am doing, but bring him anything I can't handle myself, or seems out of place."

"But otherwise he doesn't need to handle everything personally." I added. "Good he's listening."

"And several other departments also got the news... Why am I not surprised you had a hand in that?" She sighed, waving a hand towards one of the girls. "I hope your purse is ready. I think my new responsibilities have given me an apatite."

As I returned home, I felt both pleased and a little sad. Sure, I'd used up a solid chunk of my personal funds on dinner. But that was for a good cause and Eina deserved it for all the help she'd given me and my Familia. I'd headed off disaster with a combination of diplomacy and intimidation, but headed it off all the same. I had a chair to replace, a potential apology for a few others in the Guild for them suddenly needing to take on more responsibilities, and was now a day behind on crafting more armour for us.

But I'd done it alone for the most part. Bell and Hestia were still not back. And until I could tell them what had happened, everything I'd done since they went missing felt... Incomplete. The last time I could remember feeling this way was... When I'd done something and just had to tell my parents. I don't even remember what it was, but I felt proud that I'd done it, but sad no one that mattered to me was around to tell.

"You're late!" A voice said as I opened the gate to the Hearthstone manor. "And didn't I ground you?"

And just like a child, I ran towards that voice. Unlike a child however, I picked her up in a big hug. And unlike a human, my tails wrapped around us both to join in. "Welcome back!" I said, shaking Hestia back and forth lightly, her feet dangling above the ground, "I have so much to tell you!"

Notes!

This seems like a good spot. Very dialogue heavy, but this should more or less do it for the 'Rakia war' book. I think the next chapter or two, I'll address some of your comments about going deeper into the dungeon.

*ahem* In the books... At least, the ones dealing with Bell specifically (not Sword Oratario... or what ever its called) don't really get into the dungeon. The other set of books, dealing more with the Loki Familia, DO get into the dungeon. They are an explorer guild first and foremost, and they do all kinds of crazy things and meet/kill all kinds of crazy monsters. So after a little research, I'll get into that.

Until next time. :)