And So, Bell Cranel Became a Hero
DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. Everything that occurs in this fanmade story is of my own creation and the characters abide by the fictional laws in the setting.
Tags: Mature, Action, Romance[Harem]. Adventure.
Authors Note: Heya! Jas here, if you'd like to support me, please consider joining the dis cord server (42SQENPj54) or supporting my patrn (IreJasmine)
Chapter 4: And So, The Two Pampered One Another
Part 7
Back on the surface, the Guild was abuzz with activity. The Guild made search parties to find the missing staff member that hadn't returned from her break. Unknown to them, their frenzy would prove to be worthless as said staff member was already being escorted to the surface by three members of the second strongest Familia in Orario.
Flanked by the Nine Hells, Riveria Ljos Alf, and the Vanargand, Bete Loga who was carrying on his back the healed and unconscious Bell Cranel. Walking ahead of the group and clearing any monster in the path was the famed Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein.
"You were captured by two adventurers during your break," Riveria spoke, Rose nodded as she pulled the cloak given to her by the elven princess tighter around her, "They went down to the fifth floor where you were almost... but the boy here saved you at the last second."
Rose hummed in the positive again.
"While setting you free, the Minotaur we had been chasing appeared, killing one of your captors and started pursuing you two."
"Serves that fucking dwarf right," Bete scoffed from the side.
"The boy-"
"Bell." Rose interrupted.
"Right, Bell tried to run away while carrying you for several minutes until you reached a dead end," And here was the part Riveria had trouble believing, "Then, somehow, this boy-"
"Bell." Rose interrupted again.
Riveria pinched the bridge of her nose, "Right, Bell, fought the Minotaur while still carrying you, injuring the monster in the eyes after several close calls."
The thing Riveria had said was the sole reason Bete had no qualms carrying the unconscious, stinky boy on his back. Any adventurer worth their hide would go down fighting and the boy on his back did so at a massive disadvantage.
Bete could approve of that fighting spirit.
"Then we finally arrived, and Ais killed the Minotaur before it could kill you two."
"Yes, that sums up what happened," Rose confirmed while making sure that the makeshift belt made of the rope her captures used was coiled right around her pants, that thankfully were mostly untouched, unlike her uniform's shirt which only had two buttons left, one at the collar and the last one on her belly. If anyone peeked under the cloak, they would've gotten a generous glimpse of the werewolf's cleavage.
"Would you happen to know what level the bo-" A glare, "Bell, is?" Riveria quickly corrected herself.
"He... He's a new adventurer, he registered almost three weeks ago and had no Familia back then. It was pure luck he found me."
Bete scoffed, "Unlikely, that was too perfectly timed to be called luck. Man must've been killing in the dungeon when you screamed for help, and he followed. Pretty ballsy of him too if he chased into the fifth floor as a level one."
The other two Loki Familia members agreed to that explanation, it made more sense than relying on luck. If only they knew that they had hit the nail on the head.
"Is that pride I hear in your voice Bete?"
"Shut it old hag, anyone who goes toe to toe with a Minotaur at a disadvantage and as a level one deserves respect." Bete growled
"You're right about that at least but call me old hag again and I'll make sure you're cleaning all our equipment alone during the next expedition." Riveria glared at the male werewolf before looking at the Guild member, "Which Familia does he belong to?"
"Since registering he has not returned to the Guild."
Riveria hummed, "They will need to be notified of his actions; with your approval may I see his Falna?"
Rose herself was curious enough to approve the request, the two ladies moved behind Bete as the werewolf slowed down. Bell's shirt was lifted from his back and both ladies gasped.
"What? Why are you gasping!? What Familia does he belong to? Hurry up"
"No way..." Rose teared up again.
Riveria trembled as her fingers glided over the unconscious teen unblemished back, the empty, devoid of Falna, back.
"He... He... Doesn't... "
"Haaa!? What are you spouting!" Bete, in anger at being kept in suspense, dropped the teen off his back and looked for himself only to stumble in disbelief.
The commotion behind her made Ais pause, and she returned to the group just as Bete had dropped the white-haired boy.
"Are you shitting me!? Oi Riveria, there's no way this brat doesn't have a Falna right!?"
"Bete, you're seeing it for yourself."
Ais narrowed her eyes as she processed Bete words, being the one to kill the Minotaur she had seen first-hand and close-up the damage the monster had sustained. If the boy had landed one more hit on the head wounds, he could've killed the Minotaur himself.
A boy, with no Falna, almost killing a Minotaur that level 2 adventurers had trouble with... Where did his strength come from? She had to know!
And so, the first of Bell's Cranel heroic tales was born.
- 0 – AsBBaH Vol 1 – 0 -
Part 8
A short walk later, the group of five left the dungeon and found themselves greeted at the streets by several Adventurers' parties that had accepted the Guild's Search Request, those who knew the Loki Familia informed them about the request which led to, just a little later, loud cheers echoing in the Pantheon's lobby once the Loki Familia escorted inside the missing Guild Attendant alongside the unconscious hero.
Luckily, for the Loki Familia, even though they hadn't accepted the Search Request, the Guild still rewarded them for their troubles.
They were not the only ones to receive a warm welcome, because as soon as Rose was seen by her half-elf co-worker, Eina had all but tackle hugged her, almost throwing them both the ground with her excitement.
Sadly, one of the higher-ups from the Guild stepped up to the two women and stopped their touching reunion to remind them that the Guild had to investigate the happenings behind Rose's disappearance.
As a Guild worker, Rose had to report directly to a select group of Gods working with the Guild, whereafter her testimony was taken she was given a week off as compensation for the events that befell her and told that the Guild would handle the punishment for the Familias of the culprits.
While Rose went to the investigation room to explain herself, the unconscious Bell was taken to the medical wing of the Guild. Riveria may have healed the worse of his wounds with magic, but he still needed a thorough check-up for anything she may have missed.
Bell was stripped of his possessions before being laid down on one of the medical beds. His pouch, filled to the brim with Monster Cores, and the waist-bag with dried food, a canteen, a book, and more cores were placed on the bedside table.
His cloak, ragged and bloodied from use, was thrown into the trash along with the remains of his fragmented shoulder plate whereas his signature brown coat was folded over and set atop his pouch and waist-bag.
No sooner had Rose finished her testimony that she walked (rushed if anyone asked her co-workers) to Bell's room, and sat by his side, her disheveled clothes still covered by Riveria's lent cloak. She sat there, waiting, for her heroic pup to wake up.
And while she waited, many Guild workers passed by the room to welcome the werewolf lady back, but none spent more than a minute around after seeing how focused her gaze was on the sleeping boy's face.
This instance kept occurring until after an hour, Bell finally woke up with a start, his upper body shot off the bed and he frantically looked around.
His cheeks were taken by Rose, and she filled his whole vision.
"It's okay, we're safe, you kept us safe." Rose repeated those words over and over while holding onto Bell's face, with each repetition soothing Bell until he finally managed to get his emotions back under control.
"Miss Rose?" Bell collapsed on himself; any energy he had left spent on just uttering her name. As if understanding what he wanted to know in that moment, Rose released his face to hold onto both of his hands.
"Bell, you kept us alive long enough for the Loki Familia to save us from the Minotaur, right now we're at the Guild medical bay."
Bell slowly took the information in and nodded once he'd digested it. The fact that there was no buzzing at the back of his head made the task much easier.
A knock on the door interrupted any further conversation between them before a nondescript man wearing the Guild's uniform entered the room, a clipboard in his hand that he waved at the two.
"Ah! Finally awake." The staff announced joyously as he approached them, ignoring the freezing glare thrown at him by the werewolf. "Mister Cranel, I was asked by the Gods in charge of today incident to take you to the investigation room where you may shed a light on some missing pieces of the story told by Miss Fannett before discharging you."
Bell agreed with a nod, and with the help of Rose that had yet to release his hands, stood on his own feet, slouching, but standing, nonetheless. Rose took one of his arms and helped him walk behind the Guild's staff that led them to the interrogation room.
He was too tired to take in his surroundings and he only noticed them change when Rose helped him sit down on a wooden chair before she took his side, standing professionally.
A heavily robed God sat ahead of the two, he waved his hand towards Bell in a go-on motion and Bell took that as his cue to speak.
Bell tiredly recounted the events of the day, starting from the moment he heard Rose scream for help near the dungeon's entrance. Everything seemed to match what Rose and the Loki Familia had guessed up to the point where the elf captor was involved.
Bell turned pale as soon as he reached that point, luckily one of the workers inside the room recognized what was going to happen and pushed a trashcan in between the boy's feet where he vomited.
I killed… I killed him.
Bell mumbled his sin, the missing piece of information from Rose's story finally solved.
"Killing another Adventurer is normally punished with a heavy fine, especially if it's done within the dungeon and intentionally… However, if it wasn't for your quick decision at the time, we may have lost one of our most valued members." The God paused while Bell wearily took that in. "You are free of charges my child; you did what was necessary at the time. The Guild will be rewarding you for protecting one of our own, tell me, where do you reside so it can be delivered."
Another can of worms was opened.
"I... don't..."
Rose instinctively knew again what was going on in her pup's head.
"Mr. Cranel rents a room at an inn on the western district, he has no permanent residence," Rose explained for him.
The God ruffled his own beard in thought.
Rose spoke once more, "As Mr. Cranel's Advisor, and personally affected person, I recommend the reward to be delivered to my residence and I will handle all of his paperwork when I return to work next week."
The God lifted a curious eyebrow; Since Rose was one of the most trusted members of the Guild, it took him very little to ponder over her words. "Then it will be delivered to your residence and will be handled at your discretion Miss Fannett, you are both free to go."
Bowing, Rose helped Bell to his feet once more and left the room where the Guild would take care of the rest. The two passed by the Staff Room for Rose to collect her belongings before they went over to Bell's room to collect his own.
Thankfully it was late night by the time they had left the Pantheon and few of her co-workers had seen them together.
Now on the streets, with the Pantheon as their background, a fully dressed Bell and Rose stood together awkwardly.
"Thank you so much for everything, Miss Fannett." Bell started, bowing tiredly and giving the werewolf a tired smile, "I guess I'll be seeing you soon?"
Rose shook her head and crossed her arms under her chest, a heavy frown befell her features. "No, you have many things to explain to me Bell."
Bell flinched, surprised, "Wha?"
Rose sighed and grabbed Bell's hand, she dragged the confused teen through the streets towards the Northern District, all the while he was trying to wrap his head around what was happening.
The once lively city was quiet under the moon's light, the streets alight by the soft glow of lampposts. If Bell hadn't been so preoccupied by what the woman dragging him meant with her earlier words, he would have stopped several times to enjoy the peaceful environment.
As it was, Bell only knew they were heading to the Northern District of Orario because he recognized some of the Familia residences he visited before.
"Miss Fannett, where are we going?" Bell asked when he managed to walk beside her instead of being dragged.
"My apartment."
"Ah I see..." Bell nodded before his head snapped towards her, "Wait what!?"
"You did not think I would've let you go on your own after everything that has happened today, did you?" Rose side-glanced at the suddenly blushing teen.
"Well... um... yes?" Bell awkwardly replied.
Rose sighed again, "Bell, since the day you registered, you did not show up to the Guild again. You probably have not exchanged any of the Monster Cores either and from what we spoke on that day, you did not have a lot of Valis left."
Bell cringed at the accurate assessment.
"Your paperwork was also untouched, meaning you have not joined any Familia in the last three weeks, so… that begs the question..."
Bell wanted to curl up into fetal position and cry as his failures were slowly revealed.
"What have you done in the last three weeks?"
He really did not want to talk about his moment of weakness, and looking back, idiotic choice of living in the dungeon. Luckily, he was spared of having to reply then and there because they had reached the apartment owned by Rose.
Bell watched with trepidation as the lady crouched beside the porch stairs, picking up the key hidden under some rocks and pulled him up the steps. The door to the two-story house was opened, and she pushed him inside first.
The sound of the door being locked behind him made his nervousness skyrocket further.
An older woman for the first time, that's my boy!
'Shut up Gramps, not now!' Bell ignored the laughing voice in his head by looking around the apartment.
His first thought was of how homely it felt.
The first floor consisted of a single open room that housed the living room and the kitchen together, separated by a dining countertop. In the living room side, there were several bookshelves near the entrance on the right side and further back. Immediately to his left was an L-shaped, brown sofa around a small coffee table with more furniture against the walls.
His eyes found the wooden stairs towards the second floor at the far left, siding the kitchen, and there he saw the source of his grandfather's teasing expectantly waiting for him, the cloak that had hidden her body wrapped around her forearms and revealing a glimpse of what laid beneath.
"Follow me."
Her stern tone ushered him forward despite his reservations and up the stairs they went to a hallway with three doors. One in the middle to the right and two to the left. By the time he finished taking it all in, the werewolf was already waiting for him at the end of the hallway, right next to the second door to the left which she pried open.
"As much as I want to have answers, I believe we are in dire need of a bath first. Please head in first, I will prepare some clothes for you."
Bell was once more pushed around without being able to form any objections. Before he knew it, he was stripped to his boxers and a towel was thrown to his face as the door to the bathroom snapped close.
Shrugging the towel from his face and taking his boxers off, Bell cautiously inspected the bathroom.
A sink near the door, a mirror propped on the wall on top of it. The toilet was a few feet next to the sink, above it a wall drawer filled with toiletry and a foggy glass door which Bell slid open, revealing an enormous shower section.
Tiles of soft blue color covered the floor, to the right was the shower head, underneath them a wooden stool and a box with many shampoos and soap bars. To the left was an Ofuro (stone tub) already filled with water.
Bell sat on the stool and turned the shower on, he shivered when the cold water hit his back. Sitting on the stool, he let his head hang under the light drizzle, the water falling from his hair turned the blue tiles murky from the amount of grime and blood it was coated in.
Down in the dungeon he hadn't had the need for a bath, becoming stronger was all he had been preoccupied with. With the buzzing that his brain had grown used to gone, he was able to properly think, feel, and smell.
He cringed, hard.
Three weeks, Miss Rose said he was gone from the surface, three weeks bathing himself with monsters' blood, dungeon grime, and Gods knows what else was down there.
So overwhelmed by his own smell, Bell didn't hear the glass door sliding open.
Bell's gaze was still focused downwards, his hands blindly searched for a soap bar in the box in front of him. He cupped water in his hands, creating a soapy mess that he lathered over his scalp in an attempt to clean it. Perhaps, one of the many shampoos would've been better but he knew how expensive the products were, and he would not abuse Miss Rose's kindness like that.
The soap slipped past his fingers and he felt it fall on his foot, he winced and blindly went to pick it up.
Click.
Liquid, heavier than the drizzle of the water, fell on his hair. A sweet aroma immediately reached his nostrils before fingers slowly massaged his scalp with more of the heavier liquid falling on his hair.
"Dear Gods, your hair is such a mess Bell."
He froze.
Click, clack
Another set of fingers massaged his scalp, making him shudder, then something extremely soft and heavy pressed onto his back before delicate arms came to rest above his shoulders, the hands never ceased on working to get the grime off his hair.
Slowly but surely, Bell started heating up; his complexion turning redder by the second as he realized what was happening.
"Mi-mi-mi-miss Rose!?" Bell squeaked out.
"Yes?"
"Wha-wha-what are y-y-you doing!?"
"Washing your hair."
Bell teeth clacked shut, she couldn't have been serious right?
"Bell," Rose whispered into his ear, her hands moved and circled around him to pull him into a tight hug. Her breasts pressed harder on his back, the feeling of two pointy tips digging into his skin made him gulp, hard. "You saved me, if it wasn't for you, I don't know what would've happened to me down there…"
Rose knew very well what would've happened.
First, she would've lost her purity, then she would've been used and discarded in the dungeon for monsters to kill. There was no way those two cretins would've taken her back to the surface after having their way with her, they wouldn't take the chance of her tattling on them to the Guild.
Worse still, if the Minotaur had stumbled upon the scene while she was raped, she didn't know if the monster would've been merciful enough to kill her along with the cretins before playing with her dead body.
Mindless, the monsters of the higher floors were, but the deeper the floors, the baser emotions the monsters could feel.
With Lust being one of those.
Her body shuddered at the somber thought.
"Miss Fa-"
"Rose," She whispered into his ear.
"Mis-"
"Rose," She blew softly into his ear.
Bell trembled in her arms, equal parts excitement, and shame.
"Rose... I only did wha-what anyone else would've done!"
Rose hummed, placing her chin on the Bell's shoulder, "Perhaps... But it was you who saved me Bell."
Bell shook his head. His excitement died, and his hands balled into fists at what he perceived as his failure, "I was not strong enough to save us from the Minotaur... "
Rose felt his emotions shift, so she tightened her arms around him. "Bell if you had not been strong enough, we would have died the moment the Minotaur charged at us the first time."
Bell trembled; head shaking negatively and low as he quietly denied her words.
Rose, seeing that she wasn't getting through to her pup, took more drastic measures to get her point across. She freed Bell from her embrace to stood up, taking Bell up along with her. He was so lost in his own denials that he offered no resistance to her actions.
Bell's back hit the bathroom wall, hard.
His despondent face was lifted by Rose, their gaze met, and she gently placed his face atop her naked breasts, much like their first accidental meeting. Her arms surrounded him while she continued staring down at him.
"Bell, listen to me and get this through that thick skull of yours!" Rose barked harshly as Bell's eyes finally met hers.
"YOU were the one to save me from being raped!" Rose trembled as the words left her mouth.
"YOU were the one to save me from being possibly killed!" Tears freely fell down her face.
"YOU were the one who, against all odds and without a Falna to back you up, kept US ALIVE!" Rose didn't mean to shout at the end, but her emotions got the best of her.
Rose pressed her forehead against Bell's hard, her tears falling onto the open-mouthed boy. Her emotions spent, her legs gave up under her, Bell hands grabbed her hips to keep her standing but he failed and the two slid to the floor until she was sitting on his lap with her arms around her hero.
"I'm sorry Miss Rose... It's just...I-"
"The Sword Princess may have killed the monster, but you were the one who kept me safe..." Rose whispered, moving her lips next to his ears as she whispered "MY hero"
Her hero?
He was... someone's hero...?
For the first time since the last four hellish weeks started Bell smiled. Not a sad smile, not a fake smile, a truly, honest to Gods, happy smile.
The warmth in his chest spread throughout his whole body as those words replayed in his minds.
Rose smiled; her words finally reached the stupidly smiling boy in her arms. She certainly felt his happiness since it was trapped between her buttocks and poking the base of her tail.
"Do you understand now?" Rose amusedly asked.
"Hai! Thank you Rose!" Bell giddily replied, grinning even.
"Good! Now let me finish washing your hair?"
Bell was about to agree until his brain registered their position and situation. He gulped, hard. His body flexed involuntarily.
"Shall I take that as a yes?" Rose giggled; she had felt it.
Not trusting his words Bell dumbly nodded.
If the sensations weren't enough to fry his brain, what Rose did next certainly did.
The mature werewolf woman slowly slid up, dragging her breast across his chest and then over his face. Her hands found his shoulders and she pushed herself up.
More and more of her unblemished skin was revealed to him.
The alluring underside of her breasts, her slim midriff followed by her bellybutton, her wide hips filled his entire vision and then he was facing it. A small patch of trimmed red hair above her mound.
"Can you stand?" Rose knew perfectly well what she was doing, every little touch, every little movement was planned.
Werewolves, unlike other races, were straightforward in displaying their affection towards their chosen partner. Once said partner was chosen, there existed no such thing as "shame".
Bell Cranel may not have realized it yet but ever since their first meeting, her inner werewolf had approved his determination and labeled him as a possible partner, that was the reason Bell had been on her mind during those three weeks he went missing.
Then he went and rescued her...
Rose couldn't help but stare back as her partner stood up while also trying to cover his excitement in embarrassment, her partner may be young but that was certainly an adult's.
She giggled again as her pup sat in the stool, hands still trying and failing to hide his boner.
'One more tease' Rose thought, moving in front of him where she could feel her partner's reluctant stare on her backside. Smirking devilishly that her distraction was working, she bent over.
"Which one would you prefer Bell? Strawberry or Citrus?" Rose asked, carelessly placing a hand on her hip and tilting sideward to look back at the red-faced boy.
"Ah! Um" Bell looked away after a second, gulping. "Citrus?"
Rose hummed and stayed like that until Bell glanced back at her, only then did she bend lower to grab the citrus bottle and stood back up. She laughed softly as she retook her place behind the flummoxed boy and started to properly wash his hair.
For the next ten minutes no words were spoken as Rose worked on Bell's hair, massaging his scalp and deeply cleaning each strand of hair. Somewhere during that time Bell's excitement had died down and he was blissfully enjoying the loving treatment.
Once Bell's hair was back to its pristine white, Rose kissed her partner's cheek to wake him up from his trance. Laughing at his reaction, they traded spots.
Bell was extremely careful with her wolfish ears as he washed her hair, the ghost touches send jolts down her spine and more than once Rose was forced to bite her lips lest she moan.
All too soon for her, Bell was done with her hair.
A bit hot and bothered, Rose wouldn't let it end there, she sat her protesting partner on the stool again and started washing his back, neck, shoulders, arms, everywhere.
When she moved towards his front, Bell looked as bothered as her which made Rose smirk in victory.
Her smirk did not last as Bell took the reins and did the same to her.
Back and forth they switched who sat on the stool and got pampered, somewhere in between all the teasing they had started laughing, no longer Bell hid his tool or Rose purposefully try to rile him up.
One soul that had been almost robbed of their purity and stood so close to death was pampered by another soul, one filled with determination to protect those he cared for.
Two hours had been spent messing around in the bathroom and they would've stayed longer if the Ofuro water hadn't gone cold and they risk getting sick. Rose had gone out first but only to grab Bell's towel leaving the boy with no option but to be dried by the laughing werewolf.
Bell really couldn't help but smile back with a light blush.
He knew what was happening, his grandfather stories were very thorough in explaining how the ladies from different races approached their object of affection.
A boy he may be, but his grandfather made sure his mind and heart were those of a man!
Hence realizing that it really wasn't a dream and picking up all the not-so-subtle signs Rose had been giving him, Bell was going to reciprocate her feelings to the best of his abilities.
GOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!
Ignoring the voice of his Gramps inside his head, Bell took Rose's towel and dried the werewolf. She laughed as he still hesitated when it come to her sensitive parts, but he still dried her, nonetheless.
Rose kissed his cheek again and guided the boy through the hallway and into her bedroom, she sat the towel covered Bell on the corner of her bed and handed him the clothes she had gathered earlier.
Bell muttered his thanks as his eyes chased the breathtaking figure of Rose who had discarded her towel. Once more he was stunned and couldn't help but stare as the mature woman went around her room gathering her own set of clothes for the night.
She must've sensed his gaze because she started teasing him again, bending more than needed to reach the lower drawers, walking past him and brushing his arms with her damp tail. By the time she was finally dressed in a see-through negligee and dark laced panties, Bell had barely managed to slip his pants on.
"Having trouble there, Bell?" Rose voice was husky as she directed her gaze at his strained pants.
"Ahaha," Bell could only laugh awkwardly as the werewolf approached him. "It's a bit tight?"
"I can see that." Rose smiled as she climbed on top of Bell and pushed him further into the bed until the back of his head met the pillows. Once he was comfortable, Rose fully straddled him. His barely clothed trouble lodged between her scantily clad cheeks as she gazed down at him lovingly. "As much as I would love to take care of it, we have something pending..."
Bell gulped, "Which is...?"
"What happened to you after you left the Guild."
Bell cringed, one thing was admitting to himself his stupidity, and another was telling someone he cared for about his stupidity.
Rose sensed his hesitation and gave him a minute to sort his thoughts however Bell still didn't speak. Rolling her eyes in exasperation, drastic measures were taken once more. She started to move her hips back and forth extremely slow causing her partner's breath to hitch.
"Feeling like speaking now?"
Bell opened his mouth to voice his denial, but nothing came out.
A tail started brushing his clothed tool and his defenses crumbled.
"Hai..."
The werewolf grinned, moving further back and laying herself on top of her partner where her head could rest on his chest as she stared up at him.
"I'm all ears." She wiggled them, brushing his jaw with the tip of the closest one making him snicker.
"Well, um, to start... After I left the Guild, I gathered some info about where the Familias in Orario lived. Next day I handed them the forms you helped me write and made some purchases, after that..." Bell hesitated once more but another reassuring kiss to his cheek filled him with confidence that Rose wouldn't push him away like the Familias did.
"I spent every day going back to the Familias to ask if I was accepted, every single day I would be rejected and, in some cases, thrown out of their property... Fifty-one Dungeon-Oriented Familias I applied, from the bottom ones to the top ones like Loki and Freya's. I was rejected in one way or another by all of them."
Rose had guessed as much, as she said earlier, his untouched paperwork at the Guild attested to as much.
"Their words were pretty harsh too, but I can understand where they came from, I don't look like adventurer material." Bell self-depreciating chuckle made Rose nod softly.
Her first impression of him had been the same but her job was to never judge people by their appearances. Especially when the Gods Falna could turn a baby into a war machine if nurtured properly.
"But unlike you who looked past my weak body and believed in me, they spared no chances. I didn't have much valis left either and day by day I had less and less until I ran out... I... I chose to go into the dungeon that day." Bell breathed deeply before continuing. "I recall being angry and thinking that if I became strong, I could've proved their words to be wrong and well... Before I knew it, I was living in the dungeon."
Rose almost hit her head against his jaw as her head snapped upwards.
"Living in the dungeon?" Her voice had a hint of danger in it.
"Yeah, stupid, I know but I couldn't think properly! My mind was a mess, and I was so ashamed that your efforts to help me start my adventurer life were being wasted and I thought you wouldn't help me anymo-"
"Bell the Guild is there to help adventurers with or without a Familia, nobody would've thought less of you for failing to join one in a week."
"But you said I wouldn't have any problem since I had experience..."
Rose sighed, pushing herself up enough to look down at her troubled partner again, "Bell a God may only need a minute to give you their Falna, but it takes anywhere between a week and a month for them to choose between so many possible applicants, more if they're Dungeon-Oriented ones."
Bell oh'ed at that tidbit of info.
Rose sighed and placed her lips against his left cheek. "I'm sorry, I should've explained that to you at the booth instead of voicing my thoughts," she mumbled before nibbling her partner's cheek in anger, "So you lived in the dungeon for how long?"
"I lost count after the first three days... I didn't come out until today..."
Rose wanted to bite harder, but didn't, and instead she kissed his cheek again before laying back down; she felt that some of the responsibility for his actions fell on her shoulders. Bell suddenly yawned and tilted enough that he could see her face.
"Tired?" Rose asked.
"Quite." Bell arms moved, circling around her waist, and pulled her flush against him. "I never slept more than thirty minutes at a time down there and you're so soft..."
Rose heartbeat quickened, so far, he hadn't given her a single compliment during all their teasing, she was about to ask for more when Bell's exhaled loudly and his head lulled to the side.
"You're going to be such a handful, my hero." Rose giggled, kissing Bell's jaw one last time before drifting off to dreamland with him.
- 0 - Part 8 End - 0 -