Chapter 2: Lively Journey
"Human speaking"
"Human thinking""
"Monster Fels speaking"
"Monster and Fels thinking"
After getting out of their tent, Aki and Bell was about to start their search for the famous sword princess but as the twin amazon sisters saw them or to be precise, Bell. They started running towards him and ask him a bunch of questions and Tiona for some reason starts calling him 'Argonaut-kun'.
Bell's POV.
"Hey! Argonaut-kun! You're amaizing! you just defeated that minotaur the other day and now you're here already at 18th floor!! Are you a level 2 already!!?? Tell us!!" Tiona-san then beamed at me.
"Oy! Tiona! Stop that! Even after defeating a minotaur, it's impossible for a level 1 adventurer with a month experience to level up like that! and don't ask him too many questions since he's still recovering"
"Um... Actually I leveled up after that fight... and I now go by the alias 'Little Rookie'... Ehehehe" I'm quite embarrased to say the last part but since everyone already knows about it, I might as well tell them.
"Really? well I know it's quite impossible but given that all of your abilities are all ranked S, I think there is a chance that you might level up" Tione-san's answer comepletely shocked me, since I didn't look at my status at that day, I thought it was just a normal one when Kami-sama updated it before I went to the dungeon.
"WAIT! Does that mean they saw my back!? I'M SCREWED! Kami-sama will surely scold me for showing them my abilities and skills!"
"You're amazing you know that? I never knew it was possible for someone to maximize all of their abilities..." I was kind of taken a back from what she said but then, Aki-san then gave me a smile that I don't know what to call... Tender? Kind? All I can think of is how beautiful her face is when she's smiling like this.
"No! Not that! I already have Aiz-san! I can't just call any girl beautiful like I did earlier!"
"Say..."
"Yes?" Tione-san's expression changed from normal to something between serious and curious, it's a little bit scary.
"Have you met Aki before? The way you two acts towards each other seems like you've known each other for quite a while now, What's your relationship?" Tione-san then gave me a look that I can only describe as "Lie to me or I'll break your bones".
"That's a good question..." Aki-san then hooked her arm with mine before whispering to me.
"What are we? We're not exactly friends since I just met you earlier and I'm sure she's not gonna buy it if I said I'm kinda like your onee-chan?"
She then got more closer to me while giving me a smug look on her face.
"Can't we just say we're friends!?" I answered her with a slightly embarassed expression.
"AH! Right right... Let's just say I'm his girlfriend!" She answered her with a very bright smile.
"HIIIH!!!"
Aki's POV
As soon as I said those words, the three of them gave me a very suprised look but the one to recover first was Tiona and the second one is Tione.
"WHOA!! You're amaizing Argonaut-kun! You got Aki before Raul could make a move on her!"
"I thought you're a shy type but you are not really that bad eeh??"
As soon as they said those, he started to go pale which alarmed me. I think teasing him right now is not good after all so I decided to stop it before anyone hears us.
"I'm just joking. We're just friends and Raul is not making moves on me Tiona. Seriously Raul and me? Not in a million years" I said as I quickly tried to dismiss the topic
"Eh? That's boring. And here I am expecting something"
"So you don't have anyone you like right now huh?"
"Um... Can't we just go to where Aiz-san is?" Bell then said after recovering from what happened earlier.
"I think you're right, see you later Tiona, Tione" as I bid farewell to them, we started to walk around the camp to search for Aiz
As we walk side by side, I remembered something that I was about to ask when we are inside his party's tent earlier but somehow I got the answer that I'm looking for.
"level 2 in just 1 month... he really is something... I remember Aiz was the previous record holder who achieved level 2 in one year and that's with a party. but still, compared to the current record holder which is this boy beside me... what Aiz did feels normal compared to him"
Looking back to him, I just noticed the troubled look on his face again.
"Are you serious? I'm not even walking close to him so why? I'm not even teasing him!"
Then I started to look around and I noticed that everyone was looking at him with a weird expression. So I decided to stop for a bit to ask them what the hell is wrong.
"Wait Bell, let's stop for a moment" I said ti him. I'm starting to get really irritated because of their actions.
"Guys, what's with all of you? why are you glaring at him too much? Did you know how bad his condition is when he first arrived here at the 18th floor? show some respect will you? he's still recovering so please stop, you are not helping at all" I really hate the way they look at him, I don't know why they dislike him but at least they should get to know him first before judging him.
"It's okay Aki-san, I'm kinda used to it by now since my level up. They started to call me a cheater and they also said that I was just faking that I only have 1 month of experience as an adventurer"
Again, that pained expression appeared on his face once more.
"Just let them be, I know that I just met you today but I can say for sure that you're not faking anything, see?" I then gave him the best smile I could muster. A smile that I wish could wash away all of his worries right now.
Normal POV
"There it is... again, that smile that I could not describe no matter how hard I try, a smile that gives me this comfort, like she was saying that "don't worry, everything will be alright" or something like that"
Bell's description of her face is what exactly it looks like, how beautiful this smile of her is and how much feelings she's putting on it to comfort him on this very uncomfortable situation of his.
"Let's just ignore them okay? You want Aiz to accompany you towards captains tent right? let's get moving then" Aki started walking again and Bell then followed suit.
As the two again started walking, Bell then noticed the silence of Aki who's walking in front of him.
"Um... Can I ask you something Aki-san?" Aki then turned around to face him, but when Bell noticed how close the distance betweem them is, he then started blushing again while backing away for a bit.
"Yes?"
"I-it's not something big but I just noticed that even though you are a cat person, I never heard you say 'Nya nya' while talking"
Bell being used to how both Chloe and Anya talk engraved this to his head that if a cat person talks, they always end their sentence with a 'Nya' or mix a word with 'Meow'. Which is most of the time, true but this doesn't always apply to every cat person in existence.
"Why? Wanna here me say that?" And then slowly, Aki closed the gap between them once more.
"How's this nya?"
"Uwah!"
"You asked for it and nyow you're hiding your face nya? You're the worst nya!"
Aki then continued to tease Bell for a few minutes and then started to walk again to find Aiz and they eventually found her sitting below a tree near her tent.
"Aiz! Someone's looking for you" The cat girl said while pointing towards the rabbit boy.
"Bell, I'm glad that you're finally awake" Said the doll princess with a hint of relief on her face.
"Good morning Aiz-san and I'm sorry for all the trouble... You saved me again didn't you?" The white haired boy said while bowing.
"No I'm not the person who found you first, it was Aki. When we heard the goliath attacking someone, I already had a bad feeling so I rushed through the entrance and Riveria followed me, but when I got there, Aki was already about to carry all of you back to the camp herself to heal your injuries" The sword princess explaines.
"Really!?" Bell's eyes shot wide because he didn't expect it to be Aki of all people.
"What? Not happy that I'm the one who found you? For your information you grabbed my foot and begged me to save your comrades and now this is all I get? I hate you! HMPH!" GIGGLE " Just kidding ahahahaha! You look so cute when you make that kind of troubled face! You look like a lost child!"
Aki tried to surpress her laughter but failed to do so but after a few seconds, she finally stopped laughing.
"Sorry, I just can't resist teasing you. I'll make up for it if you want, you can ask me everything if you like"
STARE
The cat person then noticed her fellow female adventurer staring at the two of them like they've done something wrong.
"Hmmm...? I see" Aki nodded to herself after realizing something.
"Um... Aiz-san? what's wrong?" Bell asked with a troubled face while Aiz just simply answered him with a 'hmph'.
"Anway, since we've already found Aiz. The two of you should go to the captains tent since you've already recovered enough, I'll take my leave now so see you later" Aki then waved at the two of them but she was interrupted when Bell suddenly grabbed her hand.
"Please wait! Can I ask you to accompany us as well? I'm really nervous right now so I wanna bring as many friends as possible" Bell said while still holding her hand which earned a pout from Aiz.
"Okay but will you please let go of my hand? I don't really mind but someone might start another weird rumor"
"HYA! I'm sorry!" Bell then started to panic as soon as he saw the dark aura from the other familia members around them.
"Don't mind it, let's just keep moving" And after that, they arrived at Finn's tent/office.
Loki Familia's base
Finn's Tent
"I really apreciate your help! Thank you very much!" The white haired adventurer said with a bow.
"Please don't do that. We are both adventurers and we should help each other in times of trouble so there is no need for that. I'm just glad that you guys are safe" The Braver then extended a hand to Bell who gladly took and shook it.
"and you and your bravery also saved our lives" He then thought of saying this to him but decided to not to continue since he can't tell him yet any information regarding the demi-spirit.
He then noticed the two women that's currently standing behind Bell. He already knew that Aiz is somewhat attracted to the boy but seeing Aki was a little bit of surprise for him since she's not really the type to interact with other familias even allied ones.
"It seems like Aiz is not your only friend in our familia, mind if I ask why Aki is with you as well?"
"I-I asked her to come with us as well because I'm so nervous to go here by myself since I'm going to face the second strongest adventurer here in orario" Bell answered the pallum's question while looking at Aki's direction who suddenly gave him a wink.
That didn't go unnoticed by Finn, Gareth, Riveria and even by Aiz even though she looked like she's just spacing out.
"It looks like you guys are a lot closer than I thought, and it also looks like Aki loves to tease you" Finn sweat dropped.
"Yes it looks like that..."
Gareth then suddenly stepped forward with a huge grin on his face.
"Ahahaha! I see you're quite popular with women young lad! You better choose wisely" Gareth then proceeded to tap his shoulders while laughing.
"Ehehehe... but... I really do want to repay the debt I owe you because this isn't the first time you've rescued me" Bell said while wearing a sad look on his face.
Riveria then decided to intervene since she knows how poor Hestia Familia is right now because he's the only member of it.
"Don't worry about it, Let's just say we're just helping out one of our future allies, is that okay with you?" The high elf princess said while ruffling the rabbit's hair.
"Riveria is right, We may not be allies for now but I think it will happen in the near future so think of it as just that, Okay?" the pallum leader said with a smile.
"For now I think you should go back to your tent, your party members might be awake now" Gareth tapped his shoulders with a force that made him stumble a bit.
"And if you also want to thank someone, it should be Riveria. She's so worried about you that she almost fainted using her healing magic while trying to heal your wounds" Finn added and this earned an angry look from Riveria.
"Hey Finn! What are you saying?" The beautiful adventurer said angrily.
"Finn, don't agitate her too much, or mama bear might pass out for sure this time" the elf man added
Suddenly they burst out of laughter which angered the high elf more. But before she could grab her staff and smash their skulls, Bell went to her direction and grabbed both of her hands.
"Um... Thank you so much for saving me, I know how much trouble I've cost you so please ask me anything you want and I'll do my best to fulfill your orders" Bell said with an apologetic smile, a smile that washed away all of Riveria's anger.
"Come closer"
HUG
"You are such a noble kid, Thank you but no. I don't like the idea of ordering you around so no, you're still recovering your stamina and it wouldn't help you if I ask you to do stuffs around here so you should just rest with your party members so we can all go back to the surface safely, okay?" Riveria said while smiling down at him.
This action of Riveria piqued both Finn and Gareth's curiosity.
"You think he's the one?" Gareth whispered to his friend.
"I think so too, I think he's the one we were looking for. The one who could open Riveria's heart"
"I think I'll go back now, they are probably awake now since it's been a while, they must have recovered as much as I did"
Bell then went outside and went to his party's own tent with Aiz while Aki went to the cooking area to prepare for dinner.
Night at Loki Familia's camp
"Everyone! as you can all see we have guests here, they are the brave adventurers who got here earlier today, I'm not saying that we should all be friends because I know some of you don't like the idea but please treat them with respect! that's all so let's eat" After the speech, Finn went to where Bell, Aiz Welf and Lili are.
"It's always so lively around you isn't it? It might not sound like one but I'm actually complimenting you" the braver said with a what can be described as a 'unsure' smile.
Tsubaki, the fellow smith and the captain of her and Welf's familia also joined the fray.
"SO! You are that Crabel Nell that Tiona was talking about! I heard that you are quite strong! would you like to have a sparring with me?" The half dwarf cyclops said while trying to almost choke the life out of her fellow smith Welf.
"Um... I think you've got the wrong person..." The white rabbit sweat dropped.
As the two of them starts talking about Bell's fight withthe minotaur, Aki then arrived with Riveria to sit closely beside Bell as well.
"Excuse me, aren't you two a bit too close to Bell-sama? Especially you Nine Hell-sama?" The pallum supporter pointed out with a unamused look on her face.
"What are saying? There is nothing wrong on sitting beside the person you think of as a friend right?" Riveria said while eyeing the supporter.
"She's right and besides, that's not how you show gratitude to the people who saved us" Welf added.
"He's right Lili, we should be thankful of them especially to Riveria-san since she's the one who healed our wounds while we are unconcious" Bell said after finishing his food.
"Don't worry about it you two, and I also know how miss supporter feels" Aki then proceeded to place her arm around Bell's shoulders which earned an angry look from Lili.
"You're jealous because you like him right? well I like him too you see?" but what is surprising is the high elf herself because she also said the same things.
"Hoh? What a coincidence I like him too, I like how humble he is even after breaking the record and how noble he is even at a very young age" This earned a surprised look even from Aiz who's silently eating her food to try to hide her jealousy.
"EEEHH!!?? PLEASE STOP TEASING ME!!" Bell then screamed while trying to not run away from the situation he's currently in.
A few minutes have passed and everyone have already finished their food when Bell suddenly heard a familiar voice screaming.
"!? no way!" Bell ran as fast as he could to try and confirm his suspicion and when he arrived at the floor entrance, he saw a familiar looking faces.
"Is that really you?"
A/N: Cut! That's it for now!
Thank you guys for reading this chapter, as you can see, I made some changes here and included some dialogue that you can see/hear in the DanMachi Memoria Freese game. Since I've been playing it now for almost 2 months, I've become really hooked on talking with Aki and Riveria whenever I got the chance.
Anyway as you can see, Lefiya haven't appeared yet on the story but don't worry she'll appear soon and I'm not going to bash her character like the SO anime did, seriously they didn't do her justice, so I'm gonna take her manga and light novel personality since she's a very interesting character there.
I think there is nothing major yet in the next chapter and as you can see,I'm taking it a bit slowly since I'm not used to writting a fanfic yet so please hold on, I'll fix it soon enough but for now that's all.
Thank you so much for all of your support! I really do appreciate it!
See you next week! Take care and always stay indoors!