Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Danmachi because if I did, Alise would still be alive.
Previously.
Alise brought Bell to her goddess after hearing his answer to the question "What is Justice?" Fascinated by how his answer is similar to hers and to her goddess, the young woman decided to take a gamble and introduced him to Astrea who didn't like the idea first before hearing his answer and sensing something special within the boy. Later, they celebrated his arrival as well as his birthday by holding a feast before retiring for the day leaving Bell and Astrea alone. The goddess saw this as an opportunity to finally give him her blessing and was surprised at the sight of him already possessing a skill.
Normal POV.
Bell sat down while clutching his status sheet towards his chest, happy to see that he could fulfill his promise to his mother a lot earlier than he thought possible. As tears ran down his cheeks, Astrea decided to give him a gentle pat on the shoulder.
"Bell, you can take your Status with you and proceed to your room. It is located on the left side of Alise's room." The goddess of justice gave him his key before escorting him out of her room. "If you are looking for your belongings, Alise has already placed it inside before locking it." She waved at him gently before closing her door and also retiring for the day.
Bell's tears have already stopped but his excitement is still there, his hands were shaking and his heart was still beating fast. He wants to test the potency of his skill, and how much does it accelerate his growth.
"It is tied with my emotions so as long as I keep on thinking about mom, I should be able to harness its full capabilities." The rookie adventurer placed his status inside his pocket before unlocking his room and was surprised how comfortable it looked, just like Astrea's and Alise's and possibly the other members as well.
It has a brown wooden ceiling with a chandelier full of magic stones inside. It has a fairly large looking wardrobe as well as drawers and cabinets where he can put some of his belongings, the floor has a huge red carpet with a golden symbol of his new Familia. Finally, his bed was quite large but not large enough to fit two people, though it is possible, they would have to be close to each other to make it possible. But for one person, it is more than enough space to possibly roll around during sleep.
"They are so nice to me, I wonder how I could repay their kindness." He whispered to himself before a voice of a woman called out to him from his window.
"Why don't you leave then to repay us?" Bell recognized her voice too well because of how she protested against him joining the Familia.
"Why do you hate me miss Ryuu?" The boy looked at the woman outside his balcony.
"It's not like I hate you, but I hate the fact that a renowned and pure goddess like Astrea-sama is living under the same roof with a filthy man like you. Though I noticed that you are not like any perverts I have met in the past, still it wouldn't hurt me to be wary of you. Let me give you a warning, don't ever try to touch our goddess or Alise. I tend to overdo things after all." After giving him a piece of her mind, Ryuu vanished leaving the rabbit all alone again.
"She really doesn't like me that much." He sighed before removing his shoes and retiring for the day.
The next morning came and he was pulled out of his dream by the sound of clashing swords. He immediately got up and went to his small balcony to look at the situation, thinking that they are under attack by criminals who hate his new Familia but relaxed when he saw that it was just Alise and Kaguya having a small sparring match.
"You know what Alise, you look pathetic last night. If only you could see yourself, you are literally drooling while sleeping on his lap. Not to mention your mumbling, I bet he was so turned off because of that!" Kaguya snorted as she continued to parry her captain's attack that slowly increased in ferocity.
"Really? I don't think so! I know I just met him but I can tell that he is the type of person who will be put off by something so trivial!" She smiled as she increased the power of her attacks once again forcing Kaguya to continue defending herself.
Bell smiled at Alise's impression of him before heading back inside his room and fetching a change of clothes. After a few seconds, he went down to the bathroom and was about to twist the knob before remembering that he is the only male member of their Familia.
Still, having no choice as there is only one large bath for everyone to go in, he knocked at the door a few times and after not receiving any response, he opened the door revealing a giant, nice and cozy cypress bath.
"Amazing..!" He said in awe after stepping out of the changing room.
Despite this being his first time in a far eastern bath, he knew the drill as he had already seen the proper way to take a bath in it from the picture books that Zeus drew for him.
First, he sat down on a stool in front of the large mirror before turning the faucet for the shower. Cleaning himself with the water, shampoo and body soap through before wrapping a towel around his waist and entering the large tub.
"Hahh... Is this my reward for enduring a hell of a week?" Bell sank lower into the hot water, relaxing himself. Unaware that a certain black haired woman has also entered the bath despite knowing he is in.
"You got here earlier than me? I commend you for that." Kaguya smirked at him.
After hearing her voice, all the color from his face immediately vanished before turning around, trying to not look at the beautiful figure of the woman behind him.
"Ara ara. Ufufu... I like your reaction. Can I ask for your help? I need someone to rub my back, and seeing that there is no one else in here beside you, I have no other choice. Come here!" The woman wrapped in nothing but a single piece of towel dragged him by his arm.
"B-But this is not something a guy like me should do! Can't you just ask someone else like Neze-san to do this!?" He protested but escaping the grasp of the Level 5 Far Eastern noble seemed impossible because no matter how strong he is even without Falna, he could never hope to match her when it comes to raw strength.
"Do you want others to think that you entered the bath with me? You would be digging your own grave, especially right now that Lionn is always observing you. Here, I'll remove my towel so you can scrub my back for me." He handed him the soap and the body scrub.
Much to his embarrassment, he couldn't deny that she was right. Ryuu would definitely kill him on the spot if she saw him right now in the bath with their vice captain who doesn't seem to care about his gender.
"Hah... That feels good..." She moaned which surprised Bell as the color of his face starts to get redder and redder by the passing second.
"Hey, can you do the front too?" She gave him a seductive look which drew the last straw from him before passing out with smokes coming from his head.
"Oops, I guess I went too hard on him." She smiled before washing off the soap from her body and wrapping a towel around her.
"It can't be helped, I'll just carry you to the changing room." She gave him a piggy back ride before placing him on the wooden floor inside the changing room, she then placed his head on her lap before gently stroking his hair.
A few minutes have passed and some girls including Ryuu have decided to take a bath but when they open the door, they are surprised by the sight of a sleeping rabbit and the princess brushing his white hair.
"KHH!!" Ryuu immediately drew her dagger and was about to dash towards the defenseless boy but was stopped by the tip of Kaguya's blade pointed at her throat.
"Stop, Lionn. This entire thing is my fault because I entered the bath knowing that he is already inside because I saw his clothes in one of our baskets. Sheath your weapon, but if you still want to assault him. I'll be your opponent." The samurai glared at the elf, her eyes have the ferocity of a snake about to devour its prey while Ryuu looks at her with a hint of disgust for entering the bath despite knowing that there is a male inside of it.
"Have you no shame? Despite being a member of Astrea Familia, you are still engaging in something so illicit!?" Ryuu shouted scaring off the other members.
"Don't lump me with you and your superiority complex Elf. I don't care if he is a boy or a girl, and we didn't do anything illicit. I was just playing a small prank, he just lost consciousness out of embarrassment. Eep!" She yelped as she felt ticklish on her thighs as Bell slowly shook his head.
"E-Eh? Where am I? I remember Kaguya-san asking me to scrub her back and then everything from that point seems hazy..." He slowly sat up while holding his head trying to remember the reason he passed out but when he looked around, he saw Kaguya pointing her blade towards Ryuu.
"What's going on!? Please don't fight!" He tried to get in between both of them, but was stopped by Kaguya pulling his towel which led to a much bigger accident.
"Stop! You-ah." The far eastern noble's jaw dropped as the towel slowly fell down revealing everything that Bell has to offer to everyone present.
"E-e-e... KEDAMONO!!!!!!(Beast)" The elven warrior screamed out of pure embarrassment which made Bell pass out for the second time.
"..!!" Bell woke up in his room, completely aware of what happened before he passed out unlike before, he scanned the room and saw no one inside.
"I wonder how I am supposed to face everyone right now..." He covered his red face with both of his hands out of embarrassment before curling into a ball. Wishing that he could just disappear right now for being such a pervert.
"Bell! I'm coming in!" Alise knocked before twisting the knob, entering his room with her full equipment on. Her voice with a slight hint of anger in it.
"S-SORRY!! I PROMISE I WILL LEAVE IMMEDIATELY PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!" He hid under the covers fearing the wrath of Alise which turned out to be a ruse as she started to giggle softly before sitting at the edge of his bed.
"I'm just joking, I am not mad at you Bell. I heard the whole story from Celty, though I wish I didn't especially the last part." Alise turned away out of embarrassment. "Anyway, Lyra came up with a solution that she wants to discuss with all of us. Lady Astrea also wants to have a word with you so come with me and let's have breakfast." She smiled before extending her hand towards the boy which he gladly took before being led downstairs by his captain who is still holding his hand despite him not gripping hers.
"We're here. Sorry for the wait everyone, Bell you can sit beside me." She ushered him as they sat down at the round dining table.
They discussed how they should put a sign to avoid another accident like earlier even though Kaguya took all the blame. Still despite everyone agreeing, Ryuu is still angry at him not because of touching Kaguya but because of what she saw earlier.
"I guess that's all wrapped up. Captain, if you will."
"Everyone, let's eat!" Alise raised her glass water and gave everyone the signal.
After finishing their breakfast, everyone decided to do their own things. Some went out to earn some money in the dungeon, some went out to patrol while the others went out to maintain their weapons and armors leaving a few members around either training down at the yard or reading books inside their room or the library.
"I guess I'll go to the dungeon too."
"Wait Bell, we still need you to get registered to the guild before venturing to the dungeon. I'll accompany you since this is your first time going there as well as to be the proof that you really do belong to our Familia." Kaguya stood beside him with a small smile before receiving a nod from Bell.
The two went out and immediately, Kaguya apologized for her actions earlier.
"Sorry, I didn't expect the situation to escalate into that. To be honest, I was actually testing you earlier. I want to make sure that you are not just pretending to be an innocent boy who will later try to take advantage of our girls especially the gentle ones like Celty. Alise, I and Lionn especially love the girls so much that she would kill any man who would dare to touch them."
"It's fine. It is perfectly logical for you to do so, after all I am just a random guy that Alise-san managed to pick up. Of course anyone would get suspicious if a male suddenly made it in your Familia especially an elf like her." I shook my head as I apologized instead because of how much trouble I have caused on my second day.
"You're so kind. We're here, this is the guild."
Bell looked at the large building as well as the large amount of people entering and exiting. He was so surprised to see all types of races gathered in such a place while talking to each other with smiles on their faces.
"Let's go in." Kaguya walked in front of him as she guided him towards the counter before asking for a registration sheet.
"Hello lady Kaguya. How may I help you today? A half elf with short brown hair, green eyes and glasses greeted them.
"I would like to register this boy as a member of Astrea Familia." Everybody went silent as soon as she said those words. No one could believe what they just heard from the captain of the prestigious Familia.
"Um. Could you please repeat that? I'm afraid that I didn't hear it correctly."
"I said. I want to register him in our Familia. Do you hear? Register. Him. In. Our. Familia." She made it clear for all to hear that the young man beside him is a special case.
"A-Alright, here please fill this up sir!" She handed him a white sheet of paper.
After filling up the registration sheet, the half elf introduced herself as Eina Tulle. The woman then asked if Bell wanted an advisor or not since he can go down without one, being a member of a large Familia like Astrea's means that other members with higher experience than him can teach him instead.
"Hm... I'll have one please. My Familia is often busy terminating illegal activities and crimes around Orario so I doubt I'll be able to ask them for information all the time..." Bell remembered Alfia's words to take everything he could and gather as much information as he could.
"Mom said that many things could happen inside the dungeon in more than 10 years. That's why I need every information I can gather from everyone around, I can't go inside the dungeon without modern knowledge."
"Alright, please wait here. I'll go get you a dungeon advisor shortly." The half elf bowed before disappearing behind the counter.
As Bell and Kaguya waited for his dungeon advisor to appear, Kaguya couldn't help but wonder the extent of his power. Despite knowing that he has been trained at a very young age and has an aura of a skilled fighter, she's still wondering how he would fare as a fresh adventurer if she decides to bring him down lower, possibly towards the 5th floor. She has nothing to do today anyway so she might just accompany and watch him fight to measure his skills.
"Hi, I'm sorry for the wait. My name is Mei, from today onwards I would be your dungeon advisor. A pleasure to meet you." A young woman probably around the same age as Kaguya emerged that screams of far eastern vibe.
Which was confirmed when Kaguya greeted her with a wave and a smile.
"Well this is interesting, I didn't know that Astrea-sama has started accepting male adventurers in her Familia." The woman with long dark purple hair smiled at Bell which made the boy blush a little bit. She is a very attractive woman, she looks so gentle and kind. She also feels like the type of person who will pamper those she likes.
"I think it's all thanks to Alise-san. I really didn't do anything special." He scratched the back of his head as he smiled shyly.
After asking him what type of beginner's equipment he would like, he easily chose a light armor with a breast plate and bracers. But when they got to the weapon section, Bell couldn't find a weapon of his taste because he was too afraid that he might break it on the first day.
"Bell, it's fine. Let's just pay for the armor, I'll just lend you one of my weapons later." Kaguya smiled at the boy before proceeding to the counter and paying for his equipment. Bell was about to protest but after remembering that he doesn't have a single valis with him right now he just let it slide for the moment.
"Thank you Kaguya-san, I'll pay you back later."
"No need stupid, just don't die on me on your first day. I won't let it happen though." She smirked as they went out of the establishment.
The two walked in silence while heading towards the Babel where the dungeon is located.
Shortly, they arrived at the first floor where Kaguya gave him one of her weapons. The Kodachi Futaba.
"You think you can use these?"
"I am not familiar with Far Eastern weapons but I'll see what I can do." He nodded after receiving the two short swords.
"Here they come, be ready." Kaguya alerted him as she heard the small footsteps of a group of goblins.
"Yes." Bell exhaled, focusing his gaze before he heightened his senses to the point that his ears were ringing and his body could sense where they were going to come.
Bell immediately ran towards the group of goblins, there were 4 in total and they were surprised when the boy appeared in front of them in a blink of an eye.
As Bell massacred the poor goblins, Kaguya watched him with a passive look. She knows that with the level of his skill, these types of opponents will pose no threat to him.
"Alright, how do you say we clear this floor and proceed down?" She asked after he finished butchering the remaining goblin.
"I don't really want to rush it but if you think it's fine, I'll go."
"It's fine dummy, these types of opponents won't even make you sweat." She smiled as she walked beside the boy while he killed every monster he could see.
They were already at the entrance of the 2nd floor until a Kobold suddenly jumped on Bell, much to his surprise but he immediately recovered from it and pushed the monster away from him before drawing his swords.
"Enhanced? That's a surprise but I doubt he will have any trouble with it." She sat down at one of the rocks while watching Bell engage against the Enhanced Kobold.
It was twice as fast and the color of its skin is slightly darker than the normal one. But with the boy's skills, he didn't have any trouble tracking its movements before delivering a killer counter to it.
The two of them went down until the fourth floor where Bell decided to stop descending since he didn't want to get carried away exploring too much despite knowing that he could still keep going which left a disappointed but somewhat satisfied Kaguya.
"It's nice to see you being cautious and all but don't underestimate your skills. I can tell that you are as strong as a fresh level 2, these floors should be a piece of cake for you." She crossed her arms before they reached the surface where they were blinded by the bright sun especially Bell as this is his first time diving into the dungeon and returning to the bright surface.
"Now, shall we head back to the guild and exchange your magic stones?"
The two traveled through the crowded main road of Orario with large numbers of people either about to go to the dungeon or those who just came back like them before reaching the guild.
After obtaining his Valis, he returned the swords to its owner. Smiling, the far eastern woman took one of the swords before pushing the other one back to Bell.
"Keep it, I'm lending it to you. You need your weapon to keep up with your level of skills, also it's my token of appreciation to your display of mastery despite not being used to Nitoryu." The woman flipped her long hair and smiled softly, reminding Bell how beautiful she is.
"Thank you. I promise to take care of this until I can finally afford to buy my own weapon." He clutched the sword close to his chest before following Kaguya.
Shortly after Bell and Kaguya made it back, other members also started coming home that evening after finishing their own errands and patroling.
But when they saw Kaguya's weapon strapped on Bell's hip immediately started a few gossips, this also caught the attention of Alise who eyed Bell before smiling playfully.
"Maaann... I also want to go on a dungeon date with Bell too just like Kaguya!!" Alise joked which made most of the members including Bell himself blush.
The others were not used to having a male around them especially inside their home all the time, so being close to them never crossed their minds except Iska who is an amazon and was used to man before entering the Familia.
"Oy Kedamono. If I ever hear you taking advantage of any of our members, I'll cut your disgusting THING you hear me!?" Ryuu said trying to act menacing but the blush on her face says that she still hasn't erased the image of his beast inside her head.
The Familia had dinner that night at a pub called the Hostess of Fertility that was found right beside the guild which Bell didn't notice when he was walking earlier with Kaguya.
"Mama Mia! The guests with reservations have finally arrived!" A woman with brown shoulder length hair announced as the group entered the establishment.
"W-Wow, it's full!" The boy said in awe as every seat was occupied by adventurers, still in their equipment.
"I-Is that the rumored male who managed to join Astrea Familia!?" As soon as they saw him, he instantly became the topic of every person's conversation inside the pub. Making him wish that he didn't go instead.
"Bell, it's alright. Even if someone tries to assault you or harass you, we will protect you." The goddess of justice patted his shoulder and smiled at him before asking him to sit beside her, a place which usually belonged to Alise since she is the captain.
"Alright since Kaguya got him for the whole day, I'll take the seat beside him tonight!" Alise grinned and was soon followed by the other members of their familia sitting at the large round table at the center of the pub.
"We will have the usual Lunor!" Alise raised her hand to get the attention of her waitress friend.
"Coming up!" The girl answered back.
The girls chatted out while Bell was just sitting down, embarrassment by being the topic of everyone's conversation aside from his Familia as well as the fact that he is the only male inside a Familia full of wonderful and beautiful girls.
"I might be grandpa's grandson but I am not particularly good in these types of situations..." He whispered to himself.
"What are you saying Bell? You should be proud that everyone acknowledges you!" The crimson haired woman said while putting her arm on his shoulders.
"Yeah yeah, not everyone is like you Alise. I don't know how you can always stay so energetic despite being the center of attention." Kaguya said unamused before taking a sip of her beer.
"Here's your order!"
A waitress with long black hair tied in a side ponytail brought their order, dancing around and evading her co-workers gracefully before placing the two large trays on their table.
"Enjoy your meal!"
"Working part time again Mikoto-san?" Ryuu smiled at the raven haired girl.
"Oh no, I just don't have anything better to do. Also, I can't really refuse Chloe's begging this time." She immediately went back to work after that as we began eating our dinner.
"I don't feel like drinking right now, I'll just have some orange juice like Bell." Celty, another elf member and the one who saw things unfold in the bathroom said.
"Sorry for barging in and for you know.." She said slightly embarrassed by what she saw earlier but not as much as Ryuu.
"I-It's fine, I am also to blame for not being able to escape Kaguya-san."
"That's impossible, you know even though I am stronger than her, there are times I can't escape from her especially when she wants me to finish my paperwork!" Alise added before receiving a smack on the head from Kaguya.
"That's because I'm so pissed off. You're so lazy when it comes to doing important things, be responsible for once will you?" The samurai huffed before chugging another mug of beer down to her throat.
After eating their fill, the whole familia paid for their food before leaving the establishment and going home for the night.
Lyra who hasn't spoken that much since the night has two things in mind. First was how to earn more money on time for their next Expedition next week and the other is if they should bring Bell with them.
"I can't risk his life after he just joined our Familia yesterday but I can't take what Kaguya said earlier out of my head. If he's really stronger than usual, should we bring him despite being level 1? Without proper experience of what's beyond the upper floors?" She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers repeatedly, trying to think of what to do.
"Something wrong?" Astrea moved closer to the pallum.
"E-oh nothing, I was just wondering what we should do to Bell next week. We can't really just take him with us on the expedition after just joining our Familia, but I also can't erase the fact that Kaguya rarely acknowledges someone unless they are incredibly skilled." The pink haired girl tilted her head, still trying to figure out what to do.
"Why not? You know what, I'll tell you a secret that I've been keeping. But that is if Bell is fine with me telling you about it of course."
To say that Lyra was curious is an understatement. What is he hiding from everyone besides Astrea? Did he come from a family blessed by the spirits? Maybe, or maybe something else.
As soon as they came home, the girls immediately went upstairs to finally rest and get ready for their day tomorrow.
The same goes for Bell who only drank water before heading towards his room and changing into a much more comfortable pants and a tank top which displayed his well toned body.
After laying for a few minutes, despite being tired, he couldn't sleep and decided to head out and walk around the manor.
And as he was walking downstairs, he heard a voice from the living room, slowly walking towards it, he saw Alise with her hair down clad in white dress, singing under the moonlight coming from the windows.
"Say my name when a tree susurrates
Once and again telling a story lost in time
The way it starts and the way it ends
Never again making up stories in dismay
With several starts, but just one end
Ah, how I long to embrace
The future breaking out of shades from the past
Still ablaze"
Bell stared wide eye at her as he heard her gentle and beautiful voice give life to the lyrics of the unfamiliar song, he knew nothing of what she was singing, yet he was captivated by it.
He just watched her twirl around while singing happily, her hair dancing every time she moves and turns around, which looks so stunning. As if his eyes were glued on her.
"I'm really not good at singing. Don't you think so too Bell?" She turned around to him, as if she knew that he's been there for a while now.
"I-I..."
"It's fine, I know it. No need to console me!" She said small smile while averting her gaze.
"Alise-san, the reason I couldn't come up with an answer is because I think that your voice was really beautiful, not just your voice. You also look very beautiful, especially when you are singing and dancing like earlier... And when you smile, and when you are having fun!"
Bell's heart and mind raced as soon as those words left his mouth.
"What am I saying!? " He screamed internally, trying to come up with an excuse to leave until he saw Alise, blushing cutely with her mouth slightly opening and closing.
"R-really? You think I look good when I dance..?" She placed both of her hands in front of her chest. Despite proclaiming how beautiful she is, the girl was actually weak frrom other's compliment. But for some reason, Bell's words made it much harder for her to form words.
This is the first time Bell saw her acting like a pure and shy maiden, because of her usual strong and lively personality, Bell always thought that she is cute but this is on a different level compared to that.
"E-Excuse me! Good night Alise-san! Sorry for disturbing you!" He ran back towards his room, flushed down to his toes and his heart still beating fast.
The image of the blushing Alise won't leave his head nor her beautiful voice when she sings. She looks dazzling and her voice sounded out of this world. He always thought that Alfia's voice can't be topped by anyone else but...
"I'm going crazy..." He said while laying down to his bed.
That night, both Alise and Bell didn't get any sleep and came down with huge bags under their eyes making everyone wonder what happened last night except for Astrea who was giggling as she saw everything unfold from the kitchen.
A/N: Hello! Thanks for reading another chapter of my crappy work!
The song that Alise sang was the theme song of Honkai Impact 3rd's PV "Because of You" that featured the 13 flame chasers defeating the Herrscher of Corruption.
As for Alise's voice. I don't know if she could actually sing, it's just me being a huge simp.
For those who are confused of the upload chapter not appearing yesterday or the other day(I don't remember). I accidently posted this and deleted it after noticing.
Anyway, see you guys next week again for the new chapter! For fellow writers out there, if you are reading this PLEASE CREATE MORE BELL X ALISE FANFIC!!!!! THIS GIRL NEEDS MORE LOVE!!!