A fine morning to y'all!!! So far, my story has grown quite popular in such a short time, my notifications are bombarded with follows and favorites every few hours hehe, I didn't think that there would be so many suckers for a rabbit and an elf getting together hehe. Also, I would like to answer a review from @Temsen, for the first question about them trusting the words of a stranger, Bell would do that, he seems to be the kind of person who dives first into shit first, then think about it later... as for Lefiya, plot convenience hehe. Also, I'm not caught up in the Sword Oratoria light novel, so I'm not sure if Revis died or not, I made a quick google search and saw her status was deceased... yet I couldn't find any supporting information, so I'll keep her alive here, also, if she was defeated by Ais as a level six... of course she'll get stronger by eating more monster crystals in the meantime. Hopefully this didn't seem like an asspull haha, I am deeply grateful that you took the time out of your day to review this crappy story of mine, a big thanks to everyone who even decided that my story was worth reading in the first place, love you all :3. Without further ado...
I do not own Danmachi
Chapter IX: Withdrawal
Dejected and with low morale, the expedition group discontinued the expedition and were now currently heading back towards the surface, groans and mumblings of disapproval and/or frustration could be heard from many as they trudged back towards the surface, it had only been two days since the Loki Familia expedition officially started, to head back towards the surface would be publicly shameful for the Loki Familia and it's allies, yet they were left with little choice
It had been around six hours since the expedition had turned back from the eighteenth floor and worked their way up back to the surface, with Goliath being recently slain, they were able to pass the seventeenth floor without issue and breeze through the upper floors in the span of a few hours, they were now currently on the middle of the seventh floor, many of the members of the expedition force were exhausted from the constant and intensive exertion of pushing the carts
The executives of the Loki Familia had ultimately decided that the expedition would best be rescheduled for another time, with Evilus running amok once again, they had decided to play it safe and fold lest they walk into a trap they're completely unprepared for
At the very front of the retreating expedition was Finn, who bit his aching thumb as he walked, ever since they had come to the decision of abandoning the expedition for another day, his thumb acted up again, but this time was different, it ached like never before
'This can't be good...'
-Flashback-
The executives of the Loki Familia, plus one Bell Cranel, now crowded the Braver tent, they all stood in front of a table and were now currently discussing their findings and were now plotting their next move, they were unsure of whether to continue the expedition, some of them were hesitant on continuing onwards as they feared they might walk into another trap Evilus may have prepared, and probably one that they won't see coming from a mile away, yet the others pressed that Evilus won't try anything again so soon after their plans have been foiled
The discussion wasn't getting anywhere, with retorts and rebuttals being thrown around, they have made little progress in actually deciding on their next move, meanwhile the rest of the Loki Familia members patiently yet anxiously awaited the final verdict of the executives of the Familia of whether the expedition will still proceed or not
We now cut to the interior of the Braver tent where fierce discussion and debate was now ongoing
"I told you! It's a terrible idea to test our luck and risk getting caught in a trap!"
Bete barked out at the whining Tiona, who was shaking in excitement at the thought of fighting strong monsters should the expedition resume, this caused her to glare at the werewolf
"I also told you! You can stay back if you're scared Bete!"
She teased the werewolf, which made a vein pop out of his left temple
"Hah?! The hell you say you shitty amazon?!"
He was prepared to smack the living daylights out of the amazon who was sticking her tongue out at him when Gareth held out a beefy arm in between the werewolf and the amazoness
"Stop it you two! We're not getting anywhere with all this bantering!"
His rich, masculine voice bellowed out, which caused them both to cease their banter, the werewolf let out a small 'tch' on the side
"Finn... what's your take on this?"
Gareth addressed the prum, who rubbed circles on his temples to nurse a minor headache from all their back-and-forth which wasn't really getting anywhere
"Honestly, I'm also quite torn on whether we should continue with this expedition or should we abandon it just to be safe..."
The prum captain of the Loki Familia released a deep sigh as he rubbed circles on his forehead, attempting to nurse the headache he had, Gareth, who was behind the prum, stood still with his eyes closed, deep in thought
"It's a very risky move to continue on with the expedition at this rate..."
Riveria sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, a habit of the high elf whenever a stressful situation presents itself
"It's probably a bit too late to turn back now..."
Ais trailed off, she had yet to say anything up until this point
"I agree with Ais! I've been anticipating this expedition for so long!"
Tiona bellowed out, but was quickly shut down by Bete
"Tch! Shut it you dumb amazon! That's not the issue here!"
He barked at the dark-skinned woman, only to receive a glare coupled with a pout in return
"Captain... I think that we should head back... knowing that Evilus is running amok again doesn't sit well with me..."
Tione admitted, which the captain nodded at
"As well I, Tione, but we still need to hear a certain someone's opinion before we settle the matter for good..."
He trailed off, his gaze falling towards a certain white haired adventurer
As he was one of the parties that were directly concerned, it was crucial to hear the boy's thoughts on the matter, the prum was hoping that the boy would shed more light on the matter and bring forward any crucial information that they could use to weigh in on their decision. Either way, the vote of Bell Cranel will bear the most weight in their decision to either push forward with the expedition, or to turn back and abandon the expedition for another day
"Hmm... what do you think about this? Bell Cranel?"
Finn addressed the boy, who stood silent beside Ais, he also had yet to say anything
A pregnant silence hung in the air, increasing the anticipation and anxiousness of those present, they were all now intently awaiting the boy's two cents on the matter
Then, he finally spoke...
"I think we should head back..."
The entire room was once again silent, they were waiting for the boy to expound on his decision
"I also honestly have got a bad feeling about all of this... I overheard from the woman that Evilus is targeting the Loki Familia specifically, there's no telling what else they've set up and frankly... I don't want to find out, I don't know... I could be wrong and there's actually nothing awaiting us down the lower floors, but I honestly don't want to risk it... so I believe that the wisest option for us would be to turn back and postpone the expedition for another time..."
As soon as the last word came out of his mouth, the tent fell into a deep silence as all present mulled over the boy's words
"I can sympathize with your opinion, Bell Cranel..."
The prum captain admitted, then immediately steeled his gaze befitting that of a leader
"But! Just so that we're fair here, how about we settle the matter with a vote?"
Finn suggested, which all present nodded in agreement, deciding that it was fair for everybody's opinion to be at least considered
"Who are in favor of turning back now and postponing the expedition for another day?"
Finn, Riveria, Tione, Bete and Bell all raised their hands
He didn't even need to ask for those in agreement of the second option, the vote was decided
"I assume you three would rather prefer we continue the expedition?"
Tiona and Ais solemnly nodded as Gareth kept silent
Finn gave them a small smile
"I'm sorry but the decision to turn back was decided by the majority, thus we will turn back and decide on another day for the expedition to resume..."
Both Tiona and Ais let out a deep sigh, both have been extremely excited for the expedition since it was first announced, Gareth simply stared at Finn in silence, respecting the prum's decision but wasn't too thrilled by it, he reminded himself that Familia came first before personal interests
With the matter settled and a verdict realized, Finn adjourned all those present, slowly the Braver tent got emptier, then the prum finally stepped outside himself and called upon the rest of the Familia to gather around
Once they were gathered, he bellowed out in a strong voice the decision reached by the executives. Many voiced out their disappointment and frustrations with groans, some even explicitly opposed the decision
"But Captain! Turning back now would be demoralizing!"
Alicia cried out, she had been excited for the expedition as she was at the brink of leveling up, she just needed that extra oomph which she had hoped that the expedition will provide her
"I understand your concern Alicia... but the safety of the Familia is of utmost priority! We mustn't risk walking into a trap set by Evilus"
Finn explained to the indignant elf, which seemed to work as her shoulders slightly slumped and her ears drooped, she wasn't happy with the decision but ultimately accepted it
"Now, I want you all to gather your things as soon as you can! We head out in an hour!"
Seeing that the prum's decision was final, the crowd dispersed and immediately went to pack up their things, dejected with the development of the situation
-End of flashback-
Slowly but surely, the expedition made their way back to the surface, low-level monsters who got too close were quickly dealt with by the low-level members of the Loki Familia, they couldn't go much faster due to all the bulky carts of supplies that were rendering their mobility cumbersome
Conversation wasn't all too prevalent within the ranks due to the glum atmosphere, most preferred to remain silent, grieving the discontinuation of the expedition they had all been waiting for for so long. Yet, there were some who, despite the sullen atmosphere, pushed back against it with lively chatter
One of them would be a certain white haired boy and a stout dwarf from the Loki Familia, who were engaged in lighthearted conversation
"Yer a promising one lad, you know that? What do ye' plan on doin' in the future other than adventurin'?"
Gareth asked after letting out a hearty belly laugh
"I don't really know Gareth-san... All I've ever thought about was how cool it would be to be a hero and slay monsters in the dungeon while saving a damsel in distress or two..."
The boy admitted, earning another hearty laugh from the stout dwarf
"To be honest lad... that's what I used to look forward to in the dungeon too... them ladies love a strong man don't they?"
He comically flexed his bulky muscles, which the boy chuckled at, Bell had honestly thought that he could never get along with the high-ranking members of such a prestigious familia, how could he? They were worlds beyond him, but he was pleasantly surprised to find out that they were such down-to-earth and friendly people
"Well don't sweat it lad! Yer still a young one, plenty o' time to think about what ye' want to do in the future"
Gareth responded, as cool as a sage would speak
Something then suddenly came up to Bell's mind
"Gareth-san... may I request permission to break formation? I need to go check on Lefiya-san..."
Gareth raised an eyebrow at his question, he was about to say something about his peculiar request but decided against it
"Permission granted lad, the most we'd be worried about at this point would be lowly goblins and war shadows... off with you now"
He shooed Bell away, who gave the dwarf a thankful smile as he turned around and ran off towards the second battalion where the mages were stationed
'Does the young lad perhaps fancy young Lefiya?'
.
.
...
.
.
Lefiya had been staring blankly ahead whilst she walked, trapped in her own head as she contemplated the events of the previous day
Ever since the expedition had mobilized, she had been silent and reserved for the entire time, participating in very little conversation with fellow familia members, on the rare occasion that she did, she gave out rigid answers that wouldn't lead to further conversation and once the conversation had inevitably died down... she immediately returned to keeping her thoughts to herself until something snaps her out of it temporarily, this had unnerved the other Loki Familia members, particularly those who were close to and familiar with the young elf
"Lefiya, will you tell me what's on your mind? You've been uncharacteristically quiet for a while..."
Elfy Collette, a fellow mage of the Loki Familia asked, she was deeply concerned for her friend, who was usually vivacious and was frequently one to strike up friendly chat
"Hm? Oh Elfy... it's nothing, just thinking..."
Lefiya gave her an ambiguous answer, which made the woman's eyebrows furrow in frustration, she ultimately decided to leave her friend be, any attempt at getting the elf to vent what's on her mind has been evaded by her
A few fellow familia members also had tried to talk to the absent-minded elf, only to receive short, curt and rigid answers from her, which effectively cut off any further attempt at conversation
Thus, the others just decided to give the elf some space in order to let her sort out her thoughts on her own
'Evilus is on the move again... what are they planning to do now?'
'Was heading back the right choice? Or did we make a mistake in turning back?'
'What does Ais-san think about this?'
Her thoughts then led her to a certain blonde haired sword princess
'Ais-san was really troubled by the thought of having to fight the woman again...'
'She seems to be even stronger than the last time we fought, this could be bad'
Her fists clenched hard, unbeknownst to the young elf
'If only I were stronger! Then... then...!'
She then thought about the boy she had just saved, and had saved her in return
'Speaking of... had I arrived just a bit later...'
Lefiya's eyebrows furrowed at the thought as she shook her head vehemently, she didn't want to admit it to herself but she considered Bell a friend, despite the elf's extroverted self, calling somebody a friend was not such a trivial thing for the elf... she may be amicable with most people, but only actively consider a select few her dear companions.
'That Bell Cranel... I had to save his behind this time... though he also saved me in exchange...'
Speak of the devil, the object of her thoughts decided to appear out of nowhere and strike up a conversation with her
"Good morning Lefiya-san!"
He suddenly made his presence known to her, which startled the poor elf that was lost in her thoughts
"Gah! Bell Cranel?! Don't just creep up on me like that!"
She admonished the boy for his apparent lack of tact, to which he cutely tilted his head at the elf in confusion
"Whatever do you mean Lefiya-san? Didn't you see me walking straight towards you for a while now?"
The elf had no response to that, she was so deeply lost in her own thoughts that she nigh-completely shut off the outside world
"Oh... excuse me then..."
She coughed into her hand, and cleared her throat audibly
"So... what did you want?"
She asked the boy, as he smiled congenially at her
"I just wanted to have a talk with you, if that's fine with you?"
He asked as he flashed her a congenial smile, which caused a bit of blood to rush into her face
"Wh-what about?"
She stammered out, which the boy found odd but decided against pointing it out
"Well... I just wanted to thank you for saving my behind yesterday... I don't want to think about what would've happened if you didn't got there in time..."
He gave her a small, solemn smile
"As do I, but you also saved me you know?"
She gave him a look, which he laughed at awkwardly
"Haha... I guess I did..."
He scratched the back of his head, a weird idiosyncrasy of the boy when he was praised
"How are your injuries Lefiya-san?"
The boy asked in a concerned voice, which caused a bit of pink to appear on the maiden elf's face
"I-I'm fine now!"
She stuttered out as she looked away, she couldn't hold eye contact with the boy after she had witnessed his concerned look
"I-I should be the one asking you that! You received far worse injuries than I have!"
She reprimanded him on how reckless he'd been, fighting against such a strong opponent all alone, to which he could only laugh awkwardly
Seeing as the time was ripe, Lefiya had decided to ask the boy a crucial question that had been on her mind for a while
"How?"
She started
"Lefiya-san?"
"How were you able to ruthlessly pummel her like that after sustaining such serious injuries? Where did such strength come from?"
She asked the boy, which looked up into the sky, seemingly in thought
"Hmm... well, the only thing that went on in my mind at the time was how she had hurt you... and I couldn't have that!"
The way both of his fists clenched tightly after he uttered those words with a clenched jaw enraptured the young elf, which immediately caused her face to explode in crimson, she had to turn her face away lest he inquire about her why she was so red, his unexpected confession caught her off guard
"W-wh-what?! W-why would you possibly hold me in such high regard like that?"
She stammered out, but the boy laughed congenially
"Well... even if you used to belittle and insult me in the past, I still consider you a person dear to me!"
He may have neglected to think about the possible implications of his words... such was the tragedy of the boy named Bell Cranel
The effects were instantaneous, Lefiya's face got even redder as she misunderstood the boy's words, much to said boy's confusion at her squirming and fidgeting figure, a few fellow familia members who overheard the exchange squealed out, happy for the elf
"Oh my goodness! Rabbit's Foot and our dear Lefiya?!"
One female squealed out
"I didn't know they were a thing!"
A male said, to which the others nodded, they also thought that both of them were an item
Murmurs began to be heard, circling throughout the Loki Familia members, much to the Lefiya's shock and horror
"Y-you idiot!!! Don't say such things that could be misunderstood!!!"
She screeched at the boy, loud enough for most of the people around them to overhear, which made him raise an eyebrow at her
"What do you mean Lefiya-san? I meant what I said so what is there to misunderstand?"
Oh... may god bless this poor boy's naive soul
'This guy...!!!'
Lefiya groaned into her hand, sighing in defeat, one part of her wanted to die out of sheer embarrassment, but another part... a more honest part of the elf was ecstatic at knowing that the boy considered her a dear friend
'Perhaps he's not such a bad person after all...'
Seeing that the conversation skidded due to the sudden revelation from the boy, she hurriedly decided to change the subject lest any more weird rumors start going around
"A-anyway... how did you even wind up in such a situation to begin with?"
She inquired the boy, her cheeks were still pink
"Oh... well, after leaving Tsubaki-san's forge, I went for a walk around Rivira to kill some time, after a while of looking around and finding nothing noteworthy to do... I got hungry and decided to head over to a pub and order a meal, when I sat down, a robed man who introduced himself as Brio Mue, asked me if I was Rabbit's Foot..."
She perked up at the mention of the robed man's name, which was something he noticed mid-sentence
"You've met him too?"
She asked, much to the boy's surprise
"Indeed I have... you too?"
She nodded, now he was beginning to piece together the pieces on how she ended up finding him fighting the red haired woman in the first place...
"We'll talk about that later... so after I introduced myself to him, he told me that he had a job for me..."
Lefiya furrowed her eyebrows at the boy's words, she was seriously starting to think that the man set the boy up...
"Before you say that he set me up, I'll tell you that I fully believe that he didn't for reasons I can't really talk about..."
His firm gaze extinguished any intent of the elf in attempting to pry it out of him, seeing that nothing will get him to talk about the matter, she let it go and continued listening to the boy
"Anyway... he told me that he had a reward for me should I be successful..."
Bell held out the necklace he'd been wearing since they resumed the expedition
-Flashback-
A few hours before the expedition force was due to resume their trudgetowards their destination... Bell had decided to meet with Brio to report his findings to the man, finding him in the same location where they had originally met, he walked up to him, greeted him a fine morning and after looking around to make sure that nobody was clandestinely eavesdropping, spoke in a hushed voice to the robed man
"I did the job Mue-san..."
The robed man didn't speak, but merely nodded his robed head curtly in agreement
"I have a guess on how it went... but do humor me"
He inquired, having overheard from a few fellow adventurers that there were sounds of intense combat within the forest, and a few even caught a glimpse of a feverishly running and severely injured Rabbit's Foot carrying an unconscious and also injured elven girl
Bell released a deep sigh he unknowingly held and started
"You were right... I found these weird transparent orbs buried sloppily into the ground, they had some sort of monster inside them... I could feel the power pulsating in it, worse, I found more than one... they were all scattered around the vicinity, then I had a run-in with a red haired woman, I was able to beat her with some help, but I couldn't pursue her any further or interrogate her properly, she did say that Evilus was planning on wiping out the Loki Familia with those monsters being incubated inside the orbs, I asked Finn-san about it... and he told me that those things were called Demi-Spirits?"
He finished his briefing with a question, which the man shrugged his head in the negative
"First time I've heard of these 'Demi-Spirits'... sure you want to be telling me such sensitive information?"
Brio asked him in a lighthearted jest, which the boy laughed at
"I trust you with this... Mue-san"
The robed man raised an eyebrow at the boy
"I don't wanna earn your distrust or anything kid... but I'd advise you not to trust a stranger so easily, you never know who the hell they could be"
Brio explained as if it was the most natural thing in the world, but the white haired boy simply gave the man a look
"I don't think distrusting people from the beginning will get you anywhere with them..."
He quietly retorted, which the man gave a light laugh at
"Kid, much better to distrust than to mistrust, ya hear?"
He spoke in a dark tone that hinted betrayal in the past
Bell could only be silent and mull over the robed man's words, he didn't necessarily agree with the man about distrusting every stranger you meet, but he knew that the man had a point, even if it was a bit of an excessive measure
"I'll keep it in mind, Mue-san"
He knew that that was all he was getting from the boy, so Brio let the topic go, with a sigh, he shoved a meaty hand into the pocket of his robe
"Well... I did say I'd have something for you after..."
He suddenly started, rummaging through his pockets for a certain object, Bell was fixated on the man, interested in what he had for him
Then, Brio pulled out a necklace from his pocket, suspended by a silver chain, at the center was an emerald so intoxicatingly beautiful that you could stare at it for days and not get enough of the beauty of the gem, surrounding and encapsulating the beautiful gem was a solid casing of silver, with intricate ornaments and embellishments carved around the luxurious item, adding to its sophistication
Bell was fixated on the item, admiring its splendor
"Here... all yours kid"
He pushed the piece of jewelry onto the boy's hesitant hands, vehemently refusing to accept such a valuable item
"I insist... unless you're also refusing the little Vouivre?"
Hearing Brio mention Wiene, Bell momentarily stopped resisting the item as he was stunned by the man's revelation
"This is... from Wiene?"
He trailed off as the man sighed, a habit he'd been doing frequently recently
"Yeah... told me that some guy named Fels gave it to her, said to her that it's to be handed to you and that it had a protection charm of some sort... I don't really know anything else about it..."
He shrugged as he finally succeeded it handing the ornate piece of jewelry to the boy, who hesitantly took it
"I... well, if its from Fels then I guess I have no other choice than to take it then..."
Bell knew the adjutant of Ouranos well enough to surmise that this piece of jewelry served a purpose greater than simply being a luxurious accessory
Brio nodded at the boy before he suddenly got up from his seat
"Well then... 'til we meet again Rabbit's Foot"
The man nodded curtly at the boy before he slowly made his way out of the Mistress of Plenitude, leaving a confused Bell with his newly acquired necklace behind
-End of Flashback-
"I wonder what it'll protect me against..."
He wondered, as Lefiya shrugged her shoulders at the boy
"Perhaps monsters? The dungeon's a pretty dangerous place after all..."
She suggested, but the boy wasn't buying it
"No... there has to be something more about it... I feel that it'll protect me from something much greater than that..."
Bell trailed off, to which Lefiya gave a sigh
"I wonder what that Brio Mue's motives are for all of this..."
She redirected the entire conversation away from the necklace and towards the mutual enigmatic acquaintance, neither of them had the slightest idea why he would get Bell to meddle with Evilus' plans and earn himself a target on his head, and the reason for which he had dragged the elf specifically into all of this
Bell shrugged his shoulders as he thought about the subject of Lefiya's topic
"I don't have the slightest idea... he was very secretive to be honest..."
Lefiya was about to ask another question, but before she could let the words out, the captain of the Loki Familia's robust voice bellowed out
"Everybody! Heads up, we're approaching the surface!"
Both of their eyes widened in surprise as they faced forward and found that they were indeed at the beginning of the first floor and were quickly approaching the staircase that led upwards to the entrance of the dungeon. Both were completely engrossed by Bell's reminiscence that they went by seven floors in a flash
"Oh! Well... that was fast wouldn't you say Lefiya-san?"
The elf merely nodded at him
"I was really looking forward to diving to the lower floors during thi-"
Multiple screams that came from outside the guild reached the ears of the expedition group, along with sounds of intense clashing
"What the...?!"
Bete muttered out in confusion, there was a commotion outside of the guild, and it was a large one...
"This can't be good! Ready yourselves!"
Finn ordered the group to prepare for battle as they rushed the staircase
"The surface is under attack!!!"
-Fin-
Honestly took me a bit to finalize the chapter as I was torn between just continuing with the expedition or to cancel it, but I decided to ultimately cancel it... not to worry tho, the Loki Familia WILL resume this expedition sometime in the future, and it will be one helluvan experience ,you can bet your ass on that. Also, I'd like to tell everyone that the next few chapters will take longer than the usual to be uploaded... that's because I need more time to write an actually compelling plot than just bouncing through events. Again, please don't hesitate to comment about the story or PM me on how I could make the story better, with every feedback, the story gradually gets better hehe. That's all for now folks! See you in the next chapter!
