A beautiful day to you lovelies! It's been a while since I uploaded a chapter, and I'm sorry... I just needed more time to think about what to write, also because I'm doing other stuff. I'll probably be switching up my writing style a bit, from an incredibly verbose and superfluous manner to a more concise, yet descriptive and more lighthearted way of writing. Also, I've just learned that Line Arsche of the Loki Familia was supposedly killed during a confrontation in Knossos, buuuuutttt I'll keep her alive because I'm too lazy to rewrite the entire chapter, I learned that she died AFTER I wrote the chapter you see... along with the fact that Revis was suposed to be killed and the battle of Knossos was to happen DURING the failed Hestia Familia expedition, but since I can't undo time... I'll push them all back to a later time, so that the climax of the story is much more eventful and engaging, call it an asspull... I don't care. Also, I've noticed that many of you decided on the moniker 'Guardian Elf' for Lefiya so that's what I went with, this is why I love democracy... anyways, on with the chapter!

I do not own Danmachi


Chapter XIII: Treachery

"Goddess, I'll be off!"

The voice of a white haired adventurer was heard within the living room of the Hestia Manor, he gave his goddess one last smile before he left

"Mhm, be back soon Bell-kun!"

Each syllable are quieter and quieter as he got farther and farther away, the manor eventually disappearing from sight in the sea of buildings

He was planning on having a look around Orario, or more specifically, check on how the construction effort was going, he walked with a spring in his step

Still feeling giddy about his new alias, as his goddess told them last night, he couldn't help but smile like a kid in a candy store

.

"King of the Bunnies!"

"Hare-ocious!"

"Ooh, that's a good one!"

"Big Bad Al'Miraj!"

"No! How about... Unassuming Predator!"

"Whoa... that's absolutely and utterly terrible!"

Hestia could only sigh and nurse her aching forehead at the ridiculous aliases being thrown around for her dear child, she's had to put up with this three times now, and with the rate Bell is growing... there'll be many more headaches to come

"Furry Fury?"

Another god suggested, to which a few nodded towards

'These guys... why do they think of my dear Bell-kun as a rabbit?! I mean... he does look like a rabbit, with his furry hair and ruby red- WAIT NO!! Keep it together Hestia!'

"Alright alright! Enough with the rabbit related nicknames will you lot?!"

Hestia verbally protested her disapproval as she wildly flailed her arms indignantly

"Hehhhh... you're no fun Hestia!"

A female goddess whined

"Ahaha... I'm sorry about them Hestia, aren't they quite eccentric?"

Hermes nervously chuckled, which earned him an annoyed glare from her

"Hermes... since you're the one who proposed this impromptu Denatus... do you have an alias in mind?"

She eyed him as if daring him to suggest a stupid alias

"Eh? Well... let me think..."

He put his index finger and thumb on his chin in a deep-in-thought pose

After a few seconds, his eyes lit up and a dumb smile appeared on his face

"I got it!"

The room fell silent as everybody eagerly awaited Hermes' suggestion, he may not be the most serious god... but a broken clock is right twice a day, or so they say

"How about..."

.

'Indomitable Flame'

He couldn't help but smirk... he liked the sound of it, the alias was simple yet cool sounding

Apparently Hermes thought that this was the most appropriate alias for the boy due to his unwillingness to surrender even in the face of such a powerful and overwhelming foe, after the suggestion left his mouth, the vote was pretty much unanimous

His thoughts then wander to a certain elf of the Loki Familia's alias

'Guardian Elf eh...'

A dumb smile appeared on his face, since she had saved him from certain death, it was appropriate for him to consider her as such. They made have gotten off on the wrong foot, but things were looking up for them, he may even dare call her a friend

He was too preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice the person in front on him as they both collided headfirst


"Lefiya! Elfy! How about we check out the clothing store I mentioned the other day?"

Line, a supporter from the Loki Familia said as she dragged the poor elf and Elfy along with her

"W-wait Line-san! I really wanted to check out the magic items shop over there..."

She was weakly stretching her hand out in the direction of a petite and standard-looking shop, which apparently sold some of the best magical items for a fair price

Her voice seemed to gradually die down as the shop got farther and farther away until she gave up on resisting altogether with a sigh

"Oh don't be like that miss Guardian Elf, we can check out the shop later when we return!"

Elfy, a fellow Familia member, teased the elf with her new nickname, which made the elf blush, then she was reminded of what it meant, which caused her blush to deepen significantly

Apparently, it was Hestia herself who suggested the alias for her, as she was truly thankful to the elf for saving her dear child, she was his savior

"Wh-Why use my new alias?"

Instead of an answer, Elfy simply smiled at her

Yesterday, Loki came back to the Twilight Manor haggard from seemingly running all the way back, then she made the announcement of Lefiya's new alias, and apparently her very recent level up over dinner, then the dining hall erupted into a loud roar of jubilance, congratulating and expressing their awe to her for her new alias

She was still getting over from the shock at having been informed of her new alias and level up, along with Bell Cranel's own...

'Indomitable Flame... it actually seems cool'

A small smile couldn't help but appear from her face

'With the strength he displayed... no wonder they-!!!"

She was abruptly forced out from her thoughts as she collided with a person, she fell on her butt as the abrupt hurdle made her shift her feet awkwardly, forcing her down to the ground

"Owieee..."

She nursed the middle of her aching forehead, the impact had quite a bit of force behind it

"Kuh... watch where you're go-"

Her words died in her mouth as she glanced at the person she had collided with

"A-are you alright Lefiya-san?"

Bell Cranel reached out a hand towards her, which she took after a brief glance at it

"Th-thanks..."

She murmured before her glare returned

"What's the big idea Bell Cranel?! Why'd you bump into me like I'm a lamp post or something?!"

Her angry inquisition made the boy bow his head deeper than he previously did

"I-I'm sorry! I was preoccupied with my thoughts! I didn't see where I was going..."

He shot apologies at a hundred miles per hour towards her, which only annoyed the elf more

"Geh... please be more mindful of your surroundings next time! That behavior could get you killed in the dungeon you know?"

She scolded him as he nodded whilst bowed down

"Yes... I'll keep that in mind, by the way... what are you doing here Lefiya-san? If I may ask"

Bell lifted himself from a bow into an upright position and asked the elf

"Well.. I was just looking around with my fellow..."

With a glance around her, she noticed that the two fellow Loki Familia members were nowhere to be found

.

"Should we be hiding like this?"

Line softly murmured towards Elfy, they were hiding within an obscure alleyway, away from the sight of both adventurers

They had noticed that Lefiya was quite some distance behind as she seemed quite a bit deep in her thoughts, before they could call out to her... they both saw her collide with the boy, due to previous events, Elfy had suspected that the two of them were in some sort of relationship, so she did the most logical thing one could do when they witness such a situation, she violently pulled Line into a nearby hallway and told her to keep quiet as they silently observed the two

"Definitely! Since the failed expedition, the two had been blushing around each other a few times, I don't know but I think aside from their bond deepening at their shared near-death experience, there's something more to this..."

She chuckled as the poor elf was looking all over the place in a panicked state, as she noticed that her two companions were nowhere to be found

This was a cruel action to take, but Line can't deny that she wanted to see where this goes, perhaps they'll even learn a juicy secret today...

With a sigh, she acquiesced

"Can't say that you didn't pique my curiosity... come on then, let's spy on them..."

Line gave up protesting as they stood still, silently observing the two for their next action...

.

"Wh-what?! Where did they go?!"

Lefiya was dismayed, she scanned the entire area and didn't see her two companions, they had ditched her with the boy!

'Those two!'

She was cursing her two friends in her mind, but was then snapped out of her thoughts by the boy speaking

"Did you get separated with your friends?"

He asked for confirmation as she begrudgingly nodded

Humming in acknowledgement, he pointed his index finger upwards

"Well then, why don't we look for them together?"

He suggested, seeing no reason to refuse the boy, she nodded

Both started walking forward

"What do they look like Lefiya-san?"

She forgot that he didn't know who to look for, with a sigh, she answered him

"We're looking for Elfy: a petite girl with chestnut-colored hair with a single pigtail, she's also wearing a light indigo-colored robe; the second one is Line: a bespectacled girl with dark hair and a headband, she's wearing a violet dress with white sleeves"

He nodded along to her description, surprisingly internalizing it already

"Got it, a girl with chestnut-haired girl with a single pigtail, wearing a light indigo robe and a girl with glasses, dark hair and with a headband"

...

The silence between the two during the search became unbearable and awkward after some time, which prompted Bell to fill the silence with some light talk

"Lefiya-san..."

He called out to the elf walking beside him, she turned her face towards him curiously

"Did the Loki Familia find anything about the monster attack that happened when we got back?"

He had to make sure if the Xenos were involved in this or not

"Oh, that... well, something did come up, but we shouldn't be talking about this in public, Loki has us all tightly bound in confidentiality, but I can make an exception since the Hestia Familia got roped into this mess because you had to get yourself into a fight with that woman..."

She was now slightly glaring at him in annoyance, as if he were a nuisance

"Ahaha... I'm quite sorry about that, Mue-san was very convincing I suppose..."

He awkwardly laughed it off as the elf sighed

"Anyway, we should probably get something to eat! We haven't found them in a while... so how about we continue to look for them after we've had something to eat?"

Bell abruptly changed the subject, an action which Lefiya didn't appreciate but nevertheless chalked it off to the boy's eccentricity

But then... she noticed something

'W-w-wait!!! H-he invited me to e-eat?! J-just the t-t-two of u-us?! I-i-isn't th-that what c-c-co-couples do on a d-da-date?!!?!'

Once the d word came into mind ( ͡ ͜ʖ ͡), her face suddenly turned scarlet and smoke started coming out of her ears

'Awawawawawa!'

In her mind flashed all the things that she heard from her fellow female familia members about what couples do on their dates

'H-h-hand h-h-ho-holding?!'

How lewd

'H-hu-hugging?!?!'

Super lewd

'K-k-ki-ki-kiss?!?!?!?!!?'

Don't, she'll get pregnant

Her thoughts ran more and more and got progressively wilder, like feeding one another each other's food

'I'm such a lewd elf... and I'm thinking about doing such things with this boy no less?! Hauuuuu... now I don't think I can get married to Ais-san anymore...'

With a few sniffles, she looked anywhere but towards the boy, which made him curious

"Lefiya-san? Are you alright?"

"It's nothing! Let's go!"

In the end, she had dragged him into the Wishe Cafe without a word


"I shall return with your orders shortly"

The elven waiter excused himself as he went on to place their orders

Both sat in front of the other in silence, they were both uneasy as if they were anxiously waiting for the other to speak

"Ahm"

"So, abou-"

Both abruptly cut their talking short after they both spoke at the same time, out of respect for the other

"Uhm... you first Lefiya-san"

He nodded at her, which she returned

"Right... about what I said earlier..."

His expression immediately became serious as he listened intently towards the elf

"The thing is... Loki and Bete had gone down the sewers the following day after the attack and they found something down there..."

Bell raised an eyebrow at this

"Why the sewers?"

"Well... the last time this happened, they went to investigate down there and got lucky... they decided to try their luck again down there this time, and it looks like they made the right call"

Lefiya stopped talking and inspected the people around them, none seemed to be eavesdropping so far

"They told us about what they found down there..."

Lefiya paused as a man passed by near their table, after he was gone, she resumed

"They said something about a secret lair of a god wearing a dark-robe covered in masks of varying expressions..."

Bell shrugged his head towards her, indicating he didn't know a god that qualified for the description

Sighing, she continued

...

"Here are your orders, valued customers"

The waiter from before returned with their orders, placed them down on the table and promptly excused himself

"Woah... that's... something"

On one hand, he was relieved that the Xenos seemingly weren't involved with the attack on Orario a few days ago, but he still needed further confirmation just to be safe, he didn't want another incident like before...

He couldn't find the words, Lefiya told him about the log they found and the entries within, a mild sense of urgency gnawed at his being due to the information

'Apophis...? A god of chaos and destruction?'

He looked at his hand pressed down onto the table with unease

Lefiya shared a sympathetic look with the boy

"I'm also deeply troubled by this... to think that even a level nine wouldn't be enough to defeat such a calamity..."

Her ears drooped, which Bell noticed

The atmosphere was quite depressing between them, to think that such a great calamity shall befall them sooner rather than later, things won't be the same ever again, so he decided to gradually divert the topic away from the impending calamity, his grandfather told him that he shouldn't leave a girl in such a dejected mood after all

"This may be a weird time to bring it up... but I'm curious about what made you join Loki Familia, Lefiya-san..."

She was thankful for the switch in topic and put her index finger on her chin as if in deep thought

"Why I joined? Well... I guess you could say that I wanted to know what it feels like to be included in a family... I was raised in an orphanage you see..."

'Wait! Me and my loose mouth!'

She was dismayed that she accidentally revealed a bit too much information, she had only intended to answer his question and nothing more, but she might have been a bit too relaxed

Then she saw his expression

It was one of empathy, of understanding...

It was as if...

"Yeah... I know the feeling, I've never known my parents after all, the only one I ever knew was my grandpa..."

Lefiya then noticed that his expression got significantly more melancholic at the mention of is grandfather

'Was...?'

Apparently, the boy was also an orphan

She didn't know it herself, but she was now fully relaxed while talking to him, so the little tidbits about herself just kept on coming

"I attended the School District at a young age, graduating at eleven and joining the Loki Familia at the age of twelve, at that time... I was just a level two, it wasn't until a year later that I got to level three... "

He smiled at her, as if he was proud of her progress so far

"And now you're at level four... look how far you've come!"

His simple praise nearly made a vein burst on her forehead

"Hah?! I don't want to hear that from the rookie who busted through five levels in less than a year! What the hell is up with that anyway?!"

She glared at the boy, who laughed awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head

"I guess you're right... I also don't know why really... "

He replied, while her glare was still fixated on her

Then they started eating their meal in silence, lest the food got cold

After a few spoonfuls, the silence was, once again, becoming awkward, so Lefiya decided to strike up a conversation this time, she wanted to ask the boy something as well...

"Ahm... Bell Cranel..."

He shook his head at her with a smile

"Just Bell, my full name is a few syllables too many right?"

She hesitated for a moment before she found the willpower to speak his first name

"B..Be...Bell..."

She found it much easier to roll of the tongue, so she decided to stick with it, definitely not because she was on friendly terms with him or anything, nope!

"Yes?"

He responded with his thousand-watt smile, which gave her cheeks a light pink dusting

"S-since I told you about my past... w-why don't you tell me yours?"

She barely stammered out

Bell kept silent for a little bit before smiling

"So you know about the law of equivalent exchange I see..."

She raised an eyebrow at him, what on earth was he talking about

"Well... I grew up in a small village a few hundred miles southwest of Orario, life was simple, it was wake up, help with the chores around the house, tend to the fields, eat, sleep, then repeat..."

He was smiling, it was a sad smile, as if he was nostalgic about the past

"I was raised by my grandpa, I never really knew my parents... but my grandpa said that they both came from Orario..."

She was surprised at this tidbit about himself

'Why didn't they just decide to have a child here in Orario then? Did they perhaps seek a simpler life in a small village?'

She thought about it before she opened her mouth to ask the boy something

"What made you come to Orario?"

She was genuinely curious for the boy's reason for coming to the metropolis

The boy was silent for a bit, Lefiya was slowly becoming uneasy with his silence, did she perhaps touch on a sensitive topic for the boy?

"Promise you won't laugh?"

He asked with a weird expression on his face

She nearly visibly sighed in relief at the boy's question, she feared that the boy was somewhat offended by her question, but it was apparently something else, so she simply nodded to him hesitantly, what could be so ridiculous a reason so as to make him come to Orario?

"Well... growing up, I really loved hero stories... particularly the story of the Argonaut..."

"Oh! About the boy that wanted to become a hero so much that he actually went out and became a hero?"

He meekly nodded

'I think I know where this is going...'

She internally smirked, it was a naive reason, but she found it quite cute that he wanted to live out his dreams

"So... I kind of packed my things and left for Orario, in search of adventure and fame... hehe"

He gave her a goofy smile, which made her sigh

"I know I promised not to laugh... but this is something else..."

She couldn't help but press the palm of her right hand onto her mouth to try and hide her giggling

The boy simply slumped in his chair as she continued to try and calm down her giggles

"But... I can positively say that you have indeed lived out your dream, Bell..."

He was surprised with her unexpectedly genuine praise, he expected her to hurl a mocking or teasing remark at the boy for such a ridiculous reason for coming to the labyrinth city

He was halfway through a smile when she quickly added

"But! Don't let it get to your head just because you level up crazy fast mister!"

She pointed her index finger towards him menacingly

"I-I promise I won't, Lefiya-san..."

He squeaked

She then smiled and retracted her index finger as they continued dining and having lighthearted conversations

.

"Woah! They really have something going on in between them!"

Line whispered in surprise as Elfy and her continued to surreptitiously observe the two of them from a nearby table, the two of them bought some extra articles of clothing as a disguise, two matching hooded robes of a deep-green color made them inconspicuous and visibly strangers to the elf and the white haired boy

Elfy was chewing on a bite out of her sandwich before she smirked at the girl

"I told you! They've been acting unusual since the expedi- No! even before actually..."

She knew her roommate quite well and noticed a few weeks ago that Lefiya was acting strange ever since she had sparred with the boy...

She gave a furtive glance towards the two adventurers, who were merrily chatting away as if they had known each other for years, she had never seen Lefiya this unwound and carefree, like she was catching up with an old friend...

"I've never seen Lefiya so carefree as right now..."

Line glanced to Elfy in confusion, then to Lefiya

"What do you mean Elfy?"

She asked, confused as to what she was talking about, Lefiya was always a bit on the cheery side

"Back then... she was always so tense, she told me all about her insecurities and feelings of inadequacy one night, she may be cheery and outgoing on the outside... but deep within, she's deeply insecure about her sense of belonging in our familia... it's as if she believes that everybody's always cleaning up after her mess..."

Line couldn't help but glance worriedly at the elf a few tables away from them, apparently she has some emotional baggage of her own

"That's got to be rough for her... intrusive thoughts coupled with the Loki Familia's sky-high reputation must be giving her a lot of pressure..."

Elfy nodded solemnly to the girl beside her

"I hope the boy will be able to do something about that..."

She sighed as they continued observing the two

.

"And that was how I beat a goblin to save a girl from my village..."

Bell spoke with a sense of pride for his accomplishment, even it was just a measly goblin, to kill it without a god's blessing or a falna, and as a young boy was quite the feat indeed

"Well aren't you quite something... mister hero"

Lefiya teased, but she was deeply fascinated with the boy's stories, but what she was especially drawn towards was the boy's eyes, there was a sort of brilliant, almost child-like and naive, but nevertheless a brilliant shine to them as he recalled and told her his stories

"Well... I wouldn't go so far so as to call myself a hero... I just did what anybody would in my position..."

He rubbed the back of his head from the unexpected complement from the girl

"But it is true Bell... you've done so many feats that no regular person would ever have the guts to do..."

She leaned closer towards him

"For example, I've heard from Finn and the rest about the reason why you protected and assisted those 'Xenos'"

Bell's expression became panicked after she revealed her knowledge of the Xenos to him

"S-Should I be worried...?"

He whispered to himself, but the elf happened to overhear and shook her head at him

"No worries, we've got a very good grasp on the story... but still... it was quite the revelation..."

She sighed as she rubbed circles on her temples

"Well... how did everyone... take it?"

Bell cautiously asked, he may not get an answer, but he still wanted to ask

"Well... the common reaction from all of us was that we were bewildered, we were confused, and we were conflicted, but aside from that... everybody had their own different take on the subject... don't worry, we were strictly prohibited from carelessly speaking about it or taking any action about the matter"

Bell breathed a sigh of relief, they had just gotten one of the most powerful familias in Orario on their side regarding the Xenos

"I even heard the little display the Vouivre performed in front of Ais-san..."

She spoke in a hushed voice, Bell was surprised at the mention of it

"Yeah... I wouldn't say that I wanted that to happen, but I recognize that had she not proven herself then and there, Ais-san would have kept on hunting us down..."

She nodded at him

"It appears that you care so much for the girl..."

She pointed out, which made him embarrassed

"Do you go through such lengths for any girl? You're quite the flirt if I do say so myself"

She teased him with a light chuckle, which he vehemently refuted

"No no no!!! You've got it all wrong! I-it's just that she was so... um... well..."

Bell struggled to reply coherently to her claim, which she just laughed it off

"I'm kidding I'm kidding... to be honest, had I been in your position... I might've done the same... probably..."

This put a smile on the boy's face

...

After they had finished their meals, they had resumed their search for the two, or so they considered it to be, in the end... the two of them walked aimlessly around Orario's shops and stalls, if one were to glance at the two, they would be forgiven for mistaking them to be a couple that was currently on a date, as they kept on walking around Lefiya and Bell slowly forgot about their original objective and simply enjoyed one another's company

It was now late afternoon and the sun had began to set in the horizon, basking the land and skies alike with a warm, orange-reddish hue, the two adventurers were still merrily talking together, they had completely lost track of time after being so engrossed in each other's stories

"Oh gods! It's dusk already! The others are probably worried sick that I still haven't come back!"

Lefiya exclaimed in surprise, as Bell laughed it off

"Well... I guess this is goodbye for now then Bell... I had fun today"

She admitted with a shy smile as her cheeks got warmer

"Y-yeah... me too Lefiya-san, I can't believe I'm saying this... but I'm kind of glad that your friends ditched you today... ahaha"

Bell nervously admitted, which stun her for a second, then she gave him a beautiful smile

The boy's poor virgin soul was utterly defenseless against the elven maiden's breathtaking beauty under the setting sun's soft glow

"Hehe... I guess so..."

She smiled one last time towards the boy, before turning around and waving goodbye


-Fin-

Well, my blood sugar probably went up a lot just from writing this fluff, but since the fanfic has been a tad bit too focused on story-building and action during the first few chapters, I thought 'why the hell not?' and went ahead and spoiled you guys with this chapter, this is a Bell x Lefiya fic after all... so expect more of these spikes in glucose levels. Also, one final announcement... I'm working on a little side project, and it involved a certain cat from the Loki Familia, I'll announce further details in the next chapter, so stay tuned! Anyway... that's all for today folks, now just leave! (Kudos if you got the reference)