.
.
"-I know you all have been working very hard as of late so I thought it would be good for us to take a small vacation to Melen." The goddess concluded.
A small round of applause and clapping went around the dinner table, as each of the members began discussing among themselves what they wanted to do at the port city.
"But we all wouldn't be able to go would we?" Lyra didn't need to ask of course. The pallum had discussed with her goddess when she was given her status update. The two were firing ideas back and forth as to whether a small vacation for the familia would be good.
Astraea shook her head. "Sadly, no. As you all know, we have our duties to protect the city and cannot all leave at the same time. Especially since our familia is all second-class adventurers and higher."
"Wouldn't it be hard to get passes to leave the city now that we have three first-class adventurers?" Maryuu asked.
"Yes, and won't we get a fine from the guild for withholding information on our levels?" Celty added.
The goddess closed her eyes and smiled as she turned to her children, "We can just report it to the guild once you guys return." then taking a sip from her glass with a neutral expression on her face.
Bell was slightly taken aback that the goddess of justice would be the one to suggest such an idea, but couldn't bring himself to speak his thoughts. He was also surprised that none of the other members had any comment on the idea. He could see that Ryuu also looked a bit uneasy but she also decided to stay quiet.
...I-is it okay for goddess of all people to say that?...
"If that's the case how about we draw straws?" Alise suggested.
"Drawing straws?"
The redhead nodded, "Yes, that way it's fair and we don't need to decide who goes first or second." replying to the albino.
"We can do that after dinner, this food wont eat itself." The far-eastern noble commented.
Laughter and stories were shared as the Astraea familia once again fell back into the partying mood, only now further invigorated by the news of their holiday. Alise grinned contently while gobbling down on her food. Some of the girls who dared to try the bath of spice, had immediately started tearing up in the corners of their eyes which was an indicator to the rest of the familia not to dare touch the explosive stew.
Much to the surprise of the others, Bell was able to eat the curry without much trouble. When compared to some of the other members at least. The rabbit had a pretty high spice tolerance, but didn't have much preference when it came to food genres. What he didn't like to eat though, were sweet foods.
"Bell, you know that you don't have to help finish it right? I'm sure Alise would be more than happy to." Said the goddess. The redhead gave a thumbs up while vigorously consuming spoons upon spoons of curry.
The rabbit shook his head. "No it's fine, I made the other pot sweet curry for everyone else but I don't really like sweet foods so this is better."
Alise sighed in her warm stomach, "*nom* It'd be nice if I could eat Bell's cooking every day..." until the virtue known as 'self-awareness' hit her like a brick to the head. "..Wait, did I just say that out loud?"
"Yes, you did." Ryuu stated plainly.
Bell scratched the back of his head. "I'm sure you could find better food to eat but I could make you a lunch box if you'd like that. Also maybe you shouldn't speak with your mouth so full."
She nodded, swallowing her food then giving the albino a toothy grin. "Well if you're offering, then thanks!"
The familia finished up dinner and gathered in the living room. Alise and Kaguya wanted to help with the dishes but was stopped by Astraea who insisted her captain and vice-captain relax for the night and enjoy themselves. They reluctantly agreed and joined the others. Alise sat next to Lyra and Kaguya to Bell. The living room had a similar color theme to the rest of the mansion, the furniture being wooden with white covers.
"I wonder what we could do at Melen." Ryana stretched her arms.
"Well what else but the beach? I hear the seafood's pretty good so we should definitely try that out." Neze sat forward.
Alise giggled. "That's what makes Melen so popular with tourists, and luckily we're in season for it too!"
"It has been getting a lot hotter recently..."
"Summer's just around the corner so it ain't that surprising." The pink-haired pallium yawned.
Most, if not all of them had never gone to the port city before. Which was a case that could be applied to the rabbit who grew up in the labyrinth city. When it was just him and Hestia, the two never really had the time to go on any vacations of any sort...and they couldn't either way given their poor financial situation. It was only when she had let Bell become an adventurer that their finances improved but even then they couldn't leave the city given how Evilus was on the rise again.
From the corner of her eye, the far-eastern woman noticed that her little brother grimaced at the topic.
"Come to think of it, do you think Lady Astraea could come along with us?" Asta asked.
"Hm... Probably not, the guild pretty much doesn't let any high-ranking familia leave the city at all unless it's for a quest of some kind." Maryuu shook her head.
"Dammit! I guess we won't be seeing Lady Astraea in a swimsuit..." Neze clenched her fist with a defeated expression on her face.
"Lady Astraea..."
"...In a swimsuit..."
"Ah finally she's back to normal." Lyra whistled.
Some of the other girls joined in on the fist-clenching while Ryuu coughed. "W-what are you saying Neze!?"
"Oh come on, don't act like you aren't curious too."
The elf raised a finger, seemingly in an attempt at retorting to the werewolf but found herself lowering said finger a few seconds later while looking down and muttering something unintelligible to herself. Ryuu wouldn't admit it but she too, was a little curious what her goddess would look like in a swimsuit...just a little bit. Only a little!..probably.
"Ara~ Is our little rabbit also imagining something indecent?" Kaguya poked at him.
Bell snapped out of his daze, shaking his head frantically as his face burned a familiar shade of red. "I-i'm not! I swear I w-wasn't imagining anything!"
"Is that so? Then how about you say that again while looking me in the eyes." Pinching his cheeks and forcing his rubellite eyes to regard her violet pair.
"I wasn't! So please stop pinching me Big sister! OW! Stop! W-why are you squeezing harder!?" Bell grabbed her wrists, trying to remove her grip without hurting her.
She stared into his eyes with an accomplished smile, "Hmm...fine." letting the rabbit go.
Some of the girls giggled at the antics of the pair, which had become quite a common sight to behold in the past few weeks.
Astraea walked into the living room, noticing that their resident rabbit was pouting and rubbing his cheeks which were red. "Did something happen?"
"Nothing." Kaguya smiled in ignorance.
"Goddess! Big sister is being m-Mmmf!" Getting his mouth covered by the far-eastern woman.
"Nothing at all has happened."
The brunette sighed. "Don't make fun of Bell so much, Kaguya."
"No comment." She fanned her face with a far-eastern folding fan that had flower petal designs, earning another sigh of exasperation from her goddess.
"Ok, now that we're all here shall we begin?" Astraea took out a dozen wooden sticks and made her way across the living room, letting her children each take one.
"Aww, no luck here." Iska pouted.
"Me too." Maryuu sighed.
"Ooh! Looks like i've got luck on my side!" Alise held up her stick while making a V with her index and middle finger.
Kaguya, Ryuu, Lyra and lastly Bell all held up their sticks, each of them having a red line at the bottom. It was as if some invisible force was pulling this group of five to go to Melen first. The first group would consist of Alie, Kaguya, Lyra, Ryuu and Bell, the second being everyone else, which was Neze, Iska, Maryuu, Celty, Asta, Noin, and Ryana.
Since Bell, Alise and Kaguya were first class adventurers, the second group had more people to 'balance things out'. It would also have been bad if they left Astraea in the city alone with no one to defend her, not that there was anyone dumb enough to attack the Astraea familia either.
Bell chuckled. "Looks like it's us five again."
"It seems that way." Ryuu added.
"Having a skill called luck isn't fair!"
"That's cheating!"
"Yeah!" Lyra joined in.
"I don't get to decide what developmental abilities I do and don't get! Actually, none of us can!" Bell retorted.
Celty leant into the pallum's ear. "So...why are you also complaining?"
"Isn't it fun to add fuel into the fire?" Flashing her usual smirk with a small flame in her eyes.
The green-haired elf could only laugh dryly as she relearned what kind of person the Astraea familia's tactician was.
"If you guys don't have any plans, how about we all go shopping tomorrow?" Alise suggested.
"Hold it right there captain, shouldn't you be requesting our leave permits?" Kaguya reminded the redhead.
"Gah! That's right..."
Bell shook his head. "No it's alright, I can go do it."
"Are you sure? This is something the captain should be doing." The goddess stated.
He nodded. "Really, it's fine. I was going to see Ro- Ms Rose anyways so I could do that along the way, I've been putting that off for a bit too long now. And I also have to to meet up with Welf and tell him about our small trip."
"Rose?" Alise asked.
"Yes, she was my advisor from the guild when I started adventuring. Though she's probably going to kill me for how long I haven't visited for...ha..haha..." He laughed in existential dread.
Lyra locked her hands behind her head, arching her back. "I think i'll pass too. I wanna get working on my new bombs as soon as I can."
The goddess nodded wryly, in fear of the upcoming explosive noises that would be raised in the coming days. She remembered the time when Lyra started making her own bombs which was more or less when their familia started out. The walls were pretty thin back then, so none of them could get any sleep due to how frequent the explosions were.
Past midnight, the laughter and partying begun to die down as the familia went to rest. Many of them had ended up staying awake pretty late into the night playing games, some of the girls even had a small drinking competition. The members who didn't return to their rooms early ending up sleeping around the living room with the goddess being last to go to bed.
Astraea considered bringing them back to their rooms but it would have taken too long. She left the room, returning with blankets in hand and draping them over each of her children. The brunette giggled quietly to herself, placing a blanket over the far-eastern woman and her adopted little brother. During the brief time she was away, Kaguya's head had fallen onto Bell's shoulder, the albino's head soon finding rest on the former's.
Given how Bell and Kaguya were around each other, Astraea thought that Kaguya didn't like Bell as a person but after some time, came to realize that wasn't the case based on how the black-haired woman constantly teased the albino at any given opportunity. Despite her often rude and blunt attitude, she was also very kind and considerate to the people around her, much like the other members of her familia.
Bell, on the other hand, never actively sought out interactions with their familia, and he rarely brought up his own problems with anyone. Astraea noticed that he would sometimes try to distance himself from their affairs, but he would never refuse any task asked of him, no matter how mundane. As far as she knew, the only thing he had ever asked for was the initial training with his magic.
Astraea's intuition told her that Bell probably felt a debt to their familia, or perhaps that he needed to repay them for what they had done for him. What Alise done for him. She wondered why Kaguya had taken on the role of an older sister to Bell, but perhaps it was her way of letting him know that he was not alone anymore, that he had a family who cared about him.
...Or maybe it was to have an 'acceptable' reason to tease him at her pleasure. Despite having lived for thousands upon thousands of years, the goddess of justice didn't have the wisdom to determine which was the correct answer but favored the first one.
.
.
"Nnng..." I groggily opened up my eyes and straightened my head up.
The morning sun shone through the tall windows of the Stardust Garden, shining directly onto my face and waking me up. The sunlight was warm, much like the rest of my body which I noticed was covered in a blanket.
...I wonder what time it is...
Feeling a weight on my left shoulder, I turned to see a ball of black hair resting there.
...Oh, Big sister must've fallen asleep...
Looking around the room, I saw some of the other members resting or slumped on armchairs or on the other couches across the room. With a gentle lift of her head, I swapped my shoulder with a pillow, evoking a soft groan and a small frown to form on her face.
I went for my usual morning jog on the walls, returning to get Vesta for some training and magic practice an hour later. I fought an imaginary opponent, slashing and dodging blows of a black greatsword whose swift and powerful movements were deeply ingrained into my muscles. In my mind's eye, I often saw the face of Uncle Zard, and although gone, his legacy lived on through my training, driving me to push past my limits.
After breaking a good sweat, I took a quick shower, got into casual clothes, then made myself breakfast and Alise's lunch box.
...Well since they're going shopping later, maybe I won't need to..? No, it would probably better if I made it anyways. Better safe than sorry...
"Okay, it's a bit early but I guess I should head off to the guild now."
A part of my mind told me that I should've brought Vesta with me, saying that it was better to have it and not use it than not have it when I need it but ultimately left it behind in my room. Keeping Vesta on my body had become second nature, but I'm slowly trying to get used to not having it on hand. On my way out, I passed by goddess who wore her usual white dress.
...Oh her hair is a bit messy...
"Good morning Bell."
"Hello goddess." Bowing my head.
"Are you heading off to the guild now?"
"Yes, getting the passes to leave will probably take some time, so I thought it would be better to head out earlier. Plus, I don't want to make Welf wait too long for me." My eyes were fixated on her hair, considering if I should bring up her bed-head.
She nodded, soon tilting her head and looking at me quizzically. "Is there something weird on my face?"
...Yeah, maybe I shouldn't...
"It's nothing." Shaking my head. "Oh right, goddess could you give this to Alise when she wakes up?" I handed Alise's lunch box to her. "See you later goddess." Waving as I exited the mansion.
It always surprised me how empty the familia home was, not in the way that there was a lack of furniture and decorations, it just felt empty, in the way that there was a lot of space but for too little people.
...Goddess did mention that she only accepts women who she believed had a sense of justice...
Although it wasn't nearly as large as the bases of the major familias such as the Loki, Freya or Ganesha, it was still pretty large. There were numerous vacant rooms and unused land in the back of the property. Compared to my old familia's base, the Stardust Garden was significantly larger. Though, back then we never had the need to expand since we couldn't recruit any new members due to moms publicly known debt.
.
.
After about half an hour of walking through the waking streets, he pushed open the swinging saloon doors and stepped into the guild hall. Ignoring the whispers and murmurs, the rabbit headed over to one of the vacant counters. He was quite familiar with the guild employees who worked at the registers, but the girl stationed there he had never met before.
...A new hire maybe...?
She was a brown-haired elf, no, maybe half-elf? With circular rimless glasses, scribbling on papers at speeds that put would put a first-class adventurer to shame, so engrossed in her work that she hadn't noticed him standing there until he spoke up.
"Umm excuse me."
"A-ah! M-my apologies, g-good morning Mr Astrapi, sir. My name is Eina Tulle, h-how may I help you today?" The startled half-elf greeted.
"Please, just call me Bell. I'm not too big a fan of formalities."
"O-of course, Mr Cra- Bell-nel. H-how could I assist you?"
...Who's that..? Well anyways...
"Do you know if Ms Rose is in?"
"Y-yes she should be-" A bead of sweat ran down her forehead, "-right there..." as she pointed behind him.
The wild rabbit felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, stiffly turning his head around and seeing the red-maned wolf in question carrying a stack of papers. She had a red aura around her body as she stared him down. "H-hi Rose...long time no see...?" Turning into a nervous wreck like the half-elf behind him.
She glared at him, "You. Me. Consultant box. Now." making Bell gulp in fear. She dropped her paperwork with the half-elf at the counter, who flinched at the additional workload. The wolf could be seen dragging the rabbit through the open halls of the guild without any regard of class.
"...Y-yes ma'am..." He knew how she would react and mentally prepared himself for the inevitable, but it seems his worries weren't necessary.
A pink haired guild employee peeked her head from around one of the shelves. "...Here we have a wild wolf, in its natural habitat."
"Misha, what are you saying..?" The half elf sighed.
That morning, Eina Tulle learned how scary her senior could be, being able to put a leash on a level 5 adventurer and somehow also have the strength to drag him away without the aid of a falna. She wiped her forehead with a handkerchief, eyeing the mountain of extra paperwork dropped onto her plate.
.
The rabbit was dropped onto a chair, with his back to the door. The red-haired werewolf didn't speak a word as she locked the door behind her and took the seat opposite to him, the morning sun illuminating her silhouette through the squared window frame. Bell squirmed beneath her intense star, while Rose's fingers intertwined as she observed him in silence, as if a predator stalking its prey.
"So.." He spoke quietly, twiddling his fingers.
"So what?" Rose raised an eyebrow.
"A-aren't you mad? I killed all those people. Isn't this usually the part where you scold me or..." He was fully expecting to be yelled at the moment they stepped foot into the sound-proofed room but it hadn't come...yet.
The werewolf sighed, "Haah..." pausing for a moment, looking at the ceiling then back to the rabbit." I guess you really haven't changed... I don't have the right to judge whether or not your actions were right, but I've known you long enough to know that you aren't someone who would just kill others for the fun of it."
"...Thank you." He smiled softly, lowering his head.
Bell didn't show it, but he was very worried how Rose would react to seeing him. He could understand if she didn't want to see him anymore, or if she belittled him for his actions, but neither came.
"To your second question, no, I'm not going to scold you. I have a feeling you've already heard enough from others so I'll leave it at that. Unless you want me to." Placing her mug down on the desk after a sip.
...Was she always holding a mug?..
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing, I-I think I'm good without one." He choked.
As Bell stole glances at the werewolf, the only sound in the small room were the gentle reverberation of her sips as she continued to enjoy her drink. Unsure of how to approach the topic of his old familia, she decided just to be direct and get to the point.
"I'm not sure how to say this without it sounding out of place, but I'm sorry about what happened to your familia."
He smiled sadly, "Thank you for that, it really means a lot to me... So how have you been, Rose?" trying to change the topic.
Recognizing his reluctance to talk further, Rose dropped the topic. She may have been one of the few people in Orario, no, in the world, that Bell trusted wholeheartedly, but he had his lips sealed by the higher-ups of the guild. The specific details pertaining his familia's passing was one secret not to be revealed openly.
And he knew better than to disobey guild orders, he was well aware of how severe the punishments could get.
She got comfortable, crossing her legs. "Nothing new, normal day in, day out guild work. I got two new coworkers under me though, half elf and a human girl. It scares me how hard working Eina is...and how lazy Misha is." The werewolf sighed.
...Can they really be called coworkers if they're doing her work for her..?
The rabbit seemed to have an idea of the half-elf in question. "Umm.. Was it alright to give her your work? I mean, won't you get punished for skipping work?" He tilted his head, unsure.
"Yes. Now me aside, how have you been? In the time since I last saw of you, you've made quite a name for yourself...and not in a good way." She said sarcastically.
"Kh... I thought you weren't going to scold me."
"Did you say something?" The werewolf shot him a quick glare.
"N-no ma'am... I feel like I've had this conversation with Alise before." A sense of déjà-vu washed over the rabbit.
The werewolf chuckled. "I guess the rumors of you joining the Astraea familia were true then."
Bell tilted his head in confusion. He was sure that he was registered with the Astraea familia in the guild, and not any other familia. "Rumors? What do you mean?"
"Well, it wasn't as if I didn't see your file when it got updated." She said simply. "In fact, I was the first person to see. Not that I doubt the guild's information network or anything, I just really didn't expect you to join the Astraea familia of all factions... Especially one that only accepts women." Putting a lot of emphasis on the last word.
Given how flatly she spoke, he couldn't tell whether or not she was teasing him or just plainly speaking her thoughts.
"Ahahaha...I get that a lt these days." He replied, scratching the back of his head, remembering all the jealous glares he was given.
"I can imagine." The redhead sighed, then chuckled in memory. "I still remember the day you came into the guild asking if you could be an adventurer, just like it was yesterday. You looked like this super innocent kid who couldn't even lift up a sword."
.
-"I-I would like to register as an adventurer!"-
-"Not going to happen. I don't want the death of some kid to be on my conscience."- The red-maned werewolf quickly shot down his request. He would probably do better off living a peaceful life somewhere in the countryside, she thought.
-"B-but I do have some experience! I've been taught how to use the sword and other weapons."-
-"Wow...is that so? The how about you bring me your mentor and then we'll talk."-
The albino had a dejected look on his face, as if a kicked rabbit. As he spoke quietly. -"T-they aren't in the city right now..."-
"Well, that's too bad then. Why don't you come back another day." Little did she know at the time…
That the rabbit would keep coming back, again and again. On one instance, she decided to humor the idea, and asked him why he wanted to become an adventurer. -Which, after hearing his answer, she struggled to hold in a full-throttle belly laugh.
Despite her, and many others' harsh words, he didn't bat an eye at all. Instead, he repeated his request once more —as if he was a broken record. Eventually, the werewolf relented and accepted that the rabbit's foolish, single-minded desire couldn't be kept down.
.
"Ahaha that was a long time ago."
Turning back to the rabbit, "Well then, there isn't much to catch up on so let's get down to business. I don't believe you came here just to see me did you?" Rose smirked.
Bell laughed nervously. "G-goddess wanted us to take a small vacation so I'm here to request leave permits for all of us."
Since he finally reached a point in adventuring where he himself knew more about the dungeon than the guild could teach him, he, very luckily, did not need to come to the guild for lessons with her anymore.
No longer would he need to face her wrath of being expected to know absolutely everything of every floor down to the smallest detail before he begun his dungeon-crawling! No! Never again!
Cocking an eyebrow. "Sure, I can help you with that. But the guild probably won't let all of your familia leave at the same time." Rose said.
"That's okay, we were thinking of leaving in two groups anyways." He shook his head. "Oh also, do you know any good places we can stay at while we're there?"
"I've been to Melen a few times myself on guild work, so I can recommend some places to visit if you'd like."
"That would be good, thanks." He smiled lightly.
Rose nodded, setting her mug down, and making her way to the door. As she was about to leave the room, she glanced over her shoulder, giving a small smile to the rabbit. "It's nice to see you again."
.
.
After finishing up preparations with Rose, Bell made his way over to his and Welf's usual meeting place by the fountain nearby Babel.
Rose said she would pull some strings to see if she could get the passes quicker. With her seniority in the guild, she predicted it would take 4 days to get them.
...I wonder if the bookstores have any new hero stories in...well I guess I could just go check them out after meeting with Welf... And maybe if I still have time, I should buy the groceries on the way back...
Walking up to the fountain, the redhead was in fact there. His greatsword lodged into the ground next to him. The blacksmith looked around and waved as he saw the albino walking up to him.
"Yo Bell, where've you been for the past two days?"
"Sorry, I sort of had a quest to do with my familia down on the 44th floor." Taking a seat next to him. He was a bit unsure whether or not it could have been considered a quest, since he never formally took it up with the guild.
"44th huh? I wonder how long it'll take for me to go that deep." Welf asked rhetorically.
Bell scratched the back of his head. "Ahaha, You'll be able to go that deep if you keep exploring the floors at this pace. You're still quite young, but you can already handle the first to fourth floor by yourself without needing me to step in."
"I don't want to hear it from the record holder! And you also aren't that much older than me!" The redhead pouted as the two shared a laugh. "Well anyways, I see that you aren't wearing any armor or have your sword with you. Not heading into the dungeon today?"
"No, I wasn't intending to."
...Well, if we're only going to the 5th floor...there aren't any monsters that could really hurt me at that floor...
"Actually, on second thought, I think I'll come along. Some hand-to-hand training would be nice."
"Jeez no need to flex." Welf laughed, but a part of him felt as if the gap between them only grew larger.
The blacksmith was well aware of Bell's status as a first-class adventurer, one with significantly more experience in the dungeon than himself. He felt unworthy to be in the same party or even be friends with someone so accomplished.
Despite Bell's tendency to brush off praise, the irrefutable truth remained engraved in stone.
He was one of a handful of level 5 adventurers currently in the city.
He was the record-holder for the fastest level-ups.
He was the former captain of a familia.
...Bell doesn't say anything about what he thinks but is it really okay for someone so inexperienced as myself to consider him a friend? I mean, aren't I just holding him back..?
"Welf?"
Shaking his head, he got up and latched his greatsword onto the hook on his back. "It's nothing. Let's get going."
Entering the tall white tower and walking down the wide, spiraling stairway, the rabbit stopped abruptly, "Right umm... Sorry Welf! I might not be free for some time again!" bowing a perfect 90 degrees.
"H-hey I'll hear you out so could you please stop bowing? It's kinda embarrassing for me right now..." He looked down at his feet, scratching in
"Okay.."
As they made their way down to the first floor, Bell began to explain his situation to the blacksmith; that he and his familia were going off to Melen on a small vacation. The blacksmith personally didn't mind since he wasn't in any rush to level or anything like that. Though it would be a bit boring for him to not have anyone to crawl the dungeon with.
"Oh is that all?"
"..You aren't mad?" Bell asked, tilting his head.
Welf came to an abrupt halt, turning to stare the rabbit dead in the eyes, confused. "Should I be?"
"I mean I've been going off and doing my own things without telling my party first so-"
"Bell if anyone should be apologising, it's me." He felt as if what had been weighing on his mind had to be voiced. "You have to deal with such a useless blacksmith that can't even watch his own back. You could go so much deeper if you weren't forced to party with me." Welf scrunched up his nose.
"But I'm the one being selfish here... Exploring the dungeon with you is really fun and I want to continue, but because of that, your reputation as a blacksmith -no, as a person in general, will plummet for being friends with a murderer." Bell spoke in self-deprecation.
"Who the heck cares if you've killed a few people? Cause I definitely don't, not anymore at least." His young silver-blue eyes looked unwaveringly into the rabbit's rubies.
"Y'know when I first met you, I was scared. But after getting to know you better, I get that you're a really cool guy. I don't really know how to say it but, I feel like you should have more confidence in yourself."
Bell chuckled, "I never thought I would be getting advice from an eleven-year-old but here I am." muttering to himself, as he made eye contact with his friend once again. "Thanks for that Welf."
The blacksmith grinned. "Don't worry about it! That's what friends are for righ-!" As the words left his mouth, he fell over again...it was as if the greatsword on his back was some kind of sentient being with the sole unadulterated purpose of trying to embarrass him.
"Ow my nose!" He shot an unsuccessful glare at his laughing friend as he was pulled back up.
.
.
As Rose had predicted, the passes for leaving the city had been sent to the Stardust Garden exactly 4 days later. Guild seniority be damned, it was scary how accurate her prediction was.
They planned to leave as soon as the leave permits arrived, which was the night prior, and they began to pack their bags to set off the next day.
"Just where is that bomb-brained pallum?" Kaguya asked rhetorically.
Alise, Bell, Kaguya and Ryuu were gathered in the living room, dressed in their casual clothes and waiting for the pink-haired pallum.
Lyra was holed up in her workshop ever since they returned from the dungeon, only leaving to eat and wash herself. She had been told when they were leaving, and while everyone else was prepared to leave, she was still nowhere to be seen.
"-Right here." The aforementioned entered the living room.
"We're going to miss our ride if we stay any longer." Ryuu pointed out.
"Had some last-minute stuff to finish making before we left." Patting her sizeable backpack...well for pallums, that is. It was as large as a normal camping backpack but due to the size of it in comparison to the pallum, it looked like those comically large, gravity-defying bags that supporters wore. Albeit smaller of course.
"If you don't mind me asking, what's in there?" Bell pointed at the bloated bag.
A smirk crawled up onto the pallum's face. "What? Can't a girl have some privacy?"
"Ah s-sorry..." He deflated, realizing her point.
"I'm just joking, but you'll see soon enough when we get to Melen anyways." She replied cryptically. Their interests were peeked but as the pallum said, they would have to wait and find out.
"Okay then! Now that we're all ready, let's go!" Alise gushed.
As they made their way out of the manor, they were met by Astraea by the front gates. Bell found it really unfair that they would be having fun without her but accepted it as how the city worked.
"Are you sure you really can't come with us goddess? I mean, it would be a lot more fun."
The brunette shook her head. "As much as I would like to go see the beach myself, I have my own duties here. Instead, how about you all tell me about it once you get back?" She smiled warmly.
"...Well okay then."
"Have a fun and safe trip, everyone." Astraea waved.
"Bye bye!" Alise grinned.
"See ya in three days, we'll be sure to bring back some souvenirs." The pallum added.
"I'm looking forward to it." The brunette smiled.
The brunette giggled to herself as she watched their forms shrink in the distance. Lyra was rubbing her head after getting knuckled by Kaguya, and soon she was plopped over the far-eastern woman's shoulder as they broke out into a sprint.
Astraea did want to go with her children if she could, but such was one of the constraints being a god of a high-ranked familia.
.
Arriving at the stone gates, they dug out their permits from their bags, eager to exit. The line seemed to stretch on for miles, but they were determined to make it through. They chatted amongst themselves, their excitement palpable in the air.
As the minutes ticked by, their anticipation grew. They watched as groups of people were granted exit, one by one, and finally, it was their turn.
"-Next!" The guard called out. "Oh Astraea familia?"
"Hello." The captain waved.
"Alright please present your permissions."
Alise handed her pass over as the guard inspected it, nodding.
"Looking good. You girls going on a quest?" He asked nonchalantly.
"Nope, we're going on a break to Melen."
He yawned. "That sounds nice. Well, have a fun trip."
The Ganesha familia member inspected each of the passes one by one, ending with the albino. Bell held his permit out for the guard to check it for any issues. The man sneered at the rabbit, snatching his pass up hastily. He scanned it for any problems and not-so-gently, shoved it back into the teenager's hands.
Bell felt uncomfortable being looked at with such scorn, not from the way he was seen, no. He had long since accepted that. But because those dazzling stars saw it; saw him. He hated it. He wanted to crawl into a dark hole and hide, over being seen by the pillars of justice he was supposed to join.
Was it really okay?
For someone with hands so stained to uphold such clean dreams?
To be with them?
A voice in his mind beckoned him, ridiculed, questioned and chastised him;
His voice.
Kaguya approached the man with a glare. "Hey-"
Bell tugged at the sleeve of her kimono, "...Big sister please don't. We shouldn't make the carriage man wait any longer." pulling her violet gaze to his downtrodden rubellite eyes. His lips quivered as he smiled bitterly before breaking eye-contact and walking towards their convoy.
In spite of his words, she wanted to give the not-so-friendly guard a piece of her mind but was stopped by the blonde elf who put a hand over the black-haired woman's shoulder, shaking her head. Scoffing in displeasure, Kaguya tread after the rabbit in a sour mood, Ryuu following in suit.
They loaded up their luggage and boarded the wooden coach, setting off to the port city. No words were shared between the children of justice, no words could be shared. Any fleeting conversation lasted for as long as a goblin to skilled adventurer.
Alise tried her best to cheer up the rabbit to no avail.
Mentally, she swore to lighten up Bell's mood at any possible moment on their trip. She didn't like seeing people around her sad after all.
His eyes wandered across the pastoral plains that enshrined the Labyrinth city, and the boundless blue skies above.
The ends of his lips trailed down, only replying briefly to any attempts at conversation. He knew; knew Alise was just trying to help him, and that it was rude of him to deny her help.
Yet his mind rejected it. His body denied it. Bell was sure that if he so asked, Alise would have listened to him. But he just couldn't. Oh how easy it could have been, to simply fall back and rely on her.
But he swore, to never be weak again, to never lose anyone important to him ever again. And for that reason, he decided to keep his feelings to himself.
.
.
Two hours had passed by in the blink of an eye as they arrived at the port city.
"Finally we're here!" Alise hopped out of the horse-drawn carriage and onto the stone pavement, bags in hand. The others too exited the carriage, albeit more sensibly.
"My shoulders are stiff." Kaguya groaned, rolling her shoulders.
Compared to Orario, Melen was far more sunny. A fresh wind swept down from the coastline and through the buildings. It wasn't nearly as large as Orario, perhaps being only as large as a 10th of Daedalus street.
The buildings in Melen were mostly one or two stories tall, with the occasional one that had more floors. Unlike Orario, where the city's borders were walled off, the port city could always expand outwards in comparison to the labyrinth city which could only expand upwards.
Walking through the city, the smoky scent of fish filled their noses. Various vendors were calling out and selling foods to any willing tourists. Alise eyed the seafood with reckless abandon, soon pouting as she was dragged away by the blonde elf.
After some time of asking for directions from locals, they managed to find the way to their place of stay.
The walls of the house were painted white, with a brown tiled roof that arched downwards from the center towards the front and back of the structure. It was two stories tall with a porch facing the beach in the back.
According to Rose, this was a so-called 'beach house'. The concept was new to Bell, as he only left Orario once or twice for some small quests, and never for the sole purpose of tourism or enjoyment.
When the rabbit returned home with recommendations from his advisor, the black-haired woman and redhead ultimately decided on staying at this house for its space, location, and price. It wasn't the most expensive nor exactly cheap of places to stay but could accommodate their entire familia.
After paying for their stay at an agency in the business district of Orario, they were given the keys on the spot. Bell was initially surprised by how the transaction itself worked, he thought that they would be meeting with someone who would give them the keys to enter, but apparently not.
Since the other members of their familia would also be staying at the same place, the key would be passed to them when they returned back to the labyrinth city and after their vacation, would return the keys back to the owners.
Kaguya fished through her bag, pulling out a key that was given to her when they paid for the stay, and unlocked the oak-wooden door, entering the house.
The living room had two green sofas facing each other, a wooden coffee table in between them. There was a small kitchen and dining area next to the living room. Both floors also had a bathroom, each containing a shower. The overall design of the house was for tourists to not spend time indoors as the windows on the second floor were facing towards the city and the beach.
"Jeez how much did you spend on this place?" Lyra asked, wincing at the interior.
"Perhaps if you came with us and didn't hole up in your workshop for the past few days then you could have had a say in this." Kaguya replied.
The pink-haired girl sighed. "Fair enough. So what're we doing first?"
"Maybe we could explore the city?" Bell suggested.
"Nope!" Alise proclaimed to the rest of her familia. "The skies are clear, the sun's bright, its a warm day and it isn't that late yet. What better than to go to the beach?" She asked rhetorically. "Huhuhu, I see you're all stunned silent by my soundless logic! As expected of me. Now with that said, go get changed everyone!"
The pallum raised her hand. "I don't have a swimsuit though?"
A mischievous smile crept onto the redhead's face, "My amazing self foresaw this and already had one prepared for you." as she knelt down and dug through her bag.
There were a total of five rooms in the house, each having two beds and their party was also of five so they would each take a room for themselves. Alise, Kaguya and Lyra took the rooms on the second floor with Bell and Ryuu taking the remaining ones on the ground floor.
After putting his clothes away and getting changed into a white t shirt and yellow swimming trunks, he made his way down to the sandy glade below.
The women didn't want to be seen by other men, so after not consulting Lyra of their decision, a hefty sum of valis was paid and they now had this entire area of the beach to themselves.
"..It smells so nice, and the view is so beautiful." He mumbled to himself.
Stepping from the stone pavement to the beach was a new experience for the rabbit. The sand felt warm, soft yet ticklish at the same time as his feet marked themselves with every step he took. He looked around, noticing a wall of palm trees dividing the beach and from the city.
Bell unfurled the white blanket under his left arm, laying it out on the grains. He took a seat with his legs outstretched, leaning on his hands as he stared at the cerulean-blue skies.
His mind was as serene as the ocean, as he sat by the shore, listening to the soothing melody of the gentle waves. Something about the scenery and atmosphere made the rabbit feel as if he could just relax and forget about all of his problems. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, trying to further immerse himself in nature's song, until he felt a pair of hands over his eyes.
He was about to grab the wrists of the person behind him and throw them over his shoulder, but the hands stayed firmly held in place.
"-Who is it?" The voice asked, playfully.
"...Alise?"
"100 points for you!"
Bell shielded his eyes from the bright sun as the captain removed her hands. It took him a good moment for his eyes to readjust to the brightness as he looked over his shoulder, seeing Alise kneeling down with her hands on her knees behind him.
"So how do you think I look?" She asked
The redhead wore the orange-red bikini that she bought on her shopping trip with Kaguya and Ryuu earlier in the week. Her smooth and peachy skin shone under the shining sun and her beauty only further accentuated by the bright smile plastered on her face. Her chest was a lot larger than he thought it was but he would keep that to himself, it wasn't something appropriate to say anyways.
"A-ahm...I think you look very beautiful, the color of your swimsuit really brings out the color of your eyes and hair." The rabbit answered as honestly as possible, trying not to stare for too long.
"As expected of me, the pure, righteous and amazing Alise Lovell! I think you look really good too Bell!" She nodded to herself as she patted the blushing rabbit over the head.
"What're you two doing flirting over there?"
Bell's face was immediately assaulted with a stream of water. Shaking his head, he made eye-contact with the pallum who wore a simple blue, one-piece swimsuit. There was a rectangular white patch over her chest with some far-eastern symbols written that he couldn't read. In her hands was a weird circular object with what looked like some kind of bottle on top.
Lyra whistled, "Works like a charm." shooting another stream of water at the rabbit's face.
"*splurt* Please sto- *splurt*" It didn't really hurt, but was annoying.
She smirked as she pulled the grip at the front of the weird tool forward and backward a few more times, until water stopped coming out.
"What's that?" The redhead asked.
She had a proud glint in her eyes as she held up the green and yellow object. "This is my new invention that I call the 'water gun'."
"Does it shoot water or something?" Alise asked, taking a seat on the blanket next to Bell.
The albino stared blankly at his captain who soon met his gaze and looked down, noticing the soaked shirt. An 'oh' escaped her mouth as she turned back to the pallum girl.
"Never mind, act like I said nothing. So how does it work?" Alise asked candidly.
"Hoh? You wanna know? Well I guess I can explain if you're really that interested." The pallum chuckled to herself as Alise and Bell sat in a 'seiza' position in front of her.
Lyra took a few seconds to suck in air, before speaking. "So basically, water is fed into the container here at the back which has a cap on it that can keep water from leaking out then inside there is a small pipe that connects the water tank to the chamber through a pump which is secured with gaskets to prevent water from leaking out into the actual body of the gun or any air for entering the system and when you pull the handle here forward, it sucks in water from the container which has a small filter at the entrance to prevent any small substances from getting into the pump then when the container is full of water you can pull the handle towards you and it forces the water out through a second pump which is connected to the nozzle of the Soakmaster 3000, the flanges on the inside of the rod that's a part of the handle and at the part where the chamber is connected to the second pump that's connected to the nozzle will be pushed out slightly allowing small amounts of water to flow through and be released at varying pressures that mostly depends on how fast you pull the handle back."
...I didn't understand a single thing she just said...and did she really just say that in one breath!? Both albino and redhead thought.
"So basically it just shoots out pressurized water." The pallum summarized.
...Oh. I see...
"You three seem to be having fun here." Kaguya commented, as she made her way over to the trio with an umbrella over her shoulder, and a folded chair in hand, Ryuu following closely behind her with a red face.
The black-haired woman was wearing a short-sleeved white cover-up over her bikini, which was the same shade of purple as her kimono, and a pair of black sunglasses that sat gently on the top of her head. The elf behind her wore a one-piece, leaf green bikini with a similarly colored band that went around her chest and left shoulder, holding it up. She also wore a wide-brimmed straw hat.
"W-why are you staring at me B-bell!?" Ryuu asked, bashfully.
"Hm? I didn't know that you liked Lion." Alise teased.
"A-ah I'm sorry for staring so much. I was just surprised since elves don't usually like to show skin." Holding his hands up and looking away from her.
Ryuu knelt down with her back turned to the group, flushed all the way to the tips of her ears. "Hauuu... Why did you make me wear this Alise...?"
"Okay to be fair, there were more embarrassing ones." The redhead crossed her arms, nodding in memory.
...Embarrassing for an elf or for a human?...
Kaguya whispered into Bell's ear. "...You were imagining something, weren't you?"
"I wasn't" He replied plainly, as Kaguya narrowed her eyes, wondering where his usual embarrassment went away to.
"...Sure." She sighed, propping up the umbrella and unfolding her sun-lounger on the blanket to the right of Bell. "You guys can go play in the water or something, I for one, am going to enjoy myself a well-deserved nap." Putting on her sunglasses and laying down with her hands behind her head.
The women looked at each other and shrugged, deciding to leave the far-eastern woman to her rest. Even though Kaguya was the vice-captain, she would often do more work than Alise so they all understood not to disturb her.
Bell said that he would stay behind to enjoy the shade for some longer, and would join them later.
"Hey Lion!" Lyra grinned.
"Wha-" The elf, in spite of her high level, was not able to react to the stream of water being sent her way and ate a face full of water.
"Take this!" Firing off another blast at the elf.
"Don't think I'll get hit by the same tricks again." She threw her hat towards Kaguya as she dodged the jets of water. The black-haired woman, curiously, caught the flying object with her two fingers despite the fact that she was 'napping'.
Alise too, joined in on the festivities with the other two girls, after contenting herself from taking a quick swim to stretch her muscles.
"Are you not going to join them?" The 'napping' princess asked her little brother.
"I'm not sure honestly, they look like they're having fun so I wouldn't want to intrude." He replied, burying his head further into his knees.
"...Is that so..?"
The adopted brother-sister pair sat and laid respectively in silence.
"You know, normally guys your age would be enjoying themselves more. Be it flirting, trying to cause some lucky accidents or doing literally anything else." She said bluntly.
"...I don't think I have that right anymore."
"And why is that?"
"You know how the people...how everyone else sees me right?" Raising his head from his knees to face his big sister. She didn't reply but Bell felt as if she nodded. "Should...no, does someone like me really deserve to enjoy myself...? To have fun?
"I cannot answer that question for you. It is something you have to find the answer to on your own." Kaguya raised her sunglasses as she sat up. "-But, know that I, Alise, Lion, Lyra, Lady Astraea, and everyone else will be there to support you along the way." The rabbit had no response to her words, but she could see the corners of his lips raising ever so slightly.
"-Bell! Come over here!" Alise smiled brightly, waving from the ocean.
Bell's right arm raised up, palm outstretched to the redhead. His mouth opened slightly, closing as he clenched his fist, lowering his arm.
"You heard the captain."
"But-"
"No but's. Just get going so that I can rest." Kaguya shooed him with her left hand.
"I...thank you, big sister." He got up from the shadow of the umbrella and made his way to the light of his captain.
.
"What were you talking about with our resident princess?" Alise asked casually.
"It was...nothing important." He shook his head. "So did you need me for something?"
"Nope." She replied, strongly pronouncing the 'p'.
"Then..?" Bell tilted his head.
Alise giggled to herself, much to Bell's Confusion. "Sorry it's nothing. You just looked so lonely over there...well I guess Kaguya was with you, but I can't confidently say that she's the best company even after all these years." She said, waving the thought away.
"How about we race to see who can get to that rock faster!" Alise asked, pointing to a rock about half a kilometer away.
"But I've never swam before." He stated.
"Eh- EHHH? T-then how did you survive in the water city?" Her jade eyes widened.
"I never fell into the water...?" Bell replied with a straight face.
"Pfft..." Alise tried her best to hold in a laugh.
"Please don't laugh…"
"Sorry, sorry. I could teach you if you want." She offered.
"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to trouble you." He hung his head low.
"Of course! Come on, give me your hands." Alise took his hands in each of her own, leading them deeper into the water until they were waist-deep. "Okay for now, try to float on your stomach." The rabbit looked uneasy so she gave his palms a squeeze and a bright smile. "Don't worry, I won't let you go!"
Her words were simple; without any hidden meaning, but for some reason, his chest tightened, and his face felt warmer.
"O-okay." He followed her orders, letting his lower body float freely.
"Now start by slowly kicking your legs. No, not like that. Just kick your legs as if you're walking but with your thighs locked in place." Bell nodded as best as he could in his position. "Yep. Exactly like that."
...Wow, he's a fast learner...
"I'm going to have to let go of your hands to show you how to move your arms alright?"
Bell sighed. "Alise, I'm not a child...and I'm tall enough to stand on my own at this depth."
"Ehehe." She giggled, patting the grumbling albino's head. "Hmmm...what's the best way to explain this... Basically, just imagine you're doing a hook with your arms but you're arching them downwards and repeating that motion to paddle yourself forwards." Demonstrating the movements with her own arms.
"Like this?" He said, in a questioning tone.
Alise nodded. "Yes. When your arm is outstretched, turn your head in the same direction as that arm that's moving forwards to take a breath."
"I think I understand."
"Now try for yourself. Ah, I'm going to have to hold you, is that okay?"
"Y-yes."
Bell jolted lightly as she held him up by the stomach, but found himself getting gradually more comfortable with her touch.
She let him swim around for some time as he repeated her instructions to the best if his abilities, and after half an hour of practice he was able to swim with ease.
"Now how about that race?" Bell smiled.
"Oh you're on!" Alise turned to him, grinning at the challenge.
.
.
"Ok that should just about be everything." Bell said, hoisting another bag of food in his arms.
After a few hours of playing at the beach and relentless swimming between the Scarlet Harnel and Astrapi, they started to feel hungry so Bell offered to go buy some food for the group to eat. Ryuu asked whether or not he needed any help to which the rabbit declined. Sadly, the elf wouldn't be able to escape wearing such 'scandalous' clothing with little effort.
It was no surprise, but the majority of the food in the bags he carried were fish. Melen was a city that lived off of the trade of seafood, which was a reason for its mass tourism and bustling economy.
The rabbit retraced his footsteps. Somehow, he managed to end up getting lost in the not-so large city. He considered jumping to the rooftops but the food probably wouldn't do well with the movement so he ruled that out.
Looking around, he saw a purple haired woman who looked to be a couple celches shorter than himself. She wore a purple top with puffy sleeves over dark purple gloves that went up to her shoulders, with Similarly colored purple shorts over dark-purple leggings. There were a pair of swords on her brown belt, maybe she was an adventurer of some kind?
Since there was no one else around that area, he walked up to her in hopes of finding directions.
"Umm...Miss, do you know how to get back onto the main street? I kind of got lost."
She turned to face him, purple eyes meeting red.
"Sure I don't min...YOU!" Her calm demeanor broke as her eyes widened, roaring as she dashed at him with her blades drawn.
Bell jumped away fast enough on instinct, surprised at the sudden outburst of bloodlust and dodging her slashes. "Wh- What are you doing!?"
"YOU BASTARD!"
She was quick, but he was faster. She was likely level 2 to be able to move that quickly. Bell discarded the bags of food and disarmed her before they had the chance to drop to the ground.
"Argh- UNHAND ME!"
"Not until you tell me why you tried to attack me."
...Is she evilus? No...it shouldn't be possible. I made sure there wouldn't be any remnants...but what if-
She squirmed. "YOU LET HER DIE!"
...She? Who?...
"I don't understand. Who are you talking about?"
"YOU...! YOU LET MY SISTER DIE YOU FUCKING RABBIT..!"
"Like I said, who is your sister? What's her name?" For some reason, he felt the back of his neck break into a cold sweat.
"Emma, Emma Flores!" She howled.
The rabbit's arms fell dead, allowing the purple-haired woman to break free. "T-then you're-"
"I'm the sister of the girl you killed!"
Author's Notes:
...I've come to notice how on-off my writing has been, sometimes I end up focusing on dialogue and sometime long paragraphs. There's no consistency huh?
Sorry for the late chapter, even though I was on holiday I had a really big motivation deficiency...and I ended up spending most of the time I was supposed to write, planning future stuff. Well I hope this chapter being a lot longer made up for it.
Side note, Bells outfit is from the s1 ova, and the astraea girl's outfits are the swimsuit illustrations from megami magazine. Hope that helps with the visuals.
0blivionKnight: I do intend to include the Evilus remnants into the story later on, but I don't have any plans on delving too deep into Sword Oratoria content since I think they aren't the focus of this story. But who can say? Maybe Bell will get his revenge on a certain madwoman.
Merec55: No, Bell did not kill any deities.
Guest (I'm assuming it's dusker): Thanks for the in-depth feedback first of all. I do have a beta reader, but the past chapters were done in a somewhat lazy way, so I hope this chapter turned out better since we spent a lot more time proofreading stuff. And yes, the "Let's count up your sins" may come in a future chapter but I don't have any plans at the moment.
Zasun: Yeah sorry to burst your bubble lol, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon. Soonest that might happen would be at least 20 more chapters in.
Thanks for reading as always!