Bell POV
The sun was shining through the window and I felt something jump on my chest waking me up. I opened my eyes and saw Wiene staring down at me.'
She had a childish smile on her face and her eyes were full of wonder.
"Papa I wanna see the sun," she told me.
"After breakfast" I groaned.
She pouted "ok papa"
She then excitedly jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. I could hear her footsteps down the hallway.
"Better go get your little rascal" Aisha teased having been awoken by Wiene.
"Sorry that she woke you" I apologized.
She kissed me on the cheek. "It's fine, it's kinda cute how she's like your child, although you should probably go and get her"
"Wahhhhhhhh" we heard Haruhime scream.
I turned my head and looked at Aisha. "Seems like Haruhime has her"
Aisha then wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned into my shoulder. "This is nice"
I wrapped my arms around her waist. "Yeah it is"
We laid there like that for a few minutes just enjoying each other's company.
"So who's next for the harem" she jokingly asked.
I chuckled. "Still won't let that go huh"
She kissed me on the cheek before she got up. "Nope it sounds interesting, papa" She then quickly ran out of the room while giggling.
I sat laid there for a moment hearing her footsteps getting farther and farther away. She knew the papa thing embarrassed me.
"I think I've given her enough of a head start," I said to no one.
I got out of bed and walked into the hall. Once I was in there I took off running after Aisha. It didn't take me long to find her as I could still hear her laughing.
I quickly caught up to her and grabbed her by the waist picking her up in the process.
"No put me down" she laughed playfully hitting my arms.
"Nope," I told her as I peppered her face with kisses.
This seemed to embarrass her a little as her face was turning red. Feeling as if I had done enough I put her back down.
She was laughing and her face was still red. "I don't think I've ever seen you like this"
I smiled "What can I say, you make me happy"
She chuckled. "If only you knew what you were doing, then you'd be a real lady killer" she teased.
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Aisha POV
Wiene was sitting in between Bell and Haruhime. I was on Bell's left my heart fluttering with joy each time I looked at him.
He had finally said it, and I could not be happier. I know his childhood wasn't normal, and honestly, it worries me how he brushes off abuse like that.
His aunt can call it training all she wants but the truth was she abused him. She didn't have to take it that far. Which in turn also slowed Bell's emotional development. But he seems to slowly be breaking out of it.
Most people would have used that excuse to justify shitty behavior. But not Bell.
While yes he was slow on the pick-up with social cues he tried his hardest. It was always cute watching him stumble on his words so he could say what he really meant.
So I waited. I waited until he found the right words to tell me how he felt and last night he did. Albeit I was an emotional mess he told me he loved me.
Oh, I'm still getting all giddy over that. I turned my head and looked at him. He was teaching Wiene how to use a fork and the sight was adorable. Haruhime was also trying to help and the two looked like her parents.
While the talking monster was still weird she was growing on me. It caught us all off guard yesterday when he brought her back. But he made a good point.
If we all trusted Regis who was an actual talking weapon in the form of a wolf. What's the difference between him and Wiene?
Regis had never tried to hurt any of us and he took a protective role for Lili and Haruhime. He was also Bell's technical guardian. So if he has all this power yet is still kind who's to say Wiene isn't the same?
"No Wiene use the fork like this" Bell gave her a demonstration.
"But my hands are more useful papa"
Haruhime wiped some crumbs off Wiene's face. "Lady Wiene it's better to use a fork so you don't get all messy"
How cute.
I kept smiling at the scene. Everyone else was but Miach noticed my eyes were focused on Bell.
"You seem happy Aisha," he said.
Bell went to take a sip of his drink and I saw the perfect opportunity to tease him.
"Everyone I have an announcement to make"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me. Bell looked at me out of the corner of his eye giving me a curious glance.
"I'm pregnant"
Bell spit out his water and started coughing. Laurier's and Haruhime's faces were bright red. Nazha had her eyes wide and Miach had a smug smile on his face. Regis was under the table laughing while Welf looked shocked. Mikoto's face was buried in her hands while Lena cheered. Lili looked like her brain had shut down. Zald seemed to see through the lie but kept his mouth shut. Wiene looked at everyone in confusion.
"Just kidding, I just had a good night last night"
Bell had finished coughing and gave me a wide-eyed look.
"That's not funny"
I shrugged my shoulders "I thought it was"
Miach laughed. "Alright enough, jokes aside you just looked really happy"
"Bell can tell you why later, as for us girls we have gossip for later" I smirked.
Bell's head hit the table and he groaned. Wiene was looking at him in confusion.
"Are you ok papa"
Miach cleared his throat. "They'll be time for gossip later, right now we need to get information to see if there are other monsters like Wiene"
"Lili can use her magic and explore the darker parts of the city for information"
"Cassandra and I will tag along with her, and make sure no one gets any unsavory ideas" Daphne offered.
"I can head to the guild, see if anyone's heard anything" Welf offered.
"Aye that's smart lad, I'll keep an eye on you from the shadows while you do so," Zald said.
"I'll ask around, see what any other gods have heard" Miach stood up.
"Ooh can I come with you lord Miach, I wanna see Lady Astraea" Laurier jumped up to her feet.
Miach chuckled "Yes you can come with me, I'll make sure to stop by Astraea's first so you can stay, Nazha would you like to accompany me as well"
"I would love to dear"
Honestly seeing the two of them act lovely-dovey is nice. Maybe Bell will be like that one day.
"Lena and I can ask some old friends from the Ishtar familia, prostitutes hear a lot"
With everyone's plans set that just left Bell and Haruhime. Regis said he was going with Lili. When we mentioned that he would draw attention he went into his will o wisp form and went inside Lili's body. Guess that's one way to hide.
"And what are we supposed to do," Bell asked.
I went up behind him and wrapped my arms around his neck leaning my chin on his shoulder.
"You two are gonna play the role of mother and father, got that papa" I teased.
I heard him let out a deep breath. "I'll give you another head start"
I took off running, and a second later I heard the chair pushed back and footsteps chasing after me.
"I'm gonna get you" he mocked as he chased after me. I laughed as I told him to get away.
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Bell POV
Everyone had left not too long ago, leavening just Me, Haruhime, and Wiene alone at the mansion. Since Wiene wanted to see the sun we took her outside and decided to have a picnic.
We laid the blanket out of the grass in the backyard so no wandering person could see Wiene. Haruhime put the picnic basket down between us as Wiene laid down and looked at the sun.
"It's so pretty, I wanna touch it," she said.
I chuckled. "You do that you'll get burned"
The three of us sat there enjoying the breeze as fall was soon approaching. The city would become colder and after fall Yule would be right around the corner. I smiled at the thought of spending Yule with everyone.
I looked to my right and saw Haruhime teasing Wiene with her tail. Wagging it in front of her before moving it away before she could grab it.
If I was being honest the whole thing was kind of adorable.
"Lady Wiene you should try some of these sandwich's I made" Haruhime reached into the picnic basket grabbing a sandwich. She told Wiene to open wide and fed her the sandwich.
Right now the scene looked like a mother and daughter. I smiled seeing the sight.
An image of my mother flashed through my mind. The scene was the same as this. Mom was sitting where Haruhime was and I was sitting in Wiene's spot. I shook my head to dispel the image, seeing the scenery go back to normal.
Did I just subconsciously cast an illusion on myself?
I felt Wiene jump on my lap snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Papa try this mama made it" Wiene was handing me one of the sandwiches Haruhime made. I could see Haruhime blushing out of the corner of my eye. I decided to tease her a little.
"Yes mama makes very good food, she's a really good cook" I took a bite of the sandwich tasting the flavors of ham and cheese.
"Hmm Master Bell," Haruhime said in an embarrassed tone.
"What it's true, last time I tried to cook something I burned it," I told her.
She tilted her head a little. "Are you not good at cooking Master Bell"
"If it's not meat, I can't cook it," I told her. I hadn't talked much about my life to her. All she knew was the story I told her in the hospital. Never told her about the farming and hunting.
"Now if you really wanna hear about a bad cook talk to Regis" I joked.
"I think I heard about the stove incident," she giggled.
"Stove incident?" Wiene tilted her head in confusion.
I patted her head "I'll tell you about it another time"
Wiene then decided she wanted to play tag. She told us she had heard it from Lena when she asked her what type of games she could play with people.
So Haruhime and I played tag with her. Running around barefoot on the grass chasing after Wiene or Haruhime. It reminded me of my time with Allen and Anya.
Again another image took hold of my mind. This time with me as a kid playing with Anya and Allen. I shook the image away like I did the last one.
Just what the hell is going on? Am I losing control of my powers? No that couldn't be the case. Could it be I desire to go back to a happier time? Or do I wish to go to a time where everything is different?
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After our game of tag ended Wiene was all tuckered out so she was sleeping on the blanket in between us. It was the afternoon and the sun would set soon. That meant everyone would also be back with any information they gathered. But since they're not back yet I should talk to Haruhime. The last time we had some one on one time together is when we danced.
"Thank you Master Bell" Haruhime blurted out. I was caught completely off guard.
"For what?" I asked.
She turned her head and looked at me. The wind blew her hair. "For everything, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here, but since I am I get to experience things like this every day, I also enjoy going into the dungeon with you"
I smiled at her. "No problem, but you still have your whole life ahead of you, what do you plan to do someday," I asked.
"I don't know, I haven't given it much thought, I'd like to stay by your side if you'll allow it"
I gave her a smile. "If that's what you want of course I'd allow it, but I do have some ideas to help you out a bit"
She looked confused. "What do you mean Master Bell?"
"Well first off we need to get you some offensive magic, just imagine it, a horde of monsters heading towards you and with a single spell you wipe them out, wouldn't that be badass"
I looked at her and saw her smiling at me.
"It does Master Bell, it's always fun to hear you talk about magic, you're so passionate about it sometimes"
I nervously chuckled. "Thanks, so how about it, offensive magic?"
"It seems like a good idea Master Bell, but I don't have a mana core, how could I learn offensive magic," she asked.
"Don't worry I know a way" I reassured her.
She then looked up at the sky and smiled.
"The sun really is pretty" She looked at me with a kind smile. I forgot how beautiful she was.
"Master Bell, can I ask you something"
"Sure, ask me anything"
She looked at the blanket before looking back at me. She was nervous.
"If I was forced to go back to the far East, but I didn't want to go, what would you do" I could see her hand trembling a bit. I didn't say anything at first instead grabbing her hand to let her know I was here.
"I'd fight the whole damn Country if I had to" I reassured her.
She looked at the blanket again, tears of happiness were hitting it. "Thank you, Master Bell, that means a lot to me"
I squeezed her hand again. "I made you a promise remember, I intend to keep it"
It was then Wiene woke up. "Papa, mama's crying do something"
I patted Wiene's head. "It's ok Wiene, those are tears of happiness," I told her.
Seeing as the sun was about to set we packed up the picnic area and started walking back inside. However, I felt as if someone was looking at me. This is odd because Freya is out watching the war.
I turned my head and saw an owl with a blue rune for a left eye staring at us. I could feel the magical energy coming off it and could tell someone was watching me through that weird eye.
Once it knew I saw it, it flew away back into the city. I didn't have much time to think of it as everyone had just gotten home.
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3rd person POV
Out of view and with her presence concealed a woman in black was watching the blue manor. She had a veil covering her face so no one could identify her. Her cloak covered most of her body but due to her curves, people could tell a woman was under the veil.
"You can either save them or yourself, which will it be boy"
Oh, look it's the woman in black. I bet she has pure intentions. Anyway hoped you enjoyed this little slice-of-life chapter with Bell and Haruhime since I think the last time was when Bell danced with her. We also touched a little on her trauma as a slave but like I said last chapter it will be explored further in another arc. I also renamed the manor as the medicinal manor is a mouthful.
The information gathering will be next chapter as I didn't really feel like it would fit the tone that was set in this chapter. Also, it seems like Bell and Aisha are now openly showing affection. It might be cringe but hey I don't know shit about love so I tried my best. But do not worry this is the first of many woman's hearts that Bell will conquer.
Well, things will be kicking up soon as I got a job as a carpenter's apprentice but I don't think it will affect my writing too much. I mean I wrote in the hospital when my brain was trying to kill me but who knows?
Well, I'll catch y'all later see ya.