After a short break, everyone returned to see what the god had next for them. That wouldn't happen since a certain silver haired woman had decided to voice her annoyance.
Alfia: I wish I didn't have to do this, but I'm not going to let this slide any longer.
Rolan: If it's come to that, I'll just go and prepare the next world. Be safe, ladies.
And with that, the god disappeared.
In another place...
Xenos: Huh?
Wiene: Where are we now?
Rolan: Alright, I had you sent here ahead of time as it would be safer to break you guys in slowly unless you want that woman to end you.
Gros: At least we were in the back for the first movie.
Lyd: Hopefully they don't mind us.
Gros: Don't get your hopes up.
Wiene: Come on, I want to see Bell!
Rolan: Sorry, can't have you die for no reason, but here, you all can watch them.
He snapped his fingers and the screen in the room lit up and they were able to see everyone.
Rolan: You'll all get your chance, just be patient.
Ray: What makes them different from the other's?
Rolan: Let's say Bell's familia has more than a little vendetta against monsters.
Back with everyone...
The god vanished from there as the room was left to suffer Alfia's wrath. Hera had convinced Meteria to stay out of it for the time being as this was for Bell's own good.
Alfia: I've seen plenty enough that there are many girls here after my nephew's love. I don't think you girls realize that you will have to go through me first!
The woman knew who they were and shuddered at the woman's proclamation. They stared at Meteria with pleading eyes hoping she would be able to calm her violent sister.
Meteria: Sister, please go easy on them! You saw how happy Bell was in the last world, you don't need to be so hard on them!
Alfia: I'm doing this for Bell. If they want to be his wives, then they need to be able to support a family. As such, I think it's time I see how well prepared they are, and don't think you goddesses are safe either! I won't be any easier on you.
Freya was shaking especially hard as Syr and Helun switched places again so now Syr was back in goddess form. Hera just watched with a smug smile at the goddess of beauty's plight.
Hera: (I hope I brought enough popcorn and butter. This will be good.)
Bell: Welf, what's gonna happen?
Welf: I wish I knew, just pray that they'll come out in one piece.
The two Hestia members along with Mikoto gave their familia their prayers.
Alfia: Alright, all you girls come with me. There was a kitchen back in the lobby, you all will meet me there first.
They did as ordered and they all filed into the kitchen. The girls there were Ais, Tiona, Lefiya, Ryuu, Lili, Haruhime, Aisha, Eina, Artemis, Freya and Hestia, all in cooking outfits.
Haruhime: Aisha?
Aisha: Don't have all the fun without me. I want my share of rabbit.
Alfia saw them all lined up at their kitchen stations and decided to get on with the next step.
Alfia: Now then, if you all want my nephew, you should be able to cook a decent meal for the two of you. So, you will be cooking any dish for me to test.
Some like Lili and Haruhime were fine with that as they have made decent meals for themselves. Eina and Lefiya have some cooking experience, but the same can't be said for the others. Aisha had a thoughtful look on her face while Tiona had a silly smile her face, ready to start. Ais and Ryuu were sweating at Alfia's challenge fearing what would happen to them.
Ais: (Maybe if I believe enough, this place won't catch fire.)
Ryuu: (What do I do?! I can't even peel vegetables much less cook!)
Hestia and Freya were calm but first different reasons.
Hestia: (Time to put those potato skills to work!)
Freya: (Mmm... I just can't choose what to make.)
Alfia: I'll give you one hour. Start!
They quickly got to work with their dishes. Meanwhile, Bell and the others were seated in the dining area wondering what was happening until Meteria came out of the kitchen.
Bell: What's going on in there, mom?
Meteria: Let's say, your aunt wanted to have a word with all of them so they'll be busy for a while.
A certain swordsman took that as his cue to move in. He walked to Bell and grabbed his shoulder.
Albert: That reminds me, you and I need to have a talk.
The man had a dead serious expression and Bell was getting extremely nervous.
Bell: G-Guys?
Welf: Man, would you look at this floor.
Mikoto: How intriguing.
Naaza: (Sorry Bell.)
Bell felt betrayed that his friends would leave him like this. Many others like Zeus and Hermes were giving their prayers to the young rabbit.
1.5 Hours later...
Bell could be seen back in the dining area with a ghost of himself coming out of his mouth. Welf went to check on his friend, but the boy was mumbling things the blacksmith couldn't understand while Albert was back with his wife who was lightly scolding him.
Aria: Now, why did you have to be so hard on him.
Albert: But you saw, the boy made our Ais jealous by marrying all those other women.
Aria: Didn't you see how happy their family was? If we get the chance, we get to see our grandchildren while we're still you.
Albert: You mean while I'M still young, I doubt a spirit has to worry about that.
Aria: Aw, don't you feel better knowing your wife will stay young and beautiful.
Albert: You know I still think you are beautiful even if you look old.
The two went of to their own world while Bell's friends were trying to get him back to the realm of the living.
Bete: Stand back, I got this.
Finn: Bete, what's in that bucket?
Splash*
The werewolf threw a bucket of cold water on the rabbit who immediately jumped awake.
Bell: Who- Wha! Where am I?!
Gareth: Aye, glad to have you back, boy.
They all mingled more as they waited for Alfia to return. Meanwhile with the gods, they had their own thoughts.
Hephaestus: They sure are taking a while.
Take: I doubt we have to worry much. Hestia has shown she can fend for herself, with proper motivation though.
Miach: All we can really do is wait and hope they don't get eaten alive.
Around 5 minutes later, the women came out, Alfia first and the rest behind her. Lefiya, Haruhime and Lili were beaming with pride for some reason. Artemis, Hestia and Eina sighed in relief that it was all over. Aisha and Tiona didn't look as exhausted as the last three. Tiona even looked like she had a blast. In the back however, Ais, Ryuu and Freya had sunken looks on their faces with traces of tears. Bell looked at their hands and saw them covered in bandages likely from cutting themselves.
Rewind 80 minutes...
Alfia had her eyes closed as she listened to everyone work. As much as she didn't want to, she had to make sure they knew what they were doing, and she unfortunately heard several things that she would talk about later. After an hour, she went to see the food they made. What she saw was an array of dishes that went from adequate to "What are you trying to feed my nephew?!" Alfia decided to try them in order starting with Ais who was already covered in black marks likely from something being burned. She gave the girl a hard glare as she saw the charred remains of what was supposed to be food. She took a fork to try and pick up a piece, but it crumbled away causing Ais to quiver in fear from Alfia's harsh gaze.
Alfia: What the hell were you doing?
Ais: I-I... I'm not allowed to cook at home. Riveria said I was banned when I almost burned the kitchen down.
She hung her head down as Alfia sighed in annoyance before moving on to Tiona's dish, which was a simple grilled fish.
Tiona: Here ya go!
The girl smiled brightly at her while Alfia looked skeptical.
Alfia: (This looks too simple to be true...)
She took a bite and found that it wasn't awful.
Alfia: I suppose it will do. Amazons aren't known for their cooking skills, but this is a surprise.
Tiona: Hehe, my sister and I learned to fend for ourselves in the wild before we came here.
Alfia nodded then moved on to Lefiya.
Alfia: As far as I could tell, you aren't even into Bell so why are you here?
Lefiya: I-I w-won't allow him to have Ais.
Alfia: (She's going to be a headache.)*Sigh* Fine then, what do you have?
Lefiya presented sandwiches she'd make herself when she was out of the house. For someone who isn't even here for her nephew, she was slightly impressed.
Alfia: Not bad.
Lefiya blushed at the praise while Ais grumbled to herself seeing her too friends pass. Fortunately, she'd have a friend of her own because Ryuu was next. Alfia had a questioning look when she saw what looked to be a stew of some sort, except the broth was black.
Alfia: This useless elf...
She whispered it to herself, but the elf's level 4 hearing picked up on this and she couldn't help but feel an arrow pierce her chest as she remembered how Mama Mia said those words to her so many times. Alfia then moved on to Lili, she put together a smaller set of soups. Alfia raised her eyebrow at the prum and Lili tried to defend herself.
Lili: Y-You see, L-Lili is usually put in charge of the sides while Lady Haruhime or Mikoto cooks the main set.
Alfia: *Sips* It will do, but I hope to see you improve if you're after Bell.
Lili nodded quickly as she thanked her luck for not being harshly criticized. Next was Haruhime who was shaking from but trying to calm her nerves.
Haruhime: (Just relax, everyone always says your food is good so she will too.)
She attempted to reassure herself as she showed her Eastern style food. Alfia tried it and was delighted.
Alfia: This has to be the best one so far.
Haruhime: T-Thank you.
Alfia: You would give me the most sense of security by being with Bell.
Haruhime had to keep herself from fainting when she said that. Though, she was conscious enough to nod before Alfia went to Aisha. Seeing it was another amazon, she had her expectations low. She saw a roasted boar which was expected. Any kind of wild animal would do for food. She took a bite.
Alfia: Hm, it's a little overcooked, but you know when to put the fire away.
Aisha: I thought it would be obvious to know when?
Alfia: If only...
She eyed a blonde swordswoman who tried to make herself smaller. Next was Eina, who made a stee that her mother used to make for her growing up.
Alfia: This gives the greatest feeling of a homestyle meal, though you aren't that experienced in the kitchen, are you?
Eina: N-No, I'm too busy with work to do that.
Alfia: I see.
Last was the three goddesses. She went to Artemis first.
Alfia: (She thinks she can have Bell that easily? Well, we'll see about that. I doubt a goddess of chastity knows that much about cooking.)
The woman thought that to herself when she saw that there was just a big ball of what looked to be a fruit.
Alfia: What is this?
Artemis: A special meal I found out about when traveling with Bell.
She took a knife and cut it open, revealing a familiar sight to Lili and Hestia.
Hestia: Oh, I remember that! That's the food Bell found for us when you gave ours away!
Hestia's eyes widened at the last part as she quickly put her hands to her mouth, realizing that she practically cursed her newly revived friend. Alfia had a dark aura around her when she heard that the goddess had given away a vital resource.
Alfia: You gave away food that everyone needed?!
Artemis: I-I deeply regret what I did. I wasn't thinking properly, I just figured that the family we saved would have a better use for it.
Alfia tried the cooked fruit which had turned itself into a soup that was edible. The woman enjoyed the taste as she was proud her nephew was able to recover their supply during that trip.
Alfia: (Good job, Bell. That was quick of you to think about.)
She mentally praised the boy before moving on to Freya. When she did, she noticed how the hotpot the goddess prepared had holes in it and some corrosive purple liquid was leaking out of it. A tick mark grew on the woman's forehead as she watch it.
Alfia: I didn't think I would be able to pity your familia as I do know.
Freya: But they always taste tested for me and they said it was good.
Alfia: Did you bother to ask after they nearly died from being poisoned?
The goddess didn't have an answer as she shrunk back into her place before Alfia moved on to the last person.
Alfia: Are these potato snacks?
Hestia: All of varying flavors.
Alfia: Why?
She was curious why a goddess would make this. Her initial impression of the shrimp was that she was a hopeless goddess, but that changed slightly after hearing of her circumstances.
Alfia: This was a job for you?
Hestia: Yes, I sold these to help support Bell and me when it was just us. I couldn't just sit around while he was risking his life in the dungeon.
Alfia didn't say it outloud, but she was impressed at the girls devotion. She gave her reviews of each one before moving back outside with everyone one else.
Back in the present...
Bell: What happened in there?
Loki: You all looked like you fought a war by yourselves.
Artemis: In a way we did.
Eina: Thank the gods it's over.
Lili: Don't jinx us!
Alfia: Too late.
They all jumped when she said that. All of them trembled at what the woman had in store for them next.
Mikoto: Will they be ok?
Meteria: I'm sure they'll be fine.
Alfia went on to test them. As she did, the requests got more and more ridiculous.
Alfia: Show you can clean a house for yourself and Bell!
Alfia: Peel these onions with your eyes closed!
Alfia: Give me 100 pushups, 100 situps, and 100 squats, then do a run 10 kilometer run!
By the end of it, all the girls were now completed wiped out. Tiona was dragging Lefiya's lifeless corpse as they returned to a meeting room. While they recovered from their torture, Alfia began to explain herself.
Alfia: I'm surprised none of you gave up during it. Though, I have to say you all passed the main test.
Ais: Main test?
Alfia: I wanted to see how committed you all were to my nephew. There's no chance that I'm accepting some half hearted relationship, you have to be all in or out and you all showed me that you're all in. I'm glad to know that you all are serious when it comes to Bell.
They all smiled as they heard the first praise from Alfia in hours. Even those who failed miserably at some parts felt better about themselves.
Alfia: That said-
Any hopes of being accepted were immediately dashed as the woman continued.
Alfia: I now see that all of you have major flaws that need to be fixed. Some more than others...
She looked specifically at Ais, Ryuu and Freya.
Alfia: Well, at least you all survived the first of my tests.
Their hopes plummeted even more when she said that.
Eina: F-F-First?!
Alfia: Of course, you'll naturally have to defeat me in battle if you want my blessing.
All the girls trembled at what their future would be like from now on, but such is life if you want your rabbit. They all returned to the main dining area where Alfia explained that they were fine, physically anyway. Rolan returned shortly after and announced that the next world was ready for them all to watch. They made their way back into the viewing room and waiting in anticipation for what was next.
Loki: I hope this'll ne as good as the last one.
Rolan: Oh, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one, Loki.
Loki: Why's that?
Rolan: Because this next one will be an world where Bell will be on your familia.
The trickster goddess jumped in joy that a star adventurer would be in her ranks.
Loki: YES!! The rabbit's just what we need to be number one in Orario!
Her familia was right behind her as they were also curious about how Bell would change things for them.
Finn: This should be interesting.
Tiona: Awesome, Argonaut's gonna be with us!
Bete: Wonder how strong he'll end up with us?
Ais: (Bell with me in the Loki familia?)
The blonde was imagining how her life would change by living with Bell. Her thoughts took a massive leap when she imagined the countless amounts of lap pillows she could give her bunny.
A smile rose on her face and she got a glint in her eyes as she waited for the show to start.
AN: This was more of a comical chapter I wanted to do now that Alfia had access to Bell's harem. They managed to survive for now. Things are back on track and now it's time for the world of Bell in the Loki familia to begin.
Sorry this took this long, helping to prep for Thanksgiving giving took up a lot of time, but I finished it. Anyway hopefully you all enjoyed and I will see you in the next one.