Note: A majority of these stories will take place after the events of Volume 18.
It was like any other day in Orario, adventures were going into the dungeon, merchants were selling, and a Rabbit and orange haired elf were going to have an encounter.
In the shopping district, Bell was walking down the streets, searching for what was on his shopping list.
Bell was shopping for groceries for his familia since he cooked, but Bell had taken a detour to find a jewelry store. Bell wanted to purchase a gift for Hestia for helping him.
On the opposite side, Lefiya was taking a shortcut to get to the Twilight Manor while also looking for the same jewelry store that Bell was searching for. She wanted to buy something as well.
Both Lefiya and Bell approached the entrance of the jewelry store. Their shoulders bumped into each other as it was a one door entrance.
"Ow." Lefiya was pushed back a bit but didn't stumble.
"Ouch. I'm so sorr-" Bell was also pushed back but when he began to apologize, they made eye contact. Lefiya's face began to scowl.
Lefiya's Mind: of all the people in Orario, it had to be him!
"Oh it's you Lefiya-san. Uh, I'm sorry for bumping into you." Bell looked and apologized to the shorter elf while she started daggers into him.
"Hmph. Your apology is accepted human." Lefiya turned her head and faced away from Bell.
"Aha…" Bell let out a small chuckle
Bell was surprised. He hadn't seen Lefiya in a while and her appearance had changed.
Bell was curious about her new looks but didn't want to stare like he did with Ais, but Bell still checked her appearance out.
Lefiya crossed her arms under her breasts. She was used to crossing her arms as there was usually not much in the chest region, but she had forgotten what was there now.
In doing so, Lefiya enlarged her breasts to where they looked bigger than Tione's breasts.
Bell's eyes began to wander. Bell tried to make it look like he wasn't checking her out but failed.
"Ahm…" Bell stood there, fiddling.
"What human? If you don't have any business with me, I'll just lea-" Before Lefiya could finish and walk off, Lefiya was interrupted by Bell.
"I just want to say.." Bell's face got a bit red.
"Say what?" By this point, Lefiya has gotten curious.
"I see you cut your hair short.. I just wanted to say it looks nice.." Bell finally got out what he wanted to say.
"ah." Lefiya's face also turned red.
"Well thank you human, but flattery won't get you anywhere!" Lefiya looked up at Bell with slightly reddened cheeks.
"What! Flattery! No, I was just trying to be nice!" Bell tried to defend himself.
Lefiya closed her eyes, turned her head from Bell. The slightest smile formed on her face.
Bell began to look lower from her hair..
Bell's mind: Lefiya's face looks the same… what else is different…"
Bell's face exploded in red. Bell had seen how much Lefiya had.. 'grown'. Bell immediately looked away but not fast enough.
Before Bell turned his eyes away, Lefiya opened her eyes and looked at Bell's eyes. Bell's eyes, for mere seconds, looked at her breasts. Lefiya saw where Bell was staring and turned red. Red from anger and blushing.
"You filthy human! You were staring at my body with those perverted eyes of yours weren't you!"
"I'M SORRY!" Bell looked back at her and pleaded.
"Don't get too confident! Just because you became level five and won that war game isn't enough!" Lefiya pointed her finger at Bell.
"I swear I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Bell kept on pleading for forgiveness.
"Liar! Perverted Rabbit!" Lefiya kept staring her blue daggers into Bell's bright red eyes.
In reality, she knew Bell wasn't that perverted but didn't like that he had surpassed her.
Eventually, Lefiya began to calm down after screaming a mouthful at Bell.
Lefiya just sighed and thought to herself about how she should be nicer to him since he'd been through a lot, even though they are rivals. Well, only Lefiya sees them as rivals, and she's losing.
Her demeanor completely changed and her body stance softened
"What are you shopping for?" Lefiya looked up to Bell.
"G-Groceries for my familia. I'm cooking for dinner today."
Lefiya's Mind: This human can cook too.
"What are you doing in a jewelry store then?" Lefiya was confused.
"I'm also buying a gift for someone."
While Bell and Lefiya were chatting, dark clouds began to gather in the sky. The smell of rain took over any food sold by the vendors.
"Is it for a woman?" Lefiya had a feeling he was buying a gift for Aisl
"Ah." Bell began to blush a bit
Lefiya began to stare daggers into him again.
"Who is it? It better not be Ais-san, she doesn't need your cheap jewelry!"
"It's not Ais-san! I swear it isn't!" Bell pleaded.
"Then who is it for?" Lefiya demanded to know.
"I-It's for my goddess, after the war game and everything, I figured I should buy her a gift." Bell explained to Lefiya while looking around the jewelry store.
"Oh.. I see."
"What.. What about you Lefiya-san?" Bell asked as he looked down to look Lefiya in the eyes while he scratched the back of his head.
"Hmph, it's none of your business-"
Lefiya was interrupted by a thunder strike and the trickle of rain. It was pouring in mere seconds. Both Bell and Lefiya got drenched.
"Ah! Lefiya this way!"
"Huh?"
Bell grabbed Lefiya's hand and dragged her into the jewelry store, where they were safe from any rain.
"It started raining so hard.." Bell was looking through the window of the store as the rain picked up.
"…" Lefiya was silent.
"?" Bell was wondering why she was silent. Only to look down and see that he is still holding Lefiya's hand. Not to mention since Lefiya's shirt is white, the rain made her slim body a bit exposed.
Luckily, no one else was around since this was an expensive store. The average pricing being around 25 million valis for a necklace.
Bell immediately got red while the Lefiya was still steaming.
"ah… I… I'm sorry." Bell simply gave up. He removed his hand from Lefiya's and looked down towards the floor.
Bell was ready to get an earful from Lefiya.
Lefiya thinked for a while before responding.
"It's… it's fine… you helped me…" Lefiya was looking down at the floor, her hair hiding her face that was all red now.
"Oh… uh. Yeah." Bell stood awkwardly, staring into Lefiya's hair.
"So.. thank you.. But!" Lefiya looked up at Bell.
"?" Bell looked at Lefiya, curiously at what she had to say.
"Don't think we're friends now! You're still my rival!" No matter how much Lefiya matured, there would always be this part of her still inside her.
"Ahahah…" Bell simply laughed it off.
The two of them stood there, awkwardly looking around the jewelry around.
"Say.. B-Bell Cranel.." While Lefiya had called Bell, 'Bell Cranel' before, it was more out of anger. This time, it's more out of thanking him for helping her.
"Y-Yes?" Bell looked at Lefiya again, they were still wet but were drying off.
"What.. what kind of jewelry we're you looking to buy for Hestia-sama?" Lefiya asked hesitantly.
"I was hoping for a necklace.."
"I see.. do… Do you want to go look for one.. together?.."
"Lefiya-san.." Bell began to smile and his face lit up a bit.
"D-Don't think too much of it! It's a way of me saying thank you for helping me get In here."
"It's fine, I appreciate your help, I really do." Bell just smiled
Under her breath, Lefiya said, "charmer."
"Here.. this is where the necklaces are, I've been here before." Lefiya led Bell to a different section of the store.
"What's your price range?" Lefiya knew Bell had gotten a large sum of money from the war game even if it was distributed upon all the familias.
"Around 30 million Valis. Haha, Lili would kill me if she found out I'm spending this much."
"I see.. any kind of stone?"
"Hmmm. One that is made from fire? I know it's a strange request but-"
"How about a fire opal?" Lefiya interrupted Bell. She wanted Bell to know that she has more knowledge than him when it comes to this kind of stuff.
"Fire opal?" Bell turned his head slightly.
"It's a gemstone formed in lava, it would fit Hestia perfectly." Lefiya put her hands on her hips and tilted her head up in confidence.
"You're Amazing Lefiya-san, you know so much about gemstones" Bell looked at Lefiya with awe.
"Gah! Look at this one!" Lefiya's face turned red as she quickly pointed at a fire opal necklace that was on a table, covered by glass.
Bell got closer to the necklace, seeing how beautiful it was, Bell had his eyes set on it.
Bell stared at it for a bit before Lefiya turned back and saw Bell staring at it.
"Is that the one you want?" Lefiya looked at Bell.
"Yes" Bell answered in confidence.
By this point, the rain outside had weakened a lot and only a light sprinkle was happening.
"Don't you want to look at the others?" Lefiya asked Bell to make sure since the necklace he was looking at was exactly 30 million Valis.
"No Thank you, this is the one." Bell once again answered In confidence.
"Ok then, ask a worker to come unlock it."
Bell went to a worker and asked her for that specific fire opal necklace. The worker went to unlock the frame and took the necklace out. Bell and the worker walked back to the counter while Lefiya followed behind.
The worker got behind the counter and told them about something.
"And there is a couples discount, would you like to apply it for this purchase?"
"C-C-Couple? Me and that human! Never! Not In a million years! Not until the day I die!" Lefiya was red to the tip of her ears while Bell also denied it.
"N-No, we aren't a couple! Don't misunderstand please!"
"Heh, I apologize. Would you like me to apply this to the Hestia familia emblem?"
"Yes please." Bell smiled.
"Alright, you officially own this necklace. Here's a box and bag." The worker put the necklace into a fancy box and put it in a paper bag.
"Thank you very much." Bell bowed to the worker.
"You're welcome." The worker bowed back.
Lefiya was already at the entrance of the store, watching this unfold from afar. She had left when the necklace was being put in the bag. By this time, the rain had stopped, it was still dark from the clouds.
"Lefiya-san."
"Yes?"
"Thank you for helping me pick something out." Bell bowed to Lefiya.
"No need to bow Bell Cranel, I was just being nice." Lefiya turned her head away from Bell.
"Hahah, I've got to go now! See you around Lefiya-san." Bell began to ran off in the direction of his familia home.
Lefiya just sighed, she was worried she didn't have enough time before they arrived, but Bell left just in time.
"Ahh there she is! Lefiya-saaaaan!" Tiona called out from a distance.
"Tiona-san and Ais-san." Lefiya greeted them both.
"Have you picked out Argonaut-kuns gift yet?"
"No I didn't, I was waiting for you." Lefiya didn't want to tell them that Bell was just here since it would seem like they were friends, well they are kind of now.
"Well, let's go then!"
"Mmm." Ais followed behind Tiona.
Ais, Tiona, and Lefiya entered the jewelry store and picked out a bracelet worth 10 million Valis for Bell. It wasn't as much as the one Bell purchased but the pay was divided between the three of them.
They decided to give it to Bell tomorrow. They all went home and slept for a bit. Ais was banned from going to the dungeon because Rivera told her she needs a break, Tiona and Lefiya are on their own personal breaks.
The next morning, they decided to go to the Hestia Familia manor. Only one problem, they didn't know where it was.
"Alright! Let's deliver this to Argonaut-kun's home!" Tiona gave a determined face.
"Uhm. Where is Bell's familia home?" Ais asked.
"Eh? I though you knew where it was?" Lefiya asked Ais and Tiona, but they both shook their heads.
"Let's just ask someone, he's really popular now." Tiona smiled.
"Yeah, popular with the girls I'm betting." Lefiya scoffed
Ais and Tiona both got slightly angry by the fact that Bell was more popular with females now.
After asking around and getting directions, they made it to his home. When they got to the gates, they could see a shirtless Bell in the distance. It was a very hot day and Bell was training outside.
They rang the gate bell and Bell appeared shirtless.
"I.. I apologize for being shirtless, it's really hot and I was training outside." Bell chucked and rubbed the back of his head.
"Wow! Your body is built Argonaut-kun!"
Ais blushed a bit seeing Bell without a shirt while Lefiya mumbled under her breath.
"Anyways, we got you a gift!" Tiona pulled out the bag from the store.
Bell recognized the bag and looked at Lefiya, which looked away after making eye contact.
Bell's mind: I get it now…
"Thank you, Ais-san, Tiona-san, Lefiya-san. The bracelet is really nice."
Bell walked in front of Lefiya and told her thank you.
"Lefiya-san, really thank you for your time yesterday. You really helped me." Bell smiled.
"Y-You're welcome Bell Cranel."
"Ehhh. I wanna hang out with Argonaut-kun too. I bet he has a lot of hero stories I don't know."
"I… I too want to… hang out with.. Bell.." Ais spoke out, shyly as ever.
"Ais-san, Tiona-san, we have to go back home now. By Bell Cranel, enjoy your gift.
"Ehh but I-" Tiona and Ais were dragged away by Lefiya.
"hahah.. Thank you Lefiya-san." Bell simply stared as he saw the trio run in the distance.