A/N- Hello there, this is the proper story of female Bell, Belle, and male Ais, Ardan. I think Female Bell is an interesting concept that hasn't been done enough so I figured I would take a shot at it.

—-

Alfia wasn't kidding… this city really is huge.

Belle was awestruck as she waited in line to enter Orario, It was only natural. She had spent her entire life so far in the far north, beyond dragon valley. The only people she had ever known were Alfia and Hera, she wasn't even in the city proper yet and it already felt crowded.

The massive walls loomed overhead blocking the setting sun, the only thing visible above them was the alabaster tower piercing the clouds. Babel, the seal of the dungeon that the gods placed there a millenia ago. It was the only thing preventing the endless masses of monsters from terrorizing the surface.

Belle had been taught about all of these things in extreme detail by her aunt and master, Alfia. Though she would've torn Belle's head off if she was called Aunt, though Belle never had the chance to find out why.

On Belle's fourteenth birthday Alfia had finally been taken by her illness. Hera had returned to Tenkai soon after, not able to cope with the last of her familia being gone. Belle was too kind to voice it, but she felt betrayed that she was not reason enough for Hera to stay.

Belle was truly alone now. Alfia had told her that one day she would need to travel to this city and delve into the dungeon in order to become truly strong, since Belle had nowhere to go she figured now was as good a time as any.

After all, she had to become strong enough to slay the one eyed black dragon. Alfia had drilled into her for as long as she could remember that killing the final calamity was Belle's purpose in life. The world needed a hero for the coming promised time, and Alfia had given what was left of her life to ensure Belle would be that hero. Belle refused to let all of Alfia's effort be in vain.

"What is your purpose in coming to Orario?" Belle was snapped out of her quickly darkening thoughts by a question from a gate guard wearing a strange mask.

"I intend to be an adventurer." Belle replied. The guard nodded and asked Belle to follow him. The guard normally would've at least tried to dissuade such a young girl from walking such a violent path, but Belle was covered head to toe in her black leather armor and a matching hooded cloak. The guard couldn't tell much from her appearance other than that she was no rookie.

Belle was led to a private room where she was checked for a falna, a measure to ensure she wasn't a spy. If what she had been told was accurate the guards would've made a big deal about a member of the banished Hera familia showing up, however as Hera had returned Belle was currently unblessed. There was no image of a woman and scepter on her back.

She was given directions to the guild and quickly sent on her way. Belle was floored by the sheer amount of people roaming the streets. Civilians and adventurers of all races, humans, elves, dwarves, amazons, prums, and all manner of beast-kin. It may sound silly, but Belle didn't know there even were this many people in the world.

After spending all of her life in isolation thus far she couldn't help but gawk at the masses bathed in the warm late afternoon light. Thankfully the hood of her cloak kept others from noticing her stares.

After an hour or so of slowly making her way through the streets Belle finally arrived in front of a massive building made of white marble, the pantheon, headquarters for the guild, the governing body of Orario.

Since it was the end of the day the line was quite long, full of adventurers waiting to trade in their trophies of the day. As Belle entered she looked around and found an empty booth occupied by a brown haired half elf employee, not wasting another moment she darted through the crowd.

"Hello, my name is Eina Tulle. How can I help you today?" The emerald eyed woman asked.

"My name is Belle Cranel, I want to become an adventurer. Could you tell me about some of the familia in the city?" Belle politely asked. Eina raised an eyebrow at the shady figure that already looked to be equipped as an adventurer but nodded and said "Of course, please follow me."

Eina led Belle to a private room for them to talk. Belle finally lowered her hood and pulled her hair free from the cloak. Eina was startled to put it lightly. Snow white hair reaching all the way down to her hips, crimson eyes that nearly seemed to glow, and facial features so beautiful she could be mistaken for a goddess. Not only that but the girl in front of her looked quite young.

"...um, , are you sure you want to be an adventurer? There are much safer ways to earn money." Eina said, tone full of concern.

Belle smiled wryly and replied as she took a seat "I am sure, and I may not look it but I have received quite a bit of training."

"I-I see. Well you wanted to know about the different familia, yes? I assume you mean exploration type familia." Eina said, switching to business mode.

"Yes, only familia that regularly enter the dungeon." Belle replied. Alfia and Hera had told her about the different familia in the city, but that information was fifteen years out of date now.

"Very well. To start with the strongest, there are Freya, Loki, Ganesha, and Astrea familias. Freya familia only accepts new members that are hand picked by their goddess, so that one will be quite difficult, if not impossible, to join. Moreover they are a fanatical bunch, they only concern themselves with their Lady Freya and getting stronger." Eina explained.

That was more or less what Hera had told her about them, except Hera used far more… extreme language. Belle had no interest in being Freya's pet. Sure Freya familia could provide all the support she could ever want, there would always be a collar around her neck.

"Next is Loki familia. Known as the giant slaying familia for their records in the dungeon, they focus heavily on the dungeon. They go on several month long expeditions to the deep floors a few times a year, and spend all the rest of their time farming resources from the lower and middle floors to fund themselves. While Loki familia is very selective, and rarely take fresh adventurers, you would have a chance if you truly have been trained." The brown haired half elf said.

Loki familia certainly sounded ideal, but Belle knew better. They had betrayed what was left of Zeus and Hera familias without a second thought. Their own mentors and role models. How could Belle ever trust people like that?

"Ganesha familia may not be exactly what you are looking for but they are the largest familia in the city. While they do dive into the dungeon, their main priority is the peacekeeping and day to day operations of the city. Guard duty, patrols, arranging all manner of events and festivals."

Admirable, but Belle didn't have time to waste on guard duty.

"Last is Astrea familia, an all female familia. They currently only have five members, four level sixes and one level four. Apparently around the time I started working here they had several more second class members but they were killed in the dark age. Lady Astrea is the goddess of justice, and her familia pride themselves on upholding that ideal. They spend most of their time in the dungeon, but go on patrols of their own whenever they can." Eina said.

Justice… That may be exactly what Belle was looking for. Alfia and Hera had never mentioned them, so they must not have been very well known back then.

What better goddess for an aspiring heroine? A bonus is the few number of them, Belle was already getting overwhelmed by the sheer scale of this place. A little quiet would be nice. Belle wasn't aware of it herself, but Alfia's appreciation of silence had rubbed off on her.

"Thank you, can you give me the address of Astrea familia?" Belle requested.

"Of course, and please fill these out." Eina replied while handing a few sheets of paper to Belle. Adventurer registration forms.

As she filled the forms out something occurred to Belle. "Ah, do you know of any decent inns? I sort of don't have a place to stay at the moment."

Eina raised an eyebrow at the question and thought for a moment "Hmm, there's the Hostess of Fertility. They cater mainly to adventurers so the crowd can be a bit rough, but the staff there is very capable of stomping any trouble out, often literally."

Belle raised an eyebrow of her own at that but nodded. Eina wrote down directions and handed it to the snow haired girl.

"Thank you very much for the help, I will return if things don't work out with Astrea." Belle politely said.

She then made her way out of the guild and started towards the recommended inn, admiring the sights of the city once more. There were cafes and weapons shops and so much more.

After a few minutes Belle noticed something odd and stopped to look around. People were… staring. Particularly men, Belle had never been around men before and had only been told they were evil by Alfia. Not one to judge she had never taken that seriously, but she was starting to see what her master had meant. She had forgotten to pull her hood back up after leaving the guild.

Only her face was exposed, body still under her armor and cloak, but the men's stares made her feel like she was being licked all over. Quickly pulling her hood back up she bolted the rest of the way to the tavern.

—-

"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility!" A cheery gray haired girl practically shouted at Belle.

"A-ah, yes, hello. Do you have any rooms available?" Belle timidly asked. The girl in the green waitress uniform grabbed her by the hand and said "Sure do! Would you like to eat first?"

"Yes, please." Belle said as she allowed herself to be pulled around. She had never met a person like this and didn't know what to do.

As they entered the first thing Belle noticed was the noise, it was far louder in here than on the street. The sun had just set and the dinner rush was here. Belle was taken to the bar and seated directly in the shadow of the massive barkeep.

"What can I get for ya lass? Names Mia, I own this place." Mia asked. The woman was nearly twice Belle's height and had she not grown up with someone as strong as Alfia she surely would've been intimidated.

"The special and a room please." Belle quietly said, for a moment she thought she would need to speak up but Mia replied with a nod immediately. Then it clicked for Belle, this woman was strong. Having her falna sealed had dulled her senses, but there was no mistaking it. Perhaps not as strong as Alfia but still stronger than Belle.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, apart from the food being excellent. Alfia and Hera were awful at cooking so Belle had learned from a young age. The food she was served was just as good as her own cooking.

—-

Belle rose at dawn the next morning and set out to explore the city. She wanted to get started in the dungeon immediately but Alfia had drilled into her that nothing good could come of rushing. So she decided to take her time and think about her next course of action as she got acquainted with Orario.

She decided to head north with no real destination in mind. She passed by the guild again and looked around the various weapon stores to see what was available. She was content with her Xiphos but still wanted to look around.

Her sword was a gift from Alfia, along with her armor it was the last thing she had received from her master. Alfia had said that as a first class adventurer she needed first class gear.

Her sword, Xiphos, was previously used by the captain of Zeus familia. It was Durandal, unbreakable, which was standard for first class adventurers that could afford it. However it was mostly mythril and forged by Hephaestus herself, normally durandal weapons were composed entirely of Orichalcum. The only person that could make an unbreakable weapon from anything else was the goddess of the forge.

It was a one handed, double edged sword. Black from hilt to tip, a truly beautiful blade. Honestly Belle was itching to break it in, but her lessons from Alfia won out.

Her leather armor was made from the hide of a Nemean Lion, an ancient monster only found in the badlands north of Dragon Valley, where Belle had grown up. Its hide had been so tough that Belle's strongest attacks couldn't even scratch it so she was more than confident in its quality. Belle had needed to shove her hand through the lion's eye and fire a spell within to kill it.

Belle was broken out of her reverie by one of the most delicious smells she had ever experienced. She looked up and found she was in the far north of the city, not far from the home of Loki familia, Twilight manor.

"Jagamarukun…" Belle mumbled as she found the source of the smell.

She walked up to the food cart and was greeted by a short… goddess? "Hello! What can I get for you?" The goddess asked.

No longer able to control her curiosity Belle answered the question with one of her own "What is a goddess doing working at a place like this?"

The small lady with the massive chest, about the same size as mine…, staggered like she had been struck and said "Even goddesses need to pay rent… I'm Hestia. Goddess of the hearth, home, and family."

"I'm Belle, and I'll take a plain one please." Belle asked, choosing to drop the subject as it clearly upset Hestia.

"Coming right up!... by the way you look like an adventurer with that gear… are you maybe… looking for a familia?" Hestia hesitantly, nervously asked.

"I have one in mind." Belle shortly replied. Belle was no fool, if this goddess needed to work at a food stall she probably didn't have a very impressive familia, if she had one at all. Belle wanted to join a familia that had the mentors and support to help her get stronger, while she did feel bad for the little goddess she wasn't going to join her.

Hestia drooped her head and muttered something about bad luck and got Belle her snack. Belle went on her way and enjoyed her fried potato, and what a potato it was. Belle had never had such a food before, but she could tell how unhealthy it was just from the taste. Best to avoid making it a habit.

Belle decided to make a loop through the city as the day moved along. At noon she passed by the colosseum, apparently Ganesha familia tamed monsters and put on a show there every year. It was an impressive structure, albeit overshadowed by borderline divine architecture like Babel and the wall.

She skirted around a place called Daedalus street, clearly a slum, the sort of place she wanted to avoid at least until she got a new blessing. From there she went south to a massive graveyard.

How strange, there's this much grass within the city, huh.

Belle found herself wandering through what seemed to be the only quiet place in the entire city. Belle didn't know anyone who was buried here yet she felt a wave of sentimentality wash over her. It hadn't been long since Alfia died, Belle had set off right after burying her.

Alfia was far from perfect, she was strict, obsessive, and occasionally violent. But she was the closest thing to a mother Belle ever had, her only family. Hera had never been entirely sane for as long as Belle had known her, Alfia said losing her familia and being humiliated by Freya had broken Hera.

Despite Alfia's faults she always picked Belle up whenever she fell down. Alfia would read her stories and tell her own. She would talk about her sister, Belle's mother, Meteria. She would hold Belle close whenever she had nightmares and assure her everything would be okay.

And now she was gone.

Belle felt something wet streak down her cheek and couldn't help but let out a self deprecating laugh.

What kind of hero cries so easily? I need to get a grip.

Belle quickly composed herself and carried on through the silent resting place. As she approached the center of the area she noticed a large statue, a memorial. She got closer and identified it as the sword hero's memorial, Albert Waldstein.

She rounded to the front of the statue and was surprised by what she saw. There on a bench all on his own, sat a boy. Short golden hair with matching eyes, perhaps a few years older than Belle.

He looks… tired.

Without thinking she walked up to the boy and asked "May I sit?"

The boy flinched as if he only noticed her then and looked up at her with suspicion clear in his eyes. Belle noticed her face was still concealed by her hood. After the little incident yesterday she had made sure to keep it on.

Belle lowered her hood and freed her long white hair, and gave the boy a gentle smile. "My name is Belle Cranel, you looked a little lonely and I'm feeling a bit of the same. May I join you?" Belle asked. Internally she was sweating, wondering if she was coming off as creepy. She really hadn't meant to approach him, she had acted without thinking.

After a moment of awkward silence the boy nodded and said "Ardan… Wallenstein."

Belle sat down next to him but didn't ask anything else. Ardan didn't say anything either, Belle had no idea what he was thinking but found the silent company comforting. The two stared at the statue for a while both thinking similar things for different reasons.

Eventually Ardan looked over to his companion and took in her appearance, most men would be staring at her face or bust that was clearly visible despite her armor. Ardan however noticed only the armor itself as well as the blade at her hip.

Belle looked over feeling his gaze, unlike yesterday when all she felt was lust, she only felt curiosity in Ardan's eyes. Something she was both grateful and relieved for.

"Are you… an adventurer?" Ardan asked and looked away.

"Sort of, I'm looking for a new familia at the moment. My previous goddess is… gone. Are you?" Belle asked, only now seeing the saber at his hip.

"...Yes, are you new in Orario?" Ardan replied. Ardan was the famous sword prince, a title he didn't personally care about, but it was strange she didn't recognize him.

"Yes, I only arrived yesterday. I used to live very far from here." Belle answered.

Ardan nodded but didn't say anything else, leading them to lapse into another comfortable silence. Returning her gaze to the statue of Albert, Belle reminded herself of her goals. She needed to become a hero. She refused to allow Alfia's dearest wish to go unfulfilled, Alfia was Belle's only family. She may be gone now, but there was still something Belle could do for her.

"...Why?" Ardan spoke up, startling Belle. She looked towards him and tilted her head not understanding the question. Ardan's cheeks tinged red and he clarified "Why do you want to be an adventurer?"

Ardan was inexperienced with girls, despite how many were in his familia. He always kept to himself, thinking only of getting stronger. Everything else was a distraction, so why… Why did he find her so cute?

Belle looked back to the statue and quietly said "...To finish what he started."

Ardan's eyes went wide in shock. Belle had no way of knowing the very statue she was looking at was Ardan's father. She had no way of knowing what Ardan's goal was, and that was exactly why Ardan was so surprised. He could tell from her tone that she wasn't joking, he could tell from the look in her eyes just how deep her resolve was. And he could tell that she was not driven by the same black flame as him.

He couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight. He couldn't help but wonder if he could be like that too, if he could be free from the black flame that burned away at his soul and still pursue his goal. He couldn't help but wonder if he could be a hero.

"...I see." Ardan said as he stood up and looked away "I… need to go." Belle looked up to him and nodded.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Ardan." She gently said.

—-

"NO! NO MORE PAPERWORK! I DON'T WANNA!" Alise shouted as Kaguya glared daggers at her captain. It was a standard day at Stardust Manor, the red head captain was shouting nonsense while her eastern vice captain demanded she get back to work.

"Alise… this behavior is indecent. It is your duty as captain to manage the paperwork." An elf with short blonde hair and sky blue eyes reprimanded.

"Gah, not you too Ryu-tan." Alise said with an exaggerated stagger as if struck by an arrow. "Save me Lefi-tan, Filvi-tan!" Alise shouted. Lefiya and Filvis were torn between helping their captain and being upset at the pet names.

"Now now girls, Alise has been working hard all morning. There's nothing wrong with a break." Astrea said, earning an adoring gaze from her captain.

Kaguya, however, would not have any of that. The raven haired girl scoffed and said "Working hard my ass, I just found her passed out and drooling all over our finance report."

Everyone narrowed their eyes at Alise causing her to sweat.

"First, Kaguya watch your language. Second… Alise, how many ti- *DINGDING*" The brunette goddess was cut off by the sound of the door bell ringing.

Internally praising the miracle that was magic stone inventions Alise shouted "I'll get it!" and ran off before anyone could stop her. Everyone sighed in unison at their red haired emerald eyed captain's antics.

A moment later Alise returned, dragging a girl by the hand. The girl was stunning to put it lightly. Long pure white hair, striking crimson eyes, and an hourglass figure so pronounced it was visible even through her leather armor.

The girl was thoroughly confused at her current situation, understandably. Kaguya was the first to speak and as usual it was a questionable tease. "Hmm, who is the adorable bunny you've dragged in dear captain? Surely you don't think abducting a cute girl will get you out of finishing your work."

Alise flinched as she was struck with her thousandth metaphorical arrow of the day, and it wasn't even noon yet.

Belle had decided to come to Stardust Manor the morning after her meeting with Ardan. She needed to get started in the dungeon as soon as possible.

"This cutie wants to join our familia!" Alise announced, clearly trying to divert attention from her work.

"U-um, yes. My name is Belle Cranel and I would like to join Astrea familia." She said with a deep bow.

"I see, it's a pleasure to meet you Belle. I am Astrea, goddess of justice. Why do you want to join our family specifically?" Astrea asked.

"I want to get stronger, and I find your familia to be the best option for a few reasons. First I think Astrea familia is the most admirable in the city by far, I've heard stories of how you protect the peace and even how you fought through Orario's dark age. One other reason is that I am in need of capable mentors that I can trust." Belle explained.

The members of Astrea familia got a dark look in their eyes for a moment when she mentioned the dark age, something Belle did not miss, but they smiled at the praise.

"I see, hmmm. We haven't accepted any new members since Lefiya two years ago, but there is no reason not to. First I have a few questions, if you don't mind." Astrea said, getting a nod from Belle.

"First, what is justice to you?" The goddess asked the same question she had asked all of her girls before they joined.

Belle tilted her head and thought for a moment. She knew she wouldn't just be let in right away, they would have many more members if that was the case. However she wasn't expecting such a vague question.

"Well… I think justice is perspective, everyone has their own and sometimes they are far from the same. As for my justice… being kind… I think. Honestly I haven't really thought about it before, until I came to this city it was only my former goddess, my master, and I, so I've never really had to deal with bad, or good, people. I… will need time to decide what my justice truly is." Belle said.

Everyone's eyes went wide at this for several reasons. First because her first answer was something far beyond what a girl who looked about Lefiya's age would realize. Second because her answer was so simple, and honest. There was nothing wrong with that, it was just different than anything they had heard before. And lastly the information that she was in a familia before.

Astrea chuckled and said "I see, there's nothing wrong with taking your time to figure it out. What familia were you in before? And if you don't mind, why did you leave?"

Belle paled at that and swallowed nervously, she knew this would come up. "W-well… can you promise to keep it to yourselves?" she asked as she looked around at everyone.

Astrea raised an eyebrow but nodded, she was the last person that would spread others personal information. The goddess looked at her children and received nods from them as well.

Belle nodded herself and began "You see… I was in Hera familia." Everyone was floored immediately. They certainly weren't expecting to hear about a familia that had been gone for over a decade. Before anyone could speak up Astrea nodded to Belle, urging her to continue.

"My mother was a member… but she died when I was born. Her sister, who was my master, and Hera took me in and we lived in the far north until now. The monsters are quite strong beyond Dragon Valley so master started training me from a young age, and I've become a bit strong. But master was sick, she had always been sick, and last month she passed away. Master was the last member of Hera's familia, excluding me. Hera didn't want to stay in a world where her familia was gone so she… left back to tenkai. And now I'm here."

Without a word Astrea shot up and wrapped Belle in a warm, motherly embrace. Belle was shocked, she then looked to the others only to find them en route to join the hug. Before she knew it Belle was enveloped in a type of warmth she had only received from Alfia before. And she cried.

Belle had been trying her best to keep her mind elsewhere since Alfia died, she couldn't afford to break down. There was too much to do. But now, she truly felt safe, and she simply couldn't keep those feelings bottled up for another second.

"Of course you can join our familia!" Astrea said, choking up on tears of her own.

—-

After a while everyone calmed down and Astrea said "Okay Belle, let me give you my blessing."

Belle nodded, stood up, and removed her armor revealing curves that were barely contained by a skin tight white cut off. That was surprising enough but what she did next shocked everyone, she started taking the thin undershirt off.

Ryu, Filvis, and Lefiya immediately shot up and stopped her.

"Belle! What are you doing!" Lefiya shouted.

"How can you act like that!" Filvis cried.

"Too indecent!" Ryu exclaimed.

Belle looked at the three elves restraining her and tilted her head.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Kaguya and Alise started rolling around on the ground laughing their asses off while Astrea just sighed.

"Belle, come with me to a private room before you strip." Astrea said in mild exasperation.

Belle tilted her head again and said "...Okay, but why? We're all girls right?"

Astrea sighed again and just walked off, Belle on her heels. They all realized something important about Belle then. She had only known her master and her goddess her entire life. She had zero common sense.

After entering Astrea's room and successfully stripping Belle sat in front of the goddess with her back turned.

Astrea proceeded to draw a drop of blood on Belle's back and revealed an image of a woman and a scepter, after a moment it successfully changed into a winged sword.

Astrea had heard Belle say she was a "bit strong" but she certainly wasn't expecting this.

Level 5

Str A893

End A871

Agi S932

Dex S914

Mag S968

Magic

Radiance- Fire a massive beam of crimson light. Long chant.

Flare- Fire a high intensity burst of crimson light. Swift Strike.

Incandescence- Cover body in crimson light that enhances all physical stats. Enhancement spell. Swift strike.

Skills

Mystic Bane- Grants Abnormal Resistance, Magic Resistance, and Curse Resistance.

Hercules- Grants Strong Body and Strong Defense. Boost all stats by 300 when fighting a superior opponent.

Leonidas- Massively increase physical stamina, boost all stats by 300 when outnumbered.

Development Abilities

Abnormal Resistance E -Increase resistance to poison and disease.

Magic Resistance B -Reduce effect of magic user is struck with.

Curse Resistance F -Reduce effect of curses.

Strong Body C -Increases all physical stats.

Strong Defense D -Greatly increases Endurance.

Mage C -Increase intensity, range, and efficiency of magic, form magic circle to support spells.

Swordsman D - Increase physical stats when wielding a sword.

Spirit Healing E -Automatic mind regeneration after use of magic.

Spirit pleasure F -Constant mind regeneration.

-

A/N- I've decided this will be my female Bell fanfic. gg.