(while I don't have any special indication, the first part of this story is about them in dreams, so take them talking as them talking in their dreams please)

as Bell was playing simulation in his dream, he was thinking of everything that happened, however, he wasn't the only one doing this, as the likes of Enia, Ishtar, Rose, and even Ganesha were doing this as well in their sleep, with the knowledge they had, they were trying to piece together what happened, playing the scenes in their mind as best they can.

Ganesha:" my guards were all level 4's and 5's, no small or medium familia could take them down without a struggle like that unless they were executive adventurers, Ishtar changed her ways so she's unlikely as is, especially after all the times she helped us out, and even provided security as well as her Familia members being part of the people trying to get in and attack the dragon and silverback but were blocked, and given the members, they couldn't have had that many members, and I believe she wouldn't harm her members like this, not this new Ishtar anyway"

in Ganesha's dream, he rid the image of the humanoid-shaped people with Ishtar's Familia symbol on their back to symbolize the Ishtar Familia changed with the Loki Familia

Ganesha:" and the "Failed Artificial Hero" in the Loki Familia is hero obsessed to look as much as a hero as possible, but if he didn't participate, then why would they do that in the first place, Bell may have been in the center, but there were easier and less conspicuous ways to harm him, so the Loki Familia is out"

in his mind, he then changed to who he suspected, the Freya Familia.

Ganesha:" and the Freya Familia, they are the only ones left that makes sense, but what was their goal in this, what did they gain, honestly, it's a hassle thinking about it, but we can't get evidence on them as we stand"

and as Rose was piecing this together, she was analyzing her fight, and noticed some slight clues in her battle.

Rose:" the spearman was a male that was about 5'4" tall, he has a beastfolk style of movement as he was agile and quick on his feet, cat-like, but what kind, he hid his tail and ears so I couldn't tell, and thanks to his mask, his voice was muffled, but his style of fighting, it was definitely Allen's style even if he did change a few thing's up to make it less obvious it was him, but still, without any proof, I can't testify without the presence of Bias"

as Enia was thinking of her fight, she was wondering about how this happened, with the report, she inadvertently came to a similar enough conclusion as Ganesha and Rose, but her own experience was odd.

Enia:" the dragon acted odd, it targeted that area, dragons normally attacked everything in sight, but why it didn't fire till it got to me and Bell specifically, that dragon was clearly with a taming orb, I'm aware that there are members of the Freya Familia who tame monsters, but what did they gain from that, and why did they also stop anyone from entering until me and Bell killed it, was it some kind of test or warning..."

and as Bell was piecing everything together in a similar manner, he was focusing on the small and less obvious details, namely, that wet spot he saw.

Bell:" on the corner of my eye, and after the battle, there was a large wet area on the top of a tall building, tall enough to see the whole battle and not get in the crossfire, though, I couldn't get a look at it, tomorrow, I'll go look, but also report that as it may lead to something"

Morning at Dawn

in the morning, Bell headed to the place wearing that necklace as he walked, and didn't feel a stare anymore, he was happy as he was finally relaxed without someone literally staring at him for a long time, but then moved to the location, upon arriving there he noticed the wet area dried, but from where he was, he saw where the battle took place in what could be the best spot, he then suspected the mastermind was watching them, which meant this was a show for them, he was about to head back when 2 people, who were likely level 3 since even when Bell was using Ki was overwhelmed by them as they took the necklace and broke it, then, the stare came back as the 2 then vanished, he then left.

in the tower of babel, Freya was frantic, irritated, and annoyed, and yet, she didn't see Bell's soul, she looked for an hour and still nothing, it was odd since normally, Bell would be out around this time as her scouts (begrudgingly) followed, marked, and tracked bell's normal routine down to even writing every minute by minute action to get an idea of his normal routine to know when to look for him and nothing, until she finally snapped.

Fryea:" OTTAR"

Ottar:" yes my lady"

Freya:" Hestia got Bell a special necklace able to block a god from seeing their soul, that's the only reason I don't see his soul, send men out to destroy it, the longer I don't see his soul, the worse it gets for me, I need to see his soul"

Ottar:" but my lady, what would only confirm his suspi-"

Freya:" I DON'T CARE ABOUT SUBTLETY, I WANT TO SEE HIS SOUL"

and with that, Ottar had 2 level 3's to go destroy the necklace Bell had and they also found him in the location Freya was at as well, and as Freya saw Bell's soul once again, she was overwhelmed with joy, her joy was gone when the men also reported about Bell looking at the area she was at yesterday, and she immediately had the 2 executed as Ottar broke both of their necks and would proceed to throwing their bodies into the dungeon to make it seem as if they died in the dungeon as the ash of the necklace was on them.

Freya with that one piece of information pieced together the plan of that necklace in an instant even in her overjoyed state of horniness for her Odr's soul, the plan was to have Bell get the necklace, but upon the people's Familia sent, they would destroy it and it would lead directly to Freya since mortals wouldn't care about seeing soul's since they can't, so only the god of said Familia would care, so if the god was obsessed with their soul as Hestia presumes and guessed correctly, then all they needed to do was see who had the ashes of said necklace once they were sent and destroyed it.

a clever and cunning plan that would have resulted in the guild finding out she was stalking Bell, resulting in them being able to properly place blame on her for the actions of Monsterphelia as Bell was the center of it all by the guild's view, who only said it was randomly attacking monsters to avoid putting a spotlight on Bell, but her scouts deducted that this was only face value to the guild as they already had an idea of the events that truly transpired and getting that final convincing evidence against her Familia would have been the doom of her, something she needed to avoid now more than ever now that her charm was not an option anymore.

now that she was that close to being found out, she needed to take drastic action, losing 2 level 3's would be considered a great loss, but considering she didn't care too much as well as the fact they were likely to die anyway, might as well have them die to save the rest of the Familia, namely, her own skin, and with them being thrown in the dungeon, it would be the perfect place to hide the evidence since if the monsters don't eat them, the dungeon will melt their bodies so nothing remained, and now Freya was looking at a map of Oranio as she was making plans for her next move.

Freya:" so my Odr was snooping around where I was at yesterday to look for clues, meaning he likely sees what I am doing, given time, he might find us out, he's far more clever and calculating than I thought, (horny) oh, how wonderful, smart and clever, (shaking head to get back on topic) and while that may not be too bad, it might affect his growth, or worse, the guild will keep a closer eye on us from now on as well as take measures to keep my Odr from me, as well as find evidence against me"

Allen:" if I may put a suggestion, my lady, maybe approaching him as Syr is a bad idea, he hasn't shown up at the hostess for some time, even on his off time, instead he heads to the Urania Rose so asking him to be there may be much anyway"

Freya:"... no, approaching him at the hostess is perfect, it will let him see him up close, get to talk to him, and know him better, he might even talk about his investigation if I'm lucky... it may also be the only way to be close without raising suspicion like before, that way, I can act as I please, and nobody would be the wiser, besides... (sadistic and excited) it's more fun this way"

Ottar:" but how are you going to get him there"

Freya:" I am already in the process, you see, I am continuing to make my Lunches for him, but since he's not coming by to eat them, I am having everyone else have them, and I'm giving them the food that turns out bad

(context: all the food is as bad as you think, look's as if it's alive and black, purple, gloop of food that tastes as you would expect something that looks raw and overcooked to be, so whoever picks the bad food just picks it at random since it doesn't matter since it's all bad)

and have the staff eat it, they will being him to me soon enough"

as Bell walked to get to the Dungeon after that weird experience, he was grabbed by someone as he remembered them from the hostess, though, he didn't hear their names.

Bell:" you're the maids of the hostess"

Anya:" listen, you need to come by and take Syr's lunches"

Bell:" WHAT, NO, those thing's are basically poisonous, worse since it doesn't kill you instantly, why would I do that"

Chloe:" because she's making us eat them, and while we refuse, she sneak's it into our own lunches, we're scared to eat as is now, look"

the 2 lift up their shirts to show their stomachs with their ribs visible, while Bell would normally be embarrassed, his doctor's mind kicked in as he examined the 2 women.

Bell:" oh, this isn't good, based on the visibility of the bones and the paleness of the skin, you haven't had a good mean in about a week and a half"

Anya:" Lunoire is in the ER with severe poisoning, and I know it was caused by food, but if you ate Syrs cooking, you refuse to call that food"

Bell:" oh I fully agree, but what does that have to do with me"

Chloe:" we need you to take Syr's lunches, we don't care if you eat them or not, just make sure you take them away, and also come by every the hostess every now and again, she also wants you there more often"

Bell:" look, I feel sorry for you guys, but... why should I, and why me"

Anya:" I don't know exactly why you, but please, we're begging you, we'll even pay you"

Bell:"... how much"

Chloe:" we'd even offer our own chastities to get you to do this, just please, end our suffering"

Bell was shocked by that comment and flushed, agreed if they gave him 2 things, one, they were the ones to take his order while the other keeps Syr away from ordering for him and the other was that since they were level 5 adventures, every Wednesday or every time his familia has an expedition in the future, they are part of that party, and the agreed happily, hugging the boy in joy.

Anya:" you can count on us, Wednesday and on expeditions, we'll be there"

Chloe:" you can count on that"

Bell also gave them his lunch which he cooked himself, and as the 2 saw this and ate the food in utter ecstasy of eating something that was safe after a week and a half without food, Bell inadvertently made these 2 fall head over heels for him, though, the 2 in question denied it as they weren't that easy and were not to be taken that far by this... alone.

Anya's thoughts:" I am not an easy woman, I am not giving my body over that easy"

Chloe's thoughts:" he's cute and clearly nice, but he's going to need to do more than this for my heart"

and as that was settled, Bell left to get the lunch as Syr bragged about how Bell was crawling back to take her delicious lunch yet again even after telling Syr with proof that he was only doing this because her 2 co-workers made a deal with Bell, but Syr ignored that to make her own deletion the reality she accepts, and then tells him she'd treat him extra well when he comes by, where Bell looked at the 2 behind him as they all 3 nods in agreement of not letting that happen, but one thing comes to Bell's mind in all of this.

Bell:" wait, is your boss going to be okay with this"

Anya:" oh, don't worry, she's the one who sent us and said to work out any agreement we can to get you to help us all, we will tell her this and she'll just agree and move on, in fact, she was probably expecting more extreme demands, but since we technically lose no money, Mia will see it as a win"

so as Bell was getting ready to head to the dungeon, the 2 waitresses also get their adventure gear on as they said that they will need a test run for the day as Bell agrees that this will be helpful since they will be working together from now on, and while Syr look's on, she smiles and wishes them good luck, though, the 2 waitresses are confused, if they did this, they were sure Syr would be opposed to it as she seemingly wants dib's on Bell, but little did they know, Syr wanted something like this, a reliable eye on Bell that can tell her about the dungeon.

Syr's Thoughts:" this is perfect, my eyes can't reach in the dungeon since the dungeon blocked out my ability to see him in there, but with this, I can get information on him without looking suspicious, after all, it's "gossip between girls" when asking about their day, even if some parts are lies, at least she'll have an idea"

and with that, each person's plan was in motion, a giant game of cat and mouse where the roles switch at unexpected times, and who gets who first will be the winner, butt eh penalty of losing, graver than anything else, especially with more than one cat and mouse at play.

authors notes

I had this entire dream deduction thing to show Bell isn't at all special in this as many others do this too, remember, everyone is acting in a smarter manner, as well as helping paint a picture for you to piece together in a detective manner of Freya's plan yourself

I am going to try and portray Freya with elements of Light Yagami to add more of the smart villain vibe to Freya, though, I am not going to do a one-to-one because my skills are far below the actual authors, but also because there is far more fantasy to this than what normal deduction skills will allow or follow, especially in the case of how entertainment driven god's and goddesses are at times, but I will show their arrogance and intelligence all the same

and for those wondering about how I'm handling the romantic interest and scenes to build up to that, this would be how the crushes are made, they feel attracted but don't fully accept their feelings as they're not easy women, but in time it will grow, and don't worry, for those wondering, Hestia will be in love with Bell soon like in cannon, but not to fast (and yes, Bell's Luck plays a part in these crushes as his luck will create luck bastard situations like this that may result in more raunchy stuff as well, be warned, Bell will not be a virgin in this if I have anything to say about it)

saying this is a game of cat and mouse is as accurate as I can get this, it's also implied in the canon that the gods see the mortal world as a game, so why not call this a game of cat and mouse with dozens if not hundreds of cat's and mouses as well as the roles switching from time to time