Is it Wrong to Live Transmigrated as Bell Cranel in a Dungeon?

by Meetra 0 Surik

A fan with partial knowledge of the series is merged into Bell shortly after Zeus left him. With no perfect recall, armed with vague knowledge from the anime and other fanfics - Can our protagonist use their knowledge to save OG Bell's loved ones? Can he save the world from the OEBD? Or will he fail everyone and himself? The answer will tell if it is wrong to live as Bell Cranel!

21. Chapter 16: Admonition - For Tomorrow

Is it Wrong to Live Transmigrated as Bell Cranel in a Dungeon?

Chapter 16: Admonition - Striving for Tomorrow

"...Like a shooting star, I will go the distance! I will search the world, I will face its harms! I don't care how far, I can go the distance! 'Till I find my hero's welcome waiting in your arms! I will search the world, I will face its harms! 'Till I find my hero's welcome waiting in your arms!"

— Michael Bolton, Go the Distance

---

Main POV

The flight back to Orario was quick. Well, it took about the same amount of time, but it sure felt like it went by in a flash. Then again, that is likely because I was lost in nebulous incoherent brooding.

All in all there isn't much to note about the return trip.

All the boys continued to bunk together while Hestia and Lili took to one tent as Lefiya, Ryuu, and Asfi shared the last one.

Lefiya continued to pour into her magic textbooks during our limited free time in the evenings after we broke camp. She confirmed that she was trying to copy something and be able to chant long powerful spells as quickly as possible without losing strength.

Welf was obsessively working on refining the blueprints of the hot air balloon I described to him based on my recollection of the Last Avatar series. The man may be more passionate about making swords than anything else… but any hot blooded man finds the idea of building cool things to be inherently awesome.

Lili meanwhile had taken to having battles of wits with Asfi by trying to talk with the other Familia Captain about things like economics and other gossip. I hadn't heard much of their talks, but I somehow have come to the conclusion that they've developed a mutual understanding. Perhaps because Hermes and I keep on dragging them into exciting bullshit?

Ryuu, ever the introvert, spent all of her free time meditating — deep in her own thoughts. 'Coincidently', she always seemed to place herself in my vicinity. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was trying to keep tabs on me.

Nah, Ryuu couldn't have possibly trying to comfort me with her presence, right? It kinda sounds narcissistic when pointed out, doesn't it. Must be purely happenstance.

Hestia, meanwhile, had either been deep in thought as she watched over our campfires (how appropriate) or had been talking with Hermes. Likely reminiscing with a fellow deity about…

…Artemis.

…So, anyway.

We landed back at Orario from where we took off, except we arrived at the dead of night. Hermes and Asfi assured us that they would take care of the dragons. So after we all got our personal gear, everyone split ways.

I offered Lili for her to join Hestia and I at the Church, but she refused. Something about letting her friend know she is alive and to not throw her stuff out.

That said, Lili had looked perturbed before she left. She had been hanging around Asfi and thus Hermes a lot, so maybe she heard him say something inappropriate?

Hopefully Lefiya gets a light punishment at most now that I think of it. Since I doubt she had gotten permission for this trip from Loki.

Good luck my elven rival-partner-sister-comrade.

That was how we all returned to Orario.

---

Other POV

Lefiya attempted to sneak back into Orario under the cover of night.

Key word being 'attempted'. The guards at the Twilight Manor's compound gate diligently and reluctantly apprehended her and escorted her straight to Loki-sama.

Well outside Loki's personal quarters anyway, it was late at night after all.

It was all a blur really. Before Lefiya knew it, she was being glomped by a red-headed Goddess… wearing Ais Wallenstein themed pajamas.

(Lefiya was not jealous.)

"L-Loki-sama! Unhand me, please!" Lefiya complained. For her Goddess' hug, let's just say, wasn't entirely family friendly.

"Never!" Loki instantly retorted childishly, "I'm never letting go of my precious Lefiya-chan ever again!"

"The flame will soon be released…" Lefiya began channeling magic power as a last ditch effort to free herself from sexual harassment.

"Woah, woah! No need for that!" Loki yelped, letting go as soon as Lefiya started channeling magic.

Unhanded, Lefiya stopped her spell safely.

"Hah~ Safe~" Loki sighed in relief, glad to avert personal destruction. Loki then said, "Anyway! Don't unpack your bags!"

"Eh?" Lefiya uttered, her expectations completely subverted. For one, she was expecting to unpack her gear from the trip she just returned from. And two, she was expecting to be scolded for leaving without explicit permission from Loki-sama.

(Lefiya admired Ais, but even she was not very convinced that Ais would be able to convince Loki-sama for her. Lefiya went along anyway, however, because it seemed like she was needed and she couldn't say no.)

"We are going to Port Melen first thing in the morning!" Loki declared, rather excited despite the late hour.

"...EH?" Lefiya was beyond confused and made it known with her voice.

Turns out that Loki was too excited about the prospect of swimsuits and got over everything Lefiya had been up to lately. Not that Lefiya would realize that until later.

All in all, another exciting night for Loki and Co.

---

Lili had a feeling she made a grievous error. No, Lili knew she had made a mistake.

It had happened after an innocuous comment by the God Hermes as everyone was dispersing.

"Ah! I'm gonna need a bottle or two of Soma to forget about this mess…" Hermes had complained, seemingly intent to drown out the sorrows of this Quest with booze.

"Hermes-sama!" Asfi had chided her deity as the two went about their way, her nagging him all the way.

"..." Lili, however, had flinched violently at the reminder.

All this time, Lili had been able to pretend that she was actually a member of Bell's Familia with how Hestia-sama was able to (mostly) update her Status.

Pretend that she didn't have that God's sigil on her back. A sign, a scar, a symbol of her lifetime of suffering.

Harsh words. Neglect. Starvation. Abuse. Filth. Indignities.

Lili had been able to blissfully pretend that part of her life was completely behind her. But Hermes' innocent words were a painful reminder that Lili still had a metaphorical collar around her neck, connected to a leash in Zanis' grasp if he only knew he could yank on it.

As long as Lili was still a member of Soma Familia, there was a chance that all those that abused, exploited, and hurt Lili may come after her again. And more importantly, come after Bell and all the other… friends Lili had been able to make.

(Lili still had trouble admitting and believing that she had friends. Albeit, friends via Bell-sama, but the point stood.)

Lili found that she simply couldn't tolerate it anymore. But she didn't want to burden Bell-sama either. She wanted to try with her own two hands first before anything else.

Lili had to make an effort to earn her own freedom first before she asked anyone else for help. Lili had that much pride in herself at least – something that Bell would have described less as pride and more of having a healthy level of self-worth.

Indeed, being surrounded by Bell and all those in his orbit had done wonders for Lili's mental and emotional health, not that she ever noticed it. She was much better at looking through others than at them or at herself.

So the first thing Lili did upon returning to Orario was sneak back into the Soma Familia headquarters that very same night – only making a brief stop to drop her gear off at her place. Lili knew there was little chance that Soma would even bother to acknowledge her presence, but she had to try.

After everything that had happened, after everything that Bell had done for her, she wanted to be able to properly stand beside Bell as a member of his Familia. But to do that required having Soma let her go. Or, more realistically, to have Zanis – the Familia captain – let her go. But Lili hoped to avoid that.

After all, if Lili only interacted with Soma, it would be like she had never shown up at all. Lili was aware that her attempt would likely be that pitiful and a waste of time. But she had to try. She was absolutely sick of the shackle that was Soma Familia hanging around her neck.

And on a more selfish note, Hestia-sama was simply incapable of adding potential Skills to Lili's Falna. Nor could Hestia-sama Level Lili Up. A limitation of the Status Snitch item, it would seem.

Put another way, Lili's emotions took the better of her logic in her decision making for a change. The irony was that Hermes hadn't even intended to set Lili on this little endeavor; it was like his own manipulativeness was so high that it looped right back around to causing actual genuine coincidences.

Lili should have remembered that her luck was terrible, because Zanis happened to enter the room Soma was in as Lili was ignored as she pleaded with her God to let her go.

And, of course, she didn't have the 10 Million Valis that Zanis mockingly demanded for her release from the Familia.

The worst thing, however, was now the cat was out of the bag. Zanis knew she was alive and even suspected that she was behind the deaths of Kanu and his cronies – their deaths of which was actually news to Lili.

Lili would need to let Bell know the risks of having Lili around. Lili had a bad feeling that things weren't going to be calming down anytime soon.

Is this the Bell Cranel effect? Or is it the Lili Curse?

Lili missed her calling as a comedian, she thinks. Her dark jokes are top tier…

---

It was a new day in Orario! The sun had peaked over the horizon, birds were chirping, and a rabbit was visiting his Goddess before going about his day.

Hestia sat on top of Bell's back as she went about updating his Status for the first time since his recent Level Up. She hadn't updated him at all since their little trip to face Antares.

Both out of a lack of necessity… but also because Hestia wasn't going to enjoy seeing a 'front row seat' of Artemis' death from her child's perspective.

So she found herself a little surprised to find that much of Bell's interactions with Artemis seemed to be blank spots. His Singularity Skill was hiding some of his conversations with her.

Hestia reckoned that she should feel disappointed that Bell had regressed to hiding more than just the times he used the bathroom or 'relieved' himself in the previous world from her.

But she didn't. If anything, she could understand how he wanted to keep those few precious moments with her in particularly high regard.

Finishing up with his Basic Abilities, Hestia moved on to checking over his Skills.

Hestia felt like she should be surprised that Bell unlocked a new Skill. While unlocking Skills is supposed to be so rare that children are lucky to get one or maybe two of them, Bell seemed to grow them in trees.

Hestia felt her face pale as she witnessed the Skill in question. She couldn't stop herself from moaning pitifully — both for Artemis and Bell.

"What's wrong this time?" Bell said knowingly without any snark. He was just observant enough to notice her pause and was no stranger to Skills appearing with less than ideal consequences attached to them.

Hestia was silent for a moment as she read the potential Skill.

Blessing of the Huntress — Derived from Luck. While under direct moonlight, projectiles thrown by the user will hit their target without fail.

"Well…" Hestia said, gathering her thoughts, "There isn't anything bad. But, well, I don't think… I don't think you would like this Skill, Bell-kun."

"Not like…" Bell muttered in confusion.

"Trust me when I say you wouldn't get much use out of it anyway," Hestia said, telling an honest truth. This Skill didn't do anything when in the Dungeon since no Moonlight could reach down that far.

"It would just hurt you everytime you look at your Status Sheet," Hestia concluded, sharing more information about it than she would like. She hoped to sweep it under the rug so it doesn't ruin Bell's mood. She didn't need to view Bell's Excelia to know that he still blamed himself for Artemis'… fate.

"…I see," Bell said somberly. Hestia was unsurprised that Bell's intuition worked out what she was trying to skirt around.

Bell then said, "I won't regret it. I trust you, Hestia. Let's not activate it."

Hestia resisted the urge to squeal at how Bell addressed her. She didn't think he noticed that he had been dripping honorifics around her. It made her glad to have him relax so much and address her so intimately.

But she also was self-aware enough to know that this was hardly the time for showing her glee. They both needed time to process what happened to Hestia's dearest friend from Tenkai. Just because Hestia didn't always read the room did it mean that she was completely unable to!

…Acting like she was completely fine really was tough. 10,000 years might be like comparing a drop of water to the ocean, but it was still long enough a time that Hestia couldn't help but feel despair over. Artemis had been saved from suffering, and Hestia would one day see her again… but this was too cruel.

"Then… there!" Hestia said as she finished up. "Now you have a fun time with Supporter-kun and Welf-kun this evening, you hear?!"

Hestia normally would take any chance to spend more time with Bell… but she really wanted some time to mourn Artemis in private.

The day before returning to Orario, Welf had pitched the idea of celebrating their Level Ups from a week prior. All of Bell's usual party were quick to agree.

"Yes, yes…" Bell said with a chuckle, "I haven't been to the place we're going tonight. An old hangout spot of Welf's. We gotta celebrate the wins instead of focusing on the losses, right?"

"Well said, Bell-kun," Hestia said softly.

Hestia was sure that things would never be the same again. Artemis' fate has put a damper on Bell's idealism. But Hestia had faith that Bell would just grow even more determined to fight for his ideals. To never let something like this ever happen again.

She just needed to keep on supporting him, and him to her.

Everything was going to be alright. It had to.

---

Bell Cranel

Level 3

Alias: weiẞes Häschen

Strength: I: 0 - D: 502

Vitality: I: 0 - I: 84

Dexterity: I: 0 - D: 527

Agility: I: 0 - D: 558

Magic: I: 0 - D: 569

Magic:

(Firebolt)

• Swift-Strike Magic

(Hiraishin)

• Enchantment Magic

(Hermaphroditus)

• Fluid like water. Distortion through the looking glass. Reversal of all things

Skills:

Liaris Freese - Rapid Growth. Fast growth as long as feelings last. The strength of the effects corresponds with the level of the user's feelings.

Singularity - The user is immune to all mental and spiritual attacks.

Focus - The user's Dexterity is increased when fighting and concentrating on a single target. Use can cause tunnel vision.

Argonaut - Heroic Desire. Allows a charge for a counterattack to overcome insurmountable odds.

Inspiring Leader - Subskill of Liaris Freese. Companions that unconditionally believe in the user grow quickly at a portion of the user's growth rate. Companions are more inclined to listen to the user's words. The strength of effects corresponds with the target's feelings and distance from the user.

Accretion Disk - Derived from Breach. Gain energy when slaying opponents. Energy in storage increases Excelia gain and Mind regeneration at scale. Lose health, Mind, and a reduction of Stats when storage of energy is out at scale.

Development Abilities:

Luck - H

Breach - I

---

Liliruca Arde

Level 1

Strength: G: 202 - E: 410

Vitality: G: 260 - F: 322

Dexterity: H: 188 - F: 399

Agility: H: 192 - E: 400

Magic: F: 377 - F: 399

Magic:

(Cinder Ella)

• Your wound is mine. My wound is mine. Echoing the message of midnight.

Skills:

Artel Assist - When the user is carrying a certain amount of weight, the skill will help compensate in abilities. The amount compensated depends on the weight.

Development Abilities:

()

---

Hephaestus sat alone at her desk in her office. The same one where Hestia begged for a weapon not too long ago. She sat there with a contemplative frown as she looked at her child's Status sheet in suspicion.

Welf Crozzo

Level 2

Strength: I: 0 - G: 208

Vitality: I: 0 - I: 75

Dexterity: I: 0 - I: 89

Agility: I: 0 - I: 99

Magic: I: 0 - I: 28

Magic:

(Will-o-Wisp)

• Burn out, dark magics!

Skills:

Crozzo Blood - Ability to craft Magic Swords. Strength of magic is increased at time of production.

Development Abilities:

Blacksmith - I

It was one thing for her precious child to earn so much Excelia after everything that happened on that expedition to the Middle Floors that resulted in everything on Floor 18. And while she could see how unusual the events were this past week when Welf had once again run off with Bell Cranel and his party… this much Excelia just wasn't natural.

Getting ten or so points in each Basic Ability after an Update was something to celebrate. It wasn't rare, per say, but it was still exceptional. And while such an increase in strength was easy to come by when still in the 'Is'... this was just too much.

Hephaestus wasn't like Hestia, who was used to insane bursts of growth when updating her children. Much like Loki, Hephaestus recognized that this level of growth wasn't normal.

Unlike Loki, however, Hephaestus had a close and personal relationship with Hestia. Or rather, a relationship that was far from antagonistic.

Honestly the two of them fought like such children.

The point was Hephaestus didn't need some kind of logical or pragmatic or selfish reason to keep her suspicions on Bell Cranel's involvement between herself and Hestia. Not to say that she didn't have pragmatic reasons for doing so as well, just that they weren't the first reason to do so in her eyes.

It was simple. Welf was friends with Bell. There was no sign that her favored child would stop partying with Hestia's child anytime soon. If being in Bell's orbit allowed her precious child to grow stronger, then it was plenty in her best interest to ensure Bell was well taken care of.

Not enough to forgive Hestia's debt mind you. Making that weapon still hurt her sensibilities as a blacksmith!

Hephaestus put Welf's Status page away. It would be up to Bell to explain everything regarding Welf's unusual growth. She refused to explain anything more than that his growth lately was unusual. It was between her and Hestia's child for anything beyond that.

And… well… as far as Artemis is concerned…

…

Hephaestus wouldn't hate the boy that Artemis chose for that role.

(That, and the Guild had paid her handsomely to keep her mouth shut on the matter. She knew better than to bite the hand that fed Orario's economy.)

But she would beat the crap out of him if he ever brought that damn spear to her. The world had better be ending before Hephaestus ever had to look at that spear in person.

---

Main POV

I left the pub into the courtyard, the sun barely peeking over the horizon this fine morning, quickly crossing between it and the annex in a hurry. If my life had literal anime physics, I'm sure that my face would have a literal river of tears from both of my eye sockets.

For some reason, Mama Mia felt the need to also yell at me for having missed a week and a half of work at the Hostess now. Never mind the fact that part of the reason for it was my fuck-up on the first expedition to the Middle Floors or that the week being gone was to go find Ryuu who had run off and to, you know, save the world.

Mama Mia didn't seem to care, and was still giving Ryuu a stern talking to. While I'm normally all for supporting Ryuu in every way I can, I don't think I could even handle getting yelled at by Mama Mia anymore than I already have today.

As much as I deserve a few good talkings to about how much I suck… I am quite good at beating myself up mentally, thank you very much.

"There you are!" Syr's voice called out to me, breaking me from my reverie. I looked up to see her carrying a plate of food that was covered with a metal lid.

"...Do I dare ask what's in there?" I asked in a deadpan.

"I feel like there is a negative connotation in your comment, but I will ignore it because I'm such a wonderful lady," Syr said with a snort before smiling sweetly, "I wanted to make something nice for you for all you've been through lately! I'm sure it's been really tough. And when the going gets tough, it's nothing like a good meal to lift your spirits, no?"

"Well, you have the right idea…" I said warily.

Not that I deserved the sentiment that Syr was doing for me. All I've been through lately? All I've done lately is fuck things up. I got my party in over its head by going to the Middle Floors too soon. I didn't and couldn't do anything to prevent Artemis' fate. All the while, I dragged my friends - Lefiya included – into extreme danger by coming along for the Artemis Quest despite how recently I got them into trouble in the Dungeon.

Syr had a strange look in her eye that vanished as quick as it appeared. "Here you go!" Syr said with her usual smile, lifting the lid revealing a black chunk of…. Something.

Syr and I jumped in place as a squirrel in a nearby tree suddenly dropped dead.

"How bizarre!" Syr said obliviously.

"Indeed…" I said, fearing for my life, "Anyway your, uh… it looks… delicious?"

What was this black blob supposed to be exactly?

And when did she make it?! It's still super early in the morning?!

Is this some kind of anime logic? Or just a result of Syr knowing that my schedule is all over the place?

"I've never tried cooking turkey before!" Syr said with an innocent smile, "I used my special technique to give it the personal touch! And not just by adding love!"(1)

If Freya's love does this to her cooking… is this some kind of real life metaphor being cruel to Freya and me? I don't appreciate it.

I hesitantly picked up the fork from the tray and brought it to the 'turkey'. There was an audible 'thunk' as the fork impacted the rock hard 'meat'.

There was a moment of silence. Syr's smile didn't waver in the slightest.

Using my Level 3 strength, I forced off a piece of the 'turkey' with the work before putting it in my mouth in a single motion. I knew better than to hesitate or I would never be able to hype myself up to actually eat it.

The 'food' didn't even hit my stomach before my vision left me.

I could vaguely hear the sound of Syr crying out, "Bell-kun!" as I fell into darkness…

---

I regained consciousness and quickly analyzed my surroundings like a true adventurer. Based on the incline of my head and the softness of the surface, this could only mean one thing.

A lap pillow.

I kept my eyes closed, silently enjoying the experience. If Syr was expecting me to get flustered, then I am sorry to disappoint. Ais has given me so many lap pillows at this point that I have been inoculated to any feelings of embarrassment!

If the universe was more like a crack fiction, I'd likely have another Skill on my Status just for lap pillows, I'm sure of it.

Syr continued to rub her fingers through my hair, before finally saying, "...I know you're awake, Bell-kun~"

Opps. Busted.

I opened my eyes, looking up to see Syr's amused smile and pink cheeks past the hills partially blocking my view.

I blinked before shamelessly turning on my side so that my head and face would be in the direction of Syr's stomach.

That caused Syr to 'eep!' in embarrassment before she shoved me off of her lap, "Bell-kun you pervert!"

I rolled from my position of my face being down in the dirt to being face up again. In a deadpan voice, I said, "I am innocent. Lap pillows are the personification of seiso energy. If anything, it is Syr-chan who is trying to corrupt the sanctity of lap pillows with her teasing-ways. Lap pillows are justice. I'm the source on that."

Syr let out a scuff of laughter, "The heck are you saying?! Hahaha!"

I grinned in amusement and accomplishment.

After laughing for a moment, Syr calmed down and grabbed the sides of my head. I didn't resist as she brought my head back to her lap. Why? It was clear from the look in Syr's eyes that she had something she wanted to say to me.

"You don't have to act like everything is fine when you're around me, Bell-kun," Syr said to me.

I winced. I knew that Syr was rather perceptive. I had hoped that my shenanigans would be enough to hide how my thoughts would keep drifting back to all of my recent mistakes…

"That's the look that gave you away," Syr said, interrupting my internal dialogue, "I can see right through you. You have the look of someone who has experienced failures and mistakes."

"...I have," I admitted, unwilling to lie when so blatantly called out for it.

"It's okay," Syr assured me, "Really, think about it. I've never seen or heard of a hero that got everything right from the beginning of their story. You're the Dungeon Oratoria expert are you not? Can you name a single hero that is perfect in every way?"

"...No," I said, the kind of person that Syr, that Freya, was describing wasn't one that existed. Real people weren't perfect. And Mary/Marty Sues in fiction were utterly boring. That said, I couldn't ignore how I screwed the pooch either.

I resolved to follow Ryuu's admonition and keep trying to achieve Justice. But saying so was far easier than doing it.

I was going to keep on working on trying to become an actual hero. Artemis had… convinced me in budging in my ideals. I resolved to not falter again. That I would be a hero and not just a boy.

"Exactly," Syr said knowingly, "So, rather than focusing on the impossible and unreasonable, I think Bell-kun should focus on learning from his mistakes, both real and fake. So that way he can become a True Hero like we both know you are going to be… or I won't ever hear an answer to my confession!"

Syr's last words were a joke and a reminder that Syr only wanted me to answer her confession to me when I was a hero. A Hero in whose eyes exactly wasn't really clear.

Either way, I felt my cheeks warm up at Syr's honest expectations for me. There wasn't a hint of doubt in her voice or eyes.

Syr was right. Rather than wallow in self-pity, I should focus on getting stronger and smarter. Focus more on being more proactive so that I can better avoid or mitigate the tragedies of the future.

And I already have an idea or two on how to start.

I smiled, "Thanks, Syr-chan. I think everything that Hestia and Ryuu were trying to tell me is finally getting through to me thanks to you."

"I guess it's in a hero's nature to be stubborn," Syr said jokingly, "Otherwise how would they have the determination to keep on moving when things get hard?"

"Well said, though I feel like there is an insult hidden in there…" I grumbled.

Syr grinned, "I don't know what your talking about~"

Syr paused from petting my hair, and said, "You know what to do now?"

"Yeah," I answered, "I do."

I rolled forward onto my feet, turned and looked back to Syr, saying, "I've got a lot to do! My hero senses are detecting that a heroine needs saving!"

"Another corollary to the Bell Cranel Effect?" Syr said with a raised eyebrow in jest.

"That's right!" I replied, "It's something along the lines of 'Bell cannot go a week or two without getting into trouble involving at least one member of the female gender!'"

Syr mockingly started to count her fingers before looking up and saying blandly, "It fits. Your dreams of harem are certainly in no danger at least."

I blushed at the reminder, "I desire no such thing! Honestly! You make one silly comment and it never gets forgotten…"

I then looked at her with suspicion as a sudden thought came to me, "In fact, I'm not sure how it leaked to all the other girls… Are you the one who is spreading around the lie that I'm trying to build a harem?!"

I pointed at her with my accusation.

Syr smiled innocently, "Do I look like the kind of girl who would spread such salacious rumors?"

"Yes!" I said without even a moment of hesitation.

"I think I heard Mama Mia call for me," Syr said, blatantly trying to run away, "I better go see what she wants. See you later, Bell-kun!"

"Yeah, you better run you cheeky minx!" I called after her before shaking my head in bemusement.

Well, that was one mystery solved anyway…

Anyway, it was time to get one with my day. Time to get to work.

---

Something that had been decided, was that despite not having to do much while flying back to Orario, that we would still take a few days off from Dungeon diving. Everyone needed a proper break to take time for themselves after… everything.

So that meant that a major part of my normal daily routine was up for grabs.

Technically not all of it, since we were going to go to 'The Flaming Wasp' bar located off of South Main before I had to work my shift at the Hostess. It was (apparently) relatively not too far from Folkvangr – the Freya Familia compound and headquarters.

But until then, I had some time to kill. And I knew what I wanted to work on. I confirmed that the next Full Moon was in the next 23-25 days. I had until then to come up with something in order to save Haruhime and crush the Ishtar Familia.

This… was going to be a monumental task. Something I certainly couldn't do all on my own. Not that I planned to. For the moment, I needed to start laying the groundwork for why I was bothering to do this in the first place.

I remember enough of canon to know that Bell had happened upon Haruhime through sheer happenstance – and probably his Luck Development Ability. Relying on the exact events was probably putting things too close to when the Full Moon would occur.

I needed a logical Casus Belli to intervene. I needed detailed information. All I had to go off were bullet points of what happened during the Haruhime Arc. Too much else was just sheer happenstance. Following canon was pretty damn impossible, even if I wanted to do so, which I didn't.

I needed to confirm that Haruhime exists (just in case). I need to confirm the existence of a Killing Stone. I would also like to gather evidence of Ishtar's plan to attack Freya, evidence of the plot to sacrifice Haruhime, and proof of foul play in regards to human-trafficking would be nice.

I wouldn't be surprised if Freya Familia had gotten in a lot of trouble in Canon for burning down the Pleasure District since any evidence of Ishtar's crimes would have been destroyed in the process.

Frankly, considering how blatantly evil Ishtar was I wouldn't be surprised if she was an Evilus sympathizer or collaborator. Evidence of such a connection would be a great find. My vague impressions of Ishtar suggested she was arrogant enough to have blatant evidence somewhere in her Familia's records within her main base.

Gathering all that evidence was going to require some kind of infiltration operation. Finding and confirming Haruhime's existence would be relatively easy in comparison to finding all the relevant documentation that would be in the heart of Ishtar's fortress.

Information on the layout of the Ishtar Familia Tower was essential. As long as I knew where to go, the rest of the infiltration would be a breeze.

I just hoped to not need to completely rely on Hermes Familia to do so. Might as well try to find out as much as I could on my own before defaulting on relying on hiring them.

I, thankfully, didn't need to confirm that my sloth had gotten Haruhime killed already. Because if it had, then Ishtar would have attacked or been attacked already. Still, I couldn't chance that another Full Moon going the same way as the last.

How did I plan to start gathering this information?

"Welcome, milady, to the Primm Vikki and Vance Casino!" A bouncer said to me, his eyes following the large pouch of Valis on my hip as he then asked, "Do you have a membership pass?"

What better place to look for rumors than in the second most scummy place in the city? The casinos in the Business Quarter! A place so classy yet sketchy where capital flows like rivers of blood in and out of the city – since plenty of the casinos are bankrolled by foreign countries, likely making it an easy avenue for smuggling and trafficking.

Also, you shouldn't be looking so blatantly at my money bag Bouncer-san! Any guilt I had about placing Hiraishin marks on each and every piece of Valis in this bag is gone.

"Here," I said, showing off the pass I got from Mord-san – the man had gladly given me one as thanks for saving his ass on Floor 18.

"G-gold!" The bouncer said in surprise at my 'level of clearance'. As far as I could tell, this pass let me get into the good casinos because I had a 'history' of giving the casinos a lot of the color of my pass. Gold. Valis.

Mord-san, you poor poor bastard. Literally, how much money have you lost to these people? Get a better vice, my friend.

In any case, I was here in my Belko form today. Why? To throw off people that Bell Cranel was investigating Ishtar Familia, of course!

To that end, I was dressed in a fancy western-style suit with a red tie and white dress shirt. Like hell I was going to spend so much time in a seedy establishment like this as a girl by wearing a dress of all things. I was going to try and be as comfortable as possible, thank you very much.

As I entered the casino. I could feel the greedy eyes of the staff seeing a lone rabbit with a gold membership card as an easy payday and held in my smug expression.

Maybe if I brought enough money back home, Hestia wouldn't get mad at me for engaging in such 'risky' behavior.

And I had high hopes, as the only person I've lost a game of cards with was Syr, and even those card matches ended in draws.

Time to make some money and listen for some rumors!

---

It really was too easy.

"And don't come back!" a duo of casino guards said as they shut the doors behind me. I smugly stood there with a comically large suitcase of money in my hands, only able to easily lug around the weight of all that coin thanks to my adventurer-level strength.

Easiest 30,000,000 Valis in my life. It took a couple hours of gambling to get this much. It was truly amazing to watch the faces of dealer after dealer look at me in confusion as I kept on winning and winning game after game.

The fact that I would do things like randomly choose slots on the roulette table or craps tables and still win drove everyone insane. Half of the time I didn't even need to discard cards to be given winning hands in Blackjack and Poker too. All manners of cheating the House used were meaningless in the face of a rabbit's Luck.

The look on their faces as they realized that I couldn't possibly be cheating… and how the house's cheating got progressively more blatant, yet I still kept on winning…

Priceless.

I can still remember my first hand of poker at the casino. I hadn't even looked at any of my cards and randomly chose two to replace. When it came time to reveal my cards, I had a Royal Straight Flush. On my first hand.

Luck is OP, please don't nerf it.

The casino likely only let me stay as long as I had because they wanted to TRY to win their money back and because it was impossible for me to be cheating despite their efforts to do just that to me.

Admittedly, someone like me is partially good for casinos. If other players see someone winning big, their hopes to do the same increase, causing them to bet more.

Unfortunately, the owner of the casino didn't like how effortlessly I personally beat him after getting invited to the VIP high stakes games. Which is how I found myself kicked out from this casino.

Did I need to worry about being kicked out or even banned from other casinos? Probably not. The casinos were funded by a bunch of different nations and organizations. They would likely be glad at how I ruined the Primm Casinos' day. And see me as an opportunity to 'earn' back the money I've won should I visit them.

But this is all not to say that my only prize was a bunch of Valis. Only one of the coins in my suitcase was from my original money pouch. Meaning that all of my tagged money was entering circulation in the shady market that was the Orario casinos and likely into the black markets.

But the biggest win was confirmation that Ishtar had come into possessing a Renard about five years ago or so. Despite the news being relatively old, the fact that it was a Renard, a rare race, was still quite the gossip in these kinds of circles apparently.

The information was equivalent to a bet worth some 500,000 or so Valis – as the owner had bet the information against my conventional monetary bet as he started getting low on money he was willing to lose to me.

Needless to say, after I won and got that information was when I was politely escorted out of the building.

All I needed to do was slip away before hitmen or something similar were sent after me. A well placed turn into a dark alley and a Hiraishin jump would easily lose any potential tails.

I all but strutted away from the casino, satisfied with the fact I was making deliberate progress for once. I wouldn't allow sloth to strike again, causing suffering on the innocent.

Thoughts tangentially related to Artemis, however, tempered my good mood as I turned down an alley, flashing away before the sound of footsteps could make any headway on where their mark had possibly gone. (2)

---

My first stop after escaping from the casino was to go to the post office to send a letter. Why? I needed Asfi's help in making a very specific item, and so I needed to have a meeting with her to discuss the matter. I knew that Asfi was a very busy person, so this was my way of being considerate.

That, and I doubt I could show up at the Hermes Familia headquarters (wherever that is) and honestly expect to find her there considering how Hermes runs the poor woman ragged.

After writing and paying for the postage, I went to swing by the Church to drop off my goods.

After leaving my big suitcase of money next to Hestia's bed, I snuck back over to the Hostess to transform back and change into more casual clothes and only then went on my way to meet up with Lili and Welf at the pub.

It was novel in a way, because I rarely need to go into any of the Districts Souths of Babel.

Getting to the place hadn't been hard thanks to Welf's directions. And it was easy enough to find my friends outside the establishment. We were able to get seated quickly, considering Welf made a reservation for us ahead of time.

An irony of working at the Hostess as Belko meant that in order to keep my two identities separate, I couldn't publicly eat at the Hostess under my original self. Which is one of the reasons why we were eating out somewhere else to celebrate. That, and this was Welf's goto pub, apparently; his party, his venue.

Hestia wasn't with us because she was still working. This whole thing was more of an early dinner so that I would have enough time to get back to the Hostess for the evening.

Speaking of the Hostess, in comparison this place is rather cramped. I suppose that's because it's on a back street instead of directly on the main road. There are enough tables, chairs, and other obstacles in here to make it difficult to get around.

The inside is a little bit dirty and filled with dwarves and men laughing together in loud voices. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something different about the atmosphere here. The Hostess is bright and clean, but the Flaming Wasp feels more like an adventurer's bar.

Welf and I are wearing more casual street clothing, though I still have the Hestia Knife on me. Lili, who doesn't really have casual clothing, is still wearing her new gear from Hermes.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The three of us joyfully said as we clanked out drinks together before taking swigs of our respective drinks. I'd be more concerned about underage drinking from Lili and me if not for the fact that Falna-bullshit probably makes it not much of a concern regarding brain development.

Probably.

The deep red mead this bar is 'famous' for is surprisingly good. Fruity almost. For better or worse, however, it doesn't even give me a buzz. Either the alcohol content is low since it is a mead, or Liaris Freese has made me immune after Artemis gave me my first drink.

Ah…

…Should I try to stop thinking of her? No, that wouldn't do. But part of me is still annoyed that I can't even get drunk to try and drown out my sorrows.

"A proper congratulations on Leveling up, Bell-sama, Welf-sama!" Lili said to the two of us.

"Thanks, Lil-Lili!" Welf said with a laugh. It was kinda funny, since it was rather 'late' to be saying congratulations at this point. But it was important to properly celebrate things like this. Especially since leveling up is supposed to be rare.

We would have celebrated Welf's Level Up to 2 sooner, but since we weren't counting the Holy Moon Festival and we quickly got dragged into Artemis' Quest… we didn't have time until now to do so.

In a way, this was probably also a celebration of our victory against Antares — but everyone had the tact to not say so to my face. Not sure how to feel about that.

Kind of like how I don't know how to feel about all of the people in the know about what I did to Artemis didn't hate or fear me. Like, I appreciate they understand the extraneous circumstances. But my messiah complex was begging to be yelled at.

"I still need to go about filing my paperwork for that…" I muttered, referring to our Level Ups. Hermes had said to hold off on reporting to the Guild, as he had to get some paperwork for us to make the process smoother. For some reason.

All I knew was that Eina was gonna kill me for not checking in with her… since the Floor 18 Incident had happened. Over a week ago now.

I'm so dead.

Speaking of Level Ups, though, I learned that all of the Loki Familia Executives had reached Level 6 now, and confirmation that Lefiya had reached Level 4. Which was neat, good for them!

Though, now that I think about it, I also had heard that Hyakinthos Clio, Phoebus Apollo, had leveled up to Level 4 as well. It was a bit concerning to see that the Captain of the Apollo Familia hadn't stuck to the script of canon. Still, as it is now, I should still have the stats advantage for as good as that should do me.

Killing countless Level 2 and 3 Black Scorpions on top of whatever Antares was had instantly sent me a quarter of the way through the traditional point range of 0 to 999 – since point gain required exponentially more Excelia, the true halfway point was more like 750.

It also filled up Accretion Disk a LOT, because I felt as fit as a fiddle. My Mind Regeneration was so off the charts, even, that I genuinely couldn't get tired enough to fall asleep.

I may or may not have slept a wink at all since Antares was killed. Honest to Hestia I swear that I literally could not sleep. The Mind Regen was too much. I doubt it was ever 'meant' to get this high in the first place. Antares was worth too much 'energy'.

Whether or not… Artemis… counted… is not something I want to consider. I'd like to think not – her divine soul was likely strong enough to prevent my Skill from doing anything nefarious.

Probably. Most likely.

That said, having my Mind Regeneration temporarily at such a rate suddenly opened up doors of Hiraishin usage that had otherwise been closed to me…

"Lili pities you," Lili said sarcastically, not feeling any empathy for me at all. She then turned back to Welf, "This means that Welf-sama can now use the Hephaestus Familia brand now, no?"

"Not exactly," Welf said sheepishly, "I'll need Hephaestus-sama's approval along with several of the other leaders before I can use that brand. A weak-ass weapon getting stamped would just sully her name."

Still, it meant that at least some of Welf's work would now be getting that illustrious stamp of quality. I'm sure that the man's personal blacksmithing business would start taking off soon. I'm sure Welf's wallet would enjoy the extra revenue source.

"That reminds me," I said, "We'll need to write up a new contract soon. Our current one was explicitly only in effect until you got Blacksmith. That is, unless you planned on checking out. I wouldn't blame you. Trouble seems to follow me like a scorned lover…"

Making a contract between friends was a little weird. But it was necessary to prevent things like higher ups in the Hephaestus Familia from trying to keep Welf to themselves now that he was a more valuable smith in their eyes.

Welf could tell them, 'I have to party with them because of my contract! You want to besmirch the name of Hephaestus-sama by reneging on a contract?!'

Then again, I don't blame Welf if he wanted to avoid a person guilty of deicide. It would hurt to see him go, but I wouldn't be shell shocked by such a decision either.

"That's one way to phrase it!" Welf said with a laugh before saying softly, "We've been through too much for me to just pack up and leave. Nah, I'll join you whenever you call, including for Dungeon crawling. So don't worry!"

Welf gave one of his toothy grins, and I smiled gratefully back. Welf was assuring me that he was signing up for whatever bullshit comes our way thanks to the Bell Cranel Effect.

Lili seemed pleased as well. Though if it was just because we would continue to have cheap weapon maintenance or from a genuine fondness was hard to say. Lili did only know Welf for three weeks now, so I wouldn't blame her for keeping her heart protected.

Though now that I look at her, her eyes seem unfocused, like she has something lingering in her thoughts.

"The city is going to go crazy when they hear news of your Level Up, Bell-sama," Lili said teasingly. Lili, the minx she was, seemed adamant on trying to keep things cheery and normal for the moment. Considering how I was doing similar to Syr earlier today, I figured I should repay the favor.

But not right this second. That conversation should be done in private, not in a public bar.

"I'm going to have to go into hiding or something to avoid all the stares, haha…" I said, a chill going down my back at the thought of how people might react to me hitting Level 3 in (to them) was just 3 weeks. Imagine if people knew it only took me 2 weeks instead of 3…

"And the paparazzi," Lili said, "Bell-sama's reputation seems to have improved. Rumors of Bell-sama defeating a terrifyingly strong monster on Floor 18 has also spread around since we went on 'vacation'."

Indeed, the events of Floor 18 were still the talk of gossip, though the recent events caused by the Antares crisis back in the city have taken the limelight.

News of monsters from as far down as the Deep Floors rampaging was the talk of the town at the moment. And praises for Apollo Familia's Captain for fighting against the hoard for so long.

Still, it was concerning that rumors about me fighting the Juggernaut were circulating. Word might reach the wrong people, those who would recognize what exactly that large-class monster really was…

At that moment, a loud voice was heard from nearby, "—Get this, some 'bunny' just got famous overnight!"

My ears figuratively twitched, for that could only be referring to me. There weren't a lot of people with a famous rabbit moniker besides myself. Despite not really meaning to look at who was talking, it couldn't be helped since my back was to the wall and thus the entire pub was in front of me.

A Pallum adventurer, speaking much louder than he needs to, is holding a glass in one hand and sitting at the table adjacent with five others. They are all wearing uniforms with the Apollo Familia emblem on them.

I proceeded to ignore the rude comments. It has hardly been the first time I've had people insult me in my vicinity – in disguise or not. I was much more interested in my food.

These mashed potatoes were pretty good for such an out of the way bar. I wonder if I can guess the ingredients for a little reverse-engineering…

"That rookie sure got some guts! Don't care if he really is the 'record holder', it's amazing that people swallow all of his lies! I couldn't pull that act off in a million years!" the adventurer's voice has the timbre of a young boy and seems to fill the bar corner to corner. At this point, I can tell that the person is deliberately trying to get everyone's attention; the adventurer's face doesn't look remotely flushed from too much mead, I'd know.

I look back down and continue to eat my meal.

The Pallum's voice turned a little annoyed as he continued to rave, "Anyway, I've heard he's extremely good at running away. That must be how he got the level-up — he ran away from that Minotaur until it collapsed from exhaustion. That's a bunny for ya! Quite the talent!"

It was at this point that things were starting to click for me. I couldn't remember much of how the entire War Game with Apollo Familia actually started – just that the War Game itself was a Castle Siege. I also remember hearing that the anime had skipped a lot from the source material. But the exact specifics of how the War Game started… was lost on me.

That part of the anime was boring! Sue me.

Despite that, I was able to put enough puzzle pieces together to realize that those Apollo Familia members were deliberately trying to start a fight. I could see how it would escalate from there. Punches would be thrown, I'd be blamed for disrupting public order while paid off bystanders would back-up Apollo's accusations. Apollo would make some unreasonable demand, Hestia and I would 'have' to reject it, and Apollo would have Casus Belli for War.

It's a classic Austria-Hungary against Serbia play. (3)

Anyway, the best call was to just ignore the dumbasses. Time to pull a Jesus and turn the other cheek, I guess.

Wait, maybe that's a bad metaphor. Jesus was crucified, after all…

Let's try to avoid such negative thoughts. After all, these potatoes are really good!

"Oh, you know what else? The bunny joined up with two random pieces of riffraff! A washed-up smith and some puny supporter. That party's so unbalanced I'm surprised they can even stand!"

If I was hit with those words earlier today, I might have flinched violently at how true those words were and how much they reminded me of my mistake that was the Middle Floor expedition. But the me of this morning wasn't here, but the current me. And the current me had accepted that mistake and was going to do something about it soon enough.

Also, a Pallum calling another Pallum puny was the most retarded thing I've ever heard.

"Sheesh…" Welf grumbled in mild annoyance. He wasn't close to starting a fight or anything, but it was clear that Welf's good mood had soured.

"Let's ignore them, Bell-sama," Lili whispered to me, a hint of worry in her voice. No doubt about it that Lili's savvy brain had also deduced what Apollo Familia might be up to.

I offered her my spoon of mashed potatoes, "Have you tried these? They're delicious!"

…I really like potatoes, okay. Sue me. And this is an amazing technique for ignoring people!

If I'm going to brood like Kakashi on the inside, might as well annoy some assholes like him on the outside.

Lili's face lit up as I offered my spoon to her, still holding the utensil in my hand.

"Well?" I said teasingly, "Aaah~"

Lili's blush deepened, her eyes sharpening as she noticed the teasing glint in my eyes. She then said, "Bell-sama is a jerk!" And then she proceeded to open her mouth wide so I could feed her, to which I did so.

"So?" I asked as I got my spoon back from her mouth, casually scooping from my plate of mashed potatoes before taking a bite myself.

I'm western, the idea of an indirect kiss means nothing to me. The fact someone as serious as Lili can get worked up over it never ceases to amuse me.

"...It's good," Lili grumbled good-naturedly. She had likely assumed that because of my 'youth' out in the countryside it meant that I was unaware of such social customs. I felt no need to correct such a misconception unless prompted to directly.

The tone in the voice of the loud Apollo Familia adventurer was audibly annoyed, "I also know that his Familia is led by some Goddess not worthy of even the slightest shred of respect. You'd have to be pretty weak and stupid to join a disgraceful deity like that!"

It appears that the Pallum over there was getting annoyed at how I was ignoring him. Sorry buddy, you aren't used to dealing with internet hatred like me, you're going to have to try harder than that to piss me off.

Also, some people might give Hestia flack for only having me in her Familia, but she was hardly the only deity in Orario with few children in their Familia. Miach Familia was just him and Naaza at the moment, for example. And besides, Hestia was too busy with making money to personally pay off her debts to 'properly' devote her time to recruiting.

Not that we would get many people considering the debt hanging over our heads. Or that I wanted a bunch of people to suddenly join either. I wanted to ensure that I had people I could trust with my life watching my back. A real family. Not just some loose collection of adventurers looking to make a quick buck.

In short, the Pallum's attempt to piss me off by mocking Hestia failed. Nice try buddy.

The Pallum's face sneered in annoyance and frustration before turning and eyeing Welf. The Pallum, sneeringly grinned as he said, "I bet the reason their straggler blacksmith is even around is because Hephaestus-sama is pitying the shitty smith and is too nice to tell him to buzz off directly!"

Oh, shit.

A leg comes flying into my line of sight and buries itself into the Pallum's face. The Pallum let out a muffled yelp of pain as he and his chair crashed to the floor. A river of blood flows from his broken nose as his eyes roll back in his head and several parts of his body start twitching. He's out cold.

The bar falls silent as the man who threw the kick, Welf, stands on one leg beside me. His right foot is still outstretched as every set of eyes in the bar looks his way. I stare at him in disbelief, I notice that Welf's cheeks are flushed red from the booze.

…Welf's a lightweight?! Ah… Bell Cranel Effect, you strike again!

Welf smirks. "My foot slipped," he says with impudence. He narrows his eyes and grins at the other adventurers at the table. It's almost as if his actions are a signal.

The Pallum's friends stand up at once.

"You son of a bitch!"

"Now you've done it!"

One of the adventurers kicks the table, sending it spinning into the air. The sound of shattering dishes instantly echoes throughout the bar, accompanied by the screams of the staff. The adventurers throw everything out of their way in a mad charge toward us. Meanwhile, Welf grins and loosens up his right arm with a few swings of his fist.

It takes me a second to come back to my senses, briefly distracted by how things outside of my control seem to keep steering me into trouble, and I tackle one of them who's trying to attack Welf from the side.

"Waaa!" The other customers' voices erupt into a wall of sound.

"Why, why is it always adventurers?!"A fervor sweeps through the confined tavern. Lili's voice somehow manages to cut through it all as punches and kicks are thrown in every direction.

Because a lot of adventurers live in Orario, duh! And a lot of them happen to be assholes!

This is an all-out brawl. All tables and chairs within range are instantly thrust out of the way as we engage the offending adventurers to the delight and incitement of the bar's customers. Mugs and bottles in their hands, the other patrons surround our battle in no time.

I bob and weave, dodging and counter-attacking with all of my self-defense martial art know-how. Now Level 2, Welf is able to keep all four of the attackers at bay on his own more than once. He must be used to this kind of fight.

One adventurer charges at him, but he just smiles before sending the guy flying backward with an impressive uppercut. I move into the fray, duck down to the floor, and sweep my right leg forward. I catch an animal person behind the knee and he falls flat on his butt with a loud "Gah!"

I dip and dive again, dodging even more punches and kicks as Welf and I use a basic formation to overwhelm our opponents, just like a frontline attacker with middle support in a three-man cell fighting monsters in the Dungeon.

Our audience gets steadily louder as our two-man cell overpowers their four-man group.

However, the last of the Pallum man's friends chooses this moment to make his move.

He's a tall, kind of lanky adventurer. The man is handsome enough to rival an elf.

His long brown hair is well kept and neatly styled. The man's skin is smooth and white, almost feminine. He's wearing all kinds of accessories over his Familia's uniform, including several golden earrings.

He'd been sitting in his chair all this time, calmly drinking what was left in his glass. But he chose then to suddenly throw it to the floor and stand up. His movements are swift and dramatic — sure, I'm being distracted and can't watch too closely, but I still notice — as he approaches Welf.

The man grabs hold of Welf's outstretched arm just before it makes contact with another adventurer's face, pulls it back with one hand, and flips him on his back.

"Welf?!" I exclaimed at my friend's plight. My intuition and instincts were finally alerting me that this final adventurer was similar in strength to me.

Which meant it was likely the Apollo Familia Captain himself.

My eyes narrowed as I stared him down. Time to put them on the back foot for a change, I decided.

"I didn't realize Apollo Familia was so arrogant to mock Hephaestus Familia and her affiliates in broad daylight," I said loudly to the other adventurer.

"And if you think I can ignore you brazenly attacking my comrades in broad daylight you are sorely mistaken!" Hyakinthos retorted before launching himself at me.

Fast!

If not for my regular training with Ryuu, I suspect that even with my current stats that his attack would have been hard to track.

But I did have her training and her Hiraishin training; I was able to easily track the attacks of a Level 5 even if I necessarily couldn't react to it.

Hyakinthos was only Level 4. So while it wasn't easy, per say, it was still within my skillset.

In comparison to the Juggernaut, Hyakinthos was nothing. The point I'm trying to get across is that while Hyakinthos wasn't a joke, he wasn't mind shatteringly impressive either. Not to the current me, anyway.

I kept my arms up in a defensive stance and blocked, using my martial arts skills to diminish the force of his attacks with proper angles and positioning.

Through my guard, I saw Hyakinthos' face shift from maniac glee to frustration. Like he expected to do more damage.

While the force of his punches were like being hit repeatedly by cannon-fire, it was still nothing in the face of my ludicrous Vitality and thus defenses.

Thanks Ryuu and Ais-san!

Deciding I've taken enough of a beating, I deliberately act like one of his punches loosened my guard as I winced in mock pain – the lie easy to pull off since his attacks did actually hurt.

Hyakinthos instantly pounced on the opening, lunging forward and leaving himself exposed to a counterattack.

Which I cleanly used to transition the arm from my 'failed' guard and turn that momentum around into a devastating uppercut right into my opponent's jaw.

My attack lands before his does. The force of my punch was great enough to send Hyakinthos half a meter into the air. My opponent landed cleanly on his feet, but was stunned from the hit and stumbled back.

Taking advantage of his delirium, I sharply roundhouse kick Hyakinthos' ankle forcing him to properly lose his balance. In the same motion, I angled my momentum to aim to land another punch to the man's face.

Unfortunately, my opponent had recovered enough to block my attack with his open palm before he fell to the ground.

I jumped back as he span on the ground to try and knock me down as well. I quickly scanned the room as I fell back. I noticed that Lili had managed to drag Welf outside of the bar through the crowd… and that Bete of Loki Familia was here and sitting at the bar looking pissed off. Not sure how I didn't notice him before now.

That said, with neither Hyakinthos or myself having a definitive edge in this non-Dungeon environment, the only way this fight was going to end was when the Ganesha Familia finally came around to arrest us. There was nothing more to gain from staying any longer.

So while Hyakinthos was jumping back to his feet, I shamelessly bolted for the door. I barrelled through one or two of the patrons gawking at the entire brawl before managing to exit the building.

"Bell-sama!" Lili exclaimed worriedly as she saw me run out.

Saying nothing, I grabbed the Hestia Knife and chucked it down an alleyway on the opposite side of the street before grabbing Lili and Welf. I dragged them down a nearby alleyway, out of sight. With a flare of my mana, we vanished before anyone saw us – likely just in time before Hyakinthos caught up with me.

"Let's go!" I whispered harshly as I slung the now unconscious Welf over my shoulder – the nausea of teleporting having knocked the poor bastard out.

Lili followed close behind me as we booked it north.

"It is too much to ask for one calm night?!" Lili complained to the universe.

"Welcome to my life!" I answered back.

"The things I have to put up with…" Lili grumbled good naturedly as I laughed at her apparent misfortune as we both ran away towards the direction of Hestia's Church.

---

Soon enough, we got to Hestia's Church, where my Goddess had barely returned home in time to greet us. We proceeded to explain what happened as we helped treat Welf who almost got his wrist broken.

"...Basically, they were deliberately baiting us into a fight," I said as a final thought, having determined that all of the actions from the Pallum and the Apollo Familia crew were intentional.

They had likely found out (somehow) about Welf's reservation at that bar and had made sure to intercept us there. Otherwise, it was too much of a coincidence to make any sort of sense. How Apollo Familia managed to learn so quickly about Welf's reservation is another story entirely. Perhaps they investigated Welf's background and kept tabs on places he and I regularly go to?

"You think so?" Hestia said before giving a counterpoint, "Apollo, the creep, is enjoying a lot of positive attention after that Captain you fought against made a name for himself while we were out of town. Seems awfully dumb of him to waste his good PR by starting fights…"

It also meant he had goodwill that he was able to burn if need be. Not that his actions thus far would earn him any slack. It wasn't like I could prove he had intentionally sent his children after me. Though I was damn certain that they must have used Welf's reservation with the pub in order to know where we were going.

"Unfortunately, we threw the first punch," I said, "They can easily wave off any concerns as just us not having thick enough skins. If adventurers can't take some name calling, how can they handle the harshness of the Dungeon?"

"Sorry about that," Welf apologized, "They were pissing me off… talking about Hephaestus-sama like that… OW! Give me a break, Lil'Lili!"

Welf hissed as Lili's use of medical herbs was burning at his cuts from the brawl. Lili told him to stop acting like a baby.

I can empathize with Welf losing his temper. Welf had let me know that he fancies his Goddess romantically; anyone would get upset when the people they love are being talked about like that. I was able to endure it because I was used to hearing bad things said about me both in person and while in disguise. If anything, my reaction (or lack-thereof) was the odd thing in all of this.

"In any case, I'll make sure to pay for our meal and damages tomorrow," I said to everyone, "And we'll need to be careful. Those Apollo Familia guys were clearly aiming to rile me up first. They only moved on after that didn't work. I'm their target. I doubt this is the end of things."

Hestia seemed to realize something from my words, "You think they are after you because of…" Liaris Freese was left unsaid. I nodded back.

"Because of what?" Lili asked, "Hestia-sama and Bell-sama make it sound like Apollo-sama is potentially after something more than just poaching Bell-sama or something…"

Hestia and I shared a significant look. The main reason I had kept quiet about Liaris Freese up to this point was because Hestia had forbidden talking about it. If anyone deserved to know about it, it was my party members (and Ryuu, but that was for another day).

Hestia sighed before nodding her approval. I smiled gratefully before turning to my two friends.

"Well, you see," I began to explain, "There is a reason why I've been able to grow as quickly as I have. My first Skill is a growth skill."

Welf and Lili's eyes widened. Whether because of the trust in sharing personal Status information with people outside of my Familia or because of it being a growth Skill was hard to say.

I continued to explain, "It reads as: Rapid Growth. Fast growth as long as feelings last. The strength of the effects corresponds with the level of the user's feelings. It's why I gain so much Excelia, and why I've quickly developed resistance to poisons and alcohol despite not having the Abnormal Resistance Development Ability."

Lili's eyes widened in realization. I wouldn't be surprised if she had put two and two together and had deduced how I had been able to increase her own Stats as quickly as we had. Because she knew I had a Skill that increased Excelia gain in allies.

"Damn," Welf said, whistling in appreciation and awe, "That's insane."

"Yeah, Hestia and I have… gone to great lengths to keep my Skill secret," I said, all but saying that my information in the Guild's public record had been forged. Thanks Eina!

"So while no one knows exactly how you've managed to grow so quickly, Bell-sama, plenty of Gods or Goddesses could have deduced a Skill was behind it. And are thus looking to poach or kill you," Lili deduced logically. My rapid growth was pretty damn obvious, after all.

"Dark…" Welf said, wincing at how casually Lili mentioned that I may or may not have assassins after me.

"Adventurers and their deities often act coldly in their self-interests," Lili defended herself, "If Lili was in charge of a Familia and saw someone like Bell-sama without knowing anything about him personally, Lili would either want him as a subordinate or off of the board. No middle ground. Bell-sama is too amazing to simply leave unchecked."

"You aren't wrong, as scary as it is when you phrase it like that," I said, "So, on that note, this is a good time to bail if you don't want to get caught in the crossfire. I have a feeling that things will only escalate from here; whether it be the Apollo Familia or another, chances are I have a target on my back."

"Lili is going nowhere, even if Lili wasn't under contract Lili would still follow Bell-sama," Lili instantly and categorically denied entertaining any idea of abandoning me.

"That's the second time you've said something like that to me today," Welf said with exasperation, "You've figured for a while this kind of thing would happen, didn't you? I'm sure we'll figure something out."

Welf seemed to have noticed how utterly unsurprised I was by the events of today – that Familias were starting to come after me. I'm glad he wasn't planning on leaving me hanging.

"Lili would recommend trying to lay low," our smallest member suggested, her expression showing how likely she thought we would actually be able to pull that off, "Not that Lili thinks Bell-sama knows how to stay out of trouble…"

"Oi…" I complained good-naturedly.

"Speaking of trouble!" Hestia piped up, pulling out a certain suitcase of money out, "What the hell is all this?!"

She opened the case for emphasis, "Where did this come from, huh!?"

Lili's mouth dropped at the sight of a suitcase larger than her absolutely filled with coin. Welf whistled, he must have developed a resistance to seeing large amounts of money from being close to Hephaestus.

I began to sweat at the thought of having to explain to Hestia that I had gone gambling earlier today.

"B-Bell-sama, how… how much is this…?" Lili gasped out slowly.

"E-er… thirty million Valis, give or take…" I answered sheepishly.

Welf whistled appreciatively. Even with Orario's insane inflation, thirty mill was a nice amount of money. It was likely puny to the likes of Familia the size of Apollo's and larger, but still.

My eyes widened then as Lili fell to her knees. Prostrating herself in a dogeza as she begged, "Bell-sama! Please save Lili!"

"W-wha…?" I gasped out, completely shocked by Lili's actions.

I noticed that Hestia was startled but not surprised for some reason.

"L-Lili had visited the God Soma," Lili revealed. I noticed how she refused to address him with 'sama'.

"Why would you…?" I asked, my brain trying to catch up with this sudden development. "Please get off the ground…"

"Bell-sama… Lili… Lili cannot stand being a member of Soma Familia," Lili told us all, raising her head but otherwise remaining low on the ground, "All the suffering Lili has endured… the… the indignities… Lili wants to be free. Lili wants to really be part of Bell-Dana's Familia."

"Supp— Lili-kun, please get up. Come here," Hestia said to Lili kindly. My Goddess went over and pulled Lili off the ground and onto her bed.

Lili was starting to cry, "L-Lili has been grateful for being able to have Lili's Status updated at all… but Lili cannot stand it anymore. The idea of still being in Soma Familia makes Lili sick. Lili still has night terrors… Lili just wants to be free."

"Lili…" I muttered, feeling like garbage. Here I had been thinking about saving Haruhime, who I haven't even met yet when I hadn't even finished freeing Lili from her shackles.

How much more of an idiot and failure can I be?

"Lili feels like trash for begging Bell-sama for money," Lili choked out, "when Bell-sama and Hestia-sama have done so much for Lili already. But Lili is desperate…"

"Lil-Lili…" Welf muttered, his voice full of empathy for a friend in pain.

"Don't be ashamed," Hestia cooed, petting Lili's head as she hugged the other girl, "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

That's right, Hestia's first update of Lili likely would have shown quite a bit of her life before joining me and thus the horrors of being in Soma Familia.

But man. Here I was getting into more trouble by investigating Haruhime and Ishtar when I hadn't (metaphorically) cleaned up my previous messes. How Lili could look up to me at all astounded me.

In any case, we managed to get some more details out of a hysterical Lili.

Apparently she had tried and failed to appeal to Soma directly in releasing her from his Familia. She had hoped about not being seen since Soma prefers solitude, but Zanis discovered her to her bad luck.

Even distressed and hysterical, Lili was analytical enough to realize that Zanis had not been surprised to know Lili was alive. Lili deduced it was a result of her being lax in her spell use during the Floor 18 Incident; her details as my party member were likely leaked by Riviran adventurers as part of rumors of me slaying the Juggernaut.

Either way, Zanis had demanded 10,000,000 Valis for Lili to buy her freedom. Money that I had and more to spare.

I, of course, had no problem spending such money on Lili. However, this was Zanis of Soma Familia we were talking about. I know enough from the fact that he is their Captain to know that he is ultimately responsible for all of the suffering Lili has endured in the name of money and power and control.

"Would this Zanis guy actually let you go if we pay him?" I asked Lili, "Because while paying a bastard like him is distasteful, seeing you free is well worth the price should it work."

Lili paused to think about that, "…He should. As far as Soma should know, Lili is useless as anything more than a packrat. Why else would they bother?"

"Your magic maybe?" I pointed out, "I'm sure a greedy asshole like Zanis would love to use you to scam people."

And the Xenos.

Lili's eyes widened, "That's right..! Soma would have known and told Zanis if prompted… That damn god cares about nothing besides his brews…"

"Assuming that bastard keeps his word, this is probably the only way to free Lil'Lili without a fight though," Welf commented. His tone suggested he found the idea of paying a right bastard like Zanis distasteful, but necessary.

This sort of thing, hiring/buying an adventurer, was unusual but not uncommon either. Or so Welf claimed.

"Right…" I said, determining that it definitely didn't hurt to try just buying Lili's freedom. I just had to hope Zanis didn't realize that he had all the power in this negotiation and thus raise the price to more than our current assets. Because I was willing to pay any price for Lili's freedom… but I also didn't have infinite money.

Oh well, I'll just need more casino runs?

"I'll organize a meeting with Zanis," I declared, "Hopefully we can come to an agreement. Lili, can you help me write the contract when you're up for it?"

It would be important to have any agreement with Zanis be written down lest the bastard try to pull a fast one on us. I was this competent, at least.

"O-Of course… wait, you are agreeing to this too readily, Bell-sama!" Lili agreed before protesting, "That's a lot of money, Bell-sama you—"

"Idiot!" I sharply cut her off, "Money is nothing compared to your life!"

I softened my expression and said, "Rather, I should be asking for your forgiveness for not thinking about this until you mentioned it. I knew you hated being in Soma Familia and this method hadn't even crossed my mind…"

Lili shook her head, "No, Lili knows that Bell-sama is a little slow on these kind of things…"

"Ouch…" I winced at the 'insult'.

Everyone paused at that before bursting out into laughter.

Yet in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but worry that things weren't going to be as easy as I'd hoped they'd be…

In any case, after Welf was taken care of he retreated to his own residence. Meanwhile, I was booted out of the Church so that Lili and Hestia could have the place to themselves. Because girls need their girl-time and, more likely, to help hash out potential next steps for Lili.

Figuring out how to handle Apollo Familia had, for the moment, been pushed to the side in the wake of Lili's request. Hopefully, everything will go well tomorrow…

---

The sun had yet to rise over the horizon as I slunk outside into the courtyard between the annex and the Hostess. I immediately saw Ryuu, dressed in her training gear, as she watched the moon that still hung in the morning sky.

The corner of Ryuu's eyes sparkled like the stars at dawn. It was a vast difference than the hollow darkness of the void that used to taint her sky blue eyes.

"...Thank you for going out of your way to keep on training with me," I said as I walked over to her.

"...The commute isn't that bad," Ryuu said dismissively as she turned to face me, her lips barely twitching upward unprompted.

Ryuu had moved back in with Astraea-sama at the Stardust Garden property, the revived headquarters of the Astraea Familia. As Astraea-sama's only child, Ryuu felt she had a duty to ensure the property and her Goddess was well defended.

The only reason I wasn't doing similar with Hestia was since she had insisted since the Church's secret room was only so big. And while obscurity wasn't an actually good security technique, it also worked in hiding Hestia from potential rivals since the surrounding area was sparsely populated. It also helped that Hestia's Church was so close to the Hostess that I could chain teleport with Hiraishin markers I've hidden within a minute.

That said, I'll probably start bunking with Hestia and commuting to the Hostess myself. Now that the heat was starting to pick up on me and Hestia, I needed to increase Hestia's security to match.

Just because… just because killing a Goddess is taboo… doesn't mean adventurers won't do it. I'm… the source on that.

…Anyway.

Stardust Garden itself wasn't too far away from the Hostess, apparently. The property wasn't too far from Southwest Main Street. In terms of a straight line, it was actually closer than Hestia's Church was, but as far as actual navigation on foot the opposite was true. Assuming one wasn't taking the rooftops or something like that.

"All the same, I really appreciate all you've done and continue to do to help me," I said, making sure to not let Ryuu downplay her own kindness.

"I see," Ryuu said, "Let us see if you will continue to say such kind words when our training is concluded…"

Oh I was certainly going to complain about how much Ryuu was about to kick my ass. Even so…

"Don't hold back too much," I told her, taking a martial stance, "Actually, go all out. It seems like at least one Familia is trying to pick a fight with me and I have to be ready for it!"

Ryuu's eyes narrowed, "Is that so…"

Ryuu closed her eyes for a long moment. It seemed like she was deep in thought, though on what specifically I couldn't say. Was she trying to convince herself to interfere or not on my behalf? I wouldn't be surprised if my words had awakened her sense of justice.

Not that it had been my intent. I was trying to solve my own problems at the moment. I was yet to the point where I might need help.

Ryuu's eyes snapped open then, filled with fiery determination to do… something.

"Very well…" Ryuu said to me firmly, "Prepare yourself!"

I saw it.

Despite her moving at Level 5 speeds or greater, I saw the attack.

I think I got three quarters of the way to blocking before the strike to my face hit and I fell into darkness…

---

Other POV

"Ara ara…" Ryuu sighed, disappointed with herself, "It seems I went too far again…"

Ryuu, her heart full of embarrassment, walked over and knelt down next to Bell. She raised her arms in preparation to heal him, but paused as the words of a certain Silver-haired and eyed maiden rang through her head.

'Bell really likes lap pillows! I've even heard they help in the healing process! So if you give him one during your training, you guys will be more efficient for sure!'

Ryuu had told Syr that her words sounded ridiculous and were not based on any medical knowledge at all. But Syr insisted that it would work and that Bell would like it…

Ryuu could feel her cheeks start to burn as she got into position and moved Bell's head onto her lap. Her cheeks were no doubt as red as tomatoes as soon as Bell's hair met her exposed thighs.

"So… lewd…!" Ryuu said, scandalized at her own behavior and how she wasn't stopping herself.

Ryuu was prevented from spiraling into self-deprecation at being unable to resist her own urges as she was distracted by Bell's hair. Ryuu looked at the sleeping boy's head in wonder as she unconsciously started to pet him.

Bell's hair was soft and thick like an animal's fur. Something about running the strands threw her fingers was oddly satisfying.

"I… could get used to this…" Ryuu whispered, "Am… am I a pervert…?"

---

'Far' away, at an inn at Port Melen, Ais suddenly woke up from her slumber. She had the sudden urge that she had gained a fellow comrade and disciple, but she wasn't sure why…

Though she also had the impression that she was being insulted at the same time somehow. Strange…

"Maybe a potato snack will help…" Ais muttered illogically as she got ready for her day.

---

Ryuu stared at Bell's sleeping face. She had the sensation that she had gained an airheaded ally…

She determined that her thoughts were illogical and ridiculous. She would blame Bell for reigniting so many feelings in her heart that she had long since abandoned.

Yes. It was definitely Bell's fault that she was having such strange thoughts.

Satisfied that the source of her illogical behavior was identified she quickly moved along to using her magic to wake Bell up…

---

Main POV

I awoke to a familiar sensation. This combination of softness and firmness. The incline. The fingers in my hair. Indeed, this could only be a lap pillow.

Praise be to the lap pillow gods, for I have been blessed with lap pillows two days in a row. Hold on, that sounds really degenerate and sad…

I am not a pervert! Indeed, lap pillows are the materialization of seiso-ness! I am the source on that.

I went ahead and opened my eyes. Peeking out from a pair of hills were familiar sky blue eyes, blond hair, and pointy ears.

I blinked.

Ryuu was giving me a lap pillow?

I blinked again.

"Well damn…" I said forlornly.

"What is it?" Ryuu asked me, "You are normally not so dejected at me going too far in our training…"

"Considering the lap pillow I'm receiving," I said sadly, "I clearly must have died and am being given a final vision before my soul is sent along to be reincarnated…"

Ryuu blinked, her mouth dropping slightly as she processed my words, exasperation clear in her eyes. "...You are an idiot."

"Sure am," I agreed, trying to act as casually as possible as my cheeks lit up with embarrassment as my waking brain had caught up to everything that happened in the last few seconds.

Play it cool me!

I rolled off of Ryuu's lap and onto my feet. I turned to her and sheepishly offered her my hand, "Well, uh… shall we go again?"

Ryuu smiled slightly as she grabbed my hand without hesitation, allowing me to pull her up to her feet, "...Gladly."

Needless to say. I would earn a lot of Vitality Excelia and reaction-time training in the next hour and a half. And a few more lap pillows.

Somehow, I was content with this arrangement. And I had an inkling the feeling was mutual.

…And lap pillows are not a fetish!

–

Hestia hadn't forgotten to ask where exactly I had come upon 30 million Valis. It just had obviously fallen to the wayside in the light of Lili's plight. Because while I was visiting her and getting a quick Status Update, she grilled me on where I got all that money since I couldn't have gotten that much Dungeon Diving on my own (yet?).

"A casino?!" Hestia cried out hysterically, "Getting into fights… gambling… is my cute Bell-kun going through his delinquent phase or something?!"

"While I would normally agree that gambling is a bad idea," I admitted, Hestia had a point that gambling was a vice, "With my Luck ability, it's more like stealing from the rich to give to the poor."

"That would be less scummy if by 'poor' you didn't mean 'us'..." Hestia huffed, though I could tell from her tone that she didn't seem to particularly mind the influx of so much money. It would help a lot with our debt problem. In fact, I wonder is she was just upset that she hadn't been brought along for the fun?

…Nah, her family-friendliness likely just didn't like casinos. (4)

"And that wasn't really the main reason I was out there," I said conspiratorially, "It basically ties in with how Apollo Familia was targeting me yesterday."

"What do you mean?" Hestia asked me.

"I was trying to gather information on rumors going around Orario's underbelly," I told her, "I've all but confirmed that Ishtar is connected to the casinos and is using legal loopholes to engage in human trafficking."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised…" Hestia said, her tone conveying distaste for Ishtar and pity for the poor girls in Ishtar's employ.

"Anyway, I'm hoping to gather information. Figure out if Familias are targeting us before they actually move to act," I explain to her. Which, to be fair, was something I was also aiming to achieve beyond just learning more about Haruhime and the Ishtar Familia.

"Mnnnnrggg…" Hestia made a conflicted sound, like she didn't want to approve of me gambling but also couldn't find fault in the logic and money that my words and actions were bringing to the table.

"Don't worry about me getting addicted, Hestia," I try to assure the person looking out for me, "I'll wring the casinos for all the information they have before I get them shut down. Operations like casinos require a lot of money, something I am very good at steal– I mean earning from them."

"You just said something very scary just now…" Hestia said, sounding a little disappointed in my underhanded tactics of shutting down casinos by liquidating them of their funds.

I'm not used to being on the receiving end of those words. It's endearing that Hestia has adopted one of my common phrases, though.

"From what I've seen, these casinos engage in drug dealing, human trafficking, and other shady deals under the table," I said confidently, "I can't just look the other way."

"Oh Bell…" Hestia sighed, her tone full of empathy and fear. I guess she agreed with the morality of destroying the casinos, but was afraid of my getting hurt in the process.

Shutting down the casinos was going to be a long-term task. There was a lot of money in the casinos. Easily Billions of Valis thanks to how many foreign investors there were. But as I said, casinos can't operate without coin. And I have a certain magic spell that makes it real easy to get past invincible vault doors…

I just had to be careful as to not allow a power vacuum to form and thus create even more violence and suffering for the people that the casinos prey upon. Finding the least scummy casino owner would do the trick. Slowly cause the opponents to go out of business and allow 'my' guy to grow in their place.

"I'd tell you to be careful, but I don't think you know what the word even means…" Hestia sighed. I could tell her harsh words were born out of a sincere desire for my safety, not a lack of confidence in my ability.

"I'm plenty careful," I protested, "It's all because of the Bell Cranel Effect, I tell you!"

"Right," Hestia said with an amused scoff, "Well, try not to get into too much trouble? My poor heart can't take it."

"I'll earn plenty of money for the medical bill," I quipped, which earned me a playful slap to my shoulder.

"Smartass!" Hestia grinned, "Get outta here! I gotta get ready for work!"

"Yes, yes…" I said, leaving Hestia to her things as I went about my own day. Time to negotiate with Zanis and hope he isn't going to be an asshole.

Yeah. I know. This is just gonna go swimmingly…

---

With directions given by Lili, I was able to make my way over to the main Soma Familia headquarters. According to Lili, Soma Familia owned a decent amount of property, but that Zanis was likely to be here.

I was in my adventuring gear, but was lightly armed. Just with the Hestia Knife and some hidden throwing knives in my thigh.

Orion's Arrow was wrapped up in cloth back at my room in the Hostess. Hermes had, reluctantly, told me to keep the spear. Reluctantly, because it was something that truthfully belonged back in Tenkai.

But even Hermes had admitted that in its current state, the Arrow was hardly a threat. He compared the power of the weapon had degraded to that of a 1st Class weapon comparable to what many of the elites in the city might use. A strong weapon, certainly, but not a… not a god-killer anymore.

…

Hermes was not particularly worried about anyone linking me and the Spear to Artemis' fate. Hestia and many other Gods and Goddesses had failed to recognize the spear for what it was when it was on display at Hermes' booth.

For you see, few had really seen Artemis use her good arrows. Why? She had little reason to use them on Goddesses, and the Gods she used them on had been beaten so badly they wouldn't be able to remember the sight of them. The only deities that would recognize the Spear for what it was were smithing deities like Hephaestus and Gonibu.

All of that said, I have kept the weapon wrapped up in cloth and untouched since I last used it. The sight of the weapon… filled me with shame. Shame in faltering in my ideals. I am sure I will eventually allow for pragmatism to force my hand, but for the moment, I will wallow in my self-pity.

I also really did not want to see the weapon's hieroglyphs glow. A sign that I was 'worthy'. I might start to honestly hate Artemis if she does that to me, at this point in time, proclaiming me worthy of her power.

In any case, bringing a heavy weapon like Orion was inappropriate for this kind of meeting. Even if Zanis was a right bastard that deserved a poking between the eyes.

Of course, the guards outside the grounds weren't glad to see me until I mentioned that I had a business deal with their Captain worth multiple million Valis. I only had to wait outside for a few minutes before I was escorted onto the property.

The property was made up of multiple buildings including a storehouse, breweries, and several watchtowers. Which made sense not just because this was a decently large Familia home, but because this was likely where a lot of Soma Wine was produced.

Aside from the guard contingent, the people on site were mostly non-combatants that were likely involved in the production and distribution of wine.

Their eyes and faces were hollow and blank. Soma Wine had rotted their brains and personalities into mindless drones doing whatever they could for their next fix.

I had to fight down the burning rage that developed in my gut. Despite my trauma, the urge to send Soma right up to Tenkai developed in the back of my head.

While Zanis is the one who is actively causing the suffering and debauchery of Soma Familia, I don't not absolve Soma of blame. It's his Familia, and all the pain that has occurred to people like Lili are the result of his actions or lack thereof.

I'm the source on that.

That said, there was a time and place for revolution. I'd have to be content with adding Soma Familia to my list of 'to be dispersed in the name of Justice at a later date'. I wasn't so naive as to ignore the economic ramifications of a sudden collapse of Soma Familia.

Destroying Soma Familia without a plan in place could very well bring more harmful side-effects than good if I do things willy-nilly.

In any case, I was finally led through the main building and into an office room where Zanis was waiting for me.

He 'appeared' to be in his forties and had dark grey hair and eyes. He was well dressed and his skin was healthy unlike all his employees. His expression was polite, but I had the sensation he was looking down on me.

"Greetings…" Zanis said to me, a composed smile on his face, "Please have a seat."

"…Thanks," I said politely, sitting down across from his desk.

"I will say, I was surprised to hear that Hestia Familia had a business deal with me and my Familia. Especially one worth… a significant amount of capital," Zanis said to me all business-like. "That said, I don't see how you could be entering into the wine industry. If you are not aware, we don't sell our product to just anyone."

"That's… not why I'm here," I said in response. Zanis' words raised some questions in my head.

Most people looking to do business with him would be about Soma Wine. Something he tries to control the supply of on the market to drive up prices. So, essentially, he likely turns most people away to avoid wasting his time. So then, why was I allowed in so readily?

Zanis seemed amused, "Oh? Then what business do you have with me? I'm not as young as I used to be, so I can hardly afford to waste my precious time…"

Translation: 'you better have a good reason for wasting my time you fucking brat'.

Zanis is acting like he is unaware of the reason for my visit, but his tone isn't surprised in the slightest. His eyes are knowing, like he is already aware of why I am here.

He must have long known that Lili was with me and has deduced that she came running to me after their run in.

This wasn't looking good for my negotiations…

"I'm here about an adventurer, Liliruca Arde," I said formally, "She's been a great help to me in the Dungeon and out. And as you can imagine, Hestia Familia is looking to expand its ranks with adventurers with real life experience. We were hoping to buy her out of your services."

"Is that so?" Zanis said, his voice slightly haughty, "To hear a rising star like the weiẞes Häschen is interested in a precious member of my beloved Familia fills me with pride as it's Captain…"

I had a bad feeling about this. He was really playing the angle of Lili being a 'precious member' of his Familia.

"I had until recently thought she was dead," Zanis admitted, "So you have no idea how much it pleases me to know she is alive and well…"

"Right…" I said, trying my best to not sound sarcastic.

"She is a really useful and beloved member of my Familia," Zanis continued to bullshit as naturally as he breathed, "I cannot bear the thought of parting with her for anything less than 100,000,000 Valis."

My eyes widened in shock and rage, "That's not—!"

"What a brainwashed and kidnapped adventurer told you?" Zanis rhetorically said, his tone full of mockery, "I'm afraid I've 'altered the deal'. Pray to your Goddess that I do not alter it any further."

I clenched my fists in frustration. There was no winning in discussing further with this shell of a man. Even should I raise the necessary funds from casinos, Zanis will just keep raising the price like I'm his personal bank. Since Soma is the only one able to unlock Lili's Falna for Conversion, Zanis holds all the power in this dynamic.

I remember enough of Apollo's daytime raid in Canon that Soma Familia was involved. They must have already struck a deal with Apollo Familia when I was out of town. A consequence of the timeline being weird thanks to the existence of Artemis and Antares.

In Zanis' eyes, his acquisition of Lili was a matter of time. He only brought me here to mock me to my face. He would have accepted money and then rejected me if I had been stupid enough to bring any money with me to this meeting.

Put another way, I was brought in this far so Zanis could scam and mock me. But since I didn't bring my money, he settled for mocking me.

"…You'll regret this," I promised him. Utterly furious that I was stopped just shy of freeing Lili from this hellhole once and for all.

Sure, I could beat the crap out of Zanis until he complies. But I'd also just as soon have the Guild bearing down on me for assaulting another Familia Captain.

I was under no impression that the Guild higher ups felt like they 'owed me one' for everything in the Artemis Quest. Now that the world was no longer in imminent danger, I was an easy scapegoat to toss aside in the name of stability.

If I was going to turn the Guild into a potential enemy, I'd like to at least warn my friends so they knew to blame everything on me and not do something stupid like join me on my sinking ship.

"I doubt it," Zanis said, smug that his Familia had the legal 'high ground' in continued 'possession' of Lili.

"If that is all, don't let the door hit you on your way out, weiẞes Häschen," Zanis said, a wicked smile on his face as he held back the urge to laugh at my smoldering righteous fury.

I was quickly enough escorted out. The stoned guards were all too glad to laugh at my expense as I was all but kicked off the property.

Well.

That could have gone worse.

---

Zanis was not the only Familia Captain I had secured a meeting with for today. As I did manage to snag a time slot in Asfi's busy schedule. I suspect that Hermes bullied her into it considering how quickly I had gotten this meeting.

Asfi invited me via a letter to a secure conference room in Babel Tower, as per my request that we speak somewhere we won't be overheard. She likely did so on the assumption that I wanted to talk about… Artemis related stuff. As such, her note to me had assured me that the location could not be overheard by eavesdropping parties.

I entered the room and locked the door behind me. Asfi was already in the room before me. The room itself was small and spartan, barely containing more than the table and chairs for us to sit and chat at and only large enough to contain said furniture.

Asfi herself looked exhausted. It would seem that my suspicions were right and Hermes was working the former noble-woman to the bone.

"Thanks for seeing me, Asfi-sama," I said to her gratefully and formally as I sat opposite her. We may both be Familia Captains, but there was clearly a difference between the two of us in the social hierarchy.

"I admit to being surprised to have received your letter," Asfi said, her voice sounding a little hoarse, "Then again, we have become rather well acquainted thanks to my perverted God's antics…"

I chuckled awkwardly. It seems that Asfi was so tired that she was venting about her problems about Hermes to someone outside her Familia. He must really be working her hard.

"You've certainly been an inspiration for me as to what a Familia Captain should be like," I said, being truthful in my flattery. Her hard work and efficiency were something to admire. I can see why Hermes made her his right hand woman.

"Wha–?" Asfi got flustered at my words. The poor woman must be really tired for such a compliment to throw her off guard.

Still, Asfi was quick to compose herself, "I-I see. I'm glad to serve as a good example, even for those outside my Familia. But we are digressing. What exactly did you call this meeting between Familia heads for?"

Asfi was really giving me more credit than I deserved. I was only Captain of Hestia Familia by default at the moment considering it was just me right now. So for her to equate myself to her own position in Familia hierarchies was rather generous of her.

Zanis did the same thing, but his intentions were to mock me for being a Captain of myself. Asfi was honestly being respectful.

"Well, I was hoping to commission you for a few magic items…" I said, a little embarrassed with my request.

Asfi was one of a literal handful of people who had the Mystery Development Ability that allowed her to make magic items. It allowed for a level of sophistication and fine-tuning that even conventional magic stone products were beyond jealous of.

It also meant that her products were extremely valuable and expensive. The fact that someone of my financial status was asking her this was beyond arrogant of me.

And the glint in Asfi's eyes reflected this fact. She seemed to see right through me as she asked, "...This is really important to you. I can tell you already know that my products are far from cheap. The fact you are asking anyway… what are you looking for me to make?"

I took a deep breathe and then said, "...I need a magic item that can conceal an individual's nature from the gods."

"!" Asfi was startled, not expecting such a request, "What on earth…"

All all the things I remember, the Xenos Arc is perhaps the one I remember in the most detail. Not including anything Ryuu related…

And something that stuck out was the fact that Hestia had noticed that Weine was not a Child of Man even when Weine was fully disguised. This was likely something that most if not all deities could do. Their divine perception is able to tell the difference between the Children of Man and the Children of the Dungeon.

I wanted a magic item that countered this perception. A sort of extension of Singularity in a way that I could give to another. For I had a plan of action on how to try and endear the Xenos to the people of Orario, but it all depended on their nature as monsters not being noticed from their sheer presence alone.

"I'm sorry that I can't really explain why I need such an item…" I attempted to explain to Asfi, "Just that I know that you will be able to figure it out for yourself in the near future."

I'm not sure exactly when Hermes Familia started investigating the smuggling of captured Xenos out of Orario. Just that Hermes Familia hadn't really uncovered hard evidence of what the Xenos were until around the time that Bell had encountered Weine. Which was probably between a month or two from now?

"...A magic item for… blocking the perception of the gods?" Asfi summarized out loud, sounding almost shocked that I of all people had asked for such a thing.

She looked at me sharply, "And you refuse to elaborate as to why you want such an item?"

"Just that I am using it to protect someone, not hurt anyone," I said, "And that I promise to admit my intentions should you figure them out. I swear on Hestia's undying, holy flame!"

As Hestia's child, there was no higher thing I could swear by. They were honest words from my heart that also were something that would help adventurers understand my resolve.

For indeed, Asfi's eyes widened, recognizing how serious I was being about the matter. She sat there for a moment, deep in thought.

After a long but not uncomfortable moment, Asfi spoke, "...Having witnessed your latest tribulation, I choose to believe in your good intentions. Fine. I will make your magic item. But it won't be cheap. While the price might go up based on the materials, I will need at least 15 Million Valis."

"I will deposit that into your account at the bank in the next few days," I promised to Asfi's surprise. The financial situation of Hestia Familia, while not entirely known to the public, was easy to deduce.

"...I have the money. It's not illegal or anything, but it's kind of embarrassing…" I admit, trying to avoid saying that it was earned at the casinos.

Asfi sighed, "I didn't think you were up to nefarious activity to begin with, but that isn't really my business… As long as you have the money, that's fine. I'll either present the item or an update on it in a week's time."

"There's no rush, but I do need it relatively soon," I assured the woman that this wasn't a rush order.

"Good, because I would have charged a 5 million rush fee," Asfi said casually.

"How… how badly is Hermes managing your Familia's budget?" I asked, feeling horrified at the thought of such an upcharge.

Asfi's expression darkened, "...Don't remind me. I want to strangle him so bad. How the Kenki managed to spend that much Valis in just a week I'll never understand…"

Sounds like whatever Hermes did to get Ais to not join us on the Artemis Quest was rather priced. Asfi you have my sympathies.

Asfi asked me a few questions to help elaborate on what I was looking for in this magic item.

I told her I preferred for it to be subtle, like the size of a forehead protector or a facemask. But that it being an entire outfit or cloak was also acceptable. And that I didn't mean hide presence as in literal invisibility; that it was just to try and obscure the user's presence in the eyes of the gods. So much so that if not for visible sight a god wouldn't be able to differentiate between a human and a monster.

In any case, our business was concluded and so after a few pleasantries we went our separate ways.

---

I had barely left Babel Tower when my sixth sense, the one associated with Hiraishin, had gone off.

"Huh?" I said in confusion as I stopped and idly moved off of the main road.

One of my Hiraishin marks had been destroyed. This wasn't too unusual, as any knives I lost in the Dungeon ended up getting destroyed if I didn't collect them. And marks I left around the city sometimes happened to get damaged through sheer happenstance.

But this was different. Because the mark in question that was damaged just now had to have been outside of Orario based on how far from me it was.

I knew it was NOT from any of the marks I placed on those coins yesterday. While it made sense for money to leave the city due to the foreign investors… it didn't make sense for money to be destroyed, for obvious reasons.

But that wasn't why I knew it wasn't the money.

Leveling Up also causes spells to grow stronger. This is why Firebolt is able to grow in intensity and why my amount of jumps and distance in traveling with Hiraishin has increased. But that isn't the only thing that had improved.

My 6th Sense in regards to my Hiraishin marks had also gotten stronger. Which was helpful since I easily had several hundred markers in existence – so keeping track of them all was paramount. What was my 6th Sense like now?

While not accurate, it was similar to having a database in my head. Each marker had a unique 'feeling' or 'ID' that differentiated themselves. And with each 'ID' I could determine what person or object had marked, roughly how far away the mark was from me, and whether it was suddenly moving or not.

Which meant that as soon as it was destroyed, I knew that the marker I had left on Lefiya's Familia Insignia had been damaged. It had been the mark I had put on Lefiya during the Juggernaut fight. It had seemed fitting to put it on her Familia's insignia.

I could feel my heart rate spike as the implications ran simulations in my head. For the marker to receive enough damage to be unusable, it meant that Lefiya had to be in serious trouble.

I had heard enough rumors at work at the Hostess that a large contingent of the Loki Familia had been spotted leaving Orario through the southwest gate towards the port city of Melen.

The same direction, of course, where Lefiya's marker had gone silent.

The fact that Lefiya's marker had gotten destroyed despite having so many allies nearby…

Lefiya, my friend and competitor, was in trouble! The deadly kind!

Truly, when it rains, it pours.

---

Authors Notes:

(1) I originally wrote this particular scene on Thanksgiving day. Thus, a turkey reference is obligatory.

(2) Just because Bell has resolved to work towards the future, it doesn't mean he still won't beat himself up or feel bad about what happened to Artemis.

(3) History reference. Austria-Hungary sent a list of demands to Serbia after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand – a list of demands that no nation would ever accept being imposed on them. Serbia agreed to all but one of the conditions, which was a reasonable compromise. Austria-Hungary, who wanted war, rejected compromise and invaded. There's more nuance, of course, but that's the start of WWI for you.

(4) After playing the Ryuu Chronicle campaign in Danmemo, Hestia and Lili confront that Bell had been at a casino… and are only upset about the fact that he went without them.

So yeah, this chapter is essentially a Rising Action chapter for the current arc which I am dubbing the 'Warfare Arc'. Mainly because there is gonna be a lot of conflict going on.

When Bell and Hyakinthos were engaging in fistcuffs, Bell was using about 50% of his strength while Hyakinthos was using about 70%. If they were in the Dungeon, Hyakinthos likely would have gone all out because he would be able to kill Bell without repercussions there. Since he was in public, however, Hyakinthos just wanted to beat Bell within an inch of his life. Didn't turn out that way, though. Bell effectively has higher numbers and knows a reasonable amount of CQC.

Bell makes a ton of free money at a casino while confirming things like 'yes Haruhime exists' without actually entering the Pleasure District. He attempts to use that money to free Lili from Soma Familia, but it fails.

While Zanis would love an instant injection of 10 Million Valis, he's already been bought by Apollo while Bell was out of town. Zanis signed on with Apollo for the money, after seeing Lili it just became an endeavor even more in his interests. The meeting at the Ball was to essentially finalize the deal and for Zanis to elaborate that he had more significant grievances with Bell to assure Apollo that he wouldn't renege on their cooperation.

Even if Zanis had no deal, Zanis would have done something similar to where he uses Bell as a new source of income with Lili's entrapment in Soma Familia as a bargaining chip.

While it is less effective as a bargaining chip thanks to Status Snitch, Lili is still technically a member of Soma Familia which is something she cannot stand. It's not rational, but Lili just cannot stand being in Soma Familia anymore, she's simply suffered too much as a member of that Familia. Like a child wanting to escape abusive parents, Lili wants freedom from the twin wine glasses on her back.

Bell commissions Asfi to make a magic item to conceal the fact that Xenos like Weine are monsters from their presence alone. To prevent other Gods and Goddesses from stumbling upon Weine and noticing her true nature despite whatever disguise she might be wearing.

She agrees to make it because after witnessing the events of the Artemis Quest, Asfi trusts Bell to not abuse such an item for ill-means.

Lili gets more points than Welf because her feelings for Bell are stronger. That and Ryuu, Asfi, and Lefiya had gotten the most Black Scorpion kills in that order. They effectively hogged most of that Excelia.

Chapter 16 was originally bigger. Too big, so I've split it in two. So Haruhime's debut has been pushed back to the next chapter, sorry fox lovers. So now my original Chapter 17 is now 18 and 18 now 19. So anyone who has been paying attention to my notes will hopefully not be too confused when reading those hints I've given for future content.