Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi.
Aiz was pissed.
Not that anyone could tell just by looking at her. She still had her expressionless doll-like look on her face as she slowly ate. That was just her on the outside though, on the inside Mini Aiz looked as mad as Aiz felt. Both of their eyes were constantly keeping track of the single person who was causing the problem. As she was focused on the white-haired waiter who had just put down food on another table she wondered what was wrong.
'Why am I so annoyed right now?' She thought to herself.
She was fine when they first walked in and saw Bell working there. Everyone was confused at the sight of him working there but then Mia yelled at him and then Bell went back to help other customers. While still confused they went and sat down at their reserved table.
When they got there Loki sat at the head of the table with Finn and Riveria on each side of her. Tione immediately sat next to Finn with a smile as her sister sat down beside her. After they sat down so did Lefiya and Aiz. On the opposite side, Gareth sat next to Riveria and had Bete, Raul, Cruz, and Anakity sit down after him with Narfi sitting at the other end of the table.
Once everyone was seated the two cat-girl waitresses brought them their drinks of ale and regular juice for Aiz. As they handed out the drinks Finn asked what was on everyone's mind.
"So if you don't mind me asking, why is Bell Cranel working here?" Finn asked Anya once she put down his drink.
"White-hair? He just owed Mama a favor meow and we happened to be short because of Syr today. So here he is." She replies with a grin.
"What do you mean Syr is right there." Loki pointed to her with one hand as the other tried to grab at Chloe. Chloe just sidestepped and continued.
"She came later once she heard that Bell was here. So did the rest of his familia." Chloe said as they both finished putting down their drinks and pointed at them. She was right. Near the bar on the opposite side of them, they saw the rest of the Hestia familia drinking while laughing at their captain.
"By the way, I hope you enjoy the food, and don't forget to spend lots of money!" After she said that they went back to their chaotic job leaving the Loki Familia in silence. After a few seconds Finn lightly cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Well ignoring all of that. It has been a tough few months. We have dealt with the dungeon, new creatures, the Evil remnants, Knossos, and even an insane god. It hasn't been easy and we've lost dear family members." He paused here for a second, letting everyone think about what they lost and gained in the last few months. "But even if the city doesn't know, we know that their sacrifices weren't in vain. So in honor of the fallen let us celebrate our victory!"
After he finished the entire table let out a deafening cheer that had the entire tavern looking at them before they started drinking.
"We're gonna need more liquor over here! This isn't even enough to get even the wolf tipsy," Gareth bellowed across the room.
"Shut your mouth, you old bastard! Just watch I'll outdrink you tonight once and for all." After that declaration, Bete downed his drink.
With that, the party started in full. Drinks and food were brought in as fast as possible and more was sent to replace them soon after. Tione was offering some food to Finn trying to seduce him and failing. Riviera was lecturing an already-drunk Loki to stop grabbing the waitresses. Gareth and Bete were already a few bottles in and showed no sign of stopping. Raul, Cruz, Anakity, and Narfi were quieter compared to the rest of them but were still getting rowdy. Meanwhile, Tione and Aiz were eating Mama Mia's food as fast as possible while Lefiya tried to have them slow down.
As if taking their festivities as a challenge the rest of the pub got even more rowdy. The waitresses and Bell were constantly moving around. But not once was Bell one of the people who went to Loki's familia table. Bell had asked the others if they could handle the Loki familia as he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his idol. Because of this after a while Aiz tried to find Bell to see if he was still there. Once she found him she let out a little smile until she saw what was happening to him.
Bell was in the middle of putting down drinks when a female Amazonian adventurer grabbed his hand. Bell looked questioning at her before she started talking.
"Hey Rabbit Foot are you free after this?" She said provocatively as she winked at him.
Bell blushed to the tips of his ears and replied. "Sorry, I have to leave with my familia after this."
"That's fine we can always meet up lat-"
"Sorry, I have to go back to help out!" Bell said as he backed away with his face all red. The woman didn't seem to take it personally, just laughed at how cute he was with her familia.
When Aiz saw that she dropped her smile as she kept watching him. As she watched him the same thing happened over and over again. Female adventurers would try to grab his attention once he was close to them. He would blush, stammer out an excuse, and then go back to work. After that, they would laugh at how cute he was and try again once he came by.
When Lefiya saw that Aiz had stopped eating she looked at her confused. No one, especially a glutton like Aiz, would ever stop eating Mama Mia's food halfway. She looked to see what Aiz was so focused on and saw that she was staring blankly at that human. Lefiya let out a sigh of disappointment, of course, it was him.
"I see that human is a womanizer no matter where he's at. I don't understand what women see in him." Lefiya said to Aiz as she watched another woman try to flirt with him.
"Womanizer?" Aiz questioned Lefiya as she finally took her eyes off of Bell for a moment. When Lefiya saw that she took Aiz's attention away from Bell she excitedly kept talking.
"Yes! Whenever I see him he always is around women and remember the time he peeked in on the women when bathing on the 18th floor."
When Aiz heard that she remembered. Bell had been tricked by Lord Hermes into sneaking a peek at them while they bathed. Now that she remembered that she blushed a deep red in embarrassment. "It wasn't his fault." She muttered.
'Why am I so embarrassed? It didn't bother me that much when it happened.' She remembered covering her body up in embarrassment back then too but she hadn't given it much thought after he apologized. But now that she was thinking about it she couldn't stop blushing.
"True it was Lord Hermes' fault but still he should have realized something was wro…. Are you okay? You're red. You didn't have any alcohol did you!?" She asked in a panic. She wasn't there but she had heard the horror stories from the other members of the familia.
"No, I'm fine," Aiz replied as she went back to thinking about what Lefiya had said. It was true that Bell did always seem to have women around him except for his smith. And if she thought about it more, that night when she was watching him three different female adventurers had helped Bell that night. As she thought of the way they interacted with him she got angry again.
'Why am I so annoyed by the way they act towards him? I wasn't this annoyed when I saw it happen back then.'
Mini Aiz looked at Aiz in shock as she thought it was obvious. Bell was the boy she trained; she had a duty to look after him. While she was deep in thought Syr came with more food for the table. As she was putting down the food she saw that Aiz was still staring at Bell. Syr smiled mischievously when she had this opportunity to test the Sword Princess' feelings on Bell.
"Ugh, they just won't leave my Bell alone for a single moment," Syr said as she watched another customer try to flirt with him. When they heard that Aiz, Lefiya, and Tiona who was just about to start digging in looked at her in shock.
"Your Bell?" Tiona asked shocked. "I didn't know you guys were together."
"Well we aren't yet but he will be mine. Then I don't have to watch other women try to take my cute rabbit." Syr said passionately before blushing in embarrassment. As Syr began to pick the plates up Aiz was staring at her numbly.
'Her Bell? I-I don't want that. I don't want Bell to go further away from me.' She thought to herself while Mini Aiz was glaring at Syr while holding a small white rabbit in her arms. When Aiz saw that she looked determined. She didn't know why but she wanted to be the only one who could hold Bell in her arms.
"He's not yours." She said to Syr. When Syr heard that she stared at Aiz for a moment with a blank expression before she replied.
"We'll see." After she said that she walked away. She was happy that her little test worked and now she knew how Aiz felt. When she left Lefiya and Tiona immediately turned to Aiz.
"What did you mean by that Aiz!?" Lefiya asked.
"Did Aiz finally find herself a man!?" Tiona said right after.
Aiz just looked confused at what they were talking about. When the rest of the table heard that they all looked over to see what the fuss was. They saw Aiz looking away with slightly red cheeks after she realized what she said. While Lefiya looked like she was about to explode in anger and Tiona was bouncing she was so excited.
Riviera saw this and instantly tried to change the subject to avoid embarrassing her daughter. "I see Mr. Cranel looks completely healed. Hopefully, that means that that rumor was a misunderstanding after all."
When she said that all of the people who heard about the Hestia Familia's expedition looked at him again. Aiz in particular took a good look at him and not at his surroundings. He was wearing black dress pants and shoes with a white button-up and green vest. Although she knew that wasn't what she was supposed to be looking for she couldn't help the thought that popped up in her head.
'Bell is handsome?'
While she was dealing with this particular thought as she looked at all of Bell, Bete who wasn't in the room was wondering what they were talking about.
"Oi old hag. What rumor are you talking about?" He asked. Raul, Cruz, Anakity, and Narfi who also weren't there looked at Riveria for an answer. However, it was Finn who answered Bete's question.
"Well it's just a rumor so don't go spreading it but apparently…" Finn explained what they had heard from the Xenos about Bell. After he finished Bete immediately laughed.
"No way the rabbit made it to the 37th floor. Since he's here let's just ask him." After he said that, he stood before Gareth grabbed his head and pushed him back down.
"Dumb wolf did you not hear what Finn just said about not spreading this around," Gareth said as he kept Bete down.
"What's so shocking about it? We have level 4s go down past there all the time." Loki asked wondering if it was that big of a deal.
"Yes, but that's with the proper support to make sure they can handle it," Riviera explained. "On the other hand for a small familia like his, it would be extremely difficult for all of them to live."
"What do you three think?" Finn asked Raul, Cruz, and Narfi at the other end of the table for their input. They looked shocked when he looked at them so he explained. "Well, you guys saw him fight recently correct? The last time any of us saw him was against the Black Minatour."
When they heard that they saw the logic in his idea and thought about it seriously for a moment. While they did that the rest of the familia looked at them waiting for what they would say.
"Well," Raul started. "It's not completely unbelievable. That white light attack is more than enough to fight anything on the 37th floor."
After he finished Narfi started talking. "Also his basic skills are high for a level 4. It almost seemed like a level 5 as I watched him fight. He seemed fine fighting the Violas and that should have been the first time he saw them."
Finally, Cruz followed up on that. "Yeah, he's strong enough to survive down there. And I heard that the Hestia familia didn't go on their expedition by themselves. I heard they got help from some other small familias and that the Antianeira was also there."
When the rest of the familia heard that it started to make more sense if he had the help of another adventure with experience down there. As they were thinking that Loki spoke up.
"True but there's something else going on. Why did they fail their expedition then if it was only going to the 26th floor?" She asked Finn.
"Don't forget all the deaths that happened in Rivira. They shouldn't have had that hard of a time with the floor boss. Something else happened that was ordered to be a secret." Finn said as he looked at his thumb which was throbbing a little. After that, he looked up and smiled at them.
"But there's nothing we can do about that right now so let's go back to enjoying ourselves." As soon as he finished saying that Tione went right back to flirting with him. With that, everyone broke back into their little groups as they kept eating. Except for Aiz who just went back to staring at Bell wondering why he hadn't come over to their table yet.
—
'She's staring at me again.' Bell thought as he grabbed some of the empty plates to take to the kitchen. He didn't know how he knew it was Aiz staring at him with all the different eyes on him but he knew. He could feel people's gazes on him and what their intention was when they were looking at him but he couldn't tell who they were. Except for two exceptions; Lady Freya and Aiz. Lady Freya's gaze held nothing back so he always knew when she was watching him for whatever reason. Aiz's gaze always made his back start to get hotter and he always focused more on hers than anyone else by instinct. That fact embarrassed him so only he knew that.
'And she's mad again.' He shivered as he felt her annoyance as she stared at him as he was talking to a group of customers and wished them a good night.
It had been a few hours since the Loki familia had arrived and they were still partying hard from what he could tell. Bete and Loki were passed out drunk on the floor with Riveria watching them. Gareth was laughing as he was still drinking against Raul and Cruz who looked like they were about to join their goddess on the floor. Finn was drunk enough to let Tione snuggle his arm as he watched over everyone. And Tiona, Narfi, Lefiya, and Aiz were talking about when the next expedition was.
Bell didn't know why but now and then Aiz would randomly start staring at him for a while as she got more angry. 'I didn't do anything to her that I can think of.'
As he was wondering what he could have done he went to take some more food to his familia who were still there. As he put down the food he took a look at them to see how they were doing. Welf was fine with all the alcohol he drank but the rest of them had switched to water a while ago.
"You guys know you don't have to wait for me right? I'll be fine and I can head home after I'm done here," Bell said.
"No Mr. Bell it is my responsibility to look after you to make sure no one takes advantage of you," Lily replied.
"If you say so," Bell said feeling a bit embarrassed that she didn't trust him enough even though he knew she had a point. "I've been wondering though where is the Goddess at?"
Mikoto answered as she grabbed some of the new food. "She wanted to but she had a meeting with Lord Takemikazuchi, Lord Micah, and Lady Hepstuastus so she couldn't make it."
"But it's fine we'll be sure to tell her what she missed," Welf said with a grin.
Bell laughed awkwardly before he nodded and went back to work.
When he went back to the kitchen to put the dishes in the sick Mama Mia saw him and smiled.
"If I knew how popular you would have been I would have had you work here sooner." She joked.
"Well, I wouldn't mind doing this now and then when I'm not in the dungeon and have time to spare."
All things considered, though Bell was having a fun time. It was difficult at first but now he had it down to a good degree. It was nice to work with the staff. If there was a problem it was that he was getting a lot of attention. A lot of women were trying to flirt with him and he didn't know what to do. To make it worse, Syr had a scary smile on her face every time it happened and Lyu would frown at him. Not to mention Aiz's gaze on him would intensify.
"We can talk about it later we are almost done just an hour or two left. So get back out there and get those girls to spend money."
"Yes, Mama Mia."
"Here take this to the Loki familia." She said handing him a platter of desserts for them to finish off before they left.
"Huh?" Bell looked at her with bemusement once he heard what she said before rapidly blinking and trying to deny the food. "Wait can you have one of the other waitresses do that?"
"Why, you got a problem with the Loki familia?" She asked why still cooking.
"No, it's just that…"
But she interrupted him before he could finish. "If there's no problem then get to it we still have other customers. Can't have you back here distracting people."
"Yes, Mama Mia." He said dejectedly before he grabbed the food platter and took a deep breath before walking to the Loki Familia. As he walked over there his eyes were immediately drawn to Aiz. She was talking to Tiona and didn't notice him until he got next to the table. When she looked up and made eye contact with him he immediately looked away and started to hand out the food.
"Here you guys go. Hope you enjoy your food." Bell was trying to do this as quickly as possible so he could leave. But Tiona wouldn't have that and call out to him.
"Argonaut don't hurry up. Stay for a second it's been a while since we last talked." Once he heard that he knew he wouldn't be getting out of here quickly.
"Sorry. If I stay too long Mama Mia will yell at me." He said apologetically as he was still trying to get away from his idol.
But it seemed the whole table was against him as Finn stopped him as he tried to go. "It's fine the whole tavern is slowing down the rest of them can handle it." As he said that he pointed to the other waitresses who were handling the rest of the customers. "Anyway since you're here, we still need to thank you for your help with that incident."
As Finn thanked him he shook his head. "I didn't do anything special I couldn't have done it without you guys protecting me for all that time." He replied as he nodded his head towards Raul who kept him safe while he was charging up his skill against the dragon.
Finn just smiled as he agreed and moved on. "Well even so if it wasn't for your advice on the symbol we never would have figured out what to do so as the Captain of the Loki Familia, thank you."
When Bell heard that he couldn't help smiling in embarrassment and pride. But who could blame him? One of the adventurers that he looked up to and respected had complimented him. As he stood there he tried to switch the conversation off of him when he saw Narfi. He smiled at her before speaking to her.
"I never got the chance to thank you for the sword you gave me. Thank you and sorry I broke it in the battle." As he smiled at her she blushed as her heart rate sped up.
"No, it's fine. I'm just glad that I was able to help you out."
"I still feel bad about it though." He told her. He knew how important a weapon was to an adventurer. To break another person's and not repay them made him feel bad. Then he had an idea. "Oh, how about I buy you a replacement?"
When she heard that she waved her hands in front of her face in shyness. "No, I couldn't. Besides it wasn't a weapon I used it was just a spare."
"Okay if you say so." Bell still felt bad before he could say more he felt Aiz's gaze grow angry on his back. He slowly turned around and looked at her. She was staring at him with her normal blank expression but he knew she was mad at him.
"Are you… okay, Aiz?" He asked after a few moments.
"Yes." She replied even though it was a lie. There was no way she could tell him that she was angry that he hadn't said anything to her yet. As he stood there trying to see if she would say anything else Loki woke up. When she got up she staggered a bit until she saw Bell then she grinned.
"Hey, Shrimp's boy I heard you went to the 37th floor. Is it true or not?" She asked him out of nowhere. Bell was stunned but so was the rest of the Loki familia. They didn't want to ask him anything out in the open, but Loki was too drunk to care. Luckily for them the rest of the tavern wasn't focused on them anymore so no one heard. Except for the rest of the Hestia familia who looked at their captain in shock.
Lilly looked at her captain and used her new skills to communicate with him.
'Bell listen to me! I don't know how they found out but we can't tell them. So repeat everything I say and try to get out of there as quickly as possible.' She told him telepathically. When Bell heard that he was able to calm down and repeat what Lilly told him to say.
"Sorry Lady Loki, what are you talking about? Who told you that?" Bell repeated what he was told. Lilly nodded happy when she heard this. She knew mortals couldn't lie to gods however there were ways to get around them. One was not saying anything and the other was being as vague as possible.
Loki smiled when she realized what he was doing. She didn't think the boy was good enough of a liar to get out of this. "From a reliable source. Now answer the question."
As the rest of the Loki familia turned to look at Bell he just smiled awkwardly.
"Sorry again, but my familia's expedition wasn't to that floor." Bell's answer was the truth but not the whole truth. So Loki couldn't call him out on lying. "Well if that's all I should go back to help out now. Enjoy."
He turned and heard Lilly telling him he did a good job while the rest of his familia looked relieved that he got out of there. But before he could he felt someone grab his hand. Once he turned around he saw Aiz was holding his hand. The rest of the table looked in shock at Aiz but she wasn't paying them any attention. She was only staring at Bell with a pleading look in her eyes. When Bell saw that expression the rest of the room faded away. He could vaguely hear Lilly saying something but all his attention was on Aiz. Aiz gently opened her mouth and hesitated before she started speaking.
"Bell did you go to the 37th floor?" She asked him in an earnest voice. Bell knew he shouldn't answer her. He promised Fels and his familia to keep everything that happened a secret. He especially couldn't say anything without Lyu's consent. Right as he was going to tell her something to get out of the situation she continued. "Please Bell? Please don't lie to me."
"Yes." He softly said.
Lilly and the rest were staring at him in shock and were getting ready to go over there and stop him before he said anything else but they were too late.
"Bell will you tell me what happened down there?" She asked him another question while still holding his hand.
"Yes." He said again blushing heavily.
'Is this what it feels like to be charmed?' He thought in the back of his mind. He felt like he would do anything she would ask him if she kept looking at him like that. Aiz opened her mouth to ask one more question before Lilly got there and grabbed Bell.
"Excuse us!" She told them before dragging the dazed Bell away from them.
As Bell was being dragged away from her Aiz just nodded happily and went to go finish her food while her familia stared at her in shock. Once she realized that she looked at them and tilted her head questioningly.
Meanwhile, Bell was dragged to his familia's table by Lilly before she exploded on him.
"What were you thinking Mr. Bell!? How could you tell them about that? We promised Lord Ouranos that we wouldn't tell anyone what happened!" As she was just getting started Lyu came over.
"Is everything alright?" She asked once she got close.
"Oh Lyu I'm sorry. Mama Mia's going to kill me for taking so long." Bell said as everything that just happened caught up to him.
"No, you will be fine. Syr went to talk to her and since you've done a lot today you should be good. Besides it's almost time to close it's fine." As she said Syr was talking to Mama Mia and it seemed that Anya, Runoa, and Chloe had everything under control. "So what's the problem?"
They were making sure to speak quietly so that no one could overhear them.
"Nothing. Just Mr. Bell telling the Loki familia about what happened on the expedition!" Lilly told her angrily. Everything she said was correct so Bell felt bad.
"I'm sorry guys I really am I don't know what came over me. But I don't think it's that bad of an idea."
"Of course, you would think that," Lilly said sarcastically to him. "Explain it to us then."
"Well, the Loki familia explores the dungeon as their job. So there is a chance that they might run into the Juggernaut one day and if they know then that could save their lives." He explained his reasoning to them. "However I won't tell them if you don't want me to Lyu."
"Huh? Me?" She said confused about why she should have an opinion on this matter. But Bell just shook his head and continued.
"Of course. You were the one who was down there with me. And you have more of a history with the Juggernaut than I do. So if you don't want me to I will get out of it."
Lyu was touched by this. She knew of Bell's wanted to tell the Sword Princess but he was willing not to for her. But she knew she shouldn't stop him.
"Thank you, Bell. But it is fine I trust both you and the Loki familia so if you want to tell them you may." With that, she bowed and left the Hestia familia by themselves. They all looked at each other before Bell apologized to them.
"I'm sorry. If you guys want me not to I will understand. After all, we did promise to keep it a secret."
The four of them looked at each other before Welf nodded. "It's fine, isn't it? I mean all the familias close to us know including Lady Hepstuesus so it should be fine."
"I agree. If this information can help them in future expeditions then they should know." Mikoto said after.
"If you want to then I agree Master Bell. Also, I doubt the Loki familia will use this information for evil." Haruhime agreed.
As the rest of them looked at Lilly she sighed. "Of course, we will follow with what you say. But you're the one who's going to explain this to Lady Hestia."
When Bell heard that he smiled widely. "Thank you all. I'm really lucky to have you guys as my familia."
As they finished talking they noticed Finn coming up to them.
"Don't worry just here to say we should. Have this conversation in a different place where there are fewer people to overhear." He said.
"Fine. But we have some conditions of our own and if you don't agree the deal is off." Lilly replied stepping out in front of Bell so she could handle this. When Finn saw that he smiled broadly.
"Of course. What are the conditions?"
"We have three conditions. First, we get to choose the location we talk in. Second, we get to choose who gets to listen. Third and most importantly, you can't tell anyone who isn't there. If you break these rules you have to pay us a minimum of two hundred million valis and you will owe us a favor that you can't deny. Agreed?" Lilly stated holding up a finger for each condition.
When Finn heard all of that his grin slipped a little. "That serious huh? Well that's fine I suppose but I must insist that Loki and me must be a part of the group that gets to listen. Is that fine?"
Lilly nodded her head and agreed to the demand. "That is acceptable. Do you want the rest of the executives there too?"
"If you don't mind."
"Of course. I know you would have told them anyway." With that settled Lilly began thinking about where to have the discussion. As she was thinking Bell offered a suggestion.
"How about we do it at the mansion?" As he suggested that Lilly looked at him in shock but before she could reply Finn jumped in.
"We would be honored, thank you," Finn said with a smile. He knew he was taking advantage of Bell's naivete but this was a good opportunity so he couldn't pass it up. He continued before Lilly could talk him out of it. "How about we come over tomorrow morning? At the moment it seems a few of my party are incapacitated." He looked behind him to where Loki had passed out again on top of Bete.
"Yes, that is fine," Lilly said with a strained smile on her face as she watched Finn nod and head back to his table. Once he was out of earshot she turned on Bell immediately.
"Why would you recommend our home?"
"Eh? Why not? No chance of anyone overhearing and we can all be there so it shouldn't be a problem."
"Ugh, I can't believe how naive you are. It's common practice to not show other familia's your home base."
"It's fine nothing that can be done now." Welf stepped in and patted Bell on the shoulder. "Good luck explaining this to Lady Hestia though."
"We will head home now and try to brace her," Haruhime told him as she and Mikoto got up.
"Don't worry Sir Bell, make sure to finish up your work here before you head home."
With that, all of them got ready to head back to the mansion to prepare. Bell lowered his head slightly as he apologized one last time.
"Sorry and thank you all again."
Lilly sighed before replying, "It's fine Mr. Bell you know we will follow you no matter what. But don't forget you owe us for this." After finishing saying that all of them grinned at their disheveled captain as they left. When they left Bell just chuckled softly to himself as he went back to work.
—
After the Hestia familia left the tavern Bell was assigned on dish duty for slacking off. Because of that, he didn't get to see Mama Mia kick out the Loki familia with the rest of the customers. Now they were cleaning up for the night. The girls were bringing more dishes over for Bell to wash while the rest of them swept and wiped the tables.
But while the waitresses were chatting as they cleaned Bell was lost in his own world. The only thing in his mind as he mindlessly washed the dishes was the scene with Aiz.
'Ah, that's not fair Aiz.' He thought to himself as his heartbeat accelerated. He pictured that moment again. Her soft earnest gaze, the gentle way she held his hand, and her pleading voice all tugged on his heart. That face wasn't the usual face of the Sword Princess. It was the face of the girl Aiz Wallenstein.
'If you look at me like that, how am I supposed to not fall deeper in love with you?'
As he finished washing the dishes Mama Mia was walking up to him.
"Thanks for the help today." She told him.
"It's nothing. Just repaying a debt and I had fun so it's fine."
"I see, well I'm glad that's the case. Anyway, we got it from here so you're free to go."
"You sure?" He asked for clarification. When Mama Mia nodded he smiled and went upstairs to change.
By the time he got back down, they were mostly done. As they saw him leave they each said their own goodbyes and thanks. Bell bowed to all of them before saying his goodbyes to them. When he got outside it was a bit chilly so he pulled his jacket up and rushed home.
—-
When he got back to Hearth Mansion all of the lights were out except for the one in the main living room. Bell mentally prepared himself before he opened the door and walked in. As expected his entire familia was sitting there. Sitting on one of the couches were Mikoto and Haruhime while Lilly and Welf sat on the other. And in the armchair at the front was the goddess who looked as angry as he expected.
Her flowing hair showed her anger as she looked at him. The second he opened his mouth to explain himself she exploded on him.
"What were you thinking Bell!?" She started immediately.
"Well, I was-" he started before she cut him off.
"Have you thought about how we're going to explain this to Ouranos!? And to Flat Chest's familia too!"
The rest of the familia just watched, hiding their amusement. As they said in the bar they were leaving it up to him to convince their goddess. Luckily Bell had spent the run back to the mansion thinking of what to say.
"I'm sorry Goddess, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision." He told her as he kept going. "And while I do feel bad for breaking the promise I don't think it was a mistake."
When Hestia heard that she calmed down and let him finish. Seeing as he had a chance he continued.
"I know you and Lady Loki don't have the best relationship. However, you know they wouldn't use this information for evil. Also, this could help them to make sure what happens never happens again. And don't worry I'll talk to Fels myself later to let him know. So please let me tell them!"
As Bell earnestly begged his goddess, the rest of the familia looked at her. She was just staring at Bell before asking one question.
"And that was all? It had nothing to do with a certain Wallensomething?"
When Bell heard that he blushed a bit but didn't look away.
"Maybe a little but the other reasons I mentioned weren't a lie." He said. Hestia and the rest of them were shocked. Even though everyone knew of his feelings for the Sword Princess he never straight up mentioned them before.
During that explanation, Hestia sighed. "Fine, fine. You can tell them, but know you can't take it back once they hear it."
"Really! Thank you, Goddess." Bell said happily that she agreed. Lilly who had just been watching cut in once they were finished.
"Okay, so we all agree? Now it's time to move on to what we actually tell them."
Haruhime, who had also been smiling happily, looked at Lilly confused.
"What do you mean didn't we just agree that we trust them?" She asked Lilly but Bell was the one who answered.
"No, I agree with Lilly. While I do trust them I can't tell them about Miss Lyu being Gale Wind. Even though she said it was fine to tell them the story that should be left to her."
Once Bell finished Lilly continued, "Lilly agrees with Mr. Bell. But Lilly thinks there is more we should keep quiet about."
"Really what else?" Bell asked her.
"Besides Miss Lyu there are three things that should be kept secret. One is Mr. Bell's new move. This is a move that is dangerous even for the strongest people the fewer people that know about it the better. Second, for the people who rescued us, we just say it was the Xenos. They already know we have a relationship with them so that shouldn't be a problem. And finally, we shouldn't talk about Mr. Welf's swords and Miss Haruhime's magic. They probably already have an idea since we've used them in public before but no need for us to announce it. Any questions or suggestions?" With that, she took a breath and finished.
Everyone took a second to think about what she said. She was right. They were still a small familia despite their achievements. There was no reason to let other people know what they were capable of.
When she saw that everyone was in agreement she continued.
"Don't worry about the small details right now. Tomorrow when we tell them I'll communicate to whoever when sensitive parts come up with my skill."
After that, they talked a little while longer about the specifics. Near the end of their conversation, Hestia yawned.
"I'm tired. We've talked about enough let's go to bed." She pleaded. When Bell saw that he smiled at her.
"Yeah we've done enough let's get some rest. They will probably be here early so the sooner we go to bed the better."
Once they heard that the familia got up and started to head to their rooms, saying goodbye as they left. After Bell cleaned up for bed he couldn't wait for the next time he could see Aiz again.
Notes: Don't know if that's how Lilly's skill works as I haven't gotten caught up to that point yet. Next chapter will be fully Aiz's POV and will be about the expedition. I was gonna do it in two parts but I think I'll do it in one. Hope you enjoy.