Danmachi Emerald Version
Chapter 10
Boys Talk
A/N:
Narration
"Talk"
Monologue
*sfx*
Dungeon 18th floor, Loki Familia camp.
"That was really tiring," After being released from Ms. Riveria's lecture after Ms. Lefiya took responsibility as to why we were in that situation, I slowly walk back to our tent while recalling what had happened earlier after we beat the monster in the pit.
The two individuals that we were following noticed the magic that we use to defeat the monster. From there, they called forth multiple plant-like monsters right after we made our escape from the pit. Compared to the one we fought earlier, I feel that they were slightly weaker. But even if they are weaker, it does not mean we can deal with it easily. Far from it. And there are 10 of them in this case. Death awaits us even if we fought it with our full strength.
It was then that I feel the same helplessness I had when Ms. Riveria came to my rescue. It was truly a hopeless situation.
But luck was still on our side when Ms. Ryuu came to our rescue alongside Ms. Alicia and an unknown black-haired Elf.
They fought magnificently. Especially Ms. Ryuu. The way she moves carries elegance and fines. Ms. Lefiya's concurrent chanting is already magnificent but Ms. Ryuu is on another whole level.
After dealing with the plant-like monsters, Ms. Ryuu cast healing magic on us before quickly leaving. She probably chases the two individuals while Ms. Alicia and the unknown black-haired beautiful elf accompanied us back to the camp.
On our way back we met with Ms. Ais first followed by Mr. Finn along with some level 3 and 4 adventurers of the Loki Familia.
After hearing our story, Mr. Finn head to the location we fought the monsters to investigate right after the medic they brought perform a minor first aid on us. He then ordered Ms. Ais to lead us the way back to their camp.
Nothing eventful happened on our way back, well considering we are accompanied by one level 6 and two level 4 adventurers, I doubt even the few monsters that lurk on this floor will try attacking us.
If there's one weird thing on our way back, it will be that for some reason, Ms. Lefiya is distancing us or rather me with her black-haired friend. The only thing I know of this beautiful elf is her name Filvis after hearing Ms. Lefiya address her.
"But I guess you can call that a calm before the storm," I stop from my tracks and look at the glowing rocks above the dungeon ceiling.
When we arrive back in the camp, we were greeted by Ms. Riveria who gave us quite the glare after giving us a relief look.
Though I always love seeing her, even the angry her, this is one of the times that it fills me with dread. Especially after she told the healers that would have tended to our wounds that she will do it personally with the coldest tone I've ever heard. The fact that Ms. Lefiya shivers from it and that goddess who is among the crowd that welcomes us gives me her condolences tells me what I need to know.
The treatment was done properly but what came after that was an earful of lectures while sitting on a seiza.
"Bell, something wrong?" I heard Ais voice brings me back to reality as I saw her standing in front of me.
"Nothing, just wondering if Ms. Lefiya is okay back there,"
"Don't worry," Ms. Ais reassured me with a faint smile. "Riveria is just like that. Her punishment might go overboard at times..."
Ms. Ais trails of a little as I noticed her body shivering. "but she won't even lecture you if she doesn't care for your well being."
"Eh?" I blurted out in surprise. "Is that true?"
"Yes," Ais replied with a nod. "That's why it's best if you don't let it bother you much."
"T-thank you!"
Dungeon 18th floor, Loki Familia camp, Executive's tent.
Inside the tent where Bell and Lefiya's wounds were treated, the High Elf Riveria looks at her apprentice elf who is on the verge of tears.
"I hope you learn your lesson," Riveria said seriously. "I understand your sentiment but you need to tone down your recklessness. Not only you charge in unprepared, you even drag Bell in this when he is still recovering from his injuries."
"I... I fully understand the gravity of the situation." Lefiya said, regretfully. "And I truly regret my action."
"I don't think you truly understood how grave the situation is," Riveria said grimly and Lefiya flinches at the High Elf's tone.
If by chance the two died in the trap, not only does the Loki Familia will lose an important asset but it might also catch the rescue party of their familia off-guard. Thinking that they are just lost in the forest.
In the likely chance that the two were not rescued by Alicia and the others, not only it will alert evilus to quickly cover their tracks but they might use the incident to further weaken their familia.
And with their weakened familia alongside with their damaged reputation, the Goddess of Beauty might use the opportunity to 'Zeused' them as a means of taking revenge for his death.
Yet for the high elf, the worst scenario she could think of is their very death. It is likely to cause Ais' hatred to grow stronger than before. An uncontrollable rage of an avenger. For Riveria, that is something she never wants to happen.
It took years for Tiona and the others in healing her emotional wounds. Bell's purity hastens her recovery as it reminds her of that path that would have been. If she loses someone close to her at this point, especially the adventurer Bell Cranel, she'll likely fall deeper than the Gale several years ago.
"For the time being," Riveria said as she turned her back to her. "Get some rest."
"I-I understand,"
"Oh and one last thing,"
"Yes, Lady Riveria?" Lefiya asks as she gulps. Nervous about what the High Elf is about to say.
"Good job surviving back there,"
"Y-yes!"
with a final bow, the thousand elf left the tent with the intention to tie loose ends with the white-haired rabbit.
Dungeon, 18th floor, Loki Familia Camp, Bell Cranel temporary tent.
As I walk back to our tent, Welf, Mr. Ouka, and Lord Hermes greeted me and drags me quickly inside the tent while acting a little bit cautious.
Dejavu?
I thought as I look at their serious gaze.
"So Bell, who do you prefer?"
Regarding Lord Hermes' question, I can't help but blink multiple times as I tilt my head to the left. The fact that Welf and Mr. Ouka are seriously awaiting my answer made me more anxious about Lord Hermes' question.
"Who I prefer?" I asked even though I had an initial idea as to what Lord Hermes is asking. Hoping for all hope that what I think he is asking is different from what he will ask.
My question by the way was met by a raised eyebrow from the god followed by an amused smile.
"Very well, if you want me to be clear," Hermes replied with a smile. "Whose naked bodies do you prefer?"
"Gack!"
*rustle*
I knew it!
I curse internally as the question Lord Hermes wants to ask is from the peeping incident earlier.
"C'mon Bell, it's just us guys here," Welf said as he pats my shoulder.
"You after all, is the only one that manages to accomplish such daring task," Ouka added with a nod.
"Guess I need to step up on my game," Hermes replied as he raises his hands with nine open fingers. "Bell here is a little shy so why don't we start with ourselves first?"
Welf and Mr. Ouka nod in agreement.
"Of the nine beauties in there," Hermes said as he turned his eyes to Mr. Ouka before looking at Welf. "Who do you prefer?"
"So who were they again?" Welf asked. He knew of the peeping incident but he could not recall all of the victims. The only two he is certain of would be Bell's goddess and their shrimp supporter.
"Hmmmm... I recall they were Hestia, Lily, Amazon, Jourmungand, The Sword Princess, Asfi, Chigusa, Mikoto, and the envoy of Freya familia." Hermes answered.
"Hmmmmm... If I am to carefully pick one of them," Ouka replied seriously as if he is trying to see the image on his mind. "I'd say I prefer Amazon."
"Really?" Hermes asked. More than being surprised, he wanted to hear the reason for Ouka's choice.
"Well that short hair and height of hers look good and she has this healthy and modest look."
"If short hair with a modest look is your preference wouldn't Chigusa fit the bill as well?" Hermes teases with a knowing grin.
"Tsk, enough about me, what about you?" Ouka clicks his tongue before pointing his right finger at Welf.
"Jourmungand all the way," Welf answer proudly.
"While both sisters have nice toned bodies that had been tempered with battle experiences," Welf explains while rubbing the bridge of his nose. The way he gives his explanation is like he is examining a forged sword. "Those curves and chest are better than any DFC's out there."
"What's good with those bags of fats anyway?" Ouka asked. Somehow he seems adamant to defend his preference but what is a dfc anyway?
"I can ask you the same," Welf countered. "Nothing is appealing to cutting boards."
Orario, Twilight Manor
at the same time, inside the quarters of the very definition of flat
"For some reason, I suddenly felt an urge to kill," Loki mumbles as she look at Babel seen from her window. For some reason , she wants to crush that tower to pieces. "Damn it, this is all that shrimp's brat's fault!"
Dungeon, 18th floor, Loki Familia Camp, Bell Cranel temporary tent.
"I guess we really can't see eye to eye even to this."
"You took the words right of my mouth." Welf Counter back
"Now, now you two," as the two seem to start to argue over their type, Lord Hermes steps in between them. "If you ask me, Mikoto is a fine woman."
"Eh?" we all blurted out in unison.
We then all look at Lord Hermes. Waiting for his reason for choosing Ms. Mikoto.
"Look," Hermes said as he leans closer. "She has a nice shape breast better than Asfi, her waist is thinner than Asfi, her long black hair is something Asfi can't achieve normally and most of all-"
Lord Hermes paused to build enough tension for the final reveal.
"She has this eastern appeal to her that complements her proportions!" Hermes exclaims proudly. "A bona fide Yamato Nadeshiko!"
As my face starts to burn up from their discussion and some of the vivid images pops up in my mind, I took one step back ready to escape only for Lord Hermes to put both of his hands to my shoulders and apply force to them. The way he put pressure on my shoulders, the look he is giving me and his fixed smile are telling me that he will not let me escape until I gave him my answer.
"Ah... err..." as I try to buy time, I look at Welf for help. Which he responded with a shake of the head and a smile. Waiting to hear my point of view. The same can be said with Mr. Ouka who quickly turns his head to the side to evade looking at me.
Anyone, someone help me!
"Lord Hermes, what about Asfi?" which is why I tried to derail our discussion. "Isn't it mean to her that you use her as the standard of your preference? I mean she is quite beautiful herself and even has this regal vibe on her."
"Hooh~" Hermes muses as rub his chin. His fixed smile tells me that he knows what I am up to. "It's because Asfi is my child that I used her as a standard. She is a beaut no question ask. But isn't it is natural to seek something you do not have? Am I right?"
Welf and Ouka once more nod in agreement.
"So which is it?"
And Hermes quickly goes back to the main topic.
"Err... I... uhm..." as I try to buy myself time while praying that someone will enter the tent and save me from this ordeal.
"Do you like them short or tall? Voluptuous or small? black long hair with twin tail or brown short hair?" Hermes began to make up a list. And the more I hear them, the more the images came back. I also feel that some of the criteria that he asked for belonged to Goddess for some reason.
"I... well..."
"Don't tell me your preference is not included in those nine?"
Hearing Lord Hermes said this, the image of Ms. Riveria with her long wet hair pops up in my mind that made my body shake a little as I avert my eyes away from Lord Hermes.
"Let see... Size wise they seem to have it all so it might be a race thing. Lady Hestia is a Goddess, Lil' Lily is a Pallum right now, the Hyrute sisters are amazon and the rest are humans" Welf recalls as be one by one classified the race of the nine that was bathing earlier. "A chienthrope perhaps?"
"No reaction," Ouka said. "How about a dwarf?"
"Like Tsubaki?" Welf asks, curious if what Ouka guessed is true. "Seriously?"
"No reaction as well," Hermes replied followed by a mischievous grin. "If we examine those that are close to him. If his Goddess and Lily are no go and Karen is included in the nine. What about his advisor Eina. Are you into Elves, Bell? You like the naked figure of an elf right?"
*rustle*
In that instant, I saw once more Ms. Riveria and a vivid image of Ms. Ryuu's bareback causing my head to heat up.
Both Ouka and Welf look at Lord Hermes before turning back to me with a shocked face.
"Oi, his face is red!" Ouka exclaim.
"Seriously?" Welf asked. "So us meeting Nine Hell last night was not a coincidence after all."
"Welf! Shhhh!" After hearing Welf said this, I quickly covered his mouth and looks around the tent.
"Bell..." Hermes was practically speechless as he started to walk three feet away from us. "Listen, As your senior in peeping, I know the joy of trying to pursue the summit. To boldly go where no peeper has ever gone before. Appearance-wise, an elf is basically no different to a High Elf but to think you chose one of the three high-gain and high-risk targets, I might have underestimated you."
"It's not like that!" I protest. "That was a misunderstanding and I saw nothing!"
"Right~" Welf replied in a tone that says he doesn't believe me. "But what do you mean by one of the three high-risk high reward targets?" before quickly moving on to a different topic.
Welf!
"Well, you already know how dangerous peeping is right?" Hermes asked as we nod in agreement. After remembering getting almost fried by Ms. Lefiya, I know how dangerous the act is as I began questioning some of the things my grandfather taught me. "For context, in terms of the reward to risk factor; Amazons, Cow people and Sheep people are relatively safe. Sure they can still beat you but Amazon's doesn't have the concept of shame in regards to their bodies especially towards any man they recognize while the sheep and Cow people are relatively gentle by nature."
The way he expresses himself and his tone pretty much tells us that what he is sharing is base on his personal experience.
"Seeing them naked is a dime in a dozen. A wonderful sight but a common one making their reward and risk low" Hermes continued. "On the other hand, hume bunnies and some beast people have the strength and sensitive sense making it difficult to peep on them."
"Difficult but not impossible," Hermes quickly added. "Elves can also be classified in the same manner. They are reserve with their bodies and will quickly strike anyone who dares peep on them making them a medium risk high reward target"
"Then who are the high-risk high reward type?" Ouka asked curiously.
"Freya for obvious reason, the virgin goddesses and the high elves"
Hermes' tone took a dive and look at me.
"Bell, even though your Goddess is part of the few Virgin Goddesses even in tenkai, she is not included because of her gentle nature."
"The Virgin Goddesses I am referring to that no living human has ever seen naked are Artemis and Athena. Because no one has ever seen them naked, the reward in seeing their bare bodies are very high but they won't hesitate to beat you to a pulp or outright murder you making their risk high as well. Artemis for example has no problem firing her arcanum right at our faces even back in tenkai."
*gulp*
Arcanum, the term used to describe the god's divine powers. Their divine powers are too strong that it poses no challenge when they unleashed them. Because of that, the gods that descent to Orario made it a rule to ban its use. The fact that a Goddess like her have no qualms in using her arcanum over such matter makes her a very dangerous individual.
Then again, I doubt I will meet her to worry about that matter.
"For Freya, it's a no-brainer. If you want to get to her, you need to get pass the King first. Which now leaves you with the High Elves," Hermes said with a sigh. "While they are as reserve as your regular elves and not as difficult likes with Artemis or Freya. You rarely see them outside of their forest and the repercussion of such action will automatically put you on all elves' blacklist. Those very reasons are why they are on par with Freya and the virgin goddesses.
It even became a huge issue a long time ago when Ze- I mean Mr. Z tried peeking at Nine Hell. If not for Mrs. H, he would have succeeded in his task."
Somehow, I could feel the nostalgia in his tone as if he is remembering a good memory.
"But if the peeping was prevented, why did it become a huge issue?" Welf asked.
"True that he was not able to peep but the news of his attempt reaches up to Alfheim. That alone became quite an issue. Not only did they sent a formal diplomatic protest that will lead to a war if not handled properly. Some familia even states that they will join Alfheim. Especially Loki after Mr.Z outright stated that she isn't worthy of peeping. There was also a period where it is difficult for Orario as a whole to make transactions to other cities and countries that have elves living in them."
"Whew, guess we're lucky to dodge that right, Bell?" Welf said with a sigh of relief. The fact that his complexion pales a little means he was also nervous and at this point, I have already given up on trying to correct him.
"But don't worry, Bell," Once more, Lord Hermes approach me and once more put his hands on my shoulder. "I can understand the feeling of peeping to a royalty. So if you want to, even though she is not an elf. You can go and peep on Asfi. She does have a regal vibe. You said it yourself."
Hiiii!
Just as Lord Hermes said this, I shriek internally while Ouka and Welf froze on the spot seeing who just entered the tent. "Sure, Asfi doesn't have a finely shaped breast like Mikoto or even the Sword Princess-"
Lord Hermes stop!
"Her waist isn't as thin as well but I can assure you that she is-"
"Sorry if my chest isn't well shaped or that my waist is thick," Asfi said with a cold and dry tone. Hearing her voice, I saw Lord Hermes' smile froze as drops of sweat fell from his forehead.
"Yo, Asfi, what are you doing here?" Hermes asked nervously. He turned around and casually raise his right hand as if greeting her normally.
*Pow*
Which was met by a swift punch to his gut making Lord Hermes fall on his knees.
"I'm really going to hit you for your rude remark."
"Ack! couch! cough! But you already hit me, Asfi," even though he is on the ground coughing, Lord Hermes still has the guts to correct Ms. Asfi's words.
"What did you say?" Asfi ask as she grabs Hermes' collar and lifts him from the ground.
"Gack! N-nothing!"
"Seriously Lord Hermes!" Asfi sigh. "I was wondering what is taking you so long and here I found you talking nonsense!"
"Ahahahaha!" Hermes laughs dryly as he tries gasping for air before Asfi lets go of him "I just want to have some little fun before we go. Can't you let this slide?"
"Go? Lord Hermes, where are you going?" I ask as I saw Ms. Asfi's troubled expression.
"Wheeze," Hermes took a deep breath and look at me with his usual smile. "I made a deal with them yesterday that if I cause trouble then I will leave this camp. And you know what happened."
"In that case-"
"No."
Before I can even finish, both Lord Hermes and Ms. Asfi reject my proposal.
"I drag you in there Bell so the responsibility lies on me."
Hearing Lord Hermes said this, I saw Ms. Asfi's eyebrow twitch in irritation. "If you can be that responsible, why not do it from the start?"
"C'mon now Asfi," Hermes replied with a serious face that even took Ms. Asfi aback. Give a thumbs up and saying something that he should have not said.
"Peeping is a man's romance so-"
*Bam*
And just like that, Ms. Asfi delivered a roundhouse kick to Lord Hermes before dragging him out of our tent leaving the three of us in silence for an entire minute.
"Let's pretend this discussion didn't happen," I suggest. For our safety, we should forget the discussion we had in this tent.
"I guess you're right" Welf replied as he slumps into the floor.
*rustle*
"Did you hear something?" I ask as I look around.
"So what were we talking about?" Ouka asked.
"Ahahahaha"
Seeing that Mr. Ouka is already acting like he had an amnesia, we laugh it off for a bit before Mr. Ouka finally leaving our tent.
Unknown location
Inside a small room, a God covered in darkness sip his wine leisurely until a masked being entered the room.
"I did not expect to see you sooner, Ein. So what brings yo here?" the God asked with a serious tone.
"Something happened that forces 'me' to quickly report back to you." The being called Ein replied.
"Did they screw up again?"
"More than that," Ein replied. "But I silenced them before they could even speak when interrogated by the gale."
Upon hearing a familiar name, the god's body twitches. "Does that mean she got a hold of the key?"
"Regretfully so," Ein replied. "I arrive at the scene a little too late but that is not the worst news."
"Oh?"
"Thousand Elf and Little Rookie manage to defeat Venenthes."
"You're serious?" even though the god's image is covered in darkness, his tone clearly shows his disbelief. Venenthes is after all equivalent to a level four in terms of strength. The fact that a level three mage like the thousand elf and the Little Rookie, a new level two adventurer, and the current record holder beat a level four monster speaks volumes of their accomplishment. "Then again, he did beat a minotaur when he was level one."
"Indeed," Ein replied with a nod. "So what do we do with him?"
"For the time being, leave him be," the god replied as he once more took a sip on his wine. "The Hestia Familia is not a treat to us and Freya seems interested in him as well. We can't risk a direct confrontation with both the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia with our current strength."
"Understood, I will take my leave then."
Aaaaaaaand Cut!
With this the chapter came to a close.
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