Danmachi does not belong to me.
Look, today is a long chapter. How do they see it?
-- --
Timer is in a dream.
A dream where he was locked up.
He was able to see his whole life.
But he was not able to move.
No, it was as if he were a being apart, a being that can only observe everything that happens outside.
A being that can only see a screen without interacting with the outside.
Like watching a projection where your body is the protagonist, but you can't control the actions that are in front of you.
Unable to go anywhere, unable to be able to do anything.
He watched helplessly as his body, his body where Timer Cranel is, was controlled by another being.
This 'Timer Cranel' had cold red eyes. His way of being sharp with people, he didn't care about anything, he had no attachments to anything. Perhaps the only person the 'Timer Cranel' on screen could appreciate was Bell, but nothing else.
In the view from this Timer's eyes he noticed that the Bell on the screen was his brother, but it was different. Much more of a prankster and clown than the one he knew, with a much more childlike attitude.
Next to them was... An elf, his face... I couldn't make out it well, it was ethereal. But it was clear that they appreciated her.
This Timer, he didn't care about anything, nothing was important enough to him. as if the worst qualities of him were concentrated there. Everything bad that he had was in that Timer
It was like him, but at the same time it was different, their actions were similar, but their motivations were different.
Timer could hear 'Timer Cranel's' thoughts, he could see all his memories, he could understand his mentality.
That was what worried him the most, this person was evil, cruel and disgusting, as if they would bring out all the bad things inside him and amplify it.
Going to the point of going against his family to hurt them. From the inside of him he felt disgusting for sharing the appearance with that Timer.
There was nothing in the world more important than family and those you considered your family. And that piece of shit killed the Elf, the same elf that Bell called 'sister'.
"-san" A voice rumbled in his head.
The prison was breaking little by little as if reality were breaking.
"…imer-san!" The voice echoed again.
"Timer-san! Are you alright?" A woman's voice was recognizable.
"Mmmm" He heard the annoyed voice, not only was he yelling in his room, but he woke up from that dream of which he now remembered nothing, and he also felt very tired.
'Hestia-sama should keep quiet in the mornings' he expressed in his thoughts.
'Wait... san?'
When he opened his eyes he noticed that he was not in the church, the memories of yesterday flooded him at once, he remembered the foolish thing that Bell did and what that implied.
The tiredness in his eyes was clear, he had slept very little.
He got up as best he could, even after sleeping he was very tired, he put on the pants he was wearing the day before, stumbling he walked to the door.
When he opened the door a loud scream made him want to hit the person in front of him.
"Kyaaaa! What happened to you!? Didn't you use the potions Mama-Mia gave you?"
The girl who was screaming was Syr, ignoring her annoyance she wondered what she meant by that until she realized that the wounds on her body were covered in dried blood.
He returned his gaze to the room where he slept and what he saw was not pleasant.
All the blankets were covered in blood, some even fell to the floor.
"I… could you give me a minute?"
"S-sure, but are you alright?"
"Yes, use the potions on the most serious wounds." Without saying anything, she began to close the door slowly before Syr's incredulous look "Thanks, I'll be down in a moment"
"B-but"
"Thank you"
With that said, he closed the door.
When he looked outside he realized that it was already daylight, the window perfectly showing the position of the sun.
Even with that his eyes were tired, his body refused to work properly, he could even feel like his mental processing was not the same.
He felt like he was in a fog, he felt stupid, disoriented. More things that he doesn't usually try. Seeing his clothes stained, a thought came to his head, what would he wear?
He quickly opened the door and caught up with her in the corridor. Syr who was about to leave her turned her head towards him, immediately she turned her head refusing to look at him.
"D-Do you need anything else, Timer-san"
Syr asked with her smiling expression, although she looked a bit nervous, most likely from the previous scene.
Timer didn't notice the discomfort and said: "Can you tell me the time? Besides, don't you know if they have men's clothes? I want to get clean and I have nothing to wear."
Syr tilted her head thinking about the uniform, they had never had a man in the hostess of fertility until today, who knows if they even had a uniform for him. "Emm... yes, it must be around 9 in the morning, Mommy said to let you rest, but remember that we normally start work at 6, but given the circumstances I would make an exception for you. And as for to the clothes... I'll have to ask Mama-Mia, I'll be right back."
Without giving it much thought, Timer held her shoulders with his gaze. "Right now I wouldn't mind wearing the maid's uniform, I don't think I can be more embarrassed about what happened yesterday, so yeah, anything is fine."
She nodded slowly and looked away. Her cheeks tried to hide a blush.
"Um... Timer-san, you shouldn't go out like this, you're naked."
Silence fell, not the pleasant, awkward silence. Of course, this girl was in love with her brother Bell hers, same brother who has exactly the same appearance.
He quickly walked back, looked down, his only item of clothing was his pants.
"...Right, I..." Timer didn't know what to say so he entered the room slowly. "If you can bring me the clothes I would really appreciate it."
"...Sure" Syr quickly moved towards the exit.
Resigned, he closed the door again. "God... Well, Gods. Why are you so cruel?"
Without further ado he collapsed on the bed. Inside he examined himself, it seemed that his wounds had almost closed. Most were small cuts, the worst being the cut wrist and the punctured knee, but with the potions they were mostly healed.
The other wounds would close on their own in no time. Or so he hoped.
The event of the night before returned to his head, he has to think about what to do to pay the money, those potions weren't cheap, generating a debt didn't sound good at all. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and tried to contact Bell again,
"Hey, Bell. Can you hear me? --
Unanswered.
Timer didn't know how to explain it, but he knew that Bell was alive. Something inside him told him, a kind of thread assured him that his brother was still breathing.
He must be safe, the unmistakable metallic smell of blood was already present so the wounds are not new. The last wound should have come out hours ago.
Timer took a breath, causing his ribcage to expand to its limit, he has no idea why he did it, since what he would do has nothing to do with physicality.
- BELL! -
Deep in the connection she felt something.
(If I concentrate a little more I will be able to hear it.) He thought.
Timer concentrated all of himself to receive signals from Bell, invade his mind beyond what was allowed, this time his brother was disconnected so his intention was to enter Bell's mind by force, it was painful, but effective.
--iz-san--
All Timer could hear were distorted sounds, but that was close. He was getting it, there was a little more to go, he just had to concentrate.
-Aiz-San... I love you too Zzzzzz-
Timer's fist smashed into a wall in rage
"…Selfish little brat…have the dignity to be awake…"
Oh, Timer wanted to hit Bell so bad right now, but of course, little Bell was sleeping peacefully. Timer sighed before getting up.
go to hell
If Bell wasn't his brother he would have started swearing.
The white-haired man sighed a couple of times to calm down, he stayed waiting to see how he would bathe, if they don't have any kind of clothes he will have to wear the same ones he had yesterday.
When he was thinking there was a knock on the door. This time he only opened the door a little, enough so that only her head was visible. There in front of him was Syr smiling, too smiling, behind her was a brown haired cat girl.
"Mama-Mia gave me this for you" Syr said
He handed her a butler uniform, it was the male version of the uniform they were wearing. "If you continue down this corridor you will find a door that leads to the bathroom, beyond that is the garden."
The suit has the same green and white design but adapted for men.
"Thanks, it will do."
The catgirl took a step forward. "Well... Mama-Mia said if you didn't use it she'd break your legs, or well... I will if you ever get your hands on Syr again, Nya." She said with a wild smile.
That alone made Syr's smile turn into a playful one.
"Yeah...whatever you say" Timer wasn't in the mood to play along.
"There is always the option of the women's suit." Syr said.
By the gods, what was in the head of this girl. "...I already said that this one is fine, thank you."
"You're sure?" She asked with something strange behind her eyes.
"Yeah"
As if that desire had vanished, his gaze returned to being amused. "Oh, good. Whatever makes you happy" Syr replied with a smirk, all while the cat girl looked at him with piercing eyes.
He took the suit and closed the door, deposited the suit on the bed and looked at it for a moment.
He sighed and started off.
He went down and the first thing he saw was the cat girl from before, she was taking the order of a woman and her son.
The atmosphere, the decoration, even the lighting had changed, (I understand why Bell thought it was a cafeteria, nothing to do with the party atmosphere of the day before.)
When I finish serving the order, his eyes focused on me. Her gaze hardened.
Giving small jumps he was getting closer, like a hunter stalking his prey.
"Looks like you're decent now, Ruby."
Ruby? Timer raised an eyebrow at the absurd nickname.
"I couldn't think of another way to call you, you see that your bastard brother I'll call him white-haired, then Ruby for you, because of your eyes, Nya." He found the cheerful tone rather annoying, his response to his words was not to respond.
The catgirl kept talking "Hehehe, but of course, I have other nicknames as well. Would you rather man without decency, enemy of women, depraved without scruples, shameless gigolo, or if you're feeling audacious why not better you little piece of shit? NYA! "
The woman almost hissed at him.
Timer sweated at her words.
"So Ruby was the best choice, although I might as well call you a dishwasher because... You know, isn't that what you were doing yesterday after your son of a bitch brother ran off like a thief last night? Plus I don't know your name so I don't know what else to call you." She said innocently. Too innocent.
A vein was beginning to grow on her forehead, this girl was taking her patience to a level that Bell hadn't even touched.
He told her with a bubbly attitude and with his finger pointing, regardless of his actions, the tone of his voice and the narrowing of his eyebrows showed his falsehood.
Liar.
"First, don't insult my brother and…erm yes, well I'm sorry about yesterday…And today with Syr as well."
Timer wondered how many apologies on his brother's behalf he would have to keep making. Shaking his head he said, "My name is Timer Cranel."
The girl looked at him from head to toe, the feeling of discomfort ran through him, but he couldn't do anything.
"...My name is Anya and No, it's not nice."
When she was going to continue talking, another person arrived at the restaurant, so she had to attend to her.
She didn't say goodbye or say anything, she just left. Consequently, the white-haired man also left. Why should he wait for her when she was being so rude?
Timer walked towards the kitchen with the intention of talking to Mama-Mia, the cost of the potions still worrying him. When he walked in he was cooking a brown haired human he didn't remember seeing before.
The brown haired girl was cutting vegetables and stopped, her gaze raised as she noted his presence "Hum? Oh, you're the guy who was bleeding yesterday, you're joining work today right? I'm Lunoire."
Well, she's nicer than cat girl.
"Ah... yes, although it will only be a few days, I do not wish to prolong my stay, I hope to work properly." Timer spoke calmly, finally meeting someone who wouldn't try to get under his skin just upon meeting him.
Lunoire looked at him well, she remembered yesterday that he had been a walking disaster, both he and his twin, the same twin who made a scandal last night, but he didn't seem like a bad person and he hasn't tried to run away either, only for that reason she didn't reproach him about the incident in the morning that Syr mentioned.
Lunoire gave him a smile "That's the mood! If you're looking for Mama-Mia she should be around here, just keep looking."
Timer was glad because at least one of the workers was nice "Thanks, by the way, I didn't introduce myself, nice to know I'm Timer Cranel." He extended his arm to shake her hand.
I look at him for a moment and take his hand. "Lunoire Faust. Well, if that's all, I must continue cooking, have a good first day of work."
Lunoire continued with her work, not wanting to disturb her, Timer continued his tour of the tavern, remembering the names of Anya the brown-haired cat girl and Lunoire is the other human.
Mia Gran was doing the usual inventory, the night before an idiot dared to break one of her tables, it goes without saying that the woman's anger fell on the poor fool.
A wild smile tugged at her lips as she remembered how she shook the subject, however, her thoughts stopped when a nervous voice called out to her.
"G-good morning, Mama-Mia." The voice came from a scrawny-looking white-haired man.
Without looking up from what she was doing, she began to speak.
"Hey boy, is everything alright with the injuries?"
She remembered his name, Timer Cranel, the boy who was now becoming a pain in the ass, his brother ran away without paying, in other situations he would have whipped the little white haired boy, except she clearly heard what they said to her.
The albino's pride was hurt and no less than in the presence of the girl he likes, of course he has to let off steam, but that and going without paying at HIS bar are totally different things, not to mention the fact that the wounds that appeared on the white-haired man they were serious injuries, she witnessed how a wound formed out of nowhere.
The only thing he could remotely compare to was the shared voice of the Gulliver brothers, but those brats never suffered any injuries that were transmitted to the four of them.
The boy who ran off with the money must have gone to jail. Whether he was the suicidal boy or just plain stupid she didn't know, all she knows is that she now has another troublesome child to take care of for her.
Mia Grand was a wise woman, she was able to recognize the type of injury that the trapped twin had, being the cunning woman that she has always been, it didn't take long for her to connect two and two.
She already had a guess as to what happened, and if so, she would have to talk to the brothers. Skills with shared damage, as interesting as it could be for the Goddess of her, well. The twins were lucky that she was retired.
Silly how those twins were easy prey for a certain beauty goddess and are probably going to be on her radar soon.
"No problem, in a day they will be healed naturally, by the way... Regarding the potions."
My brows frowned. "What's with that?" His voice, as always, was imposing. Timer shrank like a turtle, too bad he doesn't have a shell to get into.
"Umm, I only used three of the ones and I wanted to know if I can return the ones I have."
From one moment to the next he looked up and stared at him.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, I gave you five potions" Mia raised five big fingers in her direction.
"Y-yes," Timer replied, trying to hide the twitch of his Adam's apple that went up and down unintentionally.
"Then you will pay me for five potions, I don't care if you use them or not, it's your decision, but you must pay me. All clear?"
"I... I see." Timer still can't figure out why this woman is so scary.
Frustrated, he was forced to accept the ultimatum, no matter if he refuses, it won't make a difference.
"Um, Mama-Mia...?"
"Yeah?"
A somewhat shaky voice was answered by a completely confident voice.
"What am I going to work on to pay off my debts?"
Mia put her hand to her chin before speaking "Do you know how to cook?
Timer flatly denied "Hey, the basics to not starve." At his words, his gaze hardened.
Shit, he's giving me ugly looks, Timer thought.
"Do you have experience serving clients?"
"No..."
And now he looks at me like I'm trash
Inside he shook his head resigned.
"This is going to be a bad day, this is going to be a bad week, and most likely it's going to be a bad year."
Timer wailed.
"Is there anything you're not useless at? At least you can clean properly"
Red eyes flicked to the wall, and before he had a chance to nod, she stopped him.
"You know what? It doesn't matter, you'll learn... You'll learn, one way or another, no matter how hard it is, you'll learn."
No one can blame him for the chills that ran down his back, Mía Gran, ex-captain of the Freya family, was about to train him, maybe not as a warrior, but still, training.
Mia smacked him on the back of the head, gently of course, though Timer's brain jolted at that light touch.
Unsteady, Timer followed with difficulty.
"Well, in case you don't know this one of the twins who tried to leave without paying yesterday, only the gods know which twin we caught. But this guy calls himself Timer. What matters is that he worked with us for a while" .
"I am Timer Cranel." Timer said, almost muttering.
The girls' looks were not pleasant, Ryuu was friendly yesterday, instead, today she gave him a cold look, Anya continued with her death gaze, the other cat girl was indifferent.
The only ones who were friendly were Syr and Lunoire, most likely the morning's incident had already come to light.
Timer was right, Anya was an eyewitness, she was tempted to go and cut him in half, what stopped her was that Syr didn't get worked up by Timer's action, that and Timer didn't have a lecherous look on his face either. .
On the contrary, he apologized and hurried inside. Even so, that didn't stop him from telling the girls, unfortunately for Timer, Anya forgot to mention everything else, leaving a very bad impression of them, especially Ryuu, who adores Syr.
"The girls already know, I am the owner of this store, I am the owner, I am the law, I am the mother of all these naughty girls, I am mama-Mia and now as long as you are a worker here I will be your mother too"
Timer didn't know what to say, he just limited himself to feeling.
Anya raised her hand, waving it waiting for Mama-Mia to finish speaking. Anya may know that she is not a bad person, however, she will continue with the joke. After all, it amused her to see that annoyed look in her eyes. And she wanted to know if the other reactionary twin was the same.
Chloe narrowed her eyes at him. "Won't we go after his brother the thief?"
Timer made a face
Bell must come to redeem his name, he did not leave the best impression on anyone.
In the meantime he will have to speak on your behalf. He was the older brother after all. And again I have to fix his mess.
"Yes... About that, he is indisposed right now, when he recovers he will come to make up for his mistake."
"Is it okay with you that you have to pay for their mistakes?"
The black haired cat girl asked, she knows very well that silly Anya tends to exaggerate things, so just like Lunoire, she will decide her opinion of Timer for herself.
Timer shook his head "It doesn't seem right to me, but I have no choice, he is my brother, I know him well enough to know that he will come to undo his mistake." Timer continued as he remembered his brother.
"I know the reason why he acted that way, I am the older brother, and I must act as such, I have to take responsibility in his place.
Chloe already clarified her doubts "How kind of you." She responded with a teasing smile. "And responsible, if I have to say."
"At least that's what I try." Timer rubbed the back of his neck.
The same cat smiled even bigger before saying: "But you hadn't tried to run after him? That means you were also planning to run away." Her comment caused Timer to slam her palm against her face.
"He's got you there, Ruby." The brown-haired cat, Anya sneered.
Ruby?
A series of raised eyebrows ran over him when the girls heard that name.
Now, how am I going to get that nickname off my back... gods... at least it doesn't come with insults.
Adding even more embarrassment to himself she sneered as well, even Syr's shoulders were shaking uncontrollably trying not to laugh, while Lunoire had a small smile.
"Ah yes... Umm, I better not say anything."
And in a couple of words from Chloe he ended up totally humiliated, right after giving his speech.
And Ryuu... She totally believed Chloe's words, her adoration for Syr prevented her from seeing through the lies, Timer will have to figure out how to get her on his good side.
The black-haired man looked at her, and he was completely unfazed.
Good way to ruin a possible friendship. Thanks again Bell.
Putting aside her thoughts, Mama-Mia resumed the course of the conversation.
"They'll have time to talk later, Chloe, you'll teach him how to serve customers." She said Mama-Mia to which Anya put her hand to her cheek and smiled.
"Sure, and don't worry little Ruby. Chloe-Onesama will treat you well."
But between the lines I was telling him
'I'm going to have fun dealing with you'
Timer knows that he is pretending, they don't have bad intentions, but he knows that everyone here wants to make fun of him. And the damn nickname was spreading.
With a determined look, he said between the lines "you are welcome to try it"
"Yes of course. Do you want me to call you senpai too, or do you prefer Grandma Chloe?"
"How old you think I am!?"
"I don't know, the only thing that is clear to me is that all of them, without exception, have years ahead of me."
He received several death glares, but as long as they didn't come from the dwarf, none of them would affect him.
In this one against all, Timer wouldn't leave anyone without biting, his brother wasn't here and he didn't know any of them.
"What are you hinting at!?" Chloe yelled.
His face was turning into an angry one so he decided to stop.
"Nothing Chloe-sempai, where do we start."
While they were talking, the others had already gone to do their chores.
It was close to noon, Timer struggled to work properly without causing disaster. And if he's honest, the job was nice.
When she's not trying to get on him, Chloe can be nice, she taught him the ways of serving customers and he had to apply some of Grandpa's 'chivalry' lessons.
It seemed to work because women were happy with their services.
She was informed that in the mornings she will help by serving, but at night she will be in the kitchen washing dishes.
This is why the temperament of the adventurers is irregular and can generate a dispute.
Better safe than sorry, said Mama-Mia. Completely understandable.
Also, Mama-Mia said she would teach me how to cook, but if I had no talent at it, she would stop trying.
He wasn't a chef, that was never his specialty, not in this life and probably not the next.
When she was doing her chores, she realized that Syr was talking to someone in the front.
White hair, red eyes and a goofy face.
There was Bell, his goofy brother who was constantly apologizing to the girl in front of him. Timer didn't think twice before running towards him, on his way he changed Bisection's damage and reversed it so Bell would take the brunt of it.
With the flat of his hand he landed a hard blow on the back of his brother's head, ignoring Syr's startled cry.
Before the moan of pain, she hugged him by the neck and began to squeeze. Hug was not the word, more like a strangle.
Timer narrowed his eyes at his brother's attempts to free himself "Now, I'm going to tell you what you're going to do, the first thing you're going to do is apologize, not only to me, but to the people here. Second, you're going to explain to me what you did yesterday and I only hope that Hestia-sama in all her wisdom rebuked you for being a hopeless fool. Otherwise I'll have to do it myself."
Bell instantly looked down, maybe he's embarrassed, but he doesn't care. I was too angry to sympathize with him.
Syr blinked between them, not knowing how to react. The attitude of the twin who stayed with them presented that strange aura that some called the 'big brother influence'. And to think that in front of Mama-Mia he was very commanding, but now he had total control of the situation.
"Well... I'm waiting." The angry twin insisted.
Syr had to admit that the angry white-haired boy wasn't a good sign, he behaved submissively with them and obeyed everything he was told, this side of him was fascinating.
Still, angry or not, he was attacking the man he loved, and as such, he had to help him.
"Don't you think you're being hard on him?
Syr asked to which the black-haired man didn't take long to respond.
"If I don't, he'll keep doing impulsively foolish things, Big Brother here, remember?" He pointed to himself with a frown, "By the way, could you give us a minute?"
"I will, but only if you promise not to be so hard on him."
Timer sighed and nodded, moments later releasing Bell. Syr entered the premises, meanwhile she was waiting for Bell's response.
"I... I was in the dungeon all night."
Timer looked at him in disbelief "Bell, tell me you at least went home first and didn't come in just wearing what you were wearing."
Bell didn't answer
Timer hit his face with his hand "What time did you get home" his mind reminded his goddess "Shit... Hestia-sama must have been worried, neither of you came back yesterday."
As soon as he mentioned it, Bell scratched his head.
"She thought we had abandoned her, I found her waiting outside the church and...she was crying."
Timer put his hands up to his face, "And this day just keeps getting worse... Did you clarify what happened?"
Bell kept scratching the back of his neck "Something like that, I arrived a few hours ago, I spent the whole night and part of the morning in the dungeon, I... I didn't suffer any injuries thanks to you, each wound disappeared in seconds. I'm really sorry brother ."
Timer snorted before nodding. "You're welcome, just stop being so troublesome-". Timer stopped, the stinging cuts on his skin were gone. He looked at Bell with narrowed eyes.
Bell looked away guiltily. "Please let me have these, it's the least I can do."
"Good". Timer kept his opinions to himself.
"Hestia-sama sent me to look for you, she was worried why you didn't arrive yesterday, nor today. I told her that I was in the dungeon, she saw me safe and sound... When I told her about the injuries, she was very worried to the think you might be hurt."
Bell was not lying, he left the bar and went to the dungeon, there he suffered no injuries, even the fatigue was not that serious. All thanks to Equity but this didn't come without a cost.
Bell knew exactly that it was his brother who took it upon himself to help with the injuries. Clearly the damage percentages moving in his favor were Timer's doing.
"Thanks for the help".
"God...I already told you it's okay" Timer rolled his eyes, but then he remembered something important. "You are so foolish and irresponsible. What the hell were you thinking when you deactivated Synesthesia!" Timer yelled. "Are you suicidal or just stupid? Tell me Hestia-sama at least punished you for this."
Bell began to wave his hands in defense. "...I was angry and I didn't want you to come to comfort me. And I know for sure that you would have done it because you always worry about me. I...I promised kami-sama that I would always return to her, that she would not die And you didn't come back yesterday either! What happened?"
"You! Do you realize how absurd that sounds?"
Of course he convinced Hestia-sama with incoherent cheesy.
Timer shook his head in disappointment. Why, if they both grew in the same womb, his brother was so irrational, did grandfather throw him away when he was a child? "When Grandpa died... I told you I'd support you in anything, but there are limits, you can't do suicidal things like that and think I won't care."
Bell took his determined look, in Timer's experience there was no chance to change his mind "No matter what happens. I will always come back alive!"
"Tch! Well, you and your damn conviction sooner or later won't cost dear and as always, I'll have to clean up your messes, Bell."
"B-but-"
"But nothing!" The glare silenced Bell. "Get in there and be an adult for once in your life! I'll talk to Hestia-sama later, you have to take responsibility for yesterday. And just so you know, I'm forced to stay and work at the hostess of the fertility until the debt is paid off. If the uniform I'm wearing didn't make it clear."
Bell was about to apologize again. "I-"
"No!! Bell!" Timer's teeth gnash with rage, for a moment he looked at his brother's pained face and his chest tightened, finally he inhaled and sighed. "Just... go and apologize to Mama-Mia." Timer walked with shadowed eyes one step ahead.
In the end, a silent Cranel and another crestfallen entered the Bar.
There was an expectant Mommy along with Syr, so it seems Chloe, Anya and Ryuu continue with their work.
"Hmmp! So you're back, boy" Mia said.
And there it is again, that suffocating aura.
Bell bent to his knees and put his head on the ground.
"I-I'm so sorry! I brought the food money, s-if it's not enough I can give you more." In her hands, a small bag of coins.
"About that, Bell..."
"Let me take care of it boy, I'll take care of him. Go see how things are inside"
"Sure-" Mia looked at him, immediately Timer was silenced, "Okay."
I gave Bell one last look and with that Timer walked out of there.
He waited for Bell outside for a couple of minutes leaning on the front door until he came out, his face seemed better than before but he still didn't look as cheerful as he usually is.
I look at him bored and then ask him.
"Well? Has he already told you everything about yesterday and about the debt?"
He asked Bell curiously, he himself did not know the full extent of the debt. And from what he knew, those potions were high level.
"Haaaa... Yes, Mama-Mia told me everything"
Bell speaks so low that it was almost imperceptible, only Timer did hear it.
"One hundred thousand Valis... Shit"
"Yes... I... I'll gather what I can while alone."
"That's a lot of Valis, Bell. It would take months on your own, even if we put together my work here, along with what I've earned in the dungeon it will still take a long time" Timer rubbed his head in frustration "How did it escalate to so much money."
Bell remembered what Mia told him: "'My word is the law here, what I say is said, if I tell you that you owe me a hundred thousand valis, that's what you owe me.' That's what she said, I don't know what we'll do."
Timer's head spun on the matter.
"Nothing. It's not that bad here either, the employees are nice and Mama-mía isn't so scary when it's in its normal state, you keep going to the dungeon, when I have a break I'll go report to Hestia-sama."
Bel nodded determinedly "Okay... I promise I'll do my best to pay off the debt!" Before his attitude Timer hit him on the head
"Do what you want as long as you don't overexert yourself, if another incident occurs... Well, you don't want to know. Now I have to go back to this temporary job, be careful down there by yourself."
Bell left the restaurant, Syr ran after him, in her hands she carried a box wrapped in a cloth, she didn't want to be a voyeur and entered.
As every day the afternoon had arrived, the streets once overflowing with adventurers were now inside the dungeon, the ones that remained were mostly women who came to buy their lunch, more and more came, but not to the point of becoming complicated, Mom-Mia and Lunoire take turns over who's in the kitchen, while Ryuu, Syr, Anya, and Chloe serve the customers.
Meanwhile Timer has been tasked with washing the dishes, nothing out of the ordinary, people come in and people come out.
It was around five in the afternoon, it was a busy day, at noon was the time when more people arrived, I helped Lunoire and Mama-mía as best I could in the kitchen, but it wasn't necessary, so I left. just washed the dishes.
The fatigue caused by Bell was accumulating again, but it was much less than what happened yesterday.
After helping in the kitchen, he tried to help outside, they seemed to have everything under control, and as Timer was the new employee, he dedicated himself to helping where he could.
Little by little he got used to taking orders, he did everything possible so that he did not drop the food.
Around 4 o'clock in the afternoon I could take my break, I would have to take the opportunity to go talk to Hestia-sama, talk about yesterday and apologize.
Taking into account that at this time only one other person came in to have a cup of tea, he went to ask Mama-Mia if he could go with Hestia.
Even at one of the tables, Anya, Chloe and Syr were playing poker, as the elegant elf that was Ryuu limited himself to seeing behind Syr, from their expressions Syr seemed to be winning, wow he's crushing them. Anya is close to tears.
"Hey Timer, do you want to try breaking Syr's streak?"
Chloe asked. The girls' heads turned in her direction.
"No, I don't want to increase my debts, my luck has always been pretty average."
"Come on dishwasher!! I don't want it's fair to be the only one who loses, come on! Play with us!"
Anya said with outrageous words.
Timer winced, the noise was annoying. "They are quite confident to call me so familiar just a day after we met." He told them trying to sound reasonable, he wanted to get out of there fast. "Also, did Mama-Mia give you permission to play here?"
"We do it because we realized that you're not a bad person, otherwise Mama-Mia wouldn't have helped you like she did yesterday."
Anya said with a more serious tone of voice than usual, to quickly return to her normal state. "And there are very few people, even Ryuu came to see."
Listening to our conversation Chloe added.
"Besides... Even if you wanted to do something bad to us, you couldn't, as you must have realized by now each of us can kick your pretty ass."
"That last one wasn't necessary Chloe."
Ryuu chided him.
Timer sent an expression of thanks, he didn't know what to comment on what the cat girl said.
"Don't make that face, now... do you want to join?" He asked Anya again, thanks to this Syr and Ryuu looked at him expectantly.
"Sorry, maybe later, I have to do something else, but thanks for the invite."
"As you wish Cranel-san, but you are welcome to join."
"Fufufu, I can beat you whenever you want Timer-san."
"It's clear to me that you are a coward Dishwasher-san"
They were the words of Ryuu, Syr and Anya respectively.
"Sure, there will be another chance."
Syr spoke as she was leaving "We play every night, you have to come with us." Timer nodded. There was nothing more to say he started looking for Mama-Mia
It didn't take long to find her, as most of the time she spends behind the drinks bar.
"Emm, Mama-Mia." Timer cursed under his breath for sounding unsure.
The dwarf turned her attention to the boy, her occasional pursed lips merging with her brows, quite frightening for him.
"What do you want, boy?"
"I was wondering if I could go to my Goddess and inform her about my debt, I won't be long."
With one eye he looked at the clock hanging on the wall before saying: "You have 30 minutes, the break time for the full day is 1 hour, but considering that you did not start work at the indicated time, I will only give you 30 minutes." , you take more than that and you will pay dearly."
"Good". Timer ran out, he didn't notice the amused looks from the girls from the Bar who laughed at his behavior in front of Mama-Mia.
Normally, it would take about 8 minutes for the distance from here to the church, but he didn't have much time, he ran with all his might, after 4 minutes he reached the church.
He searched everywhere and found no one, nearly hitting his face against the wall when he remembered that he should be at work.
It took her a couple of minutes to get there, it seemed like she was already finishing, her boss was fixing everything to leave, she approached her.
Hestia noticed it, immediately she ran towards him with an anguished look. Her first action was to strike at him with her small hands, blows slowly slowing down, the next thing she knew, her goddess was clinging tightly against him. "Where were you! You and Bell are fools! I couldn't sleep a wink all night worrying! I almost had a heart attack when Bell came back alone!!... And he wasn't hurt... and... *Hic* and you weren't with him, you don't know how I felt..." She started to cry.
Timer hung his head in shame, of course the goddess would care. Bell returns uninjured... without him... She must have thought that she died in the brig.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." Timer left behind his pride, he was to blame. "I'm sorry, what happened was…"
It didn't take long for him to tell her what happened, he told her everything that happened last night. Once again, the goddess went through a process of assimilation where crying came first and then anger.
"So that dwarf is forcing you to work with her, should I go talk to her?" Said the goddess with annoyance in her voice.
A chill ran through him to the core.
Imagining the two of them arguing doesn't turn out to be good. She suppressed a new shudder at the thought of what would happen if the bar owner were to come face to face with her goddess.
Timer repeatedly denied "No, it's something I have to take responsibility for, plus the girls who live there aren't bad people."
With an expressionless look, Hestia-sama spoke.
"So...will you agree to work there just because the girls are cute?"
"Did you hear everything I said?" Timer tried to reason.
That didn't matter to the goddess, as far as she knew, her dependents were already in love and would soon leave the family "First Bell-kun and now you! Who was it this time, another blonde!?."
"I already told you it's not that."
Hestia-sama narrowed her eyes at him.
"Timer-kun, will you work at that store just to pay off the debt?"
"Yeah"
"I don't believe you"
With nothing else to do, he accepted defeat and looked the other way.
"You can literally spot lies"
"Mortals are as wonderful as they are ingenious, and you are a lot of both, so I don't trust."
Hestia-sama is very stubborn, how could she even go over a divine identification in a direct question? Well... Now that she thought about it, there were ways to get past that detention of truths, will Hestia-sama feel any difference when an answer is half-said? Questions for another time.
The goddess's gaze faltered "Ha~aa, what can you do, you and Bell-kun are young, it was a matter of time before you fell in love with various girls.
As long as they don't get hurt... And they don't belong to other families. Hestia sighed, she expected the family to say growing up.
"Several? You say that like there's going to be more." He said confused.
Hestia-sama gave him a blank look again.
"You... do you think it will only be one?"
Unconsciously, he scratched his head, a bad habit of Bell's that has been passed on to him over time.
"I can't speak for my silly brother, but I am a one woman man."
Hestia shook her head still not believing him.
Timer was hurrying to get to the Bar fast
"Er... We've been talking for quite some time and my break must be almost over."
"Okay, Timer-Kun. And I have to go away for a few days, ask Bell the rest. Take care, silly brothers" Hestia left with a smile on her face.
I guess I should have updated his status... well, not much can happen in a couple of days. TRUE?
Timer arrived at the tavern out of breath, at this time adventurers were beginning to emerge from the dungeon.
Bell will probably be out of the dungeon in another hour or two.
The adventurers were already entering the Bar, Mama-Mia was preparing food, the others were doing their usual jobs.
As Mama-Mia had told her, at night she wouldn't help serving, only in the kitchen.
Another day, each of them was used to their work. Around 6 pm Bell arrived at the tavern, it turns out that she had returned early because she told Hestia-sama that she would take it easy.
Since he didn't have much to do, he talked with him for a moment.
They talked about how he was doing alone and that he should ask Mama-Mia to let him work interspersed one day, so he can go with Bell to the dungeon.
In the end, after much insisting and unexpected support from Ryuu, they managed to convince him.
Another day was over, Bell ended up eating at the hostess, Mama-Mia took pity on them and served the more expensive meals again.
At this rate the debt will only get bigger...
At the end of the night Bell left and Timer had to wash the remaining dishes that were literally a mountain almost twice his height, Mama-Mia had explicitly asked that nobody help him, he had to solve his problems by himself.
When it was all over, he immediately went to his room, he was tired, his eyes closed involuntarily, yesterday he had barely slept a couple of hours. He completely forgot to go play poker with the girls.
Another day was over and he also completely forgot that his sheets were stained with his own blood.
"Damn gods up there."
Two days had passed since Bell's escape to the dungeon. The work was quiet, boring even. But it was the kind of thing you could come to appreciate over time.
Her coworkers were nice, nothing she could complain about beyond the party atmosphere of the nights.
Another day, another morning
Those were Timer's thoughts, and although he had slept better this time, it wasn't like he was an early riser.
Taking into account the conversation he had with Mama-Mia a day ago, he will have one-day breaks to go to the dungeon and to work.
Today he can go with Bell to the cell, he could have gone with him to the church to sleep, but the bed in the bar is much more comfortable than the small futon on the floor.
According to the light from the window it should already be around 5k, the bar doesn't open until 7, but even so the girls should start getting up around this time to get ready.
Bell won't be long in coming so she got up and started to get ready.
Once downstairs, he noticed that only Anya and Syr were missing. Chloe mentioned that Anya was lazy, so that's why she hasn't come down yet, while Syr isn't here because she doesn't live here and it took her longer to get there.
With nothing to do, she dedicated herself to helping the girls, it wasn't very complicated, the dishes were ready, Lunoire took care of most of them in the kitchen, while Ryuu and Chloe cleaned the windows.
I approached them until they noticed me and started waving.
"Fufufu it seems that you are an early riser today, I think I had a misrepresented opinion of you, I thought you were like Anya."
She was about to protest until Ryuu stopped cleaning and came to her aid.
"Don't bother Cranel-san, you know he wasn't feeling well yesterday."
He gave her a grateful look, which she seemed to receive with a nod.
"Tushe, but Ryuu, you should be more fun, if you continue like this you won't find a partner. Just laugh, yesterday her eyes were like a raccoon's yesterday... N-it's not funny.
The moment Chloe's words came out of her mouth, the air grew cold, how when Mama-Mia brought out her bloodlust, that of the owner of the Bar was even stronger, but that does not mean that the pressure exerted by Ryuu was also it's stifling, worst of all and what hurts my pride the most is that he's not even directing them at him.
"As you said?"
Cold, as cold as a glacier, that was the tone of his voice, his usual calm and elegant tone of voice became sharp and aggressive.
"Wait! Ryuu I didn't mean that! Mercy! I'M SOOOOO SORRY!"
Chloe ran off, but not before letting out a high-pitched cry of apology.
Intentional or not, his scream caused him discomfort, there are days when it is barely noticeable, but on others even the slightest noise is annoying
"Argh, noisy."
I said quietly, enough so that her voice was not heard, with her hand holding her ear.
I highly doubt it's going to do anything, but I still instinctively reached for it with my hand.He thought wryly.
"Are you alright, Cranel-san?"
She turned to see Ryuu asking her, her voice had returned to normal, she returned to her calm expression.
"Sure..., everything is fine."
"If you have a problem you should say so, if you don't do anything it will only get worse."
I was undecided whether or not to tell him, it may not be something important, but he doesn't want to be a bother.
"Honestly... I do have one, but I highly doubt they can help me with that."
Ryuu closed his eyes and spoke.
"Maybe not, but there's nothing to lose by trying."
He hesitated for a moment to tell him or not, but in the end he pointed with his hand towards his own ear.
"For some reason loud noises make me irritable." Timer said. "It's nothing serious, I can proudly say that I have prodigious hearing, it's just that in the face of too loud noises it can become somewhat painful.
"The same thing happens with me, noisy environments are not to my liking."
He scratched his head, it seems she didn't understand, well, he didn't want to bother her anyway.
"I just hope it doesn't keep increasing." She closed her eyes, focusing on filtering the sound. A practice he had been doing for years.
Ryuu closed her eyes and began to meditate on what he told her, for some reason she tensed and looked at him carefully. First his eyes and then his hair. Only to shake his head later.
"Something happens?" she asked doubtfully.
"Don't mind my attitude, it's just that you reminded me of someone I once knew."
Ryuu started to enter the tavern.
"You go?"
"I've finished my work here, I'll take care of telling the others about your problem, if you'll excuse me."
Before getting any chance to speak she was gone.
Timer was left without knowing what happened "did I say something wrong?"
I knew I shouldn't complain about that nonsense
He finished as fast as he could, after a few minutes of waiting Bell finally arrived.
"Tim, are you ready yet?"
Bell asked, Timer was about to nod, but Anya's voice came forward.
"Are you going to the dungeon?" She asked with bitterness in her voice, she had complained to Mama-Mia previously for letting him go to the brig. According to her, Timer would have to be working.
"Yes, Mama-Mia gave me permission." Timer's eyes remained calm no matter what this girl said.
Anya stifled a laugh "But today is the Monsterfilia"
"Monsterphilia?" Bell asked Anya
Anya turned to them with a smile.
"It's a festival that takes place annually, it's organized by the Ganesha family, they tame monsters brought from the dungeon, it's all~ a show."
"Apart from that, is there any purpose?" the brothers asked in unison
Bell and I asked ourselves the same question, it should be entertaining for ordinary people, but adventurers shouldn't be interested.
"Think a little silly, the main purpose of monsterfilia is so that the gods can witness the dangers that their children undergo in the dungeon."
"I guess that makes sense."
Bell responded to which he shrugged his shoulders disinterestedly.
Making a lighting signal Anya spoke again.
"By the way... In monsterfilia the entrance to the dungeon is forbidden."
"Because?"
"Obviously, for adventurers to have a bit of free time, there are some who make it an obsession, mostly the guild does it for a little change of scenery" Anya replied. "This break was also implemented in Altena and the Empire. Forbidden to enter the dungeon in a monsterfilia."
"Something about not being left behind and all?"
"Yeah".
"Whoaaaa, well... You heard Bell, I guess I'll have to go with you another day, today I'll help here at the Bar."
Bell already somewhat discouraged spoke.
"Too bad, I'll go see how this event is." Bell said. "It must be something if he's able to stop the conflict between the Empire and Altena for at least a day."
"Oh! Wait white-haired-kun, before you go give this to Syr"
Anya spread her hands showing a small bag
"I don't understand, why don't you give it to him." Timer asked.
He asked her, how lazy she must be not to give it to him herself.
"It's that Syr took the day off and went to monsterfilia, since he's going there I want you to give it to him."
"Sure, I'll give it to him, see ya!"
He left with a smile, Timer following him with his eyes as he lost himself in the crowd. Looking up at the sky, he wondered if Mama-Mia could give him the day to see this festival. Or who knows, just aimlessly wandering around the city sounded interesting.
Returning her gaze to the bar, she noticed that the customers were arriving one after the other, the workers couldn't keep up with all those who came and went.
"Come on, Anya. Let's get to work"
Giving little jumps he followed him inside.
Again, his help was little, but even so it is undeniable that he helped them somewhat, although this time they were more busy because of all the people who arrived, as a result they let him serve the tables.
Everything went well until around noon, when rumors about the escape of various monsters began to be heard, the Ganesha family was taking care of it as best they could, but it was not enough.
He tried to carry on with his work, with all the adventurers - except for those who were on an expedition before the festival - they should be enough to capture the ruckus.
At least that's what I thought until he heard something that stopped me in my tracks.
"They say that the Loki family has already stopped all the monsters"
"But have they caught the silverback yet?"
"As far as I know, he's still chasing that boy."
"Poor fool, surely he is a newbie with bad luck"
"They say that the boy has already been caught"
"I doubt it, until a few minutes ago they said that he was very fast. The silverback must be chasing the boy."
Let it not be Bel, let it not be Bell, let it not be Bell, let it not be Bell, let it not be Bell, let it not be Bell, let it not be Bell.
Timer prayed to himself.
"The albino is brave, they say that he continues to protect the little girl"
Shit
Rumor had it that a silverback was chasing a white-haired boy and a girl with pigtails near Daedalus Street.
"Shit!"
He received looks from the girls, but now it wasn't important.
Timer hadn't activated Synesthesia, Bell's feelings were disconnected, he felt a little more tired, but he hadn't noticed until now.
Equity had returned to 50% automatically.
Synesthesia had been off, Timer completely forgot to turn it on again. And now, finally turning it back on, he felt Bell's emotions. Fear, fear of losing a loved one he was transmitted.
Timer swallowed.
- Hey! BELL, what's your situation? -Desperate scream in his mind. The quickest way to contact him was with the mind link.
-Now... I can't... talk *Sigh*
-So it's true, a monster is chasing you!?-
- Yeah! -
- Is Hestia-sama safe? -
-She is fine, I found a path for her, if she follows it she will soon reach the crowd. -
-Hold on Bell, the Ganesha family shouldn't be long in coming. -
-It doesn't matter, Hestia-sama is already safe. -
Don't talk nonsense, just seek refuge. -
-I don't think they'll arrive on time, he's cornering me! Gahh!-
- What happened! Hey! Bell, hold on, I'm on my way.-
-... -
Before the eyes of everyone in the Bar, the waiter stopped in the middle of the tables. Only for him to run off afterwards.
With no response from Bell, Timer had to get moving, he couldn't waste time.
He managed to escape Mama-Mia's eyes, maybe if I explain, he'll let him go, but he doesn't have time to waste.
He ran jumping the buildings, that was something that might have been impossible before, the blessing of the gods was incredible.
But Timer had to go and offer his support.
Bell will take it upon himself to protect Hestia-sama, she's not the one I'm worried about, Bell is capable of giving up his life if necessary, it might sound good for anyone to say that he would risk his life for someone, but for me that's nonsense What is the use of sacrificing yourself if in the end you are going to hurt your loved ones for that decision.
He hasn't mentioned this to Bell, but for him, being a hero is absurd, or rather he doesn't have the material for a hero, the mere idea of doing selfless actions is too much for him.
Completely the opposite of Bell, he does have the qualities to become one.
As he was running down Daedalus Street, something happened that he didn't think would happen.
KYAAA!!
That scream made him stop short, it was almost inaudible to anyone else, but he could hear, worst of all... a roar followed.
Timer didn't know what to do, he could go to Bell, his brother, or help the woman. It was a second before resuming his way.
Between her brother's life and a stranger... she would always choose her brother, always and without a doubt. With the fixed will of him, he continued his tour. He was about to keep moving when something inside his womb made him stop his steps.
KYAAA! Help!
Timer's body trembled, his head turned rapidly with his eyes wide open in the direction of the sound, this…was not a woman's voice, it was a girl's voice. His breathing quickened, his fists clenched, he didn't know what to do.
Should he let the girl die?...was he even capable of thinking about that?!
"Bah!" Timer groaned, he had to have faith in Bell.
-I don't know what situation you are in, but I know you can do it, I believe in you, Bell-.
Timer turned his body towards the direction of the sound, there, a girl was running away from a monster. Somehow those little legs had bought him time. And there, not far from her, was the monster.
A silver back.
Were there more of these monsters lurking nearby? How many of these did the Ganesha family have? Could he even deal with one?
Several questions that had no answer at the time.
The monster was destroying everything in its path.
He managed to corner the girl to a wall, there was no escape for her. The girl could only cry, she was going to die. The strong arm of her silver back descended on the cream-haired girl.
A shadow descended on the girl's body, throwing her to the side.
Timer launched himself on her, hitting the girl slightly due to the weight of his body, both rolled on the pavement, the white-haired man didn't stop to ask anything, once his body managed to rejoin, he took the girl and fled.
All before the confused eyes of the monster.
Timer ran endlessly, all to lose the monster on his heels, his stats may have increased, but he was still no match for a beast from the 12th floor.
With his gaze on the girl, he could see that her eyes were closed, undoubtedly the girl would have died if it weren't for him.
When the girl opened her eyes, she noticed that her body was in the air. She did the most reasonable thing in her situation, scream and shake.
"Kyaa!
His cry was quickly silenced, "Quiet!" Timer nearly yelled in rage.
"Hugh?", Fina, who previously closed her eyes in fear, could see that she was being carried by a stranger, and no less one who was running on top of the buildings. "Please put me down!" She cried.
"If I do, the monster will catch up with us"
The building Timer wanted to jump over was very tall. There the monster would not reach them.
Timer took the girl in his arms and tossed her into the air, then he jumped after her. With her feet she ran propelling herself over the wall. Before she hit the roof he quickly caught her.
The girl screamed on her way up, he wouldn't blame her, the situation wasn't one to complain about.
"Because -"
The girl tried to speak through tears, but a hand covered her mouth, she was about to complain and bite him, but the man who saved her made a gesture for her to shut up.
The white-haired boy raised his right hand to his lips.
"Shhh" He said.
To later point out the monster, in the distance, the silverback was looking for them, it entered a street and began to destroy it. The monster was looking for any sign of life.
"Lord, are we going to die?" A childish voice uttered those scary words, tremors ran through her body from head to toe. As if he had already been in this situation, childhood memories of him washed over him.
Brother, *Hic* Are we going to die?,
Timer frowned, that exact face Bell used to make as a child.
"No..."
"But the monster will find us! *Hic* and then it will go for my friends" The girl continued crying.
Timer shifted uncomfortably, it's been so many years since he didn't talk to kids... now that he thought about it, he never had friends his own age. They were never needed because he always had Bell with him.
What would Bell do, what would Bell do.Timer thought.
Timer squeezed his eyes shut, sighed, and put on the kindest, most affectionate smile he could emulate at that moment. "Relax, I'm watching your back, nothing bad will happen to you." What memories, years ago he said those same words to Bell. At least they still work because the girl finally relaxed.
"Everything will be fine, this will be fixed sooner or later, I won't let the monster touch you, I promise." To seal her promise he caressed her head, she hadn't noticed, but she was a Chienthrope, her hair was cream-colored and eyes with a hue similar to his. "You can trust this adventurer dressed as a waiter."
The girl nodded slowly, "Er...sir, you haven't told me your name" It was true, she didn't have the time to do it.
"Normally, the person who asks should introduce themselves first... I am Timer Cranel, a level 1 adventurer."
The girl's shoulders tensed, she noticed that the girl did not trust him, or at least not completely because after all he was a stranger, that was good, it shows that the girl is not stupid.
"Yes... sorry, my name is Fina" He answered with the intensity of a whisper.
Silence fell over them, Timer didn't know what to say, and to be honest with himself, he wanted to leave the girl safe and get to Bell.
He sighed, he checked what he had on him, it was just a dagger and for some reason he had been foolish enough to go out without the armor.
Where is thought rations!
Bell, are you still there? -
No answer, this winning streak was being great.
-Bell-
No response again, Timer was hesitating whether to change the percentage of Equity in favor of his brother, he glanced at the girl out of the corner of his eye before shaking his head right now he also has his own problems.
His gaze returned to the Beastman, "Where are your parents, Fina"
The girl's look saddened "I'm an orphan..."
"..."
Determined, Timer was good with animals (especially cats) but not with children.
"So where is your orphanage, I need to find a place to leave you."
Fina looked around, she didn't recognize the houses, the black-haired man went so far into Daedalus street that not even she herself, being a resident, could know where they were. "Don't know".
Timer let out an even stronger sigh, what to do now, what to do with the girl.
Fighting wasn't an option, he didn't have the tools. And now that he thought about it, how would he help Bell if he didn't even have a weapon with him.
"How did the monster get you?" Timer questioned.
"I-I, W-well. Me and my friends didn't run away." she whispered. "We went without our caretaker's permission to the festival, b-but we never thought a monster would escape!!"
Timer tried hard not to roll his eyes. "Okay, nobody expected it, at least I managed to get here before the tragedy"
"T-thank you for saving me, Mr. Timer!" She said with an effort, it seemed like she didn't trust him. Timer sighed again, if it had been Bell who
If he had saved her instead, she would probably be calmer, but he can't help it. That's the way he is.
"Um... Mr. Timer." Said the girl.
"If i answer.
"I've never seen you around here, you may not know the streets, but I would remember a person like you..." Fina said, she may not have known Daedalus street that well, but she had seen a fair amount of people to know that someone with white hair and red eyes was not from around here. "Why is he here on Daedalus Street."
He was right, the girl was not stupid.
Timer smiled slightly "...My silly brother got involved in a conflict. I'm looking for him, as far as I know, he's here on Daedalus street too."
"Her brother..." Fina said.
She envisioned a person like Mr. Timer. Strong character, but at the same time calm, a person of few words but who was not cold, who somehow tried to comfort her when she cried.
You could even call him grumpy, I don't know I'd say it to his face, but the way he just seemed to want to drop everything and walk away told her he wasn't a patient person. Just... the look on him was kind of scary.
"How is he?" She finished the question curiously.
Timer blinked before shrugging at the question, there was no reason not to answer. On the contrary, the girl seemed to trust him.
"His name is Bell Cranel. If I had to describe him it would be to a fool who dreams of being a hero."
Fina could clearly see how he smiled when talking about his brother and if someone could make a person like mr. Timer, he must be a wonderful person. A hero.
"Innocent and very childish, almost naive, very easy to tease and the biggest fool you'll ever meet."
"Sounds like someone nice." She said with a bead of sweat on her forehead.
A small laugh escaped Timer. "I suppose he is much more so than I am."
"You are nice!" He said Quickly not wanting to offend.
"Thanks, I guess." Timer said as he looked around. They were deep inside the labyrinth that is Daedalus Street. Maybe changing location could get the girl out.
"If we change places, will you be able to tell where we are?"
"Yes I can do it". She said determinedly.
"Fine." With that said, Timer stood up. "I'm counting on you then, Fina"
Timer knelt in front of her and said, "get on my back."
The girl hesitated, Timer rolled his eyes as he took off his jacket, he would need his hands to move, what better than to tie the girl to his back. "Shall we go, or can you jump over the buildings by yourself?"
She shook her head before climbing on top of Timer, who then wrapped himself around her tightly to prevent her from falling.
The white-haired boy began to jump again, building after another he was advancing through the street daedalus. The girl's arms were clenched to prevent her from falling, she was still afraid of not being on her own feet.
His sensitive ears picked up the noise of breaking bricks, grotesque agitated breath. Timer swallowed, the monster was reaching them, he quickened his pace.
UWAHHHHH!!
He was fast for being so big.
The monster was behind them, its hand reached out trying to reach them, unfortunately for Timer, they were in the middle of a jump.
There was no way to escape, Timer did the only thing he could do, take the full impact for himself.
His arms covered his entire body to try to stop the impact, it didn't help much, the force of the monster threw him towards a wall, in the middle of the turn the white-haired man forced his body to turn, all as long as the girl didn't get hurt.
"Gah!"
"Kyaa!"
All the air escaped from his body, the impact knocked him off course, sending him straight to the ground.
He regained his mobility at the last second, landing on his hands and stopping to regain his balance.
oooooo
The monster didn't stop, leaping after them, its arms acting like hammers, ready to smash the bodies to the ground.
Timer opened his eyes, jumped to the side, this time he did not have time to secure the fall of the girl.
Fina hit the ground hard, her arms were still hugging the white-haired boy.
"Oh!"
She just watched as the place where they had just been was crushed, leaving a small crater.
Timer raised his head, the silver sword was right in front of him with his arm outstretched.
A chill ran through his body, his gaze was on the girl and himself. He had no choice.
The white-haired boy took Fina's arm from behind and threw her to the side, he didn't have time to think if she would hit herself.
The monster closed its fist, all the impact was received in the chest, without armor, only its state and Equity prevented its ribcage from crushing its lungs.
After the impact he was sent flying, the black-haired man's bruised body collided with the wall.
Timer doubled over in agony on his knee, his ribs bent to the point of nearly breaking from the blow.
The air escaped from her lungs, panting heavily to get it back her hands went to her chest to ease the pain, all while fighting not to vomit.
All before the eyes of Fina, who could only watch as her savior was crushed.
She was afraid, she was terrified, this was not what she should be doing, she should be with her friends, with mother Maria.
Timer's head was blurry, his attempts to move were useless, his body was not following his orders.
Gathering all the strength in her body and fighting the pain, she stood up.
Her arms dangling from her body, she fixed her gaze with the one with the silver back.
"Y-LITTLE SHIT! KUH! Y-YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE ME BREAK A PROMISE?!!
Man and monster looked at each other, both were about to attack.
Will was the only thing that kept Timer on his feet.
In contrast, Fina saw how injured the white-haired man was, his chest was bleeding and something looked wrong, crushed, broken. She could tell that her legs were shaking and how she was about to collapse.
"Hey, monster!" Her eyes widened in horror as she saw that he did indeed turn towards her, and Mr. Timer fell limply to the ground. "Here I am!"
Her hands went to her mouth, she screamed without thinking.
The neck of the silver sword swung towards the girl.
The monster advanced towards her.
"COUGH!" Timer's fixed and sure gaze faded, he spat blood before falling, the monster's blow had left him worse than he supposed.
Timer crawled on the ground, he couldn't do anything to stop the monster that was advancing towards Fina.
Useless, vulnerable and incompetent.
That was what it was.
And so he planned to help Bell?
Her last memory was of seeing a flower going into battle.
Then everything went black.
Fina looked at her with teary eyes, the monster was getting closer "I... Don't come near!"
The girl picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at him.
The rock broke when it hit its head, but the monster kept going.
She backed away, her legs falling back, the girl no longer having her protector to help her.
GAAAAA!
The roar of the monster terrified her, she closed her eyes waiting for her end.
I don't want to die, Mother Mary, Mr. Timer. Aid!
"GAAAAA!?"
In the street the sound of a cutting blade was heard.
Moments later an explosion was heard.
"Are you okay?"
Were the words spoken.
Fina opened her eyes, she hoped it was the white-haired one.
But no, she didn't feel the reassuring hand on her head again.
In front of her was an elf, wearing a green maid outfit that matched Mr. Timer's, and carrying two short swords in his hands.
Elf who was looking at the white-haired body, which was lying on the ground.
"Yes, but…he was attacked for protecting me." he muttered.
"I understand" The Elf, Ryuu, approached her savior and lifted him onto her shoulder.
He was unconscious.
As far as Ryuu knew, there were no other monsters around. "Do you think you can get home by yourself? I need to get my friend to a safe place." The Elf's calm voice uttered.
Fina looked around, she recognized the place, it was not far from the orphanage,
Timer-san was in the right direction. Fine thought.
"Yes I can do it"
"I have to take him to have his wounds treated, be careful on the way"
"Um... Mr. Timer, will he be alright?"
"I'll make sure it is"
As soon as he arrived, Ryuu left.
Fina started running towards the orphanage, they won't believe her when she tells them what happened.
They'll love hearing about Mr. Cranel, and she wants to find him herself to thank him.
Standing over his goddess, armed with a black knife and on wobbly feet was Bell Cranel. A crowd applauded and cheered at the feats witnessed, for an unknown boy to defeat the Silver Back was impressive. Worthy of being admired.
"You did it! Bell! You're amazing!" Hestia threw herself at him and hugged him. The goddess yelled extremely happily. So much effort had been worth it, those knives were incredible.
Bell can only smile, "Yes! I did it, kami-sama!" He enjoyed the hug, he was tired so he just enjoyed the moment.
In the distance, behind all the crowd is a beautiful adventurer who was watching everything with a small smile.
bell...
That was the name said by the little goddess. That was her name. That she's been able to defeat a monster that should be out of the league for her...
Incredible.
"Oh, what a pity. It's all over now." Without giving the crowd another glance, Loki flashed a wicked grin and dove after her.
It was useless as he quickly dodged her, causing the goddess to crash face down on the ground. "Ouch! Shall we go then?"
"Yeah..."
Aiz smiled slightly before moving.
The two started to head back immediately when-
A cry for help from the crowd.
It was only a glance to see the disaster in front of them. The goddess who was fine until a few moments ago fainted for some reason. But that was not all.
"Argh!"
The same boy who until a few moments ago was smiling triumphantly, was now a mess on the floor.
Before Aiz's eyes widened, the boy's hands went straight to his chest. The shaking was uncontrollable, he stopped for a moment before spitting blood out of his mouth.
Aiz widened her eyes and ran straight towards him. She didn't understand how it happened, until a few moments ago she was fine.
"Wha- Aiz! Wait for me!" The blonde ignored it and went to the wounded.
One look at the goddess was enough to recognize the weariness. Now, the problem was Bell, the pain must have made him unconscious...
Aiz touched her chest before widening her eyes in horror. "Loki, help!"
In an instant, Loki recognized the dwarf goddess and the boy who came to his Familia a few weeks ago. He got a little frustrated knowing that he lost such a talented rookie just because Fin gave the freedom to let the rookies in. And the dwarf of all the gods had stolen it!!
"And to think that one day I would have to save the temptress."
"Lokie!" Wow, for Aiz to be so upset over two strangers... Yeah, she definitely lost an interesting member. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Pick up the boy, let's take them to the mansion-".
He didn't have time to finish when a strong current of wind hit his face. Aiz had run off with Ariel activated, and left her... With the dwarf still on the ground.
"You owe me a very big favor..." He muttered looking at the fallen goddess.
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