"Ah, Miach, I wish you an excellent good morning. I hope you wished your goodbye to your two children."
"Good morning, Apollo."
Miach smiled in his usual way, not reacting to the taunt of the other god. The weather around Orario was just perfect, only a few small clouds were visible in the sky. In her private chamber high up in Babel, the goddess Freya could see a few dark clouds in the east, but they were so far away that it would need days for them to arrive at Orario.
A blue haired woman approached her god in another hall.
"Lord Hermes, everything is set up and ready."
"Thank you, Asfi."
Hermes stretched out his arms and called out loud this time.
"Ouranos, give me permission to use my power!"
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Permission granted.
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It really was a spectacle what happened, all over Orario opened magical mirrors in midair, shining in brilliant white, before the white turned into the scenery of a castle, surrounded by thick walls. A banner with the symbol of the Apollo familia waved at the top of the tallest tower.
Most people in Orario had finished their work early, to be able to watch the wargame. Pubs and restaurants were filled, people made bets on the outcome of the game.
Nearly every person bet on the Apollo familia.
The only people that bet on the other group, were members of the Takemikazuchi and Astrea familia. While she hoped that Apollo would lose, Artemis didn´t bet because she didn´t like this.
The scenery in the various mirrors changed, they showed the members of the Apollo familia standing guard inside the castle and on top of the walls.
Another mirror showed the place in front of the arena, the Ganesha familia put up a stage there. The people stood there, the god Ganesha and a young man from his familia.
"Everyone! I wish you a good morning! At last it´s the day of the wargame! We waited ten long days since the announcement! I will be your host for this event, my name is Ibri Acha, also known as Fire Inferno Flame! I´m glad to be here! Commentary will be provided by my familia´s god, lord Ganesha and me!"
The young man in the tunic, who was wearing sun glasses, pointed to his sturdy god.
"Lord Ganesha, please say something to the crowd!"
The god struck a manly pose. "I am Ganesha!"
Ibri still pointed at his god. "And there you have it, truly inspiring words. Lord Ganesha, would you please explain the rules for this wargame?"
He handed his god the magical microphone.
Ganesha cleared his throat and grinned. "This wargame will be a siege, the Apollo familia will defend the castle, while the Miach familia and their three helpers try to conquer it. Due to the rules, the helper that comes from the Astrea familia is forbidden from entering the castle. Today at noon the wargame will start, until then both sides have time to set up their camps.
The time limit is seventy-two hours. So they have three days and are allowed to use every tactic fitting their taste and options. We would like to introduce you to the members of Miach´s side, since Apollo has too many children, but except for their names and level I am not allowed to say something else."
The god took a deep breath.
"To keep it family friendly, the magic mirrors will change the scenery a bit. In case blood or deep wounds will happen, the mirrors will blur this part out or change the color a bit. Also, the mirrors can´t watch at certain spots of the camps, the washing area for example, since we want our children to keep their modesty. In case a wardrobe malfunction happens and there would be any kind of nudity, the mirrors will shine bright white there. In case of the young elf, even her arms, legs and other things will be covered. Entering the area of the wargame is forbidden, my familia is guarding the area.
So in case people start to guess what one familia plans, no one will be able to warn the other side."
Ganesha gave the microphone back to his follower and made a pose again.
"There are still two hours left until the wargame starts. The Apollo familia is done with their preparation, let us see what the Miach familia does."
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"Lily, where do you want this stuff?"
"Over there, Bell. Ms. Mikoto, the place for your stuff is here. Mr. Welf, please put your anvil behind these rocks over there, so no one will see the sparks at night."
Lily stood on a rock in the small mountain area that was close to the castle. She had studied the map of the land together with Lyra and picked the best place. Their camping place was surrounded by rocks, as if they had walls on their own. A giant rock pillar was at the side of the camp with more than enough place to go around it. Lena and Haruhime were working there at the moment.
"Please be very careful with the crystal! We have to pay for it if you break it and the Astrea familia will be mad when something happens to it!"
Haruhime held a large, blue crystal up, while Lena was busy to fasten it to the rock pillar. This was a water crystal, they grew in certain parts of the 18th floor and were the source for the water there. Lyra gave Lily three of those, a small one, a medium sized and a really big one. The small one would be used to provide them with water that they needed to drink or make food. The medium sized got intalled in a place a bit away from the camp, there would be the toilet.
And the big one...this was pure luxury...they created a shower with this. To be able to shower and not just wipe down their bodies was a big relief, especially for the women. After the water crystal was set up, they put up curtains.
The plan was, one would shower and another one would stand guard nearby. Of course Bell and Welf would only guard each other.
For the main campsite, they had cleared the ground of all small stones and laid out special mats, also on loan from the Astrea familia. Each member of the group had their own cot, they had brought enough blankets and pillows. In the middle was a small plateau of rock which they would use as a cooking place. To avoid open fire, which could give away their position at night, they had brought special heat stones with them. These things were by no means cheap and were a small gift from Alfia. It wasn't her only gift.
They had stowed the huge backpacks under a ledge, it didn't look like rain, but they wanted to be sure. The longer weapons, like Haruhime's special bow, also lay there, wrapped in special cloth. Everyone had enough clothes for three days and they had agreed that when it was time for the women to wash, Bell and Welf would leave the camp. Their supplies may have been a little over the top, food could easily last a week. But Alise had argued that enough nourishment would keep her spirits up. Also, Alfia's tactics sometimes relied on the fact that they had good food. That was why she had paid someone a visit in Orario.
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It was two days ago.
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Cling-Cling-Cling!
"Meow! Nyelcome to the Benevolent Miaustress!"
Ahnya beamed as happy as always when she turned to greet the new customer. But then she instantly froze, having a strange feeling.
"Nya?..."
It was a woman, that much she could see. The woman wore a black, goth style dress and used a travel cape, she had pulled the hood up, so that her face was mostly hidden in shadow. Ahnya could see that she had ash colored hair, but something about her felt very strange, it let the cat girl gulp.
"I would like to talk to the owner."
"M-Meow. Nyait a second."
Ahnya quickly went towards the kitchen, shivering slightly. When she described to Mia how the visitor looked like, the tall woman made a serious face.
A few moments later, Mia stood with Alfia close to the stairs, where no one could hear them.
"Never thought I would see you again, Silence. So you´re still alive."
Alfia looked up to Mia, after lifting her hood just a tiny bit.
"It had been a long time, Mia Grande."
"What brings you here after all these years? Don´t tell me the usual?"
"The usual and I want to order food for eight people, but so that they have to prepare it by themself. Food enough for two days. And of course the best you have to offer."
"This will be expensive."
"Money doesn´t matter, I want them to eat well and healthy."
"Alright. And the usual, the most expensive one?"
"Yes."
Mia would prepare the food, the spices and simple recipes for the next day.
"Won´t taste as good as when I do it."
"This is to be expected."
"I have it prepared tomorrow. Do you want to take the dessert with you today?"
"Of course."
Mia nodded and went to her kitchen.
What she brought back was the best and most expensive dessert of her pub, it was similar to a small cake, but with various toppings. Only someone with a sweet tooth would enjoy this. Alfia didn´t intend to eat it by herself. She would place it in her bedroom, next to the picture of Meteria, while lighting up a small candle.
She had heard about rites for the death in various places. Alfia wanted to believe that this way, the soul of her dear sister up in heaven could enjoy this feast. Some may call it a waste of money and food, but Alfia didn´t care. She would throw it away after one day and buy something else a week later.
Every sunday, she made an "offering" for Meteria. Alfia had done this when Meteria was still alive, bringing her sister the best sweets and desserts she could find. Her sister was an angel, she deserved it.
Mia Grande knew that Alfia was a member of the Hera familia, but she didn´t really care. It wasn´t the first time that Alfia bought something to eat here. .
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And so, thanks to Alfia, they had the best food available for their camp. Their plan wasn´t to rush in one swift attack, it would truly become a siege.
Lefiya did her part to prepare the camp and could even give them tips where to place the various things, since she had experience with Expeditions. Everyone would sleep in a large circle around the place in the middle, so that they all would get some warmth from the heating stones.
Now that they prepared the camp for the wargame, Lefiya´s nervousness went down...and skyrocketed whenever she came close to Bell or Haruhime. She wished someone could explain to her why she felt so weird.
"Ms. Lefiya?"
Lefiya looked up when Lily came to her.
"Yes?"
"Lily forgot to ask this before, but is there something we have to keep in mind, since you are an elf? Something special, about the food or other things?"
Lefiya shook her head. "Nothing special, but I thank you for asking."
Lily nodded and went back to her work.
While they continued to work, Lefiya noticed that her camp bed was right next to Haruhime´s. Mikoto´s bed was on the other side of Haruhime. For now, the camping beds were rolled up and tied. Lefiya used her personal one which she also used on expeditions.
"Oh my."
"Hm?"
Lefiya looked up again when she heard Haruhime´s voice, the fox girl smiled.
"Your pillow is really cute."
Lefiya forgot to take a normal, travel pillow with her, so she used her own, which was pink.
"Oh ahm, thank you."
"Do you like the color pink?"
"Yes, it is my favorite."
"Hehe, I can understand that, it really is a pretty color. It fits you somehow."
Haruhime´s smile calmed Lefiya a bit down, the fox girl was really pretty in her eyes.
Lefiya wasn't the only one with her personal pillow. Lena had a gray one that looked like it was made out of fur. It was in the rough shape of a head with wolf ears. The amazon always had the best dreams when she used her "Bete-pillow".
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While they continued to prepare the camp, various familias and their gods watched the magical mirrors.
"They are well prepared, much better than I thought they would be."
The highest members of the Loki familia sat in their living room and watched how the Miach group prepared their camp.
"They even use water crystals, I wonder where they got those."
Finn smirked. "From where do you think?"
Riveria folded her hands in her lap. "It looks like they have everything they need to keep themself healthy and clean."
Tiona grinned. "I bet Loki would love to look inside that shower when they use it."
"Then it is good that the gods can´t do that."
Tione leaned back on the couch. "I wonder how they will attack. With lady Astrea´s elf there they have at least one mage among them."
Gareth took a sip of his drink. "I wonder if they can win. They look determined, but are they strong enough?"
While they talked, Lena appeared in the mirror, smiling lovingly and giving her pillow a kiss, before cuddling it to her chest.
Tione grinned. "Oh my, doesn´t this pillow look quite familiar?"
Many es wandered to Bete.
"Keep your mouth shut, you virgin amazon."
"Haaaaa?! You wanna go?!" Tione cracked her knuckles.
Riveria looked displeased. "Bete, Tione, behave yourself."
"Hmpf." Bete continued to watch the mirror, with his arms crossed.
He looked even more displeased when Lena suddenly held a note up and turned into various directions, since she didn´t know from where the mirrors caught the picture.
In red color, she had written.
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Bete Loga! I love youuuuu! I will show you how strong I became! You don´t need to be worried about me anymore!
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And to Bete´s bad luck, all of Orario saw that.
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A few laughs echoed over the place in front of the arena.
"Ooooh how touching! I, Ganesha, am deeply moved by this! The young lady there declares her love for Vanagand! So far this already is a touching wargame, even when nothing happened so far!"
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"Ms. Mikoto?"
"Yes?"
"Please place your special stuff over there."
Lily pointed at a small rock outcrop, so that Mikoto would place her stuff under it.
"Everyone, remember, no one should touch this bagpack! Only Ms. Mikoto."
The others agreed. Most of them didn´t even want to get close to this backpack.
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The last hours went by and then...
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A loud gong echoed over Orario and the area of the wargame, the signal to start the fight.
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Every single person in Orario watched the mirrors now. They saw the Apollo familia members patrol at the walls.
Two of the guards talked to each other.
"So it begun, hm."
"When do you think they will attack?"
"We have three days, I don´t think immedi-"
The guards stopped when they noticed two figures approaching the castle fast. Both were running, a human and an elf. Gods and mortals in Orario cheered that the action started right away. Some praised the pretty elf in her, mostly, pink dress, others the upright warrior that ran in front of her.
Bell wore his full white armor, with the remains of the Emerald Protector imbedded in it. A black cape waved behind him, surprisingly it didn´t wave as much as one would think. Experienced adventurers noticed what this was, a goliath robe, formed into a cape.
The hilt of Silence jutted up between Bell's shoulders, the scabbard concealed by the cloak. In his left hand, Bell held a truly massive shield. Adventurers called this shape a tower shield, and he could easily hide his entire body behind it. This shield was far too bulky and virtually useless in close combat, but it had a different use. In the dungeon, these shields were used to protect mages or archers. And that's exactly what Bell thought he was doing, protecting the beauty behind him.
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"Proud warrior, snipers of the forest. Take up your bows before the advancing plunderers."
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"We are under attaaaack!"
The guards readied their bows as Lefiya raised her staff and started her chant. Bell moved the shield in front of him and rammed it onto the ground as the first arrows flew into their direction. Lefiya ducked down behind Bell and the shield, continuing her chant.
It only worked because Lefiya had the skill, concurrent chanting.
The Apollo familia quickly responded to the magic circle spreading beneath Lefiya. About twenty members of the familia ran to the rampart and fired bows at the two. Magicians didn't come, none of the Apollo familia could do concurrent chanting and not knowing how long Lefiya's chant would last they didn't risk running over there and starting to cast spells. They didn't even know what Lefiya's magic would do.
You will not harm her!
Bell gritted his teeth and braced himself against the shield as a veritable hail of arrows pounded him. He hadn't expected much, after all the tower shield was made of solid steel. Bell had forgotten that bows wielded by adventurers were adapted for power beyond that of normal humans. Even a level one adventurer shooting an arrow was easily compared to a small spear thrower.
So the arrows didn't hit the shield, they pounded. There had to be some level two adventurers among the shooters, the shield even got small dents.
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"Answer the call of your brethren and ready your arrows. Tinge them with flame, the lamplight of the forest."
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And yet, the situation was like a dream coming true for Bell. He stood here and fought together with the girl he had a crush on. Lefiya´s singing voice was as beautiful as he had hoped for and he felt blessed to hear it.
They had well chosen the spot for their attack. It was the left front turret, so the Apollo familia could fire from high up, but they could only stand a certain distance on the walls or the arrows wouldn't reach Bell. So the missiles came at a forty-five degree angle that allowed him to stop them all with the shield.
In the Stardust Garden, the members of the Astrea familia cheered when they saw Lefiya´s chant, they knew well what would happen now.
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"Release them, the fire arrows of the fairies. Falling like rain, burn away the savages!"
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The fiery red magic circle on the ground circled faster and faster, Apollo´s followers did their best to interrupt them. Sounds of alarm echoed over the castle, the people in Orario were on the edges of their seats. A few magic mirrors showed Bell´s face as he gritted his teeth, bearing with the hail of arrows. It looked somewhat romantic, how this knight in shining armor protected the elven mage.
"Give ´em hell, Lefi!"
"Show them what the Astrea familia can do!"
"Burn them to cinders!"
Her familia members cheered for her. Astrea smiled slightly, for some part because Orario appreciated her precious child. And for the other, because of how good Bell and Lefiya looked together.
Ryu smiled surprised. "She really seems to trust him, to do something like that."
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When Lefiya came to the end of her chant, many people in Orario noticed something. Lefiya had something in her ears, something white. They saw that Lefiya hit Bell slightly in the back with her staff. In that moment he got up, pulled the shield to the side and raised his right hand.
"Thunder-Bolt!"
With an enormous thunderclap, the wave of thunder and lightning hammered forward, smashing every arrow to the side and clearing the path for a few seconds. Many women in Orario squeeled when they saw how Bell went down to one knee in front of Lefiya, facing her, his back protected by the Goliath robe.
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"Fusillade Fallarica!"
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Many small magic circles, almost looking like portals, appeared above and around Lefiya, forming a wall with her in the middle. The magic circles flashed bright and like a blooming flower, shot dozens of fiery arrows into the sky.
It was a beautiful sight, that was for sure. The fiery arrows raced through the sky, bending their careers along the way, and finally pounding down on the lock. Explosions and screams filled the air. Stone was blasted from the walls and tower, members of the Apollo familia were knocked off their feet as they fell from the tower or walls. It was a veritable bombardment, no fewer than thirty-six flaming darts pounding the fortress. Bell noticed something as he looked over his shoulder, something heroic stories never mention.
Dust.
Where the fire arrows had struck and shattered the rock, dust and smoke billowed into the air, much more than he had expected. Almost half the castle disappeared behind a wall of dust. His stories always spoke of duels in bright sunshine while the surrounding combatants looked on. But now he hardly saw anything and heard a lot of coughing from the castle. The tower and walls were damaged but still standing. Destroying them wasn't the plan either. And the Apollo familia showed that they were true adventurers. Arrows shot down on the two again, faster than Bell had expected. The first movement caught his attention and he reacted without thinking.
Bell saw the arrow coming through the dust, it jumped up and turned, but was a little too slow. He knew he wouldn't be able to get the shield up, so he just stepped in the path of the arrow, which by chance, flew straight at Lefiya. The arrow's shot was beyond just luck. Not only did Apollo's follower shoot blindly into the dust, he also hit the spot between Bell's breastplate and his right shoulder guard, so the arrow pierced his flesh.
"Tsk."
Lefiya saw what happened when Bell staggered slightly back, clicking his tongue.
"Bell Cranel!"
Bell just snapped the arrow, turned around again and raised the shield with his left hand, so that it also covered his head. Lefiya saw him gritting his teeth when he raised the cape with his right, to protect Lefiya from the incomming arrows.
"Let us go."
"You are hurt."
"It doesn´t matter when you are safe, go."
Lefiya felt something strange, her heart jumped up one time, but she nodded and made herself small, while they retreated from the castle for now.
In her mind, the scenery looked somewhat different. She saw a strange shine around Bell, a light in his eyes and a galant smile.
"This small wound is nothing when you are unhurt, Mylady."
Hawawawa! What am I thinking about?!
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"Woah! Now that was heroic! Have you seen this, Ais?! He stepped in the way of the arrow to protect that elf behind him!"
"I would´ve blocked the arrow with my sword..."
"Ais, you´re level six, Argo is level two! He isn´t that fast."
"Argo?"
Ais Wallenstein tilted her head in confusion.
"Jup, I call him like that. He always got back up in the training, no matter how often he hit the ground. Just like Argonaut."
"Training?"
From the side came another voice.
"I would also like to know what you mean about training, Tiona."
"Irgh...Finn...ahm...ahahaha..."
Tiona suddenly had a lot to explain. Since she forgot that people could think that the Loki familia helped the Miach familia too, Tiona received a punishement. She would have the clearing duty for the upper dungeon floors for two weeks.
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"Woah, just like a knight in front of a princess."
"It looked quite elegant how he knelt down in front of Lefi."
Alise nodded grinning. "Stepping in the way of the arrow to protect Lefi, now that is Justice."
The Astrea familia members were really touched by that moment, especially the goddess.
"Oh my~~."
Astrea giggled in her mind. He really gives his all to keep up his promise.
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"Oooooh! What a way to start the fight! The Miach familia and their helpers surely don´t pull their punches. Ladies and Gentlemen, that awesome magic was shown to you by the Thousand Elf of the Astrea familia! Currently she is number seventeen on the list of strong, female adventurers you would want as your girlfriend or wife! In front of her is her whole familia as well as the high executives of the Loki familia! Lord Ganesha, do you have some words?"
"I, Ganesha, am impressed that Bell Cranel didn´t even flinch to take the arrow for her. Let us see what else they will show us! And...I am Ganesha!"
More than a few women in Orario were touched by the sight of Bell taking the arrow and raising his shield and cape afterwards, to protect Lefiya from everything. Bell got many fans instantly, as did Lefiya.
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Ssssst. Clank!...Sssssst. Clank!...Ssssst. Clank! Ssssst. Clank! Ssssst. Clank!
No mistakes, deflect them all.
Mikoto´s focus was perfect, her eyes drawn to the castle and the movement in front of her. She wore her usual, violet kimono, with the red shoulder guard. A movement caught her attention and she swung Zansetsu in the right moment. The black katana with the bright edge moved through the air without resistance, just like Welf said, the sunlight didn´t reflected on the edge.
The incomming arrow got cut and hacked to the side. Mikoto whirled her sword and sliced another arrow apart. She saw smoke and dust rising up from the castle.
Sir Bell and Lady Lefiya have started their attack.
Since the plan had started, she had to do her part too and that was to be a guardian right now.
"Mikoto!"
"Yes!"
Mikoto lowered her katana for a second and with a strong gust of wind, an arrow of the size of a very young tree shot past her head. This arrow was much bigger than any other that flew through the air. But instead of hitting a person, it was aimed a bit too low and smashed into the castle wall and stuck.
"Auu..."
"You can do it, Haruhime!"
"I´ll try."
It took Haruhime a few moments to use her bow again, since it was really hard to use. Not only did it require strength, but also technique, the right breathing and focus.
Haruhime basically bombarded the castle wall right now, working her way up to the parapet, so that she could shoot at the Apollo familia members. Next to Haruhime was Nahza, who shot directly at the members of Apollo, while she growled slightly. Nahza would make them pay for destroying their home.
Sadly, many people in Orario laughed when they saw how bad Haruhime shot the arrows. Nearly all of them stuck in the castle wall, some of them forming not directly a straight line upwards, but there were others left and right, one even flew over the walls. It looked like she had problems to aim correctly.
In the niches of the parapet, Apollo familia members sometimes looked up to laugh at her, but still ducked hastily down when Nahza or Haruhime shot another arrow
Mikoto stood in front of the two and deflected all of the arrows of the Apollo familia with Zansetsu. Failing was not an option for Mikoto, otherwise Haruhime or Nahza would get hit. Also, it would tarnish her and Takemikazuchi's honor. And Kaguya would punish her extensively, her "master" saying anything below absolute perfection was intolerable.
"Mikoto!"
"Yes!"
Again, Mikoto made room, so that Haruhime´s arrow wouldn´t hit her. And this time one of Apollo´s members got hit. The man didn´t stagger, he just got ripped away from the wall and smashed in the inner courtyard. The Apollo familia members stopped laughing.
"Well done, Haruhime!"
"I just hope he is okay..."
"He is an enemy!"
"Still..."
Nahza shook her head. "You are too soft..."
Nahza´s arrow hit another man in the shoulder.
"Ms. Mikoto, Haruhime, I see a magician."
"Then let us retreat, you two move, I will shield us." Mikoto readied Zansetsu.
While they retreated from the wall, people in Orario noticed something else.
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"What is Welfi doing there? Isn´t he supposed to fight? Da hell?!"
"I have no idea, Tsubaki. Maybe he will do it later?"
"Hah...I hope so. But he looks quite cute when he is sleeping."
"The mirrors shouldn´t show this."
"He is just sleeping, boss."
"Yes, and these girls over there too."
Tsubaki sat next to Hephaistos and they watched the wargame with a few other familia members. Right now, their mirror showed the Miach camp, no one was awake there. Welf had put on special ear muffs, covered his eyes and slept in the shadow of a rock. So did Lena and Lily, only the others were fighting.
"I wonder if they will have night watch duty."
"For a group of eight people, three guards? They have an very experienced adventurer with them, they would only use two."
"Hm, then I wonder what they plan."
"Boss, did you notice Welfi´s swords?"
"Yeah, I noticed them."
Hephaistos smiled when she saw it, Welf had prepared three magic swords for the wargame. She was glad to see that his new friends were more important for him than his pride.
Tsubaki leaned closer to Hephaistos´ ear. "You shouldn´t stare at his sleeping face like that."
"B-Be quiet, Tsubaki."
"Hehe, you sure are cute, boss."
Hephaistos made a gesture and the mirror showed another scene. Gods all over Orario could do that, depending on the location and the demands of the spectators.
Sadly, in one part of Orario, a god threatened other gods because of what they saw.
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"Wooooooh! It´s a sexy samurai girl!"
"She is so hot!"
"Damn, Take is so lucky!"
"Can´t the view get a bit lower so that we can see under her skirt?!"
"She looks good when she is sweating!"
"Ooooh! I saw her armpits!"
"IF ANY OF YOU DEGENERATES DARE TO LOOK AT MY LITTLE ANGEL WITH LEWD EYES AND CONTINUE TO TALK LIKE THAT, I WILL SHOW YOU WHY I AM A GOD OF WAR!"
"Oh, Take is angry..."
If any of the mirrors would have a malfunction and someone would be able to see something that was embarrassing for Mikoto, Takemikazuchi would punish Hermes.
Takemikazuchi´s followers were with him and they cheered for Mikoto and the others.
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"Oh my~~~."
"Now that is quite the sight."
"How...cute."
"Lefi looks like she is feeling bad that he got hurt."
The mirror in the Stardust Garden showed a scenery away from the fighting.
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"Let me help you."
"It´s okay."
"No it is not, you got hurt. We need to take the arrow out and heal you."
After they retreated, Lefiya forced Bell to sit down on a large rock, no one in the castle could see them. His shield leaned against another rock, now he had a bit trouble to take off the armor parts that were in the way. Just pulling out the arrow and heal the wound wasn´t an option, Lefiya had to make sure that nothing was left in there.
At first she opened the straps that held Bell´s chestplate and shoulder guards, then his bracers. He hissed slightly from time to time, but supressed a groan. Soon he sat there in his black shirt with the long sleeves.
"Raise your left arm."
"Yes."
Lefiya carefully pulled up his shirt on that side, revealing his well toned upper body. A sight that many people in Orario liked. In a certain house, a mother wasn´t that happy that all of Orario could see how her son "got stripped".
Lefiya gently pulled the shirt over Bell´s head, then she was really carefull when she moved the shirt around the broken arrow. She managed to not move it once and eventually, Bell´s upper body was naked.
"Bell Cranel, this will hurt a bit."
"I am prepared."
"I will count to three, then you should cough as strong as you can."
"Alright."
"One...Two..."
Lefiya ripped the arrow out of Bell´s flesh, he threw his head back and groaned.
"You...didn´t count to three..."
"I know, like that you weren´t expecting the pain."
"I don´t know if I should thank you for that..."
Lefiya shook her head. "Do as you see fit. And now let me focus."
"We can use a potion."
"We should save them."
"I´m sorry for making you use mind power."
She shook her head again. "Don´t feel sorry, I am the one that has to thank you for protecting me."
"It is my job."
"But you took the arrow willingly when you had no chance to block it, this is beyond a job."
They just looked into each others eyes for a moment, Bell noticed that despite the professional words from Lefiya, her ears were red. She had stripped him from his armor parts and took off his shirt after all.
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"I wish upon the name of Wishe. Ancestors of the forest, proud brethren. Answer my call and come to the plains..."
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It was the first time that Bell saw Lefiya doing that. This was the unique magic that she had, Elf Ring. It was a special summon burst magic that was able to use any Elven magic. To use it, she user had to know the chant and effects of the magic. It used mind for the summon burst and for the magic summoned. Since she had the Mage development ability, her magic circle would change color to match the owner's magic circle color.
This was the very reason why Lefiya got her alias "Thousand Elf".
Only a few people in Orario knew about this, the others just thought they saw a very long magic chant for a healing spell. The magic circle around her took on a green color when she finished the chant.
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"Noah Heal."
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The effect of the healing magic was pure bliss for Bell, the bleeding stopped immediatelly and the wound closed, leaving behind only smooth skin.
"I thank you, Ms. Lefiya."
"Not for that, it would´ve stained my honor if you got hurt because you protected me and I wouldn´t help you afterwards."
Bell smiled to her, but Lefiya turned away, her cheeks were also red now.
"D-Dress yourself already, Bell Cranel."
While the effect of the healing magic helped Bell, it was hearing Lefiya sing her chant that really healed him.
She has such a beautiful voice.
After he was fully armed again, Bell got up.
"Shall we continue?"
"Yes, but we should try that no one of us gets hurt this time."
"Understood."
I won´t let you get hurt, no matter what I have to do.
Bell was thankfull to Lily, that he formed a team with Lefiya.
Both attacked the castle in the same way as before, two additional times. During the last time, they met up with Mikoto and Haruhime, Nahza had another job to do.
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"Soul Light."
Cassandra closed her eyes, raised her staff and focussed on her healing magic. She was in the inner courtyard and worked together with the two other healers of the Apollo familia to take care of the wounded. She coughed after her spell was done, smoke and dust waved along the courtyard.
Lefiya had bombarded the castle from three sides, the burning magical arrows that flew into random directions made it hard to take cover. Twenty members of the familia got hurt and had to be healed. Which was exhausting.
"I want to take a break..."
"Cassandra, keep it up, a few more got wounded and we have to save potions."
"Yes, Daphne..."
Cassandra looked up with an uneasy feeling. One of the members of the Miach group sat on a rock, far away and high up above the castle, watching the castle.
"I wonder what she is doing."
"Probably looking if the walls are damaged somewhere, so that they could charge inside."
"Why not take the gate?"
Daphne shook her head. "Heavily guarded, when they have such a strong mage, they can just bombard the walls until one collapses."
"Then it is good that she can´t do anything bigger...I was afraid that they have a mage. Why don´t we go outside and attack them when they are close?"
"The castle only has one gate, when they are on the other side, it would take too long to get there and it could be a trap. Also, order from Hyakinthos."
"So we are just sitting here and wait?"
Daphne shrugged her shoulders. "Let them come, they have to get past us and we have more than enough supplies h-"
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KABOOOOM!
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"Kya!"
Cassandra shreeked and ducked down, a heavy explosion shook the castle, fire and smoke washed up from one of the walls.
"Looks like they're about to bring out the heavy artillery. And-Cassandra, move!"
Daphne dashed forward, Cassandra had covered her ears and couldn´t hear her. Whatever hit the top of the castle wall, had smashed a part of the parapet way, debris and small stones flew towards the inner courtyard. So she pushed Cassandra out of the way of a falling piece of wall.
"Ack!"
One of the stones hit Daphne´s ankle and broke it instantly.
"Daphne!"
"Argh...ouch...that hurts."
"I will heal you! I´m sorry that you got hurt!"
"Ow..watch out more next time."
"I will! S-Sorry!"
And again, Cassandra had to use her healing magic, she became more exhausted.
.
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. "Woah..."
"Incredible..."
"Haruhime...this is some firepower."
"Auuu...I didn´t expect it to do that much..."
"Wow, you really are a force of destruction now."
"Please don´t say that..."
Lefiya looked amazed to the Renard. While Mikoto and Bell covered them, Haruhime had started her chant, until the magic washed over her tails and all three of them burned. Lefiya saw how Haruhime curled up her tails and touched one arrow with them, setting the arrow head ablaze.
She had the chance to watch up close how Haruhime´s expression changed, she was completely focussed, readied her bow and shot the arrow. The arrow flew threw the air, the head shone brightly in the yellow flames of the sun.
The impact in the wall happened in a strong explosion, destroying a part of the parapet and even sent one of the Apollo followers fly.
"This really is a strong magic that you have there, could you tell me more about it? It´s okay if you don´t want to, since I´m from another familia."
Haruhime smiled exhausted, shooting so many arrows with her great-bow and using her magic was tiring.
"No, it´s okay."
While they retreated from the wall, Bell carried Haruhime´s bow and the quiver for her, Haruhime explained how her magic worked. It was good that they had a magical genius with them, Mikoto and Bell too told her about their magic, due to that, Lefiya got a few ideas.
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"They are retreating!"
Cassandra sighed and collapsed to her knees. "Finally...s-"
The next explosion shook the castle walls from another side.
"Again?!"
While Lefiya, Bell, Haruhime and Mikoto retreated, came the other group. Welf, Lily and Lena now attacked, while Nahza sat on the rock and wrote down notes, watching what happened inside the castle.
.
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"Mouh, why are they just shooting at the castle? I mean the walls are damaged a bit, these huge arrows stuck in there, the wall there has a crack, but the Apollo familia just heals their members. Why don´t they rush inside? I would do that."
Tione nodded in agreement with her sister.
"I wonder too, maybe they try to see where the wall would collapse?"
Gareth rubbed his beard. "It takes a lot more than that to let these walls collapse."
Riveria just kept watching, Ais nibbled on a potato snack.
"Maaaan, it sure is a show, but it starts to get boring when they run away all the time." Loki sighed.
The only one that had a light smirk, was Finn. "Riveria, please tell me at least you notice what they do."
"Of course I do, anyone with a brain would."
The others looked at Riveria and Finn.
"Captain, what do you mean?"
"You will see it over the next hours and probably the next two days. If my guess is correct, their tactic takes a while, but is merciless and for some people...evil."
"Huh, Argo and his friends are evil?"
"For the Apollo familia, they will be."
"What do you mean? What are they doing?"
Finn smiled in a mean way. "They turn their instincts as adventurers against them."
"Huh?"
"You will see."
Not bad, Miach familia...not bad.
Finn Deimne saw through their strategy right away, it was really smart.
.
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"Fueeeeeh! Why can´t they give us a breaaaak?!"
Cassandra ran when new debris exploded out of the castle wall. The walls were white before, but on the outside they were now halfway black from getting scorched constantly. The group of three people had attacked and slightly damaged the gate, then they circled around and bombarded the castle from time to time with their magic weapons, but only rarely.
They always waited long enough for a new attack that the Apollo Familia just wanted to start resting. Cassandra had to take three mind potions already and her head started to hurt.
"Why do they have so much firepoweeeeer?!"
Cassandra stopped next to a group of wounded familia members and started to heal them.
The biggest advantage of the Miach familia, was Lefiya. She had trained for years, even under Riveria´s eyes for a while, so Lefiya had nearly perfect control of her magic. The mind potions that she took were stronger than Cassandra´s, but she also used additional ones, to keep the headache from potion overuse away.
For her, this fight wasn´t different from fighting in the deep levels. And since it should take a while and she had to make as much noise as possible, Lefiya used Fussilade Falarica again and again, while Bell protected her. But she held back the destructive power, all that she needed was to scorch the walls, produce smoke, dust and the sound of explosions.
The castle was now barely visible behind all that smoke and dust.
She felt a bit sorry for destroying the expensive arrows, but she also bombarded the wall where Haruhime´s arrows stuck.
The Apollo familia got no breaks, even when Lefiya and Bell retreated for the last time of the day. It was slowly getting dark and the Miach familia started to use tools to keep the castle noisy and everyone awake. Adventurers couldn´t sleep when something exploded, their instincts woke them up immediatelly. So...they had brought loud fireworks.
Two people at a time teased the people in the castle, while the other six rested. Right now it was the turn of Welf and Lena.
And while the Apollo familia was kept busy, things were much different in the camp of the Miach familia.
.
.
"Dinner will be ready soon."
"Aaaah...that smells heavenly."
"Ah, so good."
"I am hungry."
Except for Lena and Welf, everyone was inside the camp. Haruhime was the one who cooked, the others only helped a little. Normally Mikoto would help, but she was sound asleep after having showered first. They were always to people in the shower area, one that showered and the other stood guard. They couldn´t know if the Apollo familia would send scouts. Normally, Bell and Welf would guard each other, but Welf was fighting at the moment.
Lefiya was out of question to shower when Bell stood nearby, that was nothing that an elf could do. Haruhime was also out of question, she was just too shy and innocent to do that. That only left Lily for now...she had already seen Bell anyway. At least, Bell was kind enough to sing a song while he waited, not listening to the flowing water.
There wasn´t one among them that wasn´t thankful for the chance to shower. They could even wash their clothes, but Bell had to wait outside of the camp during that time. He could understand that, he had no desire to look where the girls put their washed underwear, so that it could dry. Thankfully, as soon as it started to get dark, the magical mirrors in Orario didn´t showed the camps anymore.
For today´s dinner, they had Mama Mia´s famous chicken curry, one of the few far eastern dishes she made. Since it contained chicken, they had to eat it today, they had different meat for the other days. One of Ryu´s friends at the pub, the cheerfull and cute waitress Syr had asked them if she should make them dinner beforehand. Strangely, the other waitresses didn´t let her finish her question. They clapped their hands in front of Syr´s mouth and dragged her away. Ryu only told them, that the fight would be hard enough anyway.
Bell didn´t understand what that meant.
"Mnhml...ish dinner ready?..."
Mikoto woke slowly up, a little of her silky black hair was still pressed against the cheek she had slept on. Being able to fall asleep fast, was one of the important skills that every adventurer had to learn.
Haruhime giggled, Mikoto looked quite cute right now.
"Yes, everything will be ready, we also have fresh rice."
"Haaah...if you eat curry, you need rice."
Lefiya looked curious at the pot. "This is my first time tasting curry."
Haruhime used the ladle to put some of the sauce onto a tiny plate, she used the plate to taste the sauce.
"Do you want to try it? I made it mild, something too spicy isn´t good at the moment."
Lefiya took the plate and nodded thankfull.
"Hm...an interesting taste."
Bell helped Haruhime to fill the bowls for everyone, while Mikoto yawned and swayed a bit. When Bell gave Lefiya her bowl, she carefully took it and made sure not to touch his fingers.
Nahza excused herself. "I will go back to my lookout post."
It was Nahza´s job for the rest of the wargame, to be the lookout during the nights. Only she or Haruhime could do this, due to their sensitive ears. But Haruhime was too easy to spot, due to her haircolor and her clothes.
They talked about the plans and the notes that Nahza made.
"So far, everything is going to lady Alfia´s plan."
"Who is this lady Alfia anyway?" Lefiya looked curious, she heard the name before but never met Alfia.
Bell smiled. "My Mom."
"Oh! And she came up with the strategy?"
"Yes, she is a former adventurer and knows quite a lot."
"She must have a lot of experience, even Ms. Lyra was impressed by the strategy."
Bell looked a bit uneasy. "I just wished it wouldn´t be so...cruel."
Lily shook her head. "Bell, too much is at stake to be gentle with them."
"I know..."
Lily smirked. "And please don´t forget, god Apollo want lady Alfia as his personal maid, probably in a lewd outfit..."
Anger flashed in Bell´s eyes, Lily knew how to let him focus again. "Unforgivable!"
Lefiya looked shocked. "God Apollo wants to make your mother do that?! Shameless! Unforgivable!"
By herself, Haruhime thought it could be nice for her...to be Bell´s personal maid.
Mmmmh...focus...
They didn´t eat too much, they never knew when they had to fight again.
While they cleaned the bowls and the pot, putting some food for on the side for Welf and Lena.
"I have to say, the taste was something new, but it was quite delicious." Lefiya smiled.
"It is from the Benevolent Mistress after all."
"Eh? You bought the ingredients there? Wasn´t that expensive?"
Haruhime nodded. "Lady Alfia said it was a gift for us, that this would keep our moral up."
"Hah, she seems to be a very nice, caring person."
Bell nodded strongly to agree.
After they talked for a bit, it was time to go to sleep. Most of them used something to block their ears, to they could sleep with all these explosions in the distance. Haruhime noticed that Lefiya´s order made ear muffs were fluffy and also pink.
"How cute..."
"Th-Thank you. Ahm...I guess you never need ear muffs?"
Haruhime giggled. "No, my ears never get cold."
For Lefiya, it was really easy to talk to Haruhime.
Hah, there´s no way one could be violent with such a frail girl, right? She is the sort of person that makes you want to protect her.
If even one member of the Apollo familia would try to harm Haruhime, Lefiya would destroy them!
Silence fell over the camp when they went to sleep. A few hours later, Welf and Lena returned and woke up Lily and Mikoto. They tried to be as quiet as possible when they ate and went to shower. Welf was a bit embarrassed that Lena guarded him, it was not like she could see him due to the curtain, but still. But to his surprise, Lena also made sure that he couldn´t see one bit of her body. At first he wondered if she was a rare kind of shy amazon.
"This belongs to Bete Loga, no other man is allowed to see."
Oh? Is she the girlfriend of that one from the Loki familia? Who would´ve thought.
Everything was peaceful and nice in the Miach camp.
Not so much in the castle.
.
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"Raaah! Where are they?! Bring them down already!"
Hyakintos was in a bad mood, while he hadn´t fought, he was as tired as everyone else. The whole familia had to stay awake and alert, since they never knew when they would try a sneak attack. Most of them were exhausted and in contrast to the Miach group, they had no water crystals. They had stored up enough water, but no one could shower.
"We can´t spot them in the darkness, we only see them briefly when they attack."
"We bring disgrace to lord Apollo here! This way of fighting is unforgivable!"
"They are just too weak to face us all and especially you, captain."
"Probably. I will punish them fiercly when they are part of our familia and make sure that the rest will pay!"
They couldn´t do much, the rule of the wargame was to defend the castle, otherwise they would´ve rushed out in full strength and just looked for their camp.
A hard time awaited the Apollo familia, not one of them would get any sleep this night.
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"I am so tiiiredd...wuäh.."
"Quit whining, Cassandra, we are all tired."
Daphne and Cassandra sat next to each other on small chairs, in what they used as the bathroom.
"I want to take a hot shower...or a bath..."
"No chance as long as we are here."
"Wuääh..."
They could just wipe themself down with cloth and a bit of water.
"I wish they would just attack at full strength...why does this have to take three days... And I hope the gods aren´t watching us right now..."
Daphne shook her head. "I doubt that, just bear with it."
"My head hurts..."
"Hah.."
Daphne knew that Cassandra had it hard, she had to use her magic again and again today.
"I´m sure this will be over soon."
"*Sniff*"
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The second day was mostly the same as the first, they continued to bombard the castle, with mixed groups these time. Bell went with Haruhime, Mikoto with Lefiya, Lena with Nahza and Lily with Welf. So far, Lily didn´t put on her armor, that had to wait.
"Mr. Welf, your magic swords really are something else."
"Probably, but at some point they will break."
When the night was about to come, most of the Apollo familia members were already completely exhausted. They thanked the gods when all of the enemy group retreated and for once, silence fell over the castle. Anyone who wasn´t meant for guard duty, immediatelly went to sleep. And even the guards were extremely tired.
Waking them up now with another explosion would be cruel...
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"Bell, Welf, you two can come back."
The two young men had to leave the camp for a while, the women used the time to shower and...two of them to dress up.
"Huh? Where is Ms. Mikoto?"
A shiver ran down Bell´s spine when he heard a faint whisper next to his ear. "Here..."
"Hiiii!"
Bell flinched back, he barely noticed the figure that stood just outside of the bright part of the camp. Mikoto was clad in pitch black clothes, from head to toe.
At first, Bell thought Mikoto wore sandals, as she often did, but her shoes looked different. They were very fine and close-fitting, the gods called these shoes "ballerinas", but still a little differently. Instead of socks or her usual stockings, Mikoto used fine black ribbons, with her pants starting right at her ankles. Again, it wasn't exactly pants, her whole outfit was basically a suit. A very...very skintight suit that left no room for questions about the curves of her body. She only wore her usual bandages under the chest area as the fabric was really thin.
"P-Please don´t stare so much..."
Mikoto clapped her hands over her butt, the suit was really skin tight... Not that Bell tried to see her alluring behind.
What Mikoto wore was a ninja suit, it had to be skin tight and thin to give her absolute freedom of movement. She had bound her hair up in the usual pony tail and wore only one visible weapon, her short sword Chizan, which was at the back of her hip. Aside from that, Mikoto had a small backpack, two special "bracers" and a small leg holster.
"I won´t."
Bell turned away, then he saw Lily. She also wore black clothes, but not a ninja suit, she was still covered from head to toe.
Quite cute.
Lily looked to Mikoto. "You have everything?"
"Yes."
"Then let us go."
Haruhime looked uneasy. "Mikoto...please be careful."
"I will."
Bell, Welf, Lena, Haruhime and Lefiya watched how Mikoto became one with the darkness, Lily followed her.
And while Mikoto became one with the night, a sudden cold surrounded Cassandra´s heart, she had a really bad feeling.
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The second act began.
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