Bell placed a towel over Astraea's finger to help stop the bleeding. He put slight pressure on it, causing the goddess to raise an eyebrow.
"So you know first aid as well, I bet that's handy."
Bell nodded. "Yeah, Grandpa taught me how to clean and stitch a wound if needed. Or what herbs to use to help ease pain."
"So why didn't you become a doctor? Or join a medical familia?" Astraea asked.
"Because I'd have to work with said medical familia with patients and the like. Wouldn't leave much time for adventuring."
Bell took the towel off Astraea's finger and saw it had stopped bleeding. He set the towel aside and stood up, with Astraea doing so as well.
The two walked to the kitchen as neither had dinner yet since Astraea was worried for Bell, and Bell didn't feel like going inside.
But now that the two had talked things out and connected a little, both realized how hungry they were. Bell fixed them some of the last of the soup he had made, and the two sat down at the table.
It was only the two of them, and the table still had about 18 seats open. Astraea sat at the head while Bell sat on her right. It was the first time the two had eaten a meal together since the carriage.
Both felt awkward, and the room was silent. The only sounds that filled the air were the sounds of clattering utensils.
"This feels weird," Bell commented.
Astraea nodded. "It does, I can't remember the last time I ate dinner with my familia."
"You doing alright? Deciding to stay here, I mean?"
Astraea took a deep breath and set her spoon down. "I don't know how to feel. I'm glad to be back home, but it feels empty."
"Yeah, I get that, when Grandpa died, I remembered I hated being in the house because of how quiet it was."
Astraea gave Bell a small smile. "I'll be ok, Bell, I've had five years to deal with my grief. I'll be fine."
"My Grandpa always told me that you don't really deal with grief. He described it as a hole that just gets smaller and smaller until you don't fall into it anymore. It never really goes away."
"Your Grandpa sounds wise, but I guess that just comes with age. Really, Bell, I'll be fine, I'm more surprised than sad to be in my old house again."
Bell nodded and went back to eating. "Well, you won't have to tackle everything alone. I'm here now so I can help you."
Astraea smiled at the boy who ate his soup. "That's very kind, thank you, Bell, oh, and I never did thank you for cleaning everything up. So thank you."
Bell blushed slightly at the praise. "Oh, it's no big deal, it's just, I wanted to do something nice for you after you got me here. Even if, at the time, I thought it would be only temporary."
Bell was only telling her a half-truth. While yes, he did want to pay Astraea back for what she did for him. He also did this as a form to comfort her while she stayed. Bell didn't know what to do when she was crying.
He was and still is a nobody to Astraea. Just the kid she decided to take a chance on. He was nobody important. Even now, there was still a gap between the two.
But Bell's Grandfather had always told him to comfort a woman while she cried, and Bell did so in his own way. Lucky for him, Astraea decided to stay, and that meant he got to stay as well.
Astraea smiled as Bell ate his dinner. She knew his actual reason, she wouldn't let him know that she knew, of course.
"So, Bell, what are your plans tomorrow?" Astraea asked.
"Head over to the guild and register there. I'll make sure they keep you hush-hush, I have a feeling you don't want a big return just yet. Then, after that, head into the dungeon for the day."
Astraea nodded. "Don't you want to get an advisor to help educate you on the dungeon?"
Bell shook his head. "No, my Grandpa taught me what I needed to know about the floors and their tricks."
"Alright, if you're confident you can manage, I'll place my faith in you." Astraea nervously said.
Bell noticed her tone but pretended he didn't pick up on it. However, an idea did come to his mind to slightly ease her worries.
"Hey, why don't we have dinner together every night? That way, you can know I'm alright, and it'll give us a chance to talk about each other's day?"
Astraea softly smiled. "That's sounds nice."
The two then finished their dinner, with Bell taking the dishes and depositing them in the sink. He would clean them tomorrow.
Bell took his sword off his belt and went to move to the wall until Astraea blocked him.
"Bell, sleep in a bed from now on. You're part of my familia now, and I don't want you sleeping with your back pressed against a wall.
"But all the rooms are girl's rooms. I don't want to go in there and disturb everything." Bell pointed out.
Astraea sighed and facepalmed. She walked over and, grabbed Bell by the arm and dragged him to a room with the name Kaguya on it.
"Kaguya didn't have shame nor care for it. She would definitely like for you to be in her room cause she'd do things with you. Take her room."
"But what about her stuff?"
"Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it tomorrow, now you are going to sleep in her bed and get a good night's rest before you dive into the dungeon tomorrow, understood." Astraea ordered.
Bell didn't say anything but nodded. Once Astraea bid him goodnight, Bell looked at the name on the door and took it off. He opened the door to Kaguya's room and took it in.
Purple silk bedsheets and purple curtains. A king-sized bed and a mirror attached to the wall. A dresser to his left filled with her old clothes long since forgotten.
The room felt eerily still as Bell took in the full weight of the situation. The person who had once used this room was dead. Gone and forgotten, only remembered by a lone goddess.
Bell shut the door and set his chestplate and sword down next to the bed. He sat down and looked at the name tag. His finger slowly tracing the name as silence filled the room.
"I wonder what type of person you were? Maybe if circumstances were different, we might've been friends?"
Silence was Bell's only response. But he had expected that.
"Kaguya, if you're watching over this place and can hear me, I promise, I promise I'll keep Astraea safe. So you can leave the rest to me."
Silence once more, and Bell smiled. He set the nameplate on the nightstand and kicked off his boots before crawling under the covers.
"Huh, this is pretty comfy." Bell mused.
He then drifted off to sleep and let his dreams take him.
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Bell awoke early the next morning as the sun started to rise. He yawned and commented again on how comfortable Kaguya's bed was. Almost like it was something made for a noble.
He got out of bed and grabbed his chestplate, and easily put it on as he had done so hundreds of times before. After grabbing his sword and securing it to his belt, he walked out of the room, and the smell of something cooking filled his nose.
He walked down the halls and into the dining room, where he could see Astraea dressed in her normal clothes but wearing an apron over them as she made pancakes.
"You're up early," Bell commented, walking into the kitchen.
Astraea put the batter on the pan and turned to Bell. Next to her was a plate stacked with pancakes. "Well, I wanted to make you breakfast before you left. I can't have you do all the work while you're also adventuring. Now, how did you sleep?"
"That bed was pretty comfy, felt like I was sleeping on a cloud."
Astraea smiled and put another finished pancake on the plate. "Yes, Kaguya always did love her a comfortable bed. I remember when she first joined, she scoured the city for that."
Bell chuckled as Astraea put the last pancake on the plate. Bell grabbed it while Astraea grabbed two more plates for them to eat off of. She also grabbed some utensils and syrup as well.
Bell set the pancakes between them and helped Astraea set the table. Once it was set, the two sat down and began eating breakfast.
"You must've woken up early to do all this. Get a little shopping done while I was asleep?" Bell asked.
Astraea nodded. "Mmhm, wanted to make sure the pantry was stocked since we finished the soup. I hope the pancakes aren't too bad. It's been a while since I made them."
"They're pretty good, I think the last time I ate pancakes was a few years ago."
"Why'd you go that long without eating them?" Astraea asked.
"Hmm, if I remember correctly, one of Grandpa's adventuring friends that came by to visit from time to time nearly burned the house down. Grandpa and I decided to have a non-verbal agreement not to make them in the house again."
Astraea giggled while Bell kept eating. "Sounds like you've had a lot of mishaps when it comes to stories with your Grandfather."
Bell smiled. "Well, that's where the fun comes from, I guess. I remember more of the mishaps because it was things we laughed about in the end. All the times we got into trouble were the best."
Astraea smiled, and the two continued eating breakfast. Once they were done, Bell and Astraea washed the dishes, with Astraea washing them and Bell drying them off.
When it was time for Bell to go, Astraea stopped him, however.
"Wait, Bell, before you go, take this," Astraea said. She handed him a lunchbox and a backpack.
Bell quirked an eyebrow. "What are you, my mother?" Bell joked, taking the lunchbox and backpack.
Astraea rolled her eyes before handing Bell a dagger as well. "Use this to have an easier time carving the monster stones out."
Bell smiled and took the dagger, securing it to his belt. He placed the lunchbox into his small backpack and then threw it over his back.
"Well, I'm off," Bell said.
Astraea waved goodbye. "Good luck, and be safe." She nervously said.
Bell opened the door. "I will. I'll be back before dinner."
Bell walked out the door and closed it, as Astraea reached out but put her hand down. She would just have to trust him to come back, and she would.
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Bell walked down the stairs into the dungeon. He was excited to start killing monsters. He had done so before on the surface when some goblins wandered too close to the village, but that was it.
He had already registered at the guild and made sure the attendant kept quiet about what familia he was a part of. When offered a class on the first floor of the dungeon, Bell declined, saying he already knew what to expect but thanked them all the same.
He entered the first floor and didn't stop to take in the scenery. It was just a light blue wall, nothing to gawk at. Bell wasn't here to sightsee. He was here to fight.
Walking down the beginner's hallway, Bell skipped it and began making his way down to floor two. Bell remembered some tips his Grandpa gave him on how to get more potent excila from the dungeon.
Easily killing any Goblin and Kobold in his way, Bell took the monster stones and kept going. He knew what he was doing was dangerous, but the falna grew based on experiences.
After 15 minutes, he arrived on the second floor and took the first right he could. Walking down that hallway, Bell took a left and came across a dead end.
Then Bell stood there and patiently waited. After a few minutes, the wall started to break open, and dozens of Goblins and Kobolds came out. Bell had just found himself a spawn room very few knew about.
Well, only he knew about it now.
Taking a slight step back and positioning his foot behind him, Bell got into his stance and placed his hand on his sword.
Once the group of monsters exited from the wall, Bell quickly unsheathed his sword and cut them down with such speed and Precision that he moved faster than a level one should.
He sheathed his sword and grabbed a small dagger Astraea had given him this morning to help him cut out the monster stones.
He quickly set out to work digging into the dead Goblins and Kobolds with expert precision carving directly around the monster stone. Almost as if he knew where it was beforehand.
He had his Grandpa to thank for such lessons as he made Bell learn the anatomy of every monster up to the 71st floor. But when Bell found out that the Zeus familia had lied about what floor they made it to so, he kept his mouth shut about that information.
He tossed the monster stones into his backpack before stepping back and waiting for the spawn point to trigger again.
He didn't have to wait long before a group of 20 came out. Bell quickly got into his stance again and waited for all of them to come out.
Once they did, he unsheathed his sword again and used fast and aggressive slashes to kill them all. The monsters all dropped down dead, and Bell sheathed his sword again.
"Still too slow, I need to try again." Bell thought.
He would continue to use his QuickDraw technique all day, earning him a fair bit of monster stones. But didn't reach his desired outcome.
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Astraea walked into Kaguya's old room, holding a box in her hands. She saw the bed neatly made and her nameplate on the dresser. Astraea set the box down and walked over to the nameplate, taking it in her hands.
Her thumb brushed over the wood, and memories of Kaguya filled her mind. Astraea had always had a tendency of finding children with extravagant personalities.
She remembers how Kaguya would always walk around the house wearing very little clothing or always getting into arguments with Ryu.
Astraea sighed and placed Kaguya's nameplate back on the nightstand. Maybe Bell would like to keep it to have a remembrance of Kaguya even if he didn't know her. He seemed like the type of person who would.
Astraea walked over to Kaguya's dresser and shakily opened it. All her old clothes were still there, but their color had faded. Astraea took a shaky breath and picked up the kimonos.
She placed them in the box, but her vision became blurry with tears. She sniffled and wiped her eyes before taking a deep breath.
"Ok, you can do this, it's just her clothes you need to clear out of here. You need to make room for Bell to have things. Deep breaths."
Astraea took deep, calming breaths before taking out the rest of Kaguya's clothes. Once that was done, she closed the box and took one last look around the room.
"I hope you're at peace, Kaguya, and I hope you don't mind someone else having your room."
Astraea looked to the door, and a figment of Kaguya stood there, thumbs up and smiling. "Don't worry, lady Astraea, it's fine, besides I got that hunk laying in my bed."
Astraea chuckled at the image of what she thought Kaguya would say, a few tears rolling down her cheeks that were quickly wiped away.
"Right, you'd probably say something like that." Astraea sniffled.
Astraea then picked up the box and walked out of Kaguya's old room, which was now Bell's. She took the box and placed it in her closet to keep Kaguya's things close to her.
She wouldn't throw these things away or keep them in an attic to collect dust. But close by within reach of her if she wanted to open the box and reminisce about the old days.
She could clean out the rest of the rooms whenever she got new members. But one room she wouldn't clean out was Ryu's. The last surviving member and the child she had left behind.
Now that she was back, she would begin to look for her. However, fate always has a way of bringing people together.
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Bell exited the dungeon tired, sweaty, and a little disappointed in himself. He was hoping to be faster with his quickdraw, but alas, he would need more training.
Walking down the street and into the guild, Bell dumped his monster stones at the teller's desk and was rewarded with 32k valis in return.
"Wow, looks like you were busy today." The pink-haired teller said.
"I guess I just have a talent for killing monsters," Bell joked.
The teller chuckled. "I bet, well, I'll see you tomorrow, Bell."
Bell waved goodbye. "Bye, Misha, and thank you for your help."
Bell exited the guild and continued walking down the street back home. He was thinking of ways to further improve his technique when he saw a woman struggling with bags of groceries.
She had grey hair and was dressed in a green maid outfit with a white apron. She was holding two bags of groceries that seemed a little too heavy for her. Bell quickly picked up his pace and walked next to her.
"Here, let me help you with that." Bell offered.
The grey-haired woman smiled and handed him the bags. "Thank you, I don't know why they weigh so much."
Bell gave her a smile. "It's no problem, my name's Bell, by the way."
The grey-haired woman did a curtsy. "I'm Syr, nice to meet you, Bell. Mind helping me get those to my place of work?"
"It's no problem, just lead the way," Bell answered.
Syr thanked him again and began walking down the street with Bell following her.
"So, Bell, I see you're dressed like you're ready for a fight. Are you an adventurer?" Syr asked.
Bell nodded. "I am, I just started out."
Syr quirked an eyebrow. "You have some pretty nice equipment for someone who just started out."
Bell chuckled. "I know, this stuff used to belong to my dad. My Grandpa gave it to me when I turned 12."
"Oh, I see, so you wear that to honor your father?" Syr asked.
"Yup, it's like a little piece of him is with me when I fight."
"Well, that's sweet, I hope you have a good adventuring career."
Bell chuckled. "I do, too, it would suck to die right after I just started."
"That it would."
The two kept walking and making more small talk for a few more minutes until arriving at a tavern called the Hostess of Fertility.
"It's right in here." Syr gestured.
Bell followed her inside and saw the tavern packed full of adventurers. Apparently, they had run out of some ingredients for certain dishes, causing the owner to send Syr out to get them.
Bell followed Syr through the tavern to the kitchen and set down the bags on a table for her. After doing so, Syr led him out of the kitchen.
"Say, why don't you stay for dinner? I promise the food is good." Syr offered.
Bell smiled and raised his hand. "Sorry, but I'd promised my goddess we would eat dinner together. Maybe when she's not too busy, we'll stop by."
Syr frowned and pouted a little. "Fine, but you better promise to come by when you can."
Bell chuckled. "I will, the food does smell nice."
Syr then went into the kitchen, and Bell was starting to walk away. But in the corner of his eye he saw an elf waitress trip with a tray full of food in her hands.
Bell reacted before thinking, and his hands quickly shot out. One wrapped around the elf's waist, stopping her from falling and causing her to press into him. His other hand caught the tray and all the food before it fell to the ground and caused a mess.
"Sorry about grabbing you, but I didn't want you to fall." Bell apologized. He handed the elf the tray back while the tavern fell silent.
He had just grabbed onto Ryu, a waitress known for her hatred of physical touch. Many had tried to do it, and many had left with broken fingers.
So when this kid came into the bar and while yes, he caught her from falling and making a mess. He still grabbed her and pulled her to him. They all waited with bated breath to see how'd she kick his ass.
Ryu pulled away, and Bell handed her the tray. Ryu cleared her throat and took it. "That's alright, thank you for your help."
Bell smiled. "No problem, have a nice day."
Bell then left the tavern and started heading home while the tavern exploded in shock.
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Bell arrived back home, and the smell of spaghetti filled his nose. He walked into the dining room and saw Astraea cooking dinner.
"Hey, I'm home!" Bell called out.
Astraea turned and smiled. "Welcome back, dinner won't be ready for a while, so why don't you go wash up? I also got you some clothes while I was out today."
"Alright, I'll go do that, and thank you for the clothes."
Bell walked to his room, took off his chestplate, and set it on the ground next to his bed. He then took his sword and dagger off his belt and placed them on the sword against the nightstand and the dagger on top of it. After that, he grabbed a new change of clothes, which was a black long-sleeve shirt with blue jeans and a light brown jacket.
He picked them up and carried them off to the bath, setting them in a basket away from the water. Then, taking off his dirty clothes and setting them in a dirty clothes basket.
He walked over to the bath and saw the water was already warm and the tub was full.
"Did Astraea already draw one up? Well, that was nice of her." Bell thought as he sunk into the tub.
He let out a content sigh, feeling the fatigue from his muscles melt away. He sunk lower into the tub and closed his eyes.
He was a little disappointed in himself for not furthering his sword technique, but he knew he'd do it eventually. He just wished he could advance faster.
"Just remember what Grandpa told you."
Bell closed his eyes and thought back to his Grandpa.
"Come on, Bell, you're alone in a house with a goddess, and you're not taking her to the bath with you. Tsk, I taught you better than that."
"No, don't think of that." Bell chastised himself.
"Do it, Bell, take her in here with you."
"Go away, ghost, I won't listen to your perverted teachings any longer."
"You didn't listen in the first place."
"I don't even know why I'm having this conversation in the first place."
Bell sunk his head further until it went underwater. He came back up a few seconds later with his hair wet. He wiped the water away from his eyes and stood up, walking over to a shower.
He grabbed some shampoo and lathered his hair up before turning the shower on and stepping under the water.
"I don't know why they don't just combine the bath and shower together? Would make things so much easier."
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Astraea was setting the table as Bell walked into the dining room. His hair was still slightly wet, giving it a disheveled appearance, and he wore the new clothes Astraea got him, minus the jacket.
"Ah, good, you're just in time, dinners almost ready." Astraea smiled.
"Smells good, can't wait to eat it."
Bell sat down, and Astraea handed him his plate full of spaghetti. Bell thanked her as she filled hers, and then she sat down as well.
"So, Bell, how was your day?" Astraea asked. She was trying to contain her happiness at Bell coming back and not dying.
"Well, it was alright, I killed a bunch of monsters and earned a good chunk of valis. But I wasn't able to improve my sword technique."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll get it eventually, with enough hard work, you can do anything." Astraea comforted.
Bell smiled and ate his spaghetti. "Yeah, that was the plan. I have plenty of time to master my technique."
"So, how much did you earn from your first dive?" Astraea asked. She was curious to know how his first time in the dungeon went.
"Pretty well, got a nice 32k, oh and thanks for the lunch it was pretty good."
Astraea's eyes widened in shock. "32 thousand! Bell, how is that even possible?! You were only on the first floor, right?"
Bell shook his head. "No, I went to the second floor, my Grandpa told me of a spawn point there where it's easy to fight monsters."
Astraea's face paled. "You went to floor two, with all your stats at zero?" She shakily asked.
Bell nodded. "Yeah, I knew what I was doing, Grandpa taught me all about monsters and their anatomy, plus any tricks the dungeon can throw at me, so I was alright. It was actually kind of easier than I thought."
Astraea just sunk into her chair. "What did I unleash." She muttered.
"Hey, you're making it sound as if I'm a problem child," Bell complained.
"Bell, can I ask you something?" Astraea asked.
"Uh, sure," Bell responded.
"If I didn't give you my falna, what would you have done."
Bell smiled. "Oh, that's simple, I would've gone down into the dungeon anyway."
Astraea facepalmed and groaned. "Is that what you meant by doing something stupid?"
Bell nodded. "Yes, that was my plan. Before you chew me out, yes, I know it's dumb, but I would need to make money somehow."
Astraea slowly nodded. "I'm just glad I gave you my falna now, so what else did your Grandfather teach you?"
"He taught me some places in the dungeon where I could get more excilia and how to beat monsters that are stronger than me."
"And how did he do that?" Astraea asked, leaning in slightly.
"Well, first, he taught me about their anatomy. Told me where weak points are and how to exploit them if I can't get the monster stone."
"I see yes, that's very useful, and how many monsters did he teach you about?"
Bell quickly looked around before leaning closer to her. Astraea leaned closer as well, wondering why Bell was being cautious.
"Promise not to freak out or tell anyone what I'm about to tell you," Bell whispered.
"I promise, but why all this? We're alone."
Bell ignores the question. "My Grandpa has taught me about the monsters all the way to floor 71, the Zeus and Hera familia went farther than floor 59 like the official records say."
Astraea's eyes widened in shock, and she nearly screamed out but stopped herself. She quickly composed herself and cleared her throat.
"I see, well, I guess you're very intelligent when it comes to the dungeon, then."
Bell nodded. "Well, I guess, I mean, I don't know everything about it, but I know a fair bit."
Astraea smiled, feeling a small weight lift off her shoulders, knowing Bell would be alright in the dungeon. He knew how to play it safe and get the maximum of excilia while doing so.
The two continued eating their dinner until Astraea asked Bell another question.
"Hey, Bell,"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"When I was out earlier today, I heard about an event coming up in a few weeks called Monsterphelia. I was wondering if you would like to accompany me during it. I've never been before, and I'd like to see what it is."
Bell smiled. "Yeah, sure, that's fine with me. Is that when you plan to announce your return to Orario?"
Astraea nodded. "Yes, I do, I would like to have some peace before everyone knows I'm back. I'd also like to reestablish my presence as a deity of Justice in this city once again."
"Well, I think that's wonderful. Although I don't know how much help I would be. I'm only a level one." Bell nervously chuckled.
Astraea gave him a comforting smile. "Don't worry about that, right now, I only plan to help mediate matters from a neutral standpoint, and I want to use that to send a message to someone." Astraea trailed off.
Bell quirked an eyebrow. "Send a message to who?"
Astraea was quiet for a minute as she gathered her thoughts. Bell was quiet to and didn't rush her. He knew she needed time to prepare herself, and he'd give her time.
After another minute, Astraea took a breath and spoke. "Bell, I haven't been entirely honest with you. My entire familia didn't die, there's still one alive besides you."
Bell was a little shocked. "Oh, well, what happened to her?" Bell asked.
Astraea took another shaky breath, and Bell looked to her hand. He thought about taking it to offer some comfort but held off. He was nobody important to her, so he shouldn't do something like that.
"After my familia was killed, the final one told me to leave the city as it wasn't safe for me anymore. Said she needed to do something, and I couldn't be around for it. I knew she was going to kill everyone that was involved. So I had her renounce her justice, and then I left her alone. I've regretted that decision every day since." Astraea shakily said.
Her eyes started to water, and Bell again held off on comforting her. "I'm sorry that happened to you. But now that you're back, maybe you and her can rebuild what you once had." Bell softly said.
Astraea sniffed and wiped her eyes before nodding. "That's what I'm hoping for. So, will you attend the festival with me?"
Bell smiled. "Of course I would, it would be bad etiquette letting you walk alone during such a busy day. What if someone hurt you?"
Astraea smiled back. "Thank you, Bell, I'm sure you'll manage to have fun even if you're stuck with me." She joked.
Bell chuckled. "Hey, we can explore the event together and see where it takes us."
"Yes, we can, now hurry up and finish your dinner. You have an early day tomorrow, remember."
Bell rolled his eyes. "Yes, mom."
Astraea laughed. "And make sure to brush your teeth as well, and wash behind your ears."
"What you gonna give me a bedtime next?"
"Don't tempt me."
Bell laughed, and the two continued to eat their dinner in peace.
