Some Will Call it Giving Up...

I find other people strange. I know, shocker. But I blame it on my sheltered upbringing. Because I didn't enjoy going out very often, I feel like I based how I view others on the stories that I've read and what I've heard from my family. One of the things that I've learned from them are that Elves are a very proud and rude race of people, and so far what I've experienced has backed that up. While I don't know much about Riveria, even I can tell she always has an aura of authority and pride. Not to mention she's also kind of scary. Then there's Lyon... ugh. She definitely fills out the rude part of the stereotype. Completely shoving herself in my business and trying to make me feel bad about my path. All the while acting all high and mighty. Fucking Elf.

There is only one person who I know who doesn't really fall under my preconceptions, and she just so happens to be sitting in front of me, shivering like a leaf in the wind. Lefiya's a strange girl. I know she's a level three and insanely powerful for someone at that level. The Thousand Elf, a master of magic... apparently. You'd expect someone with such a high reputation to be filled with pride, arrogant even. That'd go double if they were an elf. But no. "U-Um, Viole... c-c-can you pass the salt?"

Wordlessly, I did as she asked and picked back up my food. She and I sat on the floor of my tent, eating breakfast and it was unnecessarily awkward. I'm not the type to speak often, but even someone like me felt uncomfortable by the atmosphere here. Every time the girl took a bite from her food, she would steal a glance of me and quickly pretend like she wasn't doing anything. That's not even mentioning the endless squirming she did in her seat. This is a far cry to any meal I've had with my party. I'd have to pay to get Welf to shut up. I wasn't an idiot, I know she's not here of her own volition. Clearly something happened last night after I went for my walk and it's currently tying up Riveria and Aiz. Knowing how close Lefiya is to the green haired elf, she was likely ordered to keep an eye on me. I don't need a babysitter.

Whatever, at least it gives me the opportunity to try and take Loki's advice to get close to my familia. That is, if I knew what the fuck to say. Other than when she kept an eye on me during monsterphilia, I haven't spent any time with the thousand elf. She's a powerful member of this familia after all, so she's always been busy. Liar. You just didn't feel like it was necessary to get close to these people. I sighed to myself for my stupidity. Ugh, what would Bell or Lily say in this scenario? "So... do you have any hobbies?"

Perking up, the orange haired girl suddenly grew a small smile. "Um, I enjoy r-reading. Usually I study b-but I also like to read some stories t-t-to." Huh, I guess she does have that whole honor student vibe to her.

"I see. I enjoy... Well, I used to enjoy that as well. But I haven't read anything in a while. Haven't had the time to relax." Nor the desire. I don't deserve to do so after all. I have to keep chasing him. Noticing that I was about to let the topic die, I dived into my mind to find something else to say. "Oh, uh. My favorite story has to be the Epic of Gilgamesh."

"You read it too?!" Suddenly jumping up, the seemingly shy girl threw out her apprehension and her eyes brightened up. "I'm going through it right now and it's amazing! I love seeing just how close Gilgamesh and Enkidu are getting! Oh, I can't wait to see where their friendship leads!"

Ah, fuck. I was able to keep my cringe internal, not wanting to make my expression spoil her. Like that time Gretel spoiled Argonaut for me. That brat. "I agree, their relationship was one of the best parts of the story for me. Though I preferred seeing just how much Gilgamesh had changed from the arrogant man that he began."

"Ohhh, I've noticed that! Gah, I can't wait to get home! Why'd I have to leave the book in my room?!" Hanging her head low, Lefiya let out an exaggerated sigh that seemed strangely funny to me. Not that I laughed or smiled, I didn't want her to think I was making fun of her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. I know just how aggravating it can be to leave a book when you're at the best part." Taking a sip from my soup, I thought about the last time I had even read anything for enjoyment. If I remember correctly, the last thing I was reading before that incident was a book for mushroom recipes. That's right, Abby hated mushrooms and I promised to find a recipe that she would like. That cheeky brat. She's such a picky eater. If I didn't trick her or cut her veggies into tiny pieces, she would pick them out and put them on Mom's plate. "Abby..." I miss you so much, little sis.

Sensing something was off, the elf quickly chugged down her own soup and let out a satisfied sigh. "Um, I know that Lady R-Riveria told me to keep an eye on you but... I have something I need to do! So... I think you should visit your friends!"

Yeah, that's actually what I need to keep my mind off of my family. I'm sure Welf'll bring something stupid up and cause and argument with Lily. That'd be fun to participate in. I've got to take Lily's side, obviously. "I think I'll do just that. I'll see you later, Lefiya." With a nervous nod, the elf picked up her utensils and left the tent. She's a strange Elf, isn't she? Thank you.

After taking some of Riveria's pain-killing medicine and putting on my scarf, I walked outside into the eighteenth floor myself. I was about to turn and walk to our party's shared tent, only to hear my name being yelled by an unfamiliar voice. "VIIIIOOOOOOLLLLLLEEEEE!" Turning to the voice, I saw a strange black haired woman with twin tails running towards me at full speed. What the hell? She was wearing a strangely skimpy white dress that stopped shy of her thighs. She had a long blue ribbon hanging from her arms that connected to each other and seemingly only existed to accentuate her large chest. Which was currently swaying around violently as she ran towards me. Her back must hurt a lot. Skidding to a stop, the short woman looked up at me and asked, "Where is he?!"

Tilting my head, I really wondered what she meant. "Who exactly?"

"Bell! Where is Bell?!"

"Sorry, but I don't hand out locations to stalkers." Stomping her foot, the woman glared at me. Sheesh, first Syr and now this woman? Bell is quite popular isn't he? I hope he doesn't get the attention of anyone dangerous.

After a moment, the woman stopped glaring and suddenly looked surprised. "You really think I'm a stalker? Jeez, Viole! Don't tell me Loki got to you with all her bad mouthing! I'm not a stalker, a chibi or tits-for-brains!" Chibi? Where have I heard that before... wait. This woman's quite familiar. Staring at her, I recognized her as her cheeks began to shine red. "D-Don't stare at me! I already have Bell, I can't take your love!"

She really is as energetic as Bell says. "I apologize Lady Hestia, I didn't recognize you." Partly because I was in a zombie-like state, and partly because I was being a self deprecating dumbass, I didn't truly take in Lady Hestia's appearance the first and only time I met her. Wait, why is she here? Oh, this must be the important thing that Riveria mentioned happened last night. I sort of remember hearing some commotion. For some reason, last night was a bit hazy. But I didn't let it bother me. "You said something about Bell? Is he not in the tent?"

Shaking her head, the goddess stomped her foot once more. "No, that jerk Hermes kidnapped him! If he tries to corrupt my sweet Bell I swear I'm going too..." Trailing off, she began to bite at her nails. "Ugh! Don't worry Bell! I'm coming!" Just as fast and as carelessly as she came, the goddess ran the opposite direction. Maybe Loki isn't as bad a Goddess as I thought. I definitely prefer her hands off approach to someone worrying about me all the time like that. But, Bell sure is lucky to have a goddess that cares so much about him. Letting out a small sigh, I walk away and begin looking for my parties tent. While it'd be a shame I couldn't hang out with Bell, at least Lily and Welf will be there.

F-Rank

Honestly, did I really expect my luck to be so good? When I got to the tent, it was completely empty and now I have no idea what to do. I could go back to my tent, but then I'd die from boredom or start thinking stupid shit. And I can't exactly go looking for Aiz either since she might be with Riveria and I'd rather not get Lefiya in trouble. She's the only person in my familia that I may get along with. Not counting Aiz, of course. So, I decided to do as Lady Hestia asked and look for Bell. I'm sure my other two friends are with him.

So, I began to walk around the floor aimlessly. At first I ended up close to the town, Rivira, but something deep within me told me to stay away. Almost like a primal fear... Don't tell me I'm getting afraid of crowds. Nonetheless, I listened to my fear and turned heel. Soon, I ended up walking through the forest. Not really knowing where I was going. After a bit I stumbled onto something. In the center of a clearing sat a large pile of dirt.

On the dirt were multiple weapons stabbed into the ground, in a circle. All of which were surrounding a single tattered flagpole. A grave. And an old one too. The weapons were all rusted and had clear signs of aging while the flag seemed to be literally breaking down. There was no one in sight so there wasn't anyone that I could ask about this and I honestly didn't want to. I counted eight unique weapons stabbed into the ground, assuming that each belonged to a single person then whatever happened must have been a massacre. Blood splashed onto the ground as the scream of a young child rang through my ears.

Closing my eyes, I forced that memory out of my head. Memory? When was that? Just as I was about to search for that memory once more, it was gone. Susano'o... What did you do to me? Deciding that it wasn't worth getting angry at the moment, I walked up to the grave. Taking in a deep breath, I knelt to the ground and closed my eyes. "I may have not known you, but I hope you rest in peace." It was the least I could do. After all...

"I'm surprised you care enough to do that." My eyes shot open at the familiar voice. Turning my head to the side, I was met with Ryuu Lyon. She wasn't in her maid uniform, but seemed to be wearing some sort of adventuring gear. She wore a green cloak over a loose white shirt and green shorts. If you could call them that. They look more like underwear. To her credit though, I'm sure her outfit was extremely easy to move in. So while it had little to no armor, that wouldn't matter if she didn't get hit. "But, thank you." Now that was the last thing I expected to hear from her. What, no snarky- My thought process was interrupted when the maid suddenly knelt down and placed a single white flower next to one of the weapons. And then another and so on.

My mouth felt dry as I watched her do this. Her words of warning came into my mind once more. "These people... who were they?"

"My original familia." She answered as she placed the last flower. Biting my lip, I stood up and stared at her. She, however, never took her eyes off of the grave. "We fell into a trap that an enemy familia set up. I was the only survivor." She answered in her normal detached tone as she turned to me and stared into my eyes. "I killed every single one of those responsible." Revenge. Plain and simple. And one that was completed. That's something you don't see everyday.

And yet... here her comrades still were. Their bodies are not even on the surface. Stuck on floor eighteen, stuck in the dungeon that they were killed in. "...shouldn't you be happy? You avenged them. You made those responsible pay for what they did." After all, isn't that the best one can hope for?

Scoffing, she fully turned to me and her blank stare turned into a glare. "And what did it get me? I'm blacklisted by the guild. I lost my familia and I pushed away my god. All that I have gained is blood on my hands. "So what? Those responsible are dead. They can't hurt anyone else and that burning guilt would be gone, no? Isn't that what everyone would want? "Keres. I gained nothing from my vengeance and I lost far too much. I should have never gone through with it and I regret it every single day. Revenge, that is nothing but giving up on yourself."

"Psh, so that's why you're coming into my business? Sorry, but that's to way to hard to believe. After all, I'm sure if you found out that some of that familia are still alive today, you'd kill them without a second thought."

A light flashed through her eyes and she turned back to the grave. "... that's different." Typical hypocrite. Her revenge is special, huh? Seemingly reading my mind, she spoke again. "That familia... if they truly came back then far to many people could get hurt. They deserve to not exist."

I could feel a snarl come onto my face, so I pulled my scarf up to my nose. "Yes, and Susano'o isn't hurting anyone either. Famously, I'm the one and only capped to have ever come to this city." My sarcasm did the job, earning me a flinch from her as I spoke. "That man needs to be put down. And it'll be me who does it, so I'm basically doing the world a favor. So don't stop me. Especially if you're going to be such a gods dammed hypocrite." Turning around, I began to walk away from the woman, leaving her to mourn alone. Just as I was about to leave however, I couldn't stop the ache in my chest. Dammit. "Lyon. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure what you went though must have been horrible. May they rest in peace."

I began to walk away once more and only barely heard a "Thank you." From her. Tch, what an annoying elf.

Deciding I need to take some time to calm down, I began walking back to my tent. On my way through the forest, I saw a strange looking man seemingly waiting and leaning against a tree. He was wearing what I could only describe as I cowboy's getup. He wore a western shirt and pants with a hat that had a feather on it too. Hell he even wore an orange scarf.. Adventurers sure have a strange sense of style, huh? No I am not including myself in that statement. "So, you must be Viole Ker-"

"Not in the mood." I walked past the strange man, ignoring his gasp.

"W-Wait! Hey, hey, hey! I need to talk to you! I'm Hermes! The god, ya know!" Ugh, just my luck. I wasn't the kind of idiot who just ignored a god. Other than Loki. So, I stopped walking and turned back to the cowboy. "Sheesh, you're just as rude as your daddy. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, does it?"

"Now that I think about it, dad did mention a 'hat-wearing dumbass' who wouldn't leave him that was you."

"Angra that son of a-" My eyebrow raising stopped his comment. Coughing into his hand, the god spoke once more. "Well, my name is Hermes. God of the Hermes Familia of course. And I'm something of a lover of information. You've been making a bit of a splash in Orario, ya know. Papa would be impressed, Viole."

As if. I'm sure dad wouldn't exactly like what I'm doing here and I also doubt that anyone's noticing me in this city. Not when someone as strong as Bell is in my party. "Maybe they're just impressed I survived this long. I have almost died like five times and I've only been here for about a month."

Laughing as if I told a joke, Hermes slapped my shoulder. "Well, maybe. You've survived longer than most Capped already!" That is incredibly depressing. "But... seriously, your father was something else. That man wasn't called the Reaper without reason. If anyone could have killed him I was sure it was him." Dad... just how amazing were you? "Anyway, he and I didn't get along well, obviously. So, I'd like us to get along, kiddo! If you need any help, don't be afraid to reach out, alright?"

"...I'll keep that in mind, Sir."

"That's all I can ask. Well, stay safe kid." Walking away from me, the god quickly left. And after a moment, a blue haired woman wearing a white cloak popped out from behind a tree, bowed to me, and followed the man. Can I catch a break?

E-Rank

By the third time I woke up in this tent, I already felt tired of it. I understand that we're waiting for a majority of my familia to heal from their battles but, I feel like staying here for too long is like stagnating. My body is literally broken and after only two days I already have the desire to go out and fight already. Was I always this impatient? I thought to myself as I left my tent. I was met with a strange sight however. People were moving around, packing things up and they looked to be in a hurry. Huh, looks like I won't have to wait for too much longer.

As I walked through the slowly disappearing tent-town, I felt a shiver run down my spine. "Keres." Oh no. Turning to my side, I was met with Riveria and the woman did not look happy. In fact, she was glaring at me with a look that reminded me of my mother when she was about to lecture me. "Didn't I tell you to rest?" Before I could just say I was out to look for breakfast, she spoke again. "Where were you yesterday? Lefiya said she gave you permission to visit your friends, yet from my questioning, they never saw you."

Sighing to myself, I wondered what I could do to end this as quickly as possible. "I couldn't find them so I went for a walk. After that, I just went back to my tent and slept the rest of the day." Did she really have to get mad at me for that? It's not like I would find a monster to... okay maybe I would. "Do you have to lecture me."

"Yes I do. Otherwise you'll never learn. Hmph, I bet you're already itching for a fight." My silence said enough and made the elf scoff. "You're just as much of an idiot as your father. Which means... lecturing you isn't going to work against you either..." Trailing off she continued to whisper something to herself. A strange somber look on her face as she did. Why is it that I feel like dad didn't tell me everything? Jeez, he sure was popular, huh?

Deciding that wasn't my concern however, I decided to ask the obvious. "So, are we leaving now? You guys are getting ready pretty fast too."

Coughing into her hand, the elf calmed herself. "Well, we've been gone for a long time and while everyone isn't fully healed yet, they're strong enough to move once again. We can't get everyone the help they need from here, including you.."

"How could I forget?" I said, lifting up my broken arm.

"Sarcastic are we?" Grinning, Riveria finally began walking past me. "I still have some work to do. Go to your friends and relax for now. Oh, and Lefiya will be with you the whole time, do not give me a reason to break your other arm." Walking away, even though I could seen her, I knew the woman's grin turned into a smirk. Ugh, if this is her caring about me like Loki said, I don't want to know what she'll do if she hates me.

Either way, there wasn't anything I could do just standing here so I made my way to my party's tent. This time, the trio was indeed sitting inside conversing with Lefiya of course. "There ya are! We were wondering where ya were yesterday!" Welf said with a shit eating grin. "Don't tell me you got caught."

"Caught?" I ask, looking towards Bell and Lily only to see that the young man blush as Lily snarls at him.

"I-It's nothing! Morning Viole!" Clearly Bell didn't want me to ask about it, so I won't. Sitting down next to Lily I gave her a glance. "S-So, what'd you do yesterday?"

"Sleep, how about you?" Seeing the white haired kid squirm from my question made me feel a bit bad for going back on my decision. But just a bit. "Nevermind. Hey, how about I tell you guys a story. Should save this weird atmosphere here."

"Oh, is it a book you've read, Sir Viole?" The orange haired Elf said with a strange happiness. Something that seemed to tick off Lily who then went to lean into me for some reason. Hm? And why's Welf laughing?

"Yeah, why don't you tell us, Sir Viole." Ugh. Why Lily?

"You guys are making me want to go back on my decision but fine. One time I read a book about a warring nation. The nation was Named Fódlan and-"

C-Rank

"So, so? What happened after the mercenary was made a teacher, Viole?" It was strange to see just how different this girl was right now compared to when I first met her. Hell from just yesterday she was still tripping up over every word. Now her eyes are sparkling and she's asking thousands of questions. And not even personal ones. "Come on, you can't just leave me on the cliff hanger!"

"Relax, I didn't leave you on a cliffhanger. I just don't want to spoil you besides... I haven't finished the book either. But, I'll give it to you when I do." It's one of the few things that survived my home's destruction. I suppose keeping the series in my hideout at the barn was a good idea. I hate that I just thought that. Fucking Susano'o. "Besides, can we just keep going?" It was just after I finished a part of the story that Bell suddenly had to do something for his goddess. So all of us went our separate ways, excluding Lefiya following me of course. "Just where is that guy?"

After we'd left, I noticed that a large chunk of my familia had already left, making Lefiya sticking with me make more sense. "Ohhhh, I can't wait! Oh, I need to finish Gilgame-" A large rumbling suddenly interrupted her that came from the ceiling. Wha-

The roof of the floor fell apart. A large Black Monster fell into the floor with it.


AN: Hello everyone and Merry Chiasmas to everyone who celebrates it. It's been a while, hasn't it? I apologize for that, it's been a very busy few weeks for me as I'm sure it has been for you all as well. I've had this chapter completed for a while now, but I didn't want to publish it until I knew I was back into a writing grove. And Now I'm back. Updates should come back at the regular pace, every two Mondays. We are also right at the end of the first arc which is also very close to where I stopped the first fic. I'm pretty excited for it and I hope you are too.

Incognito74: I feel like a total asshole receiving this very nice comment and then not updating for over a month. I'm so sorry about that and I hope you'll still be here reading. Lily and _ supremacy! Thank you for your kind review.

Phantom-Zero-v2:It probably is auto correct, but it's to useful for me to just turn off for one mistake. I'm sorry and I know that it's annoying but I know I'm going to continue making mistakes. No matter how hard I try, am I just one guy making this fic and issues will arise. I hope you understand that I will be trying my best though and I appreciate your critiques. Thank you for your review once again.