The Fallen Argonaut
Rated; M (Blood/Gore)
Disclaimer; I do not own Danmachi or anything created by the author Fujino Ōmori, all rights go to him
Authors: Eli-er01 & ViceroyChalister
Summary: The will of a hero is strong, yet unwavering but all good things must come to an end, even at the cost of one's Heroic Will. Imprisoned and blamed for a crime he hadn't committed, Bell seeks a way out of his predicament so that he can live without fear of being hunted by the people he once looked up to.
7: Reminiscence
Normal POV
=Twilight Manor, 2 days after Bell was sentenced=
Things had calmed down during the last few days within Orario. It was as if life had returned to the city. Less people were whispering to themselves and were openly talking, Stalls reopened, the Bars filled at night. The thing that made Orario feel like… Orario had returned, and it put a smile on most people's faces, after all, to them, the person who had endangered them had gotten what he deserved and could no longer cause any more harm.
Everything seemed right with the city… until you enter Twilight Manor, the home to Loki Familia. The place was eerily quiet, compared to what it was before everything happened. Some people still talked like nothing was wrong, but it was mostly the higher ups' behavior that made everything this way.
Finn was basically locked within his office all day, and anyone that went in, didn't even get so much as a look or a nod. He had completely absorbed himself in the investigation of the populous behavior and unwillingness to have Bell Cranel interrogated by a god.
Tiona had become less carefree and outgoing. She still was full of energy, but it was as if the life of that energy no longer had an infinite source. In truth, she missed Argonaut-kun, she thought he was fun to have around and without him, even though he hasn't been around long, it wasn't the same. Tione had tried everything to get Finn to get out at least once to no avail. Whenever she wasn't doing that, she was walking around the house, or taking out her frustrations on the dungeon.
Bete was the same as ever, calling people weak and headed into the dungeon except for the forced rest day of course.
Leifya had thought she would be happy to get that damn human away from Ais, but had begun to realize how much of an effect he had on the Loki Familia in the few months he had been around and started to wish he was still here.
Riveria and Gareth were mostly the same, but were worried for a certain princess, who wasn't truly the same. Ais Wallenstein had completely closed herself off after Bell had been sent off earlier today. No-one had seen her since Ais watched Bell be practically thrown into the transport that was heading to Kauhea Forbande.
Only Riveria noticed the real pain that was in her eyes. She had followed Ais, only to find her on top of the wall, bundled together into a small ball, leaning back against the stone, face in between her legs.
"Ais… are you alright?" Riveria asked as the girl had looked up at her mother figure. She shook her head, eyes puffed as a tell tale sign of tears.
"Is… something wrong with me? Why… am I crying…" She asked, confused. Riveria had a saddened expression on her face, not having wanted to see the girl she saw as her own daughter in such a sorry state.
"Well… you lost someone you considered dear to you… It's normal for a person to cry if that happened" Riveria explained as Ais soaked up her words.
"Why…. Why…" She tried to get something out as she sniffled incoming tears.
"Why did he do that…" Riveria understood what she meant.
"I don't know… we might never know since we couldn't ask him" Ais nodded at Riveria's counseling.
Riveria sat down next to Ais and wrapped her arm around her and pulled her towards herself. It was rare for Riveria to do anything of the sorts, but she gladly did it if it would help Ais.
Ais leaned in slightly, turned her head and buried her face in Riverias long roped, sniffling as Riveria could feel the cloth dampen.
"There, there… It's alright Ais. No need to hide your emotions" Ais couldn't hold it, the mysterious pain in her chest tightening and twisting as sobs started escaping her mouth. She grabbed onto Riverias robe and decided to let it out. Maybe it would help remove this pain.
Minutes passed as their position didn't change, Riveria rubbing circles on Ais' back as she sobbed into her robes.
Eventually, the sobs started to become less prominent as Ais felt less inclined to cry, though the mysterious pain in her chest hadn't disappeared, only suppressed. She pulled away, before lowering her gaze as her face became more red than it already was.
"... Thank you, Riveria" she said quietly as Riveria smiled slightly.
"No need to thank me. I'm always here for you" Ais looked up and smiled as best as she could at her, before getting up, and walking away, waving at Riveria.
As Ais continued through the streets, her mind couldn't help but wander to Bell. It had become like a routine in the last 4 months Bell had been around. Before she knew it, she arrived at the Twilight Manor. She quickly made her way to her room, deciding that a change of clothes and a long bath might help the tightness still lingering in her chest.
=Finn's office=
*Crash*
Finn looked up, to see one of the figures on the shelves, knocked over and broken with a sheepish Tione looking at him.
"Sorry, Captain" she said as he quirked an eyebrow at her before sighing.
"It's alright Tione, I always disliked that figure anyway. It's eyes always followed me and set me off" Finn said, trying to ease her fears of him being mad.
Tione reached down, and collected the broken figure, before throwing it in the trash.
"Captain… have you noticed the atmosphere in the familia the last few days?" She asked out of nowhere. Finn sighed and nodded, to be honest. It was impossible to not notice it with it being such a stark contrast to how it was earlier.
"Yes, Tione, I have" he said simply with a slight frown on his face as he read a report from the guild about irregularities in the citizens' behaviour.
"Well… I was thinking that an expedition would be a good way to get Familia's mind off of everything. We haven't been on one since the 59th, which was over 3 months ago. We are due for a mission soon" Tione suggested as Finn pondered it. It was a good idea, he was sifting through information faster than it arrived and he had basically run dry. The report he just read came out this morning. Finn started to nod at the idea. That, and that Enyo had mysteriously gone quiet the last week didn't help with the lack of things to do.
"It's a good idea, Tione. Everyone does seem restless, and the enemy seems to be waiting for things to completely go back to normal, and in case they make their movie, Enyo or the armed monsters, Freya Familia will handle it in the meantime while we are down there. I'll contact the guild, and get the mission. It will be a good way to get our minds off of things that have happened" Tione nodded, a large smile appeared on her face before she left. Once she closed the door, she first bumped the air at the smile she had gotten her captain to make.
Back inside the room, Finn was leaning on his hands, thinking about the report he had read.
The peoples rapid change of opinions can't simply be explained by Bell's actions. If someone as popular as Bell were to get accused of crimes, supporters would make themselves known, and try to prove the accusations wrong. That fact had been proven many times over in Orarios history… so what made this different.
Finn peeked down at a specific sentence that made his entire being tingle in fear at what may lie beneath the surface.
"'Dazed, and very vocal against things they believed not long ago'... that sounds an awful lot like the effect a certain goddess of beauty has on people…" Finn muttered. But that would make no sense… According to Loki, Freya seems to have an interest in Bell, so she wouldn't do this, and Ishtar is gone… That leaves Aphrodite, but her Familia and her have gone on a quest outside Orario and have yet to return…
Finn leaned back, deciding it was time to let his mind rest.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Come in" Riveria opened the door and walked inside. Finn quickly noticed the wet spot on her robes and looked at it with a slight smirk.
Riveria looked at what he was looking at before smiling bitterly.
"I just consulted Ais about a certain white haired boy" Finn leaned back again, nodding
"Ahh… can't see that going smoothly" Finn's smirk having fallen at the mention of how Ais must feel. He saw her nod
"It went as well as expected. She might not be herself for a little while, but I believe she can recover" Riveria commented as Finn nodded.
"By the way, I just got a request from Tione, that might be a good idea. Right now, the Familia is tense and upset after what happened, and it would be a good idea to head down on an expedition. It's almost been 3 months since the last after all" Riveria looked intently at Finn as he spoke, agreeing with him. It would maybe help Ais too.
"What about Enyo?" She asked as Finn sighed
"They've gone quiet. My guess is that they're waiting for everything to go normal again before they make their move. The same for the armed monsters. We should be able to go on an expedition in the meantime. Where is Gareth by the way?" Finn gave his reasoning before asking the question, looking around. Riveria frowned as she remembered the other top executive apart from Finn and her.
"Indeed, where is that drunkard? That barbaric Dwarf is nowhere to be seen, most likely drinking himself under the table in some random bar, but since we are already 2 that agreed, we have the majority vote. How about you go to the guild, and I look for that hopeless dwarf?" she asked, irritation lacing her voice every time she mentioned Gareth.
Finn nodded as he got up, chuckling at her affectionate insults to the man that wasn't even there. After all, no matter how much any of them wanted to hide it. They were as close to family as it got.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you to inform him" Finn said before he left, Riveria following suit as the split paths outside the gates of the mansion
=5 Days later=
Finn had announced the night before that their next expedition would take place in 2 weeks, and that none of them were allowed to take requests outside Orario until the expedition was done.
The goal this time around was to collect different samples from the terraformed 59th floor. The guild was highly interested in the possible practical implications of the materials could have in Orario, so whenever a new floor type was discovered, the next expedition there would be to collect samples.
Everything had seemed fine, until a letter had arrived today at Finn's desk, addressed to an Ais Wallenstein. That in itself was not abnormal, letters from people hopeful for either being a suitor, or simply getting to know Ais arrived every day. They were promptly thrown out at Ais' request as she had become annoyed at the sheer amount of them after a while.
It was this reason she got the nickname 'breaker of a thousand hearts' since the lack of replies is the same as rejecting courtship requests.
The issue was where, and from whom this request came from. It came from Kauhea Forbande, and was sent by Bell Cranel.
In a way, it eased Finn's mind as it meant the boy was at least doing alright, but when he read the contents. It made him frown at the sheer desperation he could feel in the words written in the letter.
"We can't show this to Ais. You know she will leave with her magic before we can do anything" Riveria said to the side as Gareth nodded in agreement.
"Aye, she's right. With the expedition comin' up, we can't let the lass lose her touch cuz' of emotions" Finn sighed heavily as he looked the letter over again.
"If only we had waited a little bit before requesting a mission…" Finn muttered as Riveria gave a sheepish look.
"Nothing we can do about it now. So we're in agreement that the letter should be thrown away?" Finn asked as the other two nodded in agreement. It may be cold, but it was how it had to be. They knew they were breaking the boy's heart, even more than it already was, and it pained them to do it, but they needed Ais to recover the natural way.
Finn ripped the letter in two, before crumpling it and throwing it into the trash. An action they would come to regret.
=3 Days later, Guild office=
"WHAAAAAAT!?" A shrill scream from a half elf was heard throughout the guild as she had read a letter in the mail room. Eina Tulle had been assigned mail duty and had been going through the work as usual, until she had picked up a report from a village nearby Kauhea Forbande.
Eina rushed out, but was stopped by Misha, who grabbed hold of her with the help of Rose and Sophie.
"Eina, what's wrong?" Misha asked as Eina looked at her with fear in her eyes which sent chills down everyone's spines. There wasn't much that could scare Eina that much.
"...Kauhea Forbande…" she started, confusing the three guild members.
"Kauhea Forbande was destroyed" The entire guild froze, every adventurer stopped, looking back at Eina as the normally lively place fell into a silence that you could hear a pin drop in.
"Kauhea Forbande? The Prison that the most dangerous criminals were sent to?" Rose asked nervously as Eina nodded.
One second, the guild was completely silent, the next, all hell broke loose.
"Kauhea Forbande was destroyed!? We need to strengthen our defenses!?" A Ganesha familia member called out to his comrades.
"We're all gonna die!" a Civilian could be heard panicking. Adventurers screamed left and right about the unthinkable news.
"Eina, Report this directly to Royman. We will handle things here!" Sophie called out as the three left for the reception. Eina, tightened her grip on the letter as she left.
'Please be alright, Bell'
=Twilight Manor=
"What!" Finn's voice exclaimed loudly as Raul reported what the guild had found out.
"This complicates things…" Finn said as he bit down on his nail nervously. He helped pull some strings, with some surprising compliance by the guild to hide the fact that Bell was a suspect for his god's killing and lowering his sentence from execution to imprisonment.
Now… Things were looking really grim. If Kauhea Forbande was destroyed…
"Finn! Are you listening?" Finn looked up at Riveria who was sporting an irritated frown.
"Sorry Riveria, I was deep in thought. What did you say" Riveria sighed as she repeated herself.
"You know how this is going to affect the upcoming expedition, right?" Finn nodded
"It will most likely be cancelled. The guild will probably call upon us and Ganesha familia to weed out escapees. Ais will also be… distraught and confused at the news. From what was seen, the building had been obliterated" Finn told her as Gareth jumped into the conversation.
"Aye, the Ganesha Familia left first thing when it was announced. It will take a day or two to get back with some information" Finn groaned at the turn of events. He just wished for 1 month of peace…
"Riveria, you can talk to Ais. I will handle the information flow, and Gareth, you lead a small number of our familia to Kauhea Forbande. Make sure to get permission from the guild first" Finn sent out orders as the two nodded, Riveria leaving for Ais' room and Gareth heading to the mess hall.
"I hope the boy is alright… for both his and Ais' sake…" He muttered.
Meanwhile, Ais had left the mansion, the minute she heard the news. She was currently standing on the wall where she had trained Bell. She figured Riveria and the others knew of this place, since they found her here a couple days ago, but decided she needed to be here.
Her mind was solely on the boy she feared may be gone. She looked at the blade in her hand, the same one she had picked up the day they arrested it's owner.
In her hand was an all black blade with hieroglyphs on it. The handle, too big for her, and the blade as dull as can be, somehow without any damage to it. She had seen this blade aimed towards her so many times during training. She had watched, as it flung fire into a minotaur at it's owners command. The blade was a mystery to her. It was as if the blade was alive.
The blade had become something akin to a token of remembrance for her. A way for her to remember him and keep the memories alive.
She inspected the Hieroglyphs, reading them but not understanding what it says. It was a bunch of random letters to her. It was as if the Hieroglyphs were moving as she tried to read them, as if it had a will of it's own that didn't want to be read.
Ais looked up, across the horizon feeling the heat from the sun, slowly disappearing as it slowly descended, disappearing out of view.
Closing her eyes as night began to take control of the skies, she thinks back about the night everything went awry.
Ais looked down at the ground after Gareth carried Bell away. Her eyes downcast and hair covering her face. Her eyes were lifeless, no emotion whatsoever as despair covered her features.
It took her a minute to notice the glint at the corner of her eyes, which was covered by some rubble.
Flashback
She walked up to it and noticed the tip of a black blade with hieroglyphics on it. She instantly recognized it, and pushed the rubble off of it, picking the blade up.
She knew the blade belonged to Bell, but it was obvious, even to her, that he no longer would be allowed to have weaponry.
'I will keep it safe…' she thought to herself as she walked away towards her home with it, hidden behind her wrist
Ais opened her eyes again, seeing that the sun had completely disappeared, no color remained from it where it had descended.
"Ais?" She turned around, seeing Riveria walking up the steps.
"Riveria?" Ais asked, tilting her head, forgetting to hide the blade she had been inspecting and thinking about. Riveria noticed it immediately, tilting her head to see it better.
"Is that the boy's blade?" Riveria asks, snapping Ais out of her confusion as she fumbles with the blade before looking down sadly.
"Yes…" She responded as Riveria held her hand out, not in a scolding manner, but out of curiosity. Ais hesitated for a moment, before reluctantly handing it over to Riveria.
The high elf inspected the blade, noticing the same thing as Ais about the blade almost not wanting her to read it's hieroglyphs.
"It's an intriguing blade but… seems we can't use it" Riveria said as she poked her finger, hard, no blood coming out.
Ais nodded in agreement
"I know…I want to keep it to… remember…" Ais said as she kept her gaze on the horizon. Riveria looked at the horizon as well as she nodded. The senses of the level 6's, being high enough for Ais to feel the nodd.
"Thank you, Riveria" Riveria smiled before turning back to Ais.
"Shall we head home? We are going to have a lot to do" Ais thought for a moment, wanting to stay for a little while, but decided against it.
"Alright" She said simply as the two left for their home
=Outside Hearth Mansion Gates=
Welf was staring at his ruined home and shop. It hadn't taken him and everyone long to hear the news and accusations towards Bell. They of course wouldn't believe them, they knew who he was better than anyone. But they knew since days ago that their Falna had disappeared, signaling that Hestia had returned to heaven.
That had sent them straight back when they noticed after they had read Bell's note and helped the village.
It had taken them a day to get back, and it had been so chaotic that it had taken them hours to get to the mansion, only to see it in rubble.
Now… they didn't know what to do. They knew Bell was gone, sent to Kauhea Forbande and their Familia was disbanded.
Welf shook his head and looked back at the other three former members of Hestia Familia.
Lili was looking downcast, Haruhime's ears were flopped down on her head with sadness in her eyes and Mikoto was frowning.
"Guys... " Welf started before Lili spoke up.
"Lili thinks we should return to our familias after the Xenos are back" Lili's suggestion was out of the blue, shocking everyone.
"Lili thinks it makes sense. Bell-sama would want us to be happy and for the Xenos to return… so let's do that for him, and wait until he returns" Welf understood now. She had convinced herself this was only temporary… oh well, it was better to leave her be and let her accept it on her own.
"I agree with Lili-dono. With Bell-dono gone we should return. Usually we can only transfer once every year but… since we don't have a falna now, we should be able to. I also agree we can't leave Wiene and the others" Haruhime hadn't as much as flinched or reacted to anything. Mikoto looked at her sadly before Welf spoke up.
"Alright, but we should keep in touch. I like you guys, and would love to stay friends" Welf said, trying his best to give a grin.
The others had small smiles at his attempt and nodded.
"For once, Lili agrees. Anvil head, we should keep partying. No one in our familias likes us so…" Welf groaned at the suggestion.
"Agh, this is gonna be a pain, but I know you're right" He muttered, giving her a grin as the two smiled.
"Haruhime can come with me. She knows Takemikazuchi and the others" Welf and Lili nodded before Welf enveloped everyone in a big hug.
"Hey, remember, don't lose contact. Even if we're apart, we're still family" he said as Lili wailed at him to let them go as everyone else laughed, even Haruhime.
Everyone split ways after another minute, Welf going back to Hephaestus, Lili going to Soma and Mikoto and Haruhime going back to Takemikazuchi. Not long after, they decided to stay in contact through the meeting at The Hostess of Fertility.
=North-east of Orario, Open Roads=
Adrienne was humming a song she had learnt from her mother as Bache was braiding her hair. It had been 2 months since they had departed from Telskyura and they were approaching the bridge that connects The Far East with the western part of the continent in the north-east.
Generally, the trip has been uneventful with the only events being some monster attacks, them stopping for supplies and Bache and Bell training, though they knew that wouldn't last long with her pregnancy.
Bache over the trip had taken a liking to Adrienne and acted like a sister to her, making Adrienne a lot more comfortable with her.
Bell and Erebus were currently updating Bell's status since it's been a couple days since the last and they have trained a lot since then.
Erebus had just finished and had handed the sheet back to Bell, who inspected it.
Name: Bell Cranel
Lv 4
Status:
{STR} SS-1030 - SS-1077
{VIT} SS-1091 - SS-1143
{DEX} SS-1110 - SS-1154
{AGI} SSS-1323 - SSS-1335
{MAG} SS-1096 - SS-1143
Magic:
Firebolt: Swift strike magic. Casts a bolt of fire and electricity on command that explodes on impact upon impacting any surface.
Skills:
Liaris Freeze: Precocious Maturation. The effect is maintained so long as the user maintains their feelings, and the effect is heightened depending on how strong these feelings are (Current Bonus: 1001%)
Argonaut: Heroic strike, the possibility of turning any situation around with an overwhelming amount of force. Able to be dual charged but drains massive amounts of mind power.
Scourge: Raises the power of the user exponentially depending on the amount of Malice the user lets out
Development Abilities:
Luck: H
Abnormal Resistance: H
Psych: I
Over the last 2 months, Bache had been a tremendous help with her training, raising his stats by a lot. He was more than ready to level up with his current stat, but since his soul hadn't been overloaded with Excelia yet, so he couldn't. He needs to find something to push him over the edge. The growth wasn't an issue, it was finding something to help him level up.
Bell read through his status again before nodding, crumpling the piece of paper and throwing it out as he fired his firebolt at it, burning it. It was how he increased his magic stat so much. He kept using it for the smallest things to push his mind. It increased the magic, little by little.
"Hey Erebus, do you think I should try to level up?" Bell asked Erebus who now looked at him. Before he could answer, Bache intervened.
"Level up? Didn't you level up 3 months ago?" she asked Bell. He had learnt to somewhat trust Bache over this journey so far. She had been nothing but honest and thoughtful, a complete contrast to how she had been when they first met. This making him tell her about when he leveled up
"Well, I grow faster than anyone else. Don't ask why, I won't tell" he said as Bache nodded
"How fast?" Bell gave her a look, and he guessed Bache had a smile behind her mask, her eyes matched that of someone smiling.
"Enough to normally level up in a month within Orario" Bache's eyes widened at that, before composing herself.
"That's impressive" Bell nodded before turning back to Erebus, Bache going back to braiding Adrienne's hair. Erebus, who understood what Bell wanted, answered him.
"Yes, I think you should try to level up. The only issue is finding a challenge you can overcome" Erebus started pondering about what way they could make Bell level up.
"I could sneak into the dungeon" Bell offered, but Erebus wasn't having it.
"No way, too dangerous. They will still be on top guard after Kauhea Forbande" Bell chuckled at Erebus, before looking up the road they were traveling.
In the distance, he could see the enormous bridge that went over to the land on the other side of the water that was a hybrid between an ocean and a river. On the other side, you could make out the city, Kitzumara, the capital of the Far East. As far as Bell understood from Mikoto, the name meant 'Power in the north-east' in the native language, though the main language was Koine, thankfully.
Bell leaned back as they started heading up a slight hill that was right next to the start of the bridge. He closed his eyes as he thought back to what Mikoto had told him about her homeland. From her stories, he knew it was plagued by war, diseases and civil unrest. There had been a multitude of uprisings within the last 100 years and that the country was nearly drowning in criminal organizations and corruption. The only person Mikoto knew wasn't corrupt was the Empress of the Far East, Takara Yume and her daughter, Asuka Yume who was heir to the throne. They served next to the main goddess of the Far East, Amaterasu.
Bell opened his eyes again as he heard voices. He looked out the front, and noticed that Asim was talking with the guard and showing his trading badge. The guard nodded and opened the gates.
When they entered, Bell instantly agreed with Mikoto's description of the cities in the Far East. They were definitely exotic with multilayered roofs that were slightly curved upwards at the end. Most buildings were around 2-3 stories while there were a few that were 4 stories.
The city from what Bell knew was built here for one reason, it's the only place the land connects to the Far East, so it's a strategic hold in case of invasion from the main continent.
Eventually, they came to a stop at the market where everyone got off, Bell carrying the packing.
"Well, it's been a pleasure traveling with you all! I hope that your stay is worth it" Asim said as he shook everyone's hands before climbing back into the carriage.
Bell corrected the packing on his back before looking at Adrienne.
"So, where does your relative live?" Bell asked as she looked at Bell
"My cousin lives up the street. It's a big house too! You might be able to stay as well" She said with a smile, as she led them along. Bell wondered who her relatives were if they owned a large home. Though to be honest, most of these houses are very large.
"Here we are!" Adrienne exclaimed as Erebus whistled at the magnificent building. There were even walls around the two buildings inside, one much larger and one smaller.
Adrienne knocked on the gate and waited. After a minute, the gate opened to reveal a woman, around Bell's age with raven black hair, just like Adrienne, but dark brown eyes in contrast to Adrienne's Blue ones.
"Adrienne!?" The woman exclaimed as she laid eyes on the girl.
"Eiko!" Adrienne ran forward and practically launched herself on the woman, who groaned with a smile as she hugged her cousin.
"What are you doing here!? I thought you and your mother left the Far East?" Adrienne looked downcast as Eiko understood what that meant. She then looked up at everyone else present.
"I apologize for my rudeness. My name is Eiko Tanjouno, descendant of one of the 8 noble families" She bowed and everyone did the same, though Bell had a small frown on his face at the mention of a noble.
"My name is Bache, I came along to follow him" she pointed to Bell as Erebus simply said "Same" before pointing at Bell as well.
Eiko nodded with a smile before turning toward Bell.
"I'm Be-" Bell couldn't continue before Adrienne jumped up, interrupting him
"He's , he is really cool. He has saved me two times now if you can believe. He's also really strong!" Adrienne bounced around like the energetic child she is.
"That's all well and good Adrienne, but I would like for him to introduce himself" She said with a friendly and almost joking tone at her, making Adrienne pout.
"As I was about to say, My name is Bell and I have been a guardian of sorts for Adrienne the last 2 months. Pleasure to meet you" he said before bowing.
"I thank you, Bell-dono. Now, is there payment you need?" Bell put his hands up and waved them back and forth.
"No! I wanted to help her, it was the right thing to do" He said but Eiko was having none of it.
"I can't accept that. You have saved and cared for one of our own. We have to pay the debt back" Bell looked at Erebus and Bache, who just shook their shoulders at him.
'Well… We could use a place to stay…'
"Done!" Eiko said enthusiastically, making Bell blink. Had he said that out loud?
"We have more than enough room. Come in, I can show you the way to some open guest rooms" She said, opening the gates wider and motioning for everyone to follow.
Bell sighed, before smiling lightly and following her inside alongside the others. He quickly learned that the place was like a maze. The maids around gave them weird looks, but otherwise, nothing weird happened. Eventually, everyone stopped in front of a set of doors.
"This is the guest room. The restrooms are outside, I noticed that some of you eyed them so you should do fine on your own. By the way, are you all planning on staying in the Far East? You're foreigners after all" Eiko asked as Bell looked around for a second.
"We don't know. Maybe, it depends on our situation later on" Erebus answered her question as she nodded.
"Then it's for the best that you all settle in before meeting me outside. I will get you an audience with her excellency. She will want to meet the returned noble child anyway, might as well meet her benefactors" She said with a smile.
"Actually, is it fine if only I go? The other two aren't great with royalty and… Quite frankly, I'm afraid of what would happen if they go" Bell smiled sheepishly as Eiko looked at him weirdly. She quickly shrugged and smiled back.
"Alright, that's alright. Meet me outside in 15 minutes!" Bell nodded before picking a room. He gave everyone their stuff before heading inside himself. The room was fancy, Bell will give them that. It looked much better than what they had in Telskyura which put a smile on his face.
He unpacked the necessities before he put on his armor and armed himself. It was better to always be ready, no matter what, which he learnt the last couple of months.
Once he was done, he headed outside where Eiko was already waiting for him.
"There you are, and dressed up I see" she looked Bell up and down, before nodding.
"You look like a warrior. Only thing missing is a good Katana" Bell cocked his head to the side. A behaviour he had noticed he picked up from Ais.
"A single edged curved blade" she explained as Bell made an 'ah' sound. It must be the weapon Mikoto uses, Kotetsu. She never mentioned what archetype of blade it was to Bell, he just thought it was a sword as he has seen many unique looking ones.
"Maybe, we shall see" Bell said with a smile. Eiko nodded before she started walking, Bell followed her out of the gate and through the streets. Bell knew where they were going, he had seen the enormous palace that overlooked the whole city. It was kind of a highlight, like the Babel tower is in Orario. Instead of heading down the main street which goes straight to it, they went through the alleys. Bell saw a lot of things that cemented the words Mikoto and Haruhime told him. There were homeless people all over the alleyways, famine clearly affecting them alongside diseases.
"It's sad isn't it?" Eiko said, looking back at Bell before stopping.
"All of these kids, these people, are suffering because of diseases and famine. Do you know why?" Bell shook his head in a white lie. He couldn't lie for the love of himself, but just nodding his head should be fine.
"Because all the other nobles let it happen. They fatten their pockets with the bribes from the Criminal Organizations while the rest of the people suffer" She said sadly as Bell frowned.
"Why are you telling me this?" Bell asked, looking at her curiously.
"From what Adrienne, you are pretty strong right?" Bell shook his head slightly.
"I wouldn't call myself strong but… If I was an adventurer, I would be second class" Eiko smiled widely.
"Level 4!? That's incredible! The highest we have here is a level 4 as well, but it's only one person. Unfortunately, they're a criminal" Bell nodded at that
"What I wanted to ask was if you could help me? I may seem young, but I'm actually head of the Tanjouno house since my parents, who were heads before, were murdered a couple months back" Bell smiled sadly at her as her eyes darkened slightly.
"This country has been plagued by these criminals and diseases for way too long. If nothing is done about it, this country will eventually implode on itself and collapse" she said with an edge to her voice. Bell nodded, understanding what she meant. The people who left the Far East, left for a reason. It's not really a good place to live since it's basically half ruled by criminals because of corrupt nobility and bribes.
"I understand. I will gladly help if I can. Innocent people are suffering and something needs to be done about it" Bell said with a smile on his face, lightening the mood that had darkened.
"Huh, thought it would take more convincing than that… maybe even some Valis" She said the last part while looking to the side.
"I'm not a mercenary, I will take on requests to defeat monsters or bandits for Valis, but this… this is too big and too important for me to worry about Valis. An entire country of people is at stake. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't help, especially since two people who are dear to me come from here" Eiko smiled as she outstretched her hand to Bell.
Bell looked at the hand before smiling lightly and shaking it. He knew he'd just accepted to basically fight an entire country with the help of a noble house, and maybe the Empress.
"Alright, how about we go to the Empress. She has wanted to solve this situation for a long time, but didn't have the manpower to do much because of the enemy level 4. If she meets you though! This really changes everything!" Bell smiled at her enthusiasm. It reminded him of Tiona a bit.
"I hope so too" Bell said as Yume motioned him to follow her. They continued through the alleyways, before they came out on the main road again, heading straight towards the palace.
=Inside the Yume Palace=
Bell felt nervous. He didn't feel like this when meeting Kali because of the situation she had him in at the time, but now. It was a friendly first meeting with royalty! Something most people don't get at all.
They walked through the long hall until they reached a more open room. It was beautifully decorated with a variety of art and artifacts around, but at the center, there was a throne with guards around it where there were three women. There were two seats, the one on the left of Bell's vision seemed to be native to this land. She had deep purple eyes with long black hair. She wore a royal kimito that was decorated with intricate designs that would make any craftsman blush in embarrassment. To her left was a 12 year old girl that had a striking resemblance to the woman in the seat, to the point that one would think they were carbon copies of each other at different ages, but her eyes were green instead of purple. Bell understood who they were, the Empress of the Far East, Takara Yume, and her Heir, Asuka Yume.
When Bell locked eyes with the woman in the seat to the right, he instantly knew who she was from the descriptions from Mikoto and Haruhime. She was the big goddess of the Far East, Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun. She wore a long dress like a kimito that was white, with some red cloth folding around her arms and waist. She had raven colored hair, with bright orange eyes that could only be called exotic with a gold decoration on her head that looked like a brightly glowing sun.
Bell followed Eiko as they walked forward, before stopping a decent distance away from the trio. Eiko bowed as Bell mirrored her action in respect.
"No need for the formality, Eiko. Who's your friend?" Takara asked with a smile on her face as Eiko stood up.
"Good evening, your excellency, the person beside me might be someone that can help us with our… problem" At the mention, all three of the women looked Bell up and down, as he peeked up from his bow.
"Could you explain further?" Asuka, the Heir, stepped forward with a curious look at Bell.
"Bell here is a foreigner, and a strong one at that. In fact, he's second class. A level 4" The eyes of the trio opened wide as Amaterasu stood up.
"Second class? What's your name, child?" The goddess spoke up in a silky smooth voice, laced with curiosity.
"Bell, Kami-sama. I'd rather keep my last name to myself for the moment. Some bad things happened and I don't want it haunting me here" The goddess nodded at the truth in his words.
"Everyone had a past to them they like to hide, even us gods. I understand your reasoning and accept it" Bell smiled and nodded.
"Now, I wonder why you would help us? Is it Valis you desire, or power?" Amaterasu asked as Bell shook his head.
"No, I only want to help because it's the right thing to do. I also have people dear to me who came from this land, and if I didn't help solve the crisis that drove them away, then I couldn't call myself a part of their family" Bell spoke with conviction in his voice. The goddess' smile widened at his words.
"That is very commendable of you. I would love to meet these people someday" That made Bell frown.
"No offence, but you already have. You should recognize their names. Yamato Mikoto and Sanjouno Haruhime" The empress' eyes widened at the mention of Haruhime.
"The girl that ate an offering?" Takara asked as Bell looked at her and shook his head.
"She was framed, she never did eat an offering. Can I ask a question? Why didn't you have Amaterasu-sama ask her if she did it or not? She is a goddess and can detect lies" Bell asked as the Empress looked to the side before sighing.
"Well… it wasn't really up to me. It was her father that banished her. If you want to know the truth, you will have to ask them. But if you are here to help, you will deal with the Sanjouno family eventually" She said, confirming that the family was corrupt. Now Bell was glad Haruhime wasn't there anymore.
"I understand" Bell said, bowing slightly in the process.
"If you're really here to help, then you can answer to my daughter, Asuka. She is training on taking my role and this would be an excellent opportunity for her to test herself and her ability" Bell looked at Asuka who stared at her mother, shocked for a second before nodding. She quickly looked back to Bell and gave him a smile that he couldn't help but return.
She walked down the throne and up to Bell and gave him her hand. Bell took it as he stood up, towering over her as she seemed to not have hit her growth spurt yet.
"It's a pleasure to be working with you, Bell-dono" She said politely as Bell nodded with a smile.
"The same goes for me" Bell said before Amaterasu spoke up.
"Takara, my dear. How does it sound if your daughter stays at Eiko's home while working with Bell? It will mean they can work closely together and we can stay in contact through messengers" Takara nodded, trusting Eiko to make sure nothing happened.
"That's alright with me" She said as her daughter smiled at her mother.
"I will pack some clothes and necessary things before leaving with them" Asuka said before leaving the room, presumably towards her own room.
"Bell-dono…" Bell looked up at the Empress, seeing her looking at him softly.
"Take care of my daughter" Bell nodded as he bowed
"I promise you, no harm will come to her, your majesty" With that, everything wrapped up soon after. The only thing they did was share information that Bell would need, including the Criminal organization that was known, which one had a level 4, as well as all the corrupt noble houses and their names.
After that, Bell, Eiko and Asuka left the palace, heading home to try to help this country back to how it should be.
That's chapter 7 everyone! Some more Loki Familia perspective alongside the Arrival at The Far East. As one comment mentioned, growth would slow down outside Orario, but not in the way one might expect. The issue right now since Bache can still train Bell, is that he doesn't have anything to make him level up.
Anyway, this next part is aimed directly at Nightsoro and anyone that agrees. I forgot to write a certain description in the last chapter that told Bache and Argana were trying to rile him up. They didn't do it again and again. Also, if you don't like what I write, then stop reading. It's as simple as that. I understand criticism, but I draw the line in critique to where people tell me what I can and can't write in a story. If you decide you have the audacity to tell me it's wrong to write something, then I'm just going to ignore you. Sure, I make mistakes and I convey things wrong, but the way you throw a fit just because it conflicts with what you believe is wrong is ridiculous. In the real world, marriages and pregnancies have happened at earlier ages. In medieval times, child marriages were even allowed and considered normal. As I said last time, this story is meant to showcase and explore the darkest and cruelest parts of the world, and if I can't do that because of your own idealistic views, then there is no point to this story. Btw, Bell was in a dilemma. Either way, he was going to betray one of his ideals. Either let Adrienne die, or lose his virginity. What do you think Bell would do, someone who wants to be a hero and save people, someone that even went against the stories he looked up to to save Haruhime.
So please, Stop trying to get me to adhere to your views, and let me write the story like I want to write it, because I'm not changing my plans just to satisfy you. That would make me even more incomeptenet at writing than you already claim I am.
This is the last time I'm talking about this. If you can't respect what I think is the best way to convey the story, then I won't respect your opinion on the matter and ignore you. Either stop whining (Yes, it's whining at this point, not critique), abandon the story, or be ignored. I don't care, it's up to you.
Enough of that, for everyone else, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and to see you all next time like always!
ps: I'm going on a vaccation on friday to sunday, so don't expect me to publish then. I might also be harder to reach as my responses will take longer to come :)