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.
14: Hope
Normal POV
=Residential Area, Telskyura, 2 days later=
The meeting of two blades could be heard for quite some distance as Bell and Bache were locked in a sparring match. For the last 3 days, Bell has been trying to improve his techniques. In order to do that, Bell had put a limiter upon the battle. Neither him nor Bache were allowed the use of skills, minus the passive ones such as her Taistelija which will be active at any time during the spar.
Bell narrowly ducked under one of Bache's strikes as he tried to move his spear upwards to slice her arm, but the motion was ragged and unrefined, so it didn't make it in time. The next second, Bache was right in Bell's face as he blocked her knife with the shaft of his spear.
"Stop raising your arms up so much, it is too much and makes your stance slightly uneven which can give your opponent a millisecond more time to act, and that millisecond could be the death of you" Bache said as she hooked the shaft of Bell's spear with them and twirled, rending his arms up at a similar height he usually had them when guarding but she quickly leaned forward to the ground, put one hand in the front and used it to balance as she shifted her body weight to swipe his feet.
In his current position, he didn't have time to jump or block the attempt with the shaft so he was sent spiraling down onto the ground before a knife was at his throat.
"See, having them too high isn't good. You need balance, though your general technique and movements are sharper, smarter and more efficient. You took my advice to not make unnecessary movements to preserve stamina and attack for the kill, not to injure. Your opponent won't give you that luxury" She said as she gave Bell her hand as he smiled and took it.
The next second, a fist collided with his face as he was sent crashing into the floor, his nose broken as he groaned in pain.
"Mwhat bas dat for?" Bell mumbled through his hands as Bache smiled
"You were the one who wanted me to hurt you. I'm just complying" Bell couldn't retort back as it was the truth. Normally, his mask would have taken the brunt of the blow but he was in the backyard that had a wall around out. It was perfect for sparring with each other.
Bell sat up, and put his hand on his nose and braced himself. He quickly snapped his hand in the direction of the center to pull his nose into place again as he groaned out again.
"God, that hurts… Though I can only blame myself. Thanks for the spar and for teaching me my faults, Bache" She shrugged and smiled.
"Don't mention it. There are some things I'm learning from you. For example, I've never fought anyone that utilizes a spear, and learning to counteract those movements could be vital in the future" She explained as Bell nodded. He wasn't the only one getting stronger. She had her fair share of cuts and bruises on her just like he had. They didn't wear armor since they wanted to take hits. They just made sure to stop their attack if it goes through without the other noticing.
They don't want to kill each other after all.
"That does make sense…how about anoth-" Bell was about to ask for another session until his stomach growled, causing him to laugh awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. Bache gave him an amused smirk as he opened his eyes
"Maybe we should grab something to eat. We've been at it for…" She looked at the sun before turning back "3 hours now. It's almost noon" Bell nodded before standing up
"Guess you're right. I'll cook, so what do you want?" he asked as Bache thought about it. There were a couple of things that sounded good. Maybe something Far Eastern in taste?
"Then I'll make some Katsudon, I know you like that" Bell said wryly as her face heated slightly at the callback and the fact that she had asked that out loud. She had eaten it like a rabid dog after being hesitant to even taste it. It was one of the first meals they had in the Far East and Bache fell in love with it, or it might just be because of her pregnancy back then. People eat what they normally wouldn't when pregnant.
"You can make that with what we have?" She asked, surprised after thinking about it for a second. They didn't have the Far Eastern ingredients so…
"Yeah, one of my familia members back in Orario, Mikoto, taught me how to make it almost identical to the ones in the Far East using normal ingredients elsewhere. She was really talented at it but always put herself down. Haruhime also taught me when she joined" Bell said with a smile at the fond memories. He wondered how the two took the recent changes to the Far East. Probably with shocked faces if he would guess.
"Then I would have to accept. I kind of miss that food" She said as Bell smiled as he walked inside, still tilting his head up a little as his nose still bled. He headed for the kitchen before ripping a small piece of a napkin and putting that in one of his nostrils to block the blood from flowing out.
It was a good solution until the blood clots. He didn't want any to fall down into the food. Bache wanted Far Eastern food, not Rabbit Blood. Bell chuckled slightly at that one before he got started.
Meanwhile, Bache and Erebus were in the main area, updating her status. Every god had a different timeframe for updating statuses and Erebus usually did it at least 2-3 times a week. His reasoning is that they would be at their top no matter the time. It's better to get smaller updates often, than a larger one less frequently. It would be less noticeable as the change is more gradual, which he also reasons as to not become overconfident as that tends to be an issue when they get a large boost to their stats.
Bache accepted his reasoning. It didn't take long to update a status, just 5 minutes of their time which wasn't hard to do. They aren't fighting all the time… or at least so often they don't have time to update their status. Her and Bell have been sparring quite often.
"Well, it seems that you've increased by 56 points, most went into dexterity and endurance. Your magic didn't increase at all. Didn't you use it during your sparrs?" Erebus said as he gave her an update orally.
"No, I don't want to have to use antidotes constantly" She said as Erebus laughed
"Don't worry about that, his Abnormal Resistance is at E" Bache did a double take at that as she thought about it. She did use it a lot in the Far East because he asked, but did his Abnormal Resistance really rise that much? Her curiosity about Bell's speed of growth skyrocketed at that moment, but she wouldn't push if he didn't want her to know.
Bache stopped for a moment and thought about the stat one more time… E, huh. That would make him practically immune to anything apart from her magic. Bell probably thought I stopped because it wasn't effective anymore… but by increasing my magic stat, I could probably help him level it up more. I get stronger magic, he gets stronger resistance. Win-Win.
"That's intriguing… anything else that changed with my status?" She asked before he shook his head
"No, your strength reached 191. Endurance 187. Dexterity 224. Agility 223 and Magic stayed at 200. No updates to skills or development abilities" He explained all the changes as Bache nodded. It was actually quite impressive that her stats increased this much in 3 days. Normally it was a lot slower. Maybe her constant sparring matches with Bell were more beneficial than the arena?
She gave that a thought before realizing that it made a lot of sense. The arena was always a 1v1, the battles usually didn't last longer than 2-5 minutes and they only had one every day. She constantly fought with Bell, someone that's a lot stronger than they should be for hours on end, before doing it again later that day. This happened every day, so it makes sense her status increased this much.
"That's it for the update and-" Erebus was about to continue as a cry came out causing Bache to look up instantly.
"Guess that's your call" He said as Bache stood up and nodded at him.
"You got that, Bache!?" She heard Bell ask loudly from the kitchen where she could hear water running.
"Yeah, I've got it!" She replied before heading off towards her room. It was her day to have Adrienne in her room.
She walked inside and picked Adrienne up from her crib, who instantly reached for her breasts.
"Hungry?" She asked as she started feeding her, walking over and sitting on the side of her bed. She hummed slightly as Adrienne kept feeding. Bache loved these moments as it was really peaceful for her, it felt almost...Ethereal.
And as usual, the moment was over faster than she would have liked. Adrienne looked sleepy again, as was usual for a baby. They slept most of the time during the first 3 months. The only part she had found annoying but didn't really care was that she only did so for 1-2 hours at a time. She had woken up so many times during the night to her screaming that she had lost count the first week.
A knock came at the door to her room as she was putting Adrienne to sleep.
"Come in" She said as the door opened, revealing Bell peeking in and looking at her.
"The food's ready" He said as she nodded
"I'll be right there" The reply came as Bell nodded before closing the door. Bache leaned down and pulled the tiny blanket over Adrienne that had closed her eyes and seemed to have fallen asleep.
"Sweet dreams" Bache said with a smile before heading out and towards the kitchen table. Once she laid eyes on the food on the table, she nearly drooled. There was a large portion in the center with a plate of food ready for her. The food consisted of a bowl of rice topped with a form of deep fried pork cutlet with eggs, vegetables and condiments that added a taste of pure bliss.
Bache sat down opposite Bell. Beside them was Erebus who was sarcastically sassing Bell, an occurrence she always found amusing as Bell had a tendency to have great reactions.
"At least I never trip myself off rooftops" Erebus said with a slight smile as Bell groaned
"That was one time! One time! When will you stop reminding me!" Bache almost burst out laughing at the story she remembered. He had come home with blood flowing down the back of his head. They thought he had survived an assassination attempt or something before they found out the truth.
She settled for chuckling before taking a bite out of the Katsudon Bell had prepared and she hummed in pleasure at the taste that interacted with her taste buds. How did he make this with what they had? Did he have a cooking skill or something?
"This is incredible!" Bache exclaimed after swallowing, stars practically in her eyes as she stared at the food.
"I'm inclined to agree, you're very talented at this in contrast to your freerunning skills" Bell's embarrassed expression turned into a groan as he gave up on the event ever outliving him.
After that, it was a peaceful lunch where the three talked and joked around. To Bache, it almost felt like a family dinner, something she never had before with Kali. She deeply regretted that and she could confidently say she understood Tione and Tiona now. Now that she had felt this kind of comfort, she just couldn't give it up.
As the lunch started to head to a close and Erebus took care of the dishes, they actually got a knock on the front door, something pretty unusual before realization dawned on Bell's face.
"That could be Elora. She said she may visit" Bell said as Bache found it logical. Bell opened the door and low and behold, there stood Elora with similar clothes to before, only her top being green instead of red this time.
"Hey Elora! Come in" Bell said as he stepped to the side as Elora nodded in greeting to him.
As she entered the house, she spotted Bache almost instantly and nodded to her as well, Bache imitating the action.
"What do we owe the pleasure ?" Erebus could be heard from the kitchen, peeking behind him at Elora.
"Just came to ask if anyone wanted to go around Telskyura as I'm bored " she shot back as Bell chuckled at the mock hurt that Erebus imitated.
"I'm so hurt… I'll have to decline as I need to lick my wounds" He said sarcastically with humor before turning back towards the dishes. Bell chuckled at the interaction before Bache answered as well.
"I gotta take care of Adrienne, she could wake up at any time, otherwise I would have loved too" She said as Elora turned to Bell who shrugged.
"I have free time, just let me get my armor" He said as Elora nodded, looking curiously at him as he walked behind a corner.
"I'm not even going to ask why he needs armor and a mask in Telskyura that doesn't have guild ties" She said as Bache shrugged
"Some adventurers on a guild mission were here a little over a week ago, he's just being cautious" She said as Elora nodded.
"Alright then, how long does he usually take?" Elora asked
"He should already be don- oh, there he is" She said as Bell walked out, already in his armor as Elora looked gobsmacked for a second
"I should be surprised, but since you are first class, I'm not" Elora said before Bell said bye to Bache and Erebus. As soon as they were outside, Elora looked at him for a second before opening her mouth.
"What level are you by the way? You only said first class, but that could be level 5 or 6" She asked as Bell answered instantly
"Level 5. I leveled up after the Far East so I am quite new to being first class" He said as they turned towards one of the streets that headed to the market.
"That's interesting, also what's up with the hair? Why is it black all of a sudden. Are you wearing a wig?" He shook his head at her notion before pointing at the stone on the mask.
"Apparently this thing was enchanted and I can change my hair color just by wanting it. Kind of cool, right?" He said as Elora nodded with a confused look on her face.
"Enchanted? What's that?" She asked as Bell remembered what Erebus said. Basically only extremely few people still knew about the practice since it became less useful because of the Falna which wasn't restricted by one person per god. It meant anyone could become strong enough to fight monsters without enchantments.
"Have you heard of the Mystery ability?" Bell asked as Elora nodded "Well, it's almost like that. Mystery is the closest thing to enchanting we have today" Elora's face cleared up and nodded
"Ah, I understand. So it's the same as Asfi's items, correct?" Bell stopped walking and looked at her.
"You know Perseus?" He asked as Eora nodded
"Yes, I used to when she was still a level 3. It was before I left Orario" She said, a reminiscing look on her face as she seemed to sift through memories.
"So you were an adventurer too" He asked, forgetting that he hadn't told her of his past for a second
"Yes, I was but we lost a wargame and our Familia disbanded 5 years ago. It was shortly after the Astraea Familia was annihilated and the Gale wind started her rampage" she explained as Bell remembered Ryuu by the grave of the Astraea Familia on the 18th floor.
"What level were you?" He asked again before she shook her head
"Level 4, and what's with all the questions? Are you interested in my past?" She asked as Bell shook his head and waved a hand in front of his face
"No! It's not like that. You mentioned Asfi and Orario and I got curious" He tried to explain as Elora giggled slightly at his reaction.
"Don't worry, I'm not irritated or mad" She said as Bell pouted, but she didn't notice underneath his mask.
"Do you want to go to a café? I hear they have some delicious treats that I haven't tested" Elora asked.
"Café? Do you mean a stand?" Bell asked as she shook her head
"No, it's an indoor location similar to the hostess of fertility in Orario but serves treats, chocolate and something imported from a continent south of here called coffee" Bell nodded before thinking about it.
"Yeah, that sounds nice. A little change of pace from my usual day… Wait, do I have a day considered usual?" He asked himself more than anyone else.
"I don't know, only you can" Elora gave him as he thought about it. Eventually the two reached the market and started to look for a Café. Bell, who didn't really know what he was looking for got help from Elora who eventually spotted one.
"Ah, there is one. Weird, normally they are rare since it's a relatively new concept" Bell chuckled at that, his mind drifting towards his luck ability.
The two walked into the Café before sitting down. An amazon soon came to their table, freezing for a second at spotting Bell before snapping herself out of it.
"Hello, welcome! What can I get you today?" She asked as Elora answered instantly.
"I'll take a Coffee with 2 sets of tarts please" Bell was handed a menu after her told them he was new. He read it over before he decided.
"I'll take warm chocolate with some crustards" The amazon nodded before leaving as Bell and Elora started talking.
"So, Bell, what do you usually do 'normally' do every day as you put it" Bell chuckled at that before thinking. Normally? Then it would have to be-
"Well, it's mostly taking care of Adrienne, sparring with Bache to keep our skills sharp or reading books. I'm not really the sharpest in the brain department" He said as Elora formed a small smile at his honesty.
"Doesn't sound like much, though I was surprised that you had a child. You seem pretty young" She said as Bell nodded
"Yeah, I am. It wasn't really my choice since you know how this country is. She seemed genuinely sorry and regretful for her actions so I decided to raise the baby as I know what it's like to not know your parents. After all, my mother died early on and my father abandoned me after that. According to Erebus, he was a coward and was scared to take me on alone" Elora's smile faded at the last part, a frown taking her place.
"That's just deplorable, how can someone do that to a child. Just by being there makes you much better of a father than him" Bell smiled underneath his mask and appreciated the words.
"Thank you. I do hope she fits in within your village. I know there is a mix of races there but I can't help but be a little nervous" Bell said as he looked down slightly as Elora nodded at his concern.
"I understand, but don't worry. The villagers are very strict about no discrimination because of an incident in the past. They drove someone away from the village who soon after committed suicide. After that, if anyone is suspected of discrimination or harasment, heavy punishment is inflicted" Bell let out a sigh of relief at the reassurance, before he looked up as the waitress came back, holding two trays that had their order.
"Here is your order, please enjoy the treats" She said with a smile before heading off. Bell thanked her before he started to eat. He internally thanked the makers of the mask that it had a mouth opening so one could eat and drink.
"What about you Elora? What do you do at the village?" Bell asked after he took a bite of the admittedly delicious crustard.
"Oh, I'm head of the village guard. Since we don't have guild ties, we don't have guards around that are paid by the guild and instead have our own ones" She explained. It made sense. It was one of the reasons they had guild offices in all the affiliated places. It is to spread news, send requests to the main one in Orario and pay for guards that can protect against bandits and such.
"It sounds like a fun job, but if you're the head of the guard, why are you here and not one of the others?" He asked as she smiled bitterly.
"We had a tough run in with bandits that put all of our other guards in severe condition alongside some of their equipment. One of them was level 1 so they had a small advantage. The only ones not hurt too much were guards that had training in healing. I was the only one available" Bell nodded before taking a sip out of his chocolate.
"Sounds rough. A level one no matter if they just started out is always stronger than someone without Falna. It's the same as us when we level up. It gives a massive boost to all basic abilities and our senses making us much more dangerous" Elora nodded in affirmation
"You're correct. You're knowledgeable you know, the guard would be a very good position for you in the village" She said with an expectant look.
"And be your subordinate, no thanks" Bell said with suppressed laughter as she backed up with a hurt expression.
"What's wrong with that? I'm capable!" She retorted back as Bell broke out into chuckles before responding.
"Say that to your injured guards" Red instantly spread across her face as she tried to come up with something before huffing and looking to the side with a pout. She looked like a kid being caught stealing candy which just added to the humor of the situation.
"Well, anyway, this café was reall-" He stopped all of a sudden as he felt someone strong nearby… no, more than one.
Bell saw Elora's expression turn confused before he looked behind him and his eyes went wide as he spotted a certain prum walking in his direction, staring right at him. Behind him were Tione, Tiona and Ais.
Bell instantly turned back to Elora and leaned over.
"Don't call me Bell, alright. Just say I helped you out and you bought a snack as thanks" Her confusion multiplied before she spotted who was walking towards them and her expression widened as well before giving him a look of silent conversation that only adventurers, ex or not had learned to do.
"Excuse me, would it be alright if we could talk to you for a moment?" Finn said after he stood right beside their table that was outside the Café, next to where everyone walks.
Bell forced his heart rate to slow down before nodding.
"T-that's alright, what do you want to talk about?" Bell asked in a slightly shaky voice that slowly got better.
"Well, I was wondering if you had seen someone with white hair and red eyes around" He asked as Bell faked thinking about it, while panicking on the inside
'Calm down, Calm down, Calm down!' His thoughts wouldn't stop before something clicked in his head before he looked at Finn again.
"No, I unfortunately cannot seem to recall such a person crossing my view" Bell said with a much smoother voice.
"That's unfortunate… Also, I was wondering if you could take off the mask. It's uncomfortable to talk to one instead of face to face" Bell panicked, what was he supposed to say? He knew if he did, they would instantly become hostile… but if he didn't they would question it more. Well, there was only one option.
"No, I do not feel comfortable with that" He said as Finn's right eyebrow quirked questionably.
"Why is that? Are you not used to talking to others, which seems unusual considering you're currently eating with this young elf here" Finn turned towards Elora, silently asking her who the other was.
"It's an honor, Braver. I am just treating him to a snack since he helped me out with a task I had" She explained as Finn nodded.
"Alright, I understand. What's your name?" He asked as Elora answered truthfully.
"Elora Carleen" She said with a bow before Finn turned towards Bell as he instantly understood why he asked her name. He wanted to make it seem natural. What was he supposed to say… what would 'Braver' do in this situation…
Pull on a string that had no identity
His intuition screamed at him to say that as he jumped at it's advice. He had learnt to trust it since when he tripped, his intuition told him to brace himself which he didn't do and that led to a bleeding head.
"I have no name as I am the first and currently only Royal Executioner of Asuka Yume, Heir to the throne of the Far East" He said as Bell himself was surprised at his own words. It was like someone else talked out of his mouth.
"Royal executioner? Far from home aren't we, no pun intended" Bell snorted at the unintentional pun from Finn before he nodded
"We royal executioners aren't bound by our countries borders. We simply have the duty to come and aid the country when it is asked by the one that bestowed our title" He explained as Finn nodded, satisfied with his answer. He didn't say anything else, but glanced up at his hair, stared at it for a minute before nodding.
"Thank you for your time, and I'm sorry for having asked you such questions" Bell waved a hand in front of his face before addressing the prum again.
"No worries… also, can you get Jormungand to stop glaring at me" Finn looked up at Tione before he froze. It's understandable to know his name, as it was renowned all over the world, but Tione isn't really as well known and her Alias hasn't reached far outside Orario.
"How do you know her Alias?" He asked, not giving him any more information to work with as Bell sweatdropped underneath his mask, following the directions of his Intuition.
"Elora here is an ex-adventurer, I heard your name from her" Finn looked at Elora in more detail for a second before she nodded
"I am, I was apart of the Hecate Familia before we were banished 5 years ago after the wargame" Finn's eyes lit up in recognition, so did Ais as well as Tione, Tiona and Anakitty
"I remember that wargame. You're 'Thúl', right? High Level 4?" She nodded at his question.
"You did well in that wargame. It was sad to lose another familia after we just lost Astraea Familia" He bowed slightly in remorse as Elora nodded at him with thanks.
"Anyway, we have taken up enough time as it is. Thank you for sparing us a moment" He said before turning around and leaving.
As soon as they were out of the radius of Bell's senses did he breathe out a sigh of relief and sunk back in his chair.
"Thank you Elora" He said as he felt Elora nod
"You don't have to. It's the least I can do since you haven't done anything wrong in my book" Bell could help but smile at her underneath his mask before they quickly got back to the conversation from before and enjoying the snack and admittedly, the company.
=Loki Familia Camp=
"What's your verdict, captain?" Anakitty asked as Finn looked at her.
"Something feels off about him but the hair color is wrong. He is also a royal executioner and Bell Cranel would keep a low profile after escaping. Becoming one of them isn't the behavior of a cautious person so I'm gonna have to say it's not him" Finn said as the others nodded
"So it was for nothing?" She asked as Finn nodded
"Yes, but at least we turned that rock, so now we can put all our focus on other leads. We will go back to Orario and look through all the news around the world that has arrived, once something promising comes up, we investigate it" He commanded as everyone immediately got ready to pack up the camp for when the shift returns.
"Finn… will we be going into the dungeon again after returning?" Ais asked as Finn sighed. She was too focused on getting stronger, even though she clearly thinks about Bell Cranel a lot.
"Yes. We will relay to the guild that the lead has run dry and until another one pops up, there isn't much else we can do. Let's just hope that Gareth and Rivera have better luck" Ais nodded before the two headed off to pack. They were returning home, though temporarily.
Bell had proven to be harder to find than Finn thought. He had accounted for that the boy was young, inexperienced and would leave a track behind. Whether he went to Telskyura because he knew of their meetup in Melen or by pure luck is up for debate, but the prum would put his finger on luck with the abundance the boy has of it.
The last thought on his mind on the matter before he started packing was that this mission was going to be a lot longer than he had anticipated and would be on the back of his mind for most likely, years to come.
=Telskyura Marketplace, 4 days after the encounter=
Bell had been almost paranoid the following day of Finn questioning him. His eyes darted in every direction, looking to spot golden locks anywhere to signal Ais. No one else had hair like her.
After that, it cooled down every day until it stopped, at least somewhat. Currently, Bell was carrying the chests the Valis used to be in for storage purposes alongside a drawer in his right hand. Most people stared at him as he walked with his armor.
It looked really intimidating to the onlookers as a man, armed to the teeth, was carrying a chest and a drawer like they are made out of feathers.
Bell was used to the stares and just walked forward like he wasn't the center of attention. Eventually, he reached the trade guild and right outside stood Elora, fully packed with the armor in her arms.
"There you are. Is that the last of it?" She asked as Bell nodded
"At least for me. Bache is carrying her crib here. The rest of the furniture is something we can't take with us. It's not owned by us" He said as she smiled and nodded
"The contractor isn't really pleased. This is the second time we only stayed for a month before leaving" That turned Elora's smile into a chuckle before she tried to lift the armor into the back of the carriage they had. This one was for Elora's stuff. They had an extra that Bell hired for their stuff.
He put down his items when he noticed she was struggling and walked forward, putting his hand on hers without thinking and pushing up as the armor fell into the waggon.
"Isn't this wagon a little tall? It's weird" Bell said as the back bar was basically leveled with his head. He had grown to the point that he was around 176cm by now so that was ridiculous.
When Bell didn't get a response, he turned towards her and noticed her staring at him with her face completely scarlet as she looked shocked. He looked confused at her before his eyes darted towards her hand which she was holding with her other shaky hand.
His eyes widened when he realized and started sputtering out apologies as Elora just kept staring at him shocked.
"You can't-" She was about to say something but stopped mid sentence before her gaze fell down to the floor as steam came out of her pointy ears.
Bell sighed and calmed himself down before saying his apology loud and clearly.
"I'm sorry Elora, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just trying to help" Elora nodded as she gaze stayed downcast.
Bell looked behind him, hoping for anything to break this awkward silence before he noticed Bache and Erebus arriving.
"Bache, Erebus! Are you ready to leave?" He asked as the two nodded.
"Yeah, let me just put this in the wagon" Bache said as she turned to the left of them and jumped up into their wagon while Erebus walked up to him.
"What's up with her?" He asked, pointing at Elora as Bell chuckled.
"Eh… I ju-"
"Nothing!" She said rather quickly and forcefully before looking up, clearly having calmed down enough to look semi-normal. Bell was about to say something but one look from Elora sent his mouth into the silent zone.
"Alright then, I'll just get inside" Erebus said with a roll of his eyes, before climbing up and sitting down. Bache, who had heard everything, jumped out of their waggon and walked over to them, giving Bell a look before getting up and sitting in front of Erebus.
"We should join them" Elora said
"Yeah, we probably should" Bell agreed as both of them made to grab the same spot before Elora's hand jumped back as Bell gave her another confused look at the excessive action. She could have just stopped.
Bell climbed inside and Elora was not long behind as they sat in front of each other, beside either Bache or Erebus.
"You can start driving" Erebus said as both wagons began moving, heading towards the exit.
"So really, what happened?" Erebus asked as Bell made another move to talk.
"You see, I may or may not have accidentally touched her… and you know elves" Bell said with a chuckle as Erebus made an 'ah' sound.
"So… Elora is mad at you?" Bache asked as Bell shrugged.
"I don't know, but she almost glared at me earlier so I guess so" Bell said, looking at Elora as if he was expecting her to answer but she just stayed silent, staring to the side.
"Well, Elora, could you talk more about your village? We are going there right now after all" Erebus cut in as to change the subject, much to her relief as she looked at them and started talking.
The conversation kept up after that as they went from one topic to another, driving down the road, heading back to Orario, before turning to the north west towards their destination.
=Orario, Dungeon Floor 14=
"Anvil Head, to your right!" Lili screamed as Welf dodged the axe throw from an Almiraj. He quickly twisted his footing and heavily slashed the monsters head right off it's shoulders as it rushed him.
"Mikoto! Take out the three furthest away! Haruhime, chant and give a level boost to Welf, he's struggling!" Lili once again commanded as the two did as asked, trusting her judgement.
It had taken some time, but eventually the 4 had decided to party up as they missed their synergy. Even without Bell here, they were a very strong party for being two level 2's and two level 1's. Normally, a party like theirs didn't go deeper than the 13th but if they wanted, they could go all the way down to the 18th if they so liked.
No deeper though as the floors under were pretty pressing for a level 2, let alone level 1's. When they had actually decided to party again, it took a little getting used to, but now they were back to a well oiled machine, but still slightly missing the safety that came with having Bell around.
"UCHIDE NO KOZUCHI!" Haruhime called out as a yellow light enveloped Welf as he burst forward, killing 5 Almiraj' before Lili could see what happened.
"Welf! Take care of the hellhounds raining fire on us from the rock in front of Mikoto!" Welf snapped to the location and put his hand forward
"Burn out, illegal work. Will-O-Wisp!" The hellhounds charged before their stomachs started bloating massively before blowing up, taking the rocks with them as it crushed another wave of monsters, blocking the path for more to come.
"Well done! Help Mikoto to clean out the remaining monsters" As soon as Welf met up with her, did the fight soon come to an end.
"Nice work there Welf-dono, I got scared there for a second" she said in between heavy breaths as Welf nodded
"You're right. Your help gave me time before Haruhime's level boost saved me" He said before grinning at Haruhime who smiled and nodded at Welf.
"There were some rough spots but Lili has to say everyone is getting better" Lili said as the group smiled at each other.
"Where are you all with your statuses anyway?" Lili asked as Welf and Mikoto shared, trusting everyone present with their lives, souls and bodies.
"I'm getting close to leveling up. I'm almost at 500 in dexterity" Welf said proudly as Mikoto nodded
"I am ready, but I want to get as far as possible before Welf-dono is too so we can level up at the same time" Mikoto announced as the other two smiled.
"Lili is ready. Lili's magic is at 600 and her other stats are reaching the 300 mark soon. Lili only needs a great deed" She said proudly as Mikoto gave her an 'o'.
"What about you Haruhime?" Welf said as Lili went off, still listening while picking up all the drops.
"My magic is at 700, and the others are at 200 Welf-sama" She said in her usual quiet and polite voice.
"That's impressive. How close to getting it to 800?" He asked as Haruhime smiled alongside Mikoto who gave the answer.
"Her magic is at 798" Welf gawked at Haruhime. It wasn't really surprising if you thought about it. She constantly used her magic non stop in the dungeon as they needed level boosts and that raised her magic by a lot over time.
"So you're almost A rank in magic? Maybe you should go for S at this rate…" Welf advised her as she nodded
"It was my plan. Takemikazuchi-sama advises me to do so as it will give me more mind to work within the dungeon, and may make my boost stronger" Welf smiled at that. If her boost became stronger, then it would be even more of a game changer
"Guess we will see. Anyway, should we head back? We've been in the dungeon all day by now" Welf said as Lili turned around and nodded
"Lili agrees, it is never good to overdo things. Let's head back and split the rewards. We got quite the haul today" Everyone agreed before walking up a small bedrock slope before entering back into the labyrinth that Lili had memorized, heading back towards the surface.
=Guild Office, 3 hours later=
"58 000 Valis! This is our record!" Welf said as he stared at the unsplit amount.
"Anvilhead is right, that's 14 500 Valis each! Well done everyone!" Lili exclaimed, clearly happy about the amount they made.
"Indeed, it is as you say, Lili-dono. We are getting better" Everyone agreed before splitting the amount.
"By the way, have you guys heard of the mission the Loki Familia went on?" Welf said as the others shook their heads.
"Lili had been too busy helping the new Soma Captain with finances and partying with you all to read the guildboard" Lili said
"Me and Haruhime haven't paid attention lately" Mikoto said for both her and Haruhime before Welf leaned over.
"They went out to capture the escapees from Kauhea Forbande, and I got a message from Fels. One of them is Bell" Lili stared at Welf as the other two did the same.
"Bell-sama… He's out?" Lili asked as Welf nodded
"And an escapee, but I can't blame him. He was sentenced for life, and him at least being free, even if it's on the run, sits better with me than him behind bars" Everyone hummed in agreement before he put out another piece of news.
"Also, if you two" He pointed at Haruhime and Mikoto who looked at him intrigued "Haven't paid attention to news, then you haven't heard about what happened in the Far East 3 months ago?" The two looked at each other confused before shaking their heads.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun to tell you. Remember the condition the country was in? Famine, diseases, criminal activity, corruption among some other things?" He asked as the two just nodded again, wondering where this was going.
"Well, the country is stabilized. The issues are resolved and are on par, if not better than any other country in the world!" Mikoto gawked with her eyes wide open. Haruhime's ears twitched in surprise as her tail stood straight up while her face had gone slack.
"WHAT!?" The two said at the same time in shock, making Welf wince at the noise.
"That country had been like that for over a hundred years! How did it stabilize so fast!?" They asked as Welf smirked more.
"Well, according to Fels who got the information from Hermes. The newest Royal Executioner who is first class stabilized the country by taking down corrupt nobles and criminal organizations who were the source for the issues" The two gawked at the news of a new Royal Executioner. They were usually picked shortly before the heir became Empress and the current heir wouldn't become one for another 4 years!
"Royal… Executioner…" Haruhime said in awe, having heard the stories of them as a child.
"Wow, that is some really good news. Lord Takemikazuchi will love hearing about this. Don't worry, we won't leave. We might go visit to see how it changed, but we'll be back" Mikoto said, clearly in a happier mood than before.
"Do… Do you know what happened to my parents?" Haruhime said, too forgiving to hold a grudge against them.
"Well, I know they weren't among the houses that were arrested so they are still there" Haruhime nodded with a smile.
"Lili thinks this is good news, but Lili also has to get back to Chandra" Welf nodded as he also had to head back to work on his smithing skills.
"I agree, we need to relay the information to Lord Takemikazuchi" Mikto said as they said their goodbyes, heading back towards their homes, hoping as usual, that Bell will eventually return.
That's Chapter 14! In a way, a filler chapter to move the story forward. Anyway, as usual I hope you all enjoyed and to see you next time!