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.
17: Goals
=Anfesera, 2 years later=
"Adrienne! Where are you?" Bell asked as he walked into the house. He was holding a plushie that the carpenter had made for her per Bell's request.
"Papa!" The dark skinned amazonian girl came running wobbly around the left corner towards the kitchen as he heard laughter from behind her.
Bell picked her up with his left arm, leaning her against his shoulder as Adrienne laughed. Bache peeked over, holding a kitchen knife with a smile on her face.
"Did you get it?" She asked as Bell nodded
"Yeah. Adrienne, look. Papa's got a present for you" Bell said, adoration clear in his voice as he held up the plushie figure of a minotaur that she had asked… or practically begged for the last 2 months.
"Yay! Papa's da best!" She said, her words still not 100% correctly pronounced yet, which was expected for her age being 2 months over 2 years. But her knowledge when to use those words she knew was impressive.
Adrienne instantly hugged the plushie tightly with a blinding smile on her face that she clearly got from her father.
"Now, I need to talk to mommy, so why don't you irritate your godfather a little?" Adrienne laughed at that as she ran towards the sofa where Erebus was glaring towards Bell.
The rabbit in question always chuckled at the title of godfather for a literal god. She climbed up the sofa as Erebus sat up straight, sighing before a small smile took its place on his face. Erebus never would have admitted it, but he adored the little girl.
"Alright, come here. Do you want to hear a story?" Erebus asked as Adrienne nodded, the plushie still tightly held against her chest.
"Alright, once upon a time, 2 large groups of heroes traveled the lands on 3 great quests…" Erebus began as Bell cut out the story Erebus was saying which he had heard too many times already.
"Where is Elora?" Bache asked with a teasing tone as Bell chuckled.
"She's out doing preparations on the village defence, like usual" Bell said, smiling as he looked back at the door.
"Sounds just like her. How are things between the two of you?" She asked as Bell turned to look at her.
"Things are still new. God, I was so surprised when she walked up to me and asked me out" Bell said with a chuckle as Bache did the same. Said Amazon had originally been slightly hurt at the fact that Bell had accepted, but she was content with how things were.
She knew things between them wouldn't really work out in the end if it weren't for Adrienne. Bell simply traveled too often as he had recently begun doing so again, going on mercenary missions.
He was doing that in order to gain a reputation outside Orario. He had a simple set of rules for himself. Number one being that he always wore the armor and mask for obvious reasons. Number two being no killing unless absolutely necessary which meant no assasination missions. The last rule which he found most important for his goal, which was to never ask for a reward.
He never did so since his goal was to gain a reputation in order to gain a pull outside of Orario. This was preparation for him returning back to the city that is called the center of the world, and he had pondered upon all the approaches he could do in order to get that done.
Many had crossed his mind, but none really seemed plausible at all. That was until he had set himself to think like braver. To try to think ahead and beyond simply returning.
It had led him to the conclusion that was so obvious, that it seemed too simple. Orario relied heavily on imported items to remain standing, and in return, the world relied on Orario to protect them from the monsters that dwell in the dungeon.
Bell's approach was that he began by gaining a large reputation outside Orario, gaining their favor and trust which would strengthen his position when he returned. That would mean that if they tried to arrest him, he could pull upon the trust and appreciation of the people outside of Orario to stave off their attempts.
After all, Orario can't possibly risk losing it's supplies from outside their walls just to arrest one person. It's basically one supposed criminal lost in order to keep the city running.
Shortly after Bell had thought of it, he had talked to Erebus about it. He was more than impressed with the prospect and told him to go for it.
That was a year and a half ago, and he had gone around and solved a lot of problems in villages that were around Orario. He had basically become a myth around those villages. A man in black, plated armor and mask, saving villagers from monsters without asking for anything in return.
Some villages had begun to place more trust in the myth than Orario itself, much to the guild's annoyance.
Bell just hoped they wouldn't send Loki Familia after him to stop him from doing what he was doing.
"I'm back every-WOAH!" Bell and Bache were snapped out of their thoughts. Elora had opened the door, only to be met with the back of Bell, who had grown to about 180cm. He was almost a head taller than the elf at this point.
Elora looked up at Bell's apologizing look before she smiled before leaning on her hip.
"What's got you stuck in your head?" She asked as Bell's eyes softened and a smile set in on his face.
"Just thinking about how you surprised me when you asked me out, all basfully and truly non elf like" Bell said as Elora's cheeks reddened. She quickly hit his shoulder, causing him to flinch back as he laughed.
"I felt that you know. You're a level 4 after all" He said as Elora pouted. She had accepted Bell's old offer shortly after she had asked Bell out, so she had officially gotten her status back as a high level 4.
"Then don't tease me…" She said, pout still present on her face as Bell couldn't help but chuckle. Elora shook her head after she wiped the pout off her face, before walking past him, giving Bache a wave. Said amazon returned it before she walked towards the sofa and plopped down next to Adrienne.
Bell smiled at that before he stretched. He quickly took a towel and headed towards the showers they had renovated over a year ago.
Things had really started to look up a lot for Bell. Not only did he have a comfy, and quite frankly, luxurious home, but he also had a family again. It would never replace his old one, but it was a family nonetheless.
As Bell was showering, he wandered back into his thoughts. He had really felt stupid after Elora had asked him out. He had actually thought he had offended her and that she had held a grudge over it but according to her, she had actually harbored feelings for him.
His mind thought back to the memory of the day, 9 months ago.
Flashback:
Bell was coming out of the forest, with a large sack on his back, filled to the brim with magic stones.
As Anfesera wasn't really a village that was in contact with the outside world, the magic stones they gained from the forest was their only source of them.
This made it so that they periodically had to go in and get them in order to keep their magic stone lamps and other machinery that ran on magic stones running.
It had been dangerous for a while, but recently, the chief had been really thankful towards Bell for doing that for them. Him being a level 5 basically made it a piece of cake to do what normally would be a life and death mission for half the guards in the matter of hours.
Bell walked up towards the normal meeting location outside the blacksmith who handled magic stones as well. There stood Saena, the blacksmith and Elora.
Bell quickly noticed the tint of red on her face and looked away. He truly didn't understand what was wrong. She had talked to him like nothing was wrong, but sometimes, whenever he approached, she instantly panicked and ran away. It honestly hurt that she also denied it when he had approached her in the past about it.
He had settled for letting her be when it came to that and acting like nothing happened. He didn't know if it would do anything or not but he hoped that things would go back to normal soon.
"Bell, once again, thank you for doing this" Saena said with a smile as Bell nodded
"Anytime, chief. I am a resident of the village so I'll do what I can to help" He said with a smile as the chief nodded
"Of course, but I still feel the need to thank you. Just doing this saves lives of guards that would have perished if things were done like it was before you arrived" She explained as Bell nodded
"Well, it's my pleasure. It's nice to see you too, Derneg" He said with a nod to the dwarf blacksmith. He then smiled at Elora as her cheeks instantly heated and her face became covered in red like a tomato.
"Thanks lad, we will make good ol' use of these magic stones" the dwarf said as Bell nodded. He gave the bag to the dwarf who headed inside. Saena excused herself for her chiefly duties and Bell prepared to leave before he felt Elora grip his wrist. He looked back at her questionably.
She looked extremely sheepish and nervous as she looked down, or anywhere that wasn't Bell at all, her legs almost shaking.
"Elora… is there something you need?" Bell asked as the elf nodded slowly.
"Yeah… Well… I wanted to ask you if…" She started before she stopped, seeming to question if she should ask or not.
"If?" Bell asked as she looked around even more sheepishly.
"You know… Go out... together" She said the last part so quietly that he would never have heard her if he wasn't first class.
"Wait… you mean like a… D-date!?" He asked as a blush spread across his face. When Elora confirmed his belief, he instantly felt like an idiot
'She wasn't mad at me at all! She was…' Bell thought as he wanted to hit himself for not seeing it. It made so much sense.
As he stood there and processed what was just said.
'Oh gods…' As Bell comes to the realization of her previous actions and words.
He had never really been confused before, so he never truly knew the signs. Whenever the concept of romance and girls came up, it always ended with Bell being hit across the face or something along those lines so he never learnt anything.
Now that he was being confessed to, he couldn't help but feel kind of elated. Elora… a woman that was considered an exquisite beauty actually confessed to him.
Bell was lost in his thoughts for a second before he thought about his answer. It was instant as he and Bache had come to terms with their relationship not being romantic.
"Yes… a d-d-date" Elora answered his question at the same time as Bell arrived at an answer. He smiled at her, before nodding. Her eyes widened as hope seemed to dawn upon her features.
"Yes, I'd love to go out with you Elora" Bell answered as a smile that split her face in half took its place on her face, enhancing her features tenfold.
"Alright! How does tomorrow work?" She asked as Bell nodded
"That works perfectly. I don't have anything planned" Bell answered as he smiled at her. The two talked for a couple of more minutes before she excused herself. She needed to take care of her duties as the head of the guards.
Bell smiled at her retreating form, looking forward to tomorrow
Flashback end
That date, they had just walked around, and done whatever they felt like. It had actually felt almost perfect.
When he had told Bache about the date, he had noticed the look of hurt in her eyes but quickly disappeared as she nodded and congratulated him. Bell felt a little bad, but knew that he and Bache would never have worked as a couple, and so did she.
He turned off the shower before grabbing the towel and cleaning himself. He quickly got dressed again in his white shirt, black pants and jet black overcoat that extended down to his calves.
Once done, he fixed his hair in a ponytail, some of it looking wild before he walked out towards the rest of the other, planning on enjoying the day.
"Ah, you're done Bell?" Elora asked from the sofa, Adrienne in her lap, smiling at Bell.
"Yeah, so what are you doing?" He asked, sitting down by Elora and Adrienne, as his daughter answered instantly, explaining the story Erebus had told.
Elora had grabbed a small handful of Bell's hair and smelled the new soap she thought would suit him. Sighing in delight.
"So, what do y'all want to do?" Bell inquired as the others looked at him.
Bache looked back at Bell before her eyes darted towards Adrienne.
"Well… she is almost 2 and a half years old now…" she began as Bell thought about it before realizing what she meant.
"Right… Erebus, remember what we talked about with Adrienne and your blessing" Bell said as Erebus nodded
"Right, You and Bache wanted her to have a blessing after she was 2 years old so she was safer" Erebus said as Bell nodded. In truth, Bache had originally been against the idea as she had been forced to have a blessing since she was born and didn't want the same for her daughter, but Bell had argued that she would be able to choose later on if she wanted to remove it or not.
They wouldn't force her to train or anything as such, Bell had reasoned that it would make her safer, and that it wouldn't limit her freedom at all.
After he had said that, Bache had reluctantly agreed, and slowly came to see that his point made sense. It didn't actually limit one's choices. One could have a blessing without fighting.
"Yeah, how about we do it now?" Bell asked him as Erebus shrugged.
"Alright, what about your status?" He asked as Bell shook his head.
"What would that do? It's already completely maxed" He said as Erebus chuckled at that. It was a little sore spot as Bell wanted to get stronger. For over a year, his stats had been pushed to their limit at 1399 and he just needed a feat now, which was next to impossible outside of Orario as a level 5.
"Your basic abilities may have maxed, but your Development abilities haven't" Erebus reasoned as Bell thought about it.
"Hm… I'll still pass. Let's focus on this right now" Bell answered as Erebus nodded, respecting his answer.
"Adrienne, come here" Bell said as the girl complied. She sat down in Bell's lap before Bell carried her and stood up. He sat in front of Erebus before lifting up her shirt just enough to show her back.
"Your godfather is going to do something that will feel warm on your back. It is harmless, so don't worry" He said as Adrienne nodded.
"O'tay…" She said as she waited. Erebus bit his finger before letting a drop of blood drip down on Adrienne's back. He put down his finger and started to write the contract. Adrienne whimpered at the wet feeling of Ichor being spread across her back in the form of hieroglyphs before her back lit up, and Erebus symbol appeared, signaling the birth of a new blessed child.
"It's done" Erebus said as Bell nodded.
"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Bell said, smiling at Adrienne nodded slowly with one eye closed. Bell pulled down the shirt. She looked up at Bell, before leaning in and closing her eyes.
Bell smiled at the action before a thought came to him.
"Well… That's done. What else do you all want to do? It is my last day here before I head out to that village, Northon" Bell said as the others nodded.
"Well, how about we simply talk and enjoy the company?" He suggested as the others agreed.
"Indeed," Elora said, as she leaned in closer to Bell.
"Papa, how wong will be gone dis time?" Adrienne asked accompanied by a saddened look.
"Probably 5 days, maybe less, little firefly"
Adrienne's eyes lit up just like her father's nickname would suggest, "YAY!"
Adrienne began to squirm out of her father's arms and ran the best she could back to the kitchen where her mother was prepping dinner.
"Well, now that my job is done, I'm going to go read the new book I got yesterday" Erebus began to walk away waving said book over his head.
Suddenly Bell got a chill down his back as he felt a hand sliding down his arm.
"Say Bell, can we take a minute to ourselves?" Elora asked as he had a slight pleading look in her eyes.
"S-sure," Bell's stutter being rewarded with a small giggle from Elora.
"Still bashful?" Still giggling at Bell's shyness, she grabbed his hand and began to lead him away from the others, and most importantly out of "earshot".
"There's a shop I was wondering if you would visit when you head out to Northon." Elora began. "It's name is cheesy but it has some things I wanted to get the one time I was there, but I was pressed for time and couldn't" she paused.
"What's this shop's name?" Bell as with his head tilted slightly.
"Elven Delights." She said "It has many things, it sells old Elvish style sweets as it's main attraction, but it has an antique store connected to it and plus it's run by the same owners." She turned to Bell and put a hand on his chest.
"And what is it that you want from this Elven shop?" Bell asked and placed a hand atop hers on his chest.
"Not much, just this little Elvish necklace that I saw in the window. It was woody in it's design and stuck out to me because it had this ruby centerpiece." She raised her free hand up to his face. "It may be gone now, but I would appreciate it very much if you at least look for me."
"Gladly" Bell said, but not without his face being beet red in color. Even after 9 months, he was not used to acting intimately in any way, shape or form. Didn't mean he doesn't enjoy it at all.
Elora smiles back at him sweetly before leaning forward on her toes, locking their lips in place for a second. Bell only had the time to close his eyes before she was gone.
"Alright… what was that for?" He asked cheekily as she giggled.
"Oh, for being sweet" She answered over her shoulder before leaving up the stairs, and he could have sworn she was intentionally swaying her hips.
Bell shook his head with closed eyes once she was gone with a smile. Before he also went upstairs towards his room upstairs. He didn't enter immediately as he had gotten used to Elora staying over most of the time by now. The household had practically become a second home for her as she stayed there more than she did her actually owned house.
"Come in" He heard her say. She clearly knew it was him judging by her state of dress when he entered.
She had taken off her top bottom, leaving her with her undergarments as she leaned on her hip, smirking at Bell.
"You know you don't have to knock, right? It's nothing you haven't seen before" Bell wanted to retort, but knew she was right. They weren't exactly intimate in the bedroom but they did cuddle under the sheets.
It had actually been quite difficult in the beginning of the relationship for Bell. His feelings for Ais had always been in the back of his mind, but after he had a long chat with Erebus, he had come to a conclusion.
Erebus had told him bluntly that letting his past feelings of someone he found special stand in the way of progress with others, would just end up hindering his own happiness. He even gave some tales of people that never ended up with someone as they kept chasing a relationship with someone that wasn't going to happen.
It had gotten Bell thinking, and realizing that not giving Elora a fair shot at all wouldn't be fair for her but he knew as Ais was his first ever love, she would always have a special place in his heart.
He resolved himself to progress the relationship he had here, and see where it went. He wanted to give it a chance as according to Erebus, it could become something far greater than he had with Ais.
"-Anyone home?" He noticed fingers in front of his face snapping before his eyes locked onto amber ones.
"Sorry… Got lost in thoughts" Bell said sheepishly as Elora smiled, before grabbing his arm, leading him towards bed.
"Come one, I want to cuddle before I sleep" She said as Bell blushed slightly before nodding, quickly taking off his top, leaving his pants on before the two buried themselves underneath the sheets.
They moved around as they tangled their limbs together. Once they found a comfortable position, Elora let out a content sight as her face was buried underneath Bell's chin, her nose catching constant whiffs of his smell.
"You know… I adore these peaceful moments…" Elora muttered. Bell let out a chuckle in response before opening his eyes.
"Yeah… I make things seem so… peaceful and perfect" He responded, before reaching out with one hand, and turning off the magic stone lamp that was illuminating the room. Once done, he quickly wrapped the arm around Elora's frame, as she leaned further into the embrace.
"Goodnight, Bell" She said as he felt the content smile on her face.
"Good night… Milady" He responded with the pet name he had for her, the two relaxing even more into the embrace as the dreams quickly claimed them.
=Morning After=
Bell began to stir early this morning. 'What's this soft…' He had come to the realization that his hands had found their way to Elora's "sacred hills".
"UUEHHHHHH" Bell both jumped and yelled as quietly as he could, but failed at it miserably. Elora stirred in her sleep before her eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Mhmm… Something wrong…" her yawn interrupted her sentence before she finished it "Bell?" Said boy… or man in this case as the adult age is 16 started to stutter out a response.
"I- I'm- Why- How- Your…" He tried to get out as Elora began to wake up more and more and a giggle escaped her lips as she noticed him pointing at her chest as she got a sense of what happened.
"Oh, Bell… You don't have to worry about that. I'm okay with it" She said as he instantly went beetred at the okay sign.
"Oh… okay" He said quietly as Elora got up and stretched. Bell composed himself before grabbing some fresh clothes before stretching himself.
"So…" He heard Elora say, before he felt her arms wrap around him, her head leaning on his shoulder "How long do we have before you leave?" She asked in a sultry tone as he saw her smile.
Bell couldn't help but smile before turning around, his hands finding their way to her hips as she readjusted her arms over and around his shoulders.
"Well, it's still morning and I have until the afternoon" He said as he noticed her smile widen as her eyes flickered down to his lips.
"You know what we could do to kill the time?" She asked as she started to lean in slightly and her eyes partially lidded. Bell's heartbeat sped up as he understood where this was going and decided to play along.
"And what might that be?" He asked, surprised at his ability to speak without stutters.
"This" She said simply as she closed the gap, locking their lips together. Bell instantly responded, pressing himself towards her as she did the same. Their lips moved in sync as they moved back before Elora fell backwards onto the bed as their lips continued to clash.
Bell's mind had gone completely blank as he was truly enjoying the moment which felt like it went on forever. The lips separated for a second as they took a deep breath before instantly diving back in.
As things went on, their hands became more daring, exploring more and more as their kiss became more needy. It took all Bell's willpower to detach himself from Elora, her mouth chasing him but got out of reach.
She whined at the loss of contact before her eyes fluttered open, screaming at him to explain why they stopped.
"We need to stop… Things were going too far" He said, his eyes lidded as he controlled himself from diving straight back into the action.
"Oh… I didn't notice" She said, her eyes understanding before Bell stood up as she sat up.
"Well… it was nice?" Bell said it more like a question than a statement as he couldn't help but realize something.
'These moments are becoming more and more heated each time…' He thought. The truth is, they could practically make out for hours on end a month ago, but now…
Bell shook his head as he saw her bashfully looking down, red in the face, as a smile clear on her face.
"Well… I'll go down and make breakfast" She said as she stood up, leaving the room as Bell smiled at her retreating form.
He shook his head shortly after before walking over to his traveling pack. He was heading to Northon by foot. It was not only cheaper, but for Bell, it was also faster.
He grabbed the pack, slung it over his shoulder before heading downstairs. There, he was met with Elora prepping what Bell guessed was oxtail stew. The next second, he felt something slam into his leg before he looked down, seeing Adrienne giggling and looking up at him.
"Papa!" She called out as Bell smiled and picked her up.
"Good morning, Little Firefly" he said with a smile as Adrienne hugged him tightly.
"Good moning, Papa!" She said before Bell walked forward, greeting Erebus and Bache. Bell handed Adrienne over to Bache before heading downstairs. He quickly put on his armor and packed his mask.
He had said that it was morning, but in reality it was basically noon, so he was leaving in an hour or so.
He walked back upstairs once he was done and heard the pleasant cooking of the stew.
"When do you think the stew will be done, Elora?" He asked as she looked over the shoulder with a smile.
"In a minute. Oxtail stew is quite quick to make after all" She said as Bell nodded. He was pretty hungry and he would need the food for the road. It was a two day trip to the village on foot for Bell, and he expected that he could handle the monsters within a day.
He had found out about the monster problem in Northon from a traveler in another nearby village called Stawford.
Elora got out 5 bowls before filling them with the stew. She then walked towards the table and set it up.
Bell walked over and sat down, knowing the time was ticking until he had to go.
"Thanks for the food, Milady" He said as she smiled back at him, nodding before she sat down next to him.
Erebus sat down opposite to Bell while Bache helped Adrienne sit in the chair especially made for children before sitting across from Elora.
Bell dug in and hummed in satisfaction as the taste of the stew filled his mouth.
"Adrienne! You're holding it wrong! It's supposed to go in the other hand" Bell heard Elora call out to the confused child. Bell chuckled as he enjoyed the scene. Bache and Erebus did the same as this was normal.
She always tried to teach manners to Adrienne. Sometimes Bell couldn't help but wonder who was the mother, Bache or Elora… if you discounted the obvious characteristics that gave it away.
Adrienne tried to correct herself, only to get scolded again as Elora stood up, walked around and showed her how.
"You have to remember to not have your index finger like this, or it is considered unmannerlike" She explained as Bell couldn't help but chuckle as Adrienne gave a 'Help me' look towards Bell and Bache.
This went on for a little while, and before they knew it, it was time to leave. Bell was standing outside with the others bidding him goodbye.
"You're gone for 5 days right?" Erebus asked as Bell nodded.
"Thank god, I was needing a break from your antics" He joked as Bell gasped in mock-hurt.
"Oh, now there mister, I can go on and on about your antics so don't even get me started!" He said with a smirk as everyone just stared at the two. The next second, both Erebus and Bell laughed before Elora walked up.
"Remember the shop?" She asked as Bell nodded. Elora smiled at that before leaning in and giving him a quick kiss.
"Stay safe, alright?" This time, her voice was lower and more serious as Bell's expression softened.
"Of course" Elora, now satisfied, backed up, allowing Bache to walk forward with Adrienne in her arms.
"I second what Elora said. Be careful, I don't want Adrienne to lose her father" She said as Bell nodded.
"You know that I can take care of myself, right?" He asked sarcastically, aiming the sentence at Elora as well.
"Yeah, but you never know" Elora said in the background as Bache nodded.
"True…" He muttered before leaning in towards Adrienne who looked at Bell with a smile before he tapped her nose.
"Behave until I'm back little firefly, alright?" He said with a bright smile as she giggled.
"O'tay, Papa!" She replied before opening her arms before Bell took her into his embrace lifting her up as Adrienne hugged him around his neck.
"I'll miss you, Adrienne. See you in 5 days" He said as Adrienne nodded into his neck before letting go. Bell handed her to Bache, before he slung his pack around his back, mask in hand and put it on his face.
He waved as he started to take steps backwards before turning around, the last thing he saw of his home being his family waving goodbye outside the house.
=Northon, 2 Days later=
The trip towards the village was uneventful to say the least. He passed some curious people on the way, but nothing really happened apart from a stray goblin or two crossing his path. They were stupid enough to attack him, only to be swiftly turned to dust alongside their magic stones. After all, Goblin magic stones are worth absolutely nothing, especially from outside Orario.
Currently, he was casually walking towards the town in front of him. He honestly didn't know if it is a village or a town as it's almost like something in between.
There was developed infrastructure that is typical of a town, but there was no designated boundary to the location or a local government. It was like something in between where a village was turning into a town.
The buildings reminded Bell a lot of Orario with it's infrastructure where everything was tightly packed together with a main street going through all sides towards the center of the town where there was a large park.
Bell called it 'Orarios little brother' in his head as it basically was.
Now, since he already knew that the monsters came from a den to the east from here, close to Beol Mountains, he figured he could go to this shop, 'Elven Delights' that Elora asked if he could visit.
The first thing Bell did when he entered the town was to purchase a local map. It was much simpler than trying to squint your eyes at a large map which didn't have shop locations.
Local maps were cheap either way, only costing him 500 valis for it. Once he looked through the map he eventually found what he was looking for. He placed his thumb right under the name 'Elven Delights' on the map before following it from his location.
Navigation was a skill Bell had always been exceptionally skilled at which was very useful when he was an adventurer. After all, learning to navigate the dungeon was crucial and he was a natural at it. It was like he could always pinpoint his location on a map if he's seen it once and found where he was.
This skill was something Erebus said reminded him of Alfia since she was the 'incarnation of talent'. She could remember anything she had seen instantly, whether it was maps, books or even copying others fighting techniques. The mere thought of that made Bell shudder as it would make fighting her near impossible.
Well, it was one more thing he seemed to share from his aunt. He had a knack for picking things up, remembering and navigating. Bell smiled at that before heading off in the direction of Elven Delights.
Once he had reached it, he was met with a typical building with the symbol of an elf's face on top. Underneath the symbol was the name ''Elven Delights'. Bell folded the map before walking inside.
The store didn't have any customers at the moment, but he was met with a tall elven woman with red hair and blue eyes that clashed with each other.
"Good evening. How may I help you?" She asked professionally as Bell looked around. He could tell that she was staring at his mask questionably, but decided not to mention it unless she did.
"Hello, I am looking for an Elvish necklace with a woody design to it. It also has a ruby at its center. Do you happen to still have it?" he asked as the woman nodded.
"Yes, wait here one moment" She said before walking into the back of the store. While she was gone, Bell stood there and looked around. Most of the things in here were definitely elven, but that didn't seem to be all. There was a section where there was a culture mix where different things from different races were shown. Bell could recognize some amazonian things, some native to dwarfs. There were even things native to the Far East.
Bell heard footsteps approaching from the back and turned around. The elf came back out with a box before putting it on the counter.
"Is this what you were looking for?" She asked, opening the box where a necklace was. It definitely matched the design. It had a chain that almost looked woody somehow but was made of metal, while the piece attached to it was completely made of wood with a dazzling ruby at the center.
"This necklace was made of wood from the sacred tree within Alf's royal forest. The metal is a special kind that has been interwoven with the tree's essence. If I may ask, why is a non elf like you seeking such an item?" She asked as Bell shield underneath his mask.
"Oh, someone very dear to me asked to see if you still had it. She happens to be an Elf" He responded as the woman nodded.
"By the way, I'm curious. I heard about a holy tree within the Ryumilua forest. What separates that from the 'sacred tree' in Alf's royal forest?" Bell asked as the woman looked pleased at Bell's curiosity.
"That's an excellent question. Something that isn't widely known about our elves is that there is one holy tree in every forest, but the sacred tree within Alf's royal forest is the most important one for us elves. To us, it is where our lifeblood originated, the tree where the gods birthed the first elves from. The other trees became holy because of us elves settling down there and infusing our energy form the sacred one into that tree" She explained as Bell nodded
"So, do you know why the gods chose the sacred tree?" He asked as the woman instantly responded.
"Because the sacred tree had the energy to strengthen our souls, allowing us to live longer. As a byproduct, the strengthened soul makes us more acute to magical energies, allowing us to more easily learn magic and use it more efficiently than other races. There is a downside though, being that we won't allow anyone we deem unworthy or 'tainted' as some would call it, touch us" She explained as Bell pieced things together. It did make sense.
"But, some elves allow me to touch them while some don't" Bell said as the woman nodded.
"Every elf has a different soul, meaning that every elf feels that different people are unworthy while others are" She explained as Bell nodded before looking back down at the necklace.
"How much for it?" He asked as the woman picked immediately gave the answer, how she remembered the price of everything in here, he couldn't understand.
"150 000 Valis" She said as Bell whistled at the number. It was a lot, but not out of his price range… not by a long shot. After all, Elora had followed through with her words. Within the last two years, she had paid Bell back 175 000 valis from what she earned as the head of the village guards, so technically she is spending the money, not him as the swords and bow were a gift.
Bell fished out his pouch, making the elf's eyes widen as his entire arm was buried inside it. Once it came back out, he held out 6 pouches, filled to the brim with valis.
"Here, 6 pouches that hold 25 000 valis each" He said as the woman quickly lifted the pouches one by one, feeling their weight before nodding. She seemed to be knowledgeable with how much valis weighed Bell guessed.
"Thank you for your patronage. Have a nice day" She said, packing up the necklace before handing it to Bell. He took it, putting it into his trusty pouch before leaving. He swore that the thing was one of the most useful things he had ever owned. If he had it when he was an adventurer, he would never have needed to worry about valis.
Bell smiled at that as he stepped outside, stopping to reattach the pouch to his side before he looked up and turned to the side that led to the east of the town, the direction the monsters are at.
He started walking before stopping after a couple of steps, peeking at the store to his right.
'Jewelry huh? I wonder…' He thought, pondering upon something before deciding. He changed course, and entered the store.
=7 hours later=
Bell's longsword cut a killer ant in half before he twisted it around into a reverse grip, thrusting it up behind him, right into a goblins skull.
The fight to a normal person looked intense, but if one could see Bell's eyes, they were clearly bored. The monsters were too slow. It felt like he was hunting snails.
His eyes darted to his right, before twisting his head to the side, letting an orcs fat arm fly past his head, before his blade thrust forward, cutting the limb off, the blood splattering into the face of 4 other monsters.
He quickly took out a knife, throwing it at the sole remaining monster behind him, impaling it's magic stone before turning to dust.
The remaining 5 monsters were quickly dispatched before Bell sheathed his blade and sighed. Sometimes he hated his luck ability somewhat. He would need to pick all the drop items up which because of his luck, was in abundance.
He quickly got to work, picking the items up, seeing the sun setting outside the cave the monsters had been nesting in.
He would need to set up camp somewhere. Definitely not in here as it stank in there, a mix between blood and feces.
Monsters really make a mess when they hunker down. That was something he had learnt quickly after he started helping villages and towns out for his plan as he nearly puked when he first got a whiff of a monster nest.
It took around 30 minutes for Bell to pick up all drop items and magic stones. He quickly left, not wanting to keep smelling the stench in the cave, before breathing in the fresh air outside with relief.
After that, he headed back to the main road, picking up campfire materials on the way, his pack slumped against his back. He may have a pouch that can store a lot, but it didn't have unlimited storage. With the recent addition of the necklace, it was practically half full. Also, some of the things he had in the pack were too wide and large to fit into the pouch...
Once he was close enough, he packed up, starting a fire and pulled out some meat jerky. It wasn't Katsudon or homemade cooking, but it was food nonetheless.
He quickly ate in front of the campfire as the sun had now completely set. After he was done, he quickly laid down, closing his eyes and allowed the slight breeze and crackle of the campfire to claim him. Beginning to dream of his family, old and new.
That's chapter 16 for you. A time skip of 2 years. There will be more in the chapters to come, giving a vague idea of his life as it progresses :). Anyway I won't keep you and will respond to the reviews.
Kyuubiko: Did bell just theorize plumbing or am I just reading too much into it?
Author: Well… you're not wrong. It was intended to be just that xD
Tan:Where is haruhime in the infirmary part?
Author: Thank you for notifying me. I have no Idea how we missed that since a certain someone (Chalister) is a wild Haruhime fan xD
I'll fix that as soon as this chapter is out.
nonameguy123:I'm so into this story I'm checking my email every 2 hours for a new chapter
Author: Wow… I'm honored but unfortunately I can't get chapters out that quickly, no matter how much I want to xD.
Guest:I swear if anything happens to Adrienne imma be big mad :( she should live a good life away from trouble
Author: I won't say much other than, fret not.
Mattroxursoul: Like it a lot. Hope that there is not going to be reconciliation of Loki Familia and Bell. That was a complete betrayal after all. Besides he should have the information on how Freya and Loki betrayed and chased off Zeus and Hera.Author: Thanks for liking this story, we appreciate it. But as far as reconciliation goes, we have to take into consideration that Bell may have had horrible things happen in his life, but he still looks up to a fair number of the members in the Loki Familia. And would desire to understand from them the "why and what" reasons.