Guys, please I don't own Danamchi. What's so hard to understand.
"Welcome to our new home!"
A petite girl with a considerable chest stood in front of a massive Mansion. Guarded by a towering gate, long, thin metal bars that circled the property and a nice front lawn. These were the things Nathan picked up on when first laying eyes on their new home.
'Wait OUR new home. She must be talking to the others. I'll probably be going back to my house.'
"You could at least smile Nathan. What, don't you like it." Hestia said, quickly duelling his previous thought process.
The others turned to Nathan with a bit of confusion but just summed it up to him being his usual quiet self. They left Hestia to have another attempt at having a proper conversation with the boy for about the fifth time after the war game.
When they had returned from the War Game, Hestia was there to greet them and tell them she had a surprise for them. Turns out, the surprise was actually the Apollo estate which Hestia had claimed after their recent victory in the War Game. They were thrilled beyond belief. Having only lived on a small farm on a small village, Bell Cranel was ecstatic to say the least. He couldn't wait to explore every room in their new place of residence, wanting nothing more than to bounce around the place like a Bunny on something that was acquired in a back alley somewhere. Mikoto Yamato and Liliruca Arde were just in awe. Having lived in poverty for pretty much their entire lives, they were out of their comfort zone when just stepping through the gates, never mind actually entering the great building ahead of them. However, all of Mikoto's butterflies vanished immediately when Hestia mentioned a bath house was to be installed on the top floor. Welf Crozzo wasn't that bothered, coming from noble birth. But he wasn't going to complain either, the main reason definitely not being that he was going to be given his own forge.
"Wait, do you actually not like it Nathan. Should I have told you earlier, is that it, you don't like surprises."
The others were briefly brought out of the fantasies and turned to face the entrance of the massive garden. There, they could see their Goddess trying to get Nathan's attention but for some reason he was just blanking her. Now, even though they had only known him for just over a week, they already knew that he was a quiet person, not one to really start a conversation or have a laugh. But he responded almost all the time, only one time can recall when he was staring off into space, they presumed anyway with his mask in the way. Before they could try and aide their Goddess in her endeavour, the quiet voice of the half-elf spoke up.
"I am going to be living here…. as well?"
"W-well yeah, why wouldn't you. You are in my Familia and this is where my Familia lives. What, did you not live with Hermes' Familia?" Hestia questioned; puzzlement slightly contorted her face.
A shake of the head was the only response she got. She had slowly been putting together that Nathan hadn't lived a nice, peaceful life, if his scars and demanour were anthing to go by, and because of that, he had isolated himself. She quickly noticed that he was exceptionally good at looking calm and unfazed, most of the time that was probably the case. But a few times, mainly when talking to him personally, Hestia had noticed an exceedingly small nervous side of him that he hides. This further cemented that theory. So she made it her mission to fix this and bring him back into the fold, starting off with her and the Familia, but hopefully, and with the time, get him to fully open up.
"Well then, I will say it again just for you." Hestia said, gaining Nathan's attention at a last.
"Welcome to YOUR new home." Hestia stated, with a bright smile and arms stretched outwards.
Nathan simply looked at his Goddess, shook his head a bit, smiled slightly and started walking to the front door with the others. Nathan had left his hood down after his fight with the Apollo Familia, revealing his slighlty pointed ears and bleached hair. His hair was cut short on the sides with the top still having a bit of hair, long enough to have a fringe slighlty dangle off the edge of his forehead. His neck muffler was settled around his neck, Nathan usually only putting it on when fighting. He still hadn't taken off his mask, that was stilll a way off from being taken off.
Seeing him smile, the others smiled as well, and after Nathan and Hestia had caught up to them, they all walked up the steps and opened the doors to their new home.
They immediately got to looking around. Searching every room took longer than they had previously thought, which was ridiculous because they had assumed a long time. While searching, they came across a few interesting things. The library they found was massive, exciting both Hestia and Bell who enjoyed reading, only if they were hero ones in the young captain's case. However, the most.. perplexing room they came across was on the top floor.
'God this room always creeped me out whenever I came to spy on the Apollo Familia, no idea why he needed so many..'
"Why did Lord Apollo need so many stone statues of himself, and why all in one room?" Lili asked, finishing Nathan's thought. But to be fair, they were questions that they all had thought as immediately as they had entered a room filled to the brim with stone statues of the Sun God himself. An almost eerie vibe sprouted from this room as soon as one looks in it.
"Apollo was bursting with Vanity, declaring on many occasions that he was on the level as the Goddesses of Beauty, of course out of earshot of Ishtar, Aphrodite and especially Freya." Hestia commented with a shake of her head, her pig tails waving about.
"Anway, we have pretty much searched this place. I'm going to meet up with Goibniu and ask him to make the changes you have requested and also deal with... what ever this is" She said while gesturing to the contents of the room.
"Because of that and also because mine and Bell's house was destroyed, we will have to stay at an Inn. I'd recommend bringing all your stuff to the Inn we agree on and then when Goibniu is finished here, we can officially move in."
"We also need to register Nathan as a new member of our Familia." Lili says.
"Oh yeah, because you were so last minute in joining, you had to be checked at the gate by a guild employee to clarify you were with us." Welf continued Lili's first comment.
"That shouldn't be too hard though, just pop down to the guild after we find an Inn to stay at, say he transferred from the Hermes' Familia and get Nathan Registered." Bell said with a smile.
"About that. I never actually was registered with the Hermes Familia so I don't know what you want to do with the whole transfer thing." Nathan said calmly, almost like he hadn't said anything major.
"Wait, Lord Hermes' never registered you?" Mikoto asked.
"Well Hermes' used me to spy and gather information and I was never introduced publicly as part of his Familia, I guess he never got round to it." Nathan responded, his monotone voice not pairing well with the questioning that was being thrown his way.
"What about your old Familia, can't we just use a record from there?"
"Lili's right, just go to the guild and say he transferred from them. We won't let them come and hurt you if you are worried about them finding out about you." Bell said resolutely.
"You haven't even told us how you joined Hermes and left your old Familia." Welf says while noticing a small change in Nathan's posture, almost like he became a bit stiffer in the shoulders.
"They are dead" Nathan bluntly states, catching everyone off guard.
"W-what do y-you mean by that Nathan?" Hestia quietly and shakily asks.
"I mean what I said, my Familia is dead. You won't find any records of them because they liked to stay off the grid and didn't do much with the guild, only the basic stuff of paying the taxes. I assume they won't be any records of me in there anyway." Nathan bluntly responds, seemingly not fazed by his declaration of the death of his previous Familia.
"They were dicks anyway, didn't bother me that much. Haven't really thought about them after I joined Hermes" He finished with a shrug of his shoulders.
Hestia caught a lie on that last part but chose not to bring it up. Wanting to stop this conversation quickly and get on with everything else. But her less experienced, naïve captain wanted to ask one more question.
"What happened to them?" Bell asked quietly, immediately earning him stares from the others around him.
"SORRY! I SH-SHOULDN'T HA-AVE ASKED THAT QUESTION. That was very wrong of me. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry."
Bell had also immediately realised what he had said and in an almost comical fashion, apologised profusely and kept bowing at an incredible speed. This was put to a stop by Nathan, who simply put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, they are dead and that's that." He simply states with another shrug. His thoughts weren't so calm as his appearance let on to believe though as his mind was racing, trying to think of a solution.
'How do I tell them what happened. Hestia will know when I'm lying. Maybe if I make something simple up, like they died in the dungeon and tell the others when she isn't around.' Nathan continued to think about his possibilities on what he could say. The only conclusion he came to though was
'I'm no where near ready to tell them what happened, I didn't even tell Hermes the full truth'
With that sorted out and done with and another part of Nathan's past revealed, the Hestia Familia went back to their original plan.
After they had got outside, Mikoto was first to speak about the situation surrounding Nathan.
"Why don't we just register him normally. Like he joined the Hestia Familia from outside or something like that."
This made everyone else stop walking. Why had no one thought of that. It was really simple so why had no one thought of it. Lili put it down to the distraction Nathan had dropped on them in the middle of the conversation.
"That's a great idea Mikoto, just say that he is knew to Orario and said he would join the Hestia Familia when Hestia was out looking for help for the War Game." Bell said.
"That could work Master Bell, I mean might as well. We can't really hide him like Lord Hermes did considering he made quite the spectacle." Lili explained.
"You alright with that, Nathan?" Welf asked, looking at the Half-elf next to him.
"Sure, might as well. It's how Lili said, can't really hide me can you." Nathan shrugged as he answered. "However, it would probably be best to say I'm a level 3 not 4."
"Why should that matter?" Bell asked.
"Lili understands. I mean having a level 3 come from outside Orario is more believable than a level 4, which are almost impossible to find outside the city. His and Master Bell's display in the War Game should be enough to stop people from stupidly attacking us anyway."
"I also don't want too much attention being drawn to me either. Stating that I'm almost ready to become level 5 will be kind of a stupid thing to do. I mean, doesn't matter what you tell the Guild, it won't change my status." Nathan adds on.
"I can understand that I guess." Bell said, his morale side not wanting to lie but his brain understanding the logic.
"Plus it means our taxes won't be as big as our Familia rank won't go up as much." Lili promptly added, her money hungry ways seeping into the conversation.
Everyone rolled their eyes and smiled at her, most of them fully understanding that Lili was like this.
"There we go then, guess I'm level 3 in the records for now." Nathan said blankly, obviously not caring about lying at all.
"Well then, lets find an Inn and get Nathan registered. I also still have work to get to later today, so its best if we do this quick." Hestia exclaimed, once again leading the way out of the now Hestia estate and into the city.
"That took more convincing and paperwork than it should have." An exhausted Hestia sputtered out, leaving the Guild while dragging her feet on the ground. Leaving behind her were Nathan And Lili.
They had quickly found an Inn, and with the money from the War Game it was a decent one too. After finding their rooms, Lili grabbed Hestia and Nathan and took them towards the massive white marble building, the guild. When asking about her other children, Nathan explained that both Welf and Mikoto went to their old Familia home to collect their belongings and say goodbye.
"And why is Bell not coming, as the captain I thought he would come instead of lil supporter here." Hestia asked.
"Master Bell is most likely scrambling in the rubble of your old home looking for any old possessions and clothing that may have survived the explosion." Lili answered, an edge in her voice at her Goddess' annoying name for her.
When entering the Guild, Lili pointed out a half-elf receptionist wearing glasses at the front desk.
"That's Master Bells advisor, Miss Eina Tulle I think her name was." Lili stated while pointing towards said Guild receptionist.
"And that is the massive line in front of her." Nathan kindly pointed out, causing the two girls to grown.
Who knew waiting in line would be so annoying. Nathan thought that being in a queue would mean people would leave you alone, especially in the Guild as people had places to be or queuing themselves with no time to chat. Nathan did take into consideration that he never really entered the Guild and could count the amount times he had entered it on one hand in his 7 years in Orario. Even so, he assumed people, and adventurers at that, would just get on with their day in the busiest building in all of Orario. Well, he would normally be right. It's just that he forgot one small detail prior entering the building full of adventurers.
"Of course people will be coming up to talk to us. We just won a War Game that we shouldn't have any chance of winning." Lili explained, almost like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"But why are the talking to me specifically, Hestia is the Goddess and Bell won the Game by beating Hyacinthus." Nathan replied in a surprisingly annoyed tone.
"Did you forget what you did. Not only did you start off the War Game by catching that massive crossbow bolt, but you also wielded two Crozzo swords, and maybe it's because you single handley took on 65 members of a D class Familia without breaking a sweat or receiving a single injury. It was quite the spectacle. I didn't even know what was going on but even I was enthralled a bit." Hestia answered his question with a slight bit of teasing to it.
"HEY, you're that guy who used the Cozrro swords."
"Why do you wear that mask?"
"Can I look at your swords, the looked awesome."
"What level are you?"
"Where did you come from?"
Nathan remembered the annoying questions who was being pelted with while waiting.
"It's not that big of a deal, they weren't strong at all." Nathan mumbled back as his response.
"Well that may be the case in your eyes Mr Nathan, but that does not give you the right to tell someone to *ahem* 'piss off' and then start a fight in the middle of the Guild." A brown-haired half elf said.
Lili, Hestia, and Nathan currently found themselves in a private room in the Guild, sitting opposite to Eina Tulle. Hestia was currently righting out Nathan's registration form as he was currently being talked to.
'Not really a fight if you ask me. The guy kept trying to punch me after spouting some stupid nonsense that I had lost him 50,000 vailis, so I just dodged and kicked him away.' Nathan thought, but his response to the Guild worker was just a grunt of acknowledgement.
"Anyway, Goddess Hestia and yourself have now fully explained your situation and I will see what I can do about getting you properly registered" Eina said, already knowing what was about to happen. Do they think they can just come in and casually register a level 3, a high one at that, and say he came from outside Orario. I mean its not completely unheard of. Guess it does explain why she hadn't heard of this guy before. Pray to the Gods the headache she was about to receive wouldn't be too bad.
"But really, that much paperwork. Why can't they trust me, I'm a Goddess." Hestia moaned, still shuddering of the memory of what she just went through.
"I mean we did lie to them though, so they were right not to fully trust you."
"Nathan, you are meant to comfort me, not bluntly tell me what I already know." Hestia exclaimed with a pout, Nathan not bothering to acknowledge that he had even heard her.
"Well its sorted now. What I'm dreading the most is that tax hike you added to us Nathan. I can see why Hermes hid your status completely." Lili said, still reeling from seeing what their monthly tax bill will be.
"I can see why he lies about all of his Familia statuses. Anyway, doesn't matter, I can just go to the dungeon and earn my share myself if you want." Nathan calmly responded.
"As much as that would be appreciated, a rule, that I will repeat when everyone else is together, no going off on your own in the dungeon. This goes for everyone. You are a party, you stick together. I can't bare to think what it would be like to lose even one of you." Hestia states, almost acting like a proper Goddess.
'Still feels weird to be cared for, not that I hate it though' Nathan thought while giving his Goddess a hum of acceptance and a nod.
However, he then turned to see the clock on the Guild.
"Goddess, isn't time for your work shift." Nathan said while bringing attention to the aforementioned clock.
Hestia turned around and paled a bit.
"Sorry, I got to go. Be safe you two." The fatigue that had seemingly plagued the Petite Goddesses body had suddenly disappeared.
Lili and Nathan just watched on as they observed their Goddess race down the street and disappear around a corner.
"Guess we go back to the Inn then, unless there is anything you want to do. I mean I've got all my stuff already. Not like I've got much stuff anyway." Lili asked her fellow Familia member.
"There are two things I need to retrieve actually. I don't mind going by myself though, would be faster as well, unless you want me to carry you." Nathan replied.
"I'll pass thanks, see you back at the Inn then. Stay safe." Lili responded to Nathan's request.
"… yeah, stay safe too." Nathan said just before leaping onto a roof and setting off towards the abandoned district.
Just before he got to his destination though, he spotted a familiar mop of white hair, doing what looked like rummaging through bits of rubble with some items pushed off to the side.
"Hey Bell, you alright?"
Bell turned just in time to see Nathan drop down behind him.
"Oh hey Nathan. Yeah I'm fine." Bell replied.
"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked, already knowing this is where Bell and Hestia used to previously live and that he was searching for any remaining stuff.
"Oh, well, erm, this is where me and Goddess used to live before." Bell said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head, something Nathan noticed he seemed to do a lot.
"You need any help with it?" Nathan offered.
"Nah, I've about finished. Don't think there is anything left for me to dig out." Bell responded.
Nathan simply shrugged his shoulders and then went to continue what he was previously doing. Before he could leave though Bell asked, "What are you doing over here anyway, have you already finished with the Guild?"
"Yeah, took longer than we thought but doesn't matter now as it's done." Nathan explained.
"Where are Goddess and Lili?" Bell asked, cocking his head to the side. Wondering about where his companions that were meant to be with the half-elf were.
"Hestia is at work and Lili went back to the Inn to contemplate the money we need to sort out." Nathan simply replies in his usual quiet, monotone voice.
"So what are doing here then?" Bell asks again, but with a different meaning to the question.
Nathan understanding this, and not bothering with lying to him as that would be unnecessary, said "I'm going to where I used to somewhat live and retrieve the things I didn't want to take into the War Game."
"Wait, you lived near here?" Bell asked, a bit dumbfounded. Why would someone in the Hermes Familia live in the destroyed and abandoned district. Nathan could obviously get money quite easily to stay in a decent Inn or even rent out an apartment.
"Well I mainly used it when I wasn't sent on jobs by Hermes to sleep and sometimes do a bit of training." Nathan responded, not understanding the meaning to Bell's question.
When Nathan looked back to his captain though, the look of confusion in Bells eyes gave away his initial meaning.
"It's quieter around here." Was all Nathan added on, but that was enough for Bell to sort of understand. Not wanting to further pester the bleached-haired boy, Bell made a request.
"How about I join you then, might as well since I'm already here."
Nathan looked back at Bell for a second time, about to turn him down by saying he only needed to retrieve two items, but for some reason Nathan couldn't turn the boy down.
"Sure, doesn't bother me." Nathan simply responded.
So, Nathan set off in the direction of where he lived with Bell closely following. Nathan not going to fast so Bell could easily keep up.
'Damn, even for a high level 2 he sure can shift.' Nathan thought, trying to use this opportunity to scope out Bell's speed by seeing how easily he keeps up with him, Nathan slowly increasing the pace every 30 seconds.
This made them reach their destination quite quickly as by the end Nathan had increased his speed to what he predicted a mid-level 3 would go at, and yet the rabbit had kept up with him, impressing Nathan but also making a him a bit curious and slightly suspicious of Bells status.
"So this is where you lived?" Bell asked, only slightly out of breath. Bell had sort of understood what Nathan was trying to do, a test of some sorts he guessed. But that thought left when Bell laid eyes on a decrepit building.
The roof had all but caved in, the door was pretty much off its hinges, windows were seemingly smashed in, shown by the wooden bars covered over them. It looked worse than the old church he used to stay at.
Nathan didn't answer, simply walking in. Bell followed and saw a bare and destroyed house. He entered into a hallway. On his left he saw a room without a door. Some strewn books were on the ground, being weighed down by a heap of dust and rubble. As he continued walking, stepping over a wooden beam on the floor, he entered a room on the right, what he assumed used to be a kitchen. He saw one cabinet that could be called intact, well when compared to the other 5 completely destroyed ones. No furniture had survived. No stove or table could be made out under a massive pile of debris. Nathan simply walked past this and went up a flight of stays at the end of the hallway. Bell followed and saw 3 doors, one on the immediate right, one in the middle and too the left. He saw Nathan enter the last one at then end of the hallway, completely ignoring the other rooms. Bell continued to stay silent while peeking into the other rooms, with some hesitation. The first one he could only assume was a child's room. Fragments of a small, single bed could be made out and other pieces of furniture could be seen. He looked up to see that this is where the roof had caved in. He could also tell this by the hole in the floor that showed they were directly above the Kitchen.
'So that's where that massive pile of debris came from.' Bell thought.
The other room was a bathroom that seemed liked it could still function, surprisingly. Bell went to pull the lever to see if it would still flush and to his surprise it did, even though no noise was made.
"That's one of the reasons why I picked this place. Quite a rarity around here." Nathan said from behind Bell, making him jump a little. Nathan seemed to have this special talent of not making any noise when walking, no matter the surface.
Nathan had noticed that Bell had stopped following him after he had collected his two items. He had put his Mother's necklace around his neck, swearing to never take it off again. However, the risk of it being seen through one of the divine mirrors was too big and he wouldn't chance it. The other was the letter that his Mom had given him those 8 years ago. He still doesn't understand why he hasn't just chucked it away but his instincts tells him not too. He will always listen to his instincts; I mean it was literally one of his development abilities. When he turned around and didn't see Bell behind him in the master bedroom, he looked outside and heard the lever in the bathroom being pulled.
"What were the other reasons?" Bell wondered aloud.
"Well, the bed in the master bedroom wasn't damaged that badly and took only an hour or so to fully fix it. The view outside is also quite nice."
"What do you mean the view?"
Nathan simply gestured for Bell to follow him downstairs and to the kitchen. Nathan opened what Bell assumed to be a back door, something he had missed on his previous inspection. However, when Bell stepped outside, his mouth dropped wide open in disbelief.
"Not bad, is it." Nathan said with a slight chuckle at Bells response.
Infront of them was stunning to say the least. A wide area of land that must have been at least 4 gardens combined. Lush grass had sprouted out from the stone ground and had overgrown the land around it. A multicolour of flowers had grown from the fertile land the grass had provided. Long vines hung down from the canopies of the other surrounding house. And in the middle was the most eye-catching piece. A tree that Bell had to strain his neck all the way back just to see the top had taken root in the middle of the area. A large foliage of leaves and branches cascaded a large shadow over the centre of the grassland, with small glints of sun penetrating where they could. Nature had truly taken back this area of land.
"It's beautiful." That's all Bell could respond with, still in awe that something like this existed only a 5-minute run from where he once resided.
"Yeah its not bad I suppose. Even though I'm a half elf and all, I still feel comfortable around nature. Guess it's in my blood." Nathan replied to Bells comment.
"How did this happen?" Bell asked.
"Not sure really. It was like this when I got here. When I thought the same thing, I found that one of the sewer pipes had broke beneath the tree. I assume that is where the fertilizer is coming from." Nathan explained, with Bell only nodding as a response.
"Anyway, I've got what I came here for. I say we head back now before it gets dark. I can imagine Hestia as being a worrier."
This brought Bell out of his trance and realised that sun was starting to set.
"You're not wrong about Goddess, she does tend to get worried when I don't return before sundown." Bell chuckled at what Nathan said.
With that, the two boys started to make their way back to their Familia, seemingly a bit closer than they were prior to the start of the day. Only the future on their minds, not bothering looking back after leaving the district both of them had called home.
Chaper 4 is done. I wanted to add more, like their first dungeon dive and Nathan's status but I kinda got carried away and somehow found my way exceeding 5000 words. Well I guess who have something to look forward to next chapter anyway. I also want to do a Hostess of Fertility scene, might dedicate a full but smaller chapter to that, see how much I write.
Not much else to say apart from thanks again for the follows and favs I'm getting. We almost have 500 different people reading this, which is something I didn't expect to have after only 4 chapters and a prologue but Ill take it.
On with the Reviews:
wyatt: You are welcome and don't worry, I've got loads to purge out of my body but I won't do it all in one go. Cheers for your concern ;)
With that, see ya and peace.