"Okay, well, great. Just gotta get to the mansion..." Bell walked as calmly as he could muster through the streets. He maneuvered himself ever so delicately past those around him, more so than usual. His reason? There was a literal fire in his pocket.

.

.

.

"Hi! I'm Shadrach!"

Bell's eyes widened as the voice rang out in his mind. It was quiet and masculine; but high-pitched, resembling the voice of a child. Bell looked to the flame that still held onto his finger. Once again, it waited for a reaction.

"Uh, hi. I'm Bell."

"Oh, I know!"

Shadrach let go of Bell's finger and gazed at Bell, the fires of its hair fluttering cheerfully as he spoke. What did that mean? Bell's eyes were painted with a tint of confusion. This humanoid fire named Shadrach knew Bell's name. It wasn't right. It didn't make any sense. There was no rationale to explain why Shadrach knew of Bell. Before Bell could respond, Shadrach spoke once again.

"We met before, remember? Though, I couldn't blame you if you don't. I was just a little ember. But look at me now!"

"I—" Bell didn't know how to respond. Should he just play along with it? The two had supposedly met before, but it also said that it was untroubled if Bell couldn't remember.

"I'm sorry but, I don't remember..."

Shadrach's shoulder's visibly sunk for a moment before rising back up.

"Oh well. That's fine."

Bell needed answers. This thing was beyond any mortal's grasp. He needed the knowledge of a god or goddess. The only person he knew that could know anything about this being was his goddess, Hestia.

Shadrach tilted his head to the side as he stared at Bell.

"Hmmmmmmm," he hummed as he mused.

"Wha—what is it?" Bell asked, once again made aware by its eyeless stare.

"I remember you used to have a lot longer hair. Ooh! You were also a lot taller." He rose on the tips of his toes while stretching his arm above his head.

"Something like this tall—" On the scale that the two were at, the supposed height Shadrach was illustrating was still well below Bell's shins. However, if they were equally scaled in height to each other, Shadrach's estimation would put Bell well over two hundred centimeters in size.

Bell could only gape at Shadrach's statement. That's it. Bell had had enough of the riddles and the subsequent questions that sprung in his mind. He needed answers. Bell stood up abruptly. However, the sudden motion caused Shadrach to lose balance on his delicate footing.

"Oop!" Shadrach adorably fell onto the cobblestone street.

"Are you okay?" Bell asked, visibly concerned.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Least it's not raining. Then I'd be toast!" Shadrach exclaimed, picking himself off the ground, especially careful of the flames atop his head.

Bell bent down and extended his whole hand flat on the ground to create a platform.

"Would you, uh, like to meet my goddess? I mean, it's entirely up to you. I'm not forcing you to, but it would be nice if you would maybe meet my goddess or even my familiar, and—" Suddenly, a quiet snicker cut Bell off from his rambling. He was never good at asking for things subtly. He either fully laid his intentions out bare or went on a ramble.

"Yeah! I would love to!"

.

.

.

Bell brushed past a few adventurers. Some of them called out to him, calling him by his new alias. "Rabbit Foot!" They cried. Some expressed their admiration as fellow adventurers to him. Others exchanged words of encouragement after his brutal battle with the Minotaur. A few gave simple nods of respect and concedement. All the while, Bell was silently pleading that none of them could see the irrefutable sight of the fire snug comfortably in the pocket of his pants. Occasionally, small puffs of smoke would emanate from his pants. If anyone saw, they gave no word as to acknowledge it.

"Ooh! What's that?"

Inside of Bell's pocket, Shadrach peeped his fiery head out slightly to see the outside world. So lively, so exhilarating! So many mortals, big, small, young, old, human, animal, elf, dwarf; there were just so many! Whenever they looked at Bell, they called him Rabbit Foot. Now that Shadrach pondered upon it, Bell did resemble a fluffy white rabbit now. How curious. Never would he have associated Bell with something as cute or as innocent. Not after he—

"Bell-kun!"

Suddenly, Shadrach was thrown back into the cotton depths of Bell's pocket.

"Oomph!" Shadrach tried to regain his balance, or at least shift his body into a comfortable position, but the pocket walls kept warbling and folding in on themselves. Like a spider's web, the more he struggled, the more entangled he became. When it finally settled, Shadrach's right arm was twisted around his neck, while his left was hooked under his knee. His head still spinning, he tried to make sense of the conversation Bell was having with a rather chipper girl.

Oh no. Out of all the people he could have possibly run into by accident. It had to be her. Just what was his luck today?! Sweat began to accumulate on his forehead and drip down his face. He had been careless; he had let his guard slip. The time outside the dungeon had dulled his senses. He had become momentarily distracted by a fellow adventurer's catcall that he failed to notice the presence of a certain silver-haired girl. He'd recognize that voice anywhere, especially if it was her crying out in shock. Red eyes locked with blue-grey ones as he scrambled back onto his feet.

"Sy—Syr-chan?!" Bell choked out.

Dusting off the dirt on his pants, he was careful to press against his right pocket. Quickly, he gathered himself and ran over to Syr.

"Syr-chan, I'm sorry! Are you alright?" he asked as he offered her his hand.

Sporting her archetypal smile (one that was imbued with an estranged mixture of cuteness and devilry), she accepted Bell's hand. Still getting used to his newfound stats, Bell was careful to not accidentally tug at her arm too firmly. An accidental dislocation of her shoulder would surely add fuel to the bonfire of a day he was having. And he would never forgive himself for hurting her.

"I'm sorry, Syr-chan! I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Hee hee. It's fine Bell-kun, I'm okay."

Bell sighed in relief. She was fine; she was fine. Accident done and done. Now he can get on his merry way—

"Though," Syr began. "What seems to be on your mind so much that you couldn't even notice me~"

Syr purposely let her "me" linger, and it certainly had the desired effect. Bell became a blushing mess, his lips moved erratically as if trying to say several words at once, but no noise came from his mouth. Even after all the time he had known Syr, she still could twiddle him around her little finger.

Bell was at a loss for words. He trusted Syr, yes, but trust was a non-factor in the situation at hand. There were far too many unknown irregularities with Shadrach, and drawing her into needless danger wasn't an option. He needed some way to offset her curiosity.

"I just have a lot on my mind is all." A half-truth. It wasn't a lie; gods and mortals alike know he was awful at that.

"Hmm," she hummed pensively, playfully. "Okay then."

Bell internally sighed in relief. She seemed to accept his answer. But that served to only counterpoise a small amount of anxiety he had within him. The shifting he felt in his right pocket certainly wasn't helping.

"But—!"

Bell's heart shot down to his stomach briefly before shooting back up, uppercutting his chest. He felt pseudo-winded as if someone kicked their foot into his diaphragm. His vision blurred for a moment before he snapped himself back into focus.

"You have to give me a lap pillow the next time we go to Maria's Orphanage, just like that time."

Syr smugly smiled as a faint blush formed on Bell's pale skin. It was a complete accident. He was duped into allowing himself to heed one of Syr's requests. All because he saw her creamy-white pantie—Suddenly, Bell's face became flushed as the memory of her cotton undergarments crossed his mind. Somewhere far off in the corners of his mind, he swore he could hear an elderly man chortling.

"Oh—okay..." he mumbled meekly. Syr cheered internally, another win for her.

"Hey hey!. What's going on?"

Shadrach was getting antsy inside of Bell's pocket. The confinement created a sense of cotton claustrophobia, and the uncomfortable position he was thrust into certainly didn't help.

"Who are you talking to—"

Shadrach suddenly became very quiet as his ember of an eye peeped outside. Immediately he darted back into the depths of the pocket. He pulled against the fabric anxiously. "Bell... can we go? I—I don't want to stay around here..." he quietly murmured. Sensing the faint distress in Shadrach's voice, Bell pivoted his right leg back to turn from Syr.

"Okay well, again I'm really sorry but I have to get going."

"Awww," Syr puffed her cheeks out in disappointment. "Am I going to see you later then?"

"Yeah, I'll be sure to swing by!"

Syr giggled as the thought of spending more time with her favorite adventurer entered her mind. Little innocent, cutesy fantasies began to sprout in her mind, along with not so innocent others.

"Okay, Bell. Bye for now!"

Bell smiled and nodded as he turned and began to once again jog back to the Hearth Mansion.

Why? Why was Shadrach getting so nervous all of a sudden? Was it because of Syr? No—no, that couldn't be. Sure, she can be a little strange at times, but she was just a normal girl. Bell frowned as he tried to figure out the source of Shadrach's anxiety, but to no avail. The once chipper little fireball was now a meek flame, huddled with his knees hugged tightly into his chest, not saying a word. Bell chose wisely not to directly ask Shadrach why. He was quiet from that point forward.

Finally, after a short while, the Hearth mansion came into view. Bell felt relieved as he approached the main gate. Home, he was home again. With his newly imbursed hearing, Bell could tell that the mansion was more quiet than usual. But that was to be expected. After all, everyone else was out training for the expedition. Lily was out shopping for elixirs and potions, Welf was forging upgraded weapons and armors, Mikoto was training in hand-to-hand combat with her original familia, while her fellow Eastern Renard was receiving special training from Aisha (not relating in any way to her previous occupation). And Hestia finally managed to catch a break from all the exhausting work from her part-time jobs and could take the weekend off. Bell reached for the front door handle and opened it slightly.

"I'm home—"

In an instant, Bell was headbutted and tackled to the ground by a blur of twintails. "Beeeeeellllll-kunnnnnnnn!"

Too many people, all on the same day.

The first thing Bell felt was the stone path leading to the mansion. How he wished he somehow landed on the grass of the curtilage instead. Second, he felt orbs of flesh that clung tightly to his chest. They were soft, heavenly even. It created an aura of womanhood and maternal nourishment. Bell's eyes shot open in embarrassment as he realized what was clasping onto his chest. There, staring with dramatic teary azure eyes, a few inches from Bell's face, was Hestia.

"Hi Kami-sama," Bell said as he struggled to get up.

"Bell-kun! Where have you been all day?!"

"Sorry, I just got back from the Blue Pharmacy."

"Hmmmmphhh." Hestia pondered on Bell's answer. It was the last day of Bell's medical appointments, but that didn't necessarily explain his absence in the morning.

That morning was chaotic, to say the least. Over breakfast, Hestia and Lili were spitballing theories of where their beloved Bell could have gone, each conjecture growing increasingly more far-fetched and absurd. Haruhime also began to meekly pitch in ideas, while Mikoto and Welf tried their best to assure them that Bell was fine; and could certainly handle himself. But things spiral completely out of control when Welf thoughtlessly spoke aloud that Bell could possibly be training with the Sword Princess. Hestia screamed curses towards Wallenwhatsit, as she so happened to dub her. Lili collapsed to her knees in utter defeat. And Haruhime's head puffed with steam as she entirely misinterpreted the sort of training they were doing.

"Okay then, Bell," Hestia began as she pushed herself in an upright position, still straddling Bell. "What did Naaza say?"

"She said I was fine to go back to the dungeon."

Hestia smiled. He had been so much. She felt pride; she felt pity. No child should ever have to go through what Bell had. Most would crack, falter, but here he was, still willing to go to the dungeon, all in the pursuit of his dream to become a hero. What a brave little hero had become, yet he was still the same old Bell. The same blushing mess of a child. Bell averted his eyes from his goddess as the position the two were in began to dawn on him.

"Umm, Kami-sama? Can you get off of me?"

"Please... I'm getting mushed down here."

Hestia's eyes widened as she heard a dainty voice pleading for sweet release. The voice was muffled, strained. Immediately she got off a Bell, leaving Bell still laying flat on the ground. Then she saw it—smoke puffing steadily out of Bell's pocket. It steadily grew as Hestia continued to stare at it.

"Oxygen... need... sweet, sweet oxygen." Shadrach couldn't take it anymore. He needed to get out of Bell's pocket. Gripping the fabric with his teensy hands, he hoisted himself out of the pocket. As soon as his fiery head popped out, he took a deep breath.

"Ahhh, that's so much better."

Hestia gapped at the little humanoid fire. She didn't blink for what seemed like an eternity. She just stared as it stretched its hands, then its sides, then its legs, before finishing with a small somersault.

"Much better, thank you!" It turned to Hestia and began waving to Hestia. She still didn't blink.

"Bell..." she finally uttered. "What is that...?"

Before he could talk, the little fire answered for itself.

"Hi! I'm Shadrach!"