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Is It Wrong For The Devil To Fool Around In Orario?
Chapter 9
The Salome
Bell stifled a yawn as he finished securing his new knife to his belt, his room still dark as the sun had not fully risen yet. He felt a twinge of pleasure as he remembered how Maze had gifted him the weapon the previous day and swore that he would prove himself worthy of her gift. Having finished getting dressed and equipped, Bell made his way to the door but stopped just in front of it as he heard a few knocks. Feeling confused and curious Bell opened the door and saw his god standing on the other side sporting his usual suit and friendly smile.
"Ah Bell good morning, I'm glad to see you haven't left yet." Lucifer said. "I was a little worried I missed you given how early you usually start the day."
"Good morning to you too, Lord Lucifer." Bell greeted his deity. "Did you need me for something else today? I'm more than happy to help but I'll have to go and tell Emma and Primo that I won't be able to join them in The Dungeon today."
"Oh, don't worry about that, I'm not here to ask you for help." Lucifer said with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "In fact, I'm here to offer you some help with your morning workout."
Bell blinked in surprise at his god's statement and Lucifer stepped towards the stairs and gestured for Bell to follow him.
"You want to help me with my morning workout my lord?" Bell asked in clear confusion as the two proceeded down the stairs. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm not sure how you could help me. I mean with your divine powers sealed and my falna shouldn't it be really hard for you to keep up with me?"
"If I was going to be working out alongside you then yes, it would be." Lucifer said, unbothered by Bell's statement. "However, I am offering you my assistance as a trainer instead of a workout partner."
"A trainer?" Bell asked as the two reached the bottom of the stairs and made their way to the kitchen.
"Indeed, my young adventurer." Lucifer said as he strolled over to a cabinet and pulled out a clear glass. "I'll have you know I once helped to train the finest warrior in all of Heaven, so I think I'm qualified to lend a hand in improving your routine."
Lucifer pointedly ignored the fact that his time training Amenadiel had been so that his brother could put on a convincing performance to lose a fight.
Bell perked up at his lord's words and felt excitement begin to bubble up inside himself, eager to see what pointers Lucifer had to offer.
Lucifer strode over to the kitchen's icebox (Bell thought he had heard Lucifer and Maze call it the "fridge" once or twice) and pulled out a basket of eggs. He then walked over to the counter and began to crack open the eggs and….. pour them into the glass?
"Right, these should give you plenty of protein to help you power through the workout so drink up." Lucifer said as he finished filling the glass and placed it down in front of Bell.
Bell just looked at the glass in confusion for several seconds and then shifted his gaze to Lucifer.
"Um, my lord are you sure raw eggs are the best way to go?"
"Of course!" Lucifer said and put up his fists and began to jab at the air in front of him. "If there good enough for Rocky then there good enough for you, so bottoms up!"
"… Who's Rocky?" Bell asked and cocked his head to the side in clear confusion.
"Which reminds me!" Lucifer exclaimed, either choosing to ignore Bell or not hearing his question. The Devil then strode around the counter and reached down. With a small grunt Lucifer pulled up a strange black metal box from the floor with a handle and placed it on the counter facing Bell. The box was very strange and had several buttons and circular indentations that were covered in some kind of strange web-like design.
"No proper workout would be complete without some music to really get the blood pumping!" Lucifer said with a wide grin as he began to press some of the buttons on the top of the box. "So, listen to this!"
With that exclamation Lucifer brought one of his fingers down on a button. Bell was about to ask what the strange black box was when music suddenly erupted from the box causing Bell to yelp and hop back a step in confusion with the sound of a man singing joining the strange music.
"I've been really trying, baby. Trying to hold back this feeling for so long. And if you feel like I feel baby come on, oh come on, ooh. Let's get is on, ow baby."-
Bell and Lucifer stood still as the music from the magic box filled the entire kitchen. Bell stared at the strange device in both confusion and awe, never having heard of a magic stone item that could create music like this. If he had been able to take his eyes off the strange box then the young rabbit would have been treated to the extraordinarily rare sight of Lucifer actually blushing in embarrassment.
"….. Um, that wasn't what it was supposed to play." Lucifer said sheepishly over the music and began to fiddle with the buttons on top of the device again. After a few seconds the music ceased and was replaced with new music and a new singer, this time a woman.
"It's raining men! Hallelujah! It's raining men! Amen! I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get, absolutely soaking wet!"-
"Right just give me a moment." Lucifer said as he continued to fiddle with the buttons.
"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! The Moon. Beautiful. The Sun. Even more beautiful. Oh yeah!"-
"Sorry, seems to be a bit of a mix-up with the playlist." Lucifer tried to explain.
"She'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain, she'll make you live her crazy life, but she'll take away your pain like a bullet to the brain, come on! Upside, inside out she's livin la vida loca, she'll push and pull you down, livin' la vida loca!"-
"Right, this should be it."
"At first I was afraid, I was petrified, kept thinking I could never live without you by my side. But then I spent so many night thinking how you did me wrong. And I grew strong, and I learned how to get along."
"Aaaaand one more."
"Oh! Lets go! Steve walks warily down the street with the brim pulled way down low. Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet, machine gun ready to go. Are you ready, hey, are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat? Out of the doorway the bullets rip to the sound of the beat, yeah. Another one bites the dust."-
Lucifer moved to press another button….. before stopping and resting his hand on the top of the box.
"You know it's been a while since I listened to this."
So, for the next few minutes Lucifer let the song play out and tapped his foot and hand along to the beat. Bell, though still confused, decided to stay and listen to the strange music with his god and found himself tapping his foot as well after a minute.
After the song ended Lucifer pressed another button and all music ceased for a moment.
"Right pretty sure I've got it figured out by now soooo."
Lucifer pressed another set of buttons and a new song erupted from the device.
"Try to be the best cause your only a man and a man's gotta learn to take it! Try to believe though the going gets rough that you gotta hang tough to make it! History repeats itself try and you'll succeed! Never doubt that you're the one and you can have your dreams! You're the best! Around! Nothing's gonna ever keep you down!"-
"There we go!" Lucifer said, pleased to finally reach his desired track. "Now Bell, finish up your breakfast so we can really get started!"
Bell turned his gaze back to the warming glass of eggs beside him. He then looked at the beaming face of his deity and let out a short sigh. Steeling his resolve, the young rabbit reached to grasp the glass of eggs, determined to not disappoint his god.
/
Most denizens of the Entertainment District were not early risers, given the majority of their professions. However, Lena Tally decided that there were some very nice benefits to getting up early for guard duty. One being that she had first pick of the bakeries first batch of muffins for the day.
Another being the morning entertainment.
"Have a nice day~!" Lena chirped from her stool next to the western entrance to the district. "Be sure to come visit us again soon~."
The man Lena had been speaking to flinched and pulled the hood of his cloak forward more, doing his best to hide his flushed face. Lena let out a light giggle as he departed and turned her gaze back down the street, curious to see what kind of person would be leaving next.
Lena found it funny how differently some people could act after enjoying a night in the district and enjoyed seeing the various ways people acted as they left the district. Many had their hoods up, to make sure that they were not recognized, while others strode down the street without a care to who saw them. Some were furtive while others strode forward with their chests thrust out in apparent pride. Most were men although there were a few women scattered here and there. She had seen members of each race leave the district after a night of "entertainment", even a few elves who wore large hoods and covered their faces with scarves, doing their best to not let it be known they had fallen into such "vulgar" habits.
Lena found the ones who acted ashamed mildly amusing as she had been raised on Lady Ishtar's beliefs that there was nothing wrong with indulging in carnal desires. So, she found it funny when people tried to hide themselves or acted ashamed for doing something the girl had been told was perfectly natural and was craved by all people on some level. Even those rigid and prudish elves.
As Lena waited for the next person, she began to hear a strange sound in the distance, as though someone was singing while accompanied by some strange instruments. The sound began to grow louder as the seconds passed and Lena stood up from her stool to look southward, the direction the sound was coming from.
After a moment she saw a white-haired figure come into view, running next to the wall that surrounded the entirety of the Entertainment District, followed a second later by a dark-haired figure on a white horse. The two continued to follow the curve of the wall towards her, the white haired one jogging while the man on horseback somehow conjured strange music without any apparent instruments.
Lena recognized the white-haired figure as Bell Cranel, a new adventurer who belonged to the Entertainment District's only other familia, the Lucifer Familia. And behind him on the horse Lena could now clearly make out the figure of Lucifer himself, the deity shouting encouragements to his child over the music.
Lena had seen Bell before, the white-haired youth's morning jogs often taking him past her post at least once per morning. She found the boy to be quite cute, if not particularly impressive to look at due to his lack of readily visible muscles. However, Lena had never interacted with the boy any more than a brief wave when he ran past her in the morning, Lady Ishtar's orders to not interfere with or antagonize Lucifer Familia strongly impressed upon every member of the goddesses familia. So, all Lena did was watch as the two approached her.
"Morning!" Bell panted out as he jogged past the semi-familiar amazon, not pausing in his stride and continuing past her.
"Keep it up Bell! We'll be back at the club before you know it!" Lucifer shouted as he rode past Lena, who could now tell that the strange sounds she had heard were coming from a black box tied to the side of the saddle.
"- vivor Stalks his prey in the night. And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger."-
Lena continued to observe the odd pair for another minute as they ran towards the north gate before giggling again at the oddity of the sight and going back to her stool and her muffins, an amused smile present on her pretty face.
/
"And right and left and uppercut!" Lucifer exclaimed as he air boxed a short distance away from Bell, his breath misting in front of him due to the coldness of the room. "Very good Bell! make sure to keep up with your footwork as well!"
"Lord…. Lucifer." Bell huffed as he kept punching the slab of beef in front of him. "I may…. get close to the monsters….. but I don't usually punch them while fighting."
"That's no reason to neglect unarmed combat training!" Lucifer exclaimed, hopping to the opposite side of the hunk of beef Bell had been wailing on for the past ten minutes. "Just keep at it Bell! I'm sure this training will prove invaluable in the future!"
Bell just let out a tired sigh as he continued to punch the meat hanging in front of him, doing his best to not be bothered by the curious and confused stares of the butchers around him.
"… Hey boss." A young butcher asked an older man working on a piece of pork not far from him.
"Yeah?" The man grunted, not even bothering to take his eyes of the piece of meat in front of him.
"Why are an adventurer and a god here, wailing on that slab of beef?" The young man asked, his attention split between his boss and the odd duo who had come into their shop so early in the morning and asked if they had any slabs of beef hanging in their freezer.
"Don't rightly know." The boss grunted. "All I know is that they were willing to pay top valis for it along with being able to stay here so as long as they don't directly interfere with the shop, they can have at it."
"Soooo you're not even the least bit curious what this is about?" The young man asked with a raised eyebrow.
The older man sighed and looked up at the young man for the first time in this exchange.
"Listen, kid." The boss said. "I learned a long time ago to not waste time on trying to figure out the reasoning of gods and adventurers. Just be glad they paid well, aren't being too much of a distraction and try not to think about it too much. Trust me, the only thing you'll get out of trying to understand a god's logic is a headache so just let it drop."
And with those words the old butcher turned his attention back to his meat. The younger man continued to watch the odd pair for a minute longer before shrugging and going to work on the slab of mutton in front of him.
/
"Alright, now that we've worked on your upper body as well as your lower body it's time to work on your reflexes!" Lucifer said as the two returned to the Salome from the butcher's shop.
"Um, Lord Lucifer. You do remember that I need to meet Emma and Primo at Babel in a little while, right?" Bell asked, an uncharacteristic note of exasperation entering his voice.
"I do, don't worry about that Bell." Lucifer responded as he led the young man down the alley next to his club to the rear of the club. The space was surprisingly large for such a cramped section of the city and had a moderately sized plot of earth surrounded by stones, suggesting that someone might have thought of using it as a garden in the past though all it held now were dirt and assorted weeds. "This last bit shouldn't take too long."
Lucifer gestured for Bell to wait for a moment and entered the club from its previously unknown (to Bell) backdoor. A minute later he returned with a modestly sized wooden cage in hand, a live chicken clucking inside it as it turned its head from side to side to take in its new environment.
Bell regarded the chicken with open confusion as Lucifer opened the cage and ushered it out onto the patch of dirt in the middle of the space.
"Um, my lord. Why do you have a chicken?" Bell asked as he observed the fowl stretch its legs and begin to wander around the space.
"To help you train your reflexes of course." Lucifer explained as he walked over to lean against the back wall of his club. "Don't worry I made sure to find the best bird possible for this training."
/
"Good day my good butcher!" Lucifer said with a friendly smile, leaning forward on a currently clean but heavily stained wooden counter. Around him he could hear the squawking of various chickens and assorted other fowls, telling him that he had come to the right place.
"And good day to you as well my lord!" The man behind the counter replied in a friendly manner in return. "How might this humble butcher serve you this fine day?"
"I heard that you have a selection of live chickens available for purchase." Lucifer stated as he looked around at the assorted birds spread around the shop. "I was hoping to purchase the fastest chicken you currently have available."
"Of course, my lord! Just grant me a moment and I shall fetch it for you." And at Lucifer's nod the man scurried over to the side and lifted up a wooden cage that held an especially plump chicken. He then placed it on the counter to allow Lucifer a better look at the bird.
"My fattest chicken as requested!" The merchant enthused as he reached behind the counter and pulled out a cleaver. "Now tell me, would you like me to butcher it here or would you like to do so yourself?"
"Um, no. There seems to be a bit of miscommunication here." Lucifer said as he stopped examining the chicken and turned his attention back to the merchant. "I said your Fastest chicken, not your fattest chicken."
"….. Beg pardon?" The butcher asked with a confused tilt of his head, which was joined by the chicken in the cage also tilting its head as it looked up at Lucifer from its cage.
/
"Alright then Bell, have at her!" Lucifer exclaimed after the bird had a moment to stretch its legs.
Bell regarded both his god and the chicken in confusion for a moment before sighing and beginning to walk towards the chicken.
"Don't be discouraged if it takes a while." Lucifer said from the wall. "I know that they may not look terribly fast, but I've seen how hard it can be to catch on of these little buggers-."
"Got it." Bell said simply as he held up the struggling fowl in the direction of his lord.
"….." Lucifer stared at the two for a moment before shaking his head. "Alright Bell, put the bird down and give it a minute. It clearly didn't have enough time to warm up."
Bell did as instructed and the chicken immediately scampered away from the young man, letting out several indignant squawks in his direction as it ran.
A moment passed.
"Alright, round two." Lucifer said. "It knows to be warry of you know so don't expect to catch it again as easily this time Bel-."
"Got it." Bell said again before his lord could finish, holding the struggling bird in his direction again. "Um, my lord, you do remember that I used to live on a farm, right?"
"…"
"A farm with chickens of its own."
"…"
"Which my grandpa made me catch myself since I was six."
"…"
Bell held the struggling bird for roughly a minute as he waited for his lord to respond.
Eventually Lucifer let out a long, tired sigh and slumped forward slightly.
"Alright Bell, that concludes today's training." Lucifer said without the same gusto that had accompanied the rest of the morning's activities. "I'll think of some adjustments for tomorrow's session. You can go and meet your friends at Babel."
Bell put the bird down and offered his lord a friendly smile before running off.
Lucifer let out another sigh, pushing off from the wall making his way to the backdoor again. As he began to open it, he heard a soft clicking behind him and turned to see the chicken looking up at him from a few steps back.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, but we no longer require your services." Lucifer said down to the bird looking up at him curiously. "As they're so fond of saying in L.A. you don't have to go home but you can't stay here."
And with those words Lucifer went inside and closed the door. Leaving a very confused chicken behind the club, which after a moment turned around and began to rummage through the dirt and weeds in the patch of earth behind the Salome.
/
The Dungeon
Emma let out a sigh as the last Frog Shooter went still and knelt to begin harvesting its magic stone. This was the third group of monsters their party had encountered today, and Emma was pleased to find how easily her new party had been able to handle them all. She finished extracting the magic stone and dropped it into a modestly sized bag at her side before turning to regard her three companions.
Primo was keeping lookout for any new monsters who decided to spawn while they were collecting the magic stones. Her fellow Hestia Familia member was sporting a small pout as she had not had many chances to use her magic yet today, Emma and Bell quickly closing with the monsters before she could cast, thereby preventing her from using her magic without running the risk of catching her party members in the blast. Seeing this, Emma made a mental note to ask Bell to hold back on the next group of monsters they encountered so that the young elf could blow off some steam.
And speaking of the young man Bell was also keeping watch as the magic stones were harvested. His posture was relaxed, and he offered Emma a smile when he noticed her glancing at him, which Emma responded to with a smile of her own.
Emma was glad to have another front-line fighter in the party as it meant that there was someone right there to help if she began to get overwhelmed along with having someone to hold the front line if she needed to rush back and protect Primo from monsters coming from the sides or behind them. However, neither of them had needed to do so as Primo was also being covered by their unexpected fourth party member.
Looking around, Emma quickly found the young chienthrope finishing removing the magic stones from the fourth monster in this group before quickly moving onto the fifth and final. Emma was surprised how quickly the young girl could work and guessed she must be very used to such tasks, making her wonder how long the girl had been acting as a supporter.
After her, Primo, and Bell had met up in front of Babel they had been about to make their way into The Dungeon when they were approached by the young chienthrope girl who introduced herself as a freelance supporter named Lili. They were all surprised by the unexpected appearance of the girl but after quickly deliberating amongst themselves they decided that hiring the girl as a supporter would be a good idea as it would not only mean they could harvest magic stones more quickly but also had someone else in the back to support Primo.
So far, the decision had proven a good one as not only were they collecting magic stones at a much faster rate than Emma was used to, but Lili had noticed a goblin trying to sneak up on Primo while she and Bell had been busy and had put a crossbow bolt between its eyes before it could reach the young elf.
After Lili finished extracting the last magic stone the party decided to take a brief rest in the room they were in, and they all took out some rations to eat before continuing. However, before Bell could take a bite of the jerky he had taken out of a pocket on his jacket Primo walked over to him and presented him with a small wooden box.
"The blue-haired server from the Hostess of Fertility stopped us on the way to The Dungeon and asked us to give this to you." The young elf explained as Bell took the box. "She said she would be happy to make you some food for your dives, but you have to come by and pick them up yourself."
Emma chuckled lightly at the blush that quickly spread on Bell's face as he clumsily thanked Primo for bringing him the food Syr had been nice enough to make him. She then glanced over at Lili to see how the young girl was doing.
Lili had sat down a short distance away from the rest of them and was quickly consuming what appeared to be some jerky and dried fruit. She noticed Emma's look almost immediately and offered the older girl a cheerful smile, ceasing her eating and appearing to wait for Emma to say something but all the pink-haired girl could think to do was offer the chienthrope a short wave before returning her attention to her own food.
Lili had proven very helpful with their dive so far but there was something about the brown-haired girl that didn't sit right with Emma. Maybe it was the fact that she always smiled whenever she caught one of them looking at her or the fact that she always had her hood up, so it was harder to see her full face, but Emma found she had a hard time relaxing around the girl. Still, Lili had been nothing but helpful up to this point, so Emma decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
As Emma turned her gaze back to Bell and Primo, she was met with an odd sight. The two were currently staring down at the content of Syr's box lunch with what she could best describe as…. trepidation?
"Um, is this some kind of human food that I've never heard of?" Primo asked, trying to make sense of what they found when they opened the box.
"….." Bell just stared down, not quite sure how to respond to the elf's question.
Curiosity peeked Emma walked over to join the two, looking down at the contents of the box that had Primo and Bell so concerned. And what she saw was quite frankly confusing.
In the center cutout of the box there were strange little chips that Emma couldn't decide were jerky or chocolate from how dark they were. Above them to the right was a strange lumpy substance that she might have mistaken for mashed potatoes if not for their strange purple color. And to the left of those were what she thought was rice, but it had some strange orange grains mixed in with the rice that she didn't recognize.
The three stared down at the box in silence for a minute before Bell swallowed hard and picked up the small wooden spoon that was in the box with its contents.
"Um, maybe we should just throw it out and tell Syr that you bring your own lunches?" Emma said as she watched Bell steel himself.
"….. My grandpa told me to not be picky when it came to food." Bell said with a (mostly) firm tone. "Especially when there is a girl who was nice enough to make food just for you."
Unsure how to respond to Bell's words Emma just let out an uneasy chuckle while Primo shrugged and began munching on her own rations.
Their party would end up taking a fair while longer to leave the room than they had originally planned, at first due to Bell taking a while to work through Syr's lunch box… And then due to Emma and Primo having to resuscitate Bell after he collapsed after getting halfway through it.
/
Emma let out a tired sigh as she and Primo walked down the road, heading home after their dive into The Dungeon had ended. Despite some panic during their party's lunch the day had gone very well and both Emma and Primo were able to bid Bell and Lili farewell with noticeably heavier coin purses. This left Emma feeling tired but satisfied as they made their way home.
However. Before they could return to the old church their familia called home the two girls had to make a quick detour.
The two came to a small shop on western main street with a sign over the door that depicted various letters and pictures. Underneath the sign there were some words that spelled Alfred's Printer.
Walking inside the two girls found a familiar sight of various stacks of books and papers spread around the shop, all of them appearing to be on the same subject repeated many times over. Behind the counter there was an older human man with greying brown hair and beady green eyes that had been focused down on a book in front of him but now looked up to the two entering his shop.
"Hello again Mr. Alfred." Emma greeted with a friendly smile and a small wave. "We were just returning home and were wondering if you had the chance to work on our order today?"
The now named Alfred just grunted in acknowledgment of the question before gesturing for them to wait for a moment and going through a door into the back of his shop. A moment later he returned holding a small stack of papers and placed them down on the counter in front of the two girls.
The papers showed a picture of a girl who looked very similar to Emma but had some key differences such as having longer hair and looking several years older. Around her neck there was a small diamond shaped gem and underneath the picture were the words "Sophia Flores: current whereabouts unknown. If you have information about her, please contact Hestia Familia" and the address of the small church Hestia Familia called home.
Looking down at the picture, Emma's smile dropped, her expression becoming concerned before she felt a small squeeze on her left arm. Looking over to the side she saw Primo looking up at her with an encouraging smile and felt her own smile return. She then paid Alfred for the two dozen posters she had ordered before picking them up and exiting the shop with Primo at her side.
"I'm sure plenty of people will be willing to let us put up the posters around town." Primo said as she walked beside Emma, trying to keep her friend's mood up. "And we can color in the posters when we get back so that people will have an easier time telling it's your sister."
Emma nodded at her friend's words as she walked forward with an anxious expression and a quickness in her step that hadn't been there before.
"I'm sure Lady Hestia will let us put one up at her stand." Primo continued on as she jogged beside Emma. "Maybe those waitresses at the Hostess will let us put one up there too? They seemed nice, and it's a really busy pub so loads of people will see it before too long!"
Emma nodded along to Primo's words as she continued down the street in the direction of their home and looked towards the young elf to respond to her words….. before walking directly into someone coming around a corner, sending both her and the stranger to the ground. Emma sat up almost as quickly as she fell and began to voice an apology before she saw the person she had run into and blushed.
Rising to a sitting position was an attractive man with tanned skin, long dark red hair, and a well-muscled torso that was clearly visible due to the man's lack of a shirt. The man's handsome face was set in an expression of surprise and he looked back at Emma with yellow eyes. Emma's embarrassment then began to change to mortification as she sensed the divine aura of the man and realized she had just knocked a god to the ground.
"Lord Aeshma are you alright!" a man shouted, and Emma turned her gaze to see a man with short pale blonde hair run up to the fallen god's side and then turn and offer Emma a venomous glare with his purple eyes. The man was much older than Emma and Primo, perhaps in his mid-thirties and he was clad in a dark suit and glasses.
"I'm fine Gregory, no need to get worked up." The now named Aeshma said as he remained seated on the ground and looked at Emma with clear curiosity.
"I am so, so very sorry for this Lord Aeshma." Emma said as she offered the god a short bow from her position seated across from him, a look of concern on her face. "I was distracted, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Please accept my apology."
And with those words Emma deepened her bow, but Aeshma simply let out an amused chuckle as he crossed his legs and leaned forward on his hands, attention squarely focused on Emma.
"I'll accept your apology if you would be so kind as to tell me your name." Aeshma said with a friendly smile that caused Emma's blush to return.
"Emma Flores, Lord Aeshma, of the Hestia Familia." Emma said and she began to gather the posters, which had spilled onto the ground when she fell.
"Oh, Hestia Familia you said?" Aeshma said in pleasant tone with a hint of surprise. "I wasn't aware that Hestia had managed to find some followers. How nice for her."
"Do you know Lady Hestia Lord Aeshma?" Emma asked.
"We've met once or twice." Aeshma responded and he picked up one of the posters that had fallen and glanced at it. "Though I wouldn't call us friends I have nothing against her."
"That's nice to hear." Emma said and focused on collecting the papers with Aeshma watching her intently, Gregory scowling down at her and Primo standing to the side uncertain on how to deal with the situation. After a minute Emma rose to her feet, the posters back in her hand and offered Aeshma one final bow.
"Sorry again Lord Aeshma. Please excuse us we must be getting home soon or Lady Hestia will worry."
"Like I already said it's fine." Aeshma said with a grin and a wink up at Emma from his seated position. "To be perfectly honest I would be quite happy to do this again if it meant I was able to run into you again, Emma."
Emma nodded at the god's words and then rushed of in the direction of the ruined church with Primo following a few steps behind her.
Aeshma remained seated on the ground as his expression shifted from friendly to thoughtful and he brought the poster he had grabbed back up to his face to get a better look at it.
"My lord?" Gregory said, sensing the shift in his lord's mood.
"Gregory, find out what you can about Emma and any other members of Hestia Familia." Aeshma said as he rose to his feet and folded the poster before placing it in his pocket.
"As you wish, my lord." Gregory responded with a short bow to his god before glancing in the direction the two members of Hestia Familia had left in. "Might I ask why you would like this information, my lord?"
Aeshma remained silent for a moment and turned around to look in the direction Emma and Primo had left in. Just when Gregory thought that he would receive no response Aeshma chuckled, and his expression shifted again as an excited smile spread onto his face.
"Just call it a hunch, Gregory."
/
The Salome
Lucifer hummed to himself as he stared down at the piece of paper he had been scribbling ideas down on for most of the day. Across the counter from him Maze let out an exasperated sigh as she refilled his drink and glanced down at the paper to see what hairbrained idea he would come up with next. After a moment of contemplation Lucifer's humming changed pitch and a jotted down another idea which Maze was able to make out from her position across from him.
Blindfold Bell to make it more difficult to catch chicken? Possibly improve other senses in the process? Pseudo Daredevil?
Maze let out a soft groan at the idea and decided enough was enough.
"You know, it might be wiser to leave training Bell to someone who is more familiar with his fighting style." Maze said with an exasperated tone. "Since I'm pretty sure using the Rocky method isn't going help Bell out that much. Unless the monsters all suddenly decide to take up boxing and come at him one at a time from now on."
"While I would be happy to have some assistance with Bell's training you seem to forget we are a bit short on other adventurers in the familia at the moment." Lucifer responded while tapping his pen on the paper, waiting for inspiration to come to him again. "I mean I could ask Ishtar if she would be willing to let one of her girls help train Bell, but I can't really think of anyone in particular who really fits with Bell's preferred style. Aisha's sword is far too large and relies on strength as much as dexterity and Samira uses her fists so she would probably train him similar to how I am. Maybe that younger girl who was with them last time, Lena was it? Maybe she's more agility and dexterity based so she might be a better fit to Bell?"
"Or you could ask the single best knife fighter in this entire damn city to train him."
"You know the best knife fighter in the city?" Lucifer asked, perfectly sincere in his question.
Maze glared at her lord in barely contained exasperation.
"You mean you?" Lucifer said, realization finally dawning on him. "You're offering to train Bell? I though you still didn't like him?"
"While I'm still not exactly a fan of your decision to get involved with all this familia nonsense, I don't hate the kid that much." Maze said and received a raised eyebrow from Lucifer in response. "Alright, I don't hate him as much as I used to. He's still a bit of a buzzkill but he knows how to look after himself and he has the balls to fight for what he wants in life. Besides, him getting better and more skilled will mean it will be easier to send him to Loki Familia when the year is up."
Lucifer gave Maze a searching look, trying to discern if she was doing this for some other reason. Maze met her lords look head on, calmly meeting Lucifer's gaze with a neutral expression. After a moment Lucifer hummed again and nodded.
"Alright, if you're willing to take over Bell's training I see no reason to object." Lucifer said as he crumpled up the paper he had been writing ideas on throughout the day and tossed it into the waste bin behind the bar's counter. "Just remember that this isn't like the fighting pits back in Hell. The goal is to teach Bell, not assert dominance or torture him."
"Relax, I know what I'm doing." Maze said with confidence, only to be met another questioning look from Lucifer. "Trainings about breaking someone down and building them back up better, right? I'm already a master at breaking people so I just need to remember to build Bell back up afterword's. How hard can that be?"
Lucifer wondered if he should fish his ideas back out of the waste bin.
/
So, here's chapter nine. I've been looking forward to writing that whole training montage for some time, so I hope you all enjoyed it.
So Lili has entered the story. Not exactly my favorite character in Danmchi but she can be an interesting character at times.
Can't think of much else to say at the moment so I hope you are all enjoying the story and are doing well. Feel free to leave a review.
I have another question for you all this time. Would you all prefer Amenadiel to show up sooner or later? I always planned for him to eventually find Luci and Orario but my original plan would see him not showing up for a pretty long time. So, I've thought of an excuse for him to show up (somewhat) sooner and was wondering if you all would like that. Let me know in the reviews if you would prefer sooner or later.