Hey, I'm back with a new chapter. Been busy with work and studies, and I'll be even busier with Star Rail and my backlog of Gunpla.

But we'll see how fast I can bust these chapters out.

Raven Marcus, not too sure about Eina, but the door's still open. I'm leaning towards having only Ryuu and Syr for now though, mostly Ryuu.

Xrein0001, you make a good point with EMIYA's story being known to Zeus, and that is EIMYA's story specifically. I won't spoil it here, cuz it'll probably be revealed in the next chapter or two. However, I don't agree that Emiya's story being too much to tell a kid.

For one, EMIYA, as in the Counter Guardian's story, isn't really that bad. If you consider something like Heracles' story, Achilles or Cu Chulainn, I don't see why Zeus wouldn't tell Bell Emiya's story if he knew it. It would be a good way to stop Bell from going too far in his dreams to be a hero.

As for EMIYA being too overpowered, let's face it. Bell inheriting every Heroic Spirit from the Throne is already very overpowered, despite the limits he has with them. EMIYA's access to the copies of Noble Phantasms is something Bell can already do.

No offense meant in my response, just my reasoning behind this decision.

codywhite162, thanks. The idea is Bell being a vessel, or like a cup, his soul fills up maybe half of that cup? And the Heroic Spirits' powers will definitely overfill it. So what happens is the amount of powers that flows into Bell's body is limited, and it will increase as Bell grows. Same with the NPs, he can't use what he doesn't have.

As for the gods knowing the Throne, the idea is that the gods are aware of their counterparts in Pan-Human History and the gist of it, just like how the Servants will know the True Identity of enemy Servants thanks to the Grail. Except here, they are aware of the concept of Pan-Human History.

Again, Bell summoning Servants is something I'm not keen on doing. But shadow Servants may be on the table. Ryuu is almost a definite now, but Syr is one I'm trying to figure out how to do.

FieldTested, mrwinterdk, thanks. You do have a point with Syr being a little wrong. I may or may not ditch that idea, but for now, she is considered to be a love interest along with Ryuu. I do want to make it more of a one-main-ship thing too, but we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, here's the new chapter.

XXX

Bell stood in front of fountain near the city square, waiting nervously.

"Bell!"

Until he heard a familiar voice call out his name, and Bell turned, only to freeze.

The reason was simple. Standing before him was a different half-elf, or rather, it was the same half-elf that he'd see every day.

Except, she didn't have her glasses on, and was dressed in a white blouse and short red skirt, black leggings running up to her thighs.

Eina smiled when she saw him, "Good morning."

Bell blinked, "G-good morning!"

The guild advisor giggled at his obvious nervousness showing, and she decided to tease him a bit, "So, how do I look?"

Eina held her hands up, twirling slightly to show off her outfit.

Much to her satisfaction, Bell's face reddened up slightly, "Y-you look much younger than usual!"

The half-elf raised an eyebrow, before puffing her cheeks, "That one only works for older women, I'm only nineteen you know?"

Bell yelped, and he bowed 90 degrees down, "Sorry!"

Eina giggled, "Well, as punishment, how about we hold hands for today?"

The boy's face reddened, "Huh?"

The half-elf just giggled at his face, "I'm just joking. Come on, we don't have all day."

With that said, Eina walked past him, and Bell blinked, before yelling out, "W-wait for me!"

A short moment later, Bell asked as he walked beside the half-elf, "Sooo, where are we going, exactly?"

Eina smiled, "Tell me, how many weapon shops have you been to so far?"

Bell blinked, "Huh?"

He counted with his fingers, "I guess, three in total?"

The half-elf nodded, "I'm assuming they're all located in the city, yes?"

The boy nodded, "Yes, I couldn't exactly afford any better weapons."

Eina smiled, "Which brings us to the answer to your question."

Before Bell realized it, they were standing outside the Tower of Babel, "Wait..."

The half-elf's smile widened, "Yep, we'll be heading for the Hephaestus Familia's shops."

Panic made itself evident on his face, "Huh?"

Eina's smile didn't waver, "Yep, we'll be heading for the Hephaestus Familia's shop."

Bell shook himself out of his stupor, "Wait wait wait! I don't even have the kind of money to buy even a piece of armor from those shops!"

The half-elf giggled, "Stop complaining and let's go."

With that said, Eina grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him towards the shop with a surprising amount of force.

Soon, the two were inside the tower, and they stood in a glamourous corridor with various shops and weapons on display.

Bell marveled at the interior design of the floor, "Wow..."

Eina smiled at his reaction, "First time? This is the part of the store where the higher ranked weapons are being sold. What we're looking for is at the upper floors though, but we might as well have a look since we're here."

The boy's face blanked, "Up?"

The half-elf held back a giggle when she saw his expression, "Come on."

The two walked along the corridor, and Bell barely held back his shock when he saw each weapon costing over hundreds of thousands of valis, each one going up more and more as they walked towards the elevator.

Eina saw his expression and decided to tease the boy, "So? See something you want?"

Bell hung his head, "Nothing that's within my reach..."

The half-elf giggled, "I think that's enough teasing you for one day. Let's head up."

The boy sighed and followed her into the lift, and soon they found themselves on the upper floor.

Bell blinked in confusion, however, when he was met with a rather run down looking floor instead of a luxurious looking interior,

Eina smiled, "Surprised? The lower floors are for blacksmiths who've proven their products to be high tier. This floor, on the other hand, is for those who are not as good."

Bell looked around, "I see..."

Sure enough, the weapons and armor around them were very different from the ones down stairs.

The half-elf nodded, "Of course, they're screened by the higher up members of the Hephaestus Familiar and the goddess herself, so they're definitely trustworthy to some extent."

The boy walked further in, "Wow..."

Eina chuckled, "Not so bad, right?"

Bell nodded, "Yeah, this is what I was looking for!"

He looked at her, "I'll go look what they have deeper in, okay?"

The half-elf smiled, "Sure."

With that said, Bell ran off, leaving Eina chuckling in exasperation.

The white rabbit browsed the shelves, taking in many of the products on display, and to his surprise, most of the items were well within his financial ability.

They certainly weren't the best as compared to the ones on display from the lower floors of the shop.

Bell grabbed a set of light armor from the shelf, giving it a brief look over, before placing it back.

It was well made, at least for someone wandering around the top floors. But it wasn't what Bell was looking for.

The boy continued walking around, until a glint of light grey caught his eye.

Bell bent down and picked up a set of light grey armor, and he blinked in surprise, "Woah, this is actually good."

Unlike the other pieces of equipment he'd seen, this was by far one of the better ones.

The boy smiled to himself. He had his knife, what he lacked now was a good set of armor.

Bell picked the chest piece from the box, turning it around, "Welf Crozzo...!"

The boy's lips curved upwards, he wasn't ignorant of the Crozzo name, for it was one he easily recognized from the story of Argonaut the Fool.

He then glanced down at the box where the price tag hung at a side, "9900 valis..."

He had the money, though it would take a relatively sizable chunk from his savings.

Bell looked up, giving the surrounding shelves a brief scan, and despite not being an expert, he could see that the armor was one of the better ones.

A giddy smile appeared on his face, for him to find a set of armor made by a Crozzo, surely it meant he was well on his way to become a hero!

"Bell, here you are!"

The boy turned to see Eina walking into his aisle, "Eina-san."

The half-elf smiled, "I found something good over there-oh?"

She easily noticed the chest plate in his hands, and Bell smiled at her, "This, I'll be getting this one."

Eina smiled at him knowingly, "Light armor again, huh? Well, I guess it makes sense for you."

Bell chuckled, "Yep."

The half-elf sighed with a smile, "Okay, if that's what you want."

The boy nodded as he picked the box up, "Yeah, this is what I need for now."

Eina giggled at his giddy expression, "As long as you're happy."

She gave the aisle she came from a brief glance, "Speaking of which, are you heading for the dungeon tomorrow?"

Bell hugged the box of armor up, "Of course! I need to test this bad boy out."

Eina smiled in exasperation, "Well, if you're planning to head on to the lower floors, you might want to look for a party."

The boy blinked, "A party, you say?"

The half-elf nodded, her hand reaching up to push her non-existent glasses, only to realize she wasn't wearing them and folded her arms instead, "A party essentially consists of adventurers of different Familias for various reasons."

Bell nodded in understanding, "I see..."

Eina nodded, "Not every Familia have good inner relations, so some of them tend to party up with people from other Familias to make dungeon exploring easier."

The boy oh'd, "I see... I didn't know we could do that."

The half-elf raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm pretty sure I covered that during one of our lessons, have you been slacking?"

Bell yelped as he shrunk away, "Uhmm..."

Eina giggled, "I'm kidding, I might have missed it anyway."

The boy breathed out in relief, "Oh..."

The half-elf let out a breath, "But in all seriousness, I mean it, you should look for a party, or hire a supporter at least."

Bell blinked, "A supporter?"

Eina nodded, "Yep, they won't fight on the front, but they'll make things a whole lot easier. If you want, I can look for one for you."

The white rabbit smiled, "Thanks, I'll let you know if I'm looking for one."

The half-elf giggled, "Make sure you do, okay?"

Bell nodded, "Gotcha!"

Eina nodded, "Good, now let's go."

(Linebreak)

A short while later, Bell and Eina were in front of the same fountain they were at earlier.

Eina looked up, "I really didn't expect us to take this long."

Bell nodded, "Yeah, we spent most of the afternoon in there."

The half-elf nodded, "Well, it was time well spent I'd say."

The boy grinned as he glanced down at the small trolley he'd gotten from the shop, "Of course, thanks for coming with me though."

Eina smiled, "Anytime."

The young woman then pulled out something from behind her, "Speaking of which."

Bell blinked when he was presented with a shiny silver vambrace, "Huh?"

Eina pushed it towards him, "Here. A present from me."

The white haired boy blinked, "Wait what?"

Bell shook his head frantically, "Nono, I can't possibly take this!"

The half-elf didn't back away, "Take it, please, for my sake."

The white haired boy blinked, "Eh?"

Eina's face flushed when she realized what she'd said, and she shoved the vambrace into his arms, "Just take it, okay?!"

The half-elf took a deep breath, "It's just... I've seen so many people die in the dungeon, I don't want you to be another one of them."

Bell stared at her for a while, and Eina's face flushed again, "Say something!"

The boy smiled, and he tightened his grip on the vambrace, "Got it, I'll do my best not to die in the dungeon, not when you've done so much for me."

Eina smiled and nodded, "Good, I'll find a way to bring you back and kill you myself if you did."

Bell chuckled, "Let's hope that doesn't come to pass."

The half-elf snorted, "It better not."

She turned away, "Now, that's it for me today, I still have work tomorrow, and you still need to dive into the dungeon I believe."

Bell smiled, "Yep, I'll see you tomorrow I guess."

The young woman turned to look at him once more, "Okay, see you."

With that said, Eina walked away, and Bell glanced at the silver vambrace she'd given him, before putting it in the small trolley he had with him.

After a short while, Bell stashed the set of armor and vambrace away in the church, and he walked back out onto the streets, "Hmm, Kami-sama went out again, I guess I should go grab some dinner."

He walked into an alley to take a short cut for the Hostess of Fertility, but as he took a turn, something, or rather, someone ran into him, falling to the ground.

Bell blinked as he quickly went to help her, "Hey, you alright?"

He noticed the girl who'd ran into him was a prum, but before he could help her up, Bell felt a surge of murderous intent from behind him.

"You won't get away this time bitch!"

Bell turned to see a man with his hair tied in a ponytail, brandishing his sword.

On instinct, the boy pulled his knife out and blocked the slash. The man growled, "Who the hell are you? You with her?"

Bell furrowed his brows as he pushed back against him, "No."

The man scowled as he pulled back, "Then why did you stop me?"

The boy lowered his knife, "You were swinging your sword at us."

The man scowled again, "And? I wasn't aiming at you, I was aiming at her."

Bell narrowed his eyes, "You came out of nowhere and started swinging a sword at someone, of course I'm gonna stop you."

The man glared at him, "Son of a bitch!"

"Enough."

A familiar voice rang through the alley, and both Bell and the man stopped, turning to see Ryuu standing some distance away from them.

The elf sighed, "Clashing blades is not something you want to do in town, you know?"

The man scowled, "Who the fuck are you? If you have something to say-"

"Silence."

Her voice wasn't loud, but both males froze at her tone, and Bell could've sworn he saw Ryuu's eyes glowing.

The elf took a step forward, and despite holding a bag of groceries, Bell never would've thought the elf could look so freightening.

Ryuu took a breath as she slowly walked towards them, "Do not make me resort to violence."

The man gripped his sword tightly, slowly backing away as the elf continued, "I've been told I tend to go too far at times."

The man cursed, "Fuck it, I'm out of here!"

He turned and stormed away, leaving the two alone.

Bell let out a breath in relief as he turned to Ryuu, "Thank you."

He turned around, "Speaking of which-huh?"

The elf raised an eyebrow, "Is there something wrong?"

Bell sheathed his knife, "Y-yeah, that prum, she's gone..."

Ryuu glanced around, noting that she too did see a female prum, "I see..."

The white rabbit hummed, "Guess she got scared and ran away."

Bell sighed, "Well, whatever."

He turned to the elf, "But still, thanks for helping."

Ryuu's lips curved upwards slightly, "It's fine, rather, I do apologize for stepping in. I'm sure you could've handled it, but I'd rather you not get hurt. Syr wouldn't be happy if that happened."

Bell chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, "I-Is that so?"

The elf nodded, "Yes."

The white rabbit just chuckled awkwardly, "I see... But thank you though."

Ryuu let out a breath, "Do be careful, not all adventurers are kind."

Bell's gaze fell, "I see..."

The elf studied his expression for a while, before she spoke again, "I'll be off then, Mama Mia will be mad if I'm late. Do be careful on your way back."

With that said, the elf left the alley, leaving the boy alone, both unaware of the very same prum they'd saved, hiding near them while eyeing Bell.

(Linebreak)

The next day, Bell walked along the road towards the dungeon, until his eyes landed on a number of adventurers in front of him, along with the few people carrying less equipment but larger backpacks with supplies.

The boy's mind went to Eina's advice, and he muttered, "A supporter huh?"

Now that Eina had mentioned it, Bell easily noticed the many supporters around him walking with groups of adventurers.

That, and none of the adventurers carried backpacks like he did.

Bell hummed, "Perhaps I should ask Eina-san if she can find one."

"Excuse me, Mr Adventurer!"

The white haired boy turned to see a giant bag, and he blinked when the bag seemingly spoke, "Nice to meet you, mister!"

Only then when he looked down, did he notice the hooded brown haired girl carrying the giant bag, "Huh?"

The girl smiled, "Sorry to bother you, but would you happen to be looking for a supporter?"

Bell blinked, "Sure- no wait, you're the one from yesterday!"

The shorter girl blinked innocently, "Sorry, did I confuse you? It's nothing much really, here you have a poor supporter looking to sell her services to pick through the leftovers of an adventurer!"

Bell almost frowned when he heard her words, and even more when he noticed her smile not reaching her eyes, but he brushed it off, "N-no, I get that part, but you're that prum girl from that alley yesterday, aren't you?"

The girl blinked innocently, before pulling down her hood, "But Lili's a chienthrope though?"

The white haired boy blinked, before he bent down to take a closer look, "Oh.. you're right..."

Lili almost backed away from how close Bell was, but she didn't need to as the boy stood back up straight, "Sorry, I must be mistaken then."

The brunette cleared her throat, "So how about it? Would you be willing to hire Lili as your supporter?"

Bell studied her face again, before asking, "How about we talk at a side? Discussing stuff like this in the middle of the road isn't ideal, is it?"

Lili's smile widened, and Bell could've sworn he saw a glint in her eyes, and it was something he didn't think he liked.

A short while later, Bell and Lili sat on a bench near the dungeon entrance.

The white rabbit asked, "So, you wanted to become my supporter?"

Lili nodded, "Yep!"

Bell tilted his head in confusion, "Why me though? I mean, there's gotta be other people..."

The chienthrope smiled, "Well for one, you're the only one carrying a backpack, and you're one person heading down the dungeon. So I figured you might be looking for a supporter."

The white haired boy chuckled, "You're not wrong, I was literally just thinking of finding one."

Lili beamed, "Then it must be fate that Lili found you! How about it?!"

Bell considered the idea, but was inclined to ask Eina before he did anything, lest he suffered the wrath of the half-elf, "We could..."

The girl studied his expression, and she added, "We could do a test run today, and see if you want to hire Lili after that?"

The white haired boy considered the idea again, before he nodded, "I guess we could do that."

Lili beamed, "Great! So let's start this again, my name's Lililuka!"

Bell blinked, before he smiled, "Bell, my name's Bell Cranel."

A short while later, Bell was on the seventh floor with Lili, and they were surrounded by killer ants.

The white haired boy took a deep breath as he took a mental count of the ants around him.

There seven in total, three in front of him, and two flanking him on each side.

Lili was about to yell out for him to be careful, until Bell spoke, "Load: Heracles."

In an instant, the air around the boy gave way, as an almost visible aura formed around him, much to Lili's surprise, and even more when his knife glowed stronger.

Then Bell moved, and the supporter could barely follow his movements, if at all.

The white haired boy swung his knife, cleanly slicing through one of the killer ants.

Not missing a beat, he turned and sliced through two more of them, destroying all three that were in front of him.

The four killer ants flanking him on the sides charged at him, but the boy saw it coming.

Clenching his left fist, Bell blocked a strike from the left with Eina's vambrace, swiftly pushing it away as he dodged a swing from the right.

Taking advantage of the speed and agility granted by Heracles' powers, Bell spun, slamming the vambrace into one of the ants on the right while slicing down one on the left.

Not wanting to lose momentum, Bell continued spinning, piercing another killer ant with his knife, before landing a crushing kick on the last killer ant.

All that took less than a minute, and by the time Lili realized it, they were the only ones left in the corridor, the magic stones being the only signs of the monsters ever being there.

Bell let out a breath as he relaxed, letting the power of Heracles leave his body, the drain on his Mind stopping as he did.

The boy turned, "You okay?"

The chienthrope didn't respond, staring at him in awe and shock. Bell blinked and walked closer, "Lili?"

The girl blinked as she snapped out of her stupor, "Y-yes! Yes, I'm fine!"

The white rabbit smiled, "Good, good."

Lili looked around again, "What was that? I couldn't see you at all."

Bell's smile stiffened, "Uhmm, its a skill, I guess..."

The girl studied his face, and she sighed, "If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."

The white haired boy shook his head frantically, "Nonono! It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just my goddess has forbidden me to tell anyone about it."

Lili hummed, "I see, well, then we can't have you breaking that promise, now, can we?"

Bell chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry."

The chienthrope stared at him again, as if he'd grown a second head, "It's fine, and you shouldn't apologize for having to keep your abilities a secret. It's natural, especially from someone like Lili."

The boy blinked at her words, but before he could speak, the chienthrope walked past him to pick up the magic stones.

As she did, the girl glanced at the knife he had in his hand, "Sorry to ask you of this, Bell-sama, but can you help me pick some of the magic stones? We've gone in deep enough for two people for now, wouldn't you think so?"

The boy considered the thought, before he nodded, "Sure, we can call it a day here."

Bell sheathed his knife and went to help Lili pick up the magic stones, not noticing the smile on Lili's face as they picked the stones together.

(Linebreak)

After a while, Bell was in the guild exchanging the magic stones they'd gotten from the dungeon.

To his surprise and confusion, Lili had refused to take any of the magic stones they'd obtained, insisting that today be a free test day.

Which led to the large bag of valis he had in his hands, easily double the amount he'd have earned on his own.

Eina let out a breath as she finished up the paper work, "So you went and hired a supporter from the Soma Familia huh?"

Bell nodded, "Yep... Is there something wrong?"

The guild advisor hummed, "Well, they're a Familia focused on exploring the dungeon, but there are rumors about their side business with wine."

The boy blinked, "Wine?"

Eina nodded, "Their god, Soma, is a god of wine, or so they say. So their Familia also has a winery that's pretty famous for its price and quality."

Bell tilted his head in confusion, "I don't see the problem."

The half-elf sighed, "They say the members themselves are addicted to it, and they're not the best people to hang out with."

The white haired boy hummed, "But Lili didn't seem like a bad person though."

Eina chuckled, "If you think so, but I'd be careful too if I were you."

Bell smiled, "I'll keep that in mind, but thanks for telling me."

The guild advisor smiled, "Anytime, so I suppose you've made up your mind?"

The white rabbit nodded, "Yep, I think I'll officially hire Lili to be my supporter from now on."

Eina nodded, "Good to hear."

Bell smiled, "I'll be heading off then, have a good night, Eina-san."

The half-elf giggled, "You too."

The boy turned, and when he did, Eina noticed something, or rather, the lack of something, "Bell-kun! Where's your knife?"

Bell turned back to her, and he blinked, "Huh? It should be right here...?"

He turned and reached for his knife, only to find his sheath empty, and fear and panic quickly made themselves apparent on his face, "Oh no... Oh no oh no oh no!"

"NOOOO!"

The young man screamed as he ran out of the building, much to Eina's worry and everyone's confusion/amusement.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, Lili stood in front of a trader, the Hestia Knife in the hands of said appraiser, "So?"

The dwarf sighed and shook his head, "I can give you 20 valis, no more, no less."

The girl stared at him in shock, "Come again?"

The older man studied the knife once more, "The craftsmanship is top notch no doubt, but the blade itself is dead. The edge is dull, and the grip has zero balance. The only thing notable about it is the metal, but even then I can't say it's worth much."

Lili shook her head in denial, "Impossible! This knife tore through monsters up till the seventh floor!"

The dwarf sighed, "You must have the wrong one then."

He pulled out a stack of old used paper, and he swung it at the stack. To Lili's shock, the blade just bounced off them harmlessly.

The man sighed, "There, see?"

To further make a point, he grabbed a pencil and swung the blunt end at the stack, the pencil easily tearing through at least a few pieces of paper.

Lili stared at the papers dumbfounded, "H-how?"

The dwarf sighed, "No idea, but I can still give you that twenty valis."

The prum frowned, "N-no, that's fine, thanks."

The older man hummed as he slid the knife back to her, "If you can find that knife that did tear through monsters down to the seventh floor, I'd really like to see it."

Lili frowned as she grabbed the knife, "I'll think about it."

With that said, she turned and left the shop, her mind racing as she stormed away.

There was simply no way the knife could've sliced through all those monsters, not when it couldn't even cut through a piece of old paper.

Her mind then went to Bell's words. If the knife was useless, then did that mean Bell himself was that good?

Apparently it was something so huge that his goddess had forbidden him from telling people, and he'd torn through all those monsters singlehandedly.

Lili didn't even have a chance to help, not that she would have. There was no point helping adventurers when they'd ditch their supporters at first sign of trouble, after all.

The prum shook her head, she was getting side tracked. What she needed to figure out, was what the hell was going on with Bell and the knife.

There was simply no way for the knife to have torn through so many monsters without so much of a scratch to be only worth 20 valis, skill or not.

But before she could continue her line of thought, a pair of waitresses walked past her, each carrying a bag of groceries.

"Stop right there, prum."

Lili recognized the voice, and she stopped as told, "Yes?"

Ryuu spoke, her eyes narrowed, "That knife you're holding under your sleeves, show it to me."

Syr blinked, "Ryu?"

The elf answered her friend, "It looks like the one that belongs to our friend, I'd like to see if it is."

Lili's eyes widened, and she barely regained her composure, "S-sorry, but this one is mine, I-I got it from the shop the other day. You must be mistaken."

Ryuu sighed, closing her eyes as she reached for a coin in her pocket, "Your voice is trembling. Besides..."

The elf turned and flicked the coin at the prum's hand hard, "Only one person I know owns a knife like that!"

The coin struck Lili's hand, earning them a yelp of pain, but the prum quickly broke into a dash.

Ryuu narrowed her eyes, before she swifty gave chase after grabbing the knife from the ground.

The elf furrowed her eyebrows as she dashed through the alley, having to slow down from her full speed due to the bag of groceries in her hands, but she was confident she could catch up to the prum.

As she came to the end of the alley, Ryuu blinked when she saw Bell on the ground before her, and on top of him was the prum, no, a chienthrope.

The boy blinked when he saw her, "Ryuu-san, Syr-san."

The elf heard her best friend's footsteps, and she was about to return the greeting when Bell cut her off, "Oh right! Have you two seen a knife that's pure black?! There should be some carvings on it! And uhh!"

He fumbled with his words, and Ryuu spotted the tear stains beneath his eyes.

The elf decided to cut him off as she held up the Hestia Knife, "You mean this one?"

Ryuu could literally see the enormous amount of weight being lifted from his shoulders, as tears of joy threatened to fall from his eyes.

Then, before the elf could react, the boy dashed forward with surprising speed, grabbing the knife, along with her hand in the process, before beginning to caress them dearly, "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!

Ryuu's face flushed as she looked away, much to the shock of her fellow waitress, "Umm... Cranel-san... This... Y-you shouldn't... I mean... You should do this with Syr, not me..."

Syr's face flushed when she heard those words, "W-wait, Ryuu! What-?!"

Only then did Bell remember the things his grandfather had taught him about elves, and he quickly pulled away and bowed 90 degrees, "Sorry for holding your hand! Please don't kill me!"

The three girls stared at him, before Ryuu sighed, "... Don't worry about it, it was an accident."

She took a deep breath, trying to push the blush down, "Anyway, this is yours then."

Ryuu held the knife at it's blade and gave it to Bell, to which he accepted gratefully, "Thank you so much."

The brief glow from the knife the moment Bell held it did not escape any of the three girls, and both Syr and Lili looked at the knife briefly.

The boy sighed in relief as he wiped the tears off his face, looking at the knife dearly, "I swear, I'll never drop this again, ever."

The elf raised an eyebrow, and she briefly shared a glance with Syr, "You... dropped it?"

Bell let out a sigh of relief again, before he looked at the two waitresses, gratefulness evident in his eyes, "Yes, where did you find it anyway? I could've sworn I dropped it in the dungeon."

Ryuu hummed, "I see, and I didn't find it. A prum had it."

The boy blinked, "Huh? A prum?"

As she was behind him, Bell didn't see Lili looking away with slight shame and disappointment, but it didn't escape both waitresses.

Bell hummed, "Well, I guess I'll have to find this prum and thank them then. I don't know what I'll do if they didn't bring it back from the dungeon."

Ryuu and Syr shared another brief look, and the silver haired waitress smiled, "Good luck with that then, Bell-san."

The elf sighed, "Well, we'll excuse ourselves then. Take care, Cranel-san, and do be careful with who you have with you."

Bell blinked in confusion, "Sorry?"

Ryuu didn't answer him and instead turned away, and before joining her friend, Syr bent down to beside Lili's ears and whispered, "For your sake, let's hope you'll stop being naughty from now on, okay?"

Lili shivered when she heard those cold words, and her eyes snapped at the two waitresses, but Syr didn't give her a chance to speak up as they walked away.

As the two waitresses walked away, Ryuu glanced back discreetly, and she spotted Bell talking to the chienthrope.

Syr asked, "You think he'll be fine?"

The elf turned away, "He'll be fine. If anything, something like this might be good for him too."

For some reason, Ryuu didn't find herself believing the words she'd said, but she pushed that uncomfortable feeling down.

Syr then smiled coyly, "Speaking of which, you didn't hit Bell-san when he held your hand, you didn't even push him away!"

The elf's face flushed, "Umm, I... it just happened so quickly, I couldn't react in time."

The silver haired girl's smile widened, "Really now? I've seen you strike men down for even having their fingers inch towards you, and nothing against him, but Bell-san's nowhere near your level right now."

Ryuu's blush deepened, "S-stop teasing me, please! I j-just didn't want to hurt him."

Syr giggled, "That's what you get for saying something like that out loud in front of him."

The elf sighed, "Spare me..."

The silver haired girl giggled again, "Well, since I'm feeling merciful today, I'll let you go this time."

Ryuu let out a breath, but before she could speak, Syr spoke up again, "But if you really are interested, I don't mind sharing, just so you know."

The elf spluttered, "S-Syr! T-that's scandalous!"

The younger girl just laughed as her best friend chased after her, and as they made their way back to the pub, Ryuu's mind wandered to something a dear friend had told her a lifetime before.

Never let go of a man who can hold your hands.

The elf tightened her grip on the bag of groceries, the same hand Bell had grabbed earlier.

Ryuu berated herself once more for having such thoughts, before pushing them away, opting to focus on her job later.

XXX

So that's it for this chapter. Lili's here, so we'll see what Bell here will do about her.

If anyone is wondering why she still managed to steal the Hestia Knife, Bell doesn't have Heracles Loaded all the time in the dungeon. As of now, he's only slightly stronger than in canon without Loading any Heroic Spirits.

That, and he's still painfully naïve, despite knowing a lot of the heroes from Pan-Human History, for now.

Oh, and what do you guys think of having Bell use Archer Nikola Tesla's powers?

So yeah, that's it for this one.

Read and review please.

Until next time.