Bell Cranel, Level 1 Adventurer, Hestia Familia

As much as they hurt to do, these 'suicides' were nice for raising his stats. Most days he was getting around six or seven points in most things, but adding the exercises Adam-san showed him added about two points to that figure on their own! That might also be because their delve to the Dungeon that day, he supposed, but he was pretty sure it was the exercises.

They hurt a lot more than the early-floor monsters, that was for sure.

Desperately trying to bring air back into his lungs, Bell stared at the cool blue sky and imagined it as a flood of water coming down and getting rid of at least some of the heat in his chest and limbs. He could almost feel it washing over his face and neck, rinsing the sweat from his skin.

He blinked. Bruni-san was holding an upturned bucket of water over his view of the sky.

Oh he wasn't imagining it, that was actually well-water.

"You looked like you were dying there, kid. Thought I'd help ya out." Bruni-san smiled down at him, moving the water bucket out of the way. She had to bend down slightly to meet his gaze because her…

…er…

Yeah.

Bell weakly raised a hand and curled it into a thumbs-up, smiling thankfully as his upper body was slightly relieved of its terrible burn. Bruni-san chuckled down at him, moving off to the side, towards the forge she set up in the corner of their backyard. He stayed on the ground long enough to get something resembling energy to move again, before forcing himself up.

First rolling over and sighing in relief as his front met new cool stone, then mustering up the will to push up on slightly shaking and very sore arms. Once on his hands and knees, he slowly worked one foot up underneath himself, getting into a kneel, and then pausing to consider his next movement.

"You done being dead kid?" Adam-san called out from inside the church.

"One second!" He called back, forcing himself up into a proper stand, swaying for a moment, then steadying himself. Finally back into a proper stand, he made his way to the inside of the church. Hestia-sama was merrily going through the process of cooking jagamarukun at the fireplace, with bronze trays mounted over the fireplace and covers applied to protect from the smoke.

He smiled and waved as he entered, a gesture she returned before she returned to humming a soft and nostalgic tune that he couldn't quite place. He let his gaze wander until he found his senpai, who was currently…

…stabbing himself with a bolt? Bell furrowed his eyebrows, stepping over and looking down to get a closer look at what Adam-san was doing. Currently, that was slowly pressing a bolt into his bare forearm, with little spots of blood lining the limb and indicating that he's done this a few times already.

"Adam-san? What are you doing?"

His perpetually-frowning senpai rumbled idly for a moment, before replying. "Testing. Endurance improves durability and stamina, from what I can tell, my skin is about on par with normal leather now." He pointed the bolt down to his crossed legs, where Bell saw a few small marks that indicated tiny holes poked through the leather of his pants as well.

"Oh yeah! Gramps told me how the toughest adventurers could get hit by an avalanche and be fine! Their skin getting stronger than any normal armor." Bell replied cheerfully, before raising a hand to rub his neck. "..I could've just told you that earlier, I suppose."

"I already tried telling him!" Hestia-sama called out grumpily. "He insisted on 'getting accurate measure'"

"What kind of idiot doesn't know how tough they are? You can't plan for shit if you don't know exactly what you can take." Adam grumbled out in reply, equally grumpy. "You have to know the specs on your frames, woman."

"And you've learned that you're 'slightly tougher' now, how about that? Was that worth jabbing yourself over and over again?"

"Yes. I'll have to do this every week or so to make sure I'm up to date."

Bell chuckled and leaned back on his hands, enjoying the lighthearted bickering. They occasionally got into it like this, and he was starting to think they just enjoyed arguing. It wasn't what he was expecting in a familia, but he could hardly complain.

He had a familia. That was a pretty great thing to have. He took the opportunity to simply rest more, let his body recover from those 'suicides'. It was a strange name for an exercise, but he understood why they were called that after the first time. He wondered what army Adam was part of before, if they taught that kind of thing to thei-

A weight hit his chest and he yelped, falling backwards in astonishment.

"There ya go kid, you're wearing that today." Adam-san said, grunting and causing him to focus on the world once more. He blinked, and grabbed the thing on his chest, raising it up above and in front of himself for inspection.

"A helmet?" He asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position again and turning the metal object over in his hands, observing the padded interior and leather straps. It looked like a guildhelm, with a sort of integrated crest on the top and a large brim, and attachment holes on either side to mount a visor. Currently, there was no visor.

"Bought it the other day, after pumping your girlfriend for info on the next floors." Adam-san made a vulgar insinuation seemingly without even noticing, continuing with his explanation without pause. "Shades and frogs, both like to go for the head, that'll keep you from losing yours."

Bell frowned. She wasn't his girlfriend, but the idea of Eina-san and Adam-san… He didn't like that. It was selfish of him, they were both adults and no matter what his senpai said, they weren't dating, but still…

"Don't worry about the cost, I went back in the other day, before coming back. It's all paid for." Adam-san continued, seemingly noticing by misunderstanding his frown. Bell looked up to see him attaching his own helmet, strapping it on and shuffling it around to be more comfortable. When combined with his worn gambeson and gauntlets, he looked like a proper guard, albeit one without a weapon on hand.

…Adam-san had been working hard the other day to get them better gear, and here he was sitting down, being jealous over something that didn't even happen. Bell huffed in amusement. Not very hero-like, how was he going to get any girls being this petty? He pushed himself up and put the helmet on, adjusting the straps to secure it to his head.

He posed proudly, meeting his senpai's blank stare and Hestia-sama's delighted clapping.

"It looks good on you!" She praised, causing his head to swell and nose to turn up.

"You're not wearing a shirt." Adam grumbled in amusement.

Bell glanced down, seeing that he was indeed still bare from the waist up, and coughed into his fist. "Give me a moment."

Senpai snorted, before moving over to the backdoor. Bell moved to get his shirt and armor on, ignoring the tinge of pink on his face and the laughing grin on his goddess' face.

"Oi, Shortstack!" Adam-san called out.

"Yeah handsome?" Bruni-san called back. Hestia-sama's grin fell and she aggressively poked the fire. Bell gulped and pretended that he didn't notice.

"What's your minimum commission fee?" Adam-san asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Twenty-five thousand!" Bell balked in the midst of tying his boots. "Why? You ordering somethin'?"

"Fuck no!" Senpai responded, moving away from the doorframe and towards the front door. Taking up his bag and slinging it over one shoulder, he turned an expectant eye towards him. Bell finished his boots with a grin, bouncing up and moving to the door to pick up his own bag.

"Heading out for the day?" Hestia-sama called out. "Make sure to stay safe okay?!"

"Can do!" He cheerfully replied, making up for Senpai's unenthused grunt. "We'll make lots of valis again today!"

"Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"

Adam-san was already walking through the door, in his usual fashion, forcing Bell to run slightly to catch up again.

It was perhaps kinda ironic that Adam-san hated cats thanks to his old lover, because he reminded Bell of the old barn cat that lived on their farm. Grumpy, distant, and was away for most of the day. But he always did his job in killing pests, and always came back inside to sleep at night, ears flat and expression irritated as the little kids came by to roughly stroke his ears and back.

Maybe that's why Senpai had managed to get a catgirl making him food already? Like attracting like?

…Bell considered that line of thought, and decided he probably shouldn't voice it aloud.

"Whaddya staring at kid?" Senpai grumbled at him, causing Bell to look away and bring his hand up to his neck again, fingers brushing steel.

"I was just thinking about the helmets." Bell tried his best lie.

"Nice lie." Senpai called him out immediately, causing him to slump. "You're piss at lying kid, you need to work on that."

"Eh… It's not exactly a heroic quality, is it?"

"The fuck are you talking about? Heroes lie all the time."

"Do they?"

"Probably."

"I'm not sure If I believe that."

Adam rumbled disinterestedly. Bell huffed in amusement.

"Hey, is that who I think it is?" A voice called out, catching both of their attentions. Bell turned his gaze to the source of the voice, a man walking over to them from the other side of the street. A tall man, though not quite as tall as senpai, with short-cropped dark brown hair and tan skin. He was wearing a combination of toga and armor, with sandaled feet and a leather circlet on his brow.

"You manage to find a familia kid? Get yourself a girl down in the dungeon yet?" The man asked with a grin and a laugh, directing the question towards him. Adam raised his brows and looked at him for an answer.

Bell furrowed his brows. "...I recognize you, but I don't remember where. I'm sorry."

The man waved it off with a laugh. "I saw you as you were coming into Orario. I was on guard duty."

Realization came to him immediately, and Bell snapped his fingers. "That's right!" He turned a smile towards senpai and explained. "This is the man who told me how to register with the guild, before Hestia-sama took me in!"

Adam-san's face was unchanged, an unimpressed and barely interested expression. The guard laughed, before holding up a hand. "Hestia-sama eh? She must be that new goddess that descended awhile back. Glad to see you found a familia kid."

"It was hard, a bunch turned me away because I looked scrawny!" Bell laughed.

"You are scrawny." Senpai rumbled, bringing both Bell and the other man to laughter.

"Let me introduce myself properly." The man spoke, raising his hand and offering a shake, first to Bell then to Adam. Both took his hand and shook, Bell three times and Adam once. "Names Hashana Dorlia, Level 4, Ganesha Familia."

"Level 4!" Bell exclaimed.

"I don't look it, do I?" Dorila-san chuckled, reaching up to scratch at his chin. "I got my last level up… gosh maybe about two years ago now? But trust me, I'm pretty tough. Here, take a swing, hard as you can." Dorlia-san raised a palm facing them, a smile on his face.

"Are you sure?" Bell blinked, asking for confirmation.

Dorlia-san grinned. "I am a Ganesha adventurer, you know? We all like showing off in one way or another. C'mon, punch my hand, I'll be a poor level four if I couldn't handle two level ones."

Bell nodded, taking a stance and raising his fists. It was foolish to expect anything, a level four was way stronger than a level one could hope to be, but he still wanted to do his best.

And his best was…

The image of Senpai's unstoppable fists, crashing through monsters and leaving red in their wake…

Bell matched the stance and swung.

His knuckles crashed into Dorlia-san's palm.

A meaty smack rang out in the morning streets. Bell pulled his hand back and shook it out. It was like punching a tree or something.

Disappointingly, but expectedly, the palm of the level four was completely fine. Dorlia-san gave a rumbling chuckle. "Good attempt kid, better than most your age."

"I didn't do anything, your fist is really hard!" Bell complimented, still shaking his hand out.

"You'll get there in time. Now how about your fellow familia member? You want to take a swing, eh?"

Bell turned his gaze. Adam-san nodded slowly, moving forwards to take a stance in front of the brandished palm.

His body moved, coiling back and fist ready. The image seemed to burn itself into his mind.

Senpai's fist shook. It rocketed forwards in an almost perfectly smooth, curving approach. It crashed into the palm. The sound of a metal gauntlet crashing into adventurer flesh rang out.

…The hand had jerked back, but stopped the fist against it. Senpai grunted in dissatisfaction, pulling his hand back. Dorlia-san did the same, bringing his hand up for inspection, grin suddenly gone as he took measure of the impact.

Then, an immense grin covered his face. "Gods above, what do they feed you kids these days?" He raised his palm for them to inspect closer, and the ugly bruise that was starting to rapidly form across it. "You are level one, right kid?"

"Adam Smasher. Best goddamn murderer in this city." Senpai engaged in his usual boasting. Dorlia-san's eyes narrowed a tad. Bell made up for the explanation with his own.

"Adam-san used to be in the army, he got his falna the day after I did." He explained. "We've been at it for almost a week now."

"The army eh? I'm from Rakia myself, way back in the day. What about you?" From the west?

"I wore the stars and stripes for six years, right after the collapse." Senpai explained.

"Stars and stripes… Collapse…" Dorlia-san's eyes narrowed in concentration, thinking for a moment, before his face slackened in sympathy. "Ah… You're from Abandon, aren't you? You'd be the right age for an emergency draft while everything down there was falling apart after ol One-Eye decided to have his little walkabout."

Bell blinked, not getting the reference.

"Something like that." Adam-san grunted with a frown. "Wound up here about two weeks ago."

"Abandon?" Bell asked, causing Adam-san to glance at him and Dorlia to spit off to the side.

"It's ancient history, kid, don't worry about it." Senpai explained with his typical flat rumbling.

"That's one way to put it." Dorlia-san agreed. "Listen, I got a quest lined up right now, but it was nice meeting you two properly. Come by the Ganesha house in about a week, okay? I'll take you two out drinking, my treat." He leaned in and grinned, winking at Bell. "You gotta tell me if you find a woman down in the dungeon by then, got it?"

"Ehehe." Bell chuckled sheepishly, rubbing at his neck again. Dorlia-san turned to Senpai and nodded.

"We'll exchange war-stories, that's what soldiers are supposed to do."

Adam rumbled in something that could be taken as affirmative, causing the level four adventurer to grin. Waving a hand behind him, he walked away, calling out. "Remember, Ganesha house, one week! I can't waste all my pay on booze by myself you know?"

Bell waved back as he disappeared round a distant corner. "We'll be there!" He promised with a grin.

Turning to Adam. "He said he'd pay for war stories, that isn't free is it?"

"He's paying for the company and info on future rivals." Adam-san corrected cynically. "It's still worth it, because I can get another shot at his hand next time. Remind me to buy some weights."

Bell huffed in amusement as they began down the street again. "Are we checking if Miach-sama has a catalogue ready yet?"

"He doesn't." Adam-san confidently asserted.

"How do you know that?"

"You fuckers use quills here, he doesn't have the time to finish a proper catalogue in one day."

—

"Advertisement sample, nya~. Eat at the Hostess of Fertility!" Anya-san was waiting for them in the middle of the path again, holding out a bag which contained a delicious-smelling something inside. "Experimental new dish, Smashburgers, nya~!"

Adam's step skipped once, before he continued on and ignored her completely. Bell walked over to take the bag, winking at the catgirl in the maid uniform again. "I'll make sure he eats it." He promised.

Senpai had a girl making him food! Gramps said that was the number one indicator of an eternal love! Bell wasn't about to let his friend squander this kind of once-in-a-lifetime affection. Only a fool lets his brother-in-arms waste an opportunity like this!

Anya-san brought her hands together, nodding in determination and anticipation at him. "Thank you, nya~."

"I'm rooting you on!" Bell whispered, giving a thumbs up to show his solidarity.

"I'm gonna snag him! Mama proved that his heart is through his stomach!" She whispered back, fiery determination in her eyes.

"Kid, stop encouraging the fucking cat and get a move on!" Senpai called out from further down the street, deeply annoyed sounding but pausing for him to catch up all the same.

"I believe in you!" Bell reaffirmed, starting to jog to catch up with Adam-san again, who's features were cast in his signature universal loathing.

The other waitresses waved with various degrees of amusement. The pretty one with the gray hair blew a kiss his way. Bell almost tripped and his face tinged pink, but he grinned and waved back all the same.

Being an adventurer was great.

"Come on kid, we got things to butcher." Adam-san rumbled with bloodthirst and a flat face. But his eyes were always alight with focus.

Bell returned the savage smirk with an eager grin of his own.

The fighting was no exception.