Simon repeatedly blinked as he and Bell exited the Guild headquarters. As his eyes adjusted to the sun shining down from above, he craned his neck up to get a better look at the new land he found himself in. When his eyes fully adjusted he couldn't help but stare at what he saw.

Bell looked up at Simon with a grin, "Yeah. That was my first reaction too. Welcome to the Labyrinth City, Orario."

Bell waved a hand toward the city laid out before them. Crowds filled the cobblestone streets in front of them. Pastoral wooden buildings sat side by side on either side of the street. Some had signs above their doors with words or symbols drawn onto them. Others had people or other races coming and going in and out of their doors.

But one of the main things that caught Simon's attention were the various types of creatures that walked side by side with humans. The ones with animal features didn't bother him much. They just reminded him of the beastmen from his world. The ones that surprised him were the squat humanoids barely taller than his thighs but built like brick houses, the ones with thin frames and pointy ears like Eina, and the ones that were taller than the squat humans but not as tall as regular humans. For a second, he was shocked to see so many types of non-humans in one place. And if what Eina said about her being a half-elf was true, then some of these guys weren't beastmen.

His surprise must've shown on his face, because Bell called out to him, "Simon?"

At Bell's words, Simon shook his surprise off. He turned to the shorter boy and smiled, "Ah, sorry about that, Bell. Just a bit shocked to see this many...um...can I clarify some of this stuff with you?"

At Bell's nod, Simon pointed towards the non-humans in the crowd, "So, the ones with pointy ears are elves like Eina, right?"

"Uh-huh. Though, her's are a bit rounded near the top. It's how you can tell she's a half-elf. The others are full elves."

"And the ones that look like animals are called beastmen, right?"

"Yes. Or animal-people. Or therianthropes. Have you seen beastmen before, Simon?"

"Sort of. What about the shorter guys?'

"Oh, those are dwarves, gnomes, and prums. They're all shorter than humans but each is different in their own way."

Simon nodded and hummed in thought. His hand went to his chin as he considered Bell's words. He briefly thought about Viral and the rest of his friends. Wondering what they would think if they were with him. Yoko would probably start seeing if teaching is a profession around here, while Viral would probably go right back into that Dungeon. He wouldn't want to stay still while there was fighting to do. Simon chuckled and looked up at the sky. As he did, he couldn't help but think about what might be beyond this world's clouds. He knew that the heavens were up there, they had to be. But what did they look like here? Were they same expanse of stars and other worlds that he had seen? Or perhaps something completely different?

His chuckle caught Bell's attention, "Did you have beastmen where you're from, Simon?"

"Yeah. Though they were kind of different from the ones you're familiar with. They looked way more animal-like."

Bell leaned closer, curiosity starting to get the better of him, "Really? And where is your village anyway?"

"It wasn't a village. More like a city."

"Like Orario?"

"Kind of. But the buildings were taller. And made of metal."

Bell's eyes widened at Simon's words. Nervousness filled his tone as he asked, "Uh, how tall?"

Simon hummed in thought while he examined the buildings. He frowned when he realized the majority were hardly taller than two stories. He needed something taller to help Bell visualize what he meant. He glanced behind him and then smiled when he found what he was looking for. He turned around and pointed at the large white tower that the Guild sat at the bottom of, "Some of them came up to about half that tower in height."

Bell followed Simon's finger up.

And up.

And up.

Eventually, he nearly fell over onto his backside. Both from trying to crane his head that high and from the shock that filled his body. Simon was pointing at the half point of Babel Tower. A tower that supposedly reached into Tenkai, the realm of the Gods. A place hardly any adventurers ever get to see in their lifetimes. And Simon is saying that the people in his city built structures that were close to it in height. His awe of Simon increased tenfold as he looked from the older man to the Tower and back.

Then Simon let his arm fall to his side and smiled, "But, enough about me. I'm still new around here, so how about you take me on a tour of this place? I'd love to see what else there is to do around here."

Bell found himself shaken from his temporary stupor by Simon's complete disregard for what he just said. As if saying that where he's from people can build things that can rival Babel Tower is just a fact of life. Bell shook his head, "Wait, no, you have to explain that. What do you mean it was that tall?"

Simon rubs the back of his head and looks sheepish, "Uh, well, that would take a while to explain. I'll tell ya all about it later. Right now, I think we should go find something to do with all that money you just got. What did you call it? Vals?"

Simon pointed toward the bag on Bell's hip. Bell followed his finger toward the bulging bag of money. His confusion was replaced by happiness and awe as he remembered what he got from the Exchange for the minotaur's magic stone.

Fifteen thousand vals.

That was the most amount of money he had ever had since he came to Orario. The fact that Simon just gave it all to him made him extremely happy. So much so, that he had originally planned to go tell-

"Oh right!" Bell shook his head and started heading down the stairs and onto East Main Street. He turned back to Simon and said, "Sorry, Simon. I can't show you around. I need to go meet someone important."

"OK. Then I'll come with you."

"Huh?"

Simon started following after Bell, shrugging as he came to the white-haired boy's side, "I'm new here. Might as well hang out with the one person I know. Only thing that makes sense."

"I...I guess," Bell agreed as he rubbed at his chin. He briefly questioned whether he should introduce Simon to his Goddess. But then he recalled what Simon had done for him in the Dungeon. It wouldn't be right to not at least let the two meet each other. Hestia would want to know who it was that saved his life after all. Making his mind up, Bell nodded to Simon and smiled, "Alright. Follow me. I'll introduce you to someone very important to me."

"Can't wait to meet them," Simon gave Bell a smile of his own, matching the boy's pace as the two walked down East Main Street.

"Goddess! I'm home!"

Simon's eyebrow rose as he heard Bell's greeting. The boy had led him to a run-down church at the edge of a cul-de-sac. The place was abandoned and in complete disrepair. Even the statue of the Goddess had fallen apart. Half her face was missing and there were holes all across her body. But he thought the building itself looked pretty good. Not like he could judge. He had spent most of his life underground in caves, and he spent the end of it wandering around a desert. While it couldn't hold a candle to the cities of his world, it still had this cozy and homely feeling to it. Like the moment you stepped inside it instantly felt like home.

But his original comfort turned to confusion when he heard Bell call for a "Goddess". He had followed the kid into a basement, a place that wasn't that big but was wide enough for a small number of people. There was some furniture in here, indicating that Bell did live here. And, apparently, it was with someone else.

Before Simon could ask the boy anything, a person jumped to her feet from the sofa in the center of the room. It was a girl and the sight of her gave Simon pause for a moment. The best way he could describe her, was if someone took Nia when she was fourteen, changed her hair to black and eyes to blue, gave her twin ponytails on the sides of her head, then gave her Yoko's bust size. Simon's pause didn't last for long though. He swiftly regained his composure while the "Goddess" he supposed, moved to hug Bell. But that was when she finally noticed Simon as he stepped off the last stair.

The two stared each other down for a few moments. Simon felt the "Goddess'" gaze focus on him. As if she was scrutinizing every fiber of his being. He felt like she was trying to take his measure from a single glance. Make him lay everything he was bare before her with a single glare. A faint tension fell over him for a split second as the girl's blue eyes gained a sharp edge to them for but a moment.

His response...was to smile. Then he raised his hand and waved at her in greeting, "Hey there. Name's Simon. What's your name?"

The girl blinked.

Then she shook her head in shock. Her head whipped to Bell, then to Simon, then back to Bell. Each time her expression shifted. First, it was shock, then confusion, then a brief moment of happiness, before it went back to shock. Her ponytails moved of their own accord, one pointing at the white-haired Bell and the other pointing at Simon. Confused, Simon looked to Bell for answers but the young man looked as confused as he was. With Bell being no help, Simon walked into the room and up to the Goddess. Her head stopped moving as Simon approached, all her focus put back on him. Still smiling he held out his right hand for her to shake.

Taking a moment to examine his hand, she reached out with her own and grabbed his. She finally spoke, tone light and somewhat surprised, "Hello. I'm the Goddess Hestia. It is good to meet you, Simon was it?"

Simon nodded as he let go of Hestia's hand. He lifted his glasses with one finger, "Yep. Specifically, Simon The Digger, but that's a mouthful, so..."

Hestia slowly nodded, her hands going to her hips as she stared up at the man. She frowned as she spoke, "Right. Well then, Mr. Digger, mind telling me what you're doing following Bell?"

Simon shrugged, "Just Simon is fine. And I'm new to the city. Bell was the first person I met, so I figured I'd hang with him for a bit."

Hestia seemed to perk up when Simon said "new to the city". Her eyes ran up and down Simon's body again, "So, this is your first time in Orario then?"

"Pretty much."

"Interesting. Bell, how did you meet this man?"

"He saved my life in the Dungeon, Lady Hestia," Bell admitted with a smile. But that smile quickly left as his Goddess' head whipped around to face him.

"What?!" her voice was filled with worry as she suddenly pounced on Bell. Literally. The boy shouted as the two fell onto the floor, Hestia running her hands up and down his body. Her eyes were frantic as she searched for any injuries, "What happened? Are you OK? Do you need me to get the salve?"

"I-I-I'm fine, Goddess," Bell's face started to flush as the Goddess straddled him. He didn't make any moves against her until she started pulling at his shirt. With a gasp he used his legs to roll out from under Hestia, sending the Goddess tumbling to the ground. As he got up, he apologized to Hestia before turning to Simon with a look of shame on his face.

That shame soon disappeared when he saw Simon's ever-widening smile. Simon chuckled while he moved toward one of the empty sofas in the room. He sat down while leaning back in the seat, arms over the top of the sofa, "You two look pretty lively. That's good. Life should be spent smiling and having the time of your lives."

Bell slowly got to his feet, a bit confused by Simon's words, "Uh...thank you?"

"No problem. Now, how about we all sit down so me and you can fill your Goddess in on everything that happened today?"

Hestia shot up from the floor, eyes staring at Bell intently. Swallowing, Bell moved to the sofa directly across from Simon and sat down. After dusting herself off, Hestia moved to set at Bell's side. She scooted as close to the boy as she could, but her eyes never left Simon who simply watched the two of them with a soft smile on his face. In between them sat an oval-shaped table that was clear of debris or dust. After leaning forward a bit, Simon described how he and Bell met. Him waking up in the Dungeon, hearing Bell's scream, finding the boy cornered by a minotaur, then drop-kicking the monster to save him from certain death. The entire time Hestia had a smile on her face. One that got wider and wider as Simon continued. However, he had been around Yoko enough to know that Hestia's smile wasn't a nice one.

It was one that women get when they're pissed.

And Bell seemed to notice as well. He got tenser and tenser as the story wore on, eyes constantly moving from Hestia to Simon and then back.

However, Hestia's smile did disappear when Simon mentioned how he took out the minotaur. A look of confusion similar to Eina's came over her face, "Wait. Simon, you fought that minotaur and beat it?"

"Yep," Simon said nonchalantly.

"But you're new to Orario. Which means you don't have a Falna or a Familia."

"Yep."

"But you beat a minotaur, something that Level One adventurers can't fight."

"Yep."

Hestia blinked.

Then she put a hand on her head, leaning over onto Bell's shoulder for support, "I...that's...how...how is that possible?"

"That's exactly what Eina said when we told her," Simon shrugged. He started to adjust his glasses as he considered the two women's reactions. Both saw the fact that he managed to defeat the minotaur without a Falna as something impossible. Which he didn't understand. He did do the impossible every day, sure, but was beating a monster without that Falna thing really that impressive? Neither Bell nor Eina had given him an in-depth explanation of what it was exactly. All he knew was that it was a "blessing" from a "God" that made someone stronger. But the way they worked didn't make much sense to him. He got the part about how you had to train yourself, fight, and do other stuff to get stronger. He didn't really get how someone's "Level" factored into it.

If you got stronger, then you got stronger. That's it. He couldn't see what the major difference between Level One and Level Two was.

Bell let Hestia lay on his shoulder, doing what he could to avoid looking down the Goddess' shirt. His eyes searched for anything else to look at, eventually landing on his right hip. His eyes went wide as he reached for the bag tied to his belt, "That reminds me! Lady Hestia, I'd like to show you something."

Hestia lifted her head as Bell put the bag filled with vals on the table in front of them. The Goddess' eyes lit up at the sound of coins jingling in the bag. She sat up then looked at Bell, "Is...is that what I think it is?"

Bell's smile grew wider as he nodded, "Uh-huh! Fifteen thousand vals! All from me exchanging the minotaur's magic stone."

"But-but I thought Simon-"

"I gave him the money," Simon interrupted. His smile only widened when Hestia looked at him in shock. He shrugged again, "Eina said that, since I'm not a registered adventurer, I can't earn any money from killing monsters. And even if I was, I'd still give it over to Bell. Don't really need it."

"But what about food? Or a place to stay? You're gonna need money for that," Bell pointed out, his previous excitement replaced with worry.

Simon waved him off, "Eh, I'll make do. Besides, you guys need it more than me. Your place looks fine, but with how Hestia reacted to the bag, I'd say times are tough for you two, right?" The two flinching gave Simon all the confirmation he needed. He waved a hand at the bag, "That's why I say you should take it. Do whatever you want with it."

Bell still looked concerned, but Hestia's face was beaming. She shot up from her seat on the sofa with her hands on her hips. She pointed at Simon, her ponytails waving happily at her sides, "Simon! From this day forth, I hereby declare you an ally of Hestia Familia! If there's anything you need from us, you need only ask!"

"Goddess Hestia?" Bell got to his feet, surprised at what his Goddess just said. He didn't sound upset though. Just surprised. He looked to Hestia and asked, "Are you sure about that? You only just met him."

"Bell," Hestia turned to her only Familia member, jabbing her finger in his face. She looked stern but happy, "I've told you before, no child can lie to a God. And the entire time Simon has been talking to us, he's been telling the absolute truth. He is willing to give up his own happiness for the sake of helping two complete strangers! A man like him is rare in Orario, and it would reflect poorly on our Familia if we didn't do what we could to help him out."

She held her head high, puffing out her chest, "And besides, Simon doesn't mind. Right, Simon?"

The two turned their attention to their guest. Simon shook his head, "Not at all. Though, instead of allies, how about we just start as friends?"

Hestia and Bell blinked at Simon's words. He tilted his head to the side, "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"F-Friends? With us? Our Familia?" Bell pointed to himself then Hestia. At Simon's nod, he continued his questions, "But...we just met each other."

"Yeah, but you guys seem like good people. And I don't know anyone else in this city, yet. So, if I've gonna be friends with anyone, why not have it be the two people who let me into their house without a care in the world?" Simon leaned forward, hands on his knees as he smile at the two of them.

Bell and Hestia looked at each other. A silent conversation went on between them as they took in Simon's words. Then they both got determined looks on their faces. They nodded in silent agreement with each other.

"Simon," both said in unison.

"What's up?" Simon asked.

Both Bell and Hestia threw themselves at Simon's feet. They spoke in unison as they bowed to the man, "Please join our Familia!"

Simon blinked. Then he scratched his cheek, "Uh, sorry. But no."

Review Replies:

This first one is a Catch-All Kind of Review.

I want to reiterate this: Bell is gonna get Spiral Power.

If only because there is no in universe reason why he wouldn't. Spiral Power is contagious, Simon's a badass who wouldn't stand by and NOT show a kid who's got the guts for it how to use Spiral Power, and nothing I know of in Danmachi can really match Spiral Power in terms of sheer bullshit. Yet. And the stuff that could probably wouldn't know how to deal with Spiral Power right off the bat, nor really do anything to stop Simon from teaching it to Bell (note: I'm still working through Volume 7. No spoilers please).

The only reason Bell wouldn't get Spiral Power is because I author decided it. And that will never sit right with me when it comes to a story like this.

Keep in mind, I specifically wrote this fic because I like the idea of Simon and Bell working together. And after all that I've read of Danmachi so far, that has only grown. I want to write about Simon working to turn Bell into a more assertive Shounen Protag. Rather than the one he is currently. I don't want to give away too much, but lets just say that Bell will be more likely to tell a certain Fox Girl that he's going to save her right off the bat thanks to Simon.

But yeah. If you don't like the idea of Bell getting Spiral Power, you're probably not gonna like this fic then. But I'm not changing my stance. If you stick around despite this, thank you, and I hope you enjoy what I write.

Nijuuken: Certainly a lot of conincidences there. Glad you're liking my stuff!