"Called it." Regis chuckled.
"Well, then, this is a surprise," Bell commented.
Miach and Nazha quickly pulled away from each other while Bell and Regis looked at the two with shit-eating grins on their face.
Miach nervously smiled and rubbed the back of his neck while Nazha blushed and hid her face behind her hands. Regis saw this as a prime opportunity to strike.
"You know, I was wondering why I heard a bed creaking last night."
Nazha squeaked and buried her face further in her hands as her tail nervously wagged. Miach quickly pointed at Regis.
"No, you didn't! Nazha and I have separate rooms." Miach protested.
"Didn't last night."
"Regis, that's enough." Bell chuckled.
He walked over and took a seat at the table. "So you two are an item, huh?" He asked.
Nazha nodded as she removed her hands from her face. "Y-yes, he sacrificed so m-much to get m-my new arm, and I just-
Nazha couldn't speak anymore and buried her face in her hands again. Bell, however, furrowed his brow in confusion.
"New arm?" Bell asked.
The mood in the room seemed to change as Miach's face dropped and Nazha's tail stopped wagging. She didn't say another word as she took her glove off. Her right arm wasn't flesh but a silvery metal. Her hand was also that same silvery metal with black fingertips.
Bell looked at the arm slightly wide-eyed as Nazha put her glove back on.
"A few years ago, right after I hit level two, my dungeon party and I were attacked by a horde of monsters. We were on the middle floors, and a hellhound pounced on me. The rest of my party was busy, so they couldn't help. Eventually, the hellhound ripped my arm off, and I passed out from shock. When I awoke, Miach was by my bedside, and I had a new arm. But everyone else in our familia left because of our debt." Nazha explained.
Bell nodded as he digested the information. "That's quite the tragedy. Miach told me you would freeze up if you saw a monster. I'm guessing that's why?"
Nazha nodded.
"And the debt was because you bought an arm from that piece of shit Dian?"
"Bell." Miach chastised.
"What am I wrong?"
Miach sighed. "No, but he is a god."
Bell shrugged. "Ok, and I don't respect the gods in Orario. I mean, they didn't stick by my Grandpa when he was being banished. They all turned their backs on him. Except for you, Astraea, Demeter, and Hermes. Might be more, but that's all he mentioned."
Miach sighed. "Yeah, I can get your anger. Just make sure it doesn't get you into trouble."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure little Prince Charming over here behaves himself." Regis chimed in.
Bell rolled his eyes as Nazha spoke up. The blush on her face having disappeared completely.
"You're back early."
"You mean earlier than you thought," Regis added.
Nazha slightly blushed and cleared her throat. "What I meant was you were only down there for a few hours. Why are you back so soon."
"Oh, a Minotaur nearly gutted me." Bell calmly answered.
Miach and Nazha's eyes widened.
"What?!" They both shouted.
Bell jumped in his seat while Regis remained impassive.
"Yup, for some reason, a Minotaur was on the upper floors. Bell, in all his infinite wisdom and desire to be a hero, wanted to fight it so it wouldn't go after anyone else." Regis explained.
Miach smiled in approval while Nazha rushed over to him to see if he had any wounds.
"So you wanna be a hero, huh?" Miach asked.
Bell nodded as Nazha poked and prodded him.
"Yeah, I come from a long line of heroes. I might as well follow in their footsteps. Nazha, I'm fine."
Nazha stood back after checking Bell for wounds. "He has no wounds, Miach. But what were you thinking, Bell?!! Fighting a Minotaur at level one?!"
"Did she not hear my explanation?" Regis asked. He looked to Miach, who simply shrugged.
"Nazha, Bell wanted to stall the Minotaur so it wouldn't go after someone else. You can't get too mad at him for being heroic." Miach said.
He came up behind Nazha and wrapped his arm around her. Nazha's anger left her body as she sunk into Miach's arms. Bell gave Regis a confused look, with the dog giving him the closest he could give to a shrug.
"So what happened with the Minotaur?" Miach asked.
"Oh, Regis killed it, then some girls from the Astraea familia came and healed me."
"Yes, and Bell fell deeply in love with Alise the moment he laid eyes on her. His heartbeat quickened, and his pants tightened." Regis joked.
Bell facepalmed. "He's lying."
"I know. But are you sure you're ok?" Miach said.
Bell nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Nazha's potion helped, and the healing magic helped a lot more. Oh, that reminds me, I'm planning on visiting Demeter and Hermes later."
"They're not in the city at the moment. Hermes is doing Hermes things, and Demeter is with her familia doing a food delivery to some of the surrounding villages." Miach explained.
Bell felt his mood drop a little. "Oh ok, guess I'll just wait until they come back."
"Is what you need to talk to them about important?" Nazha asked.
Bell shook his head. "No, not really. I just had a few things I wanted to ask Hermes, and I wanted to spend some time with Demeter."
"Demeter helped raise him, if you were wondering. She delivered us things we could get from our cabin. Like winter clothes for Bell." Regis added.
Miach nodded. "Oh, well, I'm sure they'll be back soon, Bell. But I think you should focus on getting yourself some armor tomorrow."
Bell chuckled. "Yeah, that would be smart. Although I'd have to put my poncho over it."
"Why not just leave your poncho here?" Nazha asked.
"Because it has magic negation on it. So it'll be pretty useful. Besides, this thing saved me from actually being gutted."
"Your poncho has magic negation? How is that possible?" Nazha asked, surprised.
Bell shrugged. "I don't know. Alfia made it for me when I was young. It was so I could have something to remember her by."
Everyone there picked up on the sad undertone as Bell subconsciously gripped the red cloth. Micah went to say something, but Regis shook his head. Bell had made it clear to him earlier that he didn't want to talk about it.
"Well, we haven't had lunch yet. So let's get that started, and tomorrow, I'll meet with a contractor to talk about expansion." Miach said.
He made his way over to the kitchen with Nazha approaching Bell. He still looked to the ground, gripping his poncho slightly.
"Glad to have you back." She said, ruffling his hair.
Bell smiled. "Bet you wished I took a little longer so you could've had more alone time."
Nazha blushed and pouted. "This is gonna be the new normal, isn't it?"
"Absolutely." Regis chimed in.
Nazha groaned while Bell and Regis laughed.
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The Astraea familia returned to their home tired and exhausted from their expedition. They had joined forces with the Loki familia to push for floor 62.
But despite having two White Core mages. Those being Alise and Riveria, and multiple silver core mages, it was a failure. Due to less-than-stellar leadership under dangerous circumstances, the expedition was forced to retreat.
What made the Astraea familia even more tired was that the Loki familia then scared a horde of Minotaurs into the upper floors, leading them and the Astraea familia to pursue.
"Ugh, I'm so tired. Why the hell did the twins have to scare those Minotaurs?" Lyra complained as she plopped down on a couch.
Lyra was a pink-haired prum known for her brawling and bomb-making skills. She was a level-five adventurer with a sharp wit.
"We're lucky no adventurers died because of that," Ryu responded. The level six elf sat down as well.
"Still, they should've been more careful. Who knows what would've happened had we not been there." Kaguya said. Her regal-like attitude still reamaining despite her exhaustion.
Kaguya was a level six Far Eastern beauty with black hair and pink eyes. She was dressed in a dark red kimono that was slightly disheveled.
"Well, it's done, so there's no need to think about what-ifs," Nezhe added.
Nezhe was a level-five tan werewolf with white hair. She used a sword as a weapon but also her bare hands if needed. She focused a lot on keeping a decent amount of upper body strength.
Before more complaining could begin, however, Astraea and Ardee entered the room. This seemed to be energize the familia a little as they perked up.
"I'm glad to see you've all returned safely." Astraea greeted.
Alise wrapped her arms around her goddess in a hug. "No need to worry, Lady Astraea. Celty's one of the best combat healers we know."
The level-five green-haired elf blushed and hid her face in her hands. She was a shy elf.
"Can't forget Lefiya taking out that giant horde of bugbears, too," Ryu added.
Lefiya blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh, it wasn't that good, Ms Ryu. I was only doing what you taught me."
The level four elf shyly looked away from Ryu.
"Still, I'm glad you all made it back safely. Alise, Kaguya, Lyra. Can you meet me in my office, please? There's something I need to discuss with you."
"Can it wait until after I've slept for 15 hours?" Lyra grumbled.
"I think you three will want to hear this news," Astraea responded.
Everyone there noticed the seriousness in her tone. Lyra quickly sat up while Alise and Kaguya stared at their goddess.
"Everything alright, Lady Astraea?" Laurier asked. She was a level four blonde-haired elf who specialized in defense magic. She and Lefiya made a great team, as one could attack while the other defended.
The two had earned the moniker sword and shield.
"Everything's fine, Laurier. I just have something I need to tell those three. Ardee, why not help the others prepare for dinner?" Astraea smiled.
Ardee nodded. "Ok, Lady Astraea."
Ardee headed to the kitchen with Ryu following her. Lefiya and Laurier followed as well, while Alise, Kaguya, and Lyra followed Astraea back to her office.
Once the door shut behind them, Astraea turned on her heel and gave a level stare to the three girls.
"What I'm about to say does not leave this room under any circumstances. Am I understood?" Astraea firmly stated.
The three girls nodded, noting the seriousness in Astraea's voice. Astraea then made her way to her desk with her owl flying over and landing on top of it.
"It's good to see you again, girls. I take it the Braver didn't listen to my predictions." The owl spoke.
Lyra sat down on the couch while Kaguya leaned back into the wall. Alise stood in front of her goddess's desk.
"No, Codsworth, he didn't. He said his thumb wasn't hurting, so we should be fine." Alise responded.
"Hmm, most unfortunate, but I take it everyone returned safely?"
"Yes, they did."
"Hmm, good, good."
Codsworth then flew back to the windows and stayed there. Astraea had sat down at her desk and looked at the three girls.
"What is it you wanted to talk about, Lady Astraea?" Kaguya asked.
Astraea let out a sigh before answering. "Earlier today, I was thinking about how far we've come since we started. Fifteen years ago, we were at the bottom of the ladder, and now we're the second strongest familia in Orario. We have grown a lot since then."
The three girls said nothing as Astraea continued.
"We've come a long way, that sometimes the people who helped us along the way are no longer here. Silver is one of those people. I'm sure you three remember him?"
The three girls nodded, with only Alise having some semblance of an idea of where this was going.
"Earlier today, I was delivered a letter from Zeus. It explained a few things to me about the messenger. His name and who he was to Zeus. Everything about him, really. The messenger was Silver's son."
The room seemed to go still once that information was dropped. Alise felt like a weight had just been dropped on her shoulders. The other two were too shocked to say anything.
"S-s-silver had a son?" Alise asked.
"Yes, he did," Astraea answered.
"How? He wasn't even married." Lyra quickly added.
"He also never spoke about expecting one," Kaguya said.
Astraea held up her hand, silencing the three. "I know this is a shock to all of you, but that's not all. Zeus has also asked me to watch over him and protect him. Since you now know his last name, you know what could happen should this get out. I'm leaving it up to you three to befriend him and protect him."
The room filled with silence as the three processed the information. That was until Alise spoke.
"Do you know what his name is?" Alise asked. Her mind wandered back to the red-eyed boy she had met earlier.
"His name is Bell. He also has a purple dog as his bond."
Alise felt like she had to sit down. She fumbled around until she found a chair. She felt so stupid for not recognizing Bell as Silver's son. He had the exact same eyes as him. It should've been obvious to her.
"Everything alright, Alise?" Astraea worriedly asked.
Alise took a second to answer. "I met him."
Astraea's eyes widened slightly. "You met him, when?"
"Earlier today, in the dungeon when a Minotaur tried to kill him. It was already dead by the time I got there. He even joked about it as well. Gods, I feel stupid for not recognizing him as Silver's son."
"Hey, it's alright, Captain. Not like anyone else would've known." Kaguya comforted.
"That's the thing, Kaguya, he had Silver's eyes and acted exactly like him. I mean, I had my suspicions but brushed them off since I thought Silver didn't marry."
"Well, if you would like to speak with him more, he joined the Miach familia. You could always swing by the Blue Pharmacy and talk to him there." Astraea offered.
Alise nodded as she stared at the ground. Memories of Silver came rushing back to her. As Alise was lost in thought, Astraea looked to the other two.
"I know this comes as a surprise to you. It came as a surprise to me as well. But Zeus asked me to protect his Grandson, and that's what I intend to do. Will you do this task for me?"
"Of course, Lady Astraea," Kaguya answered.
"You don't even need to ask," Lyra added.
Astraea nodded. "Good, that'll be all for this evening. Remember, none of this leaves my office. The others aren't to know about this at all."
"Until when Lady Astraea?" Alise asked.
"Until his identity is revealed," Astraea answered.
"And when will that be?" Kaguya asked.
Astraea shrugged. "I'm not sure, it could be tomorrow. Or it could be a month from now. But your first and foremost objective is to protect him. Understood?"
"Yes, Lady Astraea." The three said.
"Good, you excused. I'll join you for dinner shortly."
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Once the three girls left, Codsworth flew over from his window and landed back on Asteaea's desk. The goddess gave her feathery companion a glance.
"So the girls know that Silver's legacy resides in the city. But you withheld the information about Alfia from them. Why is that? To save their feelings?" Codsworth asked.
"Alfia traumatized my poor girls. Ryu, especially, the girls, don't need to know about Bell's relation to her. Who knows how they'll react."
"So his protectors may become his potential adversaries, is what you're saying?"
"No, Codsworth, my girls would never hurt someone based on who they're related to."
"But you're not throwing out the possibility that things could become complicated should they find out."
"No, I'm not. But I shall cross that bridge when I come to it."
Codsworth hummed. "I see, word of advice, my lady. Do not make an enemy of this boy. Destiny will eventually arrive, and he will be needed."
"Have you had another one of your visions? What did you see?"
"I saw white hair turn brown and red eyes turn purple. But the dragon was dead."
"And that's all you saw?"
"For the time being. More shall be revealed to me soon."
Astraea nodded and looked at the door to her office. "Well, I've spent enough time in here for today. I'll join the others for dinner."
Astraea stood up and walked to the door while. Codsworth remained where he was. Once Astraea was gone, he looked back out the window.
"So a Leywin has made his appearance once more. What will this lead to? I wonder."
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Bell awoke the next morning to find he was the first one up. He stretched and yawned before rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Regis looked up at him, ready to start the day.
"So, ready to go buy some armor and make the ladies wet?" He asked.
Bell sighed and shook his head. "Why are you the way that you are?"
"Made outta four different people here. Looks like the personality that won the most was the pervert."
Bell chuckled. "OK, Grandpa."
"Woah now, I may be a pervert, but I'm not Zeus levels of perverted. Although he did tone it down a bunch once you were born."
"What, so you're saying my birth changed the old man?"
Regis nodded. "Yup, hell, the old man tried to peep on Alfia in the bath back in the day. He stopped trying to peep on her after you were born."
"Wait, Gramps peeped on Alfia? How'd he survive?"
"Hell, if I know. But anyway, enough talk about perverts. Today, we're getting you some armor. What kind would you like?"
Bell didn't even need to think of his answer. "Light armor. My greatest strengths are my speed and magic."
"Well, that's true; hey, once you reach White Core, you'll probably be the strongest mage here."
"Not that hard since their strongest mage is second-rate. I mean, Alfia was stronger than this so-called elf princess, and she didn't even have a Mana Core. I mean, what is Orario even producing these days."
"Second-rate trash, like you said. But keep that anger in check for now. Don't need you tipping your hand because you couldn't control yourself."
Bell took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I know, but knowing what they did. To my mom, Alfia, and Grandpa. It fills me with so much anger. I mean, Grandpa protected this city with his bitch of a wife, and then after one failure, it turned their back on him."
"I know, Bell. I know, just keep calm until you're strong enough to do something about it. As it stands right now, you're too weak."
"Well, why don't you do something about it?"
Regis went quiet after the question left Bell's lips. It was a good question, but Regis already had an answer to it.
"Because it's not my revenge to take. Sure I knew Silver since he was a baby. But he was your father, and Meteria was your mother. Alfia was your aunt, and Zeus was your Grandpa. It was your family that was kicked out and left to die. Not mine."
Bell scoffed. "You're an idiot for thinking that. They were your family, too. You're the only family I have left. So stop acting like you're not."
Bell's voice broke slightly as he spoke. Regis stared at Bell in silence for a moment. Before he let out a laugh.
"Alright, don't get all sentimental. If you see me as family, I'm family. But still, like I said, this revenge is yours, not mine. It should be you who enacts it. I'll just be by your side to see you succeed."
Bell smiled. "Well, I'm gonna cultivate my Mana Core now. Tell Miach to rouse me for breakfast."
Regis laid back down. "Alright, but I'm pretty sure he already knows."
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After breakfast and a lot of teasing towards Nazha, Bell and Regis left the Blue Pharmacy. They walked down the street on their way to Babel.
Regis was leading the way once more as Bell was still having trouble forming an internal map of the city in his head. He still got slightly overwhelmed by the sheer number of people in this city.
Bell wasn't wearing his poncho as he had left it back at the Pharmacy as it would just get in the way of him trying on armor.
"So tell me a little bit about Babel Regis," Bell said.
"Well, it's a big tower that goes above the clouds."
Bell rolled his eyes. "I can see that, tell me more than just that."
"Uh, let's see, it has a bunch of floors. Floors 4-8 are where we're heading to get your armor. Uh, I don't really give a shit about what's above that, but I do know gods rent out rooms on the top of Babel."
"And what's below the armor floors?" Bell asked.
"Don't care enough to remember. Besides, the only thing you'll need is the armor. Everything else is a moot point."
Bell shrugged and kept following Regis. Eventually, the two arrived at the tower entrance.
"Still can't believe how big it is." Bell gasped.
"That's what she said," Regis added.
Bell shook his head. "I'll admit I set you up for that one."
"Boy, did you."
"Still doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Womp womp. Now, come on, let's go get you some armor."
Bell shook his head again and walked forward. However, he accidentally bumped into a Far Eastern woman.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." The woman said.
"No, it's my fault I was distracted talking to my bond." Bell apologized.
The Far Eastern woman had black hair that was tied in a ponytail with a loop on the left side of her head and, bangs hanging off on the right side, and bluish-purple eyes. She was dressed in a purple kimono and a dark red sash with thigh-high boots.
"Oh wow, quite the looker here," Regis said through their mental link.
"Oh, it's ok, you're not hurt, are you?" The woman asked.
"No, I'm fine, but I need to get going. I have things to do."
"Alright, goodbye then." The woman said, walking away.
Once she was gone, Bell and Regis headed to the elevator. As they headed there, Regis spoke.
"You know she's from the Far East, right?"
"Yes, I have eyes, Regis."
"Well, since she's from the Far East, it's quite normal for them to wrap their chests as women. Now I want you to imagine how big her tits are without that wrapping."
Bell slightly blushed as he pictured what Regis was saying. He promptly kicked him in the side, making the dog laugh.
"Ha made you think of it."
"I hate you so much."
The two entered the elevator, and Bell looked at the machine in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Regis asked.
"I don't know how to use this," Bell answered.
Regis snorted. "Press the button with the number four."
Bell moved his finger and pressed the button that said four. When he did so, the door closed, and the elevator started rising. Bell looked around in shock and wonder.
"Gods, you really are from the boonies."
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Once the elevator opened on the fourth floor of Babel, Bell and Regis stepped out. The fourth floor of Babel was made of basic stone with shops carved into the side of the wall.
"Huh, doesn't look like much," Bell commented.
"That's because we're on the cheapest floor." Regis deadpanned.
"Oh, that makes more sense."
"Dumbass"
Bell ignored Regis's comment and began exploring Babel. He looked through all of the different shops, finding weapons, shields, and armor.
But none really caught Bell's eye. It didn't really look good enough to Bell. Regis kept quiet as Bell kept exploring, however. It was Bell's decision on what armor he would want. Not his.
Eventually, Bell found his way to the back of some no-name store. He was looking through the discarded piles until he came upon a silver chestplate. Or something close to it.
"Tiny ass chestplate," Bell commented, hitting his knuckle against it.
"Whoever made it doesn't seem to realize a chestplate needs to cover the body and not just the chest," Regis added.
"Hmm, well, the armor seems sturdy. I can put my poncho under it, and that way, my entire body will have some protection until we can track this Welf Crozzo down."
"You sure you wanna buy this armor?" Regis asked.
Bell nodded. "Yeah, it's really light and sturdy. Only criticism I have is the chestplate is too small. But yeah, I think this should work out nicely."
"Alright then, pay for it, and let's go."
Bell put the chestplate back in the box before picking the box up and taking it to the counter. After paying for it, he headed back to the Pharmacy.
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Bell and Regis arrived back at the Pharmacy around ten in the morning. He entered the building and called out.
"Hey, I'm back! Look professional."
He heard Regis chuckle as he headed into the back room. Once arriving he saw Nazha glaring at him while Miach was in the lab making potions.
"You think you're funny, don't you?" She asked.
"Right, ol comedian I am," Bell responded, placing his armor on the couch.
Miach came out of the lab, wiping his hands against his pants. "Ah, Bell, good you're back. I have a question to ask you."
"Yeah, what is it, Miach?"
"How would you like to help me run my stand during MonsterPhelia in a few days?" Miach asked.
Bell quirked an eyebrow. "Where will Nazha be?"
"She wanted to remain at the shop in case we had any other customers stop by. Oh, also, the renovations will start after MonsterPhelia."
"Uh, alright, sure, I'll join you. It's in a few days, correct?"
Miach nodded. "Yes, it is, just be prepared to get up earlier than usual."
"Alright, sure, quick question, what's Monsterphelia?"
Well, I think this is a good stopping point. Next chapter is where more fun begins and soon the first real arc should start. Those who read the original know where this is going.
Anyway, I have nothing else to say, so peace.