A/N: Here's a new chapter! Sorry about the delay. Before we get into things, I do have some stuff to discuss with you.

I've been thinking about Torrhen's battle armor, and I have a few options I like. So far, the ones I'm thinking about are the Nordic Wanderer Armor (I'm already using the sword for him), the Dragon Carved Armor (no pauldrons), and the Spell Knight Armor (Either silver and red or gold and blue). If you have any other suggestions or prefer one of these, please tell me what you think.

Do you want me to announce the pairings I've decided on or just let them happen? They won't be major points, but they will be there.

Thank you all for your questions and comments. They really do help my motivation. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to say something or ask in the reviews.

Hearthfire

Chapter 15

Eina

"What is with all the adventurers around here today?" Eina's pink-haired friend, Misha complained as the two stood behind their counters. "There are like three times as many here as there are on a normal day!" Misha wasn't wrong. There were a massive number of adventurers in and around the guild building that day. The two girls and their coworkers had been absolutely swamped with work since they arrived, trying to take care of them all.

"Maybe it's about the Denatus?" Eina wondered to her friend. "It's being held tomorrow, so maybe this has something to do with that."

"Maybe, but what do they expect to do? Only people who've reported a level-up will get new aliases tomorrow." Misha said, slumping slightly against her counter. "Maybe it's got something to do with that incident on the 9th floor a couple days ago?"

Eina nodded. "That's possible. There are a whole bunch of rumors going around about what happened but nobody seems to know the details. Not even us." Eina sighed and turned her attention back to the paperwork in front of her but before she could pick up a sheet, she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Ms. Eina!" Bell yelled over the crowd as he made his way to her counter.

"Bell!" Eina replied, waving him over. She hadn't seen him in a few days, and had been worried about the possibility of him being caught up in whatever had happened on the 9th floor. "You look excited," she said, "any particular reason?"

Bell was grinning like a loon as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. Eina's eyes bugged out as she registered what he was saying. She could not stop herself from screaming, "you hit Level 2?! In a month?!" The entire Guild Hall went silent. Everyone was staring over at the two of them, most trying to figure out if what they heard was accurate. Misha's jaw was on the floor as she stared at them.

Bell could only laugh and rub the back of his head. "Maybe…" he said.

Eina sighed, her head drooping. "Come with me," she said, leading Bell to one of the interview rooms by the collar of his shirt. "We need to talk."

Bell

Despite the fact that his ears were still ringing from the lecture Ms. Eina had given him, Bell was still in a great mood. Ms. Eina had forced him to tell her everything that had happened during his encounter with the abnormal Minotaur before she would even think about helping him choose his Development Abilities.

Development Abilities were like extra skills that an adventurer could choose to gain when leveling up. Bell had been given a few to choose from, so he'd gone to the guild to ask Eina for advice. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized that Ms. Eina didn't know about the Minotaur incident. Once he had finished his explanation, Ms. Eina had proceeded to lecture him on being a 'reckless idiot.' Sadly, it wasn't nearly as effective as it could have been since he'd received similar lectures from Mr. Torrhen, Goddess Hestia, and Lili!

Bell was fully aware that what he'd done was stupid and almost certainly should have killed him, and he really did feel bad about worrying everybody, but it was still worth it! He had leveled up! It was all Bell could do to keep from humming happily to himself as he waited patiently for Goddess Hestia to finish updating his status.

Ms. Eina had looked over his options and had been astonished to see that he had one choice that she'd never heard of. Apparently the 'Luck' Development Ability was so rare that event the Guild members didn't know it existed.

Naturally, this had made Bell very excited to choose it and Ms. Eina had agreed since, in her words, "hopefully the extra luck will keep you from running into any more insane situations." Bell didn't think it worked like that but he was excited, nevertheless. Once they were finished, he'd rushed back to Hearthfire Hall to finalize his rank-up.

"Looks like that's it, Bell" Goddess Hestia said as she pulled her hand back. The goddess handed his Status Sheet to him over his shoulder. "Oh, and congratulations," she smiled "you've gotten your first skill." Bell's eyes went wide, his face splitting into an even bigger smile as he read his new Status.

Bell Cranel (Level 2)

Race: Human

LEVEL: 2

STR: I-0

VIT: I-10

DEX: I-0

AGI: I-0

MAG: I-0

TOTAL = 0

SKILLS:

Argonaut: Allows the user to charge a devastating attack, regardless of how much energy the user has remaining. Once charged, the user is able to use a 'Hero Shot' that does extreme amounts of damage. Skill does produce recoil. Longer charge times increase the damage done and the recoil received.

MAGIC:

Tamrielic Magic

Destruction: 35

Firebolt: A Tamrielic destruction spell. Quick Cast. Casts a ball of fire towards opponents. Mind cost: 41. (Mind Cost will decrease as Destruction Level increases. Use Destruction spells to increase Destruction level.)

DEVELOPMENT ABILITIES:

Luck: Improves the bearer's luck.

It was all Bell could do to keep himself from giggling and laughing with joy! A Rank-up, a super rare Development Ability, and his first real Skill! Bell was beside himself!

"Not bad, kid" Mr. Torrhen said as he read the sheet over Bell's shoulder. "You did well but remember what I said." Mr. Torrhen's face was really serious. "Just because it worked once doesn't mean doing something that stupid will ever work again. If you get killed because you did something stupid, I'll find a way to bring you back just so I can kill you for being an idiot." He gestured at Goddess Hestia and Lili who were both glaring at Bell, "then I'll bring you back a few more times so these two and Eina can kill you for being an idiot too."

Bell gulped and nodded. He didn't think Mr. Torrhen could actually do that, but he should probably play it on the safe side and not do something that reckless again. If he ever got into another situation like the one he'd been in with the Minotaur, he'd just accept the help. He'd already gotten 4 ear-splitting lectures on not being an idiot. He didn't want to go through it again or risk Mr. Torrhen finding a way to resurrect him just to wind up getting punished.

"Now that you're officially Leveled up, I have to do my job" Goddess Hestia said.

"What do you mean?" Bell asked, confused.

Goddess Hestia smiled. "You're Level 2, Bell and Denatus is tomorrow. I have to make sure you get a proper alias."

Bell's eyes went wide once again. His alias! "I wonder what it'll be!" He thought. Bell could hardly wait. He hoped it would be something awesome like 'Speed Demon' or 'Fireball.'

"Don't get your hopes up, Bell" Mr. Torrhen's voice killed his imagination. "First aliases are usually pretty lame."

"Wait, really?!" Bell asked, astonished.

Hestia sighed. "Sadly, yes. The really good ones are normally given to the high-class adventurers. The gods like to have fun with the names of lower-level adventurers."

"Screw awesome!" Bell thought, "just give me something normal!"

Hestia

Hestia walked through the halls of Babel towards the Denatus chamber, determined. She needed to make sure that Bell got a decently normal nickname. Their Familia depended on it. Having a Captain with an embarrassing name could seriously hurt their ability to recruit, so it was imperative that she get one that was somewhat normal. Hestia was pulled from her determined thoughts by a hand touching her shoulder.

"Hello, Hestia"

Hestia turned and smiled. "Hello Take," she said. Takemikazuchi, similar to Miach and Hephaestus, was one of Hestia's best friends in Orario. He was a straightforward and simple man, and Hestia felt at ease around him.

"You're looking very determined," Take said. "Does it have anything to do with your child ranking up?"

Hestia nodded. "Of course. I have to make sure he gets a decent alias. Didn't one of yours level up as well?"

"Yes," Take answered her with a smile. "Her name is Yamato Mikoto."

"Then it seems we both have a mission to complete," Hestia said with a determined smile as they reached the doors.

"That we do," Take said, equally determined as he opened the doors.

Later. Inside the Denatus Chamber

Hestia sighed, waiting until the reason she was here actually came up. There had been quite a few rank-ups since the last Denatus, so it had taken a while to get through them. Aliases were decided in order of rank-up rather than alphabetical order or anything like that. Since Bell had only officially hit Level 2 the day before, he was dead last.

Hestia had cringed internally at some of the names, but others were alright. She felt for Set, who was a few seats to her left and crying softly into his hands. One of his members, Seti Selty, had wound up being called the 'Burning Fighting Fighter.'

Take had gotten off fairly well in her opinion. His child, Mikoto, had been given the Alias, 'Absolute Shadow' which Hestia didn't think was too bad. It was fairly innocuous, and it was better than 'Burning Fighting Fighter.'

"Alright!" Ganesha, the god who typically led Denatus meetings, yelled through his mic. "Our last adventurer is a record breaker! Having made it to Level 2 in just one month, we have Bell Cranel of the Hestia Familia! I am Ganesha!" Hestia sat up, listening intently to the chatter of the gods around her. Sadly, the gods who oversaw the adventurers discussed at Denatus weren't allowed to put forward suggestions. Hestia could not suggest names for members of her own Familia. They had to come from other gods.

"Pardon!" A thoroughly annoying voice cut through the chatter, "I would like to know just how he managed this! The previous record is one year, it shouldn't be possible to do it in so short a time!"

Hestia sighed as she observed the speaker. With his annoying voice, bright red hair, pointless toga, and lecherous expression, it could only be one person. Apollo. He was so annoying! Hestia had always preferred his sister, Artemis.

"One might even suggest that foul play is involved," Apollo continued, staring at Hestia.

"Excuse me?!" Hestia exclaimed, jumping from her seat. "What are you implying Apollo?!"

"I am implying that you must have cheated or 'helped' him somehow! Trying to get a little piece of the spotlight and not willing to work for it." Apollo said, leering at Hestia. "Maybe…,"

"Shut up, Apollo."

To everyone's surprise, including Hestia's, it wasn't Hestia herself who interrupted him. It was Loki. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the kid, but most of my best have and they all agree on one thing." Loki leaned forward as she continued. "Bell Cranel has more potential than half of the adventurers in this city put together and the drive to match it. Ais herself was impressed by both his drive and his growth rate. The little rabbit has earned his rank-up. Speaking as the Goddess of the previous record holder, I will not dispute Cranel's achievement."

"Potential and determination is not all he has," Freya suddenly cut in as Apollo sat down, pouting. "If what I've heard is true, he also has quite the impressive teacher. That is most certainly a factor in his growth. I've heard a great deal about them both, and I must admit to being impressed by the young Bell's abilities."

Excited Chatter broke out among the crowd. Loki and Freya agreeing on something like this? That was unheard of. Hestia nodded her thanks to both Loki and Freya but was unsettled by Freya's addition. She was aware of the altercation between Torrhen and Ottar and was very worried that Freya would continue to interfere with her Familia. Her mentioning Torrhen in a setting like this was almost certainly a message.

The debate concerning Bell's second name continued for quite some time, with several truly ridiculous suggestions being put forward. 'Bun-Bun,' 'Hopping Hopper,' and 'Speed Bunny' were all considered. Nearly all of the suggestions involved a play on Bell's resemblance to a rabbit but eventually they decided on a name. Thankfully, it wasn't too bad. Hestia actually kind of liked it. As the chamber emptied Hephaestus came over to her, looking apprehensive.

"Can we talk?" She asked.

"Sure" Hestia said, "what's wrong?"

"Well, do you remember the child I mentioned before? The one I wanted to apprentice under Torrhen?" Hestia nodded. They'd spoken about it at length shortly after Hephaestus had met Torrhen. "He's finally made his decision. If you don't mind, he'd like to join your Familia and learn from Torrhen."

Hestia smiled. "No problem," she said happily. "When do you want to do the transfer?"

"Well, I actually told him to go to your house and speak with Torrhen before I got here. If we go now, he should already be there."

"Then we should probably hurry," Hestia said, making her way out of the door, Hephaestus following.

Eina

Eina stood apprehensively outside the guild building, waiting for the announcements to be posted. Denatus had broken up about half an hour before, so the new aliases would be posted on the notice board any minute now.

"I hope he gets a good one…" Eina thought, worriedly. Bell was still so new to adventuring, and he looked so adorable. She was terrified that the gods would choose an embarrassing or mocking name and that it would crush Bell's spirit or ruin his career.

Finally, she caught sight of the official who was supposed to post the new names on the notice board. It was all the poor man could do to actually get to the notice board considering the crowd of adventurers who were hoping to get a look at who had leveled up and gotten a second name. It took Eina several minutes to force her way through the pack to get a good look at the sheets that had been put up.

"Is this for real?" She heard one of the adventurers nearby say.

"He totally smashed the Sword Princess's record!"

"Just one month? That's ridiculous!"

"It's gotta be a joke, right?"

Eina pushed her way through the last of the group, catching a glimpse of Bell's posted Status mixed in with those of all the other rank-up announcements. She let out a sigh of relief as she read his new alias. It wasn't too bad. A little childish perhaps, but perfectly normal.

'Rabbit Foot'

Welf

Welf Crozzo fidgeted nervously as he observed the half-constructed manor in front of him. There was a low half-built wall around the structure, with what looked like a gatehouse right at the front. There was no gate yet, but since the wall wasn't even finished, that made some sense.

He really should have gone in by now, but he was still too nervous. A few weeks ago, Hephaestus had brought him an enchanted weapon made by a true master, and an offer of apprenticeship that sadly came with a major catch. It had taken weeks of agonizing thought and inner turmoil, but he had finally made a decision. The offer to apprentice under the only mortal smith that Goddess Hephaestus had actually acknowledged as an equal was too good to pass up. Even though it meant he had to leave her Familia, Welf knew that Hephaestus would welcome him back once his training was finished.

Welf could only imagine what this mysterious man could teach him. After he'd told Hephaestus that he would be accepting the offer, she'd finally revealed the identity of the man who had forged the enchanted blade she had brought him. Apparently, his name was Torrhen, and he was a retired but extremely skilled adventurer belonging to the Hestia Familia. After a brief explanation of who Hestia was, how many members her Familia had, and where to find them, Hephaestus had told him to start packing his things.

Shortly before she'd left for Denatus, Hephaestus had come by and told him that he should go ahead and meet with Torrhen before the actual conversion. It made sense to Welf that he should meet the person he'd be learning from before making the actual switch. After Denatus ended, Hephaestus was intending to join Goddess Hestia in returning to Heartfire Hall and completing Welf's transfer.

Now Welf stood in front of the half-finished manor house trying to psych himself up to go inside and introduce himself. He was still in awe of the fact that this man had actually matched the skill of a Goddess of the Forge but that just made Welf more excited to learn from him.

"Can I help you?" A voice said.

Welf jumped, startled out of his thoughts. He let out a low "Wah!" of surprise and turned to see the man who had spoken. Standing on the other side of the unfinished gate and dressed in what were clearly soot-stained blacksmithing clothes was a tall and powerful human man. He had dark hair and a close-cropped beard that was greying in places. His silver eyes seemed to shine out of the mans tanned face.

"I… I'm sorry!" Welf said, trying to calm down. "I'm here to meet someone named Torrhen."

The man smiled. "You must be Welf," he said.

"Y…yeah. That's me."

The man extended a hand to Welf. "Torrhen," he said, "it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Welf Crozzo," Welf replied as he shook the man's hand. So, this was the master he would be learning from. He certainly looked like a master smith and, according to Hephaestus, he was also an extremely powerful warrior.

"Hephaestus has told me a lot about you," Torrhen said. "I take it that you've decided to accept my offer?"

Welf nodded. "I have, if it's still open."

"Why don't you come inside?" Torrhen smiled. "It's just me right now, but Hestia and the others will be back soon enough. For now, I can show you around the forge and where you'll be working."

Welf excitedly followed the man into the manor grounds. Torrhen led him around the manor house towards a set of buildings near the back of the property. There was a rather large training field nearby that had several weapon racks and sets of tables and chairs around it.

"That's our training ground," Torrhen said, giving Welf a brief tour of the area. "If you're planning on going into the Dungeon, you'll need to be joining us for training at least until I'm sure of your skill level. I'm in charge of training all members, so nobody goes into the Dungeon without my say-so."

Welf nodded in understanding as Torrhen led him away from the training grounds and back towards the buildings. If Torrhen was going to be training him in combat, maybe he'd be able to seriously increase his strength on top of his smithing skills. "The manor isn't finished yet, but the living quarters are habitable so you'll be able to move right in. These buildings at the back are where you'll likely spend most of your time though."

There were three buildings at the rear of the property. The one in the center was much larger than the others and seemed to be split into multiple sections. The one on the left appeared to be a fairly large storage shed but Welf wasn't sure what the purpose of the building on the right was.

"Starting from the left we have the material storage building," Torrhen said, still giving Welf a tour of the area. "It holds most of the ore, materials, and ingredients I use in my work. You're free to use whatever is in there except for anything I've labeled for experimentation. If there's a material we don't have that you want to work with and you can't get it for yourself in the Dungeon, you'll need to pay for it with your own money. If we're running low on something, I expect you to check with me before using it, or at least let me know that we're out so I can get more."

Welf peered through the door as Torrhen held it open. He could see rows of neatly organized shelves lining the walls. The shelves were covered in boxes, each labeled to clearly show what the box contained. The shelves were divided into sections with large signs over them naming what kinds of materials were stored on them. There was 'Ores,' 'Woods,' 'Monster Drops,' 'Alchemy,' 'Enchanting,' 'Leathers,' and several others. The extent and organization of the storage building was impressive and Welf was excited to start working with some of the materials he could see on the shelves.

Before he could look any further though, Torrhen closed the door and continued the tour. "The building on the right is a distillery, so I doubt you'll be going in there often. I make a special mead in small quantities, but most of the finished product will be stored in the Hall so if you want a drink, you're better off looking in the cellar of the house or keeping a stash in your room."

Welf wasn't an avid drinker, so he didn't think he'd need much of what came out of the distillery. He'd never really had mead before though, so maybe he'd give it a try.

"The last building is the actual forge complex. It's divided into four sections." Torrhen opened the door and let Welf into the large central building. "On our right, isolated from the rest of the complex is the alchemy laboratory. You're not likely to need to go in there unless you want to learn to make potions. You might see Naaza, the Captain of the Miach Familia in there on occasion since she and I are developing a few recipes together and my lab is more extensive than her current one."

"Next to the alchemy lab is the enchanting laboratory. It holds the enchanting table and most of the materials needed to perform enchantments. I'm guessing you'll want to spend a lot of time in there." Welf peered through the entrance. He didn't recognize any of the equipment or materials in the room, but it was probably going to be extremely important for him to learn as quickly as possible. This was the room where he'd learn to make magic weapons that wouldn't shatter after a few uses.

"The next room is my forge," Torrhen said, moving on again. "You're free to come in, but I ask that you don't mess with any works in progress." Torrehn's forge was an impressive setup. The forge was nice and large and there were several anvils, workbenches, vices, and other tools organized neatly around the room. One wall looked like its top portion could be folded away, letting sunlight in, and there was a door in the back that clearly led out to the back of the building. Another wall was covered in weapon and armor racks that sported several beautifully made weapons and armor sets.

"The last room will be your forge," Torrhen pointed to the last opening. Inside was a forge and tool setup similar to Torrhen's. "I had the builders make two forges, just in case I took on a student. This forge will be yours, so you can organize and rearrange things as you see fit."

Welf's eyes beamed as he examined the forge room. It was twice as big as his current one and had more tools than he knew what to do with! He couldn't wait to get started.

"Let's go back to the enchanting lab. I can give you a quick rundown of what everything does." Torrhen said, moving back towards the lab. Welf followed eagerly. Walking through the door, Torrhen gestured to three strange tables set up in the center of the far wall. "Those are enchanting tables," he said. "They are the primary tool needed to make enchantments like the one on the sword Hephaestus showed you."

"I've tried examining it, but I can't figure out how you got the magic to bind to the sword in that way. You're saying you used these tables to do it?"

"Yes," Torrhen said, moving to one of the tables. "These tables are made of rare ingredients and are covered in magic runes. They allow a skilled enchanter to imbue magical power onto an object. The biggest difference between this method and the one you know, is that the object must be finished before it's enchanted."

"So, you're giving a finished weapon magic power, rather than forging the magic into the weapon?" Welf asked, intrigued. "I suppose that would help make sure the weapon remains viable even after the magic is gone."

"Essentially, yes" Torrhen said. "There are some methods I use for forging with magic that produce similar results, but they are extremely advanced. Using an enchanting table is the best way to make an enchanted weapon that is still useable once the magic is depleted. One of the primary issues with the magic weapons you know is that the magic is literally binding the weapon together. Once that magic is depleted, there is nothing to hold the materials in place and the weapon breaks. By applying magic to a finished product, you are simply adding something to a completed weapon, leaving its structural integrity intact."

They'd only just started and Welf was already excited! Everything Torrhen was saying made sense and Welf was eager to start learning how to enchant like him. Unfortunately, they couldn't continue because they were interrupted by people entering the forge.

"Mr. Torrhen, we're back!" One of them said. The speaker was a young, white-haired boy with red eyes who looked a little depressed. The other person was a Pallum girl with chestnut hair.

"Welcome back, kiddo." Torrhen said. "Did you find what you wanted?"

"No," the kid said, hanging his head. "We went to like 9 different shops and none of them had any Welf Crozzo armor."

"Wait" Welf's brain short-circuited briefly, "What?!"

The kid kept talking. "Mr. Crozzo made my last armor set, and I really liked it. I was hoping to find something else he'd made but they just don't seem to be carrying it." Welf couldn't help himself. He started laughing uncontrollably. Through his mirth, he saw Torrhen smirking.

"What's so funny?" the Pallum girl asked.

Torrhen chuckled. "Allow me to introduce Welf Crozzo," he said, gesturing to Welf, who was still trying to get control of himself. "He'll be joining our Familia to become my smithing apprentice."

"Wait, really?" the white-haired kid asked, excited.

"Really, kid" Welf said, still chuckling. He held his hand out to the kid. "Welf Crozzo," he smiled, "it's nice to meet someone who likes my work. Don't worry about looking for it in a shop. We'll be part of the same Familia, so I'll make anything you want directly."

"That's amazing! It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Crozzo!" The kid said, shaking his hand. "My name is Bell Cranel, and this is Liliruca Arde." He gestured to the Pallum girl.

"Just Welf," he said. Welf hated formality.

"Mr. Welf?" Bell asked.

"Still 'Mr.' huh? Oh well." Welf smiled.

"Welf's not all that fond of formality," a familiar voice said from the doorway. Standing there, looking absolutely stunning, was Hephaestus. Beside her stood a short goddess with black hair done up in twin ponytails that had to be Hestia.

"Looks like everybody is here," the short goddess said. "It's nice to meet you, Welf. I'm Hestia, Olympian Goddess of Hearth and Home."

"It's an honor to meet you, Goddess Hestia" Welf said with a slight bow. Hephaestus had told him a lot about her, so he felt pretty good about joining her.

"Just to get everyone on the same page," Torrhen said, "Welf here will be joining the Hestia Familia as my apprentice in the smithing and enchanting arts. If there are no objections, he will also be joining you in the Dungeon as well," he addressed Bell and Lili. Then he turned to Welf. "I'm semi-retired so Bell here is our Captain. Lili serves as our Vice-Captain and as Treasurer. Since Bell already likes your armor, I was hoping you'd be willing to be his primary smith. Lili's as well, if she wants that."

"I'd be happy to!" Welf grinned. He'd never had an exclusive client before. A new party to dungeon dive with, an exclusive client, maybe two, and an apprenticeship under a master blacksmith/enchanter? This was turning out to be even better than he'd expected.

"If everybody is on the same page, I suppose we should go ahead and start the transfer" Hestia said with a smile.

"Why don't we head into the Hall for that?" Torrhen asked. "We can give Welf the tour of the house once we're done."

The group of six made their way back across the mostly empty lot and into the half-constructed building. Heading up to a series of offices Welf, Hestia, and Hephaestus shut themselves inside Hestia's office to perform the conversion. Welf was feeling very conflicted the whole time. On the one hand, he loved Hephaestus and didn't want to leave her Familia. On the other hand, being a member of Hestia's Familia would let him expand and learn in ways he never could in Hephaestus' Familia. Hephaestus' smile just reaffirmed his determination. Welf would live and grow with the Hestia Familia and then, when he was ready he would rejoin Hephaestus and be acknowledged as her equal. Maybe then he could tell her how much he loved her.

Freya

Freya stared at the sheet in her hands, trembling. She'd taken a copy of this information the day after her little test for her new interests and had desperately wished she'd looked at it beforehand. Despite the euphoria the information caused in her, she realized that she had made a colossal mistake. Her poor Ottar was traumatized by what had happened. She'd been so focused on playing with the children who had caught her interest that she hadn't stopped to wonder if there might be consequences.

There, staring up at her from the page was the Guilds information on Torrhen of the Hestia Familia. She was well aware that he was Dragonborn but had not even considered that he was Level 10! That was far too strong for her to deal with at the moment. She would need to avoid antagonizing them openly until she was strong enough to either eliminate Torrhen or convert him.

Perhaps she should leave them alone for a while? She'd defended young Bell at Denatus already, subtly letting Hestia know that she was aware of who Torrhen really was but perhaps she should avoid them for a while. Yes, that was the best course of action. She'd continue to observe but would refrain from taking any obvious action against Hestia until she was certain she could either convert or eliminate Torrhen.

She would continue to watch with fascination, but perhaps she should switch her primary focus to something different? There was a goddess who had become a major thorn in Freya's side recently. Perhaps she should focus on dealing with her first? She could even work as a new test or distraction for Torrhen and Bell if she could find a way to bring them into conflict. She looked over to her desk, observing the bottles sitting there.

It had been ridiculously easy to charm the guild officials into giving them to her. Nobody even knew they were gone. They'd make wonderful tools in dealing with that particular thorn. Perhaps they'd work to deal with Torrhen too? She'd rather convert him but if that was unlikely… Better to deal with that annoying goddess first. If there were any left, she'd find another use for them.

A/N: Welf has joined the Hestia Familia! I know I didn't include Bell's reaction to his new name, but I'll put that in the next chapter. Speaking of next chapter, I have it fully outlined and some of it already written so I'm hoping there won't be a delay for it. Next chapter will introduce Ryuu and we'll get to see a bit of what's going on with the Loki Familia's expedition.

For Bell's alias, I decided to go with Rabbit Foot, since that's one of Bell's later alias' and it's better than Little Rookie. Argonaut was a good suggestion, but I feel like that is something to come later since Bell's alias will change a couple times.

To answer questions and comments:

On FFN

Razzack: Miraak will not be making an appearance. He's very dead. I might include Hermaeus Mora, or at the very least mention him in passing but Miraak is very dead. The traitor I mentioned is actually supposed to be Paarthurnax.

Leafyeyes417: Magic stones dropped by monsters in the Dungeon will work as Soul Gems. I think I mentioned that in an earlier chapter but the ones on the upper floors are equal to Petty Soul Gems, so getting ones equivalent to a Grand Soul Gem will still be a bit rare for Bell and Lili.

On Ao3

Land of Chaos: Bell doesn't need to scream Firebolt. He just likes to and it helps him visualize what he's doing. He doesn't need to do it.

Hulk9970: Alduin and Torrhen won't cross paths for quite a while. Torrhen will have returned to active status well before that happens, but Alduin and Torrhen will be a conflict that happens. Bell is the hero of Danmachi though, so Alduin will be a bit of a side story.