Author´s Note: Hello everyone, sorry it took so long. After the last Change of Fates chapter, I wanted to upload faster, but then something happened, I had to get an emergency surgery, since I was in a life threatening condition. Now it´s better and I´m healing up, will still be a month at home, sick. So chapters should be rolling a bit faster now.
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"Hah..."
Heith let out her breath in a quiet sigh.
It was dark in the room, she heard the soft breathing and occasional groans because of sore muscles from the other women sleeping in the room. She was the newest member of the Freya familia, so she didn´t have her own room.
Three other women were in the same room, all badly needed sleep.
The baptism that happened every day was extremely harsh for their bodies, but it did make them stronger. For Heith it was even more exhausting since her mind also got drained. Just like everyone else in the familia, Heith was determined to become a strong warrior, for her beloved goddess's sake, and to get her attention.
For some reason, after Heith received Freya´s blessing, she immediately got magic.
Zeo Gullveig
With this magic spell, she could heal her wounds or those of others. Hedin, who was the best magic user in the familia, had ordered her to constantly use it on herself so that she could train longer and it would also increase the strength of her magic.
On one hand, it was good that her injuries healed quickly, on the other, it only meant more pain for her and a headache. It only got a bit better, since Freya had praised Heith, saying how amazing it was that she got magic right from the start, and even this very rare kind of magic, healing magic.
Exhausted, mentally drained, and sore muscles all over, Heith wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and rest.
But she couldn´t.
"Hah..."
While the others slept, Heith lay there awake. Her heart didn´t pound as it should, sometimes it skipped a beat, and sometimes it hammered two times in her chest, before calming down again. The back of her left hand and her back felt warm. But not her entire back, just a small, specific spot. Where a hand was during the banquet night.
Just as she tried to close her eyes again, an image flashed in her mind.
White hair. Red eyes. A friendly, handsome face.
Heith opened her eyes again and stared up at the ceiling, she didn´t understand what was wrong with her. She turned her face to the side and looked out of the window. The sky was mostly clear, a crescent moon shone beautifully.
There was no helping it, she just couldn´t sleep, and her heart ached again.
Is it because of these hits?
During training, Heith fought against an Amazon, who had hit and kicked her in the chest a few times, so hard that even her ribcage had cracked slightly. Heith had coughed on the ground, healing herself while groaning in pain.
Maybe it wasn´t en-irgh!
It throbbed again, and Heith panted slightly.
"Ngh...what´s wrong with me..."
Because she was considerate of the others, Heith got quietly up from her bed, put a jacket over her nightgown, and snuck out of the room, closing the door as quietly as possible. Maybe walking around a bit would help her. And in case the pain got worse, she could use her healing magic again, even when she was still exhausted.
Thankfully the night wasn´t that cold, she still closed the jacket. It was quiet in Folkvangr, almost everyone was asleep. After the daily baptism, the only other things to do were get healed, eat, wash themself, and sleep. Under normal circumstances, Heith would think of such a life as insane and sheer madness. But after she met Freya, her love for the goddess was endless, just like everyone else, she wanted to gain Freya´s favor. And for that to happen, she had to become a strong warrior.
Not only to gain Freya´s eyes on her but also to defend herself against the others. Whoever would become Freya´s champion, would´ve to fight the others constantly. But Freya´s love was worth it, she owned all of Heith´s heart.
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All of it?
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When she looked up to the sky, she saw the white moon. White...just like...certain hair.
When her heart hammered one time in her chest, it felt pretty warm, just like her cheeks.
I knew it...something has to be wrong with my heart, did I get injured so badly? Am I...that weak?
She heard silent steps from the side, and a small figure walked in her direction, wearing armor and weapons. The small figure looked at her while he walked past her.
"Heith."
"Van."
No more words fell, Van had nightguard duty, he didn´t care if she slept or not, all he cared about was fulfilling his duty towards Freya.
Heith walked a bit further until she arrived at the training ground. There were dark spots on the ground, dried-up blood.
As usual, the last one to leave the training area had been Ottar, if she was honest, Heith got easily intimidated by the captain. Not only was he a mountain of a man, but so insanely strong.
Level seven!
To even think about such a strength!
Heith herself was just an upper-level one. But she would get stronger, it was her goal, to at least join the ranks of the High Executives. And who knows, maybe one day become Freya´s champion? Her healing magic might give her the upper hand against Ottar at some point.
The area where she stood was built like a small terrace, with a waist-high handrail. Heith leaned with her forearms on the handrail, looked over the battlefield, then up at the moon, and sighed. Coming here had helped a little, but sometimes she could feel her heartbeat in her ears.
In the hope it would ease her problem, Heith let her mind wander around a bit, back to the banquet. She was overjoyed that she was allowed to accompany Freya. Seeing her goddess in that wonderful dress, sitting next to her in the carriage, how Freya flirted slightly with her, touching Heith´s collarbone with the tip of a finger, it sent shivers down her spine. When Freya had leaned closer, so close that her lips almost touched Heith´s cheek...she felt like she was about to melt.
The evening was wonderful.
But...
When she saw "that"...everything became different.
Heith had felt a bit weird when she saw Bell again, but how he had smiled and thanked her again, it felt good for some reason. And when he led his goddess to the dance floor, and to see THAT dance, Heith had gulped, multiple times. This dance was so sensual and erotic, it was way too much for her maiden heart.
But when both had returned from the dance, the goddess Astrea was literally glowing...and when Bell then offered her his hand and asked if she would dance with him, Heith was unable to answer, she could only nod slightly. Dancing with Bell had felt like a dream. Heith almost drowned in his eyes. All she could see were these beautiful, rubelite eyes. Her hand still tingled from his touch, especially the back of her hand, when he gently raised it after the dance and softly blew a kiss on the back of her hand.
Her back also felt warm, where his hand had rested.
Not that Heith realized that it was due to Bell´s touch, she just felt a strange warmth at these places.
She heard steps again, probably Van going in the other direction now.
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"Heith."
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Surprised, she turned her face, the voice was a completely different one.
"Lady Freya."
Her goddess stood there, wearing a white dress, much more elegant than a simple nightgown, a silky cape around her shoulders.
"What are you doing out here, at night?"
The goddess stopped next to her follower.
"I can´t sleep."
"Does your body hurt?"
"That too."
Freya raised an eyebrow. "But?"
"It´s not my muscles, my chest hurts."
"Where Lydia kicked and punched you?"
"Yes."
Freya came closer and moved a hand up.
"Lady Fre-"
"Shh, let me take a look."
Heith´s cheeks went crimson when Freya moved the upper part of her nightgown a bit to the side, to take a look at her skin. Even when Freya didn´t intend to be flirty, her mere touch was enough to let Heith´s heart pound again.
"I don´t see any bruise, did you heal yourself properly?"
"Yes."
"And did you eat properly?"
"I did."
"Does it hurt when I push a little?"
"No...it feels good."
"It feels good?"
Heith averted her red face. "B-Because it´s your touch."
"Ehe~~ Hm, but it doesn´t look like Lydia´s attacks left a wound."
"I still can feel my heart throb and pound now and then."
"And that doesn´t let you sleep?"
"Yes."
"Hm."
Freya looked a bit worried, but in truth, she could see clearly what troubled Heith. Her soul bloomed and went off like a firework again.
Just like when she had danced with Bell.
"Would you come with me for a while, Heith?"
"Of course, Milady."
"Then come."
Freya led Heith to the stairs, in an area that was normally not allowed to enter. Fresh members like her lived on the ground floor. The higher members lived on the first floor, the high executives on the second.
And Freya...her rooms were on the third floor.
The entire third floor belonged to her, except for Ottar´s room. As the captain, it was his right, given by Freya, to also have his room there.
Freya led Heith past the first floor, it didn´t look any special, up to the second floor. There were only a few rooms here, the doors far away from each other since the high executives didn´t like each other.
Then...Freya went to the stairs that led to the third floor.
"Lady Freya, that place is forbidden for me!"
The goddess chuckled. "So? This is my house, so I can invite and bring anyone here I desire, don´t you think so?"
"But still...the others will get mad at me..."
Freya put a finger onto her lips. "Then this will be our small secret, alright?~~"
There was no way Heith could say no to these eyes.
"Won´t Ottar notice something?"
"Ottar is asleep, he has a pretty deep sleep as long as I´m not in danger."
"Hm."
"You know Heith, it´s rude to let a lady wait when she invites you into her chambers.~~~"
"S-Sorry!"
Freya could see that Heith was nervous, but not because she might expect something naughty. Heith was too much of a maiden for that. That Freya had touched her cheek and invited her into her chambers already set her soul ablaze.
These reactions of Heith reminded Freya of Astrea´s blond elf, if she remembered correctly, Ryu was her name. Whenever she had seen her in the streets, or in disguise in the pub, or even through her mirror, she just had to smile. This elf was the embodiment of a pure maiden. While she gave herself as chaste and innocent outside, not wanting to show affection in public, her soul flared up every time she saw Bell. And when she slightly touched her, especially her hands, then it pulsed even stronger.
Ryu was so heavily in love with Bell, that even Freya got embarrassed by it. And to her concern, it looked like Heith went down the same path now. At least she wasn´t completely all over Bell, but still had also Freya in her heart.
So she still reacts to me, and not only to him, good.
Freya was slightly relieved.
It even looked a bit like Heith´s soul got almost parted into two. One part pulsed at Freya´s touch, the other reacted to someone else.
"How does your heart feel now?"
"A bit calmer, maybe it was a cramp or so."
When Freya opened the door to her personal chambers, Heith looked to the ground.
"Ehe~~ You can take a look if you want."
"But these are your personal rooms."
"And I invited you to come here, take a look."
When Heith looked up, she was surprised. She had expected to see many things, but not what she saw here. Maybe weapons and armor, fine cloth, expensive furniture. While all this was here, it was the other things that shocked her.
Tons of small, medium, and large items. From toys and board games from distant lands, all kinds of clothing, various gemstones and crystals, sculptures, paintings, plants, various animal or monster skulls, and whatnot.
The sheer size of the collection was impressive, but what shocked Heith was that many of these things were just lying around, depending on where the goddess had placed them when she temporarily lost interest in them. On a table, Heith spotted some small miniatures, maybe carved from wood or bone, as well as painting brushes and pots with paints next to them. There was a masterfully painted minotaur miniature there! As well as a few others! And next to it an unfinished painting, and next to that a harp.
As elegant and perfect as Freya always seemed, Heith had never expected her personal abode to be so...chaotic.
"Be careful that you don´t step onto something and hurt yourself."
"U-Understood...did something happen here?"
"Hm? Why?"
"I mean...it´s so..."
The goddess smiled like a little girl for a moment. "I like it like this."
Heith felt her heart getting squeezed again, but this time she knew the reason.
"She can be so cute..."
Freya giggled. "Me? Cute?"
Heith clapped her hands over her mouth, shocked that she said her thoughts out loud.
Freya came closer with a mischievous smile. "Soooo, Heiiiiith~~~ You think I´m cute?"
"I´m sorry! I´m sorry! I didn´t mean to say that loud!"
"Ehehe~~~ It makes me quite happy.~~ Only rarely do people speak their mind in my presence."
When Freya came closer, Heith´s eyes swam around in panic, looking for an escape. The mere presence of her goddess was way too stimulating in a confusing way for Heith. Her eyes even found Freya´s bed and widened when she saw the sheer size of it, at least eight times the size of Heith´s bed. For what reason would Freya need such a large bed?
Freya noticed what caught Heith´s attention.
"Hm, curious about my bed? Shall I let you sleep here tonight to calm you down?"
"Hawawawa..."
"Teehee~~ Alright, enough teasing now, come. I want to show you something amazing."
Heith followed Freya with a pounding heart, they went through a few rooms, in one were much more clothes and outfits than in the other.
"Hehe, maybe I will show myself in one or two of these to you?"
Heith smiled shyly, that would surely be a sight.
When Freya finally arrived at the spot she wanted to show her, Heith looked surprised. It was a huge balcony, easily half the size of the room that Heith shared with the three other women.
Folkvangr was surrounded by high walls, so it looked like a fortress inside the city. This way no one could look at what the familia did, and up here on the balcony, no one could see Freya. Sometimes when she wanted to be alone, it was quite nice. Not even Babel could be seen from here, so Freya could even dare to sunbathe naked, without anyone being able to see her.
Which also meant in return, that she could look up to the sky without problems. As if the weather had followed the wish of the goddess, it had cleared up. Only the crescent moon hangs there.
There was more than one option to take if one wanted to sit. An elegant bench, a few armchairs, seat cushions like those used in the Kaios desert, and even a simple stool similar to the guest chairs used in a certain pub.
"Sit wherever you want."
"But..."
"I don´t want to always choose myself, so take a seat."
Heith chose the elegant bench, that was close to the handrail, Freya sat down next to her.
"What do you think about the view?"
"It´s...it´s fine."
Heith sat there, her hands clasped on her lap, the legs squeezed together, still nervous.
"Don´t be worried, I don´t plan to devour you."
"H-Huh?!"
Freya decided on a different approach, she put an arm around Heith, pulled her a bit closer, and leaned her head against that of her follower.
"Heith...relax a bit, hm?"
What Freya currently did was more motherly than flirty, it helped Heith to calm down a tiny bit.
"Does your heart still hurt?"
"A bit, it calmed down a bit...I´m sorry for being so weak, Lady Fre-"
Heith stopped when Freya put a finger on her lips. "Heith...when we´re alone like that...please call me just by my name."
Heith´s eyes widened, Freya didn´t give her any chance to protest, so she just nodded very slightly.
"Hehe, good girl."
Heith squeaked when Freya gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Her soul was immediately set ablaze again, Freya needed this moment, to know that she was still in Heith´s heart.
To know that there was someone else in Heith´s heart, that Freya didn´t own it alone, that someone was able to "charm" one of her followers...was quite something.
It was...exciting!
Freya never experienced something like that before! To have a...a...a rival in love!
And that said rival was immune to her divine charm! Sure, Bell had reacted in a special way to her appearance, but not because she was a Goddess of Beauty.
All these things and more got her more and more interested in Bell. Of course, he was also quite handsome, and his soul...there was something really unique to it. Almost colorless at first, surrounded by a silvery edge, a mixture of ash, and the color of lightning.
But now...there were colored spots in his soul...and each matched the soul color of one of his lovers.
Freya wondered if Heith would remain the only one of her familia members that fell in love with Bell. She had chuckled when Loki came to her to rant, that apparently Bell had tried to charm her super cute Riveria, even making sure to be on good terms with her blond "princess". Loki made a wild guess, maybe Bell got actually sent by Zeus, to take revenge on them by charming all of their cuties!
That thought was ridiculous.
As if Zeus would go to such lengths to get his revenge. And from where would he know Bell? Hah! I bet Loki even thinks that Bell is something like a secret child of Zeus´ and Hera´s familias! As if something like that could ever happen!
She looked at Heith again, her soul pulsed calmer now, in the rhythm of her heartbeat.
"This is one of my favorite places in Folkvangr, even during the daily training, it is quite quiet up here."
"It is really pretty up here."
"Heith, do you like it in the familia?"
"Hm?"
"Please be honest with me. I don´t mean only to be in my presence, do you like it here? Or...do you wish to be somewhere else?"
"Somewhere else? Lady F-..I mean...F-Freya...do you...want to send me away?"
Freya could see that Heith´s soul now pulsed with the colors of fear.
"No, silly. Of course, I don´t want to send you away. I just want to know what you think of the familia. And please...be completely honest with me, alright?"
"I..."
Freya showed her an amorous smile. "Al...right...?"
"H-Hay..."
And so Heith started to tell her, it was no surprise that she didn´t like the familia, the only thing here that she liked was Freya. Well and to Freya´s surprise, Horn. It seemed like Heith and Horn got along quite well, which was a surprise for Freya since Horn barely liked anyone. Most of the familia, especially the high executives, wasn´t to Heith´s liking, but she got along well with the other women in her room. But overall...Heith disliked the familia, the constant beating and fighting, getting stronger was one thing, but she felt frustrated to heal herself, just to get cut and beaten again.
Yet her love for Freya drove her forward.
They chatted for a while, then Freya wanted to confirm something.
"Heith?"
"Yes?"
"Do you remember the banquet evening?"
"I do."
"When you danced with that quite charming young man?"
"H-H-H-Huh?!"
Heith´s soul was immediately set ablaze again when Freya mentioned Bell. It shone so brightly red, even more, when Heith remembered how Bell had complimented her red hair, comparing it to the shine at dawn. Heith´s soul was overflowing with red color, so much that it looked like...
It looked like...
Her soul was forming into a beating heart...
Heith again clenched her heart. "Irgh...the wound..."
Oh dear heavens, Heith! How much of a pure maiden in love can one be?! You even make me blush with how innocent, cute, adorable, and shy you are! Your soul is forming into a heart when you just hear Bell mentioned...have some shame!
"Are you sure it´s a wound?"
"What else...*pant*...could it be?"
Hah...she is too innocent and pure to ruin this and just tell her.
"I just hope you get better soon, maybe my presence can ease your pain a little."
Freya kept hugging her follower from the side, only a tiny bit out of jealousy. Something in Freya´s heart, the part of her being a Goddess of Love, forbids her to do something completely against Heith´s blooming love, it was really cute to see. But she wouldn´t allow Bell to take her precious Heith away.
Yet Freya also felt more and more attracted to Bell herself.
So maybe...
Letting Bell conquer Heith´s heart so that she maybe would drift away from Freya was out of the question...but loving him together...that would be...maybe nice?
Could he maybe be my Odr?
In her mind, Freya set plans in motion, first Bell had to meet Syr...or herself? She had to think about that.
After half an hour, Heith swayed slightly and yawned.
"Tired?"
"Very..."
"Hehe, come then."
Heith was too tired and exhausted to notice where Freya led her. But she didn´t complain as Freya gently pulled her into her bed, hugging her like a living body pillow. This calmed Heith down and gave her wonderful dreams.
And while Freya watched her sleeping follower, she thought about other things. Heith wanted to get stronger, but she didn´t like it in the familia or the baptism.
And Astrea was still owing her a favor for the day she sent Ottar into the dungeon, where he had encountered the trap of the Rudra familia and that strange irregular monster. After the incident, Ouranos had sent her a message and wanted to talk to her in private. Freya was not to say even one word about this strange irregular...at least not to anyone else, despite the people she already told about it, namely Astrea and Loki...as well as her high executives. Hedin had a guess it might be a special irregular, maybe spawned by the dungeon due to the immense damage that the Rudra familia unleashed.
"Sweet dreams, my adorable Heith...I will make sure to make you happy.~~~"
Freya heard slight rumbles in the sky, and a while later, the sound of raindrops hitting her windows. She wasn´t worried about the furniture on the terrace, the rooftop was built in a way to protect it. But sleeping with a soft woman in her arms while it started to rain outside, was quite nice.
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The question was, would it devastate Freya that Heith wouldn´t remain the only one of her cuties to get in contact with Bell? A feline one was soon about to make contact with him.
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"Nyaa..."
Chloe sighed while she lay in her bed, looking out of the window, up to the moon. Heith wasn´t the only one who couldn´t sleep at night.
And the reason was the same white-haired, red-eyed, young man.
That and Chloe´s current situation.
For almost a month now, she was forced into the Astrea familia, acting as the familia´s...well mostly Bell´s...personal maid, together with Lunor. But Lunor didn´t come at some days, following the order of Astrea to help Demeter with the fieldwork. Chloe wasn´t allowed to visit Njord, since he was in Melen.
Most of the time her situation was neutral. Astrea was fair towards her, never harsh or cruel, yet not too friendly, since the goddess was still mad at her and Lunor. They could´ve investigated more, then they wouldn´t have attacked and seriously hurt Bell. Since the goddess was also his lover, Chloe could understand why she was mad at her. Most familia members weren´t too friendly to them, not cruel or something like that...but also not friendly.
With the exception of Haruhime...and Bell.
The small fox girl was an angel, Chloe believed that she couldn´t even curse. Haruhime was always nice to them, even when she was cruel in her own way, by being better than them in various tasks. But Chloe and Lunor did their best to get better, yet when Chloe managed to beat Haruhime in a task, her heart hurt when she saw Haruhime sobbing. Neze, Haruhime´s big..adoptive...sister, had held Haruhime and bared her fangs at Chloe, growling slightly. Even Astrea had looked upset, that she made her little angel cry.
Haruhime´s tears had hurt Chloe more than their glares!
Thankfully it was the only time that Haruhime got so sad, she was still very friendly and polite towards Chloe.
And then there was Bell...
"Hah..."
She sighed again.
Bell. Bell. Bell...
He had stolen Chloe´s heart...there was no denying it...Chloe was in love.
Bell was a perfect gentleman. He had a perfect butt. Was so friendly towards her. Had a perfect butt. Was always polite, and often helped her with a few things in the house. Also, he had a perfect butt. And he was pretty handsome.
And had a nyautiful butt...
About a week after Chloe´s punishment started, she had seen just how purrfect Bell´s butt was.
One of her duties on that day was to clean the bathroom. For some reason there was a strange rabbit sign hanging on the door, Chloe didn´t understand what it was for, but she opened the door and went inside. There she saw him.
Standing with his bare back towards her, after taking a shower and drying himself.
Bell.
In all his naked glory, standing there with his purrfect butt towards her. Chloe had immediately started to drool, even after she gulped heavily, she still drooled.
He was just...perfect!
Her eyes were glued to that spot. She wanted to touch it. Grope it! Bite into it! Use it as a pillow! Fondle it to her heart´s content!
And after he was surprised, asking her why she came inside, Chloe explained she didn´t know he was in there. Bell didn´t even get mad! He explained calmly to her what the rabbit sign meant.
What she had seen never left Chloe´s dreams again...what a body he had. And after he put on his underwear and turned around to her, Chloe saw just how muscular and delicious Bell´s body was!
He was, by all means, absolutely Chloe´s type!
Which only increased her problems...feeling bad about attacking him...and then his familia...there was no way she could make a move on him. And he probably only acted nice, maybe deep down he hated her.
"Nyah..."
This didn´t make her situation easier, she tried her best to look like a cool beauty, because Lunor got bonus points on her own, by still being a clumsy maid. While her efforts were enough to fool most of the familia, it felt like the captain and the goddess easily saw through her.
And of course...Bell.
All too often he looked at her with a compassionate expression. Not because he took pity on her, but because he seemed to notice how much of a scaredy cat she actually was. As if he could see right through her mask.
How often did he ask her with a gentle smile if she was alright? She was the one who tried to kill him! Had stabbed him! And yet he was so nice to her! But his familia didn´t like her! He was absolutely her type, was so charming, handsome, all that and more!
"It´s unfair, Nya..."
She sighed again, Chloe had done that often recently. One of her ears twitched when she heard slight noises from the room next to her.
Bell´s room.
She heard him turning in his bed, it was one of these rare nights when he slept alone. Just from the sounds alone, Chloe could identify all familia members. The blond elf was the shyest, when she went to Bell´s room, Chloe always heard her knock shyly. She never did more than cuddle and sleep together with Bell. Most of them only slept and cuddled with him, but a few times, Chloe heard noises that could only belong to a certain activity. Secretly she had expected Bell to do it every night, with more than one of them, but it wasn´t like that. Not that she had a problem with hearing it, the sounds were strangely muffled, but if she put her ear onto the wall, she could hear it.
And to imagine how Bell moved up and down...how his nyautiful butt was bare in the moonlight...Chloe was almost as much of a pervert as she was a scaredy cat.
"Hahnya..."
Her ears twitched again, but this time because she heard the sky rumbling.
"Oh no..."
Chloe was afraid of thunder, loud noises in general, due to her sensitive ears, but thunderstorms scared her especially.
When the first lightning bolt exploded over the house, Chloe yelped and tried to hide her head under her pillow, her whole body was shivering.
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And Bell...heard that.
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"Eeek!"
Haruhime too yelped when she heard the loud noise, perking up in the bed and shivering heavily, her tail got pushed against her body, and all her hair stood to end. A tanned arm pulled her gently down again, Neze rolled around in bed and hugged her little sister from the side. From the other side came another pair of arms, Astrea´s.
Sometimes one of Astrea´s followers slept in her bed, getting cuddled by the goddess. But Haruhime couldn´t decide if she would sleep next to Astrea or Neze, the adults knew that a thunderstorm was approaching the city. So, following Astrea´s suggestion, Neze and Haruhime slept in her bed.
Like this, the small girl was protected from both sides, by her big sister and the one she saw as her mother.
Getting hugged like this was nice, Haruhime felt safe and protected. Not only the touch, but their scent also helped her a lot.
While the thunderstorm was loud, it didn´t scare her anymore.
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Half a day trip away from Orario, a pair of Amazon twins looked up to the sky, not one bit frightened.
"Pretty loud, huh?"
"Yeah, come inside, you´re getting all wet."
"Don´t wanna, I want to see the spectacle!"
"Come in now or I´ll hit you! I can´t have you getting sick on me now!"
"Hay hay...calm down, "big sister"."
The "younger sister" of the two amazons knew that her sister was just worried that she might get sick.
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Chloe tried her best to shield her ears from the thunderstorm, but it didn´t work at all!
Mmmmmmhhh! I´m scared! I´m scared! I´m scared!
She whimpered heavily, tears pooled in the corners of her eyes.
When the loudest thunderclap she ever heard in her whole life exploded over the city, her instinct took over. Chloe was blind from panic, jumped out of her bed, and ran out of her room. Just as she arrived at the one spot where her instinct told her to look for shelter, Bell´s door opened. He was about to go to Chloe, and out of fear, she immediately jumped into his arms. His reflexes when it came to catching a woman were second to none.
"Nya!"
Bell didn´t stumble backward, he held the shivering cat woman. She buried her face in his chest, shivering all over.
"Shh, it´s alright, I´m here."
He quietly closed the door again and walked slowly backward, and Chloe followed. Eventually they sat down on his bed, and she refused to let go of him. With his left arm around her waist, he gently held her, while his right hand carefully caressed her back. Her arms were wrapped around his upper body, Bell heard her sob.
"Chloe...I´m here."
For a moment, just for a second, she moved her face away from his chest and sobbed while tears streamed down her cheeks. There was no way Bell could send her away, so he just held her while she sobbed. He had to admit, Chloe smelled very nice, a beasty scent in a different way from Neze.
Due to the thunderstorm, it got a bit cold, so one thing led to the next, and Chloe ended up on top of him, his blanket pulled over both.
After a long while, the thunderstorm moved on, and Chloe calmed down a bit.
Bell gently touched her right cheek, he felt that it was wet and tears still came out of her eyes.
"Chloe?"
"Nya...can..nya...stay here?"
The way she looked at him, one eye halfway closed, with her tears rolling over his hand...
He smiled softly. "How can I say no when you look at me like that?"
"Thank nyou..."
And so, for the first time, Chloe ended up sleeping in Bell´s arms, his scent was even better now. For a few hours, she didn´t care about anything else...she really liked this guy.
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Heith, Freya, and Chloe weren´t the only women thinking about Bell that night.
In the north of Orario, inside the Mansion of the second strongest familia...at least according to the Freya familia members...sat one woman in her bed, trying to read, but the thunderstorm outside, and being very annoyed made it hard for her.
Riveria looked with an unhappy expression to her right side. It was empty, no one was there.
"That man..."
She clicked her tongue, something that most elves would be shocked to see coming from the princess.
Normally during a thunderstorm, there would be a small, blond girl next to her, clinging to Riveria, afraid because of the loud noises. Ais was scared of darkness and thunderstorms because it reminded her of something giant, black, and loud.
So whenever something like that happened, Ais would come running to Riveria´s room, or Riveria would take Ais with her beforehand.
But lately, this didn´t happen anymore...
Because Ais had found something, a new joy.
Potato Snacks.
And when they were in the city two weeks ago, together with Loki and Gareth, Ais wanted to go to a snack store badly. Riveria tried her best so that Ais would eat her vegetables too, but since she had listened to everything in the dungeon, Riveria had agreed to get her a few snacks.
The stall had a small lottery running, the first prize was a big potato snack mascot, holding a small shield.
Ais had no luck in the lottery, she almost started to cry. Loki had no luck either, Riveria was about to give in, and give Ais more money to try it. Then Gareth went forward, bought a bunch of tickets, and won the first prize on his first try.
When he gave the plushy to Ais, she was so overjoyed that she gave him a thankful kiss on the cheek. Gareth often acted like Ais´ grandfather, he had even started to do that with the young Lena, one of the three amazons that recently joined the familia. These three amazons gave Riveria even more headaches. Aisha and Samira were old enough to walk around in risky clothes on purpose, and even Lena wore typical Amazonian clothes. What made it worse, Lena got along very well with Ais! So Riveria feared the wrong influence!
But Ais now didn´t sleep next to Riveria anymore, because the giant plushy protected her in her dreams. In general, that was a good thing, Ais looked more lively now...but Riveria felt like she had lost something precious...
Of course, Ais still looked up to her, ever since some things had happened in the dark times, Riveria acted more like Ais´ mother than she did with the others.
She was torn...between her joy of Ais becoming more happy and lively...and losing to care for her little one on these nights...
"Hah..."
And there was something else bothering her.
That white-haired, young man!
Riveria wasn´t only upset with him because he had introduced Ais to junk food!
No, it was that sneak attack he did! Suddenly hugging her from behind, trapping her hand between their bodies.
So that she felt...
She felt...
His junk!
And not just some bulge that could be anything else! Riveria felt exactly what he had in his pants! The length and girth of it! If she wanted to or not! Sometimes the enhanced senses and perception of a high-level adventurer could be a curse.
That Loki made fun of her afterward made it only worse.
And...that Riveria dreamed of this day! Dreamed how...how...how good this embrace had felt! Never in her almost one hundred years of age had she felt the embrace of a man, nor did she miss to feel it!
But now this, thanks to Bell Cranel she had foolish thoughts in her head! Riveria cursed herself for this lack of self-control, but sometimes she dreamed of being held by strong arms.
If the elves of Orario knew that Bell was the reason why their princess started to have foolish and slightly lewd thoughts...they would hunt him down.
No one was ever allowed to know that, not even Aina! Especially not Aina! Or Loki!
Ngh...curse you...Bell Cranel...
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While Riveria cursed Bell, Ais was sleeping happily in her bed, hugging "Prince Potato", the plushy would always protect her dreams now.
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.
"Mmmmh..."
"Don´t worry, I won´t say anything, your big sister will always be there for you.~~"
"Shank you...Mar..."
Maryuu gently hugged Iska, as strong as her "little sister" was, even after she grew up into an adult, Iska was still afraid of thunderstorms. Back then when both still were at the orphanage, Maryuu always let Iska sleep at her side when a thunderstorm happened. This didn´t change even after they grew up, it was one of the reasons why they shared a room.
She wouldn´t make fun of Iska for that, Maryuu loved to dote on her.
"Sleep now, little one."
"´Kay..."
"And starting tomorrow, you will also eat your peppers.~~"
"No...not peppers..."
"Ehehe, it was worth a try."
It gave Maryuu great joy that Iska still needed her.
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"Nya..."
In the morning, Chloe woke up quite embarrassed and tried her best to sneak silently back to her room. Which wasn´t easy, Bell´s arms were around her. They lay side by side, facing each other, Chloe couldn´t believe how good Bell smelled. She lay halfway on his right arm, which held her back, his left went around her hip...and his fingers were close to the base of her tail!
Hahnyaaa~~~
She tried to get up, using her right hand on his hip to push her body upwards. But...she didn´t touch his hip, her body betrayed her...she touched his butt. She really had tried not to do that, but her body was honest with its desire.
Hauauauaauuuu~~~~
Finally, she had the chance to touch the "forbidden cake"...and it was wonderful.
Yet Bell´s arms refused to let her go, slightly trying to pull her back into his embrace.
I-I´m the cool beauty here! Nya should be the flirty and teasing oooone!
Eventually, Chloe managed to break free, climbing out of the bed before Bell could hug her again, her heart raced.
Now all she had to do was sneak back into her room.
But...
"Ohjaja?~~ What do we have here, hmmmmm?~~~"
A raven-haired beauty waited in front of Bell´s room when Chloe came out. Gathering all her courage and resolve, Chloe did her best to keep her mask up.
"N-Nya just wanted to wake him up..."
"Mhm, sure.~~"
Kaguya smiled more like a cat right now than Chloe ever could.
"Wh-What?"
Kaguya´s smile widened into a smug grin, she pointed at the side of her neck.
"You have a hickey."
"Unya!"
Chloe´s hand flew up to cover her neck, when did this happen?!
"Hah, you fell for it."
"Urgrml..."
"What a naughty cat we got in our house.~~~"
Chloe didn´t know how to respond, so she just went back to her room. After she closed the door, her face got even more red.
How could she just run into Bell´s arms?! What was that?! How could her instinct "betray" her like that?!
Unyaaaaaaah!
It was probably the most embarrassing moment in her life...so much for being a cool beauty...
When Kaguya followed Chloe with her eyes, she smirked again. She got more than one idea for teasing now since she clearly had noticed Bell´s scent on Chloe.
This will be fuuuuuun.~~~
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During breakfast, Chloe was very quiet, since a week ago, Astrea had insisted on her sitting at the table with the others. She still did her best to fulfill her maid work for Bell. But today, every single one of them...except for the oblivious Haruhime...noticed that something was strange.
Neze raised an eyebrow when she looked at Bell, then at Chloe, then back at Bell again.
Kaguya grinned. "And, Bell, did you have a good sleep?~~~"
"Ahm...yes?"
"Hehe~~~" When Kaguya looked at Chloe, the cat woman averted her face.
Haruhime looked up at Neze. "What is wrong?"
Astrea smiled. "Nothing, Haruhime, everything is well."
Neze just nodded, but Bell felt her tail moving along his leg since she sat next to him. Her instinct told her to mark Bell with her scent again.
"Hmm~~ Hmm~~ Hmmm~~~~~"
Ardee hummed happily, not caring about the situation, she was too happy that today she would have Bell all for herself, going on a date with him.
"Bell!"
"Y-Yes?"
"When will we leave?!"
"Ahm...right after breakfast?"
"Wonderful! Haaaah!~~~ I´ve been looking forward to this date for weeks now!~~~"
Ardee beamed brightly, all of them could see the pendant that Bell had gifted her, hanging on top of her clothes, a clear sign of how happy she was.
Haruhime looked curious. "What is a "date"?"
Neze smiled. "When a man and a woman love each other and spend the day together, doing things that are fun."
"Oh!"
Haruhime´s eyes went back and forth between Bell and Ardee, she got slightly red and giggled in the unique way of children. In the stories that she loved so much, there were also lots of romantic elements, mostly ending with a kiss and the phrase "then they lived happily until the end of their days".
Kaguya was the first to finish her breakfast.
"So, gotta go, have much to do today."
Alise looked curious. "Watcha doin´?"
"Private stuff, captain." Kaguya winked, waved over her shoulder, and left the house.
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While the Astrea familia enjoyed their breakfast, in the home of another familia...a small crisis happened.
"Ilta, you have command while I´m busy with the undercover mission!"
"Understood, Big Sis Shakti!"
For once, Shakti let it slip, normally she didn´t like being called this way.
"Hashana, you will observe the northern part, in case they slip away from me, report immediately!"
"Understood!"
"Mokada!"
"It´s Modaka, boss Shakti."
"You will remain to the east. To not, I repeat, do NOT approach the subjects! Only observe and report in case they escape into your direction!"
"Understood..."
"Ibri!"
"Yes, yes! South for me!"
Shakti handed out more orders for the secret undercover observation mission.
Ganesha stood there with his massive arms crossed.
"Shakti, you´re going too far, don´t you think?"
"Not one bit, Ganesha! This mission has to get carried out perfectly!"
"Shakti...Ardee is just going on a date."
"Yes, she is! And I will get the ultimate proof if he treats her nicely or not!"
"Shakti...Juggernaut has already proposed to Ardee, and she accepted, they´re engaged."
"That doesn´t mean he treats her nicely! She deserves to get treated like a princess!"
"And I, Ganesha, am sure he does exactly that."
"Ganesha! You said Ardee is like a daughter to you!"
"As you all are like my children."
"Then "he" will become your son-in-law! He wants to take her hand in marriage!"
"So? Ardee clearly loves him."
"How can you say these words so easily?! Ardee is still a child!"
"She is eighteen, Ardee is a young adult."
"*Gasp* Are you implying that "he" turned her into an adult? I will have his head!"
"Hah...I, Ganesha, will come along..."
It was very, very, very, very, very rare that Ganesha out of all people was the calm one and would act as the straight man.
But the whole familia knew that Shakti was more than slightly nuts when it came to Ardee...
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While Ardee and Bell were busy dressing and getting ready for their date, Kaguya already arrived at her first destination of the day.
This one was the only important one, everything else during the day would just be to kill time...and to not let her familia wonder what was wrong.
Only Astrea knew what she would do today, the goddess had asked her if she should accompany her, but Kaguya had declined.
This was something she wanted to do alone.
And where she went was...the hospital of the Dian Cecht familia. It wasn´t her first time here.
When she went inside, she saw a young healer, one of the newer members of the familia, but apparently already a very strong healer.
As usual, Kaguya went to the room where this healer took care of patients.
"Good morning, Ms. Gojouno."
"Good morning, Amid."
"How are you feeling today?"
"Like always, physically fine."
Amid smiled compassionately. "And emotionally?"
Kaguya frowned. "I´m not the type to talk about my emotions."
"I´m your doctor, currently. And with the process we´re making, your emotional state is important."
"Because of the medicine?"
"Yes, especially the hormones in it."
Kaguya rolled her eyes. "I´m fine...mostly. I can keep my emotions and such in check, if any I get much often horny now. But that´s not really a problem, my Darling helps me with that, I only need to open my kimono, since I wear it in the traditional way, and he is eager to help me."
Amid coughed slightly embarrassed. "Th-Then it is good."
"Is such a topic wrong for a healer like you?"
"This isn´t the problem."
"Then what is."
Amid looked abashed to the side. "I´m only fifteen..."
"Oh, sorry. Shouldn´t talk with a kid about sex."
"I´m not a child, plus I´m your doctor."
"But you´re one year away from getting counted as an adult."
"Half a year!"
"Hehe, shall I introduce you to my Darling then?"
"No thanks..."
Kaguya got up from the chair and started to open her kimono. "You need a blood sample today too?"
"Yes, but first "that"."
"Hah...I know, I know..."
Kaguya sat down on a special chair. "You know, normally I only willingly open my legs like that for my Darling, so feel honored."
"I will not."
While Amid started her work very carefully, she tried to continue small talk, to make it less awkward and unpleasant for Kaguya.
"If I may ask, why didn´t you contact the hospital earlier and start the treatment?"
"Well, believe it or not, during the Dark Times, I didn´t have the time, nor feeling the need for it. Before I met my Darling, I accepted the fact that I would never have children. But he is something special, every part of him."
The treatment that Kaguya currently endured, of Amid taking a sample from a deeper part of her, as well as giving blood again, was all to figure out of the Dian Cecht familia could do something against the poison in Kaguya´s body. Even when Bell was immune to it, it still most likely prevented her from becoming pregnant. Just because Bell was immune, didn´t mean that his seed could survive inside her body.
But now that she found a man for herself, one that was also immune to the poison, she had a much better possible future ahead of her.
Kaguya wanted children, wanted to give birth to Bell´s children, get impregnated by him. She had only talked about this with Astrea so far, so the others couldn´t know that Kaguya had probably the strongest desire to bear Bell´s children in her familia. Well judging by how Neze acted lately, maybe on par with her. For the others, except for Maryuu, it was just too early. Kaguya had expected Iska to also go for it soon since she was an Amazon, but she was a strange Amazon.
She twitched when Amid touched something by accident.
"Ouch."
"I´m sorry, I will be careful."
"Sure, Sure."
"I am aware that this isn´t easy for you, it isn´t for any woman."
"Well the rest of my familia doesn´t need to go through this, this surely doesn´t make it easier."
Amid gulped. "So...the rumors about Juggernaut are true?"
Kaguya smirked down to Amid´s face between her legs. "That he got us all? Well, take it how you want, that we are his harem or he is our boy toy. Love comes in many forms."
"I-Impressive..."
"Oh he surely is, and you know what´s the best thing?"
"Do I want to know it?"
"As soon as I´m cured, I will not let him leave the bedroom until I´m knocked up. And believe me, he can keep up with that."
"I didn´t need to know that..."
"I thought it might be important for the treatment and finding a cure."
"Why would it? I don´t have any desire to hear something about your sex life."
Kaguya shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, as I said, the medicine and hormones make me quite horny and a bit weird."
"Then I hope it gets better and we actually achieve it."
"Me too. The only other option would be to go back to the Far East and get the antidote from my Clan. Not looking forward to doing that. Would need to bring my entire familia, and even then things would get nasty."
"Why is your clan doing something horrible like that anyway?"
"Keeping the bloodline pure."
"Hm."
"I´m not a fan either, trust me, the Far East is often as bad as the dark times were."
After Amid was done with taking a sample that way, Kaguya could dress herself again.
"I need your arm now, the blood."
"Hay Hay, don´t take too much."
"Of course not, I´m a pro."
Whenever Amid said that a small spark flashed next to her eyes.
While Kaguya watched how Amid came closer with the syringe, she hoped they really would make it.
Kaguya really, really wanted to get impregnated by Bell.
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"The next time we will take you with us to the bookshop, alright?"
"Mhm."
It had been hard for Bell and Ardee to resist Haruhime´s puppy eyes. After she asked what exactly someone would do during a date, they told her one location they would go to. And Haruhime absolutely loved the bookshops in Orario.
Astrea put a hand on Haruhime´s head, smiling gently. "How about then today you help me and Neze with the flowers?"
"Yes!"
Haruhime loved the garden, Kaguya had even shown her the part that belonged to her alone, where she took care of three bonsai trees and some other Far Eastern things. But no one was allowed to go there when Kaguya wasn´t at home, and Haruhime would never go there without Kaguya´s permission.
Bell offered Ardee his arm. "Shall we go then?"
"Yes.~~"
Both left the grounds of the familia, other members already planned what they would do with Bell during their next dates.
Seeing Bell lovey-dovey with his familia members, during separate dates, would lead to him getting cursed by many men, mortals, and gods alike, in Orario.
Kaguya would be the first to tell many men and gods with a naughty grin. "You think we would´ve looked at you even if Bell wasn´t there? Really? At you?"
For a moment, Bell thought he saw a familiar, burly, muscular figure. But then he noticed it was someone else.
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Shakti spoke into her communication crystal, it was one of the most expensive possessions of the familia, and they only had a few.
"The operation is now ongoing, every report, pay attention."
She got answers, every single one sounded annoyed, and if the bearer of the crystal was rolling their eyes, not that Shakti cared.
"Ganesha, you stand out."
"What are you saying, Shakti? I, Ganesha, am wearing a perfect disguise!"
At first, Ganesha wanted to go without his mask, there was no way Bell and Ardee would recognize him then. And...it was almost as if it was a curse, but Ganesha was actually very handsome, and so going without a mask would draw attention.
So he went with different clothes today, a type of pants that the gods created, called Jeans, a leather jacket over his bare upper body, and a...bull mask.
Of course, people noticed it, but for those who saw Shakti briefly, they simply thought that he was another member of the Ganesha familia, so nothing too unusual. And Shakti kept herself perfectly hidden.
This mission just had to be a success!
"Shakti, don´t you think you´re a bit obsessed with him?"
"He wants to put his hands on my baby sister!"
"I repeat myself, Ardee is an adult."
"Be quiet now, Ganesha."
The sturdy god shook his head. "Are you aware of the term "Stalker"?"
"Shh, not now, we have to follow them."
Ganesha hoped this date would turn out the right way, that Shakti would finally see how much Bell cared for Ardee, and how happy he made her.
They followed Bell and Ardee at a safe distance, Ganesha couldn´t help but smile under his mask.
"Do you see the dress she´s wearing? In the past, she wouldn´t show her arms, legs, or even her face."
"I see it."
Ardee was wearing her white, frilly dress, while she had a large, white hat, it was mostly to protect herself from the sun and for fashion, not to hide her scars.
"And I guarantee you since she told me that directly, Bell is the reason why Ardee became like that again."
"I´m aware...she told me too..."
"See? He is good for her. And look how much he protects her with his glares alone before anyone could even think of making a comment."
"I would personally whip anyone to tears to would dare to do that."
Before Ganesha could reply, he saw something.
"Aww, isn´t that sweet? I, Definitely-Not-Ganesha, must say so."
Ardee went closer to Bell and leaned her head against his while they walked, the sun hat dangled in her left hand. When she separated her head from his again, Ardee smiled amorously at Bell, then she raised the hat in front of their faces, leaned forward, and kissed him. Since Shakti and Ganesha walked behind them, they could still see it.
"Heh, how sweet."
Ganesha chuckled, yet he could hear how Shakti ground her teeth, not happy with the sight.
But when they separated their lips, both saw how happy Ardee smiled. With swift steps, she went ahead, taking Bell´s hand and pulling him after her.
The gods called this "Follow me".
"Irgh...she is so cute and innocent." Shakti clasped her left hand over her heart.
Ganesha had to agree when Ardee turned halfway around and smiled brightly at Bell, caring not one bit about her scars. What Ganesha saw there, was true happiness.
"She loves him, no doubt."
To his surprise, Shakti was quiet for a moment.
"Come now..."
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Ardee´s eyes never stopped to sparkle while she listened to Bell. They read a book together "Cadmus and Diva", which was a story about a beautiful Diva, singing a song that gave the hero Cadmus the power to slay an evil dragon. As usual, Bell knew more about this story than any other person Ardee ever met. She knew the reason for that, Bell´s grandfather was Zeus after all.
"Waaaah!~~~ You know so much about these stories, it let them shine in a new light for me."
"I´m glad that this makes you happy."
She smiled amorous. "Every second I spend with you makes me happy.~~"
"Ardee, I-"
She looked down at the book, then glanced shyly up to him, blinking a few times. He knew exactly what that meant, it was a small play between them. Bell leaned slowly over to her, Ardee pretended to be surprised by his action.
"E-Eh? B-Bell, wha-Mhhh~~~~"
Ardee sighed happily when Bell´s lips touched hers, due to a happy shiver, the pendant that he had gifted her moved slightly.
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"Oh look, Definitely-Not-Ganesha, an interesting book..."
"Shakti...shall we end this? You want to spy on your little sister, yet get embarrassed when she kisses him. Isn´t that the point of your stalking?"
Shakti smiled in denial. "Whatever you´re talking about.~~~"
"Shakti...I, Defintily-Not-Ganesha, fear you have a problem..."
"Is it wrong to try to be protective of a little sister inside and outside of a dungeon?"
"To this extent...yes."
"And you´re not worried because of your "daughter"?"
"When she is with him? Not one bit. Also, I would love nothing more than to see Ardee in a wedding dress, maybe even walk her to the altar, where he is waiting for her."
Shakti got a dream-like expression. "Ardee...a bride...hah...one day, when she´s grown up into an adult."
"Ardee is an adult."
"Yes, in the future.~~~"
"Shakti...you scare me..."
"Lalala~~~"
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Bell and Ardee spent two and a half hours in the bookshop. To be able to stay there for so long, without raising suspicion, Shakti and Ganesha had to look around and buy a book now and then. Shakti didn´t even look at what books she bought, but Ganesha noticed it.
A few of them were for weddings, wedding dresses, and similar stuff.
Deep down you have already accepted him, you don´t want to confirm if he is good for her. You just want to see Ardee happy, since she is the last living relative you have. You might go more than a bit crazy, but you´re a good big sister.
Eventually, Bell and Ardee left the book shop, after buying two picture books for Haruhime and themself. The books were quite expensive since the pictures were drawn by a goddess, so every single one was a true masterpiece. But for Bell, money didn´t matter in that case.
Next, they went to another shop, and Ardee again pulled Bell behind her. To visit this shop was important for their upcoming trip to Melen.
When Shakti saw what kind of shop it was, she started to fume.
"I will whip him! I will whip him to tears! Let me go, Ganesha! I have to get in there and rescue Ardee!"
"No. Leave these two alone, they are old enough to go in there together."
"What are you saying?! He will ogle at Ardee!"
"Shakti, no."
Even when she was a level five, Ganesha was surprisingly stronger than her.
The shop that let Shakti fume in rage, sold swimsuits and bikinis. She couldn´t know that the next shop they would visit afterward, would let her faint.
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"Hehe~~ Thank you for coming with me, I really really want your opinion on my new swimsuit...or bikini."
"And I will gladly give you my opinion."
"Hehe, I´m happy!~~~ Come!"
Shakti didn´t want to believe her eyes, how happily her little sister pulled her boyfriend into such a shop!
She covered her ears and closed her eyes until Ganesha tapped her shoulder half an hour later. Bell and Ardee left the shop again...
And both were blushing for some reason!
"What did he do to my little sister?!"
"That´s something just between them."
"Grml..."
Ardee bought two different bikinis, one was very pure, in her favorite cerulean color, but the other looked like it was made out of leaves...and only meant to be shown to Bell, maybe...during a night date at the sea? What had made both a bit embarrassed, this one got opened at the front.
The next stop was a bit further away, on the way they bought two potato snacks, they bit into their own snack as often as that of the other, it was surely a sweet sight.
But then...
"Urgh..."
Ganesha had to catch Shakti in his arms when she saw what kind of shop Ardee and Bell were going to.
It was...
An Amazonian shop.
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.
.
No one from their familia knew that they were here, and no one was ever allowed to know that. Because Ardee didn´t have any good excuse, except that she was slightly curious.
But the true reason was forbidden to get out.
Bell and Ardee loved heroic stories very much, they liked to talk about some characters, and they liked especially the romantic parts of the stories. Sometimes they talked about it, how the relationships between some heroes were.
And sometimes they like to fantasize about it, and sometimes...these fantasies go a bit further.
Ardee...liked to do what the gods called "Cosplay".
And Bell liked it too, they did it together. Sometimes, these plays became very amorous...and steamy.
But not every time, most of the time they just did it for fun, with him dressing up like Argonaut, Ardee for example like Ariadne, and then they read the story together.
They were about to enter the shop, when they heard a very loud noise, of cracking stone, breaking wood...and screams.
Only a glance was shared between them, even when they were on a date, they were still part of the Justice familia.
Ganesha was too busy to carry the unconscious Shakti home, the other members of the familia had given up the observation and were somewhere else in the city.
While Bell and Ardee ran in the direction of the noises, both ran past a certain shop, with enormous display windows. In there was a mannequin, wearing a beautiful, wide, white wedding dress.
Ardee´s eyes widened, they flew to Bell, sparkling. Bell saw it too, he smiled and offered her his hand. She gladly took it, looked one last time at the wedding dress, then they went past the shop.
This was the kind of dress she wanted to wear when the day was there.
There were at maximum a bit over ten months left since Bell followed the tradition. He intended to marry Ardee one year after proposing to her.
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.
The sound of the fight came closer, both didn´t have weapons with them, but that wouldn´t stop them. Ardee had her healing magic, Bell got trained to fight without a weapon, and he had his magic too.
To their enormous surprise, a few gods came running in their direction, some of them...cried.
"Such a shaaaaame!"
"I really wanted them!"
"Me too!"
"Me three!"
"They are too violent!"
"My poor children!"
"Argh! Dian will cost us so much to get them healed!"
More than a few other people followed the gods, all of them beaten up.
Bell shouted. "What happened here?! Did you get attacked?!"
"Argh! It´s the Juggernaut!"
"Charmer of women!"
"Fiend!"
A goddess chirped. "Oh my~~~ So handsome.~~~"
Most male gods cursed Bell.
The fight continued, so Bell and Ardee followed the noise. Just as they wanted to turn the corner, a male adventurer came flying backward out of the alley.
They were prepared to fight, but surprised about the sight before them.
A duo of amazons were there, beating up some people, standing on a pile of beaten-up bodies. One wore a skirt, not even reaching her knees, and a short, white top, had short hair...and was pretty flat.
The other wore tights, a brassiere, had longer hair, and a modest chest.
If Bell had to guess, he would say they were around fourteen or fifteen years old.
"Hey! What´s going on here?!"
"Hm?" The short-haired amazon looked up while she punched a guy in the face, sending him to the ground. "More?"
"Tsk, this city is full of weaklings." The long-haired Amazon sent another guy flying with a high kick.
Ardee appeared next to Bell. "Stop this, why are you fighting?!"
"Wadda ya want, huh?!"
Ardee put on her "work face". "In the name of the Ganesha familia, cease this fight immediately."
Bell stood a step in front of Ardee. "We are with the Ganesha and Astrea familias, stop this fighting and explain what´s going on here."
The long-haired Amazon snorted. "Stay out of this, they challenged us."
The short-haired grinned. "They wanted to fight us. If we lost, we would join their familias, but they´re all weak."
Bell frowned. "Fighting is forbidden inside the city."
The long-haired shrugged her shoulders, she looked pretty pissed. "Don´t care about the rules you make up."
"It´s a city-wide rule."
Ardee turned her face halfway around to the gods who were busy picking up their beaten-up adventurers. "And everyone who breaks the rule will get punished by my familia."
Most of the gods turned pale.
The long-haired kicked another guy away, who was already on the ground.
"I said stop it!"
"Fuck off, no man tells me what to do!"
The short-haired grinned and cracked her knuckles. "Tione, maybe they want to fight too? Maybe they´re stronger?"
"Pff, Tiona, look at them, he is the sort of fine guy, only talking. And look at scar-face, no one that has such scars can fight properly."
Ardee´s expression went blank for a moment, she took half a step backward and slightly pulled her hat down, covering the scar and her half-blind eye.
Maybe the young Amazon was just pissed, but these were the worst words she could´ve spoken.
Bell growled with a sinister expression. "Apologize. Right now."
"Hah?! Are you freakin´ nuts?!"
He took a step forward, making fists. "I said, apologize to her."
A vein twitched on Tione´s forehead. "Make me, shitty nice-guy."
The other one, Tiona, looked pretty careless. "Oy, Tione, scars are actually a good sign, just look at her arm and l-"
"STOP POINTING THAT OUT!"
It was one of the rare times when Bell got enraged and screamed. Her scars were a very sensitive topic for Ardee.
Bell opened and closed his fists. "If you don´t apologize to her right now, I will make you."
Tione´s expression turned sinister. "You will regret looking down on us."
Bell saw that Ardee was close to shedding a tear, her scars were her vulnerable point after all.
He stepped to Ardee, and started to open his jacket...then he pulled his shirt off, standing there with a bare upper body.
"Huh?!" Ardee looked perplexed when Bell held his clothes to her.
"I don´t want them to get dirty, can you hold them for a second, my love?"
"Y-Yes..."
When she took the clothes, Bell leaned in and kissed her.
The gods behind them cheered, the male gods also cursed Bell for putting up such a show. But many of them gasped when they saw how muscular and handsome he actually was.
To loosen up his muscles, he let his fists whip forward into the air one time when he turned around. It looked almost as if he was reloading his fists...
Ardee couldn´t help but bite her lower lip, seeing Bell protective and manly like this, stealing her lips after taking his shirt off was...quite nice.
Bell rolled his shoulders while he came closer, flexing his muscles a bit, it wasn´t meant to intimidate the two amazons, but as a small show for Ardee.
Tiona held her hands crossed behind her head. "Which one of us you wanna fight?"
He showed them a serious face. "Both of you at once, it won´t take long."
"Oh?" Tiona took her hands down, grinning.
Tione almost fumed. "Don´t get cocky! Shitty lover boy!"
Bell raised his right hand, waving at Tione. "Then come at me, girl."
He could easily see that Tione was agitated, angry opponents tended to make mistakes.
With a war cry, Tione charged at his right side, Tiona came from the left. Both of them punched with their full strength at once. Not one of the other adventurers made it necessary to go all out.
A double slap echoed when Bell caught their fists with his bare hands.
He didn´t even flinch.
"Eh?!"
"Huh?!"
"Hnnnnngh!" Tiona pushed with all her strength, using her free hand to support her arm.
Tione did the same, she also dealt a straight punch at Bell´s cheek.
No movement.
"This fight is already over, give up."
Tione´s face exploded with rage, she tried to break free. Tiona also tried her best, but she was more amazed by him.
Then Bell started to squeeze.
"Gaaah!"
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
Tiona dropped to her knees, trying to pull her hand back. "Owie! Owie! Why are you so strong?!"
Tione refused to go down, punching at his arm with her free hand, but it felt like she was hitting stone!
Tiona yelped when Bell suddenly pulled her close and dealt a straight headbutt, she staggered, and he grabbed her shoulder and threw her behind him like it was nothing. With a grunt, Tiona landed on the ground next to Ardee, unable to move. She held her dizzy head, looking confused.
Ardee, who felt a bit bad about the young, cheeky Amazon, crouched down and held her hand over Tiona´s head, mumbling.
"Dia Kaumundi."
While the dizziness slowly vanished, Tiona´s body refused to get up.
Bell glared down at Tione. "Give up, and apologize to Ardee."
"I will not give up! Screw you!"
Since his other hand was free now, he used it to grab Tione´s other hand, squeezing both of them. She did her best not to scream, but it hurt. Slowly, while fighting against it, she broke down to her knees, he overwhelmed her with his far greater strength.
"This brings me no joy, you´re too hot-blooded."
"I will not yield!"
"Then...I will make you."
"Wh-Iargh!"
He pulled her suddenly close, grabbing both of her wrists with his right hand, and pulling her to the side while raising his right knee. Tione ended with her stomach on his knee, facing to the side. She turned her face to shout at him, in this moment, his left hand collided with a clearly audible slap with her behind.
"Aaah!"
"Will you apologize now?!"
"No!"
"Then..."
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Each time his hand spanked her behind, Tione cried out. But she didn´t cry, she wouldn´t cry.
"Submit."
"Screw y-AAH!"
While Ardee healed the very impressed and still confused Tiona, who had a very bright expression for some reason...maybe because she could see one of the books inside of Ardee´s paper bag, Bell kept spanking Tione.
He would make her submit, but he didn´t want to beat her to a pulp, so spanking her butt was the best option for him.
It took him five whole minutes until she cried out.
"Fine! I yield!"
His hand stopped centimeters from her...now pretty red...behind.
Bell carefully dropped her, Tione crouched on the ground and whined, holding her behind.
"Orario can be a dangerous place. Just so you know it, I´m level five, and not the strongest in the city."
"Uungh..."
It didn´t look like Tione was able to stand up, so Ardee walked over, crouched down, and healed her too.
Bell looked at Tione with a stern expression, the young amazon gulped for some reason.
"Will you apologize now?"
"I´m sorry..."
Her cheeks darkened.
Ardee nodded, accepting the apology.
After the pain in Tione´s behind got numb, she slowly got up again.
"What now? You beat us."
"Now? If you stop the fighting, we will go our way."
"Mh.."
Tiona wobbly came up to her feet, staggering over to her sister, it was obvious that both were related.
They left the amazons in the alley, and while they walked out, Bell started to dress himself again, he noticed that Ardee´s eyes were glued to his muscles.
"My eyes are up here."
She smiled. "I´ve made my choice."
"Hehe."
"I´m happy that you got angry for my sake, protected me."
"And I will do so for the rest of my life, my love."
"Hm...a hero needs a reward, you know?"
"And what kind of reward do heroes get in the stories?"
"Oh, I think you know exactly what kind of reward.~~~"
This time, it was Ardee who stole his lips, very happy how he fought for her sake. She wasn´t weak either and would´ve fought Tione alone, but having someone talk and make fun of her scars caught her off guard.
They continued their date, standing a long time in front of the shopping window with the wedding dress, while Ardee leaned her head against Bell´s.
Despite the fight, it became a really nice day. While they walked, they met a smith from the Hephaistos familia by chance, telling Bell that Tsubaki wanted to see him when he had time, his sword and armor were ready.
.
.
.
.
"Eh?"
"Huh? What are you two doing here?"
When they went home, twin amazons stood at the entrance to the grounds of their familia.
Tione looked...abashed...to the side.
Tiona raised her hand and grinned.
.
.
.
.
"Can we join your familia?"