Author`s Note: This chapter and the following ones will contain spoilers for Familia Chronicle 3: Episode Ryu, where Ryu goes to visit Astrea before she returns in LN 18.
I will use the characters, location, and only slightly what happens there, but of course in a changed form. So only the start of the visit will be very similar, after that, my own way (as usual).
For the characters, I know the details about Astrea's new captain. For three others I only know the names. So the design for each of them is my own, which means in the actual LN they will most likely be very different.
Currently got tons of ideas for this story, a few already appear in this chapter. I can´t answer questions about Revis and the Lamia (who knows who she is?...well it´s quite obvious...), or I would spoil the story.
Jose19: While it looks weird that Freya would just give up on Bell, I actually followed what Omori wrote in his Ryu What-If? Where exactly this happened after Bell´s soul changed slightly when he fell in love with Ryu.
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Solingen.
They had finally arrived.
It had been a long trip to get here. The city was quite big, not nearly as big as Orario, but quite big. Thick walls surrounded the city, and the gate that they were heading too was heavily guarded.
Bell could see patrols on the street that led to the city, as well as others further away, where the fields of the city were. Probably to guard the fields against monsters and bandits.
The city felt much different from Orario, not as carefree if he had to give it a name. Also, thick clouds of smoke rose from the city, more located in the eastern part. It was known as the "Sword-forging-City" for a reason. And from what Bell heard from Welf, the Hephaistos familia had relations with one or two smiths here.
Ryu was quiet, completely quiet. She had pulled up her hood and the mask, covering her body and face as much as possible. Not even her beautiful, blue eyes were visible, hidden in the shadow of the hood.
"Shall we go?"
The hood only tilted slightly forward one time. Bell couldn´t even guess how Ryu had to feel at the moment, probably more than just nervous...afraid and scared even.
There weren´t that many people moving towards the city, but Bell noticed a certain pattern among these people. Most almost rushed towards the city, and only after they passed the first patrols, they slowed down and relax a bit. He had to remind himself, that the lands far away from Orario were much different and not even coming close to being safe.
One of the reasons why he and Ryu could travel without problem was their high level. And there was a good chance, that no one inside this city came even close to their strength. In fact, if they had evil intentions, both could probably even destroy the city. On the other hand, probably not. A goddess like Astrea might even sacrifice herself and smite attackers who threatened to destroy the city and kill everyone with her Arcana. Resulting in her returning to heaven, but saving the city.
At least Bell believed that such was the nature of Ryu´s beloved goddess.
With his experience and perception, Bell guessed that the guards at the gate were all level one, except maybe for their commander, who looked stronger, so maybe level two.
All of them wore heavy armor, shields, swords, and spears, with a few archers on top of the wall, and even two people who looked like they could use magic.
They waited in line until it was their turn. All people in line kept their distance from each other, glancing back and forth, making sure no one came too close to them.
Eventually, both got close to the gate.
"Stop. What business do you have in Solingen?"
"Visiting an acquaintance."
"State your intentions with and in Solingen."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you mean the city any harm, plan to cause havoc? State it in your own words!"
"We just came to visit someone, we don´t plan to do anyone any harm, nor threaten the safety of the city."
The commander of the guards at the door turned halfway around, looking at someone who stood hidden in a corner.
"He speaks the truth."
The commander nodded and looked at Bell again.
"Why is your companion hiding in that cape and hood?"
"My companion is not good around unknown people, but won´t do any harm, I swear it."
The commander waited for a moment, but the voice behind him didn´t contradict what Bell said.
"Oh, right, I was supposed to give you this."
Bell slowly pulled a bundle of papers out of his backpack, handing it to the guard´s commander. Hermes gave them to Bell, he didn´t know what was written on them. The deity had only explained, that since he traveled around so much, he knew quite a few places.
"Ah, so you know "him", alright."
The commander nodded.
"You have enough money with you? Even if you don´t have ill intentions, someone without money might get some when they run out of money."
"What we have with us should be more than enough."
"Good."
"May I ask a question?"
"Go on."
"Is it possible to buy a map of the city anywhere? With important locations marked? I swear it isn´t for ill intentions, like spying. But we were never before here and might get lost."
Bell knew that the hidden person was a deity, so he made sure that this deity could see through everything he said and made it very clear what their intentions were.
"Follow the main street, you will reach a marketplace soon, there is a stand that sells maps of the city. But they are expensive."
"I understand, may we enter?"
"Go on."
Ryu made sure to stay very close to Bell, while he went ahead. As soon as they passed the gate, the guards lost interest in them and focused on the next people in line.
"They have a tight security at the gates, but in the city, it looks quite normal."
"Unh."
"I guess they make sure at every gate that no people with ill intentions get inside."
"Unh."
"Shall we go to the marketplace and get a m-Eek!"
Bell had to duck down when a shadow shot past his head, screeching loudly. When he looked up, he noticed what it was.
A hawk.
The hawk screeched again and flew up into the sky, then turning to east, avoiding the rising smoke. Thankfully the wind didn´t move the smoke in their direction, but even like that, the city smelled a bit like smoke and iron.
While Bell and Ryu walked towards the marketplace, the hawk continued to fly east, towards the big forest that lay east of the industrial district. The forest was quite big, wild animals lived there. And it had a single house deep inside it.
This house was the hawk´s target, or rather someone who crouched on top. The hawk was only one meter away, when the left arm of the person shot up, covered in a thick leather glove. With great skill, the hawk opened its claws and landed safely on the special glove.
The other hand came up and gently caressed the hawk´s head, then offering it a small piece of meat.
"Did you have a good fly?"
The hawk cackled.
"No bad people sighted?"
Another cackle.
"Good, the captain and the others are still in the city, come."
The young woman, a blond werewolf, got up to her feet and walked along the rooftop, feeding the hawk on the way.
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While Ryu followed Bell, hearing almost nothing of the city around them, since her heart was beating in her ears, she still glanced at a few places. And often enough at Bell, since his figure calmed her down.
She wondered why Astrea went to a place like this. A city of blacksmiths. Her goddess ruled over Justice, not fire or crafting. Maybe there was a reason? Or she just wanted to be as far away from Orario as possible...
Ryu was very thankful to Bell, he was leading her and talked to people and the merchant who sold the maps. The map came 10.000 Vals, but Bell paid it anyway. It wasn´t a fraud, the map was very detailed, with a legend at the side and important places marked.
"Ryu...follow me..."
"Unh."
He led her to the entrance of a side alley.
"Please...look at this."
He turned the map so she could look at it. At first, her eyes wandered around the map, seeing everything and nothing at the same time. There were symbols to represent where the few familias of the city lived.
Then...she swallowed heavily.
The industrial district was marked, and behind it apparently was a huge forest.
And inside the forest, was a symbol.
A blade with wings at the sides.
"This..."
"Shall we go?"
"Ungh..."
As afraid as Ryu instantly got, seeing that Astrea apparently lived in the forest, made her happy.
"I asked the merchant what that symbol meant, he told me that a familia has their home there."
"A...familia? Not just a goddess?"
"Yes."
"O-Oh..."
"Ryu...the decision is yours."
"I...I..."
Since he noticed her shaking hands, Bell gently moved his left hand down, and encircled her pinkie with his thumb and index finger, just like she had done for him.
"Bell..."
"Take your time, when you´re ready, say it."
"Unh..."
They stood there for five minutes, Ryu´s heart calmed down, went faster, calmed down, went faster...back and forth.
"Let us go."
"Alright."
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Since Solingen wasn´t as big as Orario, they arrived at the outskirts of the forest quite fast. The smell here was much, much more pleasant than in the city...especially the industrial district...
Still, Ryu didn´t take off her mask or hood.
"Bell."
"Yes?"
"Keep your hands away from your weapons, whatever you do."
"I didn´t intend to draw them, I don´t want a misunderstanding with your goddess..or the familia that lives here."
The hood shook slightly while Ryu walked into the forest, there wasn´t a path here, but as usual, she found her way easily.
"Not because of that, I can feel it...spirits live in this forest."
"Spirits?"
"Yes, I´m certain of that."
"And spirits dislike metal?"
"I can´t say for sure how it is for your weapons since you told me the black knife was made by Lady Hephaistos and the white one is made from unicorn horn, but it would be best not to anger them."
"Yeah...we had our share with spirits already..."
Ryu frowned under her mask. "Did you have to bring that up now..."
"I´m sorry..."
What happened due to the spirits was still insanely embarrassing for both.
Bell noticed something on Ryu again, she was starting to lose her self-control, and the closer they got the more nervous Ryu behaved. The fact that she refused to take off her mask and hood, told Bell everything.
Bell had known her for quite a while now and had seen a few sides of Ryu, serious, angry, emotional, and so on. But never had he seen her like this...not even at the start of their travel.
At first, they walked at their normal speed, but then he noticed that she was getting faster, Ryu almost started running before she calmed down again and returned to her normal speed.
This repeated for a while, and Bell was unsure whether or what to say. For now, he followed her and adjusted his speed when necessary.
The "path" was getting moving between the trees, it was a natural one, maybe used by animals. Right when Bell wondered how far they still had to walk, Ryu came to a halt.
"I can´t do it..." She sounded insecure.
Bell waited next to her. "Ryu?"
"Bell I...why are we standing around? Hurry!" Ryu sounded frustrated and practically rushed forward.
This was something new that no one ever taught Bell about, his grandfather shared his wisdom on how to make a woman happy. Over his time in Orario, he even learned how to deal with angry women...well most of the time. He had learned how to comfort a crying girl or that one time, the hopeless Ryu.
But he was never in a situation like this, her mood changed by leaps and bounds. Sometimes insecure, then again frustrated or angry.
Is there something I can do?
Once his grandpa had told him. Listen Bell...when a woman is stressed, just listen, she needs something to relieve her stress.
Was this a situation like he was told? He was pretty sure that Ryu felt stress.
He saw how she shook her head. "Bell...I´m sorry for yelling at you."
"It´s okay."
"No, I shouldn't take my anger out on you..."
They continued walking in silence.
Deeper and deeper they went into the forest, the noises from the city vanished completely after a while. Since he had a little experience of walking through a forest, Bell guessed they had walked over a kilometer already. This forest was bigger than he thought.
Ryu stopped.
"Bell..."
"Yes?"
"Th-There..."
He looked ahead, and in the distance he noticed a natural clearing, and...a house.
"Do you think..."
"Yes..."
"Do you want to wait for a while, or d-"
With a loud screech, something shot over their heads, easily moving between the trees. Bell looked up, it was a hawk...the same hawk.
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"May I ask what brings you to our home?"
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Bell turned confused to the side, there was a person standing there. How could he not notice the woman?! Neither did Ryu!
It was a werewolf, with blond hair and fur, the color looked different from Haruhime´s, but also let her look similar. She was a bit smaller than Bell and Ryu, only her ears let her look taller.
She wore a thick leather glove on her left hand, raising it and waiting, soon the hawk came and landed on it.
But it was her other clothes that caught their attention. Aside from boots, she wore white clothes, fitting to fight in, with a cloak over her left shoulder.
A cloak that was engraved with a symbol.
A blade with wings.
The symbol of Astrea.
Ryu froze when she noticed that, not reacting further, but Bell noticed how she started to breathe faster.
He took it upon himself to talk.
"I wish you a good day. We are travelers, who arrived today in Solingen."
The werewolf raised an eyebrow, and the hawk cackled. "And for some reason you came straight in the direction of our home, why?"
She looked from Bell to Ryu´s hooded figure.
"And why does your companion hide herself like that? I can smell that she is a woman."
"I...my companion isn´t good with people she doesn´t know, an-"
He heard how Ryu took a very deep breath, then she opened her cape a bit, and took off the hood, revealing her face and hair.
"I greet you."
"Oh, an elf?" The werewolf´s ears twitched one time.
"We...I came to see someone."
"And who would that be?"
"Lady Astrea. I too am a follower of Justice."
Silence followed.
The werewolf just looked at her for a moment.
"Oh, it´s "you"."
"Hm?"
"Your name is Lyon, right?"
"I...yes."
Now she smiled slightly. "So the day is finally here. Lady Astrea told us stories about you, and our predecessors. She said that one day you would come to see her."
Bell noticed that Ryu shivered even stronger, her voice was shaking.
"I-Is...she...h-here?"
"Yes, she is in the house."
"O-Oh."
The young werewolf smiled. "My name is Iselina. And I...am the vice-captain."
Ryu´s eyes widened a bit. "Is that s-so."
"I can understand if you are nervous, shall I...go and tell her?"
Not only Bell notice that Ryu was breathing faster and faster and faster, almost hyperventilated. Sweat was forming on her forehead, her eyes looked a bit unfocused.
Bell recognized all of these characteristics.
Pure stress.
Not even on the 37th floor did Ryu look this stressed.
When she removed her mask, the mask of self-control was also removed from her face.
Fear. Hope. Grief. Love. Hopelessness. Admiration.
These and far more emotions washed over her face.
Astrea was in the house, and therefore less than three hundred meters away from her...
Her goddess was now so close...so close...
But would she dare to see them?
How would Astrea react?
Would she complain, cry, judge...scream at Ryu? slap her? Hug her? Banish? Welcome? Take away her blessing?
Iselina waited for an answer that didn´t come. Eventually, Bell made half a step forward.
"I think she needs a moment."
"I will go and inform Lady Astrea that a visitor is here for her."
Ryu wasn´t able to react, not even to nod. She just stood there on the verge of a panic.
Iselina turned around, and walked to the house, the hawk still kept looking at them.
"Ryu..."
Her eyes wandered to him, he saw sheer panic.
"Ryu, I´m here. Everything will be alright."
Her lower lip started to tremble, he saw tears glistening in her eyes. Bell wanted nothing more than to take Ryu in his arms. He felt a gentle touch at his right hand, it was Ryu´s fingers. She was searching for his comfort, hidden by her cape. Without moving much, he took her hand, their fingers even entangled slightly. Bell squeezed very gently, to show her he was there.
Just for a moment, Ryu couldn´t hold back. She moved forward, put her forehead against Bell´s chest, and put her free arm around him. As his natural reaction, he put his free arm around her too, gently hugging her.
Even when her mind would say otherwise, her heart being conflicted, her body knew where it would find comfort and felt safe.
It looked very much like lovers, how they stood there in the forest and hugged. Bell´s calm heartbeat and his scent calmed her down a bit. For two minutes, they just stood there in silence.
Eventually, Ryu moved her forehead away from Bell´s chest, looking up at his eyes.
"Thank you...Bell.."
"Are you alright, Ryu?"
"I...yes...or rather...I will soon be..."
She lowered her eyes, looking at their entangled hands, when she looked up at him again, her cheeks were a bit red, but she looked thankful.
"Bell...can you wait for me? I...have to do this alone."
"Of course. Take your time."
"Thank you...Bell..."
Ryu separated her body from Bell´s and made sure her cape looked proper, but she kept the hood and mask down. Bell watched how she walked slowly to the house. It was a two stories-tall building, made entirely of wood, except for the chimney.
It really was a nice house, despite the different material, it reminded Ryu much of the Stardust Garden. She took everything in that she saw, and breathed the scent of the forest.
The door was opened, and Iselina came out.
"No one is in the house...except for her."
"You...have my thanks."
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Ryu closed the door after she went inside, she had left her weapons with Bell. After making sure that her boots were clean and didn´t bring dirt into the house, she took a deep breath. The living room was almost right behind the entrance hall, but Ryu had to go through a door. Her hand was shaking when she grabbed the handle. With a soft click, she opened the small door.
The living room was pretty big, cozy, warm...a home. With a fluffy carpet in the middle, a few armchairs and couches...it reminded her so much of the living room in her old home.
More tears gathered in her eyes.
And there...in the middle of the living room...she was.
The Goddess of Justice.
Her goddess.
Astrea.
She stood there with her gentle smile, wearing her favorite, white dress. Her indigo-colored eyes looked at Ryu, there was no judgment in those eyes. No condemnation.
Only warmth. Only love for her lost child.
No words fell, not a single one. Ryu just stood there and looked at Astrea, her lower lip trembled even more, she sobbed, two tears ran out of her eyes, and down her cheeks.
Astrea came slowly closer, not too fast, so she wouldn´t scare Ryu.
Ryu wasn´t able to move, she looked like a frightened child.
Eventually, Astrea stood right in front of her, smiling gently.
No words fell.
Astrea just slowly raised her hands, and put them around Ryu, hugging her softly.
Ryu couldn´t move, she almost drowned in that loving hug, overwhelmed by her emotions. It was too much for her, standing here, seeing Astrea again, getting greeted and hugged by her...
Slowly, very slowly and carefully, Ryu put her arms around Astrea, her hands came to rest on the back of her beloved goddess. Astrea´s hug tightened slightly when she felt Ryu returning the hug.
No words fell.
The Goddess of Justice and her lost child just stood there, hugged each other and silent tears ran down their cheeks.
Then, overwhelmed by her feelings, Ryu´s hug suddenly tightened, a sob escaped her lips. Astrea felt the desperation of her child, her hug tightened too. She felt how Ryu trembled, how much her lost child needed her comfort right now.
Ryu buried her face in the crook of Astrea´s neck, while her goddess gently stroked her head. The only sounds were their sobs, as the two finally got reunited again.
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"Welcome home..*Hic*..Ryu."
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"*Hic* I´m back..."
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For almost half an hour, Ryu and Astrea just stood there. The goddess was finally able to greet her child back home, after a long, long time...
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When both were able to slowly move backward, their eyes were quite red.
Astrea turned to a table, and picked up two handkerchiefs, handing Ryu one.
"Thank you.."
Ryu wasn´t ashamed of how loud the sound was when she blew her nose. As a goddess, Astrea had the advantage that she could cry, but her nose never ran. Gods could even catch a cold, but still, their noses would never run.
Astrea smiled slightly. "Ehe, your nose is quite red now."
"Mh.."
"Ryu...shall we sit down?"
"Yes..."
"But please, take your boots off first."
"I´m sorry..."
"It´s alright."
After taking her boots off and placing them near the entrance, Ryu also took off her cape and hung it up on a hook.
When she returned to the living room, Astrea placed two cups on the small table, with a teapot next to them.
"Ehe~~ Now it´s like in the past when I welcomed you home."
"It is...it feels...warm."
Ryu sat down on the couch, next to Astrea, looking at her goddess. Astrea still smiled.
"Lady Astrea...I´m...sorry...so sorry. I betrayed you...betrayed Justice...betrayed what our ideals are...were."
Astrea gently shook her head. "No, you didn´t."
"How can you say that...I...did these horrible things..."
"Ryu, I know all that happened. And you didn´t betray me, nor justice, or one of the others."
"But...how?"
"Hermes wrote letters to me. Hephaistos told me directly, that she sometimes travels to Solingen for business, I met with her. So, I know many things that you did."
"O-Oh..."
"And Ryu?"
"Yes?"
"I couldn´t be more proud of you."
New silent tears rolled down Ryu´s cheeks.
"Please don´t be mad with Hermes, he wrote the letters for my sake. And...could you tell me about these things on your own? He only gave me some details, only enough so that I know...that you still are my child. A defender of Justice."
More tears came, all these friendly words of Astrea tore deep into Ryu´s heart. Cracked it open, pulled out all the fear and negative emotions, and crushed them with her divine gentleness.
Astrea held Ryu´s hands, while her child slowly started to talk. Telling her goddess about what happened after her rampage ended, about Syr, Mia, Anya, and the hostess.
"I´m glad that you found a place for yourself, a home."
"Mh, I can never repay Sir and Mama Mia for all they did for me."
Astrea nodded slightly and looked at the clock.
"Ryu, before we continue...shall we call in the young man that came with you?"
Ryu looked with shock at the clock, she had forgotten the time...had forgotten Bell! They sat here for over an hour now! Which meant she let Bell wait for roughly two hours already.
"Oh, dear heavens..."
"I will make some more tea, can you call him in? And don´t be worried about the others. I asked Iselina to talk to them, to give us a bit of time."
"Unh..."
With a red face, ashamed about forgetting Bell, Ryu walked to the door, put her boots on, and opened it.
She froze.
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"Sharpbeak is a wonderful name."
Bell stood close to the house, about ten meters away. Their backpacks were next to his feet. The werewolf Iselina stood next to him.
And Bell wore the thick leather glove, letting the hawk sit on the back of his hand, feeding it small slices of meat.
"It looks like he likes you, Mr. Cranel."
"I have to say he startled me a bit when we arrived in the city."
"Yeah, he likes to fly close above peoples´ heads. And..oh."
Iselina and Bell turned to Ryu, Sharpbeak cackled again.
"Bell...ahm...Lady Astrea would like for you to come inside."
He smiled when he saw her expression, Ryu looked much better now.
"Of course. Ms. Iselina, can you help me?"
"Sure."
The werewolf took the glove and hawk back from Bell. It looked like he already got along with her quite well.
Ryu could only watch how Bell picked up their stuff and came to the house.
"Sorry...for letting you wait so long..."
"It´s alright, Ryu. Are you feeling better?"
"Yes..."
He didn´t say anything about her reddened eyes. Like her, Bell made sure that his boots didn´t carry any dirt into the house. After closing the door, he took them off and placed their backpacks where they wouldn´t be in the way.
Ryu´s heart beat a bit faster before she returned to the living room, followed by Bell. Introducing Bell to her goddess felt different from what she thought it would be.
Just for a tiny moment, an image flashed in Ryu´s mind. She saw a small Syr sitting on her shoulder, dressed like an angel, with a halo above her head, showing her a thumbs-up. As if she was encouraging her to introduce Bell to...to the person who was in many ways Ryu´s mother figure...
On her other shoulder sat a tiny Alise, dressed like a small devil...showing her the same gesture...
She could even hear mumbling voices in the back of her head, they sounded very much like Kaguya, Lyra, and Neze.
Leon brings a guy home...
Heh, our little one really went ahead of us...
Well, she is at that age now...
Ryu shook her head, now wasn´t the time for something like that, why did these thoughts even come to her mind right now?
Astra had gotten up from the couch before they entered. The goddess chuckled when Bell saw her and gasped.
"I bid you my warmest welcome, Bell Cranel."
"Th-Thank you very much, L-Lady Astrea!"
"Is something wrong?"
"N-No!"
Astrea´s eyes widened slightly when she saw how Ryu slightly poked Bell´s side. It wasn´t jealousy that Astrea saw, but it seemed like Ryu didn´t like how Bell looked at her. She never thought she would see Ryu act like that one day! With a man on top of that!
The goddess looked up and down at Bell for a moment. "So you´re Hestia´s child, the famous record holder."
"You, ahm...heard of me?"
"Of course I did, the rumors about you wander through all the lands. Also, Hephaistos told me about you when she came to the city for business."
"Oh, ahm...ahaha..." He didn´t really know how to reply to that.
Astrea slowly walked towards him, stopping in front of him.
"Is it alright if I call you just Bell?"
"Of course."
"Thank you."
Then, to Ryu´s and Bell´s surprise, Astrea gently hugged him.
"Thank you, Bell. Thank you for bringing my child back to me."
Bell saw how Ryu got red next to him, he didn´t dare to hug the goddess in return. "Y-You´re welcome."
With a warm smile, Astrea moved back. "Now then, shall we sit down? I would like to get to know you better. And hear about a few things from you."
"Alright."
Ryu sat down next to Astrea on the same couch as before. Bell went to an armchair, where he could look at them. Before he sat down, Bell touched the back of his pants and the legs, making sure there was no dirt, before he carefully sat down.
There was a third cup for tea on the table, Astrea got it when Ryu went to call Bell in.
"So, would you tell me a bit about yourself, Bell? And how it came to be that you became the first follower of my aunt?"
"Your...Lady Hestia is your aunt?!"
Astrea giggled. "Yes, she is. Surprised?"
"I didn´t know gods have relatives."
"Oh, a surprisingly large number of gods are related, especially we Olympians."
Being a bit baffled about the revelation, Bell started to tell Astrea how he lived in the village and went to Orario.
"Heh, a man´s romance? If I didn´t know it better, I almost would´ve guessed your grandfather had a close relationship to Zeus, he often talked like that too."
"Maybe he did know him? I never asked grandfather."
"Maybe. Please continue."
Bell continued his story, when he came to the part where Ryu went into the dungeon to save him and his party, the goddess gently took Ryu´s hand, and smiled proudly. He went on, told Astrea about everything that Ryu did on the 18th floor, how she came to save him and Lefiya from the attackers of Evilus after they fought against that strange irregular. And then, the fight against the Black Goliath.
Ryu felt almost unwell when Astrea had small tears in her eyes. Worried because of Ryu brought herself in such danger and immense pride that she did something like that. Bell continued, about the time he went to the casino, and was later told by Syr, what exactly everything was about. That she and Ryu went there to save the young women.
And then...the wargame.
Astrea now held both of Ryu´s hands, looking at her child when Bell talked about all that happened. Since he firmly believed he could trust Astrea, Bell told her about Ryu´s help during the Xenos incident. And later, the 37th floor. The only thing he didn´t say was what happened at the safe spot.
Ryu squeaked slightly when Astrea gently pulled her to her chest, hugging her. This was Astrea´s ultimate hug and her "deadliest weapon". Alise had always bragged about it in the past, how she was the first to get hugged like that. In the past, Ryu was too embarrassed to get hugged like that, but...but...it felt too good...she felt warm, protected.
Home.
"I´m so proud of you, my child. So, so proud."
"Lady Astrea..."
Bell waited for a while, he saw how much Ryu needed this at the moment.
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Eventually, Astrea looked at the clock.
"Oh my, how the time went by...I have to prepare dinner. Everyone will be back soon. And we need rooms for you two."
Bell looked like he felt a bit unwell. "Ahm, Lady Astrea, wouldn´t it be best if I camp outside?"
"Your offer honors you, Bell. This is a house where only women live after all. But no, I won´t allow you to sleep outside. But you have to be careful, while my girls go into the city, they don´t have contact with men in private, especially not in this house."
"I will be careful so that no misunderstandings happen."
"I trust you, after all, you are Hestia´s child. And Ryu said you are worthy of her respect, this is enough for me. You surely don´t look like someone who would peep on a bathing woman, right."
Astrea noticed how Bell and Ryu got a tiny bit red.
"N-Not on purpose."
"What exactly does that mean...Bell?"
"I would never try to peep on a woman."
"You speak the truth..."
Astrea noticed how Ryu slightly averted her face, the tip of her left ear was a bit red.
"I will trust you, Bell. So, before I start with dinner, it is time to introduce you to the others. I can see that Sharpbeak is getting restless outside."
Bell and Ryu followed Astrea´s gaze, outside the window, they could see the hawk flying around.
"So, please wait a moment, you two, I will call in the others."
While Astrea went to the door, Bell noticed that Ryu looked endlessly relieved and yet a bit queasy. After all, the young women who would come inside all wore the same blessing as she did...they were the new members of her familia.
She heard the door clicking, and Astrea mumbling.
"I´m sorry it took so long, my dears."
Voices answered the goddess, but Ryu couldn´t understand them. She felt a bit nervous, Ryu hoped she wouldn´t do something...impolite. After all, she couldn´t escape her elven blood often enough and went too far then...
"Ryu."
She looked at Bell. "Mh?"
He smiled. "You can do it."
"Th-Thanks..."
Then, Astrea finally came inside, followed by six young women.
The first was Iselina, who they already knew, she carried Sharpbeak on her glove and excused herself to go and bring him into her room before she would return.
Two pallums, a cat person, and two humans followed Astrea. All of them wore white outfits, with a cloak on their left shoulder, engraved with the familia´s symbol. Some wore skirts of different lengths, two of them pants. The pants and skirts were black, as well as the gloves that they had. Except for the cat girl, their shoulders were bare, but they had long sleeves, for Bell, it looked like an interesting design. The front part of their jackets had a golden border, and each had a piece of cloth around their necks, looking similar to a necktie, that vanished under their jackets.
And each of them...except for the last one...looked at Ryu curiously. The last one...she looked a bit...grim.
"So, my children. I told you about her, and I thank you so much for giving us time to talk. This is Ryu Lyon, your predecessor. Or...your big sister. And this is Bell Cranel, her companion."
""""Oooh.""""
"Mh..."
"Ryu, may I introduce you? These are Schau."
Astrea pointed with her hand to a pallum, who had brown hair.
"Kella."
The other pallum nodded, this one had black hair.
"Ulanda."
A human girl of maybe sixteen years nodded shyly, her hair was of such a light blond color, that it looked almost white.
"Sumeetess."
The cat girl was like no other that Bell or Ryu had ever seen. Her skin was brownish, a bit brighter than an amazon would have. Also, her ears were round, and not pointy. And then her tail, it was bushy and fluffy, from base to tip. Her hair and tail had a strong, golden color, with dark spots all over.
Bell had heard stories about this kind of cat girls, from his grandfather. In common tongue, they were called "Cheetahs", and apparently came from the south, maybe somewhere in the Kaios desert.
Sumeetess smiled, showing off her slightly longer canines. On the side, Bell and Ryu noticed that her clothes were a bit thicker than that of the others, and covered much of her skin. But not in a way like elves would wear it, out of modesty. It looked more like, to keep her warm.
Then Astrea pointed at the last girl and smiled warmly.
"And this, is Cecil, the captain."
Cecil was a human, but more the smaller kind. She had blue hair, orange eyes, and a pinched facial expression when she looked at Ryu.
Iselina returned before Astrea completely finished the introduction.
No one said a word, neither Ryu, nor the six girls were sure which one should say something first. It was Sumeetess who broke the ice.
"Oh my, so this is the big sister we heard so much about. Nice to meet you, Ms. Lyon."
Her fluffy tail moved quickly behind her, but not as if she was agitated.
Schau and Kella looked with big eyes at Ryu. ""Hello!""
Ulanda looked a bit shy. "H-Hello."
Iselina winked. "Hello again, big sis."
And Cecil. "Mh..."
Ryu took a deep breath. "I thank you for your welcome. I bid you my warmest welcome, fellow followers of Justice."
Many eyes wandered to Bell.
"I wish you a good evening, Astrea familia."
A few of them looked a bit nervous because of the fact that a man was in their house.
Ryu´s and Cecil´s eyes met, the blue-haired girl still looked grumpy.
Eventually, Cecil sighed and raised her hand. "Alright...welcome.."
Since she knew about her nature as an elf, her habits when someone tried to touch her...like it often happened with Anya...and Ryu didn´t want to risk offending or doing something even worse to the familia, she did her best to avoid this danger.
Ryu pulled her hand back. "Please don´t touch me...I always end up going too far."
Cecil´s expression froze, as did that of the others.
Ryu noticed what she did...again. It came out completely wrong. She was about to open her mouth and apologize, but Cecil clicked her tongue.
"Tsk. Typical high-and-mighty elves, all the same. Think you´re better than all the other races!"
"I didn´t mean t-"
"Traitor!"
Ryu looked shocked at Cecil, who left the room with an agitated expression.
"Trai...tor?..." Hearing this word hurt as much as Ryu thought it would, Ryu believed that Cecil wasn´t wrong to condemn her.
The others looked unwell, back and forth between Ryu and their captain.
Astrea looked a bit sad. "I´m sorry, it is a bit complicated for Cecil."
Ryu didn´t look happy either. "No, it´s my fault...I just can´t escape my behavior..."
She looked at the other five. "I´m sorry, that I reacted like that. I didn´t mean anything ill and am happy to meet you all. It's just...I´m sorry...as an elf, I react like that too often."
Schau smiled wryly. "Lady Astrea told us about these things."
Kella nodded. "She said elves are like that at first."
Iselina and Sumeetess exchanged a look.
"Looks like Cecil is still thinking like that."
"Yeah..."
Ulanda looked uneasy at Ryu. "I...I will go and look at Cecil."
Astrea looked a bit flustered. "Hah...well we have to fix this later. Isi, Sumi, can you two show Bell and Ryu a room?"
Her two followers got red when they heard this, looking a bit shocked at Bell and Ryu.
"A room for each of them! I mean two rooms of course."
"O-Oh."
"Oh."
The beastkin nodded and would do as their goddess asked.
"Schau, Kella, can you help me in the kitchen?"
""Will do.""
.
.
.
.
Dinner with everyone was a bit stiff at first. Cecil refused to leave her workshop, claiming she still had work to do. Astrea went there to bring her something to eat, spending a few minutes talking with her captain.
The new members of the familia were curious about Ryu, more than they were about Bell. But partly they also held back, which was understandable, at least some of them wondered what would happen now. Would Ryu maybe claim the position as the familia´s captain for herself? Or would Astrea make her the captain? She was the strongest member by far. Or would she just leave after the visit? Maybe leave Astrea´s side to convert into a different familia? Would she stay with them in Solingen?
After dinner, Astrea asked Bell if he could take a shower first since her girls didn´t feel well about a man using the bathroom after they were in there. It didn´t bother him, and since he knew that Ryu would need this evening with Astrea and the familia, he excused himself after the shower and went to the room they gave him. Traveling was exhausting in its own way, and he was glad to sleep in a real bed.
But mostly, he felt relaxed and at ease that Ryu was able to reconnect with her familia.
When he lay down in the bed, he looked up at the ceiling, then out of the window, it was pitch black outside, due to the dense forest.
He smiled when he fell asleep.
.
.
.
Schau, Kella, Iselina, Sumeetess, Ulanda, and Cecil used the bathroom next, they weren´t mad that Astrea spent the whole evening talking with Ryu, hugging her often, not even Cecil was mad because of that. She was just mad because of what Ryu did...and because of a few other things.
Ryu apologized to the familia, for keeping Astrea for herself this evening. But they replied, that it was natural and they could understand it, all of them had awaited this day, and expected it to go like this.
Still, what Astrea had in mind was a bit embarrassing for Ryu.
"Mh.."
"Hehe~~ Am I too rough?"
"That´s not it..."
"What then? You know, it makes me really happy that we can do this again.~~"
Ryu currently sat on a small chair in the bathroom, stark naked, but with a towel on her lap, while Astrea gently washed her back, she had wrapped a towel around her body. The goddess had always loved to bathe with her followers and still did that often enough with the others.
"If it makes you happy..."
"Oh, Ryu. Do I make you embarrassed?"
"I can´t help my natur-EEEP!"
Astrea giggled and gently hugged Ryu from behind, the goddess remembered what Kaguya told her in the past about naked bonding, that skinship felt good and was important.
The goddess let out a bliss-filled sigh. "Hah...I missed you so much, Ryu."
"And I missed you, Lady Astrea. I´m...sorry...that I never gathered the courage to write a letter to you. I just didn´t know what to say...what to write. How I should start."
"It´s alright, Ryu."
Astrea moved back a bit and kept washing Ryu´s back.
"Hehe~~ You grew up into a young lady."
"Please don´t tease me...I know that my body isn´t very womanly..."
Ryu squeaked loud again, loud enough so that Astrea´s followers wondered what her goddess did to their "big sister". Astrea´s hands were on Ryu´s hips, going up to her waist, forward to her stomach, and the ribs, but she stopped before she touched anything that would make Ryu feel unwell.
"Are you eating enough? You´re quite...thin."
"We traveled for a while, and didn´t eat that much."
"Hm, then we have to make sure that you eat properly."
"I..."
"Ryu, are you eating meat?"
"Almost never, you know that...as an elf..."
"But you do know, that eating more meat helps especially elves to have their bodies develop more, right?"
"What?" Ryu blinked confused over her shoulder.
"There are very few elves in Solingen, and I met some while I traveled here. Out of curiosity, I noticed that some were...well quite well endowed. And I noticed a pattern. Those that ate more meat, were the ones that were well endowed."
"Are you...making fun of me?"
"Why would I?" Astrea's expression was pure guilelessness and sincerity.
The goddess continued. "Have you ever seen Lante? Artemis´ follower?"
"I did...in the past."
"While she is a half-elf, since she travels with Artemis and they often eat meat, due to hunting a lot, she is quite womanly. I swear, what I tell you is nothing but the truth."
Ryu looked down at herself. "So...eating more meat..."
"I won´t force you to do anything, I just thought maybe you would like to know it."
Now the elf looked baffled. "So what Syr said back then wasn´t a joke?!"
"Probably?"
"Hah..."
"So, you´re completely clean, shall we go in?"
"Mh."
Ryu barely had time to cover her front with the towel as Astrea took her hand and led her to the big bathing pool that they had built in the floor. Astrea said it had been her idea and she wouldn´t accept a no.
So she sat down in the hot water, next to her goddess, and sighed. Before Astrea went into the water, she took the towel away from her body and wrapped it around her hair, so it wouldn´t fall down into the water. As usual, Astrea´s body made Ryu feel a bit insecure...maybe she really should consider eating more meat?...
"Hah...so warm."
"It really is."
Astrea shifted a bit to the side, leaning her shoulder against Ryu´s, then her head against her follower´s.
"It´s been too long since we last bathed together."
"It really is."
For a while, both were just quiet and enjoyed each other's presence. Eventually, they started to talk about the deceased familia members.
They talked about pleasant, funny, heated, and in Kaguya's case slightly frivolous memories.
Although both were smiling, a few tears streamed down their cheeks.
But they both needed this, it helped to heal their hearts.
.
.
.
Ryu followed Astrea´s wish, and if she would´ve been honest, she longed for it too. Astrea asked her if she would sleep at her side this night so that the goddess could make sure that Ryu really was there. In the past it had been embarrassing for her to get hugged like a living body pillow...even Syr did that now and then when she had a sleepover at the pub...
But now she wouldn´t mind it.
Still, there was something that Astrea wanted to do beforehand.
"Are you sure, Lady Astrea?"
"Yes, I think we should do that tonight."
"Alright."
As Astrea had asked her, Ryu carefully handed her one of the two Futabas.
Astrea smiled as Ryu took her shirt off, and covered her breasts with her hands, the goddess looked at the short sword. "You always kept protecting our little one, right, Kaguya?"
It was important for Astrea, that something of the old familia was present right now. Since the Futabas were sharp, she only gently poked the tip of her finger, drawing a drop of blood. She remembered the evening before the final battle against Alfia, Astrea had updated the status of all of her followers, resulting in her poking her finger almost a dozen times, unpleasant but necessary.
The goddess held her finger above Ryu´s bare back, until the drop fell down, and her symbol, engraved in Ryu´s skin with the divine blood, normally invisible, appeared.
"Ngh..."
A jolt ran down Ryu´s spine.
"Oh my...this will take a while, Ryu."
The runes of the status rose and started to rotate. Looking at the runes, it told Astrea more than Ryu´s words ever could. She saw just how many monsters Ryu had defeated, and how many she had fought. Countless in the dungeon, many of the irregular Violas, when she came to save Bell and Lefiya. The members of Apollo familia that she struck down during the wargame. Even a rise in status just from her...very short...fight against Asterios on the 18th floor...and later against Ais.
Then the sheer number of monsters on the 37th floor...and finally.
The Juggernaut.
While Ryu only gained exactly one Excelia point, which was less than even a Goblin from the first floor would give her, for slaying the Juggernaut, it did something else for her.
Just like the Minotaur was Bell´s fated enemy, the Juggernaut was it for Ryu.
Her nemesis. Which took everything from her, had been the source of her trauma, her devastation. She had finally defeated it, avenged her friends, was able to send them off to the afterlife properly.
All the things that she did, gave her an insane amount of Excelia combined, and she even did more than one worthy deed, giving her the chance to level up, with the Juggernaut counting as the greatest deed. She got so many points in Excelia because she did all these fights "only" as a level four.
Ryu groaned, she never felt like this before.
The numbers of her status rotated higher and higher, Astrea had never seen this before with any of her children.
Strength: D 587 - S 999
Endurance: D 501 - S 999
Dexterity: C 602 - S 999
Agility: C 615 - S 999
Magic: D 595 - *******
Every single one of Ryu´s status parts had maxed out, one of them looked very strange. From what she heard, it should be very hard for elves to reach strength status above 800, but then again Ryu´s last update was over five years ago.
"Ryu."
"Yes?"
"You...can level up."
"Huh?!"
Astrea smiled. "It shouldn´t surprise you that much. Also...every single status you have is rank S 999."
Now her follower froze. "What?!"
Astrea giggled when she saw the reaction of her follower. "What? Did you expect a double level up?"
"Huh? No...a double level up would sound ridiculous."
"Ehe~~ I know. Who would ever come up with such an idea? Not even the silliest among us gods."
"Ryu, you have to make a choice, there are two abilities to choose from. Mage and Swordsman."
Both abilities had enormous benefits in their own way.
"I..."
"And Ryu...there is...something else..."
"Lady Astrea? You sound uneasy."
"A skill...and...magic."
"Wha?!"
"I...would like to read about your skill first."
"Al...right?" Ryu wondered why Astrea sounded so strange.
The goddess cleared her throat and read the divine runes.
"Astrae Varmas."
Astrea waited a moment when Ryu went stiff, it was hard to say because of the first...or last part of the name.
"Ardee..."
After she was sure that Ryu could keep up with it, Astrea started to read the description.
"Passive skill: Grants enhancement to those with Blessing of Justice and the ones you see as your...family. Those who are in range, including you, get their skills amplified, and their magic stat and mind increased. Anyone with falna, even an enemy, is granted medium resistance to mental attacks. The amount of improvement and range of the effect are dependent on your level, Ryu."
"This...this..."
Astrea nodded. "It is quite something, a very strong skill."
"*Hic* *Hic* Ardee...*Hic*..."
Astrea understood her child, the skill was very similar to Ardee´s skill in the past. She gently touched Ryu´s bare back.
"She is still with you...Ryu."
"Unh...*Hic*.."
The goddess gently stroked the back of her child, giving her comfort and showing her she was there. It took Ryu a bit to calm down again, something like that wasn´t easy to swallow. Her throat felt like something was stuck in there, it let Ryu cough.
"Ryu...shall we stop for now?"
"No...it´s alright..."
"Then...about your magic, this might help you decide your development ability."
"Lady Astrea...your voice...is something wrong?"
"It´s...how shall I say it..."
"Please...just tell me.
"Astrea Record."
"Wha...t...?..."
"Your magic, it´s called "Astrea Record"."
"A-And...what does it do?"
"I...hah...it´s better when you read it."
Astrea put everything that she available so far on the status sheet.
.
.
.
Ryu Lyon
Belongs to: Astrea familia
Level: 4 to 5
Strength: D 587 - S 999
Endurance: D 501 - S 999
Dexterity: C 602 - S 999
Agility: C 615 - S 999
Magic: D 595 - SS 1337
.
Abilities:
Hunter: G to F
Abnormal Resistance: G to F
Magic Resistance: I to H
.
Skills:
Fairy Serenade
Mind Load
Aero Mana
Will of Justice (Magic)
Astrae Varmas
.
Magic:
Luminous Wind
Noah Heal
Astrea Record
.
.
.
Ryu´s eyes nearly popped out, she made a VERY unelven noise, witnessing what over five years of progress did to her status. And...even more tears pooled out of her eyes when she read about the skill that Astrea couldn´t see before...and what her magic did.
"Will of Justice (Magic): Inherited the strong will of Justice: Grants ability to go beyond limitation, allows to grow this status faster..."
The sheet of special paper crumbled in Ryu´s hands as she clenched them against her will. Hot tears streamed over her cheeks as she cried again.
"*Hic* *Hic* *Hic* Just how much do you watch over me?! *Hic* *Hic* *Hic* Aaaaaah!"
"Oh, Ryu..."
Astrea hugged her from behind and let her cry. Kaguya probably would´ve made a comment about what a crybaby her rival had become.
Her crying only got louder when she read about the magic, which was hard since her vision became so blurry.
Astrea Record: Keeps the sacred memories of Justice. Allows to use magic from those who received the Blessing of Justice.
Just as Ryu started to read further, something strange happened. Light appeared around Ryu, like...schemes... Astrea blinked, she felt very warm for a moment, she saw the schemes too.
And...she heard whispers in the wind. Was it just her imagination? Or a part of Ryu´s awakening magic?
Look at that crybaby... One of the schemes looked like a far-eastern beauty.
Our little one cries so much... Another like a pallum girl.
The light in one of the schemes moved as if it put a hand on Ryu´s shoulder.
.
Proby, remember us. You have my sword.
First spell: Gokou (Kaguya)
.
Lyra´s scheme moved to Ryu. My bombs.
Second spell: Mūs Mine (Lyra)
.
A third scheme. My light.
Third spell: Rea Vindemia (Maryu)
.
My fire.
Fourth spell: Irivute (Ryana)
.
My speed.
Fifth spell: Sonic Dash (Noin)
.
I will protect you, Leon.
Sixth spell: Castle of Stone (Asta)
.
I will rip apart the evil.
Seventh spell: Stormfang (Neze)
.
I will smash your foes, Leon.
Eighth spell: Fabulous Star Smasher (Iska)
.
I will light your way, Leon.
Ninth spell: Light(ning) of Justice (Celty)
.
Nine schemes stood around Ryu, each touching a part of her body with their light. While Ryu couldn´t see them, she felt it. Astrea on the other hand couldn´t feel the touch, but saw the schemes. Saw the memories of her deceased children, surrounding Ryu. Called by her magic. Tears gathered in Astrea´s eyes...to at least see that much of her children again... But both...heard the faint mumbling...like the wind.
Then, Ryu´s eyes fell on the last spell.
.
.
.
Deep inside of Knossos, Revis sat in her personal room, watching the nameless Lamia sleep in her bed...well at least as much as her body could fit in. Out of a strange sense of consideration, Revis got more blankets and wrapped them around the long tail. Before she had done it, the Lamia had slightly shivered, even when her upper body was covered with a blanket.
Revis just sat there, looked from the Lamia to her hands, she felt strange for the whole evening. An unfamiliar, yet familiar feeling of...warmth. A longing for something she had forgotten and didn´t remember.
She looked forward, it was almost as if a scheme sat in front of her, holding her hands just like Revis did. Her hands and that of the scheme touched slightly.
Words left her mouth without thinking.
"Agares..."
.
.
.
"Alvesinth..."
A last scheme appeared in front of Ryu while she mumbled the spell´s name, sitting instead of standing. It looked different from the others for Astrea, she couldn´t see the face, only the contours. But she could see the hands. Hands that were covered in fire, gently touching Ryu´s hands, so that the spectral fire crawled over to her.
More tears ran out of Astrea´s eyes. "Alise..."
Tenth spell: Agaris Alvesynth (Alise)
.
.
Ryu slowly raised her hands as the flames flickered there, slowly dying out. Her magic didn´t activate, it was more like...she just inherited each version of her spell.
.
.
Inside Knossos, Revis sat there, her hands and feet covered in fire. Wings like that of a phoenix slowly moved behind her, gently caressing the stone wall. As if it was a liquid, fire crawled over the walls, it didn´t smell or burn, it was just there.
But it was warm.
Not the heat of burning fire, it was a gentle warmth.
A single tear ran over Revis´ cheek, fell from her chin to her hand and sizzled away. She couldn´t talk, her heart beat fast, more tears came out of her eyes. In her mind, she saw a young elf, the one she saw before in her memories. It looked like she held her hand after just grabbing it, the elf was younger in this scene, it felt like...a first meeting?
When the image slowly vanished, Revis´ eyes fell on the sleeping Lamia, who looked now very peaceful and comfortable, now that the room was warmer than before.
When the scheme in front of Revis vanished, her flames also vanished.
What did Agares Alvesinth mean? And why did flames appear when she said these two words? Her head hurt a bit, but the warmth coming from her heart held against it.
And the faint memory of a soft body, hugging her gently to a large chest, stroking her back, humming.
When did that happen?...
.
.
.
The schemes had vanished slowly after Ryu inherited her magic, she just sat there with the crumbled sheet of paper and sobbed.
Astrea didn´t need to ask which development ability Ryu would choose, it was obvious.
Ryu moaned slightly when Astrea finished updating her status.
In the end, giving her the final paper.
.
.
.
Ryu Lyon
Belongs to: Astrea familia
Level: 5
Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0
.
Abilities:
Hunter: F
Abnormal Resistance: F
Magic Resistance: H
Mage: H
.
Skills:
Fairy Serenade
Mind Load
Aero Mana
Will of Justice (Magic)
Astrae Varmas
.
Magic:
Luminous Wind
Noah Heal
Astrea Record
.
.
.
"That was it, Ryu...congratulations."
Ryu didn´t even think about putting her shirt back on when she turned around, Astrea hugged her soon enough, holding her trembling child. This time, it were tears of happiness...she would also keep the memory of her fallen comrades alive, and let them help her even from the afterlife.
When she had calmed down enough, Ryu put her shirt back on, sitting there with still-red eyes.
Astrea saw that Ryu swayed slightly.
"Ryu?"
"Ngh...it´s the level-up...my head feels fuzzy."
"Then the best you should do is sleep now."
"You´re right..."
Astrea didn´t even need to ask Ryu if she would sleep together with her, the goddess saw the longing in her follower´s eyes. While she normally would be too flustered, right now Ryu needed comfort after what happened.
And so...
.
.
.
"Zzzzz..."
Astrea smiled gently, Ryu´s face was close to her own, the goddess hugged her beloved child while she slept, Ryu finally found peace.
"You´re finally back...my child."
Astrea gently kissed Ryu´s forehead, letting the normally so prudish elf smile in her sleep. After watching her cute elf for a while, Astrea closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.
It was the best sleep the goddess had in a long time.
