Author`s Note 1: Answering Reviews at the end of the chap.
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"Aunty Alfia, do you want some more tea?"
"No, thank you Bell, I´m fine."
"And you, Uncle Zard?"
"Gladly, your tea is delicious, Bell."
"Hehe."
The whole evening of their arrival, Bell would not leave Alfia´s side, he was a bit intimidated by Zard´s sheer size, also due to the armor, but with Alfia he felt different. Bell was really excited and sat next to her on the couch. His grandfather...Zeus...congratulated himself on his brilliant idea of telling Alfia where he went with Bell, yet he didn´t expect her to bring Zard along, not that it bothered him.
He knew that Alfia didn´t like him that much, due to his...nature...when it came to women. But Zeus had a good eye for people, especially women...he knew what he did when he gave her this information.
Even when she doesn´t like you, Hera...your child is very similar to you.
From the few times that he saw Alfia at her sister´s side when Bell´s father wanted to show Zeus his son, he already noticed how she behaved. Maybe Alfia herself didn´t notice it, but she was a lot softer than usual when she was near her sister...or held Bell as a baby.
Zeus knew this special shine in her eyes...even if she was only his aunt...maternal feelings.
That´s my grandson! Already charming women at his age! And a mature one on top of that!
He got a little information about what happened in Orario...Zeus would talk later to Alfia when Bell was asleep. Still, he was really glad that she was here, while he would do his best for Bell, to raise him into a fine, young man...this boy needed a mother.
And even when she wasn´t aware of that herself at this point...Alfia would totally become his mother...or rather his Mom.
The old god grinned.
Gyahahaha! You will not be able to escape your fate now, Alfia.
"Is something wrong, old man?"
"No, nothing."
"Aunty Alfia, this is my favorite book!"
Immediately, Alfia´s expression changed when she looked at Bell instead of Zeus...it got really warm...but also a bit reserved...she wasn´t used to dealing with a child. At least not with a child that she cared about.
Zard was amazed, that Alfia tolerated being called like that by Bell, and the way she looked at the young boy was a first.
"The journal of Argonaut, a hero story, right?"
"Yes! Argonaut was such a cool *Yaaaawn*...hero!"
Zeus smiled, it was late at night and Bell swayed slightly back and forth, the typical behavior of a child that was tired, but didn´t want to go to bed, since he was so excited.
"Bell, I think it is time to brush your teeth and go to bed."
"Eeeh? But grandfather, I´m not tired yet!"
For a moment his grandfather looked at him, then he grinned when Bell yawned again.
"We can continue tomorrow, then you can show your Aunt the book."
Just for a second, Alfia´s eyes flashed lightly at the word "Aunt"...she seemed to be okay with "Aunty" so far.
"No! I don´t want to sleep yet!"
Zeus guessed what troubled Bell. Alfia smiled slightly and gently put a hand on Bell´s head.
"Bell, I won´t go away, I will be here tomorrow when you wake up."
Bell looked up to her with pleading eyes. "Promise?"
The plea in his eyes was clear. Please be here when I wake up, don't go away.
Alfia smiled and gently patted his head. "I promise."
The young boy clutched his book to his chest and walked to his room, turning around every few steps.
His eyes wandered to Zard. "And you?"
Zard winked. "I will be here too, don´t worry."
After putting the book in his room, Bell went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, then he went to his room again.
"Nighty, Grandfather, Aunty, Uncle."
"Good night, Bell."
"Good night...Bell."
"U-Uncle?"
With a last look at his aunt, Bell closed the door to his room, while he was still excited, he also would fall asleep nearly immediately.
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"So...old man...I guess you have questions."
Zeus nodded. "Yes, but that can wait. I can see that you two are tired too. We will talk tomorrow or when you move in completely."
Zard nodded to his armor. "Care to give me a hand first, geezer?"
"Hah, my boy...still so green behind your ears that you can´t get it done yourself?"
"Oy oy, you know this can´t be done alone."
"Yeah, Maxim had the same problem."
"Would you have preferred it if we ran around like her and the others?"
Zard nodded to Alfia.
"Surely would´ve been a sight, but I preferred "her" girls in that."
Alfia didn´t have the strength to get up and help, Zeus was enough. She kept looking at Bell´s door, not saying much. Little by little, Zard´s massive armor came off.
Little by little he took off the armor, as if he was leaving his old life behind, looking a bit smaller in the end, since the armor was truly massive.
"Do you have a place for it to be stored? Don´t want to leave it laying around where the boy could fall over it."
"Probably the storage room, but not on the shelf, it's not made for such weight."
"Alright, care if I use your shower?"
"Do what you want, boy. But I don´t have a shower, only cloth and water."
"Pff, I´m over forty, you know? Cloth and water will do."
"Still a boy for me." Zeus smiled his best old, wise man, smile.
When Zard left for the bathroom, Zeus left the room for a moment, bringing two spare pillows, blankets, and a larger one for Zard to sleep on.
"It goes against my nature to let a woman sleep on the couch, but I can´t offer you anything else for now."
"I am thankful."
"I can only offer you cold water and cloth at this hour, to wash yourself. Heating it up would take much time."
"That will be enough."
Zeus nodded, and both fell silent.
Never before had he seen her like this, looking so uneasy.
"Is it okay for me...to be here?"
"Why did you think I told you about this place?"
"But..."
"Find out what your heart longs for, Alfia. But be aware, Bell needs you. This boy needs a mother."
"I´m just his aunt..."
For now, Alfia...for now.
Zeus had seen how Bell reacted to her, he was instantly infatuated with her.
"And Zard?"
"Do you think I would kick him out? My last boy?..."
Alfia saw the sadness in Zeus´ eyes, the old god was probably very relieved and glad that the last living child of his was here.
She looked at him in silence, out of consideration for her, Zeus spoke softly. While she hated his perverted side and acts...Alfia had to admit that he could be a really good god.
Alfia looked at the door of Bell´s room, then at Zeus again.
"He doesn´t know?"
"No, I don´t know if I will tell him."
"Hm."
"Does anyone know that you two came here?"
"No, we left Orario after we took care of "that"."
With "that", Alfia meant the barrier that sealed the dragon valley, trapping the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
"Alright, then let us talk tomorrow."
She nodded, and Zeus saw that she was in thought.
"Then good night...old man. I trust that you won´t try to peek on me in the bathroom or when I go to sleep."
Alfia couldn´t call him in another way.
Zeus grinned. "Good night, Alfia. And I won´t, not with your man around."
"Zard isn´t my man."
"Mhm, sure."
She rolled her eyes. "Why are you always like that?"
"You two lived together for how long now?"
"Ever since "that day", why?"
Zeus sometimes forgot that the fearsome Silence was surprisingly pure, innocent, and in some cases naive.
Hera, Alfia might be the truest of your girls, realizing it or not.
Zeus went into his room, Alfia kept looking at Bell´s door until Zard returned.
"You can go in now, it might be a bit cold, I opened the window."
"I don´t feel cold easily."
After washing herself with a cloth and brushing her teeth, Alfia returned to the living room. Zard had already placed a pillow and blanket on the couch. And made himself a slightly comfortable place on the carpet.
"I´m sorry for having you sleeping on the carpet."
"Don´t worry, it´s much more comfortable than sleeping outside."
He removed his shirt and lay down, this was nothing that Alfia hadn´t seen often in the last time. She herself lay down on the couch, covering herself with the blanket.
"It feels...warm."
She couldn´t see Zard, since he lay on the other side of the table.
"Well, this is a home, his home."
"True.."
It was strange...really strange to lie here. Two weeks had gone by since they left Erebus, they surely would´ve been faster here, but Alfia had been feeling uneasy the whole time, not knowing if she really should go there or not.
Zard never pushed her or forced a decision, just like in the previous years, he was there for her, supported her, and took care of her. Took care of her bodily needs...since Alfia was a horrible cook! Sure, he was an outstanding cook already, partly due to one of his skills, the best cook in his familia.
But even by his standards, to see everything else inferior...Alfia´s cooking was just horrible!
She had needed time to heal herself, buy travel clothes, think about what to do...and steel herself...to come here.
I feel...so warm...here.
She blinked tired, lying on the couch she could see Bell's bedroom door.
Bell...
"Zard?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you...for coming with me."
"Not for that, Alfia. Good night."
"Good night..."
His door was the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes, her thoughts were with her sister.
Meteria...I will watch over him.
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Nnnnh...morning...already...?
Alfia heard birds chirping, despite sleeping on a couch, she felt quite comfortable.
And the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes...was white hair.
Meteria?
She blinked to get her vision clear, below that white hair, were two red eyes.
"Good morning, Aunty Alfia!"
Eh?
The cheerful face of a young boy was right in front of the couch.
"Be...ll?.."
"Mhm!"
"Good..*Yawn*...morning..."
"Have you slept well?"
"I have, thank you."
When Zeus came out of his bedroom a while later, he grinned when he saw Alfia and Bell sitting side by side on the couch. The boy was showing his aunt his favorite book...Alfia had a really warm smile on her lips. He was really proud of his grandson, in under twelf hours, he had conquered the heart of Alfia...and she had slept seven of these hours.
The god heard some slight clanking sounds from the kitchen.
"Yo, geezer. I borrowed your kitchen to make breakfast, I hope that´s alright."
"Refusing to let you cook? What am I, senile?"
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It took Alfia and Zard two weeks after she left Erebus to go to Bell. But things didn´t stand still in Orario, even when the fate of the Astrea Familia had changed...one thing would stay the same...in a way. Just a bit different...
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A few weeks after Alfia and Zard would arrive in Bell´s village in Orario.
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In the house of a Familia, a sad goddess sat in the living room in her armchair.
"Lady Astrea?"
The goddess raised her face to look at the woman entering the room.
"Ryu?..."
"We found her."
Astrea´s eyes widened and she jumped to her feet.
"What?!"
Ryu smiled slightly.
"Neze found out where she is."
"Oh thank goodness, bring me there, hurry!"
Ryu nodded and waited at the door of the Stardust Garden, while Astrea hastily put her shoes on. No one would guard the home for now, all of her children were in the city, looking for someone.
"Where are the others?"
"Taking position around that spot, so she won´t be able to run away."
"Ryu..."
"What? We want Alise back too."
Goddess and mortal follower rushed as fast as Astrea could walk through the streets. Over the last weeks, Orario was in turmoil. It looked like a highly skilled assassin was moving into the city, blowing up various facilities and murdering people...even the guild had losses.
No...not an assassin...it was like a devastating force, a blazing inferno in human form. As if a greater Volcani spirit had taken form and was out for revenge.
And the Astrea Familia knew very well who that was.
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Alise.
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Of all of Astrea´s children, Ryu was the youngest, the purest in a way, the most innocent...or as Kaguya called it...the most naive and inexperienced.
And because of her, Alise did...things.
Actually, it was because of them all, but Ryu was the final trigger for Alise to snap.
When Astrea got the message about the incident, the goddess came running to the hospital, already crying when she got there. The death of three of her children hit hard, and seeing the others so badly wounded made it only worse. The cold hand of death had clasped the goddess´ heart, after she heard the story, she couldn´t help but think what almost happened.
Almost...almost this monster would´ve gotten all of her children. Astrea didn´t know what she would´ve done then.
Those that were awake, so Alise, Asta, Neze, and Iska...since Ryu, Kaguya, Maryuu, and Lyra were put to sleep with a special magic item, otherwise their condition would be too dangerous...cried with their goddess.
Iska´s tears came almost without sound, sitting next to Maryuu´s bed, looking at her big sister. Maryuu lay on her stomach, her wound was the shallowest of the four heavily wounded...it still was very close. The fact that Maryuu got the wound from saving Iska´s life, almost dying during that, Iska wanted to scream out her fear and pain, but no sound came.
Just an endless stream of tears.
Neze cried while a healer took care of her ribs, only after they escaped did she later notice the pain. At some point the monster had hit her side, shattering her ribs there. If it had been the pointy end of the tail instead of the side, it would´ve pierced Neze and killed her instantly.
But she didn´t cry because of fear, of nearly dying...she cried because Noin´s expression was burned into her eyes...as was Ryana´s. And Celty´s... Neze´s extreme senses had only allowed her to follow the Juggernaut´s movements so far that she saw her friends dying, not even having time to react or shout out a warning. Only Neze saw all the gruesome details, and they would haunt her forever...and ever.
Asta clutched her Warhammer and shield, crying and repeating the same words again and again and again.
"I am the familia´s shield...I am the shield...it should´ve been me!"
As her familia´s frontline tank, it would´ve been her job to stand between those behind her and the monster. Yet nothing had happened to her...three of her friends got slaughtered and she couldn´t even react. The healer who took care of her had to call for Ganesha familia members to help. Asta´s weapon hand was broken, but the healer couldn´t open the dwarf´s hand. Only with the help of Ganesha familia members did she manage to finally open Asta´s hand, take the weapon from her, and heal her hand.
Yet the shield remained, the handle creaked, so hard Asta clenched her hand.
"This shield...this damned shield! Why didn´t I use it?! WHAT AM I GOOD FOR?!"
Astrea had moved from one child to the next, devastated, trying to comfort them, but it was too much for her to take in.
And Alise...
She just stood there...walked around like a ghost. Saw how healers took care of Kaguya, with her lost arm. How they did their best to save Ryu´s leg, barely managing to do it. How three had to hold down the screaming Lyra, until the magic item finally put her to sleep. Her pretty eye was gone...
Everyone in the familia got heavily wounded in one way or another.
Except for her.
Out of her whole familia, Alise was the only one that escaped unscathed.
As the captain, as the familia´s leader, she was the only one that didn´t get hurt.
A form of survivor´s guilt hit Alise like a monster...like the monster should´ve hit her.
She sat there on a chair, leaned forward, her face in her hands. She hiccuped and sobbed, repeating Noin´s, Ryana´s, and Celty´s names again and again. Then those of the others.
"I´m the captain...I´m the captain...I´m the captain...I´m the captain...I´m the captain...I´m the captain...I´m the captain...I´m the captain...I´m the captain...I´m the captain...I´m the captain...I´m the captain..."
She was the captain! The first child of Astrea! The others playfully called her Astrea´s "Champion of Justice"! The first among all followers of justice. It was her job to lead the others...but she just stood there...saw how her friends had died...how the others got hurt...
And did nothing...
It had been too fast to react...but Alise saw it otherwise.
It should´ve been her...as the captain...as...the owner of "that" skill.
Alise was the strongest in her familia, due to her broken skill. Strong enough to face even a level five and have a chance to win.
"For what do I have this?! It should´ve been me!"
More tears and screams came, she didn´t even notice the blue-haired woman next to her. Shakti had been at the hospital to look after her little sister, who still lay in a coma. Then she noticed the ruckus and came looking. It horrified her, to see the Astrea familia like that and hear what happened.
It horrified her to see what Astrea could look like.
No anger, no rage...just sheer desperation, shock, horror, and other kinds of negative emotions. The goddess often shook her head, as if trying to get her head clear. She didn´t try to escape the situation, but she had to focus on being there for her crying children, yet her lower lip trembled and she cried probably the most of all, her dress got wet from all the tears falling down.
Whenever she went from one child to the next, all of them clutched to her.
Except for Alise.
Wordless noises escaped Astrea´s captain, her brain wasn´t able to keep up with the situation. Alise screamed...she leaned back and forth, crying heavily while she screamed.
Shakti sat down next to Alise, putting her arms around the other captain, trying to hold her. She was stronger than Alise, due to her level, but only because they weren´t in a fight, otherwise Alise´s skill would react.
Shakti did that not only to help Alise but to prevent her from accidentally hurting hospital staff.
When Astrea came, Alise´s eyes had widened in horror, not seeing anything.
Except for her friends dying...and that monster attacking. It was all she could see. Alise screamed and screamed, even when Astrea hugged her and pulled her face to her chest. Alise´s arms clutched around Astrea, squeezing so hard that it hurt the goddess, yet she didn´t complain.
Alise was her child, she would comfort her.
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A bit later, Ganesha familia arrived in full force. Shakti led an extermination team of the high executives in the dungeon. Thirty people, fully armed, did not know what they would find.
When they arrived at the floor, the dungeon had started to repair itself. They found a blood bath...and where the Rudra familia got slaughtered.
No monsters were around, since the dungeon was still repairing.
Also...no Juggernaut.
All they found between the remains of the Rudra familia, was a pile of ash, but no explanation.
Shakti saw the slaughtered bodies of Ryana, Noin, and Celty.
"Take them...we will bring them to the surface..."
"Yes, captain..."
The Ganesha familia couldn´t find the monster and avenge the Astrea familia...but at least...they prevented the corpses from getting eaten by monsters.
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At some point, Alise had fallen unconscious, it was just too much for her.
But at night, when things finally were calm, she moved out of the room she got into and wandered through the silent hospital.
First, she visited Maryuu´s and Lyra´s room, Iska lay curled up in an armchair next to Maryuu´s bed, refusing to leave her sister´s side.
Alise looked at the familia´s "big sister" for a while, then she went to Lyra, half of her head was covered by bandages.
Ryu and Kaguya shared a room in the hospital, Alise looked at both, new tears streaming quietly down her cheeks, she had a headache from crying so much. Ryu´s broken leg was in a cast, held up by a sling, it was rare for an adventurer to need something like that.
When she turned to the sleeping Kaguya, Alise´s expression went empty. It looked like Kaguya was sleeping peacefully...but her blanket fell down earlier than it should on one side. It was easily visible that one of Kaguya´s arms ended under the shoulder.
Alise whispered. "You protected her...it should´ve been my job to protect you all..."
She didn´t know how long she stood there, wandering back to Lyra and Maryuu after a while.
The next morning, Alise had to return home...since she was unharmed. And the hospital needed the room.
Over the next week, Astrea, Alise, and the others came to look at their friends every day for many hours. Maryuu was the first to wake up, the doctor said with a blunt face that she was very lucky. It was how the healer called it, a flesh wound. It could kill her in the dungeon but was easier to heal than the others.
Ryu woke up a day later, the healer told her the wound would heal soon, but she had to wear the cast at least for two weeks.
During all the fighting in Orario, Ryu never lost her faith in trying to save everyone, that no one had to die...but the reality was different. When Ardee almost died..Ryu was shocked, horrified, and enraged, she had disappeared into town and was later found by the others. Kaguya had tried her best to open Ryu's eyes to the reality that fighting and war were just that.
That Ardee almost died, scarred for life, that Valetta turned a child into a suicide bomber. The fact that Ardee only survived because the bomb exploded before she had arrived at the child...the sight and noises of it...all that led Ryu and Alise to seek out revenge on Valetta, it was the reason why they were so aggressive...why Shakti had literally slaughtered and hacked Valetta to pieces.
Ryu was as sad, devastated, and hurt as the others by the death of their friends...but unlike Ryu, they had learned to expect it and forced themselves to move on...Ryu couldn't...her heart couldn´t bear the death of her friends...and the sight of Kaguya's missing arm...she blamed herself.
And eventually one night...
Alise often sat at Ryu´s side, she saw what grew in Ryu, what desperation, what anger.
And so, one night...Alise snapped.
Her familia had suffered so much, she didn´t protect one of them! Now Ryu was sliding on a spiral of revenge and would maybe lose herself due to it. Alise wouldn´t...couldn´t allow this to happen.
Alise would protect her familia, and make sure something like that would never happen again.
And she wouldn´t allow her precious Ryu, their little one, the familia´s little sister, their youngest sibling...would slide into such darkness.
She would protect Ryu and her familia, at all costs.
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For the first time in her life, Alise went to take her sword and draw it not for justice, but for revenge. She didn´t care if what followed would be just or not.
Tears of anger streamed down her cheeks, unnoticed by the others, Alise got her clothes and went out.
The young woman went on a rampage. Her fellow Familia members had taught her various techniques, just like Ryu got taught by the others, the familia members exchanged their knowledge, also to understand each other better. Especially Kaguya knew a lot about getting information...out of people.
Alise hunted down every single person, merchant, and facility that was bound to the Rudra familia and Evilus.
Poison, Traps, Explosions...lots of small explosions... cold-blooded murder...Alise cared not about the technique, her heart screamed to her to end the suffering of everyone, to destroy the Evil. To protect those precious to her.
Her familia, her family...it was all she had. If she were to lose this, Alise would lose herself.
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Due to her work...but not by her hands...three gods were sent back to heaven. The people in Orario at first felt uneasy, since the fights continued...but slowly...Evilus´ grip was broken. The Freya, Ganesha, and Loki Familias used the chance to strike against Evilus´ too. Only the Astrea Familia didn´t attack directly but fought Evilus and their companions when they met them. Astrea´s children...searched for their captain...their leader...who was lost in darkness.
Yet hammered light into the darkness. Rumors went through Orario, about a "Blazing angel of destruction". A force of good, destroyer of evil, so powerful that it burned all evil to a crisp.
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In the end...like Ryu would´ve if her fate was different...Alise collapsed in a back alley, wounded and exhausted. Mentally drained after she just annihilated a complete familia. She didn´t know what to do...over the time of three weeks, she had murdered her way through Orario. Alise didn´t know it, but it was thanks to her that Evilus´ grip was broken and the dark times would finally end.
Alise was sure, Ryu would´ve gone the same path if she didn´t do it. If she couldn't protect her familia beforehand, she would at least protect their youngest sibling from this path. Alise could never forgive herself if that happened, nor would the others, she was sure.
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"Are you...okay?"
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"This is it? Out of all places...she is here?"
"Yes, apparently there was a ruckus and an explosion here last night, Iska and Neze went to investigate, and then Neze found her. Caught her smell."
"But why didn´t she come home? Evilus´ grip was broken a week ago!"
"I don´t know, Iska and Neze kept their distance, we wanted to wait for you. Kaguya is getting restless. But Asta talked to someone who works here, a grey-haired girl, she said that Alise is here now."
Both moved towards a building that was quite famous in Orario, a safe haven in the dark times.
The Hostess of Fertility.
"My little one...why didn´t you come home..."
"Lady Astrea, your orders?"
"Form a wide circle around the pub and the dorm, don´t move too close, I don´t want to agitate the owner."
"Is the owner strong?"
"She could defeat all of you, at once."
"That strong?" Ryu´s eyes widened. "Alise..."
"Ryu?"
"I´m just happy we will get her back, I trust you, lady Astrea."
"Hm...Ryu, you come with me, but please let me talk."
"Alright, I can´t guarantee that Kaguya will stay quiet and wait the whole time, she said "she wanted to wash her head properly."."
They heard banging noises coming from the pub or from the backyard rather than several people working with hammers. The front door was open as staff ran in and out, some carrying debris. And they were all young women, several of them cat people.
"Excuse me?"
Astrea went inside, followed by Ryu, who was walking with a crutch. While her leg was mostly healed, the healer ordered her to take it easy for two additional weeks.
"Oh, goddess Astrea, we are closed for the day."
It was one of the employees that greeted the goddess.
"I would like to talk to the owner. Please, it is important."
"I will tell Mama Mia."
Ryu leaned closer to Astrea when the waitress turned around and went to the kitchen. "Mama Mia?"
"Apparently, the girls that work here call her that."
"Hm."
"We were here before, Ryu, did you never notice?"
"I didn´t."
A few moments later, the door of the kitchen opened and the tall owner came out, followed by a grey-haired girl.
"What brings you here, Goddess of Justice? I am busy today, some idiots demolished my shop."
"Good morning, Ms. Mia. I am looking for someone."
"Doing justice work again? Searching for a criminal?"
Astrea shook her head. "No, just a lost child."
The grey-haired woman next to Mia got up to her tiptoes and whispered something into the dwarf´s ear. Astrea had seen her a few times during the dark times, she had helped the people and cheered them up.
Then the grey-haired woman looked at Ryu, smiled, and waved with her hand. Ryu had the impression that this woman was quite friendly.
Mia listened and nodded then.
"Alright, get her. Don´t tell her who is here."
The woman nodded and went outside.
"So she belongs to you, thought I saw her before somewhere."
"Yes, she does."
"Caused me quite the ruckus, demolished many plates and ingredients."
"She...attacked you?"
"Attacked me? Hell no. She is just the biggest klutz I have ever seen! Never had a waitress that had so much trouble learning. Grumbling constantly that she isn´t used to such work, only knows how to handle a sword."
Astrea and Ryu looked dumbfounded at each other.
The door of the kitchen opened and two people came out, the grey-haired woman walked in a way that the person behind her couldn´t see Astrea and Ryu.
But they heard her voice.
"Mama...Mia, what can I do for you?"
Mia grinned. "There are customers here that asked for you. So, what do you want to order, dear customers?"
Astrea smiled gently. "A lost child who ran away from home, as a takeaway please."
"What a coincidence, this is today´s specialty."
The woman behind the grey-haired woman froze...when she heard Astrea´s voice. The grey-haired woman stepped to the side, Astrea´s and Ryu´s eyes widened.
Alise stood there...wearing the uniform of a waitress...with short, blond-colored hair. While the blond color was a shock, the short hair looked quite well...but both preferred Alise´s usual hairstyle.
"Lady...Astrea...Ryu..." Alise looked frightened.
Quietly, the grey-haired woman blocked the door to the kitchen with her body, so that Alise couldn´t run away, in case she panicked.
Astrea looked at her lost child.
"Alise."
For a few moments, no one said a word...then Astrea made a small step forward...Alise moved slightly back.
"Alise...please come here."
"Lady Astrea...I..."
"Shh...Alise, it´s okay."
"No, I can´t..."
Alise wanted to back away again by Astrea´s next step, but she bumped into the grey-haired woman.
"S-Syr?"
Syr smiled. "Alise, go to your goddess, it´s okay."
"No, I...I can´t...I betrayed you!"
Alise looked like a frightened animal, her heart seemed to be torn. Ryu waited quietly at the front door, while Mia was positioned in a way, that she blocked the stairs.
Astrea moved slowly closer to her frightened child.
"Alise, It´s okay. Let us talk, okay? Please come back home."
She saw tears dwelling in Alise´s eyes, and her lower lip trembled.
"I can´t! I betrayed you! And Justice, I betrayed what it means to be just! I failed as the captain! Let the familia down! Let the others die!"
Syr gently put her hands on Ryu´s shoulders from behind, maybe to give her support, or give her no chance of running away. Neither Ryu nor Astrea had ever seen Alise behave like this.
The goddess held her arms at her sides, to show Alise she was no threat, that she understood.
"Alise, please come back home."
"*Hic* *Hic* *Hic*"
It pained Ryu to see her dear friend so uneasy, so vulnerable. Alise had never shown such weakness, such vulnerability before. She was always strong, forward, upright, and had not the slightest doubt of what justice was and how to fight for it.
Eventually, Astrea stopped in front of her sobbing child and gently closed her arms around her, while Syr let go of Alise.
"Alise...my child...come home...please."
The dam broke.
Alise burst into tears, put her arms around her beloved goddess, and cried like the lost child she was. A veritable torrent of tears spilled from Alise's eyes, even Astrea started to cry.
"I´m sorry! I´m so sorry!"
"You don´t need to, Alise! It´s okay!"
Ryu smiled relieved, she tapped her right hand against her hip, giving Iska and Kaguya outside the signal that they got Alise. Iska moved away to inform the others...while Kaguya came inside...looking a bit agitated.
"I betrayed you! I´m so sorry! *Hic*"
"We will talk about it, just come home, Alise!"
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The grey-haired woman, Syr, smiled relieved by the scene before her eyes. But her eyes widened a bit in surprise when Kaguya came into the pub. It wasn´t exactly because she came inside...but the way she looked. Kaguya wore a kimono, that was nothing unusual, but she let the right part hang from her shoulder, like some famous, far eastern swordmasters did.
Her chest was of course fully covered, but her shoulder was bare...and her right arm ended a hand wide below her shoulder, the cut was sealed by bandages. She was the first person that Syr saw, who showed that she lost a limb so openly.
"Finally got to your senses? Stupid captain! Do you know how worried we were?! How much Lady Astrea cried?! A fine captain you are! Making me work harder after just leaving the hospital!"
Kaguya was...not really sensitive...actually, she was, but she showed her worry about Alise in another way. Like a certain werewolf in the Loki Familia, she was the one who said things to people that they needed to hear, not the things they wanted to hear.
"K-Kaguya?"
Alise´s face was still wet with tears, Astrea let go of her and wiped her own eyes.
"It´s time for you to come home! Stop making us worried!"
"Kaguya...I..."
"I...I...I...stop giving me that! What the fuck happened with you?!"
Only people who knew her understood that this was Kaguya´s way of showing how much she was worried.
"But I failed all of you...betrayed justice...because of my weakness...your arm..."
Kaguya´s face darkened and she moved closer, Alise moved slightly backward until her back touched the wall.
"My arm what?"
"Because of me...you lost your arm..."
"Stupid captain!"
"Kyau!"
Kaguya dealt a chop with her hand on Alise´s head...not a very strong one.
"I didn´t lose my arm because you were weak and didn´t react! I lost my arm because I protected our little one! And I did it out of my free will!"
Kaguya slammed her palm against the wall next to Alise´s face.
"But..."
"No "But..." me! This is a badge of honor for me! Don´t you dare sully my decision by crying it was your fault!"
While she knew that Alise was emotionally weak right now, Kaguya hated that her dear friend was like that, she wanted to get the old Alise out.
"Kaguya..."
"I lost an arm to save a very precious friend of mine! Do you think I would even hesitate to sacrifice my other arm when it means I would save your life?! And you Proby, stop that stupid, happy smile on your lips!"
Ryu couldn´t help but smile, she tried to stop, but hearing Kaguya talk about her that way, it felt nice.
Unnoticed by them, one by one, Astrea´s children came into the pub, waiting next to Ryu.
"The gods were kind enough to gift me two arms, so it´s fine."
"But..."
Eventually, Kaguya gripped Alise´s chin and squeezed her cheeks...Alise´s expression like this...was cute.
"I will get a silver arm and I will wear it openly, to show everyone how much my Familia means for me. There is nothing I wouldn´t sacrifice for any of you. And don´t you dare sully the names of our fallen friends by making them look weak, that they only died because the strong you couldn´t protect them!"
"*Hic*"
"Oh...there you go cry again...if you want to cry, do it over there, I can´t stand it when you of all people are crying! It makes me more sick than to see Proby crying!"
Ryu was again slightly upset for Kaguya calling her "Proby".
Kaguya moved both around and pushed Alise´s back from behind, sending her stumbling forward. The one who caught Alise with one arm was Ryu, the other hand held her crutch. And soon...Alise vanished in a group hug from all her Familia members...crying out loud that she was really sorry about making them worried.
Astrea smiled with tears in her eyes...finally she had her lost child back.
But...
Mia came over to the goddess. "Don´t think you can just take her, she has a debt to pay off."
The goddess nodded. "And we will pay it off, I will do it personally when I have to!"
All of Astrea´s children would help out, to work at the pub and pay Mia back. Besides, it would do them all good to do something other than fight all the time. It wasn´t really a debt that had to be paid back, but Mia just knew the right way to treat hurt girls. Of course, it was nice to get so many new part-time employees like this...
Astrea couldn´t thank Syr enough, since she was the one that picked Alise up and brought her to safety. And she was happy that Alise managed to find new friends in Syr, Anya, Chloe and Lunor.
Even when Anya, Chloe, and Lunor claimed they weren´t friends at all, the goddess still smiled.
Little did Astrea know that two of these girls would end up in her familia in the not-so-far future, two feline ones. Yet they would still work part-time in the pub, since Mia demanded the full repayment for the damage that they caused. Anya lamented she didn´t do anything, only helped to protect the pub and Alise!
At least the other members of the Astrea familia would work there too and help pay off the debt...even when it was only Alise´s at first.
And another thing made Astrea happy, she was able to see all of her beloved daughters in these cute waitress uniforms...and her children saw her in that. Still...Astrea´s children would glare at every man in the pub, that dared to oggle their goddess too much.
Which meant looking for more than 0.2 seconds at her.
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Alise decided to grow her hair back again and stop coloring her hair, in her opinion it really didn´t suit her, she only had done it to hide.
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In the village, things were much more quiet and peaceful.
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"Bell, there is something I want to give you."
"Oh?"
"It is my most precious possession."
After Zeus had greeted them, they started to prepare the table for breakfast. Bell asked Alfia about every ingredient and if she liked or didn´t like it. Thankfully Zard already knew very well about everything that Alfia liked to eat. When Bell was in the bathroom to wash his face before breakfast, Alfia had asked Zeus something important.
Now that the breakfast was over, they had sat down on the couch, Zeus in his armchair.
"What is it?" Bell looked curious.
Alfia picked something up from her lap, a flat object wrapped in cloth. She carefully unwrapped it and handed it to Bell.
It was a picture. The picture showed a beautiful, young woman with long white hair. Her facial features were like a mixture of Bell and Alfia, her smile was genuine. And like Alfia, she had heterochromatic eyes, but instead of a green one, she had a blue eye.
"This is..."
"Your mother."
Bell looked fascinated at the picture, since Zeus didn´t have one, he had only faint memories of how his mother looked.
"Mama?"
Instead of starting to cry, Bell´s smile widened more, he looked really happy.
"And you give it to me?"
"Yes, it should be with you."
"Thank you so much, Aunty!"
Alfia startled a bit when Bell suddenly hugged her from the side, she felt him tremble slightly. While he was happy about the picture, it was also clear that the boy was still sad that his mother had died...which she could understand.
Not really knowing what to do, Alfia kept her arms raised and looked down at Bell, who buried his face in her side. Seeking help, she looked over at Zeus, then at Zard, who briefly closed his eyes and nodded to Bell. Slowly and carefully, Alfia lowered her arms and hugged Bell gently.
She felt how the young boy snuggled up to her, searching for the embrace of a mother figure.
Meteria..is this..alright?
While Alfia felt really warm, she still wasn´t used to it.
After a few minutes, Bell moved away from his aunt and looked up to her.
"What was my Mama like?"
After thinking for a moment, Alfia smiled, a warm, loving smile.
"Meteria was kind and pure, she always had a smile on her lips and was able to relax everyone with her presence. There wasn´t a single person who didn´t loved her. She valued life and was grateful to others for the smallest things.
A person who is or was more kind than her just didn´t exist. And...your mother really loved you, Bell."
To think that even Hera loved her so much, that she gave her the Falna, just to expand her life span as much as possible..
But Alfia didn´t speak her thoughts out loud. So far, Bell didn´t know about Alfia being an adventurer. He could guess that Zard at least knew how to fight, due to the armor and giant sword. Also...Alfia didn´t tell Bell that his mother was rather possessive of food, she even scared Alfia one time, when she ate a sweet that Meteria wanted to the point that she made her resign herself to dying...even making Hera kneel in front of her one time!
But these weren´t things that a son needed to know.
"Thank you so much, Aunty Alfia!"
Now he really surprised her, Bell jumped to his feet, gave Alfia a kiss on the cheek, and ran to his room, to place the picture of his mother on his desk. Zeus chuckled at the sight of Alfia´s dumbfounded face, while she touched her cheek. Zard was polite enough to look in a different direction, pretending he didn´t see that.
Zard would later be the one to tell Bell a lot about his father. It was better that Alfia didn´t talk about "him", since she still hated Bell´s father.
I wonder...maybe because he took her sister´s purity? Or was it another reason?
No one except Meteria, had ever seen how Alfia´s facial features derailed when she came to visit her...and Meteria told her that she was pregnant.
"What?! How?! When?!" It was one of the rare times when Alfia shouted.
Bell´s father and Zeus got along very well, they even went to peek on Hera´s bathing girls. It was an evening that Zeus would never forget, even when he took quite a beating by Hera for that. Only two women were in the bath, Alfia and Meteria. While Bell´s father was quite the pervert when his eyes fell on Meteria, he never looked at another woman again...he immediately fell in love with her.
Which in Zeus´ eyes was quite romantic. And...when they got caught...only Zeus got caught since Bell´s father was the number one in Orario when it came to running away.
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"So, I guess it´s time to go shopping."
Even when she had her backpack with various things with her, Alfia still needed some other things.
"Do we need much?"
"Yes, Bell. Women need much more stuff than men."
"Is that so?"
Bell looked up at Alfia after what Zeus said, she just went with it and nodded. Then he looked to Zard, who winked.
"I indeed don´t need much."
Zeus nodded. "And we need wooden beams, for your rooms."
Thankfully, the weather outside was nice and the sun shone. The night before, Alfia didn´t really see it, but the fields of the village were beautiful. It looked like a farm, the life here seemed to be a peaceful one.
After Zeus closed the door, Alfia felt a slight touch against the fingers of her left hand. When she looked down, she saw Bell who looked up to her with hope in his eyes.
She smiled slightly and took his hand, his expression immediately brightened.
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Slowly, Alfia opened up more and more to Bell...and just a bit to Zeus.
When they left the house, a fresh but not unpleasant breeze came. Zard looked at the village, thinking about the moment he took off his armor. It would be the last time he ever took that armor off, never wearing it again.
A new life awaited them here in this village.
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Author`s Note2:
First thing general information. While things will change in the rewrite, the general red string that happened so far will remain, but with changes. So the wargame will be different, the dungeon trips, and so on. You will see how.
vanhellsing9000: I´m sorry, but there will only be three lovers for Bell. It is already hard enough to write it in a good way with "just" three. A larger harem will only happen in Burning Love of Justice! If he had more lovers, there was no way he could spend time with each of them as much as they would like to.
RiftPowers: Thank you for the review. How did you manage to guess the third lover when I was so subtle?! *Gasp!*
Erebus13: Yeah I also realized later the problems with Miach as the god, will do it a bit differently here. Celty will get love in BloJ (more than just Smut love I mean), for Asta I have quite a few plans. No comment about the third lover, but more people can guess who it is.
Alibek2007: There will still be lovey-dovey moments, but nothing smutty (will post that in Blood of Zeus). Romance is an important part of the story. About more seriousness and darker, the original CoF didn´t even come to the serious and darker times that are an important part of the story, gonna build these things up, so we will get there.
Reader-634: Sorry, not sorry, no more lovers than the three, it would ruin the story. Ais will have a lover in this story, but not Bell. Many people will most likely despise who it is and stop reading the story because of that, but gonna build things up to that point. While not Bell´s lover, Ais will be important for Bell.
wynwyn99: Lefiya has her own route in this story (which means own lover(s)? one is for sure, about the second gonna think about it (won´t say who), but will be very close and very important to Bell.
YAOWA: Thanks for the review, gonna make sure more people will like Lefiya in the future.
Comteq: In the chapter, it was explained why they were so vengeful towards Valetta, so not gonna explain it here. For the lover...perhaps?... And yes the "Crew of the Argo" will return. And yes it is a very major plot point.
Guest1: All that would´ve happened in the CoF original later will also happen in this story, so there will be no need to continue the original since it would almost be the exact same chapters
Guest2: Gracias por la revisión. No te preocupes, no eliminaré la otra versión.