Author's notes: Hello everyone, another chapter coming up. Every time I see the stats for the fic (well, especially the English version), I wonder if I'm dreaming. It's hard to believe that there are almost 300 people waiting for a new chapter.

Well, in that case, here's one for you to enjoy.

Chapter 9: A tale about a dog and a fox

Although a little surprised, Bell had agreed to listen what this young girl had to say. But it was also because he wondered if she wasn't the pallum he had helped the other day. They sat down by a fountain and started talking.

"So you're an independent supporter?"

"No, Lili belongs to a familia.

"Then shouldn't you be working with them?"

Bell still didn't know a lot of things, although his special status within his own familia made him suspect that there might be special circumstances. Perhaps that was the case here, for the girl's face seemed to darken.

"No, Lili has her own circumstances..."

"I see. Which familia are you in?"

"Soma familia."

The name meant nothing to Bell, but that was hardly surprising. He only knew the main familias, like Loki's, Freya's or Ganesha's.

"And you, Master Bell?"

The young man was a little embarrassed that she was speaking so respectfully to him, but said nothing and replied.

"Ishtar familia."

And just by the look in her eyes, he knew what a terrible misunderstanding was about to happen.

"But... Master Bell looks so innocent..."

Lili began to wonder inwardly if she hadn't made a terrible miscalculation by relying solely on his face and his stupidly naive heroic behaviour the other night. Was there a risk that he would ask her to do "that"?

"M-m-master Bell, Lili admits she needs money, but she's not prepared to do that sort of thing."

Bell merely sighed, no longer even surprised by this kind of response, and began to explain everything to her. The Delebat, his role in the familia, his rather special status and the fact that he was not a gigolo. Deep down, a small part of Lili's unconscious thought that this was a pity, because with his adorable face, he could easily make a fortune and if she were an ordinary adventurer, she would probably become his client.

But she wasn't ready for that yet...

"I see. But let's get back to business. Do you need a supporter Master Bell?"

The young man began to think, he was used to managing on his own, but the further down he went, the more complicated the logistics became. The help of someone who could handle this kind of task would be a considerable advantage.

"I admit it could be useful."

Seeing that he was hesitating, Lili decided to be cautious and bait him gently.

"In that case, Master Bell, how about we start with a trial run for the day? That way you can make up your own mind."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea."

The two then shook hands to conclude their agreement and Bell asked the question that had been nagging at him for a while.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes, what is it, Master Bell?"

"'Aren't you the pallum I saved the other night?"

Lili had expected this question, but she couldn't afford to be outed, luckily she had her magic for such cases.

"Sorry, but Lili's not a pallum, Lili's a chienthrope." She said as she pulled back her hood to reveal two adorable dog ears with fur the same colour as her hair.

Subconsciously, Bell felt compelled to check. Without even asking permission, he raised his hands and began to examine the famous ears from every angle, stroking them in all sorts of ways... for scientific purposes, of course.

But Lili seemed to be telling him the truth: the reactions were natural. Warmth, wetness, it was all there. Including Lili's moans, halfway between embarrassment and pleasure. Bell then realised what he had just done and immediately released the young girl, moving away, red with shame, while Lili caught her breath.

"Such technique... Master Bell is indeed a child of Lady Ishtar..."

"Sorry."

The boy preferred to blame it on his goddess. By being so tactile with him, she was beginning to give him bad habits. It wasn't because he had a fetish for therianthrope ears... no, not at all.

After this strange interlude, the two agreed on their collaboration for the day and set off for the Dungeon.

Further down, a terrifying battle was in full swing.

Not a single berbera was left unharmed. The Amphisbanea was giving them a hard time, but under Aisha's command, they weren't giving up. Aisha was also wounded, but she drew on her determination not to let herself weaken.

"One head that breathes fire, another that cancels out magic, this thing knows how to be a pain in the ass." Said Lena, also in pain, but refusing to let it get her down.

"Violent, ruthless and merciless, that monster has all the qualities I like to see in a man." Aisha said as she licked her lips clean of blood.

"You really have a problem, Aisha."

"When the fuck is this thing going to die?" asked Samira who had just joined them.

"Here and now." replied the sensual amazoness. "Lena, how many ice magic weapons do we have left?"

"Only two, one has enough power to recreate support, but the other is ready to break."

"Give me the worn one and a salamander cloak. As soon as I've diverted its attention, you'll recreate supports and strike from all sides."

"You've got a crazy idea in your head." Samira said.

"A certain idiot inspired me a lot. If we want to win, we're going to have to give it our all and go the extra mile."

Aisha was more affected than she thought by Bell's fight against the silverback. Despite the risks, he hadn't hesitated. It had inspired her. She could continue to curse her fate, play hard to get and pretend to protect Haruhime. Or she could face her destiny. Bell had changed something, she was more and more convinced. And she was going to need more strength for it.

"I'll follow you Aisha. I'll tell the others to get into position."

The proud amazoness began by emptying a whole flask of water over her body, it wasn't much, but that little water film would help. She then grabbed the Salamander cloak and charged straight for the monster rex.

Its head of fire opened wide and spat out a blast of blue flames. Hot, burning. The amazoness didn't try to dodge the flames, she just kept charging forward. When the flames reached her, she placed the salamander cloak in front of her like a shield and activated the magical ice weapon, which created a stream of cold in front of her.

It was a risky gamble, taking the dragon's fire without slowing down. Everyone watched her disappear into the whirlwind of flame.

Aisha was suffering, terribly... Her plan was working, the cloak and magic weapon were lessening the impact of the flames, but they were still burning her. It hurt like hell, but Aisha gritted her teeth and searched for the slightest spark of willpower inside her.

When the dragon stopped blowing, convinced he had burnt her, she leapt in front of him. The cloak was ashes, having absorbed far more than it could. The magical weapon had just fallen to pieces.

But the short interval it gave her was more than enough.

With a leap, she leapt towards the head of the flame, but the latter had a defensive reflex and tried to bite her. Aisha turned in mid-jump and kicked at it, using the momentum to reach the monster's other head and thrust her greatsword into its neck to stabilise her position.

The head screamed in pain and the other one prepared to attack, but that was without counting on Lena, who had taken advantage of Aisha's diversion and the few supports that remained to come into contact and leap onto the head of flame.

The amazoness had brought a large chain with her and in one fluid movement, she wrapped it around the monster's mouth like a large muzzle and, resting it on its head, pulled with all her strength to keep its mouth closed.

As a level 2, Lena wouldn't have the strength to do this for long. One look at her showed that she was giving it her all and from the colour of her arms, it was clear that she was on the verge of tearing her muscles.

"Aisha!" she shouted to stimulate the other amazoness and make her understand to hurry up.

Aisha didn't hesitate, she put the pain aside and let out a war cry of rage. Using all her remaining strength, she thrust her sword deeper, causing the beast to howl, before pushing it away.

The amazoness then began a mad dash up the monster's neck, drawing her sword still firmly in, tracing a gigantic bloody furrow as she split the flesh in two.

When she reached the body, she drew her sword, jumped up and stabbed it heavily into the creature's carapace, its anti-magic head falling heavily back into the water.

"Now!"

At his signal, all the Berberas who were fit to fight rushed together and attacked the monster from all sides.

Seriously wounded, it was unable to defend itself properly and finally let itself fall. Aisha withdrew her sword, creating a spray of blood that covered her almost entirely, giving her a frightening appearance.

Staggering, holding her weapon in one hand, she fell into the water and pulled herself out to where the flame head had just fallen.

The monster rex still had a breath of life. This creature was not stealing its reputation for being tough. Drawing on what little strength she had left, Aisha raised her sword and thrust it heavily into the creature's head.

Without a sound, the monster turned to dust. The amazoness then raised her sword in the air.

"Victory!"

And the cheers of the other berberas answered her. There were only two occasions when they really felt alive, either in the ecstasy of a fiery embrace, or in the midst of a merciless battle.

At the end of her strength and once the pressure was off, Aisha let herself fall backwards and ended up on her back. She had given her all and no longer had the strength to even stand.

"Those who can still stand, form two groups! One to stand guard, the other to provide first aid!" said Samira, who had to take charge given Aisha's condition.

For her part, Lena was also in a great deal of pain - her arms had never hurt so much in her life.

"Girls, look at this, he's left lots of stuff!" said one of the amazoness.

"Gather it all up." Aisha told them. Although she was on the ground, she wasn't unconscious yet. "what are the drop items?"

"His magic stone... a dragon's liver! Great, that's worth a lot of money. And what's this? Another magic stone? That's huge!"

"No, it's not a magic stone, it looks like one of the crystals that was on one of his heads."

"Pack everything up. We'll deal with the loot later." Samira said as she was administering potions to Aisha. The latter recovered enough strength to stand up again.

"We'll do the first aid here, and as soon as everyone is fit to go, we'll go back up and take our rest on the eighteenth floor."

Several berberas nodded and set to work.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell Bell all about this, he's not going to believe it!" said Lena cheerfully. Even a fight to the death with a monster rex didn't seem to dampen her spirits.

And while the berberas were recovering from the fight against a monster rex, even further down in the Dungeon, another was preparing to take on a blonde swordswoman in single combat, also driven by a burning desire to progress.

Far from such epic confrontations, Bell was satisfied with his routine in the Dungeon. A routine that was much improved by Lili's help. She may not have been a fighter, but all the tasks she took on made things so much easier. Collecting magic stones and various drop items, giving him equipment, keeping an eye on his back. She took a lot of the load off his shoulders, allowing him to concentrate on the fight. And because she carried everything in her gigantic backpack, he was relieved of the weight of his own.

Thanks to her, in just a few hours he had done much more than he had done alone in a day. It was then that they decided to take a break for lunch. As usual, Bell had his lunchbox, cooked with love by Syr.

He offered some to Lili, but as soon as she saw it, she knew instinctively that for her health, it was better not to touch it. Did the person who had cooked it hate him?

"That's kind of you, Master Bell, but Lili has her own rations." She laughed nervously before pulling a piece of dried meat from her bag.

"As you wish." He replied before attacking his own meal with sincere pleasure, under the horrified gaze of the supporter. Was this boy's stomach made of adamantium or what? "And I just wanted to say that I'm really glad you're with me. You're really helping me out a lot."

"Please, it's mostly because Master Bell is a good fighter."

"You don't have to speak to me so formally, you know."

"You're kind Master Bell, but Lili can't afford to be too familiar. Most adventurers despise supporters. If Lili treated you as an equal, it would be seen as arrogance from her and no one would want to work with her any more."

"That's... horrible."

The boy seemed sincere, but Lili didn't want to believe it, he was still an adventurer, sooner or later he would show his true colours. Was he going to abandon her or was he going to try and take advantage of her? He was still Ishtar's child, after all. And the supporter was well aware of the reputation that the Goddess of Pleasure had in the darkest circles.

"That's how it is, Master Bell. Don't worry too much."

"Well, as you wish."

Bell had a feeling that insisting would get him no further, Lili was far too resolute about her fate from his point of view.

"Tell me Master Bell."

"Yes?"

"That dagger..."

"Ah, this?" he pointed to the black dagger. "It's a gift from my goddess, I must say it helps me a lot."

"Lili can see that it's an exceptional weapon. But that doesn't change the fact that Master Bell is very strong."

"Well... thank you." He replied with a nervous chuckle, unused to this kind of compliment.

The fake chienthrope was actively making enquiries. The boy's only value was this dagger. A gift from the goddess Ishtar herself was obviously valuable. Stealing it was a risk, and she would have to get rid of it quickly, but it was worth it. A weapon bearing Hephaestus' seal would inevitably fetch a very high price. But for now, she had to gain the boy's trust. It was a fool's game, to steal him before he turned against her.

Because in Liliruca Arde's little world, someone as good and innocent as Bell simply couldn't exist.

And this trust also meant making him feel indebted to her. Later that day, Lili willingly let a weak monster get close to Bell and pretended she only had him at the last minute, firing her wrist crossbow while shouting, killing the monster with an arrow.

"Thanks Lili."

Perhaps not a fighter, but not defenceless either, the young man observed.

Then came the moment to share the spoils. For the first day, Lili chose not to try and rip him off, but first to build up his confidence and evaluate him. First of all, Bell admired what they had won, so much more than what he had been doing on his own. His infectious enthusiasm spilled over to Lili, who readily admitted that for a solo level 1, it was not bad at all.

Afterwards, Bell simply gave Lili half, which shocked her.

"Master Bell, are you giving Lili half?"

"Yes, why? Is there a problem?"

The young girl was somewhat shocked. Was this boy the ultimate patsy? Or was it all part of a well-honed plan to put her distrust to sleep?

"No, I mean... You're not trying to diminish Lili's share? Or even keep it all to yourself?"

"Why would I do that? You've helped me a lot Lili, you deserve every bit of your share."

She didn't really understand, but if he left her that much money, she wasn't going to deprive herself.

"Besides, I'd like to work with you some more... if you don't mind."

"Of course, Master Bell, with pleasure!" Lili replied with a big smile. If she didn't even have to beg him, it was ideal. This boy was obviously going to be a good "customer". If his naivety was confirmed, she would be able to rob him of quite a lot of money before running off with his knife.

Unaware of the false chienthrope's true intentions, Bell greeted her after agreeing to meet her the next day and returned home.

When he finally returned to the Astral Mansion, he was greeted by a most tantalising smell. But who had cooked? Certainly not Hestia, her only attempt had not been the most conclusive. It wasn't so much the taste that was the problem, as Bell was capable of withstanding the meals prepared by Syr, as the deplorable state in which she had left the kitchen.

"Ah! Master Bell! Welcome, it will be ready soon."

To his surprise, the voice was that of a young woman he had known for a short time and as he went into the kitchen, his suspicions were confirmed. The fox was indeed cooking. She had tied up her hair and the sleeves of her kimono and was wearing an apron over them. This little housewife aspect suited her rather well.

"Haruhime? What are you doing here?"

"I'm the one who told her she could come and cook for you from time to time." Ishtar replied as she too appeared in the room.

"Really? That's nice... you didn't have to." Bell said a little shyly.

"Please, it's my pleasure."

Bell was a little embarrassed that the fox was bothering herself for him, but he couldn't deny that it was nice to find a meal on the way home.

"Haruhime no longer works in a brothel, I have taken her into my personal service. And I've also allowed her to come and help out here as she sees fit. I thought you could do with a good meal now and then, since that's not Hestia's strong point."

"I'm here, you know..." the little goddess pointed out.

Without further ado, they all sat down to eat. And Bell realised that Haruhime really was an excellent cook, even if she was modest. This brought tears to Hestia's eyes. It had been a long time since she had eaten such a delicious meal.

"So good! In the end, Ishtar, it's worth letting Bell seduce every woman he meets if it's only to get something like this."

"But I wasn't trying to... well, never mind."

The young man was well aware that he was wasting his time trying, his reputation was already made with certain people and he wouldn't be able to change it easily. Instead, he preferred to tell his goddess about the day's events and his meeting with Lili.

"Well, I think that's a good thing. A little help won't do you any harm. On the other hand, I have to say I'm surprised, I didn't expect you to do something so daring to a young woman you've only just met."

The young man suddenly turned pale, expecting the next bit of nonsense from his goddess.

"I mean, for the majority of therianthropes, the ears are very sensitive, you know, so caressing them in such a way is very daring."

This seemed to be confirmed by the blush on Haruhime's cheeks.

"But I understand you Bell. It's hard to resist when you see those... cute... soft... fluffy... things stirring..."

As she spoke, she stood up and walked behind Haruhime, before putting her hands on her ears and starting to fondle them.

"So tempting..." she said as she continued to play with the fox's ears.

After an initial cry of surprise, the foxgirl began to blush and let out a variety of increasingly sensual moans as the goddess continued to demonstrate the full extent of her technique in this area. Bell was flushed, trying desperately to ignore the suggestive noises Haruhime was making in spite of herself, while Hestia hid her face behind her hands, subjected to a vision far too lewd for her taste.

Finally, Ishtar decided to stop, leaving Haruhime breathless in her chair.

"Oops! Sorry, I seem to have let myself go a bit too much."

But from the look on her goddess's face, Bell knew immediately that she wasn't sorry at all and that she was enjoying the whole thing.

As for Haruhime, she spent the whole meal in silence, red-faced with shame at the spectacle she had unwillingly put on.

After all that, Hestia hurried back to her room, having been subjected to too much indecency for her liking. As for Ishtar, she returned to Belit Babili with Haruhime. Bell would have liked to spend his evening in peace and quiet, but it was then that one of the staff from Midnight's Sigh came looking for him to ask for a little help.

So it was that Bell found himself playing the role of a security guard. A disgruntled and rather tipsy customer was making a bit of a mess. Fortunately, he was an ordinary man without a blessing, so although he was a Level 1, Bell had more than enough strength to show him the way out. Which he did without violence, since that wasn't his style.

Naturally, the customer shouted everything he knew, but Neela, the pallum in charge of the place, gestured to Bell to ignore him.

A few moments later, the young human and the pallum were in a small private room. To thank him, Neela poured him a large glass of berry juice.

"I'm sorry to ask you to do this thankless job, Bell. Normally we'd ask the berberas to do it, but they're quite busy at the moment with their expedition."

"No worries, I don't mind."

"Good. We haven't seen you for a few days now, what have you been up to?"

Bell then gave Neela a brief summary of recent events, his meeting with Lili, the stories with the waitresses at the tavern and the reputation he had despite himself, his meeting with Haruhime and everything Ishtar had put him through.

Neela was rather curious to learn that Ishtar had introduced him to Haruhime. She didn't know all the details, but she did know that the fox played an important role in their goddess's future plans. And from her point of view, it all looked almost organised. What was the goddess trying to do?

"Seriously, I like her a lot, but if she could tease me less sometimes..."

But the questions about Haruhime could wait, there was something else in Bell's speech that bothered Neela.

"Do you think Ishtar teases you?"

"Er... yes, if not, I don't see..."

All he got from Neela in reply was a deep sigh. For some time now, she had been feeling uneasy around Bell. At first she hadn't been able to explain it, but now she was beginning to understand.

"Ishtar can indeed be a bit of a tease, but that's not all she does with you."

"I don't understand."

"How long are you planning to run away Bell?"

The pallum's question left him speechless for a moment, because he didn't understand what she was getting at.

"But... I'm not running..."

"Liar. You're running away. You're running away from the desire Ishtar feels for you. You refuse to see it by hiding it behind so-called teasing."

"Neela, I..."

"At first I was happy to know you. Like all the girls here, I thought you'd accept us as we were, that you'd see us as more than just prostitutes. But that's not true. If you treat us normally, it's because you force yourself to see us as ordinary women. Maybe you do it unconsciously with good intentions, but the result is even worse. You completely deny reality."

Bell didn't say anything, he didn't know what to say anyway. He would have liked to deny it, to tell her she was wrong, but strangely enough, he was incapable of doing so.

"Bell, the truth is that you completely avoid everything related to desire and sex, as if it were something bad."

"No, I... I..."

In reality, what did he really know about desire deep down? The fact was that Bell had received no real education regarding sex. His grandfather had told him a lot of nonsense, like setting up a harem, spying on women in the bath or any other such nonsense. But in reality, he had never seen his grandfather get anything out of it other than slaps or insults. Perhaps this very bad example in his childhood had unconsciously made him categorise physical desire as something bad. What's more, in his small village, the mentality was still old-fashioned and desire was something reserved for couples. At least, from what he had seen of it, given that he had left it at the age when desires begin to appear.

"You shun the very idea of having desire yourself. Do you intend to remain chaste all your life? Let's say one day you meet a woman and start a relationship with her. Will you never touch her? And what will you do the day she shows you her own desires? Will you continue to categorise it as teasing?"

Neela was harsh in her manner, but she felt that what she was doing was necessary.

"Or are you one of those men who consider that any woman who feels desire is always a slut?"

"What? No !"

"Some people even think that a woman only has value if she's still a virgin. Imagine you like a woman Bell, would you suddenly stop liking her if you found out she'd been with someone before?"

Bell's thoughts then turned to a certain blonde swordswoman. And his mind began to think quickly. If he found out tomorrow that Ais Wallenstein had once had a lover, what would he do? Bell began by taking a breath to regain his composure. He thought back to the woman he admired, a model of strength, a goal to be achieved and surpassed.

"It looks like you've got the answer after all." said Neela, who knew how to read his face very well.

Yes, it wouldn't change a thing. Her admiration for Ais would always be intact.

"Bell, don't run away from your own desires. They're normal, there's nothing wrong with them. Sex is one of life's pleasures. Just like food, alcohol or other things, you just have to be careful not to abuse it and know how to control yourself. Which isn't to say that you should refrain from doing anything - that's no better."

"I... maybe..."

"During my career, I've seen a lot of people, from those looking for love, even if it's simulated, to those unable to control themselves, to those looking for a good time or even people just looking to satisfy particular fantasies. That's why I can tell you that there's nothing inherently wrong with desire."

Bell remained silent, he had so much to think about and didn't know where to start. So Neela decided to hammer home the point by forcing his hand a little. The prum stood up and slipped off her dress, which fell to the floor. With her job, she'd got into the habit of wearing clothes that came off quickly. And since she wasn't wearing anything underneath, she found herself naked in front of him.

"What... Neela! Put your clothes back on!" he said, turning his head.

"I won't. Look at me."

"No way!"

"LOOK AT ME!"

The pallum's voice was imperious, full of assurance. Enough to force Bell to obey her. He turned his head and opened his eyes. Neela's naked body was in his field of vision. Her body, though small, was shapely and she exuded an aura of maturity.

"Bell, you have to remember that you're not in an ordinary familia. You're in Ishtar's familia. We make our living by trading in desire and sexuality. Even if the Delebat has a separate role, you will never be totally apart, you will always be a child of Ishtar, you will always be linked to what we fundamentally are."

He was frequently reminded of this, with his reputation as a gigolo following him everywhere. Neela was right, he could never escape Ishtar's aura.

Neela had approached him and Bell had sunk a little further into his chair. The prum exuded a form of authority that seemed overwhelming.

"Bell, do you know how many people have seen me naked? How many have touched me? How many men I've welcomed into my flesh and let pour out of me."

Neela's words were crude, but then again, she felt it was necessary.

"No..." he managed to say softly.

"So much. So much that I lost count a long time ago. So many that I should have had a dozen children by now if we didn't have excellent contraceptives. Do you understand Bell? This is what we are. We're prostitutes and we don't want people to put us down for that and treat us like second-class citizens. We want to be treated equally. But we don't want anyone to deny who we are either. That would be to deny what we have lived through, our pain and suffering, but also our joys."

As she spoke, she moved closer to him. Gently, she took Bell's hand and placed it on her cheek, while she did the same on her side and looked him straight in the eyes, establishing a physical link as well as a visual one.

"Bell, don't run away from desire. You have to accept that it's part of you. Just as you have to accept the idea that others may feel desire for you. Either way, it's not a bad thing. One day or other, you're bound to have to face up to the desire Ishtar feels for you. You won't be able to run away from it or ignore it, otherwise it will only cause you pain."

The pallum then broke away from him. Gently, Neela turned and grabbed her dress to cover herself in the middle of a long silence.

"I must appear harsh to you Bell, I apologise, my approach was perhaps a little aggressive, I agree."

Neela was not a bad person and she realised that she had perhaps wanted to go too fast.

"No, I... I still have to think about all this. There's a lot to think about. But... I think you're right... I can't run away from some things. I... I'm going to go, good night."

"Good night Bell." She sighed softly as she let him go. After a little while, the beautiful pallum spoke again. "How much longer are you planning on spying on Kelsie?"

A human with long, blond, straw-coloured hair emerged from the shadows.

"You're playing the role of the bad girl by taking the risk that he'll hate you, Neela. But I'm agreeing with you on this one."

"What can I say, I tend to be hard on people I like." She said with amusement.

"Uh-oh? The famous Neela the ethereal, the one who has never believed a word of love from a man in over twenty years, has finally fallen for someone?" she teased. To which the main interested only replied by unfolding her fan to laugh softly behind it. "But I understand you perfectly. I too have grown fond of him. Perhaps even more than I thought..."

Bell, kind, innocent, still naive, had not yet understood how much he was loved...

The next morning, to his surprise, Haruhime had returned early to the Astral Mansion and prepared breakfast for him, as well as a packed lunch to take into the Dungeon. The fox had explained that since she had become Ishtar's personal attendant, she had much more free time and that the goddess generally woke up late, like many members of the familia, who were by nature night owls.

There was something pleasant about finding a pretty girl cooking in the morning that Bell couldn't quite put his finger on, but it gave him pleasure. So the young man swallowed the carefully prepared meal, equipped himself and got ready to leave.

"I'm off, thank you again Haruhime, have a good day."

"Good day Master Bell.

"Good day Lady Hestia." The young man said to the little goddess who had just come down the stairs looking half asleep.

"Goo' day." She replied with a deep yawn.

As the young man left the house, the last words he heard were those of the hearth goddess.

"Oooooooh! That smells so good! Marry me Haruhime!"

The young man allowed himself a little laugh, already imagining the look on the fox's face when she heard this kind of talk.

As he had done every morning for some time, his steps led him first of all to the Hostess of fertility, where he had got into the habit of collecting the lunchbox that Syr had prepared for him. And it was when he came face to face with her that he realised he already had what he needed. And given that Bell was a model of honesty...

"Syr, that's very kind of you, but are you sure you don't mind it every day?"

"Not at all Bell, it makes me happy. Is there a problem?" she said, handing him the lunch box she had prepared for him that day.

"It's just that... someone from my familia has already made me food for today and I... wasn't expecting it. That's why, if at some point it bothers you, it's okay if you don't do it from time to time."

It was then that Bell spotted a strange gleam in the young woman's eye, something that told him he'd better not refuse Syr's goodwill.

"But I'm going to take it anyway! You know what they say, in the Dungeon anything can happen, it's always a good thing to have extra rations. Thanks again and have a nice day!" the young man laughed nervously before taking the meal Syr had made and making a quick escape.

As for the fake human, she remained silent, her gaze fixed in the direction Bell had gone, a dark aura surrounding her. She didn't answer, not even when Anya came to ask her what was going on.

Instead, Syr went to the kitchen with a determined step and opened the door with a bang, which startled May, the Cat People cook, who was quietly concentrating on her work.

"Nya! What's going on?"

"May, I need your help, help me get better at cooking."

"Er... okay, if you want nya. But why now?"

"I'm going to war." Syr simply replied with a dark look. If she made meals for Bell every day, it was because she had heard the expression that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach. Clearly, someone else had the same idea. Syr had always made a point of cooking by herself, but she had to face the facts: she needed help, especially to improve.

Freya wasn't stupid; she knew perfectly well that her cooking was atrocious. She could still remember the first time she tried it. The tasters were her closest children. Naïve as they were, they took it as a reward, none of them had expected it and each of them retained... a certain memory.

Allen, crawling on the ground, consumed by what looked like excruciating pain, stretched out a desperate arm in the direction of his goddess.

"This will never change... my love... for you..." he had said before fainting.

Behind him, Hedin, using his weapon as a cane to stay on his feet, tried in vain to readjust his glasses.

"What a terrible... miscalculation..." he said before fainting too.

Hogni, his face pale, laughed like hell.

"Mwahahaha, the darkness! The darkness invades me! It's tearing me apart from the inside!" And then he'd fainted too.

Of the quadruplets, only the eldest had been able to test their goddess's cooking and he was now in his brothers' arms.

"Sorry... brothers... I'm leaving... first..."

"No! Alfrigg! Aaaaaaaaaaaalfriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigg!"

The only one who didn't say anything and remained stoic throughout was Ottar... for the simple reason that he had fainted on his feet.

The last nail was hammered in by Heith, who was passing by and, noticing the damage, began by asking the following:

"Great poison! Who developed it?"

In short, Freya had no illusions about her level and her sudden desire to improve would change many things, starting with a sharp decrease in stomach ache within her familia.

As agreed, Bell met up with Lili for another day in the dungeon. The young woman had baited the fish, now it was time to hook it gently, without scaring it away. She complimented him, did her job to the best of her ability and, seeing that he was making rapid progress, subtly urged him to descend a little further into the Dungeon.

That day, she noticed that the young man had a little more to eat than usual, so he explained the strange combination of circumstances that had led him to have two lunchboxes. While the fake chienthrope was always wary of the very dubious meal, she drooled over the other, which looked much more appetising. Bell saw it and, kind as he was, offered to help herself to it, which she did without hesitation.

When was the last time she'd eaten anything this good? She didn't even know. But it was becoming urgent that she stole the dagger and disappeared, before she was trapped by his kindness.

Later that afternoon, things went quietly, until the boy made a mistake by being inattentive.

"Master Bell, look out!"

The young woman had then drawn a magical weapon and a stream of flames had charred a monster that was about to attack Bell. Why had she used something so precious to him? She herself didn't know why. She tried to convince herself that it was to thank him for the excellent meal, and also to gain his trust.

"Thank you Lili."

"You're welcome Master Bell, but please be careful, you mustn't be so careless in the Dungeon."

"You're right, sorry Lili. I had... a complicated conversation with someone in my familia and I confess it's still bothering me a bit."

Neela's words were still spinning in the back of his mind and it was working him over.

"I understand, but stay focused Master Bell."

But it was actually good news for the supporter, in the state he was in, it would be the ideal moment to relieve him of that dagger and disappear, which she didn't hesitate to do once they had finally finished their day in the Dungeon.

After that day, Bell took the opportunity to go and see Eina. Clearly, the little incident of their date had been strangely forgotten. Fortunately, otherwise the half elf would never have been able to look him in the eye again if he had known what Ishtar had seen under her skirt.

Instead, they remained professional and Bell explained to his adviser that he had found the help of a carrier.

"Someone from your familia?"

"No, she's from Soma familia I think."

"Soma familia..." repeated Eina thoughtfully. This provoked a silence which Bell broke after a moment.

"Is that a problem?"

"No, I don't think so. In any case, it's true that you need help."

Eina wasn't sure of herself, but she'd swear she'd heard things about Soma's familia.

"By the way, Bell, where's your knife?" she said, realising that its sheath was empty. Since Bell was wearing his weapon on the back of his belt, he hadn't noticed it was missing. He quickly reached for his weapon and realised it was gone. Immediately, the boy turned pale and began to panic.

"The weapon my goddess gave me! I must find it!"

And without giving Eina time to say anything else, he ran out of the Guild in a panic. This was the moment that Eina's colleague, Misha, chose to come and tease her a little.

"Well? Your suitor runs off without even saying goodbye?"

"Misha, I already told you it wasn't like that."

"Says the one who was on a date with him the other day."

"It wasn't a date Misha."

"It wasn't? That's not what I heard," she replied with a teasing grin. "Especially with what you dared to put on to get there. There was nothing merely friendly about it."

Eina began to panic and clamped her hand over her mouth to shut her up.

"Shut up! And how do you know that by the way?"

"I have the ways..." she grinned with a falsely mysterious smile once the semi-elven had released her.

" Well, when it comes to gossip, I'll take your word for it." She conceded with a sigh.

"And how was it otherwise?" Misha asked in a low voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"Roooohh! Don't play innocent, you have spent a day alone with one of Ishtar's children. I'm asking you if he's skilled. I'm not judging you, of course, you can have as much fun as you like, but be careful, I'd remind you that the chief doesn't like it when we get too close to our adventurers."

The huge undertone was most obvious. And Eina responded to it in her own way.

"Misha... one more word of this, I'll strangle you and dump your body in the sewers." She told her with a big smile that was as adorable as it was frightening.

"You're getting a bit touchy Eina... and scary for that matter."

"By the way Misha, you hear a lot don't you?"

"Of course, I'm always very well informed!" she said, puffing out her chest in pride, she had to defend her title of Queen of the Gossips after all.

"Have you heard anything lately about Soma familia?"

"Soma..." she said thoughtfully. "Hmmmm... hard to say, but there's something odd about it."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure, they almost seem desperate... especially these days."

"What do you mean?"

While they were talking, they heard loud voices coming from the exchange counter. Clearly, an adventurer was complaining about the price he was being offered for his loot. An adventurer whose outfit bore the emblem of a cup and a crescent moon. The Soma emblem.

"Speak of the devil..." said Misha, pointing to the man who was complaining that it wasn't enough.

"An adventurer from Soma familia? He wouldn't be the first to quibble about the value of his loot."

Greed was a common vice among adventurers. Many came in search of riches and after risking their lives in the Dungeon, they wanted it to pay off as much as possible afterwards.

"True, but with them, it's always the same. Every time, it's the same show and it's getting worse lately."

" Does that mean their familia is in financial trouble?"

"Not that I'm aware of, in fact I think it's the opposite. As well as exploring the Donjon, this familia produces wine, which is quite famous and sells well."

"Strange."

Eina couldn't shake the bad feeling that haunted her. It was beyond the scope of her work, but she felt obliged to investigate a little. At least to make sure Bell wasn't in any danger.

For his part, Bell was running, looking for his knife. A knife currently in the hands of an angry pallum. Thirty valis... her usual dealer was about to give only her thirty valis. According to him, it was just a rusty old knife that didn't cut anything. She wanted to protest, but when she tried the knife herself, she had to face the facts: it didn't cut anything. And yet she had seen this weapon slice through the leather and scales of monsters as if they were butter. But the details didn't matter to her. All she had to do was get the scabbard with Hephaistos's seal, find another dealer and sell it for a decent price.

She was so close to her goal, there was no question of backing down now. Unfortunately, in her anger, she paid no attention when two young women dressed in waitress uniforms walked past her and one of them, an elf, turned to call her out.

It was an altercation that left Lili particularly frightened, but she couldn't decide which frightened her more, the elf's murderous aura or the human's threats. She left the knife with the two women and fled.

Ryuu had identified Bell's weapon perfectly and had a good idea of what might have happened. For her part, Freya would have happily let the weapon vanish into thin air. It was a personal gift from Ishtar to Bell after all, something that symbolised a bond between them, the loss of which could perhaps have damaged their relationship. In her eyes, it also represented a certain hold that the goddess of whores had over him. It was Ishtar's unusual behaviour that kept her from attacking without a second thought.

Unfortunately, her elf friend had seen the weapon and even if, as Syr, she had some influence over her, she certainly wouldn't convince her to throw it away.

Not to mention the fact that this was precisely the moment Bell chose to barge in. As soon as he saw his weapon, he ran towards the young women and grabbed Ryuu's hand, which was holding the precious object.

"I thought I'd lost it! Thank you, thank you!" he said, almost in tears.

For her part, Ryuu was on the verge of a panic attack herself, even if she tried not to show it. This human, incidentally Ishtar's child, had grabbed her hand in such an indecent way. As for Syr, she was trying to mask her jealousy.

"Mr Cranel, you should rather..."

She was about to say that he should rather do that to Syr, but she remembered that he was a child of Ishtar. Should she risk telling him openly to attack Syr? To let him pour out all his lust on her? Or should she protect the (non-existent) innocence of her friend?

And was he ever going to let go of her hand? It had already been thirty seconds! What indecency... Another thirty seconds and she would have been forced to marry him.

Although the sight amused her terribly, Syr was obliged to intervene before things got out of hand.

"Bell, I think you can let go of Ryuu's hand now."

"Oh! Yes, sorry!" he said, releasing the elf's hand and picking up his weapon to put it back in its scabbard. "Thanks again for finding it, I don't even know where I lost it."

"It was a pallum girl who had it." Ryuu said, trying to remain stoic.

"A pallum? Strange..."

Bell had a weird feeling, but he couldn't work out why. The girl he'd saved the other night? No, that would be a strange coincidence. Feeling that there was no point in thinking any further, and seeing the sun declining, he excused himself to the young women and returned home.

As soon as he was out of sight, Ryuu turned her head towards Syr, her ears red.

"Syr... does... does polygamous marriage bother you?"

"Huh?" she squeaked in surprise.

"I mean... now that Mr Cranel has poured his lust on me... I'm going to have to marry him..."

"Ryuu... calm down! He just held your hand!"

"Don't say such obscene things so lightly!" said the elf, covering her face with her hands, obviously very shocked by what had just happened. "With both hands... for more than a minute..." muttered the elf with a tremor in her voice.

And so it was that Syr tried to get Ryuu to play down the situation, but with only relative success. In fact, she even had the feeling that she had just created a new rival for herself.

As for the fiancé who was unaware of his new status, he had returned home and, since he was unable to lie, he confessed everything to his goddess. Ishtar certainly wouldn't have had the heart to reprimand him when he was already whipping himself.

"I'm sorry I lost the weapon you gave me," he said.

"What's important is that you found it." She replied, stroking his head in an affectionate, almost motherly way.

"I promise I'll be more careful in the future."

"I know Bell, you're a clever boy, you won't make the same mistake twice."

Reassured, he gave her a tender smile, all under the distant gaze of Hestia, who longed for the day when she would finally have a familia of her own with whom to share such moments.

"On another subject Bell, I have to say you impress me."

"How so?"

"You're getting more aggressive every day."

The boy suddenly turned pale, wondering what else his goddess was going to make up.

"I mean, to grab the hand of a pure-blooded elf like that... what audacity! In her eyes, it's as if you'd pushed her against a wall, given her a hickey on the neck and stuck your hand under her skirt."

Bell wanted to cry out in horror, but his wide-open mouth only let in an embarrassed silence. If his goddess was telling the truth, his reputation as a gigolo at the Hostess of fertility was going to get even worse. How was he going to be able to hold Ryuu's gaze in the future?

For her part, Hestia couldn't contain a small laugh. Although she was a little jealous, she couldn't help finding the two of them cute. In a way, she understood Ishtar: how could she resist teasing a boy like Bell?

And while the young man was wondering about his social future, another goddess at the top of the highest tower was taking a more in-depth interest in his future.

Since Ishtar seemed to want to take her time, there would be nothing wrong with passing her by a little. The goddess of whores had got her hands on a diamond in the rough, but didn't have the skills to make it shine, so Freya could force the issue.

"Let's see... ah! This one will be perfect." She said, taking out a white book from her private library.

Author's notes: And yet another chapter comes to an end. In the end, it didn't even get as far into the story as I'd originally thought. My chapters grew as I wrote and as I was inspired.

I could certainly write longer chapters, but I'd only release them once every three months and I'm not interested in that.

About the character of Neela. Initially, I didn't think she would be so important. I didn't really want to include too much OC (and I know that some readers aren't fans of OC). But this character turned out to be very useful for me in terms of storytelling, as it allowed me to highlight another aspect of Ishtar's familia.

Bell has been confronted with a certain reality here. In this story, he is a child of Ishtar, and his relationship with sexuality is bound to take a very different direction from the original story, where he is the child of a jealous and possessive virgin goddess.

Don't worry, I'm not going to turn him into a hentai protagonist either, my aim is to keep things coherent and logical.