Hello my good people!
Well, you guys seem to have enjoyed the last chapter, which makes me very happy. Though, many of you seem very anxious/confused/concerned/possibly angry about what Aria was suggesting at the end of the chapter. On that note… well, you're going to have to wait and see what she means :p .
That said I am overjoyed that so many of you responded and I do encourage you all to do so as much as you can in the future, and not just because I like your kind words. As stated in the past you, my dear audience, have pointed out issues that I made, which has allowed me a chance to correct things. It has also provided me a chance to interact with you which has been quite enjoyable for me. I especially encourage this now that the true plot has begun. Everything before was the warm-up and now things are going to truly heat up.
But, I've blabbered on long enough, it's time to jump back into the story and see how our dear characters are doing, so let's get to it.
I do not own Danmachi
Hermes sat behind his desk, his usual smile on his face as he waited patiently for his child to return.
"Hermes-sama," came her voice alongside a knock at his door.
"Come in, Asfi."
The young woman entered.
"Do you have any more information?"
She shook her head.
"No. All the information appears to be relatively the same. The explosion above the city originated from Hearthfire Manor and was done by Bell Cranel. Rumors are flying around the incident, ranging from there being a hidden member of the Hestia familia to Bell Cranel secretly keeping a monster in the manor for… uncouth purposes."
Hermes lost his smile.
"That is unfortunate."
"Quite," she agreed. "The most common rumor however is that Achilles Caesar was on death's door and may have perished from the attack by succumbing to his wounds. This seems unlikely given everything, but it also appears to be the closest to the truth." Hermes's ears perked up. "I was able to find numerous eye-witnesses who claim to have been present when Achilles revealed what had transpired between him and Bell Cranel. Apparently he was gravely injured doing some kind of mental training where Achilles hit a sensitive issue, enraging Bell-san."
"And this sensitive issue was?" the god inquired.
"Unknown. Achilles did not share."
"Hm," Hermes stood up. "And what are the people's thoughts on Bell?"
There was no way for Asfi to misinterpret what he was asking.
"They're afraid and some have suggested that he be eliminated."
"How dreadful," Hermes said, though not an ounce of fear or shock was present in his voice. "Bell Cranel is the hero who will complete the Great Quests. He has the strength. He has a mentor who can teach and guide him. He even has a princess for whom to rescue," he smiled. "Most importantly he has the drive to be a hero. He cannot be stopped now because of a simple misunderstanding," he turned around and faced his captain, his smile unwavering. "So, my dear Asfi, would you be so kind as to convince them to… reconsider their position?"
Asfi's frown deepened.
"Understood."
Tiona was bouncing in impatience.
"Can we get going yet?!" she cried.
"Hold your freaking horses!" her sister demanded, thoroughly annoyed with her sister.
"But I wanna talk with Argonaut-kun!" the young amazon complained. "We haven't seen him in a freaking week and I wanna ask him about that explosion in the sky. I mean, you saw what he did to the Olympian. The Olympian! I wanna know how he did that and then have a go at him!"
The wording of that caused a few blushes to appear in the room.
"You mean fight him to see how strong he is, correct?" Riveria asked.
"Yeah. What else could I mean?" Tiona asked.
The blushes intensified.
"Doesn't matter," the elven mother of Loki familia replied. "But, it will be good to see them all again," her head turned towards a blonde sword user who, while not as verbal as the amazon, was clearly eager to get going as well if her rapidly tapping foot was any indication.
"She practically ready to burst," she thought in amusement.
"Yeah, and you can use this as an opportunity to get closer to the Olympian," Tiona decided to throw in.
And just like that, all amusement Riveria felt was gone as she suddenly felt all eyes on her and her cheeks beginning to burn.
"We're not going there for that," she tried to counter.
"We're also not going there not to do that," Finn decided to jump in. "Besides, if Achilles's injuries are really as bad as you said then you can take the opportunity to do a 'check up' and see if his wounds are completely healed."
Riveria's face exploded into red as most of the familia smiled or burst into laughs and chuckles. The notable exception being Bete.
"I think I'm going to heave," he said.
"T-That is a vulgar thing to say!" Riveria declared.
Finn just laughed.
"I'm just teasing, Riveria," he replied.
"Still," her mind filled with images of recent injuries. His burnt flesh, exposed muscle and bone, and the miserable look in his eyes. Things became worse in her mind as she remembered what he had shown her back in the Dungeon. The injury he suffered from the Dragon and all its horror, the knowledge he had suffered from such a terrible wound for years causing her heart to sink further.
"He doesn't deserve the punishment the world keeps sending his way," she thought.
"It's inappropriate," she finished, her voice low and despondent.
The shift in tone was not lost on anyone and they all quickly realized they had stepped into territory they had not meant to.
A hand on her shoulder brought Riveria back to reality and she turned.
Aiz smiled at her.
"I'm sure Achilles will be very happy to see you," she said gently and honestly.
Those words, and the pure benevolence behind them, allowed Riveria to escape her forlornness and smile again.
"Well, tease as I'm sure you will, I will be happy to see him again as well."
This time, no one said anything, but simply smiled, glad that whatever had transpired had passed and the good feelings had returned.
"Then let's get going!" Tiona declared.
They were all prepared to do just that when a man burst into the hall, out of breath.
"What's going on?" Finn asked, immediately on alert given the man's state.
"I…" the man tried to catch his breath. "I just came from… the Guild. The Rabbit Foot…"
That instantly got everyone's attention and Aiz tensed as fear filled her eyes.
"What happened with Bell Cranel?" Finn asked, even more on edge now, alongside his familia.
"He's… he's reached level five."
With those words, the fear was gone, replaced by surprise.
"Bell Cranel has reached level five?" Finn asked.
The man nodded.
"Yeah. And not only that. But the Olympian…" everyone's ears perked up, none more so than Riveria's whose ears quite literally jumped at the name. "He's joined the Hestia familia."
Finn, Gareth, and Riveria actually felt their jaws drop at that.
"Achilles left the Zeus familia?" Riveria asked, flabbergasted.
"Yeah. I was in the Guild when they announced both. Originally, we all thought he was restarting his familia, but he said he was now a member of the Hestia familia."
"Well that's… beyond surprising," Finn stated.
"Really?" Tiona asked, cocking her head to the side. "Doesn't it make sense though? Bell's his son now, and he was living with them, so is it really that shocking?"
"In some ways no, but for us that have known him for so long, it's quite the turn of events," Riveria said. "The Zeus familia was his family, through and through. They, alongside the Hera familia were the single most important thing in the world to him. Who he was, his very identity, was wrapped up in being a member of the familia. It was the only one he was ever a part of. His whole life in Orario was spent with them, so for him to leave it is, while understandable within context, quite astounding."
There were a few nods amongst the Loki familia. More interestingly though, Tiona gained a look of deep contemplating as she took in this information.
"But, that means he's ready to move on, doesn't it? He's ready to make a new family."
So pure and sweet were those words that Riveria could not help smiling.
"Perhaps you are right, Tiona. Indeed, I think you are precisely right."
More smiles appeared and Tiona was practically beaming. That was, until her sister jumped in.
"First time for everything."
"Hey!"
The room filled with laughter as the earlier fear was forgotten.
The Loki familia made their way through the streets, smiling without a care in the world, except for Bete who was being his usual self, and Lefiya who was looking towards Aiz was near tearful eyes. Naturally, both of these less than stellar moods were noticed by the bouncy amazon, who began to tease the werewolf and soothe the elf to the best of her abilities.
Finn watched all this transpire with his own smile plastered on his face, happy that things were going back to normal.
"That's what I'd like to believe," his smile disappeared as his eyes moved away from his familia. "But those eyes aren't exactly making me feel easy."
All around them the people they passed watched them with baited breath and nervous gazes. The closer they got to the Hearthfire Manor the more eyes turned their way and the more nervous, and worse yet, eager, the eyes became.
"You've noticed it too," Riveria said.
"Yeah," he replied. "They're expecting something from us."
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out what that is," Gareth added, his previously cheery demeanor turning noticeably colder.
They continued along, hoping that the eyes would soon realize that they had no intention of fulfilling any dark desires that day, but the eyes only grew in number and eagerness.
"Why's everyone staring?" Tiona asked, looking around.
Bete growled, not liking the attention on them and glaring at those they passed with increasing suspicion.
"What's going on, Aiz-san?" Lefiya asked, placing herself closer to the Sword Princess.
"I don't know," she replied, but the frigid look in her eyes suggested otherwise.
Now that they recognized the stares everyone was focused on those they passed and the whispers that now reached their ears.
"They're heading for Hearthfire Manor, right?"
"They must be."
"But they're not armed."
"Maybe that's to trick them."
"But what about the Olympian?"
"Isn't he dead?"
"Without him they wouldn't stand a chance against the Loki familia."
"They might not even resist after that terrifying display. They might even help to get rid of the Rabbit."
Voices from every direction were hitting them and filling them with dread and rage, none more so than Aiz whose knuckles had long since bled white and who looked ready to attack the next person she saw.
"Mommy, are they going to defeat the monster?"
That one question, so innocently asked, was all Aiz could stand, her eyes shot towards the source and found a child and their mother. Neither noticed the Sword Princess's glare immediately, but there was only so long they could fail to notice the anger rolling off her. The mother jumped at the frightful glare, but Aiz was not prepared to leave it at that and was about to make her way over to the mother when a hand grabbed her shoulder.
Shooting back around, Aiz discovered Riveria next to her, sympathetic eyes pointing at her.
"Don't, Aiz. I know how upsetting their words must be, but it will do no good to react in anger."
"They called him a monster," she replied, her voice both cold as ice and hot as an inferno.
"I know. That is what fear does to people."
"He's not a monster."
"I know. But they have to realize that themselves and, in time, they will. But attacking them won't help Bell and I know for a fact that he would not wish you to be angry in any case, especially in defense of him,even if he might appreciate your efforts."
Aiz's gaze fell to the ground. She still wanted to confront those who had spoken so unjustly about the young man who had wormed his way into her heart. Wanted to force them to rescind their words and make them beg for forgiveness, but Riveria's words pulled her back, especially those about the boy himself.
"Fine," she conceded.
"Thank you," Riveria said.
Seeing that the conflict had been averted, the Loki familia continued on its way, though now most of them were glaring at those whose words they managed to catch.
Finally, and to the great relief of the trickster goddess's familia, they arrived at their destination.
It was Aiz who went to the gate bell and rang it, eager to see the young captain again, especially after recent events.
A few moments later, the familiar voice of Haruhime answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Haruhime. This is Aiz Wallenstein. I'm here with my familia. We were hoping we could visit," she said, barely able to keep the franticness out of her voice.
"Of course!" the renard replied immediately. "I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you all."
A moment later, the gate opened allowing the Loki familia inside.
"Thank you very much," Aiz said, her eagerness now clearly heard in her voice.
Riveria smiled.
"I can't help but wonder what she would have done had Haruhime denied her entry. I'm not sure she would have been able to restrain herself and may have simply jumped the fence," she thought in amusement.
The front door opened and a smiling Haruhime greeted them with a bow.
"Good morning."
The Loki familia all returned the greeting before making their way inside where they were met with the sight of Achilles smiling at them.
"Good morning," he greeted, seeming ready to burst in excitement, not that any of them were particularly surprised by this given what they had recently learned.
"Good morning to you as well, Achilles. I hear congratulations are in order," Riveria said, overjoyed with both the news and the evident happiness it was giving the man who held her heart.
He chuckled and scratched his cheek, in a manner, Riveria noted, was identical to Bell.
"I guess you heard the news."
"Indeed we have. Bell a level five and you, the newest member of the Hestia familia, both of which came as a bit of a surprise."
His smile grew.
"I had been thinking about it for a while and after everything I realized that here," he gestured to the manor. "Was the first place that had felt like home in fifteen years. Once I figured that out it was rather easy for me to make the decision," he explained.
Riveria and Haruhime smiled brightly at that and the joy in the room was so overwhelming that even Bete was having a hard time keeping his frown on.
"I can't begin to tell you how happy that makes me. You deserve a good home and I can't think of a better place."
"I can think of one," another voice whispered.
Riveria turned and found Tiona smiling giddily at her, evidentantly trying to hold in laughter.
Realizing what the girl meant, she glared at the amazon, warning her away from her path, before shifting back to Achilles. However, he wasn't looking at her, but at Tiona, his eyes now containing a healthy dose of confusion. Feeling her eyes, he turned back to her and then, to her shock, his face began to turn red and his eyes widened before he quickly turned away, scratching his cheek again, only now it was clearly in embarrassment.
"Anyway," he quickly said. "I suspect you'll want to see Bell. He's in the back getting his bearings on his new level. Follow me."
He quickly turned and strode off, leaving behind a confused Riveria.
"Looks like Cranel was right." She turned to Finn who was now smiling quite impishly himself. "He's figured it out."
Riveria's eyes widened as she shot back to the retreating form of the Olympian.
Before she could die of embarrassment, a soft voice cooed out to her.
"Riveria-san." The elf turned towards the fox girl next to her. "All of us think you two would make a wonderful couple."
The royal elf felt like her face and ears were about to burst into flames.
"I-I." Nearly everyone chuckled.
Riveria stopped, hoping to prevent further embarrassment, and took a deep breath.
"Thank you," she finally managed, though her skin still held a fine dusting of red.
Haruhime smiled brightly at her.
"You're welcome."
Haruhime and the Loki familia quickly followed after Achilles and made their way outside.
As Achilles had said, Bell was there, moving about with his Hestia knife, slashing, jumping, and fighting invisible enemies as he got himself used to his newly acquired level.
They all watched him for a few moments, marvelling at his even greater speed, precision, and maneuverability. Everything about him indicated a first-class adventurer and it was a sight to behold for all, but none more than Aiz who, not so long ago, had felt jealous at the speed of his growth and a sense of dread at the thought that he would soon overtake her. However, she now felt none of these horrid feelings, having replaced them with a sense of pride at her part in his growth, and wonder at his ever-growing strength.
"He's getting stronger everyday," she thought as her hand subconsciously placed itself over her heart.
Feeling he had allowed his son to unknowingly show off for long enough, Achilles called out.
"Bell!"
The young captain quickly stopped and turned and, after getting over his surprise at seeing the Loki familia, smiled and began making his way over to them.
"Hi everyone, it's great to see all of-."
He did not get the chance to finish as a blur of gold flew past Achilles, launched itself at him, and proceeded to wrap itself tightly around him.
"I'm glad you're okay," Aiz said into his shoulder.
Bell was stunned into silence, as was effectively everyone else by the sudden action of the Sword Princess.
"Well, that's a pretty obvious sign," Achilles noted.
"It is love. Unquestionably, undeniably, pure love," Riveria thought, her heart swelling. "And she finally knows it herself."
"I-I'm… I'm sorry if I worried you," Bell said, trying to get his mind to work properly again.
Aiz pulled back and stopped Bell's heart when she smiled at him.
"There's nothing to apologize for, as long as you're alright."
Bell's brain was working overtime to try and get proper functioning back, but his heart seemed unwilling to allow this to happen. Instead, it desired to beat wildly within Bell's chest as he absorbed the sight of his object of adoration and her beautiful smile.
"Oh gods, his brain's going to melt," Achilles thought, rolling his eyes. He was about to intervene when Bell, by some miracle, finally managed a response.
"Well, I'm very happy to see you again, Aiz-san," he said, returning her smile with one of his own blinding ones.
Now it was Aiz who was stunned as his smile fried her brain and made her heart thunder in her chest.
"I-I'm… sorry I haven't visited."
Bell shook his head.
"No need to apologize. I understand," he said. Then he did something that truly surprised everyone. He took both of Aiz's hands, held them tightly between his own then, looking directly into her eyes, he said. "I promise to help you rescue your mother and defeat the Dragon, no matter what it takes. If you'll allow me."
Aiz's jaw dropped, though she wasn't quite sure why. Her familia had made the same offer not but a few days ago, yet this seemed entirely different. Perhaps it was because he had offered her his help without prodding. Perhaps it was because it was so heartfelt, pure, and honest. Or perhaps it was because it was coming from the person she now knew she saw as more than a friend.
"I love him," she finally confessed. "I love him so much," she could not stop herself from smiling. "I just wish he felt the same. But why would he? What could he ever see in someone like me?"
Despite her stunning lack of self-awareness and ludicrously low self-esteem on this matter, Aiz continued to smile at Bell who, as she soon found out, wasn't done yet.
"My dad promised to help us both as well, so we'll be sure to defeat it and save your mother."
That caught everyone's attention and all eyes shot to Achilles who sighed.
"Yes, I'm going to help you both defeat the Dragon. Can't say I'm eager to see it again, but I did promise."
"You'll help us defeat the Dragon?" Aiz asked, shocked.
"Yep. I'll train you to the best of my abilities. Tell you what I know and, when the time comes, I'll be right there next to you to fight it."
This was a stunning bit of information for all, including Haruhime as neither Achilles nor Bell had informed any of the Hestia familia of such intent. It put the young renard in a bit of a dilemma. On one hand, she was glad that Achilles would be beside Bell to keep him safe and help him grow stronger. She also did not fail to recognize that this was a major step forward for the man who had, not so long ago, been adamant about preventing anyone from fighting the Dragon. So, in a way, she was proud of him. Yet, she could not ever fail to recognize the terrible danger they would all be in with such a fight, nor the potential cost of such a conflict. So, in the end, she could not exactly put her support behind the idea, progress and promises be damned.
Riveria was in much the same boat. She was, naturally, still very concerned about Aiz's desire to destroy the last Great Beast, but given recent events, from Bell opening up her heart, to her familia's promise to aid the young swordsman, she had felt more at ease about the situation as, at least, Aiz wouldn't be alone. Having Bell and Achilles suddenly added to the mix eased her even more as not only was their strength a great addition to such a challenge, but both would likely add a level of restraint to her ward, pulling Aiz back from the darkness. Yet that was not the only reason Riveria was now smiling at the Olympian.
"He really is regaining his past self. He's overcoming his fear. Pushing past it to protect something that means more to him than any amount of terror," she thought, happy her not so secret love was becoming the man she knew he could be.
"Thank you," Aiz managed, after getting over her surprise.
"Don't thank me. This is my penance."
"Penance for what?" Finn asked, remembering what Riveria had told them after the explosion.
"For the stupidest, cruelest thing I've ever said," was Achilles's response.
"And that was?" Finn pressed, hoping to get more information.
"None of your business," Achilles said sternly. "I will sooner cut out my tongue then repeat those words."
The firmness of his tone made sure everyone understood he was not exaggerating.
"Dad," Bell called. "It's okay."
"No. No it's not," Achilles said, deep shame covering his features. "But, I will do better," he vowed.
Tension fell over the group for a few seconds, no one knowing quite what to do or say until Achilles decided to force on ahead.
"I think it's about time we all caught up. It has been what, a week, since we all last saw each other? And Bell wasn't a level five last time."
Bell, happy to have the subject changed, and still a bit giddy at his recent rank up, smiled.
"And you weren't a member of the Hestia familia last time they saw you," he added.
"True," Achilles said, regaining his smile.
"Yeah!" Tiona cried excitedly. "And you and I need to have a go to see what you can do now, Argonaut-kun!"
Achilles turned to Riveria and gave her a look.
"She means a spar, right?"
Riveria sighed and nodded as she rubbed her temple.
"Yes, we asked her for clarification this morning."
They all went back inside, Haruhime quickly breaking off to go inform the other members of the Hestia familia of the Loki familia's arrival.
"How have you all been? I know it hasn't been that long since we last saw each other, but it's felt like longer than a week," Bell asked.
"Things have been crazy! First, Aiz had us worried for days, running off to the Dungeon all by herself, sneaking back in at night. Then you did that thing over the city and everyone's gone crazy!" Tiona declared.
Aiz and Bell looked embarrassed, clearly feeling bad about their actions. They were joined by most of the Loki familia, though that was more due to Tiona's bluntness. The only ones who were not embarrassed were Tione due to her annoyance at her sister's lack of tact, Bete who simply rolled his eyes at the reactions, and Achilles.
"How precisely has everyone gone crazy?" he asked.
The Loki familia froze, which neither Achilles nor Bell failed to notice.
"What's going on?" Achilles pressed.
No one answered, neither wishing to, nor knowing how to answer even if they had.
"Aiz-san?" Bell called, turning to the young woman beside him, his gentle eyes asking for answers.
Aiz could not resist such a soft call, especially not with her recently admitted to feelings and his big, beautiful ruby eyes peering right at her.
"They-."
"People thought we were coming here to kill you, Rabbit."
Everyone's eyes shot to Bete who was staring at Bell, arms crossed.
"Everyone's freaked out after that explosion you set off," Bete continued, ignoring everyone's reaction. "Probably doesn't help that there's a rumor you killed your old man."
"Bete," Finn called, his tone full of disapproval.
"What? They needed to know. If they didn't the Rabbit might walk into some stupid trap by set by some cowardly idiots," the werewolf bit back.
Most of them recognized the truth and wisdom of this, but that didn't mean they were exactly approving of the blunt method their comrade had used. Riveria, especially was concerned, given who was beside her.
Turning her gaze, she found an unquestionably irate Olympian, his face turning red in rage, and his knuckles bone white as he tried to restrain himself.
"Achilles," she quickly called, hoping to prevent an outburst, going so far as to place a hand against his arm.
He snapped to her, his burning sapphires connecting with her concerned emeralds. After a few moments of staring into her understanding eyes, he managed to reign himself in, take a deep breath, and calm down.
"Fucking idiots," he growled.
Glad he had managed to stop himself from losing control, she smiled at him and nodded.
"Yes. Fear has a tendency to make people quite foolish."
"Isn't that why we have bravery?" Achilles shot back.
"Not everyone can be brave like you, Achilles," she countered.
"I refuse to believe that. Makes life too depressing."
She laughed, but soon noticed that the room was oddly quiet. Turning away from the man next to her, she quickly understood why.
Everyone else had, naturally, taken notice of the angry father and were also concerned about his temper. However, seeing the motherly elf handle the situation and then proceed to fall into her own little world with the object of her affections was something they all couldn't help but enjoy, except Bete of course who remained, well, Bete.
Seeing that they now had an audience, Riveria blushed and pulled back her hand that she had only just realized was still on his arm.
The quick action caught Achilles's attention and he looked at Riveria. Seeing her red face and the fact she was focused elsewhere, he turned and was soon blushing himself as he realized what was going on.
"Oh gods," he thought, seeing Bell's pleased smile. "I'm about to be teased by my own son."
Luckily for the embarrassed duo, the rest of the Hestia familia decided now was the proper moment to make their appearance.
"Good morning, everyone," the goddess greeted.
"Morning, Hestia-sama," they all returned.
Hestia, as was natural to her, zoned in on Bell and, upon seeing that Aiz was right next to him, actually pressing up against his side, immediately lost her smile.
"What is this?!" she yelled, rushing over to Bell and Aiz.
She tried to separate the two, but was shocked when she discovered that Aiz was actually holding onto Bell's arm and was stubbornly resisting any attempt to part from him.
"Why are you clinging to my Bell-kun?!"
That piqued everyone's interest as all, including evidentantly Bell himself, had failed to notice the extraordinary closeness of the young woman.
However, before they all had the chance to react, they got a little surprise from said young woman.
"Because I want to," she answered simply.
The sight that emerged from that blunt reply should have been immortalized in a painting.
Hestia's mouth dropped so low that saying it hit the floor was a vast understatement. More accurately it appeared to have buried itself in the foundations of the manor, the other ladies of Hestia familia vying for Bell's affections did not seem so gobsmacked. This was not because they were not in shock themselves, but because, after their own talks with Achilles, they had all vowed to redouble their efforts to win their snow-haired captain. Mikoto and Welf were also quite surprised, but the brotherly smith was soon smiling, happy that his little brother was winning the girl of his dreams, while Mikoto, also smiling, wished Bell luck.
The Loki familia was awash with different reactions. Lefiya was heartbroken, as expected, with Tiona having to quickly go over and soothe her, even as she herself smiled and internally cheered for the two. Tione was a bit stunned by the statement, but quickly shrugged it off, deciding to simply be happy for her fellow familia member. Bete was surprised enough to show it, but only for a few moments, before rolling his eyes and quietly letting out a 'finally'. Finn and Gareth were as surprised as the rest, though both quickly switched over to pleased, even as they mused over how different their Sword Princess was not long ago.
Then came the 'Mama of Loki familia'. Only words of happiness would be proper for the elf. Overjoyed. Merry. Relieved. Maybe even ecstatic. It was a simple thing, she knew, but it spoke so much.
"She's found her one, and more importantly, she's trying to win his heart."
Achilles watched this scene quite differently from the others. Oh sure, what Aiz said was a bit of a surprise, but it left him more confused than anything else.
"Did I miss something?" he whispered into Riveria's ear.
She turned to him, smiling brightly.
"She knows her feelings now. She knows she loves him," she whispered back.
He looked at her for a few moments before following Bete's example and rolling his eyes.
"Took her long enough."
Riveria laughed lightly and nodded in agreement before they both turned back to the scene.
Of course, the unknown object of affection himself must not be overlooked, and the face of Bell Cranel after having heard Aiz's words was easily worth a million valis.
Eyes so wide one might fear they would pop out of his skull. Mouth open and utterly unable to speak. Body frozen so still he did not even breathe, the only thing that moved was his blood, which had one destination in mind. His face.
Tomatoes, strawberries, and the color red itself were all jealous of how red Bell's face became within moments of hearing his beloved's words. The poor boy looked ready to explode and Achilles was actually worried that with so much blood rushing to his face that it would require an outlet such as his nose or ears.
Luckily for Bell's health, but not so luckily for his unanswered feelings, his goddess snapped out of her stupor and, with burning eyes, decided to forcefully renew her claim on her captain.
"He's mine!" she declared, jumping on to his head, wrapping herself around him and pulling him as hard as she could from the Sword Princess.
"H-Hestia-sama!" the young man cried.
Aiz, surprised by the sudden move, lost her grip on her self-confessed object of affection and watched as he, losing his balance, fell over with his goddess.
Numerous members of the Hestia familia sighed or showed obvious signs of embarrassment, while a few members of the Loki familia laughed at the display. Aiz however, looking down at her now empty hand, then to Bell, suddenly gained a look of fierce determination.
"Ow," Bell said, sitting up, now free of his goddess. Before he could make sense of his situation however, he found his hand grabbed and himself pulled up to his feet before being wrapped in warmth that he realized only after a few moments, was coming from Aiz's arms, now protectively holding him.
"Please don't do that," she said, looking down at Hestia.
Once more, as everyone reeled in surprise by the previously out-of-character action of the blonde maiden, Bell's face burst into flaming red as he took in the warmth and softness of the girl now firmly holding him who just so happened to be the love of his life.
"What's going on?!" he thought as his eyes began to spin.
Hestia, slack-jawed at what she was now witnessing the Wallenstein girl was doing with her Bell, soon jumped to her feet with wrathful eyes, preparing to do battle.
A sudden clap of thunder stopped everything and everyone, their ears ringing, turned to find Achilles with his hands together looking down on all of them.
"Have you all had breakfast yet?" he asked nonchalantly.
Riveria, despite being the closest to the clap, recovered first and, understanding what he was trying to, smiled and replied.
"We have."
"Hm, then perhaps a small brunch while we catch up on the last week or so," he suggested.
"That sounds lovely," she agreed.
"Wonderful. Haruhime," Achilles called, catching the renard's attention and charging ahead to make sure no one stopped his attempt to change the subject. "Would you mind helping me decide what we should make for our guests."
"Oh...um. Absolutely!" she said, still a bit confused by what was going on, but her natural proclivity ensuring she was always happy to help.
"Thank you. Why don't you all head towards the dining area while we prepare and begin catching up with each other?" Achilles suggested to the others.
Riveria, taking advantage of their confusion, answered for the rest.
"We'll do that."
Achilles and Haruhime departed, leaving the others confused, which allowed Riveria to shepherd them to the dining area, making sure to both shield Aiz and Bell from the others and ensure they stayed exactly as close as they were, to the point where she all but forced them down into the seats next to each other, before seating herself on the other side of Bell to ensure no one, namely a certain goddess, would take it and get in the way of the young adventurers' blooming relationship. She had to admit though, the glare she received from the goddess was quite intimidating.
Achilles and Haruhime soon returned with the ingredients for their brunch, the older man deciding on his famous pancakes, which soon proved to be a hit with the Loki familia with Tiona placing a tower of the syrup-covered goodness on her plate.
The two familias caught up with each other, with an interesting assortment of conversations occurring. Welf had taken the other spot next to Riveria in order to protect her from the ladies of his familia and had begun talking quite animatedly with her about magic and magic weapons. He had, truthfully, planned on placing himself next to Aiz, but Lefiya had quite literally run to the spot next to the Sword Princess and had tried desperately to get her to focus on her instead of her love rival. Failing that, she had grown more depressed until Ryuu, who had placed herself next to her fellow elf, gently called out to her.
"Don't give up."
Snapping her head to the lioness, should gave her a confused look.
"If you feel deeply for the Sword Princess, don't give up on her. Keep trying, just as I will keep trying."
Lefiya wasn't quite sure what she meant by that last part, but she felt her spirit begin to stir. Maybe it was because the words were spoken so confidentantly, or maybe it was because Ryuu was an elf herself, while being majestic, powerful, and beautiful enough for Lefiya to blush, but whatever the reason, her confidence soon returned and a confident smile grew on her lips.
"I won't," she swore.
Ryuu smiled back.
"Good. We all must try."
Next to Ryuu was Mikoto who was now speaking with Gareth.
"I always considered my skills in ninjutsu to be dishonorable, but with the help of the others I have been able to accept them," she said.
"As you should. There's nothing wrong in using the skills available to you to overcome a challenge and especially not to protect your friends. And I can already tell you are one of the most honorable people in Orario, Mikoto-san, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
The young easterling blushed, but smiled and nodded.
Further down the table, Tione had made sure to put herself between Finn and Lili, forcing her sister to take his other side so there was no chance the two prums could speak, which was not missed by the Loki captain who laughed nervously. However, once Tione noticed Lili the hint of longing in the prum's eyes when she shifted towards Bell, her feelings towards the prum lady changed.
"You love him, don't you?" she questioned quietly.
Lili, a bit surprised by suddenly being addressed by the amazon who had only ever looked at her with jealousy or bloodlust. Initially, she thought she meant Finn, but seeing the amazon gesture towards Bell, she understood what she meant and nodded.
"Lili does. Very much, and she won't just let the Sword Princess take him," she swore.
Lili was soon thoroughly surprised when the amazon smiled at her.
"Aiz is a part of my familia, but I'll root for you from the sidelines," she whispered.
Lili didn't know what to say.
"T-Thank you," she finally managed.
"No problem. Give him hell," Tione cheered.
Lili nodded and turned back to her food, as Tione focused on Aiz.
"Sorry Aiz, but I need to make sure my own rival doesn't steal my man."
Hestia was, by far, doing the worst of the ladies present. Her anger at seeing Aiz latch onto her Bell-kun, then effectively steal him away from her had caused her blood to boil.
"And things were going so well with her off in the Dungeon. Bell needed me to comfort him, reaffirmed me as his goddess and even punched one of Freya's children for me! Grr, you'll pay for this Aiz Wallen-whatisit!" she vowed to herself.
Off in the kitchen, Haruhime watched everyone with a smile, though her eyes always strayed back to a certain blonde swordsman and a snow-haired captain. Yet, despite this, her smile never wavered and her eyes showed not a hint of sadness or concern, only resilience.
"I won't give up. Even if Bell-sama's feelings are returned I will always be there for him and give him all my love."
However all of this, from the promise between the two elf maidens to the vengeful eyes of the loli goddess, were all completely ignored by two individuals who were so engrossed with each other that it was honestly a wonder that neither of the two loveable fools had figured out how the one next to them felt.
"I really can't tell you how happy I am to see you again, Aiz-san," Bell said, unknowingly whispering to the young woman, ensuring only she heard him.
"I'm glad to see you too, Bell," Aiz returned, also whispering. "I was worried after that explosion and wanted very much to see you."
The blush that had taken up near permanent residence on his face grew.
"I'm sorry I worried you."
The blush somehow grew even greater when Aiz grabbed his hand with both of hers and brought her head to within a couple of inches of his.
"I'm sorry too. I retreated back into my hatred and left you behind. I promise I won't ever do that again," she swore.
Bell had difficulty responding, his embarrassment and more importantly, his joy, practically causing him to burst. So instead, he opted to give his absolutely best smile stunning the Sword Princess.
She brought a hand to her heart, feeling it beat wildly in her chest, now finally understanding what it meant and how long the feelings within her had been there.
"I really do love him, and I have for so long, not knowing it," she thought, smiling. "Now if only he felt the same."
"I promise too," Bell finally managed, snapping her back to reality before sending her right back into her own adoring state as she realized what he meant.
"Thank you, Bell."
Unbeknownst to the two love-struck, everyone had been watching them for some time, having noticed when Aiz had taken his hands, and were watching with their normal reactions, Hestia threatening to break the table under the pressure of her enraged grip.
Achilles, seeing the display, rolled his eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn't spin out of his head.
"How are these two so dense?"
Deciding to bring them back to reality and prevent Hestia or the other girls from ripping Aiz's heart out of her chest, intervened.
"Anyone want more pancakes?" he said, far louder than necessary.
Aiz and Bell jumped and spun around, luckily saved from discovering their audience by the fact that the call had caught everyone else's attention as well.
Naturally, it was Riveria who recovered first and smiled at him.
"I think we're alright," she answered. "And I'm glad to say that your pancakes were as good as I remember them."
"Ah, that's just nostalgia talking, but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless."
Riveria laughed.
"You know I'm not the kind to give false praise, Achilles."
"I suppose that is true," he responded, smiling.
Now everyone's attention was on the other potential couple and more than a few smiles were directed their way, perhaps none brighter than Bell and Aiz.
Feeling eyes on them, the two veteran adventurers turned their gazes and found everyone staring at them, many with smiles, a few of which were teasing.
Both now knowing precisely why everyone was smiling, instantly blushed and turned away, looking for some excuse.
"Well, if no one wants anymore, then I'll put these away," Achilles blurted out, quickly leaving with pancakes in hand.
The Olympian now gone, everyone shifted towards the other part of the duo, who was blushing terribly.
"So," Tiona said, dragging out the word. "Feel like confessing now?"
Riveria's ears burned and she could practically feel the interest in the room increase.
"Oh, when did a confession get put on the table?" Finn asked.
"It didn't," Riveria quickly said.
"We were talking about it when we went out shopping a few days ago," Tiona answered her captain.
"You brought it up and I shot it down immediately," the elf threw back.
"Now's as good of a time as any," Finn stated, smiling the whole time.
Riveria glared at him.
"I will not be pressured into this!" she stated firmly.
"Alright, alright, leave the poor lady alone, she'll confess when she's ready to," Gareth said, coming to her defense, though smiling himself.
"Boo," Tiona complained.
As Riveria recovered from her embarrassment, Achilles, who was leaning against the wall in the hall, was trying to calm his heart and stop the burning in his cheeks.
"Shit," he breathed, having heard everything. "I was really hoping Welf was pulling my leg."
"Thank you for coming, Aiz-san," Bell said, happily holding her hands as the said their goodbyes.
"I just wanted to see you," was her simple reply, too focused on the object of her affections to say anything else.
"Yeah, we got that," Bete said, feeling like he was going to spew pancakes if this sickenly sweet display continued.
"Thank you for having us," Riveria said.
"Of course. I don't think we would have been able to keep you out even if we wanted to," Achilles noted.
The motherly elf chuckled.
"Probably not."
"Well, with everything back to normal, or as normal as it can be, we'll have to find a time we can all meet up again for training," Finn stated.
Aiz and Bell beamed at the idea of seeing each other again, earning the irritation of numerous individuals from both familia.
"I'm sure we'll be able to work out something, but a few things need to be dealt with first, though they shouldn't take too long," the Olympian replied.
"Don't keep us waiting too long or else Tiona's going to come crashing in one of these days since she didn't get her spar today," Finn joked.
"You better believe it!" the amazon cried.
"Noted," Achilles said.
With that, the two familias parted, Bell and Aiz sharing one last look with each other, before the gates closed and the young captain turned around, finding a goddess glaring at him with the fire of a thousand burning suns.
"Be~ll~ku~n!"
Before he could react he found his goddess once more on his head, suffocating him in her chest.
"Why were you so lovey-dovey with Aiz Wallen-whatisit!?" she roared.
"H-Hestia-sama! Please stop doing this!" he pleaded.
"No! Not until you know you're mine and mine alone, Bell-kun!" she cried.
The rest of the Hestia familia watched with a mixture of amusement and embarrassment as the poor boy was practically brought to his knees by his overzealous goddess.
"Alright, I think we've given our neighbors enough of a show," Achilles said, pulling the goddess off of Bell.
Depositing the angry deity down, Achilles then helped his son up, earning an appreciative look.
"Come on. Let's go discuss our plans for today," the ex-captain said.
Bell nodded and everyone turned to head back inside, if only begrudgingly in Hestia's case. However, Bell only got a few paces when he noticed something in the distance.
"I know that owl."
"I'll join you all in a minute," he said suddenly, causing everyone to turn to him.
"Why?" Achilles asked.
"There's something I need to check," was Bell's response.
Confused, everyone looked at each other, but eventually shrugged or nodded.
"Alright," Achilles relented. "Just don't be too long."
"I won't," the Hestia captain said before running off towards the owl and the meeting he knew awaited him.
The owl, upon seeing his approach, took flight, Bell following after it until he reached a shaded enclave within the manor. A moment later, a familiar hooded figure appeared.
"Hello Fels-san," Bell greeted. "How can I help you? Has something happened to Wiene and the others?" he asked, worry entering his voice.
"No, everyone is fine," Fels responded with his usual strange voice. "I came here for two reasons. Firstly, I did investigate the monster you asked about. It was indeed a Xenos. Lyd and the others were in the process of recruiting them, but had failed to overcome their hatred of adventurers, causing the incident you saw," he explained.
Bell nodded solemnly.
"Thank you for telling me. And the other reason?" he asked.
"It has come to Ouranos-sama's attention that Achilles has joined your familia. Is that true?"
Bell, getting a bit of his happiness back, smiled and nodded.
"Yes it is."
"I see. Then, a follow-up question. Do you intend to inform him about Wiene and the other Xenos?"
Bell fell silent, the sudden realization that with his father's joining of the Hestia familia he had the right to know about the Xenos. Indeed, given the promise they had all given to be honest with each other, it was demanded that he be informed.
"But how will he react?" Bell wondered. "Will he defend them and help them with their dream? Will he be scared? Will he," he didn't want to finish the thought, but couldn't help but ask the question. "Will he want to destroy them?"
He quickly shook those thoughts out of his head.
"No. I need to trust him."
Resolved, he focused back on Fels.
"Yes. He is a part of this familia and we all swore not to keep secrets."
Fels nodded.
"I understand. I shall inform Ouranos-sama," he turned to leave, but paused. "Do you think he will accept them?"
Bell's response was instant.
"I trust him."
Again, Fels nodded.
"Then I'm sure we can as well. You haven't given us any reason to believe otherwise. If anything, you have gone far beyond what anyone, even a god, could ask of you."
Bell smiled.
"I want to help them fulfill their dream. To one day see the sun without fear of the people on the surface."
Had he been able to, Fels would have smiled.
"Yet again you reaffirm my faith in you, Bell Cranel. I shall inform Ouranos-sama immediately of your decision. If you need anything, just tell us."
"Thank you, Fels-san."
With the shadowy figure now gone, Bell took a breath then made his way back inside.
Arriving in the living room, he found the others discussing their plans for today.
"Ah, Bell, there you are. We were all in agreement to head to the Dungeon and head to at least floor twenty to bring in a good haul. Sound good to you?" Achilles asked.
"Actually Dad, do you mind if I speak with everyone else for a moment?"
Everyone looked at him with baffled expressions.
"What do you need to talk about with everyone else? I'm not being evicted already am I?" he asked, semi-jokingly.
"No. Nothing like that, it's just…" he didn't like being secretive with the older adventurer, but he needed to speak with the others first. As such, he decided to be as honest as he could be at the moment. "Just like the Zeus and Hera familia had secrets, so do we, and there's one in particular I want you to know, but I need to check with everyone else first before we tell you given how important it is."
It did not take long for the others to figure out what Bell meant and they all tensed a bit as realizing the subject matter.
Achilles, for his part, was more confused than ever, and just a tad hurt. He hoped he had their complete trust, but he understood that some things were too important to simply blindly jump into.
"And I can't say I've been completely trustworthy. Even now I'm keeping secrets from them, so it's not like I have the right to complain."
Realizing this, Achilles soon nodded, readily accepting the situation.
"Okay. That's fair. Some things can't be revealed without real deliberation. I understand that better than most. I'll be outside. If you want to tell me, wonderful. If not, no hard feelings."
"Thanks, Dad," Bell said, guilty eyes staring at the ex-captain.
Achilles gave him a full smile and ruffled his hair.
"Don't worry about it Bell. Besides, I haven't had the chance to smoke today, so this just gives me the opportunity."
Achilles departed, leaving the rest of Hestia familia to address the issue at hand.
"Wiene-san?" Haruhime asked.
Bell nodded.
"I just talked with Fels. He came to tell me that the monster we saw on the eighteenth floor was a Xenos that Lyd and the others failed to recruit." Everyone nodded, having expected that. "But the main reason was to ask if we were going to tell Achilles about the Xenos."
The room fell silent as everyone thought about this and the possible implications.
"Do you think he'll accept them, Bell-kun?" Hestia asked.
"I trust him," he responded. "He did seem disturbed by the Xenos he killed, but that might just be because he hasn't seen them before and was shocked. If we explain things to him I think he'll be open to them."
"But what if he's not?" Lili questioned, asking what everyone was thinking.
"If he's not," Bell responded slowly, his knuckles turning white. "Then I ask him to at least not get in their way. Even if he doesn't like the idea of the Xenos or want to help them with their dream, he won't deny a personal request from me. So, at worst, it just means that one more person knows about them."
It wasn't the best plan, but it also wasn't the worst. Everyone knew how deeply Achilles cared for his adoptive son. A personal request from the young man would be effectively impossible for him to ignore, even if he hated the very idea of the Xenos.
"Then I'm for it," Welf said. "We all swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, to each other. Besides, one look at Wiene's cute face and he won't even think of not helping them."
Smiles started to reappear at that, Bell smiling at his brother figure before turning to everyone else.
"Then we're all agreed."
Everyone nodded.
"We're all agreed," Hestia stated.
"Great! I'll go get him."
Bell ran towards the back, quickly finding the Olympian outside the door, contently smoking his pipe.
"You can come back inside," he said, smiling.
"I hope that smile is a good sign," Achilles replied, putting out his pipe.
"It is."
The two captains made their way back to the others, Achilles checking the looks on everyone's faces, noticing the mixture of excitement, anticipation, and worry.
"So," he said, clapping his hands. "What's the verdict?"
"You might want to sit down, Achilles-kun. This is probably going to come as a bit of a shock," Hestia said.
"Alright," he responded, checking everyone one last time. "If you guys say it's shocking then this should be quite interesting."
He sat down and waited for them to begin and, after a moment, Bell took a deep breath and did just that.
With each passing moment, Achilles's knuckles turned more and more pale and his breathing got heavier and heavier as the secret of Hestia familia was revealed. Finally, when his heart felt like it would burst from his chest and he would drown in his own sweat, Bell finished.
"So…" Achilles began. "There are...intelligent...monsters?"
No one failed to notice how increasing uneasy Achilles had become over the explanation and their own worry had amplified along with his, each one of them understanding that something terrible was happening below the surface.
"Y-Yes," Bell managed.
"And you've...befriended them?" Achilles pressed on, his nails now biting into his skin.
"Yes," Bell continued, doing his best to remain calm in the face of the clearly negative reaction before him.
"One of whom, this...Wiene...effectively became an honorary member of this familia to the point that you fought an Evilus, confronted the Loki familia, and effectively fought the entire city, multiple times, to rescue her and the others?"
Everyone's hearts were thundering in their chests.
Bell swallowed.
"Yes."
The room fell silent. No one daring to speak or even move, besides Achilles who brought his hand to his mouth and bit one of his fingers.
"The nightmare is real. All these years, trying to deny it. All these years, needing to pretend it wasn't real and yet," he bit down hard enough to draw blood. "Now it is. Undeniably so."
"Dad?"
He looked up, seeing Bell staring at him with fearful eyes.
"I know this must be shocking, but I swear they're good people. Lyd. Gros. All of them. And Wiene," he smiled. "She's so sweet and kind. She saved a child. She protected me from Aiz. She's good. She's not like the monsters you've faced. I promise."
Achilles stared at his son for what seemed like an eternity for both of them. Bell pushing forward all his hope while Achilles tried to find even a hint of falsity.
"There is none," Achilles finally admitted. "This is the truth. Or, at least his truth. But does it matter? If he trusts them, isn't that enough?"
Achilles finally pulled away from Bell's gaze and sighed.
"I cannot say I'm comfortable with this new information," he said, the Hestia familia sharing a few concerned looks. "However, I trust you. All of you, and if you say that they can be trusted, I'll accept that." Everyone's fear evaporated and they looked ready to cry out in excitement when he suddenly held up a finger. "On one condition."
"Name it," Bell said.
Achilles looked Bell directly in the eyes, his own eyes as serious as death.
"I want to meet them."
Done! Whew, I am so so so sorry that took so long. I didn't expect it to, but I had major writer's block with that midsection and just got completely stuck. In fact, I got stuck for so long that I actually cut the chapter short. This should have included way more, but I thought you all had waited long enough, and this seemed like a good enough place to stop, cliff-hanger and all.
Anyway, enough excuses. Please, tell me what you all thought. I was REALLY happy with all the reviews for the last chapter. Your kind words and pieces of wise criticism were greatly appreciated and I really hope to continue hearing back from all of you, so please, share your thoughts with me.
With that, I'll sign off so, until next time, bye for now.