Author´s Note: Hello everyone and thank you for your kind words about my return. I´m happy to be back and will give my all again, but as I wrote only one story at a time. As requested I will upload the original version of Like a Fairy too, maybe tomorrow.
A few notes about future and old projects. Spirit Child is gone and wont return, I can´t even explain why but I hate this story. Normal blood of Zeus is gone too. Blood of Zeus Ero for now too, it will get a rewrite to make it from a bunch of one shots into a real harem story (still with lots of H).
Change of Fates has to wait after Like a Fairy, since I´m currently thinking about all the things that will come into the re write.
Are you my Odr? will get a second route, where Bell loves Freya, falling a bit for Syr on the side, but main crush is Freya. This story will get longer than the Syr route, a bit more dark at some point, but I don´t want to spoil.
The new version of blood of Zeus ero will basically be the third route of Bell in Freya familia. Which means Freya will help Bell to bring love all over Orario, sometimes together with him.
I will take my time this time and don´t force myself to press out new chapters. And sometimes it may happen that the new Blood of Zeus Ero (name might change), gets a chapter, so just like before. Maybe when I´m in the mood to write such a chapter.
Burning Love of Justice! isn´t forgotten. But one thing at a time.
Wish you all a good slip into the new year. (we say that in my country)
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.Deep inside the dungeon, the Loki familia was currently fighting against a large horde of monsters.
Not one of them noticed the figure that watched them from a large distance, watched one of them in particular.
It was a woman with short, red hair and green eyes...Revis
Said eyes were fixated on Ais Wallenstein, the Sword Princess.
There was something on that young woman that caught the eyes of the woman.
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Long blond hair...using wind magic...fighting with one sword...fighting at the front line...always fast to protect the others around her...
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Irgh!
Revis pressed her left hand onto her head, she got a really strong headache when she looked at Ais.
A very short image flashed behind her eyes, of a young woman with long, blond hair, wind magic and a single...wooden...sword.
Revis had no memories of this image, why it was there.
It wasn´t the only strange image that flashed from time to time behind her eyes.
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Revis, where are you?
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"Watching the Loki familia."
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Why? Actually it doesn´t matter, come back, Enyo has a job for you.
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With a last glance to the young woman with long, blond hair, wind magic and a single sword, Revis turned around and left.
She didn´t understand why this girl drew her eyes in.
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Hehe, today is the day.
Syr walked humming to the pub, it was early morning and she was excited to see the new face at her first day at work.
Hehe, can´t wait to see Heith in a waitress outfit!
She didn´t want to ruin her fun, so she came from Babel again, while Heith and Horn came from Folkvangr.
It was getting warmer in Orario these days, summer was approaching and that was a time that Freya looked forward to. Every year in summer, Mia prepared some special uniforms for them fitting the summer, to increase the flow of customers. One year they had to use cat ears and tails...well except Anya and Chloe...to lure in more customers.
Ryu´s ears had burned in shame to wear such an outfit, at least she could convince Mama Mia to keep her long skirt since no one was allowed to see much of her skin. The combination of cat and elven ears was surprisingly popular, if Ryu were a little bit more friendly and open minded,
she would surely have a boyfriend by now. But Syr knew who she had her eyes on.
Ryu, you must give it your all! Claim your man!...And then have a bunch of cute half elves! At least six or so! I want to be Aunty Syr!
Syr took out her spare key and opened the backside of the pub, locking the door behind her after she went in.
Hmm...I wonder if they are all awa-
A gentle knock from the front door interrupted her thoughts. Syr started to smile brightly, she knew who that was. Pulling out her key again, she walked to the front door and unlocked it.
"Good morning, Heith!" Syr beamed all over her face as she looked at the healer.
"G-Good morning..."
Heith felt a bit uneasy, as she had promised to Mia she would work here part time, time would tell if Freya´s idea was really that good or not. Syr went ahead and led Heith to the changing room.
"Ehe...are you looking forward to your uniform?" Syr smiled again.
"assing..."
"Hm?"
"It´s...embarassing..."
"Why? It looks cute." Syr opened the door. "Morning Ryu."
"Good morning you two."
Syr knew at which time Ryu started to change her clothes, so she also knew when she had changed enough so that it was alright for Heith to enter the changing room too. No one of the staff members, except for Syr, had ever seen Ryu without her clothes or uniform. And even Syr only saw her in her underwear.
"But...But...It´s shameful to walk around like that!"
"Huh?!" Ryu looked up, she was currently lacing up her shoes "Sh-Shameful?"
"Ah Ryu don´t mind her! It isn´t shameful at all! You look elegant and chaste."
It was hard enough in the past to convince Ryu to wear that uniform...
Heith looked at the coat hook in front of her with the uniform she would wear, it would be the first time for her to put it on.
"Soooo you two, I will leave you alone, Ryu please help your junior!" Giggling, Syr went outside and closed the door.
My...junior...
Ryu would be the one to show Heith the work and she would help her to put the uniform on. Heith was not that troubled with another woman seeing her bare skin even if she wore underwear.
"Do you need help with the clothes?"
"Yes please...what is the first thing?"
"Take your clothes off down to your underwear and then..."
The explanation went on for a while and Ryu had to help Heith with binding the apron correctly. A few minutes later, Heith looked at herself in the big mirror in the corner of the changing room. Without wanting to be narcissistic, she had to think that it looked good on her...even...
"Cute..."
"I´m happy that you like it."
"Thank you, Ms. Lyon."
"Come then, Ms. Velvet, the others are waiting."
"Y-Yes!"
There was a reason why Ryu would teach Heith everything and show her the ropes. The same reason why she also had to do that for Horn. Syr had talked to Mia and explained it was part of her plan. So that Ryu would learn to take care of someone younger, someone that could be quite clumsy, while remaining calm.
Or to make it short...mother training!
It was Freya´s "evil" plan to awaken this desire in Ryu, that she would long to take care of children. Her children...her and Bell´s children...half a dozen cute half-elves!
Not that Freya really wanted to force and push Ryu, but that girl could be quite helpless. That´s why Freya already widened her plan into various directions. Even going so far as to write a letter to a certain goddess, who lived outside of Orario for around five years now.
Together Ryu and Heith went down the stairs, the healer didn´t feel repelled by Ryu. While the elf sometimes didn´t seem to be that friendly, she now acted a bit different. And Heith actually easily liked people, even when she had only a few friends.
This was also part of Freya´s plans, to let Horn and Heith find more friends and relax a bit. And in case Heith would find a boyfriend while working here, that would be a nice bonus for Freya!
And the plan worked wonders so far. Heith was a wonderful, strong healer. Her small hospital in Folkvangr was perfectly clean at all time, so she was good at housework. But when it came to kitchen work...Heith was almost worse than Syr. At least her cleaning was brilliant and she didn´t tolerate anything below absolute perfection!
"Man little doctor...you sure are useful...keep your eyes on her girls! You can learn a thing or two!"
"My name is Heith..."
"You have to earn being called by your name."
"Mmhh..."
"My house, my rules. But if you keep working like that, you will have earned it tomorrow evening."
"Huh?!"
"What?!"
"No way?!"
"MEOW!"
Ryu, Anya, Chloe and Lunor looked shocked, Syr was the only one that Mia had called by her name from the start. Ryu had needed a month to "earn her name", Lunor and Chloe two and three weeks, Anya had needed three months...and that while Mia already knew her beforehand. Horn didn´t really care much, but she also had already earned her name.
Horn was actually quite popular in the pub, as the currently new waitress. She couldn´t escape her nature, to look at many people with slight disgust. A fact that made many male gods very happy and they came to eat here only for that alon!
"She is dangerous..Meow.."
"Nya...housewife material..."
"So jealous..."
"Very good...Ms. Velvet..." Even Ryu couldn´t help but feel a bit jealous.
But over the day Heith would discover the true danger of working at the pub...serving customers. While she had no problem with memorizing and writing down the orders...Heith felt the stares on every customer on her...especially the males. She was used to being looked at by the Einheryar, but they were all in pain when they looked at her. Not one of them had interest in Heith in any way, due to her harsh and sometimes...motherly...behaviour. Freya guessed that Heith would one day become a wonderful mother herself, since she was used to take care of so many people.
Heith clicked her tongue when she noticed how a trio of male gods oggled her.
Filthy...
Of course most customers looked at her since she was a new face here and looked really beautiful and cute in the uniform. But Heith still noticed how some men looked at her...especially adventurers. She couldn´t fight her nature and slightly glared at them or gave them an icy look when she served them their food and drinks.
"Enjoy your food..."
"""Haaaaaaa!~~~"""
Syr chuckled and was glad that Heith didn´t yell at the gods. In case she would calm down more, relax more, maybe Heith would even smile. And Freya knew one thing about Horn and Heith, that was for sure, both could be really beautiful when they smiled genuienly.
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The work went on like this for the next days, then came the day before Bell and Ryu would start their search quest.
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Bell slowly used more and more strength to push Ryu´s Futaba swords back, both were sweating from their intense training and fought back and forth in the courtyard of the pub. It wasn´t the first time that they had trained here. Bell thought about training on the city wall, but it felt like he would betray Ais that way. Because even when he slowly got more and more aware of his feelings for both, Ais was still someone very important for Bell and he would train with her in the future too.
Because training with Ais was a special fun on it´s own, even when the guards had yelled at them for demolishing a part of the wall one day by accident... But for now Ais´ familia was busy in the dungeon, so he only trained with Ryu.
He enjoyed their daily training very much and indeed they trained every day now together, just spending time with Ryu was enough to make him happy. But Bell was all too eager to get stronger again, since he had someone he wanted to protect and he wanted to get strong again. If dangers like the Juggernaut existed in the dungeon, then he wanted to be strong, also to protect his familia and friends.
Be it with his party or alone, he pushed himself to his limits, since there was something special about his status, his goal was to go past 999 in every stat again. He wanted to max out every stat again to be as strong as possible. But even so he had discovered one thing, even when he and Ryu were both level four and he should technically be stronger than her due to his stats, Ryu had more experience and was faster than him, but in terms of pure strength he had the upper hand. Maybe if he used the Rabbit Rush he would be a bit faster, but Ryu had plenty of experience.
Both had an advantage in the fight...well actually both had two but they weren´t aware of the second. Ryu was faster and Bell stronger...but being near Bell made Ryu flustered and vice versa.
And Bell even dared to live out a small dark desire in him...sometimes he used his strength to push Ryu back, the feeling of this strong, determined, manly Bell showing her his strength let Ryu blush heavily...and the small dark spot in Bell enjoyed her flustered face. It was the little bit of darkness inside him he allowed himself to have.
Ryu frowned while she looked into Bell´s face as he kept pushing down her swords with his strength. That Bell was actually stronger than her was a surprise at first...but it made Ryu incredibly happy that he was progressing so much and was ahead of her in some things. Loving Bell or not, she was happy anyway that he progressed so much and was fully healthy again.
That was her actual thought but deep down unknown by her...Ryu hoped that Bell would be her..her...she didn´t dare to say in her head what she hoped Bell could be for her. That was too lewd for now! But her heart yearned to love him...to be loved by him...to be protected.
Just like he protected and cared for her in the dungeon.
Ever since she had discovered her feelings, Ryu Lyon became more and more a pure maiden in love.
Bell is stronger...it makes no sense to fight against him to his terms...change of plans!
Suddenly, Ryu yanked her swords aside, trying to break Bell´s balance this way. But both knew the other really well and Bell went with the movement, his left hand came up, holding Hakugen in reverse grip. He slashed at Ryu´ face but she bent herself backwards, kicking up with her right leg. Maybe it was luck or bad luck, but when Bell moved to the side, his foot kicked against Ryu´ and broke her balance instead.
Oh no!
"Kya!"
She couldn´t stop her own fall and was about to hit a wooden barrel with the back of her head.
"Ryu!"
Bell let go of his weapons, rushed forward so fast that even the Rabbit Rush was slow against that and hastily put his right hand on the back of her head, the left around her waist, pulling her body towards his, holding her close.
Protecting her.
He felt a sharp pain when his hand hit the metal ring around the top of the barrel, but it was a good pain since he had prevented Ryu of bumping her head, and the sound of her when she slipped made it even more worth.
For a few moments both stared into each others eyes, their faces were only a few centimeters away from each other.
"B-B-B-B-Bell! Wh-What are you doing?!"
Ryu was very aware how close his lips were to her own.
It is too early for a k-k-kiss! These things have to wait until the oath!
Ah Ryu...Your lips..I...No wait!
"S-Sorry!"
He protected me...again...
"Eep...Th-Thank you..." Her face got hot when she got aware of his hand around her waist, since she wore her usual outfit, the palm of his hand touched her bare skin...and it felt really good!
"N-No problem...thank you for protecting me from getting injured."
Did she just...made an "Eep" sound? So cute...
Slowly, both found their balance back and straightened up, being so close together was a nice feeling for them.
"Shall we...take a break?"
"Sounds good.." Ryu averted her red face and slowly stroked her hair where Bell had touched her.
He saved me...again...
Both stood next to each other, wiping their faces with towels and drinking some special water. It had lemon and a bit honey in it.
"Do we have more informations about where to find this special water?"
Ryu slightly shook her head. "Only that it is somewhere before the water capital."
"Not a really small area to search for."
Bell looked to the side and noticed how Ryu looked at him.
The look Ryu gave him...let Bell nearly melt...she looked a bit hopeful and...pleading?
His heart stopped for a moment when he saw the smile on her face. In the past he had never seen her like this, she smiled more often these days...and was so much more beautiful when she did that.
"Ahm Ryu..I...I..." His cheeks felt really hot.
Do it Bell...tell her! You know what you feel!
"Bell?"
"I...I...lo..."
"Hm?"
Her eyes widened a bit. What is he about to say?!
But...he didn´t find the courage...
"N-Nothing...Ahm...s-shall we...continue?"
"O-Okay...sounds good..."
Both still had a long way ahead of them.
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"My feet hurt..." Heith wailed while she sat next to Ryu, the staff was on a break.
"Aren´t you running a hospital in your familia? Don´t you walk around much there?"
"Yes..but that was something else, also I mostly stand or sit."
For some reason that Freya didn´t understand, got Ryu along pretty well with Heith.
"Hm..if you say so."
"How do you bear with all these stares?"
"Hmm..I think there are only many because you are new at the pub, Nya." Chloe sat at the same table.
Except for Mia, Syr and Lunor, everyone sat at the table. Lunor helped Mia in the kitchen to prepare the food for the break and Syr was shortly in the bathroom. Even if Heith was used to hardships, working in the pub was something else. In the morning the work was easy and even around noon, but in the afternoon when the adventurers came it got hard. But even so the other waitresses told her that is was easier now since Heith was there.
Who would´ve thought that I would be a waitress some day.
Despite the hard work Heith had discovered two things, the amount of work let her no time to wail all the time and Mia´s food was worth all the hardships.
Also it was quite a refreshing difference from her normal work.
"Hah...to think that her food is the only thing I look forward to these days.."
Even when it was a kind of vacation week from her usual work, Heith was exhausted, but a good kind of exhausted.
She looked surprised when the others started to chuckle.
"Huh?"
Ryu smiled. "We all were at this point, eating delicious food is enough reason to keep on going or something like that Mama Mia told us."
"Nya, say Heith...do nyou have a boyfriend?"
"Huh? No." Heith smiled wryly when she heard Chloe´s question.
"Ah..then nyou are purrfect here...Nya...Horn also doesn´t have one..." Somehow Cloe looked a bit depressed.
"Meow...but aren´t therrrre many men in...Folkvangrrrr?" Anya tapped her chin, she didn´t like to think about that place.
Heith rolled her eyes. "Oh please, most of them are just brutes, ask Horn."
Horn nodded eagerly, she didn´t talk much since she still had to get used to be here in her true form.
They chatted with the two new waitresses, until they heard Mia´s voice from the kitchen.
"Okay girls, time to eat!"
Lunor opened the door with her back and kept on walking backwards, holding three plates in her hands, followed by Mia, Mai and now Syr, who carried the other plates.
"Ah...that food alone is worth it..." Heith looked at the plates with shining eyes, the others could hear her stomach gurgle.
For a while only the sound of cutlery was heard.
"Ryu, you go tomorrow, right?"
"That was planned."
Horn looked at Ryu. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Yes, I will go into the dungeon and search for something there."
Chloe smirked in a special way. "With her boyfriend."
Ryu immediatelly jumped up. "Chloe! Be-..Mr. Cranel isn´t my b-b-boyfriend!"
Most of the others chuckled, even Syr.
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A few hours earlier.
"Hey Bell...ready for your adventure with your girlfriend?"
Welf stood behind Bell, who sat on the floor and closed his boots.
"Ryu is not my g-g-girlfriend!"
"For now...go get her, tiger."
"Welf..."
"Hehe...tell me honestly that you don´t have such thoughts. I mean it´s the second time you will be alone with her in the dungeon for a while. Even when this time it might be much nicer than the first time."
"I can´t...you´re...right..."
"Ha! I knew it."
"A-Anyway...I´m off now..."
"Have fun. Oh and Bell?"
"Yes?"
Welf lowered his voice a bit. "Think a bit about lady Hestia´s, lil Lily´s and Ms. Haruhime´s feelings, yes?"
Bell nodded slowly, ever since he started to think about feelings, especially after his talk with Freya, he wasn´t that dense anymore when it came to these three. Freya had explained a lot to him about feelings and how some people acted when they fell or were in love. It got more than obvious now for Bell. The Goddess of Love did this maybe on a whim, maybe because Syr influenced her more than she thought. But she didn´t want to see Hestia heartbroken, nor her two followers.
Bell had a big backpack with him, it was far bigger than his usual one because he carried lots of empty bottles with him, together with some filled bottles and lunch boxes from Haruhime. It was enough food for three days since they didn´t know how far he had to go into the dungeon with Ryu. And he really looked forward to it, going into the dungeon with Ryu...being alone with her down there...
there might even a chance for him to save her from a dangerous situation!
"Ah Bell you saved me! I love you!"
Ehehehe...
It was early morning and he walked fast through the streets of Orario, not many adventurers were up on this time. He thought back about the time when he first met Ryu, how reserved she was at first. Now they had become friends and she even called him only by her first name when they were alone.
So far when they were in the dungeon together it was mostly out of need or coincidence. But now they went on a quest together! Sort of, but in Bell´s eyes it was a quest. And what made it more important, he did this quest for Mia. Bell knew that even Ryu called her Mama Mia, so...so...should he ask Mia first for permission? Not that he had the courage at the moment to confess to Ryu. That would be too fast and he didn´t know how she saw him.
Only light morning fog was in the air and Orario was so peaceful, Babel looked majestic in the morning sun
And there she was...
Ryu waited for Bell, leaned with her back against a pillar at the entrance to Babel, yawning slightly. No one except Bell noticed that she did that under her mask, but he had seen her often enough in it to see how she moved her mouth. Oh how he wished he could see her yawn without the mask, it would surely look cute!
She looks so cute when she yawns!
"R-Ryu, good morning."
"Ah Bell, good morning." Her smile put the sun to shame in his eyes, even when it was behind her mask.
But if Bell would be completely honest, Ryu wearing her mask had a very special charm on it´s own. Like this he had to focus even more on her eyes.
"I have everything we need with me."
"Good...shall we...go?"
Ryu yawned again, it wasn´t because it was early...but because she didn´t sleep much last night. For some reason she was restless when she thought about going on a quest with Bell, and since she would be away for two or three days, Syr had talked to her. Not only Syr...Lunor, Chloe and Anya had things to say too.
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Ryu handed her small backpack to Bell, who put it in his giant backpack. They had talked about this before, Ryu would form the vanguard by herself, while Bell protected their rear. It was the logic decision to let one of them carry everything, so that the other could fight free.
Bell had promised to her with a serious expression that he would by no means open her small backpack, since Ryu´s clothes were in there. Again she was thankful for him thinking ahead. She had a change of her normal dungeon gear in there, but also her underwear. Normally Ryu would just use the underwear she always used in the dungeon and don´t think too much about it...but she had gotten an advice from Chloe and Anya that made her troubled.
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"Ryu, nyou will be alone with the boy...nyou have to use underrrrwear that he might like if he happens to see nyou in them."
Lunor and Chloe had noticed very fast that Ryu was in love with Bell...Anya took a bit longer. Her friends knew her well and long enough to see when Ryu´s behaviour changed. And it had changed a lot! Especially when she tried to evade Bell so embarrassed while he had chased her through the pub. In the past she would have scolded him, but Syr had secretely pointed out that Ryu behaved like a true maiden.
"What are you saying, Chloe?! Bell is not supposed to see any of this! That´s filthy and lewd!"
Lunor smiled wryly. "Ryu, I don´t want to agree with Chloe on this matter, but this is just in an emergency case. Of course he isn´t supposed to see your underwear, but this is just in case it happens. He is a young man."
"Bell isn´t like that!"
Anya had shrugged her shoulders. "Why do meow even bother with underrrwear? It´s hot anyway."
Ryu, Lunor and Chloe had looked dumbfounded at Anya.
Lunor gulped. "Anya...you don´t mean...please tell me you are wearing underwear right now!"
Anya groaned. "Meow, it´s so hot...gonna take a layerrr off that nyo one can see..."
Even for Chloe this was way too risky, but then again Anya could sometimes be quite...well...airheaded.
"""That´s lewd! (Meow)"""
Ryu, Lunor and Chloe shouted in unison at Anya. Syr had been quiet so far, but now she looked at the three with a very innocent and confused look.
"But Anya is right, you know?"
Now the three looked shocked, Ryu couldn´t believe her ears.
"S-S-Syr...p-please tell me you...you aren´t...you wouldn´t...r-right?"
Syr waved her white dress around with her usual smile, she didn´t change into her uniform so far. "It´s really nice to have an airy feeling at these hot days, don´t you think?"
"""Nya?!"""
Anya nodded in agreement.
The shock about this reveal and that Lunor, Chloe and Syr afterwards talked about "battle gear", gave Ryu even more troubles. Also the fact that all three and even Anya sometimes wore risky and sexy underwear under their uniforms, just for the kick of this feeling and to feel beautiful, didn´t help Ryu in the slightest! There was no way she would wear sexy or risky underwear under her battle garment!
Her friends wanted to help her very much but it only raised Ryu´ troubles. Thanks to Lunor and Chloe she even had silly thoughts like bathing with Bell! Just because they had to mention this topic! Her friends just wanted to help her, but since they didn´t have boyfriends either, it didn´t really help. Syr´s eyes had sparkled, she said bathing together would be a wonderful idea for skinship.
So she spoke to herself in her mind when she saw Bell walking towards her.
Ryu...stay safe...stay chaste...Bell...I trust that you won´t do anything indecent.
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Both moved together through the dungeon, Ryu didn´t have to fight that much, the upper levels weren´t a challenge for two level four adventurers.
"Ryu?"
"Bell?"
"Does Ms. Mia had some information about where we should search?"
"All the information was "Maybe a Floor with many green..."
"Hm...but it is before the 20th, yes?"
"Yes, the exact location is unknown."
"Well thats why we are searching for it."
"I´m glad that you came with me, Bell. You have more luck than I do."
"Hehe, hopefully it helps."
Somehow it felt different to be called by her name by Bell...it made her happy. And flustered. And glad. And a bit embarrassed.
"Hmmm."
"Ryu?"
"Mmmhh."
"Ryu?"
"Hmm."
Bell thought he saw small steam clouds coming out of Ryu head while she racked her brain over something, he heard her clicking her tongue.
"Ahm...R-..yu?"
"Huh, eh wha?"
"Are you...thinking about something?"
"Hmm...Bell?"
"Yes?"
"Oh eh, nothing."
Ryu scolded herself in her mind.
Since when did I become like this?! Focus, me!
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Bell let his gaze wander around, they had reached their first destination, the 10th Floor. The only hints they had was "A Floor with lots of green". From the upper Floors, the 10th to 12th were the greenest, so they would have to search them completely.
It was a good thing that both had such a high level, so not one monster here was a threat to them and they could continue talking normally while they struck down the monsters with easy swings.
They were lucky enough to find a group of low leveled adventurers that followed them in a distance and picked up the magic stones from the monsters. Actually it were the adventurers that were insanely glad that Bell and Ryu found them. Because they were trying to flee from a so called "monster party", which meant the dungeon had spawned an insane amount of monsters. Easily over a hundred followed them. Bell and Ryu had went to work, sliced and diced their way through the monsters.
Now the adventurers followed them in a short distance and were allowed to keep the stones since Bell and Ryu had other things to do than stuffing the backpack.
Little did he know that Revis was present during their fight against the giant horde of monsters. Revis didn´t even understand it herself why she came here.
Whenever she didn´t have a task to fulfill and had what others would call free time, she wandered through the dungeon now. Often her way brought her to the upper floors, she didn´t understand the reason why the upper floors. But something deep inside her wanted to go here, she often wandered along the 18th floor for some unknown reason, taking a bath in a lake now and then. It helped her to calm down when she took a long bath.
But then her way went further up, without understanding it herself, she looked for the young man that she had bathed with. There was something on him...his innocence...it reminded her of something.
And there she saw him, even when he wore a giant backpack, Revis knew it was him. She stood far enough away so that the fog would hide her, but she watched how he fought. Unlike her urge with the minotaur, she saw no real reason to interfere. But it was fascinating to see him fight. He seemed to be much stronger than during their first meeting and he moved better.
Moved...yes he...he moved...like...like what did he move? Like who did he move? She had seen this before? Just...were? For a moment he whirled around to slash a monster, the travel cape that he had with him flew up a bit.
It was strange.
Revis had a faint memory of seeing someone fight, someone who also wore a cape.
She grit her teeth, pressed her left hand onto her head again, the headaches came more often when she saw him. But she couldn´t look away. In her mind an imaged flashed for a splitsecond. This time it was a female figure, wearing a green cape, who moved exactly like the young man did.
Or was it him that moved like her?
Revis saw how he sliced and diced the monsters apart, never stopped moving, mowing his way through them. And yet, he always moved around the pallum girl, shielding her, protecting her.
Like...like...
"A warrior...of...Justi-Irgh..."
The words came out of Revis´ mouth before she could stop them, she didn´t know why she said that. But she watched until the fight was over, even ignoring the mental communication that rang in her head. Her headache got much worse when Ryu appeared in her field of view. The fight with the monsters made so much noise, that not even Ryu heard the female voice scream in pain.
Revis couldn´t bear with the sight of Ryu, she was the very image she had in her mind. The very image that led her to chase and hunt Ais Wallenstein. She didn´t understand it! Why was it so painful to look at this...this...this fairy! She pressed her hands over her eyes, touching the round burn mark on her right temple. Never before had she known such pain!
It felt like a thousand knives got driven into her skull and brain, she felt her chest tightening, clenching around the weird stone that was imbedded in her chest, the stone that turned her more and more into a vile creature. She wasn´t as far corrupted as Ein, but not a normal human anymore.
Yet this pain felt familiar, as if she indeed had felt it before. Revis couldn´t help but flee. Normally when she felt such pain, she would attack the cause of it and destroy it. But this fairy...this elf! This cursed female elf! She couldn´t attack her for some reason!
Monsters fled from her scream, while Revis decided to fall back and get herself under control again.
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"Hehe..."
"Bell?"
"I just rememberred, how you came to save me in the dungeon the first time. When you went down here with Goddess and the others."
"Oh that." Ryu smiled lightly. "I´m glad that we found you."
"I was glad too. Without you...I don´t want to imagine what would´ve happened on the 18th floor. You saved the lives of so many people. I looked up to you very much that day. I thought by myself, this is what justice looks like."
"Wh-What are you saying...Why would you think specific about justice back then..." It made Ryu flustered again when Bell praised her.
He smiled wryly. "Alright sorry, I admit it. The thought about this looking like justice came later to me, after I learned more about you. Back then I thought...what a strong elven warrior."
She didn´t know how to react and what to say, so she decided to follow Syr´s advice and try small talk. Ryu hated how weak this made her and let her look like and at the same time she was extremely confused that it also made her happy, deep inside her she felt it was alright to be a bit weak around Bell, that he would protect her.
Oh Bell...what are you doing to me...Alise...everyone...what shall I do...
She steeled herself, she couldn´t show such a pathetic figure. They were in the dungeon after all and Bell probably didn´t even see it as flattering or flirting.
F-F-F-Flirting?! What am I thinking about?!
"Bell now that I think about it..."
While she talked, Ryu struck two Orcs down, piercing the magic stones. It would take too much time for the adventurers behind them to crack open the bodies of the Orcs.
"How was your life before you came to Orario? You said something about living in a village when we were down there."
Both still didn´t call the 37th floor by its name.
"It was peaceful, we tilled the fields, took care of the plants, harvested when the time was right...and I spent time with my grandfather."
Even Ryu had enough experience with people to notice the small sad shine in Bell´s eyes.
"Bell...may I ask..."
"Hm?"
"What about...your parents?"
"I don´t know...or remember them...my grandfather told me that something happened to them when I was still very small."
"Oh..sorry...for asking."
"No, it´s okay...Firebolt!"
Bell raised his left hand and destroyed the head of an infant dragon. In the past he had needed his Argonaut Skill for the first time to do that...now he could simply use his magic like that. From time to time he glanced to Ryu when she was moving more to strike down monsters, the sight of her had become really alluring.
"Beautiful..."
"Bell?"
"N-Nothing!"
The fog on the 10th Floor wasn´t that thick, but it would get worse on the 11th and on the 12th. On the 12th Floor the visibility was under ten meters sometimes. Also due to the environment and the fog, it was always a bit chilly down here, but not to the grade were it got unpleasant.
"And if I may ask...what about your parents, Ryu?"
He heard her sigh.
"Sorry, you don´t need to talk about that."
"No, it´s alright. I told you before about my people in Ryumilua, right?"
"Yes."
"My parents were among the worst when it came to interacting with other races. It might be due to our position in the clan."
"What was your position?"
"We guarded the great, sacred tree. It was one of the most important and respected roles. Our family even had a special title, "Guardians of the Sacred Tree"."
"Hm."
"Bell?"
"Does that...make you royalty?"
Ryu sighed again, then she chuckled very lightly. "Alise asked me the same, Kaguya and Lyra loved to tease me with that, calling me "Our familia´s little princess". It was an important role and some may call it a kind of royalty, but only in that forest. Even when that role was respected in every forest. But by no means is it to be compared to someone like lady Riveria. You could maybe compare it to a local baron or something."
"So..Baroness Ryu?"
She just looked at him with her special, slightly embarrassed glare. While it was an expression that Bell really liked, he decided to drop this topic. Without knowing it, Bell called her by one of her many teasing nicknames from back then.
But on his own, Bell thought he may have fallen in love with an elven princess, he liked that thought. And that he had saved her life once was...
Ryu! Thank you for making one of my dreams come true!
They continued their walk and Bell couldn´t help but notice Ryu´s outfit again, this time not because he was so interested in her.
"Ryu, aren´t you cold in the fog?"
"No, I´ve encountered worse."
"Not even a bit?"
She shook her head, Bell noticed that her cape didn´t move as much as usual, probably because it got wet from the fog, at least his clothes felt like that.
While he looked to their left seide, an Imp ran towards him from the right side. Without looking into its direction, Bell grabbed the Imp´s shoulder and pulled it towards him, burrying the Hestia Knife in it´s chest and desolving it to ash. He didn´t do that to show off,
but with his strength he didn´t need to pay so much attention to a single monster on this floor. And since he was better at finding things and carrying the big backpack, Ryu moved around more and slew monsters.
Normally they would be much faster with moving through the 10th Floor, but because of their quest they searched in every corner. The group of low level adventurers behind them was more than happy with that, they would have never earned so much magic stones on their own since it was only their second time on this Floor. They didn´t pick up the stones behind Bell and Ryu out of greed, of course they were valuable but it was a rule among adventurers to not let many magic stones lie around, or irregular monsters could emerge.
"It doesn´t look like we will find the spring here."
"Yes, let´s move onto the next Floor."
It took them three hours to search through the whole Floor. They waited a few minutes until the group caught up to them and started to pick up the stones, they stopped to count how often they had thanked them.
"We will move onto the next Floor and then further down." Bell talked to their leader.
"We have to thank you so much, Rabbit Foot and Miss, we will fall back now, we won´t risk too much. Thank you again for letting us keep all this."
"No problem, have a save trip back."
Soon after they were alone again, Bell as all too happy to have Ryu alone for himself.
Ha...do I dare it...will I...no Bell...don´t get too hasty, you don´t know if Ryu loves you too..
The 11th Floor wasn´t much different from the 10th except for a few new monsters and that the fog got thicker. But on the 12th Floor...
"I can´t see much here..." Ryu waved in front of her face, the fog was so thick that they only could see a few meters.
For lower level adventurers this Floor was pretty dangerous and Bell rememberred his first time here well enough. Since the fog was so thick and the visibility was only a few meters, it was difficult to orientate yourself.
And since it was fog, moisture settled on clothes, equipment, hair and skin. An adventurer didn´t get sick fast, but getting more and more wet would cause a cold over a longer time and it was unpleasant. At least the temperature wasn´t very high, it would feel even more unpleasant if it was hot and wet.
"But I guess we can evade monsters more easily now, I think we should continue to search, we are down here for hours already." Bell wiped the wetness from his forehead.
Unpleasant as it may be...the sight of Ryu´ skin covered in that wetness, let Bell blush...especially her thighs.
It was a good thing that they knew this floor so well, even with this thick fog there was no danger in getting lost. And due to the fog they could move faster without getting the attention of too many monsters. Thanks to that, Bell wasn´t able to see Ryu´ expression.
I don´t like this floor...my clothes are all wet...even my underwear...
Sometimes it had its benefits to wear light, short clothes, sometimes not. As an elf Ryu really disliked it to feel like that, all wet. Thankfully Bell didn´t think much about it when Ryu closed her cape around her, she didn´t want him to see her with a wet, white shirt.
I want to take a bath, in a forest...
But Ryu was a young adult woman, so she didn´t complain and they kept on searching, until they were finally done after three hours... To their luck, from the 13th Floor downward they could use the big holes to move faster down and the Goliath hadn´t spawned again.
Nine hours after they went into the dungeon they arrived ont the 18th Floor. If they had went down here normally, they would have made it in under an hour.
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While Bell and Ryu went into the dungeon, things had happened deeper down in the dungeon too, Revis had moved with great speed into a hidden area of the dungeon, known as Knossos.
"Are you serious?"
Revis raised an eyebrow, looking at the figure in front of her, now that her headache was mostly gone and the elf out of sight, she became easily aggressive again. The hooded figure with a mask nodded, a few strains of black hair fell down next to the mask, before the figure pushed them back again, behind a pointy ear.
"Yes, order from Enyo."
"I just was on the 18th floor not long ago, fought the Loki familia and now you´re telling me to go up into that direction again?"
"Order from Enyo. He noticed something in the dungeon happening recently, something that could become a problem for our plans. Apparently there are irregular monsters, forming a group. It looks like they´re intelligent."
"Intelligent monsters?"
"Yes, it seems like they can talk and think. We don´t know exactly where they are, but one of our agents caught a glimpse of their group, moving up."
"What is my order? Kill them all?"
"No, you are to investigate."
Revis´ expression darkened a bit, she was pissed...really pissed.
"And this is an order from Eyno, not from you?"
"If you want to waste his time, go and ask him."
As usual, both didn´t get along well at all. In her mind, Revis was always ready to attack Ein.
"One day I will end you."
"We will see, now follow Enyo´s orders."
Revis glared at Ein for a moment, then she turned around and left to do her job. Ein on the other hand left too, she had her own jobs to do. The most important of them was to make sure that a young, female elf would stay away from all activities of Evilus in the future.
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Ryu told Bell that there was something she had to do before anything else when they reached the 18th floor. For that she needed her small backpack back and after Bell gave it to her, he was surprised when Ryu took something out of it.
Bell followed Ryu on their way to the grave of the Astrea familia. As usual the weather was really nice. After about ten minutes, Ryu finally took her mask and hood off. She blinked up to the ceiling, then lowered her eyes to Bell.
"Bell, thank you for coming with me today. I really appreciate it."
"Whenever you need help or an ear to listen, just say something, Ryu."
She nodded, showing him a bit more than just the slightest smile. A while later both arrived at the small hill that Ryu had created. Bell put his enormous backpack down. Ryu put her small backpack down and walked slowly to the grave, holding a bottle with expensive alcohol in her hands, it was the item that she took from her backpack.
"Is it alright when I stay here? I can guess it is a special occasion when you bring this bottle with you."
Ryu´s lips twitched slightly. "Please, by all means, stay here with me. It is something that Alise, Kaguya and Lyra tended to drink, the others tried it too now and then."
Why did I say with me instead of just saying stay here?! I can´t say anything that could be understood wrong, not in front of them, they will surely tease me and laugh about it!
Bell nodded. "Then I hope it is a worthy offering for them and they can enjoy the taste in the afterlife."
Ryu nodded. "I just hope they don´t cause trouble for the gods up there."
"Would they do that?"
"Alise probably...and Kaguya...and Lyra..."
"Ryu?"
"Yes?"
"Do you want to tell me a bit about them? Maybe a nice memory while they enjoy the taste? It is alright if not, but if you need an ear to listen, I´m here."
"I..."
Ryu looked back and forth between Bell and the grave.
"That would be nice."
Bell watched how Ryu opened the bottle, went to the grave and poured something on it in front of every weapon, then she placed down a flower at that spot. Before she put the bottle down in front of Alise´s sword, she took a tiny sip from in, made a face and shivered.
"Mmh...I can´t get used to it...but a small drink with my familia should be alright."
She put the bottle down next to Alise´s sword and mumbled by herself. "Don´t drink too much, Alise..."
Then Ryu sat down next to Bell, in front of the grave.
"Everyone, this is Be-..I mean Mr. Cranel, I know I brought him before."
Bell bowed slightly towards the grave. Both went quiet for a while and just when Bell thought Ryu might´ve changed her mind about talking, she opened her mouth. She started with the day when she came to Orario and got found by Astrea and later Alise. On one hand it warmed Bell´s heart so see how loving Ryu spoke about her familia, they meant the world for her. On the other hand it made him sad, that she lost them all. Then she went over to a funny and wholesome memory. To see Ryu smile with such warmth in her expression was just wonderful.
He made a silent promise to the deceased Astrea familia, he would support and help Ryu as their last member. After a while, Bell dared to ask about Astrea. Ryu´s expression became soft when she talked about her goddess, she mentioned that Astrea was outside of Orario now. He knew that, but now she told him for the first time that she wrote Astrea letters...even when she never found the courage to send them.
Bell wouldn´t ask why she didn´t go to visit her, he was sure Ryu had her reasons. But one thing got clear for Bell, when Ryu spoke about Astrea it felt more like she was talking about her mother, the goddess seemed to mean that much to Ryu.
For two hours they sat there, Bell only asked a question now and then, most of the time Ryu talked. He had the feeling that it helped her to talk about them. Both ignored how cold they felt in their slightly wet clothes, Ryu needed this right now. And due to the warm feeling in his heart, Bell didn´t really feel that cold. For Ryu it was the same.
Eventually both left the grave and went to set up their camp, it was slowly getting late.
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Nnn...where do I even start looking? Why would intelligent monsters be important?
Lately Revis got more and more annoyed with the jobs she got, without even knowing why that was the case. As usual she carried out each job quickly and efficient. Her strange interest on the Sword Princess remained. Whenever Revis´ eyes fell on her, she saw the scheme of another person, another young woman with long, blond hair, who used wind magic. But Revis couldn´t remember who that person was. When she saw this figure, it was like someone else actually knew her and she just witnessed a moment.
Then there was this strange moment when she saw that elf, the one who looked so much like the younger elf in her memory, even when she didn´t have long hair.
While she wandered along the floor, looking for clues left and right, she looked at the small lakes. Maybe a bath would help her to calm down? She liked to take baths, it was one of the few joys she had.
Mayb-
Her thought got interrupted when she saw something in the distance, it looked like a small hill with things sticking in it.
What is this?
Revis stopped in front of the small hill. It was made from earth, but by the hands of a person. In the middle was a small pole with a ripped banner, which showed a symbol consisting of a scale, wings and a stylized sword.
From left to right were weapons sticking in it. A rod, a sword, one spot was free, a dagger. Then from right to left came a two handed battle axe, a mace, caestus weapons and a katana.
And in the middle of all the weapons, was a beautiful one handed sword.
In front of each weapon was a white flower, as well as a bottle of high class alcohol next to the beautiful sword. Revis´ eyes were drawn to each weapon, but especially the sword.
An imagine flashed inside Revis´ head, she saw a group of young women, each of them carried one of the weapons. When she looked down it looked like the sword was in her hand, but that hand belonged to someone else. The sword in her mind got raised and she saw a reflection of a grinning girl, with long red hair, green eyes, but with a more innocent and happy expression.
Who is this girl? Why does she look so...happy?
Revis shook her head, but the image remained. She crouched down and moved her hand to the sword, but before she touched it, her hand went to the bottle, it was still half filled.
Looks like a good one, who would leave this here?
The sword drew in her eyes again, it looked really good. But Revis didn´t touch it, she had a weapon, so why would she rob a grave? But she would take the bottle.
Drinking while taking a bath, sounds nice.
Again there was an image in her head, she saw the red haired girl, drinking a little while she took a bath, getting scolded by...by...there was this image again, the blond with long hair...and pointy ears.
An elf? Strange.
Revis couldn´t put a finger on this image, it didn´t trigger an emotional reaction, but yet it felt a bit familiar. Like a picture she had seen before but couldn´t really remember it.
"Thanks for the drink, I guess."
Something told Revis it would be better not to touch the weapons. She looked for a moment at the banner, before she turned around and looked for a small lake to bath in. Strangely, a clear liquid ran out of her eyes for a few moments.
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"Bell?"
"Ryu?"
"I think it is the best if we continue our search tomorrow."
"Of course, I think we should set up our camp."
Her smile made all the searching worth it.
"So Bell...do you want to have dinner first...take a bath...or...would you...have...me?"
In an instant blood rushed into Bell´s cheeks and he couldn´t become more red. "R-R-R-Ryu?!"
"What is it?"
"W-w-w-what a-are you s-saying?!"
"Syr told me I should say it like that when we are tired from the day and will set up our camp...was that wrong?"
"D-Do you know what that meant just now?!"
"To have dinner with me I guess, Syr wouldn´t suggest anything indecent to me, she is an angel after all."
She looked at him with her usual expression, completely serious.
I forgot...Ryu is lacking common sense...
Also, when it came to Syr and her advices, Ryu could act quite similar to a certain blond airhead of the Loki familia.
"Ha...no it´s okay...that Ms. Syr...I guess we should take a bath first. You can go first if you want, I will guard our stuff."
"Thank you, Bell. I trust you."
These three words meant a lot. Not only that she trusted him to guard the camp, also that she believed he wouldn´t try to peep on her. It meant a lot to Bell.
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When it was time to sleep, Bell at first insisted to sleep outside. But Ryu wouldn´t accept that, she said her pride as an elf forbid her to force him to sleep outside, she would sleep outside. Then Bell said he couldn´t accept that, it went against all he was to let a woman sleep outside while he used the tent. It looked like both would then sleep outside, by Ryu scolded them both that this would lead to them feeling cold.
In the end both lay down in the tent, with their backs to each other. Ryu said it was fine this way, in her mind she thought it was much less embarrassing than the night on the 37th floor or when they shared her bed.
They talked for a while about various things, but Ryu couldn´t really calm her mind down. Bell on the other hand was equally nervous, yet managed to fall asleep at some point, while Ryu only slowly drifted into her sleep.
"Nnh...Mmm..."
Ryu opened her eyes again, she heard noises from the other side.
"Bell?" She only whispered.
"Nnngh...no...please..."
She frowned and slowly started to turn around, Bell was tossing and turning himself around again, his expression was twisted. Various expressions washed over his face...anger, fear..hopelessness, sadness..and many more.
"Bell?"
It hurt her heart to see him like this...was he like this every night?
Does he have a nightmare? From the 37th Floor?
He continued to roll lightly around and move his hands...maybe to grab something?
What shall I do...
Ryu had enough nightmares over the last years and a few new ones ever since that dungeon trip. It wasn´t unusual for adventurers to have them, but to see Bell like this hurt her heart.
"Bell..I´m here..."
She reached out with her hand and slightly touched Bell´s hair, but he only shrieked and tried to get away from her, startled. Ryu made a sad face...just how could she help him to calm down..waking him up wouldn´t help since it would be the same if he fell asleep again.
"My poor Bell..."
She didn´t care if that sounded daring or bold, Ryu truly felt like this.
He rolled onto his back and kept turning, so much that his shirt came up and revealed his chest, thankfully there weren´t any scars there. Ryu had seen that Bell had a few small scars on his left forearm and his back. He got every single one of these when he protected her.
When he turned around again, Ryu decided to forget embarrassement and be there for him, for the guy she loved. She moved a bit closer and snuggled onto his back.
"Bell, you´re safe, I´m here."
His movements calmed a bit down, her presence seemed to put him at ease. Ryu was glad, if it meant that Bell´s nightmares had stopped, she would sleep like this. But...Bell moved again, he turned around and suddenly...hugged her. Ryu blinked perplexed when she found herself hugged and snuggled more against Bell.
"B-Bell?..."
He was asleep and finally calm again, Ryu could barely see his face in the darkness. Her own was red, as were her ears and her body reacted in a way she didn´t understand at first. A pleasant shiver ran through her body and when she smelled Bell´s scent it was...just nice.
But now...how do...I sleep?
Eventually Bell moved a last time, rolling onto his back, pulling Ryu halfway with him. Her heart raced for a moment again, her left arm followed and she hugged Bell halfway, while both of his arms were around her. Now she was the one to feel safe and protected. A strong sense of Déjà-vu came over her, this moment was very similar to the night where they shared her bed. But this time Ryu calmed down fast, was less embarrassed.
I...I...it feels so...nice...
Ryu laid her head on his chest, before she closed her eyes.
Just for a moment she shivered when Bell put his arms around her a bit more, placing his hands on her back. For Ryu it felt like he was afraid of letting her go. Even without a blanket that covered them, it was really warm in the tent. Sleeping like that felt really good for her...even more with the skin contact.
Bell´s hands on her back felt incredible good for her..but she was relieved when he stopped moving his hands on her back, not that his hands would wander to a place they shouldn´t touch, that would ruin this wonderful moment.
Ryu didn´t know that, but she granted Bell his first good sleep since the day of the thunderstorm, he could only calm down when she was nearby.
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Ah...so soft...and warm...what a nice pillow..
Bell felt just good, he didn´t have such a good sleep in a while...and that he woke up so gentle...it was just great.
A nice dream...I still feel like I´m hugging something warm and soft...did my blanket always felt so good?
He moved his left hand a little bit and enjoyed the feeling in the palms of his hands, he held the right still, feeling something soft with it...maybe his own thigh since it was lying down on his body.
"Mmnh.."
A soft noise came from near him...slowly he rememberred that he shared the tent with Ryu.
Hm...maybe she is waking up..
Bell didn´t know if Ryu was a long sleeper or not.
Strange..it almost feels like...back then when the storm was there...when I was...hugging her...
His right hand twitched lightly and he felt his pillow...shudder? Bell´s left hand started to wander along his blanket...it felt really good...and somehow the blanket shuddered again.
"Mnnh!"
I have to be quiet...Ryu is...waking up..
He tried to remain as still as possible but it wasn´t easy since he felt his blanket or his pillow pushing against his crotch...and due to a morning phenomenon of men...that was a bit tight. Bell moved his hips a bit to get a better position, but his blanket didn´t move somehow.
"Be..ll...nnnnh..."
Ryu whispered softly on the other side of the tent...in his hazy mind it made him happy that he was her first word of the day.
"Not...there...please...it is...too soon...for us..."
Hm? Is she dreaming about something?
He shuddered lightly when he felt breath against his neck.
Wait...breath...on my...neck?
Slowly he started to notice the weight that was pressing on his body. His eyes blinked multiple times while he woke up more and more, it was still dim in the tent, it had to be early morning.
Gently he started to turn his head to see the sleeping Ryu, but her bedside was empty.
R...yu?
Something tickled his nose lightly and he looked down...to see green died hair blocking his view.
Eh?...Hair?...How?..
Bell moved his left hand upwards something very soft and gently touched the green-blond hair...whatever lay on him shuddered again by the movement of his hand, he felt whatever his right hand groped, shaking.
"Ahn..."
He moved his left hand through the hair and slowly his mind got clearer...that was Ryu´ hair...and...her...body...on...his...body...
Eh...
His eyes widened in shock as it finally got through his hazy mind, Ryu was lying on his body and slept like that! Bell raised his head a little bit, she had burried her face in his neck, that was why he could feel her breath on his skin.
He bent his neck a bit and saw her naked, left thigh. She had placed her left leg halfway on his legs and her left arm halfway around his stomach. His left was put around her, resting on her...hip!
And his right was...he couldn´t believe it...halfway around his stomach too, it touched Ryu´s hand. They were holding hands! In their sleep!
Of course Bell couldn´t know that when they moved a bit in the night, his hand was there first, it was Ryu´s that had moved a bit closer. While her mind forbid her from doing something like that, her body was honest and wanted that badly. Ryu really became a naughty elf.
What a heavenly feeling...
He couldn´t believe how good, warm and soft Ryu´s body felt, how much it put him at ease. When she moved her head a tiny bit, he caught a glimpse of her expression, Ryu smiled in her sleep. A genuine, loving smile.
She is so beautiful.
His heart started to pound.
Ryu...I...really love you.
Ryu naked thigh moved a bit along his legs, thankfully not in the direction of his embarrassing morning phenomenon.
Oh dear gods no! H-H-How did this happen?!
The first thing he did was as gentle as possible...pulling his hand away from her hip, his finger tips moved for a second along her hip and waist when he did that..
"Nnh!"
Please don´t make such noises, Ryu!
He looked at his raised right hand, opened and closed it repeatedly...he had touched her hip.
It was...so soft...
Then he looked at his right hand again, that held Ryu´s hand. When he tried to move it away a bit, Ryu´s fingers closed around his, not letting him go.
Ah her hand...so soft..
When the body on top of him started to move, Bell froze. The feeling of naked skin on skin was almost too much for him but that it was Ryu´ skin...her bare thighs...nearly let him faint. Bell loved thighs, he secretely blamed Ais for that. And Ryu´s thighs were truly divine.
He saw how the head rose and turned slightly so that he was looking into Ryu´s sleepy face soon. She blinked a few times and smiled lightly.
"Bell...good morning..."
"Good morning...Ryu..."
"Ehe...you feel...so warm..."
He startled when she snuggled more against him.
"Eek! R-Ryu...h-how,..did this...happen?!"
"You had...a nightmare...Ahn!...Bell..please don´t...move so much...it feels...weird..."
Please...don´t let her notice...what I did..with her...hip...and my...and our hands...
"Bell...something´s poking my leg..."
EEEEEP!
"S-Sorry..."
"Bell..." She rubbed her face against his neck. "Did you sleep well?..."
"Yes..."
"Ehe..I´m glad...so glad, that you´re alright..."
"Ryu..."
He didn´t understand how it came to this situation, Bell was all too happy to go on a quest with Ryu but he never intended to sleep like that!
Not that he was completely against it...
"Ryu?..."
"...N...Yes?..."
"Are you...mad? I...didn´t intend...to do this..."
"Why should I...be mad..."
"I-I mean...touching you...and all..."
"I´m not mad...Be-huh?"
When she was sitting up...it looked like Ryu finally became fully awake. And realized what they were doing, what she did with her left hand.
Ryu looked confused down...now her hazy mind noticed what she had donw in her sleep. With bright red cheeks, Ryu removed her hand from Bell´s and moved away from his body. She didn´t scream or cry out, but she got really flustered.
"Bell...please don´t look at me..."
"Y-Yeah, s-sorry."
It was the second most embarrassing...wonderful!...morning that Bell and Ryu ever had.
But it was a wonderful morning.
Bell and Ryu needed a while to be able to talk to each other again after waking up like that. He felt great shame that he had enjoyed touching her soft body like that...especially "these" places.
And Ryu was thankful that Bell was so distracted that he didn´t notice how happy she actually was.
She fidgeted lightly as she watched how Bell prepared the breakfast.
We slept together...again...we are having breakfast together...oh Bell...what shall I do...
Ryu blushed even more as she imagined her and Bell being a couple, to train together, eat together and sleep together.
Wait...we are already doing that, does that mean that we are a couple? No, No, No! This goes way too fast!
She made a shocked face when it dawned to her.
But..we didn´t confess to each other under the full moon in a forest! And there is Syr..it is too soon...Aaaaah...what shall I do?! He has seen me naked before! If he does that one more time I will have to marry him!
Bell glanced to her over his shoulder. "I would like to do it after breakfast."
Hiiiiiii! What does he mean? H-Holding hands again?!
"B-Bell?!"
"We will probably have to try a while to find the right spot."
Hawawawawa! Wh-What does he plan to do to me?!
"B-But..please...be gentle..."
"Hm? Of course I will, we don´t want to waste a single drop."
D-D-Drop? What does he mean?!
Her face grew more and more red and she almost started to squeal, she didn´t know what to do, Ryu loved Bell but...this development was too fast for her.
"I mean if we have the five bottles they want, we can take as much with us as we want, of the water."
"Water? Oh...Oh!"
"Ryu?"
"N-Nothing!"
It wouldn´t be their last misunderstanding on the small trip, Ryu couldn´t help herself, all her thoughts circled around love at the moment. Being near Bell felt wonderful but it also made her more than a bit silly.
Since she never thought about that before, the awakened interest in Bell hit her like a pass parade. She could only think about spending time with Bell, cuddling with him or...holding hands, even when her brain said these things were forbidden and lewd. What she couldn´t think about and even her heart agreed to it, was kissing Bell. Something like kissing should be done after the oath. Kissing was only for "married couples".
Ah, lady Astrea...I could really need your advice...
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Before they started to search, Ryu demanded to take a morning bath after breakfast, she said it was important for an elf like her. Bell already understood that Ryu really loved to bath in forest lakes. As much as Mikoto loved her hot springs and hot baths. At least she was able to fully relax again in the water, Bell guarded the way to the water with his life to protect her. While she sat in the cool water, Ryu thought about something else.
If he gets nightmares again this night...what do I do...I have to..no...I want to help him. But sleeping so shameless again, can my heart bear with it?
Ryu could easily imagine how her familia would tease her for that.
Oh Bell...
The 18th Floor was quite big, but by pure chance, Ryu and Revis were only three hundred meters away from each other when both bathed this morning. Without knowing that the other was there.
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The 18th Floor was not completely safe, normally the monster didn´t chase adventurers but when they came too close to them, they would attack...they were monsters after all.
Ryu and Bell continued their way to search for the spring, but the Floor was pretty big, at least they could skip a few areas since they knew this places very well.
It always looked like it was sunny on this Floor, but walking through one of the forests was pleasant.
I wonder...is someone else there?
Bell had a feeling as if someone was following them...but Ryu didn´t feel the same and they saw no one. But he had the same feeling as often in the past...as if someone was watching them...only less intense.
And there were fewer monsters than they had thought...as if they were vanished or something like that. Ryu seemed to be in a really good mood since they had woken up together this morning.
Bell had never before seen her smile so often...it made her only more beautiful in his eyes. A part of his mind enjoyed the fantasy that this here was his small paradise he had with Ryu...to live forever with her down here.
But Bell had much fantasies about Ryu...like holding hands...or...kiss, he got red every time he had those lewd thoughts.
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Bell and Ryu followed the path through the forest, it was unknown territory here.
"I have never before seen this part of the Floor."
"Me neither...it is beautiful here...and so silent."
The forest got thicker and thicker as they walked ... it felt like they were slowly going uphill. The further they came, the darker the forest became, the crowns were so that hardly a ray of light found the ground.
But the path continued...it looked like it wasn´t used very much.
Ryu was fully aware about how close Bell walked to her since the path got narrow...her heart raced and she blushed again. It was only thanks to her skill that she did not stumble over roots, since most of the time she looked at Bell out of the corner of her eye.
Both were alone in a dark forest...it would be the perfect place to...hold hands.
Haaaa...Bell...I..
"Ryu, over there!"
"H-Huh?"
Right now Ryu was probably the worst partner one could have on a search quest. All her thoughts circled around love, holding hands and how she had cuddled this night with Bell. It would need a while for her to regain her usual posture.
Even when she was twenty-one already, this part of puberty hit her like nothing before, Ryu was hyper aware of everything that Bell did again. Her body...her entire being screamed at her to do something her heart yearned for.
Bell...
Ryu couldn´t...she didn´t want to wait any longer...it was the perfect moment.
"Bell...I..."
She held out her hand to his just as he ran off.
"I think I´m hearing something, hurry!"
"Mmmmh!..."
With a bright red face, she followed him, angry with herself to act so much like a little girl. Right when she had mustered all of her courage...
I am an elf for heavens sake! I am a member of the Astrea familia! Alise and the others, probably even lady Astrea, would laugh when they saw me like this!
It was a part of 18th Floor thad the most adventurers had never seen or would never see, because there was no reason to come here. Bell was right with his thoughts, there were going up a hill...or rather a small mountain. It looked similar to the one he went up when Mord had kidnapped Hestia, not much plants or green, but a few crystals here and there. It was the beginning of a big rock plateau and from here they could see nearly everything of the Floor since they were surprisingly high up. The big forest they had went through lied beneath their feet and they could see the white stone walls that were the boundary of the Floor.
Both looked around, there was only a path upwards so they had no other choice. Bell saw from the corner of his eyes that Ryu had red cheeks...maybe she wasn´t very good at climbing?
Some joked it may had something to do with Bell´s appearance, looking so similar to a bunny, but he had very good ears...he could swear he heard some light splashing, as if water was running nearby. Being a gentleman, Bell walked up the path first, Ryu wore her cape but she still wore short pants. She noticed that he did this and why he did it, this made her only like him even more.
"Do you hear that?"
"Yes...there is...something."
Ryu knew that Bell was better at searching things than she was, so she kept on looking for monsters. From the look of the path there should be only a possibility for monsters to come from behind, so Ryu glanced over her shoulder from time to time, her ears twitched under her hood. But they were lucky and not one monster followed them, from time to time Bell also glanced over his shoulder with a strange look on his face.
"Bell?"
"Hm...no...nothing. Ryu! Hurry, you have to see that!"
Hm?
She quickened her pace to catch up to him. At the end of the path was another, smaller rock plateu but this time with a few bushes. And right in the middle of the bushes was a small spring, the source of the splashing sounds. It looked really lovely so hidden up here.
The water sparkled lightly and was crystal clear, even the splashing sounded good.
He looked at her. "So do you think this is it? It truly is a beautiful spring."
Bell would leave the judgement to the expert when it came to forest springs.
Ryu crouched down and put her hands on her knees while looking at the small spring. "I think so...it looks nice."
Bell searched in his backpack and took out the mug that was used by Ryu while they camped. "Do you want to taste test it?"
"You don´t want to take the first sip?"
He smiled shyly. "No..If it is really such a special water...I want you to taste it first."
Ryu looked at him for a moment, then she smiled slightly. "Bell...you are so kind."
Ryu lowered her mug a little bit and caught a bit of the water, it smelled like ordinary water. Carefully she took a small sip...then her eyes widened in surprise.
He saw her swallow and smile. "This is the best water I have ever tasted."
"Really?"
"Yes, here try it too."
She held her mug to him but Bell didn´t took it.
"Bell?"
"Ryu...that is...your mug...I...ahm...that would be...an..."
"O-Oh, you´re right."
Argh! Keep it together, me! You can´t act so silly!
Both were a bit red when she lowered her mug.
"It looks like this is the right spring, no wonder no one found it so far, it isn´t very big."
Ryu nodded. "Yes, if you are unlucky and someone was here before you, you may not be able to get any."
"A good thing that it is full, it looks like we can fill all of our bottles. We can fill them and then return home."
Returning so...early...hm..
"Bell?"
"Ryu?"
"It might be better if we return tomorrow."
"Huh? Why that?"
"Because it is getting late again. Wandering in the dungeon at night, getting tired from the search isn´t a safe thing to do."
Yes...this was her true reason...at least Ryu believed it was.
"I think you´re right, let´s scoop up the water and then set up our camp again."
Her following smile convinced him that he had made the right choice. For a moment he stopped and turned his head around when he heard rustling behind them.
"Bell?"
"Hm...no it´s nothing."
All in all they were able to fill twenty bottles with water, Bell out most of them in his backpack.
.
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A small someone poked her head out behind the bush, looking curious at Bell and the woman next to him. This small person had become really good at hiding, so they didn´t notice her. While she really wanted to go to Bell, she was careful because of the elf. When both walked away from the spring, the small dragon girl hid behind the bushes, afterwards going to the spring and looking curious at the bottles.
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"Bell, why did you left two bottles at the spring?"
"I had a feeling that someone else was searching for the spring too, I would have felt bad to take everything."
"Ehe...you really are soft-hearted."
They memorized the place well, so that every time when Ryu came to visit her familia´s grave, she would bring this special water for Mia. They returned to the place where they had stayed the night and set up their camp again.
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On the next day, Ryu and Bell returned to the surface. Mia had asked for as many bottles as possible, they had eight. But Bell kept two for himself, since he wanted his familia to taste it too.
"So Bell...have a save trip home." Ryu smiled as they stood at the entrance of Babel.
"You too Ryu, it was fun."
"I had fun too."
Bell was welcomed back warmly at his home and he used the water immediately to give everyone a glas. Hestia had mixed feelings that Bell was away with Ryu for two days.
Her instinct yelled at her to protect Bell from Ryu...especially after she barged almost naked into Bell´s hospital room and then let her gown slip down!
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Ryu on the other hand...her welcome was...different.
"Ryu! Are you alright?! He didn´t do anything to you, did he?"
Syr was extremely clingy, as always.
Chloe smirked. "Aaaaah, little Ryu! Finally nyou are back! Meow was so worried nyou might elope!"
Syr had thrown herself at Ryu the moment she came through the door, apparently deeply worried.
Anya and Lunor wanted to ask Ryu everything about her small journey with Bell...but they didn´t get the chance.
"You don´t need to be worried, Bell didn´t do anything...why would he?"
Chloe chuckled. "Because he is a man! A beast, Nya!"
For once Syr nodded, agreeing with Chloe.
"Bell is a healthy growing boy, it would be no surprise if he would be all over you, Ryu."
All four were with Ryu in the main room of the pub, it wasn´t open for now. While the water was interesting, there was only one topic that was interesting for them.
"Ryu...did something happen between you two? No wait I don´t want to know...what did you two do in the dungeon?"
"Do?" Ryu looked confused. "Well..we searched for the spring."
"And?"
"Set up our camp at evening."
"And?"
"Well we ate together and slept in the same tent."
"WHAT?!"
"Hm?"
"What did you say?!"
"We...ate together?"
"After that!"
"Slept in the same tent?"
"Nyoooo! My little Ryu´s purity is in danger!"
In the back, Chloe and Anya showed Ryu a thumps up.
"Syr...it wasn´t like that."
"Really?"
"Of course not, what do you think of me and Bell?"
Chloe snorted. "Such a whim."
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Bell´s and Ryu´s first quest together was a huge success.
On the next day came the message about Freya´s big party and the staff members saw the maid outfits they would have to wear...