" Bell-kun...how...where...did you get all this...? " Eina said in total disbelief looking at the sheer amounts of magic stones that laid before her.
" I went dungeon diving. " Bell answered, stating the obvious(to him).
" That's...not, what I meant. " Eina said while rubbing the ridge of her nose. By the gods, she's in for a whole lot of work tonight, isn't she?
" Bell-kun...just...how long did you went dungeon diving for...? This amount isn't something you can get with just a few hours worth of time in the dungeon...this is... "
' A simply absurd amount ' Especially for a rookie adventurer like him.
Even though in Bell's perspective he had lived for a couple hundred millennia(and maybe even more), to the people in Orario he's still considered a newbie adventurer with barely a few months worth of experience under his belt.
" ... " Bell simply stayed silent, primarily because he's not sure how to answer that question since he wasn't really keeping track of the time in there.
...But also because, this amount was "just" half of the amount of magic stones that he had collected in the dungeon.
His initial plan was to cash in all of them immediately upon exiting the dungeon, however seeing the sorry state that his baggage was in, and worried that he might accidentally drop a magic stone, he decided to head back home first in order to stash some of them in before going to the guild.
...Speaking of which, his goddess still wasn't home...
" Um...Miss Eina...I...actually spent the night in the dungeon... " He decided to answer Eina's question...maybe lying a little bit on what he thought actually happened.
" What...? " Eina said, her tone shifting...
" Also...I went down to the tenth floor. "
" ...Bell-kun...say that again...? "
" I went to the tenth- " he did as she asked, though was immediately cut off.
" It was rhetorical, young man. * sigh * ...Bell-kun. "
" ...Yes? "
" Seiza, now. I'm going to give you a lecture on why adventurers shouldn't be too adventurous...again. "
" ...Miss Eina...what is a seiza...? "
" ... "
A couple hours later
" ...* Sigh * I got scolded by miss Eina... " Bell said somewhat dejectedly while walking down the street.
He had been somewhat disappointed in himself for getting Eina, who had been one of the few people that had lent him a helping hand, mad at him.
" Perhaps...it would be wise not to enter the dungeon any time soon... "
Not that it would be a problem for now, though.
* clinking *
Considering the amount of Valis that he had made just from cashing in half of the magic stones.
The money pouch in his hand held an unfamiliar weight to them, courtesy of the Valis that now filled them to the brink.
Now, what is Bell's first thought upon seeing this many Valis for the first time in his lives?
" ...He he he...what should I buy for kami-sama, I wonder...?...Of course, I ought to buy food...but, what about clothing...? Hm...Maybe if I were to sell the other half it would be enough to buy a house...?...Oh~, hogwash, hogwash...I am not even at the market yet, and my thoughts are already running wild...hehe... "
On that note, he had forgotten to ask Eina about where he can procure knowledge about cooking, though for the most part it's just because he wanted to avoid fueling her wrath any further.
Maybe the market might have books regarding cooking...?
" ...Alright...the market first, then. "
Market area
Hustle and bustle filled the market as usual today. Perhaps due to the number of shops and street-side stalls there are that the market had attracted a large number of foreigners from outside Orario, who mainly went in order to obtain items that are otherwise unavailable outside the dungeon city.
" ...Hm...the stall over there seems to be selling ingredients for cooking...but... "
With nary even a sliver of experience in the culinary arts, it would be meaningless to him if he were to buy it now, and so the boy continued to search the market.
" ...Oh...? "
Until he came across a stall that displayed a stack of books in front of it.
Looking further into the stall, he discovered that it was an elf that was tending to the books inside.
...Maybe he should ask the shopkeeper regarding books about cooking.
And so, mustering what little communication skills he had, he asked the shopkeeper.
" Excuse me. "
" Excuse me. "
He heard the voice of another resounding from behind him, overlapping with his own.
Turning around, dark green eyes met with the red of his own.
The possessor of those eyes is a girl of roughly the same stature as him. She sports medium length black hair that has two long bangs on the side loosely tied together by what appears to be golden hoops.
Another thing that struck him however was how...revealing, her attire was. Her brown skin was barely covered from him, or from anyone around them for that matter.
With only what can be called a strip of cloth covering her chest, as well as the lack of proper footwear, one can say that she's no better than naked in terms of protection...or at least, that's what Bell thinks if he were to wear such a thing for battles.
...That reminds him, he would need to go obtain proper armor at a later date...
Anyways, he turned his attention back to the...amazoness girl.
" ... "
Well, this is certainly a bind isn't it? He doesn't know what words to say. Should he apologize for suddenly interrupting her? But then again, he certainly didn't account for her suddenly speaking at the same time as he did-
" Um...can you get that book behind you ? " The amazoness suddenly spoke.
" ...Aah, yes. Of course... "
Bell then turned around in order to look for the book in question.
" ...Is this...it? " He said, handing over a book titled "Arcadia" to the girl.
" Yup..! Thanks a lot! " The girl gleefully accepted the book from Bell's hand, snatching it away from him.
...Well, seeing the girl happy like this, made him wonder what kind of book it could be.
Anyways, he wanted to find a book of his own here. Specifically a cookbook.
And so, he asked the elf shopkeeper.
" Pardon. "
" Hm? Ooh...welcome, dearest customer! What can I get for you? " The elf who was burried deep in books suddenly sprang up when Bell had called out to her.
" ...Are there...any books related to cooking? " He managed to ask the shopkeeper.
" Yes, there is. Please refer to that section over there. " The shopkeeper gestured to a certain stack of books behind him.
Walking over, he carefully went over the many books that made up the stack, until his eyes landed on a certain piece that fascinated him.
The book's cover was rather simple, with green cloth overlaying the hardcover underneath. As for the title...
" Oh... " He was suddenly reminded that he can't read nor write in the language of this world.
Looks like he had hit yet another wall in his quest.
" Hm... " He hummed to himself, before noticing the girl from before is currently reading the book that he had previously handed to her.
He also noticed a wide smile on her face, implying whatever that she is reading had somehow managed to tickle her heart.
...Her smile made her look so...happy.
Bell wondered whether or not he'll be able to achieve the kind of happiness that girl is having...
Maybe, if he cooks for his goddess. It could certainly be his first step towards obtaining happiness.
...He suddenly came up with an idea.
Approaching the girl, he asked her.
" ...Pardon me, young lady. " Bell said to the girl, prompting her to look up from the book that she was reading.
" Hm? Oh, it's the boy from before. What is it? " The amazoness asked.
...Here goes nothing, he steeled himself mentally.
" ...I'm...currently in a bit of a bind...I am unable to read nor write, you see... "
" Heh~...So, you're illiterate? And you still chose to come to a bookstore? " The girl questioned him bluntly.
" ...Admittedly, I am rather uneducated...And so...would you be so kind...as to help me read this book...? " He said somewhat hesitantly.
" ...You want me to...read it for you? " The amazoness girl tilted her head as she said so.
It was a rather unreasonable request coming from someone like him. As a stranger, she naturally had no obligations to help him, to which he simply had to relearn the language and writing system of this worls from scratch...though, that will be another hurdle in itself.
" Yea, sure. " The amazoness girl said after a moment of thinking.
" !...Are you sure...? " Bell asked the girl again, somewhat surprised that she's willing to go along.
" Yup. I'm kinda bored now anyway. "
" ...Thank you, so much. "
" No problem...The name's Tiona, by the way. "
" ...Bell Cranel. "
" Heh~...can I call you Bell-kun, then? " The girl said with a welcome smile.
" ...If that's what you prefer... "
For some reason, the smile made his heart tingle a little.
" So, so. What kinda book do you want me to read for you...? " Tiona said to Bell, eyes shining in enthusiasm.
After buying the book for a few valis, the pair is now walking down the streets of the market.
" It's...this. " he showed her the cookbook.
" "Apicius-The Art of Cooking by Marcus Gaelus Apicius"...hoh? So, it's a cookbook? "
" ...Yes. "
" Seriously? I totally didn't expect you to be the gourmet type. "
" It's...not for me. "
" Heh...Someone back home, then...? Is it a...girl? " Tiona had a teasing grin on her face as she said this.
" ...She's my goddess. "
" Ah...so you're in a familia? "
" Yes. The Hestia Familia. " This, he said with a hint of pride.
" Never heard of it. " The pride was quickly snuffed out like a candle flame in the wind.
" ...We're...new. "
" Well, that explains it. So, what kind of familia is it? "
" ...Exploration. "
" Oh! So, you're an adventurer too then! " Tiona said gleefully.
" ...Yes. "
" Fufu...well, well. That would mean I'm your senior then. Don't worry, don't worry, as your senior, I can tell that as long as you work hard, you'll be able to catch up to the average troop of the Loki familia...Ah, that's the familia I'm from by the way. " Tiona said while puffing her chest with pride.
...The amazoness proved to be quite the chatty type...not that he hate it, though.
In fact, maybe he'll even be able to fix his own communication skills...which is rather lacking in the moment.
" ...We should probably settle somewhere... " Bell suggested to Tiona.
" Oh, yeah. You're right. Hm...Oh? How about near that statue over there? " Tiona pointed at a certain direction.
A few steps away from them was a statue of a woman, surrounded by a fountain. Around the fountain were multiple wooden benches.
The pair then headed towards one of the benches, sitting down on them.
" Alright. Have you decided on a recipe, yet? "
" ... "
* flips *
Bell simply flipped through the pages of the book, until he came across a page which showed a picture of a beef patty sandwiched between two pieces of flatbread.
" ...This. " he showed the page to Tiona.
" Let's see..."Isicia Omentata"...what a strange name... "
" ... " Admittedly, Bell had chosen this one because the picture looked appetizing to him. Though, now he wondered if he had made the correct choice in his selection of his first recipe.
" ...! "
Tiona suddenly took hold of the book, prompting him to let go.
" Alrighty here...so, the recipe calls for minced meat, pine nuts, rosemary, garum, caul fat, and grape juice... " Tiona continued to read the list of ingredients as well as the rest of the recipe.
" W-wait... " Bell asked for the girl to stop.
He doesn't even know half of the ingredients the girl just listed, further reading of the recipe would most likely confuse him even further.
" Hm? What's it? "
" ...Sorry, could you maybe...repeat that again, please...? "
" Okay. So, minced meat, rosemary, pine nuts, gar- "
" P-please...can you maybe...slow down? "
" ...* Giggles *... "
" ...! "
" ...Hehe...I was messing with you...You should've seen the panicked look on your face. "
" ... "
" Okay, okay. I'll do it slower now. So, first things first, you want to prepare this much minced meat... "
...
...
" -And then finally, serve between two pieces of toasted flatbread. "
" Oh...Thank you so much, miss Tiona. " Bell thanked the girl with all of the sincerity he could muster.
She had proven to be a plenty of help in translating the recipes inside the cookbook. Not only that, whenever he was unsure regarding certain parts in the book, she would even make sure to answer any question that came up.
...He is so grateful for her help.
" Hehe...don't worry about it...This is actually kinda fun as well compared to the books I usually read... " Tiona said.
That reminds him, she had asked her to grab a book previously in the bookstore.
" ...Miss Tiona, if I may ask...what book was it that you had asked of me to take for you, just now...? "
" Hm? Oh, you mean "Arcadia"? Well...hehe, this is actually kinda embarrassing but...I'm, into hero stories, you see... "
" Stories of...heroes? " Bell tilted his head at the statement.
' ...Cute. ' Tiona commented to herself inside her mind.
...Little does she know that the one she's calling cute was actually an old man inside, but that would be a surprise for another day.
" Yes...Where I came from, they're the only thing I can get a good laugh from...particularly stories about Argonaut. "
" ...Argonaut? "
" Yup. His stories would often make me laugh so hard that I'd end up having a stomachache for hours! "
" ... "
This...Argonaut sounds fascinating.
" ...Would you please, tell me more of this... Argonaut? " Bell said to Tiona,now with eyes glimmering like the stars.
" Of course! So, this one time, he had pretended to fight a windmill, thinking it was a giant...- "
...
...
" -and then, and then, Feena proceeded to whack his head again, making him fall in front of all the ladies! "
" Hoho...is that so...?...This Feena girl sounds like the one with the good head on their shoulder... "
" Yup, you can say she's the straight man between the three...though, Crozzo can also take that place as well. "
Bell continued to listen attentively to the girl talking about her favourite hero stories.
Yet, never once did he turn his attention away from it, as even he found it quite fascinating...about the adventures and misadventures of the legends of this world...
" Now, now, Bell-kun. "
" ...Hm? "
" What's your favourite hero story? "
Author note : Decided to split the chapter into two parts cuz this one's a bit long. Second part will be shorter, though. Enjoy and ciao!