Howdy readers! I've decided to publish the fourth chapter a little earlier than expected since I had some free time, I'll probably be a bit busy this week so MAYBE the next update will be on the following Sunday, but we'll see hehe. Also, finally a review on my story! Shoutout to @Haziq Saffari for being the first reviewer of this humble story of mine, from the bottom of my heart, thank you my guy! To respond to your feedback on my story: first, about the first chapter, I truly appreciate you considering the first chapter to be passable, but in my personal opinion I kinda found it somewhat awkward so I promise to do better! and second, thanks for the review about the Udaeus fight, that one I'm actually quite proud of, took me some time to think about how the fight will go down, how to structure it, how to word it and such, so I truly appreciate the feedback! Back to topic, if there's anything you guys wish to point out, or suggest, please feel free to comment, your feedbacks are truly appreciated and will make the story better, now... let's get on with the story!
I do not own Danmachi
Chapter IV: Invitation
The serene glow of the full moon basked Orario in its bright and lovely radiance, despite the nocturnal setting, the metropolis was still as lively as ever, stalls were still offering goods to any interested customers, shops were still conducting business, people were still up and going about their nightly activities.
Bell had left the Hearth Mansion after freshening up for the celebration at the Hostess, Bell had invited the others to join him in the celebration, but they insisted that they've already ate and will be retiring for the night, apparently Bell wasn't the only one that had a long day. After giving the sword he got as a drop item from Udaeus to Welf, the smith ecstatically took it and promised to tinker with it to the best of his abilities to make use of it, Bell told him to keep the sword for himself, as he had no use for it, the red-haired smith ruffled his white locks as thanks and immediately went to his forge to see what he could do with it.
"Keep safe Bell-kun! Please don't stay out too late"
The Goddess of the Hearth saw him off, along with Haruhime and Lili
"Indeed, please keep safe Bell-sama! Congratulations once again!"
Haruhime let a gracious smile appear on her face
"Sorry that Lili can't join you Bell-sama, Lili wishes to get some rest after such a tiring day..."
The prum supporter also bid him farewell
Bell nodded at all three women and smiled at them
"Thanks again you three! I'll be back soon, please don't wait for me and get some rest"
Hestia looked at him with a small hint of annoyance
"You know we can't do that Bell-kun! So come back soon"
Bell smiled at them and proceeded towards the Hostess of Fertility
Walking down the lively and lit streets of the city, Bell made his way to the familiar pub
With a jingle, the bell at the door announced the presence of the adventurer
"Nya! White hair is here nya!"
Anya, who was closest to the door, greeted him as all eyes within the room fell upon him
"Did I hear that cute butt?!"
Chloe peaked from the kitchen and indeed, her eyes fixated on Bell, but couldn't see his rear as he was facing them
"There you are Bell! What took you so long?"
Syr came from the backroom and greeted the white haired adventurer
Bell returned her greeting and shot her a question
"Sorry... I took care of something first, where's Ryu-san?"
"Here I am Cranel-san"
An elegant and familiar voice called out to him, and he followed the source to find said elf seated by the counter, surprisingly, she wasn't in her uniform.
'So she's a customer for tonight?'
He thought as he walked towards her
"Good evening Ryu-san! I hope you didn't wait long..."
Bell greeted her as Syr followed closely behind him
"No, I just sat down here a little while ago Cranel-san, no worries"
Ryu replied which caused him to sigh in relief
"Anyway, you two must be starving yes? Mama's cooking up a storm in the kitchen, she said to eat to your heart's content after such a draining battle, especially you Bell, as growing boys need their fuel.
Such a misleading statement caused both Bell and Ryu to blush while Syr seemed confused with their behavior.
"Sorry to keep ya' waiting!"
Mama Mia came out of the kitchen carrying multiple trays of different dishes, which bombarded the room with the mouth-watering smell of food
"Woah! That smells good Mama Mia!"
Bell complimented as she set the dishes down on the counter by their side
"I concur"
Ryu chirped, she gulped as soon as her nose picked up the intoxicating smell of food
"I expect the both of you's to eat up like there's no tomorrow! Surely taking on a Monster Rex by yerselves made ya hungry?"
Both nodded vigorously as they both started to eat
"It's soooo good~!"
As he took the first bite, Bell moaned as his tastebuds were satisfied by the piece of steak he was now chewing
"It's true~... Mama Mia's cooking never disappoints!"
Ryu also voiced out her satisfaction as she took a bite out of her dish, Mia smiled at the two, then her attention was caught by a hectic Lunoire
"The Loki Familia's here!"
Lunoire told her just audibly enough to let us hear, then she hurriedly walked towards a large table at the middle of the pub, and began to thoroughly inspect it, my eyes widen at her words
A few moments later, the door opened and a certain red-haired trickster goddess with the executives of her familia appeared, along with some other members
"Heya there Mia! How's business lately?"
"Good evening to you too Loki, yer Familia's usual table is ready"
Loki pouted as she was less than warmly shot down by the giant dwarf
"Awww... fine, come on kids"
They made their way towards their usual table, then a certain blonde haired girl with golden eyes locked gazes with the ruby colored irises of Bell
"Bell!"
"Ais-san!"
The Loki Familia's attention was caught by both voices
"Ais-san?"
Lefiya, who was present, followed her superior's line of sight and that's when she saw it, or to be more accurate... him
A small frown immediately graced her lovely face
'Urg... that human's here... is he stalking us or something?'
Lefiya shook off the rude thought and tried to recompose herself
"Well if it ain't Itty Bitty's kid! Heard ya fought Udaeus earlier with the elf next to ya"
Loki greeted us with a smile, as I waved at her
A few pairs of eyes bulged at her words
"Good evening Goddess Loki, indeed we fought Udaeus earlier, we managed to beat it, so we're eating to celebrate"
Bell gestured to the elf next to her, who nodded in agreement
"Cranel-san dealt the final blow, I simply fended off Udaeus for a bit"
Ryu's words further astounded the Loki Familia
"Wait Wait Wait?! So you're telling me this tomato bastard took down Udaeus?!"
Bete, the loud warewolf of the familia, rudely pointed at Bell who just laughed nervously at his outburst and seemingly took no offense to his harsh words
"Awww, don't tell me little Bete's jealous?"
Loki teasingly cooed at Bete, which ignited his fuse and he started ranting at the guffawing goddess
"I give to you my sincerest congratulations Bell Cranel and Lion"
Riveria walked up to the both of them and nodded her head at them, acknowledging their feat
Ryu got flustered by her praise, and Bell was no better
"Ahm... thank you Lady Riveria..."
She shook her heads at his words
"Please, just Riveria, we're fellow adventurers after all"
Her warm smile was infectious
"Well, why don't the both of ya join us here?"
Loki, after recovering from her laughing fit, offered the two
"Ahm, well... we wouldn't want to disturb your familia's dinner Goddess Loki..."
Bell tried to weasel his way out of the invite, but the red-haired Goddess was adamant
"Nonsense! Come on, we want to hear about yer little adventure"
Both Bell and Ryu, looked at each other, and thinking that it would be rude to refuse them, grabbed a hold of their dishes and made their way towards the Loki Familia's table
The atmosphere was awkward
A snarling wolf could be heard at the end of the table, specifically directed at Bell, and the glare of a certain golden-orange haired elf could be felt by the white haired adventurer
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Ais decided to start a conversation
"Bell! Please tell me about your fight with Udaeus!"
Her sudden question got the attention of the familia, who all now eagerly awaited his response
"Indeed, I am eager to hear about it as well, Bell Cranel"
Finn smiled at him
All attention had been focused on him, so he took a deep sigh and started
"Well... I'll begin with this morning...
Bell explained the events earlier in the day to the present members of the Loki Familia, with Ryu filling in every now and then
After the lengthy and detailed explanation of their account of what transpired earlier in the day, Loki Familia had mixed reactions
"You two make it seem so easy..."
Raul Nord, a level four of the familia, sighed
"Now now Raul... they did drone on on how difficult it was..."
Anakitty Autumn, also a level four, reassured her fellow family member
"HAHA! That's quite the battle ye had lads! I congratulate the both of ya's!"
Gareth belly-laughed heartily, and raised his ale mug in the air as a toast to the two
"Tch!"
Was all Bete could reply after hearing their tale
"That's an interesting ability Bell Cranel... may I ask about it?"
This got all of their attention as Bell went silent for a bit to think about it
'I guess it wouldn't hurt'
"My Argonaut ability allows me to charge, four minutes maximum currently, for a single, powerful attack against a foe, it's usually accompanied by the tolling of grand bells, when I activate it, my hand starts to glow white, and around the one minute mark, the white glow will spread towards my entire arm, I usually use it to supercharge a firebolt, but can also be used to significantly boost my physical stats"
All went silent at his explanation
Finn went deep in thought after his explanation
Ais was wide-eyed, after hearing about that, she suddenly felt the urge to train again with the white haired adventurer
"Bell"
Ais spoke, which caught everybody at the table's attention
"Would you like to train with me these next few days?"
Lefiya silently protested while Ryu and Loki raised an eyebrow at her
"Ah... sure? I don't mind"
Bell reluctantly agreed after sensing a certain elf's glare
Ais was relieved he accepted her invitation, she could at least learn more about him before their expedition
"I'll come with you Ais-san!"
Lefiya volunteered, earning the confusion of Ais, Riveria, Bete and Bell
"We'll be training your magic, Lefiya"
Riveria announced, but it didn't deter the young elf
"I'll practice with you Lady Riveria in the afternoon, if that's fine with you"
Riveria raised a brow at this, but found her proposal acceptable
"If you're adamant, then fine"
She acquiesced, which made Lefiya sigh in relief
'Now I can keep an eye on that human!'
"Bell Cranel"
The captain of the Loki Familia suddenly called out the white haired adventurer's name
"Y-yes?"
Said white haired adventurer replied nervously, curious as to what the prum captain wanted of him
"How would you like to accompany the Loki Familia on our expedition next week?
To say this statement by Finn surprised everybody present was an understatement
Everybody present at the table looked over at Finn wide-eyed, unsure of what to make of his invitation to an adventurer from another familia. Nosy customers who overheard the conversation either spat out their drinks or choked on their food, even Anya and Chloe, who were nearby, were wide-eyed.
"HAH?! What brought this on Finn?!"
Bete made his disapproval and apprehension apparent as he nearly jumped onto the table
"I'm personally not against it, but may I ask what brought you to such a decision, Finn?"
Riveria gave her own take on the matter
With her opinion on the matter, the others patiently awaited the captain's reasoning as to why he thought this was a good idea
"With an exotic ability such as the one he mentioned, he will be invaluable to our team which will significantly boost our chances of success in our quest down to uncharted territory, it never hurts to have extra people to watch your back. Also, I believe this will benefit Mr. Cranel as well, as this will be a learning experience for him, he will learn what it is like to fight with a large team and in formation, he will learn various tactics that will be beneficial for his own familia's future endeavors, and he will also learn how to fight when under duress in a team setting, up until now, he has adapted to fighting under stressful situations in a solo, or small team setting. Another thing I would like to point out is having Mr. Cranel with us on this expedition will strengthen our ties with the Hestia Familia and their allies, and we will be entitled to their aid whenever we shall need it, as they will be entitled to ours."
After that little persuasive speech from the Loki Familia captain, the table, nay, the entire pub became silent, awaiting the answer of a few key individuals
Bell was touched that they were willing to have him onboard their expedition, but was hesitant on taking up their offer
"Ahm, are you sure you want to have me on your team Finn-san?"
Finn turned his head towards him and smiled warmly
"As you've heard, this'll be beneficial to both parties, will it not? As long as Loki and the others don't have a problem with it, then we'll gladly take you onboard!"
The captain then turned his head towards the goddess, who's eyes were slightly opened with his little offer
"Well... I don't really have a problem with it, and though I hate to admit it, but having Itty Bitty's help will be useful, though I'm not particularly thrilled about it... whaddaya say Riveria? Gareth?"
Their attention was now turned towards the two other executives of the familia, who were both in thought
"I don't mind, he's proven himself many times already, so having him in our team will be beneficial"
The high elf's response was as professional and elegant as her demeanor
"FWAHA! We'll be glad to have ya' on board lad! With yer strength and willpower, nothing'll stop us!"
Gareth raised his mug high up in agreement, laughing merrily
The other members present though, had mixed reactions
"I'll be honored if you'd join us Cranel-san!"
Raul told the white haired adventurer, as Anakitty nodded her head multiple times in agreement
"Tch! I don't have a choice now do I?!"
The werewolf of the familia deeply growled, but was secretly interested in how the situation will play out, so despite not stomaching it well, he very reluctantly agreed
Lefiya was dismayed
'Oh no! Now he'll definitely use the chance to get close to Ais-san! "
Despite her misleading line of thoughts, she shook it away and tried to think rationally
'Think back to what Ais-san said last week... he's not a bad person, just make an effort to actually get to know him!"
Lefiya then forced a smile on her face, she didn't harbor any genuine hatred for Bell, as there wasn't anything to hate about the white haired adventurer, but her jealousy often clouded her judgement and made her jump to conclusions too quickly, a bad habit she's actively trying to rectify.
'Perhaps it won't be as bad...'
Her strained smile gradually became more and more genuine
Ryu was silent up until now, intently listening to what was currently transpiring around their table
'What Braver-san pointed out were all valid arguments to let Bell join them, but I have a slightly bad feeling about this, like... something bad is bound to occur, I don't doubt Bell, I trust him to prevail, but still...'
Eventually, she gave out a small sigh as she smiled at Bell
"I wish you the best of luck then Mr. Cranel, the Loki Familia expeditions are not to be taken lightly, even by veteran adventurers, and thus you must stay alert all the time and never, ever, let your guard down, as the dungeon has a weird way of making things go south quickly."
Bell took in her words of wisdom, shaped by all her years as an adventurer, and etched them into his mind and being, never to forget them.
"I'll keep that in mind Ryu-san! I'll be extra careful"
Ryu nodded in acknowledgement
"Ais?"
Finn turned to the final person who hasn't expressed her thoughts on the matter yet
"Oh! Ah... uhm, I don't mind at all... in fact, I'm happy that Bell's joining us"
Ais had a small smile on her face, which was a new sight for them as she was usually as emotionless as a doll
Lefiya grit her teeth
'Ooookay, I really have to keep an eye on him now!'
"Then it's settled! Bell Cranel will be joining the Loki Familia expedition to uncharted territory in six days time!"
Finn announced, as the whole pub erupted in a roar of celebration
"I'm back!"
Bell announced as he opened the entrance gate to the Hearth Manor, Haruhime and Hestia went to greet him
"How was the celebration Bell-kun?"
Hestia eagerly asked, making me smile
"It was a merry night, Goddess! Everybody was cheering us on our victory!"
Hestia and Haruhime smiled at his words
"As it should, defeating a Monster Rex is no easy task Bell-sama"
Haruhime chirped in, smiling as she brought her palms together
"Goddess... could you update my status?"
Bell abruptly changed the subject which surprised both women
"Oh yes! It seems I forgot to suggest we update your status before you left for the Hostess"
Hestia chimed in, as I nodded
"It's also because I was recruited by the Loki Familia to join their expedition..."
Silence
"What?!"
Hestia nearly shouted out and Haruhime's eyes went wide as saucers
"That flat-chested board of a Goddess wants you to join their expedition to who knows where?!"
Hestia immediately went to protest, but he was as quick to defend himself
"Goddess... I'm already a level five, I've survived many things any other adventurer probably wouldn't, and I'll have very strong and capable people by my side, I understand your worries, but please try to trust in me"
Bell pleaded with puppy eyes, which was Hestia's main weakness
"Ahmm... I quite agree with Bell-sama Goddess Hestia, while I don't want Bell-sama getting hurt, I do trust that he'll come back to us, always"
Haruhime lightened the mood with her opinion on the matter
Seeing it was two against one, Hestia sighed in defeat
"Ugh... I guess it wouldn't hurt to let you join... HOWEVER!"
She raised her dainty index finger and pointed it upwards, emphasizing herself
"No flirting with the women of the Familia!"
This made both Bell and Haruhime's face explode in crimson
"G-G-Goddess! I w-wouldn't do that!"
"Is this really such a great idea Finn?"
Loki asked as she and her children walked back towards the Twilight Manor, the goddess stumbled a bit as she was slightly drunk with all the alcohol she consumed earlier, much to the despair of Lefiya and the ire of Ais who were the frequent victims of her vigorous attempts at forceful skinship
"I do believe having Bell Cranel in our arsenal will prove to be beneficial to us, and it might even inspire the others to work harder, I shall personally make sure they force themselves to grow more, but not to the point of recklessness"
Finn replied at his Goddess' inquisition
"Besides, Bell Cranel is already on cordial terms with many in our Familia"
Riveria added
"Hmm... what'd you think Ais-pu?"
The red-haired goddess asked the sword princess, as she turned to face the inebriated deity
"I look forward to Bell joining us"
Lefiya, who was beside her, wasn't too thrilled about her words
'I'll make sure I keep a close eye on him so he doesn't try anything funny'
Loki belly-laughed heartily, such that it would make Gareth proud
"FWAHA! See? We already got the Ais-pu seal of approval!"
"Tch! You're being too noisy, Loki!"
Bete barked at his Goddess
"D'awww... little Bete's just jealous that the girls are fawning at rabbits more than werewolves..."
Loki teasingly cooed at the enraged werewolf, who was now becoming more enraged by the second, like a pot about to spill over its contents
"HAH?! What'd you sa-"
"LEVEL SIX?!?!?!?"
A loud, feminine, high-pitched voice shrilled out, to be heard by all of Orario and even waking up some of its sleeping residents
The entirety of Orario seemed to fall silent as they heard the loud exclamation of a recent level up
People could be heard murmuring to themselves
"What? A new level six?"
"I wonder who it is..."
"Any guesses?"
"Could it be Rabbit's Foot?"
"Woah, you might be right! The kid's growing crazy fast!"
"Yeah! I think it's Rabbit's Foot!"
"We won't know until the Denatus less than a month from now"
The murmurs made the present members of the Loki Familia choke on their spit
"That sounded like Itty-Bitty!"
Loki said in disbelief
"WHAT?! THE TOMATO BRAT'S A LEVEL SIX ALREADY?!?!"
Bete growled out in disbelief
"It seems we have another thing to congratulate him on..."
Finn shook his head and sighed
Riveria nodded at him, a smile was present on her austere face
"FWAHAHAHA!!! The lad's something alright!"
Gareth belly-laughed harder than he had ever before
Anakitty and Raul stared at one another, blinked a few times and then both their mouths went agape
"It took me around four years to level up to level four..."
Raul's shoulders slumped as Anakitty could only sympathize with him
Both Lefiya and Ais were speechless up until now
"WHAT?! THE HUMAN'S A LEVEL SIX?!"
Aaaand there it was...
Ais' eyes remained wide as her lip trembled slightly
'He's growing way too fast! I need to catch up to him!'
Her eyes then closed, and she took in a deep sigh
Her resolve was now stronger than ever, she was determined to reach level seven soon
The following morning, news spread about a certain level up that occurred the previous night, while the people weren't sure who exactly it was, names were being thrown around
"Could it be Ankusha?"
One man with brown hair asked another man, but received a negative
"No, we asked her but she said that she hasn't leveled up in eight years"
"Cyclops, perhaps?"
A woman with flowing pink locks suggested another currently-known level five
"Same thing, she said she hasn't leveled up in a while"
A man quickly closed the discussion on the eye-patched smith from the Hephaistos Familia
"Alchat?"
Another suggested
"No, we saw the Loki Familia heading home from the Hostess of Fertility, they were just as confused as we were"
They were running out of options, but one man spoke out a rather famous alias
"Do you lot think it's Rabbit's Foot?"
This got all of their attention
"What?! Rabbit's Foot just turned level four a few months ago!"
(Author's Note: Bell leveled up to level five shortly after the previous Denatus, so he still retains his alias at level four, and is still widely known as a level four)
"But... with just how fast he's been growing, it's not such an outlandish idea!"
A fat man with a generously sized belly added to his fellow citizen's suggestion
Nods and murmurs of agreement followed
"Yeah! It might be Rabbit's Foot!"
"That's crazy!!! That many levels in less than a year?!"
"And I haven't even leveled up once in the past three years..."
The group eventually got louder and larger, with murmurs of the plausible level up of a certain white-haired adventurer
"Good morning Ais-san!"
Bell was giddy and ran up to her with speed that surprised even the blonde girl, who was known for her quick reaction time
"Oh! Good morning Bell!"
Ais still couldn't believe that he leveled up again
"Whoops, still getting used to that"
He sheepishly smiled at her with his new signature billion-valis smile
Ais was rather aloof this morning, something Bell picked up on
"Ais-san... is something bothering you?"
She couldn't face him properly, resorting to just glance at her armored boots, it wasn't completely confirmed until Bell himself said it, so she needed to make certain of it
"Bell"
His name came out of her mouth, her voice subtly strained, which he picked up on
"Yes?"
He responded with a low voice, treading carefully as he had a faint idea on what this could be about
"Did you... level up recently?"
His eyes widened at her, and he slightly panicked, as he wanted to make it a surprise. Ais was eerily still, which caught him off guard as he thought that she would've been happy for his recent level up, he genuinely did not think that she would react so negatively
"How... how did you know? I was planning to surprise you"
Bell weakly got out as two figures slowly appeared
"Because we heard your loli goddess shout out the news to heavens above! Geez! The entirety of Orario is talking about it!"
Bete and Lefiya appeared as Bell's eyes widened at the unexpected guests
"Honestly... leveling up so much in such a short amount of time... what's up with you tomato brat?"
The werewolf added as both of them stopped next to the silent Ais, who had yet to lift her gaze from the floor
"Bete-san! Lefiya-san! Good morning... I wasn't informed you were coming with us today..."
Bell weakly greeted the two as the werewolf's scowl deepened and Lefiya's face soured
"Tch! Come on then bunny boy!"
The werewolf took a defensive stance as he faced the white haired adventurer
Seeing his stance, Bell quickly took up his own
"It'll be alright Ais-san"
Lefiya said to the blonde sword master next to her, which made her lightly raise her head up to face her, with a weak smile on her face
"We'll help with training"
She added, which lifted Ais' spirit
A second later, a resounding boom could be heard around them
Bete had taken the initiative and charged towards the defending Bell, but he didn't expect the recently leveled up adventurer to be able to easily block his powerful punch, without even so much as getting pushed back
'Tch! He's as strong as a high level six!"
Even after leveling up so soon, he was still the prodigal Bell Cranel and thus never failed to surprise
Bete followed up his initial attack with a devastating kick, but Bell was also quick to block it, this time however, he felt pain and slightly staggered back
"Tch! Ain't so tough are ya bunny boy?"
Bell didn't really hate the werewolf, but his taunts were really getting on his nerves, so he switched it up a bit and was the one who took the initiative this time, surprising the werewolf with his speed
"Guh!"
Bete has narrowly managed to block a powerful right hook directed at his abdomen, which enraged him
'How is he so fast!?!?'
Bell wasn't done though, and quickly followed up with a left hook, this time directed at his chin
The left hook landed on its target successfully and Bete was slightly lifted up the ground by the sheer force of the blow, getting winded
"What?! He was able to hit Bete-san?!"
Lefiya squeaked out in surprise as Ais' eyes widened slightly, Bete and her weren't really too far off in terms of abilities, so if he was able to easily deal a blow to the werewolf, he wasn't too far off from being able to do the same to her
'He's really come so far since I saved him from the minotaur...'
She couldn't help but smile proudly at her student, but a bit of envy crept up and gnawed at her heart, she did her best to push it away and continue watching the spar
"Huh!!! You'll pay for that rabbit!!"
Bete, while still suspended in the air, clasped both of his hands and violently swung both of his arms downward in a powerful double-hammer which was aimed at the head of the white haired adventurer, but had hit the ground instead, throwing up huge amounts of dust and cracking a portion of the walls that encircled Orario
'Woah! That was close!"
Bell muttered out to himself as the werewolf turned to look at him straight in the eye
"I'm not done with you yet!"
He went for a grab towards the white haired adventurer, intent on grabbing him by the throat and slamming him full force into the ground, Bell foresaw this and deflected the outstretched arm away with a block, and in a snap decision, decided to counter with a powerful right hook aimed at the werewolf's face
Bete moved fast enough to avoid being completely hit by the fist, but hadn't evaded fast enough to avoid getting his cheek scraped
The blow sent him staggering back a few steps due to the sheer force of the blow
The werewolf's eyes widened at the turn of events, he felt warm fluid trickling down his cheek so he grasped it with his palm, and found blood
The werewolf slowly looked at the white haired adventurer, who had a face of awe, then back to the blood on his palm, then back at the adventurer, then back to his palm, a few more times before he snarled
"You damned bunny brat! You landed a lucky hit in!"
Bell braced himself for another attack, but after seeing him release a deep sigh, he eased his stance
"Tch! As much as I hate to admit it, you've come so far since half a year ago, you're no longer the tomato brat I used to make fun of"
Bete straightened up and walked towards him, stopping in front of him
Bell was confused with his behavior
"Keep on getting stronger, ya hear me?"
Then the werewolf walked past him as Bell was left stunned by the werewolf's words
"Oi, Lefiya! Heal me would you?"
"Y-yes!"
The young elf rushed towards the werewolf, chanted a quick spell and healed him
"Your turn Ais"
The werewolf said to the blonde princess after muttering a curt thanks to Lefiya
The blonde princess perked up at her name being called, and started to walk towards Bell
"A-Ais-san! We don't have to spar if you don't feel like it..."
Ais stopped a few meters away from him
"It's alright Bell... I want to spar with you, I'm ready when you are"
She steeled herself for the battle ahead
"You can do it Ais-san!"
Lefiya cheered, which she replied with a smile at the elf
"Aw... no cheer for the rabbit?"
Bete teased the elf as Lefiya blushed, unable to look the boy in the eyes
"WHA?! Bete-san!!!"
Bell found her outburst to be quite cute honestly
"Focus Bell"
The voice of the blonde sword master snapped his attention back to reality, steeling himself for the spar against his mentor, it was nothing new since they sparred often before, but it'll be his first time taking on the Sword Princess as an equal
And as a gentle breeze blew by them, both charged at the other, intent on besting the other
-Fin-
Another chapter finished and released into the world! I'm gonna be totally honest with you guys, I honestly didn't think that actually writing and managing a proper story would take up so much of my time, I barely have time to do other things during my free time haha, but don't worry! I much enjoy writing this story and the journey with you my dear readers! So I likely won't be dropping this story and'll actually see it until the end, Bell X Lefiya fanfics are ridiculously and criminally rare, I genuinely think that these two have more chemistry than Bell and Ais, that's just my personal opinion, feel free to disagree hehe. Anyway, see you guys soon! Adios mi amigos!