Bonjour my friends! Welcome to another chapter of the story! This should've been wrapped up some days ago, but I've been sidetracked by some stuff in life. Funny thing is that after the Rakian Arc ended, the chapter just seemed to write itself, I was able to write the chapter from start to finish in as little as less than three days! I know that that's not a very impressive feat for a 6k word count chapter but I outdid myself, it's the fastest write I've done in a while since a new arc has begun and so setting it up was the easy part, I'll try not to drag out the arc in later chapters though. I'm expecting this arc to be probably between more than five chapters but less than ten, so it's a rather long one with lots of material to work with and explore so things will probably slow down a bit more from here as I work on the details to make the story as interesting as I can make it, so sorry in advance. Anyway, I'll answer a question from a reader in the previous chapter for clarification since I haven't done that in a while, hehe.
lothik: Great new chapter! :) But i have a few thing from my perspective which i would like to see in this chapter :D but you are author and you did great job. What would i like to see? Hmm according to Fin it was level 9 maybe new level 10 opponent, so i would except more though fight. And maybe more like to finish with bell argonaut and lefiya spell, it will have more impact for me. As we can say when they combined their power, it should have enough strenght! But otherwise i really like this story and looking forward for next chapter :)
A: Hey friend! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter even though it was just a unnecessarily dragged-on pile of hot mess, I tried to add some context and dialogue to compensate for the subpar fight scenes, I really don't know how to do an engaging fight lol. As for your concerns, Finn did mention that their opponent was about as strong as a high level nine to level ten enemy, but he also did mention that the guy lacked extensive battle experience and thus could be taken down with their superior tactics and numbers despite the large gap in power. It's kind of like a baby with a gun, dangerous but with the right way of handling things, you can take care of the situation. But I do agree that I kind of played it down a bit, maybe the fight should have been more brutal with the characters sustaining more serious damage, I do acknowledge that shortcoming and so I'll try to work on making my fights and power scaling more realistic and significant. For your other concern, I considered Bell and Lefiya working together to take the final opponent down, but I ultimately scrapped the idea since I wanted to have the other characters be put in the spotlight more, especially Lefiya since she's the main heroine of the show, because there hasn't been much coverage of her in the past few chapters, I made up for it in the end by allowing her the final attack. I'll definitely be implementing the idea somewhere though. Again, I'm so glad you enjoyed the story up until this point, we'll be going back to more vanilla Bell x Lefiya as the story should be.
With that out of the way, let's get right onto it!
I do not own Danmachi
Chapter XIX: Hocus
Third Person POV:
Down in the twenty-fourth floor, deep within the dense foliage, the distinct sound of incessant buzzing could be made as a large swarm of Deadly Hornets relentlessly pursued the members of the Hestia Familia
Being almost as large as the walled city above it, one could easily find themselves lost in the discombobulating mess of foliage and vines and their lives forfeit should they fail to practice utmost caution
For the moment, the floor had been devoid of any other adventurers, making them the only target for all hostile entities present, which were by no means few in number
"Welf! To your right!"
A rabid sword stag monster burst from a nearby bush, rushing towards the red-haired swordsmith whom it was closest in proximity to, its sharp, pointed antlers akin numerous swords ready to impale its prey that it deemed an easy target
With a click of his tongue, the swordsmith swung his great sword at the belligerent beast, his strength just barely fending it off as its antlers met with his weapon in a loud clang as it quickly became a battle of strength. Or so it would have been had the raven-haired far-eastern samurai previously carrying her fellow far eastern familia member put her down and then executed the monster without any hesitation
"Thanks for holding it off, Master Welf! Come, let's keep running!"
All she had to say to the red-haired swordsmith was such before she and the red-haired swordsmith quickly rushed back after the others as the massive, buzzing wall of death was quickly gaining ground
It had been two weeks since and emboldened Rakia tried its luck once more by attempting once more to subjugate the walled city and its inhabitants to bend their knees to their will, but they had ultimately failed, Marius Rakia's succession and ascension to the throne, and the previous king detained and imprisoned by Ganesha Familia. Life had pretty much returned to normal after a while
Back to the Hestia Familia members down at the twenty-fourth floor, they continued running forward. Nearing up a clearing, devoid of any plant-life, without any risk of ambush from other sneaky monsters
"Lady Mikoto! Lady Haruhime! Duck!"
Lili shouted as she fired an arrow straight toward their direction, but not before giving them a sharp, curt warning
Following their vice-captains order, Mikoto dropped down so as to prevent herself or the renard she was carrying from being pierced by the arrow as it whizzed past their heads and struck a deadly hornet right behind them, about to puncture them and inject its deadly poison into the unsuspecting adventurers
"Thank you for the save, Lady Lili!"
Mikoto expressed her thanks along with the golden-haired renard, who nodded with a smile, at the Prum who nodded back, beckoning them to keep on moving
Stabbing another bold sword stag that jumped right in front of him, Welf shouted out as he got tired of dispatching cheeky monsters trying their luck against the group along with Lili
"Bell! Any time now?"
the captain of the Hestia Familia shook his head as he looked at his clenched fist, the grand bells have yet to toll
"Not yet, I need more time..."
Argonaut had only been active for about thirty seconds, not yet enough to unleash a sufficiently powerful blast to eradicate the approaching swarm of certain doom
"Well, there's nothing we can do but buy more time!"
Welf unleashed a powerful swing of his sword mid-sentence that dispatched two incoming sword studs that were about to go for him and Lili
"To the clearing!"
Lili commanded once more as they continued running, they were less than a few dozen meters away from the clearing as more and more monsters kept on appearing in front of them, wearing them down continuously as they trudged onwards in an attempt to put some more distance between them and the incoming swarm of numerous, buzzing hornets, which were around a hundred meters away yet surely approaching
"Come on! We're almost there!"
Bell encouraged them to keep moving forward, keeping pace with them so as to protect them from any ambushing monsters, which seemed to be their favorite mode of attack, fully utilizing the discombobulating environment to their advantage.
"Hobgoblins!"
Lili shouted out and pointed ahead of them as Bell looked at her and then toward the direction of where she was pointing, and indeed, there were two lumbering figures that stood in front of them, blocking their path to the clearing
Taking it as his cue, Bell dramatically sped up and rushed toward the pair of two-meter monstrosities that dare get in front of them and try to compromise their escape
Wasting little time and energy, the white-haired boy dodged the bat that the first one swung and then cut its arm clean off as blood spurted everywhere, then moved in once more to secure the kill. The boy embedded his knife into the monster's forehead as its comrade was forced to watch as its bleeding and shrieking companion burst into a heap of excelia
Then, the ferocious rabbit sets its sights on it, ready to inflict upon it the same fate as its recently departed companion
Roaring in anger, the remaining hobgoblin flailed wildly and erratically in an effort to prevent the boy from coming closer, smacking its club onto the ground as it generated miniscule tremors
But the boy was unfazed, he could effortlessly follow the monster's every move as it was far too slow to pose a challenge for him
Rushing in, he deftly avoided every erratic swing the monster made as he struck the monster also in the head as it groaned and then instantly perished
"Nice going, Master Bell!"
Mikoto exclaimed as she, along with Haruhime whom she was still carrying, and Lili rushed on ahead toward the clearing, which was only a few meters away now
"That's a first-class adventurer for you!"
Welf patted his shoulder as they caught up to the others, congratulating the white-haired boy's feat of effortlessly taking down monsters that would prove to be a difficult opponent against even level four adventurers
They got to the clearing, yet the number of monsters trying their luck against them only increased in number, which was counterintuitive
It would not be too far-fetched to assume that the entire floor really wanted them dead
"More monsters incoming!"
Lili warned as she unleashed a volley of arrows, killing off the monsters that got a bit too close for comfort
"Miss Haruhime! We need your magic!"
Mikoto pleaded to her friend as she took down a pair of incoming deadly hornets, which nearly stung her
"I'll get to it right away!"
Haruhime activated her magic as the group now fought back the influx of monsters with renewed vigor
"Master Bell?"
Lili asked as Bell shook his head, Argonaut passed the one minute mark and now the grand bells began to toll, but the white-haired boy decided that he needed more time and needed for the swarm to get closer to unleash his skill. The approaching buzzing wall was now less than eighty meters away
"Uchide no Kozuchi!"
Fending off the monsters for some time paid off as Haruhime's magic now took effect, basking everybody in a bright, level-boosting glow as they felt their stats soar
"ALRIGHT!"
Welf screaming in excitement as he tore through the incoming monsters with ease due to his enhanced state
"Thank you, Miss Haruhime!"
Mikoto nodded her thanks and also displayed the same fervor in killing off any and all approaching monsters along with the red-haired swordsmith
"Lili feels great! Absolutely fantastic! Hahaha!"
Lili laughed as she sent volley after volley toward the monsters in the distance, raining death upon them as they dropped like flies
Together, the group formed an effective deterrence against their enemies, impenetrable even by sheer numbers as their ace in the hole continued to build and gather his strength as the main enemy force encroaches
The time had finally come, the grand bells' tolling became unbearably loud to all present as Argonaut passed the two minute mark, Bell's arm began to ache like the last time he had pushed his skill this far
No more than a few dozen meters away, the massive swarm of buzzing and death now lay ahead, ready to swoop down and finish off the pests that dare trespass upon their territory and disturb them, as their mother, the dungeon, wills
But unfortunately for them, they wouldn't be going down without a fight
"Bell!"
"""Master Bell!"""
And their prey had, in fact, turned out to be the greater predator
"FIREBOLT!"
...
"Mannnn, we almost got swarmed by an ocean of enemies and for nothing?!"
Welf grumbled as they exchanged the small amount of magic stones and drop items they were able to retrieve from the frenzy
The others also shared the same sentiment as the swordsmith of the Familia, they had faced a literal army of monsters that gave them the fight of their lives, and because of that, they were forced to retreat and were ultimately unable to complete the quest Miach Familia had asked them to do, since they were good friends with them
They had delved into the dungeon at noontime and after a few hours of dungeon diving, it was now dusk when they finally got back up to the surface in one piece after facing down hell
"Agreed, Lord Miach and Lady Naaza won't be too happy that we were unable to get what they asked for..."
Mikoto sighed as Haruhime tried comforting her, but failing despite all her warm and calming energy
"Well, at least we came back all in one piece..."
Bell chuckled, not affected by the sulky atmosphere the others created
"Lili must agree with Master Bell, we did what we could but the dungeon was especially ferocious this time. We can try again next time once we're better prepared"
The vice-captain helped the captain of the Familia cheer up their comrades
"Really was expecting this to be a walk in the park, with Bell being level six and all..."
Welf continued to grumble as Lili jumped up and smacked him in the head
"Ow! What was that for pipsqueak?!"
The swordsmith groaned in pain and annoyance as he nursed the bump that now recently formed on his head
"Master Welf! Have you no shame!? We can't continue to keep relying on Master Bell's strength all the time! We need to get stronger to defend ourselves!"
The prum scolded as Bell was at a loss on what to do, so he simply stood with an awkward smile
"Yeah yeah, I know but my point still stands..."
The blacksmith continued grumbling as Bell chuckled and nodded
"I agree with Lili though, I can't be there all the time even if I wanted to... so I also want you guys to grow alongside me, so that we can all help each other out!"
The white-haired boy responded, a serene smile on his face as the others smiled in agreement
...
"We're home, Goddess!"
Bell called out and a white blur of pure energy immediately shot towards the boy, sending him crashing onto the floor due to the sudden shift in weight he was unprepared for despite his stellar status
"BELL!"
Goddess Hestia now buried herself in the boy's arms as she snuggled closer to him, crying out how much she missed him and similar words of affection, which made the others chuckle and a certain Liliruca Arde annoyed
"Alright! Break it up you two, we need to put away our things first, Goddess Hestia!"
Lili spoke in an irritated tone after witnessing her Goddess being all affectionate with her savior
The god sniffled a little bit more before finally relenting and getting off of the boy and letting them put away their things so they can begin their evening
After taking care of things that needed to be done, they reassembled back into the living room of the Hearth Manor as Mikoto and Haruhime began to work on dinner, with Bell offering to help so they let him, another pair of hands would be appreciated in preparing the Familia's feast to raise their morale after failing Miach Familia's quest
In less than an hour, everybody was situated at the dining table as the intoxicatingly delectable aroma of freshly cooked food began to diffuse around the space of the room, priming them all for a hearty dinner
Mikoto, Haruhime, and Bell burst forth from the kitchen, each of them carrying various entrees, each offering various flavors and aromas that soothed the senses and satiated their mortal desire to feed more than sufficiently
"Thank you for the food!"
Not a second longer after placing the food down, they all began to dig in due to the large appetite they have built up after the eventful afternoon
Little was said in the midst of the Familia's hearty dinner, except for a few chatter here and there as the food was wolfed down
But in the midst of shoveling food into her mouth, the patron goddess of the Familia suddenly remembered something noteworthy that happened during the day while the others were away
"Oh, I forgot to tell you earlier Bell..."
The goddess chirped as the boy in question looked up from his plate, in the midst of chewing food, eyebrows raised inquisitively
"Yesh, goddesh?"
Trying to speak with his mouth full, Lili scolded him as he swallowed it down after being lectured
"A letter came by earlier, it's for you"
Fishing out the letter from the pocket of her dress, she passed it off to Bell directly on the other side of the table
Bell eyed the letter curiously, wondering who would have sent him a letter
"Do you want to read it now?"
Welf asked as he took a sip of water from his glass, he was curious as to the contents of the letter addressed for the boy, along with the others, but would ultimately respect should the boy's decision be to open the letter in private
A few seconds of silence passed but the boy had yet to answer, the red-haired swordsmith of the Familia was starting to think he shouldn't have even suggested that, but the boy dispelled his worries
"Oh, yeah sure, I was just thinking who it might possibly be from..."
A few people began to run through the boy's head as candidates for the letter's possible sender, but none were correct
The boy surely would not expect the sender to be the person that he was
Tearing off the seal that secured the envelope closed, Bell took out the folded letter from its container, unfolded it and scanned its contents
Not a single word was uttered for about a minute as the others grew terrified of their captain's expressionless face, should one scrutinize, it was somewhere between a mix of utter disbelief, shock, confusion, sadness, and even anger flashed through his expression briefly
Seeing the usually jovial boy so silent unnerved each and every one of them
"B-Bell...? Is something the matter?"
Hestia asked apprehensively, the goddess disquieted for her first child, what could have been in the letter to cause such a reaction from the boy?
All would wait no longer for their curiosity to be satiated though, as tears began to roll down Bell's cheeks as he started to cry profusely
"G-Grandpa...?"
...
"Now, what is it you wanted to see me for, Hermes?"
A lone, imposing, robed figure sat on a chair fit for the great leader of the Gods himself, eyeing curiously the genuflected god right in front of him, a set of stairs separated them
The two figures were currently situated within the Room of Prayers, a dark and eerie room with a throne in the middle on an elevated platform with torches being its only source of illumination, it is presided by the head of the Guild and the supreme leader of all the gods, Ouranous, the god of the sky and the heavens
The orange-haired, feather-hat wearing god nodded in respect as was due to the person he was currently in front of, replied
"Lord Ouranos, a pleasant evening it is, is it not?"
Starting with the formalities, the orange-haired god practiced his keen skills on social intercourse, attempting to lighten the mood and dispel much of the tense aura within the room. Despite this, the elder god known as Ouranos remained displeased with the way he began their conversation
"May I ask you get to your business, as you know, I am quite busy with offering my prayers to the dungeon lest it unravel the chains that bind it and consume the Lower World, Hermes"
The larger god's eye narrowed in irritation as his ever-present frown deepened, he was not in a mood to jest at all
"Quite, my apologies..."
Hermes asked forgiveness for his impudent behavior towards the supreme god and continued
"I was just wondering if you'll allow a certain Bell Cranel to leave Orario for a month?"
The god noticeably perked up upon hearing the name of the rising-star in Orario being mentioned, though his expression remained painfully stoic and unreadable
"Pray tell Hermes, why do you suppose he'll require a month of leave from Orario?"
The elder god asked, impatient of the lesser god in front of him to state his reason for even asking such a preposterous request, the reason escaped him as to why the lower world's hope for salvation should be allowed to leave the city when danger is becoming ever present
The orange-haired god smirked and adjusted his hat, responded to him
"A certain someone from outside of Orario requested that the boy be allowed to leave, and I think you know who I'm referring to..."
His smirk grew wider as the god's eyes widened slightly, taking it as a positive sign that he had successfully secured leave for the white-haired boy
"I see... I assume he'll be making his move to return to the city?"
Needing no further confirmation on who the person in question is, Ouranos bit and Hermes reeled in
"That I cannot say for certain, he simply asked me to ask you for permission for Bell to be allowed to depart Orario for a little while... Oh! And I suppose he'll be bringing somebody along with him since I assume he's unfamiliar with the destination he'll be headed and so I also wish to extend the request and ask of you Lord Ouranos to allow not only Bell Cranel permission for departure, but also any other companions he brings along for the journey"
Hermes tried to see if Ouranos would sweeten the deal some more, and after about a minute of an intense silence, the elder god sighed and replied
"That is a reasonable request, but I shall only allow one more person aside from Bell Cranel and no more than that"
There was a tone of finality in Ouranos' words, this was his decision and was therefore not contestable
But it was all Hermes needed to hear, he had successfully secured leave for the boy and a companion should he chose to bring one
...
"Bell, are you absolutely sure about this?"
Hestia asked, worried that the white-haired boy's intense emotions were currently clouding his judgement
"Y-yes goddess, I need to go to him..."
Sniffling as he was still leaking tears, Bell firmly responded, nothing was going to change his mind on this decision of his
He was determined to leave Orario for a bit of time and reunite with his previously-thought deceased grandfather who suddenly came out of hiding and beckoned him to come and meet up
After they had successfully calmed their crying captain earlier during dinner, Bell finally collected himself and worked up the courage to tell everyone present at the table his origins. He told all of them that he was from a small farming village far to the west of Orario, he had not known his parents and was raised by his paternal grandfather, and that he had lived a simple yet peaceful life in the village up until a year ago, when his grandfather had been recruited into a party to hunt down some monsters that were terrorizing the village and then never came back, he told them that this spurred him into action to leave his village and head for the famed city of Orario to enact his dream of becoming a hero.
Those who had yet to know of the white-haired boy's tale also began to shed tears of sympathy for him, which was all of them minus Hestia, who had long ago heard the boy's tale when they first met
After some time though, the boy finally gathered himself to read the contents of the letter. Needless to say, it shocked all of them
"Do you know where Wishe Forest is?"
Back to the present, Hestia asked the boy, who suddenly went rigid and then laughed awkwardly
"Hahaha... I-I actually have no clue..."
The boy rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled, laughing at himself that he was ready to head out yet didn't even know where to go
The goddess beside the boy, who was starting to pack his belongings for the journey, sighed
"Goodness Bell, you're packing your stuff and ready to leave yet don't even know the way to your destination?"
She rubbed her temples as the boy continued to laugh at himself, but stopped when he got an idea
"Oh! I know! I'll go and ask Miss Ryu to come with me!"
Bell nodded to himself, it was a solid plan, but Hestia eyed him warily
"The elf at the Hostess of Fertility? I don't know Bell... it seems like she also has her sights set on you..."
The goddess grit her teeth as she narrowed her eyes accusingly at the boy, who simply blinked in confusion
She was already at her wits end when she noticed that they were a bit too close for comfort right after the failed Hestia Familia expedition around three months ago
"B-but goddess! It would be better if I have somebody to help me"
The boy pleaded for his goddess to understand his reasoning, but was starting to lose hope when Hestia's frown deepened
"Fine, you can go and ask her tomorrow, take the day off to prepare properly and say goodbye to the people you need to"
The surprise on his face was evident when Hestia stood up from the bed and agreed to the boy's request, he looked towards Hestia's face for any sign of displeasure
She didn't seem too thrilled about the idea, but acquiesced as she agreed that it would indeed be a good idea to bring along a knowledgeable companion along with him
"Really goddess?"
He asked for confirmation, a smile on his face formed as Hestia nodded tiredly
"Mhm, now let me update your status so you can get some rest, long day tomorrow"
With the goddess' confirmation, Bell smiled and nodded as he took off his shirt for the status update. After the routine of Hestia screeching in surprise at the boy's rapid growth, which she was still getting used to, she showed him his updated status and then bid him goodnight as she proceeded to update the others' status as well, leaving the boy in his room
...
It was now almost noon the following day as Bell walked through the bustling streets of the labyrinth city, deliberately walking slower to soak up all the scenery in front of him, he was going to miss this once he set out on his journey
His feet continued walking slowly yet steadily towards a familiar destination where a certain elf friend of his worked, he was determined to ask her to accompany him to a place he's never been before
Eventually stopping at the foot of the Hostess of Fertility tavern, he was greeted by a certain Anya Fromel who was currently sweeping the front porch of the tavern
"Nya? Hi there mister white-hair! What brings nya here to our feline establishment?"
Anya greeted in her usual peculiar way of speaking that she shared with her fellow feline co-worker and friend, which Bell took a few seconds to decode before he understood what she just said
"Good morning Miss Anya! I was wondering if Miss Ryu is currently here? I'd like to talk to her about something if that's not an issue"
Bell responded as the chestnut-haired cat thought to herself for a little bit and nodded, setting the broom aside and then going into the tavern after telling him to wait outside
Not long after Anya went in, the elf he was looking for exited the tavern and locked eyes with the boy
"Mister Cranel! Good morning, you wanted to talk to me about something?"
As usual, Ryu Lion defaulted to her formal way of addressing people in public, even those whom she was close to, but this did not bother Bell one bit as he smiled at her and shot his question
"Good morning Miss Ryu! Yes, I was wondering if you knew where the Wishe Forest is? And if you're willing to accompany me on the way there?"
The boy asked as Ryu's eyebrows raised, out of all the requests she thought the boy would ask her, this was the last thing on her mind
"The Wishe Forest? I'm sorry Mister Cranel but I unfortunately do not know where it's located, for I come from the Ryuumilia Forest, and as for your other request... I'm afraid I can't accompany you in your journey if you plan on leaving anytime soon, there's about to be an event the next few days and Mama Mia won't allow us to take any extended leaves..."
The elf lowered her head, ashamed of herself that she wouldn't be able to provide any help to the boy this time, but the boy pleaded for her to raise her head and repeatedly told her that it wasn't a big deal
"It's alright Miss Ryu, do you know anybody who's from Wishe Forest themselves? I could ask them..."
The boy had opted to ask her if she knew somebody, and she thought about it for a little while before ultimately shaking her head
"I'm sorry Mister Cranel but I know few elves and as far as I know, none of them are from the Wishe Forest, I'd suggest asking Lady Riveria, she'll know somebody..."
After giving her response, she excused herself and went back into the tavern, apologizing to the boy that that was all the help she could provide
Bell thought it over, it made sense to ask the princess of the elves in the Loki Familia for she surely knows people from all over the world...
Loki...
Loki Familia...
'I was born in the Wishe Forest and had stayed there for most of my childhood...'
A stray memory made his brain click
"That's it! How didn't I think of her until now?!"
With a spring in his step, the boy made his way towards the Twilight Manor
...
"Aren't you Rabbit's Foot?"
One of two guards stationed outside to guard the entrance to the Familia Manor questioned the breathless boy who ran all the way from the Hostess of Fertility to the Manor, which wasn't near at all
"Hah... hah... Yes... I am..."
The boy replied to the question in between pants as the two men raised an eyebrow
"R-Right... state your business"
The other asked as they prevented him entrance to the Familia premises until they hear a sufficiently satisfactory answer from the boy, who was taking a few seconds to catch his breath
"I-I'm looking... for Lefiya..."
The boy managed to say as the two guards looked at each other and back at the boy
"Sorry man, you just missed her... Lefiya went out into the city earlier, said she's having her staff checked..."
Their response made the boy sigh. Standing up straight, he asked where she usually gets her staff maintained
"I think it was a shop left of here Miss Riveria also frequents, Witch's Secret House I think it was called...?"
A guard responded as this was all Bell needed to know before he thanked the two guards, turned around and left for the shop
He had been to the shop previously to buy some magic items they used during the Xenos incident, so he wouldn't have a problem getting there
After more than ten more minutes of running, he eventually reached his destination, breathless once again after all the running, he really needed to work on his stamina more
There he stood right in front of the shop, which was actually in quite the secluded area, very few people know of the place and visit.
After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Bell took a few tentative steps toward the shop's door, about to enter the shop when the door swung open and a familiar orange-haired elf exited the shop and came face-to-face with the boy
"B-Bell!"
Lefiya's eyes widened as she called out his name, surprised that he was here
"Good morning, Lefiya!"
Bell greeted as she fumbled a greeting back his way
"G-Good morning to you too, what brings you here, Bell?"
She asked the boy, it was quite the surprise that he knew of the place, only very few people such as Riveria and herself knew about this place, nevermind somebody who was not magically-inclined, such as the boy in front of her
Hearing her question, the boy started to twiddle with his fingers shyly, an act that Lefiya found very cute
"Ahm... I actually came here looking for you, Lefiya..."
The boy responded, which caused the already present blush on Lefiya's face to deepen by a few shades, her heart skipping a beat at the boy's revelation
"R-r-really? W-what for might I ask?"
The elf began to unconsciously fiddle and play with her hair while fidgeting slightly, her clothes suddenly feeling a bit stuffy. Was it just her? Or was it a bit hot today?
"Yes! But we should probably talk it over some food, it's lunchtime. Don't worry, it's my treat!"
The boy suggested as Lefiya raised an eyebrow, it was indeed noontime and she was just about ready to grab a bite to eat, and the boy's company certainly wouldn't hurt
"Sounds good, I was just about to go grab a bite to eat myself, but you don't have to pay for me, Bell..."
She waved off his gentlemanly gesture, but the white-haired boy was insistent so she was ultimately forced to agree to the setup
"Come, I know of a good place to eat, I hope you like elven cuisine though..."
Lefiya giggled when Bell nodded, he wasn't really a picky eater and would eat anything that was on his plate so this wouldn't be a problem for him
'Wait... did he just plan a date for us on the spot...?'
The elf's thoughts began as her blush deepened, she forced herself to shake off her thoughts though as this was just him being friendly and accompanying her, Bell looked at the blushing elf who was shaking her head for some reason and raised an eyebrow, but he ultimately said nothing as she walked forward and beckoned him to follow wordlessly
Walking side by side, the two made their way to a quaint little cafe that Lefiya frequented whenever she was walking errands alone in the city, it was a well-renowned elven cafe named after her home forest
There were stares sent their way for two well-renowned adventurers of opposite sex from different Familias were walking together, merrily chatting without a care in the world, so of course rumors and hearsay will inevitably arise, but the two could care less for they were preoccupied with one another, about anything and everything
Once they arrived at their destination, Bell looked up at the sign posted atop of the entrance to the cozy cafe
"Cafe Wishe... what a coincidence..."
He mumbled to himself in a low voice, but Lefiya's astute hearing picked up what he said
'Coincidence?'
She thought, but she forced down her curiosity for now as it was better they get situated in first before any lengthy dialogue between them takes place
"Come on, the food's very good here, trust me!"
She grabbed his hand as she pulled him inside, her excitement bypassing her fastidious, elven composure
Many elves in the area began to blush and avert their eyes, while some cursed them for being so brazen and shameless in public, and in broad-daylight no less!
Seeing their reaction, Bell's face became red, but ultimately did nothing to remove the energetic elf's grasp of his own hand as she pulled him inside the cafe
Needless to say, after noticing every elven person's eyes widen at the two of them, Lefiya exploded in embarrassment and promptly let go of the boy's hand
...
"H-H-Here's your order... p-please en-enjoy..."
An elven waitress stuttered as she served them their food. Wasting very little time, she bowed and excuse herself after promptly placing their desired orders on the table
"T-Thank you..."
Lefiya attempted to thank the waitress for her service, but she was long gone even before the words left her lips
"Well, I guess we'll be going elsewhere next time... haha"
Bell had the same embarrassed blush on his face as Lefiya currently wore as he laughed off to try and lighten the embarrassing mood
The elf silenced him with a pouty glare that failed to intimidate him but only made him thought that she looked really cute when she tried to be scary
'But then... she's always been cute...'
The boy's eyes widened as he caught himself admiring his elven friend's cute features, but he had to admit that even though elves were naturally flawless looking, she was a stunner even amongst her race
Lefiya's pouty glare was dispelled when she saw the boy shaking his head, even more embarrassed for some reason, so she initiated a conversation to get their mind off of things
"A-anyway, what did you need me for, Bell?"
She asked, the boy snapping into attention once he heard his name being called
"O-oh yes, I almost forgot..."
He chuckled to himself as he responded, the elf saying nothing as she patiently awaited his response
"Lefiya... you said you were from the Wishe Forest right?"
The boy asked for confirmation as she nodded, even more curious as to why the boy might ask her that
"Well... where do I even begin..."
So he proceeded to provide some backstory and ultimately gave the explanation to his elven companion, who was surprised not only to learn that his purportedly deceased grandfather was still alive, but that he was asking him to come to her home forest where he was for some reason. How a human managed to get into an elven forest was beyond her, even if Wishe Forest was much more tolerant of outsiders, they were still elves that only knew to distrust
Hearing that the boy was planning on heading there soon surprised her, but even more so when he asked her personally if she could come and accompany him on the journey
"That... is quite a lot to take in..."
She stared off into the distance as the boy began to chuckle sheepishly
"Yeah... I couldn't stop crying once I knew that he was still alive last night..."
He admitted, a lone tear forming and then rolling down his eye, alarming Lefiya
"It must have been hard for you... the man who raised you all your life reportedly died but had actually been alive and was hiding all this time for some reason..."
She sympathized with the boy, though she had not experienced anything like it, she could feel how hurt the boy had been
"That's why I need to go talk to him personally... I need to know!"
Bell sighed deeply as Lefiya looked at him with sadness, her eyes also became bleary with moisture
"So I would like to know if you'd be willing to leave Orario for a little while and come join this idiot boy on an adventure?"
He chuckled, Lefiya's breath hitched. The way he worded it had been so... romantic, a light blush formed on her face as she took a few seconds to think about it
"Of course I'll come with you, Bell!"
She gleefully chirped as she clasped her hands together, the smile on the boy's face was blinding
"Really? Thank you so much Lefiya!"
He thanked her profusely as she chuckled, but then she held up two fingers to the boy, who became confused
"Give me two days to prepare and say my goodbyes to everyone"
She asked of him, Bell saw no trouble in her request so he nodded, he was just about to offer that she take a few days to prepare anyways
"Sure, let's meet up in two days at the front gate of the city!"
And so, it was decided that the young, elven mage from the Loki Familia accompany the boy from the Hestia Familia
...
Far away from Orario, deep within the Wishe Forest near the sacred elven tree, a bearded, yet handsome and muscular white-haired, elderly-man stood beside a woman of unparalleled beauty, rivaling that of even the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Freya herself. She had long, smooth and silky pristinely-kept hair with a majestic tiara shaped like those of wreaths snuggly fit on top of her head, accentuating her beauty. She was clad in a royal blue dress that was a compromise between simplicity and ostentatiousness, with a predisposition toward the latter. They stood, speaking toward one another
"Have you sent out the letter, dear?"
Her voice as smooth as her silky hair, most saccharine to the ears, spoke, addressing the man beside her
The man, who was her beloved, turned his head toward the woman and replied in a gruff voice
"Yes dear, I sent out the letter around two weeks ago, it should have reached him by now..."
With a tired voice, he said as the woman nodded in almost a pleased manner
"If what we heard from Hermes is true, then the apple truly hasn't fallen far from the tree!"
She exclaimed, a very pleased aura around here, but then it suddenly turned cold as she turned to glare at the elder man, who was chuckling nervously
"Just to be clear dear, I am referring about my dear child, not your worthless, good-for-nothing boy!"
Offended, but wisely kept his mouth shut, the man sighed, ignoring the woman beside her
"Hmph, I won't be impressed until I test his resolve myself"
Another feminine voice spoke out, catching the attention of both of them
"Hah, that's fair, just don't go too far, your sister won't appreciate you roughing up her child more than what should be necessary..."
The man chuckled, which only earned him a glare from the other woman, silencing him
When it came to discussions about her sister, it was always a sore and precarious spot
"Not to worry old man, I'll hold back... just enough not to kill him..."
Truly, a few eccentric and interesting characters await the two adventurers
-Fin-
Can you guess the characters at the end? Kudos if you do! That's right, they're going to be a part of the story, because I feel that the story criminally does not cover them much, very little is known about them yet they played such a crucial part in shaping the story, so I'll be putting my own spin on them. I'll try to make them as faithful to their described personalities as I can based on what we know though. So, this chapter marks the beginning of the Wishe Forest Arc and this is where Bell and Lefiya will bond the most, I'll try to take my time to keep the arc engaging, and that'll eventually slow down my releases, hopefully not by a significant amount though as I've got about half of the arc already planned out, just thinking of what to add as filler hehe. Thank you guys once again! Please leave a review for the stories to suggest how I can improve the story, constructive criticism is highly appreciated. See you babies in the next chappie!