Author`s Note: Since we don´t have any description what Hera looks like, I will use the version from the series "Blood of Zeus", since I like this version quite a lot.
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The goddess Hera, the leading goddess of the Olympian part, together with the god Zeus. As a goddess, of course she was beautiful, very beautiful, but her expression turned it more into a cruel beauty.
She wore a long, slate-blue toga, cut in the olympian style. This outfit didn´t show any cleavage, covered her legs completely but let her arms free. From her shoulders fell a dark blue cape down, while she wore ornamental brazers. A tiara sat on her head, holding her hair back. She was the first deity that Bell or Ryu saw, who had purple hair. It was bound mostly to a long braid, hanging over her right shoulder.
The eleven women who followed Hera, all wore outfits that resembled wedding dresses from different races.
Bell blinked, surprised. "You´re...Lady Hera? The goddess who ruled over Orario for a thousand years?"
Hera looked at Bell. "That, I am. And you´re Bell Cranel."
"Eh, you know me?"
"The famous record holder? Of course I do. Everyone in the lands heard about you."
"But you know how I look like?"
"White hair. Red eyes. Not many people look like that, except they´re hume bunnies."
"Oh."
Hera´s eyes wandered to Ryu now. "And you´re Ryu Lyon, formerly known as the Gale Wind."
"I...yes, I am. But...how do you know that, Goddess Hera?"
"I have my ears and eyes everywhere."
"Oh."
"Aside from that, Astrea told me that you went with Bell into the forest."
"O-Oh!"
Hera´s expression didn´t change one bit, she looked pretty stern and stoic. It was the perfect mask to hide that her feelings were in a turmoil. When she saw Bell coming out of the forest...Astrea only told her that Ryu went into the forest to most likely exchange a vow of love...but she didn´t say with who...and as Hera saw Bell...it squeezed her heart.
These cursed red eyes aside, he looked almost exactly like Meteria.
Her beloved Meteria.
Oh, my child...to think I would ever meet your son...and under these circumstances...
Hera´s eyes wandered up and down on Bell. "May I ask what you did in the forest? Was it part of the Spirit Festival."
Before Bell could answer, Ryu frowned. "That´s private, Goddess Hera."
"Oh?"
Hera looked up. "A dark night. No clouds. The full moon is up in the sky. You were alone."
The goddess raised an eyebrow as she looked at Ryu and Bell. While Ryu tried to keep her expression neutral, her face and ears slowly got red, as did Bell´s cheeks. Then, the goddess looked with a concerned expression at Bell.
"Answer me this, Bell Cranel. What do you think about harems or having multiple lovers?"
Astrea felt a threat in the air, as did Hera´s followers, who all had the same expression as their goddess.
Ryu got agitated and blurted out. "This is nothing of your concern, Goddess Hera!"
Bell slightly shook his head. "As Ryu just said, everything between her and me is private. But to answer your question, it is wrong. For me, love can only be between two people."
Ryu nodded with an angry expression. "Bell is right, love is something between two people."
Hera still raised her eyebrow. "I didn´t ask anything now about what is between you two? I just asked about his viewpoint of harems and having multiple lovers."
"Eh.."
"Ah..."
Both got even redder.
Hera exhaled through her nose. "But thank you for answering me so honestly, you two."
Steam rose from their heads, Ryu got even more embarrassed as her younger familia members all looked at them...including her goddess.
Bell tried to change the topic. "Wh-What are you doing here, Lady Hera?"
"The Spirit Festival. And when I heard that my cute Astrea lives here in the forest, I wanted to visit her."
"Your..."
"cute..."
Astrea chuckled. "Hera always looked out for me in heaven, helped to raise me, even though I´m not her child."
Hera just looked at Astrea. "Wasn´t your fault that Zeus cheated on me, you are innocent."
Astrea smiled and bowed her head.
Bell and Ryu looked shocked. ""You are Lord/God Zeus´ daughter?!""
Hera raised an eyebrow. "And that of Themis, who is one of Ouranos´ daughters."
""Lord/God Ouranos is your grandfather?!""
Hera exhaled amused through her nose. "You two have to be together for quite a while to talk in unison like that."
"Oh..."
"Ah..."
For a few moments, Hera just looked at the two, all eyes were on Ryu and Bell.
"Bell Cranel...would you...would it be alright for you...to talk in private for a while?"
"Oh? Ahm...I have no problem with that...but why?"
"There...there is..."
Astrea looked a bit worried at Hera. "Mother?"
""MOTHER?!""
Hera smirked. "You still call me that?"
"I´m sorry..."
"You still call me that?"
Astrea´s followers looked shocked and baffled, Hera just frowned again. "You don´t need to know why she calls me that."
"Also, you know that I don´t like that! If any, call me your young aunty! Or are you trying to let me sound old?!"
"I´m sorry, mo-...Aunty!"
If Bell knew more about his family, he would´ve now guessed where his own aunt had her behavior from...
Ryu looked unhappy for some reason.
Hera shook her head. "Don´t be worried, young elf. I don´t intend to take him away from you. Especially not after you two just pledged your love to each other."
"Mmmmh!"
"Hiii!"
"Was that supposed to be a secret? Everyone here knows that."
Ryu was unable to look at her familia, she just squealed.
"I didn´t intend to embarrass you. It pleases me that you two pledged your love and consider any form of harem a No-go."
Astrea chuckled. "Please don´t think anything bad about mot-"
"HM?!"
"M-My Aunty...She rules over the inviolability of marriage."
Hera nodded. "There can only be one partner, marriage is an absolute. All cheating men have to be hunted down and punished."
"""""""""""Hunted down and punished!"""""""""""
All of Hera´s followers called out after their goddess.
Astrea couldn´t help but laugh softly. "In the past, Hera and her familia struck primordial fear into all the men in Orario, especially those who weren´t honest."
Ryu nodded with a dark expression. "That is good. Betraying your loved one is a great sin and should be punished."
Hera raised an eyebrow. "Oho...you sound promising."
Before Ryu could answer, she squeaked as Astrea put her arms around Ryu´s shoulders from behind. "I`m not giving you my adorable Ryu, mother!"
"I didn´t intend to steal from you, silly child."
"I´m not a child!"
"Aha..."
"Mouh..."
Hera eventually looked at Bell again. "There is...something I would like to talk to you about. That..."
The goddess was at a loss for words for a moment, then she nodded by herself and smiled slightly. "Call it a goddess´ curiosity, but I would like to get to know you a bit. Would you humor me?"
"Ahm...I guess so. It can´t hurt."
Hera smiled shortly. "And I dare to say that the young Ryu now has a lot to talk about with Astrea and her familia members."
"Mmmmh..." Ryu was still red.
Hera made an inviting gesture to the side, a bunch of spirits followed them and whirled around them, while Euphie went at Ryu´s side again. Bell followed the goddess to the edge of the clearing.
"You´re Hestia´s follower, right?"
"Yes. Goddess...I mean Lady Hestia was the one who offered me a place to stay in Orario."
"No one else did?"
"No, everyone refused me."
"Did you ask every familia?"
"I think most of them. Except for some, like Freya familia."
"Why that?"
"It´s...a bit embarrassing...but when I went there...their captain was at the gate and glared at me. I got scared and...ran away."
"Oh, is that so?"
In her mind, Hera sighed with relief. If Bell joined Freya´s out of all familias...she didn´t know what she would´ve done then.
Bell smiled slightly. "I asked around everywhere, but they told me to come back once I´m stronger, than they would consider it. The only one who held her hand out to me, was Goddess. She gave me a place to stay."
"Hestia had a home?"
"Ahm...it was actually a run-down church, in the ruin part of Orario."
"Oh..."
It´s not my fault, if Meteria heard her son had to live in a ruined church...it´s not my fault!
Hera was sure Meteria´s soul would´ve found a way to come back down from heaven, maybe by asking Hades...
"But it was a home, Goddess filled it with warmth. I will never forget her kindness. And she gave me this knife."
Bell tapped against his waist. "It is a special gift from her."
"It looks special."
"For me, it is."
"This is a weapon forged with divine skill, by Hephaistos."
"Eh?! How do you know that?!"
"I ruled Orario together with Zeus for a thousand years. You heard about the three great quests?"
"Yes, my grandfather told me stories about this! And about your two familias! How brave you were as you challenged Behemoth and Leviathan! According to him, you´re the most beautiful goddess under the sun and moon."
"Oh, your grandfather said that?"
"Yes. He said, all goddesses are very beautiful, but that the mighty Hera is a league on her own."
Oh, Zeus...
"It seems like your grandfather was good with words."
"Yes."
"Do you follow all of his teachings?"
"Not...not all of them...he...he said something about harems being a man´s dream..."
Zeus...
Hera looked at a spirit that drifted in front of her for a moment, before it went back to the group again.
"So, you heard about our familias and the three great quests. Have you heard the name of our captains?"
"Oh, yes! Grandpa told me everything about it. Lord Zeus´ captain, "The Supreme", Maxim. And your captain, Lady Hera, "The Empress", Regalia."
"Both of them each had a divine-forged weapon."
"What?!"
"Normally, we gods despise using something like that, it ruins the "fun" in our "game". But the three great quests weren´t part of the game. They had to be done. The dragon has to be slain...or it will destroy the lower world."
"And...what happened to their weapons?"
"They got destroyed during the fight."
"Oh."
"You have to take good care of your knife."
"I always will! Goddess took a loan of two hundred million Vals on herself for it!"
"Hmpf, typical Hephaistos."
"Was that...too much?"
"No, it is alright. Do you ever intend to leave Hestia´s side?"
"Absolutely not! Never!"
"Good answer. But...not even for her?"
Hera nodded to Ryu.
Bell fidgeted a bit. "Ahm...Lady Astrea told me before that she has no problem with the different familias. She would never force any one of use to change."
Hera smiled. "That´s my girl."
Ryu of course heard what they were talking about, she looked at Astrea.
"You talked with Bell about this before tonight?"
"Ehehe~~~ What can I say? Maybe...just maybe...I encouraged him a little."
"Mmmmh...thank...you..."
"Always, Ryu. Always."
Cecil stood there with crossed arms. "May I ask what lewd things you two did alone in the forest?"
"Th-There was nothing lewd there, Cecil!"
"Then it is good."
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"Tell me a bit about your time in Orario. I´m curious how the record holder became so strong."
Bell did as Hera asked, he didn´t even know why he answered her so openly. But something about this goddess let him trust her. Maybe it's that Astrea treated Hera like her mother. That she was Hestia´s sister? That Hestia had spoken warmly of Hera?
He told her about Lily, Welf, the dungeon...
"Against a Minotaur at level one? Impressive."
"Thank you."
As he continued, Hera mostly listened, only asking a question here and there.
"So, young Ryu helped you before. Went into the dungeon to save you, saved you after you and Loki´s elf got attacked by strange monsters, then helped you during the wargame and more later. I´m satisfied to hear this."
"What do you mean?"
"As the patron goddess who rules over marriage, I approve of your connection. You have my blessing."
"Oh...th-thank you?"
Hera smiled slightly. "You´re welcome."
Bell heard a whisper, Astrea´s voice. "Bell, this is something big."
"Oh?"
Hera looked over her shoulder. "Eavesdropping? Shame on you."
"I´m sorry, Mother..."
"Wow...Lady Astrea looks so young when she reacts like that..."
"Are you saying backward that I look old, Bell?"
"I-I would never do that, Lady Hera! You too look very young!"
"Heh, charming words?"
"I´m sorry, it´s a habit."
"A habit you should shut off. Never speak such things to anyone except to your betrothed."
""Bethrohed?!"" Bell and Ryu cried out in unison.
"You´re eavesdropping too, young Ryu? Astrea! Do you raise your followers that badly?!"
"I´m sorry, Mother! But Ryu is an elf...it would be hard not to hear!"
Hera turned to one of her followers. "Aluneria, did you hear what we talked about?"
"No, Lady Hera. I didn´t listen to a conversation that is private."
"See? I expected better from you."
Ryu and Astrea both looked intimidated.
Bell got a bit red. "What do you mean by betrothed?"
"You two exchanged your first pledge of love, but not the real one yet, correct?"
"Y-Yes...that...that happens in *mumble mumble mumble*..."
"I can´t hear you, young man! Speak loud and clear!"
"I´m sorry, I can´t talk about that with someone else..."
Hera nodded satisfied. "I understand, that is good. Still, since you only had a first pledge, you two are now engaged, at least what the elves understand as this."
"O-Oh..."
Ryu´s head steamed a bit away.
Hera lowered her voice so much that only Bell could hear her. "Tell me this, Bell. Do you intend to truly marry her? Not only how elves do it, but humans too?"
"I..I..." He slightly nodded, too embarrassed to say it out loud.
This let Hera truly smile for the first time, now Bell understood what his grandfather meant. Hera was an absolute beauty when she smiled like that.
"A good answer, it´s been a long time since I saw such genuine and pure affection from a couple."
""C-C-Couple?!""
"Yes, you two are a couple. And since it´s been a long time since I have seen something so pure, I would like to give you something as a small celebration gift."
"Hm?"
"You can come here too, young Ryu."
Ryu gulped slightly, but Astrea gently pushed against her back. Hera moved a hand around her belt, opening a small pouch at the side.
"I always carry these with me, in case I would ever meet a worthy couple. I heard your answer, you were always honest, there was no lie."
What Hera held up let Bell and Ryu blush heavily, it were two rings.
""Th-That´s way too early!""
"I am aware, but let me give them to you anyway for later. These rings are magic items that work as a pair. If you put them on and exchange the vow of marriage, they will then always give you the feeling in which direction the other is, and if you get closer or move further away."
"Th-that is too valuable to accept just like that!"
"They are mine, so I can gift them who I want."
"B-But a ring..."
Ryu nodded. "It´s too soon..."
"They can also get changed a bit to meet your taste. Astrea, hold onto the rings for them, until they´re ready to put them on."
"Of course."
Bell´s and Ryu´s heads steamed.
Hera looked from one to the other. "Or I can marry you right here if you want."
Ryu and Bell almost fainted when they heard these words, Astrea dared to put her hands over their eyes and pulled them close into a protective, very motherly hug.
"Hera, that´s enough teasing now!"
"I don´t tease them one bit, I never joke about marriage. And you know that."
"But you clearly see it´s too early for them! They just pledged their love to each other! Let them calm down a bit!"
"Hoh, you surely have grown up, to think that you now stand your ground against me and even bare your teeth."
"Ungh..."
"I´m proud of you, Astrea. That you protect your child so vehemently. Or let's rather call her your follower. If you had a child, that would let me sound old."
Astrea nodded, slowly letting go of Bell and Ryu. It was even more embarrassing for Ryu, since she saw how her "little sisters" seemed to adore her when she was so flustered.
Not again...
Ryu wouldn´t tolerate getting teased by them now.
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The spirit festival continued, Hera´s familia mixed with Astrea´s on the glade, but the goddess kept occupying Bell and Ryu, asking them about Orario. In return, both asked her a few questions.
"Lady Hera, if it isn´t too much or too daring to ask...is it true, that the goddesses Loki and Freya kicked your familias out of Orario?"
"It´s true, Bell. After my dear girls and Zeus´ boys lost the fight...almost all of them had perished...our strength was gone. So, both turned against us and forced us to leave Orario. And I will never forgive them for that, especially Freya."
"Because...she kicked out your familia?"
"Yes. I will absolutely punish her the next time I see her. Like my dear husband sometimes said, my imperial wrath knows no bounds."
Bell had a mixed expression. "I can´t believe they did that...just because they wanted to stand at the top? You protected Orario for so long..."
Hera raised an eyebrow. "Protected? Well, let´s call it that. But the truth is, Zeus and I ruled over Orario. Sometimes we even "convinced" strong members of other familias to convert to us."
"What? How? Why?"
"How? I left the choice to their patron. Conversion or banishment from Orario."
"But why?!"
"Do you remember what we faced? What we tried to achieve? Zeus and I looked for children with promising talents. Before we went to challenge the three great quests, I accepted a duel from Freya. My...lets call her my silliest follower...defeated her precious captain in one attack."
""The King?! In one attack?!""
"Yes, threw him through a house. Was a funny sight. After Freya lost, she had to pay the debt. I bound her to Orario, to keep an eye on it. And forced her to give me a few of her stronger followers."
"That...sounds cruel."
"Oho? You call me cruel, Bell?"
"I´m sorry...but it sounds like that."
"Well, I accept it. But the truth is, we needed as much strength as possible. And even that wasn´t enough."
Ryu looked uneasy. "Is it really true, that the black dragon defeated your familias without a problem?"
"Hm? Oh no. Absolutely not. Even as my girls...oh my girls...my precious girls..."
Hera sighed and looked very sad for a moment. "I miss my girls...even Alfia..."
She looked up to the sky, lost in thought for a moment, Bell and Ryu let her think for a while, before Hera looked at them again.
"Where was I...oh, right. So, even as my girls lost...died...they managed to inflict heavy wounds onto the dragon, Zeus´ boys did their best too. Heh...when I think that Regalia had her eyes on Maxim or Ottar...if one of them would´ve proposed to her, she would´ve accepted. But anyway, now...yes, they dealt critical wounds. From what I was told, they crippled the wings, the black dragon can barely fly anymore. They cut off a large part of the tail and the right front leg completely. Also, they destroyed many scales on the back and the flanks. Even if that foul beast is slowly healing over time, these wounds will never heal completely."
Hera smiled bitterly, a single tear rolled down her cheek. "My girls...at least they managed to cripple the dragon and destroyed it´s pride. So, if anywhere in the future, Orario will face that stinky lizard, you will maybe have a chance now."
Bell gulped. "Only a chance?"
"How many level sevens are there in the world currently? Just two."
""Two? Not one?""
"Heh, even I have to say it´s quite cute how you two speak in unison."
Bell and Ryu glanced at each other, before blushing and looking away.
"Yes, there are two level seven. Freya´s captain, and the head teacher of the Education District. What did they call him again...the Knight of Knights or so? He helped during the fight with Leviathan."
""Wow...""
"Orario needs to get stronger, if you ever want to have a chance against that thing. And what personally frustrates me...from what I hear...Orario has lost so much since we left. No one is actively trying to get stronger again."
"But the Loki familia goes on countless expeditions!"
"Which level did they achieve?"
"From the last news, even the 59th floor! A floor that got never achieved before!"
Hera´s eyes became dangerously small, so much that it frightened the two young people.
"Never before?! Is this some kind of sick joke to make fun of my girls now that they´re dead?! DIED LIKE HEROES?! Screw the guild! My girls and Zeus´ boys went down to the 71st floor!"
""What?!""
"This insolence of the guild won´t get forgotten. I hereby swear revenge!"
In Orario, the guild´s head, Royman, was suddenly filled with primordial fear, without knowing why.
After a few moments, Hera calmed down again. "Anyway, as you can see, Orario is much weaker now than it was while we were still there. And it such an even greater shame that so many potential heroes lost their lives to that shitty Rudra´s trap..."
Ryu went quiet, as did the other members of her familia. "You...you know about that?"
"About Alise Lovell and the others? Yes, it was such a shame...Alfia and Zard died for almost nothing. At least Zard´s sacrifice let the "King" go up to seven... You, young elf, Ryu Lyon. You now carry the burden of Alfia´s sacrifice."
Bell wondered who Alfia was, he had never heard the name before.
As Ryu´s emotions bubbled up, the falna on her back started to glow softly, her memories, and due to the connection with Euphie, let the schemes of her familia appear around her again.
Hera looked at the schemes. "Orario would be stronger if they were still there."
Ryu nodded with a sad expression, tears ran down her cheeks. She didn´t move away as Bell put an arm around her.
"I know...Goddess Hera...there isn´t a day where I don´t wish they were still there. Where I wish...it would´ve been me instead of them.."
"Ryu...HERA! That´s enough now!"
Astrea came to them with an agitated expression, putting her hands on Ryu´s shoulders. "This is supposed to be a nice evening, Hera! Don´t make Ryu cry!"
Hera sighed. "I just wanted to give my condolences. And I want to ask you something Astrea."
"Yes?"
"Orario needs to get stronger again, I heard a lot about your familia, what you did during the Great Feud. Orario needs you again. So tell me, do you intend to remain here or will you return?"
"Hera...I..."
Ryu looked over her shoulder. "Lady Astrea?"
Astrea eventually looked at Hera, with a very agitated expression. "This is a delicate topic, and I wanted to talk with Ryu about it in peace. But now that you already mentioned it..."
"Lady Astrea?..."
"Ryu, I have talked with the others for a few days now. I didn´t tell you why I came here to Solingen, right?"
"No."
Astrea looked at Cecil, who sighed.
"She came looking for someone who could smith, a high-smith. What she got was me, I wasn´t a high-smith at this point, later I became one. She told me she needed someone who would be able to forge a new weapon for someone dear and precious to her, since she knew that someone would probably need a new weapon at some point."
"Eh?" Ryu looked at her goddess.
"I had faith, that you wouldn´t get lost in the darkness. Here and there, I heard a few things about your deeds in Orario, from Hermes and Hephaistos. I knew you were still defending the city and the people there. That at some point, things would get dangerous again, so...I wanted to help you. Even if it would take a while."
Ryu´s lower lip trembled, and more tears rolled down her cheeks. "Lady Ashtrea..*hic*.."
Cecil sighed. "Sadly, the weapon isn´t finished, I´m missing one important ingredient. A spirit dr-Wuärgh!"
Euphie had a wonderful..or terrible timing... He went past Cecil, licking along her cheek and a bit of her hair, letting said hair stand up now...because of spirit saliva...
The spirit stag stopped in front of Ryu, feeling her emotions. He lowered his head, nudged against her cheek with his snout.
Then...
A single tear rolled down Euphie´s cheek, growing a big bigger and turning into something like a green, star-shaped crystal, as it fell down on Ryu´s hands.
Friend...Ryu sad...not be sad...
Euphie nudged his snout against Ryu´s cheek again, letting her smile faintly.
"Thank you, Euphie."
Ryu looked at the small crystal in her hands. "Is this..."
Cecil looked baffled and a bit agitated. "A spirit drop. Now you´re deciding to give one away, Euphie?!"
The spirit simply snorted and remained close to Ryu, to cheer his friend up.
Ryu smiled wryly while she wiped the tears away from her cheeks. "Is this what you need, Cecil?"
"Yes...now I can finish your sword."
In a surprise to everyone, Ryu chuckled, then threw the spirit drop to Cecil, who caught it. No one had expected an elf to behave like this.
Astrea smiled. "So, Euphie made it easier for us. Ryu, tell me, what is it that your heart desires? Do you want to stay here? Do you want to return to Orario?"
"I..Lady Astrea...everyone...I...I want to return...but...I won´t be separated from all of you...you´re my familia."
"If you would desire it, I could unseal your blessing."
"No! Not that! Please not that! Don´t banish me, please! I beg of you!"
"Ryu, I didn´t mean it like that."
"But I never want to leave your side!"
"And what about Bell?"
"I could come here for an update of my status! Just please...please don't send me away..."
Hera sighed. "Just go with her, silly child of "mine"."
"Hera?"
"Once your child is done with her work, your purpose here is fulfilled."
"But someone needs to watch over Solingen, and the spirits here."
Hera smirked. "What a coincidence. We are currently looking for a place to stay."
"Oh?"
Hera´s eyes wandered to Bell as she spoke the next words. "A child should stay with the familia...the family. This is important."
I wish I could tell you about your family, Bell... But Zeus too decided not to, so you won´t get burdened with it. That you will remain you, not some heir. I will follow his example, I won´t put this burden onto you. Even...if it breaks my heart...
Hera had expected to be more angry if she ever met Bell. But seeing him...seeing Meteria in him...how he turned out...that he followed her ideals without knowing it, inherited her gentle side...not inheriting his father´s perverted side...Hera couldn´t hope for more.
The goddess looked at Astrea again. "What do your followers say, Astrea?"
Before the goddess could answer, multiple hands went up.
"I want to go with big sis!"
"Me too!"
"Me thrrrrree!"
"I also want to see Orario!"
"And the old home!"
Cecil raised both hands, careful not to drop the spirit drop. "Once I´m finished...in two or three days...I...would also."
Astrea smiled gently. "Oh, my children..."
Ryu had new tears in her eyes, without noticing it, her right hand went down and looked out for Bell´s left hand. Soon their fingers entangled...in front of everyone! When she looked at him, it wasn´t with the eyes of a bashful maiden...only a bit shy.
But overflowing with love for him.
Clearly visible to everyone.
Euphie started to run around as he felt the happiness from Ryu, the spirits danced up and down as they felt energy from Euphie.
Euphie will go too! Will go with friend! Ryu friend! Euphie wants to play more!
Astrea blinked. "Eh? Euphie? You want to leave the forest?!"
Want to stay with Ryu friend! And Astrea friend! Mama Astrea!
It seemed like Euphie did see Astrea a bit like his mother after all...
Astrea smiled gently, wiping a tear away from her eye. "Returning to Orario, hm? I...it will be hard for me, I will not lie on this... Mot-Aunty Hera, what would you do?"
"Me? I absolutely intend to return to Orario at some point. And give Loki and Freya a spanking they will never forget. I will personally punish every single person who dared and dares to badmouth my girls. That they failed and, due to that, were worthless!"
Hera´s reply wasn´t gentle, all of them could see the sheer anger in her expression, and the pain.
"My girls and Zeus´ boys sacrificed themself to save the world. And people look down on them, badmouth them. I will not forgive this. I swear this on my name and up to the heavens."
Astrea gulped, the others shivered. In her anger, Hera was slightly leaking Arcana. Even the spirits were scared of her, Euphie hid behind Ryu.
After a few moments, Hera got herself under control again. "I will have my revenge. But so far, yes, even if it pains you, you should go back to Orario, Astrea. They need your familia, and Orario needs you."
Hera pulled something out of a pouch at her belt and threw the object to Astrea, who caught it.
"This is...a Gome vault seal?"
"Use it, use what´s in the vault. Put as much shame as possible onto Loki and Freya, make them pay in my stead."
"Mother...Freya is my friend."
"Hah...then I hope she won´t have a bad influence on you. Delinquents are not good for your education, Astrea."
"D-Don´t treat me like a child!"
"Silence."
"Yes, mother..."
"Good girl."
"Mh..."
Astrea looked abashed at her followers, who seemed to adore their goddess even more now that they saw her cute side.
"What is in this vault?"
"Money, equipment, drop items from the deepest floors."
Hera nodded to Bell.
"Share some with Hestia´s familia too, especially him."
Bell blinked. "Me?"
"You´re my sister´s child, my precious Astrea´s follower´s partner. And you have the genuine aspiration to become a hero. And what´s most important, you´re a man with good ideals."
The truth was, nothing of that actually mattered for Hera, except for the last part. What was most important for her, Bell was Bell. He was Meteria´s son. If she would call it that...her precious grandson.
Oh, how much it pained and delighted her heart to look at him. How much she wished she could hug him, and tell him about his mother. Share the stories about Meteria...heck...maybe even tell him about Alfia.
Hera´s eyes wandered to Astrea again. "In this vault, which no man should ever enter, are drops from Behemoth, Leviathan and a few scales of that shitty dragon, that we got from Edas village."
Astrea´s eyes, and those of her followers...plus Bell...widened in shock. Cecil almost started to drool.
Then, Hera pointed at Bell again. "But I want something from you in return, for something special in this vault."
"What is it?"
Hera raised three fingers. "First. Always stay faithful to your vow, honor your wife, never dare to betray her."
"That goes without saying."
"Good boy. Second. My cute Regalia was a sword user, inside this vault is one of her replacement swords. I want you to wield it."
"I´m not a sw-"
"This is non-negotiable. Learn how to use it!"
"H-Hay, Ma´am!"
"HM?!"
"L-Lady Hera?!"
"HM?!"
"Ms. Hera?!"
"I´ll alow that, or Aunty Hera."
"WHAT?!"
"Stop yelling, Bell. As for the third, I want you to give Hestia something from me."
"What would that be?"
Hera stopped in front of Bell, then she gently put her arms around him and hugged im in a soft way, leaning her head slightly against his. It may be only for a moment, but for Hera, it felt like an eternity.
He even smells a bit like Meteria...
Hera was good in hiding her emotions, but this one moment...this moment...it stole her heart. Bell didn´t need to give it back to Hestia, it was just an excuse. Hera was glad she had this idea...she just wanted to hug Bell one time in her life. She didn´t even dare to hope to meet him again. It could cause him more pain than give him peace, to know about his family.
That he was basically Orario´s uncrowned prince.
And it could be dangerous for him.
One time...only this one time...wanted Hera to hug her only grandchild. Her beloved Meteria´s son.
When she slowly separated from Bell, he didn´t react abashed, like he normally would. Hera´s hug had felt so motherly...so nice...so good...
To hide her own hurt emotions, Hera tried to play it off.
"What are you looking at me for? Do you want me to adopt you?"
"Eh?"
"I´m joking, please give Hestia a hug from me."
"I-I will."
Hera put a hand on Bell´s head. "You´re a good boy."
This one moment was enough for Hera. But she would see if she could somewhat stay in contact, or get information from Hermes. She wanted to know about Bell´s future...about...possible great-grandchildren? Meteria surely would´ve loved to have at least a dozen grandchildren.
Hera glanced at Ryu.
Do your best, girl.
Ryu was confused by the look that Hera gave her.
The Spirit Festival went on for a long time. During that time, Hera noticed something as the others ate some of the treats too.
"Bell, do you dislike sweets?"
"Yes...I can´t eat them, I get sick when I do it, the sweetness is too much for me."
"Oh."
Is he really Meteria´s son?
This part was hard to believe...
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"Nya...so tired..."
"Meow feet hurt..."
Syr giggled as she saw the exhausted Anya and Chloe. "It´s your own fault, for breaking Mama Mia´s rules."
Lunor snorted as she walked past them. "Seriously, how could you two dumb cats even consider doing that in the dorm? Are you in heat or what?"
Chloe and Anya didn´t reply to Lunor´s taunt, nor Syr´s giggle. Both worked double shifts, and would do for a while longer. Mia was beyond furious with them. The problem wasn´t even that they had sneaked guys into their rooms. Mia protected her girls, but she didn´t imprison them, it would make her happy if they found nice guys somewhere in the future.
But it was the fact that Anya and Chloe had sex with their guys in the dorm! Loud! Loud enough for more than a few of the other staff members to hear them and feel uncomfortable about it.
Syr giggled again. "Lunor, don´t me mean with our cute cat "sisters"."
Anya and Chloe exchanged an awkward gaze before they continued working. It had been beyond awkward for Anya to see Allen coming out of Chloe´s room that morning, and smelling like that . She didn´t have anything against Chloe and Allen getting closer together...but finding it out in that way... And of course, Syr was the first to joke about the fact that now Chloe and Anya might become sisters-in-law.
Mia´s voice boomed from the kitchen, ordering the two cats to move faster.
Syr glanced at Lunor. "And how are things going with the young man from your familia?"
"I don´t know what you´re talking about..."
"Heeeeh~~~ That escaping glance to the side, that faint blush...they tell me otherwise."
"Be quiet..."
"Is he nice? Handsome? Gentle?"
"We only worked together in the fields so far, alright?!"
"Hehe~~ I´m rooting for you."
"Hmpf, and what about you?"
"Oh, I´m still searching."
"And what about...you know."
Syr smiled gently. "Bell has chosen Ryu, no doubt there."
"Syr..."
"It´s alright, really. Such is life."
Syr turned her head in another direction.
"Heith, what about you?"
"Hm? Is this about guys again?"
"Teehee~~ Yes."
"Don´t have one, don´t like one."
"Oh my...is Freya working you too hard?"
"Absolutely not."
"Isn´t there someone in your familia that took your interest?"
Heith made a face. "Among those barbarians? No."
"And the higher-ups?"
Heith just raised an eyebrow, which let Syr giggle.
"Maybe in the future.~~ And you, Horn?"
"I belong to Lady Freya, that´s enough for me. Ugh...here is your food...and don´t look at me..."
"""Haaaah!~~~~"""
Horn was surprisingly well-liked in the pub, even with her attitude. Or rather...because of her attitude.
Syr beamed all over her face. "See, Lunor? Everything is alright, and if I don´t find a decent guy, I will just occupy Heith and Horn."
Lunor slipped halfway. "Eh-Wh-What?!"
"Hehe~~ Love is love, right?"
Horn and Heith both looked shocked...yet delighted. They didn´t know if Freya was just teasing or having fun, but it didn´t matter.
When they heard the small bells at the door ringing, a new customer came in, one that Anya reacted to immediately.
"Haltorin?!"
"Anya, it´s been too long..."
The half-elf wore the mask that covered his eyes and upper part of his nose, a clear sign to which familia he belonged. And even if it could mean trouble or Mia´s anger, Haltorin immediately went to the tired Anya, who was on her way back to the kitchen. He didn´t wait, just put his hands on Anya´s hips and kissed her, leaving her friends shocked. Anya purred slightly and seemed to get a bit of her strength back.
"Meow..."
"I need to talk to Ms. Mia."
"Meow, why nyat?"
"To apologize properly."
"Be careful, Meow..."
Anya got up to her tipoes and kissed him again, it was cute for her friends how her ears and tail twitched. Syr suddenly chuckled.
Lunor looked at her. "What, never see two people kissing?"
"Not about that, he is quite brave to face Mama Mia directly. And I just imagined Chloe´s "boyfriend" coming here and doing that too.~~~"
Seeing Allen apologize to Mia would surely be a sight to behold, not that he would ever do that.
"Meow boyfriend...mmh..." It was rare to see Chloe flustered.
Syr smiled happily, love seemed to bloom everywhere.
Chloe sighed, meowed and sighed...a sighing meow? A meowed sigh?
She just stared into the air, leaning on the broom she was currently using. "Allen..."
Freya smiled in her mind. Wow, she is really in love with him now.
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Also, Freya´s secret crusade continued. She had been able to cross a few names from the list of Ryu´s "potential rivals or dangers". She had seen how the Tsundere elf from Loki had acted with the black-haired elf...who she would keep an eye on, this elf had a very strange-looking soul. Freya had looked around with her mirror at day, evening and even night, to see what the various "dangers" would do, so that she would find a way to get them into relationships with fitting partners, so no one would ever go after Bell!
Orario´s "saint", Amid Teasanare, could be crossed out. Freya had seen her swimming in a pool at night, together with a guy from her familia, it was quite the amorous atmosphere and they got very close, so close that he pinned Amid against a wall and kissed her again and again, even her neck, which had delighted the "saint".
What a naughty saint she is.
The samurai girl from Bell´s familia was obviously in love with Takemikazuchi. Horn´s feelings surprisingly turned around completely, she now liked Bell much more, and at the same time disliked him less. But not because she fell in love with him, because Freya had lost romantic interest in him, so Horn´s jealousy for Bell slowly turned away.
"Eliminating" all possible "threats" for Ryu was quite entertaining and a lot of fun for Freya.
Only the inner circle would probably remain for a long time longer. There would be a lot of tears once Bell and Ryu returned to Orario. It wouldn´t be easy for Hestia, Liliruca, Haruhime, Eina, Cassandra...and to Freya´s surprise, even one of the Xenos, the siren Ray.
But for now, Freya was busy with Anya and Haltorin, her cute little kitten was so adorable when she was in love! Even though she became a naughty little kitten!
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"Hah...hah...hah...hah...let´s stop for today...hah...and go to the camp...hah..."
"Alright...hah...lil´Lily..."
"Hah...I´m so tired..."
"Cassandra, keep it up."
"Hay..."
The Hestia alliance wasn´t lazy while Bell was away. They were on a mini Expedition in the dungeon again, trying to improve themself, become stronger and search for valuable drop items. Hermes had been more than happy to "borrow" them Aisha again, or rather, Aisha had insisted to go with them, so that she could keep an eye on her little sister. Due to what happened during the last Expedition, and Bell wasn´t there, they wanted to play it safe. So, Aisha pulled some string and talked to another goddess, Hathor.
Hathor´s followers went into the dungeon, but only rarely on Expeditions, so, Lena and Samira tagged along happily.
Lena whistled while she balanced her Scimitar at the pommel on her forehead, she too was tired, exhausted, but amazons loved to feel this way. It felt honest, knowing that they worked hard and improved themself.
Samira, to everyone´s surprise, walked with Mikoto, Haruhime and Aisha.
"You really got me good back then in the hanging gardens, blowing yourself up like this, I respect that, and your guts."
"You have my thanks, Lady Samira."
Samira nodded and looked at Haruhime, who smiled shyly. "And man, you have much more backbone than I ever thought. You´re not that timid and shy girl anymore."
Aisha laughed. "Hah! Don´t give her too much credit, Samira. Haruhime is still timid and shy!"
Haruhime squeaked as Aisha put her arm around Haruhime´s shoulders. "A-Aisha..."
"But you´re getting better, at least now you´re doing something besides waiting in the backline."
Aisha nodded to Haruhime´s new piece of equipment, a bow and quiver. The Hestia familia had talked how they could improve themself more. Lily had suggested, more range attack options, and give Haruhime a proper chanting weapon, to help her with her magic. The question was what kind, maybe a staff, that she could also use to defend herself in case a monster got through the backline? It wouldn´t help her long, but long enough.
"I know my skills with the bow are nothing compared to Chigusa´s."
"So what? You just started using it, you will get better."
Lena put her Scimitar away. "Also, Haru-Haru, even if you don´t kill any monsters or deal serious damage, distracting them is already a great help!"
Samira nodded to agree, a crab monster had charged at Samira during the fight from behind, Haruhime yelled a warning and shot her arrow. The arrow got deflected by the huge claw of the monster, but this was all the time Samira had needed.
"Th-Then I´m doing my best."
Aisha grinned. "And it looks like someone else got more backbone too."
While they walked, Chigusa never left Ouka´s side, even touching his arm and "glaring" at the amazons. Since Welf and Ouka were the only guys in the party, of course the amazons were curious about them, to see if they were strong. So, Chigusa "marked her territory", even though she and Ouka were embarrassed. Welf didn´t have this problem, he had outright said that he loved Hephaistos as he got asked if he had a partner.
But Welf also had a protector, floating halfway over his shoulder. It really was a weird sight, that a flaming upper body of a female figure floated there. Apparently, the spirit´s energy that was in the Crozzo bloodline, was stronger in Welf, the spirit literally slept in his body. A very affectionate fire spirit, who seemed to like Welf very much.
A spirit who called Hephaistos "mother".
Aisha smirked. "Now that´s some guy, can make magic swords, is a pretty good smith, and has something going on with a goddess and her spirit daughter. Shame he will never have kids this way."
Samira nodded. "Yeah, shame. He could probably give us strong children."
Haruhime blushed. "Aisha! S-Samira!"
""What?""
Lena watched curious too, while the female fire spirit, Ursu, leaned away from Welf to play a clapping game with Cassandra...these two had somehow become friends pretty fast, Welf talked with a dark-skinned woman on his left side. Tsubaki had been a bit bored and in need for some stuff from the water capital, so she had accompanied the Expedition too, but she wouldn´t stay for the whole time.
She had held back most of the time, so that the "fledglings" could improve themself. Tsubaki had put an arm around Welf´s neck and was rubbing his head with the knuckles of her other hand. Casually chatting with Cassandra and Ursu the spirit on the side.
"And what about her?"
"She can give him children."
"Would be a waste if his seed wasn´t used properly."
Haruhime got deep red now. "Aisha! Samira! Lena! Stop it!"
The three Amazons looked at Haruhime.
"Hooo..."
"Haru-Haru learned how to bark..."
"More a wolf than a fox now..."
"Mouh..."
Tsubaki was also the reason why they got so easily down to the 28th floor to set up their camp. Originally, they had thought that the rampaging Freya familia or the King would´ve slain the Amphisbaena this time, but the familia had been too fast and went through the 27th floor before the Amphisbaena appeared again. And Ottar had simply ignored it on his way up, it wasn´t worthy of his attention. To make the fight easier, and since they didn´t want to exhaust themself, and had all their rations and other stuff with them, Tsubaki had opened the fight, by hacking off the head that could breath napalm flames, then she watched the rest of the fight.
With Samira and Lena helping them, while the Amphisbaena only had one head, it wasn´t much of a fight, even more so since the Expedition was fit.
Lily was in an excellent mood because of that, they had already made more money during the first day than she had ever hoped for!
Daphne looked at Lily. "Leader, you look quite happy."
"That´s because Lily is! Oh, we will show Sir Bell just how much we have improved while he was away!"
While Lily looked happy, it was also clear that she missed Bell, as did his whole familia.
Just like he missed them.
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When Tsubaki would return to the surface, she would by chance meet a group of students on the 12th floor, watching them fight for a while. At first she thought it was an interesting fighting style, then she noticed how horrible their teamwork actually was. The students noticed her, but had to focus on the monsters. Every monster that approached Tsubaki got swatted away like a fly.
Eventually, even though they were quite agitated about it, the five students had to fall back to a room that was somewhat safe. Tsubaki followed them on a whim, watching the group. There was a dwarf with a big hammer, a female dark elf with two short swords, a very cute and adorable prum with a two-handed sword almost as long as he was tall, a female half-elf with brown hair and a few green strains, her face reminded her of Riveria. And at the end, a cute, adorable and bashful hume-bunny boy.
The five students were almost completely exhausted, the dwarf threw a tantrum, why they just couldn´t advance forward more, why they didn´t manage to defeat the Infant Dragon. Eventually, the dwarf turned to Tsubaki.
"Why are you following us, Amazon?!"
Tsubaki raised her one visible eyebrow. "I´m no Amazon, name´s Tsubaki."
The dwarf stopped immediately. "Tsubaki? Like in Tsubaki Colbrande, captain of the Hephaistos familia?!"
Tsubaki grinned. "The one and only!"
"I can´t believe it!"
He put his hammer away, his behavior changed immediately. "Sorry for shouting at you, I´m so touched by your work! You´re my role model when it comes to smithing!"
She winked...or blinked maybe? "Rare to meet a fan down here."
Tsubaki looked at the others for a moment, the half-elf took care of the hume-bunny. For her experienced eyes, Tsubaki knew when she saw affectionate behavior between two people. And the half-elf seemed to be quite affectionate, while the ears and tail of the hume-bunny twitched.
"So, what´s your plan here? When do you intend to achieve it?"
The dwarf frowned. "You mean defeating the Infant Dragon?"
Tsubaki´s expression became dead serious.
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"Dying, I mean."
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All five young people looked shocked at her.
"What?!"
"The way you fight together, I mean not fighting together at all. No idea what they teach you at the Education District, but the dungeon isn´t a place for three solo fighters and two who try to support them from behind."
The dark-elf mumbled. "You´re alone too..."
"Because I´m level five."
"Mh..."
"What are you trying to achieve here? I watched you fight, that´s no party at all, you just all move in the same direction, more or less."
The dwarf growled. "If they would just all follow me and don´t get in my way, it would work."
"Are you the party leader?"
"No, that´s her." He nodded to the half-elf.
"Then you should step up and give orders, young lady."
"They won´t listen to me."
The prum beamed. "Don´t be worried, everyone! I, the future guiding light of the prum race, will open a path for us!"
Tsubaki smiled. "You´re cute, I´ll give you points for that. Still, you´re probably the first to die down here."
"Wh-What?!"
"Maybe you didn´t notice it during your fight, but I took care of thirty monsters that tried to get into your direction, too. If they had surrounded you, you would´ve been in great danger. You have good skill with your sword, but such a weapon needs support from the sides."
"Ungh...th-this is just a trial from Fianna! I will overcome it!"
Tsubaki looked at the dark-elf. "You, your fighting style would be perfect in the second row, to support these two here when they´re in the vanguard."
"I will not support some dwarf...or listen to a half-dwarf."
Tsubaki growled. "Girl, say that again and I will spank you so much you won´t be able to sit in class for a month."
As the dark elf flinched, Tsubaki looked into the round. "Tell me your names."
The dwarf nodded. "Iglin."
A grinning prum anwered. "Chris!"
"You´re cute."
"Thanks!"
The dark-elf looked to the side. "Legi."
Since the hume-bunny was still panting, the half-elf answered.
"I´m Nina, that´s Rapi."
"Alright, Iglin, Chris, Legi, Nine, Rapi. Big sis here will teach you how to dungeon delve properly."
"Bu-"
"That´s non-negionable. I got some nice drop items from the Expedition I helped out. Won´t have my day ruined by seeing five students die because they´re foolish in the dungeon."
"""""!"""""
Tsubaki´s grin was almost menacing. "Prepare yourselves..."
Only Iglin was happy to get advice from Tsubaki and had no complain. Tsubaki would drill into them how to behave properly, earning her their eternal gratitude, and the chance to hug Chris for a few minutes, since she liked cute things.
With new confidence and training...even though Tsubaki had to carry Legi on her shoulder, Chris under her left arm and Rapi under her right arm at the end of the day since they couldn´t move anymore, the party of students would start to work together as a team.
And ask a certain Goddess of the Hearth for an internship, once her familia would return from their mini Expedition in two days.
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In the home of another familia, the god there didn´t seem to be that happy.
"Filvis, could you enlighten me what is with Aura lately? She seems to be "quite attached" to you."
Filvis was alone with Dionysus in his room.
The black-haired elf sighed. "This is Ein´s fault."
"How so?"
"I don´t want to speak it out loud."
Dionysus raised an eyebrow. "So, they were having fun?"
"I will not speak of what happened."
"I understand, as long as this won´t turn into a problem."
"It won´t."
"We have to hold back with the plans for a while, what Revis did threw us back."
"Ein reported that she behaves strange lately, is she still in line?"
"Oh, don´t worry, she will do her job."
"Alright then, do you need me for something else?"
"No, it´s fine."
Filvis nodded and left the room, as she opened the door, someone was passing by outside.
"O-Oh, F-Filvis...hello."
"Aura, hello."
"Where are you going?"
"Into the garden."
"May I come along?"
"Of course."
"Ehehe~~~"
Filvis had to deal with the situation now, her feelings and emotions towards Aura were a bit complicated in many ways, similar to how she saw Lefiya.
Dionysus didn´t pay much attention to the flirting between the elves, he was too delighted with the situation in general.
Especially Revis.
Dionysus opened a bottle of his best wine, enjoying the aroma and taste.
"Oooooooh! Astrea! Oooooooh! How much I would like to see your face! What kind of expression would you make if you saw your precious captain now?! To see how far the upright Alise Lovell has fallen?! That she is a mere tool for me now?! Oooooooooooh! I want to see it!"
It would be so wonderful for Dionysus if Astrea would still be in Orario. When his plans would arrive at the end, he could force her to see what became of Alise before he would finish her off and send her back to heaven. The desperate cries of mortals who didn´t want to die and were in panic were truly delicious...but breaking another god and taste this desperation...that would be something else.
Maybe he should also bring Filvis in line again? There were things he hadn´t done to her to bind her heart to him even more. Like claiming her body, her precious "innocence". And what about "Revis"? Oh, how would Astrea react if he did "that" with Revis in front of her eyes? How would the young elf who was obviously in love with Filvis react if he did that? Ordering Filvis to please him with her body? Or just her mouth? How would Aura react?
Dionysus drowned in his violent, disgusting fantasies while he got himself drunk again. Maybe he could put it between his plans, harvesting more desperation, self-hatred and disgust...that would bring him so much joy!
He grinned widely and madly. "One day...I will break you all...I will drink the most precious "wine" of them all. There will be so much suffering...it shall become my masterpiece.
Dionysus had made his decision, before the end came, he would disgrace Filvis in that way in front of Lefiya and Aura. As much as Filvis loved him, she would suffer and feel delight at the same time!
Not that Filvis actually meant anything to Dionysus, no one did. No mortal, no deity. They were all just there to suffer, to please him with their cries. But first, he had to make plans, how and when to bring Lefiya and Aura into Knossos.
The end of his plans wasn´t that close yet, so he had time.
"~~~~~~~I can´t wait to see your expressions.~~~~~~"
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As the evening fell over Orario, Tiona was still inside the dungeon, on the 18th floor.
"And like that, Argonaut and his sister Feena set out on their journey together."
"Waaaah!~~~~"
Ar´s tail tip moved quickly back and forth on the grass.
"That was the first part of the story."
"Tiona! Ah...ah...th..a.."
"Thank?"
"Ah! Tiona! Thank, Tiona!"
"Hehe, no problem, I´m glad you liked it."
Revis sat leaned against a tree stump, on the other side of a small fire. Tiona sat on the other side next to Ar, who had curled her tail together and sat on top of it, a bit similar to how far eastern people would sit on their legs. Not only because Ar took a liking to Tiona, but also for some other reason that gave Revis a light headache as she tried to understand it, had she joined the two.
The main reason was of course to protect the Lamia, but the story stirred something in Revis´ mind too.
Tiona grinned. "Argonaut...I mean Bell, was so nice to lend me this version of Argonaut. It´s easily a third thicker than any version I have ever seen, and even has these great illustrations! Look, here is Wishe."
As Tiona turned the book slightly, Ar looked curious, then she put a hand on the side of her head. Revis saw the illustration too, it somehow was...weird to look at it.
Ngh...my head...this hurts...
It might´ve been a blessing that Tiona didn´t notice how unpleasant this specific illustration seemed to make Revis and the Lamia.
"I think it´s quite rude that Argonaut thought at first that Wishe was a man. Just because she was a bit flat! Something like that is just mean!"
Tiona turned the page. "Oh, and here is Feena, his sister. I think she looks a bit like someone from my familia, but all elves have this strange beauty touch to them. Well, except the guild´s chief."
Now, Ar and Revis calmed down again.
They chatted for a while longer, until Tiona carefully put the book in her backpack again. "I´m off then, see you next time!"
"Bye bye, ah..Tiona."
"Hehe, bye bye!~~"
Revis nodded to Tiona, they watched her run off towards the 17th floor.
"Did you have fun, Ar?"
"Mh! Thank Revis."
"Do you want to go back, or stay here a little longer?"
"Here, want stay here!"
"Then let us do this. Man, this food is really good."
"Mh!~~~" The tip or Ar´s tail moved quickly around again.
Tiona had also brought some snacks she bought in Orario, both had even tried a potato snack each, but it wasn´t to their liking. Too fatty for their taste.
Ar was happy that Tiona would read the whole story of Argonaut for her, both got along very well.
Revis winked. "Found a friend, hm?"
"You friend too!"
"Heh, thanks."
Alone on the 18th floor, until deep at night, Revis and Ar sat together, even as the fire went out, both looking at the "sky", the crystals at the ceiling, which looked so much like stars. Something told them that they did this before, somewhere..sometime...but they couldn´t remember where or when.
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At the same time, up in Orario, at their favorite high place, Filvis and Lefiya sat together and watched the stars and the full moon rising up into the sky. As elves, this gave them joy, it touched something within them.
"Hehe~~ I hope we can stay together forever, Filvis."
"I hope so too, Lefiya."
Unnoticed, both had each a hand on the bench they were sitting on, their pinkies touched. Both smiled shyly and enjoyed the long evening.
It was good that no one could and would see them here. Filvis not only wanted to be alone with Lefiya, she had to remain unseen by anyone.
Since...
It was a dangerous "game", but she had to go along with it.
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In the garden of Dionysus home, Ein sat with Aura on the grass, under a tree, watching the stars and the moon too.
"Look, Aura, a full moon.~~~"
"Mh...Filvis..."
"Sh~~~"
"Hyan..."
Ein sat behind Aura, hugging her and nibbling playfully at her ear. As Aura turned her face to the side, Ein used the chance to kiss her neck and make sure she left a visible hickey.
"Mh..Filvis...someone...mh...might see..."
"Oh, don´t worry...my cute Aura~~~"
Eventually, Ein moved around, laying down and putting her head on Aura´s thighs, demanding a lap pillow, gently caressing Aura´s cheek and looking at the hickey.
"You´re really adorable. My Aura.~~~"
"Mh...Filvis..."
Ein smiled in her mind. You´re mine forever, Aura.~~~
And Ein would keep what was hers...and protect it.
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In another part of Orario, Tione walked around on her own. Ais had asked her if she could come with her, but Tione declined, she had even refused to go with Tiona. She just wanted to be alone. She scowled, frustrated and walked around without any direction in mind.
Killing monsters in the dungeon left and right only worked for a while to vent her frustration. Finn had rejected her, permanently, forever.
Screw him...
A loud voice caught her attention.
"Stop at once!"
Someone was running away from a few members of the Ganesha familia, carrying something in his arms. A thief. Since she just felt like this, Tione spun around on the spot and rammed her bare heel into the face of the thief as he wanted to run past her. With a loud scream, the thief fell backward onto the ground and got immediately caught by the Ganesha familia members.
"Thank you for the help, Jormungandr!"
"Huh? You know who I am?"
Tione looked at the leader of the group. A human. A bit taller than her, dark hair, bright skin color, a constant smirk on his lips, pretty handsome. On his back was a short spear and a sword.
"Of course I know, your familia is widely known in Orario."
"And who´re you?"
"Diarmuid. Member of the Ganesha familia."
"Never heard of you."
"I get that often."
"You look weak. Couldn´t catch a single thief."
"Weak? Me? Hm."
"What?"
"I just don´t think I´m weak." He smirked, it pissed Tione off.
"What´s with the smug grin?"
"Smug grin? Me? Hmpf."
A vein throbbed at Tione´s forehead. "Don´t get cocky with me."
"I would never dare to do so with a Lady."
There was this smirk again, that smug grin. Tione couldn´t know that this was just the way Diarmuid smiled, he couldn´t do anything against it. And he often got in trouble because of it.
Tione growled as Diarmuid looked at her form head to toe and back to head for a moment, smirking even more. It was another habit, to quickly check the other´s body, to see any possibility for danger. But for Tione, it looked like he was checking out her body, especially her chest and hips...she was used of people looking at these places. Normally it didn´t bother here, but she was pretty pissed at the moment.
"Are you asking for a fight, punk?!"
His smirk now looked almost flirty. "I would never dare that."
It was another of his habits, he just wanted to smile gently, it always turned out like this.
"Alright, you asked for this!"
In her frustration, Tione lashed out. She didn´t care if he was weak or not, no one made fun of an agitated Amazon! As she charged at him, Diarmuid waved his familia members back and took Tione head on.
Never before in her life had Tione met someone in hand-to-hand combat who was that skilled. She was a fresh level six, had just gotten used to her level-up, and this guy managed to hold his ground!
"Who´re you?!"
"Diarmuid, as I said."
Tione couldn´t know that he wasn´t only a member of the Ganesha familia, but one of the many level five´s that the familia had. And the most skilled when it came to sheer technique during a fight. He did have one magic spell, but only one. He had two skills, which didn´t give him any advantage at the moment. Nor did his development abilities, for that he would have to draw his weapons.
But this guy loved to fight, loved to increase his own technique. He could defeat any other level five of his familia, sometimes he lost, sometimes he won. This young man was by no means weak.
And while he wouldn´t defeat Tione during their brawl, he would stand his ground long enough against her until she had enough of fighting him, had blown off enough steam.
"Huff..huff..huff...was that..huff...enough for you?"
Tione saw the fire and fun in his eyes, he had enjoyed this fight, no doubt.
She was sweating slightly, mostly because she had moved so much and it was quite warm at night. Before she could answer, another habit from him kicked in again.
"By the way, you´re very pretty and smell good."
This was often a problem for him, or caused problems. He just couldn´t keep his mouth shut and spoke what the thought at some moments.
"Pff."
With a snort, she turned around and left. She couldn´t stand this guy!
Not his smirk!
Not his tone!
Not his behavior!
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At the Twillight Mansion, Raul and Anakitty both blushed quite a lot, as they looked at the big bed they were standing in front of.
"Ungh..."
"That Loki..."
Since it had become obvious that Raul and Anakitty were in love, Loki had some changes and let them share a room now. But she didn´t tell them they would only get one, large bed! Both could very well imagine their prankster goddess laughing her foot off now.
"And now?..."
"Aki..."
"O-Oy...don´t look at me like that...pervy Raul..."
It would take more than a few minutes until both would eventually accept it and sleep together in the bed. They had only done something like that one time before, after spending their first night together. But now...they would live together.
Anakitty soon started to purr softly as she snuggled up to Raul and slowly drifted into sleep, just like her purring lulled him into sleep.
They had to thank Loki for this idea, never again would they sleep separated. It eased a lot of stress that both had, hugging someone...their special someone...in their sleep, it helped...a lot.
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At the early morning of the next day, Bell opened the door of the Star-resting house as quiet as possible. He didn´t want to wake anyone in the house up. Or outside.
A few tents stood close to the house now. Since Astrea made her decision, after talking to her familia, making Ryu cry again...they would all travel to Orario after Cecil was finished with her work. So, Hera´s familia camped here, the house would be too small for all of them. At the day when Astrea and her familia would move out, Astrea would give Hera the keys and entrust their home to them, making it Hera familia´s new constant home.
"Oh, good morning, Bell."
"Lady Hera, good morning, you´re already up?"
"The early bird gets the worm."
The goddess wore her toga again, holding a sword in her right hand, it seemed like she wanted to do some morning training too.
"Would you join me, Bell?"
"I can´t fight against a goddess..."
"It is just training, and don´t you underestimate me. I may not be a Goddess of War, but I have experience."
"But won´t we wake the others up then?"
"My girls have slept long enough, I can hear them getting up already."
He smiled slightly. "Alright then...I will hold back."
Bell regretted these words, soon.
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"Eh?"
He blinked as he lay on the ground, the tip of Hera´s sword pointed at his throat.
"I told you not to underestimate me. Get up."
"Ungh, you´re much stronger than I thought."
"I´m an Olympian goddess, I trained with my girls in the past. A level four like you has to watch out, I could even hold my ground against a level five for some time."
"That´s very impressive! And I would like to apologize for underestimating you, Lady Hera. I didn´t mean to look down on you."
He bowed slightly.
"It´s alright, now get back in position."
"Yes!"
As both got ready again, the door opened and Astrea came outside. "Ah, I thought it would be like that."
"Good morning, Lady Astrea."
"Good morning Bell. Aunty Hera."
"Astrea."
Hera looked at Bell. "By the way, if you want to train in unarmed combat, Astrea is very good with it, martial arts were a hobby of hers."
"M-Mother! Don´t let me sound like a brute!"
"Hm?!"
"A-Aunty..."
"Better. And don´t you want one of your future sons-in-law to be strong?"
"S-Son-in-law? Oh my..."
"Hm...or let´s better call him your follower´s partner. Calling him your son-in-law would make me sound old."
"Moth-"
"HM?!"
"A-Aunty..."
"Ahm, Lady Hera, shall we continue?"
"Of course, ready yourself, Bell!"
Hera was very happy at the moment, she would spend as much time as possible with Bell in these three days. Seeing that Meteria´s son was so healthy and fit, it eased Hera´s worries. It didn´t seem like Bell had inherited Meteria´s and Alfia´s sickness, his father had been pretty healthy, so maybe due to that. Meteria had always been frail and weak, a true angel. And just like Alfia had done, Hera refused to believe that it had been Meteria who had lost patience with her beloved and pulled him into her bed. Not her precious Meteria...she was way too innocent for that.
Since Bell´s partner was an elf, and they just had their first pledge, Hera didn´t expect great-grandchildren too soon. Bell was almost seventeen now, Meteria already had him at this age. But what was more important for Hera, that Bell had found someone who loved him, that he only had ONE partner and would only ever have one.
Their training went on for a while, Hera was very good with her sword, Bell still only used the Hestia Knife. But he needed his other hand to block Hera´s punches and slaps. Their training duel ended in quite a surprising way.
The door opened again, with a sharp shreek, Sharpbeak shot out of the house, followed by Euphie, looking like a green orb. These two seemed to have fun chasing each other, and since Iselina feared what might happen to the furnishings, she let them out. Sharpbeak evaded Bell easily, but Euphie simply bumped into his back, sending him stumbling forward with great force. Hera immediately dropped her sword and caught Bell in her arms. If she had waited a second more, Bell would´ve been able to regain his balance.
"Are you alright, Bell?"
"Y-Yes, thank you, Lady Hera."
She smiled gently. "No problem."
It felt good to hug Bell, Hera hoped it wouldn´t remain the last hug.
The Hera familia would now occupy the bathroom in small groups, but Bell wasn´t finished with his training yet.
"Good morning, Bell..."
When he looked at the door, she was there.
Ryu.
The one he loved, who also loved him.
"M-Morning."
Both looked shy and flustered.
After around fifteen minutes during which they just looked at each other, blushed, chuckled now and then, but just kept looking. A certain goddess who also acted as a teacher at the Education District, would call this an "Aoharu sweet eye-meeting". They eventually managed to start training softly with each other. It wasn´t like their usual training, it almost looked more like a dance, with blades.
Hera nodded satisfied, Ryu used both Futabas, while Bell now also used Hakugen.
"They´re very much in sync."
Astrea smiled happily. "Yes, they fit together perfectly."
It was touching to watch how they had their training dance. Astrea noticed how Hera looked at them, mostly at Bell.
She mumbled in a low voice. "Hera, is there a reason why you´re so friendly towards Bell? It is...don´t get me wrong...but it is unusual."
"Maybe I´m just satisfied that there is a young man like him?"
Hera saw how Astrea looked at her, among the other gods, barely anyone knew or understood Hera as well as Astrea did, nor was anyone as close to her as the young Goddess of Justice.
"Astrea, do you want to have a secret from your follower? Your young elf here?"
"No, I don´t. I always want to be honest with Ryu and the others."
"Then please, don´t ask me this. If I told you, you would have to keep it a secret from her. Just accept that I took a liking to Bell, that is enough for me."
"I..understand."
It told Astrea enough without telling her anything in detail. Maybe Bell reminded her of one of her followers, or it was something else. If Hera wouldn´t do anything that would hinder or disturb Bell´s and Ryu´s happiness, Astrea didn´t have any problem.
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Two days later, they saw how Bell looked when he was absolutely fascinated. Cecil looked satisfied with herself, looking up and down at Ryu.
"Any problems anywhere?"
"No, it fits perfect, you have my thanks, Cecil."
"Was Lady Astrea who asked me to make it for you."
"But you were still the one making it, so, thank you."
"You´re welcome. Alright, I´m back at my forge, should be done tomorrow."
Ryu´s familia members, her goddess...and Bell, all looked at her, at her new outfit. Kella had helped making it too, the sewing part, but it had been mostly Cecil´s work. Since she was making a new sword for Ryu, Astrea had asked her to make a new "armor" too.
The boots had the same length as before, but now they were pure white. Ryu´s "bloomers" got exchanged with very short pants, almost worthy to be called hot pants. The green color was a bit different, and it covered a bit more of her thighs. Which, at least in Bell´s eyes, let her Zettai Ryōiki look even better than before... But the sides of ehr pants made him blush deeper. The pants weren´t completely closed, but there was a gap at both sides, held together by strings. It gave Ryu more freedom to move. But the fact that he only saw skin under the strings almost let him squeak. At first he thought, even when it was only for a second, that Ryu might not even wear underwear at this moment! Then he remembered seeing the special underwear that Mikoto used in the laundry one time. For greater movement, they didn´t have side parts, but still held in place.
Ryu had two black leather belts, both pretty thin, crosswise around her hips, holding her futabas at the backside. Her upper body was covered by a white shirt, with just the tiniest amount of cleave, parting at the bottom for more movement, but only if she would move in certain ways, it would show a tiny bit of her belly. Her cape was still the same, but her gloves were now white too, her hair held back by a white ribbon. Her left shoulder was covered by a white piece of cloth, with the symbol of the Astrea familia on it. If Ryu raised her arm, the cloth would move with it. It had no protective abilities, but the symbol there was important for her.
Although it emphasized agility, since it was woven with various Spirit Protection Clothes, it exhibited great resistance against each magic element. And just like she said, it was a perfect fit for Ryu's body.
Astrea smiled. "Ryu, it looks wonderful!~~"
Iselina and Suumetess nodded. ""Pretty good.""
Schau, Kella and Ulanda agreed with the others.
But it was Bell´s reaction that meant the most to Ryu, she glanced shyly at him, blushing. "Wh-What do you say, Bell?"
"It looks perfect, you look wonderful in it, Ryu. It´s just...b-b-beautiful..."
"Mh...Thank you..."
It made her happy, but also flustered, since, just for a moment, Bell looked up and down at her.
"D-Don´t stare..."
"Sorry..."
Astrea was touched just how sweet Ryu and Bell looked together. The goddess had an idea, to give them a bit more time alone.
"Ryu, Bell? Can I ask you something?"
"Hm?"
"Yes?"
"I think it would be good if you test the moveability of your new outfit, Ryu. And I will be honest here, Bell, I need you out of the house for a few hours. Hera and her girls will help us to prepare the house, and it wouldn´t be good if a guy was here then."
Bell nodded. "I understand, there is no problem."
Ryu also nodded. "Then I will accompany Bell into the forest for a while."
She looked to the side, if Euphie would also come, but the green orb was resting on a special pillow, apparently sleeping. He had played so much with Ryu, Bell and every member of both familias during the last days, that for the first time, he had burned off all of his energy, making him tired and sleepy.
Astrea chuckled softly. "I think Euphie will sleep for a while longer. Have fun, you two."
Bell and Ryu smiled at each other before they left the house.
After they were gone, Iselina smiled flustered. "Man, I almost got toothache, so sweet do they look together."
Ulanda agreed. "I could feel the sugar on my tongue."
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Both spend lots of hours just walking or running through the forest, exploring more of it. Ryu felt great in her new clothes, even though she blushed quite often, since Bell had trouble taking his eyes off her. But he didn´t have a lewd expression, nor did he look at places where he shouldn´t look. Ryu just saw the admiration and...love...in his eyes. It was like a dream, walking through the big forest together.
They were so into each other, after their confession, after Bell became her partner...or in human terms...her boyfriend...and she his girlfriend...that they barely noticed how time went by. Bell had a backpack with water bottles and enough food for the whole day, since Astrea told him, they would be busy at the house for the whole day.
But it didn´t bother them, both were happy.
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Very happy.
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Author`s Note2: Next chap of this story, Ryu will get her new sword, then, it´s time for departure, back to Orario! And we will see how Freya familia did in the dungeon.