Author`s Note: Something about the chapter. A figure will be described with blue eyes, this character has blue eyes in the LN, but yellow in the anime, I go with the LN description.
Something else, a part of this chapter is in Orario again, two parts, with the latter taking place at night. The part outside of Orario after that takes place on the same day, but a few hours earlier.
And a big thanks for so many Reviews. Yeah, the decision with Haruhime wasn´t an easy one, but it will be very important for the story. Which also means her magic, how strong she gets, how she fights and so on. To give it a better reason than in the original.
This chapter came a bit later than intended, but I had to take a break for a few days due to sudden sickness, and I used it to think about the story. Which resulted in a whole new Arc coming up in my mind. It will lead to Bell going a bit later to Orario (not in timeline, it's still four years until then), but I mean there will be more chapters until he gets there, more growth for him, more experience to get, (more adopting a sister?).
So a little warning, the next chapters will contain spoilers of MS vol 19 and SO vol 13. (people, location, world building, that stuff.
Enough of you already guessed what Lefiya´s "fate" will be in the story, but see how it will be. Just saying that in one certain way, Lefiya will be exactly like Bell (I don´t mean a sudden growth skill, but something else).
And thanks again for Erebus and Riftpowers long Reviews. I plan to do more bonding stuff with the side characters, to show a bit more of familia life.
With the rune system that Asta can forge, I intended to bring in some more RPG elements, but I will be careful not to make it too overpowered.
As usual, some things that happen early in the story will have consequences or influence on things that happen later. It will be a long story after all.
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Lefiya looked up at the boy, who held his hand towards her but had his face averted after asking her if she was alright. His hair was white as snow, his eyes, were red as rubies.
She had learned about this in class, an Albino, sort of.
The hand he offered her was the one that had rescued her, the one which he shot out lightning with.
"Oh, ah, sorry! Bare skin!"
He was about to pull his hand back, but Lefiya raised her hand and took his, which caught him by surprise.
An electrical jolt shot through her body...and through Bell´s. Was it an aftereffect of his magic? But it didn´t sting in her hand, it felt much different. The moment she touched his hand, it was like her heart was jumping up, started to race for a moment...and like a lightning bolt shot deep into her, past her heart...into her very soul.
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High up in heaven, a female goddess, one of the three Moirai, saw something interesting. Two strings that she liked, that were entangled in the past, then got separated...now not only were parallel to each other but started to entangle again. Something like this was insanely rare...it looked like two souls had found each other again.
Was it fate? Coincidence? Or an overprotective sister who chased after her brother even in another life? All three options were equally possible in this case.
Most intriguing.
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Lefiya got up to her feet with the help of the boy, she wanted to thank him, but he held his face averted. Did he avert his face because she was a girl on her knees? Or because her clothes weren´t perfectly in place after she had slumped down?
What a gentleman...
She was still in a daze, the situation with the monsters, her fear, the sudden rescue, and then this overwhelming, tremendous magical power. Lefiya was still shaking, not from fear, but because all of this was just too overwhelming. Mostly the tremendous magical power...
Without thinking too much, she had taken the hand that got offered to her, and let the boy help her up. When she was on her feet again, making sure her clothes were fine, the boy looked at her and smiled slightly.
The boy let go of her hand, it still tingled, but strangely...Lefiya wasn´t appalled or repelled by him at all. Which was strange as an elf, even when she came from Wishe.
"Are you alright, Milady?"
"M-Milady?!"
"I´m sorry..what would be more fitting?"
He didn´t look at her when he ended the question, but the huge man.
That man still looked around. "Focus on your environment, Bell. This isn´t the time for chivalry."
"Right, sorry!"
The boy, Bell apparently, readied his sword, and looked around, but Lefiya noticed that he moved in a way to shield her. Alisa came quickly to Lefiya.
"Are you hurt, Lefiya?!"
"No, everything is alright."
"Thank the gods...that was so close..."
"I know..."
Alfia escorted the other two members of the squad towards the small group. "Get going, don´t slack off."
Natalinoe followed Alfia´s harsh tone all too willingly, but Luke looked upset. It looked like he wanted to say something, but one glare from Alfia´s eyes let him remain quiet. This woman had stared down a horde of Bloodsaurier in the past, making them afraid just with her gaze, a boy like him was nothing against that.
The teacher kept his distance, now that most of the monsters were dead, and the others fled, he would let the squad handle their situation on their own. He also saw that the other teachers did the same, non of the squads were in danger anymore.
Zard looked at Bell, while he watched over the group.
"Bell, analyze, is the situation safe?"
"I...yes, for now."
"Good answer."
Alfia nodded slightly to agree, then her eyes wandered to the squad. Natalinoe shivered under Alfia´s eyes, she was as shaky as Lefiya after feeling the pinnacle of magical power.
"Who is your squad leader?"
It didn´t look like Luke dared to take this role now, leaving it to the most experienced one.
Alisa gulped. "Th-That would be me."
"Explain your situation."
Before Alisa could answer, Lefiya blurted out.
"E-Excuse me! Th-Thank you for saving me!...us! But, who are you?!"
Alfia raised an eyebrow, Lefiya gulped and slightly shrunk down. Zard made a step forward, he smiled gently.
"Alfia, you´re scaring the young ones."
"Not my problem. It´s rude to answer a question with another question..."
Lefiya looked nervously at her. "I´m sorry..."
Zard didn´t look as intimidating at Lefiya as Alfia did. "It´s alright. We are just random passersby."
"Huh?"
Lefiya didn´t know what to make out of this situation, but she looked at Bell again. "Thank you.."
He just nodded, focused on the surrounding area. His blood was still pumping, his hand shaking a bit. He couldn´t even describe how he felt! It was so exciting! After they witnessed the monsters rushing toward the people, Bell pleaded Alfia and Zard to help them, they had no reason not to agree.
He fought his first monsters! And he saved a girl in distress while doing that! Bell couldn´t wait to tell Zeus about this!
The tall man turned to Alisa. "You´re with the Education District, a field Squad, right?"
"Y-Yes, we are."
"What is your goal for the field trip?"
She had the feeling as if he knew about the District since he asked so naturally.
"W-We shall find o-out about the r-reason why the m-monsters attack...a-and slay as many as p-possible, without bringing us in d-danger...also to c-camp outside."
Zard noticed that she stuttered because she was so intimidated.
"Then be careful, we will go our way now, more monsters might appear at some point."
Alisa nodded. "Then we will fight them, it is our duty after all!"
Zard leaned his greatsword at his shoulder, Alfia already turned around and left.
Lefiya looked at Bell. "Thank you...for saving me."
"It wasn´t muc-"
"Yes, it was!"
"I´m sorry, I´m just glad you´re alright."
"My name is Lefiya Viridis, I thank you for saving my life."
"My name is Bell Cranel. Nice to meet you, Ms. Viridis."
"L-Lefiya is fine since you saved me."
Zard waved over his shoulder. "Bell, come."
"Coming!"
He looked one last time at Lefiya. "Then please stay safe, everyone."
When Bell followed Zard and Alfia, Natalinoe let out a loud breath. "That was so scary..."
Luke grumbled. "I would´ve protected you all from the monsters."
"I meant her magical power! That was...was...scary!"
Lefiya nodded. "Not even the strongest teachers are like that..."
Alisa looked still a bit surprised at Lefiya, how openly she had acted with Bell, but maybe it was just because he had saved her.
"Alright, everyone, gather up, we need to continue. Who knows when monsters return, let us move to find a place to camp and search for monsters while we´re at it."
She took the role of the leader naturally, Luke wouldn´t challenge her on that. The event had shaken him too, there had been a good chance that one if not all of them could´ve gotten killed just now. It was a reminder to never underestimate monsters.
Lefiya looked a last time at Bell, who slowly disappeared in the distance with the two adults, then she steeled herself and followed Alisa.
Now they had to find a place to camp.
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While the two groups separated, things happened in Orario too...and not-so-nice things...
"*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*..."
"*Cough* *Sneeze* *Cough* *Cough*!"
"Oh my...it really hit you two hard..."
Astrea looked worried at the two girls, who lay in their beds, coughing heavily. Tiona and Tione got sick, very sick. Both caught the flu, normally with their level, they should´ve mostly been immune to it, but their bodies weren´t used to the weather in Orario. In Telskyura, it was always hot and humid, here it was often cold in the mornings. Many amazons got sick the first time they came to Orario, it had been the same with Iska, and these two were not different.
When the flu got strong enough to strike down adventurers, it could also get strong enough to infect others. That was why the familia had to stay away from them, the twins had mostly to stay in their room, only leaving for the bathroom.
Which meant...that Astrea took care of everything. She brought them food, helped them change the sweaty sheets, washed them carefully with a rag, and many other things. While Tiona didn´t seem to mind it, mostly frustrated that she had to stay in bed, Tione disliked it. To feel so weak and vulnerable was disgusting for an amazon, it went against her pride and survival instinct.
Astrea currently sat on a chair between the two beds, carefully peeling apples and bananas, slicing them into thin pieces, then mashing them together to a paste. She had also made peppermint and fennel tea for the two of them and prepared a special form of bread, rusks.
Tiona panted and looked at the goddess.
"Do you want to drink something, Tiona?"
She only weakly nodded.
Astrea put down the knife and took Tiona´s teacup, carefully moving to the sick girl and helping her drink a few sips. Then she put away the teacup and wiped Tiona´s forehead.
"Thank *cough* you..."
The goddess gently stroked Tiona´s hair, then she turned to Tione, who coughed again. Tione sweat even more than her sister, she tried to move the blanket away. Both amazons were naked under the blankets, since in their current state, wearing clothes felt very unpleasant for them.
"Please don´t, Tione, you need to stay warm, I know it´s unpleasant."
Tione looked at the goddess, the expression in her eyes was different from Tiona´s, she looked a bit angry...and so weak. As the goddess came close, Tione almost growled. She hated to be seen like that.
"I...not weak..."
Astrea smiled gently.
"I know that you´re strong, Tione. But no one feels well then they´re sick, so...let me help you a little, alright?"
The goddess saw how Tione flinched slightly away from her touch at first. In the beginning, shortly after they joined the familia, it was much worse. Tione had reacted stronger to having someone close or trying to touch her, than any elf ever did. But the reason was different, Tione just wasn´t used to trusting anyone besides her sister. Now it slowly got better.
Astrea saw how Tione´s hair clung to her forehead, so she gently moved it to the side and wiped Tione´s forehead. The goddess started to hum softly, it was a melody that she had often hummed when one of her followers had felt sick in the past. And just like with every single one of her other followers, Astrea slowly started to charm the two amazons with her motherly behavior.
After all...Astrea was rank one of the most motherly goddesses in Orario, according to a certain list that some of the male gods had made. And also the number one goddess, that one would like to get a lap pillow from...
Astrea gently pulled the blanket up and covered everything of Tione´s body, except for her head.
"Are you thirsty?"
Tione only coughed, she wouldn´t admit it. Astrea smiled gently and took Tione´s cup, letting her carefully drink a few sips.
"Maryuu made chicken soup for you, I will bring it later. And Iska went in the city just to buy the rusks for you."
"Hehe...*cough*" Tiona smiled in her bed.
"Mmh...*cough*" Tione didn´t want to show that she was...happy?
Iska and Maryuu acted very much like their big sisters, she just wasn´t used to this. It felt so...good.
Astrea kept on taking care of the amazons, no matter how long it took, how exhausting it could be.
"When you two need something, just use the tiny bells, alright? I will sleep in the living room, so I will hear you."
Tione groaned slightly. "Why..."
"Hm?"
"Why...do that..."
Astrea gently stroked Tione´s forehead and hair, this time the amazon didn´t flinch. "Because you two are my precious children, why wouldn´t I care for you?"
Tione´s cheeks darkened a bit, the way Amazons blushed, just like her sister, the motherly behavior of their goddess slowly won her heart.
In this familia, under Astrea´s care, both would experience something they never truly had. What it meant to have a family. After their first fights in Telskyura, both only had each other.
And in Astrea, they found a mother figure, especially Tione would grow very attached to her.
Later, when Astrea needed to rest, both would hear a slight knock from the door. While she wasn´t allowed to enter, Ardee sat down in front of the door, softly starting to read a story that Tiona wanted to read. Tione didn´t mind it, since it helped her sister to get distracted from their sickness. And while Tione still wasn´t a fan of heroic stories, seeing her sister happy was enough for her. Plus...Tione started to like Ardee, it was hard not to. Out of all the familia members, Ardee was in a way the "weirdest", due to her problems about being in a coma for two years. Losing two years at her age wasn´t easy.
When Ardee would leave from the door after a while, Maryuu and Iska came with a few hours between their visits, to talk softly through the door. Iska told them that she planned to show them a special shop once they were alright again, while Maryuu asked if they had wishes about dinner. She listed what they were allowed to eat in their current condition, but she let them choose.
Not even Bache had been so much of a big sister for them.
Tiona and Tione got fully absorbed into the familia.
When Astrea returned later to watch over them, she hummed softly, while the sisters slowly drifted into sleep. Since they were used to sleeping close to each other, each extended a hand towards the other, but the beds were too far away to reach the other. Both didn´t notice that it was Astrea who gently took their hands, stroking the backs of their hands with her thumbs, while humming softly.
It let the twins be at ease and gave them a good rest, because of a comfy feeling...a feeling of home. Of love.
Of a mother...
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Two weeks later, when Tiona and Tione would´ve been fully recovered and fit again...the flu hit them pretty hard...they would accompany their familia for the first time during true justice work.
By "taking down" another familia...
Which would lead to endless suffering and insane agitation of a different god.
And it would fulfill a dream of Lyra, that she didn´t know she had up to this point. But after treating Ryu as their young one, their youngest sibling, seeing how the twins acted, how Iska and Maryuu acted with each other...how both treated the twins... Lyra wished for something like a direct family too. At first she had hoped to get this with Finn, but the things he did during the dark times disgusted her to no end.
So, while Lyra wouldn´t get a blood related sister...
She could at least adopt one..."by force"...
Which would also mean that she wouldn´t be the only pallum in her familia anymore. Sparing her future "little sister" from a lot of suffering and pain over the years.
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"Huff...Huff...Huff..."
"*gasp* Huff *pant* Huff..."
"This should be enough you two, enough training for today, the sun is already sinking."
In the backyard of the Twilight Mansion, Riveria stood there with her arms crossed under her chest, watching over the first training session of Ais and Bete. Just as Ais told him, when he got stressed and frustrated, he should train with her instead of drinking...and being mean to others.
Getting beaten up by Alise, and Ais´ telling him her opinion about his behavior, and her training offer, would led to a big change in Bete, especially in his behavior. Since both didn´t tend to hold back, Riveria watched over the training.
Two other people were also watching, Anakitty and Raul. Since two Amazon twins never joined the familia, and due to that having no contact with Ais, she had no friends in her familia. Comrades yes, but no friends. So, Riveria did her best to make sure that Ais would get close to at least a few people. And Anakitty and Raul were decent enough.
Both were five years older than Ais, friends of the same age might´ve been better, but Riveria was glad enough that Ais started to get along with these two.
"Woah...can´t believa-meow she is younger than us..meow..."
"Yeah...she is already stronger...Also, Aki...your accent is coming out again."
"Meow...mmhh!" She clasped her hand in front of her mouth. Anakitty was still doing her best to get rid of the way cat people usually talked.
Riveria looked forward with her usual expression. "Strength isn´t everything in life, Raul, Anakitty."
"Don´t need to tell me."
"Yeah." This time she could stop herself from meowing.
It happened mostly to her when she was close to Raul, and mostly recently. Since Riveria had asked them to take a bit care of Ais, both also spend much more time with each other than usual. They tried to show her new things, like clothing shops in the city.
So one might argue, it was Riveria´s question, that led to Raul and Anakitty growing closer to each other than they already were.
And would grow even closer...much...much closer.
Riveria was glad, this could make Ais a bit more normal. It was also good that Bete found a good way to vent his frustration and truly quit drinking. But this also made Riveria worried...she hoped Ais and Bete wouldn´t get along too well with each other...he was six years older than Ais after all. And well...he was Bete. Until he truly proved his change, Riveria didn´t want to imagine someone like him...growing closer to Ais.
But judging by the way Ais looked at Bete, she only appreciated him as a warrior so far.
Ais sheathed her sword, looking at Bete, both were sweating heavily. "Good fight."
Bete exhaled and straightened up. "Aye, good fight. You´ve become quite strong."
"I still need to become stronger."
"So do I."
"Will you train with me again?"
"You bet."
Then Ais looked at Anakitty and Raul, both gulped slightly.
Riveria sighed. "Ais, there are more things in life, not just training."
"I know."
"Good."
"Like Jaggarmaru-kun."
"Rig-eh?..Ahm...that too..."
Raul and Anakitty saw how Riveria stopped for a moment, it was rare to see her act like that.
The adult elf turned to the house. "Take a shower, then it´s time for dinner."
Bete threw his towel over his shoulder. "I will take care of my stuff first, gonna shower afterward."
For now, Bete preferred to eat by himself.
But the other two would eat together with Ais.
This all would slowly lead to the four becoming friends, not just comrades.
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While the afternoon turned into evening, and Astrea, Iska, and Maryuu took care of the sick twins, some of the familia members took care of the house, others patroled in Orario, and some were at work. Not only to pay back Alise´s debt to Mia, but also to work on their own. It was quite nice to do something besides fighting.
"Mama Mia, I will bring out the trash."
"Do that."
It was still hard for Ryu to call Mia "Mama", but she insisted on it. On this day, Lunor, Chloe, Anya, Neze, and Lyra were also in the pub, much to the delight of Syr, who really enjoyed all of their presence. She still tried to persuade Ryu to have a sleepover with her, but so far the elf resisted...even when it probably wouldn´t be long anymore until she fell.
As she picked up two big buckets, filled with kitchen waste, Neze opened the backdoor for her, before she picked up other plates to bring them to the customers.
"Thank you, Neze."
"Nh." Neze was busy with her work.
It was already dark outside, Ryu looked up to the clear sky, the moon was already up. Working at the pub was quite relaxing, and Syr told her all kinds of rumors, rumors that could easily get picked up from chatting customers. Which also helped the Astrea familia with their normal work.
As Ryu took the kitchen waste to a designated pile and dumped the buckets...Hermes familia would come the next day, load up the pile and drive to Demeter's fields...she looked up at the moon...and noticed a figure crouching on a wall nearby, that enclosed the backyard. A figure clad in black clothes, also looking up at the moon.
This figure had also long ears, but darker skin and white hair.
Ryu stopped when she emptied the buckets.
"What are you doing here, my brethren?"
The figure looked down at her.
"Servant of Fertility, I seek solitude as my eternal watch continues."
It was the strangest way Ryu had ever heard someone talk...and what was even stranger...she kind of understood what this elf said.
"Who are you watching over?"
"Nothing. No one. Everything. Everyone. Those that gave my life purpose, a light in the darkness, a savior from loneliness."
Which meant...a friend. At least Ryu believed that it did.
"Mama Mia might get angry if she sees you here."
"I do fear not the titan of wrath."
"I...won´t tell her how you called her..."
"Thee have my gratitude, servant of fertility."
Ryu noticed something, something that lay at the bottom of the wall that Hogni was crouching on. She put down one of the buckets, crouched near the wall and picked it up. It was a small medal, more like a coin.
"You dropped something."
Hogni looked down at her, then at her hand.
"Ah, thee have my eternal gratitude, forestwalker."
When Hogni took the coin from her, their fingertips brushed slightly against each other, thankfully Hogni was wearing gloves. Ryu returned to her bucket, picked it up and went at the backdoor, gently tapping with the bucket against it, waiting for the door to get opened. Hogni looked at her from behind for a moment, before he looked up at the moon again.
The last words that Ryu heard from him, were from a language she didn´t know.
"Ave Dominus Nox."
But something in her understood he was talking about the moon...
Ryu couldn´t know this, but she left Hogni heavily confused. He crouched there on the wall, looking at the coin in his hand. Strange...he didn´t freak out when she came close or talked to him, despite him not knowing her. Well technically he knew who she was, but he never met her personally before.
In two hours, his shift would end and Allen would take over. Just when he would arrive and take his spot on the rooftop, it would be Chloe´s turn to bring kitchen waste outside. In a reflex, she looked up, her skill reacted and let her see him jumping over her in slow motion.
N-Nyaa~~~
Quite the sight for her, delicious as always. Chloe remembered Anya´s expression when Chloe asked her if Allen was still single...quite entertaining.
"What are you looking at, girl? Get back to your work and leave me alone."
Allen knew that Chloe could see him, he had noticed that she had noticed him. His harsh tone was...somewhat nice, it sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. Maybe...just maybe...Chloe liked bad boys a bit? In any case, Allen was one of the rare cases, a bad boy who had the looks to back him up. And from what she heard from Syr, Allen was always close by to look over Anya.
Bad boy. Softy. A bit taller than her. Nice booty...body.
Exactly Chloe´s taste.
How would it feel to get pushed against a wall by him? Maybe experiencing a wall slam that Syr talked about?
Her tail swished through the air as she turned around in a way that flattered her curves and went back into the house, only glancing up one time at him again. For a moment, due to the moonlight, her green and his blue eyes lit slightly up, but it might just be because they were cat people, this sometimes happened in the darkness...also both could see very well at night. Their eyes met, Allen stared down at Chloe, then she went inside.
He moved into the middle of the rooftop, closing his eyes and listening.
And there she was...that annoying sound...his little sister down in the pub, humming while she worked. Even when she only hummed, her sense for music was just horrible! Horrible! It pissed him off so much, actually hurt his ears!
And yet he would always listen with one ear, no matter what.
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While Bell told Zeus his very first heroic story, he cleaned his sword thoroughly. Zard took care of making dinner, while Alfia relaxed on the beach chair, letting out her magical power was always exhausting these days.
"Heh, you truly are my grandson, I´m really proud of you, Bell."
"Thank you, Grandfather!"
"And you weren´t afraid of the monsters?"
"No, I could only think about saving her."
"That´s good, but always be careful."
"I will, also Mom and Uncle Zard were behind me."
They wanted to continue their chat, but Alfia raised her right hand without opening her eyes, waving it lazily through the air. Zard knew what this meant, she heard a noise, something came closer. It couldn´t be a monster, the ones that lived in this area felt on a natural level that Zard and Alfia would mean doom.
"Bell, old man, someone´s coming."
"Oh?"
"Hm?"
Soon they heard voices, four voices, arguing with each other.
"This is the best place in this area."
"I´m not sure..."
"Trust me, I have experience."
"I´m so tired..."
"Luke, does your arm hurt?"
"I will survive it."
"There is no need to be strong, now let us set up camp here a-"
Maybe it shouldn´t be a surprise that out of all people, these four stumbled into their camp, it was the best spot around here.
It was the same Squad they had seen before. The guy limped slightly and got supported by the smallest girl, while the human girl led the group, followed by the young elf.
""""Ah...""""
Bell, Zeus, and Zard looked at them, Alfia didn´t, she kept her eyes closed.
How didn´t they notice the camp before they stumbled right into it? Their clothes looked pretty worn out, their equipment needed to get taken care off, one of them was missing the backpack. It looked like they had fought more.
Lefiya´s eyes widened. "It´s you...you!"
Bell lowered his sword, as he was still cleaning it. "Oh, it´s you. Are you alright?"
As Alisa made a step to the side, Zeus could completely see Lefiya.
For him, all time stopped.
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This can´t be possible...or can it? She looks exactly like her, in every detail. Exactly like her when she was younger and met "him" for the first time...when he came to save her.
Zeus looked up at the sky.
Was that one of you guys? Or is it coincidence? No...sheer coincidence can´t be it. Fate? No...I don´t believe in such a fate...their decisions are their own, despite being reborn.
Was it a kind of attraction of their souls? Sometimes mortals swore to find each other in the next life, which normally never happened, since souls forgot everything when they got cleansed in heaven. It only happened sometimes, that some people had a kind of Déjà vu, that a moment seemed to be familiar, but they couldn´t put their finger on it.
Zeus looked at Lefiya. A thousand years...a thousand years ago you spoke these words...that you would never forgive him for leaving you alone...that you would follow him...find him again. Oh man...just how much did she love her brother?
For Zeus there was no doubt, as if time repeated itself, these two souls met again in a new life. A new start for both. How would it turn out this time? And he had saved her in the moment he met her...just like...back then.
His eyes wandered to Bell, he would never, NEVER, speak with him about these things. Nor with anyone else. Bell was more than just a reincarnation of a former life, he was Bell Cranel, and that was it. Many people turned out similar when they got reborn. Often, nasty people remained nasty, good people good, others changed, depending on the circumstances of their birth and life.
Yet, Zeus alone knew from the moment he saw them standing together, that the siblings of the past had found each other again. He alone, except for maybe a few up in heaven, would know this and never tell anyone.
So, to let Bell live his life, so that he remained he and not following anything he thought he had to, Zeus would need to play a...slightly silly role. Otherwise Alfia might become a bit suspicious of him, she was sometimes too smart for her own good.
That silly girl...
So, Zeus grinned.
"Oho, what do we have here?"
Bell turned his face to Zeus. "Grandpa, they were the ones I told you about!"
"Oho? Students from the Education District, judging by the look."
Alisa went pale. "You can see that just from one look?"
"Well no, Bell just said he told me about you. Also, I saw Hringhorni when I went out of the camp earlier, it´s hard not to see. And it´s most unlikely, that four so young people walk around such an area when Hringhorni is there and are not students."
"O-Oh..." Alisa blushed, flustered about her dumb question.
Bell looked worried. "What happened to you? You look all so tattered..."
"More monsters, we fought for a big part of the day."
"Couldn´t you return to the ship?"
"Then we would get failing grades."
"What?"
Zeus leaned to him. "That means they would fail their mission."
"Oh.."
Alisa turned to the others of her Squad. "I´m sorry, we have to look for another spot."
Zeus smirked. "But why?"
The only thing he would do, was to make sure they wouldn´t get separated again immediately. Anything after that would be up to him and Zeus wouldn´t intervene in one direction or the other. It was their life, as a god, he would observe it, spend his time with them, but never influence them.
Well...except for all the hero stories he read to Bell...and his teachings about a "Man´s romance".
"Because you are here...also...who are you people?"
"Just a normal family on a trip to the sea."
Lefiya looked nervous. "You mean a familia?"
"No, family."
"So, you aren´t the deity of this familia?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Oho? You can tell?"
She nodded shyly. "We had a lot of contact with our teachers...it feels quite obvious."
Alisa looked dumbfounded. "Now that you say it, you´re right! I can feel it too!"
Luke and his companion seemed to be too tired to join the conversation.
Zeus laughed loud and slapped his right thigh. "Hah! So you saw right through me and noticed that I´m a god?!"
Lefiya backed a bit away because of Zeus´ loud laughter.
"I´m sorry..."
"Ah, no need to be shy. You´re all pretty exhausted, come then. We can easily share our camp with you, over there is enough room for your tents."
Alfia sat up and opened her eyes when she heard that. "What is your big idea, old man?"
He turned to her. "What, young miss? Do you want to send them away?"
"Obviously."
Zeus shook his head. "Man, you´re really hard-hearted when it doesn´t come to Bell. Look at them, they´re exhausted and can barely stand."
"If they can´t fight or care for themself anymore, they should return to the ship."
"Ts ts ts, what a troublesome young lady...do you really want to seem so heartless in front of your son?"
Lefiya and Alisa looked from Bell to Alfia and back again. Now that Zeus said it, it looked quite obvious.
Alisa looked very exhausted. "I´m sorry, we didn´t want to cause trouble when you´re out here as a family."
She looked at Bell. "Since you´re out here with your parents and your "grandfather"."
Even when she now knew that Zeus was a god, Bell had still called him grandfather for some reason.
Zard chuckled as Alfia´s face turned sinister. "I´m not his father, I´m too old to be her husband."
"Oh..."
Bell looked from the small group to Alfia, with a special expression in his eyes. "Mom...can´t we?..."
"Ungh...don´t look at me like that..."
"Mom?...please?..."
The old god saw how easily Alfia´s strength withered away.
"Ugh...fine..."
Zeus grinned to Zard. "Three out of four agreed."
Zard shrugged his wide shoulders. "I have nothing against it."
He looked at the four teenagers. "Besides, you don´t look like you can go much further."
Alisa sighed. "Thank you so much...But..."
Lefiya looked uneasy. "Won´t we get trouble?"
Zeus grinned wide. "Show me the exact rule where they state that you can´t camp with other people that are not from the Education District."
"I...I don´t know...I probably couldn´t."
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"Because there is no such rule. You can camp here, it won´t be a problem."
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The Squad whirled around when they heard a voice behind them, coming closer. This person didn´t make a single noise when he came closer.
He looked like a young adult, maybe close to thirty years old, but Bell wasn´t sure about that. It was a human, with golden hair and eyes, wearing a black suit, with a sword at his hip.
Alisa cried out. "Professor Vardenburg?! Why are you here?!"
"""Professor?! Did we fail?!"""
It was quite funny to hear the other three lament as one.
He smiled gently. "Now, now. Don´t be worried. You haven´t failed. I just checked on each squad to make sure nothing happened."
The man looked further into the camp, at a certain woman.
"Hah...I knew it."
Alfia got up from her chair, moving her hand through her hair, looking like a queen...an upset queen.
"Leon Vardenburg..."
Even Zard snorted slightly. "What do you want here, boy?"
The four students gasped when the two adults talked like that to their professor.
"We felt tremendous magical power from the beach, I saw the explosions. So I came to check on it."
Leon turned to Zeus. "Lord Zeus, it is a pleasure to see you again."
"Yo, little Leon, still popular with the girls?"
Lefiya noticed how Alisa blushed when she heard that, the elf knew that her "friend" had a crush on their professor. At least Alisa was what came as close to a friend for Lefiya as possible...but she didn´t dare to make the last step and call her that...
Leon shook his head. "I just protect my precious students."
"Yeah, I remember many teachers, including goddesses also being all over you."
Leon´s eyes wandered to Bell, he nodded to him. "Good evening, young man."
"Good evening.."
Bell looked a bit uneasy, since Zard and Alfia had reacted so strange to Leon.
"Lord Zeus, would it be alright if I stayed here for a moment? I would like to talk to you."
"Not my decision. Zard? Alfia?"
Alfia looked very upset for some reason, maybe because her peace and silence got disturbed?
"Don´t you dare talk about "that" in front of Bell."
Bell´s eyes widened slightly, he never heard Alfia like this. Her voice was almost dripping with venom. The four students startled, easily feeling the threat in the air.
Leon shook his head. "I won´t. I mostly came to check on my students, and to see if my guess was right."
"Hmpf."
Zard crossed his muscular arms in front of his chest. "Then speak, boy."
When he looked at the students, Zard´s expression got a bit softer. "You should set up your tents, don´t put them too far away from our tents, it's safer this way."
Alisa nodded and gulped. "S-So, we will set up the camps. Lefiya, can you take over cooking duty?"
"Yes.."
As the three moved a bit away, they left Lefiya with a backpack next to Bell, who smiled friendly at her.
"A-Ahm..c-c-can I use your f-fire?"
Zard nodded. "Sure."
"Th-Thank you!"
Lefiya fumbled with the backpack, putting it closer to the fire, taking out the few things they had.
"May I ask, do you know how to cook?"
"F-Field cooking!"
Which meant, only heating up the things they had.
Zard shook his head, he was a bit picky and special when it came to cooking. "That won´t do, you four are young and need to eat properly. Give it to me, I´m still preparing our dinner and we caught too much fish anyway."
"H-Huh?!"
Bell put his sword away after it was cleaned perfectly. "Uncle Zard can cook really good."
"B-But...letting you cook for us..."
Zard raised an eyebrow. "Would you feel better if I say I can´t stand it when people can´t cook well and do it in front of my eyes?"
Lefiya gulped, her legs shook a bit.
"Hah, I didn´t mean to scare you. Take a look, you can help me while I do the main work."
"U-Understood!"
Leon watched the scene, a bit surprised. Normally Lefiya never opened up like this with other people, especially those she didn´t know.
He sat down on a rock next to Zeus.
"So, Lord Zeus, it were really you who saved the students?"
"Just my kids here, I didn´t do anything."
"May I ask, why are you here?"
Zeus grinned. "Family trip to the sea."
"Family...trip?"
"Jup, Bell really wanted to see the sea for the first time in his life."
Leon looked at Bell...then slowly at Alfia...and back at Bell.
"So he really is...her..."
Alfia almost growled. "My son, have a problem with that?"
"No...it´s just a surprise that you have a son at your age..."
"It´s not your business."
"Probably not. Anyway, what do you mean with...family trip?"
Zeus winked. "I know you and Baldr can keep quiet. We live together, Bell is my precious grandson. And these two deserve a quiet life after all they did... After all we did...everything...for such a long, long time."
Leon nodded. "I understand."
Then he looked at Alfia and Zard.
"I know you don´t like to see me here, but still...thank you. Thank you for everything you did in the past...especially your help with "that". Please don´t glare like that, Silence, I won´t talk about "that" further. I will only say "that" is still alright."
"Hmpf." Alfia shrugged her shoulders. "Didn´t do it for you."
"Still. Also, thank you for saving the students, even the other teachers had trouble getting through this mass of monsters. We underestimated the danger, didn´t expect such an outburst. So, thank you."
Alfia just nodded.
Since Zard was busy preparing the meal with Lefiya´s help, Bell watching them, Alfia watching over Bell from her chair, and the other students preparing their tents, Leon turned to Zeus again.
"How long do you intend to stay at the sea?"
"About a week. It´s a nice change of the usual environment."
"Hm, are you aware how Orario´s situation changed?"
"I get my updates from time to time."
"Lord Baldr told me that apparently, the captain of the Freya familia has managed to reach level seven."
"Hoooh? That brat?"
Zard snorted at the fire. "Took him long enough."
Alfia shook her head. "Weaklings, all together."
Lefiya, who of course heard everything, couldn´t believe her ears. A level seven! And yet these two adults spoke like that about him...
Leon smirked slightly. "And it seems like the gods named him "King"."
Zeus laughed. "King?! Hah! Such arrogance!"
"If I remember right, Lady Hera´s captain was called the Empress." He glanced to Alfia.
Zeus grinned. "Yeah, but the Empress was much, much stronger, with her level nine. I wonder if Hera will take it badly if she hears about this alias..."
While they talked and Lefiya listened...since it was hard not to hear, she watched amazed with what skill Zard made dinner, grilling fish on the side, and actually making a proper meal out of the ingredients that Lefiya should´ve used for today´s dinner. Sure, he added things from his own stock, but it became much better than all she could´ve done.
After a while, Alisa, Luke and Natalinoe came closer to the fire too. Their noses led them, their stomachs gurgled.
Zard chuckled. "Don´t worry, kids. Food will soon be ready."
They were too exhausted to be too wary, also Leon was there, so the students were a bit at ease. Alisa handed Lefiya her travel bowl, now they all waited. Eventually Zard was finished, handling Bell a bowl.
"Bring that to your Mom."
"Hay."
Lefiya´s ears twitched slightly as she heard Alfia´s reply. "Thank you, Sweety."
Then Zard handed Zeus and Bell their bowls, filling his own, before filling those of the four students.
"Don´t worry, there is enough for seconds for everyone."
Their eyes were sparkling. In each bowl were vegetables, seasoned and with herbs, as well as a grilled fish. While elves normally didn´t each meat, or at least not much, those from the Education District got told an important lesson. Never be picky with your food, you don´t know what you will be able to get or when.
And since the Education District was floating, fish was the most common animal product.
Lefiya used her fork and tried the fish, it was like an explosion of aroma and flavor in her mouth!
"Mmmmmhhh!~~~~~~"
The other students reacted the same way. They forgot all manners and wolfed their meals down, including Lefiya. Praising how they never had something even close to be so delicious!
Zard grinned, pleased that they liked his food.
"I made the butter myself at home. There we also grow all of the vegetables and herbs."
Leon chuckled. "Please don´t spoil them too much, they´re on a field trip after all."
"They have an unexpected chance to eat their fill. If they have the chance, they should eat."
Leon looked at his students. "He is right. If you have the chance to eat, then eat. Never let a chance go to waste, it can mean the difference between life and death."
""""Yes, professor.""""
Zard understood that Leon had "used him" to give his students a lecture, he didn´t complain.
Thankfully, the four students are slower now that they had their seconds, out of curiosity, Bell sat with them.
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So while the adults talked with each other, even Alfia joining the conversation, the five young people were only among each other now, it looked like Leon didn´t want them to hear what they were talking about.
"So...you all are students on that big ship there?"
Alisa nodded. "We are, we´re all lucky enough that we passed the tests and were able to enroll on the Education District."
"Woah, I can´t imagine what it is to be on such a giant ship."
She took another bite from her food. "Hah~~ That taste even better than the food at the Sky Lounge! Not even Lady Heset´s food is that good!~~"
Bell looked confused. "Sky lounge?"
"Mhm. On the District, there are cafeterias and restaurants. The most famous and special one is the Sky Lounge. Lady Heset, a goddess, cooks there. She only makes fifty meals a day, each of them are...just something else. I had once the luck to get one meal there...it was so good...but this here..."
Alisa cried a bit.
Even Luke looked pretty relaxed and pleased, Natalinoe cried a bit too.
Lefiya nodded slowly, taking another bite of her food. "It´s really good...he is your uncle?"
Bell nodded."Yes."
They continued to eat.
"What do you study on the Education District? Grandpa told me about it, but I never really understood it."
"That is different for many students. We are all in combat classes, others study a craft, like smithing, or something different. Teachers and a few deities lead the classes."
Secretely while she ate, Alisa was baffled that Lefiya even talked to Bell, normally she was on her own, only talking to her, and even then, Lefiya was often sad and gloomy. Alisa heard that some elves were like that, that they refused to let others touch them, but that a few people managed to get along with them on a natural level.
There was a thesis that could never be proven or disproven. One of the classes taught the young students about the differences between different races. For example, under what circumstances the various Beastkin were able to achieve their state of Beastification.
It also taught students how most members of these races behaved on a natural level and what absolutely should not be done. For example, touching a cat person's tail was apparently something quite intimate and personal.
And when it came to elves, the theory was that this natural getting along with a person, even allowing the unspoken touch, could be a kind of natural attraction or trust. Similar to how some cat people would then touch someone with their tail. Which would make elves a bit similar to beaskin.
A theory that if spoken out loud, would make many elves VERY upset.
But that remained a theory, since even most gods wouldn't dare ask an elf why he or she allowed this or that person to touch them.
So it could be any reason, maybe because Bell saved her from getting wounded, that Lefiya opened up to him and trusted him. Or, following the thesis, it just felt right in her heart. Alisa wasn´t jealous because of that, despite Lefiya so far not being able to call them friends, Leon had told Alisa that what she did for Lefiya was very important and that the young elf was very thankful to Alisa in her heart, that elves had just trouble showing it. If given more time, Alisa would find out what it meant to get the true friendship of an elf.
"I still can´t picture what such a class would be about."
Alisa smiled and took a deep breath. "A few examples: Magic Theory, Incantation Studies, Magic Development, Spirit Studies, Harmonic Theory, Alchemy, Compounding, Cooking, Elixirs, Smithing, Monster-Taming, Ethnohistory, Ancient History, Modern History, Divine Era Seminar, Eschatology Seminar, Koine, Elvish, Animal-People Dialects, Prummish, Amazonian, Dance, Theater, Performance, Music, Poetry, Swordsmanship, Spearwork, Archery, Ax Mastery, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Staff Fighting, General Combat...and many more."
She had started to talk very fast in the end, squeezing it out in just one breath!
"These are...many."
"Sadly the day doesn´t have enough hours to take all the courses there are."
"Am, what is Theological Synthesis?"
"A course related to deities. You can learn the meaning of hieroglyphs and how to read them, but it's said that only one in ten people can do it."
"Oh? Hm...I think my Mom can read them?"
Alisa looked amazed. "Really?!"
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"Yes, I can. And don´t shout, Girl."
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"S-Sorry." She now did her best to keep her voice low.
Lefiya looked for a moment at Alfia, who returned her gaze. For a moment, Alfia looked from Lefiya to Bell, back to her again, then she focussed on the conversation with Zeus, Leon, and Zard. It wasn´t easy for Alfia to look at Lefiya while she sat next to Bell. While Bell looked so much like his mother...Lefiya´s eyes had almost the same color as Meteria´s one colored eye...
Bell smiled. "My Mom is really amazing, she can do a lot of things."
"Are you...adventurers? An adventurer family?"
"No, none of us. My Mom and Uncle were adventurers in the past, but not anymore. I...I want to be an adventurer!"
Luke clicked his tongue. "Tsk, another one..."
"Is something wrong?"
"Adventurers...all the s-!"
Luke froze when he felt an icy chill running down his spine. While the other adults talked, Alfia had quietly turned her head and glared at him, without saying a word. Just the expression in her eyes was enough to shut him up.
The message was clear.
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Be mean to my Son and I will spank you so hard, you can never sit again.
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He still grumbled. "Most adventurers are all the same. Only caring about themself, fame, money...not about the wide world and the state of the lands."
"I...I don´t know anything about the wide world, we live in a small village."
"Many lands, towns, cities, or villages suffer a grim fate. Monsters are everywhere, wars happen...currently, the Empire and Rakia clash in the north. The area south of the Great Mountain Range is their main battlefield. East of Preblica, where the great river flows."
Bell looked worried. "Isn´t that in Melistora?"
"Yes...Rakia started another attack, apparently aiming for the Alfs Royal Forest."
"What?! Why would they do that?"
"Because Rakia is ruled by a war god...that war god."
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"Ares that shitty brat, always only fighting in his head, that muscle brain..."
Zeus rumbled while they talked.
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"Still...I can´t understand when monsters are such a danger, why people attack each other..."
Luke was about to answer, but he felt that Alfia glared at him again, threatening him not so say too much about grim things to Bell.
Lefiya looked sad. "They fight north of my home...far north...but still..."
Bell looked amazed. "You come from Alfs Royal Forest?"
"No, the big elven forest east of it, Wishe."
"Where the famous poet settled down?! The forest that is named after that heroic elven maiden?!"
Lefiya´s ears perked up. "You know that? It is rare for someone who is not an elf."
"Grandpa told me a lot of things. In the journey of Argonaut, the poet Wishe is described. That she was present during these events and accompanied the Knights of Fianna."
"Who are the Knights of Fianna?"
"The Knights of Fianna were a group of Prum Knights, led by the saint Fianna. They fought against monsters during the time after Argonaut´s travels. Without their attack, Orario wouldn´t come to be. You can say in a way, they are the founders of Orario."
"Oh, I didn´t know that."
Alisa shook her head. "Neither did I...is that really true?"
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"Yes, it is."
"Really, Professor?!"
"Yes, since no one of you has Ancient History so far, you couldn´t learn about it. And even then it is a delicate topic, so don´t talk about it in front of Prums, at least until they learn it in class. You sure are knowledgable, young Bell."
"Ehe, I just like heroic stories."
Leon looked at Zeus. "Did you teach him that?"
The old god nodded. "And why wouldn´t I?"
"Does he like to learn stuff like that?"
"Bell likes to learn many things."
"Hm."
The adults continued with their conversation, while the teenagers continued with theirs.
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Luke looked at his empty bowl. "Many people suffer dire fates, they don´t deserve it. I want to help them, someone has to."
Natalinoe smiled wide but tired. "Luke will become a hero, I´m sure of it!"
Bell looked at Luke with slightly widened eyes. "A hero?"
Luke snorted. "Not like one of these selfless in the stories...but someone has to help the people. To give them someone to rely on. Since...Orario only cares about itself."
This time Zard´s voice rang out. "Sadly this is as true as it isn´t, young man."
"Hm?"
"It wasn´t always like that...sadly currently it seems to be that way."
Luke didn´t know what to reply to that.
Lefiya handed her bowl to Natalinoe, it was her duty to wash the dishes, and then she looked at Bell again.
"And you want to become an adventurer?"
He nodded. "It is my biggest...well one of my biggest dreams."
Bell couldn´t say right now that his wish was to become a genuine hero.
Alisa smiled. "I want to become a teacher later. And Nat over there Luke´s companion."
His eyes remained on Lefiya, who looked at him without feeling unwell, it was really strange.
"And you, Ms. Lefiya?"
"I...I don´t know...I don´t...have made plans so far..."
"Oh, then are there many options what you can become in the District?"
She shook her head. "It´s not like you graduate to become something specific, except if your goal is to be a craftsman or teacher. But if your studies go well, and you graduate...which depends on the student how long it takes...then one day you leave the District, wherever it currently is."
Alisa nodded. "Some leave in the Empire, to become Knights there, serving under Lady Athena. I heard about one or two leaving the Far East and joining the service of the Imperial Court under Lady Amaterasu. Or some go to Altena."
"And...Rakia?"
She shook her head. "The District doesn´t make landfall in Rakia, and no student that is known ever went to Rakia, since they are so obsessed with war."
"That´s good.."
Alisa smiled. "It also helps the relations between nations, if graduates from the Education District serve there. For example, the Dizaran Marines, who have the largest known armada of ships, have good relations with the Empire, due to a few knights and marines knowing each other from the past."
"Oh? That´s good."
She smirked. "There are even rumors that a First Knight and a Dizaran Admiral have feelings for each other and a secret relationship."
Alisa´s smirk vanished when she heard Alfia´s voice, even though Bell´s Mom only mumbled.
"Girl...don´t teach my son about these...things..."
"S-Sorry...it´s just gossip anyway...ahahaha..."
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Natalinoe started to doze off, Luke held her upright, but he was tired too...as were Alisa and Lefiya.
Leon looked at his students. "You should go to bed, it´s getting late anyway."
The four looked at each other.
Alisa mumbled. "Who will take the first watch..."
Zard shook his head. "You should all go to bed, Bell, you too, it´s getting late. I will stay up for a while longer."
As a level seven, Zard never needed much sleep, or rather, he could bear the exhaustion much easier. Plus, the food he made with his skill, also allowed him to get more stamina back. It would help the students after a good sleep too.
Leon nodded. "He is right, you´re all exhausted. You have the chance to sleep in a safe environment, so use it and sleep."
None of them complained, they just went to the two tents. Luke and Natalinoe shared one...
When Alfia raised an eyebrow, Leon just smiled slightly.
"They have to get used to sleeping next to each other. Also, these two know each other since they were small children."
Lefiya shared a tent with Alisa, who went inside first. The young elf looked a last time at Bell.
"Good night, Ms. Lefiya."
"Good night, Mr. Bell."
Bell wasn´t as tired as them, but he would soon go to bed too.
Zeus smiled when his grandson sat down next to them. "Bell, your old man is really proud of you."
"Because I saved her?"
"That too. But with my endless experience and wisdom, humble old me can see, this girl is quite troubled, so it´s good you made a connection."
"Oh?"
Leon nodded, they lowered their voices, so that the students could sleep. "Lord Zeus is right, it is the first time I saw her acting so openly."
"Oh..."
"For now, don´t think too much into it. I think you should go to sleep now too, young Bell."
Alfia smiled and gently stroked Bell´s head. "Your grandfather will come later, we still have something to talk about."
"Good night then."
She didn´t mind Leon seeing it or not, Alfia leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Good night, Sweety."
There was a simple reason why Bell shared a tent with Zeus...well actually multiple reasons.
At first, they thought about Alfia sharing a tent with Bell. But then she would cling to him all night, hugging him, since he was just too cute. Also, since Zeus and Zard were both quite tall, muscular, and burly, sharing a tent was hard for them.
So Alfia shared a tent with Zard, she knew she could trust him. Also, he almost didn´t move in his sleep, and didn´t snore, he was pretty quiet, just like she preferred it.
Bell lay awake for a few minutes in the tent, thinking about everything that happened on that day. Later when he fell asleep, he heard Leon´s voice outside again, a bit louder than a mumble.
"Then I now wish you all a good night. Think about it if you want, but it would be really nice if it could happen, especially for the students."
He didn´t know what Leon meant.
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When Lefiya slowly woke up in the morning, she felt much better than she would normally do after a night in the field. She couldn´t know that it was due to Zard´s food. Alisa was still asleep, so she was careful when she crawled out under her blanket and opened the tent a little, slipping out.
The sight she was given wasn´t what she expected, she had forgotten that they shared a camp.
In the middle of the camp, the fire was burning very low, getting used to heat a pan and a metal teapot, the one handling both was Zeus. On the beach chair a bit away from it, sat Alfia, knitting something with closed eyes...
And on the other side, moving slowly through a very complex series of movements, were Zard and Bell, training with their swords. Both had bare upper bodies so that their shirts wouldn´t get soaked with sweat since they couldn´t wash all their clothes all the time during the trip.
Both were opposites of each other or rather...both ends of the scale. It was obvious that Bell only had started his training recently, his body had only started to get toned. Zard on the other hand had a hard, trained body, also his sword was just enormous.
Lefiya couldn´t know it, but currently, both went through the twelve high forms of Olympian sword mastery. While Zard´s blade should be too big for such movements, since his fighting style was different, he still accompanied Bell during his morning training. Normally he would take turns with Alfia each day, but she didn´t bring her training clothes during the trip.
When she came out of the tent, Bell stopped his movements for a moment, as did Zard then. Zeus looked up, so did Alfia.
Lefiya was the first elf that Bell ever met in his life, she was really pretty and cute, just like his grandfather told him elves would be.
And right now he saw just how cute an elf, or rather Lefiya, could look like.
She yawned again, her ears hanging slightly down...and she had bedhair.
A lot of bedhair.
"Morning..." She rubbed her right eye, still not fully awake.
"Mh." Alfia said nothing, seemingly displeased by how Lefiya left the tent.
Zeus smiled. "Good morning, young Lefiya."
Bell and Zard greeted her too, but out of courtesy, Bell averted his eyes, as did the adult man. Still, Bell couldn´t believe how cute she looked.
Alfia turned her face to Lefiya. "Could you dress up before you stumble into the camp?"
"Fueh?..."
Lefiya looked down at herself and felt her hair, only now getting fully awake.
"Eep!"
That noise was really cute for Bell, as she fled back into the tent, waking up Alisa like that.
Zeus chuckled. "Looks like the young ones are waking up, well breakfast will be ready soon enough."
Alfia sighed. "Aren´t you spoiling these strangers too much?"
"Oh, don´t be like that, Mommy."
"You can´t tease me with that name."
"I know."
After a moment, and only after burning the adorable sight into his mind, Bell continued his training with Zard. Elves could be really cute...or was it just her? He couldn´t even say if she was a common elf.
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When breakfast was over, the students said they were somehow now burning with energy, they thanked them for everything and started to take down their tents. Zeus offered them to let their camp stay here, but the students knew that more than one night would affect their grades.
While the students left, Lefiya looked over her shoulder to Bell, and he looked at her. For a reason that both couldn´t explain, they didn´t want the other to go.
At least they would stay for another six days at the beach, so there was a chance to see each other again. Especially since Zard told him, it would be a good first experience for him to fight against these weak monsters here too.
But before they left, Alfia would stay in the camp with Zeus, changing with Zard the next day, the adults told Bell to sit down.
It was Zeus who started.
"Bell, as you noticed yesterday, Leon is a professor at the Education District, and we had a long talk with him."
"Yes."
"I know you read about it in your story and heard only a few information from me. But the Education District, or Hringhorni was originally created as a swimming fortress, to take down the Leviathan, which we achieved. Which means, at some point, both familias were on that giant ship."
Bell nodded, looking at Zard and Alfia.
"That means Leon knows your Mom and Uncle, since he took part in that fight too, even when he was only a brat back then."
"Oh?!" Bell looked amazed.
"As did Poseidon´s familia. Leon is always worried and looking out for his students, he thanked us more than one time yesterday. And he asked for a favor, or a trade if you want."
"What is it?"
"Leon asked Alfia and Zard if they could show some of their power to the students. Alfia with her magic, Zard with a mock fight against Leon. To show them what the very pinnacle looks and feels like. There are also other reasons."
"Oh...will that be alright with you?"
Both smiled slightly and nodded, for a while now, both were in quite good health. The calm life, Bell´s presence, and Zard´s special food helped them a lot.
Zeus continued.
"And as for what we get..."
"Yes?"
"Bell, would you like to take a look at the Education District?"
.
.
.
.
While Bell made his decision, the outcome was very obvious with his curiosity, getting the chance to see the place where the familia...for him Zeus´ and Hera familias were his one big familia...a hurt girl got taken care of by her two "sisters".
"Hehe~~~ Haru Haru~~ This looks really good on you!~~"
"Do you think so?.."
"Yes, just look at the mirror!"
Lena had done her best ever since "that day", to cheer Haruhime up, and watch over her. And currently, she showed Haruhime how she would look with different hairstyles, currently trying twin tails.
"Hah."
"Don´t like it?"
"It´s just...unfamiliar."
"But it looks good! Let us try a braid next!"
The door to Haruhime´s room opened, and her "big sister" came inside.
"Now that´s a sight for sure."
"Aisha, what brings you here?"
"What? Can´t I look after my little sisters?"
"That´s not what I meant, but don´t you have work?"
"Maybe. I just happened to stumble upon one of those boring bookstores by chance and saw something from the outside, thought you might like it."
A warm smile appeared on Haruhime´s lips. She knew that Aisha moved through the city sometimes, looking for books that might be Haruhime´s taste. In nine out of ten cases, she was right.
"Also, here."
Aisha threw something, which Haruhime caught. It was a quiver, a really beautiful one.
"Eh?"
"Your old one is slowly getting out of shape, you need a new one."
"Oh."
Lena suddenly pouted. "Mouh! Aisha! I wanted to be the one to give her something first."
The younger Amazon went to her bag and pulled something out, wrapped in paper. She handed it to Haruhime, it was special gloves and a bigger leather piece, to cover her chest so that it didn´t get in the way when she used her bow in the dungeon.
"E-Eh?"
Both amazons smirked. ""Happy birthday.""
Tears gathered in Haruhime´s eyes, normally amazons didn´t celebrate their birthday, except for the day when they counted as adults. But both always made an exception for Haruhime. It really touched her how much both cared for her, especially Aisha. And Aisha did a lot of things secretly.
She threatened to beat everyone to a bloody pulp, who dared to tell Haruhime the truth about something special.
During the Holy Winter Night, after Haruhime lost her virginity, she shut herself in her room, crying most of the time. Aisha had used all her skills to sneak into her room, hiding a present there. Haruhime still believed in the spirit of Holy Winter Night. So...
To get a present...meant she was still seen as a good girl...
And after Haruhime had her second...and last...customer, after Lena and Aisha made the mistake of thinking it was alright for her now, when Haruhime had her second breakdown, Aisha made sure to sneak in a present at Holy Winter Night again and did it each year.
Lena knew about this and helped Aisha, to distract Haruhime at the right time, claiming that Aisha was busy with work when the spirit snuck into her room. Haruhime had often cried even more because of that...that even when she saw herself as filthy and stained...that at least she still seemed to be a good girl...
Both amazons would protect her from all danger at all costs.