592A/N
Hello, for those of you returning, it's been a while, hasn't it? I haven't kept up with the fanfiction community really much of at all these last few years, which is ironic, cause I'd probably read every story over 5k words for this fandom prior to that.
Well, here's the scoop, I redid this chapter recently, nothing is especially different, however in my opinion it's much better written, and I hope you all can agree.
I don't know if I'll be continuing this series, it does eat at my mind rather often and (Fairly literally) daily, but I can't say 100% certain I will.
As of the Ninth of February, 2024, the new chapter word count is-
10,339 words in total.
For later (day / month / season / year)
My objective with this story was to create an interesting Elven Bell, not to create an OC Bell, but Bell as an Elf, what type? Well you'll have to read and find out. But otherwise, my objective is to keep this Bell's personality as close to the originals as possible. He's the same person with different circumstances.
.
Okay, so, I'm very nervous about posting my first personal writing in over… five, no, six-ish years. Please forgive me if it's not up to par.
Also this site is kind of weirding me out with its publishing tools.
I would like to state now though that : This is my story, I will not change it to get more appeal or whatever, I will write the story I want to write, nothing less.
.
I would appreciate some criticism, as long as it's constructive, however it is not required. Things I'm concerned with are:
1. Bad at writing dialog.
2. Am not descriptive enough about environments.
3. Am worried I changed Bell too much.
.
Regarding ships, they are so far down the line, that I may never get to them, but I hope I will. They will be a Harem of Bell, Ryuu, Eina, and Riveria. Notice they're all elves, that's going to be a common theme here. Also I plan to give Hestia a more teasing / motherly personality, and she won't be a main love interest obviously.
The whole Ryuu thing is because I just finished reading 'Like A Fairy' By 'Ventanus'
I highly recommend it.
.
Also, don't worry about his magic, I've got it figured out.
.
Also, I don't own Danmachi.
7,354 words in total. (Old)
It was blinding at first, a beam of fresh morning sunlight fell into his red eyes. Bell was rather groggy even as he'd been up for minutes now in the dusty basement. His new goddess Hestia would wake soon enough, and to the smell of food if he could help it.
Bell had no real choice besides making breakfast with what little of his rations were left from traveling. It was an entree of powdered eggs and meat jerky, both of which were from a larger trading hub some ways away from Orario.
The old and… well… the basement could barely be called a proper room. The church above was a ruin itself.
Of all things though… it made him feel… happy. But he felt this way mostly because of last night, reflecting as the stones underfoot clicked, a bit damp.
Hestia had been worried when they first arrived, scared her first Familia member would leave after seeing her 'base of operations'. Fortunately, he seemed rather unphased, Hestia was immensely relieved.
It was late at night by the time they arrived here to the church, as Hestia had only found Bell around sunset that evening, him having been wandering through an alley she takes normally on the trip home. The young man had been holding a map of Orario and looked lost; she later discovered that he'd been holding it sideways.
The goddess wanted to help him, but upon hearing who he was looking for, she became rather confused.
"I'm looking for the Zeus Familia, it should be around here somewhere… I think?"
She stared at him for several moments, and it took several minutes on Bell's part after to convince the short goddess of his sincerity.
One thing led to another, and with his new information, Bell was even more lost than before, until Hestia pitched the idea of joining her familia. It was a swing to the fences, but luckily she managed a hit, now rising to the smell of warm ration meats and… something else?
The sun wasn't as harsh where she'd passed out on the couch last night next to the boy. Hestia sat up, rubbing her eyes before finding Bell off in the corner room heating some of his rations over the stovetop, only to divide them between two plates of 'meh' smelling eggs.
"Bell?" Her voice was scratchy, throat dried out so early in the morning and it didn't help that he wasn't too close by. "You made more of your food?"
He formed a soft smile, Bell knew Hestia was starting to hate the smell, but warm-bad-food beat cold-nothing any day in his mind. "The powdered eggs aren't great, but it's this or nothing right?"
Bell turned the stove off and walked their plates back to the couch Hestia had awoken on. The previous night wasn't yet to resurface for her, a little confused why she'd been there on the couch was rather evident as she rubbed at her stiff neck.
Her voice grew softer somehow. "Sorry, Bell… I'm the goddess, but you're going out of your way to feed me with what you had for yourself…"
He tried to be light-hearted. "Don't worry goddess, I'm happier to share. Besides, food tastes better when you eat together."
She pouted regardless but didn't refute her new child.
The girl's first bite was rough, but she was grateful and adapted quickly.
The eggs were bad smelling but once in, they tasted decent enough. The meat expectedly seemed the same as last night, only fairly warm, not that she minded.
–Previous night-
It wasn't until shortly after they'd arrived that Bell saw the basement for the first time. Hestia was still worried though, it wasn't Babel by any means, but regardless, she drew back his wandering attention that drifted all around the room.
"Bell… are you upset?…" Her timidness showed through.
"N-No goddess! It's just… Uh…" His mind struggled for the right word. "I haven't had a-... a home in a lot longer than I realized."
As they found seats on the couch, she couldn't help but think it was a little more than a good sign so far that he wasn't leaving. She didn't have time to waste on that thought, however, as the realization she'd forgotten her market run on the way home, meaning there would be almost nothing in the kitchenette when they get hungry soon enough. Lucky for her, Bell had some travel rations remaining from his days of journeying to Orario, the two eating a course of preserved meats and cheeses.
They sat for a while as the reality set in, Bell sat calm and quietly while Hestia explained the concept of Familias in more detail. They had sat for hours at this point when Bell suddenly stopped her with a serious look in his eyes.
"I don't want to keep secrets from my family. Cause… that's what a Familia is supposed to be, right?" There was an unmistakable worry to his tone.
"You don't need to." Hestia countered, trying to reassure the boy and touched he'd think of her like that so soon.
They held on to one another's eyes, then Bell's gaze softened.
"Ok." He nodded softly.
Bell's eyes drifted down, he didn't know how to go about this. "Goddess. This is really personal for me, you can't tell anyone, ever."
She seemed to worry now. "O-Okay?"
"...Please." He sounded desperate.
There was no room for debate.
"...I promise…" Hestia mentally prepared herself as his focus shifted inward, almost looking disappointed in himself. Like he was doing something he shouldn't.
"I'm not a human."
Hestia glanced without moving back and forth, left to right, not really feeling the built-up weight she'd expected. "...Well… Then what are you Bell…?"
"A… uh… 'Snow Elf' they call me…"
"..."
The seconds seemed to tick by as the silence grew heavier.
"…"
"Sooo… what is… that?" Hestia deadpanned. She could tell it wasn't just some run-of-the-mill elven type, but she didn't know, so she couldn't react any more than that.
Bell met her with a mixed bag of emotions.
He was both happy and sad with that answer, he was happy that she didn't know what he was, it was the purpose of keeping his existence a secret after all. But deep down Bell was hoping that she would be amazed by him somewhat. The goddess was the first person to learn this about him in over a hundred years.
Dark feelings appeared in a flash but were swept aside, Bell was more set on explaining himself to his Goddess.
"I'm a Snow Elf, Snow Elves of course aren't normal elves. We have an immensely stronger connection to the world, as well as a longer life span. If you can even call it that… " He mumbled at the end.
Hestia tried to wait but asked her question anyway. "You've got a longer lifespan? How old are you?"
Bell took a moment to think, genuinely not knowing off the top of his head without thought. "Maybe... Somewhere from twenty-two to twenty-three hundred?"
She blinked.
Bell clarified. "Years…"
For her… it started to sink in now. His name for the race hadn't sounded too outrageous, elves of course lived easily twice the human average and then some, several more times that for High Elves.
But, he actually was different, very different.
It wasn't exactly what she expected, but as an immortal goddess, she wasn't unfamiliar with talking to otherwise ancient beings much like herself. Hestia couldn't help wondering though, the concept wasn't terrible to understand, though something was weird about it. "Uh… So why haven't I heard of your people before?"
Bell froze up for a moment. If the last part was hard to believe, the next would be even more so for certain.
"Cause… I'm all there is…"
Hestia's eyes slowly widened, her powers as a goddess told her the truth, that his words were exactly that. It was startling to her, to see his eyes seem so naturally calm. But she could see looming frustrations behind their surface.
She hadn't heard of them because there was nothing to hear about, they simply didn't exist anymore. All but extinct, except for one, here sitting beside her in this old and crumbling church basement.
"I'm-… I'm sorry, Bell." Her voice was rigid, the small goddess was confused, not sure how to respond. Her urges to comfort or maybe give space for him were fighting a lasting duel within.
He put up a weak smile, his eyes drifting more to the floor as he slouched back slowly against the couch's backrest. "It happened a long time ago… Fifteen-Hundred years… I think?"
"Fifteen-Hundred years?" Her voice carried genuine and quiet curiosity.
Bell smiled a little more. "Mhm. I had to leave home, my… people were taken away… and it was too dangerous to stay. I was the only one."
"Goddess?" Bell called to her, his eggs partially eaten on the plate in hand.
"Ya-th?" She was chewing her last piece of meat.
"Could… um…" His voice seemed full of uncertainty. "...I get my falna today?"
Hestia came to a screeching halt.
'I FORGOT TO GIVE HIM HIS FALNA LAST NIGHT?! Darn it, how forgetful can I be! Bell seems really excited too!' Hestia looked over to the boy, who was shifting in his seat from excitement.
"YES! Of course! We'll do that right now!"
Bell watched as Hestia jumped up and ran to the bedside and retrieved a small dagger.
She pointed with the blade unintentionally right at him. "Take your shirt off and lay here!"
Bell flinched and blushed.
Hestia realized what she had just said, and that Bell was actually an elf as well.
"Ah, sorry. I forgot, you don't really have the ears like other elves, but… it's necessary to implant the falna… sorry…" She looked down and twiddled her thumbs.
Bell understood and prepared himself for the implant, though he was nervous. "Will it hurt?"
"Uh… I honestly don't know." She pricked her finger. "I… guess we're gonna find out though..."
He forced a long breath. "Got it." He grabbed the pillow and hugged it under against his chest, Hestia had just priced her finger in the meantime, dropping the blood over his back. "Just let me know when you start, all right?"
The emblem sprawled suddenly across his back, the room dimming barely. "Uh, well, I'm already done…"
"Eh?!"
Bell hadn't felt a thing, until he learned of its completion. Suddenly, he lost his breath and his back arched in a sharp burst of pain which faded like a chill down his spine, leaving uncomfortable aches everywhere. Then he relaxed himself and caught his breath, Bell's head was foggy, but soon, a wave washed over him.
He felt like a million valis, there was nothing to compare it to, just a sudden boost in every category he could think of, from his energy to his strength, everything felt improved.
"Are you ok?!"
Hestia was freaking out while Bell reveled in his new power, stuck in a trance under her, eyes burning a hole straight down through the mattress.
"BELL?!" Hestia overcorrected and fell into a panic.
He was brought back to reality.
"Uh, yeah… I feel… good, great even." His voice gave off disbelief.
Hestia sighed with relief. "Good, now lie back down, so I can make a copy of your status for registering with the guild."
"Yeah, ok." Bell was still lost in his mind, feeling each muscle and the new power that filled him, forcing them to relax and unwind again.
"Oh! I wonder which spell you got on your falna! Hopefully one of the good ones at least!"
Hestia finished up after a few moments.
He told the goddess everything.
First Bell started with the thing most on her mind. His ears were cut down and had been for centuries now, a war had broken out between a sect of Elvendom and several Human nations, before spilling over until most countries north of the equator were involved in the conflict directly.
Bell hadn't gotten involved, but the bloodshed dragged on for years, far longer than most likely expected, leaving a divide that persisted even to the present. Not that the rather brash spark of conflict with the Alf Kingdom and Rakia was any help to that, even if just an extremely localized conflict in the grand scale.
Regrettably, Bell was one of few that actually knew of the original war's cause.
.
Snow Elves had been a higher authority of Elvendom, even if they weren't themselves truly elves to begin with.
Snow Elves were unique amongst the races of Genkai for their long life, in truth not even Bell knew if they himself if he'd eventually pass of old age, but that didn't stop many from believing they would persist forever until the world itself aged away.
Bell Cranel was the son of the 'chief' in the one and only village that his people populated, a role that meant only what it needed to amongst his own people, but seemingly everything to those beyond the extent of the furthest village homesteads. In truth, they didn't even have a 'chief' until the first outsider had visited.
Life then was good for Bell, though he had trouble remembering details given how long it had been.
It was some time after Bell turned Six-Hundred that the village was attacked, no more than what a human child of Nine might be. They came for his village in the night, in the midst of a blizzard.
Bell had been hidden, not to be found until some time later, by a woman named Anny, the one who'd become his adoptive mother and caretaker, a half-elf who'd come to bare witness to the Snow Elves as part of a pilgrimage. A miracle for Bell, to be found by an outsider in the midst of such a terrible blizzard, in the center of their cold season in the far north.
She had taken him away from there, away from the ransacked village, and as far from those who'd done so as she could. Ryumilua had been where she was born, and that's exactly where he would live with her, a small cabin being his home on the edge of the forest.
Inevitably, Bell was left alone once his caretaker passed.
Bell was Eleven-Hundred when he left the forest, a human Fourteen, and now was Twenty-Three-Hundred, a human Eighteen here in Orario.
.
A worthy note Bell made to her was why the Snow Elves had been killed.
It was because of greed, specifically the greed of a human king in the north.
This man, of whom he never knew the name of, had descended on the village and burned it to the ground killing all he could, for one resource he was convinced was more valuable than all the riches in the world, the pure blood of Snow Elves.
Bell had learned that the king and his people believed that a Snow Elve's blood could offer life past human boundaries. So they killed them all, and drank till they could no more of a nectar they should have never tasted.
The following, Bell could only speculate.
He believed that the capital city, where the ideology happily died, was wiped out by a disease that Snow Elves were immune to, of which humans were not. However, he could yet only speculate, as he'd never discovered any information regarding the city's final days.
.
Hestia wasn't able to get over her worries for a good while, before Bell decided to change topics to stop worrying the poor goddess. So he told her about his race's natural magic.
His having magic surprised Hestia, but upon considering the information she'd been given, she saw it as reasonable.
His magic was from before the age of the gods began, so it is a different type altogether, being more for utility, as combat was rather taxing on a normal person's natural mind power. However he does have a couple of spells that can be used to fight, yet Bell doesn't like using them, due to the after-effects.
For example, one of the two deadly spells is Cinder, a shockwave of energy that will melt anything within close distance, unfortunately, he always enters a condition akin to heat stroke afterward.
Otherwise, his spells do things like create a small candlelight from his palm, or a water source from his finger tip.
All together, Hestia could only sit in disbelief of the things she had learned, and how little she knew of the time before the gods descended.
But most of all, she was touched that Bell would trust her to this degree.
She would never break this trust, she swore to herself, that his secrets were safe with her.
"Y-Your, your magic is… how… AND YOU GOT A SKILL?!" Hestia was trying and failing to process this.
Bell took the paper.
Bell Cranel
LV 1
STR : 0
END : 0
DEX : 0
AGI : 0
MAG : 0
MAGIC :
Cure Wound - Utility - Short Chanting Magic
Pure Spring - Utility - Short Chanting Magic
Candle Light - Utility - Short Chanting Magic
Cinder - Long Chant Magic
Dark Matter - Long Chant Magic
SKILLS :
Sixth Sense - passive
Bell looked a bit concerned "Uh… Should there be zero's on here?" Hestia was floored.
"WHAT?!" Bell flinched as Hestia lashed out with her panicked voice. "THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT?!"
Bell knew he was missing something, but he nodded regardless.
Hestia face palmed. "Geez. You're only supposed to have one or two spells, not FIVE. And a skill too?! I know you're an enigma all on your own, but there are set rules, and you're just breaking them without trying?!"
Bell felt guilty, he didn't think he had done anything special, but once again his lack of knowledge got in the way. He looked down at the paper, scanning it with red and old eyes. "Ok, tell me everything that's not right here." Bell resolved himself to fix what he could.
Hestia sighed. "Bell, you did nothing wrong, but we, me and you, will need to keep your magic and skill a secret."
Bell nodded. Hestia turned to look at him, easily able to see the slowly mounting tension building in Bell.
"Hugh. Relax Bell, nothing's wrong, we just need to lay low and do the best with what we've got!"
Bell met her eyes back, it took a second for him to release a breath, his shoulders dropped a bit, and a small smile lifted his features.
"Thank you, goddess."
She met his smile with one of her own.
"Of course."
Hestia sat with Bell for several more minutes and explained to Bell more of the basics of how the falna worked.
.
"So, we need to go to the guild to register, right?"
"Mhm." Hestia hummed. "Once that's done, you can start using the dungeon whenever you want! But I'll be leaving you once were done there, I can't miss my shift at the jagamarukun cart."
"...The what?"
Bell wan't completely sure if his goddess had just spoken in a mortal tongue.
Bell and Hestia began their trip to the Guild as Hestia explained that she had a job working for a pastry cart, which Bell saw as odd for a goddess from the upper world. He had never heard of 'jagamarukun' before, so their walk was educational at best.
They talked through the entire fourty-five minute walk to the guild, a commute Bell would need to memorize if he were to ever get to the dungeon and back on a daily basis.
When they arrived to the guild, it was just before the big morning rush was about to start, so the counters were less busy than normal, and the employees were mostly prepping for the upcoming rush of adventurers.
But there was one guild employee who was covering the front counter, or, maybe the pink-haired woman was just slacking off. They approached her, and she quickly noticed the duo.
"Eh! Hello, welcome to the guild. I'M Misha Flott, how may I be of service to you today?"
"Yes," Hestia said, "We would like to register Bell here as an adventurer."
"Oh! Uh, yes, of course, no problem, uh." Misha looked around frantically, until she spotted her target.
She ran over to another guild employee, leaving the two across the counter confused. She grabbed the surprised second Guild clerk woman by the arm and quickly dragged her over to Bell and Hestia.
"Here's my colleague Eina, she specializes in this matter, so I'll leave you guys with her!"
"Wah?!" Eina didn't get to talk before the pink-haired slacker, as Bell had named her, was long gone.
"Ah, that- Eh?" Eina finally noticed the short pair of heads at the other side of the counter, before straightening up and addressing them.
"Ah! Hello, I must apologize to you both for that, Misha can be a bit of a troublemaker at times, please forgive her." Eina all but bowed to them in apology, voice giving away her flustered mind right now. "May I ask what you need assistance with?"
"Uh, yes, we need to register Bell as an adventurer in my familia, if that's not too much trouble…"
"Oh! of course goddess, I'll retrieve the forms immediately." She bowed to Hestia and ran off to a filing cabinet in the back of the room. She quickly found the form and walked back.
Eina smiled. "Here you are, young man. Please fill this out to the best of your ability."
Bell awkwardly responded. "I will."
The brunette turned the Hestia next. "Will this be your first member?"
Hestia nodded quietly.
"Excellent." Eina held a practiced smile, the sound of lifting papers coming across before starting to move away fro the counter. "If you'd both please follow me, we can go to a meeting room for this interview since the Guild will need some more information as this will be the start of your Familia, goddess."
The two opposite Eina of the counter shared a look before following along. There was a wide hallway at the far end of the counter, the three walking as a group.
They followed Eina to a back room with two red couches and a chestnut coffee table, a single large window at the far side from the door letting morning light down and into the room.
"Now then, um…?" Eina paused, looking obviously to the boy with an index finger softly pressed to ehr chin.
"Bell" He informed the woman.
She smiled. "Thank you. Bell will be your first Familia member correct, goddess?"
"Yes, he will." Hestia seemed proud.
"Alright, then you will be given a minimum level exploration familia tax rate. It will be due at the beginning of every month, and because it's just past the fifteenth of the month, your payment will be waved till the next."
"Sounds reasonable." Hestia responded.
Bell was busy filling in the adventurer's form, and he was stuck on just one question, a seemingly inconsequential question as well.
'Race'
He was panicking.
Bell didn't want to lie, he didn't want this to end up coming back to bite him, or more importantly, Hestia in the butt. He didn't think that the guild was particularly concerned at the race of an adventurer of a low-tier familia with him as the sole member. But weirder things had happened.
Far weirder…
Kinda like that time he and Zeus were stuck in a haunted mansion together, and the god tried to seduce the ghost, only for it to ACTUALLY WORK. To this day, Bell could still remember the awful noises from the other room, which he had to endure while trying to sleep.
Back to the matter at hand though, Bell gulped and did what he thought was best.
'Race : Elf.'
Plain and simple, he could only hope it didn't invite scrutiny.
Bell looked up, a recovering paled voice coming out. "Uhm. I finished the questions."
Bell awkwardly handed the paper to Eina, who was finishing up her briefing to Hestia.
"Perfect. It's good to have you with us, Bell Cranel." Bell smiled lightly.
"Huh? Elf?!" Bell's heart dropped. Hestia's eyes widened slightly and turned to Bell.
Her eyes went to the obvious spot. "You're… an elf?" Eina had a hard time believing it.
"Y-Yes, I'm elven, although I would prefer that that doesn't leave this room and that page."
She hesitated. "...May I ask why that is?"
"Well... I... come from a particularly strict village. When they learned I had ventured out, they…" His quiet voice became near silent. "Cut my ears... and told me not to return." Bell was staring at the floor, missing how Eina's own ears twitched at the thought of it all.
"I'm… I'm so sorry to bring up such… Uh… P-Please accept my most sincere apologies, Mr. Cranel." Eina stood and bowed.
Bell stood as well, "No! Don't worry about it, there was no way you could've known!"
It was a lie, the only lie that Bell could tell successfully.
It was no secret to the companions Bell had over the centuries that he couldn't lie to save his life. But that little story he just told Eina, a masterpiece he'd practiced since just after the greater Human/Elven war ended. A short story, but one filled with emotion and care. It didn't work the first few times, but after about a year of practice, no one could call his bluff.
Eina seemed to buy Bell's story, much to his relief. It didn't take long after that to have Bell registered as the first official member of the Hestia Familia, and just as soon as that, Hestia had to leave for her job. Leaving Bell alone with Eina in the private meeting room.
"So, Mr. Cranel-"
"Oh, just Bell is fine."
Eina smiled gently, seeming a bit more friendly and a little less stressed than before. "Bell. Due to your situation, being the only member of your familia, having no veteran adventurers to teach you, I will be your dungeon advisor."
Bell blinked, "Dungeon advisor?"
"Yes, it will be my job to ensure that you are as well equipped as possible when you enter the dungeon. This includes educating you on what equipment you should bring, the layout of the floors you'll be walking through, and the types of monsters on those floors." Eina pushed her glasses up.
A bead of sweat went down Bell's cheek. He had a bad feeling creeping up.
"Oh, then I guess I'll be your student today?"
"No, you will be here everyday it takes for you to learn the ropes of the dungeon." Bell paled, Eina's voice had turned hard and serious. "I don't intend to let you go down a single step into the dungeon until I've gotten you as dry behind the ears as possible, understand?"
Einas eyes had an immeasurable gleam of seriousness.
Bell unconsciously stiffened his back to sit straighter. "Y-Yes, I understand, mam."
Eina faltered, "...You're only a year younger than me, you can just call me Eina. You've asked me to call you Bell after all."
Eina crossed her arms and looked to her knees in a bashful yet dignified manner.
Bell could only look at her with an 'Ah' expression.
"O-Of course, if that's what you want… Eina."
Both looked to their knees for several moments longer.
Then they got to work on Bell's studies.
.
They would remain in the small room for most of the day, only breaking for lunch, and when the evening rush started up.
Eina was surprised at the pace Bell was absorbing information, actually, she believed that if it weren't for the memorizing layouts of floors, Bell and her may have very well finished the two-day course by lunch.
She was even more amazed by the amount of information Bell already had about the creatures of the dungeon, at least for those typically seen in the top levels, but nothing really about some of the rarer beasts like the 'Blue Papilio' on Floor Seven.
Bell refrained though when it came to informing her about his magic. Although it may be a crucial tool, he still wanted to keep anything about him he could close to his chest.
Though they'd covered a lot, the evening sun quickly dawned over Orario
Eina and Bell were in the midst of their goodbyes when Hestia found herself back at the Pantheon, the Guildhall. The goddess hadn't expected Bell to be here, being visibly surprised when they found one another. Hestia had thought Bell would already be exploring the Dungeon and came to the Guild early in hopes to greet her child on his way home.
A pleasant surprise it'd been, and though there was no hurry, the two were quick to depart.
Along the way Bell asked Hestia about her work as it was still a blurry image in his head, a goddess working at a food cart in the middle of such a large city. But soon enough Hestia noticed the book he carried under the further arm from herself.
"Bell? What'cha got there?"
He made a quick look, finding her leaning forward to try spying around him. It wasn't hard to figure out for Bell.
"Eina gave me materials to study for tomorrow." He held it out for Hestia to see. It was a blank front page simply titled 'Dungeon: Intro', a seeming stack of papers binded at the top and bottom corners with metal clips. "She said to look over what I can so we'll get through more tomorrow."
Hestia's eyes narrowed in suspicion, crafting a smile. "Just 'Eina'? No 'miss' now?"
Bell's eyes glanced toward her and back, stopping himself from speaking before he could think of what to say. "W-Well… She said I could call her that. Eina calls me 'Bell', so it's only fair, goddess."
"Heh." Hestia pushed her elbow into Bell's side with a grin. "Cozying up to miss half-elf, huh?"
"Wuh!? There's nothing indecent about using someone's name!" Bell reddened a bit.
"Hmmm. If you say so." Hestia calmed herself, smiling victoriously. "Let's get home, ok?"
Bell grumbled, but sighed, going along with a nod to his goddess.
.
Orario was a strange place, Bell couldn't help but notice.
Coal, wood, or oil were fairly normal fuel to create light, but Bell had never once before seen so many magic lamps in one place. The architects of Orario had lined the streets with them, soft purple magical lamps with cones overshadowing their tops to keep the light pointed promptly to the street. One benefit of this happened to be a lack of light pollution, even with the immense amount of light given off by the city past dark.
The sky was nothing short of magnificent.
Bell and Hestia were admiring the night while walking in the faint purple glow of the street lamps. It was an optimal night in Bell's mind, he had looked to the stars many times when camping out, and when the weather was clear like this, he would sleep without a tent and soak in the sight.
All felt right in the world as he looked up, and in his mind, to a more permanent seeming future than ever before. His thoughts were dashed in a moment.
A man came crashing down onto him, breaking his train of thought.
Bell reacted too slow and now thought they'd fallen under attack, easily forcing the cumbersome attacker up and off, Bell was again caught surprised as he slumped over onto the cobblestones beside him. The attacker was already unconscious.
Bell looked toward where the man had come from, only to find a pair of girls in light green waitress uniforms, standing in the doorway above with a yellowish glow emanating behind. One was already on her way down the short few stairs in a hurry.
"Uh! Sir, are you alright!" Her green hair bobbed every step down, before lowering finally to the street with them.
"Nyu probably shouldn nave stood nare you nyoo, nya." The cat person spoke loudly and with a harsh lisp, following more casually behind.
The first waitress turned and glared at the cat for a second in her last few steps toward Bell, before returning her attention back.
"I apologize for Anya, she's a dunce." Her hand stretched out.
"Oh, that's alright." Bell took her hand, putting on a bashful smile to play it off. "I should've been more careful."
The cat fumed. "WHAT WAS NYAAaa…"
Anya lost her steam as Bell was pulled up by the green-haired waitress.
Bell glanced to Anya, thinking she was upset that he had gone along with what he only had assumed was a joke. Back to the one who'd just helped him, he couldn't help spotting now the elf ears sprouting from either side of her hair. Furthermore, her blue eyes seemed fixed below, more specifically, between them just as Anya's had seemed.
He looked down at his and the waitress's hands, both linked together still from when he had been helped up.
It hit him.
Before the elven Woman could react. Bell pulled his hand away and backed off, bowing deep on instinct, catching the girl off guard.
"I am so sorry! I will take responsibility for my actions!"
Anya couldn't help the pity filling her eyes for the boy, knowing the elf would flip out over this accident. To her surprise, the elf only pulled her arm back and grasped the wrist with her other hand, seeming to back away an inch at a time. Anya's co-worker seemed to have a feint blush forming.
"I-I- gh- I'm-"
The elf was panicking, completely lost in what to do, her mind going blank over and over until she found one last viable response. She twisted and hurried back up into the pub, leaving a bewildered Anya, and a flustered Bell behind.
Bell couldn't peel his eyes away from the door she'd disappeared into. "What just…?"
Anya snapped back to the present, eyes narrowing to slits in her panic with a tone in her voice to match. "Gyh! Go nyow before the odters come to inyestigate!"
She ushered the two to run off, Bell grabbed Hestia's arm and nearly toppled over the passed out man along the way. They hurried down the street, taking the first turn they could and didn't stop until they made it home.
The next day arrived on schedule.
Bell's mental clock had him up a small time before Hestia, but nothing could come of it, as there was nothing to make for a morning meal. All that was left of the night's dinner was a handful of the potato puffs the goddess had gotten from work.
Bell took a moment before leaving to write a small note.
Dear Goddess,
I am long gone, so eat these potato puffs in my stead.
Do your best today and so will I!
-Bell
Just as he closed the small door, walking his way to and then down the center aisle of the church, an awful shriek called for him through the cracks of the church foundation. Hestia's reaction to the note. After which, he went from walking to running at full speed.
It was only inevitable that afterward, he got lost, as one does while trying to find the giant tower in the skyline.
But an unexpected angel was on the way.
.
Bell was flipping back and forth between looking at his map and craning his head every which way to garner any glimpse at a way toward the Guild. He looked fairly ridiculous in the middle of the empty morning street, not knowing where he was, and having nobody to ask if he'd end up needing directions.
His thoughts swirled when he should've been paying attention to what was around him.'I was so focused on getting back to the church last night… I completely forgot to look for landmarks…'
A vice jumped out at him. "Are you lost?"
His heart froze, stiff as a statue just as he suddenly noticed the grey-haired girl and her little weight appear against his shoulder. Never mind that she snuck up on him in an empty street.
His eyes shifted over her way like stone on stone, grinding at his eyelids before coming to look over the young girl. But, his attention was stolen away by the girl's clothes, the same uniform as the girls from last night.
"Ah!"
"Ah?" She responded with a grin.
"Uh-!" He pulled away from her and turned, pointing lightly. "-You're from that pub!"
She made an 'O' face after regaining her balance. "If you mean the hostess, then yes I am!" Her smile brightened at his recognition. "Do you come around often?"
He clammed up, a slight sorry sensation in his eyes. "N-nh…"
Her smile faltered, but she made it reappear in an instant, bringing her shoulders back up after they'd sagged. "You wouldn't happen to need some help Mr. adventurer?"
Bell thought something of the name, but figured it was just from his attire. Hell smiled, nodding. "Ye-Yes, I'm kind of… Lost, heh." His hands shifted to show a better look at his map.
"I see! Well, where are you trying to go?"
"Well, the Gu-." The entire street echoed his rumbling stomach.
Bell looked down. She did the same.
She giggled, caught off guard. "Sorry, sorry-" She tried to stop. "You're hungry? Well then, let's get you to the Hostess and feed you already!"
Before Bell could protest, she took his arm and began leading him down the street.
The girl wrapped his forearm under her own arm, latching onto his wrist with both hands as she dragged him down the street. Her chipper voice rang out happily into the dull morning. "What's your name Mr. adventurer?"
Well… He'd come this far. "B-Bell Cranel!" His voice cracked.
She giggled once more, still holding his arm "Nice to meet you Bell! I'm Syr Flova."
"N-Nice to meet you too miss-"
"No miss!"
"...Syr…"
He blushed. She smiled.
.
They had arrived at his last known landmark, The Hostess of Fertility. There was a nice big sign that Bell hadn't seen last night, though it was hardly the sort of thing he'd been trying to notice at the time.
They began to walk up the stairs toward the door when a shadow exited the dark doorway.
"Syr, your back? Where are the groc-?!" It was the green-haired elf from last night.
They recognized each other simultaneously.
They both froze in place.
This was noticed by Syr, but not nearly as much as the dash of pink under the elf waitress's eyes. The elf girl picked up on this and quickly put on her blank face, shoulders rising and falling as her composure returned.
"Hello sir, welcome to the Hostess of Fertility." She curtsied.
"Ryuu what was that?!" Syr stepped forward in an unexpectedly aggressive manner, Ryuu flinched back up a half step.
"Syr, please not now…" Ryuu refused to fully meet Syr's eyes.
The girl who'd walked him here twisted around and found him over her shoulder. "Do you know each other, Bell?!" The elf now known to him as Ryuu, looked up slightly.
"Eh?! Uh, well... I accidentally tou-" Ryuu swiftly appeared beside him in a flash, pinching his arm, drawing a sharp "Eep!" from the boy.
"M-Me and Anya were throwing out a drunk last night, a-and... We hit… uh… him…" Ryuu weakly pointed to the boy she was no right beside.
"Hhhhhmmmmm?!" Syr didn't buy it. Ryuu needed an out.
"Syr! Where are the groceries?" Syr was dumbstruck, hit over the head like a lightning bolt, then panicked.
"I'VE GOT TO GO!" she announced to the pair, then turned and ran off down the street.
The two looked at the dust outline she seemed to leave, still frazzled to an extent by whatever had just happened in the last half minute, until they set their attention back to each other.
Bell broke the silence.
He quickly stepped away and bowed. "I'm truly sorry for touching you last night!" Ryuu quickly shushed him and corralled him out of the door with her down the stairs.
"No, it's my fault for extending a hand, it's only natural that you'd take it."
"But you're an… elf, and I was ignorant at the time, but I should've been more observant. So, it's my fault."
The argument over who was at fault would have lasted till the morning rush, however, there was an unexpected halt to the conversation as Bell's stomach called out for the second time.
"...You're hungry…." Ryuu turned hastily before any other word, running inside only to return with a box in her hands a short moment later.
"Please take this." She presented him with the box.
Bell was confused but accepted, not sure what was or wasn't the best thing to do right now. "What's in it?"
"It's my morning rations." Bell shot his eyes back up from the box to her.
"I can't accept this, what would you eat?!" He tried and failed to hand her the box back.
"I will wait till lunch, but by your clothes, you're an adventurer. It's dangerous to go without breakfast, so take it." She wouldn't take a no from him.
"But-"
"NO, just take it." what she said was final.
Bell reeked of guilt. "Then…" Ryuu looked menacing now as he started. "How about I come by later after the dungeon and get something for dinner."
Ryuu looked peeved, but considered this compromise. "Very well, I can't turn away a willing customer. But-" She swiftly brough a hand up, pointing. "-this is because you want to eat here, not because you owe me."
"Alright." Bell was happy, in his mind this was a small victory of his own.
Bell had a thought, Ryuu saw a shift in his features. He smiled politely.
"Hello, my name is Bell Cranel," He bowed. "It's nice to make you."
Ryuu hesitated, but followed along knowingly after a moment.
"And mine is Ryuu Lion. The pleasure is all mine ." She returned with a courtly bow.
They bid their farewells, and Bell began his way to meet Eina for his exam, Ryuu saw him off from the top of the stairs.
She kept thinking, that… for some reason... She felt strangely eased around him.
Eina had arrived to work early that morning and finally finished settling in for the day, she'd been expecting someone who, to her surprise, had just walked in the door mere minutes after herself.
"Bell!" She called to him from across the empty guild, only a few other coworkers around who turned their heads to see before returning to their own work.
Bell hurried a bit, jogging toward the counter as Eina straightened a small stack of papers against the counter separating their sections, with merely a nod between them, Bell followed her to the same room from yesterday down the side hall.
As they disappeared down the hall, a group arrived in the Guild's uniform, a few tried to find a glance toward Bell as he disappeared around the corner. Amongst these employees was Misha, the girl who'd ditched Bell and dumped him on Eina in the first place.
Along with Misha, the other staff members tried to get a look at the kid who'd kept Eina yesterday from opening until well after the counters closed. More than a few eyes were caught by the cloud of white hair following Eina into the meeting room, as Misha and a few more snoopy coworkers found the situation more than interesting.
It would take some three hours, but over that time, Bell and Eina read over what felt like countless papers and documents, all until the two had finished going over every last word put off from yesterday.
They sat in silence for a time, Eina flipping through pages, reading chapter titles to Bell and ensuring they were recognizable, but soon enough, she'd come up dry on anything they still had left to review.
"Ok." She fixed her posture. "Do you think you are ready for the exam?"
His tone was confident. "Yes."
With a breath before, she lifted half the stack of papers that'd not been touched yet, pulling one last stack, a pamphlet, from the papers. Eina handed it across to him and sighed gently, drawing back her arm. "You already know there's no time limit. And, don't cheat. You'll only be endangering yourself in the long run."
Bell's eyes didn't waver from her own, a moment passing.
"Good luck, Bell."
Bell's eyes had a seriousness to them. "Thank you, Miss Eina."
She huffed at the 'miss' part but didn't correct him, the half-elf turned in motion towards the door. Going through, she turned and spied him from the closing gap for a final moment, his head down as the boy's pencil was already pressed to the sheet.
.
.
Outside in the employee section of the Guild, Eina couldn't stop glancing up at the clock. Time seemed to tick by slower, as though mocking her student's speed. But an hour and a half after they parted, the door opened by Bell's hand.
Bell looked both ways down the hall, before starting down it, exam papers in hand. When he eventually reached the main Guild hall, Bell spotted Eina standing and waiting right behind the counter with both arms crossed, thinking deeply.
Bell normally wouldn't try to break someone's concentration, but she didn't seem to be doing anything specific.
"...Eina…" His voice was soft and quiet, but it caught her attention.
Her eyes fluttered after seeing him. "Bell?! You finished the exam?"
"Y-Yes." The boy had nervousness in his voice, slowly approaching her across the counter. "Could you grade it, please?"
"Of course!" She took the papers, glancing across the first line and smiling at his name written neatly, the rust fallen off since the bad writing on his registration forms yesterday. "Go back to the room and wait, I'll grade these in the staff lounge." Bell could only nod.
.
.
Bell waited nearly half an hour before Eina opened the door, his knee was bouncing with anxiety. Flustered for only a moment after the door creaked and brought him into the moment again, Bell could only first see her smile.
' Bell Cranel - - - - - Grade : 93.2% - - - - - 16 / 5 / 2 / 1012 '
Bell took a second to soak the number in, his excitement palpable by the smile alone. Eina sat herself a cushion away on the same couch, seeing his face slowly shift from anxiety to awe, slowly finding a smile of her own.
He turned after a time, straightening himself. "I- I passed?" Bell perpetually lost the battle to temper his glee.
She huffed from her nose, speaking in a pleased tone. "Yes, you passed Bell!"
Eina could only feel the glowing happiness from Bell as his eyes wandered to his lap, he couldn't stop the smile from washing over him entirely.
But as the moment sunk in, Eina's doubts bubbled back up.
Bell had passed, truly by his own merit as well, but… though her tolerance for error was incredibly slim, Bell managed only just to scrape by. It was a testament to his effort that the boy as poor with maps managed to only miss the fact Goblins spawn on Floor Six which had cost him those few points on that section.
But moreover… there had been another section that had Bell describe the attacks of some monsters and their weaknesses. Bell had made note that War Shadows were more affected by magic light than fire or crystal lanterns. It was something she never knew, needing to verify in their records before coming here, that being the reason his grading took so long.
It was no real issue, a boon if anything, but she was curious how Bell knew such a thing about a monster as far down as Floor Seven at highest. But now wasn't the time.
Eina gently touched his shoulder, leaning down to meet his eyes. "Let's go Bell, we need to register you at the front counter, you'll need the benefits the guild provides."
They'd left the meeting room behind, Bell following Eina to the front counter where she helped him through registration. They soon finished.
It was an odd feeling for Bell. By no means had this been a difficult course for the boy aside from the maps, but there was something… fun… about succeeding.
Eina still smiled, as did he. "Ok! You're officially an adventurer now, Bell!" Her voice rang with a hint of joy. Bell's smile truly was infectious.
Her smile faltered almost unnoticeably at the last moment, right as Eina had extended out with the small and thick paper folded in half containing his new identification. Bell had gone to meet her, but, the advisor's hand softly lowered to the counter between them. Bell looked up at Eina, her eyes were down, staring at the paper.
"I'll trust you." Her eyes lifted, meeting his own. "But… don't overdo it, okay?"
There was a moment before she continued. "I've known a few people I'll never see again, people who went where you will soon…" Her words seemed to weigh with guilt.
Bell smiled, reassuring her. "I promise."
Eina needed a moment before nodding. "It's the evening now. So, don't go below the first floor, it'd be bad to over-exert yourself on the first day. And Bell, remember-"
Bell's lip curled with a slight mix of mischief as his own voice lifted over her own. "~Adventurers shouldn't go on adventures.~"
In the next moment, she pouted at Bell while he smiled, successfully having drug Eina from the edge of the darker mood she nearly fell into. It was her motto, at least, that's what he had called it since yesterday. And it didn't help that she even struck the same 'hands on hips' pose every time she said this.
In a blink, he'd plucked the paper from Eina's hand. "I'll take care, Eina! Thank you for all the help!" He waved as he turned for the door. After a moment, recovering from the quick snatch, she could only do the same.
Eina continued to look at the entrance for a time before sighing.
"You look sad to see him go, Eina."
Eina jumped, head turning, eyes flicking to an unexpectedly familiar face, an emerald-haired member of elven royalty.
Eina quickly formed a sour look at the woman, the high-elf was resting an arm on the countertop at the station just down from where Eina had been left by Bell. "Miss Riveria! Please, don't startle me like that!"
She had the smile of someone not sorry at all to surprise her little niece. "Apologies Eina, but you make it too easy sometimes." Riviera moved down the counter, coming up to Eina. "So do I need to go tell your mother you're seeing a boy now?"
Eina recoiled. "W-What?! H-How did you get to that?!"
Riviera snickered, then waved her down with a hand. "Just teasing… So, how are you?"
Eina huffed. "Better without your scares. Honestly… But, unless I've got my days mixed, your familia has an expedition tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, so we won't be around for the normal exchange time this week. The plan's to meet at dawn under Babel, and speaking optimistically there's hope we'll reach Floor Fifty-Nine."
"Really? You'll need to come by so we can fill out a report!" Eina was always excitable on these occasions, there was little to no documentation on floors that deep since Zeus and Hera Familias almost never shared their discoveries with the Guild.
Riviera hummed her agreement with a smile. "So, how's your mother been doing recently?"
"Oh, good- good. Her fever from a few days ago broke, and she's back on her feet like normal finally."
"That's good to hear." There was a small silence. "I don't have much time, just wanted to stop by and check up on you. We're missing some supplies needed for tomorrow." Riviera waved a small note of paper with a list.
"Ah, well don't let me keep you! Please be safe as always, your highness." Eina grinned with a semi-theatrically curtsy.
Riveria glared for a second before emitting a dull laugh. "Ha-Ha." She turned on a heel and much like Bell, left with a wave.
Eina returned to her work, she was one of if not the most diligent employees the guild had to offer, meaning her workload always seemed larger than everyone else's…
The half-elf worked straight through the afternoon, never taking her break. It was no secret her mind was on Bell, she was worried his attitude might lead to an overestimation of himself. Worse yet, the first dive was always most fatal to adventurers, statistically speaking.
So Eina worked till there was nothing left, finishing three days of work in a single afternoon and evening. Soon though, the street lights came on, bathing the windows in purple, and still, no tuft of white came back through those doors...
Bell stumbled as he entered the guild the next day, almost dropping the boxed lunch in his arm. For just a moment he stopped, looking around the Guild in hopes to spot Eina, but failing to. Instead he saw pink, a set of hair that he recognized from dumping Hestia and himself onto Eina when he'd first been here.
Bell swiftly walked over, ending up at the counter. "Good morning, do you know where I c-"
"YOU!" The moment she saw him, her eyes widened, a pointed finger went out towards his face, Bell flinching back. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"
Bell retreated a step, shocked and confused by the pointed question. "W-What?"
"Ugh, never mind. Get moving! Eina's in the conference room sleeping, she was up all night yi'know." The pinkette shot him a glare before haughtily grabbing her stack of papers and moving.
Bell was left baffled and confused.
Slowly he collected himself, walking to the same hallway the meeting rooms were, but this time, finding a door on the opposite wall. He read one labeled 'Staff Loung' in black on a frosted window, not really able to make anything out besides light on the other side.
He stood there for a moment, slowly bringing his knuckles up to gently thump against the wooden window frame.
It was delayed, but a soft and tired-sounding voice called back. "Come in…"
Bell opened the door and carefully peeked around, he saw on one of the sunlit couches, a blanket-covered mound, Eina. He carefully stepped in, slowly moving away from the door as it hung open still. Then the blanket moved, and her face became visible to Bell.
When their faces met, Eina's eyes widened.
Eina moved, falling off the couch and taking the blanket with her. She nearly landed on the coffee table she scrambled for, finding her glasses where they'd been. Bell could only stand there awkwardly as her eyes came into focus on him, glasses still held by one hand as the woman's emerald eyes focused in.
Bell observed several emotions from her in less than a moment.
Confusion, recognition, joy and happiness, recognition again, then finally, unbridled- unflinching anger.
Bell, now the prey, decided the best course was to run. So, he moved to exit back through the door, carefully stepping away as though to not signal his intentions. However, the predator Eina, moved faster than he had ever seen a normal person go, slamming the door shut right over his shoulder, nearly taking his arm along with it.
Bell stared at the closed door with a ghostly expression, knowing he'd been had.
Bell was shaking in fear. "H-Hi Eina… h-how are you?"
Bell Cranel would not be seen for roughly an hour, as he was chewed out by his advisor. Many of the staff were angry with Bell, Eina was well liked at the guild. But it wasn't until the first of the shouting was heard, did their anger turn to pity.
.
.
Bell was sitting straight and proper as Eina finally finished her rant.
"What did we learn?" She called out.
Bell was sitting on his knees with Eina standing over him with crossed arms, eyes closed but still downcast to the floor. "To always return after the dungeon, and to not worry my adviser." Bell spoke like a boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Aaaand?" Eina wouldn't let him off easy.
Bell felt embarrassed. "To not go deeper than the floors my advisor allows…"
Eina smiled. "Good." Bell sighed quietly in relief, soaking in the moment of silence. "Now, have you exchanged your stones from yesterday's dive yet?" Bell shook his head. "Then you should. I'll go with you."
Before he could cast his gaze back up to her, Eina was almost gone out the door. She was worried she'd gone overboard, ears a bit red, but not regretting the longwinded reprimand either.
They headed from the lounge down toward the main hall. There were more people than normal, just escaping the morning chills before Loki Familia arrived as per normal, early. They stayed within reach of the counter, walking their way along until they reached a more imposing section, only built up twice as high, as though a separate room all it's own right behind the counter from the rest of the Guild.
Paired one-to-one were twelve drawers and twelve slatted-off windows where a Guild worker would sit behind and wait to count magic crystals and items an Adventurer might trade in after a trip to the dungeon. It was an efficient system that was mostly automated with a magic sensor, though for reasons that became necessary a few years back, there always had to be a person present for monetary exchanges.
With a nod toward the drawer from Eina, Bell understood. But that's where the issues arose. Not through problems with their system at the guild, nor with the way he used it, but with the quantity.
Bell without flinching produced three pouches packed to the brim with crystals, more than Eina had expected, and more than enough to rouse the suspicions of a red wolf behind the slats of this exchange drawer.
There was a brief silence only masked by the sounds to Bell dumping each bag into the drawer, one by one, crystal by crystal.
"...Bell…"
His eyes were pulled away, finding Eina staring at the drawer as the last bag was emptied before slowly drifting toward him with an oddly perplexed look in her eyes. "Did… Did you get all that in just a few hours…?"
Bell grew worried. "Is this... less... than normal." Bell could feel himself shrinking on the spot, feeling bits of self doubt well up in his chest. He could feel not only Eina, but the clerk behind the window staring intensely at him.
"There's… no way. You had help right?!" Bell turned, he could only vaguely see her through the slats, a red-haired woman.
"Eh-What?" Bell called back confused. "No, I didn't have help."
Eina was in disbelief. "There's no way this could be done in such little time on your first day, Bell…"
The drawer slid through as the woman behind the window brought it through, a moment passed as the counter did its job, measuring the magical properties and quality. Then the redhead's voice called again slowly. "...Your total is 3,250 valis…"
They stared at Bell.
"Is… that not normal?" Bell was fidgeting, eager to get any kind of response from them.
"It is for a pair of mid-level adventurers after a short day." Eina said.
"You didn't steal this did you?" the red-haired woman came right out and said it.
"Rose!" Eina twisted and called out across the window.
"No! I would never!" Bell shouted, Rose's flinch was hidden, Eina too flinched though felt only relief to hear his genuine words.
There was a tense moment, Eina's head barely lowering as she went into thought. Rose was stubborn, but her instincts weren't scratching at her mind like when the Soma Familia members were around, so she felt conflicted.
Rose crossed her arms, groaning before coming around. "Fine. But I need you to prove this is all clean."
Bell and Eina's attention each grew.
"If you're not back here by mid-day with at least something close to that, I'm going to need a real explanation."
Eina and Rose looked at him. "I'll be here."
Rose merely let off a dulled- "Mhm." through the slats, flipping a lever so they'd all but fully shut, effectively cutting herself out of the conversation.
Eina quickly turned to Bell, grabbing his forearms. She didn't say anything at first, more so looked in his eyes, they were locked for a bit, Bell feeling fairly awkward through the process, but by the end Eina let out a small huff as she closed her eyes, seeming anxious but received somewhat. "Alright… I trust you."
The moment seemed to tick on longer than she was comfortable, Eina yanking her hands away after realizing how long she'd been clinging for. "You should hurry! You'll need all the time you can get!"
Bell jumped. "Right!"
In a flash he scurried across the crowding guild hall, reaching all the way to the main door before stopping and turning around.
"Bye miss Eina!"
Bell waved with a big grin as he headed through the Guild entrance.
Everyone in the hall turned to look at her. She wanted to curl up and disappear.
.
Bell would be back around lunch, having run out of room to fit his magic stones even before the deadline, stuffing his pockets on the way out. To Eina and Rose's astonishment, his combined sum adding the three-and-a-quarter-thousand Valis from before was well over six-thousand Valis…
Rose was forced to recognize Bell's achievement the previous night, no matter how hard it was for her to accept.
Bell wouldn't know it, but he'd soon become the talk of the guild. The staff, at least.
A/N
If you've made it here, Thank you for reading, I am grateful you gave me this moment in your life to try and entertain you.
.
This was created by me after noticing a lack of stories where Bell isn't human, after all, he's in a place where there are dozens of different races with all sorts of different stories that could be told. So I chose Elf, and built a world around that concept.
.
Now, for anyone concerned, Bell is still the hero of the story, but a notable amount of things will be changed, for the good I hope. But until the 'pass parade incident' I'm going to kinda coast through some things so as not to bore you all to death before getting to the parts that change.
For instance, the Lily ark won't be different enough to mention, so I will likely just skip over it in between chapters, so just assume everything went as normal. We all read the books, or watched the anime and know what happens.
.
The following chapters will not be as long as this, maybe half, or so, since I just wanted to give you guys a sense of my writing style and make a foundation for this story.
.
7,354 took a while, and I'm a slow writer.