P/N let me know if there's any mistakes and I will try to fix them
late at night. The dirt and damage on his clothes and armor showed just how
hard he was working; his body was faring no better.
Of course, Bell might have been a little too excited when he became an
adventurer, but there was something different about him recently.
"Goddess, here. This is the money I earned in the Dungeon today."
"Ah-haaa…"
Ka-ching. The coins inside a linen sack rattled as he handed it to her.
Every night, Bell always gave Hestia some of his profits from crawling the
Dungeon to help support the Familia. It went without saying that he took most
of it for himself, to pay for items and equipment repairs as well as to have a little
pocket money.
Hestia undid the strap and took a look inside the bag. A quick glance told her
there were at least 500 vals inside. Assuming that Bell took around 1,000 vals
for himself to prepare for his next trip into the Dungeon, he had been making a
lot more money than he used to. Hestia could tell just how much effort Bell was
putting into his early-morning to late-evening excursions into the Dungeon.
In that case, the boy had to have a reason to want to make a lot of money as
soon as possible.
"…Hey, Bell."
"Ah, yes?"
"Are you hiding something from me?"
A very exhausted Bell had just grabbed a change of clothes and was headed
toward the shower room when Hestia stopped him to ask her question.
Whether it was her divine intuition or just a feeling as a goddess that Bell
was trying to keep a secret, she didn't know. But she knew something was up.
Bell froze on the spot, something that Hestia saw as a very suspicious
reaction.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha…wh-what are you talking about, Goddess? Of course I'm
not."
"…"
Hestia lowered her eyelids at Bell's fake and forced laugh.
Ignoring Bell's words that she wouldn't have believed anyway, Hestia locked
eyes with him. Tell me now, she mouthed at him, her aura on fire.
"…G-Goddess, I'm going to take a shower now, okay?!"
"Gah!"
Bell practically dove into the shower room, clothes in his hand and a nervous
sweat running down his cheek. Hestia was surprised by the boy's speed for a
moment, but anger built within her the moment the door closed behind him.
There was a part of Hestia that couldn't stand the fact that Bell was hiding
something from her.
Over the past week, Hestia had come to like the boy and was glad that she
had brought him into her Familia, made him a member of her family.
In return, the boy treated her like the goddess she was—and yet she could
feel the warmth of the more personal bond with him.
Hestia couldn't help but want to protect the naïve Bell. But at the same time
she felt drawn to him, almost safe in his presence.
In this world of Gekai that was extremely harsh on her, Bell was the one who
did everything he could to help Hestia.
She loved his smile. It always seemed to melt all of her worries away
whenever she saw him.
"I tell you to spill it, and yet you refuse to crack, Bell…"
That could be the reason why she couldn't allow Bell to have any secrets
from her.
This feeling eating her from the inside could be the arrogance of a god who'd
found something beyond their control or a feeling of betrayal of trust and
loneliness as a family member.
Whichever one it was, it was putting Hestia in an extremely foul mood that
was getting worse by the moment.
All right, then, if that's the game you want to play…
A threatening light sparkled in her eyes. She glared at the door to the shower
room and muttered, "Just you wait," before turning on her heel and walking
toward the kitchen.
She silently set to work preparing dinner.
"Um, Goddess…"
"You're tired today, right, Bell? I'll cook tonight; you go relax on the sofa."
Hestia flashed a smile at Bell, who had changed into clean clothes after
taking a shower. Bell looked like he wanted to say something, but the goddess's
smile sent a wave of relief through him. She must've forgotten about their earlier
conversation.
Shing, shing. Seeing that her prey had let his guard down, Hestia smiled
again at the "rabbit" while sharpening a knife out of Bell's line of sight.
"So, Bell. Shall we update your Status tonight?"
"Um, sure."
After finishing dinner, Hestia made a casual suggestion.
The white rabbit didn't protest and did exactly as he was told.
The knife behind the smile was already razor-sharp.
Bell Cranell
Level I
Strength: I 49 -> I 58 Defense: I 5 Utility: I 66 -> I 72 Agility: I 98 -> H 107 Magic:
I 0
Magic
( )
Skill
( )
Bell lay on his stomach on the bed as Hestia sat on his lower back and looked
at the boy's new Status.
As usual, Defense and Agility were at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
While genuinely surprised that his Agility was already H after only one week,
Hestia finished the process as quickly as she could.
—Now then.
A moment's pause after the Status update was complete.
Hestia's true nature suddenly emerged as her eyes sparkled ominously before
she sprang the trap on the "rabbit" beneath her.
Flop. She had been sitting on his lower back when she suddenly fell on top of
him.
"?!"
"—You're not getting away this time, Bell.
"No..." came a very ominous sound from Hestia's lips as she put her head
right above Bell's shoulder.
Her voice was low, her mouth close enough to Bell's ears that he could hear
her breathing. The questioning had begun.
Bell's body jolted as if he'd just been struck by lightning, his face turning
bright red.
"G-G-Goddess?! What are you doing?!"
"An interrogation. Because you seem to be hiding something from me, eh?"
Bell's body shook again the moment he heard the words "hiding something."
He could feel the goddess's soft body pinning him down as his body jerked from
side to side.
"Did you know, Bell? No one can lie to a god!"
"Wh-what are you talking about…?"
"Ohooo. Trying to claim innocence, are you?"
Hestia's eyes narrowed.
His face a full-blown red, Bell looked at Hestia's expression from the corner
of his eye. If he wasn't scared before, he was terrified now.
A moment later.
Hestia wrapped both of her arms around Bell's neck and squeeeeeezed as
hard as she could.
"Dahh?! G-Goddess—?!"
"Now scream—scream it out, Bell!! And you still might be forgiven!"
"I DON'T KNOOWWWWWW!! I-I-I-I'M NOT HIDING ANYTHING
FROM YOU, GODDESS!"
"Very stubborn…!"
"GHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!"
Hestia's sizeable chest had made contact with Bell's back. He could feel the
soft pressure of something and heard an accompanying squish.
The shirtless Bell felt every inch of those somethings as they pressed up
against him. Completely overwhelmed by the feeling of skin on skin, the boy
shrieked repeatedly as his entire body blushed red under pressure.
Hestia pulled the boy up with her arms, making sure that he felt every inch of
her as she pressed down.
Screams never stopped coming from the floors of the old church that night.
"I can hardly believe that Bell…!"
The next day.
Bell never cracked. Hestia had been in a particularly foul mood because of
that all day. Even after coming home from her part-time job, she made no effort
to hide the displeasure on her face.
Sitting on the sofa and reading a book, Hestia turned the pages with a lot
more force than necessary.
Seriously, it's almost like he's daydreaming about money now instead of
adventures in the Dungeon…There's no way he's being seduced by some strange
woman, and she's making him buy gifts for her…
Bell's sudden devotion to crawling the Dungeon spurred on thoughts that
normally wouldn't have come into her mind. Hestia knew that her own family
wasn't that foolish, but her frustration only added fuel to the fire.
Then just destroy everything! She pictured Bell being lured into the lap of
some Amazon woman, the two of them getting touchy-feely with each other
before suddenly shaking her head. I don't wanna see that, she angrily quipped at
herself.
"Eh…?"
Clop-clop, the sound of shoes on the stone steps outside the door echoed
through the room.
Now he's too early, she said to herself as she waited for Bell to come through
the door. She forced her eyes off her book and stared impatiently at the entrance.
The door should open at any moment. Knock-knock to dry thumps came from
outside the door.
"I've come to pay you a visit, Hestia."
"Huh...Miach?"
Someone a lot taller than Hestia was expecting made his way through the
entrance.
Long hair the color of the ocean and a gray robe worse for wear, the god
Miach was greeted by a wide-eyed Hestia.
"Word is you've created a Familia. I know I'm a little late, but I thought I
should at least stop by and say congratulations."
"What, you came all the way out here just for that?"
Despite only recently meeting him after descending from Tenkai, Miach had
a lot in common with Hestia, especially in terms of their Familias. Since Miach
had helped out Hestia a few times, the two of them had become casual friends.
Miach took a step inside the room under the church as Hestia's face changed into
a warm smile.
"Ha-ha-ha, there is no such thing as wasted time when there's a chance to get
a new regular for my Familia. Think nothing of it."
"Hee-hee, nothing gets past you."
Miach Familia produced and sold healing items, like potions. Since his
Familia was not very well known, Miach went to great lengths to reach new
customers. After explaining that today was no different, he shared a laugh with
Hestia.
"That being said…" he continued as he took a vial of blue liquid from his
robe and handed it to the beaming Hestia.
"Think of this as a sample and as a gift to ensure that our Familias stay on
good terms. Please accept it."
"Ah, thanks! This helps a lot!"
"Sorry to change the subject, Hestia, but have you registered your Familia
with the Guild?"
Miach asked her as Hestia reached out to accept the vial.
Huh? Hestia tilted her head, a look of confusion in her eyes. The male god
took it as his cue to explain.
"Whether members of a Familia go into the Dungeon or not, as long as the
group resides in Orario, they must inform the Guild. That's what the registration
is for."
In name, the Guild was only in charge of overseeing the Dungeon. However,
since the Dungeon was at the center of Orario's economy, the Guild was in a
position of considerable power within the city. Efficient and fair management
had resulted in a peaceful city and considerable growth using the resources
provided by the Dungeon. The Guild had presided over the Dungeon since the
Old Age, acting as a caretaker of the city as well.
The Guild controlled everything that happened in the city, and Familias were
required to be a part of the system.
"Oh, so Familias have to register just like adventurers do, huh? Well, they let
us live here, so it's only natural."
"That's exactly right. Just another one of the charms of Gekai."
"All these complicated things had no place in Tenkai, eh?"
Yup, yup. The two deities nodded in agreement.
"So then, what to do? Since it looks like you haven't registered yet, shall I go
with you?"
"Are you sure? Actually, it would help me out a lot…"
"To tell the truth, I have nothing to do after this. So rather than being lonely
during my free time, it would be better to help out a friend in need."
"You're the spitting image of what a god should be."
"Ha-ha-ha, I get that a lot."
The two of them left the hidden room under the church, emitting the passivity
unique to the gods.
"I should fill all of these in, right?"
"Indeed. Don't forget to sign your name using hieroglyphs."
They were standing in the wide lobby of Guild Headquarters.
Hestia filled in the Guild registration paperwork as well as she could on her
own and asked Miach for help when she had a question, as adventurers from
many different Familias went about their business around them. A feathered
quill in her hand, she had to stand on a stool to help her lean over the counter to
write.
Light from the evening sun came in through the ceiling windows, casting the
white lobby in an orange hue. Considering it was around the time that many
adventurers left the Dungeon, many races of human and demi-human were
making their way into and out of the Guild at this hour.
A party of smiling prums made their way out of the Exchange; a few animal
men were making passes at the cute Guild receptionists across the way; an elf
and a dwarf were engaged in a deep philosophical discussion. There was so
much to see in the wide, white marble lobby of the Guild.
The only gods in the room, Hestia and Miach watched all of the adventurers
with great interest.
"Miach, what is this thing here, Familia Rank?"
"A measure of a Familia's influence as determined by the Guild…It's a
grade. While the content of a Familia's activities is taken into account, the most
important factor is combat potential and overall strength."
Each Familia in Orario was given a ranking from S to I, the same scale that
was used to rank an adventurer's basic abilities in a Status. The higher the rank,
the more trust and respect was given to that Familia by the Guild and other
organizations. Of course, fear as well.
The gods who treated everything on Gekai as a game did everything they
could to raise the rank of their Familias and enjoyed every minute of it.
"A mercantile Familia's rank increases when they make an impact. A high
rank means that customers can trust their products, and more adventurers choose
to do business with them."
"By the way, what's your Familia's rank, Miach?"
"Ha-ha-ha, it's H."
It went without saying that the newly formed and dirt-poor Hestia Familia
would be assigned the lowest rank, I.
Familias were subject to the taxes of the city; the higher their rank, the more
they paid.
"If you don't mind my asking, Hestia, what does the child in your Familia
look like?"
"Well, that question was out of nowhere."
"What? The two of us are hopefully going to be working together for a long
time, so I would like to know the child you have chosen to be your first
member."
"…A human boy with red eyes and white hair. His name is Bell Cranell."
"Red eyes and white hair, huh…Oh, could that be him over there?"
"Huh?"
Hestia's feathered pen stopped in mid-sentence and her head snapped up.
Following Miach's line of vision to the corner of the lobby, she saw a white-
haired human boy talking with a Guild employee.
"Bell…"
"I thought that was him. And…is he trying to give her something?"
The two deities watched as a very nervous Bell held out a small box in front
of him and opened the lid to show the girl behind the counter what was inside.
The girl, a half-elf looking very sharp in her Guild uniform, glanced down at the
contents for a moment before saying a few things and smiling.
"A gift for his lady friend. Heh, looks like your boy's got some skills."
"…"
Hestia didn't respond to Miach's words and just watched the scene unfold in
front of her.
The girl tapped Bell on the nose as the boy blushed and hid his face in
embarrassment.
…Soooo, that's how it is.
Said Hestia in the back of her mind, her eyes sending icy daggers at the two
of them.
The reason that Bell had been getting up so early and working so hard in the
Dungeon to make money was all to buy a present for that beautiful half-elf.
Hestia's mood suddenly plummeted like a rock.
Hestia felt more and more displeasure watching her make fun of him, Bell's
face beet red and hands waving in front of his chest.
"Humph."
"Oh…? Hestia?"
"Sorry, Miach. I'm going home."
Shoving her paperwork to the employee on the other side of the counter and
ignoring Miach's attempts to stop her, Hestia left the Guild Headquarters.
Leaving behind the boy who'd never even noticed her, she tore through the front
garden with quick footsteps.
Damn it, I didn't wanna see that…
Frustrated thoughts filled Hestia's mind as she made her way down
Northwest Main.
As for why she hadn't wanted to see, Hestia already knew the answer.
The goddess wanted full possesion of him. No one else, just Bell.
At long last she had a family—something that she had longed for. So seeing
him getting involved with someone who wasn't her hurt. Don't go to her, I'm the
only one you need, and other selfish, childlike thoughts raced through her mind.
Hestia didn't know if she was reacting like this because Bell was Bell.
A new image suddenly jumped into her head. What if Bell wasn't the first
child she blessed…? If he hadn't been her first family member, then her heart
wouldn't feel like this. She wouldn't care.
Bell, you're such an idiot…
Hestia arrived at her Familia's home an absolute wreck of intertwining
emotions.
She walked straight to the back of the room and in one motion plopped
facedown on her bed. Eyebrows locked in an angry frown, the sulking goddess
pulled all of the sheets and covers into a mountain around her head.
She did her best to chase thoughts of Bell out of her mind. Hestia slammed
her eyes shut; no light was getting to them, anyway.
Clink, clack.
The light sounds of dishes being softly placed on the table outside her cocoon
reached Hestia's ears.
Hestia gently opened her eyes in the darkness under her bed covers, the
noises slowly waking her up.
Blinking over and over, she sluggishly started to emerge from beneath the
blankets.
The sudden light from the magic-stone lamp as she popped her head out of
the corner of the bed stung for a moment as her eyes adjusted.
"…"
Her vision was blurry, but the first thing she saw was the back of a boy with
white hair.
She watched him walk between the kitchen counter and table many times as
quietly as he could.
The smell of freshly made soup wafted into her nose a second later.
"…"
Pushing the blanket and sheets off her body, Hestia slowly sat up.
The boy with the white hair noticed right away and immediately came over to
her.
"Good morning, Goddess."
"…Unnn."
Hestia nodded at Bell's warm grin.
The clock on the wall read seven o'clock at night. The groggy goddess
looked up at it and nodded again a few times in an effort to wake up.
Her twin jet-black ponytails shook from side to side.
"…Did you make dinner?"
"Yes. You looked really tired when I got home so…Sorry I didn't wait for
you."
There was a simple salad and skinless steamed potatoes along with soup lined
up on the table.
The soup had been poured into cute wooden cups, steam softly rising from
them.
"…You're home a lot earlier than usual today, aren't you?"
Hestia's voice was thick with irony as she watched Bell try to win her back
with something as simple as a nice dinner.
"Did something good happen?" she said with the same tone, not bothering to
look at him. Bell turned red and jumped for a moment before leaving the
kitchen.
He went to a bookcase, his back to the goddess as he reached up to grab
something. Whatever it was firmly hidden in his grasp, Bell returned to the
goddess's bed.
"Um, well…Goddess, this is for you."
"…Eh?"
Hestia looked down at the box being held out in front of her.
Her eyes went wide as she froze before accepting the box with shaky hands.
She lifted the lid to find that there were two hair ties inside.
The bands were decorated with a blue ribbon that was tied to look like
flowers and small silver bells.
"Bell, aren't these…"
"T-the ones that you have look like they're about to fall apart, so I, um,
well…
"Got you a present…" Bell sounded like he could disappear at any moment.
Hestia was absolutely stunned. She looked up at the boy with wide eyes as he
hid his blushing face behind his white bangs.
The hair ties were inside a box that Hestia had seen before—the same box
that Bell had shown that half-elf back at the Guild Headquarters.
He hadn't been trying to give the box to her, maybe he was asking for her
opinion—a female opinion about whether or not she thought Hestia would like
them.
Thinking back to the way that she'd been teasing him, Hestia realized that
she'd made a terrible mistake.
And these hair ties…Did he see me…?
A few days ago, standing in front of that show window on Northwest Main.
The ribbon on Bell's present looked almost exactly like the one on the hair
bands a mannequin had been wearing that she really liked.
"I-I wasn't trying to hide it, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise and, um…
I'm sorry."
"…"
Hestia softly smiled as she watched Bell fidget uncomfortably.
But a part of her also felt a little sad behind her blushing cheeks.
She'd given up on giving him a present that day, but he had done exactly the
opposite.
His feelings for her were stronger than hers for him, and much more
admirable.
"So you've been working so hard in the Dungeon just to give this to me?"
"You see, um…Yes."
"Such an idiot…"
These hair ties couldn't have been cheap, Hestia thought to herself as she
looked at the quality of the materials.
Coming home absolutely exhausted every day, all to earn enough money to
buy these as quickly as possible. He'd probably faced danger many times over.
Hestia closed her eyes as her face broke open into a smile.
"Bell."
"Y-yes?"
"These—put them on me."
"Huh?"
"They're a present from you. I want you to put them in my hair."
Bell didn't know how to react so Hestia smiled, grabbed his hand, and pulled
him to the side.
After climbing out of bed, Hestia led Bell to the table and she sat down in her
chair. "Quickly," she softly said while looking up at him from her seat.
Sweat rolled down Bell's face, as if something was about to explode, until
finally he reached out and picked up the hair ties as if he'd made up his mind.
"Bell, thank you…And, sorry."
"Eh?"
She giggled. "It's nothing." Hestia's still-blushing face shifted into a warm
grin as the timid boy started touching her hair.
Watching the look of sheer concentration on his face in the mirror across
from her, Hestia felt a soft thump in her chest as the boy struggled to get her hair
through the bands.
She practically purred like a cat every time she felt his fingers run through
her black hair. Hestia enjoyed every moment of this special time together with
Bell.
"…Hey, Bell."
"Yes?"
"Meeting you, bringing you into my Familia…made me happy."
Bell stopped moving to listen to the goddess's quiet voice.
A moment later, the boy was beaming with an elated smile.
"I'm glad that I met you, too, Goddess."
Hestia couldn't help but smile and blush again as she watched the boy's face
in the mirror.
—There was no doubt she would grow to love this boy.
The little goddess knew that now.
All she wished for was to always be able to watch over him and to follow his
story through the Status on his back.
And so it was that silver bells jingled atop clumsily attached hair bands.
They sounded with every movement of her jet-black twin ponytails.
P/N I will post volume 5 tomorrow bye have a great day or night