Familia Myth: Journey to Hero Chapter 26 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Familia Myth: Journey to Hero! A free day on the 18th Floor! Let’s go see the Dungeon Town, Rivira! Just watch out for the prices! Nothing’s cheap in a town run by Adventurers with no regulation or control! Kek! After the walk through the town, a nice bath sounds lovely, right?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 26 – Dungeon Town: Rivira, Free Day

It was a bit of a walk across Floor Eighteen to reach the Dungeon Town of Rivira from the Loki Familia camp. Upon arriving though, the group had various thoughts about the small town built in the Dungeon.

“It’s a bit…rough-looking.” Hestia commented on the mostly wooden construction. The majority of the lumber used to build looked like it had been broken, rather than milled properly.

“What’s the meaning of the number on the sign?” Welf pointed out the number ‘335’ at the end of the wooden sign above the main entrance.

“It means that this is the 335th ‘Rivira’ to be built.” Tione explained the number with a shrug.

Hermes rubbed his chin. “I thought Monsters weren’t born on this Floor?”

“They’re not, but they come down from the Seventeenth Floor and up from the Nineteenth Floor.” Tiona shook her head at the occasional attacks. “Rivira was nearly destroyed just about a month ago.”

“Built, wrecked, and built again.” Ais agreed with Tiona’s explanation. “It’s an endless cycle.”

The group walked into the town and took in the place; some for the first time, others for the hundredth time or more. There were stalls and small shops lined up along the main street through the town. Lili and Welf both looked at a few of them in passing, since they did need some replacements for a few things.

“What the?!” Welf gawked as he picked up a whetstone…well, more like a fragment of a whetstone given the size and damaged edges. “They’re charging 13,000 Valis for this piece of whetstone?! That’s crazy!”

“And they want 20,000 for this ratty old backpack?! You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Lili nearly snarled at the ridiculous price of the patched up pack.

“If you don’t like it, then take your business elsewhere.” The Dwarf man running the stall grunted out, resting his cheek on his palm and looking both bored and relaxed as he lounged on a few massive pillows that he was using as a chair.

“Grrrr!” Lili growled lowly at the price gouging.

“Rivira is run by Adventurers themselves. Everyone is free to operate their own business without complicated rules or an authority figure of any kind. Please be mindful…everything here is expensive.” Asfi informed the first-timers to Rivira with a blank face. “Since one can’t easily acquire processed goods in the Dungeon, the vendors are free to charge as much as they wish.”

“All the inns are extremely pricey too.” Tione confirmed Asfi’s words, pointing out one of the other types of business that Rivira offered.

“Yeah, that’s why well all decided that we should camp out in the woods.” Tiona sighed at Rivira’s price gouging. Camping was fine, but they’d had many poisoned and injured members, yet Rivira hadn’t been any real help to them at all.

“That makes sense.” Bell couldn’t really argue against the town’s practices. No business was in the market to lose money after all. “Hmm?” He looked at Hestia again, but this time his Goddess caught his eyes.

“Yes, Bell?” Hestia smiled at him, always feeling warm inside when Bell looked at her.

“It’s just… Something seems different about you, ever since you got here yesterday.” Bell didn’t quite know how to explain it.

“Deities always exude just a little of our Divine Aura. I’m concealing mine right now.” Hestia explained to him with a gentle smile. “Generally speaking, Gods and Goddesses aren’t allowed in the Dungeon.”

“Why’s that?” Bell blinked, sort of assuming that the Deities simply couldn’t enter the Dungeon, since he’d never heard of one entering before.

“Because it would be bad if they found out.” Hestia replied nonchalantly, though her tone indicated that nothing good would come out of anyone knowing that she and Hermes were down here.

“Huh?” Bell could only blink at the vague wording. He wondered who the ‘they’ in this situation was. The Guild, perhaps? They did impose heavy penalties and fines for those that violated the laws and rules of Orario. If there was a rule about Deities not entering the Dungeon, then it was guaranteed to be made by the Guild. However, a small part of Bell wondered if Hestia didn’t mean someone…or something…else when she referred to ‘they’.

Bump

Another Adventurer bumped into Bell as they exited a building that Bell was walking past.

“Ah, sorry about that.” Bell apologized politely to the man.

The man turned out to be the same Adventurer from the incident at the Hostess of Fertility. Behind him were his two Party members as well. The large, shirtless, blonde man with the shield; as well as the lanky man with the purple stole around his neck and shoulders.

“Watch where you’re going!” The rough-looking man nearly growled at Bell.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the little Rabbit Foot again.” The lanky Adventurer spoke uncaringly.

“Oh yeah…” The leader recognized Bell and advanced on him threateningly. “I still owe you for what happened at the pub!” He reached out to grab Bell.

“I wouldn’t do that, Mord.” The shield user placed his hand on the other man’s shoulder.

“Why not?” Mord questioned, looking at his friend and Party member.

“See for yourself.” The blonde man pointed at who Bell was with.

Ais, Tione, and Tiona were all looking at the scene with steely eyes. Mord never claimed to be the brightest man in the world, but even he could decipher the looks from the three women easily.

‘Take your hand off of him, or lose it.’

“How the hell is this punk with the Kenki, the Slasher, and Jörmungandr?!” Mord nearly jumped away from Bell. “Tch! Let’s go.” He walked off in a huff, his two Party members following after him.

“What’s with them?” Tione cocked an eyebrow at the three retreating men.

“They’re just losers.” Tiona shrugged dismissively.

Hermes took this moment to move next to Bell. “That was tense, wasn’t it? Did something happen between you and those men?”

“There was a disagreement at a bar.” Bell rubbed the back of his head with a sigh, recalling the three men being chased out of the Hostess of Fertility. “It seems like he’s holding a grudge.”

‘So, they consider Bell an enemy, do they?’ Hermes thought to himself, placing his hand over his mouth as the gears turned in his mind.

Asfi glanced at her God, already able to tell that some scheme or plan was developing in Hermes’s head.

“Hm?” Bell blinked, looking around at not seeing Hestia. “Where’d she go?”

“Are you looking for her?” Ais pointed further down the street where Hestia was clearly haggling with an Amazon woman that was selling perfumes and a few scent-based items for Adventurers.

“When did she get over there?” Bell didn’t think he’d taken his attention off of his Goddess lover for very long.

Lili came over to his side with a grimace on her face, the patched up backpack on her back. “Stupid, price gouging, arrogant, asshole…” She grumbled under her breath at having to pay so much for what was barely more than junk.

“We’ll go shopping once we get back to the surface, Lili.” Bell promised her with a smile, leaning down to place a kiss on top of her head.

“Lili will look forward to it, Master Bell.” Lili smiled a bit, some of her bad mood clearing up. She certainly wasn’t going to buy anything else in this scam of a town though!

The group continued to explore Rivira, with the Loki Familia girls acting as tour guides. They saw bars, shops, inns, and even took in the view at a few spots set up to look out over the vast nature that covered Floor Eighteen. The whole time, Bell would be with one or two of the girls; holding hands, or walking arm-in-arm with them as they saw the town together.

Close to lunchtime, they were in the main plaza and Bell was looking at a large multi-spired cluster of the quartz-like crystal that was littered across the Floor. It shone and reflected the light from the ceiling above, casting glimmering lights all over the ground.

“Hey, Bell!” Hestia walked over to him with a smile before pulling out a small bottle of pink perfume. “Look!” She spritzed herself twice with the fragrance. “What do you think?”

Bell leaned in and breathed in the scent. “Ah, it smells really nice.” He smiled at the pleasant fragrance.

“Doesn’t it?” Hestia beamed at her lover. “I knew you’d like it the moment I found it!”

“You bought perfume is this dump?” Lili didn’t look impressed by the action. “You know they ripped you off, right?”

“Oh come on, Lili.” Hestia playfully pouted at the Prum. “We could all use a little spritz since we haven’t been able to bathe in almost two days.” She turned to Bell, knowing how to get Lili to change her mind. “Bell! You don’t want us to smell like stinky sweat, do you?”

“Uh, well I hadn’t really thought about that.” Bell admitted.

Behind him, Ais lifted her white battle dress a bit and sniffed at it, catching the attention of Tione and Tiona, both of whom smiled at their surrogate third sister. The fact that Ais cared about smelling nice for Bell was a good sign for the young woman that had cared about nothing but getting stronger for most of the time that the Twins had known her. Ais was branching out more, experiencing new feelings and emotions as she came out of her shell; lowering the walls that she’d placed around her heart for so long.

“No worries, you two!” Tione called out with a smile. “We’re all thinking of going for a bath after lunch. You’re welcome to join us.”

“Sounds good to me!” Hestia’s blue eyes nearly sparkled at the idea of a bath after trudging through the Dungeon for almost a full day, following the path that Bell’s Party had taken down to the Eighteenth Floor.

“Me too!” Lili agreed quickly, wanting to get as clean as possible after everything that they’d gone through to get down here.

“Could we come along too?” Mikoto asked as the three members of Takemikazuchi Familia entered the square with the large crystal in it.

They’d mostly been doing their own sightseeing of Rivira, only meeting up with the main group for parts of it. They were very much aware of the feelings that still lingered between them and Bell’s Party.

“Sure! Let’s all go together!” Tiona cheered, the ball of sunshine smiling brightly at the other women.

-After Lunch-

“Here it is!” Tiona spread her arms wide, showing off the large pool of shallow water that was fed from a waterfall and a stream.

The large rocks surrounding part of the pond split the force of the stream and waterfall, making the pond mostly still, its flow much slower than the rest of the water. It was clean and clear though, sparkling with the light of the crystal ceiling. There were no aquatic Monsters on the Eighteenth Floor to worry about either, so it was the perfect place to bathe.

“Is…is it really okay to bathe here?” Hestia looked at the pristine sight with a little trepidation. There were no walls around and they were in the middle of the forest. Anyone could walk through the trees and see them bathing.

“The water is a little cool, but not cold.” Tione assured the Goddess with a smile.

“We’ll take turns standing guard, so it’s alright.” Elfie, one of the Mages of Loki Familia, smiled at Hestia kindly. “Once Mr. Cranel leaves, you can undress and then take a bath.” She eyed the only male in the vicinity of the pond at the moment.

“I’ll be out of the way in just a second.” Bell smiled as he walked over to the edge of the pond and held out his right hand. “Firebolt!” he cast his Magic and the flames shot into the water, piercing through the liquid, only to then explode beneath the surface, boiling the water and sending up clouds of steam. “Firebolt! Firebolt! Firebolt!” Again and again Bell fired off his spell, keeping his Mind per cast steady so as not to overload the spell and make it hotter than what he intended. After about a dozen shots, the pond now let off little wisps of steam as the water was heated up by all of the flames that had released their heat within it.

“A warm bath for you.” Bell smiled lovingly at Hestia, Lili, Ais, Tiona, and Tione. He kissed Hestia and Lili’s lips softly; then gently pecked Ais, Tione, and Tiona on the cheek (much to the surprise of the three young women) before heading off to give the women privacy.

“Oh my~” Elfie giggled behind her hand. “Such a good man you’ve got there.” She lightly teased the five girls.

“Isn’t he?” Hestia beamed happily at the lightly steaming pond.

“Master Bell~” Lili was nearly swooning as she smiled warmly.

“I’m so gonna snu-snu him before we leave.” Tione mumbled out, seemingly talking to herself.

“Definitely.” Tiona agreed with her sister, a bubbly laugh filling the air.

“Bell…” Ais’s cheeks were pink as she lightly touched the spot that he’d kissed.

“We shouldn’t waste the hot water!” Mikoto spoke up, looking at the steaming water with joy nearly radiating from her eyes. “I never thought that I’d have this chance when we came down here!”

“This does bring back memories of the outdoor bath.” Chigusa smiled as she and Mikoto removed their lilac yukata to reveal that both women wore sarashi wraps and black panties.

“That spacious tub… How I’ve longed for it…” Mikoto closed her eyes to reminisce.

“W-We’ll get to go again if we keep working hard!” Chigusa hurriedly assured Mikoto as they undid their sarashi and revealed their breasts to the eyes of the other women. Mikoto was very much an enjoyer of baths, especially in hot springs or in large, spacious, cedar tubs.

“Back from Rivira, and straight to a bath…” Tione mentioned as she undid her pareo and let it fall to the ground. Her red top was quickly removed, letting her large tits bounce a little from the sudden freedom. Her garter belt and stockings were pulled down her legs and then her red bottoms were pulled off to reveal her plentiful bottom, leaving the Amazon bare. “Is it me, or is this becoming a routine?”

“We’re on the Eighteenth Floor,” Tiona pulled off her necklaces first and set them aside. “It’d be a waste not to use it!” She let her pareo fall to the ground, and then removed her bottoms, her booty now bare for all to see. With a giggle she pulled off her tube top and dropped it in the pile of her clothes, her handfuls didn’t bounce nearly as much as her sister’s larger breasts.

Amazons had very few concepts of modesty when it came to being naked. Each Tribe varied in what was and wasn’t socially acceptable, but by and large, the all-woman Race had little concern with being naked around others, male or female. The complete lack of hesitation from Tione and Tiona to strip in the woods was a testament to this fact, as well as their trust in their female Familia members to stand guard.

“I’ve been an Adventurer for a long time, but…” Asfi slowly removed her gladiator sandals and then her cloak, before moving onto her dress. “I still have reservations about undressing outdoors.” She watched Tiona and Tione remove their various jewelry and arm guards.

“Mm…” Ais was holding her right arm over her breasts as she easily slipped off her battle dress and her panties one-handed, with an ease that came from years of experience. “I think…I’m used to it?”

“Hehe~” Hestia smiled in triumph as she undid the blue bow around her neck and then slipped her white mini-dress down her body, her large breasts bouncing a bit from the motion. “I’m clearly the winner.”

“What’s that smug smile for, Hestia?” Lili deadpanned at her Goddess as she pulled of her shirt, revealing her own breasts, and then slipped off her skirt and panties. She was rather curvy and busty for a Prum woman. She’d heard the term ‘shortstack’ more than enough times from men in the past to confirm that. “Divine Beauty is cheating, you know?” Lili smirked at Hestia playfully.

“You’re beautiful yourself, Lili.” Hestia smiled and pulled Lili into a hug.

“Hestia!” Lili blushed cutely, but returned the hug all the same.

“Are you coming, Lefiya?” Ais called out to the elf with the long orange hair.

“Don’t mind me, I will stand guard.” Lefiya waved to Ais, though the look on her face was one of shock.

“Okay, we’re counting on you.” Ais smiled at her friend as she followed the other women into the water. She was rather confused by Lefiya’s expression though. The Elf Mage had been like that since the group had returned from Rivira.

“Aaahhh~” Mikoto sighed happily as she sank into the hot water. “It’s like a hot spring~”

“Yes, it’s so warm.” Chigusa smiled as she sat next to Mikoto and enjoyed it too.

Asfi waded through the hot water and stopped next to a large stone that rose up from the pond. The blue-haired beauty let out a relaxed sigh as she rested her back against the stone and let the hot water come up to her collarbone. “He’s very thoughtful for doing this.” She complimented Bell’s heating of the water that they were all enjoying now.

“He’s always like this.” Hestia smiled as she lay back in the shallow water, floating on top as relaxed as could be.

Lili was sitting close to Hestia with a smile, running her hands over her body to get off any dirt that was clinging to her skin. “Master Bell is the doting type.” She giggled brightly, enjoying the hot bath her boyfriend had made for them.

“He’s definitely earned some snu-snu.” Tiona laughed as she let Tione wash her hair and then her back.

“We’ll talk about that later.” Tione smiled at her sister as she washed her shorter hair. When free of the golden bands that held it, Tiona’s hair was a bit longer than others might expect, but it was still shorter than Tione’s or Ais’s hair. “Under you go!” She moved her hands from Tiona’s back and to her chest before dunking her sister’s head beneath the hot water.

“Pah!” Tiona inhaled as she came back up. “Tione!” She shook out her soaked hair.

“Hehehe…” Tione grinned smugly, her hands playfully massaging Tiona’s breasts. “I’m helping them grow, right?”

“Liar.” Tiona turned around and splashed Tione with a pout. “They’d already be big if you hadn’t stolen all of the boobs for yourself when we were in our mother.”

“That’s not how it works and you know it.” Tione rolled her eyes at her little sister, but accepted the tackle/hug all the same, falling back into the water with Tiona. “Hah…” Tione wiped the water from her eyes as she and Tiona resurfaced. “Better?”

“Yep!” Tiona giggled warmly. This was just a little game between them, and even if they didn’t always see eye-to-eye or agree on everything, they were sisters before anything else. “Turn around, I’ll wash your hair and back next!” Tione did so without question, relaxing as Tiona ran her fingers through the long black hair. She didn’t even react when Tiona playfully squeezed her breasts in retaliation for earlier.

“Mmm…” Ais sighed happily as she enjoyed the warm water with the others. She was used to the cool water bathing (or just not being able to bathe at all) when it came to expeditions. “…This is nice.” She looked up at the crystals on the ceiling with a smile. ‘Even the Dungeon doesn’t seem as bad when you’re here, Bell.’ Ais thought to herself with a happy feeling warming her from the inside just as much as the hot water was warming her from the outside.

-Loki Familia Camp-

“Good timing.” Hermes approached Bell with a wave.

“Huh?” Bell looked up from where he was cleaning his spear. He’d been overjoyed to see it again among the things that Hestia and the rescue Party had brought with them.

“Bell, would you join me in private for a moment?” Hermes requested while lowering his voice. “I’ve been waiting for this chance. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that the reason I came here is for a chance to be alone with you.”

“Lord Hermes… I’m in a relationship already.” Bell replied at the God’s words. He knew that some Deities would be intimate with males and females equally; but he wasn’t into other men in that way.

“Oh no, nothing like that.” Hermes laughed and waved his hand in front of him to brush aside the misunderstanding. “Just follow me so that we don’t have to worry about anyone else being around.”

-Forest-

“Um, Lord Hermes, you asked me to join you…but why are we up a tree?” Bell questioned the God as they climbed a bit higher. “Didn’t you want to talk to me about something?”

“Talk? Come now, Bell; I never said anything about talking.” Hermes chuckled at the young man. “Have a look for yourself.” He pointed downwards and Bell’s gaze followed where the God was pointing.

What he saw was the pond that the girls were bathing in, as well as seeing each of the girls naked too.

“Lord Hermes, what are you…?!” Bell looked at the Messenger God as if he had a death wish.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Hermes tilted his head with a grin. “We’re peeping!”

“Are you trying to get us killed?!” Bell barely kept his voice down. “There are First Class Adventurers down there!”

“Listen, Bell, spying on women is how a man expresses his feelings.” Hermes smiled at Bell.

“Eh?” Bell blinked at Hermes’s words as he thought back to his grandfather.

“Bell, spying on women is how a man expresses his feelings.” His grandfather’s voice filled his mind.

‘Grandpa?!’ Bell called out to his own memories.

“It’s RRRRRROMANCE!!!” His grandfather laughed.

‘GRANDPA!!!’ Bell shouted in his mind at the poor advice the old pervert had given him so long ago. “Lord Hermes, we shouldn’t be doing this! Let’s just go back to camp!”

“Hey! Don’t move so much or…” Hermes’s warning was cut off as the branch that Bell was standing on snapped.

“LORD HERMES!!!” Bell yelled as he fell and splashed down into the pond that he’d heated up previously.

SPLASH

“Hagh!” Bell resurfaced and coughed out some water from the unexpected fall into the pond.

“Hey, Argonaut!” Tiona beamed at Bell standing in the water beside him. “Did you want to take a bath with us?” She giggled at him, standing before him completely naked.

“Wow, and here I thought you were the slow, romantic type~” Tione teased him with a smile, all the while showing off her naked body to him. “But you know what you want, huh?”

“I-I didn’t… I mean…” Bell was trying very hard not to look, but both of the Amazons were clearly showing him everything on purpose.

Tiona was fit and toned, her breasts were handfuls and her nipples were a bit darker than the rest of her skin. She giggled when she watched Bell’s eyes trail down her body, going over her stomach and down to her sex. He was learning today that she kept herself well-trimmed, which made Tiona grin at him.

Tione flaunted her body with confidence. Her large tits bounced a bit as she let Bell’s eyes take in all of her. Just like Tiona, her nipples were a bit darker than the rest of her skin, her stomach was toned and smooth too, and when his eyes fell on her pussy, she grinned sultrily and spread her legs a little more to give him a better look at her hairless mound.

Bell managed to turn his head away from the show the twins were giving him, but he immediately looked away upon seeing both Mikoto and Chigusa covering themselves and staying submerged as much as possible in the water. Trying to look the opposite direction showed him Asfi, hiding herself as much as possible behind the rock that she’d been leaning against. Turning a different way, he was met with the sight of Lili and Hestia, both looking at him with little smiles.

“Master Bell, you don’t have to sneak around.” Lili grinned at him playfully.

“Bell, you naughty boy.” Hestia moved her long hair behind her to show off her gorgeous body to him. “If you wanted to bathe with us, you should’ve said so earlier. We could’ve found a nice private area for just us.”

“HERMES! I’m going to beat you within an inch of your life!” Asfi threatened from behind the rock, glaring daggers at the tree that Hermes was hiding in.

“…Bell?” Ais’s voice made Bell almost flinch as he slowly turned to face the blonde. Ais stood in the warm pond, her right arm across her chest, while her left arm crossed her stomach and rested on her opposite thigh. Her long hair was soaked and hanging behind her back. Her face was lightly flushed as her golden eyes met Bell’s rubellite gaze.

“A-Ais…” Bell wanted to tell her that she wasn’t actually covering up anything. Her right arm was across her chest, but diagonally, putting her forearm between her breasts, leaving both of them exposed. Likewise, her left hand was resting on her thigh, not covering her sex. Bell took in everything, her breasts, each with light pink nipples, her trim and toned body, the wide hips, the trimmed hair on her mound, her thighs, everything.

“YOOOU BAAAAAASTARD!!!” Lefiya roared as the shock of Bell’s sudden fall wore off for everyone.

“I’M SORRY!!!” Bell bolted, nearly running on top of the water. “IT WAS LORD HERMES’S TRICK!!!” He ran away while unashamedly throwing the God responsible for this situation under the bus.

“He’s fast!” Elfie gaped as Bell blurred past her.

“Unleashed pillar of light, limbs of the holy tree. You are the master archer. Loose your arrows, fairy archers. Pierce, arrow of accuracy!” Lefiya was using Concurrent Casting faster and with more ease than she ever had before as she aimed the equivalent of Level 5 Magic at the retreating Bell.

“Lefiya, no!”

“You’ll kill him!”

“He’ll be vaporized!”

Lefiya heard none of the words of Elfie and Remilia, the other two Loki Familia women currently guarding the pond. Both of the other Adventurers trying to dogpile Lefiya to prevent her from firing her spell. “Arcs-!”

Her spell was canceled before it could form as her staff was yanked out of her hands. The weapon was now held in Ais’s hand as she looked at Lefiya with a blank expression.

“Ais?” Lefiya blinked at seeing Ais stopping her from punishing Bell for his perverse acts.

“Calm down, Lefiya.” Ais softened her gaze on the Elf girl, a small smile forming as Lefiya seemed to realize just what she’d been about to do.

“I-I’m sorry!” Lefiya bowed at the waist, first to Ais, then to Hestia specifically. The Elf girl, in her anger, had been about to kill a member of another Familia, directly in front of the Patron Goddess of said Familia. That would NOT have ended well for her, given that she was clearly the one that had overreacted.

“HERMES!!! You wait until I get my hands on you!” Asfi threatened her God, yelling into the forest where she knew he’d run off.

“You’re forgiven, little Elf.” Hestia sighed at the situation. “Don’t do it again.” The cold tone from the normally happy Hestia made a slight chill run up Lefiya’s spine.

“Yes, Goddess Hestia, it won’t happen again.” Lefiya bowed three more times at the waist.

“Good.” Hestia nodded before wading through the water over to Asfi. “Come along, I’ll get my flipflops and we’ll hunt Hermes down together.” The look in Hestia’s blue eyes promised pain. “That brat nephew of mine needs some discipline again.”

“Too bad.” Tiona put her hands behind her head with a sigh. “I was hoping that Argonaut wanted to bathe with us.”

“That would be nice.” Tione agreed with a little smirk on her lips. “We could’ve gone somewhere private and then just let things take their course.”

“…Tione.” Ais was blushing again at the Amazon’s words. She might be a bit of an airhead (or so she’d overheard before) but she wasn’t dumb enough to miss the implication in Tione’s words. Bell seeing her naked was unexpected, but it had been equally thrilling as it had been embarrassing. ‘Did he…like what he saw?’ Ais wondered in the privacy of her mind, a warm heat was radiating from her stomach, a new and pleasant sensation that she’d not experienced before.

-Forest-

Bell continued to run through the forest away form the pond that the girls had been bathing in. ‘I can’t believe I fell for Lord Hermes’s trick like that! All of the girls are going to think I’m some kind of deviant!’ Rationally, he knew that Hestia, Lili, Tione, Tiona, and Ais wouldn’t, as they all had feelings for him and welcomed his gaze. But he was anything but rational right now in his panicked run. Eventually, even his stamina started to wane as he sowed down to catch his breath. He’d run for a good while, but as he looked around his location, he came to a stark realization. “Where am I?”

The forest all looked similar, and now Bell only had two options. The first, to backtrack his way through the forest as best as he could to return to the pond where the girls were bathing and make his way back to camp from there. Or the second option, which was to try and find his way back from his current location.

Splash

“Huh? Water?” Bell blinked at hearing the sound. “I ran in a straight line…there’s no way I wound up back at the pond, right?” He followed the light sounds of water until he came to another small pond (smaller than the first one) and stopped dead.

In the pond was a woman bathing. Soft-looking skin, fair and unblemished, with a healthy complexion. Short blonde hair, with Elven ears peeking out from the locks. Seeing her from behind let Bell’s eyes trail down her smooth back and to her lovely bottom, looking peach-shaped and perfect.

“A fairy bathing in a spring?” Bell mumbled to himself, standing still as if stunned. “When did I walk into the pages of a fairytale?”

The ‘fairy’ in question moved slightly, one of her ears twitching just slightly. “Who’s there?!” She whipped her arm around and threw a stone in the direction she’d heard the sound. The said rock blew out a chunk of the tree trunk closest to Bell’s head as he stood on the barely visible path that led to the little pond. Bell fell onto his ass from seeing what Ryu could do with a single rock.

“I’m so sorry!” Bell went from being on his ass in shock to prostrating himself on the ground.

“Oh, Mr. Cranel.” Ryu locked her blue eyes onto him. “First, explain yourself.”

Bell respectfully turned away as Ryu got out of the spring and redressed. Once the Elf woman was covered, she stood in front of his kneeling form and waited for his explanation. Bell went through the entire scenario of being tricked by Hermes into peeping and then running away in panic, only to end up accidentally seeing her bathing out here in the middle of the forest.

“…I understand the situation.” Ryu spoke up after a moment to consider what Bell had told her. She turned and began to walk away. Ryu looked over her shoulder at Bell after a few steps. “Mr. Cranel, would you please follow me for a moment?”

“Huh?” Bell blinked, a slight feeling of dread creeping up on him. “Wh-where to?” Internally he was wondering if Ryu wasn’t going to murder him and burying him out here where no one would find him.

“You seem to have the wrong idea.” Ryu looked over her shoulder at him as she continued to walk through the forest. “There is a place that I want to visit, that’s all.”

“Oh…” Bell felt some tension leave his shoulders at Ryu’s words. “So, you’re just going to forgive me?”

“You are not at fault, so there is nothing to forgive.” Ryu shook her head at him.

“B-But what if I’m lying?” Bell questioned her, confused by Ryu’s easy forgiveness.

“Mr. Cranel, please stop regarding yourself as inferior. It’s a bad habit.” Ryu didn’t seem to like it when Bell put himself down in any way.

“Al-Alright.” Bell agreed, surprised by her insistence. After a few moments, he decided to ask a question that he’d wondered about since this morning. “Where have you… I mean, can I ask…why aren’t you staying in camp with everyone else?”

“I had something to attend to here, and I did not want others to see my face.” Ryu answered, stopping by a cluster of semi-large white flowers to pick a few. Once the Elf woman had enough flowers, she stood back up and led Bell a bit further into the forest, until they reached a clearing. “Even if you hadn’t gone missing in the Dungeon, I still planned to come to this place soon enough.”

“Miss Ryu…what is this?” Bell asked, though he was sure that he already knew.

A large mound of raised earth sat in the center of the clearing, standing from the dirt were multiple weapons, all worn and rusted from the passage of time. In the center of the weapons was planted a flag, also torn and worn from time to the point that Bell couldn’t make out the emblem on it.

“The graves of my allies.” Ryu answered him, her eyes filled with remorse. “I occasionally receive time off from Mama Mia to bring my fallen ladies in arms flowers.” She began to gently place a single white flower before each of the weapons that were acting as grave markers. “…Once someone knows who I am, it is only a matter of time before they learn the truth. I would regret not telling you myself.” Ryu stood up from her kneeling position in front of the grave she’d made for her Familia. “Mr. Cranel, it is selfish of me, but hear my story…” With a slow inhale and then a long exhale, the Elf woman began to speak. “My name is on the Guild’s Blacklist. I’ve been stripped of the title ‘Adventurer’, and there was a bounty on my head for a time.”

Bell’s eyes widened at hearing this, never having suspected anything like it from the Elf that had been so kind to him.

“My Familia devoted themselves to protecting the peace, both inside and outside of the Dungeon. It meant fighting those who threatened that peace. For that reason, we had many enemies…” Ryu’s voice barely wavered, even as her mind was awash with the memories of her former Familia. “One day, we fell into an enemy Familia’s trap. I was the only one to survive.” She still shuddered thinking about the abomination that had appeared that day. “Unable to retrieve their bodies, I collected what I could and made this grave for them.”

Bell wanted to go to Ryu, to close the short distance between them. But before he could move, Ryu’s tone noticeably changed.

“I swore to avenge them.” Ryu’s eyes darkened as she still recalled the blinding rage that she’d felt back then. “In a fury, I ambushed, ensnared, and murdered our attackers in cold blood. Poison, traps, sneak attacks, no method was too dishonorable. I employed any means necessary to fulfill my mission. Any person with even the faintest connections to that Familia… I sought out all of them, and killed them. There was no trace of justice in my actions any longer…” She trailed off, remembering the last place she’d been, and seeing the Patron God of that Familia smiling at her, saying that as she was, she’d be perfect for his Familia.

“That’s why you were blacklisted.” Bell could understand that much. Eina had thoroughly taught him the Guild’s rules that all Familia were required to follow. One of which was no open combat between Familia within Orario, outside of a War Game. Some Familias did so anyway, but the authority of the Guild was powerful within Orario, and those that openly went against them often didn’t last long in the Dungeon City.

“Once my last target had been eliminated, I collapsed.” Ryu continued her tale, the heat from before all but snuffed out, replaced only with a weariness that came from a lack of solace. “Bleeding and dirty…a fitting end for a vile creature such as myself. However…”

“Are you alright?”

She still remembered those words. The simple question that had brought her back from the brink.

“After rescuing me, Syr convinced Mama Mia to employ me as a waitress at the Hostess of Fertility. I also keep my hair dyed to hide my identity. That way I don’t bring trouble to Mama Mia and the others.” Ryu seemed to be done now, her shoulders sagging slightly after telling Bell of her past. “I apologize for soiling your ears. In short, the Elf you see before you was a shameless, violent criminal. I will only betray your trust, Mr. Cranel…”

“Miss Ryu!” Bell raised his voice, unable to let her talk about herself like that any longer. “Please stop regarding yourself as inferior. I’ll get mad at you.” He took a step towards Ryu, his rubellite eyes serious as they found her blue eyes and held her gaze.

“That was…very clever.” Ryu blinked at Bell, having her own words used against her. “Mr. Cranel, I believe we Elves are the most revolting Race, even now.”

“Huh?” Bell didn’t understand why Ryu would think that way.

“Elves are renowned for their beauty, and yet they refuse to acknowledge other Races, regarding them as unclean.” Ryu informed him of where the ‘Eleven Pride’ stemmed from. “I came to despise that disparity and left my motherland behind. I traveled to Orario in hopes of finding people worthy of my respect who felt I was worthy of theirs.” She looked down at the grassy ground. “But in the end, I still only exposed my skin in the company of Elves and continuously hid may face beneath a hood. I slapped away almost every hand that ever reached out to me. I left my home forest but still kept up my own wall. I did not change. I was still an Elf, nose high in the air with pride.”

“Miss Ryu…” Bell didn’t know what to say right now. She’d clearly had a hard time in the past, trying to change but not knowing how.

Ryu took a step forward, closing the distance between them. “But just like this…” She gently took hold of his hand with her own, raising their hands up between them. “There was someone who took hold of my hand, who I could touch.”

“Miss…Ryu?” Bell looked at their joined hands and felt his heart thump in his chest.

“This is my second time with you. Do you remember?” Ryu smiled softly at him. “The day you helped out at the Hostess with the dishes.” She looked into his eyes and saw emotions swirling behind the pure rubellite color. “I was very taken aback that you would take my hand without warning…and at myself for not immediately rejecting it.” Ryu closed her eyes as she continued to speak. “I have been following your actions closely since we met. I have come to understand your weakness, sincerity, and most of all, your spirit…” Her blue eyes opened and Bell was blessed with the sight of Ryu’s gorgeous smile; his heart beating like a drum just from seeing it. “Mr. Cranel, you are kind. A human worthy of my respect.”

“Ryu…” Bell didn’t even consciously drop the ‘Miss’, he spoke her name as he gently squeezed her hand and smiled back at her, his emotions pouring through his eyes and actions.

The two stood there, holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes for a long moment. Neither of them knew who moved first, but they both kissed the cheek of the other. Ryu felt warmth bloom in her chest, not sure if Bell knew the significance of what they were doing in regards to Elven Culture, but thrilled by it all the same. Bell had simply done what had felt right when he kissed Ryu’s cheek. A sign of his feelings for her, the same way he’d kissed Tione, Tiona, and Ais on the cheek earlier in the day.

Without a word, Ryu took Bell’s other hand and moved to his side. She took a step forward and Bell followed. The two walked hand-in-hand through the forest, just enjoying being together. Ryu had never imagined that Bell would still care for her at all after learning of her past. But not only did he not care that she’d been blacklisted by her vengeance, fueled by her grief and rage, he accepted it and held her hand even closer.

In some small part of her mind, Ryu felt like she could almost hear her Familia again. Alise and Lyra especially, both women cheering her on to not let Bell get away. It was just wishful thinking, but for the first time in a long time, Ryu felt like maybe she hadn’t lost everything back then. That the path to a bright and happy future still existed.

-Loki Familia Camp-

While Bell and Ryu were in the woods, things got rather loud within the Loki Familia’s camp.

“Augh! Ow! Ack! Gah!” Hermes cried out as he balled up in the fetal position to try and protect himself.

“You. Will. Behave. Yourself. And. Act. Like. A. Respectable. Deity.” Hestia punctuated each word with a slap from one of her flipflops, hitting Hermes anywhere she found an opening.

“Ow! Yes! Stop it, Aunt Hestia!” Hermes tried to roll away, but Asfi kept him from getting far.

“I’ll stop when you shape up!” Hestia declared, whacking Hermes upside the head with her weaponized footwear.

“What the hell’s going on over here?” Tsubaki questioned, having been busy finishing up with some of the last weapon and armor repairs for the last leg of the expedition to get back up the last seventeen floors.

The audience that had gathered around to watch the strange spectacle were stuck somewhere between confused and amused as they wondered what had brought this on. When it got around, from the girls, that Hermes had peeped on them bathing (and tricked Bell into it too) the Messenger God found himself without anyone in his corner. Some of the men from Loki Familia were grumbling about Bell getting to see the women bathing, but Tione and Tiona were vocal about their desire for Bell to see them, so it quickly became a non-issue. There were still a few dissatisfied mutters, but they were kept quiet.

The fact that the pond had stayed warm for the second round of female bathers had earned Bell some brownie points from the girls of Loki Familia. It had also led Elfie to use her own Fire Magic in the same way to keep the pond heated up for the entire expedition to get a hot bath. Even as the water moved through the pond and the cool water returned, Elfie stuck the top of her staff into the water and used her Magic, just as Bell’s spell had done, to make sure the heat was all transferred into the water.

After the debacle this expedition had been, everyone was very happy for a hot bath and the sense of normalcy it brought back now that they were close to returning to the surface and civilization.

“Sheesh, keep it down, will you?” Bete grumbled at the large crowd as he opened the door to the yurt-style tent that was used for the Executives to hold meetings normally. He pulled the large green backpack off his back and held it out to Riveria. “Here, I got the meds.” The werewolf had clearly run all the way back to the surface, rounded up every does of Anti-Venin that he could get from across Orario, and then rushed back down without even taking time to sleep. Both the speed that he’d returned with and the bags under his eyes were proof of his dedication to the task that he’d been assigned. “I delivered the letter to Loki too.” Bete informed Finn with a nod.

Thank you, Bete, this is exactly what we need.” Riveria thanked him as she accepted the large backpack. “I’ll begin administering them immediately.”

“You don’t look like you even slept. Are you alright?” Gareth questioned the werewolf with some concern.

“I’m fine.” Bete waved it off. “I’m gonna hit the sack. Tell them to shut up before I knock them unconscious.” The brusque werewolf headed out of the large tent.

“Sure, get some rest.” Finn agreed with a nod. “Thank you, Bete.” He’d tell everyone to turn in early tonight so that they could get an early start tomorrow.

-After Dinner-

Within a large tent, several of the women of Loki Familia, along with Tsubaki, sat in a large circle with looks of concern or thought on their faces.

What had caused them to gather like this?

Multiple things, but the biggest being Hermes revealing that another entrance to the Dungeon had to exist for the flower-like Monsters to be getting to the surface like they’d been doing since Monsterphilia.

“This thing is big…very big.” Tione grimaced as the women mulled over the new information.

“But for there to be another entrance seems impossible, right?” Lefiya asked, the group at large. “Do you really think there’s a chance?”

“Yeah, but this is from the mouths of the Gods themselves.” Tiona pointed out the source of the information.

“It makes sense, doesn’t it?” Aki spoke up with a thoughtful look on her face. “How else are those Monsters getting to the surface unnoticed?”

“But…it’s this thing with Ais, that’s got me really worried.” Tiona looked down at the floor. Every time the new species showed up, or they ran into the strange irregulars related to them, Ais started acting strange. Especially after some redhaired woman had called her ‘Aria’ when they’d fought on the Eighteenth Floor a while back. The only time that Ais seemed to be able to relax and put the ‘Spirit’ stuff out of her mind was when Bell was around.

“As I recall, Ais was the first one to recognize that thing as a Spirit.” Alicia held her chin in thought.

“She got all weird when she saw it too, right?” Narvi agreed with Alicia.

“Well, she’s always been an odd one if you ask me.” Tsubaki shrugged with her hands on her hips.

“Miss Tsubaki!” Lefiya didn’t want anyone calling Ais weird or odd.

Tione looked over to Aki. “You’ve known her the longest of all of us, right, Aki? Any ideas?”

“Ais was even more of a recluse back then than she is now.” Aki shook her head a little. “I asked the bosses once, but they just said that she had her reasons.”

“Both ‘Aria’ and ‘Spirits’…” Tiona mumbled to herself. “I can’t help but think of the that legend, Dungeon Oratoria.” The Amazon loved Fairytales and Heroic Tales when she was growing up. Aria had shown up in Dungeon Oratoria as a Spirit that helped Albert the Great.

“That story’s from the Ancient Times, isn’t it? That’s ridiculous.” Tione brought up the hole in any connection between the two: the sheer amount of time that separated the Ancient Times from the present. “Besides, Spirits can’t have children, right?”

“Hmm, I guess it’s nothing after all…” Tiona sighed since that was their only clue at all.

“You do realize that people with Spirit Blood are still around today, don’t ya?” Tsubaki raised an eyebrow at the gather women.

There was a beat of silence.

“WHAT?!” All of them cried out, looking at Tsubaki in shock.

A minute or so later, Tsubaki leaving for a short time, and Welf was sitting on a cushion while Tsubaki stood next to him.

“Eh?” Welf’s face was a portrait of confusion as he wondered why Tsubaki had dragged him here.

“As you all know, this whelp is the blacksmith in Bell Cranel’s Party. He’s also one of the grunts in my Familia.” Tsubaki explained to the women.

“The hell is gong on?! Oi, Tsubaki, explain!” Welf demanded of his Familia’s Captain. He got put in a headlock by Tsubaki for his demands.

“His name’s Welf Crozzo.” Tsubaki introduced Welf with a grin.

“…Crozzo?” Tione knew that name.

“Wait! ‘Crozzo’ as in the cursed magic swordsmith, Crozzo?!” Aki gaped at actually meeting one of the infamous Crozzo Family.

“The very same! Makers of the legendary Magic Swords for the Kingdom of Rakia.” Tsubaki lightly grinded her fist against Welf cheek as he strangled to free himself from the headlock. “This kid’s a descendent of that very Smith Nobleman.”

“Crozzo…” Alicia was nearly growling as her fists clenched in her dress, a hateful glare directed at Welf. The usually calm Elf woman was actually surprising a few of her Familia members right now.

“Hold your horses, Alicia.” Tsubaki held up her hand to stop the Elf from doing anything rash. “Your anger at the Crozzo Magic Swords for torching the Elf homeland is justified.” She grinned and held up her index finger. “But you see, this kid disowned his Crozzo Lineage!”

That got everyone to stop and stare at Welf.

“For reasons that I honestly can’t fathom, Welfy here loathes every bit of his heritage!” Tsubaki kept Welf secure in her headlock. “More than that, he despises his own ability! He can make Magic Swords more powerful than even me, but he won’t touch one to save his life! Talk about a waste of talent.” The Half-Dwarf woman ruffled Welf’s hair, annoying the young man even more. “Long story short, he left Rakia behind. So, Alicia, you may have more in common with him than you think.”

Alicia looked stunned that any member of the Crozzo Family would turn their back on their own heritage and ability.

“To get back to the matter at hand, is it true that you have Spirit Blood in your veins?” Tione asked Welf pointblank.

“…Oi.” Welf glowered at Tsubaki for spilling that info.

“It’s fine, right? You’ve got nothing to lose.” Tsubaki waved off Welf’s glare.

“You better not go spreading rumors. I hate people prying into my business.” Welf rub his neck as Tsubaki released him. “Back in the Ancient Times, Crozzo the first saved a Spirit from a Monster and nearly died. The Spirit, wanting to repay him, shared some of its blood with the man and saved his life. But rather than just surviving, he gained the ability to use Spirit-borne Magic for the rest of his life.”

“The Spirit’s Miracle…” Tiona blinked at what she’d only vague read mentions of in other fairytales.

“Then the Crozzo ability to mass-produce those ludicrous swords is also…?” Alicia didn’t even need to finish for Welf to answer.

“I’m sure you get the picture.” Welf closed his eyes with a shake of his head. His family name was always gonna be annoying because of what his ancestors had done.

“Tiona, are there any accounts of similar Spirits in the legend you mentioned?” Lefiya asked the Amazon curiously.

“Hmm, I didn’t see any.” Tiona crossed her arms and shook her head after a long moment to think. “But I’ve only read handwritten copies…so who knows if things have been lost or changed over the years.”

“Welfy, you wouldn’t happen to know anything else about Spirit connections, would you?” Tsubaki questioned him expectantly.

“How the hell am I supposed to know?” Welf looked at her like she was crazy. “Only that one ancestor from the Ancient Times ever had contact with a Great Spirit.”

Tsubaki scoffed, her face deadpan. “Failin’ me when it really matters.” She shooed him away. “Your info’s as disappointing as the weapons you forge!”

“Cut me some slack, would you, woman?!” Welf barked right back at her. “If it’s legends you’re after, there’s a guy that knows a lot more about them than me! Why don’t you go ask him?!”

In another couple of minutes, Welf had left, but was now replaced by a very confused Bell.

“Huh?” Bell looked around the tent in confusion. “Um, why am I here?” Tiona was beaming happily at seeing him again. Tione caught his eyes and gave him a wink and a grin.

“Hoh-hoh-hoh! Welfy done sold you out! Prepare yourself.” Tsubaki leaned forward to look down at the sitting Bell.

“S-Sold out?” Bell blinked at the term, wondering just what Tsubaki meant.

“Argonaut~” Tiona crawled towards Bell with a giggle and then sat right in front of him with a bright smile.

“Tiona.” Bell smiled back at her, putting the rest of the watching women that he didn’t know out of his mind for a moment.

“Hey, hey, is it true that you know lots about the legends of heroes?” Tiona asked him with a grin.

“I, uh, wouldn’t say that I’m an expert, but I’ve read a lot of them since I was a kid.” Bell confirmed with a chuckle.

“Then whose the Lady that Sir Garrard saves?” Tiona asked out of the blue.

“Queen Altis.” Bell answered easily.

“Then, then where did the beast that Giorgio the Dragon Slayer killed live?” Tiona questioned with excitement building up.

“Lake Sirena.” Bell got it right with barely a thought.

“Then, then, then what weapon did he use to kill it?” Tiona was nearly bouncing even while sitting.

“A spear-like Holy Sword and a maiden’s ribbon.” Bell smiled at Tiona.

“Awesome! So awesome!” Tiona was radiating excitement, joy, and her beautiful smile was nearly lighting up the large tent.

“That’s enough outta you!” Tione ended the back and forth by pushing Tiona’s head down with her left hand. She looked at Bell with a soft smile before asking him the real question. “Do you know anything about a Spirit named ‘Aria’?”

“The Spirit Aria?” Bell wanted to confirm. “The Great Spirit of Dungeon Oratoria who was a crucial part of Albert the Great’s life?”

“Yes! That’s the one!” Tione nodded to him. “Do you know of any stories where she cuts herself to share her blood with someone, or anything like that?”

Bell thought about it, his face moving from reminiscent to thoughtful and then to thinking hard. “I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like that before.” He shook his head.

“Then what about Aria protecting a human, and then that human having kids?” Tione tried a different idea.

“I think something like that might’ve happened…but I don’t remember for sure?” Bell rubbed his head, trying to recall exactly how a story he’d read a long time ago had gone. “Although…” He perked up a little at remembering something. “I don’t know about descendants, per se, but Albert the Great did supposedly have a child.”

“WHAT?!” Tiona shot up, nearly knocking Tione over in the process. “I’ve never heard anything about that!” Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at Bell. “Did you read the original version?! The one from a thousand years ago?!”

“Uh, no, it’s more like something that my grandpa drew…” Bell rubbed the back of his head at getting Tiona’s hopes up like that, even if unintentionally.

All of the women looked at Bell with some surprise.

“Your grandfather wrote picture books?” Tione raised an eyebrow at Bell.

“Something like that.” Bell nodded to her. “Grandpa knew all sorts of tales and legends, had them memorized from what he told me. He even knew a lot that no one else in the village had ever heard before.”

“Back to Albert’s potential child…” Tiona refocused the conversation. “What happened to the kid? At the end of Albert’s story…”

“Yeah.” Bell nodded to her. “He got caught up in a battle…and then just disappeared.”

There was a long moment of silence in the tent before Tiona spoke again.

“Who were the other women in Albert the Great’s Party again?” She asked curiously, just to cover all of their bases.

“There was the Amazonian Empress Ivelda…and the High Elf Queen Celdia.” Bell answered, only to nearly be bowled over as the two Elves in the tent yelled at him.

“JUST WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING?!” Alicia and Lefiya demanded, both looking angry.

“Lady Celdia is an eternal saint, highly revered to this day!” Alicia pointed at Bell with an angry look on her face. “She left the homeland to save the world! The pride of our people! It’s unthinkable that she would ever have a child with someone from another Race!”

“Precisely! It’s blasphemous!” Lefiya agreed with Alicia.

‘Right, I almost forgot… A good number of Elves do not approve of the idea of High Elves breeding with non-Elves.’ Bell steadied himself so that he didn’t fall over from the sudden outburst.

Thankfully, before a long, long, long history lesson could start, Bell was ushered out of the tent by Tione and Tiona. Both Amazons kissing his cheeks and whispering their desire and intention of sleeping in his tent tonight to him. Bell had walked away with a bright red face, his hands nearly buzzing from how much the two amorous Amazons had let him touch their bodies.

-Tent-

“…We’re no closer to figuring out what’s up with Ais than when we started.” Tione sighed heavily at the lack of progress.

“All of this prying is unbecoming of you.” Riveria told them as she entered the tent.

“Lady Riveria?! W-Why are you here?” Lefiya questioned at the High Elf’s sudden appearance.

“As if no one would notice all of the commotion you were making.” Riveria smiled slightly.

“Hey, Riveria.” Tiona actually looked a little put out. “Isn’t this thing with Ais something that we should know about? We’re a Familia, aren’t we?”

“Despite the tight bonds of Familia, there are still topics that’re difficult to breach.” Riveria gently placed her hand on Tiona’s head, gently running her fingers through the Amazon’s hair. “However, after everything that happened on the Fifty-Ninth Floor, concealing such information from you is a shortcoming on Ais’s part as well as ours for allowing her to do so. You must feel uneasy.” She addressed the room as a whole while still head patting Tiona. “Though I am not presently at liberty to divulge everything, I can say for certain that Ais is, indeed, blessed with the blood of a Spirit.”

-Executive’s Tent-

Ais, Gareth, and Finn sat in three chairs close together, forming a triangle. Ais looked down at her lap, her hands clasped together over her thighs.

“You’re sure that you still can’t tell Tiona and the others?” Finn questioned calmly, not putting any pressure on Ais.

“…I feel like if I told them… It would make me weaker for having accepted their kindness. It would change me again… I wouldn’t get any stronger.” She looked away a bit, now looking at the floor to the side of her chair. “…I’m afraid… Of how they’ll look at me once they know.” She was genuinely worried about the reactions of her friends and Familia if they knew everything about her past.

“I thin you’re making a mountain out of a molehill, lass.” Gareth smiled reassuringly at Ais, much like a caring uncle might.

The three sat together, not saying anything, but both men gave Ais all of the silent reassurance they could to let her know that nothing would change once she did decide to tell the others about her past.

-Tent-

“Ais hasn’t been the same ever since that red-haired woman appeared.” Riveria sighed a little at the situation the Familia found themselves in ever since that day. “I’m sure it was never something that she wanted to discuss, nor the connection to her blood. It was never her intention to reveal her past, even with this turn of events.” Riveria stood up to her full height. “Someday, however, the time for it will come and until it does, I ask that you wait. I also ask, that once you know, you treat her no differently than you have in the past.” She looked at the other women in the large tent with a hopeful smile.

“Of course I will, Riveria!” Tiona beamed at the High Elf. “Ais is Ais! We’re a Familia after all!”

“Don’t you think that we’re all past this point by now?” Tione moved some of her hair aside with a grin.

“A-As if I would ever avoid Ais! Not in all of eternity!” Lefiya declared, both of her fists raised in front of her.

“Thank you.” Riveria smiled thankfully at all of them. It was a beautiful look that could warm the hearts of any that saw it. Or at least that’s what the members of the Loki Familia believed.

-Late Night ~ Rivira-

“Ow, ow, ow!” Hermes muttered in pain. “Aunt Hestia is so mean.” He rubbed his head at a spot that still stung. “What if she broke my head, Asfi?”

“You were peeping Lord Hermes, you deserved what you got.” Asfi told him flatly, making the Messenger God hang his head a little at the coldness. “So then, where are you headed at this late hour of the night?”

“To a tavern.” Hermes grinned, holding his arms out to his sides. “I’ve come up with a great plan for tomorrow!” He just needed to find the right people to carry it out for him.

-End Chapter-

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Hermes…you’re gonna get ANOTHER beating via La Chancla at this rate!

The Loki Familia girls are concerned about Ais, this whole irregulars, new species, and Spirit business is clearly affecting their friend.

Only having Bell around seems to help Ais push it from her mind. Which is kind of adorable. Ais needs her Bunny. Kek!

The ‘Dungeon Date’ through Rivira went smoothly! Mord isn’t dumb enough to try anything when Tione, Tiona, and Ais are watching him! Not if he wants to keep his limbs at any rate!

The bath time went well enough, with Bell making a hot bath for his loves! He’s such a doting boyfriend! He’s definitely earned cuddles, snuggles, and if Tiona and Tione have their way: snu-snu! lol

The Loki Familia leaves Floor Eighteen tomorrow, will the Hestia Familia and Rescue Party be right behind them?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you think with a review!

Until next time, later!