Inari Familia Premise Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter! Bell and Inari have a lot of work to do to establish a new District! Bell needs to become an Adventurer of some renown and respect, while Inari has to make enough money and attract enough residents to her developing District to make sure that it succeeds! But with Bell’s supremely powerful desire and determination towards his goals, paired with Inari’s Prosperity and Worldly Success Domains, just how will Bell develop? First though, Inari is gonna spoil Bell a bit! Kek!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 2 – Growth, Prosperity, and Meetings

At the main Hephaestus Familia Shop in Orario, Bell and the entire Takemikazuchi Familia were being fitted with new armor for the Dungeon. Much to the surprise of the six members of the Takemikazuchi Familia, who hadn’t expected this at all.

Inari, now having millions of Valis of her own, had fulfilled her promises to Takemikazuchi and to Bell. All of the Adventurers were getting new and better armor and clothing for the Dungeon. Considering that Bell had been wearing only the Guild provided light armor breastplate, and many of Také’s children had no real armor at all, it was a greatly needed, and appreciated, upgrade for all of them.

Asuka marveled at her new clothing and armor, now wearing a simple short yukata with a traditional Dou (cuirass) that covered her torso, front and back, with Han Kote (forearm guards), Haidate (thigh guards) that were tied at the waist, and Suneate (shin guards) to protect her legs, she had changed completely from the girl that had been wearing nothing more than a worn tunic with only her panties beneath it. Takemikazuchi Familia simply didn’t have enough money to outfit everyone, and Asuka was usually in the middle of their formation because of her lack of armor.

Similar armor, all of which was Superior Grade with minor enchantments for durability, was on most of the Takemikazuchi Familia members as well. Modified to fit the fighting styles of each member, of course, but all of them were now well-armored and would be much safer in the Dungeon. Bell had complimented all of them on their new armor, which got him smiles and thanks from the six of them, though Mikoto also had some pink on her cheeks from Bell’s compliments.

Bell had clearly been spoiled a bit by Inari. He now wore a white kosode with a traditional Dou over it to protect his torso. Over that was a blue haori with white designs along the sleeves and near the bottom hem. His forearms and the back of his hands were protected by Han Kote. He had black hakama pants covering his legs, and beneath the flowing cloth were Suneate as well. His obi could now properly hold his katana and wakizashi as a daisho set. All of the cloth was weaved with durable fibers and processed to be much more durable than any natural cloth, making it the equivalent of light armor by itself without any excess weight. Naturally, he received compliments from the Takemikazuchi Familia for his new armor and clothing as well.

“You look very nice in your new clothes and armor, Bell.” Mikoto smiled at him, her alluring purple eyes traveling up and down his form while her cheeks turned pink. Bell looked very good in the swordswoman’s opinion. She was trying not to fidget as she looked him over again, but the young woman was getting noticeably flustered.

“Thank you, Mikoto-san.” Bell smiled at her and Mikoto swore her heart nearly skipped a beat.

The two of them stuck close together, seemingly without thinking about it, as the two Familias did some shopping, picking up daily necessities and also some high-quality ingredients for the celebratory dinner they were going to have tonight.

-Takemikazuchi Familia Home ~ Evening-

Cheer was in the air as everyone ate their fill of the good food that had been bought and prepared just for tonight. Near the end of dinner, Inari revealed a bottle of her perfect sake that she’d kept for herself. The divine wine was opened and instantly both Inari and Takemikazuchi felt their senses go a little ‘off’ for a moment before they cleared their heads with a quick shake.

True divine wine could even get a Deity completely drunk to the point that they wouldn’t keep their memories from the time that they were inebriated. But it was also an experience that most couldn’t hope to have outside of Tenkai, where the various Deities of Brewing and Alcohol could use their Arcanum to make limitless quantities of divine wine. With a smile, Bell happily took the bottle from Inari and poured everyone a saucer full.

“To the future of our Familias!” Takemikazuchi and Inari raised their saucers.

“Cheers!” The humans raised their saucers with smiles.

Everyone drank their sake and felt their minds go into a pleasant haze. Laughter abounded as everyone’s mood became carefree and happy. Asuka was teasing Shin and Koda, playfully trying to swipe their saucers for more of the true divine sake, even though both saucers were empty. Takemikazuchi let out a satisfied sigh, Mikoto right beside him doing the same. The two really did look like father and daughter in this moment, right down to their expressions. Ouka and Chigusa had quickly gotten closer. The petite girl smiling as she leaned into Ouka, while the large man put his arm around her waist and held her close. Inari hummed, pleased with her brew, and giggled at Bell.

“Whoa…” Bell muttered with a bright smile on his face. “Inari-sama…your sake is amazing.” His face was red already and he seemed to be swaying slightly.

“Glad you like it, Bell.” Inari laughed and pulled him into her side before kissing the top of his head.

In a short time, Bell was between Inari and Mikoto, both women leaned into his sides with flushed faces. Inari was happily leaving little kisses on Bell’s cheek or the top of his head. Mikoto was pressed into his side, her head resting on his shoulder as she enjoyed his warmth. Bell’s arms were both occupied, one around Inari’s waist, the other around Mikoto’s waist. The young man had a big smile on his face at the attention of the two beautiful women, but even in his inebriation, he didn’t move any further than just holding their waists. He wasn’t one to take advantage of the situation when none of them was fully sober.

-Next Morning-

“Hmm?” Bell blinked slowly as he woke up in his futon. It took him a full minute before he recalled the celebration from the night before. “Oh man…” He covered his eyes with his hand as he remembered Inari and Mikoto against him. “Mikoto-san is going to be embarrassed for acting like that.” He knew the swordswoman was a bit shy about such things and hoped that his restraint last night would alleviate at least some of Mikoto’s expected embarrassment.

Inari’s giggle got Bell’s attention and he moved his hand so that he could look over at her on the other side of the room in her own futon.

“Don’t be so sure, Bell.” Inari smiled at him, clearly having been woken up by his muttering to himself. “Mikoto-chan needed to come out of her shell eventually. My sake just helped her stop overthinking things and do what she wanted.” She sat up with a grin, revealing that her sleeping yukata was partially open and giving Bell a good look at her cleavage. “I enjoyed myself last night, and you were a perfect gentleman.”

“I-Inari-sama…” Bell averted his eyes after a few seconds of taking in the sight of his lovely Goddess. “Your yukata…”

“Hm?” Inari looked down and giggled a little as she properly closed the garment. “See? A perfect gentleman.”

Breakfast was a little slow this morning, everyone taking extra time to get out of bed from the party last night. No one was especially hungover or anything, but they were still a little sluggish as the last effects of the divine wine left their bodies.

“G-Good morning, Bell-sama…” Mikoto blushed faintly and looked to the side, clearly, she recalled last night as well.

“Good morning, Mikoto-san.” Bell smiled at her and the two ended up sitting next to each other at breakfast.

Throughout the meal, Mikoto seemed to relax more and more. Seeing that Bell didn’t have anything bad to say about last night, the swordswoman began to smile and regain her normal energy. ‘Maybe last night wasn’t so bad then. If Bell-sama doesn’t mind being that close with me then…then…’ She lightly shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts. Thankfully no one seemed to notice her slightly flustered state.

The day proceeded as normal for the Adventurers after breakfast. They washed up, put their new armor on, secured their weapons and supplies, and then headed for the Dungeon for another day of work. Mikoto’s group was heading down to the Tenth Floor again, all of them wanting to push further and make it to the Eleventh Floor soon. Bell was headed to the Second Floor today, hoping to improve his skills and grow stronger.

With Inari and Takemikazuchi, both Deities had their own plans for the day. Takemikazuchi had work in a couple of hours, but was planning to take the money that Inari had given him to send to Tsukuyomi and get it securely shipped out to the Far East before then. With the amount that Inari had graciously offered, the orphans that Tsukuyomi took care of wouldn’t go hungry for a long while. That brought a smile to Takemikazuchi’s face just by itself.

Inari was going to be spending her day going to the Guild and making purchases of the lots in the Abandoned District. After that was done, then she’d be heading for Goibniu Familia’s Home, the Three Hammers Forge, to speak with Goibniu about starting construction on her new District. Even with all the money that she was going to spend today, she should still have a little left over to take care of her and Bell’s daily needs for enough time for the new District to start making money for their Familia.

‘I just have to buy the lots first…there’s roughly one-hundred lots in total in the Abandoned District according to the map. At 50,000 Valis per lot, that’s already 5,000,000 Valis. Building our home the way I want it will probably cost around 2,000,000…maybe 2,500,000 Valis. Then there’s starting up the tea greenhouse, making a rice paddy for food production, and a second one for sake brewing. Ah, I’ll have to have a small brewery built too.’ As Inari thought of everything that she’d need to have built to get her Familia on the right track to prosperity and growth, she quickly saw the 15,000,000 Valis that she’d made from Loki dwindling away. “Come on,” She lightly slapped her cheeks. “No use getting intimidated now! You have to spend money to make money, as the merchants say!” She finished dressing and left her and Bell’s room to join Takemikazuchi on the way to the Guild. The large amount of Valis was pushed along on a cart by the War God as a favor to the Ōkami of his Pantheon.

-Dungeon ~ Second Floor-

“Foxfire!” Bell sent five fireballs of the spectral blue and white flames at the incoming Kobolds. The five Monsters were hit and the flames instantly spread across their bodies.

“Yipe!”

“Rrruuaaahh!”

“Bark!”

The sounds of pain quickly faded away as the Monsters dropped to the stone floor, dead.

“Five at once! Nice!” Bell smiled that his Magic was getting stronger as each fireball had been enough to take down one Kobold. He flipped the first one over and pulled out his knife to cut open its chest and harvest the Magic Stone. “One down.” He smiled, placing the little purple stone into his backpack. “Hm?” He saw that amongst the white ash left behind was a familiar black claw. “A Kobold Nail! Yes!” He picked up the Drop Item and put it into his backpack with a grin. Inari had made a lot of money with her sale of the divine sake, but most of that money would be used to build their own Familia Home and take ownership of the Abandoned District. So Bell had to make as much money as he could each day to help the Familia out. “Next!” He moved over to the next dead Kobold to harvest its Magic Stone.

-Guild ~ Morning-

“Alright, that’s the sale made, Lady Inari.” A Senior Guild Official smiled to the Goddess as he placed the folder containing the deeds to the lots in the Abandoned District on the desk in front of her. “I’m surprised that you wanted to buy the Abandoned District. No one has wanted it since it was destroyed, none of the properties are worth anything with the condition they’re in either.”

Inari smiled as she took the folder and slipped it into her obi securely. “I have my plans, and I hope to see the area revitalized in time.”

The Guild Official chuckled pleasantly. “That would make several of my colleagues happy, since the properties decaying are just causing a host of other problems for the nearby residents.”

Inari bid the Official a good day and left his office. “Next stop, Goibniu Familia.” She hummed softly as she left the Guild and headed for the Three Hammers Forge.

-Dungeon ~ Second Floor-

“Twenty-eight…” Bell loosed another arrow and nailed a charging Goblin in the chest. He drew another arrow as the Goblin behind the first moved around the dead body of its kin to keep charging. “Twenty-nine…” The arrow struck the Goblin in the head, killing it instantly. “One’s being born.” Bell took another arrow and nocked it on his short bow. As soon as the new Goblin fully emerged from the wall, Bell released the arrow and took the Goblin off its feet with a head shot. “Thirty. I think I’m really starting to get the hang of the short bow now. He placed the short bow on the little hook that was attached to his backpack and made his way over to the closest Goblin corpse. “Thirty Monster today already. I might be able to hit a hundred if I can keep this pace up!” Bell smiled as he cut open the Goblin’s chest and removed the Magic Stone. He made sure to collect his arrow from the white ash before moving on. There was no reason not to reuse it since it was still in good condition.

-Three Hammers Forge ~ Late Morning-

“You want how much done?” A God that looked like an older man, with long silver hair and a matching beard, looked at Inari curiously. This was Goibniu, a God of Smithing and Architecture. He wore no shirt, revealing his strong arms and his toned chest. He clearly looked like an older man that took care of himself, but like all Deities, he hadn’t changed even slightly since descending to Gekai so long ago.

“This lot right here, the entire area, I want it converted into a Shrine that doubles as my Familia’s Home.” Inari restated while pointing to a specific lot in the Abandoned District. “I have the deeds to prove that I own all of the lots within the old district.” She placed the folder on top of the desk between her and Goibniu.

Goibniu flipped through the deeds to confirm, and once he was satisfied, he nodded to Inari. “We can do it, of course, but how exactly do you want this done? What style are we going for? You also want other structures torn down and new buildings built in their place, correct?”

“Exactly.” Inari nodded as she was offered a pen and some blank paper to give Goibniu a good idea of what she wanted built and how she wanted it done. The Far East Goddess spent a few minutes just sketching her ideas onto the papers, Goibniu merely raising an eyebrow when he caught sight of some of Inari’s designs. “This much is what I’d like done for now…I don’t think I could afford anything else just yet.”

“Let’s see…” Goibniu picked up the various papers and started looking over them with a discerning eye. “We’ll have to contract with Demeter Familia for the plants, but that’s not difficult. Rice is in short supply, Orario’s staple crops have always been wheat and potatoes. I’m sure Demeter still has some rice somewhere in her stores though.” He looked the papers over for a bit longer. “We have some members that’re from the Far East, so the architecture that you want is known well enough to build it properly. If I had to estimate a time window for completion, I’d say about five months.” Goibniu informed the Goddess plainly. “We can talk about the payment plan that you want as well. I believe you said this much was all that you could afford right now? I take it that means you’ll have the money by the end of the year?”

Inari looked thoughtful for a moment. “Five months, huh?”

“My Familia has other work to do around the city as well. Other Deities, companies, merchant groups, and even regular citizens come to us for their building needs.” Goibniu explained to Inari. “Everyone is taken care of as their payment plans allow, those that pay more get their work done first. My children act as foremen and laborers while we hire on any extra help as needed. Quality over quantity is the belief that I instill in my Familia.” The elder God explained.

“So…if I paid everything upfront, how fast could the work be completed?” Inari asked curiously.

Goibniu looked between Inari and the large box that was on a cart just outside the door to his office. “If you could pay the full amount upfront, then you’d be moved to the front of the line, of course. That would mean all of my currently available builders would be put on your project plus a dozen hired hands or so. Project completion would then take roughly…” He seemed to be doing estimates in his head while Inari waited patiently. “About a week for the Home, then about four weeks, give or take a few days, for the rest of it to be finished.”

“That’s much better.” Inari smiled at Goibniu. “I’d like to pay in full then.”

“Of course.” Goibniu chuckled lightly as he pulled out the paperwork necessary and set it on his desk. The two Deities spent quite a while going over the contract and after both were satisfied, Inari signed the contract, got her own copy, and the work order was put in.

-Dungeon ~ Second Floor-

Bell cut through a Kobold with his katana blade coated in Foxfire. The Monster hit the ground in two pieces, bisected at the waist. His hand came up to block the swipe of a second Kobold, his Han Kote defending fairly easily as his haori sleeve slipped downwards. Bell coated his fist In Foxfire and punched the Kobold in the face, engulfing its head in the blue-white flames.

“Yipe!” The Kobold whined and thrashed around for a moment before it hit the ground, dead, smoke wafting off the scorched flesh.

“These two make…eighty-four.” Bell took a second to make sure he had his count right. “I’m really gonna do it! I’m gonna hit one-hundred in one day!”

To be fair, his excitement was justified. Most newbies like Bell wouldn’t get anywhere close to killing one hundred Monsters in a single day, especially not solo. The young man’s sheer desire to get better, to grow stronger, all for the sake of his dreams and goals, was incredibly impressive.

Bell cut into the first Kobold and plucked out its Magic Stone. As the Monster crumbled into white ash, Bell placed the Magic Stone into his backpack. “No Drop Item this time, huh?” He moved over to the second dead Kobold. “What about you?” He took his knife to the dead Monster and extracted its Magic Stone. “Yes!” Bell beamed as a Kobold Nail was left behind. “I’m getting lucky today!” He put the Drop Item into his backpack along with the others.

-Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

Bell was all smiles as he waited for his exchange. He’d not only hit his goal of one hundred Monsters; he’d gone above it and stopped at one-hundred-sixteen! With the number of Drop Items he’d gotten today, he was looking forward to the amount.

“Your Magic Stones were worth 9,627 Valis, and the Goblin Fangs and Kobold Nails come out to 6,900 Valis. You’re total exchange today is 16,527 Valis. Please, have a nice evening.” The man behind the glasses pushed the tray back over to Bell’s side.

“Thank you, sir.” Bell collected his money and stowed it in his backpack. He left the Guild with a spring in his step, having already given his report for the day to Rose.

-Guild Advisor Area-

In the back of the Guild, Rose filled out her paperwork with practiced ease. She was still a little surprised that Bell had managed to kill over one hundred Monsters in a single day so soon into his career. But she kept it to herself and had only believed Bell’s claims after confirming with the Exchange after the new Adventurer had left.

‘Those who run full speed take the hardest fall when they trip.’ Rose thought to herself as she put Bell’s file away for now. She never got her hopes up for any of the Adventurers that she advised. She’d learned the pain of getting attached far too well and wouldn’t be doing it again. Bell would get professionalism and nothing more, just like all of Rose’s remaining Adventurers. ‘Still, it is an impressive number after only a few days of dungeon crawling.’

-Takemikazuchi Familia Home-

“Bell!” Inari beamed at him once he entered through the front door.

“Inari-sama!” Bell smiled back at his Goddess. “Something smells good.”

Inari laughed beautifully as Bell took his shoes off at the door. “Dinner will be ready soon enough, the others will be back within the hour, I’m sure.”

Still seeing how excited Inari was, Bell indulged her excitement and his own curiosity. “Did everything go well today?”

“It went perfectly!” Inari’s fluffy fox ears and her nine tails appeared behind her. “Our new Home will be finished in roughly a week! The rest of the starting work will be done in about a month! We’ll be on our way to becoming a strong and respectable Familia!”

“That’s amazing, Goddess!” Bell was just as excited as Inari was! To have their own Home as a Familia was the first step to growing stronger. Once the District began to take shape, they’d gain some notoriety and respect among the hundreds of Deities within Orario too!

Inari hugged Bell close, nuzzling into his fluffy white hair and making Bell fidget at being pulled into her bountiful chest once more. It didn’t stop the wide grin from forming as he enjoyed it though! “How did your day go? You don’t look like you’re injured.” She still looked him over regardless.

“No, I’m just a little sweaty from fighting all day.” Bell smiled back at her, excitement shining in his rubellite eyes. “I managed to kill one-hundred-sixteen Monsters today!” He told her happily. “I was able to make 16,527 Valis!”

“Bell, that’s amazing! According to Také, a Level 1 Party usually makes around 25,000 Valis a day and you’re doing more than half of that solo!” Inari snuggled him again, showing him how proud she was of his accomplishment, while also rewarding him at the same time.

Bell returned the hug this time, his arms looping around her trim waist. “Thank you, Inari-sama.”

-After Dinner-

Bell sat in front of Inari, the top of his yukata around his waist as he got his Status updated.

Inari watched Bell’s Excelia, seeing his day in the Dungeon and all of the Monster that he’d killed. ‘He’s definitely getting better with his Magic, and his archery has improved noticeably too.’ Inari smiled at Bell’s progress as an Adventurer. The fact that he was working so hard for their Familia made her smile fondly. She moved the Excelia into his Falna and watched as his Basic Abilities grew. Once that was done, she placed a blank paper onto his back and with a twirl of her fingertip, copied the numbers over. Inari quickly locked up his Falna, making it disappear as if sinking into Bell’s skin, before handing him the paper.

Bell accepted the paper with a smile as he happily checked his growth.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 82 > H 120

Endurance – I 70 > H 101

Dexterity – H 134 > H 167

Agility – I 73 > H 104

Magic – I 21 > I 60

-Magic-

Foxfire – Special Fire Magic – Swift Strike Magic/Enchantment

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“Wow…” bell marveled at his growth for the day. “I guess taking down over a hundred Monsters really added up for me.” He was happy with his 172 points of growth from his hard work all day. “Almost all of my stats are H Rank now too!” He’d have to keep working on his Magic to make sure it got as strong as possible too.

Inari hugged him from behind with a warm smile. “You’re doing amazing, Bell. Your determination, effort, and desire are going to take you as far as you want to go, I’m sure of it.”

“Thank you, Inari-sama.” Bell enjoyed being held by the gorgeous Goddess for a while. He had a week until their new home was ready, and he was going to make sure that he got as strong as possible and made as much money as he could in that time.

-A Week Later-

Bell’s mouth was agape as he stared at the large shrine building before him.

Inari giggled behind her sleeve at his expression. “I take it you like our new Home, Bell?”

“Th-This is all for us?” Bell couldn’t help but be stunned.

They walked under a torii gate at the front of the home, just past the gates that could be closed to keep people out. At either side of said gate was a fox statue, the left one holding a scroll in its mouth, while the right one held a ball in it jaws. There was a purification trough just inside the gate as well, with a stone fox atop it, the fox’s right paw rested atop the faucet where the water flowed from. The courtyard was large, but had the Main Hall, where prayers and offerings would be made. Near the Main Hall was a wooden board with many small hooks on it that Bell didn’t know the purpose of.

“That’s an Ema, visitors will write their wishes on wooden plates and hang them there in hopes that their wishes come true.” Inari explained to Bell, seeing him looking at the Ema curiously. “Once we have some more Familia members, we’ll be able to sell fortunes and charms too.” She giggled as Bell looked at her in a mixture of confusion and excitement.

Behind the Main Hall was the large residence that Inari had built for their Home. It perfectly blended into the shrine as a whole, matching the colors of the Main Hall as well as the architectural style of the buildings. If Bell had to guess, he’d say they could easily house at least two or three dozen future Familia members, and that was only seeing one side of the residence, so it could be even more.

“It’s going to be hard to keep everything clean.” Bell mentioned as they entered the front door of their new home and took off their shoes.

Inari nodded in agreement as she stepped up onto the floor. “I’m hopeful that people from the Far East that live in Orario will soon hear about our Familia and be drawn to this place.” She smiled at Bell when he looked at her. “Even if they aren’t combatants, I wouldn’t mind having some Familia members that act as retainers for the Familia, taking care of day-today tasks and the like.”

“Ah, I get it.” Bell nodded, knowing that just having a Falna came with a few benefits already, and that not everyone wanted to risk their lives in the Dungeon. “Are there a lot of people from the Far East in Orario?”

“Not overly many.” Inari shook her head, making her silver hair sway from the motion, they walked through the right hall and stopped at the main common area, a large open room with a tatami mat floor and set up with comfy cushions, low tables, and even a few couches and chairs. “Given that Orario and the Far East are almost as far apart as you can get geographically, only a small percentage of Orario’s population is Far Eastern or of Far Eastern descent.” Inari hummed as she tried to remember what she’d observed since descending to Gekai. “If I had to guess, maybe ten-thousand or so in all of Orario?”

Bell didn’t know how accurate that was, but he was fairly certain that Orario was home to roughly half a million people with probably a few thousand people that didn’t live in the city coming and going each day. It wasn’t called the ‘Center of the World’ for nothing.

The next stop of the house tour was the kitchen, a large space where a great many meals could be cooked all at once, if necessary. Adjacent to the kitchen was the dining room, a long room with an equally long table that could seat dozens without being cramped. After that was the bedrooms, lined up along one side of a hallway there were large windows to let in light on the opposite wall and even a few sliding doors that opened up to a large, covered, wrap-around wooden porch/walkway surrounding a courtyard with newly planted flowers and grass. The other side of the courtyard was a mirror to the hallway they were standing in, revealing a second hallway lined with bedrooms. At the end of each hallway were doorways that led to a short, but wide, connecting corridor where the entrances of the large baths that Inari had insisted upon having were located. Large cedar tubs inside could comfortably hold ten people or more with showers on one wall to clean off before soaking in the tub. The large bathing area was separated into two sides by a thick wall, one side for women and the other for men.

“Not that we have to worry if you want to bathe together, Bell.” Inari teased him lightly, pressing herself into his side.

“I-Inari-sama…” Bell wouldn’t lie…it was tempting to just agree and see what happened, but he restrained himself.

“And my room is down here.” Inari mentioned, showing that her bedroom was off to the side of the others (and also larger) so that the Goddess could easily leave her room and be in any other part of the large house in a short time. “You can move in whenever we get to that point.” The teasing lilt made Bell’s heart thump in his chest, and he noticed that Inari’s silver-furred fox ears were atop her head, a clear sign that she was being honest as she wasn’t restraining herself. “Don’t keep me waiting too long, Bell.” She giggled at him, seeing his face turning red.

All in all, the new Inari Familia Home was large, welcoming, warm, and had plenty of space for any future Familia members to practice or spar with each other. The trees that had been brought in were young right now, but Inari smiled and told him that they would grow and every spring they’d burst into beautiful color as the sakura blossomed. Bell could honestly say that he was looking forward to it come the next spring.

Rumble

For now though, the noise of further demolition would continue for the next week as the Goibniu Familia members tore down the half-destroyed and dilapidated structures near the new shrine to clear the way for the new buildings that Inari wanted to be built in their place.

Inari turned her head and smiled when she and Bell got close to the front door again. Without a word, Inari slipped her shoes on and opened the door before heading outside. Bell quickly followed after her, hopping on one foot for a second as he got his shoes on as fast as he could.

Bell was surprised to find the Takemikazuchi Familia at the torii gate, bowing respectfully before they entered. He walked over to his friends at Inari’s side, watching as they all used the purification trough to clean their hands and mouths.

“Welcome Také,” Inari smiled at Takemikazuchi. “Thank you for coming.”

Takemikazuchi smiled and presented Inari with a small gift, as was proper when visiting a friend. “It’s a lovely home, Inari.”

“I’m glad you think so!” Inari’s bubbly laugh made everyone smile reflexively. “Come in, come in! I just finished showing Bell around. We’d love to have you stay for dinner.” The first day and evening in the new, large home would be much warmer with friends after all.

Several minutes later and a loud sound made even the hardworking Goibniu Familia members stop working for a second.

“AAAAAHHHHHH!!! LOOK AT THESE AMAZING TUBS!!!” Mikoto’s loud cry of joy resounded throughout the district.

-Next Day ~ Morning-

“Sorry to keep you, Bell.” Inari apologized as she went over his Excelia from the day before. “We just got so busy with the new house and having Také’s Familia over yesterday that I forgot to update your Status.”

Bell waved off her apology. They had been rather busy after all. “It’s fine, Inari-sama, yesterday was fun.” He chuckled, remembering Mikoto’s reaction to the baths. “I didn’t know Mikoto was such a huge fan of spacious, cedar tubs…”

“Mikoto-chan enjoys a relaxing soak.” Inari giggled to herself as she moved his Excelia over and let his Falna grow. “Také thought I was trying to tempt Mikoto-chan into joining our Familia.” She laughed, recalling the playful accusation of her friend.

“We’ll get more Familia members soon, I’m sure of it, Inari-sama.” Bell smiled at her over his shoulder. “I’ll do whatever I can to help everyone grow!”

Inari smiled back at him, always enjoying his pleasant attitude. “I’m sure we will too, Bell.” She pressed the blank paper to his back and copied the numbers over. She handed the new Update to him as she locked up his Falna securely so that it couldn’t be seen. “You’re working just as hard as always. I’m glad that I made you take yesterday off.” She lightly admonished him for going into the Dungeon so many days in a row without a break.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – G 291 > F 322

Endurance – G 278 > F 313

Dexterity – F 328 > F 359

Agility – G 279 > F 315

Magic – G 246 > G 285

-Magic-

Foxfire – Special Fire Magic – Swift Strike Magic/Enchantment

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“I’m glad that I’m still growing so much though.” Bell was happy to see his growth. “I know that as I get higher, I’m going to need more and more Excelia to increase my Basic Abilities even a few points.”

“You’re blowing most new Adventurers out of the water with your current growth, Bell.” Inari praised him with a warm smile. “The fact that you’ve been making it a point to hunt down more Monsters each day than you did the previous day, certainly isn’t hurting. But you’ll eventually run up against a wall doing that. There just won’t be enough time in the day for you to hunt, kill, and then harvest every Monster by yourself.”

Bell knew that she was right. Already he was having trouble trying to improve his hunting numbers from one day to the next. ‘Maybe I should look into getting a Supporter soon?’ He knew that every serious Party needed one, and a good Supporter could increase efficiency when it came to hunting and harvesting Monsters.

“Alright, be safe…as much as you can in the Dungeon…and come home tonight in one piece.” Inari hugged him from behind. “I’ll keep supporting you with all of the Prosperity and Worldly Success that I can.”

“Thank you, Inari-sama, I’ll do my best!” Bell beamed at her as he stood up and went to his new bedroom to get his armor and weapons. He was out the door not even ten minutes later.

-Dungeon ~ Fifth Floor-

“MOOOAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” The bellow of a Minotaur rang out throughout the Floor.

Bell was already running before the roar had even died down. “WHY IS THERE A MINOTAUR ON THE FIFTH FLOOR?!” He yelled out in a panic.

The stomping charge of the Minotaur behind him sounded like thunder to Bell. But he kept running, ducking around corners, and moving close to the wall to prevent the Level 2 Monster from being able to charge him at full speed from behind.

“MOOAARRGGHH!!!” The Minotaur continued to chase after Bell, slamming through stone corners with its powerful frame. It swung at Bell every time it got close to catching up with the young man. Several of the swings were close enough that Bell felt the wind off the blows.

‘This is not what I expected on my second day on the Fifth Floor!’ Bell yelled within his mind, opting to save his breath for more running. He took a left turn and heard the Minotaur smash through the corner a second later. Bell had to take a right next, since it was the only option available to him, but what he saw made him skid to a stop. “A dead end?!”

“MOOOAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” The Minotaur stomped into the rectangular cavern, huffing and growling after having chased Bell through the Fifth Floor.

“Foxfire!” Bell launched a large fireball of blue-white flames at the Minotaur.

“MOOAAUUHH!!!” The Minotaur bellowed staggering back a step as it swiped at the fire burning its fur with both hands.

Bell took the brief opportunity to pull his short bow and nock and arrow. He fired and the arrow broke against the Minotaur’s tough hide.

“MMRRRNNN!!!” The Minotaur had managed to put out the fire and made an aggravated sound at the arrow having hit it.

Bell fired another arrow, this time aiming for one of the red eyes of the Level 2 Monster. The Minotaur turned its head and the arrow was broken by its strong horn. Bell wasn’t giving up though, already nocking another arrow and aiming for the eyes again. The Minotaur once more shattered the arrow with its opposite horn. Three more arrows were fired, each one broken either on one of the horns, or against the Minotaur’s body. It was the fourth arrow that Bell gambled with.

“Foxfire!” The arrowhead erupted into a blaze of spectral blue-white flames just as Bell released the arrow. The Minotaur swung its head again and shattered the arrow. This time, however, while the shaft snapped, the enchanted arrowhead kept flying straight ahead.

“MOOOAAAUUURRRGGGHHH!!!” The Minotaur’s painful bellow nearly broke Bell’s eardrums and both of its hands cradled it face. Smoke poured from between the Bull Monster’s fingers, signifying that his Foxfire was indeed burning it. When it looked up at Bell in rage, the young man finally got to see the damage that he’d done.

The left eye of the Minotaur was gone. Only a smoking, blackened eye socket remained. Blood stained the left side of the Minotaur’s face from the ruined eye. Bell felt just a brief instant of accomplishment at managing to injure the Minotaur.

Then it charged him in a rage.

“SHIT!” Bell threw himself to the side, losing grip on his short bow in the process.

BOOM

The impact of the Minotaur’s head against the stone wall almost sounded like and explosion. The rock shattered like it was made of spun sugar, pebbles raining down over the rectangular cavern. Bell drew his katana after scrambling to his feet.

“Foxfire!” He covered both his weapon and his body in the blue-white fire, hoping to deter the Minotaur from trying to touch him.

The Minotaur turned its head to look at Bell with its remaining eye. It showed no signs of fear from the flames surrounding him. Only pure rage at the pain that it had been caused. “MOOAARRGGHH!!!” It charged towards Bell, but even Bell noticed the slight lean toward its right as it charged, a clear sign that the Monster had lost its binocular vision and with it, its depth perception.

“Hup!” Bell jumped to the left and swung his sword, unleashing a wave of Foxfire on the Minotaur. He dropped low when the Minotaur’s fist came through his flames and slammed into the wall. It took the Minotaur a second to realize where Bell had gone as it moved its head to see him crouched low in its new blind spot. “HAH!!!” Bell shot upwards with all of his strength put behind his swing, his spectral flames enhanced his blade and made a minor laceration on the Minotaur’s hide, only to instantly cauterize the wound from the heat.

“MOOOAAAUUUGGHHH!!!: The Minotaur swung widely through the blue-white flames. Its fist scattered the fire into embers, but Bell was no longer there.

Boom Boom Boom

Three small fireballs slammed into the Minotaur’s back and the Raging Bull Monster lived up to its designation as it spun into a wild backfist, hoping to kill Bell in one shot. But its fist passed through empty air. Bell wasn’t behind it at all.

“YAH!” Bell cut the back of the Minotaur’s leg (barely) with his Foxfire-covered sword. The wound staggered the Minotaur and Bell took this chance to escape while it was slowed and seemingly confused. He ran towards the exit, feeling the fog at the edged of his consciousness that signaled the onset of a Mind Down if he used any more Magic. He’d thrown everything he could behind his Foxfire and barely injured the level 2 Monster. But he did learn a new trick with his special fire that he would make use of in the future.

“MOOOAAARRGGGHH!!!” The Minotaur’s bellow came from directly behind Bell, and without a second of thought, he threw himself to the left.

BOOM

Bell got back to his feet as fast as he could making sure to keep a firm grip on his katana. The wall on the right hand side of the exit was smashed and crumbling. Rocks and pebbles scattered all over the floor from the failed attempt to gore Bell from behind. Bell’s heartbeat increased even more, if that were possible, realizing how close he’d come to death in that instant.

‘If I hadn’t gone left, I’d have died.’ Bell breathed heavily, now out of options as his Foxfire faded away as he didn’t have the Mind to sustain them without losing consciousness. If he passed out from a Mind Down, then he was dead. But without his Magic, he had no way to injure the Minotaur any more, which would lead to his death.

“MMRRNNN!!!” The Minotaur turned around to rage at Bell. The Level 2 Monster took a step forward, its cloven hooves cracking the stone floor.

Bell readied himself to dodged again, knowing that it would be his only chance make his escape. He had no other options left if he wanted to survive.

“MOOOAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” The Minotaur bellowed as it prepared to charge.

But it never got to take that next step.

A flash of silver and the Minotaur’s head was separated from its body.

Twin flashed of silver and the Minotaur was bisected at the waist.

In a blur, Bell saw a humanoid figure bolt forward and slam into the back of the Minotaur’s torso, carrying the heavy weight over Bell’s head at the same impressive speed.

BAM

And then slammed the hunk of Monster into the rock behind him with enough force to shatter the stone.

Bell blinked, realizing that it had only taken the time between blinks for all of this to happen as he did so.

“Are you…okay?” A woman’s voice asked.

“I think he’s shellshocked.” A different woman’s voice said.

“We got here in time, right?” A third female voice questioned from behind Bell.

“Huh?” Bell shook himself and looked at his three rescuers. “Oh…” And was now starstruck.

“There he is.” The beautiful Amazon smiled at him. She had long, black hair going down to just past her butt. Two long, braided bangs framed her face and were held together with silver-colored hair ornaments near the ends. Her ears were pierced, each one sporting a round, blue gem. Silver-colored neckbands adorned her neck and a deep-red bikini top covered her very large breasts. The garment was wrapped around her back, and was tied off behind her neck. A circular, silver moon ornament kept the top pulled tight to prevent any slipping. Like many Amazons, she left her toned and smooth stomach fully displayed. She had a folded pareo tied around her waist, a dark yellow color with a green band around the hem. Red leggings attached to a garter belt around her waist drew the eye of many a man. She also had silver-colored armbands and anklets to finish off her look.

This woman was Tione Hyrute, ‘Jörmungandr’ of the Loki Familia, a Level 5 Adventurer. In her hands were her Kukri knives, and Bell realized that they were the twin flashes he’d seen bisecting the Minotaur.

“…are you, alright?” The blonde woman standing next to Tione asked Bell again.

She was very beautiful with long golden-blonde hair, gold eyes, and a slender body, her breasts and hips giving her curves that could easily draw a man’s eyes. She was wearing a white and black battle cloth, black arm covers, and long blue boots up to her thighs. Her armor consisted of a head guard, breastplate, arm guards, hip guards, and knee guards. In her hand was a straight sword that even Bell could tell was of high quality.

This was Ais Wallenstein, the ‘Kenki’ of Loki Familia, also a Level 5 Adventurer.

“You’re not hurt, are ya?” The final woman asked as she came around him to look at his face.

She had short, black hair, with two long bangs framing her face. Each of the longer bangs was held together with a simple bronze hair ornament near the end. Around her neck were golden-colored neckbands, the largest of which sported three blue gems. Her chest was covered by a white breast wrap that left just enough to the imagination. She wasn't very busty, but it certainly didn’t detract from her beauty in the slightest. Her smooth and toned stomach was left fully on display, just like her sister’s. She wore a golden armband on each forearm and had golden anklets similar to her neckbands adorning her ankles. The pareo around her waist was a match to her sisters, though it was worn longer, the ends falling around the woman’s ankles. The garment partially covered her legs and the brown loincloth that hung down to her shins. A thick, brown and white belt with a golden buckle featuring a stylized sun sat around her hips, over the tied-off pareo.

This was Tiona Hyrute, ‘The Slasher’ of Loki Familia, another Level 5 Adventurer, though she was missing her signature weapon, Urga.

“N-No… I’m fine.” Bell replied after a second. “Thank you for saving me.” He bowed at the waist to the three girls.

“No problem.” Tione shrugged with a grin.

“I’m glad…that we got here in time.” Ais bowed a little to Bell.

“Just happy that you’re alright!” Tiona beamed at Bell her smile reminiscent of sunshine.

‘I threw everything I had at the Minotaur and could barley hurt, it except with a lucky shot… They destroyed it without even trying.’ Bell thought as he turned to look at the torso of the Minotaur on the ground behind him, the broken wall was splattered with blood from where Tiona had slammed the heavy mound of muscle into it.

“Hey…you weren’t doing too bad.” Tione spoke up, catching Bell’s attention. “You left these burned cuts on it, right?” The Amazon was tracing the line of the cut that Bell had left on the back of the Minotaur’s leg with her big toe.

“There’s a few on the torso too!” Tiona had looked at the back, spotting more of the same injuries, before flipping the torso over to see the ones on the chest. “You really put up one hell of a fight!” She praised him with a laugh.

Ais was looking at the severed head blankly, seeing the burned and ruined eye socket. “You took out its eye?”

“I got lucky.” Bell sheathed his katana and let out a long and slow exhale. “I could barely scratch it, even with my Magic.”

“Hey, you’re probably still new to Level 2, right? You’ll be hunting these big cows soon enough with a bit more practice.” Tione assured him with a grin.

Tiona placed her hand on his shoulder with a bright grin. “She’s right! You just need to practice and get your stats up some more, and then these things will be no big deal for you.”

“Mm… Minotaurs are difficult…even for new Level 2’s to deal with solo.” Ais said with a nod to Bell.

Bell took a second to process the fact that he was being praised by such famous Adventurers. There was a wellspring of relief, happiness, and even a bit of pride building up within him. But then his brain caught up to what the three women had said about his Level. “I’m…not Level 2…”

“What?” Tiona looked at him with confusion, which made her look adorable in Bell’s eyes.

Tione cocked an eyebrow at Bell. “Level 3 then? If you specialize in Magic, maybe you have trouble in close combat? Lefiya’s like that too.”

“N-No…I meant I’m Level 1…” Bell clarified, almost reeling from being thought of as a Level 3.

“Mm?!” Ais’s golden eyes widened as a look of shock broke through her normally blank features.

“That’s silly.” Tione shook her head with a chuckle. “I get that some Familias don’t always report their members’ Level Ups, but we won’t tell anyone about your secret.”

Tiona laughed brightly, throwing her arm over Bell’s shoulders. “Level 1, he says!” She looked at Bell after getting her laughter under control. “No way a Level 1 can injure a Minotaur like that!”

“I can’t show you…but I’m telling the truth.” Bell rubbed the back of his head, his rubellite eyes clear as he looked into Tiona’s warm, dark green eyes.

Tiona suddenly moved closer, getting into Bell’s personal space. She was looking into his eyes closely, their noses almost touching.

‘So close!’ Bell leaned back a bit, but Tiona followed him, her eyes locked on his.

“You’re not lying…are you?” Tiona finally blinked, her voice disbelieving.

“No, ma’am…” Bell shook his head once.

Tione was suddenly in his personal space too, just as close as Tiona had been a second ago. “You’re Level 1?” The intense green eyes, nearly identical to her sister’s, were practically drilling into Bell’s rubellite gaze.

“Yes, ma’am.” Bell answered promptly this time.

“You’re really telling the truth?” Tione didn’t look like she believed what she was saying, even though she didn’t see a hint of deceit in Bell’s eyes. If anything, he seemed more like an open book to her.

Bell just nodded this time; not sure what else he could say.

“How?” Ais’s questioned was unexpected as all three of them turned to look at her.

“How?” Bell didn’t know what she was trying to ask.

Ais blinked once, twice, and then shook her head slightly. “How…did you injure the Minotaur this badly…if you’re Level 1?”

“I got lucky…my Magic was partially effective. The arrow I enchanted managed to get past its defense and hit it in the eye.” Bell explained, not seeing any reason to lie to the three that had saved him. “From there it was just trying to stay in its blind spot and confuse it so that I could run away.”

“I’ve never heard of a Level 1’s Magic being strong enough to hurt a Minotaur like this before… Are you almost Level 2?” Tione asked, looking Bell up and down.

“You’ve gotta be, right?” Tiona smiled at him.

“This is my third week of being an Adventurer.” Bell shook his head to deny that he was anywhere close to Level 2.

Ais took a step forward, and then another, her golden gaze looking at Bell as if he was some type of mystery that she couldn’t figure out. “Your…I…mm…” Ais had just about asked about Bell’s stats, one of the biggest faux pas among Adventurers and the cause of more than one feud between Familias.

“Sorry.” Bell apologized, understanding what Ais wanted to ask after a second. He couldn’t tell anyone his Status, aside from maybe Miss Rose, and only because she was his Advisor and thus bound to confidentiality.

Ais shook her head, letting Bell know that it was her fault for almost asking.

Tione and Tiona looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between the twins. Both of them glanced at Bell during their silent talk, before identical smiles formed on their lips.

“So… What’s your name, we never introduced ourselves.” Tione asked as she sidled up to Bell’s left side.

“I’m Bell Cranel, Captain of the Inari Familia.” Bell introduced himself with a smile.

“Tione Hyrute, nice to meet you, Bell.” Tione’s smile was lovely, but Bell saw something new in her eyes that he couldn’t identify, but felt a thrumming of his heart in response to.

“I’m Tiona Hyrute, Bell, you can call me Tiona!” Tiona smiled at Bell while moving into his right side.

Ais was curious about the closeness that Tione and Tiona had with Bell, but introduced herself politely anyway. “Ais Wallenstein, pleased to meet you.”

“We should escort you back to the surface.” Tione offered, the same smile on her lips as she pressed herself a bit closer to Bell.

Tiona mimicked her sister, pressing herself against Bell. “Yep! Just to be sure you’re alright!”

“Oh, um, thank you.” Bell smiled at the offer from the two Level 5 women. He felt like he could make it back to the surface on his own, but he was rather low on Mind right now, so maybe it would be for the best to go with them. “Should we get the Minotaur’s Magic Stone?”

“Hmm, yeah, we probably should.” Tiona hummed thoughtfully, still leaning into Bell’s right side.

“I’ll get it.” Ais offered with a small nod.

“Thanks, Ais.” Tione thanked her friend, and practically surrogate sister.

Bell barely saw Ais’s sword move before the Minotaur’s chest was sliced wide open. Without a word, Ais plucked the fist-sized Magic Stone out of the corpse and all three pieces started to disintegrate into white ash.

‘So fast!’ Bell exclaimed internally. ‘That’s the kind of strength that I want to have. I want to stand where these three are standing…and then I want to go even further! I want to get stronger… Stronger than I am now! Stronger than these three that saved me! I want to be a Hero that can help others and save them when they need me!’ A star of desire and determination exploded into life within Bell’s chest right then and there. His already powerful desire to reach his dreams, his goals, became an all-encompassing drive that wouldn’t be held back by anything!

His Falna reacted to such a powerful abnormality, a desire so strong that it could affect the Divinity that resided within the Blessing upon his back.

A new possibility was born from Bell Cranel’s sheer determination and desire.

-Surface-

Bell wasn’t sure when it had happened, but sometime in the process of walking back up to the surface, his arms had wound up around Tione and Tiona’s waists. Neither sister seemed to mind at all. If anything, they were both giving him looks of approval.

Ais seemed genuinely curious about the sudden closeness, but the conversation between the four of them was continuing on easily, so she didn’t bring it up. Instead, the girls learned more about Bell. His Familia being new in Orario. How he was currently the only member as they worked hard to establish themselves within the city. Eventually the topic shifted to the three women, and Bell showed such genuine interest in getting to know about them that Ais, Tione, and Tiona, all found themselves smiling without realizing it.

Bell got to learn about the three girls, learning their likes and dislikes, that Ais’s favorite food was Jagamarukun of all things, that Tione liked to try new things that caught her attention such as cooking or music, or that Tiona was a fan of Heroic Tales, like he was. The conversation only came to a halt when the rest of Loki Familia came out of Babel Tower and the three young women had to go meet with their Familia.

Bell almost felt reluctant to let go of Tiona and Tione, but did so as he stood up.

It was Tione that seemed to have an idea as she jogged over to Finn Deimne, the Level 6 Captain of the Loki Familia, and spoke with him for a moment. Finn looked between Tione and Bell twice throughout the short conversation before giving the Amazon a nod. Tione jogged back over with a bright smile on her face.

“I asked the Captain if we could go with Bell as witnesses to his fight with a Minotaur.” Tione explained to the three of them. “No way is the Guild going to believe that a Level 1 injured a Minotaur like that, right?”

“Thank you very much, Miss Tione.” Bell smiled at the Amazon for thinking ahead like that.

“Just Tione, Bell.” Tione grinned at him as the group headed for the Guild together.

“Oh…thank you.” Bell blinked at being aloud to be so casual with Tione already. Tiona had requested it from the start, but Bell hadn’t expected either Tione or Ais to be so casual with him so soon.

-Guild-

“A MINOTAUR?!” Rose exclaimed in shock. Many would remember this day as the first time in quite a while that Rose had an outburst from something one of her Adventurers had said. “How’re you not…” She looked over at the three Level 5’s for a second. “Right, stupid question.” The redheaded Werewolf sighed in an attempt to calm down and refocus her thoughts. “Start from the beginning, Bell.” Rose pulled out a blank report form and poised her pen over it.

“Well, the morning started normally enough.” Bell began as he recounted his supremely cut short day in the Dungeon. Tione, Tiona, and Ais all listened attentively to the events so that they didn’t miss anything.

Rose stopped writing as Bell described his fight with the Minotaur. “What do you mean by ‘injured it’ exactly?”

“My Magic hurt the Minotaur.” Bell blinked at his Advisor, not sure how else to explain it.

“He’s not exaggerating.” Tione assured Rose. “We saw the damage on the Minotaur ourselves.”

“Yep!” Tiona nodded to the Werewolf. “Lines cut into the skin and then burned closed. And the missing eye that was burned out too!”

Ais confirmed their words with a calm, almost flat, tone. “We didn’t have time to injure any of the Minotaurs that escaped the Seventeenth Floor. When they bolted up the stairs to the higher Floors, we gave chase and ended each Monster with a single blow.”

“Unbelievable…” Rose wrote down Bell’s account, making a note that it was corroborated by Ais Wallenstein and both of the Hyrute Sisters. ‘This should’ve been the irregular that Bell tripped over…’ She thought to herself, having been waiting for the other shoe to drop on Bell and end yet another one of her Adventurers. ‘But he survived. Maybe out of pure dumb luck…’ She glanced at the three Loki Familia women. ‘Definitely by sheer dumb luck. But this irregular situation should’ve been the stumbling point…and yet, somehow, Bell defied expectation.’ Rose wouldn’t count on this happening again, the next time Bell ‘tripped’ would probably be fatal. But, at least for now, she’d keep advising him, as was her job. Professional as always.

Once Bell’s report was done, the four of them had to separate for the evening.

“It was…nice to meet you, Bell.” Ais gave him a small smile and a short bow. The young man was interesting, to say the least, and something about him had allowed him to bridge the Level gap, if only slightly. ‘I want to talk more…to learn more about you…Bell.’ Maybe he could help her find a way to grow stronger?

“We’ll see you again soon, Bell.” Tiona giggled, hugging his arm and pressing it against her chest.

Tione pressed her large tits against his upper arm with a grin on her lips. “Try not to get into anymore situations like that one, alright, Bell? We definitely want to see you again.” The slight change in her tone near the end made that same feeling, like a thrumming in his nerves, pass through his body again…as if it was ingrained into his instincts.

“It was great to meet you three as well, thank you very much for saving me.” Bell thanked the three women again, his arms briefly wrapping around Tiona and Tione’s waists and hugging them to his sides before he let them go again. “I’ll look forward to seeing you again.” He bowed at the waist and gave the three women a warm and thankful smile.

With that, the four of them split up, Bell heading back to the new Inari Familia Home, while Tiona, Ais, and Tione headed for the Twilight Manor. All four of them had smiles on their faces from the unexpected turn that their day had taken.

-Inari Familia Home-

“Are you hurt? Tired? Do you need a potion?” Inari was checking Bell over for anything that could possibly be wrong with him after he told her why he was home so early.

“I’m fine, Inari-sama.” Bell reassured her with a smile. “I was saved before anything happened to me.”

“Let’s update your Status, Bell.” Inari was already pulling him towards her bedroom. “That way I can see for myself.”

“Yes, Inari-sama.” Bell went with it, knowing that his Goddess would only feel better once she’d seen the incident through his eyes via the Excelia he’d gathered.

Once Bell had his haori, armor, and kosode off, his bare back was shown to Inari. With ease, Inari pricked her finger with a needle and let a single drop of her blood touch bell’s skin. The black lines and markings of the Falna appeared, as if they were emerging from Bell’s skin. The blue-white glow appeared as Inari unlocked Bell’s Falna and began his update.

Inari had to stop herself from pulling Bell into a tight hug when she saw him fighting for his life against the Minotaur. Any wrong move and Bell would’ve died. But her first Familia member, her Captain, her bunny…he’d fought. Against a Monster he stood no chance against, he stood up and fought anyway. Maybe he didn’t defeat the Minotaur, but his actions would certainly be considered brave and even impressive. Inari knew that Bell would definitely have gained quite a good amount of quality Excelia from this encounter.

“Hm?” Inari made a slight noise as she saw something manifest within Bell’s Falna. ‘A Skill?’ She parsed through it, uncovering its meaning and its name as it translated into hieroglyphs. “My Bell… My brave, heroic, determined bunny…” She murmured softly, just loud enough for Bell to hear.

“Inari-sama…?” Bell barely kept himself from fidgeting after hearing his Goddess’s words.

Inari wrote the Skill into Bell’s Falna and then moved his Excelia over into his Basic Abilities. She blinked in surprise at how much the number increased, but given the Skill, she reasoned that she shouldn’t be too surprised. “One more second, Bell.” She placed a blank paper on his back and copied the update over. Without a word she handed Bell the paper and then pulled him back against her in a warm hug full of comfort.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – F 322 > E 471

Endurance – F 313 > E 454

Dexterity – F 359 > D 508

Agility – F 315 > E 466

Magic – G 285 > E 460

-Magic-

Foxfire – Special Fire Magic – Swift Strike Magic/Enchantment

-Skills-

Han'ei no Yokubō (Prosperity Desire) – Fast growth. Greater desire results in faster growth. Greater effort results in larger growth. As a side-effect, those who work with the user experience faster growth in proportion to their efforts.

-Status-

“I have a Skill?!” Bell would’ve jumped up in shock, but Inari was currently holding him, so he couldn’t.

“Mhmm… I told you that your desire, determination, and drive would take you as far as you wanted to go, Bell.” Inari remined him, kissing the top of his head and then gently nuzzling into his soft hair. “Your overwhelming desire to reach your goals and dreams manifested as that Skill.”

“Fast growth…desire…effort…other’s experience faster growth…” Bell mumbled as he read over his new Skill.

Inari hummed softly as she held Bell. “All of your goals, and your desire to accomplish them, came together it seems.”

“This is why I jumped so much…” Bell looked at the massive leap in his stats. “I can help our Familia even more now, Inari-sama.”

“Of course…” Inari giggled lightly. “But for now, just relax.” She gently guided him to lay his head on her lap and started to run her fingers through his white hair while softly humming a tune.

‘So comforting…’ Bell smiled and his eyes closed without resistance. He just relaxed as Inari told him, letting her soothe him. Without knowing it, Bell was allowing tension and stress to release from his body after his near-death experience. Instead of distracting himself and bottling up his emotions about the incident, he released them and processed them as Inari comforted him with her soft thighs, and her gentle caress, and the gentle hum that slowly pulled him into sleep.

Without knowing it, Bell had already started helping the Inari Familia in their search for members.

After all, amazing things never stayed quiet in Orario, especially not when it came to Adventurers.

What was more amazing than a new Level 1 being able to survive an encounter with a Minotaur? That the same new Level 1 Adventurer would be able to put up a fight and injure the Minotaur despite the Level gap between them!

Bell Cranel would quickly become the talk of Orario…but for now, he slept in the comfort of a lap pillow from his Goddess.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Woo! A second chapter for the very first Alternate Deity Premise!

Bell works himself hard to become a respectable Adventurer for Inari Familia! All on the path towards his dream and his goal of being a Hero!

The Inari Famili starts their plan to turn the old Abandoned District into the new Shinto District!

Their territory has rapidly expanded, so they’ll need some new members! Non-combatants are fine! Retainers would be super helpful! A District can’t function without workers and residents after all!

The new Familia Home is rather large and impressive, and the fact that it’s an Inari Shrine means that it can amplify Inari’s ability to make use of her Domain Divinity! Once people start using the shrine, that is!

Bell fights the Minotaur, but can’t defeat it as he is now. Thankfully three strong, beautiful women come to his rescue! Kek!

We see some interest already brewing too. *Hehehehehe~*

You got to love how straightforward Amazons are, right?

Now that Bell has unlocked his signature Skill, what will result from it?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!