บท 6: Chapter 06 - Meeting Bell.
Chapter Size: 2132 Words
Lucius POV
Dungeon, Fifth Floor.
Walking calmly as I cast some of my spells at every enemy that appeared, it didn't take long to quickly return to the fifth floor. I collected all the crystals I could find, not selling them back to the system, and filled the bag I received from Riveria. I was satisfied that I would finally have some money.
I passed through almost the entire fifth floor until, unsurprisingly, I encountered two individuals of different genders in a room on this floor. You might think they were up to something malicious since it was almost dawn, and there were hardly any adventurers left in the dungeon. I have to say that these two, in particular, are the most innocent couple in the city from my point of view, especially for a relationship between a man and a woman. One is so shy that he startles easily, and the other is quite clueless.
Aiz noticed me, but I continued on my way. I just greeted her briefly with a nod as I passed by the blonde who was giving a white-haired boy a place to rest his head on her thighs. I wonder what concept is it that makes anime characters act in such a way, with strange behaviors and solutions. It only misleads teenagers who have never spoken to the opposite sex before. These meticulous details of care hardly help in a real-life relationship.
I continued on my way and ascended to the fourth floor, where I found some magic stones on the ground, but there weren't many. I bet Riveria collected them when she passed through here since she knows the risks, but I found a few and picked them up to put in my bag.
A little later, as I was finally leaving the first floor to head to the surface, a frightened Bell Cranel passed by me at high speed, making me start to wonder if he wasn't actually a rabbit. The poor boy was scared just because Aiz was near him.
"Adventurer Sir!" I quickly shouted, catching his attention, and he looked at me for a moment. Then, like a switch, he remembered me and showed a very surprised reaction when he saw that it was me who was calling him.
"YOU!! You're the one who gave me that grimoire??!!!" He began to cry after declaring that.
"That book? It was a grimoire?" I said, smiling a little, blatantly lying, but Bell would easily fall for my words.
"Yes, sir! You gave me something so valuable, I can't repay you for it!!! How could you give me something so precious?? And I used it!!" He began to cry even more now. I don't know if it was because he thought it belonged to Syr or to me after I gave it to him.
"But adventurer boy, that book was yours. I just returned it when I bumped into you..." I said calmly, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I guess you're right..., but still, thank you for returning it, even though it was very valuable!" He said and saw the valis bag I was carrying, with some of these stones I picked up on the way from the first and second floors. Bell had the recklessness to drop several monsters without picking up the crystals while excitedly testing his Firebolt magic. But I didn't waste those leftover crystals. I'm penniless, so I didn't deny what I saw on the ground, and I'm not ashamed of it!
"Are you an adventurer?! What's your name? By the way, I'm Bell Cranel from the Hestia family," he said, curious, as we were by the dungeon gate and hall, in addition to the crystal bag.
"I'm Lucius Drakenar, but currently without a family," I said calmly.
"Without a family?" He wondered, confused, but I ignored it for now.
As we were passing through the hall to the gate, I saw that guard who tried to stop me. He stiffened when he saw me with Bell. Despite the dirt and dust I had accumulated during this brief trip to the dungeon, my clothes were intact, showing that I was clearly fine and didn't need any of his regulations.
"Hello, Mr. Guard. I wish you a good night and excellent work," I said, taunting him with a satisfied smile for provoking him.
But he didn't respond, just gave me a hard look.
Returning to Bell, who was confused by my interaction with the guard, I spoke to him.
"Bell, in response to your earlier question, I had a problem with my old family and left them. I don't have a Falna at the moment," I said.
"You seem to be quite strong, Mr. Lucius. I believe you'll easily find a family soon," he declared after hearing my situation. I thought he might invite me to Hestia for a moment, but I was mistaken.
"I hope so, Bell. Now, let me ask... can I take a bath at your place? I'm a homeless person, as you can see," I said with a smile, showing my tattered and dirty clothes.
"EH??" he exclaimed, that surprised expression I always saw in the anime. I think I broke the boy with my carefree character or maybe because a homeless person was returning from the dungeon with a bag full of magic crystals.
"He's only seeing a part of what I obtained. If he knew that I actually sold almost all my crystals to the system... I'm sure it would be twice what I have now," I thought to myself.
"So, Bell? Can you take me to your house for a quick bath and maybe a night's sleep if your goddess doesn't mind? I'll be gone by the early hours of the day," I said, insisting as I noticed he hadn't responded yet.
I might be taking advantage of his kindness, but I needed a bath after a week of living on the streets. In the first few days, I bathed in the square fountain, but a housewife saw me early in the morning and shouted for some adventurers, calling me a pervert or something, while I was just in my underwear at the fountain. Of course, I had to run as fast as I could. If the adventurers had caught me, they would have taken me to a God eventually. So, out of fear of jeopardizing my mission, I never returned there.
People might wonder if I feel anger toward my former family after everything I've been through. If they were to ask me this directly, I'd give a resounding NO. I don't feel anger. Honestly, I think that if they hadn't acted the way they did, I would be stuck with an unknown, mid-sized family where their God would dictate every step I took.
So I'm happy to end up as a beggar. When my memories returned, it wasn't necessary to fall to the point of doing some petty things to get food or sleep in alleys, but I endured it all, remembering the reward of my mission. If I couldn't find any God in a week, if Freya had simply looked at me from her tower last week, I would have missed my mission and would have had to return to my biological family, something I wasn't too excited about, or try to find a new God or Goddess like Hestia, who I know would accept me even after being expelled by another God. And even though I might not be very strong, I'd never have my spell system or my blessing with unlimited mental energy, something I'm really enjoying now.
"Of course, Mr. Lucius. I don't see any problem with that," he finally snapped out of his daze.
Bell accepted my request after some time processing the fact that I was still a beggar, one who had given him the grimoire and was returning from the dungeon with a bag full of crystals.
We continued walking to Bell's house, and we heard a voice along the way.
"Mr. Bell?" an elven waitress said as she was taking out the trash in front of the Hostess of Fertility. She recognized Bell.
"Miss Ryuu? Hello," he replied, also surprised.
"As far as I can tell, you were in the dungeon, weren't you?" she said while looking at the young adventurer. She also studied me, as expected of a Level 4 assassin, her gaze gave me the creeps.
"That's right, Miss Ryuu. I'm coming back from the dungeon with Mr. Lucius after testing my new magic..." After Bell said that, another switch flipped inside the boy, freezing him. Ryuu and I exchanged strange looks upon seeing this.
But I realized that he remembered that his new magic and grimoire came from Syr, who had found the grimoire of some customer. Bell, remembering this, jumped on Ryuu and began apologizing while crying at the elf, who was taken aback by the boy's sudden emotional outburst.
Unfortunately for Bell, Syr had already gone to sleep at the orphanage, and the pub was closing with the last customers. Ryuu was only organizing things to close the place. If Bell had to apologize, he would have to do it the next day.
I just greeted the elf since I didn't have a friendship with her like Bell. It wasn't worth starting a conversation with her, given how closed-off she was, especially to strangers. After that, we continued on our way.
When we arrived at the church, we went inside, and Bell showed me the bathroom. I didn't waste any more time and jumped into the shower, feeling relieved like never before. I could finally feel clean after days of suffering.
Hestia was sound asleep when we arrived, and Bell was a bit excited about his encounter with Aiz as he daydreamed about the blonde adventurer on that couch. I found a corner to lie down and sleep for a while with Bell's permission to stay.
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Third Person POV
Abandoned Church, early morning.
As the first rays of sunlight entered the church window, Hestia woke up, stretching her arms and yawning. She noticed Bell sleeping on the couch like a rock, not realizing that he had left last night after she fell into a deep slumber. She had been pondering a solution to her problems, and Bell had used a grimoire. With Hestia's dagger, she would have to work for centuries to pay off her debts.
She looked at him for a few seconds, trying to remember what she was forgetting. Then, like a lightning bolt, she remembered the memories from the night before. She quickly pounced on Bell, trying to wake him up forcibly.
"BELL-KUN, BELL-KUN. BELL-KUN!" She grabbed him and shook him as he slowly began to wake up, struggling with her screams.
"My Goddess...?" he asked, yawning, still a little tired from the dungeon and the mind-zero he had been in a few hours ago.
"BELL-KUN, we have to find that man who gave you the grimoire; it's an item we can't afford!!!" she exclaimed frantically while still shaking him.
"But Goddess-sama, *yawn* I know where he is..." he said, still very sleepy, making the goddess stop her repetitive movements and look directly at her son.
"Really?! WHERE? We'll have to apologize for you using the grimoire after breakfast!!" she said, feeling a bit guilty.
But Bell simply pointed his finger behind her.
Hestia, who followed the
direction of the finger and turned her small loli body, was surprised to see the same shirtless man from yesterday, now with a clean face, sitting in a corner of her church and sleeping peacefully. He even had some drool on the corner of his mouth.
"EHHHHHH!!" Hestia shouted, releasing Bell from her grip, and cautiously entered her house, not knowing how he got there.
When Lucius woke up, he felt a gaze on him. As he slowly opened his eyes, he found a twin-tailed loli looking at him, satisfied, with her hands on her hips. Bell was next to her, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
Lucius, not understanding anything, just stared at her with drowsy eyes. They locked eyes for about 20 seconds until she finally decided to break the silence and started talking.
"I've made up my mind!! Bell-kun told me about your situation; you'll be the newest member of my family!" she exclaimed proudly, leaving no room for negotiations.
"Really?! You'll be the second member of our family, Mr. Lucius??!!" Bell exclaimed happily, losing all his sleepiness, and he didn't wait for Lucius to respond before jumping to the conclusion that the young man would join the Hestia family.
"What the hell is happening here?!" Lucius thought before going back to sleep, not wanting to understand what he was hearing from these crazy people.
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