Bell woke up feeling as if his whole body was a massive bruise. He blearily looked up from where he lay.
'I'm in bed,' he realized, feeling the soft mattress beneath him, the covers on him, and staring at the familiar ceiling, 'I'm home.'
Bell stared at the ceiling above him, trying to remember exactly what happened to him last night.
The pub, Loki Familia, the mocking, the frustration, the dungeon.
'The dungeon.'
Bell remembered what he did after his trip to the pub.
He ran right to the dungeon in, in hindsight, a fit of frustration.
He couldn't remember completely what he did or what he fought when he arrived there. All he could remember is his frustration at his weakness and a desire to get stronger.
A desire, he realized, that hadn't completely gone away.
There was another thing he remembered, he remembered walking out of the dungeon, feeling far worse than he does now, and walking back to his home. To his familia.
His familia.
'Goddess,' Bell thought, 'I'm sorry.'
He could remember the expressions on his familia's faces when he came back home. They were worried for him for who knows how long? While he was taking his frustrations out inside the dungeon, they were waiting for him at home the whole time.
He should have said something or done something at least to ease their worries and concerns. Bell knows this deep in his heart and knows what he did was wrong.
'But even still,' he thinks.
Bell recalls what he heard at the pub, what the werewolf said, how he laughed, how they laughed, the boiling frustration he felt at the words, the painful truth of them, and the fire they lit in his heart and soul.
'I want to get stronger!'
That desire still burned heavily in his heart even as he lay there exhausted. His need to grow stronger, to prove to himself and to 'her.' That he was worthy of being an adventurer and worthy of…
The sound of a door opening drew Bell's attention from his own inner thoughts. He glanced to where the sound was and saw his Goddess, Hestia, coming down the stairs.
She saw Bell was now awake and quickened her pace towards him, careful not to drop what she was carrying with her.
"Bell!" she cried, "You're awake!"
She was at his side then, nearly leaning over him. Her worry was clear on her face and she was holding herself back from hugging him, less she upset his injuries.
Bell looked at his Goddess and what she was carrying. Two small vials that were familiar to Bell. A healing potion and a stamina potion. Something he feels he could use right about now.
"Godde-," Bell choked then, finally feeling how dry his throat was.
"Calm down Bell," Hestia said, "we've been giving you some healing potions when able and the last one was some time ago. I had to run to Miach to get more," she laid a hand on his cheek and Bell blushed at the contact, "you're looking a lot better than when you came home yesterday."
'Yesterday?' Bell thought, 'I've been asleep for a whole day?'
He knew he pushed himself, pushed himself hard. But it beggars belief that he pushed himself that far to need a whole day's rest and in all that time, his Goddess and Familia were taking care of and worrying over him.
He felt all the more guilty for his choice. He made no effort to hide that.
Hestia saw his expression and read his guilt, "Bell," she began, "what you did was reckless. Very reckless! I would even go far to say it was foolish."
Her words hit Bell, only compounding his guilt all the more. He turned his gaze down, staring at the blankets, seeing his hands clench the fabric.
Two soft hands landed on his cheeks then and gently directed his gaze up, to stare into his Goddess's eyes. There should have been anger, sadness, judgment, anything that Bell honestly thought he deserved. Instead he saw relief in his Goddess's eyes and the same kindness he recalls the day they first met.
"But you came back," she said, her relief and joy evident, "you didn't leave me," she gently rubbed his cheeks some more, "thank you Bell."
Bell had no words. He messed up, he ran into the dungeon, he didn't tell anyone, he came back bloodied and sore, he left them worrying.
And his Goddess thanked him for just coming back.
Tears welled in his eyes and he bowed his head again, "I'm sorry," he choked out, "I'm sorry."
Hestia didn't say anything, still holding onto her child, she brought him into a hug, gently rubbing his back.
Her first child was home, that was all that mattered.
Bell stared down at the piece of paper in disbelief and amazement. While he was resting, Hestia decided to be a bit proactive and check his status, as if anticipating what Bell wanted to see when he woke up.
Bell Cranel lvl 1
S: 77-120
E: 13-48
D: 93-142
A: 148-228
M: 0-74
His status jumped up so much! It was amazing! Were it not for the fact that in nearly killed him getting this far, he would be itching to go into the dungeon again.
He felt his Goddess glare at him, as if reading his thoughts.
After he cried a bit into his Goddess's arms and drank both the healing and stamina potion, Hestia told Bell that he was prohibited from going into the dungeon today. She emphasized that he should take a break and recover some more, in addition, she told him that Arue and Hana were in the dungeon, doing their best for the familia. Bell almost wanted to rush out then and there when he heard but one hard look from Hestia was enough to give him pause.
She told him not to worry, that they both know their limits and will only stick to the first two floors. At least until Bell was well and rested for them to go further.
Bell was a little unhappy but understood. He already made his familia worried with him going down by himself and unlike him, Arue and Hana both had each other's backs down there. Bell recalls seeing what they both were capable of. Arue was a quick casting spell-caster that could glass any low level monster on the upper floors. Hana was a skilled martial artist that could hold her own against the same foes as well.
Bell let the matter go and continued to view his status, moving onto his magic and skills.
He balked.
He saw 'Drop of Eros' and the long description of it still. But as he read on down to the 'Tasks' section, he was stunned.
Tasks completed:
Reward, 2 tier1 summon
Reward, 1 tier2 summon
Bonus tasks:
Kill 50 kobolds: reward- 1 tier3 summon
Kill 40 goblins: reward- 2 tier1 summon
Go down 5 floors and return alive with no healing potions: 1 tier3 summon
Go down 6 floors and return alive with no healing potions: 1 tier3 summon
Kill wall shadow: 2 tier2 summons
Kill 10 wall shadows: 1 tier4 summon
Summon limit: Tier 1-Tier 2
Blessed Summons available:12
Tier1- 4 summons
Tier2- 4 summons
Tier3- 3 summons
Tier4- 1 summons
Bell stared at the rewards he gained for his troubles. Twelve summons, he could summon twelve more Allies for his familia.
He almost couldn't believe it, in fact, he couldn't believe it at all.
He looked at his summon limit, noticing that it said he could summon between Tier 1 or Tier 2 at most. So how could he summon a few Tier 3 and a Tier 4?
It didn't make sense to him.
"It's the bonus tasks."
Hestia, as if reading Bell's confusion as an open book, answered. "I was just as puzzled as you, when I first read it but then I looked at the bonus tasks and that answered some things."
Bell stared at where the bonus tasks were defined.
Bonus tasks are hidden and activated at random. Blessed summoning rewards varies.
"Rewards varies," Bell read aloud, "then that means-"
"Yep," Hestia chirped in, "the bonus tasks let you get the chance of acquiring higher Tier summons depending on what you do and what the tasks are," she thought a moment before continuing, "If you hadn't gone back into the dungeon, you would have gained just the initial task rewards, so three summons at most."
Bell stared at the sheet again, still baffled by what he had gained, in both his status and his summonings.
"Still though," Hestia went on, now staring at Bell with a firm gaze, "The risks of pushing yourself like that definitely outweigh the rewards," her gaze became a bit more gentle, "please Bell. Promise me you won't do something that dangerous again. If it can be avoided, please avoid it."
Bell couldn't bring himself to argue with his Goddess. How could he? It was his impulsiveness that landed him in his current condition anyway. He hurt his body, he worried his familia, he worried his Goddess.
"I promise Goddess," he said, "I won't do something that reckless again," he smiled at her, " I can't call myself captain if I keep doing something as selfish as that all the time."
Hestia smiled then and nodded, satisfied with the answer, "Now then," she suddenly clapped her hands, " do you want to see the new rooms the Goibnui familia built for us?"
Bell, now healed and full of energy, jumped from the bed. Excited to see the new look of his home.
He was stopped by his Goddess's raised hand. Hestia had her head turned aside and was blushing crimson.
"Ummm, maybe you should put on some pants first," she said, her voice cracking with embarrassment.
Bell looked down at himself now realizing he was freed of his bloody shirt he wore before and wearing a plain white one now.
He also now realized he was without pants.
"Gyaaa!! Goddess! What happened to my pants!?"
"They were damaged and covered in blood! We had to get them off to check for more injuries!"
"And you didn't replace them!?"
"It was embarrassing the first time!"
"I'm embarrassed now!"
"Hold on Bell! I'll get you some pants!" Hestia ran towards the small dresser where Bell kept his clothes.
Bell leapt back into bed and covered himself, only being grateful that they left his underwear on.
Now fully dressed in some comfortable casuals. Bell and his Goddess went upstairs to see their new renovated home.
Hestia had already seen the end result of the work but she couldn't wait to see Bell's reaction. Sure enough, she wasn't disappointed.
"This is amazing Goddess!"
Bell's reaction was exactly what Hestia expected. He was openly gaping at the lounge they walked into, the row of doors leading to the new rooms installed, he had to stop himself from running up the new stairs to see the new floor, he speed walked though.
The whole time, his Goddess was smiling at his reactions to everything new in their home. 'He really is an excitable one, isn't he?' she thought with a smile, 'but that's my Bell!'
Finally seeing what was to see upstairs, Bell came back down, hand on the rail, admiring the smooth woodwork done to it.
"This is so amazing Goddess," he said, "I can't believe this was done in a night."
Hestia nodded, "I was surprised too. Goibniu's children did amazing work," she looked up at the now foreshortened ceiling. Goibniu's children did have to make a whole floor to make room for more bedrooms and, if Hestia was honest, she would miss the tall ceiling of the church.
But it was worth it if they were gonna summon more people, especially since Bell went through all that work and effort.
"What did you think of the rooms?" Hestia asked.
Bell reached the bottom floor and replied, "I only looked into one of them upstairs," he thought for a minute, "they're a nice size to walk around in and the closet and desk looked nice enough. I'm surprised they got us beds though."
Hestia smiled, "Technically we already had them," noticing Bell's puzzled expression, she elaborated, "When they built the rooms, they didn't just use the equipment they brought with them," she gestured to the open lounge where the altar use to be and the few pews in it, "they used materials lying around in the church as well. I know they made the beds out of the pews we weren't using."
Bell was impressed, leave it to a crafting God's familia to make use of the materials around them. 'Waste not, want not' as the saying goes.
"So did you pick your room out yet?" Hestia suddenly asked.
Bell thought for a moment before remembering something, "Wait, did Arue and Hana pick out their rooms yet?"
Hestia nodded and walked to a door close to the lounge and pointed up slightly on it. On the door was a piece of discolored wood nailed in, on it it said 'Hana.'
"They picked their rooms when construction was done. Hana picked a room close to the main lounge and Arue picked one upstairs," Hestia explained, "I think she picked the one closest to the stairs if I'm not mistaken."
Bell nodded and thought of the remaining rooms available.
"In that case," he said, "I'll take the room farther down on the second floor, by the church hall window," Bell liked to wake up to sunlight, gave him a welcoming feeling to the day ahead."
Hestia nodded, "In that case, I'll take the room next to yours," she gave Bell a smile, "I hope that's alright. I'm just more comfortable being near my first child is all."
Bell thought nothing wrong about that. His Goddess felt safe near him and he could oblige.
"It's no problem at all Goddess," he said, "I'm glad you feel safe near me," and he did genuinely, his Goddess's faith in him was uplifting as always.
Though the honest reason why Hestia wanted the room so close to Bell was less flattering.
In truth, she wanted to keep an ear open in case any of the girls tried to sneak into Bell's room.
Never too careful with someone as cute as Bell.
Arue and Hana were returning from their trip into the dungeon. Carrying the spoils of their troubles.
Just a bit over ten thousand valis from their efforts today, a good haul all things considered, but a tiring one to be sure.
They both left for the dungeon early in the morning and were only now coming back in the late afternoon. Feeling their tired and sore bodies aching with each step.
Arue really needed to work on the power of her spells. Blasting the monster and magical stone is not economical.
How Bell did this by himself everyday and not just collapse from the effort of it all was beyond them. Maybe he really was a rabbit after all. Seems to have the stamina of one.
Arue knew why they both were so tired, they honestly had no issues with the monsters on the floors themselves. Between Hana's intermediate martial art skills and Arue's sweeping magic spells, really just fireball, the duo could handle themselves safely enough.
But between the long ours they spent in the dungeon, the tedious work of picking up magic stones, fighting monsters popping up here or there, there was still something that taxed their thoughts all day.
The condition of their summoner, their captain, Bell Cranell.
When he arrived home yesterday, covered nearly all over with cuts, bruises, and blood, Arue and Hana both were shocked at his condition and that he was still able to make it home.
Arue wanted to berate Bell at first, and still may if he was awake right now, but something else rings in her mind, and not just hers. Hana too had the same thing running through her mind.
"I want to get stronger."
These simple words, they are what rang through their minds.
More accurately, it was the sincerity in them. Many could say 'I want to get stronger,' or, 'I can do this,' or anything similar, and oftentimes they would seldom mean it. It would just be said to encourage oneself a bit or to assure those around them with just a bit of confidence.
Bell was not that person, when he said he wanted to get stronger, he meant it with his heart and soul.
Arue thought for a moment that Bell was a character from one of the many stories she read, or the ones she wrote. Someone who is more likely to appear in a work of fiction than in reality.
It made her excited to have such a person as her summoner and captain.
Hana by contrast was more enthralled by Bell's sheer determination. It was no secret that Hana appreciated all things eccentric and unique and yesterday, Bell hit the marks. Going into the dungeon with just a dagger and casual clothes? Stupid? Definitely. Brave? Absolutely. Eccentric? Without a doubt. Inspiring? Not even a question.
Hana knew of only one other person that had that kind of drive. Someone from another life.
If she were here. She would probably paint a masterpiece to convey her feelings. Hana might do the same.
They both finally arrived at the door of their home and with little heed, they went in.
Hestia and Bell were lounging in the main lounge when they heard the door open. They looked to see two familiar figures walking in, looking a tad haggard but no worse for where.
"Welcome back," said Bell with a smile, glad to see them home.
"Glad you made it back okay," said Hestia, "I hope it wasn't too much trouble without Bell."
Arue and Hana were looking at the person just mentioned, their relief clear on their face.
"Bell," Hana said, moving down the hall to reach him in the lounge. She stopped a bit away to look him over, checking for any lingering injuries.
Bell saw what she was doing and reassured her, "It's alright Hana. I'm healed up now," he looked down then hiding a frown, "I'm sorry for worrying you."
Hana looked at Bell again, seeing his expression and knew his words were genuine.
"Don't worry," she said, "what you did was reckless and we all were worried about you," Bell didn't raise his head at her words, still feeling guilty for worrying them, "However. I was absolutely inspired by your courage in going into the dungeon by yourself."
Her words made Bell bring his head back up. Courage? Him? He was more frustrated than brave if he was honest.
"In fact," Hana continued, bringing a clenched fist up, "I was almost tempted to rush into the dungeon myself and do nearly the same."
Bell was relieved that she didn't.
"Only I would have gone in with less on!"
…what?
Hana spoke passionately, "To brave the dungeon on your own with just your plain clothes and a knife was inspiring enough," she stared hard into Bell's eyes, her passionate burning determination scaring him a little, "but to go bare, with nothing but your natural born form," she paused, as if savoring the thought, "would be an exciting experience. Nay! An eccentric experience!"
She turned away from Bell then, her face was glowing a bit red now, "Yet I still haven't reached that level of bravery just yet," she said, voice more reserved,
"And you won't be that brave! Never that brave!! Absolutely not that brave!!!" Hestia was quick to exclaim, now over the shock of Hana's sudden speech.
"Like I said, not yet that brave."
"Not that brave!"
"Someday."
"Never!"
Hestia and Hana were in a verbal loop that could make Bell's head spin if he listened for too long. So he tuned them out and went to face Arue, who moved closer to him but not taking her eyes off the amusing display.
"Always something interesting going on in this home," she said before turning to face Bell, "Are you alright Bell?"
Bell was going to give a simple yes before realizing she wasn't talking then just his physical health. He vaguely remembered when he limped his way back home and into the arms of his familia. They all asked what happened and he never gave them an answer. Only a statement.
"I want to get stronger."
Bell signed deeply before looking at Arue, his mind clear, "I'm better now," he said, "I did something dumb and I know that. I don't plan on doing it again though," he smiled a bit, "I can't worry my familia like that again, sorry."
Arue stared a bit longer at him, her expression unreadable, before she gave a small smile and nodded, "Glad to hear," she said, "We were just summoned forth in this world by a rather cute and kind summoner. We don't want to lose you so soon after fighting alongside you."
Bell nodded, accepting the words and slight criticism he heard, before pausing at a few select ones. Cute and kind.
Bell blushed at the compliments now that they registered, a reaction that Arue expected and planned for.
It was time to punish Bell for his recklessness.
"Bell!" Arue exclaimed, making Bell stand straight backed in attention, "You have earned the fury of a crimson demon with your actions. Such an act only comes with dire punishments," she did a pose and pointed a finger at him, mere inches from his face, "Are you ready for what is to come?"
Bell was shocked by this sudden turn of events and could only reply, "Yes!"
He tried not to make his voice hitch in suprise. He failed.
Arue nodded, "Good," she said with a smile, "then your punishment for worrying us is the worst punishment I could think of for someone like you."
Bell gulped.
"It is something you have never been prepared for. Something I noticed during my time with you."
Bell was sweating now.
"This revelation I discovered has allowed me to form a punishment that you can not run from, no matter how hard you try."
Bell was shaking now.
"Your punishment is this! Secret Crimson Demon Technique!"
Arue walked up to him and Bell closed his eyes at what was to come. His nerves finally caved in. He only hoped that whatever punishment was coming, he would be able to walk away from it intact.
He felt hands on his shoulders and was brought forward, the next thing he knew, a soft sensation covered his head.
He opened his eye, only to see darkness but he did pick up a pleasant smell in the darkness.
"Crimson Embrace!" Arue said, her voice close to his ears, "The ultimate punishment for shy little rabbits like you, Bell."
Bell moved his head up slightly and noticed light and vision were coming back to him. As he turned his head up, the softness he was feeling was ebbing off and what he saw made him pause.
He saw Arue's smiling face close by, her visible crimson eye gleaming. He also noticed where his head was.
Pressed firmly but gently between her breasts.
Her large soft breasts.
That half his face was pressed into right now.
Bell's own face grew fire red and he tried to get out of the soft prison he found himself in, only to feel Arue's arms circle around his shoulders and head and press him back into the soft darkness of her chest.
He gave a muffled cry and waved his arms about, seemingly panicking.
Arue was not deterred in her administering of punishment. Bell had to pay for his recklessness and this was the best/amusing punishment she could think of for him.
Bell made it clear he had almost no experience around women when Hana was summoned. The shower incident that followed gave all the info she needed to gauge Bell's character.
And it was working wonderfully right now.
"Embrace the soft punishment you brought upon you," she said dramatically, "be trapped and know fear!"
Bell flailed his arms about, unable to escape the soft prison he found himself in. This was indeed a mighty punishment for someone like him.
His savior eventually came.
"What do you think you're doing to my Bell!"
The shout of the shortstack Goddess came from the side as Hestia barged her way between Bell and Arue. Bell drew in a breath of air, recovering from the soft and pleasant smelling prison he was just in.
Arue stood back, hands up in faux surrender, "Hestia," she began with a smile, "I was just punishing Bell for worrying us so bad yesterday." Her tone gave way that this was less 'punishment' and more amusement than anything else.
Hestia would not have it, "Ridiculous!" she exclaimed, "As if you had his head squeezed to your chest as 'punishment,' that's a reward if anything!"
Bell would disagree, having been completely caught off guard by the abruptness.
He tried to rid the pleasant sensation he recalls from his buxom prison. He was not succeeding.
"Come now Hestia," Arue spoke in a chiding tone, "what better punishment is there for a sheltered boy like Bell. Look at him. Now he knows what awaits him if he tries something like that again."
Hestia didn't believe her, not even for a moment. This was just Arue being Arue.
"Like hell that was a punishment! That was just an excuse to put your mitts on Bell!"
"It was a punishment for him, but a reward for me."
"Why would you need a reward!?"
"We just came back from the dungeon and without our senior member backing us up, we had to be extra careful and work extra hard. So I needed a little extra from my captain."
"Well enough is enough. No hugs for you."
"Alright. Alright…maybe later."
Hestia tried to tackle her but Arue stuck out an arm and held the short Goddess back by her head, looking amused all the while.
Hestia, by contrast, was waving her arms forward and was unsuccessfully trying to reach her.
It seemed to be a theme with the two. Arue enjoyed teasing the Goddess and Hestia was quick to respond.
Hana was standing beside Bell now and looking at the show before them. She looked to Bell and asked, "It's always gonna be like this with them isn't it?"
Bell could only sigh, his embarrassment at Arue's 'punishment' had worn off, "Yeah, I think it will be."
Hana looked back to Hestia and Arue before looking back at Bell, a smile on her face, "Eccentric."
Bell could only sigh and nodded again but found himself smiling a short moment later.
He was alright, his familia was alright. Everything was alright.
Hestia finally succeeded in getting past Arue's hand and tackled her to the ground before going for her face and began pinching, Arue reciprocated.
Bell sighed once again.
Everything was alright…for now.
After a while, and dabbing at some now sore cheeks, Hestia called all Familia members into the main lounge. When everyone was sitting on the pews in front of the standing Goddess, Hestia began telling Arue and Hana the news. On Bell's completion of the tasks he was assigned by the magic and the bonus tasks that were completed as well.
Arue and Hana were both happy that Bell completed the tasks assigned when they first entered the dungeon, glad that their efforts bore results for their summoner. It was when Hestia described the bonus tasks, that they started to be surprised, shocked, and dumbfounded.
When they are summoned, they are given knowledge about the world they are to be made to. From basics like language and general knowledge to some certain specifics based on their character. But both do hold knowledge on the magic that brought them here. That recreated them from another world so that they could be here.
It wasn't complete knowledge on either of their ends though, possibly intentional, but it was enough for them to know one thing.
'It wasn't normal for someone to complete those tasks at level one.'
They both took a glance at Bell who was smiling at his success for the boon he gained with his work.
There was definitely more to Bell than meets the eye it seems.
"Lady Hestia," Arue started, "Are there any more tasks that Bell was assigned when you got his status?"
Hestia shook her head, "No," she replied, "I didn't see anymore new tasks assigned to Bell. I thought he would get new ones after completing the old ones."
"Strange," Arue added in, "Do you have any ideas why Goddess?"
Hestia closed her eyes and thought about it a bit more. That magic was fickle enough as it is with Eros's name attached to it but that was honestly Hestia's bias coming through.
There could be a number of reasons why there were no new tasks but maybe the simplest answer was the obvious one.
And Bell was the one to voice it.
"Maybe it's giving us a break."
The girls were looking at Bell now, wondering what he meant.
Bell continued, "Maybe after I complete the tasks, it gives me a break from doing more," he scratched the back of his head with a sense of modesty, "it's what I would do whenever I got my chores done, back where I was from."
The reason was impossibly simple…and possibly correct. It made sense to Hestia the more she thought about it, that there would be a wait time before more tasks were assigned. It gave the user time to rest and prepare for more to come.
And if he couldn't wait for any to be assigned, that's where the bonus tasks came in. They were random to be sure and risky to boot, but they were there if one got impatient in waiting for the general tasks.
Yes, the more Hestia thought about it, the more it made sense. Though still, it was mysterious magic. So who knows the real reason?
For now though, Bell's explanation was as good as any the other three could think of, for now at least.
Hestia cleared her throat again and brought about a new subject. Namely the new opportunity that they are now presented with.
Bell could now summon upon twelve new allies. A relative boon if ever there was one. With that many to summon, Hestia familia would grow by leaps and bounds. But a question arose that was unexpected.
"Should we really summon that many?"
The question came from Hestia herself, who was looking unsure about the whole idea itself.
Bell was quick to ask, "Why is that Goddess?," he didn't sound upset, merely curious and a bit worried, given his Goddess's demeanor, "Isn't it good for our familia to grow?"
It was good for the familia to grow, especially since recruiting from the city had been negligible at best and barren at worst for results.
Hestia nodded and decided to explain, "I'm not against the idea of us expanding our numbers it's just-,"
Arue cut her off, understanding the dilemma, "It's just that we are still a new familia and you're worried about attracting too much attention with a sudden jump in members."
Hestia nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I know the deities well, and a crazy increase in membership like now would definitely make some of them curious."
"And ambitious," Hana added, coming to her own conclusion.
"Yes! Exactly," Hestia agreed, pointing at Hana, "It's a risk we currently cannot have as a no-name familia."
That admission hurt Hestia to say but then again, it would hurt worse if anything happened to her familia because some god or goddess with time, ambition, and amusement on their mind did anything.
There were certainly enough in the city with such goals.
"With that in mind," Hestia continued, "If we want to summon anyone else, we have to be limited in our selection," she sat down then, just across from her children and gave a deep sigh, tired with the topic.
She still wasn't too thrilled about Bell's magic, more so since a certain God's name was attached to it. But she would be a fool not to make use of it, especially since Arue and Hana have already been a good help so far, and the more help the better for Bell and the familia.
"Then we should make this as simple as possible," Arue said, folding one arm under her chest and propping the other one on it to hold her chin in thought, "Bell. You have one summon in Tier-four and three in Tier-three?"
Bell nodded.
Arue continued, "Then summoning the Tier-four is an obvious choice. As one myself, we could get someone with similar or even greater magic power to my own," she gave a hum, "or we could get someone with great physical might instead."
Bell couldn't find fault in Arue's logic there. Getting another ally like Arue would be a definite boon for the familia.
The real issue is how many and which Tiers should he focus on. Eventually though Bell's curiosity came to play. He had summoned a Tier-four with Arue as the result. Hana was brought forth as a Tier-one summon.
And he definitely couldn't rule out Hana's usefulness, despite being a lower Tier, she was capable enough in the dungeon and he could imagine she wasn't the only one in her Tier that was capable as well.
Still though, Bell was curious about the other Tiers and what they could bring.
Maybe it's time to see what the other two Tiers could offer and what characters he'll meet.
"How about this," Bell started, "I would like to summon three allies. One from Tier-four, one from Tier-three, and one from Tier-two."
It seemed like a good idea, definitely an odd one, though one Goddess had one question to ask.
"Why not summon the Tier-four and the whole of the Tier-threes? Wouldn't that be better?"
It was a valid question and Bell did have a reply, albeit a simple one.
"I just would like to see who we'd meet in the other Tiers," Bell was a curious individual through and through and honest to a fault.
A fault that Hestia loved about him.
"Alright," Hestia said, smiling at her child, "It's as good a reason as any and we probably shouldn't summon all our best options straight out of the blue."
Summoning someone like Arue was one thing, summoning too many of those just a Tier beneath her might just draw the attention they're trying to avoid.
Bell smiled at his Goddess, his gratitude visible on his face. He turned toward Arue and Hana, to find that they wore similar smiles. Their agreement is apparent as well.
"Well!" exclaimed the Goddess, who rose and gave a clap of her hands, "Let's get ready to welcome some new members to the familia."
"Yes!" Her children chorused.
They got the area in the lounge ready for Bell's magic, before a sudden thought crossed Hana's mind.
"Oh Bell! I remembered something," she said, gaining his attention, "when we were coming home, I overheard some waitresses from a pub talking outside about a 'white haired dine and dasher,'" Bell froze in place at her words, "do you know anything about that?" Hana finished, her tone not accusing but merely curious.
Bell realized he forgot something important and recalled the Pub owner. Of how big she was compared to him, and muscular, and why he wouldn't want to upset her.
He had to do something!
Faster than any were prepared, Bell dashed upstairs to his room and dashed back down nearly as quickly, carrying a money pouch when he came down.
He didn't stop moving and dashed his way towards the door, "I'm sorry!" he shouted, "I have to take care of something real quick!" He was out the door before any of them could ask anything.
The remaining members and their Goddess were left looking at the door that Bell ran out of, completely flabbergasted by his switch from excitement to sheer terror.
Hana gave a hum as she stared out to where Bell ran. Before coming to an epiphany and dropped a fist into her palm in realization.
"Ah, Bell was the dine and dasher."
Her statement drew blank looks from Hestia and Arue.
Another day in the Hestia familia.