"Tch…"
"How should we proceed?"
"Begin making the necessary arrangements accordingly. Well begin shortly. That woman will soon be on the move."
In the living room, home to both Bell Cranel and Kaelis, Bell's grandfather, Deus, stood with a letter in hand.
From the serious expression on his face, one could see that whatever that was written in that letter was not news he wanted to hear.
Around him, several figures clocked in robes covering all corners of their bodies could barely be seen standing in the shadows.
One of them stepped forward, out into the light.
"And what of the two young men? I presume we'll be bringing them along?"
The two the figure was referring to was naturally Bell and Kaelis.
At this moment, they were off in the forest training.
Deus shook his head before laughing.
"No. It's about time they experienced the outside world. Let them go have their fun. hahaha!"
The cloaked person rubbed their temples in frustration at the old man not taking the situation seriously.
"Please be serious, Lord Zeus. Lady Hera is out to get you and the only thing you're thinking about is picking up girls. This is precisely why you're always at the edge of getting beaten."
Deus—the man Bell Cranel calls his grandfather—is none other than Zeus, the former patron of one of the two strongest familias Orario had ever seen, rivaled only by his lover's, Hera's.
Fifteen years ago, during the final of the Three Great Quests, both familias failed to defeat the One-Eyed Black Dragon and were believed to have been wiped out.
But the truth was different.
They weren't completely annihilated.
Some remnants drifted across the world, living quietly, while others simply disappeared from public sight.
Just like Zeus, now living under the name Deus, who adopted Bell and raised him on a humble farm.
Hera also survived—though she was banished from Orario along with what remained of her familia.
And now, those same remnants of the Zeus Familia, who knew where Zeus had been hiding, arrived with troubling news:
Hera is frantically searching every corner of the world for him. And she was headed for this area.
Though Hera was known as a benevolent goddess who valued hard work and talent, that was only the face mortals saw.
Zeus—her husband and lover—knew her true nature far better than anyone else.
And if he had to sum up her real personality in a single word, it would be: crazy.
"You're simply trying to hide him and minimize the amount of trouble you'll be in, right? We know you all too well."
"…"
The cloaked figure let out a short, annoyed snort.
The others in the room were already holding back their laughter.
And yes—of course that was the real reason he'd decided to leave the boys behind.
No excuse existed—none—that could stop Hera from erupting into fury and jealousy the moment she found out about Bell.
Even if she understood why Zeus had taken the boy in, the truth wouldn't save him.
He'd still be punished, whipped for keeping such a secret… and for giving her every reason to assume he'd been unfaithful again.
So why not lessen the pain by sugarcoating the whole thing?
Sending the boys off on their own journey sounded noble enough—"experience," "growth," "seeing the world"—all that good stuff.
And honestly, it wasn't even a total lie.
He was a loving god, after all… he just also happened to be a god who really didn't want to get whipped into next week by his wife.
"Hmph! You have no idea the trouble I'm in…" he slapped the table in mock anger.
"While you can run and hide in the shadows, I'll shoulder the blunt of the abuse and accusations!"
"But you're the one who spread the bed so you should also sleep in it."
"Yea. I can't imagine the pain lady Hera has endured with you as her lover!"
"You should man up, kami-sama!"
One by one, the shadows voiced their thoughts. They themselves have suffered as a collateral of Hera's vengefulness.
Being shunned by the beautiful ladies of the Hera familia for weeks on end.
"You-you…SELLOUTS!!" Zeus was boiling on the insides.
Quickly calming down, realizing that they derailed off topic, did a full circle back to the current task at hand.
"In any case, let's formulate a decent strategy. Time is of the essence."
""""""Yes!""""""
…Hours later…
After the shadows had left and the boys returned home—Bell limping again—Kaelis let out a sigh.
"I say… you've got no talent for physical training, but you're quite the sponge. You soak up everything I teach you."
He casually dropped Bell's limp body onto the settee.
"C-could you take it easy on me… please? I can barely move…" Bell groaned into the cushions, sounding half-dead and fully done with life.
"I went easy on you and you're still complaining? Honestly, you're so ungrateful."
Kaelis leaned down right beside Bell's ear, voice dripping with exaggerated disappointment.
"Do you know how many people beg me to train them? Thousands. You hear that? Thousands. Not one, not two—one with three zeros behind it."
He tapped Bell lightly on the head, as if that would help the numbers sink in.
"Where else could you possibly go and learn this much, this fast?"
"That's because you beat the skills into people! Anyone would learn quickly!"
Bell's voice carried so loudly it probably echoed out into the yard.
"Hoo? You kids back already?"
Deus pushed the door open with his shoulder, a basket of eggs tucked under one arm.
"Yeah," Kaelis replied without missing a beat. "And this kid's complaining about my teachings."
Deus laughed boisterously when he spotted Bell lying face-first on the couch like a discarded ragdoll.
Kaelis, noticing the overflowing basket of eggs in the god's hand, raised an eyebrow.
"Why so many eggs? Is there some kind of special occasion?"
"You forgot?" Deus tilted his head, looking genuinely surprised. "Bell's fourteenth birthday is in two days."
"Oooo! So it's for a cake then?" Kaelis asked, suddenly much more interested.
He grabbed Bell by the shoulder and flipped him over like he weighed nothing.
"Hear that, pipsqueak? Your birthday's in two days. Think we should squeeze in some training on that day too?"
"Please don't!" Bell yelled immediately. The idea of spending his special day getting turned into mashed potatoes was not appealing.
Both Kaelis and Deus burst into laughter.
"But that's a lot of eggs. Are we making more than one?" Kaelis asked, leaning closer.
In the basket he counted—yeah, that was definitely around two dozen. No cake should require that many… right?
"Last year when we baked that cake, we didn't have enough eggs and it came out dry," Deus explained. "So this time, we're doing it right. Bell deserves the best we can make."
"Alrighty then," Kaelis shrugged, satisfied with the logic.
Placing the basket on the dining table before leaving to wash up.
Taking a seat beside Bell, Kaelis breathed a sigh.
"…Time sure flies by really quickly, huh."
"…"
"I remembered your thirteenth birthday like it was yesterday. It's been nearly four years since I've known you two…"
"…"
Bell simply stayed quiet.
"Since your birthday is in two days, we won't hold any training tomorrow."
Bell finally replied with a low, "Really?"
"Yep…"
They remained silent for a while before Deus returned.
"You guys can go wash up when you're ready."
"Sure." "Okay."
Once Deus stepped into his room, he went straight for his desk, rifling through drawers until he found a sheet of paper and a pen.
He sat down and began writing without hesitation.
Who was the letter meant for? Only he knew.
What was written inside? That, too, was a secret known to him alone.
Chapter 47 end.