Bell walked back toward the Hostess of Fertility, Astraea keeping pace beside him. Their journey was brief, and they reached their destination with steady steps.
He entered the pub with Astraea in tow, several looks snapped toward them.
Syr, Chloe, Anya, and Luniore were gathered around a circular table, Ryuu the only one missing.
At an adjacent table, Haruhime sat beside Hestia, both wearing tight expressions.
Hestia was the first to move. She slid out of her chair and hurried over, Haruhime trailed closely behind, her tail swishing nervously.
"Astraea, Bell—what did Ouranos say?" She called out before she had even reached them.
Bell squeezed Hestia's shoulder before turning to Mama Mia.
"Mama Mia, can we get a private room?" Those words had barely left his mouth when Ryuu descended from the stairs, Alf's Lumina already in hand. She'd dressed for war—cloak, twin blades at her hip, not a scrap of fabric out of place.
Mama Mia glanced up from her counter at his request and gestured to the elf.
"Ryuu... show them to a room upstairs."
"Follow me." Ryuu glanced at them and turned on her heel, ascending the stairs once more while beckoning Bell over her shoulder.
"Come on, let's go." Bell grabbed Hestia and Astraea by their hands, gently pulling them along, and shot Haruhime a silent look, telling her to follow.
The remaining waitresses watched with mixed expressions as Bell led his group upstairs.
...
Upstairs, in a private room.
"So... Bell? Astraea? What did Ouranos want?" Hestia asked, her eyes narrowed as she sat on a bed. Astraea sat beside her, while Bell stood opposite them.
Haruhime stood just behind Bell, while Ryuu leaned against the nearby wall, her gaze firmly locked on Astraea.
Bell and Astraea exchanged a silent glance.
"Hestia... Ouranos asked me to reason with Ares and put an end to this war," Astraea began, her voice heavy with gravity as she recounted their meeting.
"In Heaven, Ares only ever listened to Athena, and then to me. Ouranos wants me to try and stop the ceaseless slaughter happening just outside Orario's walls."
Hestia's mouth opened, then closed. Her fingers curled within her lap. She too wanted the bloodshed to end, but not if it meant throwing Bell into the line of fire. She wasn't sure she could stomach that.
Ryuu broke the suffocating silence.
"What is your will, Goddess Astraea? We will follow wherever you lead." Her tone was stoic, but her unwavering loyalty bled through her words.
Astraea didn't answer. Bell did.
"We try reason first. If Ares refuses, we fight." He knew a clash was likely inevitable, but he had to offer an olive branch first, if only to ensure his Goddesses would have no regrets afterward.
"But... Bell-sama, that's an entire army," Haruhime finally spoke up, having listened quietly until now, her fox ears standing straight up.
"How will we fight against thousands of soldiers?"
Every gaze in the room shifted squarely to Bell, a similar question weighing on their minds.
"First of all, it will only be us two against that army," Bell corrected, pointing to himself and then to Ryuu.
"You aren't coming, and neither are you, Goddess Hestia."
Hestia's mouth flew open to protest, and even the gentle Haruhime seemed ready to object.
"Pardon me for my words but Lady Hestia, Haruhime—we won't be able to protect three people while fighting against thousands." Ryuu interjected, delivering the brutal truth without a hint of sugarcoating.
"There's no need to be so blunt, Ryuu." Astraea said, disapproval coloring her tone as she shook her head slightly.
"No, Goddess Astraea. Ryuu is right. No matter how we try to dress it up. Even protecting you alone would be a monumental task." At Bell's confirmation, Hestia looked down at the floor, while Haruhime's tail went still.
"But..." Bell continued. Haruhime's tail twitched. Hestia snapped her head up.
"There is another way you can help us." He unstrapped a book holder fastened to his waist and pulled a thick tome from inside it.
A Grimoire.
"Where did you get a Grimoire, Bell?" Astraea asked, her eyes widening slightly.
"Remember when I took Haruhime to see Ishtar yesterday? To get her Falna into a convertible state? Well, let's just say Ishtar was feeling generous enough to hand this over."
Astraea rolled her eyes. Hestia sighed in exasperation. Haruhime brought her hands to her mouth in shock, and even Ryuu's long elf ears twitched.
Bell ignored their reactions and pressed on.
"Goddess Hestia, I want you to engrave your Falna onto Haruhime's back. And Haruhime..." He looked over his shoulder at the Renard. "I want you to use this Grimoire to awaken a suitable magic for yourself."
"Wouldn't it be better for you to use it to awaken a new magic, Bell-sama?" Haruhime asked, shaking her head in hesitation.
"No. It would suit you better. Besides, I don't have enough time to master a newly awakened magic. Your awakened magic, on the other hand, will give us quite a surprise if you awaken what I think you will." Bell's words made no sense to anyone. How could he possibly guess what magic Haruhime would awaken?
"I won't disappoint you." Haruhime curled her fingers into a fist.
Bell turned around and gave her a reassuring nod, handing the Grimoire over.
He then walked over to Ryuu and spoke.
"I think it's time for you to get your status updated. Don't you think so too?" Ryuu looked at him, then toward Astraea.
"Goddess?" She asked.
"Yes, Ryuu. Let's get your status updated." Astraea nodded, gesturing for Ryuu to come closer.
"Haruhime... come here. Let me engrave my Falna on your back." Hestia beckoned Haruhime to her.
Bell understood his cue and walked out of the room.
"I'll be out for a bit. Call me if you all need anything." He was gone with those words.
...
..
.
Hestia pricked her finger with a pin she had started carrying everywhere at Bell's insistence.
A drop of her divine blood fell onto Haruhime's bare back. The Falna inscription of a hooded woman slowly dissolved from her skin, replaced by flames burning within a circular construct.
Blue light emanated from her back as a new divine script engraved itself over the old one.
Hestia looked at Haruhime's current status and nodded, feeling like this was what a regular adventurer's status sheet should look like.
Her casual expression soon froze, however, when she looked at the magic section. Hestia tugged on one of her twin tails to check if she was hallucinating.
Pain flared from her scalp, telling her that it was indeed real.
She mechanically copied Haruhime's status sheet onto a piece of paper and turned toward Astraea beside her, who wore a similar expression.
Both wordlessly exchanged the status sheets in their hands. Ryuu's and Haruhime's.
"Level 5 after a Level Up... dexterity, agility and magic—all A-rank..." Hestia's voice trailed off. She looked at Ryuu like she was seeing her for the first time.
"Uchide no Kozuchi? Level boost magic?" Astraea murmured, eyes wide with disbelief.
Both took some time to compose themselves.
"Have Haruhime use the Grimoire. Let's see what new magic she gets." Astraea continued.
Hestia handed Ryuu's status sheet back to Astraea in response, then spoke.
"Haruhime... use that Grimoire Bell left for you."
"Yes, Goddess." Haruhime held up the Grimoire and opened it with a firm expression. Her eyes closed on their own.
It was blank, with no depictions or engravings, and soon dissolved into flecks of blue light that merged into her body.
Her Falna fluctuated violently as a new magic materialized beneath her [Uchide no Kozuchi].
[Kokonoe].
A magic that increased her number of tails, making it possible for her to grant a level boost to multiple people—exactly the same as her number of extra tails.
Hestia copied her updated status onto a fresh page, and Haruhime put her clothes back on. Ryuu had already finished dressing.
"Bell! Come and check this out." Hestia looked at the status in her hand, her voice rising a fraction.
Bell walked back in at those words and watched as Hestia offered Haruhime's status sheet to him. Meanwhile, Astraea similarly pushed Ryuu's status sheet at him.
Before taking those sheets, Bell glanced at Ryuu. The elf gave a firm nod.
Then, he turned his face toward Haruhime. The Renard nodded her head, a little too eager.
Finally, Bell took those status sheets and went through them.
As expected.
Would it be enough?
...
..
.
***
[300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
[8 chapters ahead on P@tr3on = [email protected]/Not_Aaryan]
...
[Status Sheets]
[Name: Ryuu Lion
Level - 5
Attributes -
Strength: 347 [F]
Endurance: 431 [E]
Dexterity: 831 [A]
Agility: 882 [A]
Magic: 857 [A]
Magic:
Luminous Wind - Wind and Light element wide-area offensive magic.
Noah Heal - Healing magic, more effective closer to nature.
Skills:
Fairy Serenade - Increases the effects of magic at night.
Mind Load - Increases strength stat when attacking by using mind.
Aero Mana - Increases attack power the faster the user is running.
Astrae Varmas - A passive skill that is always on and grants multiple buffs to people within a certain area around user, including user themselves. Those who are in the same Familia have their skills amplified, and their magic stat and mind increased.
Development Skills:
Hunter
Abnormal Resistance
Magic Resistance
Mage
Chain Attack ]
[Name: Sanjouno Haruhime
Level - 1
Attributes -
Strength: 0 [I]
Endurance: 0 [I]
Dexterity: 0 [I]
Agility: 0 [I]
Magic: 0 [I]
Magic:
Uchide no Kozuchi - Level boost magic.
Kokonoe - Multiple Level boosts simultaneously.
Skills:
Development Skills: ]
...
[Author's Thoughts]
Another day. Another chapter.
Have a fabulous day everyone! (*Waves bye)
...
War is coming. I won't say much. We're all about to have a blast.
Technically this is the last normal chapter, after this, it'll be action after action.