Bell knocked on Bronya's room and found Bronya.
"A hero, you say."
Bronya didn't refuse to answer the question from the young boy her age, but before answering, she asked Bell instead: "What do you think?"
"Um, I'm not very clear either. Originally, I thought a hero was like in the hero tales: strong, brave, defeating powerful enemies, saving the world, and so on."
Bell recalled the hero tales he had read: "But others seem to have different views, and I think they are all correct."
Bronya nodded.
"If it's just about killing enemies, not only heroes can do that, but they are more often called assassins or executioners."
Bronya thought of her days when she was called Silver Wolf of the Urals. At that time, she killed many enemies, but she was definitely not a hero.
"So Bronya believes that everyone can become a hero to others. There's no need to overthink it, because as long as there's someone waiting for you, you will be their hero."
And the time she felt most like a hero was when she finally went to see Seele and the two made a promise.
"Someone waiting for me, huh...?"
Bell, who was unaware of Bronya's experiences, also couldn't grasp the deeper meaning of Bronya's words. Eventually, he found Hestia, a god who had lived for hundreds of millions of years.
"A hero?"
Hestia showed a mischievous smile: "Bell, I didn't expect you to still yearn for a hero at your age?"
"Hestia, please don't tease me."
Bell immediately surrendered, and Hestia stopped joking, instead asking, "What did everyone else say?"
Bell didn't hide anything and recounted the results of his inquiries along the way.
Hestia nodded: "Then what do you think, Bell?"
"I…"
After repeating what he had said to Bronya earlier to Hestia, Hestia patted Bell's shoulder: "Bell, don't overthink it."
"The path of a hero is never just one."
"Although the Gods hope that the children of the lower world can grow into heroes who save the world, the definition of a hero is not only that one. So, Bell, instead of looking for the correct path, look for the path you want to walk."
Bell didn't react immediately to Hestia's words, as if the problem had returned to its starting point.
"The path I want to walk?"
"Exactly, Bell! Ask your heart! What do you want to do? Don't think about what kind of hero you want to become. If given the choice, everyone would want to become a great hero like Argo who saves the world. But look at what's in front of you, Bell, even before becoming a hero of the world, don't neglect the people right in front of you!"
For Hestia, Bell was her hero, because when she was down and out, she received Bell as a Familia member. Although she soon met Takatsuki and others later, Bell was like a lucky star to her, so Hestia still felt some gratitude towards Bell.
However, Bell didn't understand it that way. The first thing he thought of was…
"Does Haruhime-san hope I'll help her…?"
Today, the members of the Hestia Familia still didn't go to the Dungeon, because Takatsuki decided that everyone would directly enter the middle levels to begin their adventure later, and he sent Bell to Eina to intensively study Dungeon knowledge, while the others were free to arrange their time as they wished.
The result was that only Takatsuki was left at the base.
"Ha…"
He had only been here for a few days, but there were really a lot of troublesome things…
Takatsuki opened his quest panel and looked at several unfinished quests. The special quest concerning Bell was not completed, which meant it had not yet yielded results.
And it was unknown if Kiana's matter would cause problems. Although it seemed fine now, Kiana's ability to act tough was very strong.
Furthermore, Fu Hua's attitude, although she was cooperating with him now, it was only temporary. Takatsuki still needed a more secure way to ensure the relationships between them.
In fact, more importantly, regarding Seele's matter, Takatsuki had promised Bronya to help her rescue Seele, but in reality, he currently had no reliable method to cross the Sea of Quanta and bring her back.
Takatsuki leaned back on the sofa, with Heaven's Stairway appearing behind him, massaging his shoulders.
Although having a Stand help with a massage was similar to massaging oneself, the Stand's power and precision could more accurately target the needed areas.
But he always felt something was missing. To use an analogy, it was the difference between a mass-produced item and a handcrafted one. The mass-produced item was theoretically more precise and complete, but the handcrafted item seemed to have a different kind of advantage.
"Takatsuki? Are you tired?"
Mei's voice suddenly came from the doorway.
"Ah, Mei, why are you back?"
Appearing at the door was Mei, who should have already gone out. She was carrying a basket of vegetables, looking like she had simply gone out to buy groceries.
"I went out to buy some ingredients and came back. Do you need me to give you a massage?"
Putting down the basket in her hand, Mei walked over and sat beside Takatsuki.
"No…" He subconsciously wanted to refuse, but seeing Mei's actions, Takatsuki inexplicably changed his mind midway: "Then I'll trouble you."
"Takatsuki, you haven't had a good rest in a long time, have you?"
Mei gently massaged his shoulders, speaking as she did so.
"I still sleep well."
Although busy, Takatsuki still maintained a normal routine, but it was also true that he hadn't had a good rest, because almost every day, he worried about things he couldn't solve at the moment. Although he knew worrying was useless, he just couldn't stop feeling anxious.
Mei's massage was very comfortable. Although her strength was not as powerful as the Stand's, and the massage position was not the most needed one, a girl gently kneading his shoulders made him feel incredibly relaxed.
He comfortably closed his eyes. The air around him seemed to have a fresh scent that wasn't there before, and soft hands moved from his shoulders to the sides of his forehead, gently pressing his temples.
The tense nerves, originally due to worries, slowly relaxed.
The slight fatigue from staying up late last night instantly surged up, causing his consciousness to slowly enter a state of dormancy.
Gently placing Takatsuki's head on her lap, Mei continued the gentle massage, looking at his familiar face.
"You've worked hard all this time, and from now on…"
"Please take care of me too."