A Short Progression of Time

The next week, for Bell Cranel, can only accurately be described by a rather abrupt montage. His newfound drive, spurred on by the silent communication he had held with the adventurer he idolised over all others, had him going above and beyond the requirements of any adventurer, pushing himself to the limits every single day. And while he knew he still had a long way to go, it was the look in Hestia's eyes whenever he returned home from the Dungeon safe, a huge bag of Valis in his hands, that really made each and every day worth it, just as much as Ryuu's kisses.

Eina Tulle was a hard working and, in her own opinion, fair woman. She did her very best for all of the adventurers that used her services, and she went as above and beyond as the rules enabled her to, to hopefully make sure that the adventurers who relied on her for guidance and support got everything she could provide, all in the hopes of keeping the Dungeon from claiming one more victim.

But there were charges she held that really drove her around the bend. Charges like:

"Eina! Please tell me everything you know about the fifth floor!"

"Eina!! Please tell me everything about the sixth floor!!"

"Eina!!! Please can you let me know about the seventh floor.

Bell had been in every day so far to demand information about deeper and deeper floors, even going so far as coming back to listen to one of her lectures again so that he could be sure that he understood everything. She could admire his work ethic. If every adventurer she supervised was as committed to making sure they knew the ins and outs of the Dungeon as he was, then she would have significantly less heartache in her life. But Bell was going incredibly fast, bringing back larger and larger hauls out of the Dungeon. It was only a matter of time before he got hurt or worse down there. After all, it was normal for adventurers to push themselves too far and end up being killed by the Dungeon.

She just wished there was something more she could do. She had tried to speak up, tried to warn him against this, even going so far as to forbid it. But he had just looked her in the eyes with those ruby jewels of his, put his hands on her shoulders and offered her the most comforting smile he could, and said: "Don't worry Miss Eina. I'll be fine. I just have someone I need to catch up to."

Oh that boy. He was just so stubborn. And far too cute for his own good. "Oh Bell, why must you toy with a maiden's heart?"

Hestia was not an unreasonable Goddess. She wasn't Washboard who sought out enjoyment and excitement out of every venture or she whined like crazy. She wasn't Freya who went around stealing Children away from their gods out of some strange lust. She wasn't Ishtar with... everything that goddess did. She was just someone who tried to do her best by her Familia, and right now that Familia was only Bell.

But it was so hard to put on a smiling face for Bell when she had so much to contend with. Primarily, the fact that he was a vile philanderer. He had been sighted at a tavern. Where he had not only kissed an Elf, but he had also proceeded to try and propose to Aiz Wallenwhatsit, one of Loki's children. It was infuriating! After everything she had done for him, was she not good enough for him? Was she not worthy of the love of her only child?

But was she a terrible person for feeling this way about one of her children? He wasn't her lover, he was her child. Should she really feel so horrible about him finding love with other mortals over her immortal self? But it was an irrefutable fact that she did feel terrible about it. The first night that she had heard it, she had been all up in arms ready to tear into Bell about it. But then he'd walked in the door, covered in blood and gore and she had honestly thought she was about to watch him drop dead right in front of her.

But he hadn't. It hadn't been his blood. Bell had apparently spent almost 24 hours in the dungeon slaughtering every monster he came across, and that had left him absolutely coated in blood. And his face coated in a huge grin as he had plopped down the biggest bag of valis she had ever seen on the table in front of her. He'd just been so proud of himself for managing so much, that she couldn't bring herself to challenge him.

So she'd helped clean him up, and they'd both gone to bed together, and she'd settled for squeezing Bell extra tight against her, as if she could leave a mark on him that would make everyone remember he belonged to her.

And then the same thing had happened the next night. And the one after that. Bell came back, covered in less blood each time as his skills improved, but with even more money hefted in his sack. At the rate he was going, they might soon be able to afford some repairs to the church, and make it look like something more than a run down dump.

But that didn't shake the sadness and anger from her heart. Bell was getting stronger at an **** rate. Every time she updated his status he had gained at least 100 stat points distributed across his various statistics, and that Magic stats still sat there at 2, despite Bell having absolutely no magic to speak of with which to have earned it. And his Liaris Freese skill just sat there glowing as another mark against her. Honestly, how could she not see it coming that Bell would approach the Aiz woman when she had already left such an impression on him that he had gained a skill!!

In the end, it was certain to her right now that, in the race for Bell's heart, she was barely a participant. If she wanted that to change, she was going to need to do something big, and something fast, else she would lose Bell forever to those two harlots who had already staked their claims to him.

So it was that on the fourth day of Bell's apparent crusade against the Dungeon's upper floors, Hestia saw him to the door, and gave him the biggest hug she could, making sure to press her breasts up against him as hard as she could, making absolutely sure that Bell could feel every bit of their huge size and perfect texture squashed against his chest. She wanted him to have a very good last impression of her.

Then, once he had left, she set about quickly writing out a note explaining that she might be away for a few days, ready for Bell to find once he got home, and grabbed the sum total of their savings. If anyone could make a gift for her that was worthy of her Bell, then it would be Hephaestus. And a gift of that quality would be the perfect display of her love. She just hoped that Hephy wouldn't ask for too much in exchange.

Bell was walking down the Main Street of Orario. He wasn't sure what he was doing at the moment, given that he wasn't at the Dungeon or the Hostess of Fertility, but Hestia was gone for the moment, and it had taken a bit of the wind out of his sails. Oh she'd left a note that explained she was going to be away for a few days and would be back soon, but it was strange falling asleep in their bed without her hugging herself against his back. The bed was colder without her in it.

He'd taken the decision to spend a day out on the town, looking around and glancing into shops. It wasn't for himself though. He wanted to treat his Goddess. He'd realised that his sudden descent into the Dungeon and overwhelming drive to get stronger had taken Hestia aback, and he hoped it wasn't the reason why she'd had to take a few days away from him. But whatever the case, he needed something to show off how much he appreciated her love and support, and that was why he was devoting all of yesterday's Dungeon earnings to getting Hestia something nice.

The problem was finding something within their price range. His first thought when trying to find something worthy of a Goddess was the Tower of Babel. The problem with that idea was that there was barely anything in the entire place with a price tag with less than 5 Zeros. No matter how thorough he was in clearing out Dungeon floors, or how much time he spent slaughtering every monster he could find, there was no way he could ever hope to approach that much money just making his way through the upper floors.

So, after a depressing morning of staring in shop windows at items that he could never hope to be able to afford, he'd ended up leaving the tower with empty hands. It was around lunch time now, and his stomach was beginning to growl at him. Surely Hestia wouldn't begrudge him spending just a tiny bit of his earnings just to fill his empty belly? What that did mean though was that he couldn't go to the Hostess. The food was exceptional there, but the prices matched that fact, and he'd probably end up spending half of his purse on a plate of pasta or something.

So it was that he found himself here now, walking down the main street trying to spot a café or something that he could pop into and just get a light bite to eat before he got back out. Unfortunately finding somewhere not already clearly at capacity was difficult given the buzz running through Orario right now. The Monsterphilia festival was only a few days away, and already there were numerous people from the surrounding regions flocking to the city to watch the performances of the Ganesha familia and their famous Monster Tamers. The city was steadily beginning to bulge with people.

It was beginning to look like finding a café along Main street was going to be completely impossible, and slowly he began to stare down side roads, looking to see if he spotted a place that was a bit less overcrowded.

And then he spotted something. A hooded figure heading down a side alley just nearby, but what caught his attention was more the way the people around them flickered. Their cloak had billowed just a little as they turned down the alley, and every pair of eyes that was there to witness seemed to instantly lock onto whoever it was that had been revealed. Bell saw that, and he didn't like the looks they were being given.

Without thinking, his feet began to take him towards the alley, following along behind the person who had disappeared down the small gulley, and he could see three thuggish looking men stop what they were doing and begin to follow along too just ahead of him. He sped up.

The alley was cramped and the buildings on either side of it tall, blocking out practically all sunlight and leaving them all in shade as they moved along the long passageway. Bell suddenly heard sounds of a scuffle up ahead, and he dashed quicker, coming to a stop as he came across the three thuggish men, apparently having turned on one another, and now the three were beating the shit out of each other while the hooded figure watched on beyond them. Finally seeing them head on, Bell could just make out the gentle swell of breasts and smooth, ivory skin. He'd made the right decision then. She was definitely in danger here.

With the three men occupied with each other for the moment, Bell scanned the little alley, and quickly came to a decision on what to do. He crouched and bunched his leg muscles to get off to the best possible start, then sprang at one of the walls. His feet found the side of the wall and he hit it running, sprinting along the alley wall and right over the heads of the tussling thugs to land on the other side right beside the hooded woman. His hand lashed out and seized hers, and she turned towards him startled. "We should probably leave. Quickly." He said to her, and the moment she nodded back he was sweeping her up in his arms and sprinting off down the alleyway.

As she relaxed into his arms, her still cloaked head pressed against his chest, he had no way to see the smile on her face.