Takeru blocked a slash aimed at her neck and replied with two quick slashes in reply. Kallen blocked the first and dodged the second strike before stepping back and creating distance between them.
Kallen ducked low and leaped back toward Takeru, swinging her sword from below, Takeru succeeded in blocking the strike but in an impressive display of athleticism, Kallen twisted her body around her strike and swung out with a leg to Takeru's head.
Takeru saw this and adjusted her block to intercept the kick with the butt of her sword, she then drew back a hand from her grip and launched a palm strike to Kallen's stomach, making the redhead gasp before she was launched away by the force of impact.
She rolled along the ground for a moment before coming to a halt. Takeru was relieved to see her stand up, albeit on shaking legs, with a firm grip still on her sword.
Neither of them were using real blades for this spar, having substituted them for wooden simulacrums. Nevertheless, getting hit by one would hurt like a bitch, as Kallen would testify, given she had some potent bruises on her body right now.
Meanwhile, Takeru had not a single one in her. Throughout their spar, Takeru had succeeded in blocking or deflecting Kallen's strikes toward her, frustrating the girl to no end. Though in her defense, Takeru can safely say Kallen has been one of the most aggressive partners she had to spar with and saw bright things in the girl's future as a combatant.
Kallen knew she shouldn't be surprised she was on the back foot in terms of this spar, she was technically fighting a living legend from her nations' history. A fact that still boggled her mind whenever she thought about it. Regardless of that, she was determined to land at least one blow against her by the end of this session.
"Are you well enough to continue?" Takeru asked Kallen, already knowing the answer.
Kallen spat to the side and wiped her mouth before looking at Takeru and getting into a stance, "You need to try harder than that to put me down," she said with a vicious smile.
Takeru smiled at the answer and got ready again, "Understood," she replied, "I'll have to try harder than."
They went at it again, wooden blades clashing and ringing through the grounds, where others were training around them.
Chitoge and Hana were having their own sparring session with each other. Each meeting the other with fists, kicks, holds, and throws, earning bruises and welts for their efforts. Neither was willing to yield to the other, but Chitoge was certainly winning in terms of successful strikes. Even still, she didn't want to be caught in Hana's hold again, the girl had a mean grip and excellent technique. Not to mention getting thrown through the air did not feel good for her stomach.
Some distance from them, amidst a few partially collapsed buildings, Ibuki and Elbia were both testing themselves in terms of their speed and dexterity in a makeshift game of keep away. One would possess a colored ribbon that the other had to get for themselves, then the roles would reverse. They used the buildings as a sort of obstacle course to offer them a better challenge, as well as work on their maneuverability.
Ibuki's ninja training was being put to the test against Elbia's primal instincts and awareness. Both had had the ribbon taken from them in a rather intense back and forth, but both were still fresh of breath and ready to continue onward.
In another area, Koukin was working on control of her weapon, spinning, swinging, and lashing out with her whip at stone debris targets this way and that. She knew she was great with this weapon but knew she could get even better and pushed herself into doing so. Especially now that she could train earnestly without worrying about her health like she had in her old life.
Nearby was Arue, who was looking at a large stone wall with a focused red eye. Its surface was scorched almost entirely, the gray stone turning a charcoal black from her repeated spell strikes. She had been using her fireball spell constantly in an effort to exhaust herself and expand her mind reserves. She had to have thrown dozens of fireballs at the wall and was only now starting to get winded.
She knew she had a vast store of mind to draw her magic from but despite numerous trips to the dungeon, she never found her limit thanks to her cautious approach in dispatching the monsters at range. It was a sound strategy, not one she would change, but she had to see where her limits lie with her magic and how she could improve upon them.
Hestia familia was treating this early morning as a training day for themselves after hearing about Bell and his new tutor. They all knew he would be pushing himself in his training, especially if his teacher was a level six adventurer, so it was agreed that today, until he came back, they too would push themselves like he no doubt was.
When Hestia first heard from Koukin that Bell was being trained by Ais Wallenstein, or Ais Whalen-what's-it by Hestia, her first thought was to rush out and grab Bell away from her rivals favorite child. There was just a few problem with that, one, Hestia didn't know where they are, two, Bell would be upset if she interrupted his training with Ais, and three, Koukin outright told her to stop being ridiculous and let him be while she focused on other things that were important.
Namely figuring out a time and place to tell Bell the shared skill of his companions or finally work on her familia emblem since she didn't even have one in the first place.
Midday was approaching and everyone was taking a break from their exertions, some readily downed stamina potions and healing potions to get themselves ready for a time of dungeon diving. They were all talking amongst themselves when a familiar figure was seen walking towards him.
Bell Cranell was walking slowly back to his familia home, his fellow members were all outside and greeted him with waves and smiles. When he was close to his home entrance he paused, just enough for Takeru to come up and ask him a question.
"Captain," she greeted, "how was your training with the Sword Princess?"
Bell stared at her with a blank expression and she could now see the exhausted in his eyes. What happened next solidified the fact that Bell's new training was quite arduous.
Bell fell face forward and collapsed.
This would be a pattern in these next coming days, Bell would train with Ais in the early morning and come home half dead.
His familia was worried of course but nothing could dissuade Bell from his determination in seeing his training through, even if he comes home more worse for wear than he ever did in the dungeon. It was progress, brutal but effective progress.
Seeing his drive to continue, the others reluctantly held their tongues on the matter but that didn't stop them in making sure he went there with plenty of healing and stamina potions.
He tried to argue, believing they were better spent for when they went into the dungeon but a smack at the back of the head from Kallen, a flick of the nose from Ibuki, a brief elbow to the ribs from Arue, and an emotionless but judgmental look from Hana, stopped whatever argument he could make.
After all their morning training was done, they would go into the dungeon to test their abilities further against the monsters, as well as grow their familia coffers in getting magic stones.
All in all, the Hestia familia was going strong this week.
Bell narrowly dodged a slash of Ais's sword, the sheathed blade cutting swiftly through the air. He acted out quickly, back stepping a pace so he could brace for the next strike. Sure enough, it came for him, with his new stance set, he managed to block successfully before swinging his knife up in retaliation. Ais dodged the blow with ease but had a smile on her face at Bell's quick thinking and instinctive response.
He learned to counterattack properly and regularly, a step up from how he was a few days ago and Ais was happy with his progress. She could tell he was happy too as that glowing smile of his appeared again.
Their training had been productive as it had been interesting. Ais was rough at first when she was first teaching Bell, having knocked him out a great number of times by accident, but she gradually learned to temper her blows to actually impart a few lessons now that Bell was no longer in any danger of being knocked out.
Well…not knocked out quite so often. There had been instances of Ais being wrapped up in her thoughts regarding Bell's progress that she forgot to hold back. Resulting in Bell seeing her scabbard come to his head before stars flashed before his eyes.
Though this led to an odd circumstance. Whenever Bell was knocked out, he would wake up in Ais's lap, who was stroking his hair softly while staring down on him. Bell was, of course, rendered a blushing mess by such a gesture. A reaction that Ais picked up upon and eventually asked him about it.
"Do you not like it?" she asked innocently.
Bell needed a moment before replying but found his mouth already in full motion to explain, poorly, "No no no! It's not that I don't like it. It's just a big surprise waking up to it is all."
Ais cocked her head at that answer, thinking about that answer for a bit, "So you don't mind it if you're not 'awake'?" she had a sudden gleam in her eye as she said that.
Bell was scared all the sudden, he did not like that look in her eyes. They soon began to spar once again and Bell would get knocked out, just to wake up in Ais's lap.
This happened again and again…and again…and again.
By the end of the training, Bell counted himself lucky he didn't walk away with a concussion.
The next day, they were both recovering from their last sparring session and found themselves resting, Bell more so than Ais, who didn't look even remotely winded.
Bell was beside her, sitting on the ground, backs to the wall, his breath coming out in raw pants. He had downed a stamina potion but still found himself gasping after the session. Ais watched him all the while, her expression neutral, giving Bell no insight to her thoughts.
He honestly felt like he wasn't doing well enough, despite his progress. Feeling his goal was much further than he thought before. Nevertheless, he was determined to push forward this final day. Even if he felt like his progress wasn't enough, it was still progress and he felt it in his bones.
He turned to look at the sky, seeing its morning blue color, it brought a smile to his face.
"It is very nice out today," Ais said beside him, he turned his gaze to her and saw her head tilted up to the sky as well, a small smile on her face as she watched the clouds move above, "I used to do this whenever I was little. After a long day of training or going into the dungeon. It helped me relax."
At that Ais suddenly let out a deep yawn and Bell found himself staring at her. She yawned cutely.
Ais suddenly realized what she did and had a small blush on her face at being caught off guard like that. She had to do something to save face as a teacher. She thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion.
"Let's nap," she said suddenly but seriously, "after a good training session, it's important to really rest up."
Bell blinked at her wondering where she came to that conclusion, "Umm, Miss Ais, It's okay if you wanna-"
He was cut off by a stern glare from the Sword Princess, "It's for training," she emphasized.
"Miss Ais, if you're tired, we could-"
"For training."
Bell wisely shut his mouth after that and watched as Ais layed down on her back and closed her eyes. A moment later, she was asleep, Bell was beside her, amazed she could rest that easily and quickly.
He watched her for a bit, seeing her peaceful expression. It made him happy to see her relaxed.
'She's taking time out of her days to train someone like me,' Bell thought , 'I shouldn't be surprised that she would get tired training me so often and so early.'
At the thought of the word 'early', Bell felt his own exhaustion hit him again in full, making him lay back as well, feeling his eyes grow heavier and heavier.
Before he felt rest finally take him, Bell had one thought go through his mind.
'I hope the others are having a good time today.'
Chitoge was not having a good time today, in fact, she was having an embarrassing time right now.
Chitoge stood behind a food stand, but not just any food stand.
"Hey Chitoge," whispered Hestia beside her, "smile a bit more. We need to attract customers, not scare them off."
She was at the food stand that her Goddess, Hestia, worked at, aiding her Goddess in manning the stand and dispensing the potato puff treats that were quite popular in the city.
'I should have said no,' Chitoge thought , 'why didn't I say no?'
Earlier today, Chitoge and Kallen planned on going into the dungeon, wanting to test the results of their training with each other, when suddenly, Hestia came running towards them, a desperate look in her eye as well as a few tears.
They were immediately concerned that something happened to her and were quick to rush to her aid. After a few frantic words and gestures for them to follow her, they immediately rushed alongside her to see the problem. She led them right to her potato puff food stand that stood empty. They blinked in shock before feeling someone grab at their clothing, looking down they saw the Goddess again with tears in her eyes.
"Please help me!" she wailed, "The stall owner had to leave to take care of another stall and left me all alone," she shook their clothes in her grasp, "the lunch hour is about to start and I need help! Please, my precious, kind, compassionate, loving children, help your poor Goddess!"
'Ah, that's right,' Chitoge thought , 'hard to say no when your Goddess puts on that pathetic of a show in public.'
Chitoge and Kallen had agreed to help Hestia but were surprised by the positions they were assigned. Chitoge expected just to do the labor part and just let Hestia deal with the customers while she got the food ready, but no, she had to be the front face along with Hestia in addition to preparing the food.
Chitoge glanced to the side outside the stand, remembering that she got off lucky in helping in manning the stand.
Kallen however…
Standing just a short distance away from the stand was what appeared to be a giant fluffy fried potato puff with a cartoonish smile and eyes sewn into it, complete with inordinately thin but long arms and legs. It was a mascot costume that Hestia just so happened to have on hand when the both of them arrived at the stall.
One in which Kallen was currently wearing and Chitoge did not envy her at all right now. In fact, she was honestly scared standing near her right now.
She swore she could hear Kallen grind her teeth in rage from inside the costume.
"Hestia," Chitoge whispered to her Goddess, "you better have something nice planned for Kallen later," she took another glance at the mascot bound girl, who was standing eerily still, "I don't think a 'thank you' is gonna be enough for something like this."
Hestia gave no motion to Chitoge's words but a good amount of nervous sweat did drip off her head, "Yeah, I think I got a little ahead of myself with that one. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to pay Kallen back for this little favor."
They watched as a child and their mother made their way to the stand, the child stopped in front of the mascot clad Kallen with a smile, looking up at the funny costume before suddenly crying and running back to their mother, hiding behind her legs.
"Mom! Mom! That potato puff growled at me!" the now frightened child said.
Hestia gulped at the sight and Chitoge nudged her with her elbow, a rye expression on her face.
"Better hope you still have a job 'to' pay her back, Hestia," Chitoge said.
The Hearth Goddess could only give a pitiful whine.
Koukin stared at the store owner, her gaze cool enough to chill the air. To the store owner's credit, she met the stare with a heated one of her own, a gaze full of unyielding fire.
"…"
"…"
Neither seemed interested in giving ground to the other, choosing to continue this silent battle of wills.
Eventually, the silence was broken.
"Fifteen percent," the amazon store owner said, "I won't go any higher, not with the materials I need to make the wardrobe."
Koukin raised an elegant eyebrow in response, "Really?" she asked, "From what I heard, you've done awfully well in sales in regards to the clothing design I provided you," she made a gesture at her chest, at the clothing she wore, "now that I have a better idea on the future sales numbers, I'd say a higher royalty is a proper way to finalize our business dealings."
The shopkeeper scoffed at Koukin, "Your request for twenty percent is too high, not for how hard it is to make your wardrobe. I thought the additional copies of clothing I provided you would be enough to balance the scales between us?"
Koukin pushed up her glasses a gleam in her emerald eyes, "That was already previously agreed upon, royalties were a discussion we never brought up until your letter came and notified me," her gaze became iron, "which told me you had already decided on the given royalties without my knowledge or consent."
That little reveal got the shopkeeper to look away, a look of embarrassment and a bit of shame on her features, "It was the best estimate I could give you at the time," she said without looking her in the eyes, "I hadn't heard from you in a while so I decided to go through with it."
Koukin didn't need to be a genius to figure out the shopkeeper's words and what they 'really' meant.
'You were gone and I had the opportunity to make some good money, don't blame me for jumping at the opportunity.'
Koukin gave a sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose. The shopkeeper saw this and thought it was a sign of weakness. She focused her gaze back to Koukin, prepared to go on the market offensive once again.
Unfortunately she wasn't prepared for the renewed glare Koukin leveled her way just then, "Your best 'estimate' was five percent. Don't try to weasel your way out of what you committed," she slammed her palms on the table and leaned forward, "twenty percent, that should be more than enough for each of us to be comfortable with."
Again the amazon adamantly shook her head, "I admit I was… greedy, for lack of a better word, but I need a big share for the materials and production costs alone. Surely, you understand that?"
Koukin did understand.
"The materials, though not cheap, are not inexpensive enough for you to struggle with obtaining them and production isn't a problem given how you have already sold a great chuck of your stock already and haven't had difficulty in resupplying," she gestured over to where a mannequin was dressed in her wears, posed provocatively around a rack of the example clothing.
The shopkeeper was sweating at openly being called out and found any defensive argument she could raise wasn't going to end well when the evidence was all around them.
But Koukin wasn't done, "I understand that, as a businesswoman, you are determined to get the best deal out of your situation and opportunity. Believe me, it's not the first time I've done work with someone like that. Nevertheless, the royalties are not simply going to me," she held a hand to her heart, her gaze softening, "they are going to my familia as well. We are looking to either expand or purchase a new place for our growing familia. This deal will provide a steady amount of income, which is very much needed."
The shopkeeper listened, her face softening as she heard the words.
Eventually, she sighed in resignation. The more she thought of it, the more she realized how much she owed to Koukin for her unique clothing. Since she copied the design and put it into her store, it had been a very popular choice of clothing for not only her amazon customers, who enjoyed the unique display of refined mixed with sensual, but also other customers like humans, chienthropes, dwarfs, and even a few elves.
"Okay," she said to Koukin, "I'll agree to twenty percent, but no higher. I have to keep some dignity as a merchant."
Koukin smiled, glad the shopkeeper saw reason.
"Thank you," she said, "I and my familia certainly appreciate it."
The amazon shopkeeper gave an idle wave in acknowledgment, simply happy to have gotten these tense negotiations over with and just wanted this day to end.
Koukin saw her look and decided to at the very least throw her a bone.
Walking over to the far side of the store, Koukin selected a few articles of clothing and went back to the front desk, showing what she picked.
The shopkeeper's eyes looked at what Koukin selected and they widened as she saw what she selected.
In the strategist's hands, was a two piece bikini set that put the emphasis on 'minimal cover'. It was scarcely a set of triangles and a thong that only covered just enough.
"I am curious about something," Koukin suddenly said, "I noticed you have a wide assortment of swimwear. Given how I lack such items, perhaps you could help me in selecting some. I'm thinking of going to Melen one day and could use a professional eye for such things."
The shopkeeper stared at Koukin, then at the bikini, then back at Koukin, then again, back at the bikini.
A slow perverted smile came across the shopkeeper's face, maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.
Takeru walked along a procession, looking and monitoring her surroundings with a careful eye.
She was looking far more at the procession itself than anywhere else, given what was being transported.
Being guided along by bull and cart with the help of some elephant masked familia members, monsters from the dungeon were being transported to a new security area underneath the coliseum run by the Ganesha familia.
Takeru was acting as additional security to ensure a safe travel for the Ganesha familia and for the monsters themselves.
Takeru didn't think her day would involve being a part of an escort detail. She was taking it easy after her own trip into the dungeon and trying her luck on the floors past the tenth. She made it to the thirteenth before turning back, her curiosity sated and bringing fresh news about what to expect to her familia.
Though she would keep quiet from the Guild about her little curious exploration. Eina had enough to deal with involving Bell, she didn't want to add on to the poor half-elf's troubles.
Before she made her way home, she was spotted by a familiar figure from her experience at Monsterphilia. Ganesha, God of the masses, had stopped her and beseeched her aid.
At first, Takeru wanted to decline, given he started asking her while posing in the middle of a public street and screaming at the top of his lungs. When the topic of the monsters they kept came into the conversation, Takeru believed that it was best to lend whatever aid she could to ensure an incident like at Monsterphilia couldn't happen again.
So here she was, watching and monitoring things as they progressed along. Keeping an eye out for any monster that grew bold enough to attempt a breakout or if anyone was foolish enough to try to break the monsters out themselves.
Thankfully, there was no issue and eventually the Ganesha familia managed to relocate the monsters successfully.
Takeru watched from the side as they finished settling the monsters in their new location, noticing something for the first time.
Some of these monsters were far more… passive than the previous ones she encountered from the familia. Sure they still growled and lunged at anyone if they got too close to their cages, but they didn't actively try to break out despite some of them being more than capable of such a thing.
They had dragons for crying out loud, lesser ones to be sure, but still capable of flight and breathing fire. Yet they were shockingly docile and Takeru swears she saw one Ganesha member reach into the cage and pet one of the beasts, though it responded with a deep growl at the contact.
'What kind of monsters are these?' Takeru thought.
"I am Ganesha!" a loud and boastful voice rang out from beside her.
Takeru nearly drew her blade to cut down the sudden surprise when she regained her calm and recognized who it was.
She turned and gave a nod in greeting, "Hello lord Ganesha," she said, "everything go well with the relocation?"
The elephant masked founder of his own familia posed in front of her before replying, "Indeed! We have been successful in our efforts today! No injuries, no breakouts, and no slip up's," he stood proud then, arms crossed, "as expected of my lovely children. The children of none other than I!" he lifted his arms and flexed them proudly, "Ganesha!"
Takeru stared at the God in bewilderment. She knew from her past interaction with him that Ganesha was a weird God to say the least and that was putting it lightly. She knew of no other God or Goddess that acted quite like him but to his credit, despite acting strange most of the time, Ganesha had shown himself to be a caring and capable deity.
Though it still surprised her that he would still continue to plan and hold events like Monsterphilia, despite what transpired not too long ago. Despite being a God of the masses, he seemed rather adamant in the technique of monster taming, regardless of the risks.
Though, if she were honest, Takeru wouldn't mind being able to tame such beasts. Maybe even ride one into battle?
This thought conjured the image of herself donned in her armor and riding a ligerfang into battle.
Yeah…she wouldn't mind at all.
"I must thank you again Miss Yamato," Ganesha said, breaking her out of her thoughts, "your help has been appreciated and valuable to us. If there is anything we could do for you for this favor, let us know," he flexed and did another pose, "for I, Ganesha, always repay my debt to my friends!"
Takeru blinked in surprise at that statement. She had met this God and his familia no more than twice and he already considered her a friend?
Maybe he really was as crazy as some people say?
A sharp blow struck the back of the elephant masked deity's head, causing him to cry out in shock and pain. Takeru turned her attention to the perpetrator, who still had an armored fist raised from her strike.
She was a tall woman with azure hair and a stern face, her clothing was orange and covered most of her body except four slits around her legs for ease of movement, her arms were primarily covered in metal gauntlets that did nothing to hide the strength in them, to top it off, she carried a well crafted spear on her back that was ready to be drawn when combat was near.
This was Shakti Varma, captain of the Ganesha familia.
Shakti shook her head at her God's antics, "Lord Ganesha," she said with exasperation, "while I appreciate Miss Yamato's aid as well, perhaps you could lower the enthusiasm while inside a long corridor that 'echoes' loudly," she punctuated this by rubbing her ears with a wince, an action that was seen on a few other familia members nearby as well.
Takeru wasn't too bothered by Ganesha's loud enthusiasm, she had endured and tolerated worse, in her own home no less.
Shakti looked at Takeru and gave her a smile, "Though he is right," she said, "thank you for helping us with the relocation. After Monsterphilia, many of our familia members have been hesitant to approach our captive monsters. With your presence, they feel a bit more secure in performing their duties with them."
Takeru gave a small smile in response to the words, feeling genuinely grateful for the compliment. Still though, a question came to her mind, one that she couldn't help but voice.
"If you don't mind me asking," she began, "why do you all pursue monster taming so fervently? I know you have some that are…passive around most people, but the risks seem rather high for such actions."
Shakti didn't seemed put off by the question and was about to answer, until her God literally barged between them, flexing as he did, "Allow me Shakti," he said, "I can provide a satisfactory answer."
His captain looked ready to argue that decision but Ganesha continued on, "You see Miss Takeru, as I'm sure you know, the dungeon spawns all manner of monsters from its seemingly endless depths and adventurers like yourself and my dear Shakti are tasked with eliminating them, less they reach the surface and cause havoc," he stopped flexing and stood with his arms cross, his expression turned serious, "that alone should provide the masses a sense of security. Unfortunately the same can only be said for those in the city, not to those outside of it."
Takeru listened closely, her curiosity setting itself to the God's words.
"While the adventurers slay the beasts underneath the city, that doesn't mean the monsters outside of it are passive. Not uncommonly, monsters have been known to spawn on the surface world, monsters even from the dungeon itself!"
Takeru was surprised by this, since her summoning, like the others, she'd been imparted with information about the world she was in. From language, brief history, concepts, etc, but there were still some things she had no knowledge of.
Like how there are monsters from the dungeon roaming around on the surface outside the city.
Ganesha could clearly see her worry, despite her usual stern expression being in place, "Fear not Miss Yamato," he said, "the monsters spawned outside the city are far weaker than any you could find in the dungeon. In comparison, that silverback your captain slew. One spawned outside the city could be dispatched easy enough by a fresh level one adventurer, or even by a group of hearty village militiamen."
This did set Takeru at ease but also surprised her. Monsters outside the city were 'that' weaker than their dungeon counterparts? It was a staggering difference to be sure.
Ganesha continued, "but even though they are considered weaker then their dungeon counterparts, they can still cause a fright to the average populace and many are not prepared to fight such things or even have the courage to do so," he suddenly flexed again, one arm held out before him and at the monsters, "That is where we come in! By showing the people of the city, nay, the world, that these monsters can not only be beaten, but tamed as well. Then that fear will give way to confidence and through that confidence," he curled his arms into himself and flexed them, imitating a body builder of some kind, "strength can be found! In themselves and in others! That is my goal with Monsterphilia! That is the goal of I!"
He drew in a deep breath and Takeru saw Shakti wince and cover her ears, an action she followed along with the other familia members.
"Ganesha!" he bellowed, his voice echoing up and down the corridor in deafening quality.
A swift hit to the back of the head, courtesy of Shakti, silenced the God from any more outbursts. She picked up her God by the scruff of his collar and gestured for everyone to keep moving on.
Takeru watched the familia move on without another word, eventually joining along with soft steps.
She was satisfied with the explanation she was given and her respect for this familia rose up a few notches.
Nevertheless, her instincts were telling her something. She firmly believed in what Ganesha told her, there was no doubt in her mind about that.
Yet a part of her felt that there was still more to it, more to Monsterphilia and more to Ganesha's reason.
More that the God couldn't say.
"Fireball!"
An engulfing ball of flame consumed the onrushing killer ants, leaving charred remains for a brief moment before they burst to ash, leaving only the steaming magic stones to fall on the ground.
Arue smiled at her work, lowering her wand, glad she had both a good handle in controlling her power output now and that these monsters were more hardy than those in the upper floors.
No more incinerating magic stones for this Crimson Demon.
She turned to see how the others are doing, just in time to see Hana flip a needle rabbit onto another needle rabbit, reducing both monsters to dust with the impact of her toss, Hana immediately went on the attack again, rushing forward and dropping a well placed heel on top of a nearby killer ant, breaking its head open and bursting to ash a moment later.
Not far off, Elbia was doing her kind proud. After some quick hit-and-run tactics upon a few imps, she successfully led them on and had them pursue her for a distance, then she turned the tables by suddenly moving in a surprising display of speed and agility, jumping, leaping, and dashing around the group of imps, corralling them into a circle of some kind, where the monsters were trying to to follow her movements and take the occasional strike at her, only to hit one of their own instead. Elbia would strike out with swift kicks or even sharp claw swipes at goblins unlucky enough to stray into her avenue of attack.
She looked just like a wolf who lured sheep into an impossible trap.
Arue swung back around to see a group of Imps head her way, one having a landform weapon that could only be generously called a club.
She raised her wand up and again with a chant of "Fireball," from her lips, another ball of flames shot out and engulfed the onrushing monsters.
She and the others were on dungeon duty today. Earning for the familia coffers and gaining excelia for their own falnas growth.
They would normally have Bell by their side but this training session was going to be significantly longer, given how Ais will soon be going on an expedition and wanted to hammer in any lessons Bell was potentially struggling with.
Arue couldn't help but feel a pang of remorse for her captain and summoner. After a few days of training with the Sword Princess, Bell was seemingly coming back home more busted and bruised than he ever did from his time in the dungeon, but he seemed overall happy with the training so Arue kept her tongue from voicing any objections. Still, the familia kept telling him to be careful and not overdo it.
Arue stifled a laugh at the thought , 'It's impossible to tell that boy not to overdo it. He's determined like no other I know.'
That wasn't totally true, she remembered the short, stubborn, and determined fellow Crimson Demon from her school days and how far she was willing to push herself to pursue her passion.
Arue smiled, remembering her along with the others she studied with. Times like these, she does miss them.
She stepped back suddenly as a needle rabbit attempted to jump at her with its horn. She replied by pointing her wand absent mindedly at it and a second later it was nothing but ash, sans magic stone.
"Geeze, here Lili was worried about you for a second."
Arue looked to where the voice came from and smiled as she saw Lili lower her wrist mounted crossbow.
Since the incident with Lili's 'fellow' familia members, she has taken it upon herself to be the best supporter she could be for Bell and the others, she shared every tip and trick she otherwise kept from them, told them of good spawning locations for the monsters, even offered them some of her own equipment to use in the dungeon, the later of those was rejected of course, they were content with their own means and equipment and didn't want to take from the earnest pallum.
Arue gave a smile at Lili that glowed with confidence, "Worry not Miss Arde," she spun around in dramatic flair and pointed her wand in the direction of more monsters coming down the chamber, "the beasts in these depths have little to threaten a Crimson Demon!" her sole visible eye seemed to glow at her dramatic pronouncement and her smile widened at what she felt was a significant display of style and drama.
"The same could be said of a passionate artist!" Hana exclaimed from beside her, facing down the same enemies.
"Agreed!" exclaimed Elbia, who crouched low just to the other side of Arue, "Our muses are burning with inspiration. Let's end this quick, so I can sketch back home."
Lili watched the three with a deadpan expression but found herself smiling all the same. Weird though these three were, they certainly knew how to make the dungeon more fun.
She'd only wish Bell was here with them, though for more a personal reason than anything.
But if he was working hard with his training, then Lili would work hard as a supporter!
Bell could honestly say that today was probably the most intense training day he experienced so far.
From dawn to dusk, he and Ais had been training. Bell having reached a point that Ais felt satisfied with and confident he would do well in the dungeon while she was away on her expedition.
A part of her felt a bit sad it was all over, she was unsure at first but over time she realized something.
She enjoyed being in Bell's company.
The days she had spent with him, training him, lecturing him, and just talking with him, had started out clumsy and confusing, but as time went on, she felt more comfortable around him and more assured by his presence.
Whether it was teaching him how to properly assess an enemy or even the occasional, actually very common, lap pillow she gave him after knocking him out during their spars, Bell Cranell had really started to impress upon her.
It was still a shame that it was over, by tomorrow she would join her familia on their next big expedition into the lower floors.
And uncover the secrets down there that wormed their way up into the city.
Her thoughts briefly went back to an opponent she faced not long ago, red hair and inhuman eyes that stared at her with monstrous contempt. Someone who looked human but was far far from it. A monster that Ais may face once again and hopefully this time she was better prepared for it.
Bell and Ais were walking along the now darkened streets of the city, at this time, most of its inhabitants were ready to call the day over and retire to their beds, a feeling Bell sympathized with. They made their way through a wide alleyway when they brought up short and stopped.
A dark haired man, a cat-person, stood some ways down the alleyway, wielding a long spear and wearing a strange mask that covered half his face, blocking any visual of his eyes.
Bell would have thought the man looked cool were it not for one thing, namely the dangerous air about him that warned Bell of imminent danger.
He felt himself unconsciously tense up, preparing for whatever may happen. He tensed up all the more when he saw the man move the spear slightly.
He saw a flash of silver and a sharp breeze pass over his head the next second, followed by the sound of steel clashing against steel.
Bell blinked as the moment passed and had time to register what just happened, the cat man was now only a few feet away from him and Ais, his spear held in a ready combat position. Ais had her sword out now and held in front of Bell, having blocked the strike that was less than a second away from impaling his head before she reacted. Bell realized this himself and shudder went up his spine at the knowledge.
Whoever this person was, he was definitely a fighter on par with Ais.
Before Bell knew it, Ais and the man sprang into action. Bell could hardly keep up with what he saw, spear clashed with sword in a dazzling display of sparks and flashes. Ais's swift and elegant technique was matched by the man's fast and ferocious strikes. Each of them pressuring the other but neither about to yield. Bell saw the man's face turn into a snarl, as if realizing this fight wasn't going to go as he wanted and he soon found himself pushed back step by step by Ais's strikes.
He wouldn't be backtracking for long though, from above, new opponents joined the fray. Four of them came down from the roofs of nearby buildings and surrounded Ais. They were similarly garbed like the cat man but differently armed, one held a sword, another a spear, another an ax, and the last a hammer.
Bell finally got a good look at the newcomers and was surprised to see they were all pallums. Pallums that wielded such large weapons with relative ease and almost casually at that. Making him wonder if they were as strong as Ais was.
They didn't have to be for what happened next. Ais, who only a second to register the new arrivals, acted on instinct and managed to dodge the strikes of two of them and followed up with a block and a parry of the other two, after that it went downhill for her when the cat man renewed his assault and was accompanied by the pallums.
Ais dodged, blocked, and parried the storm of strikes that she found herself trapped in. Her attackers giving her almost no time to react on the offensive, leaving her to only respond defensively to their barrage of attacks.
Ais found herself having to backstep their assault, her guard seemingly falling to their barrage with every strike. Her attackers saw this and redoubled their efforts, coming at her from all sides, determined to lay the Sword Princess low.
It wouldn't be as easy as they thought.
When they were finally close enough and in a formation that Ais wanted, she called upon her magic and with a wide sweep of her sword, unleashed a blast of wind that caught all five of her attackers in one strike, pushing them all back.
Bell was left staring in awe at what he just witnessed , 'I could barely see anything…this is how a first class adventurer-no, how Ais fights!'
Ais wasn't going to give them time to recover and she finally went in the attack, leaping back into the fray and striking the four pallums with kicks, pommel strikes, and trips before closing in on the cat man and clashing against his spear again.
The cat man audibly snarled, this attack wasn't going how he wanted and the Sword Princess was more powerful than he realized. Even with the pallums' help, things were going to be difficult.
Ais finally realized the identities of her attackers, having gauged their strength and made her decision.
'No doubt about it, they're Vana Freya and Bringer,' she thought.
A level six and four level five adventurers, attacking her out of the blue like this, why?
Ais was having a better time on the offense now that she managed to disrupt them with her powerful attack, but they were closing the gap quickly and it wouldn't be long before she was put on the defensive again, and this time she doubted her little trick of baiting them into rushing her would work a second time.
Behind her, the four pallums moved in for another assault, this time making sure to rob Ais of any hope of a counterattack with their formation.
Just as they were about to close in, one of them, the one with the ax, suddenly raised his weapon to guard against something heading his way. He briefly felt but clearly heard the sound of something metallic hitting the flat side of his ax, a brief look down revealed it to be a pair of kunai knives.
He heard one of his brothers suddenly hiss a curse and again, the sound of metal hitting one of their weapons rang out, the one with the hammer had raised his guard to block a similar rain of kunai, the sudden and unexpected attack brought their other two brothers up short of their assault and had them all look around for the sudden perpetrator.
They then heard something land in the middle of them, they turned to see a round object had land between them.
With a lit fuse sticking out of it.
""""Shit!!!!""""
The exclamation came just as the bomb exploded. They braced themselves for the concussive blast, only to be surprised when, instead of a blast, a thick cloud of smoke covered the alleyway and themselves.
They looked around themselves, trying to get sight of each other past the thick smoke, the four of them then heard something roll at their feet, looking down, the four of them saw four smaller red bombs.
The fuses of them also lit.
With another curse, the four pallums made to knock the bombs away but once again, they were too late.
The red bombs blew up and this time there was more blast to them but that wasn't the problem.
The problem was that these were pepper bombs. Very very potent pepper bombs.
The pallum brothers, known as 'Bringer' collectively, felt as if their noses were on fire. They shouted and screamed at their misfortune and cursed and swore at whoever was behind this attack.
In the cloud of black smoke, now tinged with red pepper smoke, Bell could very clearly make out what the group was saying, or shouting in this case.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!! When I get my hands on *cough**cough* on whoever did this, they're gonna pay in blood! *cough*"
"Grer *cough* keep your mouth closed. This stuff is already potent enough smelling it *cough**cough* we can't let it get to our lungs."
"Was it that damn rabbit that did this?! *cough**cough**cough* We should have knocked him out to be on the safe side!"
"We should have knocked *cough* his head off *cough**cough* save us the trouble later!"
"Dvalinn, Berling! *cough**cough* Keep your mouths shut! *cough**cough**cough**"
"""Shut up Alfrigg!!!*cough**cough**cough*"""
While the brothers coughed their lungs out, Ais was still facing the cat person, clashing her weapon with his. When they were locked against each other again, the cat person actually talked to her this time.
"Sword Princess," he began, "this is a warning, if you get in the way of our-," he stopped for a moment, catching his words, "of that person, we'll kill you."
Ais was confused but didn't let it show on her face or relax her blade, "what do you mean?" she asked.
The cat person answered, rudely at that, "I'm telling you to go hurry the hell up and go on an expedition or something, you porcelain doll."
Ais didn't know how to respond to that but she didn't have to for what happened next.
The cat person broke his lock with Ais and stepped back just in time to dodge a bright light heading towards him. It impacted on the ground in a burst of flames and a mighty explosion.
Both Ais and the cat person turned to see Bell, hand outstretched and smoking from his fired spell, his red eyes focused but nervous sweat beating down his face.
He definitely was in over his head if he thought he could hurt someone who was keeping up with Ais, but he couldn't stand by and do nothing after seeing all that. He saw the smoke finally clearing from around the four pallums and took his shot. Granted, now he was the focus of attention.
The cat person didn't seem annoyed at his intervention, but neither was he happy when his gaze landed on his four accomplices, who were only now recovering from the sneak attack they endured.
"Enough," he said, "we're pulling out, we've done what we came here for."
The four pallums swiftly made their way near their comrade, still having the occasional coughing fits.
The cat person actually looked back at them in disgust, "You four were careless. If the others were here, you lot wouldn't be fit to call yourselves executives."
Enraged by the commentary, the four pallums had their own response to that.
"You shitty cat!"
"Like you're one to talk!"
"Did you even land one hit on the Sword Princess?!"
"What good is a title like Vana Freya if you can't even live up to the name?!"
The cat person visibly clenched his teeth but didn't respond to their words. Instead, he vanished in a burst of speed, an action that was soon followed by the rest.
Ais stood there for a moment, making sure they were truly gone. When it became apparent that they were, she sheathed her sword and gave a deep sigh.
'That was close,' she thought, glad the fighting was over.
She turned her attention back to Bell, seeing him lower his arm now that the threat was gone. She made her way towards him, a concerned look on her face.
"Are you alright?" she asked genuinely, her gaze looking over him for any injuries.
Bell gave a deep sigh and took in a breath, the moment finally settling in on him, "Yeah," he replied, "I'm fine Miss Ais."
She nodded, glad he was, "That was very clever of you," she commented, "I didn't notice you had smoke bombs on you."
Bell gave her a confused look and replied, "That's the thing," he said, "I don't have any smoke bombs on me. I don't know how that all happened," he rubbed the back of his head, "I actually thought you threw the bombs."
Ais shook her head in the negative, "I don't carry explosives on me," she cocked her head to the side, "if it wasn't you and it wasn't me, who could have thrown them?"
Bell wasn't able to comment on that because he was too busy staring at Ais's face, finding her thinking expression adorable. Eventually he didn't have to reply to the question, because someone else was.
"Ha ha ha! It was I who threw the bombs and saved the day!"
A voice, seemingly coming from nowhere, made itself known and it was a familiar voice at that, at least to Bell.
He looked around, the same as Ais, trying to find the source before voicing his guess, "Ibuki?"
From the side of one of the buildings nearby, a large piece of camouflaged paper seemingly peeled off the wall, revealing Hestia familia's resident ninja, dressed in her full ninja garb.
Though her mask was up to cover her face, Bell could clearly see the smile that lay under it, "That was exciting, wasn't it captain?" she made her way towards them, "Didn't think my day would end with me pulling out my ninja tricks."
Bell was surprised by her presence and couldn't help but ask, "Ibuki, you were there the whole time? How did you know where to find us?"
The ninja laughed at Bell's bewildered expression and curious questions, having just the perfect answer for him, "I didn't 'find' you. I followed you. I've been keeping track of you two since you two ended your training for the day," she gave him a mock frown and puffed her cheeks, "which, by the way, was insanely long. We knew you were going to be home late but not this late. Some of us were very worried about you."
Bell had the decency to look sheepish at that and was about to apologize but Ibuki cut him off with a raised finger, "Ah ah ah, no need to apologize Bell. It wasn't anyone's fault, it just happened because it happened. Believe me, we've all had days like this," she looked around them then, remembering the fight that took place, "well…maybe not days like these. Who were those guys anyway, they looked like they were out for blood."
Ais took that moment to make her presence known, "It was Freya familia," she said, "their Goddess and mine don't exactly get along."
That was an understatement of the extreme.
Ibuki nodded, "Ah, rival powers clashing. Seen that before," she walked up to Bell and gave him a pat on the back, "bad luck you were caught in the crossfire, eh Bell!"
Bell could only nod at her words before realizing something, "Oh! Miss Ais," he gave a gesture to Ibuki, "this is Ibuki, she's a member of the Hestia familia like me."
Ibuki gave an enthusiastic wave at Ais, "Hi! Nice to meet you!" she said, "Thanks for watching out for my captain, that was a pretty intense fight just now, wasn't it?"
Ais gave a hum of affirmation before replying, "It was but it was also thanks to you as well," she gestured to the remnants of the bombs, "I would have struggled with all five of them. Thanks to you, I only had to deal with one."
Ibuki liked the praise she received but managed a slim act of modesty, "Well thank you," she said, "though, if I'm honest, I totally just wanted to join the fight with you but," she gave an embarrassed shrug, "I know when I'm outclassed, so those dirty tricks were the most I could offer."
It was the truth, when Ibuki saw the first strike of the cat man, followed by the group assault by the pallums, Ibuki knew she wouldn't last but a handful of seconds against those guys, hence her deployment of her ninja techniques and tricks. Even still though, a part of her really wanted to clash against such opponents.
But she was trained to recognize a fight she couldn't win and how to respond to such a thing. Namely, fight dirty.
"But still Ibuki," Bell's voice said from her side, "thank you for your help, without you, who knows what could have happened," he smiled at her in reassurance and gratitude, "I'm glad you were here to help, thank you."
Ibuki smiled at Bell's words, feeling the gratitude in them. She moved to his side and gave him a hug, prompting him to suddenly squeak in surprise.
"Ohhh you're just the best captain aren't you," she gushed, much to Bell's surprise and embarrassment, "you know how to make a woman feel special, you know that?"
She kept her hug up, despite her captain's protestations, humming a happy tune all the while. She finally decided her captain had enough and released him from her grasp.
Bell was red faced and still trying to get his bearings together after Ibuki's sudden display of gratitude. This wasn't the first time she hugged him but it almost always surprised him every time and it reminded Bell that Ibuki's ninja clothing did almost nothing to disguise the figure underneath it.
Bell could faintly remember the soft feeling of Ibuki's chest as well as her subtle but toned physique under the clothes, the memory of it sent another flash of red across his face.
He then remembered something, or rather someone. Bell looked over and saw Ais looking at him and Ibuki with a deadpan expression and if he could look closely, he could faintly see Ais's cheeks were slightly puffed up.
'Was she pouting?' Bell thought.
Ibuki finally remembered Ais and saw her expression as well. Thinking about it for a few seconds, Ibuki hatched a plan.
"Hey Bell," she said, "why don't you give Ais a hug too. She worked hard to protect you, didn't she?"
Bell gapped like a fish at Ibuki's suggestion, his face once again igniting. He looked to Ais to see her reaction and inevitably her rejection to such an idea.
He was again surprised to see her with pink tickling her cheeks and shuffling her feet.
'What is that expression?!,' he thought.
So much had happened today, the training, the surprise nap, the sudden attack, the arrival of his familia's resident ninja, the hug, and now the chance to hug his idol if she was so inclined.
The sheer number of things threatened to overstimulate Bell and in his manic overthinking he did the one thing he could do in that situation.
He picked a direction and ran, fast.
Ibuki and Ais stared at where Bell was and then down where he went, flabbergasted at what they saw.
"Wow, Koukin was right," Ibuki said, "he really does run when he gets too flustered," she looked to Ais then and commented, "at least the training is paying off. I don't think he was that fast a week ago."
Ais gave a nod in confirmation. It made her happy, somewhat to see Bell progress like that thanks to her training.
Though she wished he'd stop running away like that, it hurt her feelings.
Eventually, Ibuki bayed Ais farewell and followed after Bell in hopes of taking him back home. Ais waved goodbye as well and wished her a good night before making her own trek back home.
This day had been an excitable one for the Hestia familia and it was safe to say they were all glad to be home and resting after such excitement.
They would enjoy their slumber deeply into the night.
For tomorrow will be a surprise for them all.
And a great trial for their captain.