An Assassin's Adventure: The Great Conjunction

Chapter 35: Around the campfire

Dusk fell onto the Loki familia encampment, flooding it in darkness. Great forests, boulders, and perilous cliffs were reduced to mere silhouettes in the dimness, reminding adventurers that danger still lay here. The dungeon floor was quiet, largely free of roaming adventurers, who were busy relaxing for the day.

One individual simply could not shake their worries and gazed out into the murk from their tent. They held the flap of fabric, that made up its door, to one side. Bell Cranel marvelled at the crystalline ceiling. During the day, it shone to become a uniform blue sky, seemingly infinite in its dimensions. However, at night, the individual crystals gained a moment to shine, and reflected the blue glow from minerals below, thus shining like an array of stars.

"Mm..."

"Ghh..."

Bell gasped as he finally heard sounds of activity behind him and turned around.

His previously sleeping companions shook their heads and shuffled in their beds. Welf Crozzo blinked his grey eyes and stared upwards, astonished to still be alive. "Where... in the hell are we?"

Liliruca Arde was equally shocked and spoke in a quiet voice. "I have no idea..."

Bell walked over to them and called out, ecstatic. "You guys! Do you remember anything? It's me, Bell!"

Lili smiled warmly at her crush and raised a delicate hand towards him. "There's nothing that could make me forget who you are, Master Bell... Promise..."

Welf scratched at an annoying plaster that someone had placed on his cheek. "Yeah... And I remember that squeaky little rat voice, so I guess I'm okay..."

Bell laughed, merrily, happy his friends were back to their usual selves. The caring boy helped the duo up and offered them drinks. Unfortunately, Welf and Lili found it difficult to meet Bell's gaze or touch their tea. Bell tilted his head, wondering if they weren't feeling well.

Welf sat with his legs crossed, looking saddened. Lili was equally depressed, ears drooping as she sat in a seiza position. "I'm sorry I wasn't stronger, Master Bell...."

Welf nodded, still not looking up, and bowed his head. "Yeah... and I must have been a huge burden, literally. My apologies."

Bell finally uncovered the reason for their distressed state and waved his hands. "No! There's no need to apologise!" The boy then fixed his friends with a determined expression, saddened that they viewed themselves as burdens. "Without Lili, we wouldn't have even thought of going down to the 18th floor... And if we didn't have you, Welf, those hellhounds would have cooked us! This party wouldn't stand a chance on the middle floors, without you two!"

Welf and Lili raised their heads, shocked at Bell's kindness. The blacksmith nodded, smiling at his buddy. "True..."

Lili's eyes sparkled at Bell's encouraging words; her illusionary tail wagged at the praise. "So, in other words, we couldn't have done it without all of us!"

The trio giggled, sure of their friendship. Welf sipped his tea, which was at the perfect temperature. Perhaps, it was better to have waited. "But who even saved us? Did you really cart our butts all the way to some camp?"

Lili's tail stopped wagging and puffed up as she glanced at her surroundings. "Yeah... don't tell me you bought a tent! I heard prices are awful down here!"

Bell shook his head; these two were always looking out for him. "No, no. We're at the Loki familia encampment. They've agreed to let us stay here while runners get some antidotes from the surface." Bell's smile widened; his friends would finally meet Hit! "... And the one who saved you two, was Hit! He's the guy I told you about."