Bell just returned from the Hostess of Fertility. Alfia told him to rest for few days since she and Artemis gonna reward him with a new sword for his deeds.
He secretly hopes that it would be a weapon made by Hephaestus Familia. Still, he also knows that's impossible since the price was over the sky.
A fact that killed his excitement instantly. He spends his time a bit at Hostess of Fertility while chatting with the waitress there.
There he noticed a few strange things, such as a black-haired cat woman named Chloe who constantly stared at his back, though he convinced himself that he might only be imagining it.
And Syr's friend, Ryuu that was staring at him with weird eyes, but once Bell talked with her, she is a kind person, thought Bell.
Bell returned with a book that Syr lent him.
"If you're have nothing to do for today, why not read a book?"
The title of the book is "A guide for magic that even goblin can understand." Since the book title was interesting, he thought he give it a shot and lend the book.
Pulling out a chair, He nervously opened the first page of the book.
Now he was home alone, he decided to open the book and read the first page.
There he found the table of contents. From there, he saw all the passages were related to magic.
"Ooooo!" Bell's eyes were shining, and he started to get excited at the prospect of being able to use magic.
<Magic is divided into inborn and acquired categories. Inborn type means that it is obviously related to the roots of the target's qualities and race. The ancient magic race would carry potential talent. Through practice and rituals, they would be able to learn magic early on. Although there is also the chance of the attributes being biased, most of them are powerful and have a wide range of effects.>
Because it was compiled using a common language, Bell was barely able to understand it.
However, Bell noticed there are these small texts that are wandering between the lines.
(What is this? Ancient text? No, it seems like, formulas as it, this?"
He turned the page.
<Acquired type uses the <God's grace> known as Falna as the medium. Using that, It is possible for the buds to grow. There are unlimited branches of the path there. It is greatly affected by <Experience Points>.>
It was different than <Sacred Text>, but it also does not seems to be various demihuman language.
There was no unified form. It was a group of complex and strange signs.
He was swallowed by this style, text.
He turned the page again.
<Magic is equal to interest. That is the primary fact that is needed for an acquired type. What things they care about, agree about, hate about, dream about, long about, lament about, revere about, swear about, wish about. What they believe in always exists in their body. The <God's Grace> only displayed the most pristine part inside your hearts.>
An image appeared.
There was a face. Eyes. Nose. Mouth. Ears. It was a human's face.
It was created from the compilation of dark handwriting. It was a human's face that had his eyes closed. The face of the article
He turned the page.
<If you want, then you just have to ask. If you want, then you just have to shatter it. If you want, then you just have to sit up and take notice of it. The mirror that does not allow any deception has been prepared.>
No. It is <My face>. It was Bell's own face where nothing exists above his head.
No. It is a <Mask>. The other face of Bell. The one that Bell doesn't know, the other consciousness.
He turned the page.
<Then, let's begin>
The closed eyes opened. He heard his own voice.
The crimson eyes that were compiled by the text seem to penetrate Bell. The small lips that were from the short texts began to weave out words.
He turned the page
<To me, what is magic?>
(I don't know, but it was something unclear yet powerful).
(An ultimate move to defeat monsters. The mystery that allows heroes to rise up from the dead).
(Powerful, filled with momentum, compassionless, overwhelming).
(A wish that I desire to attempt once, A pure aspiration).
He turned the page
<To me, magic is?>
(A powerful strength)
(A great weapon that can destroy the weak me)
(A mighty weapon that can inspire the weak me).
(It is not a heavy shield of a guardian, nor is it a gorgeous object like healing hands).
(A heroes' power to break through the obstacles in front of their path).
He turned the page
<To me, what kind of thing is magic?>
Thing?
What kind of thing is magic?
When Bell hears about magic, it must be flames. The very first thing that comes into his mind was flames.
(Powerful, violent, blazing, and as fast as lighting.)
(Able to burn up grass fields, rousing up ashes, travels as fast as lightning. Like a shockwave that able to blow up everything around it, just like her magic. Something that does not match the weak me, bright red flames).
(Warmer than anything else. It will absolutely never go out, immortal flames).
(I wanted to become flames).
<What do you wish to pursue with magic?>
(To become stronger, to head towards that person's side, to make everyone proud).
(To become more agile, to head towards that person's side.)
(Like a flash of light passing through the gaps between the clouds.)
(Like riding a lightning bolt in the sky).
(More than anyone, more than anyone, more than anyone, more than anyone, it must be more agile).
(To head towards that person's side).
(To head into that person's eyes).
(To face the wall in front of me).
(To climb the mighty wall that I can't even begin to see the top of it).
(To make my mother and my big sister proud)
<Only These?>
(If it was possible, if it was possible if it was possible).
(I want to become a hero)
(I wanted to become a hero, which I have always longed for since that time. And which I have still dreamed upon like a fool).
(Like them who appeared in the myths, a hero that everyone praises and approves).
(Even if it was a shameless delusion, even if it was vanity that would cause Nausea... even if it was a dream that would not match me to a miserable extent).
(I wanted to become a hero that would be recognized by that person).
<How childish>
(....Sorry)
<But, that is me>.
The <Bell> in the book finally smiled.
Following this, his consciousness was plunged into darkness.
When he came into, he was woken up by Artemis, who returned with Alfia.
"What's up, Bell? What's with this book?"
Artemis peeked at the book that Bell finished reading.
"Ah, that's a book about magic that I got from Syr-san."
"Hee... Bell? Why is this book empty?"
Artemis took the book and tried flipping the page. Her brow sank when she saw the page was empty, then she started flipping to the next page and the next page and so on, but there was no single text on that book.
"Eh, that can't be. I just finished reading it...... Eh?"
Bell took a peek at the book and widened his eyes after seeing the whole book was empty.
Alfia came and took the book and slowly examined it, her brow furrowed.
"Artemis, go check Bell's status."
Artemis updated Bell's status and was shocked.
"M-Magic... you got a magic Bell..."
"What!? M-Me? Magic?"
Artemis handed the paper with Bell's updated status to Bell. There he saw a "Firebolt."
"F-Fi"
Before Bell could finish the word, Artemis hurriedly moved her hand to Bell's lips.
"Stop Bell, don't shout it carelessly!"
Bell nodded
"Listen, Bell, your magic is a special one. Look here at your status. Usually, besides your magic name, there should be a chant that you need to recite to activate your magic, but in your cases, it's not. I'm guessing this is no-chant magic. In other words, you just need to say firebolt."
"As I expected... this book is a grimoire..." Said Alfia after she closed the book.
"Grimoire?" Asked Bell
"Grimoire is a book that grants you magic, but once someone used it, the effect will disappear along with the text. In other words, this book just turned into garbage."
"AAAHHHHHHH!? I'm going to apologize to Syr-san!"
Bell screamed and ran somewhere after taking the book.
The room turned silent after Bell left the room. Artemis was the one that broke the silence.
"Looks like that Grimoire was a gift from Freya. What is she thinking?"
"I don't like where this is going," Alfia said with frowned brows.
=
"SORRY!!! Bell shouted as he bowed down in front of Syr and Mia.
Still, it was in the middle of the night, and the tavern was crowded with adventurers. All of them stopped their hand and looked at Bell.
"B-Bell-san, why don't you go inside first?" Urged Syr as he pushed Bell's back to the staff room.
There he explained about the grimoire and how he got magic from that grimoire while bowing.
"Bell-san, you did something terrible right there..." Syr covered her mouth while looking away.
"S-Syr-san!? It's partly your fault, too, okay?!"
Mia closed the book after flipping the entire book and sighed.
"Just forget it."
"B-But, aren't grimoire a precious thing? What if the owner came and looking for it?"
"It can't be helped. It's already been used. It's the owner's fault for leaving it there. He or she should have expected this outcome the moment they left it. Well, just forget it."
"B-But..."
Bell was about to explain again, but Mia glared at Bell, telling him to shut up.
"So, Bell-san, what kind of magic did you get?" Syr quickly shifted the topic after she saw that
"Uhh, it's something related to Fire, but my goddess said I shouldn't say the name carelessly because it's a no-chant magic."
"Wow, that's amazing, Bell-san! How strong was it?"
"I haven't tested it out yet."
"Then, you should test it out right away, Bell-san!" Syr grabbed Bell's hand with a big smile of excitement on her face. Bell blushed when he saw that and averted his gaze.
"B-But, It's already night, and I haven't bought a new sword, and I left my armor. My goddess and my mother won't let me dive to the dungeon without a weapon..."
"You can just go to the dungeon and find the weakest monster, try your magic and go back to the surface, easy, isn't it?"
And without Bell realizing, he was inside the dungeon already. Aside from Syr's suggestion, he was super excited about what kind of magic did he got.
He found a goblin right ahead in the passage glaring at him
"Okay... here goes nothing."
He aimed his hand at the goblin and shouted
"Firebolt!"
A Redish yellow bolt akin to a stroke of lightning jolted out from Bell's hand.
It pierced straight to the goblin and exploded.
He was dumbfounded when he saw the goblin turned into black mist.
"....WOOOW!" Bell roared with excitement as his whole body trembling.
"THIS IS SO COOL! LET ME TRY AGAIN WITH ANOTHER MONSTER!"
Next, he found kobold, and he tried the same thing again
"FIREBOLT!"
"FIREBOLT!"
"FIREBOLT!"
"FIREBOLT!"
"FIREBOLT!"
"FIREBOLT!"
The light that the firebolt emitted was so bright that he was tranced with it.
Just like a child that got their new toys, he ran with a huge joy while showering all the monsters he saw with his new toy.
After a while, Suddenly Bell feels his body became heavy all of a sudden as his vision became blurry.
Like a doll which string got cut, he fell to the ground.
His consciousness was plunged into the darkness.
=
"...?"
"What is wrong, Aiz?" The two had made it to about halfway through the fifth floor. Aiz had been lost in thought for a while. When she suddenly spotted another adventurer in the middle of a room
"There's someone on the ground."
"Did a monster get him?" Riveria's eyebrows sank as she surveyed the scene. Aiz walked up to his side. He was on his stomach in the middle of the wide room with its light green walls.
The closer the blond girl got to him, the more her eyes shook. A thin body that wasn't done growing...and hair the color of white virgin snow. The adventurer was none other than the rabbit-like boy Aiz had wanted to see again.
"Wait, I know this kid. He's from Artemis Familia."
Riveria was reminded of the incident that happened at the Hostess of Fertility.
She also remembered that Lefiya made a friend from Artemis familia. It looks like that person is him.
"No visible wounds, healing, and detox appear to be unnecessary...Looks like a classic case of Mind Down."
Riveria knelt beside the boy and made her diagnosis
Aiz was right behind her, eyes glued to the boy in shock. Words came out of her mouth before she could stop them.
"This boy..."
"What, do you know him, Aiz?" Riveria frowned. Based on her knowledge, the two of them shouldn't know each other.
"Not really. We've never spoken directly...He's, um, the boy I told you about. The Minotaur..." "...I see. This is the one that the idiot insulted. I finally get what's happening back then."
Riveria found it puzzling why this kid ran away from the tavern back then and how her supposed mother suddenly went into anger. But with this, everything makes sense. He knew Bete was insulting him. Good grief.
She lamented over Bete's actions for a moment before returning her gaze to the boy with a little bit more understanding in her eyes.
As for Aiz, the one she'd wanted to apologize to was now right in front of her. Her chest tightening, she said the first words that came to her mind.
"Riveria, I want to compensate him."
"...There are other ways to say that."
Riveria had asked what she would like to do, and the girl's response had been clear if a little bit too formal. She sighed again.
"Huh?" Aiz blinked a few times.
"Well, helping someone at a time like this is common courtesy..."
Aiz vigorously nodded her head as the two women once again looked down at the young adventurer. A thought came to the elf's mind, and she glanced at the girl beside her out of the corner of her eye.
"...Aiz, do for this boy exactly what I tell you. For compensation, that should be enough."
"What?" Aiz looked at her in confusion, and she responded casually.
"Allow him to sleep with his head in your lap until he awakens."
Aiz blinked again.
"...Is that enough?"
"Well, I am not certain. But you must protect this spot, even if there is no reason to go above and beyond that...Besides, there is no man alive who would not be happy to receive that from you."
Aiz's confusion only increased. She decided to tell Riveria exactly how she felt.
"I don't understand..."
"You do not need to."
Riveria chuckled quietly to herself, her face relaxing as she made eye contact with the girl. Aiz was still wondering if it was okay to do such a thing. However, the things Riveria told her were almost always right on the money.
"Mmm," mumbled Aiz, her face aloof. Riveria stood up.
"I shall return to the surface. Remaining here would only get in your way. The two of you must be alone to reach an understanding."
"Yes. Thank you, Riveria."
"Ah." Riveria gave an affirmative nod and left them behind
(It's a bit worrying to leave him with her, but I guess it's okay since Aiz is rarely concerned about anything other than the dungeon. I just hope she doesn't accidentally kill him with her strength)
Aiz watched her leave before looking back down at the boy's white head. She knelt close to him. Slowly, very slowly, she sat down.
"..."
There was something refreshing about the weight on her thin thighs. Aiz silently looked down at the boy with his head in her lap, his eyes closed as though he were sleeping on a pillow.
(...This is a little embarrassing).
She felt somewhat awkward after lifting his head and sliding beneath him. Cheeks blushing, she very carefully adjusted her position to match him. She didn't want to wake the white rabbit, so her every movement was slow and gentle.
"..." The two humans in the middle of the room were discovered by one monster after another. Still, one flick of Aiz's wrist was enough to dispatch them without disturbing the boy. She continued to protect him, looking down at his peaceful face whenever she wasn't taking care of any would-be attackers.
"...You've been working very hard."
The thought that this man was still delving deeper into the dungeon at this hour put a warm feeling on her chest. Thought she had to say it. It was a bit foolish of going into the dungeon without armor nor a weapon. She sent her glance through the area. Still, she couldn't find any weapon that belongs to this boy.
"Did you really went into the dungeon without any equipment...?"
He was a pure young man with an untainted spirit. Innocent, so very innocent. Completely different from her. The purity emanating from his spirit calmed her own. The last of the black flames still flickering in the bottom of her heart was washed clean until finally disappearing entirely.
A smile appeared on Aiz's lips before she knew what was happening.
(Now ignore Bell's armor in this picture LOL)
The pure white rabbit soothed her. An urge to stroke his hair overcame her. Her fingers drifted down and caressed his cheeks from time to time.
"...Mom?"
The boy spoke after a few minutes. A quiver ran through Aiz's shoulders, caught off guard by the boy's sleep talk.
(...Is yours gone, too?)
She thought to herself, but the words didn't come out. Her golden eyes looked away for a moment.
(We are...a lot alike...) She felt a sudden connection with him that she knew she shouldn't hold on to, as well as a twinge of loneliness.
Aiz brushed the white bangs out of the boy's face and apologized.
"Sorry. I'm not your mother..."
A moment later, two groggy ruby-red eyes opened beneath her.
They became clearer every moment as the boy woke up. His gaze locked onto hers the moment he realized she was there.
The boy seemed lost, trapped at the moment their eyes met. Aiz started stroking his hair once again. The tips of her fingers ran past his eyelashes before he slowly pulled himself into a sitting position.
She thought it a waste for him to leave the warmth of her lap but gave up. The boy stayed sitting on the floor but turned to face her.
"...An illusion?"
"Not an illusion."
The boy's drowsy face suddenly froze, his right hand in midair. Eyebrows slanting outward, he wore a rather unusual expression. It might even have been a little rude. Aiz, who had felt many emotions in a short amount of time, felt her lips pout slightly as she stared back at the boy. ...H-huh? Ruby-red and golden eyes stared at each other. The boy didn't budge, but Aiz started to get flustered.
Had she done something wrong? Although her face didn't show it, the young spirit dwelling within her was racking her brain, desperately running around and looking for an answer. The white rabbit only looked at her, frozen like a statue with his white hair sticking up like ears, waving back and forth. —That's right, I need to apologize.
Aiz started to open her mouth the moment the thought hit her. Then she saw the boy getting redder and redder from the neck up by the second. By the time she fully noticed, his head was roughly the color of an overripe apple.
His beautiful red eyes were in bad shape, twitching almost like there were worms crawling under the surface. Now she knew for sure something was wrong. She frantically prepared to ask him what—when the boy jumped to his feet. Then... "GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
He ran away from Aiz at full speed.
"..." Bounding and leaping like a panicked, the boy disappeared from the room.
Still sitting on her knees in the middle of the floor, Aiz couldn't move at all.
"Geh-geh-geh."
She thought she heard some monster laughing in the distance.
"...Why do you always...run away?"
Aiz mumbled to herself, on the verge of tears.