The day they arrived at Orario, Bell proposed that they should get a job first before becoming adventurer, Bell said he would work at the guild to gather more information before deciding which familia to join.
"But what should we do with our living place?" Fia said with a worried tone. As royalty, it never occurred to her minds that she would sleep in the slums.
"That old-geezer took almost all the money and ran away," Alaia said with a displeased tone as her eyebrow furrowed.
Dear Alaia, could you at least open your eyes when talking? Is what appeared on Bell and Fia's mind when they looked at Alaia, but they didn't let their mouth execute it.
It was a strange phenomenon just like Alfia, both of them right now speak and walk without opening their eyes, but she never bumped into them or do anything as if she knew the layout of the streets. Zeus labelled Alaia as chuunibyou which nobody in that house seems to understand what did it means.
"For now let's-"
Before Bell could finish his word, his mouth stopped, his rubellite eyes widened as if he saw something that he couldn't believe.
A bit far ahead from their location, a girl wearing silverplate armor was walking towards them.
She had long golden hair and a pair of golden eyes but, somehow the current Ais doesn't match with the Ais that's in Bell's memories. As if something was missing, As Bell peered carefully, then he realized that the current Ais doesn't have any emotion on her face. She was just like a doll. The Ais that Bell known is a little girl full of emotion, sometimes laugh, sometimes crying, would sometimes pout cutely in front of him when he teases her.
But the current Ais, Is just fundamentally different. Somehow when Bell saw that, anxiety ran through his heart, as if there's a blade stabbing his heart. He gripped his chest to ease the pain while looking crestfallen.
Then Alaia pulled his hand to the alley.
"What's wrong?" Asked Bell
"That should be my question, What's wrong with the two of you?"
Bell then exchange a glance with Fia and both of them nodded.
"Is that really Ais, Bell?" Asked Fia with a sad tone, her face was also crestfallen
Fia couldn't believe that Ais, that would ask her to play with her every time Bell is studying and cheerful all the time had turned into an emotionless doll.
"...You two know that person?" Alaia who caught what's going on looked at the golden-haired girl that stopped in front of a stall and ordered something.
"That's impossible, you two lived around 1000 years ago."
"That's true... Fia, it might be her descendant, there's no way Ais could survive that long."
Bell tried to set his logic straight as he nodded to Alaia's logical point.
But somewhere deep his heart was happy before when he saw someone he knew still lives today. He tried to keep the words in his mind from reaching his mouth, but then Fia opens her mouth.
"Its... kinda lonely..." Fia said with a low tone as she looks down.
What's on his mind were said by his little sister. Just when he thought he could see someone he knew, his hope got dusted real quick Bell sighed and peeked again at Ais that's holding a potato-like food now in her right hand.
"At least, she found another man, I guess..."
Bell let out a lonely smile as he tried to suppress the throbbing pain in his chest.
Fia looked at her brother with a worried face, she knew that both of them are fiance and that they were extremely close. she was about to walk to her brother and hug him to lift his anxiety even by just a little.
At that time, they noticed another presence behind them.
"Umm, excuse me?" A female's voice called out them from behind.
The three of them jumped out in response.
"W-Woah?" The owner of the voice, a female wearing a waitress attire with light-grey hair watched in amazement as she saw the three of them instantly jumped out as if they are coordinating with each other and landed close to each other.
Beside her, a green-haired elf with the same attire moved in front of the other female as if to guard her. Her eyebrows rose at the exact timing when Bell, Fia, and Alaia jumped.
(They are not normal human, adventurer?)
"Who are you guys?" She couldn't saw their face because they are wearing a robe with a hood to cover their face.
Bell looked at each other and nodded, then he walked into the front, lifting his hood.
"Sorry to scare you, I'm Bell, we're new to this town. These two are my relatives. Fia and Alaia"
As Bell said that, Fia and Alaia also removed their hood.
"!!??"
The elf's face twitched when she saw Alaia's face, her entire body shook as she couldn't believe what she just saw. As if she just saw a ghost or something that shouldn't exist. She forces the word in her mind to her mouth.
"A-Alfia?!"
Bell, Alaia, Fia eyes widened in shock. Alaia could feel her body trembled when she hears that word.
She tried to keep her composure, she sighs and gradually her heartbeat returned normal.
"What about my mother?" Said her, trying to dig for more information about the current situation.
Alaia is a smart woman, smarter than Alfia, according to Alfia herself.
She deduced from the message that Uncle Zard and Mom Alfia left a few years ago indicating they two would do something bad. And from the response of the elf in front of her, it was a really serious matter.
"M-Mother? That person had a child?!" Asked the elf as if she doesn't believe what she just said, but deep down she knew that was the case, the Alfia in her memories and the person standing before her looked the same, but this one is younger and smaller.
"Umm.... Ryuu, calm down?"
"B-But, Syr!"
"It's okay, Ryuu, leave it to me" Syr gave a wink at Ryuu before turning her head back.
"Umm, pleased to meet you, I'm Syr Flova, this is Ryuu, Bell-san was it? You looked troubled back then, so I thought I called you, is something wrong?"
Bell looked at Syr with amazement, the girl in front of him went it and calmed the entire situation, and on top of that, she shifted the topic.
He smiled and changed his gear too
"Yes, thank you very much for calling us out, Flova-san. To tell you the truth we just arrived at Orario today, and now I'm looking for a job for Fia and Alaia, and if possible, a stay to place with cheap fees as we currently don't own much money. If you know such places, will you please introduce us?"
As a royalty, Bell was trained to handle diplomatic relationship for the future, as such matching Syr's tempo was an easy task to him.
Syr pondered for a while then as if she got any idea to do, she smiled and raised her index finger cheerfully
"I know, how about working in our place?"
"S-Syr?!" Ryuu looked at her in panic, but Syr just looked back at winked again as if she's saying 'leave it to me'.
"Pardon me for asking a rude thing, but what kind of place did you work at? Miss Flova"
"Please address me as Syr, Bell-san. The place where I work with Ryuu is called Hostess of Fertility, it's a wonderful place where peoples came to eat and laugh together after adventuring."
Syr explained with glitter on her eyes.
"Well, that's a wonderful place, If it is possible, I would like Fia and Alaia to work there Syr-san."
Bell said with a warm smile, hearing that there is such a place put a warm at Bell's heart.
"Very well, please follow us!" Syr said while giving a victory pose with her right hand.
After arrived at the pub, Bell asked the owner of the pub, Mia Grand to take care of both of them while he gonna find his own job, he said he gonna return at night.
=
Bell side
Bell then headed to the guild after asking Syr about the guild location.
There he went to the locket and asked one of the guild staff there if he could work there.
After taking several tests, Bell passed all of them easily and was accepted to work there.
After changing into the guild officer's outfit, he reported back to the senior he was assigned with.
"Hello Bell-san, You look good in that attire. My name is Eina Tulle, I'm your senior. First please read all the guidelines and report back to me okay."
"Thank you very much, Eina-san." as Bell was also knowledgeable with how to communicate with Elf, he called the Elf named Eina Tulle in front of him with her real name instead of her family name. He was told that Elf doesn't like non-elf to address their family name.
He then flipped about the guidelines and it only took 30 minutes for him to completely memorize the whole guidelines, next he looked at the guild record after asking permission for it. The guild has been around since 1000 years ago, not long after the gods descended. And such, there's too much information that would take forever to read, so he skimmed the recent information and the information about the active gods in Orario.
=
Fia and Alaia side
After changing into the attire that Syr and Ryuu wore, Fia and Alaia came out from the backroom.
Mia then glanced at Alaia
"You looked exactly like her, faces, demeanour, way of talking that it gave me an eerie feeling you know."
"Do you know my mother?"
"Yes, she was once my friend." Said Mia as she remembering when Hera familia and Zeus familia still reigned at the top before they challenged the dragon. She would talk with Alfia a lot as she got dragged a lot by Hera familia to an expedition. There are sad memories, and happy memories together with her. Without realizing it, the corners of her mouth turned up.
"I see, is my mother..."
Alaia tried to ask the question that has been haunting her forever, deep down she already knows the answer, but a part of her still wishing that it wasn't the case, she asked with a low voice.
"Yes, poor her, I more or less understand what her intentions were back then, I didn't want to fight her not only because I knew I wouldn't win, but also because she was my friend. I respected her choice."
"I see, thanks, Mia," Alaia said with a soft tone, a smile formed on her lips as she tried to hold her tears. She was relieved from the bottom of her heart, that at least, her mother who she thought was unsociable and wouldn't have any friend, still had a friend that understands her.
"But, Alfia really did have a daughter, huh, If you're 14 years old then why did I never noticed Alfia was pregnant at that time... and who the hell is the father anyway, able to take down a woman like that..." Said Mia as if she just discovered another mystery that this world won't be able to answer.
"Umm... my real mother is not Alfia, But Meteria. I never met my real mother, but I only know Alfia, so I consider her my real mother."
"Oh, Meteria? That's another surprise. Well, they are twins, so in a sense, both of them would be your mother."
Alfia eyes widened at Mia's word. As if her biggest anxiety was dispelled. All this time, she also thought that it's weird for calling another person her mother. But the woman in front of her didn't deny instead supported her. without insulting her real mother. Alaia couldn't hold her tears as they fell from her face.
Mia then walked to Alaia then hugged her as Alaia crying silently.
"Geez, cry as much as you like, after this, I'll work you to death. I'll only do this once you know!"
A green-haired elf was listening to them behind the wall, Mia knows that, but she chooses to let her listen as this also involved her who was once the Astrea familia who fought against Alfia.
The tragedy that killed more than 30.000 peoples back then.