DANMACHI: The Silence's Heir (OC x Freya)

Chapter 18

GODDESS HESTIA

"A Month!" she screamed as the Hestia familia gathered in its decrepit church with all its actual and prospective members.

Bell-kun's injuries had been rather severe, but thankfully, with the money they had at hand, a healing potion was easy to acquire, and now her precious white-haired child was in perfect physical health.

"Yes, a month. I had asked for half that, though that idiot doubled that in his arrogance," Inumaki-kun repeated and made her realize that she had not heard wrong.

Two weeks. That was the time had bought for Bell-kun to compete and face a Level 2 adventurer. At the same time, he had only been an adventurer for a little over a month.

"Are you mad?" she asked, for the grey-haired idiot had not only asked for such a short time, but he had bet his greatest possession on the duel, a possession that she knew meant a great deal to him.

Hestia was friends with Hepaesteus, and she knew of the sheer importance of the spear wielded by Inumaki-kun. Gae Bolg, the Heart Piercer, was, in Hepahesteus's own words, one of her greatest creations since descending down to Tenkai. The materials and cost of this were enough for her to name it priceless.

It had taken her friend, the Goddess of the Forge herself, over a year to forge the weapon.

"Why?" Bell-kun asked from the side, both surprised and taken aback by the actions of their familia captain. And the way his gaze shook and the way he sat there told of him being aware of just how absurd this whole thing was.

"There is no need for you to do this," the prum girl who had caused all this tore up from the door as tears gathered in her eyes.

"I will go back to the Soma familia. Please, take back that challenge.."

"Did you not want to be a hero?" suddenly Inumaki's voice rang out, as she saw him looking straight at Bell-kun who seemed taken aback by those words.

"Did you not wish to save that girl over there," he asked as he pointed towards the prum, his voice heated and strong.

"Did you not wish to become strong, to become strong enough that you would never ever need to be saved! That you would flourish in Orario and fulfill your grandfather's dreams!" he challenged as he walked up to him.

And the air in the room tensed as Inumaki kun crouched down and looked straight into Bell's eyes.

"Or was all that ramblings of a child!" he asked as Bell-kun's fists balled up as he replied through gritted teeth

"No! They were not," he answered, and so Inumaki-kun smirked as he stood up.

"Then why do you still sit here? Zanis Lustria is an average Level 2 ranker, a novice if considered in the grand scheme of things in Orario," he said as Bell-kun pushed himself up.

"I personally believe that if you put your heart and soul into it and give it your all, you shall be able to defeat the likes of him. For if you truly desire to be the hero you dream to be, this is but a small hurdle in your journey," he added, and she saw her little rabbit's eyes heat up at those words as he turned towards her.

"Know this, Bell-kun, in life, there are times when there is no trying. These are times when one must do something, and those times are the makings of a hero. This is that time for you," he added as Bell kun nodded and spoke to her.

"I am afraid I will be rather busy in the upcoming days, Goddess-sama. I apologize in advance for troubling you," he said in a shout as he turned towards Inumaki-kun and bowed his head.

"Thank you for your tutelage in advance," he said, and for some reason, Inumaki-kun shook his head.

"I am afraid I will not be training you for this," and all of them were surprised by those words.

"The Loki familia plan to launch an expedition to the 59th floor, and there, I wish to join it," Inuamki-kun added.

"I plan to train for that, while for you, I have arranged people that shall push you beyond your limits," he said, and Bell-kun nodded.

"Who are they?" she asked, wishing to know more about these acquaintances of his.

"Some old friends. Rest and prepare yourself; your training will begin from tonight," and with that, Inumaki-kun left the church, leaving her alone with a determined Bell-kun and a perplexed prum, as she realized that things in Orario were about to change rather rapidly.

0000

GODDESS LOKI

Loki listened to the report from her familia's captain about the report from her Ais-tan's latest incursion into the dungeon and grew more and more intrigued by the second. The Guild had just made two rather shocking announcements that were going to send ripples throughout the city.

The initial announcement had come even before Ais-tan had returned from the dungeon, and was met with much concern and trepidation amongst the populace. The announcement spoke of the return of the organization that had nearly destroyed the city seven years ago, confirming the whispers and murmurs that had been going around in the underbelly of the city, that Evilus had returned.

The unpleasant tidings were followed by a rather extensive report on a rather successful operation against this organization, one that had resulted in the killing of Olivas Act, a very powerful Evilus executive who was thought long dead.

And the Guild had given all the credit for this deed to one Inumaki-The Silent, even going so far as to publically acknowledge his innocence in the 27th-floor massacre seven years ago.

It was an overstep that could only have been done on Ouranos's directions, and the Guild's intent behind all this was not lost on her. It was trying to do the very thing her own Captain had done.

Finn Deimne, was a pallum hero, a self made hero, one whose tale was not one of prophecy but of calculation and politics. He was a manufactured hero, famous throughout the city as the Braver acting as beacon of hope for his race.

"They are trying to clear up his name," he added as he rubbed his chin sitting behind the massive desk, and she nodded.

"They are," and years ago she would have lobbied against it. But not now, apart from the debt she owed the kid for saving her Leyfia-chan, there was also the fact that this was not the Loki familia from seven, or even five years ago.

Five years ago, when all this tragedy had fist begun, Loki had stayed neutral over Inumaki-kun's exile and prosecution for the boy was a threat to her familia's dominance, for despite every handicap the boy had, his heritage and his talent allowed him to break through it all.

And had he been allowed to stay in the city, he would have sooner shot past the other talents of his generation, including her precious Ais-tan, to become Orario's strongest, hence lowering the importance and influence of her familia.

Now, the five years of his exile had allowed her own children to catch up and exceed him, while she had cemented her position in Orario. And so now, it was better for them to have Silence's heir as an ally rather than an enemy, especially if Evilus was rearing its head once more.

"The Guild is trying to improve their relationship with him, and they must have understood that if they had not made such a statement, there could have been whispers about the coincidence that Evilus became active just as Inumaki-kun returned to the city," she added and Finn nodded.

"Indeed, but I doubt this will stop the whispers and murmurs," he retorted, and she shrugged. The Guild enjoyed trust of the people, and the majority of the people would follow their word, plus those who remember the evil of and desperation of Evilus would seek a hero, someone to derive hope from and that person could very well be Inumaki-kun.

After all, no matter what the whispers may speak of him, none would ever decry him as weak.

"As long as the majority follows their word, I doubt the whispers would concern the guild so much," she added, and her captain agreed with her.

"That is true, and it seems his years away have tempered his personality," he added with a chuckle, and she chuckled for the other news concerned Inumaki-kun as well, or more specifically, his familia.

"A wargame, huh," the words slipped out of her mouth with a small laugh as she recalled the news, and she couldn't help but feel the excitement bubbling through her at the excitement that was set to follow.

"It has been quite a few years since we saw one in the city," but one must hand it to Inumaki-kun, he always did make things interesting in Orario.

"Though I doubt this is going to be as grand a spectacle as watching a whole guild go against another, but given the stakes involved this one has a charm of its own," she added. Soma familia was a large familia but had few to no elite members, and if they it was a traditional wargame, Inumaki-kun would have slaughtered them all single-handedly, making it all rather one-sided.

And so, given that the battle was set to take place in a month's time between one Level 1 adventurer, and Souma familia's captain Zanis Lustria, a Level 2 adventurer and the the Silent had bet his famous Spear on the outcome, that made it all very interesting.

"I still do not understand why he offered up his own spear for the bout," Finn added, and that was what separated him from Inumaki-kun. For all his desires, Finn was a person driven by calculations and plots; inumaki-kun had always been driven by instinct and motion; it was both his greatest weakness and his greatest strength, one that made him a prophecized Hero rather than a manufactured one.

"It is a sweet weapon indeed," Gae Bolg, the heart Piercer. It was legendary weapon believed to be one of its kind, something that had been made specifically for him by an unknown God, though she had an inkling just who that go—or rather goddess was.

"Bell Cranel," she whispered the name of the boy who was said to face Zanis Lustria on behalf of the Hestia familia.

"Just what kind of a person are you?" she whispered.

"That we will learn, but have you decided on what we are to do about Ais's report?" Fin asked her, breaking her out of her trance as Loki looked towards her captain.

"The 59th floor," she gasped, and he nodded. The red-haired tamer that had now twice come after her precious Ais-tan had said that the 59th floor held the answers for them, but the 59th floor was no joke. Loki familia had tried twice now and had always succumbed before reaching this level, with 58 being the lowest floor they had reached.

"It will be hard," she said, but Finn shrugged.

"But we will have our answers. Given that Evilus is involved, we could get the Guild sponsor part of the campaign, but even then, this will be no small undertaking," and she knew that.

"A full expedition," meaning that it would probably have to involve multiple familias, and him as well.

"Do you think we will succeed?" she asked, and her captain nodded.

"We will," he replied, and she smirked. After all, who was she to stop her children from having an adventure?

"Then so be it. Make the announcement. Loki familia is headed to the 59th floor!"

0000

Early in the morning, outside the famous Hostess of Fertility, a throng of three girls stood, each more nervous than the other as each shoved the other to walk into the closed restaurant first.

"You should go first," one girl in an elaborate kimono, whispered as she pushed a red-haired girl with her arm. The little pallum girl stood beside her, with a mask covering her face did the same.

"Yes, its your job as captain," she nudged as well, as the red haired girl looked around nervously.

"Don't push me. We can do this together. Why do I have to go on first..." as they were arguing, a blonde-haired girl walked out the doors of the inn, and the three girls immediately became quiet.

"Who is causing all this commotio..." the blonde elf's words halted mid-sentence as she gazed at the faces of the girls standing outside the inn, and as they all stared at each other, it was the red-haired girl that stepped forward, and while pushing a bang of hair behind her ear smiled brilliantly.

"Hi there, Ryuu," and her voice shook as she took that name as tears welled up in her eyes, just as they did in the blonde elf's eyes who, rather than responding, pushed herself forward and wrapped her arms around the red-haired girl.

"ALISEEE!"

0000

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