Chapter 7: Syr Flova
"This is the tower of Babel, Bella," I say, chuckling at the starry gaze Bella holds for the gigantic tower. And I have to admit that I wasn't much better the first time I came here. For what it's worth, despite the multiple unpleasant truths that I found out since yesterday, there was no doubt that the tower was truly a building that represented the effort Ouranos put towards the culling of the monsters inside the dungeon.
A huge tower, built upon the entrance of the depths that threatened to engulf the whole world, is just a huge flex. The heart of the city is resting right over the most dangerous place in the world. It tells the message that the dungeon is just a domesticated beast, despite the numerous deaths happening each day inside of it.
No matter what happens, the tower is the sign of the power of the Guild as well, even though the richest gods can afford to rent the higher floors, it's just that, renting. The tower is owned by the Guild in the end.
I and Bella walked into the tower, not to buy anything, but to see what the expression of the power of the guild had to offer.
At least for me.
Far away from the gloomy entrance to the dungeon on the first lower floor of the tower, the upper floors inspire a certain prestige, I would even say they're luxurious. The floor is covered with red carpets, the walls are decorated in gold, all to draw the eyes of rich adventurers. Well-lit, the corridors of the first few floors are plastered with high-end equipment. Even with the fact that I couldn't sense magic, I could tell that these pieces of equipment were filled to the brim with it. It just gave off an indescribable aura that could only be magical.
The equipment: swords, lances, armors, and everything in between, was well maintained even behind the glass to be more appealing to the eye. Everything was perfectly put in place to please the rich adventurer. Even though both me and Bella were wearing common clothes, since I bought some on the market this morning, the receptionists always greeted us with respect, just in case that we would come back a few years down the line with prestige and money.
The professionalism of this place baffles me, considering how very fantasy-like everyone I've met reacted so far. The douche that served as the guild investigator abusing his power for everyone to see and this Eina talking about things she knew could get me in trouble freely, both are examples of what I would expect from an anime world turned real.
However, it seems that not all is lost.
I politely greet every person employed by the guild here to manage the shops belonging to the various crafting familias around the city, while Bella can't stop gaping at every piece of high-end equipment.
Still, her innocent behavior, if it could even be called that, is very cute to me, and I feel like my heart is getting pulled in all directions with how she acts. She would make for a very precious little sister.
At these thoughts, I can't help but feel a little angry about the way Bella described her experiences with other familias around the city. Every time she nearly entered a familia, it was done in such a sleazy way to force her to sell her body that I might have to make a couple of visits once I'm much stronger.
I don't condone the way young masters act in cultivation novels, but holy shit do I feel like wiping people out of the map just to appease my anger.
I'll have to work on that, since there is no way I will be able to contain myself correctly if I have the power to act upon it, and once you go down this rabbit hole, there is no way to come back up.
In the end, I still have one question pending in my head, "But, what is the difference between me and those familias that wanted to use you as a prostitute, Bella?" I can't help but ask, in low volume considering the place we're in, "I mean, you don't have the confirmation of Hestia yet, but you're still following me around and trusting me…"
I look at her after I finish my remark, waiting for a reaction from her. Instead of a thoughtful expression or even panic, she just looks at me and smiles brightly.
"I just feel like you're a trustworthy person, Tian," she says, beaming at me.
I continue to look at her for a few seconds before I start to chuckle, "Then I hope I can stand up to the trust you're giving me, Bella."
Shit, fucking harem protagonists, even female, have to say things like this. And I'm now the target of her innocent charms.
Wait, is this a reverse harem situation? Do I have to worry about handsome princes taking interest in her for no reason?
While I mumble in thought, Bella takes the lead and guides me to the higher floors, where the affordable pieces of equipment start to be displayed.
First, the effort put into the appearance of the various stands changes drastically. The equipment isn't displayed in nice showcases anymore but simply put into boxes with the price tag stuck to it. Oh well, if they start to put resources towards equipment destined towards people with a death rate superior to 80%, then the guild will surely start to lose money.
"Look at that Tian!" Bella calls out to me, picking up a dagger in her hand. She starts to randomly swing it around, mimicking the actions of what she imagines to be a high-class adventurer.
Despite how cute the display is, I can't help but sweat at how dangerous it is, "B-Bella, you should stop swinging around a cutting weapon like this…" I tell her, taking my distance.
Bella stops and looks around, seeing the various adventurers shopping here looking at her puzzledly and wondering if she should be considered a threat or not. A few of them are even mocking her.
At the sight, Bella delicately returns the dagger to its original place and hides her face in shame. She's so embarrassed that she decides to stick to me in hope that I can hide her.
I can only laugh at the situation while she holds my arm and tries to hide from the other adventurers.
After a while, she looks at me reproachfully because of my reaction to her show and pouts, becoming even more adorable, "You're so mean Tian…" she murmurs.
The laugh dying down in my throat slowly, I suddenly realize something very important.
"Bella… do you even have a weapon for the dungeon?" I ask her urgently.
"Uhh… Yes I do," she answers in a small voice, pointing to me the dagger holder on her waist, "But…" she continues as she opens it up and shows me what is essentially a large kitchen knife, "I'm not sure if it will work for the monsters in the dungeon…" she says in an even smaller voice.
I sigh, amused by her antics, and decide to buy her a proper dagger since she and I will go down the dungeon tomorrow. With the rest of the money that I obtained yesterday, we manage to find a very decent dagger for her, that isn't too long or too short for her taste.
When I see the victorious and pleased expression on her face, along with the small blush she gets when she looks at me, I can't help but think that she's not that innocent.
Especially because the first item she showed to me when we arrived on this floor was a dagger.
'This girl…' I sigh fondly, already feeling the weight of having a girl to take care of on my wallet.
'Well, at least Hestia doesn't require as much as a budding young girl that is also an adventurer,' I think, though it's more a hope than anything.
We leave the babel tower, a few gold coins missing from my bag, and start heading back to the church.
"It didn't feel like it, but we spent a lot of time inside the tower, didn't we?" Bella says while looking at the sun in the distance, which was started to escape from the horizon.
"We did indeed, that's what it's like to go shopping with a girl I guess…" I remark, smirking at the thought that the rumors were true.
"N-Now we go to the goddess Hestia right?" she says, and while most of her original shyness is gone by now, in those moments her original reaction to strangers seeps through. While she seems generally comfortable with me now, evidenced by the lack of stutter and silence, it doesn't seem to be the case regarding Hestia just yet.
"I just hope that she came back already, since I can support her easily with the money I make in the dungeon, I told her to quit her job at her stand."
Bella stops in the middle of the road and looks at me with the same starry eyes again, "S-Such powerful love!" She says before she stops herself and hastily puts a hand in front of her mouth in shock, "I-I mean, the love of a familia member towards his goddess, obviously…"
I look at her with my eyebrow raised, a bit confused by her outburst, but I simply pat her head and continue to walk back towards the church, not even questioning what just happened.
I feel like this is also another rabbit hole I should avoid.
We continue our return home when we pass by the Hostess of Fertility, one of the most famous pubs in all of Orario. So famous that not even a week in the city and I've already heard of it multiple times.
Suddenly, I felt a chill run through me. Somebody was observing me, and I didn't like how my body reflexively treated the gaze as hostile. Apparently, Bella felt it too, as she stopped in the middle of the brick-lined street and turned around in fright and confusion.
The problem came when a woman, a member of the staff of the pub, bumped into me.
She was about to bump into Bella, but I put myself in front of her before the impact. I, of course, stood tall, but the same could not be said for the woman now sprawled on the ground.
"Ouch that hurts," she murmurs as she starts to rub the arm that cushioned her fall.
"Are you ok miss?" Bella asks her before I can react, looking worried for the women on the floor. A couple of adventurers stop to look for any entertainment, but when they see that there's none, they quickly go on about their business.
Wearing the uniform of the Hostess of Fertility, which is a green dress that goes above the knee, wide sleeves, and a white collar, topped with a white apron and a headband, she had bluish-grey hair and eyes the same color. When she revealed her face, I noticed how attractive she looked when her eyes linked with mine for a second before she set her gaze on Bella.
Seemingly uninterested with me, I watched as the woman called Syr Flova and Bella introduced each other and how Syr perked up a bit when Bella called herself an adventurer of the Hestia family. While she hid it very well, my superior senses as a cultivator picked it up and made me wonder why that knowledge would elicit that reaction from her. Trying to think about the interactions Bell and Syr had in the anime, I couldn't remember anything that would explain this.
Still, I couldn't treat people that were real for me now with just the knowledge I have from a show that I can't even remember correctly.
"And, who is this gentleman with you, Bella-san?" she asked at the same time I started to pay attention to their conversation again.
At her words, Bella seems to puff up her chest a little bit and introduces me to Syr, "He is my friend, Tian! He's also the captain of the Hestia familia, that is, um, my familia…" she says, proudly displaying a title that I never took, but considering that I was the only member of the Hestia familia for her until a while ago, it seems evident for her that I am the captain.
"Ummm…" she mouths, looking at me for a half-second without her smile before recovering her facade, "Nice to meet you Tian-san, I hope that you'll be inclined to come to our establishment tonight, just like Bellan-san here," she says, looking borderline smug at my dumbfounded expression.
Meanwhile, Bella is flustered and says that she never promised such a thing, only that she'll consider it. Syr seems to try to manipulate emotionally Bella once she hears her response, but I decide to not let that happen.
"I'm sorry, but… I don't think we'll come here tonight, Syr Flova. Have a good evening," I say politely, making my point known and taking Bella by the hand before leaving the vicinity. Syr's eyebrow twitches a little bit before wishing us a good evening as well.
I can hear the laugh of someone that Syr knows in the background while we get further and further away from the Hostess of Fertility.
I decided that although she didn't seem bad in the anime, I don't like this Syr at all. It brings back bad memories of being scammed by people that knew how to sell a fake product. I'm positive that Bella would have been manipulated into coming to this place rather easily.
I know it, thanks to the show.
Bella follows me, still looking confused at how things went down in the end.
"That Syr was trying to scam you into spending money in the pub," I say, noticing her confusion.
Bella opens her mouth to rebuke, but seems to think about it rather than answer immediately, "I… I guess?" she says hesitantly, "Still, I don't think she's a bad person…"
"I... You know what, you're right, but it doesn't make what she tried to do any better. I get that the more customers she gets, the better, but the way she went about it… trying to emotionally manipulate you… it just brought back bad memories sorry."
Bella giggles at my answer, amused, while we nearly reach the church.
"Since I nearly got taken in by the bad woman from the pub, that means you have to protect me, right?" she says, keeping her bright smile.
I sigh, then chuckle at the way her sentences are innocently said while having other implications.
"Don't worry, you don't even have to tell me to protect you, you're part of my familia now."
Bella blushes a little bit but this time doesn't hide it, she just fondly smiles at my words and continues to walk forward.
"I think I'm not yet part of your familia Tian-kun, I still have to gain the approval of goddess Hestia after all."
"Don't worry about that, I'll talk to her," I say, knowing fully that it won't even be needed.
I open the door to the Church with Bella nervously following me.
"Hestia?" I call, the moment we enter the church. I can hear someone descend from the second floor, and soon my goddess is revealed in all of her glory, freshly out of a shower. Her hair isn't styled in her usual twin tails yet, freely flowing around her and she has a towel on her head, used to get rid of the drops of water running down her hair.
"Tian-kun?" she cheerfully asked, and the way her eyes lit up when she saw me made me wonder if she was naturally like this or if she was that way with all the members of her familia. She rushed towards me, not realizing the presence of another person beside me. "You sure came home fast from the dungeon today!"
Her smile seemed to illuminate the room, and considering how Bella looked at Hestia, I was the only one seeing it. Bella is shy because Hestia is a new person, but I know that she will warm up to her pretty easily once they get acquainted.
"I didn't go to the dungeon today, Hestia," I say, gesturing to Bella who is hiding a bit behind me, looking at Hestia nervously.
"Who is that, Tian-kun?" asks Hestia once she notices Bella standing in our familia home.
Before I can introduce her, Bella takes all of her courage and steps up, "H-Hello goddess Hestia, my name is, um, is Bella Cranel," Hestia's eyes widen and she quickly looks at me, realizing what is happening here, before concentrating back on Bella. "A-And I want to join your familia!" she nearly shouts, bowing in front of Hestia at the same time.
Hestia couldn't contain her excitement any longer, and pulled Bella into a tight hug, "Of course you can!"
"Ehh?" Bella of course is confused by Hestia's reaction since not many people are expecting such a cheerful and friendly goddess. Even though divine beings descended centuries ago, most of the time there is still a bit of worship towards them. Even with the proximity, gods and goddesses are still largely treated as superior beings.
"Do you really want to join my familia? Did Tian-kun force you to do this?" She asks, a few of her old insecurities seeping through her speech. I sigh fondly at the way the two girls bond, Bella quickly warming up to the cheerful demeanor of Hestia. Her cheeks are flushed from the sudden contact with the beautiful goddess, and she can't help but smile at her antics.
"N-No he didn't! I came here this morning because my guild advisor recommended your familia…" Bella's voice becomes uncertain at the end because Hestia's eyebrows start twitching at the mention of the guild.
"What did they say exactly about our familia?" Hestia asked, knowing how annoying the guild could become because of what happened yesterday. Bella's excitement went up when she heard the word 'our' coming from Hestia, but I cut her off to answer Hestia's question since I also need to tell her about the fine.
"Don't worry Hestia, they didn't say anything bad about our familia. However, this glasses guy charged me 2000 more than what I should have paid because we refused to cooperate with the guild," I inform her, and she quickly tightens up the hug around Bella, who is quite a bit taller than her, while she looks at me with a bit of anger in her gaze.
"Don't they know that they can get in trouble for it? The whole guild relies so much on other familias that if it became known…" Hestia trails off because I nod a 'no' with my head.
"I seriously doubt that our familia has the pull to do this kind of things right now. We're far too weak to get the support of other familias without getting ripped off. And in the end, I think we won't gain much from it either," I remark, getting the attention of both girls. "From the information I've gotten from scouting around a bit in bars, there's a lot of familias just slightly above ours, with maybe one or two levels 2 adventurers in their rank that get regularly fucked by the Guild."
"Aren't they scared that once they get higher levels there's gonna be some sort of retaliation?" Hestia asked, confused at the Guild's functioning.
I hum in thought while Bella looks back and forth between the two of us, looking confused at the way this conversation is going.
"I have no idea, to be honest, there's a limit on what you're willing to tell a friendly stranger in a bar, even with alcohol in your veins," I answer after a while. "However, it means that the Guild has a way to pander to familias that are in this case, or that they specifically aim for familias that they know have no potential to grow… The worst-case scenario is the second where they might even go to certain lengths to make sure that these familias don't become stronger."
Hestia blinks and tilts her head to the side before sighing, "While this is possible, I think you might go a bit too far Tian-kun."
"How so?" I ask, feeling like it could be a reasonable explanation as to why the guild was so willing to antagonize us, especially in these petty ways.
"To begin with, the abuse of power came from one person, it isn't representative of the guild as a whole. As for them annoying other familias that are low on the totem, it might just be loose lips from adventurers that are not happy with the way things go. Rumors from pubs are not always the greatest source of information," Hestia says.
I couldn't refute her, but still, it was something that aroused my curiosity.
"Anyway, let's stop thinking about this boring stuff, and let's get you your falna Bella-kun!" Hestia said, her mood flipping completely as she took Bella's hand and dragged her upstairs.
I don't follow them since I know that Bella will be half-naked for this procedure, and I'm not close enough with them that they would allow me to just walk on them.
'It would be funny if Bella had an abnormal status just like myself though' I thought, chuckling to myself while I sit down on the couch.
#####
"She has a completely normal status, unlike someone here," Hestia says when they both return from the ceremony, Bella looking very happy at the fact that she was now officially in our familia.
"What, is there a problem with Tian-kun's status, Hestia-sama?" asks Bella, coming down from her high and looking very alarmed for me.
I wave her worries off while scoffing at Hestia's words. "My status isn't normal, it's extraordinary and you know it," I clap back at my goddess, who in turn simply rolls her eyes.
"We don't know what your skills do yet, Tian-kun. I never thought that skills were supposed to be as confusing as yours though," she says, sitting in front of both of us. Bella scutters close to me on the couch, looking at Hestia in confusion.
"Aren't you supposed to be goddess here Hestia?" I smirk, "You're the one supposed to know about all of this stuff."
Hestia once again rolls her eyes but this time she has a small smile on her face while Bella simply observes our interactions.
"To be truthful, it hasn't even been 3 months since I descended from Heavens. The waiting line was long enough that I had been waiting for it for centuries…" Hestia states, leaving us dumbfounded.
"C-Centuries?" Bella blurts out, breaking her silence.
"Yes, centuries," Hestia affirms. "The thing is, the lower world is extremely popular for gods, it's the best source of attraction for us. The Heavens become boring after a while, and we've been there for billions of years, therefore many of us jumped at the occasion to descend among mortals."
Hestia's explanation makes us nod in understanding, but I'm still blown away by the scope in which immortal beings think. I realize that my ascension will leave me changed forever, and I can't help but feel a little bit anxious about it now.
"Anyways, what was wrong exactly with Tian-kun's status?" Bella asks, trying to put the conversation back on the previous subject, obviously very intrigued by the possibility of scouting out the secret behind the performance that Eina told her about me.
Hestia doesn't answer her question immediately but first looks at me asking for permission to tell Bella my status.
I shrug my shoulder and Hestia turns to Bella once more.
"Tian-kun received his blessings yesterday when he came to me to ask if I would accept him in my familia. But when I gave him my falna, his status displayed two skills and one magic at level 1, something that should be impossible by the rules that I know of," Hestia explains to Bella who swipes her gaze to me, looking star-struck. It seems that her love for adventure and hero didn't disappear because she is a female in this world.
"Really?!" Bella adds, getting closer and closer to me. I simply raise my eyebrow at the exaggerated way she reacts, and she soon realizes what she is doing. She simply coughs in embarrassment and retreats with reddened cheeks. Meanwhile, Hestia is simply giggling at Bella's reaction, which prompts her to pout at her goddess.
"Yes really," I answer after things have calmed down. "But since we don't know what it's all about, I can't give you any details about it."
"A secret skill, given to a young hero at the start of his adventure, this is so cool!" Bella whispers while me and Hestia talk, thinking that I can't hear her with my better senses as a cultivator. Her reaction makes me laugh while Hestia is simply looking bewildered when Bella abruptly turns around and look at me mortified.
"D-Did you hear?" Bella asks me, panicking. I simply nod while laughing, making her hide her face in her hands while even her neck becomes red.
Man, I can't get enough of these exaggerated reactions. Only an anime world could offer this.
"What did she say? What did she say Tian-kun?" Hestia questions me, wanting in.
When I start to divulge Bella's words to Hestia, she hastily leans on me to put her hands on my mouth.
"Don't say it it's embarrassing!" Bella, flustered, declares.
"Ok, ok!" I mouth, before Bella finally lets me go. Still chuckling at Bella's hero fixation, I simply shrug when Hestia looks fondly annoyed at the fact that she isn't going to learn what her new child said that had both of us react so strongly.
She sighs happily, "Well, at least both of you are getting along," she says, reposing her head on her hand under her chin while looking at me continuing to make fun of Bella.
"Anyway," I declare, clearing my throat at the same time. "Bella, what do you think of going to the dungeon right now after getting you registered at the guild?" I ask her, and I see her eyes widen and a smile appearing on her lips at the idea.
"What?" whines Hestia, looking sad at the idea that we will leave her here, "But, but it's already so late!" she exclaims, trying to convince us to stay.
I snort, "Just say that you're already so attached to me that you don't want to let me go."
"Hmph, I'm attached to both of my children, you playboy," she claims, pushing her chest by crossing her arms under it. Sometimes I wonder if Hestia realizes what she's doing or if she's truly innocent.
She's billions of years old, but at the same time, she's Hestia.
"Of course you are… you're the best goddess after all," I say while standing up, making Bella do the same.
Hestia blushes a little bit at my words but otherwise, just takes it in stride and looks smug.
"But there's a lot of time left and if we are quick, I can judge Bella's level against the weakest monsters of the dungeon. That'll help us create a viable strategy to tackle the dungeon," I say, letting Hestia know that I'm willing to sacrifice my growth to assure Bella's. After all, I have cultivation and she does not.
Even if I can make other people learn cultivation from the information the book projected in my mind, I'm not comfortable doing so when I barely know about it myself. It's just a recipe for disaster.
"Alright, let's go, Bella!"
"Yes!"
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