by Fujino Omori
The cries of anguish were just as strong on West Main at The Benevolent Mistress. However, Ahnya, Chloe, and Runoa were jumping for joy, slapping their hands together over and over. Other employees of the bar came over to the three girls, exchanging hugs and smiling right along with them.
“…Bell.”
Tears of happiness were flooding Syr’s silver eyes. Her lips quivered as her face tried to express the intensity of her feelings all at once.
Her cheeks blushed as she finally looked away from the mirror floating in front of the wall and turned her attention toward the customers. “Dammit, I’ve lost everything!” “Hey, Syr, I’m gonna need a crap-ton of ale over here!” She managed to put her “work smile” on as the patrons began to drown their sorrow in as much alcohol as they could afford.
“Com–ming!” she responded in a bright voice, pep in her step as she went to take their orders.
“…Punk pulled it off.”
Bete practically spat those words out of his mouth as he listened to the celebrations coming from outside his Familia’s home.
He turned his back on the common room and walked toward the exit.
“Bete, where are you off to?”
“Wherever the hell I feel like.”
The werewolf responded to Finn’s question before disappearing out the door.
Everyone left behind in the common room exchanged glances. They came to a consensus surprisingly quickly.
“Dungeon, huh.” “Tha’d be da Dungeon.” “The Dungeon, no doubt.”
“For sure…”
Finn and Gareth forced a smile as Reveria closed her eyes in frustration. Tione looked more bored than annoyed.
With Bete gone, everyone in the room returned their attention to the mirrors. Thinking back to the desperate boy who’d come to their doorstep almost ten days ago, it was hard to believe that pitiful rabbit had seized victory. No one said a word.
That is, until…
“…Good for him.”
“Yes…”
Tiona had been literally dancing around the room just moments earlier, but now the Amazon stood next to Aiz as they watched a mirror. Slowly but surely the wheat-skinned girl turned to her friend with a radiant smile on her lips.
The blonde nodded in response and watched Bell’s friends gather around him in the mirror’s reflection. Her lips opened before she realized what was happening.
“Congrats…”
The largest mirror in the street showed the boy’s allies gathering around him, ruffling his hair and congratulating him like family. Others showed scenes of other cities overtaken by the thrill of the good fight.
The same was true of the gods in Babel Tower. Several of them had gathered together, comparing notes and admiring the children or offering criticism in their own reviews of the War Game.
“Wha…ha…, eh…?”
One of them however, Apollo, looked like a ghost as he stood frozen next to the table.
His mirror showed nothing but reflections of his children, powerless and kneeling all over the castle ruins. The fact that he couldn’t escape this reality just hit him like a brick wall.
He took two steps back, then another as his crown of laurels fell from his head.
“A-PO-LL-O.”
Then, schreee.
The feet of Hestia’s chair squeaked as they slowly slid across the floor. The goddess who had kept quiet all this time had broken her silence.
A dark aura emerged as she stood up from the table. Head angled down, no one could see her eyes behind her black bangs. Her chin suddenly jerked up, blue eyes flashing as they locked on her target: Apollo. Tap, tap. She walked toward him.
“Hy-hyeee!”
“You’ve made peace with yourself, I hope?”
Hestia’s low voice sounded as though it were summoned from the deepest pits of hell. Apollo fell backward in fright.
Bell had nearly been stolen from her, her home was destroyed, and she’d been chased at arrow point around the city, among other hardships.
All of the pent-up anger that hadn’t been allowed to vent until this moment was on the verge of exploding within her. The god on the floor could see it in her eyes. He shook as Hestia stood over him, glaring down with the utmost intensity. The god’s eyes began to water.
“H-hear me out, Hestia! This was all just an impulse! That child of yours was just so cute, I couldn’t help but pinch his cheeks a little…P-please, have mercy on me, O Goddess of Affection! We were once destined to share marital bliss!”
“Shut—your—mouth.”
The young goddess cut off his pleading with the ferocity of Hades himself.
Apollo’s face took on a shade of blue and fell silent. Even in Tenkai, he had never seen Hestia be so terrifying.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Hestia’s twin ponytails whipped about behind her head, riding the waves of her aura. It was proof of just how deep her rage ran.
“You promised to do whatever my little heart desires, yes?”
Apollo, who never even considered the possibility of defeat, had indeed said that.
All the other gods present had made a large circle around the two deities, enjoying every second of the climax. They couldn’t wait to see the young goddess’s Divine Judgment on the offender for his sins.
Apollo started to panic, gasping for breath as he looked to the faces of his former allies. They were now just faces in the dark, white teeth sparkling in the dim light from the mirrors. The deities were thoroughly enjoying watching him squirm.
Apollo’s robes dragged across the floor as he squirmed away from them and backed into Hestia. Looking up, he saw blue orbs flash in anger the moment he made eye contact.
“Everything you own, including your home, is now mine. Disband your Familia—and you will go into exile! Never set foot in Orario AGAIN_______!”
“HyGAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
His scream sent a shiver through the city.
Hestia gave no quarter to the dangerous god who had very nearly taken everything away from her.
Far away from the battlefield, amid a swirling storm of emotions…
Another final blow had been struck.
At the now peaceful castle ruins…
Bell reunited with his allies inside the castle that was now missing its throne room and a good deal of its outer wall. Of course, all of them were elated by their victory.
“We actually defeated a Familia possessing that much power…by ourselves.”
“Had to rely on a ruse or two but…Yeah, we can brag about this one.”
Mikoto and Welf exchanged words, adrenaline still pumping through their veins. She had taken the brunt of her own Magic and he had crossed blades with one of the enemy captains, so the two of them were in rough shape physically. However, their faces were so full of life and a feeling of accomplishment that no one could tell if they were in pain at all.
Bell walked away from their conversation and approached Lilly.
“Lilly…Thank you for saving me.”
“Mr. Bell…”
“Really, thank you…”
The sincerity in Bell’s eyes, despite the fact he was covered in blood and beaten to a pulp, overwhelmed Lilly so much that she couldn’t speak clearly. The muscles in her small body tensed up as she hid her face and worked up the courage to ask.
“Was Lilly…useful?”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to Lilly that…I can go home to Orario.”
Bell’s words made Lilly’s childlike face smile.
She hadn’t felt like this since the day that their relationship had been reset. The prum girl blushed as she looked up at him with a smile as radiant as a blooming sunflower.
“Mr. Cranell, we should move out of this location. The Guild employees will be here soon; it is necessary to find a place to rest and recover.”
“Ah, sure.”
Lyu suggested from beneath her hood, eyes locked on Bell’s injured right shoulder.
The taste of vict
ory in their mouths, the group made their way through the debris inside the castle walls.
“…?”
Without thinking, Bell placed his left hand on his chest.
Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the string around his neck and pulled the amulet out from under his shirt.
However, it was broken.
The jewel had a series of spiderweb-like cracks running through it and the golden casing was falling apart. The radiance it had the moment that Syr gave it to him was gone.
…Did it protect me?
Hyacinthus’s Magic packed a very powerful punch. Taking a direct hit, like he did, should’ve knocked him out of commission for good.
Bell couldn’t help but feel that this amulet had sacrificed itself to save him.
Bell took a closer look at the broken jewel and saw something that looked like an emblem engraved in the casing behind it.
Due to the thousands of cracks in its surface, however, he could only see that it was someone’s face in profile.
“Something wrong, Bell? We’re leaving.”
“Ah…yeah. Right behind you.”
The boy stopped moving to look at the jewel. Welf had noticed and called out to him.
The white-haired boy nodded, keeping his gaze on the jewel in his left hand before slowly looking up to the sky.
“…”
Just who was the adventurer who gave Syr this amulet?
It was given to her for a reason, so that she would give it to him.
These thoughts ran through Bell’s mind as he looked up at the azure sky.
He couldn’t help but feel that someone watching him through a mirror in the city was smiling at him at that very moment.
And so the curtain fell on the War Game, with Hestia Familia standing victorious.
The exploits of combatants on both sides became the talk of the town. Bell and his allies became hometown heroes overnight. They were the center of attention wherever they went after returning to the city.
Obeying Hestia’s demands, Apollo Familia was disbanded immediately. Apollo said his good-byes and released every one of his followers from their contracts before being escorted out of the city for the last time.
As for the now Familia–less adventurers, they went their separate ways. Some went on journeys of self-discovery, others were scouted and joined other Familias, and a few fell into despair. A small group, including Hyacinthus, went against the laws of Orario by leaving the city to follow their god.
The effects of the War Game were felt in many places.
The fervor had yet to die down, but there was still something that needed to be taken care of.
“…This is the money owed for Lilly’s release, as promised.”
The small girl held out a bag stuffed full of gold coins.
Soma, clad in his dirty robe, took the bag from her without a word.
Two days had passed since the War Game ended. Lilly had journeyed to Soma Familia’s home by herself.
Every val that had been held in Apollo’s name now belonged to Hestia Familia. Lilly took a large part of it and returned to her former home to exchange the money for the Hestia Knife, which had been used as collateral.
Her new family offered to go with her, but Lilly declined. She told them that she had to see this through to the end on her own.
“…”
She had a reputation to uphold as a member of their Familia. Soma accepted the money without a fuss.
He didn’t even check the contents of the bag before pulling the knife out from inside his robe and handing it to Lilly.
Lilly was taken aback by how quickly this exchange transpired. In a room full of different types of plants and a wide array of wine bottles, she blinked a few times before straightening her posture.
Clearing her throat, she prepared to say her final good-bye.
“Thank you for everything, Lord Soma…”
There was no hint of irony or resentment in her voice. She wanted to end things well.
The Status on her back clearly identified her as a member of Hestia Familia. She no longer had any connection to Soma Familia.
Her loose robe bent around her small body as Lilly bowed. Her face down, she never had a chance to make eye contact with Soma. One step back, turn, a few more steps, and she paused for a moment in front of the door.
“…”
Soma was standing in the corner of his room, the muscles in his face shifting as if he were deep in thought. He stared at the back of his former child…and spoke to her.
“Lilliluka Erde…I have done you wrong.”
Halfway out the door, Lilly froze on the spot.
She looked over her shoulder in surprise. The deity’s expression was hidden behind his long hair as he continued.
“…Make sure to take care of your health.”
The first words he had ever spoken to her.
Slowly but surely, Lilly’s chestnut eyes began to moisten.
She had wanted to hear his words for the longest time, but at least now, at the end, she was grateful to hear them. Lilly nodded, her chin hitting her shoulder.
“Lilly will…” she said in a quivering voice to the deity who had remembered her name.
One last step, and she left the room behind.
“…”
Soma stood in silence for a while after Lilly disappeared from sight. Finally, he turned to face the shelves on his wall.
Removing all the wine bottles, he carried them to a wooden box in the corner of the room, slipped them inside, and closed the lid.
Filling the empty spots with the now useless wineglasses, Soma’s eyes narrowed from behind his long bangs.
The conditions within Soma Familia gradually improved from that day.
EPILOGUE
HESTIA FAMILIA
A large manor stood in the middle of a wide garden.
Hestia took a deep breath.
“Ta-da! This is our new home!”
““Ooohhhh—””
Bell, Lilly, Welf, and Mikoto stood in awe of the building Hestia pointed at.
It was three stories tall; they had to crane their necks to get a good look at the top floor. Hestia went on to say that there were covered passages along with more gardens inside. The property was surrounded by a tall iron fence. Flowers and trees hid most of the bars from view.
“But was it really okay to take Apollo Familia’s home…?”
“Oh yes, he blew mine into a million pieces. I don’t want to hear any complaints!”
Lilly muttered as she looked up at the manor, but Hestia cut her off right away.
It was a prize from the War Game—the building that Apollo Familia had once called home was now theirs. Bell was just as surprised as Welf and Mikoto at this sudden upgrade in living conditions.
None of the mortals could believe their luck as they looked over their new home from the outside gardens.
“The ones who lived here before had…strange tastes. So, since we’ve got a lot of money, I say we do some remodeling! If you have any requests, let me know!”
“L-Lady Hestia, I humbly request a bathhouse!”
“Lady Hestia! Would you build me a forge?!”
Mikoto and Welf didn’t waste any time in suggesting what to build to replace any remnants of Apollo Familia. Hestia turned to them, holding her arms out, saying, “Wait, wait,” and smiling.
“Now that we can finally puff out our chests and say we’re a proper Familia, don’t you think we should decide on an emblem first?”
““Good point!””
All of Hestia’s followers nodded in unison. Bell was the most excited among them. He’d been wanting to have his own Familia emblem for quite a while.
Hestia took a seat on the front steps of the manor. Pulling out a small piece of paper and a pen, she set to work on sketching a picture. Bell and the others formed a half circle around her, watching her pen move while standing shoulder to shoulder.
“Hee-heee, I put a lot of thought
into this___”
Hestia’s pen didn’t stop for an instant until she turned the paper around to show her new family, grinning from ear to ear. Welf, Mikoto, and Lilly each held the paper in their hands and gave the design a once-over.
“This is fire and…”
“I see. This is the Lady Hestia’s idea of protective flames.”
“That’s not it at all. This emblem, it’s all about the relationship between Lady Hestia and Mr. Bell!”
Welf and Mikoto whispered to each other, but Lilly’s eyes twitched in annoyance.
The three of them had different reactions, but Hestia used her authority as a goddess to ignore them and said in a very satisfied voice:
“What’s the problem? This Familia started with me and Bell, after all.”
At last, the paper made its way into Bell’s hands.
His ruby-red eyes opened wide as he studied the emblem design.
“Goddess, isn’t this…?”
Hestia giggled as she looked at the surprise on the boy’s face.
Smiling once again, she made eye contact with Bell and said:
“Now, Bell. Today is the real debut of our Familia.”
Bell looked back down at the paper as he listened to her words. A few moments later, he smiled back at her with an expression as radiant as the sun.
The boy held out the paper once again for everyone to see.
The design on the paper in his hands consisted of a bell surrounded by flames.
Afterword
A dungeon fantasy story that never once ventures into a dungeon: that’s book six. I suspect this pattern will continue for the next few volumes…However, you can visit the Dungeon many times in the spin-off! Please excuse the self-promotion. If you’re interested, have a look.
I’m particularly fond of stories where the characters increase one by one.
The main character’s journey is a solitary one until he or she meets a healer, then a beautiful and mysterious fortune-teller, then adds a young mage as the fourth member…I get excited when a new ally joins the fight in manga, novels, and of course video games. Nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment after assembling a well-balanced party.
At the same time, the early stages where very few characters must face difficult odds to build their relationships is one of the most important, and in my opinion the most entertaining, parts of the story. I took my time in developing this part of my own work in books one through five, sacrificing larger story arcs in the process. Back when I first started writing the stories, I don’t know how many times I heard the phrase “Wouldn’t it be a good idea to increase the party size?” I would like to thank everyone who worked with me for listening to my selfish desires and allowed me to take my time in developing each character in turn. You have my gratitude.