Chapter 35: 35 – Is it bad that the world got corrupted?

"Monster drop turn-in, monster subjugation, escort missions..." I frowned and muttered, "This really is just like a game, isn't it?"

They were familiar tasks. The sort that you'd expect to see as a level 1 player in an MMORPG offered as repeatable quests to get just a little bit more extra cash or exp.

In the Guild Hall, there was a giant board where they put up vetted requests from reputable sources.

By reputable, it was mostly people that went through the proper guild procedures and paid the appropriate filing fees, but it was literally a single valis, so that wasn't much of an obstacle.

Even so, there weren't too many quests up.

...Mostly because the ones with big rewards had already been taken, and the one at the very top was impossible.

I stared at the faded and untouched flier and frowned.

It was a subjugation request. Similar to a few of the other ones nearby. But the problem was the content.

"Slay the One-Eyed Black Dragon..."

I didn't think that they'd actually have a copy of the quest out here.

It was one of the Three Great Quests said to be issued by the world itself. The last one, actually, and the one that even the great Familia of the past like Zeus and Hera failed to complete.

Was it to inspire adventurers that there was a challenge remaining even after everything else? A warning that something lurked in the background?

...Or was someone just too lazy to take it down?

I didn't know, but I *did* know that I wasn't going to mess with that any time soon.

Dragons were a pain in the butt to kill, no matter what the setting. Even on the lowest difficulty where they didn't have any magic and were just strong lizards, you'd still have to get up close and personal to something that barely had any weakpoints and could blast you with fire.

And considering that this was a world *with* magic, plus the fact that the freaking *Zeus* Familia failed to kill it... the same Familia that I read had a lot of level sevens, maybe a few level eights, and probably more than a few trump cards...

Yeah. Better to let someone else deal with that. At least until I figured out Anti-Dragon weaponry and gathered an army.

For now... Let's just not think about it and tempt fate.

"Let's see..." I looked back to the other quests that were more reasonable and started flipping through them. "Find the source of the mysterious Scorpion swarm... That sounds interesting, but it's pretty far."

Apparently, a few villages bordering a large forest to the north of Orario were being overrun by mysterious Black Scorpion monsters. There were a few adventurers helping out already, but no one had actually investigated the source of it.

The Black Scorpions were said to only be around as strong as Kobolds though.

Which meant that it was definitely a tempting mission to try things out...

But I'd have to see if Welf wanted to come with first.

Always bring a buddy.

I learned that lesson after my recent trip to the Dungeon. If Welf had been there too...

Ah. Actually, he probably would have been killed.

...Okay. Always bring a buddy after you've doomsday prepped them along with you.

I made a mental note of that quest and then looked at some other ones.

Herb gathering, Kobold subjugation, a few merchant escort missions... And that was about it.

There were a few more random ones about turning in monster drops, but other than those... nothing.

I crossed my arms and frowned. "Hm..."

The Kobold subjugation request wasn't that far away. If I started jogging now, I could make it there in a few hours. And after that, I could just warp back home, so it'd work out just fine. Not only that, but the herb gathering quests were in the same area too. And I was really curious about just how my inventory system got upgraded.

Tia and Fina would probably be out all day, and Welf was probably going to be grinding his blacksmithing skills as usual.

Freya... Well, she was preoccupied now. And she also definitely was on our side, so that was a plus.

Which meant I didn't have anything to worry about today. Not only that...

"It's been a while since it's just been me, myself, and I, right?"

I smirked and then grabbed the quest reports before making my way up to the nearest receptionist to confirm them.

"Hm?" The receptionist was a pink-haired young woman. The same that I met the first time I was registering... and I think also Eina's friend. Her name was...

"Misha, right?" I smiled at her and placed the fliers on the counter. "Haven't seen you in a while."

Misha grabbed the fliers from me and sighed. "That's because I've been busy. My Adventurer's been bugging me about all sorts of books to help her decipher some poems or whatever."

"...Aren't you not supposed to tell me that?"

Misha waved her hand. "It's fine. A bookworm like you is smart enough to keep things secret."

"That's true, but still..."

"Oh!" Misha snapped her fingers and said, "Hey! Maybe you can help me out. Wait a bit."

Before I could respond, Misha ran back and rummaged around her desk. A few seconds later, she ran back and placed a piece of paper on the counter, pointing at it. "Here. Let me know if you can figure out what this means."

"...I still think this is breaking client-confidentiality."

Misha waved her hand and said, "I'll take responsibility for it. And Cassie's looking for any help she can get, so..." She clasped her hands together and said, "Please, Mister Smartypants?"

"People usually don't call others names when asking for help... But sure. As long as you file these for me first." I pointed to the requests.

"Sure, sure. I'll get right on it."

After saying that, Misha took the fliers and walked into the back.

As she did, I stared at the paper she left on the counter.

"A poem, huh? And she wants me to interpret it...?"

---

For whom does the bell toll?

Cursed blood, burning anew. Fallen moon, love shot through.

For whom does the bell toll?

A fool, a hero. The one, the zero.

For whom does the bell toll?

Drunken madness breeds innovation. Heroism thriving within devastation.

For whom does the bell toll?

The liar, the play? Or the storyteller, today?

---

"Well. That's ominous."

Was it a riddle? The fact that the line 'for whom does the bell toll' seemed to indicate that it was.

Analyzing it... The line after 'for whom does the bell toll' seemed to be describing someone. The person for whom the bell tolled was probably described by each of those lines. So...

Cursed blood burning a new, and a fallen moon love shot through.

Well, the obvious allusion to the moon would probably be Artemis. And love shot through... A parallel to Orion maybe? But that didn't explain the first part... Maybe a bastard child of Artemis cursed by the moon? A werewolf?

Then the next line... The fact that fool and hero were paralleled by one and zero... Maybe saying that he was a fool for trying to be a hero since he lost everything?

That would explain the line after that too then. Drunken madness breeding innovation, followed by heroism breeding devastation... It sounded a lot like the person would get a lot stronger in seeking revenge, only to lose everything and finally be a true hero.

But that last line didn't make any sense.

'The liar, the play? Or the storyteller, today?'

It seemed to be talking about three different choices then. Does the bell toll for the liar or for the play? And if not those, then does it toll for the storyteller today?

So then was the 'liar' going to fail or was the 'play' going to fail? And if not them, then would it be the 'storyteller today'... meaning would it be the one who was writing the poem.

Summing it all together...

"Here you go!" Misha slid a few sheets of paper over and said, "Got them all approved for you. Contact information for the quest giver are on those papers, and all you need to do is come back with them signed off for the reward. Now!" She clapped her hands and said, "Any luck on figuring that out?"

I took the papers and then stared at the poem one more time, frowning. "It's an interesting story at least."

"Huh?" Misha blinked. "Story? But it's a poem, isn't it?"

"Well, yes. But it's also a story. Reading it all together... It's a story about a person cursed by the moon succumbing to madness and seeking revenge before becoming a hero afterwards when they lose everything. That should be the first few lines." I frowned and said, "The last one though... I'm not sure. It seems to be asking about whether the 'liar' will end or if the 'play' will end. And then if none of them end, whether the 'storyteller' will end."

"H-Hold on!" Misha ran back and said, "Write that down for me, please! And thanks! I'll make Eina get you a present sometime!"

"O-Okay...?"

xxx

After writing down my thoughts on the weird poem/story/riddle for Misha, I headed out for the day... Is what I initially planned. But before then, I stopped back at home to prepare.

"...Huh." I swung the sword I made with my crafting system and then held it up to examine under the sunlight. "So I guess I start off with stone then."

I was going to be fighting monsters, so it was important I was properly equipped.

I *could* buy some new equipment or bug Welf about it, but I couldn't always rely on that to be an option. Welf was partying with me now, but we were still in different Familia. And while I'd love for him to join our Familia, he was also very much in love with his Goddess, so that wouldn't be happening any time soon.

There wouldn't be a problem working together in the future since we were buddies, but there were times I'd have to be operating by myself. And in that situation, I needed a way to deal with situations like where my equipment broke.

Learning blacksmithing myself was an option, but it wasn't that efficient. Not to mention Welf was definitely much better than I was in that field.

No, it was better to leverage my own abilities. So... crafting.

But...

"This is weird though."

The sword I crafted was made of stone, but it wasn't the normal sort of stone you could dig up or find laying around. It was light, a bit shiny, and also a complete matte gray color.

Almost like it was 3D printed out of a resin or something instead of stone.

...Actually, maybe it was? 3D printed at least. Not sure about the resin bit.

"Time for a durability test." I walked over to a chunk of broken rubble laying in the church courtyard and then swung the sword.

A clean slash. And the result... A clean cut in the rubble and only a minor chip on my sword.

Which showed that it definitely was some sort of stone since metal didn't chip like that from a slash.

A stab easily pierced into the rubble, but it also cracked the base of the sword. And after that, a slash had the sword snap in half, as well as crumbling into white powder.

Including the handle in my hand.

"Hm..." I brushed the white powder off my hands and frowned. "I'll need to be careful about it, but this should be fine. As for armor- Wait."

All that armor really did was add a layer of protection between you and the incoming attack. The problem was that the opponents I'd be facing could probably punch straight through armor unless it had the <Durandal> attribute and couldn't break or if it was practically a mech suit like Black Demon. But in the latter case, I was a sitting duck. And I also couldn't rely on the armor to be able to tank *everything.*

No. The best way for me to fight was different from most people. After all, I had this inventory skill that was really more like summoning magic. And so...

I picked up the chunk of rubble into my inventory and then held my finger on its icon. The moment I did, a scrollable list of things I could make showed up. Short sword, long sword, broad sword, spear, armor sets...

But like how I didn't have to follow the grid box of my inventory, I didn't have to use the list to craft either. Instead, I stared at the icon and focused, imagining what I wanted to make.

A giant slab. Basically a shield, but really just a hunk of rock, shaped in a rectangle.

A second after I had that thought, it popped up in my inventory. So the next step...

"I thought it'd might work, but this is really freaking weird..."

I stared at the giant stone monolith blocking out the sun and then imagined it moving around me.

And it did. Like some sort of guardian spirit, where I willed it, the monolith moved.

Of course, it wasn't sentient. I was still the person in control. But like this...

"My inventory stores momentum, so if I chuck this out and someone smacks it, I can both block and save that force by pulling it back in. So like that, the longer I use it, the more force I can store up, so..."

A whole slew of interesting battle tactics were starting to play out in my mind. Not only that, but since I had a bunch more weapons to work with too...

"...Yeah. This should be good for now."

Now it was time to put theory to practice.

After crafting a few more weapons, I picked up my things, left another note for Tia and Fina, and then headed off to exterminate some Kobolds.

xxx

Hestia stared at Pyrrha, happily examining some weapons behind Hephaestus's desk. Then Hestia looked at Hephaestus who was giving her a death glare.

Well, not *really* a death glare. It wasn't like Hephaestus wanted to kill Hestia or anything. But Hestia was sure that the only reason Hephaestus wasn't reaching out to shake Hestia's shoulders was because Pyrrha was in the room.

Back in Hephaestus's office.

After last night, Hephaestus demanded a private talk, practically dragging Hestia with her back to her office.

At least, that was the intent.

But Pyrrha wouldn't let Hephaestus go without crying, so she came along as well.

As for Welf... Well, he was stuck with babysitting duty again since this latest mess with mostly his fault.

And also because it seemed like Hephaestus *really* didn't know what to think about him at that point.

Hestia didn't blame her. While Hephaestus seemed a bit interested in Welf, from the bit of teasing that Hestia did to test how Hephaestus felt, it wasn't the same level of affection that Hestia had towards Bell. Or even the level that Freya had towards Bell.

That was another weird thought. And something that Hestia didn't want to think too much in detail about until later.

But anyway, Hephaestus.

Hestia stared at her longtime friend and said, "What did you want to talk about, Faefae?"

"Hephaestus."

Hearing that, Hestia frowned and then straightened in her chair. "...What is it, Hephaestus?"

Hephaestus stared at Pyrrha, a complicated expression on her face. And then she stared at Hestia and said, "Tell me. That Bell of yours... who is he, really?"

Hestia paused to think about it.

The obvious answer, and the one that came to mind first was that Bell was her husband.

But that wasn't true, and she also wasn't sure about that. At least, she wasn't sure how Bell felt about it.

...Especially with Freya now.

But Hephaestus wasn't asking about that anyway. Instead...

"...I don't know. And he doesn't really know either."

That was the truth.

Hephaestus frowned. "...Is he human?"

Hestia frowned as well and tilted her head. "I... think so...?"

Bell certainly implied that he was human. He certainly looked human. Not only that, but when Hestia met Bell, he was definitely a normal human boy. It was only after he received her Falna that he started to change.

"...Yes." Hestia nodded and said, "I'm sure he's human."

"Then how do you-"

"Mommy! Look!" Pyrrha walked over and held out a shining copper dagger. "I made a pointy stick too! See?"

Hephaestus gave Pyrrha a strained smile and said, "That's wonderful, Dear."

"Here!" She placed it in front of Hephaestus and said, "You can have it! I'm going to make more!" After saying that, Pyrrha ran back into the corner of the room and sat down, carefully staring at the other pieces that Hephaestus made.

Hestia watched Pyrrha and then smiled. Looking back at Hephaestus, she said, "Your daughter's cute, Faefae. She takes after you a lot, you know?"

Hephaestus let out a deep sigh. "And that's the problem, Hestia." She pursed her lips and said, "You're fine because you have a small Familia. But me?" She waved her hand around and said, "What am I going to do? All of Orario will know if I go anywhere with her. Not only that, what am I going to say to my children?"

"Um... The heavens blessed you with a miracle?"

Hephaestus slammed her hand on the table.

Hestia flinched.

Hephaestus was mad. Seriously mad. Something completely out of character since she was usually so serene and composed.

"M-Mommy?" Pyrrha's scared voice echoed from the corner of the room.

Seeing that, Hephaestus flinched and took a deep breath. After that, she smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Dear. Keep playing."

"...Okay." A soft mumble. Pyrrha went back to looking at the weapons that Hephaestus made. But she also kept glancing back at Hephaestus and Hestia, worry clear in her innocent eyes.

Hestia gave Pyrrha a reassuring smile and said, "It's fine, Pyrrha. Your mommy's just a little excited."

Pyrrha pursed her lips, just like Hephaestus did earlier. But then she slowly nodded and went back to examining the weapons.

Hephaestus leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, frowning.

Hestia didn't say anything, waiting for Hephaestus to speak. But as the silence stretched on, Hestia spoke up.

"Is it that bad, Faefae?"

Hephaestus let out a deep sigh and ran her hand through her hair. "No." She glanced back at Pyrrha and smiled as she saw the girl expertly trace out the edge of a sword and check its balance. "Like you said, it's a miracle. But." She turned back to Hestia with a stern gaze. "There are consequences for that miracle. Consequences you're prepared to bear, but I'm not." She held out her hand and started ticking things off. "Education, supervision, meals... You're free to provide all of that to your daughter. But I can't."

Oh.

That was true.

Hephaestus was already busy enough with her Familia business and the children she accepted into her Familia. Adding a true child on top of that...

"But Welf can-"

"He can't."

Before Hestia could even start making an excuse, she was cut off.

Hephaestus shook her head and said, "He might be a blacksmith, but he's already become entwined with your Bell. It's inevitable for him to go into the Dungeon. And when he does, he won't be able to watch Pyrrha."

Hestia paused.

Hephaestus blinked and then said, "What? Don't tell me you're going to say that I let Welf take Pyrrha with him into the dungeon."

"Well..."

It was something that Hestia had been thinking about lately.

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Like Hephaestus said, there was the issue of supervision. It was fine for Hestia when she or Bell was free. But what about when they weren't?

Right now, it was okay. Hestia was just working a simple job selling jagamarukuns and Fina could come help her. Not only that, but Bell was only traveling in the first few floors of the Dungeon, so he could come back every day.

But what about later? When Bell dove deeper and deeper and took longer to come home?

Hestia wanted to keep Fina with her, but she knew that her daughter would miss Bell too. Not only that... but her daughter was strong. Her abilities and her skills... Hestia didn't know exactly what they did, but she knew that Fina could use an ability similar to the flames that Hestia had as Vesta. A fragment of the purifying eternal flame. Not only that, but whatever wound she was dealt, Fina could heal from in an instant.

Fina was still young. But she was strong. And in the years to come, if she took after Bell even a little, Hestia didn't doubt that her baby girl would go follow in Bell's footsteps to try and help the family by being an adventurer.

Even if Hestia didn't want her to.

So Hestia was thinking about it. In order to make sure her Sweetie knew everything involved with being an adventurer and wouldn't charge in blindly later...

Hephaestus shook her head. "I won't say anything about you and your family, Hestia, but I won't let my daughter go to such a dangerous place. Not when I've already lost so many children to the Dungeon."

Hestia was quiet. What could she say to that?

Hephaestus was quiet as well.

But at that time, Pyrrha walked up to tug on Hephaestus's shirt. "Mommy?"

Hephaestus blinked and looked down at her before smiling. "Yes, Dear?"

"Are you worried that I'm going to get hurt?" She tilted her head and said, "Is that why you don't want me to go with Daddy into the dungeon?"

Hephaestus nodded. "That's right." She placed a hand on Pyrrha's head and said, "It's easy for a little girl like you to get hurt or- Or worse in the Dungeon, so-"

"But I don't get hurt?"

Hephaestus blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I don't get hurt." Pyrrha reached out to grab the dagger she left on Hephaestus's desk. And then she slammed it into her hand.

"PYRRHA!" Hephaestus jumped out of her chair, her eyes wide with panic.

Hestia jumped a bit too, surprised at Pyrrha's actions. But she wasn't surprised at what happened next.

Pyrrha held up her unblemished hand and the crumpled copper dagger. "See?" She raised her head up high and said, "Daddy made me unbreakable! Oh! And I can make pretty things just like Mommy!"

As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Pyrrha held out her hand and wrinkled her brow, staring into space. And then, from thin air, flowing metal emerged before turning into a sword. One just like the sword hanging on the wall behind Hephaestus. "See?"

Hephaestus paused and slowly turned around to stare at the sword hanging on her wall. Then she turned back to look at the sword Pyrrha was holding. Then she turned to look at Hestia.

Hestia shrugged. "Well... That's one less worry, right Faefae?"

"...You are *so* lucky that you're my friend, Tia. Otherwise I'd blacklist you and your Familia until the end of time."

"Ehehe...?"

Hephaestus let out a deep sigh and then said, "Tell Freya we need to chat. All three of us, before Ganesha's party."

Hestia blinked. "But how am I-"

"Figure it out. You owe me that much at least."

"Grk. ...Fine. I'll... figure it out. Somehow."

xxx

"Is something wrong, Uncle Welf?"

Welf was quiet, silently folding a glowing sheet of metal in half before hammering it down flat again.

Fina tilted her head and said, "Are you worried about Auntie Heffy?"

Welf flinched, causing the metal to fall on the ground. "T-That's-"

Fina picked it up and placed it back on the anvil. "Be careful, Uncle Welf! You said it yourself, remember? You have to pay extra close attention around hot metals!"

Welf sighed. "Right. Just... Man."

Something he never thought would happen.

A child. A daughter. His.

Cute and adorable. Not only that, but one who looked just like the daughter of the goddess he admired. More than that, one who *was* the daughter of the goddess he admired.

A miracle.

Welf didn't know how it happened... But it seemed like Bell had been right. Playing around with using his blood as a catalyst and forging something with all of his emotions made something ridiculous.

A child. A daughter. *His* daughter. And not only his daughter, but one who was clearly Hephaestus's as well.

Except, she was troubled.

But of course.

Welf wasn't like Bell. At best, he was an apprentice to Hephaestus. At worst, he was an arrogant parasite who didn't know how to be grateful and humble until recently.

Having a daughter with someone like that...

No. It was his responsibility.

So...

"Are you thinking in your head, Uncle Welf? Oh! Did Daddy teach you to do that?"

Welf blinked and then laughed, realizing that Fina was right. He reached out to pat her head and said, "Yeah. I think your Dad's rubbed off on me more than I thought."

Fina smiled and said, "Of course! Daddy's the bestest!"

Welf laughed again and said, "Yep. Your Dad's definitely the bestest."

The best example of how to take responsibility.

...Not quite the best example of normal, but a good model of what to strive for in terms of other things at least.

And among those other things...

Welf glanced at Fina and said, "Hey, Fina."

"Yes?"

"...Do you think you can make me a little bit of-" He paused and then shook his head. "No. Never mind."

Fina tilted her head. "Uncle Welf?"

Welf walked over to his chest filled with raw ore.

Right. Like Bell, he had to take responsibility. Even if Hephaestus turned him down, he had to try. If not for his sake, then for the girl he brought into this world unawares.

And if Hephaestus turned him down... He'd just have to work harder.

So that his adorable daughter would be acknowledged by her mother. So that no one could say he wasn't qualified to stand beside either his daughter or her mother. So that no one would see his daughter as something that tarnished Hephaestus's name.

A clump of gold ore.

Pyrrha was a miracle. Something that was born through a combination of his emotions and Hephaestus's divinity when she tried to use the magic sword he created in her image.

But it wasn't something he made.

Like Bell said, it would take either a divine miracle or skills reaching the divine.

He didn't have the latter, so it was the first.

But.

In order to stand beside Hephaestus. In order for Pyrrha to be able to show up in public with her mother...

Welf set the ore down on the anvil and held out his hand.

"Ooh!" Fina smiled and said, "Are you going to use magic fire to make something?"

"...I'm going to use everything. So you should stand back, Fina."

Right.

Everything.

It was impossible for human hands to reach the level of the divine. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't match up to someone who had the Skill in their Falna that enhanced their abilities.

Ordinary people couldn't be adventurers because of that fundamental difference...

...And adventurers couldn't reach the level of the gods.

They could become heroes that the gods respected. They could accomplish great feats that would be recorded as myths and stories.

But a human couldn't reach the level of the gods. If they could, then the gods would never have come down to the world to begin with.

That was reality. The logic that Welf and everyone in this world knew.

Everyone except Bell.

Right.

Because to that guy. To the crazy bastard that called Welf his brother. To the one who treated adventuring as a routine job and remained calm even in a hellish scenario of being mobbed by hundreds of monsters, nothing was impossible.

So Welf could do it.

Just once. If he squeezed everything out, he could prove it. Create something that no one could deny.

Not a masterpiece. Not a magnum opus. No, that wasn't enough.

The impossible.

A divine miracle.

Something beyond what his blood could make. Something beyond what a Master Smith could make. More than even the best smith in all of the Hephaestus Familia.

'Yeah right. You think someone like you can do it? A selfish bastard who got her own goddess sent back into heaven just because you didn't want to make magic swords?'

Welf hesitated.

...That was true. If he just accepted his ability back then, Goddess Phobos would still be here. She would never have had to sacrifice herself.

But.

'Seems like you're aiming as big as me, huh?'

Another voice echoed in Welf's mind, erasing his inner doubts.

Bell's.

The moment he heard it, Welf heard another sound.

A solemn bell, tolling in his mind.

And with that bell, a chant. Different from the one he usually used, but similar.

"Burn in, false works."

Crimson flames spread out, wreathing the gold ore.

"Wow! I didn't know Uncle Welf was like Mister Fire!"

A voice filled with childish wonder.

Welf ignored it and focused in front of him.

It was possible. Even if it was a lie, he'd make it possible. Judging the concept of creation, hypothesizing the basic structure...

Even if reality didn't accept it. Even if it only existed in his mind's eye...

Welf grabbed his hammer and then swung it down at the molten gold.

It should have splattered. You couldn't work gold when it was melted down into liquid.

But it didn't.

Lies that became the truth. Dreams that became reality. Skills he didn't have, borrowed for just this moment.

And as Welf continued to hammer, he started muttering words under his breath.

"This body is made of..."

xxx

I cut down a stray kobold running at me with a stone sword before switching to a spear and stabbing through the heart of another. After that, I frowned and looked back towards Orario. "...Why do I feel like I did something wrong?"

I was in a small forest by some nameless village where the kobolds had taken residence. And up until now, things were going swell.

I got to test out new fighting styles, experiment with a stored momentum strategy that reminded me of a certain Devil Hunter who wouldn't cry, and also relax a bit fighting without being afraid that the Dungeon would throw something insane at me.

So it was great.

And then something felt off.

It wasn't anything tangible. Well, there was a shiver running down my spine, but I didn't feel or see anything that would cause that. No weird god staring at me or malevolent energy like in the dungeon.

"Hm..." I frowned and muttered, "Did I raise a flag somewhere?"

I didn't remember doing anything wrong recently... Unless it was that poem?

I frowned and then started harvesting magic stones from the kobold corpses.

They were smaller than the ones in the dungeon... and the corpses didn't disappear when I plucked the magic stones out. But I expected that. Surface monsters were weird.

...Or maybe I should say that the Dungeon monsters were weird? Having the corpses linger around was definitely more normal.

Although there was the problem about disposal-

Wait.

I stared at the corpses and tentatively stuck them in my inventory. After that, I tapped on crafting, and then...

"Huh."

I stared at the pile of stone slabs stacked in my inventory and said, "Weird, but convenient. I guess all matter gets transmuted according to my skill level no matter what it is? Is that because energy conservation is a thing and the inventory is a closed system, letting me do lossless conversion?"

Nothing but more questions the more I used my abilities. And questions about who 'I' really was.

I mean, I definitely was reincarnated here somehow. But I was starting to get the sense that it wasn't me causing all these crazy shenanigans... At least, not completely.

"Bell Kranel... Just who exactly were your parents? And your grandpa?"

No response. Then again, I wasn't expecting one.

I shrugged and then started heading off towards my next location. "Let's see... Gotta pick up some herbs. Good thing I read those encyclopedias... Aaand I need to break this habit of talking out loud."

xxx

She stared at the young man venturing deeper into the forest.

He was different. Those eyes were the same as that bastard she hated. But the face and the hair color...

She wasn't sure.

There were many things that she wasn't sure of.

Was he or was he not? Was it a coincidence? Did 'her' wish cause her to come back to watch over him since 'she' couldn't?

Was she even still the same now that she was like this?

...She didn't know. But she did know that she *had* to know.

So she followed.

Erasing the 'noise' she sank into the shadows and followed him.

...So that she wouldn't regret it this time.

xxx

Freya's room in Babel, overlooking Orario.

She hummed to herself as she stared into a glistening crystal vial. "It's a bit much... but better too much than too little, right?"

Blood, mana, and all sorts of other 'essences' that Freya could scrounge up from her.

There were more that she had stored away, but she figured that she would bring those dirtier 'essences' only if Bell thought this wasn't enough.

"Ooh, I just can't wait to see it." Freya let out a sigh and then flopped onto her chair, staring at the ceiling. "What should the name be? Obviously, I should use his name in part, so... Bella? No, too simple. My daughter's name should have a bit more flare... Bella... Bellis... Beleth? No, using a demon's name is too much... Then... Since it's like a wish come true, Bellatrix? Stars, but with Bell's name in it-"

"You seem pretty excited."

A heroic and masculine voice.

Freya paused and then looked over at the person who spoke to her.

A tall man wearing a full body suit of black armor, matched with a dark red cape.

Freya slowly sat up, elegantly smoothing her dress. After that, she smiled and said, "I am. It's a first for me, you know?"

"Should I be jealous?" The man laughed and said, "You kept me as your private trophy all this time and now I'm being neglected."

Freya's smile widened and she said, "Of course not. You're a 'trophy' and not a 'toy.' You were never meant to be played with."

"True." He rolled his shoulders and said, "So I should just continue standing here gathering dust like a trophy, huh?"

Freya tilted her head. "You're saying that after you so fearlessly snuck out a while ago without your helmet?"

"It's been over seven years. In any case, I never took my helmet off back then. ...And I wanted to pay my respects." The armored man paused and then tilted his head. "Though I have to say, it was a first time that I had a jagamarukun I enjoyed. But I suppose it was also the first time I met a goddess's child."

"Mm... Well it won't be the last if I have my way." Freya stood up and carefully stored the crystal vial away. After that, she looked at the armored man and said, "Now be a good trophy and stay there until Ottar gets back. You two can go discuss about raising more heroes later."

"As you say, Lady Freya."

With that, the armored man walked back into the corner of the room and went still, as if his soul left his body.

At the same time, a small crystal cage sitting on a shelf lit up, glowing a mix of gray and dark brown.

Freya watched it and hummed. "The Sage made so many interesting trinkets..." She paused and said, "Should I give some to Bell? It's not fair to receive such a lovely gift without giving anything in return. And he clearly doesn't value what a 'hero' would... The only beauty in his eyes is cute Hestia. Hm..."

Bell was the sort of man who appreciated useful items more than trinkets. Then...

"I should ask Hestia if he has magic yet. There's no point leaving my grimoires to gather dust when my Bell can put them to better use."