Bell and Haruhime walked away from the Ishtar Familia's red-light district.
Mid-stride, he came to a sudden halt, leaving Haruhime to pause uncertainly behind him.
Without a word, he turned and closed the distance between them.
"Eh? M-Mister?" she asked, her voice laced with bewilderment.
"Someone seems quite eager to meet me. Don't overthink it. Let's go." Bell wrapped an arm around the Renard's waist, scooping her up effortlessly.
His legs coiled.
BOOM!
A shockwave rippled through the street as Bell vanished, transforming into a platinum blur that vaulted over the surrounding rooftops.
His trajectory cut a straight line toward the affluent district, situated directly opposite Loki Familia's Twilight Manor.
The business district. Folkvangr.
Wind roared past them as Bell cleared half of Orario in a matter of moments. Beneath him, Haruhime took in the sights with a newfound, breathless curiosity. She had never experienced such freedom.
To simply watch as the world blurred by, melting into a fluid palette of colors.
Snapping out of her reverie, she looked up at his face.
His eyes remained an abyssal black. Vacant.
Yet... why did that darkness seem just a fraction lighter than before?
They reached Folkvangr in moments.
Surprisingly, the front gates were unguarded. In fact, there was no one present at all. Not a single Freya Familia member could be seen in any direction.
Folkvangr seemed desolate. Abandoned.
Bell was unfazed. He strode through the manor's gates without breaking stride.
The estate was a massive, solemn mansion enclosed by towering walls. It boasted sprawling gardens and dedicated training grounds—ranging from an archery range to a dueling arena, and even a medical ward for injured adventurers.
During his last visit, he had neither time nor energy to take in the details. Now, however, he silently memorized its layout as he walked.
After all, the knowledge would prove useful if he ever needed to break in... or burn it to the ground.
No. Not me. Evilus.
Bell pushed that thought aside. His footsteps echoed to a halt just outside the arena where he had clashed with Hedin. The grounds were pristine now, every scar from their previous battle meticulously patched over.
Instead of walking inside, he set Haruhime down, giving her a moment to steady herself.
He couldn't exactly move at supersonic speeds while carrying a fragile Renard, so he had slowed his pace drastically for her sake. Even so, her legs trembled, and she remained incredibly unsteady on her feet.
"Follow me, and remember... watch quietly." Bell walked forward and pushed open the doors ahead, revealing a familiar room where he'd once torn a piece of Freya's soul out.
What stood out, however... was the terrace garden connected to her room.
It had been decorated exquisitely. A table sat at its very centre, a single candle burning against the night.
Freya sat there, dressed in an elegant nightgown. An adventurer stood behind her.
One glance was enough to reveal her identity.
Heith Velvet. A Level 4.
Bell walked in with measured steps.
Haruhime trailed behind him, like a lost fox venturing into unfamiliar territory.
Freya's eyes had locked onto him the moment he entered.
Heith's gaze had similarly fallen on Haruhime, immediately concluding she was an absolute novice.
Yet what made her breath hitch was not the Renard.
It was Bell Cranel.
The man her Goddess had chosen as her Odr.
He... was something else entirely.
To the untrained eye, his steps seemed perfectly normal.
But to a Level 4 adventurer like her, who had watched dozens of Level 6s fight...
Bell moved with an unnatural rhythm.
His steps landed at perfectly timed intervals, synced with his heartbeat.
Each sounding like an echo of the other.
His steps were his heartbeat. His heartbeat was his steps.
The two oscillated against each other, their intensity mounting with every continuous footfall.
Bell glanced back at her for a moment.
Good insight for a healer.
He then sat opposite Freya, gesturing for Haruhime to mirror Heith and stand behind him.
Freya's gaze had not wavered from him for even a second since he'd entered her sight.
"Do you have any idea how scared I was when you vanished without a trace?" Her voice wavered on just the right syllable. Too perfect. Too Syr.
"Drop the act. Do you take me for a blind man?" Bell's words were as blunt as always with her.
"Ohh~ I was caught... Guess I'll have to practice harder." The concern and pain bled from her tone, replaced by something playful and coquettish. Her hands came up to cup her cheeks as she regarded him with a blank, unblinking stare.
Haruhime took a half-step back, her ears flattening against her head.
"I don't have the time or patience for your games, Freya. Speak. Why did you flood me with your [Charm] at full force earlier? Straight for an hour." Bell tapped a finger against the table.
"I just wanted to have a chat. Is that not allowed?" Freya's answer was so disarming that even he was silenced for an instant.
She took his silence as a cue to continue, speaking over her shoulder to Heith.
"Heith, dear. Take our guest and have her cleaned and dressed properly." Freya gestured toward Haruhime.
"As you command, Goddess." Heith acknowledged with a nod and moved toward the Renard.
Haruhime fidgeted nervously, her eyes darting to Bell instead.
He turned slightly toward her and gave a small nod of acceptance.
And so, Haruhime was led away alongside Heith, leaving only Freya and Bell in silence.
"Say what you want." Bell spoke first this time.
Freya chuckled with satisfaction.
"You know me well, my Odr."
Bell didn't even deign to acknowledge the name.
She continued.
"I have a proposal for you. You want to hunt Hermes? I'll lend you my children for it."
He sensed a but from a mile away.
"But... you'll have to accept a condition of mine. Leave Astraea and join my Familia." She concluded, watching him with barely restrained curiosity.
Bell didn't reply immediately. He let the silence stretch between them.
Then... he was gone. Vanished from where he sat.
Platinum breastplate filled her vision as she pulled back and looked up.
Bell was there, perched on the table's edge just ahead of her, his abyssal black eyes staring down into Freya's violet.
He slowly leaned down, bringing his lips close to her ear.
His voice was a whisper.
"How did you know I was hunting Hermes Familia? Let me guess—spies planted inside that waste Ishtar's Familia?"
Freya whispered back.
"You're so smart, Odr." Her hand rose to wrap around his neck.
"Ishtar's little rats are quite chatty—"
But...
"Did it never occur to you that I let it leak... just so you'd know what I wanted?" His unfeeling whisper froze her hand mid-motion.
"I wanted you to know. To see who stands with me when I go against the sky of Orario."
Bell pulled back from her ear, his voice ringing inside her mind.
"But you've disappointed me, Freya."
His leg, hanging over the side, slowly lifted... his boot coming to rest on the table's surface between them.
"You see unique souls."
"You want them."
He looked down at her. Her expression had shifted to confusion.
"Tell me, Freya...
What are souls?"
...
..
.
***
[300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
[8 chapters ahead on P@tr3on = [email protected]/Not_Aaryan]
...
[Authors Thoughts]
I've got you bros.
...
So... some might be confused by the timing.
First of all... Freya set all of this up before even knowing about Bell hunting Hermes.
Second... She had originally wanted to check on him and his safety after vanishing for 9 days straight.
Third... She had just received news from her spies in Ishtar Familia, and decided to add this on the agenda too.
As for why someone would leak it even after Bell's demonstration? Well you all can blame Freya's charm for that.