Chapter 8

"Belle? Helloooo?" Belle heard someone calling for her.

But she wasn't quite awake enough to tell yet, so she grabbed onto the noise and pulled it under the sheets with her. Her beloved quiet returned. Plus a comforting warmth.

"Mmnh.." Belle moaned in contentment, adjusting her body to fit in with what she pulled into her bed.

A few seconds passed until Belle felt a warm gust of air hit her chest, along with a small wet sensation. Looking inside, she slowly realized. She pulled Nicole in bed with her. No, actually she pulled Nicole in bed with her, while naked. Even going so far as to use her as a hug pillow, burying the girl's face in her decently sized mounds. Belle saw the shocked, atomtic blush Nicole had.

'Ah well. May as well enjoy the moment before she realizes and freaks out. Any second now..~' Belle sighed, content.

...

...

...

*SLURP*

Wait, something wasn't quite right.

"Mnh~" Belle exhaled, taking another peek under the covers.

Nicole, having her face buried in her chest, was breathing quite heavily. And her tongue flicked out of her lips, tasting the light pink nipple she was closest to. Nicole was never usually so bold, but it seemed Belle triggered something in her when she pulled her in bed with her.

Nicole, still believing Belle to be asleep, wrapped her arms around Belle's small waist. Though she seemed hesitant to take it any further, Belle felt her fingers slide up her waist.

Belle was curious to see how far she'd go, so she let Nicole do as she pleased and simply hugged her face into her chest. She felt Nicole's exploratory hands go down until-

"Belle! Nicole! Come on down, there's important news!" Wise yelled from downstairs.

"Ah!" Finally, Nicole made a sound, her body tensing as she looked up to see an awake Belle, looking down at her with a seductive yet teasing smile.

"Was it nice?" Nicole felt like burying her head in the ground from the embarassment.

"Hehe! Sorry about that. I grab anything in my sleep. It was nice to have such a comfortable hug pillow though. Even if this one had wandering hands." Belle smirked and pulled the sheets off, sitting up while Nicole was in her lap.

"I was.. checking your measurements! That's all. You're unexpectedly curvaceous..! Like Anby." Nicole cleared her throat, regaining her confidence pretty quick.

"Well I always wore baggy clothes after all. But Nicole?" Belle grabbed Nicole's thighs and stood up, pinning her back against the wall near her bed.

"Y-Yeah..?" The pinkette stammered.

"Next time, I want a taste." Nicole felt a pleasant tickle near her ear as Belle whispered, before putting her down and beginning to change into her casual outfit.

"Coming, Wise!" Belle called back to her brother, smiling to herself as Nicole tried her best to compose herself once again.

"Wait..! I was here to officially welcome you to Gentle House! You did surprisingly well yesterday and.. um.. yeah! The offer to work part time with us is very much on the table still!" Nicole fought her blush away and went into business mode.

Having an employee she didn't need to house or feed certainly helped make the decision to hire Belle easier. Anby always loved to get burgers and Billy needed lubricant for his joints and guns. Having another Hunter, one who could and would grow in their power, was very tempting.

"Aw you shouldn't have! I'd be glad to work with you part-time, Nicole. A few more commissions and maybe I can get myself properly armed!" Belle replied, carefree. Despite her blatantly changing in front of Nicole, who was taking sneak peeks at her butt and legs.

"Yes.. um... have you thought about what kind of weapon..?" Nicole asked, trying to distract herself, to no avail.

"Swords, mainly. I'm happy to learn martial arts but sword beams and flying slashes!? Sign me up!" Belle exclaimed, finally having gotten dressed.

"We can figure that out later though! Come on, let's see what Wise is excited about." Belle then took Nicole by the hand and led her downstairs, hearing a notification on her phone.

[+15 Affection Points!]

Belle nearly tripped. That was a lot. Though she was flirting and making bold moves on Nicole, this was a little unexpected. Nicole was more affected than she'd ever imagined. Their relationship changed from 'suddenly noticing how attractive she is' to 'they both hold some attraction toward the other'. At least, that was how Belle interpreted it.

In all likeliness, Nicole probably knew she found Belle attractive. She wasn't dense. But it's likely she denies it, if a little. She was a busy woman after all. She didn't have time for fraternization.. right?

"Belle, Nicole. Look." Wise called to them as soon as they stepped in.

The television showed a new dungeon nearby had suddenly appeared. Though there was initial panic, it turned out to be a D rank dungeon. Dangerous to whatever normal person wanders in, but to hunters, this was a treasure trove. There were a few PubSec officers outside the gate, sectioning it off from the public. It was a few blocks away from sixth street.

"Damn it! I have to secure that for the Cunning Hares! Belle, go out there and tell PubSec our Guild will handle this. It's in our territory." Nicole stormed out while grabbing her phone.

"Bring Eous with you, Belle. I want to see a dungeon myself." Wise called out as Belle quickly made her way out of the room.

"Got it!" Belle yelled back, grabbing Eous, who was waiting by the stairs, and leaving the store.

After running for five minutes, Belle finally came upon the gate. And standing there, was officer Zhu Yuan and Qingyi. It was weird, seeing how the two capable officers were put on gate guard duty.

"Officers!" Belle cried out, running over to the two officers, who were dealing with the crowd.

"Miss store manager..?" Zhu Yuan replied with confusion.

"Gentle House will take care of this. The other members are on their way. No one's gone in yet, right?" Belle asked.

"Well.. no. You're with Gentle House..? I wasn't aware you were a Hunter." Zhu Yuan muttered.

"There should be no problem if they're already on the way. It's only a D rank, after all. It's more a nuisance than a real threat. Being in the middle of a busy street.." Qingyi stated, a lot more lax than the stern Zhu Yuan.

"Great! Just give it.. five? Yeah, five minutes. I'm their part timer. Just a porter.. haha.." Belle gave an excuse, in case Zhu Yuan came after her for her lack of a Hunter's license.

"Oh, I see.." That made more sense to Zhu Yuan. Belle didn't really have the look of a Hunter. Though some Hunters appearance was decieving.

"You..-" Zhu Yuan's next words were drowned out by the arrival of Gentle House's arrival via van.

Nicole leapt out of the passenger seat, handing a large duffel bag to Belle.

"We're here! The association agreed to leave the gate to our Guild." Nicole swept her hair to the side and smirked at the two officers.

"Very well. Please, take care." Zhu Yuan nodded seriously, glancing at Belle as she followed Nicole, Anby and Billy inside the Gate.

"Haah.." Qingyi looked up at Zhu Yuan.

"What is it?"

"Nothing.. it's just.. I feel a little worried." Zhu Yuan replied with a small frown.

She hadn't known Belle for very long. But she had certainly taken notice of her. For some reason, she felt just a little protective of the short girl..