chapter 11

"It seemed quite valuable. Do you think it was wise handing it over to him?" Riveria asked Ais.

They were heading to the surface after Ais had faced Udaeus, the monster rex of the 37th floor, and emerged victorious.

Although not unscathed, her clothes and armor were a little worn out, with the right side of her breastplate exposing part of her right breast where the cloth had torn, revealing a small portion.

They were discussing the fate of the drop item from the boss. "It's not like I can use it myself." Ais said, They had handed the item to Bors Elder, the representative of the 18th-floor adventurer town.

As they walked toward the surface, now entering the sixth floor, Riveria said, "After this solo endeavor, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with your next status update," a small smile on her face.

Ais was about to respond when they were both taken aback by the sight of five people lying still.

Some were visibly dead.

"What happened here?" Riveria asked, shocked, what could have happened for these people to fight each others like this?

"Maybe a dispute?" She didn't dwell much on the thought, and quickly moved to the nearest body, a red-haired man, and inspected him for any Fatal wounds.

Ais looked past Riveria to the other bodies. The man in the middle was definitely dead, the blood puddle beneath him and his burnt legs confirming it.

She saw an arm lying there, past it was the white-haired kid she'd saved, along with a dwarf and a pallum—wait. White-haired kid?

Ais moved toward him, wanting to confirm if it was him and, if needed, help him.

She wasn't sure why, but he seemed to hate her.

Approaching closer, Ais looked at the white-haired kid—Bell Cranel, the one she'd saved from the minotaur.

"Ais, let me check him. You check on the dwarf and the pallum," Riveria said as she approached, having finished her inspection on the red-haired man. Ais nodded and moved on to the others.

Riveria eyed Bell Cranel. "Finn seems to be interested in you; no harm in making sure you're not dead," she sighed and checked him for possible injuries.

'No physical injuries. Exhaustion. Mind down,' she concluded. He must have had a fierce battle.

The black-haired human and the dwarf were certainly dead, judging by the amount of blood pooling beneath them—a pity.

"Riveria, the pallum's head is bleeding," Ais calmly called, holding the pallum in her hands.

"Lay her down here; I'll heal her up," Riveria instructed.

A faint green glow of her magic started the healing process on the pallum, mending her injuries.

"She's unconscious, she just need some rest." Riveria confirmed to Ais, who was looking at Cranel with a troubled expression.

"Is something wrong?" Riveria asked, curious.

Ais turned to her. "I think he hates me," she said, gesturing toward Cranel.

Riveria was surprised. "What gives you that impression? Didn't you save him from certain death?" It was true—she had seen how poor of a state he was in.

Ais thought about it for a moment. "I think he wanted to beat all the minotaurs by himself."

So that was it?

Riveria chuckled lightly. "I think you hurt his pride, Ais. He's a man, after all; being saved by a girl must have stung a little."

Ais pondered, then said, "I want to make it up to him," her expression determined.

Riveria looked thoughtful. "I'm not quite sure, but I know a technique I learned from a goddess long ago. She said young men can never stay mad after you use it on them," she added with a small smile.

She continued, "Though it's quite late, I'll wait with you until one of them wakes up so they can carry their companions out."

Ais nodded, resolved to make amends to the white-haired kid.

---

All For One floated in darkness, his senses dulled, surrounded by a stillness he found disturbingly peaceful. No one for All to steal, no world to dominate, only silence.

He hated it.

Then, a familiar voice broke through. "Brother."

All For One's eyes snapped open, the brightness momentarily blinding him. As his vision adjusted, he saw someone he hadn't seen in years: Yoichi. alive—sickly as ever, but very much alive—sitting on a park bench, staring back at him.

He looked around and saw the park they use to go to together.

"Yoichi…" All For One muttered, He'd just collapsed after his recent battle with that dwarf; surely, this had to be a dream.

"Come, sit with me, brother," Yoichi gestured to the spot beside him, smiling as if genuinely happy to see him again.

All For One approached slowly, taking his place on the bench and looking out over the greenery of the park, it was sunny and beautiful, though a little too empty.

They sat in silence until Yoichi spoke. "I heard you made new friends?" he asked fondly.

Friends? That was absurd. "You're mistaken," he denied.

Yoichi's smile faded slightly. "Then I hope you do in the future, brother."

Silence settled between them again until All For One, growing impatient, asked, "What is the meaning of this? You're not real. Why are you here?"

Instead of a direct answer, Yoichi replied, "I'm not sure—you wanted to see me."

Annoying. His own mind was playing tricks on him now. "I should wake up soon," he muttered, casting his eyes back over the park.

After a long pause, Yoichi spoke again, "When you wake up, try making real friends. Subordinates aren't the same, you know?" He chuckled.

All For One was about to start lecturing him on the futility of friends when his vision began to crumble, as though reality itself was tearing apart.

He was waking up.

Looking over at his brother one last time, he saw a sad smile on Yoichi's face.

Before he could say anything, his vision darkened once more.

---

Consciousness returned slowly. All For One blinked, eyes adjusting, and he saw a blurred figure above him. "Yoichi?" he murmured, unsure of who is above him.

Ais looked down at the white-haired boy resting in her lap. Per Riveria's instruction, she hoped this gesture would ease the tension between them. "Sorry, I don't know who Yoichi is," she said softly, brushing her fingers through his white hair, her cheeks slightly flushed.

His senses sharpened with Feral Clarity, and his vision focused on who is this person, only to be met with Ais Wallenstein, of all people.

Why was her right breast slightly exposed? And why is she stroking his hair? And why is he resting in her lap?

Too tired to move, he simply asked, "What are you doing?" his tone utterly flat.

She tilted her head slightly. "Stroking your hair," she replied, as if this were entirely normal.

All For One stared at her, unimpressed. 'Is this girl an airhead?' he thought.

Ais began to feel uneasy. This wasn't the reaction she was told she'll receive.

she glanced toward Riveria, who was covering her mouth to stifle a laugh.

She had been betrayed!

All For One tried to sit up, but Ais gently pushed him back down. "Riveria said you severely overused your Mind. Stay down until you feel better," she said, her tone gentle yet firm.

He was about to argue, but a sharp pain in his head silenced him. He sat in reluctant silence, enduring this humiliating position on Wallenstein's lap.

Finally, he asked, "Why are you here?"

"We found you and your companions unconscious. Riveria healed the pallum and the red-haired one. They're fine but still unconscious. The other two didn't make it," she explained softly, at least getting to the point quickly.

He noticed his surroundings are different, they must have moved us to a safer place.

"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked, her curiosity evident.

He considered his options. He could refuse, but there were no living witnesses to dispute his version.

"We were set up," he said simply, offering no further explanation.

She blinked, then nodded, "You did well."

All For One, too drained to respond, endured the humiliation—remaining in her lap.

Riveria, her amusement now mostly contained, approached. "Are you feeling better? Any headaches?"

"No. May I stand now?" he asked Ais, his patience wearing thin.

Riveria nodded, and Ais allowed him to sit up. He stood slowly, stumbled briefly, but then steadied himself.

"You must have impressive Mind reserves to be able to walk after so much overuse," Riveria noted, impressed.

He nodded and moved toward Welf and Lili, who lay nearby. He lifted Welf by his collar, intending to drag him out to the surface, and put the supporter over his shoulder; the two felt surprisingly lighter, almost like pillows.

he was still too tired to lift them both though.

He'll take little supporter with him to the church, as much as he wanted to break her to pieces, a perfect narrative was established, he's now the hero of this conflict, that'll make getting her trust very much easier, now that he is her "hero"

Ais and Riveria watched him prepare to leave. "Are you going to drag him all the way to the surface?" Riveria asked, a little concerned for Welfs health.

He only nodded in response.

"We could escort you out. You're in no condition to fight, if you are needed to in the way out" Ais offered. Riveria remained silent, she didn't disagree with the offer.

All For One considered her offer, then nodded. "That would be most helpful," he said, following them toward the exit.

"I'll file a report about this incident with the Guild. You should give your testimony tomorrow. An investigation should start soon—those two wore no emblem, and their Falna was locked, so the Guild may know something," Riveria informed him as they walked.

You can lock a Falna? Then why Hestia didn't Lock his? That useless goddess.

"Yes, I'll do that," he replied tiredly. This day had gone on far too long.

The rest of their journey to the surface was quiet.

---

Fortunately, they reached the surface without any issues. He was even able to slowly return Welf's abilities without his escorts noticing.

As they exited the dungeon, the sun had already settled, and the moon was up in the sky.

Then He was immediately greeted by a loud, "Bell!" and then was assaulted by Hestia, who clung to him tightly.

He sighed.

"I thought you were dead if not for my still active blessing in your back! You didn't come Like you usually do, and I was so worried!" Hestia's voice wavered, genuine relief and some tears in her eyes.

"We'll leave you now. Make sure to report to the guild in the morning," Riveria said, excusing herself and Ais as they left, leaving him alone with Hestia, who was still hugging him.

He was too exhausted to deal with any of this. "I'm fine, let's just go home now," he managed, voice rough from fatigue as Hestia's grip held surprisingly firm.

"Ahem," an unfamiliar voice interjected. Looking past Hestia, he noticed a red-haired woman with a serious expression, and behind her stood a brown-skinned girl with black hair.

Oddly enough, both were wearing an eyepatch.

"I think that one is mine," the red-haired woman said, pointing to Welf, who was on the ground, collar still firm on his hand.

He raised an eyebrow. Too tired to think of anything "Your husband?" He asked.

The woman's serious expression broke, a faint blush appearing on her face. The black-haired girl burst out laughing.

"Haha! Oh goddess, that was a good one!" she managed between laughs.

The red-haired woman ignored her companion's laughter, regaining her composure. "N-no, I meant he belongs to my familia. I'm Hephaestus."

So, this was Hephaestus? He wasn't very impressed.

He glanced at the black-haired girl, who was still chuckling, and raised an eyebrow.

"Tsubaki Collbrande, Captain of the familia," she introduced herself, still grinning.

"We were quite worried for our prized boy, we heard he didn't return from his latest dive." She revealed their motives here.

So they had come to retrieve Welf, which meant one less burden for him to carry on his shoulder, Though in Welf's case, on ground.

"Bell Cranel, captain of Hestia Familia, pleased to make your acquaintance," he replied as he approached, dragging Hestia, who had her face buried in his chest.

Hestia was proving to be annoyingly emotional.

Tsubaki reached out, lifting Welf onto her shoulder with ease. Like a sack of potatoes.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, ladies, I'll be taking my leave." With that, he picked Hestia up, and tossed her onto his shoulder.

"O-Oi! Bell! Put me down! I can walk! Please! You're making me look bad in front of my friend!" Hestia whined as he made his way toward the church. Thankfully, it was late enough that no one witnessed the spectacle.

Tsubaki and Hephaestus watched in amusement as Bell carried the unconscious Pallum and Hestia on his shoulders like two sacks of potatoes.

"Weird kid," Tsubaki chuckled.

"Yes, though Hestia is quite fond of him," Hephaestus replied with a smile.

They then turned and headed in the direction of their base. Welf would need proper rest—definitely better than being dragged around then slunged like a sack of potatoes.

---

"Hey, Bell, why are you still holding onto that Pallum? Shouldn't you get her back to her Familia?" Hestia asked, finally back on her own feet after whining enough that he'd put her down. Another headache wasn't something he wanted to deal with right now.

They were nearing the abandoned church when she finally thought to ask.

"I don't know where her Familia is. We'll keep her at the church until she wakes up," he replied, offering a logical answer for the emotional Hestia.

"So you do have a heart?" she said, smiling proudly at him for some reason.

His eye twitched.

They reached the church and quickly made their way to the basement. He set the supporter on the couch, then crossed the room to sit beside Hestia on the bed, letting out a long sigh.

"Are you alright, Bell-kun? What happened in the dungeon?" Hestia asked, her concern evident. She had been worried, seeing him return so late and carrying two others with him.

"We were ambushed by two adventurers. I had to kill them and take their skills," he answered, straight to the point, hoping to keep it short. He wanted her complaints over with so she could just update his Status.

But instead, silence. He looked over to see her eyes glistening, a small smile on her face.

"I'm just glad you're okay, Bell. You don't have to explain yourself this time. If something happened to you… I would have been so lonely," she said softly, her voice trembling slightly.

He only stared at her, unsure of how to respond.

With a sigh, he slowly took off his shirt and lay down on the bed. "Can you update me now?" he asked, his voice heavy with exhaustion.

"Of course!" she replied eagerly, hopping onto his back to start the ritual.

When she finished, she handed him the updated Status with a grin.

His eyes widened. "This… this is unexpected," he murmured, momentarily caught off guard.

---

Bell Cranel, Level 1 Adventurer

Strength: 112 → 224 G

Endurance: 66 → 103 H

Dexterity: 79 → 98 I

Agility: 110 → 153 H

Magic: 70 → 90 I

Skills & Magic:

All For One, Fireball, Feral Clarity, Durak'gor, Raijin

---

"I know, right?!" Hestia said cheerfully. "It's that skill, Durak'gor! It doubles your strength! My Bell-kun is growing so much!" she added proudly.

So that's why the dwarf could have shattered his spine if even one of his hits had landed.

This would be useful, he thought, a subtle smirk crossing his face.

---

The End

---

AN: a light chapter, I was a little tired and dried from ideas after the tenth chapter, had to refresh and do a little research to make the perfect reason for Ais to find all for one.

I forgot sword Oratoria Events and I am yet to reach it from my rewatch of the anime, so for now no Ais perspective.

I hope you readers like the chapter.