Danmachi ( Fanfiction Volume 18 )

Decisions "2"

In Another relatively large mansion , Hestia familia members were enjoying their dinner. They managed to release some of the frustration that they got from canceling the expedition. Still , they were left with nothing to do now until there are more updates from the guild.

On the table everyone except Hestia were present  , Ryu was eating slowly , anyone who glanced at her would realize that she was in deep thoughts , Mikoto and haruhime where exchanging plates , while lilly had her own thoughts about what happened today , welf who was the only male member in the familia for 2 years developed habits to analyze the mood of his comrades , he could almost tell that there is an important discussion going to occur in few moments

He sighed :" I wonder where our deity left this afternoon " he asked ,trying to get the attention of those who weren't in deep thoughts

Haruhime turned to him ;" well Hestia-sama said that she would be spending some time with Hephaistos sama , as for when she would return , she didn't tell " she finished her reply with a tired sigh as her eyes fell back to her plate while her ears dropped down .

" its almost two years huh " Welf spoke again with a mix of grief in his tone , his words brought Lily and Ryu attention back , as they weren't totally ignoring the discussion that occured on the table.

Mikoto had a sad smiled on her face "Hestia-sama spent last year away , I guess she would do the same this year too " , after one year of bell being declared dead , Hestia left the house during that week and only returned after that time passed , the familia members visited the cemetery and left some flowers on the tombstone that had Bell's name . it was almost that time of the year again , the expedition could ve been a chance to raise the morals of the party as they had more things to do about the time that date came again , but after canceling it , they were left with a lot of free time , it was natural that their minds would drift to their fallen comrade again .

Lilly feeling the mood getting sour tried to change the topic :" todays encounter was weird , don't you think ?" she asked flatly not that she wanted any reply because she continued :" the Loki familia members ,they were supposed to be the busiest adventurers alongside ganesha familia now since they had to delay the monsterfilia to gather more monsters , however what we saw today from them was really wierd "

Ryu narrowed her eyes at lilly words :" so you noticed too " she replied

Mikoto didn't understood this coded exchange and kept turning her face between lilly and Ryu asking for an explanation

" I ll explain " lilly said , " those two amazons accomplished a mission just few days ago , yet they have been in the dungeon again so fast .On top of that they didn't had any supporter accompany them so we conclude that they didn't venture that far in the dungeon " while waving a fork in her hand down to the her plate , lilly picked a piece of cheese and ate before continuing.

" which will bring me to the next question , their bodies had clear bruises of a recent fight , I can even assume that they had some ribs broken but that's not a big thing for a first tier adventurer and an amazon on top of that , So " lilly stopped as she ate another piece from her plate , but welf had his eyes wide open from understanding what happened :" what could ve injured 2 Level 6 adventurers while they are not that deep in the dungeon ,I am pretty sure that the goliath and Amphisbaena were subjugated this week that's why we planned our expedition at this timing " welf exclaimed , the idea of two level 6 being injured in Areas where level 2 and level 3 adventurer could roam in easily was truly frightening

" that is true , which means whatever they encountered , it was strong , fairly strong . probably an irregular monster or the one the guild is searching for " Ryu explained then continued

" anyway , it would do us good just talking about this , we have to be careful in our next sorties and watch out for anything suspicious " and with that she stood up taking her plate with her to the kitchen.

While everyone agreed with her words , they returned to their dinner . Lilly had a small grin on her face as she managed to shift their attention even for little from the gloomy atmosphere they were in

**********

In another corner of Orario a certain blond hair god was enjoying a shawarma inside a busy restaurant.Hermes enjoyed as he ate the spicy sandwich while drinking his favorite bear." This is heavenly delicious !" he shouted .Asfi the Ace of his familia watched disgustingly as the guy in front of her made a mess of both himself and table , she was really ashamed

Few hours later , the restaurant was empty save for the couple of deity and female adventurer who were sitting on a messy table , Hermes rested his head on the table as he overdrunk himself.

Soon a white hair old man with white bear came from behind the kitchen " sorry we ve closed now" he said

However Hermes who was faking sleep stood up " well I guess its time for a private chat then ?" he said

The man sighed , then walked to the restaurant gate and closed it , he then brought the two to another clean table

" I have to admit , you sure make really good sandwiches " Hermes admitted

" they are called Shawerma , and thank you for your compliment " the old man spoke

Hermes then reached to his pocket and broght out a folded paper he opened it on the table and the white hair old man eyes narrowed , for a brief moment Asfi felt as air around her became so overbearing as a moment before the lightning strike , however it vanished in an instant as if nothing happened

" what is this about foul god ?" the old man spoke in heavy tone

" your habits never die Zues , i had to threaten some people and bribe others to get this picture , someone in the dungeon was spotted roaming wearing a black cloack with your familia's insignia" Hermes explained ina serious tone

Zues hummed for a while ,he was deep in thought ,he tried to figure out from where this artifact came , all his familia belongings were taken by the guild after their fall , which left only one thing ,an old memory of him and Hera scolding their familia members after they left a part of their artifacts and weapons deep inside the dungeon , they laughed at it that time and said that anyone who reached there would deserve to own them .

He lifted his head back to hermes :" I can relate to the item , it was supposed to be buried on floor 70 , however there hasn't been anyone who reached that place as much as I remember , except if ...." He stopped as a sudden realization hit him , and Hermes caught the same thought and in a unison they both shouted while holding hands 

"He is alive !" "He survived !"

Both deities shouted happily , the idea of bell being alive was undoubtedly strong , it was a hope they both thought they ve lost years ago , however now even if the chances are small they chose to believe that he somehow was still alive

Asfi eyes were wide open , she couldn't believe that first the old man in front of her was the god Zues and second because the fact that the new unknown individual was probably the dead Bell Cranel , a sense of relief hit her mixed with happiness , the long night that she had to endure was really worth it