Author's Note: Here's a new chapter, I hope you like it.
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Story Arc: Welcome to Labyrinth City Orario
Episode 2: Is it wrong to get attention? (III)
Chapter 7: A headache for Eina
Plot: Hestia's Clan finally arrives at the Guild, after a bizarre discussion, they manage to meet the half-elf girl, Eina Tulle.
XXX
POV Narratore
The Hestia Clan composed of Bruce (Bruce's Familiar Vrita), Mash, Tamamo-no-Mae, Karna, Bell and Hestia have just entered the Guild building.
The place, as always, is filled with a large number of people belonging to all the typical races you can find in fantasy video games, dressed in every way imaginable from armored warriors to exhibitionist women armed with knives.
Many guild employees, who wore similar clothing to the gentleman at the check-in gate, are stationed at a large reception station, with a couple of lines filling halfway.
The other half of the enormous desk is separated by a clear glass window reinforced by metal bars.
A pair of trays, one small and one large, are installed at a small opening near the window to allow the worker to communicate with the adventurers.
Two lines formed this side, the place where the exchange takes place where adventurers earn money in exchange for the gems of defeated monsters.
The Hestia Clan, not seeing Elna, the elf girl who takes care of Bell, decided to stand near a wall and wait.
"I feel like I've stepped into a video game or one of Luz's fantasy books." Mash murmurs, impressed by the guild hall and the large number of adventurers.
Last night Mash couldn't look closely at the Guild and the Adventurers, now she can look at it carefully and admire all the details.
Even though the Maiden Knight has been to many unique places thanks to her work in Chaldea and her second job as Senpai's assistant, she can still be speechless.
"Shield, you are a girl who is too easily impressed." Bruce comments, not sharing Mash's wonder.
Seeing an administrative building full of bureaucrats and adventurers is something of little consequence to the Last Master of Chaldea.
After all, the Guild and the Adventurers cannot be compared to Chaldea and the Servants.
This is without counting other strange and exotic places where Bruce has set foot during his many adventures.
Bruce would rather pet the head of his "pet" than watch how the adventurers come and go.
"Saver, aren't you impressed?
The first time I entered the Guild I was speechless." Bell said, remembering well how a few weeks ago he was left speechless in front of this scene.
Although it was probably due to his first sight of an Amazoness.
"Bunny-Boy, my crazy and bizarre life has allowed me to see too many fantasy-style places.
This place is boring compared to the Ars Magus Academy in the Boiling Isles." Bruce said, showing a little homesickness, while Vritra nods.
"Personally I would have liked to end up somewhere with a Cyberpunk or Solarpunk theme." Bruce said, having hoped to spend his sabbatical somewhere more like Metal Gear or Deus Ex, two video game franchises he likes.
"What do those words you two mentioned earlier mean: video games?, Cyberpunk?, Solarpunk?" Hestia questions, not knowing the meaning of the exotic words Mash and Bruce use.
" Goshujin-Sama, once we're done with the paperwork and the rest of the chores, we should get busy filling in the gaps of our new friends." Tamamo-no-Mae said, sure that Hestia and Bell will need several lessons to understand what modern science and technology is.
" Shielder, you are an intelligent girl who often has 90% of your life surrounded by science and advanced magic, I leave it to you to educate Bell on basic matters such as mathematics, geometry, science, physics and biology." Bruce said, turning to his female assistant with the large shield.
The Last Master of Chaldea does not want to play the role of an elementary school teacher for Bell and certainly for Hestia too.
The Maiden Knight blushes at the compliment, loving to feel that her Senpai thinks highly of her, especially when it concerns her intellect.
Mash never says it, but she prefers to be complimented on her brains, after all there are plenty of other beautiful women in Chaldea and her strength is mainly due to Galahad.
" Lancer of Red, you are one of the best warriors I have ever faced and known in my life.
I want you to train Bell to use the sword, shield, spear, bow, riding a horse, driving a war chariot and hand-to-hand combat." Bruce said, turning to his favorite Servant Lancer, passing him the task of teaching Bell the basics of the Warrior's Way.
"It will be done as you wish, Master." Klarna said, in an indifferent voice, turning her attention to Bell, examining him for a moment.
Under Karna's gaze, the young adventurer felt small and insignificant.
'How strong is Karna? He's just looking at me and it makes my legs shake.' Bell thinks, feeling like he's back in the Dungeon and about to meet the Minotaur again.
"Tomorrow we will have a short fight to see what level you are at and what your natural gifts are, then we will see what we can do to improve you." Karna said, before returning to silence.
But Bell's legs continued to tremble, Karna's gaze was enough to ruin an ordinary person.
Vitra's expression went from lazy bored to lazy amused.
" Don't worry, Bell. Lancer of Red can literally kill with a glance, but is able to hold back and avoid inflicting serious wounds.
At most, at the end of the training, you will be dead tired, covered in bruises and cuts, perhaps a broken bone.
But nothing a good night's rest can't fix, I speak from my own experience." Mash said, in an encouraging tone, trying to calm Bell down.
The young adventurer became slightly paler.
Mash who surely spent too much time next to exceptional people, anomalies, unique cases and Servants, probably forgot that normal people do not miraculously recover after a nap.
' Apparently Mash shares the unusual attitude like the Bruce, Karna, Tamamo-no-Mae.
I wonder what kind of strange place Chaldea or Earth-2126 is?' Hestia thinks, slightly worried to discover that Mash, the most normal woman in her Family, isn't as down to earth as she seems.
"Goshujin-Sama, if Shielder takes care of Bell's education and Lancer of Red takes care of Bell's training, then what should I do?" She asks Tamamo-no-Mae, wrapping her arms around Bruce's left arm.
Vritra wisely decides to shift her body to the right sword, not wanting to be crushed between Tamamo-no-Mae and Bruce.
"You will wear a cute secretary outfit and help me take care of future business.
I will need a trustworthy and capable woman to build a stable base of power in the city's economy." Bruce said, already having a role in mind for Tamamo-no-Mae.
A smile of pure happiness appeared on Tamamo-no-Mae's lips and her tail immediately begins wagging as if she were a dog.
"I would have preferred to be the beautiful young bride who takes care of the house and awaits the return of her dear overworked husband, ready to make him forget his troubles and take care of his needs." Tamamo-no-Mae said, resting her head on Bruce's shoulder.
"But being the trusted secretary in a sexy dress standing next to her Goshujin-Sama in a small, intimate room doesn't sound bad." Tamamo-no-Mae said with a seductive smile, having thoughts in mind that are not related to paperwork in the slightest.
" Caster, my future office will not be used as a place for you to vent your sexual urges.
The office is for completing business that requires silence and concentration." Bruce said in a stoic voice, not wanting to use his work space as a love nest.
Tamamo-no-Mae's smile disappeared, replaced by a small frown.
Strangely, Mash's mood has become brighter.
'Why did my Goshujin-Sama have to be a distorted, workaholic man with several problematic impulses?' The fox girl thinks, reflecting on her husband's many faults.
"But, I'm in favor of buying you a tailor-made secretary dress, it would definitely look great on you, maybe I can buy you a brooch and some earrings." Bruce said, in a tone of voice that held a rare dose of enthusiasm.
' Aniki gets excited about the strangest things. She should focus on more important things like food, relaxation, sleep and fun. Thinks Vritra, having an attitude more in tune with the famous Garfield, than with a powerful magical creature.
" Bearing in mind that you are not the only woman with animal ears and tails in the city we can find clothes made specifically for your physiology and the presence of different races and cultures offers a varied range of clothes." Bruce murmurs, placing a hand under his chin, pondering the possibilities of the Orario City market.
Bruce's inhuman brain which is normally filled with science projects, runic compositions, murder cases, and other strange things, has partially filled with images of Tamamo-no-Mae dressed in hundreds of different clothes.
"Foxy, we two absolutely have to visit the local clothes shops, jewelers and perfume shops later." Bruce said in a serious voice, as if it were something extremely important.
The Last Master of Chaldea is a complicated person, but he has his own way of enjoying the company of Tamamo-no-Mae and the other girls.
Sometimes this manifests itself in taking the girls to places he finds interesting, such as gruesome crime scenes or ancient ruins full of secrets.
Other times, Bruce becomes obsessed with finding the prettiest dress possible and the best jewelers to highlight the girls' beauty.
"Every now and then, your fickleness comes in handy." The fox girl said, smiling at the idea of spending a lot of time with her Goshujin-Sama through the shops of the city.
On a minor note, Mash's good mood has darkened a little.
"Mash, is it possible that wearing that armor all this time in the sun cooked Bruce's brain?" Hestia asks softly, surprised that Bruce wants to spend a fortune on clothes, jewelry and other stuff.
'You can't ruin something that's already broken.' Vritra thinks, sure that the other half of her is mentally compromised from the start.
In Vritra's opinion only a madman would choose to spend his sabbatical exploring a dungeon and playing Clan Chief.
"This is a rather normal attitude for our Master." Karna responds, having seen a similar scene a hundred times, but with varying degrees of intensity and with different women.
"I feel like I'll say this phrase many times in the future: Mash, can you explain to me what's going on?" Hestia asks, sure that she will use this phrase often.
" Senpai likes to buy cute clothes, shiny jewelry, other accessories and have the girls around him wear them." Mash replies with a small blush, not going into detail.
"So Saver is a man who likes to spoil girls?" Bell asks, writing down this information, maybe it could be useful to them.
Before Mash or Karna could continue speaking…
" Bunny-Boy, your counselor finally showed up, run and get her." Bruce said in a monotone voice, returning to his usual self, pointing to a certain elf girl.
"Miss Eina!" Bell shouts, starting to run towards one of the booths where the Elf girl is.
"More than a rabbit it seems like a dog returning to its owner." Tamamo-no-Mae comments, seeing how Bell runs towards Eina.
"Bell never told me that Eina is a beautiful, young elven woman." Hestia said in a threatening tone, immediately viewing Eina as a threat to her romance.
' Hestia and Tamamo-no-Mae will definitely get along.' Mash thinks, seeing that the two women have similar personalities, at least when it comes to love.
Saver, Shielder, Caster, Lancer of Red and Hestia went after the young adventurer, to be able to talk to Eina and do the paperwork, while Hestia wants to meet her possible rival.
"Good morning Miss Eina!" Bell said, cheerfully waving at his counselor.
"Good morning Bell." Eina said, with a small smile, returning the young adventurer's greeting.
"Good morning to you too Saver and Shielder. I assume you two are here to officially register as adventurers." Eina said, expecting to see the pair dressed in black armor.
"I see you only brought one of your pets today." Eina said, seeing no sign of the little creature named Fou.
Besides the lack of Mash's pet; Eina noticed the presence of three unknown people standing behind Saver and Shielder.
"I'm sorry, Sir, Lady Renard and Lady Goddess, but I am about to carry out a demanding job for the Familia Hestia, if you wait a minute, one of my colleagues will take care of you." Eina said in a polite and professional voice.
Eina believes that the three strangers are adventurers and a goddess who are about to seek advice or make a request through the Guild.
"Miss Eina, you are my Goddess and the two of them are other new members of my Family who want to register." Bell said, sounding slightly embarrassed.
Eina blinked in surprise, in less than 24 hours, the Familia Hestia went from a single member to five.
Each of the new members seems like experienced, well-equipped, attractive adventurers, the kind of people you find in the successful Familie and not in the poor or small Familie.
" How did it happen?" Eina asks, still quite incredulous about the Familia Hestia situation.
" I've been lucky?" Bell replies, sure that good luck plays an important role in the recruitment of Saver, Shielder, Caster and Lancer of Red.
If Bell had been unlucky he would have been killed by the Minotaur last night.
Instead, Bell was saved by two heroes from another world who decided by pure chance to stay in Orario and accept the invitation to join the Familia Hestia.
The greatest stroke of luck, Saver can call upon Legendary Heroes of his world to increase the number of Hestia Family Members
"Four new members in one day in a small Family, I have never heard something like this." Eina said, needing a moment to process the information.
Caster took a step forward and grabbed onto her Goshujin-Sama's arm again.
"It is not normal for a good wife to stand by her husband." Tamamo-no-Mae said, introducing herself as Bruce's wife.
"Oh? Wife? Are you and Saver married?" Eina murmurs, surprised by this information.
Eina thought that Saver was engaged to Mash due to how close they are, but in reality he is married to another woman.
" No Yes !" Mash and Tamamo-no-Mae simultaneously exclaim, then glance at each other.
"Caster is the second or third woman to call herself my wife. We are not legally or religiously married." Bruce said in an indifferent and bored voice, as if she had already talked about this topic many times before.
'Self-proclaimed second wife? How many women introduced themselves as Saver's wife?' Eina, Bell and Hestia thought more or less.
" Lancer of Red... would that be?" Eina asks, hoping not to hear another unusual response.
"I am but a Servant answering his Master's call." Karna replies, with simple and precise words.
"Because my shield and my spear must be the worst liars in history." Bruce mutters, not too happy that Karna has introduced himself as his servant.
"Sorry, Master, I've gotten too used to the Clock Tower environment." Karna said, apologizing for his mistake.
"Good morning, Miss Eina, I am Lancer of Red, a subordinate of Saver." Karna said, introducing himself again, this time in a more appropriate manner.
" Better." Bruce comments, appreciating Karna's effort.
"If I may, Saver, are you part of the nobility?" Eina asks, having a hypothesis to explain who Saver is.
Confident and distant attitude towards others, accustomed to giving orders, possessing a certain wealth, exotic pets, high-level armor and weapons, two humans who appear to be elite warriors, and a beautiful Renard woman who keeps him company. ..
"My lineage, my origins, my social position are these private things that I don't want to discuss with a stranger I just met yesterday." Bruce said in a cold voice, not wanting to reveal information to Eina or anyone in the Guild.
Distrust and paranoia towards government is something Bruce has developed over the years.
' Bell I worry about you. Your new Familia members are strange, stranger than normal adventurers.' Eina thinks, keeping her doubts to herself, after all she has no say in the internal affairs of a Familia.
Before Eina could figure out what kind of people just joined Bell's Familia; Hestia decided to make herself seen and heard.
"Today I just came to support my children. But now that I'm here I have something to tell you, Mrs. Tulle!
Bell is mine, only mine!
So you better not try anything with him!" Hestia exclaims, acting more or less like Tamamo-no-Mae, minus the audacity to proclaim herself Bell's wife.
Eina was shocked by this behavior, the same can be said for her work colleagues and the people in the surrounding area.
"And people are staring at us again." Bell mutters, with an embarrassed voice, feeling hundreds of eyes looking at him and judging him.
" Eina, we could borrow a room to conduct our business with the Guild." Mash asks, starting to feel as uncomfortable as Bell.
" Right away." Eina responds, leaving her colleague's place, taking the Familia Hestia to a suitable place.
XXX
In less than a minute, the half-elf girl opens some doors, revealing a small meeting room.
A pair of sofas sitting opposite each other with a coffee table between the two.
A small bookcase in the corner, a large window with metal reinforcements and some plants completed the furnishings of the room.
Simple but effective for private discussions.
"Take a seat, I'll bring you the forms to sign." Eina said, continuing to do her job perfectly.
XXX
Half an hour later, all the new members of the Familia Hestia are finished with the paperwork.
Bruce sits in the middle of a couch with Tamamo-no-Mae sitting on his left, Mash sitting on his right, and Vritra sits on his shoulders like she's some kind of Pokémon.
Karna is found standing near the right side of the couch, while Bell for some reason is on the opposite side.
Hestia sits in a small chair, watching the scene, not needing to complete any paperwork.
' My little Bell looks like a young squire on guard duty.
Bruce looks like an important person, sitting like that with documents in hand and everyone surrounding him as if they were his guards.' The little Goddess thinks, sure that her Familia had become more fantastic, just by learning to position herself like this.
Clan Captain Hestia has finished reviewing and correcting his and Shielder, Caster, and Lancer of Red's modules.
Within seconds, Eina received the completed forms, following the procedure she examined them for precautions, a process that lasted a couple of minutes.
" Overlooking the lack of Real Names or country of origin, which are not mandatory to write. The forms are complete and will be placed in our archive." Eina said, placing the forms in a yellow folder to make moving the papers easier.
"Officially you four are Adventurers." Eina said in a dejected voice, as if she had just done something bad.
"Here's a personal request from me, please don't go on an adventure." Eina said, looking towards the group of Familia Hestia adventurers.
The half-elf girl's words shocked everyone present, except Bell, who had already heard this phrase at the beginning of his education under Eina.
"I think I heard it wrong, instead of asking for something like keeping an eye on Bell, I heard a ridiculous and contradictory request." Bruce said, in a stoic voice, keeping his eyes on Eina.
"What do you mean an adventurer doesn't have to go on adventures?" Mash asks, in a gentle tone, trying to understand the meaning of Eina's words.
"Being an adventurer is a dangerous profession, every time you enter the Dungeon there is the risk of never returning." Eina begins her explanation.
"The risks become greater when an adventurer or group of adventurers decides to go beyond their limits for greater gain or to prove a point.
I don't want anyone to get hurt, that's why I teach all the adventurers I look after to think about their own safety first." Eina finished her explanation on why an adventurer shouldn't go on an adventure.
The first to respond to Eina's words was Karna, the one who is so blunt that he hurts people with his honest words.
" Your desire to prevent a tragedy is touching, but futile, warriors die on the battlefield.
Your words and action cannot change the path they have chosen, you should accept your helplessness and focus on yourself." Karna said, wanting to communicate that Eina should not feel guilty if people never return from the Dungeon, they chose of own will to go there.
Eina remained silent her look seems sadder than before.
"As always, Lancer of Red, you are far too direct and honest." Tamamo-no-Mae murmurs, knowing that Karna and his Goshujin-Sama are men who say things their own way, without worrying about hurting anyone's heart.
"We can leave or we have to hear other things that I personally find obvious and useless to me." Bruce said, not wanting to waste his time.
Taking an inspiration, Eina returns to normal, this girl cannot lose her professionalism because of some crude words.
"I have one last thing to say, then you are free to go out and proceed with your day." Eina said in a calm voice.
"My respect for you has risen slightly, I appreciate the professionalism you are showing." Bruce said, his tone stoic and blunt.
"All you beginners who have recently received your Falna, I recommend staying on the first four floors of the Dungeon.
I understand that three of you have excellent equipment and a certain amount of experience." Eina said, moving her gaze to the very high quality armor of Bruce, Mash and Karna.
"But you five need to be careful and let overconfidence cloud your judgment.
I know that Saver and Shielder managed to kill a minotaur by attacking it from behind, but such a stroke of luck won't happen again.
You must stick together and cooperate as best you can." Eina said, providing sound advice that would be helpful to any new adventuring group.
Too bad, with the exception of Bell, all the others are not normal people and don't really need Eina's advice.
"Miss Eina, you are a kind person, it is no surprise that Bell speaks well of you." Mash said, appreciating Eina's attempt to help them.
' This half-elf girl might be my biggest rival, but she wants to help my Bell, so I'll tolerate her for now.
But only because I doubt that heroes from another world can teach Bell about the Dungeon.' Hestia thinks, remaining to observe the discussion between Eina and her children.
"Okay, I have no high advice for today. You five are free to go! I wish you good luck in your endeavors." Eina said with a warm smile.
"Thank you so much for your help, Miss Eina." Bell said, returning the courtesy.
"We've finished business with the Guild, we need to go to the northern residential district and see if we can find suitable accommodation for all of us, then we'll have dinner out." Bruce said, going over the overall goals for this day.
' In a few hours you will have my love nest for me and Bell!' She mentally exclaims Hestia, fantasizing about how nice it would be to live in a studio apartment with Bell.
"If you're looking for a place to dine, one of my colleagues tells me that the Hostess of Fertility is the best place for adventurers." Eina said, trying to lend Bell's Familia a hand.
Completely unaware that her suggestion would allow a major tavern brawl to take place inside the Hostess of Fertility.
Continues ...
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Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I don't know why, but this story is the most popular in my series, The Chronicles of the Celestial House, probably because Fate X Danmachi is a popular pairing.
Anyway, The Chronicles of the Celestial House, CCH or Earth-2126, for short, consists (currently) of the following stories:
■ Main series/canon:
The Celestial House - The Beginning: The Hero, The Witch and The Owl
The Next House - Boiling Isles: Monsters, Magic and Mysteries
The Calamity House - Amphibia: Saints, Witches, Demons
The Mystery House - Gravity Falls: Titans, Calamity and Twins
The Outcasts House - Mementos: Assassins, Wednesday and Occult Gang
The Miraculous House - Paris: Kwami, Heroic Spirits and Shoggoth
The Eclipse House: King, Witch and Princess
■ Side stories:
The Case of the Black Knight: The King, the Sorceress and Caliburn
The Case of Two Tails: The Sorcerer, Fox and Aliens
The Case of War Loud: Heroes, Neighbors and Apprentices
The Case of Spider-Gang: Seven heroes, Six Hearted and Miles Morales
■ Storie What If...?:
The King of Grail: Servants, Witches and Hestia Familia
The King and the Knights of Chaldea: Route of the Titans
The New King of Heroes: Servant, Master and Deku
The Three Heroes of Chaldea on Earth-Bet: Witch, Hunter, Knight
Master of Kivotos: Angels, Guns and Magic
■ Storie One-shot:
Thirteen Days of Fun: The Occult Detective and the Demon Slayer
A birthday present from Zelretch
Jujutsu Fate: The King in Black and the Great Todo
■ Spin-off Stories:
Fate Zero Owl: Lumity's path
Fate Zero Amp: The path of calamity
Fate CCH: Archive
Arknights CCH: Archive of Extra-Operator