Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Bellatrix Pov.
After walking while talking to Sera in my head while making fun of her, we finally arrived at the Hostess of Fertility, which honestly sounded more like the name of a brothel than a restaurant, and we finally entered while following a rather imperative Miach.
"Mama Mia! A table for three! " Miach chirped as he approached.
"Oh? Miach-sama? Do you have a guest? " Mia Grand asked as she approached with a plate while looking me up and down. Miach straightened up and raised his chin happily.
"This is my new child, Bellatrix Prince! Today, we are celebrating the arrival of a new member in the family, so please prepare something special! " Miach said with a smile. Mia Grand's eyes widened slightly before she started laughing.
"A new member?! I really didn't expect it! Very well, Miach-sama! I'll prepare the best food! Ryuu! Show Miach-sama and his family to a table! Syr! Stop flirting with your boyfriend and start working! " Mia Grand shouted as she returned to the kitchen.
Sama? Japanese honorifics? I'd noticed this while watching the series, and I really didn't expect them to be translated and retained in this world, but sadly, if they had, it would have been almost disconcerting and annoying. Almost as much as the Gremory girl who insisted on using them despite being from the Underworld.
"Boyfriend!?" a boy's voice squeaked in embarrassment. We all turned around and saw Bell Cranel completely blushing.
"Ah! You're Bell, aren't you? Hestia's child!" Miach exclaimed in recognition.
"Y-yes! It's me, Miach-sama! Do you know my goddess? " Bell asked shyly, Miach smiled softly.
"Yes, Hestia is a good friend," Miach said, completely honest. "Come on, do you want to join us?" Miach asked cheerfully.
"Oh! I couldn't! You said they're celebrating having a new member in the family, I couldn't butt in! "Besides, I just ate! " Bell said in a panic as he pointed at the empty plate next to him.
"Don't worry! The more of us there are, the better! Besides, I've been wanting to meet Hestia's child for a while now. You've been with her for half a month now, and she hasn't even introduced me." Miach said happily, Bell looked conflicted for a few seconds before sighing.
"Of course, Miach-sama." Bell said relentlessly, then turned to Syr.
"Sorry, Syr, could you take my order to Miach's table?" Bell asked with an apologetic smile, but Syr didn't respond. Syr wasn't looking at him; she was looking at me, and I looked back.
I could feel her penetrating gaze, as if she could see inside me… not as if she could, she was, she was seeing into my being, she was seeing into my soul. Then I remembered. Freya. The damn crazy goddess pretended to be Syr in her spare time.
Freya/Syr was staring at me, her eyes wide open. I could see her paling. And I smiled. I hadn't let my defenses down since my talk with Miach, and it didn't matter now. I let Freya/Syr look into my soul.
And I already knew what she was seeing. I was able to absorb souls, devour them, use and manipulate them to replace them when I die. Of course, I knew what my soul looked like, what its shape was.
My soul was pure darkness; it was black tar bubbling with unholy energy, and it didn't glow in any way. On the contrary, it seemed to absorb everything it encountered, despite being only a soul.
A combination of Alucard and Blackbeard's soul and my heritage as a devil. Then I loosened my grip on the captured souls enough for them to float up, so the goddess in front of me could see them.
From my darkness came countless souls trying to escape, screaming, crying, and whimpering in pain and suffering, thousands, dozens, hundreds of thousands of souls, souls of all kinds screamed at the same time, not physically; it was impossible to see and hear for normal people.
But for the meddling goddess looking into my soul? It was like a cacophony of wails screamed at the top of their lungs. Then Freya/Syr's eyes rolled back in her head, and she fell completely limp to the floor as she fainted.
"Syr?!" Bell squealed as he grabbed Syr before she fell. I smiled sadistically as I crushed all the souls inside me once more and raised my defenses, so if Freya/Syr tried to look again, she wouldn't be able to observe them.
"Oh, no!" Miach exclaimed as he also approached Syr.
"Syr!? What happened!? " asked an elf as she approached.
"I don't know! We were just talking and she suddenly fainted! " Bell said in a panic. I mentally scoffed as I watched everything closely. After a few seconds, other waitresses arrived, and even Mia Grand again. Syr was taken to a room in the back after Miach simply stated that she had fainted from exhaustion.
The mood in the store dropped for a few moments before everything returned to its former bustle, and even Miach seemed unconcerned a few minutes later as she looked at Miach.
"So, Bell! How did it go in the dungeon? How has Hestia been these last few days? Is she still working at the Jagamarukun stall? " Miach asked calmly. I blinked for a few seconds. What the hell was a Jagamarukun?
I really should have paid more attention when Sera showed me the series and not gotten lost in my thoughts, but on the other hand… I really couldn't stand Hestia and the protagonist most of the time.
"Oh, good! I've made it to the fifth floor!" Bell said happily.
"Wow, you said you've been here for half a month? That's pretty good growth, even a little above average, but pretty normal all around." Naaza said mockingly while giving me a red-faced look. I just snorted, but didn't say anything. It wasn't my fault the monsters were so weak.
"Yeah! Although Eina-san scolded me for going down to the fifth floor without telling her." Bell said with a pout, Miach burst out laughing.
"Don't worry, I understand that she cares a lot about the adventurers. I'm sure she just wants to take care of you." Miach said happily, and Bell smiled and nodded in response.
"And Goddess- Sama, she's fine! Yes, she still works part-time at the food stand." Bell confirmed happily.
"Sorry for the wait." Ryuu said as she approached and began placing the food in front of us. "Mia-Mama's special, I hope you enjoy it, and congratulations, Miach-sama." Ryuu said without any expression.
" Thanks, Ryuu! " Miach chirped. Ryuu nodded and turned around before starting to walk towards the other tables. I looked at the substantial food served in front of me. I had to admit, it looked much better than I expected for such a… retarded world.
"Very well! Let's toast before we eat! Bellatrix! Welcome to the family! " Miach said happily as he raised his tankard happily.
"Welcome," Naaza said with a small smile as she raised her own mug. I laughed lightly, but played along, raising my mug, and the three of them hit each other in the middle.
"Congratulations!" Bell smiled excitedly as he clapped happily.
"All right, let's eat!" Miach announced. I shook my head, scooped up some food, and put it in my mouth without hesitation.
"It tastes better than I expected," I said, slightly surprised. Naaza snorted.
"What? Do you have chefs who prepare better food back home? " Naaza asked mockingly. "I'm sorry that Orario's food can't satisfy your refined taste buds."
"My wife is the one who cooks, and yes, it's better than this," I said nonchalantly. Naaza rolled her eyes.
"Let me guess, you use magic to cook and make them taste better." Naaza said sarcastically, I smiled widely at her, causing Naaza's eyes to widen slightly before she groaned. "Of course you do." Naaza muttered faintly. I laughed lightly.
"Aaaaaahhh!" Bell exclaimed, drawing our attention. Bell had stood up and pointed his finger at me. "You're the beautiful woman who asked for the guild's location this morning!" Bell said in surprise, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Beautiful woman? Flattery won't get you anywhere, kid. I'm happily married to my wife." I said dryly, I could hear Miach chuckle lightly while Bell blushed deeply.
"I-I didn't mean it that way! My apologies! I didn't know you were married! I hope your wh -wife?! " Bell squealed in surprise, almost shocked. "Can... women marry women?" Bell asked as if the concept was utterly foreign to him.
"Of course we can." I said as if it were obvious, Bell sat still in shock.
"B-but… don't… girls, damsels… marry heroes?" Bell asked, completely stunned. "Wait! Two damsels married, then-" Bell snapped his mouth shut and started blushing deeply. Miach burst out laughing, and even Naaza giggled lightly.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, kid. And for the record, neither I nor my wife are damsels; some would even say we're devils," I said playfully.
"I-I'm so sorry!?" Bell squealed, almost horrified. I snorted slightly. He continued apologizing until it seemed like his brain had been rebooted as I looked at him in bewilderment. "My grandfather lied." Bell muttered in shock.
I snorted lightly. Zeus had raised the boy, hadn't he? So that belief about heroes and women made perfect damn sense. Zeus didn't change in any of the worlds.
"Loki Familia!" The exclamation of one of the diners caught our attention, and we all turned our attention to the door, just as he had announced. Loki and her family entered happily. The Goddess especially seemed to strut around to get attention.
I could hear Bell coming out of his shock, only for him to gasp and stand up; once again, I just ignored him.
"Ah… the Loki family." Miach said as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand. I could hear him speaking to me and Bell. "Loki loves this place, so they come here often, especially when they have a reason to celebrate, like now."
"You said that they were back from a raid on the dungeon." I said distractedly as I looked at all the Loki Family Executives before wrinkling my nose and looking away, that elf, Riveria, if I remembered correctly, and the two dwarves… no, one was a dwarf, the other was a different race, Gareth and Finn, seemed to be the only ones capable of causing any trouble.
Oh no… I remembered how limited the magic of this world was and almost sighed in disappointment. The amount of magic I could sense from Riveria would definitely be in the range of a High-Class Devil.
The other two… maybe, from what I remember, Finn Deimne had some interesting abilities. Ah, Pallum, that was the name of his race.
"They are the Elite of the adventurers, one of the strongest families in Orario, 3 level 6 adventurers, 4 level 5 adventurers, and many other adventurers from level 2 to 4." Naaza continued while looking almost contemptuously at the members of the Loki family. I shrugged.
"Fine!" yelled the werewolf. Or excuse for a werewolf, Enid was way better than that thing. Hey! Ais! Tell them about the other day!" said the slightly drunk werewolf.
"What about the other day?" Ais Wallenstein asked, her voice almost calm but confused. That was the half-spirit girl, right?
"That tomato face! Those minotaurs we let escape on our way back! You took out the last one on the fifth floor, didn't you?" the werewolf asked playfully. "Remember that idiot tomato that was there? The minotaur that got away from us had some useless kid who had just become an adventurer cornered! " Bete laughed happily.
I could see Bell tense up and pale considerably; even Miach and Naaza frowned, the latter in disgust as she glared at the werewolf. I snorted.
"That scene made me laugh out loud as I held my stomach. He was like a rabbit cornered! He was trembling pathetically to the point where even his face was twisting! He shouldn't have become an adventurer if he cries for nothing! It was so pitiful!"
I looked at Bell, who was trembling slightly, and rolled my eyes.
I carefully aimed from under the table, Oscausi, and fired a small Hex in the werewolf's direction. The werewolf seemed about to continue speaking when his mouth disappeared, leaving only skin in its place.
I could see all the Loki Family executives stand up in surprise and look around. I just grabbed the drink and began to sip slowly. Naaza, beside me, had her eyes wide open before looking at me and narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
Did she realize it was me? Clever girl, I smirked, my eyes sparkling with amusement, practically confirming this. Naaza just rolled her eyes, but mocked the werewolf and continued eating.
"Don't worry, Bell, you're just a level 1 adventurer, you'll improve with time, even they weren't strong when they were just starting out." Miach said as he tried to comfort Bell, after all, Miach knew exactly who that werewolf was talking about.
"Ah! Yes! I... you're right." Bell tried to say with a shaky smile. He then timidly looked at the Loki Familia, confused. "But... what happened to the Loki Familia?" Bell asked, it seemed that his earlier embarrassment was forgotten by the bustle and trouble that was brewing in front of them.
"A blessing? His voice was terribly irritating; it almost seemed like the gods were on our side for taking that idiot's mouth away," Naaza said calmly as she ate the rest of her food.
"Naaza." Miach said with a pout. Naaza just rolled her eyes.
"It's not like he's hurt; he just lost his mouth. He can still live just fine, or use a sword and cut a new one." Naaza said with a shrug. I could see Bell paling once again.
"I'm with Naaza, it's definitely an upgrade from that werewolf-thing." I said tersely. Naaza nodded, satisfied. Miach sighed tiredly.
"I have two troubled daughters," Miach lamented.
"Ahem." A voice interrupted us, and we turned to see Riveria standing next to us, with the rest of the Loki Familia behind us. "Excuse me, could you remove your curse from Bete?" Riveria asked, narrowing her eyes.
I smiled slightly. Oh? They weren't as incompetent as I thought… maybe this will be fun after all.
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