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Hello everyone, this is very important. I'd like to know what partner our low-quality Reinhard should have.
The options are these:
Ryuu
Riveria
Ais
Freya
Mikoto
Anything else I haven't mentioned (your suggestions)
I'm going to check the comments on this on the three platforms where I publish this fanfic (Webnovel, Fanfiction and Wattpad)
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The morning sun bathed the streets of Orario in a gentle warmth, just enough to make the shadows of the stalls and buildings stretch lazily across the cobblestones. Bell walked unhurriedly, his spear slung over his shoulder, his expression calm but focused.
As he moved through the crowd, occasionally greeting a merchant or dodging running children, his mind was far from the city.
He remembered the fights of the past few days… the Hellhounds, the Killer Ants, the effort of staying calm under pressure, the need to react quickly. His movements had improved, his reflexes were sharper, and his body felt stronger. But…
"I've taken too many hits," he muttered to himself, recalling the scrapes, minor burns, and cuts he had suffered.
True, he had Hestia, and if necessary, he could return to the surface for treatment, but… what if he was in a critical situation, too far away? Bell looked down at his gear and then at his bag. There wasn't a single potion.
"I need at least one or two just in case… I can't always rely on them to help me," he thought, pressing his lips together in determination. "And if I'm going to keep going down, I need to be prepared."
He made a new decision and changed course. And as he walked, his spear slung over his shoulder and the sound of the city's bustle around him, a single thought swirled in his head:
It's great to be able to move forward, but if I don't survive... what's the point?
With that idea in mind, he began asking passersby.
"Excuse me, do you know of any potion shops nearby?"
An old woman selling apples looked at him kindly.
"Sure, go two blocks north and then turn left. There's a small store… not very flashy, but they sell useful things."
Bell thanked her with a slight bow and followed the directions. As he walked, he noticed that the surrounding establishments looked well-maintained, with colorful signs and decorated storefronts. However, upon reaching the designated location...
He encountered something completely different.
It was just a wooden structure, attached to the side of a larger house. It had no door, no visible sign, just a counter facing the street. On top of it were a couple of dusty glass jars, some with liquid inside, others with dried herbs. It looked more like a flea market than a store.
"This… is it?" he muttered, skeptical.
At that moment, a figure appeared from behind the counter: a chienthrope girl with floppy ears and a completely neutral expression. Her emotionless eyes rested on Bell with the same enthusiasm as someone watching paint dry.
"Potion?" She asked simply, without changing her tone one bit.
Bell blinked, a little puzzled. "Ah… yes. I want to buy some. Something to heal quickly in the middle of combat, if possible."
The girl didn't say anything for a few seconds. She just looked at him. Then she calmly turned around and took a small jar from an interior shelf. She placed it on the counter.
"Fast healing. Not very tasty. It works."
Bell looked at the vial he'd just been handed. The liquid inside was moving with a strange viscosity, and it had a dull reddish hue, as if someone had tried to copy the color of a highquality potion and given up halfway through.
"Do you have any more?" he asked, looking up at the chienthrope.
The girl nodded slowly and, without saying anything else, began placing more jars on the counter with the same calmness with which one places pieces in a chess game that one doesn't care about winning.
"They're made from the finest materials," she murmured without emotion, almost as if reciting a learned phrase.
Bell blinked.
He felt a slight pressure on his chest. A sensation like a click in the depths of his consciousness. His [Divine Blessing of Truth Discernment] activated on its own, as if whispering in his ear: Lie.
Bell remained silent, watching the girl, who seemed completely unfazed. Her chienthrope ears remained droopy, and her face showed no sign that she had deliberately lied. If anything, she seemed to simply not care what anyone thought of her products.
"…I see," he finally said, forcing a smile. "Then give me everything you have that's… 'high quality.'"
The girl's eyes didn't move an inch. Slowly, she placed all the jars back into a rough cloth bag and slid it across the counter.
Bell put away the potions, but something inside him wouldn't let him rest. That feeling… that subtle activation of his blessing. He knew what it meant. It wasn't his imagination.
He stood for a moment longer at the counter. The chienthrope, with her same bored, neutral expression, seemed already disconnected from the conversation, as if he had ceased to exist as soon as he dropped the coins. But Bell didn't move.
"Excuse me," he said suddenly, looking at her closely. "Did you do… anything weird to these potions?"
The girl looked at him out of the corner of her eye, without even turning her head.
"Weird? Like what? Do you think I sell poison in pretty bottles?"
"I'm just asking," Bell said calmly. "They don't exactly look new, and… I don't know, I have a good eye." The girl frowned, offended.
"They're normal potions. Why would I do something weird?"
Just then, a faint sensation ran through his chest. A tug in the air.
The blessing was activated.
Lie.
Bell didn't say anything immediately. He just kept his gaze on hers. Something in his expression became more serious. Not hostile. But he wasn't just having a conversation anymore. He was analyzing.
"…So you didn't dilute them. Or you mixed them with something cheaper. Right?"
The girl frowned sharply, and for the first time raised her voice, her usual neutrality shattered.
"What are you implying…?"
The air stiffened for a second. Bell didn't back down, but it was clear he wasn't expecting any aggression. Just as he was about to respond, a calm but authoritative voice emerged from inside the tent.
"Naaza, is something wrong?"
A man with dark blue hair appeared behind the counter. He wore a simple robe and wore a friendly smile, though his eyes showed alertness. As soon as Bell met his gaze, he felt something strange… a light pressure. A different aura.
Definitely,he was a god.
Naaza gritted her teeth, but said nothing. The man—the god—watched the scene in silence, waiting for an explanation.
Bell noticed this and respectfully bowed his head slightly.
"Forgive me for being blunt, sir. But… are you aware that she's selling diluted potions?" Miach blinked. His smile faded. Slowly, he turned his head toward Naaza.
"…Naaza?"
Naaza avoided his gaze. Silence.
"Naaza?" repeated Miach, more seriously.
She didn't answer, but her silence was a sufficient answer.
Miach sighed regretfully, putting a hand to his forehead.
"Naaza…"
"It's not like I have any other choice!" she blurted out, almost desperate. "You're constantly giving away potions, no one respects us, and we're barely surviving selling anything! What are we supposed to do, Miach-sama?! Let the shop die?!"
The god Miach was silent for a few seconds. He didn't seem angry... more like disappointed. Although his voice was soft when he spoke, it carried an inescapable weight.
"I could ask favors from other gods if that worried you so much. Trust in our Familia is the only thing we have left."
Naaza lowered her head. Her chienthrope ears twitched slightly.
Bell, uncomfortable but determined, intervened.
"I don't want to make a fuss. I just needed to know if I could trust what I buy… especially if my life might one day depend on it."
Miach nodded slowly, understandingly.
"And you have every right. I apologize on behalf of my familia."
He pulled a bottle from a box behind the counter and placed it in front of Bell. "This is the real thing. Undiluted. Consider it an apology."
Bell accepted it, somewhat surprised, and nodded with a slight bow.
"Thank you."
Miach looked at him more attentively this time… as if assessing him. Then he smiled, albeit somewhat melancholically.
"You are an unusual adventurer, boy."
"Some people told me that…"
With that, Bell turned to leave. As he walked away, he could hear Miach say in a low voice:
"Naaza… we'll talk later."
And the sound of a resigned sigh.
When Bell was already a few steps from the counter, he heard Miach's calm voice behind him.
"Wait, boy."
Bell stopped and looked over his shoulder.
"What Familia Are You From?"
The white-haired young man turned around, still holding the potion Miach had given him. With a somewhat embarrassed but friendly smile, he replied:
"I am from the Hestia Familia."
Miach blinked… and then a warm, genuine smile spread across his face.
"Hestia, huh? What a small world… I haven't seen her in a while, but we're good friends."
Bell relaxed. That answer felt honest, and not only that, but nostalgic. Miach's demeanor changed slightly, as if he had become even kinder in that instant.
"All the more reason," the god said, crossing his arms and glancing sideways at Naaza, who still had her head bowed, "I sincerely apologize. Not only as the person in charge of this shop, but as an old friend of your goddess."
Bell shook his head.
"Seriously, don't worry. I understand how things are… and I appreciate you taking care of it."
Miach nodded, still smiling.
"Tell Hestia I say hi. And if she needs anything, she can come over. I mean it."
"I will," Bell promised, and this time his smile was more relaxed. "Thanks for everything."
And with that, he walked off down the street, potion in hand, feeling that, at least on this occasion, he had won.
…
Bell walked through the streets of Orario with a leisurely gait, the small vial of potion tucked securely into his bag. The sun was high in the air, and the bustle of adventurers and merchants filled the air with vibrant energy. But as he moved through the crowd, his mind returned to a memory that made him frown.
Lili.
He'd left her at the guild to be arrested, and even though he knew he'd done the right thing... he couldn't shake that unease. As if he'd betrayed someone who hadn't yet had a chance to prove who he really was.
"...I can't just forget," he murmured.
He veered off course, moving away from the hustle and bustle of the city center and approaching one of the most recognizable buildings in the entire city: the Ganesha Family headquarters. A large, almost ceremonial structure with colorful banners hanging from its top. As if trying to be intimidating... but also a circus.
When he arrived, two adventurers from the familia were standing guard at the entrance. Bell explained that he had come to inquire about a recent prisoner, and the adventurers glanced at each other before nodding and letting him pass.
They led him down an interior corridor and, after a few minutes, led him into a reception room where a tall, woman with tied-back blue hair and a military bearing stood waiting for him, arms crossed. Her gaze was steady, but not hostile.
"Are you Bell Cranel?" She asked directly.
"Yes," he replied, bowing his head slightly in respect.
"I'm Shakti Varma, captain of the Ganesha Familia. I was told you came to inquire about the arrested pallum."
Bell nodded, a little nervously.
"Yes… I just wanted to know if… if she is okay…"
Shakti watched him for a few seconds, as if evaluating him.
"She's alive, if that worries you. Although she's not very happy with her situation. Not many would be." Bell looked down for a moment, clenching his fists gently.
"Can I see her…? Even if it's just for a moment."
Shakti narrowed her eyes.
"It's not usual to allow visitors so soon. But… considering your cooperation and that Ganesha-sama was satisfied with the declaration… I might make an exception."
Bell looked up, surprised.
"Really?"
The captain turned on her heels and began to walk.
"Don't take it as a personal favor. I just don't like unnecessarily rigid procedures."
Bell followed her silently, his heart beating a little faster with each step.
They descended a spiral stone staircase, the air growing damper and colder with each step. The magic stone torches on the walls barely illuminated the narrow corridor, and the echo of their footsteps rang softly between the walls.
Bell, feeling a slight chill that wasn't just from the temperature, glanced at Shakti.
"Is this where they lock up all the criminals in Orario?"
Shakti didn't pause in her response, her voice clear and unwavering.
"Not everyone. It depends on the case. Civilians, low-level adventurers, or those who committed minor crimes… they usually spend some time here before being transferred to a more suitable prison outside the city."
Bell frowned slightly.
"And the highest ranking ones?"
"First-class adventurers require more care. Sometimes they're kept under special surveillance, or handed directly to the Guild for stricter procedures. Only those who don't pose a significant risk of flight or violence stay down here."
She stopped in front of a thick iron gate that marked the beginning of the dungeons themselves.
"In the case of the pallum you seek… we have no need to transport it. It's not dangerous, nor powerful. Just… somewhat problematic."
Shakti unlocked the gate with a large key on her belt. The rusty metal squealed loudly, and then she simply motioned for Bell to follow her.
Bell swallowed and nodded, feeling each step bring them closer to a meeting that, for some reason, weighed on his chest.
Shakti silently guided him to a cell at the back. When she arrived, she stopped and turned her head slightly toward him.
"This is it. I'll leave you alone for a while. If anything happens, yell."
Bell nodded gently, though he could barely concentrate on her words. Shakti strode away, leaving him standing in front of the bars.
Inside the cell, in a corner barely lit by the dim light of a distant torch, Bell saw her.
Lili.
She was curled up in a fetal position on the cold stone floor. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, and her face was half-hidden in the tangled strands of her hair. She didn't react to the sound of footsteps. She didn't move. She didn't blink.
She was just breathing.
Bell felt a knot in his stomach seeing her like that. That expression on her face… it wasn't sadness, or anger. It was as if everything inside her had been extinguished. As if nothing remained but emptiness.
A dead expression.
He took a step toward the bars, careful not to make a noise.
"Lili…"
Nothing.
Not a tremor. Not a response.
Bell looked down, clenching his fists. He didn't know what he expected to see. But certainly not this.
A few seconds of silence passed, until, in a hoarse and weak voice, Lili murmured without raising her head:
"…What are you doing here?"
Bell moved a little closer, holding onto the bars.
"I wanted to see you. To hear you. I don't know exactly why… but I wanted to hear your version of the story."
Lili let out a dry laugh. Humorless. Finally, she raised her head a little, just enough so Bell could see her eyes.
"My version? What does it matter now? You handed me over."
"I didn't do it for fun," Bell said, lowering his voice slightly. "I just… thought it was the right thing to do. But now I'm not so sure."
Lili looked away, resting her cheek on her knees.
"You're not sure, are you...? Well, I am."
Bell frowned.
"Are you saying you deserve this?"
"I'm saying this isn't as bad as you think," he replied nonchalantly. "I have a roof over my head here. There are no monsters. No one hits me. No one insults me. They feed me… and no one forces me to be bait."
Bell felt something inside him shrink.
"So no," she continued, without looking at him, "I'm not that bad. I'm just bored. The funny thing is, you dragged me out of one hell… and into another. Only this one is quieter. More… comfortable."
There was a long silence.
Lili didn't look up. Her voice was low, almost monotonous, as if she were telling someone else's story.
"You know what's funny? Not even my Familia came for me. The Soma's... No one asked. No one tried to get me out. I guess even they outgrew my usefulness. Or maybe they thought it wasn't worth dragging me back just to keep torturing me." Bell frowned.
"Do you think I'm exaggerating?" Lili gave a dry laugh. "It's not like I could make it up, right? People like me don't get believed, anyway."
Bell moved a little closer to the bars. "Lili… did you use the word torture?"
She was slow to respond. Then, in a muffled voice, she said, "Yes. That was it. Torture."
And then he started counting.
"My parents… were from the Soma Familia. They died shortly after I was born. No one cared for me. No one took care of me. I was just another burden… a hindrance with legs. But I was small, and useful. I could squeeze into tight spaces, carry things. Sometimes they used me to clean, other times to run errands."
Bell listened silently, tense.
"But it wasn't enough. I always owed something. They always told me I was 'stealing oxygen.' So they started… asking me for money. How was I going to get it? Who cares about a prum under ten years old? They'd beat me if I didn't have enough. They'd kick me. They'd lock me up."
Lili closed her eyes.
"All so they could buy that rubbish Soma wine. Expensive, addictive… and that was all they cared about. It would have been easier if they'd just sold me out right away. But no. They preferred to keep using me until I broke completely."
She hugged herself, as if she were cold.
"And when I stopped being useful… they just ignored me. I became part of the background. A shadow. Until I decided to start taking what I needed from others… because no one was going to give it to me."
Her voice cracked just on the last sentence, but her eyes remained dry. She wasn't crying. She just looked tired. Empty.
Bell, for his part, couldn't speak. His stomach was in knots. That story... that childhood... was nothing like what he'd experienced. It was like a chasm between them. And yet, there he was. Listening to her. Because he felt like, somehow, he had to.
Lili remained silent for a few more seconds, as if searching within herself to see if there were still words worth saying. Finally, she barely raised her gaze. Her eyes were still dull, but there was a faint, barely visible spark… and it was directed at Bell.
"…Thank you."
Bell blinked. He hadn't expected it.
"Hey?"
"Thanks for… making my hell a little easier," he murmured. "Even if it's just a little."
He shrugged, leaning his head back against the cold stone wall.
"This place may still be a prison… but at least here no one hits me. No one demands anything of me. I don't have to pretend all the time. For a while, I can just… exist."
Bell clenched his fists. He'd wanted to come see her, but now he felt like that wasn't enough. Nothing he could do would change Lili's past. Or erase those wounds.
But… maybe I could do something for the future.
"Lili…"
She didn't respond. Her eyes were already closed, as if the brief moment of opening them had exhausted all her emotional energy.
Bell stood there for a moment longer, silent, watching the little prum who had survived too long. Then he turned and started walking back down the hallway, something new weighing on his chest: determination.
Shakti was waiting for him by the stairs, arms crossed and expression calm.
"Are you done?" She asked, not in an inquisitive tone, just confirming.
Bell nodded silently, her face still serious, her mind reeling from everything she'd heard. Shakti turned without another word and started up the stairs, with Bell following close behind her.
The air became lighter as they ascended, but their chests, on the other hand, felt heavier.
"Thanks for letting me see her," Bell finally said as they surfaced.
Shakti looked straight ahead, but nodded slightly. "Not everyone takes the trouble to listen to someone in your situation. That says something about you, Bell Cranel."
Bell didn't respond. He just walked in silence.
As they walked through the halls of the Ganesha Family headquarters, Bell barely noticed the echo of his own footsteps. His eyes were open, but his mind was wandering far away.
Just a few hours ago, a girl had tried to sell him a fake potion. If he hadn't had his blessing, he would have ended up injured or worse in the dungeon. Before that, adventurers had died… because of someone like Lili, a broken girl he was only just beginning to understand. And she… she didn't even seem sorry, just tired, resigned.
Bell had wanted to be a hero. That fantasy had driven him ever since he arrived in Orario. But now all he saw was filth, selfishness, and neglect. The city, which had once seemed dazzling, was beginning to show its cracks. And he... felt small, as if the flame burning inside him was beginning to die out with each bitter truth he discovered.
Maybe… it wasn't worth it.
"Cranel?" Shakti said, noticing that he had stopped.
Bell blinked and came back to his senses. "Ah… yes. I'm fine."
Shakti watched him for a second longer, but said nothing. They continued walking, eventually stepping outside, where the afternoon sun gilded the cobblestone streets.
And yet, to Bell, the world seemed grayer than ever.
…
What's going on!?
That light…
That light!
The brightest I've ever seen in my entire existence.
The one who crossed this world like a white spear in the middle of the mud.
Why…? Why is it losing its shine?
I feel it from here, even if I'm far away, even if I have no form… even if I shouldn't be able to feel
anything anymore.
No, no, no, no! It can't be turned off!
She was different! She was pure! She was brilliant!
…And now?
Now I feel her wavering. She hesitates.
Pain.
That darkness I've seen consume thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions... is catching up with her!!
Why did I leave her alone?
I brought her here!
I pushed her.
I watched her.
And now it's…
…fading away.
No. I won't allow it.
Even if I'm no longer in form.
Even if I'm fragmented. Even if I've been forgotten…
If that falls, all I am—all that remains—will also disappear.
So I'm going to give him everything I can, even if there's nothing left for me.