Family Reunion Part 2

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"Are you an adventurer?"

'Immediately noticing the gleam in the young boy's eyes, Silver stopped walking as he turned to the side, raising his right hand.'

"..."

It seems this will take a while.

My parents can wait a bit more, since I'm here, I might as well come to know him.

I wonder what the future has in sight for him.

/Crackle!/

"?!"

T-T-The ground moved!?

'In front of Bell, a magical scene unfolded.'

'A rocky table, clean and smooth, rose from the dirt ground together with a pair of stone chairs, ascending amidst a waterfall of sand and stone particles.'

'Silver did not waste too much time, taking his seat before pulling a kettle with some tea in it from who knew where, taking a sip as he gestured for Bell to do the same.'

/Touch.../

'Fearful and wary, he approached the table, touching it, but even in this cold, they weren't chilly to the touch, being warm and comfortable despite their rocky and stiff appearance.'

It's warm… The air got hotter too…

'Albeit he was naive and foolish, Bell was quick to pinpoint the changes in the environment.'

'It didn't 'hurt' to breathe anymore, his trembling body relaxed and the cold winds were no more.'

'It was as if they had been thrown into the middle of summer!'

'Even if rough, it seemed there was something worth of attention buried within his talent… He was perceptive, in a way.'

"Here, sit." 

I'm sure he'll be asking me these questions eventually, so it's better to answer them now rather than… In front of my mom. 

She'll likely ask similar things, but then I can just embellish what I already said to Bell if not just tell her other things as I have much to share.

I do not wish to embellish my stories, but I do know when to stop.

Seeing him for myself is quite interesting, to think this small and frail boy had what it took to ascend through the ranks... Well, Finn is a Pallum and he doesn't look imposing... At least when compared to Ottar.

Anyhow, it would be left to fate if he would achieve it this time.

... In a sense, I don't want to push this kid into a life of blood and tears, to have him follow that which fate originally had in offer for him.

But at the same time, I don't think he deserves such pain and despair... Nonetheless, I'm quite excited to see how much he can walk on this thorny path.

In fact…

"Before we start, I don't think I've introduced myself yet."

"!"

'When Silver said that, Bell immediately got up from his seat, bowing at a 90-degree angle as he said:'

"I apologize for my rudeness! M-My name is Bell Cranel!!"

/Chunk!/

"..."

'Even Silver seemed to be momentarily stunned by Bell's extreme act as he bowed "politely", even hitting his forehead on the stone table... Almost at least since Silver prevented him from doing so.'

"Cough… You don't need to be so overly formal… But it's a pleasure." Silver said with a chuckle as he had the boy sit down again

He is very polite… Almost too much…

Are my grandparents partially to blame? Hopefully not...

"... Given how my parents are, you likely know who I am by now… Bell. I can call you that, right?"

"Eh? Of course! I-I-I... No one calls me Cranel anyway..."

/Chuckle.../

"Then I shall... I'm Mellios Silver, but everyone calls me Silver, so just like me, please do so as well."

/Nod!/

He eagerly nodded, happy to finally meet him in person.

"Haha... I guess there's no need to talk about my Family, I do hope they weren't too hard on you in my absence."

/Shake!/

'Bell shook his head quickly as he fidgeted with his fingers.'

'It seemed as if he was trying to find the words to explain his situation but he didn't quite know what to say.'

'But at the same time, there seemed to be some loneliness in his expression.'

'Seeing this made Silver reconsider his approach, he knew the boy was likely alone and that talking about family wasn't exactly a nice topic.'

"... Well, why don't we start from the beginning? You wanted to ask me some questions didn't you?"

/Nod!/

"Then… Let's exchange stories." Silver said with a smile as he rested his arms on the stone table

"I'll tell you about Orario and its adventurers while you tell me about this place, how about that?"

/Excited Nod!/

"..."

I expected him to be more expressive… But he's rather shy.

I can understand now... He is quite charismatic... In a hamster kind of way.

"I'll go first them, I'll tell you of my very first day at the Dungeon." Silver said with a wide smile as his hands began shinning in prismatic light

With a few details here and there changed of course…

'Silver's hands danced in the air as wisps of energy gathered from nothing, condensing from the chilly air around them.'

'Slowly, they fused and stretched, being shaped into something, an image, a series of images…'

"!"

'Before Bell's very eyes a miniature Silver could be seen running around the busy streets of a city, its architecture and details amazed Bell with every step he took as he approached a massive tower in the distance.'

'It was as if they were watching a movie…'

/Move…/

'Silver continued to control the holograms, moving them slowly as he began telling Bell his tale:'

"Here it is Bell, Orario… Are you ready?"

"..."

/Gulp…/

'Bell was so overwhelmed by his excitement that he could barely talk.'

…

/Meanwhile…/

"..."

"Hm? Is something wrong, gramps?" A young girl asked as she looked at an old man with a gray beard

"... It's nothing child, the cold air has gotten into me I'm afraid..." The old man replied as he looked through the window, closing it as his expression turned sour

/Mumble.../

'He seemed to mumble something in a low tone, causing the girl to frown as she tried to make sense of what he said, only for her thoughts to be interrupted by his words:'

"Go on by yourself, I'll stay here and lay down for now." He replied with a warm smile as he patted the girl's head

"... Take care of yourself, you're getting old." She replied in a somewhat cold tone as she pushed his hand away

'Albeit her expression was mostly cold, there was a certain trace of warmth in it, she cared deeply for this old man, maybe even too much.'

'Within the distant gaze of her eyes, she saw nothing but family before her.'

"Hohoho! I still have 'many' years ahead of me, a little cold like this won't take me down!" He replied proudly as he put his fist against his chest

"I've faced worse blizzards in my time... Nothing can beat an angry woman! HOHOHOHO!"

"..."

"Now… Go on without me, by now they should be having dinner, you wouldn't want to miss it, would you? I know you love her food."

"But gramps…" The girl said with a somewhat upset gaze as she looked away

"Hoho…"

She's still too embarrassed to admit she likes her cooking.

Tsk tsk, what pride, she's more like her aunt than…

"Don't worry about me, there's still some leftovers from yesterday, I'll just heat them a little and I'll be fine, in fact, I'll do that now."

'The old man grew silent as he turned around, patting the girl's shoulder one last time before he vanished inside his home.'

'The girl felt a little strange, it seemed as if the old man was avoiding something, being sneaky... Not in his usual perverted way as he tended to act around some of the younger village girls...'

'Could there be something really wrong with him? It worried her.'

/Thud… Chun.../

'Not long after, the girl heard the sounds of wood being placed in the fireplace, a common sound she heard all too often.'

"Don't forget to fetch Bell on your back! I'm afraid he'll end up sleeping there again!"

"I won't let him." She replied coldly as she closed the door 

/Clack!/

"..."

She's overly sentimental… Or maybe it's jealousy…

Hohohoho! The boy will have quite the trouble when he grows up!

"Just like that father of his... HAHA... HAHAHA!"

'The old man began laughing silently, an oddly eerie sight but at the same time, cheerful.'

"I remembered something quite... Nice..."

'Not too long after, he went to the window and looked outside for a moment, his eyes sharpening before he closed it.'

"..."

…

/Meanwhile.../

/SLAM!/

/OPEN!/

"Where is he?" An old lady asked as she flung the doors of a wooden house open

"How come that boy comes to visit and he doesn't…Hm?... Who are you?"

"Mother… He's sleeping…" Rubia said slowly as she looked at a wooden crib by the side

"Ahem… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scream." Misty said as she passed by the little bed, taking a look at the small baby that was now peacefully sleeping before looking away

'She then turned to the side, taking a look at both Hestia and Artemis, immediately realizing who they were… "What" they were.'

'Now that they had removed their cloaks, even if they tried to, their Aura was still apparent.'

(N1)

"Ahem, I apologize for my rude entrance… I was not expecting guests." She said as she approached the Goddesses

When I heard my grandchild had arrived I rushed here… I should've listened to him a bit more.

It has been quite some time since I've seen a Goddess this close, excluding Demeter…

'Misty was thinking about one of the Villagers who saw Silver arrive from afar.'

'Albeit he was a bit confused, he assumed the boy to be her grandchild, and right he was.'

'Unfortunately, he underestimated how eager this old lady was to see her grandson...'

'Nonetheless, it was time for some introductions…'

'Things were beginning to heat up.'

…

/A bit later…/

/Knock knock…/

"..."

/Creak…/

'A few minutes after Silver met Bell, the silver-haired young lady stopped by Rubia's and Marcus' home to fetch her little "troublemaker" of a brother.'

"Yes?..."

'The one who opened the door was Marcus, his expression a bit down as he was far too tired trying to catch up with the rhythm of the conversation between the Goddesses, his wife, and her mother.'

'He wouldn't last if his mother was here also… But thankfully, it was a girl who spoke far too little...'

"Oh! It's you Via."

Finally! A girl who does not speak!

Maybe I can take this chance to run away...

"Uncle." Via said in a low tone as she gave him a silent nod

'Via was a young lady the same age and looks as her brother.'

'Being twins, they looked almost identical, although their personalities were completely and utterly unique.'

'While Bell left his hair short, just a tad bit above his shoulders, she let hers grow long, all the way to her knees.'

'The only reason it wasn't longer was that she was forced to cut it once it got stuck on a fence years ago, ever since then she never let it grow beyond its current size.'

'Aside from that, while Bell's eyes were red, her's were blue, something she took from her mother… Or at the very least, that was what her grandfather said.'

'There was no reason to doubt him, but taking his words for granted wasn't exactly wise… As he was quite adept at being... Over the top from time to time, especially when it came to women.'

'This playful way of going about day by day caused her to mature slightly faster, although it was hard to attest if that was due to him or her genes...'

'Either way, if not for their eyes and hair, it would be almost impossible to tell them apart, especially since they could easily wear each other's clothes.'

'After all, she was young and had yet to go through puberty so she wasn't very developed… Her grandfather would usually joke and say she hadn't much to worry about as if she looked so akin to her mother, then other aspects were bound to repeat!'

'Unfortunately, by the looks of it, she would continue to be like that as some of the older ladies of the Village began showing concern about her lack of volume, fearing for the worst.'

'For her, however, none of this mattered, albeit she wondered sometimes… Was it really that bad?'

"Giving the time… You must be here to pick up Bell, right?" Marcus asked as he scratched his chin

"..."

'Via was silent, but she nodded elegantly. Or at least what she thought was elegant.'

"Well, let's jump all that talk about us not minding him here, I left him to finish his daily jog around the fields, but he should be on his way back by now."

"I sent someone to go fetch him up already."

"Hm?"

'Via's expression did not change, but she tilted her head to the side… If one looked closely, her eyebrows had furrowed very so slightly.'

'But she questioned, if not him, who else?'

'She knew of her brother's daily jogs around the farm fields, she believed it to be beneficial for him due to his troublesome physique.'

'Bell wasn't terminal frail or anything, but he was far too skinny for what a boy his age should be, especially given his position as a farm hand.'

'So much so even she had more volume around her arms than him, and it didn't take much to understand that wasn't right.'

'It was no wonder they could exchange clothes, where she also lacked femininity, he lacked masculinity.'

'Not that anyone ever pressed them to change, not that children needed to bother about such things anyway...'

'In the end, it was a matter of adults worrying for their children.'

"..."

As expressionless as always… Did I ever see her smile?

Ahem…

/Chatter…/

"Hm?"

'Via moved her head to the side to peek inside the home when she heard an unfamiliar voice echo from within.'

"Oh, I forgot to mention it, but something unusual happened today." Marcus said with a smile as he looked back for a moment

"My son out of all people is here and he brought guests with him, they're now inside talking about… Things…"

"Things?..."

... He doesn't know, does he?...

"Cough… They're talking about Silver… In fact, I sent him to fetch Bell..."

He's really taking his sweet time though.

"Since you're here, come inside and have dinner with us, I imagine the others will soon make their way here as well."

"It'll be fun, besides, weren't you interested in the city? I'm sure he'll have many stories to share with us, so come inside since it's rather cold out here." Marcus said as he looked at his hands

"... Alright, I can't miss auntie's dinner." Via replied with a nod as she took a step forward

"That's the spirit!"

'Marcus stepped aside for the young girl, and without looking back, he closed the door.'

'Slowly, all gathered, one by one into his home.'

'This family reunion was slowly coming to be…'

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Notes

N1

Some items help Gods hide their Divinity, since aside from some Gods such as Ouranos, Zeus, Kali, and some others, few can completely hide away their divinity and blend in with the common folk.