Chapter 9.5: My Little Sister/Childhood Friend Is【?】

(One last tidbit on the relationship of Bell and Medea, then we're going straight into Bell developing and exploring his UBW abilities. You could skip this chapter if you want.)

Slowly waking up, Bell groggily opened his eyes half an hour after his unexpected knockout by Medea. There were no lingering pains, but it would appear that his memories leading up to the fatal blow have been lost to him.

'Hm?... I feel like I just forgot something...with how frequently I feel this way after waking up, I'm afraid I might have developed some ultra-rare early onset Alzheimer's...'

Bell slowly raised his body as he stretched out his muscles. Yawning and taking a look around his room, he heard the door begin to open, and there he saw his friend Medea carrying a plate of porridge.

Seeing that Bell had woken up while she was preparing his food, Medea was startled a bit when she saw him.

"O-oh- hi Bell..."

"Hm? Hey Medea, what you got there?"

"Some porridge for you to eat. You haven't been eating for 2 days while you were recovering, so I got you something light and fulfilling..."

"Oh! Thanks, Medea! I'm actually starving"

Medea, seeing Bell thank her after she had just struck him unconscious, couldn't help but feel extremely guilty.

"Anytime Bell..."

'He doesn't remember?... Grandpa Zen did tell me Bell has a habit of forgetting things after big events...'

Medea began preparing to sit by Bell's bedside. Positioning a nearby stool to do so.

Bell saw the worried expression on Medea's face and wanted to know what caused it.

"Medea? You worried about something?"

"!-"

Medea, having been caught, jolted. Bell, his concern now increasing pressed for more details.

"What happened Medea?"

"H-Hm? Oh uh...nothing much..."

Bell knew Medea was a terrible liar. He had heard from his aunt Idyia to never dwell too much into a girl's personal life, but if Medea was troubled he couldn't help but feel the need to help her.

"Medea, if it's something I can help with, be honest with me. I don't like how you seem so tensed up..."

'...Bell just can't help it huh?...but what if you caused the problem...and it got worsened by me...'

Medea, after the high of the situation, had run out, realized just how horribly she had treated Bell. Some part of her just wanted to blame Bell for being so dense, but she knew it was mostly her fault.

'Mom did say love makes people irrational...'

If Medea confessed to Bell the truth, it would no doubt lead to her feelings being revealed. She would want nothing else but to do so, however...

'That look Bell had when he first woke up...He definitely is planning something'

Bell had always talked to Medea about the grand adventure stories his grandpa would talk about it. The enthusiasm he had when he recounted each one was deeply ingrained in Medea's memory.

This led to Medea developing a fear that Bell would sooner or later leave her behind in pursuit of his dreams. Wishing for him to stay right by her side, but not wanting to dim away the spark he had. She didn't know what to do.

'But that promise Bell made to me...'

The promise he made was that he would never hesitate to be there for her.

It was a vague promise. Medea didn't know just how wide the world was, and how much wider Bell's ambitions were. But the determination in his declaration allowed her to suppress that fear.

'I'll trust in Bell to keep that promise true...it will hurt...hiding my feelings when my goal is so close...but I would rather see Bell chase after his dreams with glee than possibly limiting himself for my sake...'

Medea decided to trust Bell. No matter the hardships, no matter the signs which may say otherwise, Medea will always trust in Bell.

Just when Medea had made that resolve in her heart, a faint yet familiar feeling passed through her mind. Memories of adventurers on a ship one day arriving on the shore. Love at first sight. Sacrifice beyond compare. Betrayal at the hands of her love...But before Medea could try to figure them out, they left her just as abruptly as they came.

As Medea deeply contemplated her personal growth. Bell was only getting more worried for her.

'Why is she thinking so deeply about a bowl of porridge?...'

Unknown to Medea, it would seem she had picked up on Bell's habit of staring at something while deep in thought.

For a while, Bell saw how Medea had switched between glaring at the porridge, then proceeding to look guilty at it, then finally looking towards the porridge with kindness and acceptance.

'Is this what Medea sees when I zone out?... I need to get that habit of mine in control then...'

After deciding to fix up some of his interactive issues in the future, Bell was cut off by Medea, seemingly fresh out of her deep pondering, ready to reply.

"It's really nothing Bell. I just had a bit of an overreaction. I was thinking about whether to continue pursuing it...but I believe it would be best to just leave it as is"

'Though I plan on making it up to you in secret'

The explanation Medea gave didn't really give Bell much information, but seeing that she was now less tense overall, even wearing a bright smile, he decided to not push further.

"All right, as long as you're fine"

"Thanks for the concern Bell. I appreciate it"

The atmosphere between the 2 childhood friends had returned to what it once was. The area around them radiated an aura of warmth and wholesomeness.

Though Bell wanted to enjoy the atmosphere, his eyes were drawn to a particular quirk that had left his mind until now.

'Medea has elf ears...'

Seeing the happy Medea, stir the porridge, Bell noticed her ears seemed to wobble up and down. The gesture captured his attention immediately.

Medea turned her attention away from the porridge and back onto Bell to begin another conversation, but she noticed him staring at her ears.

"Bell? Why are you staring at my ears so much? Something wrong?

She said to Bell, as if nothing were wrong.

"Uh..."

'Does she not realize she has elf ears?... or have I finally gone crazy?'

Bell didn't know what to do. Medea was acting just as normally as she had been.

Determined to see whether his eyes were real, Bell reached out to touch the elf ears of Medea, once he had done so, Medea's whole body jolted.

"eek?!-"

Seeing the intense response from Medea to his touch, Bell immediately pulled back his hand. Apologizing on the spot for what he did.

"S-sorry Medea I just-"

But before he could complete his sentence, Medea cut him off with a question.

"Did you just!?... Bell...you can see them?..."

"huh?-"

He was confused, but Medea repeated her question.

"C-can you see them?...my ears..."

Seeing the genuine worry in Medea's eyes as she asked that question. Bell decided it would be best to answer quickly and honestly.

"Yeah...I can see your ears"

Medea visibly shook at what Bell had said. Wanting to be absolutely sure, she asked him another question.

"What...do they look like"

Having been given another question, Bell did the same as he did last time.

"They look just like any other elf ear, but I guess it looks shorter and more...rounded?"

Hearing how Bell describe what he saw, Medea's mood immediately dropped.

"y-you really did see them..."

Bell was about to ask what was wrong with seeing her ears, not knowing what he had done wrong. But Medea put the porridge aside and grabbed onto Bell's shoulders with a firm grip.

"Bell!"

"Y-yes?!-"

Medea stared at Bell with a fervor she had never seen from her before.

"Never tell anyone what you saw. Not to grandpa zen. Not to my dad. And ESPECIALLY not to my mom. Understand!?"

Fearing what his friend might do otherwise, Bell immediately swore himself to secrecy.

"I swear never to tell a soul about your ears Medea. I promise!-"

Once Medea heard Bell's oath, she released her grip on him, breathing in relief.

Seeing how emotional his friend became at the topic of his ears, Bell couldn't help but ask a question of curiosity.

"Medea? Why do you not want anyone to know about your ears?..."

Medea, hearing this, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to share what she knew. Bell was already part of the secret, telling him a bit more would barely make a difference.

"... I'm not exactly sure why I need to hide my ears. But my mom has always taught me to never reveal them. Something about a family secret we must never reveal"

Bell carefully listened to each word of Medea. With her similarity to the Medea of Fate, there was no doubt in his mind that this might be related to the anomalies he has found in the world of Danmachi.

"In order to properly hide my ears, my mom taught me a spell I could use to make my ears appear like those of a human. It's something like an illusion"

"Because of the constant paranoia of having to hide my ears...I was rather afraid of all the people around me. My mom assured me that no one would notice, but the fear still remained...until I met you"

"I became close to you. You became close to me. And now, you somehow saw my ears..."

With that, Medea finished her explanation. There was very little Bell could gather, but he began analyzing what he had heard regardless.

'In the world of fate, Medea was the child produced from the human king Aeetes and the nymph Idyia. Nymphs were generally the greek mythological equivalent of elves, so Medea and aunt Idyia could either be a variant of elves or a new race altogether'

'Though the family secret Medea mentioned could mean a multitude of things, I'm guessing it has to do with the illusion magic she used to hide her ears. Cause it's a pretty impressive magic if even grandpa Zeus couldn't detect anything wrong.'

'Given the secretive nature of their ears, I doubt Aunt Idyia involved herself in a famila, so her magic definitely didn't come from Falna. So it either originates from spirits or utilizes the ancient elvish magic system. That or a new system altogether.'

'There are too many possibilities. Not enough information to draw a definite conclusion. I was shocked to learn that I had already encountered elements of Fate before awakening UBW. But there is one thing I can definitely say. The world of danmachi I find myself in has contained small hidden elements from Fate long before my birth or reincarnation...'

'I have to run through my knowledge of the history of this world. See if grandpa Zeus encountered any elements from Fate I can recognize. He was one of the first gods to descend to Genkai, and he led his familia all around the world in order to complete the three great quests. If anyone knows, it's him'

Resolving his analysis and plan of action, Bell snapped out of his ponderings and looked to find a fidgeting Medea, hiding away her face.

"Medea?"

Bell had a general idea of what she could be thinking about...

"Are you mad?... that I lied?"

...and it would seem he was correct. Bell prepared himself to console his mystery elf friend yet again.

"We all have our own secrets Medea, secrets we aren't always comfortable sharing with others. As long as I trust that you care about me, and you trust that I care about you, then nothing else matters"

Bell spoke in a gentle tone, so as to uplift the moody Medea.

"I...actually have a secret of my own...something I can't share with you as of yet...but in the future, I promise to tell you about it myself...I'm telling you this so that you don't feel as if you are the only one at fault"

"I'll always be on your side Medea, remember that"

Hearing Bell reaffirm his promise to always be by her, Medea promptly shook off her moodiness.

This day had been a bumpy ride for them both. But they have both come out of it more aware and trusting of each other.

"Thanks, Bell. I'll always be on your side too"

Now that they have both washed out their issues, the atmosphere between the 2 became very awkward. They were so caught up in the wave of emotions, discovery, and decisions, that they both found it hard to break the ice.

Bell, not being able to take it anymore, decided to ease the atmosphere the only way he knew how.

"So Medea, the reason you were so shy before was because?..."

"because I was afraid of having my ears discovered"

"huh...heh-"

Medea, hearing Bell snicker, questioned if what she heard was true.

"Did you just snicker?..."

She bit the bait, now all Bell had to do was reel her in.

"I mean. I can get it because of your past, but once you take a step back to look at it all...being so shy because of your ears...heh- pft- HAHAHAHAHAH"

Medea's face flushed in embarrassment, but she would not simply let this stand. The glover was now full off. Now was the time for payback. Payback for the teasing he had put her through.

'So that's how you wanna play? then let's play'

"Kettle calling the pot black much? I seem to remember a certain scared boy who always hid in his grandpa's library a few years ago..."

"ack-"

A critical strike directly to Bell's psyche. His dramatic years were still a sore spot for him, even after 4 years.

"H-hey! You promised not to bring that up-//"

But before he could protest, Medea forced a spoon of porridge into Bell's mouth, denying him the chance to defend himself.

Seeing the shock on Bell's face at such an expertly made tease, Medea could only look at him with a smug smile on her face.

"Payback~"

Having been utterly defeated and annoyed his friend is learning how to tease him back, Bell could grumble his grievances while chewing the delicious porridge his friend had made,

"I'll get you back, mark my words...and the porridge is delicious..."

Medea, experiencing a high for having finally put one over Bell, graciously replied with the grace of a winner.

"I'm glad you find it delicious... and bring it on, library loner"

"You-"

The awkwardness thoroughly broken, Bell and Medea went back to the playful friends that they were.

...

..

.

Outside of Bell's room, Idyia smiled to herself idly in the kitchen. The position of the kitchen wasn't close to the location of Bell's room, but she somehow was able to listen in on the kids' conversation, amused at hearing what had transpired.

Mystic energy radiated from her pupils, runes from an age long gone hovered around in. The shape of her ears, revealed their true form as if a mist that had been covering it had been blown away.

'My my. Who would've taught the child I helped raise that one day would have intertwined his fate with ours so soon?'

Idyia found herself rather more active in recent times. A situation she did not seek out, but one she didn't mind having occurred.

'Bell Cranel...when I raised him as a babe for old man Zen I did sense a faint peculiarity within him. But after tending his wounds I am more than certain'

'Pure mind patterned into a series of circuits which are then imprinted on the body. Such a concept was never before heard of before, and I doubt any besides Bell would be able to utilize such a technique'

The silver-haired boy showed immense promise. The most she had seen in her long life. But Idyia wouldn't move to help the boy's journey forward.

'I love Bell to death, but I'm sure he's more than capable of having an adventure without my intervention. That peculiar old man Zen seems to be doing enough for him already'

'The only time I would make a move myself...would be if that daughter or mine wished to follow a similar path to his...I guess I should start preparing then...'

In an instant, the arcane phenomenon vanished around her. She had returned back to being a simple housewife in a rural farming village...how ironic for [҉ᕯ҉ᕯ҉ᕯ҉ᕯ҉]

Authors Note:

Can you guess where I struggled to write more content for this chapter? HAHAHAHAHA

If you read this chapter in its entirety, thank you and sorry.

I am honestly rather disappointed with this one. It has a lot of stuff I wanted to foreshadow, but I couldn't find a way to write it that personally interested me. So the general flow of this chapter could be best described as a slow ride with a lot of annoying bumps.

I'll start working on the training arc tomorrow.

Btw. Are you guys fine with Bell having a harem at age 14? Or should I alter time a bit so that he has one at 16 instead?