[Area: Nameless temple]
| A forgotten temple that today serves another god.
| Exploration Progress: 100%
"So this is where you live?" Bella asked in surprise. In front of her was a ruined temple of some unknown god.
"I thought gods lived in regions that were... well…how do I put that... cleaner?" She rolled her tongue a few times, not knowing what to say without offending his lifestyle.
"Not that it's dirty here, of course, it's just different from what I thought, you know? No need to be offended... Please don't send me away because of this!" Baal just chuckled at her efforts.
"Relax. I live somewhere else in the city center. But since many of the things I own are very valuable, it's good to have a safe place to keep them." She raised her eyebrow, looking at him and then at her surroundings with growing doubt.
"Not that I'm doubting you... but wouldn't a bank be better?" The area didn't look safe at all, and she was sure she had seen a man licking a knife behind an alleyway, looking at her.
She shivered.
"Do you think I would lie?" He snorted.
"Try to find something valuable inside, if you can find it, you can keep it for yourself."
"I'll tell you in advance, I only call something valuable if its value is above 10,000,000 valis, but some of these items can go far beyond that." Her eyes lit up instantly.
"Are you sure about that? I mean, that's a lot of money... won't you regret it later?" She said hesitantly, it was too much money to just give away to others!
"Please say that again, but this time looking me in the eyes." Baal said dryly, seeing her eyes shine like stars drawn to the temple.
It seemed that the collapsed temple was now made of pure gold.
"Well, knowing you the way I do, you would be angry if I repeated it, and it would be very rude of me, wouldn't it? So I'll just accept your holy benevolence." She said and then walked impatiently toward the temple.
"Women and their little bell that rings as soon as they hear about money." Baal snorted as he leaned against the wall watching her lift even the smallest stone to check if there was anything underneath.
"Oh please don't say that with this grumpy face," She said with puffed cheeks in anger.
"If people hear that they will think badly of you. And if people think badly of you, this will make me sad. And you don't wanna make me sad, do you?"
"Alright. Alright. I understood." He sighed.
He had two main clues to find Bell in the past, one was his relationship with Hestia and the other was his home.
However, he did not find Hestia in person, and when he arrived at this temple, there was no one here.
As such, he decided to establish a temporary base, hoping that at some point Bell would end up here.
And like any temporary base, he brought many of his resources here. He was a bird and the things he found obviously ended up in his love nest.
But ironically, just like his possessions, it was he who brought Zeus' child here.
"Hmmm, where is it... where is it... wait, there's something shining over there!"
She crawled across the floor in her maid uniform, trying to see something under the benches, but then sighed in disappointment when she saw that it was just a piece of broken mirror.
"By the way! Is there a time limit?" She looked back worriedly, after searching for a few minutes but still not finding even a piece of jewelry.
"Oh, and a clue would be nice too!" She said with a mischievous smile.
"A time limit? I think it would be good to set one, I don't want to waste too much time on this, so... maybe... do you think ten years is enough?" He said sincerely and directly, looking at her, who was extremely shocked.
"You don't have to say anything, I understand. That's too short, I'll give you fifty years then!"
"Just let me know when you're done…" He yawned, sat down in a corner, covered himself with his cloak, and then closed his eyes.
" Oh, the clue is… air." She looked at him confused, but he didn't say anything else
Fifty years from now, he would continue this conversation.
"Should I say something?" She muttered to herself for a few moments, but then shrugged and went back to searching. "More time for me I guess."
During that time, Baal just relaxed peacefully.
For him, it was just a short nap.
After all, what was fifty years to someone who had lived for millennia? The divine perspective of time was very different from the mortal one.
If he were in the divine realm, the difference in time would be even more striking, after all, not even a day had passed since he fled to this world.
Fifty years in the divine realm would be fifty thousand years here, and it was just a short nap.
A real rest would be many times longer!
...
After some time, Bella sighed deeply, cleaned her clothes, and then walked over to him.
"Okay, I officially give up! Show me where they were." She said, standing in front of him after spending hours searching and it was already getting dark, but she got no response.
"Hey! Hey! Wake up! Come on! I don't have fifty or ten years to waste! I'll be dead long before that!" She said, leaning on her knees to bend down and pulling him by his clothes to try to get his attention, but still got no reaction.
Silence.
She stared at him silently and slowly began to feel frightened.
"You... didn't die... did you?" She looked at his face more closely for a few more moments, but still couldn't tell. He looked more like a marble statue than a person, but he was always like that anyway...
Gulp
"Just to be sure..." She knelt in front of him, swallowed hard, then opened up his cloak and brought her head close to his chest.
Thump Thump Thump
"He seems to be alive… but why? Why…" She said, pressing her ear against his chest and listening to his heart beating slowly. "It's so slow... and so so"
Thump Thump Thump
"so warm..." She felt the pleasant warmth coming from him and felt strange for a few moments, it seemed almost as if he was hibernating, his heartbeat was so slow, and yet his body was so warm.
Thump Thump Thump
She stood there for a few moments, mesmerized.
Thump Thump Thump
"Aaahh~ how lazy~" She yawned suddenly, strangely she began to feel sleepy listening to the sound. Her body slowly and unconsciously moved closer to his, nestling against him.
"Just for a few minutes… He wouldn't notice." She soon fell asleep.
***
It was dark and cold on the streets of Orario, then the sun slowly rose on the horizon with its heat and light beginning to awaken the birds that sang cheerfully to annoy every unhappy worker.
Inside the nameless temple, there were several cracks in the ceiling through which light began to invade the place, disturbing a young woman.
"Damn... I hate you, sun... I hope you explode..." Bella muttered lazily as she tried to pull her blanket, but for some reason her hand couldn't find the fabric, irritating her.
And in the midst of this, her consciousness slowly returned.
"What a pain... I have to work..." She raised her head, still half asleep, with a strand of hair stuck to her lips, her mouth still drooling a little.
"What? Why did I sleep in my uniform?" She wondered as her eyes quickly widened.
***
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Next Arcs: [Part 3: Willpower], [Part 4: The Colossus], [Part 5: The Trial]
/BlessedByVoid