Chapter 3

The gentle sunlight rays shining through the gaps of the blinders on the window woke up Bell as it laid straight unto his closed eyes. With a light grumble, he sat up and started to stretched his limbs while releasing a satisfied yawn. This was one of the most restful night sleep he had gotten in quite a while.

And it was all thanks to the person laying beside him.

Or, well...

The person who should be laying right beside him.

Feeling not the presence nor the warmth that was supposed to be beside him, Bell opened his eyes fully and looked at the space beside him just to find the person who should be there gone.

The person was the beautiful woman that is his mother.

Stella.

At first he wasn't certain if the woman whom claimed to be his mother was in fact telling the truth. He had never heard of anything about his mother. Not a single word about where she is or what she could be doing. All he knew was that his mother left him.

Hatred.

It wouldn't be a lie to say that Bell felt anger towards his mother. Not to the extent for it to be called hatred. But he did felt anger and loneliness. He felt unwanted. Did his mother didn't want him to the point where she left him just even before he could comprehend whatsoever as an infant.

He felt betrayed.

He felt unwanted.

He felt lonely.

Both his mind and heart was filled with intensely conflicting thoughts and emotions as soon as he heard Stella say that she was his long lost mother. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to curse.

But a single sentence bought him out before he could drown away deep within his emotions.

'Do you hate me?'

The question Stella asked Bell.

At first Bell didn't really understand the point of the question. But as soon as he saw the woman's expression filled with emotions ranging from pain and hurt to guilt and regret, Bell felt his heart break and mend at the same time. The way the woman's voice seemed so fragile and broken was so sincere that Bell felt his eyes well up from unshed tears.

From that point, he knew.

The woman was his mother.

His true mother.

Not just because they had the same traits with ther white hair and red eyes, but it was because both his mind and haert agreed on one sincere thing.

What they were feeling was real.

This lost fondness was real.

This lost warmth he didn't even knew he was seeking all this time was real.

Bell smiled as he remembered his mother tackling him down to the floor while sobbing as she heard the words from his mouth. Words that forgave her. Words that said he didn't hate her. Words that said that she was his mother.

He wanted to know more about his mother. To spend more time with her. To talk about their own tales with each other. To gain the distance lost within the long passage of time.

Bell finally had that chance.

And he wouldn't waste a single minute of it.

Leaving the room he slept in, Bell went straight down towards the kitchen on the second floor of their home. With his sharp senses, he could tell that something delicious was currently being made in the said room. Entering the kitchen, he saw Haruhime and Mikoto cooking up a good feast that seemed to be intended for breakfast.

"Smells delicious, girls." Bell commented as he looked over towards the pot Haruhime was gently stirring with a ladle.

"Ah!" Haruhim turned back towards Bell and gave a short bow. "Good morning, Bell-sama!"

"Good morning, Bell-dono." Mikoto greeted as well.

Bell gave the both of them a wave as he greeted back. "Good morning." Bell then got a bit flushed as he nervously scratched his cheek with a finger. "Have either of you seen mother?"

Both Haruhime and Mikoto let out a short giggle. It was nice for them to see their brave leader act like a child seeking for his mother. It was such a warm sight to behold.

"Yes. She woke up just a bit ago." Mikoto went back to their cooking as Haruhime answered Bell with a warm smile. "She asked where our bathroom is and if she could take a bath. Lily-sama guided her to the bathroom and handed her a towel as well as other bath necessities like shampoo and soap to use."

"She should be done soon." Mikoto joined. "Please head to the dining room, Bell-dono. You can wait for Stella-dono there. I believe Hestia-sama is already there with Lily-dono and Welf-dono."

"Alright." Bell nodded with a smile before heading out for the dining room. "Thanks!"

While he first thought that having such a long table for dining was something unnecessary, but now he was thankful that their home had one. With it, they could all enjoy a meal with one another with a problem of space.

"Bell-kun!" Hestia greeted out loud as soon as Bell entered the dining room.

Hestia was seated at the head of the table. While Lily was sitting beside Hestia on the right side of the table with Welf sitting right next to her.

"Well, g'morning Bell!" Welf greeted with a wide grin.

"Good morning, Bell-sama!" Lily greeted with a happy wave.

Walking up to the dining table, Bell took the seat next to Hestia on the left side with Lily just across the table in front of him.

"Good morning everyone." Bell greeted back with a smile. "What's our plan for today?"

"Well I have a part-time job for Hephaestus-san." Hestia answered as she rested her chin on a hand. "So after breakfast I'll be heading right there."

"What about you?" Welf asked Bell. "What plan do you have for us for the day, Leader."

Well he was planning going to the dungeon again and gain as much experience as they can as well as earn more money, but he was beginning to put the plan on hold due to the appearance of his mother.

Yes.

Bell wanted to spend some time with his mother.

"Well, actually-"

Before Bell could go through with his sentence, a delicious aroma enveloped the room as Haruhime and Mikoto entered the dining room pushing a stainless steel cart carrying an assortment of kitchenware.

"Breakfast's done!" Mikoto proclaimed with a proud grin.

Carefully she laid out the meal they would be having as breakfast on the table as Haruhime handed out plates and silverware to Bell and the others. Breakfast was a mix between pancakes with eggs and bacon, paired with stir-fried vegetables and miso soup. The soup enveloping the room with such a powerful mouth-watering aroma.

Mikoto took a seat on the same side as Bell leaving an empty seat between the two of them for Stella. Haruhime offered to be the one serving the meal. As the goddess of the familia, Hestia was served breakfast first. Finishing the serving, Haruhumi took a seat beside Mikoto.

"So let's wait for Stella before we all start eating?" Hestia said though the drool slowly creeping out of the corner of her mouth was indication that her patience was already slowly wearing thin.

As they waited for Stella, they all started to chat about random things with one another. Just after a few minutes, a now-familiar voice called out.

"Well, now. This seems like an amazing breakfast."

Hearing the voice of his mother, Bell smiled widely. "Mothe-" Bell's words were abruptly cut as soon as he turned back and got a look of his mother.

Stella was right there standing through the doorway with nothing on but an elegant black towel wrapped around her. Her wet hair glistened under the light as she slowly tried to dry it with a shorter black towel. The black towels contradicting the woman's flawless snow-white skin and hair.

Bell could feel his words get swallowed down in his throat as his face felt suddenly really hot. Though the other people present in the room wasn't doing much better.

Despite being near around goddesses whom ruled with their beauty and love, Hestia could feel herself get enchanted by Stella's appearance.

Welf felt his face flushed intensely hot as a trail of blood drip down from his nose.

Lily was flushing bright red as she brought up her hood in order to cover up her face.

Mikoto was flushing red as well as she clutched both of her hands in front of her chest as she muttered what seemed to be some sort of prayer or a chant in order to calm herself down. While Haruhime stared unflinchingly with wide eyes to Stella with a deep red blush on her cheeks.

They tried to turn away their eyes since they felt that they were doing something wrong. It was as if they were dirtying the beauty of Stella just by staring at her.

"M-m-m-m-m-m-m..." Bell stammered furiously. "Mother!"

Stella just looked at all present in the dining room with a slightly puzzled expression as she tilted her head slightly.

"I'm sorry about that." Stella smiled at the still flustered face of everyone inside the dinning room. She was sitting right next to Bell with a fantastic feast in front of her on the table. "I forgot to bring any fresh clothes with me in the bathroom. So I was going to head into my room when I heard voices coming from here and went to look."

"I-it's a-a-alright, Stella-dono!" Mikoto tried to wave it off but her shaking voice made it quite unconvincing.

"Y-y-yes." Hestia added in with a shaking voice as she decided to turn away from the topic at hand; which was Stella's amazing body. "It w-was just a mistake. L-let's start breakfast!"

Eating breakfast started quite awkwardly due to each member of the Hestia familia having such a vivid image of Stella's barely covered body still lingering inside their minds. However, as soon as they began chatting with one another what their plans for the day is, they finally managed to put the awkward image to the back of their minds.

"So you are planning to head down the dungeon?" Stella asked her son.

"Yes, mother." Bell answered with a nod. "We can't miss a single day of training. Plus earning more money is always good for the familia."

"You're not pushing yourself too hard, are you?" Stella asked Bell with concern very evident in her tone.

"We're alright mother." Bell assured her mother with a confident tone and smile. "We do take breaks from our dives regularly."

"That's good." Stella smiled as she reached up and ruffled her son's white hair. "I'm just worried you might be neglecting your health."

The other members of the familia smiled fondly as they watched Bell get slightly flustered as he realized he was being watched by his fellow members. Though feeling a bit awkward due to being watched, he wouldn't pushed his mother's hand away. He knew that his mother was just being worried about him, plus receiving such affection from his mother felt really nice and warm.

He didn't realized it before, but he now figured out that he was missing this kind of warmth. To know that his long lost mother actually cared for him. it was a wonderful feeling.

"So we will be going down the dungeon later in the day." Bell stated towards his mother subtly hiding his wanting of being able to show off just how strong he is to his mother. "What will you be doing, mother?"

Every one present looked at Stella with an expression of curiosity written all over their faces.

From their very first meeting they stumbled in through the Hostess of Fertility and saw just how powerful Stella was. She was was strong enough to make the members of the Loki familia intimidated! They were incredibly interested in seeing just what the woman was truly capable of. It was an unspoken fact that they all knew that the woman in question wasn't an ordinary woman after all.

As they were staring at the woman, Stella opted to remain in complete silence. An expression of pure contemplation was all over her exquisite face. It was quite the simple question, yet the amount of time spent by Stella thinking was something that puzzled each and every one of them.

It was as if Stella was thinking about doing something which she founds herself intensely hesitant about.

As the members of the Hestia familia became uncomfortably conscious on how the atmosphere around them became quite awkward, the woman in question finally broke through the uncomfortable silence with a deep sigh.

"Sorry for taking a bit too long to respond." Stella smiled as she swept her gaze around the Hestia familia members before finally stopping at her son. "I'm quite curious to see how you strong you've gotten, sweetie."

Finally hearing what his mother thinks, Bell couldn't help but reveal a huge grin.

"Of course!" Bell grinned as he clenched his hands tightly into a fist. "I'll show you how strong I am, mother."

I'll make you proud of me!

The walk from their home to the guild was quite possibly as awkward as their walk from the Hostess of Fertility to their home with all of the people they pass by having their eyes drawn inextricably glued unto Stella.

This was something the entire Hestia familia needs to get used to if Stella was to stay with them indefinitely. While they were quite the famous familia due to their past exploits, the attention on them increased tenfold as Stella walked with them. Though they were beginning to feel self conscious, all of them endured and kept their heads straight as they passed through.

Due to being a renard with enhanced hearing due to her ears, Haruhime had actually been able to hear most of the words the people ogling at Stella were saying and she couldn't help but blush much more furiously being already quite shy.

The words ranged from not harmful pure praise :

Who is that woman?

She is so beautiful!

Wow. Look at that hottie right there!

Isn't those the Hestia familia? Just how is that gorgeous woman connected with them?

I need to know her name.

To rude and lewder comments:

Damn. Look at that chick right there!

That woman is so sexy!

Look at her body!

What I wouldn't do just to have someone like her in my bed.

Not to her surprise, these words aimed at Stella came from members of both men and women. Stella just had that kind of beauty that can attract anyone regardless of gender.

Haruhime felt too uncomfortable hearing all those words directed towards the mother of the boy who risked everything to save her. While the praise was something she understood, the much more lewder remarks disgusted her quite a bit. Though she decided not to act on it or tell Bell about it, she didn't want to cause any commotion or trouble which could make her fellow familia members at risk. After all, all of these people saying those words could only stare. However, ff they did anything that can cause harm to them, then that will be a different matter.

Perhaps sensing her unrest, Haruhime felt a hand gently grabbed her right shoulder and give it a light squeeze. Looking to her side, she saw Stella looking at her with kind eyes and a small warm smile as if to say everything was alright.

While there were no words exchange between the both of them, Haruhime was grateful to the woman for being able to tell that she was feeling a bit unwell and offered her comfort.

She returned the woman's warm smile with one of her own.

Upon reaching the guild, Stella stopped in her tracks as she let her eyes wander just silently observing the exterior appearance of the guild with eyes filled with contemplation and curiosity.

Sensing Stella stop, Bell and the others stopped in their tracks as well and looked back to see the woman silently observing the guild from the outside. There was something about the emotions hidden beneath the crimson eyes of the woman as she stared in silence that piqued their interest. However, respecting the woman in question, they remained their questions unasked.

"Mother?" Bell gently called out which made Stella turn to him. "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing." Stella shook her head though the expression in her face was a bit stern. "Nothing for now, dear."

He wanted to ask his mother further, but he decided against it. He shouldn't pushed his mother too much. All his questions will be answered hopefully in time. For now, the presence of his mother is enough. Her warmth and kindness was enough.

"Alright." Bell smiled and gestured his hand towards the entrance of the guild. "Let's head inside."

"Of course, sweetie." Stella smiled as she followed Bell and his friends as they entered inside.

As they pass through the entrance of the guild, all present inside the guild had their attention drawn unto them without any notable exception. They were quite famous after all, but significantly more attention was drawn to them today due to the mere presence of the woman standing right next to their group.

Stella.

All of them, except Stella, released a deep sigh.

This was something they must definitely need to get used to.

A female half-elf with short light brown hair paired with emerald-colored eyes had her eyes jumping from Bell to Stella and back from behind the guild counter.

This half-elf was known as Eina Tulle. A receptionist working for the guild. Due to being the guild advisor of the boy, she had grown close and fond with Bell Cranel. Though she knew that Bell was skilled, she was always carefully guiding and supporting the boy as she was worried for his safety.

Bell saw Eina and gave her a wave of his hand as a greeting paired with a smile as he walked over to her.

"Hello, Eina-san!" Bell greeted with a smile. "We're about to head down!"

"I see." Eina nodded with a smile. "I know I say this every day you come here, but please be careful. Just because you've grown a lot since you're first day here and you're now here with your fellow familia members, that doesn't mean you should grow careless."

Bell let out a small chuckle as he found it quite cute and heartwarming that Eina was always worried for them. Hearing the boy chuckle made Eina blush quite a bit.

Eina faked a cough and was about to say something when she saw the woman that resembled Bell quite a lot.

"Bell-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Is that woman walking up to here a new member of your familia?" Eina looked pass Bell which made Bell turn back and saw Stella walking right up to them.

"Oh. Not really. No." Bell shook his head then rubbed the back of his head as he blushed a bit and release an embarrassed chuckle. "Hehe."

"Hm?" Eina raised a brow as she saw the curious reaction from Bell caused by her question. "Then who is she?"

As the woman finally caught up to them, Bell looked at her and gave a fond smile before turning to Eina.

"Eina-san, I want you to meet my mother." Bell gestured to Stella. "Stella."

Eina felt the time freeze its flow in the world as soon as she heard the word come out of Bell's mouth.

"Eh?" Eina blinked. "EH!?" She blinked several times again before clutching her hands in her chest and let out a loud reaction. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH!?"

"MOOOOOTTTTTHHHHHEEEEEERRRRR!?" A wild loud shout of pure shock and bewilderment followed through making a commotion within the interior of the guild.

All eyes and ears within the guild were now drawn towards their location. A huge commotion was now unfolding as everyone present tried to push their way to the now gathered crowd just to catch a glimpse of the extraordinarily enchanting woman that turned out to be the mother of the outstanding adventurer rookie, Bell Cranel.

Eina stood there in awe as she raised a shaking finger and pointed at Stella whom was standing right next to Bell with a hand on his shoulder.

"M-m-m-mother?" Eina repeated with a shaking tone of voice. "R-r-r-really?"

Bell now feeling a bit shy due to the crowd formed around them gave out a nod as a reply to the half-elf.

Eina couldn't help but gawk at the beautiful woman whom was now introduced as the mother of Bell Cranel. She had never heard anything regarding the parents of Bell, not even the slightest bit of information. So hearing that his long lost mother had returned after so long and is now staying with him was certainly a surprise.

Hearing the not-so-subtle whispers directed at Stella and Bell, Eina furrowed her brows. Before she could even say something to reprimand the gathered crowd, someone barged in and yelled.

"What exactly is the meaning of this!?" A voice sternly called out. "Why is there a crowd formed here in front of the counters!?"

Everyone looked back towards the back of the counter behind the receptionists and saw a fat male elf with white hair and green eyes. While his height was not that short, his fat made him look smaller than he actually was. He wore a formal black suit that is of a better quality that the regular employees of the guild.

This elf was Royman Mardeel. The head of the guild.

"Leave now or I'll hold off any quests for a week!" Royman threatened.

While they could still go down the dungeon and get magic stones to sell, quests was a good source of extra income. So the adventurers that weren't involved directly to the Hestia familia left while mumbling complaints about the fat elf.

With only the Hestia familia and Stella left in front of Eina, things became much more quieter. With a breath of relief, Eina along with the Hestia familia members visibly relaxed.

Eina then faked a cough gathering Bel and the other's attention.

"Sorry for going a bit overboard with my reaction." Eina gave a bow with her apology.

"It's fine, it's fine!" Bell waved his hand as if to gesture that it wasn't a big deal. "We reacted the same way the first time, after all."

Eina raised a brow at this, curious to learn more. However, before she could even ask a question, the fat elf behind her cleared his throat and looked at her and the Hestia familia with a stern gaze.

"If you're just going to stand here and talk, leave." He complained before turning to Eina. "And I believe you're working?"

Eina's eyes widened and then gave a deep bow towards Royman.

"I'm sorry, Sir!" She apologized with a fearful tone.

Royman gave out a snort as he looked down on the half-elf with a slight smirk.

"Whatever, just stop wasting time and get back to w-"

Just as the elf was about to complete his sentence, a heavy pressure was suddenly felt all around inside the guild. All present inside, even the adventurers, felt their bodies shiver quite a bit and sweat. As they didn't know where the origin of the pressure is, the adventurers drew their weapon prepared for any attack.

Unlike the adventurers and the guild employees, Royman actually knew where the pressure originated from. Or to be more precise, whom it originated from. He looked back towards a long corridor that stretched out towards the center of the guild ending with a staircase going down. Just as he was about to walk to the corridor, he saw the woman with long white hair pass right by him going towards the corridor.

"W-w-w-w-WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU LOWL-!"

Stella looked back at him with crimson eyes narrowed in a dangerous glare cutting his sentence off.

"You think too highly of yourself, elf." Stella stated in a serious tone. "Lower yourself. Kneel."

"Wha-!"

All of a sudden, Royman felt a heavy pressure crush down on top of him making his knees buckle resulting in him falling down to the floor on his hands and knees. He sweated profusely as he tried to muster any strength he had only to result in him almost fainting as he felt the pressure get heavier.

Stella walked in further towards the end of the corridor before Bell called out to her.

"Mother!"

Stella stopped and looked back to see her son and his friends looking right back at her with an expression that was a mix of both worry and slight fear.

"Don't worry, sweetie." Stella cooed. "I'll just be visiting an old... acquaintance."

Located underneath the guild was the 'Room of Prayer'. In the middle of this prayer room was a tall a tall structure resembling that of a concrete platform of some sort with a throne laying on top. Sitting on the throne was an old looking man with shoulder-length white hair and blue eyes filled with knowledge. His outfit consists of a white robe with a black hooded cloak.

This man was the god known as Ouranos.

The true head of the guild.

While he thought nothing worthy of his attention was going to unfold this day as usual, he felt a sudden chill that proved he thought wrong. This sensation of wrongness that he felt was caused as he sensed the sudden appearance of a presence.

A presence he thought that he would've never ever feel again.

He tried to deem it impossible, yet the presence felt so clear that it had to be real and no illusion on his senses.

Not knowing how to react, he clenched his teeth in frustration. Deep within, he wanted to ignore it entirely, but the presence in question was of someone whom he knew cannot simply be left alone.

This person was dangerous.

Incredibly so.

He had to know what this person needs.

What the arrival of this person means.

So after delving deep into his thoughts, the god finally reach to a conclusion. He braced his body and let out a wave of his aura that was certain to be felt by everyone currently present in the guild.

After a short moment, he finally felt a wave of pressure answer right back. Feeling the presence grew closer and closer to where he was, Ouranos braced himself as he waited for the person in question to reach him with a feeling of both anticipation and dread.

As soon as a pair of glowing crimson orbs appeared in the darkness of the staircase that connected to the prayer room, Ouranos stood up and let out another wave or pressure this time much stronger and was directly aimed at the person to whom the crimson orbs belonged to.

The crimson orbs grew brighter with intensity as the person within the darkness answer right back with a wave of pressure of its own.

At the clashing of two pressure from two different powerful sources, the entire structure of the guild started to tremble violently as if there as currently a strong earthquake unfolding.

After a full minute of the clash, Ouranos felt a sweat dropped from his forehead. With a deep sigh, he finally stopped and sat back down on his throne with trembling legs.

""I've never expected to be able to have the opportunity to see you again." Ouranos let out a deep breath.

Ouranos swallowed as the sounds of the footsteps within the darkness grew closer and closer.

"The tainted one." He called out. "The corrupted white. The ultimate blight."

The owner of the crimson orbs finally step out the darkness and into the room revealing a woman with long flowing white hair which the god honestly didn't want to see.

"Stella, The Betrayer."

To be Continued.

Afterword

Hey there!

First I want to say thanks for everyone who followed and favorite this story! It means a lot to me to see just the amount of positive support. Sorry for taking a bit long and thank you all for being patient! This chapter should've been upload earlier, but I felt unsatisfied with the earlier draft and decided to edit it out a bit. After a bit of change here and there, I finally felt satisfied with the outcome and here we are!

Seeing all of the reviews for the story is always great and a huge source of motivation!

As always, if you spot any mistakes regarding spelling, grammar, and/or continuity, please don't hesitate to tell me all about them! If you have any recommendation for the story, please feel free to tell me all about them in a review or a message!

Please tell me what you think of the story so far in a review, as they are always so helpful!

Thanks for the support!

Thanks for reading!

See ya in the next chapter!

Laters~