The next morning.

"Grandpa, your face is swollen?"

"I walked into a door last night getting some water!" Zeus said, with a black eyes and some bruises.

Nox, in her owl form, puffed her chest up with pride.

"So are you leaving Cirrus?" said Bell as he was eating breakfast.

"I am. Now that I have settled my business, I’ll be leaving."

"Can’t you stay another day?" he said with puppy dog eyes.

"Hmm… I can stay for a while longer, but I need to get going."

"Yay!!" Bell quickly finished his breakfast and went outside. "I’m ready when you are!!"

"Alright, I’ll be done in a minute!"

Bell closes the door and runs around outside.

"So what got you in a hurry?" said Zeus.

"Well, I left Orario without permission, so I'd rather not be close to the city, and well, my partner is with Hera."

"Ah yes, you mentioned that before. Say, at what level are you? Depending on your level, they wouldn’t really care."

"Oh, I reached level 8."

"I see well level Cough! Cough! Eight!"

‘This damn kid!! He’s a true damn monster! To have reached such a level so young! It’s unheard of!! But… he is her son after all…’

"Well... You shouldn’t worry too much. Going after a level 8 like you would be a massive waste of resources, and even if they do, I doubt you would go down without a fight."

"Hm... Well, unless Artemis comes after me?"

"Artemis? What did you do? Peak in on her when she’s bathing?"

"No, I’m not a piece of shit. Who does that? I, um… you remember the moon, right?"

"… D-did you-"

"I cracked the moon, yes."

"… Pft-hahahahaha!!!! To think she would lose her 'celestial maidenhood' like that!! Hahahaha!!! How amazing!! I never thought that was a possibility!! Are you sure you aren’t one of mine?"

"I really hope not."

"Ah~," He wipes some tears from his face. "I haven’t had a good laugh in a long time! But if Artemis is on your trail, that’s some bad luck. She’s heaven's best tracker and an even better archer. I would know."

"I know I have traveled with her. She also taught me how to hunt, track, and do some wilderness survival. I have and covered my tracks."

"I take back my words kid, you might actually evade her if you can reach level 8 at such a young age I’m sure you can get away from her."

"Thanks. I took a trip through the monster-infested forests to get here." Cirrus finishes eating his food. "Now I guess I’ll spend some time with Bell before I go."

"It was good to see you, kid. But you really should watch your back. Artemis will catch her prey."

"Then she will have to really work for it then."

Walking out of the home with Nox on his shoulders, he sees Bell playing with a stick. He swung it like a sword.

"Alright, Bell, why don’t you show me around the place?"

"Okay!! Can I get on your shoulders? I wanna be high up!"

"Sure."

Cirrus knelt and put Bell back on his shoulders.

"Now where to first?"

"There first!" He points in a direction.

Bell began to show him around the countryside.

He showed him the fields of grass, a fresh waterfall, and even the town.

The place this boy lived was so peaceful and happy, Cirrus felt a bit envious of him having such warmth around him.

Out on the open plains with a nice breeze, Cirrus, Nox, and Bell simply look at the sky.

"Hey umm…" Bell asked nervously.

"What is it, Bell?" Cirrus takes a bit of his apple and glances at Bell.

"Umm. Do you think I can be a hero?" His face was flushed red.

"Well... yeah, I guess." Cirrus holds the apple near his shoulder so Nox can eat some as well.

"Really!"

"Yeah, I mean, if you want to be a hero, go for it. Just don’t be a fool and rush in."

‘Says the pot calling the kettle black much.’

"D-do you, really!!"

"Of course, if you want to do it so badly, then go for it, but I would suggest you listen to your grandpa. People his age have a wealth of knowledge that is valuable. Remember that, Bell, if one is more experienced than you, you should heed their advice. I would prefer you to take their words with some grain of salt as well, including mine. "

"O-okay!"

"Now… do you wanna know about anything or what?"

"Oh, um, why is the sky blue? Grandfather said it was because it looked nice."

"Why do you think it’s blue?"

"Mmm… it’s a reflection of the ocean!"

"Yea, you're right! Anymore?"

"Um… how do you pick up girls?"

"Well, you--…" Cirrus goes quiet, and he processed what Bell said. He looks at Bell, but he still had that innocent look about him. He meant it with no ulterior motives. He was just really curious. "… Well, the first thing you need to know is this Bell."

Bell was paying close attention.

"You pick up girls by… not being a sack of shit."

"What?"

"Be nice and respectful to them. Do not expect them to owe you just because you are nice to them. They are people, Bell, not objects."

"O-okay!"

"And your grandpa… take some of his advice with a grain of salt, alright? A really enormous rock of salt."

"Got it!"

‘I really hope you got it. I don’t want Zeus to make you like him.’

Bell would ask him some questions for a while.

Some more time passed, and it was finally noon.

"Seems it’s time for me to go." He said, getting up.

"W-will I see you again!" he said with anticipation in his eyes.

"Hmm…" Cirrus cleans off the dirt off his clothes. "Maybe, but hey, tell you what? I will return to Orario one day and if you can find me without any help, then I’ll tell you more stories, alright?"

"Hm!" He said, shaking his head.

"Then it’s a promise." Cirrus bent over and extended his pinky.

"Promise!" he shook with his pinky as well.

"Then I must go now. Ah, before I go, I have some advice if you want to be a hero, Bell."

"W-what is it!!" He said starry-eyed.

"A hero… is a person who simply helps others not because they should or must, but because it is the right thing to do. There will be times when you will be faced with hard decisions and a dangerous monster. You won’t know what to do until you are face to face with it. I want you to remember that. We are still human, we make mistakes, and no one is perfect."

"Oooh! I understand!"

"No, you don’t." He said, messing with his hair. "You will understand one day, Bell." Cirrus began to walk southwest into the mountains. "See ya Bell!" he waved goodbye to him.

"Goodbye Cirrus!! Goodbye Nox!!" he shouted out as he watched as Cirrus slowly walked away with Nox on his head, disappearing into the woods.

Walking through the woods, Cirrus makes his way through the mountains that surround this peaceful little slice of the slow-life village.

"He was a rather cute kid, wasn’t he Cirrus!" said Nox, sitting on his shoulders in her human form.

"He was like a ray of sunshine… I wonder how Freya would describe his soul."

"Hmm… well I might not be able to see the soul like Freya or Circe with her magic, but I would like to think it’s like as you described, no wait, more like a pure white soul full of warmth and innocents!"

"I can see that. Just being around him and that village seems to add years to my life."

"You liked it that much, huh? Maybe we can live there when we retire!"

"Retire huh?" Cirrus thinks about it but remembers his body is 15, but his soul and mind are-

"Gii! Gii!" shouted some goblins.

"Ah… I was just thinking." Cirrus kicked some pebbles and killed them. "Hah… right retirement. I think I’m a few decades short of it… plus with the effects of the Falna, I think I can hope to retire around when I’m 100 or so?"

"So, 85 more years of a healthy life!"

"Not unless I level up again, in which case I’ll be looking 20 when I’m in my 50s, like how Finn is."

"Hmm… I kind of want to see you as an old man! I think you look rather refined with more white in your hair!" she says, rubbing his hair with a lock of white.

"I much prefer the graying of hair rather than Marie Antoinette Syndrome."

The two would banter with one another, moving through the day and the cover of night at breakneck speeds.

NotOriginal

How very apt that 200 chapters that this site is concerned is the chapter where Bell has more of an appearance.