______ 2 Days Later__________
Bell sharpened a sword with a wet stone, curiously, the stone being the same one which had made his transmigration possible.
The last time, he had picked it back up after it gave professional dental care to that goblin, even in heaven it would still remember the special 'care' it had gotten from the rock.
In fact, the reason Bell was sharpening his borrowed sword with this exact stone was twofold.
First, this stone was surprisingly good for sharpening a sword, giving it a sharp edge.
Second, who knew, since it was responsible for transmigrating him, it might still have some juice left in it, a sword sharpened by it might gain the unexpected effect of sending some of the slain foes directly to reincarnate in another world.
Then a new story would be born.
'I ,the Goblin King was beheaded, but got reincarnated as a sheep in another world.'
Bell was bought out from his musings by a gentle and caring voice.
"Are you ready Bell? We'd be taking a carriage today to Orario." Astraea spoke gently to Bell, looking at him being lost in thought while sharpening his new sword.
"Yes, Goddess Astraea, I'm ready to go back to Orario." Bell spoke gently to her, as he wrapped up sharpening his sword and put the special rock back inside the sachet on his back.
But only he knew how hard it was to have Goddess Astraea accept coming to Orario with him, after all that place carried too many painful memories for her.
He'd had to kneel to her for a full two hours, just to consider it, then another two for her to accept.
Honestly, his legs even working after that nightmare was a miracle in an of itself.
Yet, he did not even let out a squeak of discomfort at kneeling, because he knew just how personal and hard his request was for her.
Going back to the same place where her former Familia was slaughtered, asking that of her was undoubtedly cruel, yet he and she both understood that they had to take that step eventually, because only in Orario could he access the dungeon and get stronger exponentially than merely hunting surface monsters.
Another thing he found from Goddess Astraea was that he was the only current Familia member of her Familia.
Which was honestly baffling, since he remembered in *Danmachi*, It was shown that Goddess Astraea had rebuilt her Familia in Solingen, with the new Familia captain being a girl named Cecil Blackliza.
When he asked Goddess Astraea about it, she indeed said that a girl with that name had sought her out to join her Familia, but she had rejected her due to not having any thoughts about forming a new Familia.
This alarmed him greatly but also shone light on a truth he had never conformed since his transmigration.
It being that since this world was real, there was no way that it would follow the storyline of *Danmachi* to a tee.
It was good that he had been cautious and not blindly followed the storyline of *Danmachi* to make plans around, if he had done that, he might not even have known how he died.
"Let's go, Goddess Astraea." Bell spoke resolutely after finishing his thoughts and sliding his now razor sharp sword into a normal sheath bound to his side.
Bell started walking out of Goddess Astraea's home and stood besides her, taking in the house along with her which had been a home for him for days, and probably years for Goddess Astraea.
He felt Goddess Astraea's hand slide down to intertwine with his own, taking a last look at what had been her home for so long and decisively turned her back towards it.
Bell felt her tug at his hand as he followed her towards the outer gates of Solingen, tightening his hold over her hand in reassurance.
They had thought about following a contingent to Orario, the same way Bell had come to Solingen.
Therefore, Bell of course had to hit up his good ol' big brother Koenji and negotiate a reasonable price with him, to take him and Goddess Astraea to Orario, joining any contingent that would be going there.
Bell reached the area at the outer gates where carriages were parked and looked for that eastern styled carriage and found it quickly, dragging Astraea with his hand towards it.
"How are you doing big bro Koenji? It's been three - four days, how have you been?" Bell spoke with enthusiasm as he walked up to Koenji standing besides his trusty carriage and greeted him with causal ease.
"Lil' bro Bell, I'm dandy, how've you been? Yesterday you just suddenly showed up at my home, and asked about another journey to Orario, and since it was you, how could I refuse?" Koenji spoke with mock irritation while clapping Bell's shoulder like they were old buddies.
Then his gaze was drawn to the breathtakingly beautiful women besides Bell, who had her hand intertwined with Bell's.
For a moment, he blushed due to her overwhelming and commanding aura, but then his face went pale as recognition sank it, about her being a Goddess, since humans absolutely could not have the same gentle and serene beauty as her.
"I'm sorry for my disrespectful behaviour from earlier, Goddess." Koenji spoke quickly while quickly trailing his eyes to the ground, not daring to take another look at her.
"It's fine sir, no need to keep your gaze downwards, I didn't take any offense." Astraea spoke gently to Koenji, who was acting like a child who had done something wrong.
"It is my pleasure to meet you Goddess, I'm Koenji, a far eastern merchant who had taken care of Bell while his journey to Solingen." Koenji spoke with respect and slight caution while pulling his gaze back up from the ground.
"Thank you for taking care of my child, I'm Goddess Astraea, and Bell is a member of my Familia." Astraea introduced herself with impeccable elegance to Koenji.
Bell watched their greetings and breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't want any problems to happen between his Goddess and his big bro.
_______ 10 Minutes Later ___________
Bell watched with Goddess Astraea as the their contingent drove outside the gates of Solingen, into the wilderness.
He took a one last glance at Solingen, the city he found his Goddess in.
Not just his Goddess but a family.
A place to call home.
Maybe he'd come back here someday when everything was over and live a simple life with Goddess Astraea just like these past few days.
It was a goodbye to Solingen.
But
I am the storm that is approaching...Orario.