The days went by as Kojiro and Bell basically only waited for Nyx to complete her business and come to get them. Until then, the two visitors had a sort of routine worked out for themselves. Training at least three times in the week at the barracks. Suffice to say, he never managed to beat any of the soldiers. But on the bright side, he hasn't been knocked out ever since that first time. Beaten black and blue, making him feel like he was drowning and set on fire, but never knocked out. It certainly gave him a sense of perspective. Simply because he felt that the soldiers were actually approachable. That he pushed them in some manner. Meanwhile with Kojiro, it felt like that every step he took forward, Kojiro merely stepped back once again when they trained in private. The only thing better with Kojiro was that his teacher was skilled and strong enough to afford holding back so that Bell wouldn't feel like a corpse every next morning.
Anyway, in between touring smaller shops for their specialties, watching whatever plays were on and getting their blood boiling with the tournaments occuring. Though he could tell that the plays were rather... biased.
He doubted the Radiance would beg Romulus so pathetically for mercy while taking off their armor. Nor did he believe that someone called the Braver acted like a cowardly cheater who Romulus beat with superior might as elves weeped around him and his soldiers singing the 'Roma' song. Still, he couldn't exactly fault people for having favorites. It was entertaining nonetheless, if giving Bell a strange feeling in his gut.
And the Thermae. One couldn't forget those. He might actually get addicted to the Thermae. Maybe he should start getting used to not going there or else his life outside of Roma would be very hard to adapt to, as the luxuries he enjoyed here would be gone by then. Maybe that was why Rakia was so dangerous. It could imprison people with their own desire for such a life. Sometimes Bell had to remind himself that he still had some stops he wanted to go by, as in Altena and Orario.
During that time, he liked to think that Welf became the second close friend he had mind in this journey so far. They just seemed to click with each other, in a way that he couldn't with Haruhime. Maybe it was the barrier of genders? Or maybe it was because Welf was already an older brother and knew exactly how to deal with Bell, keeping him amused and what not. Whatever the case, Bell knew he was going to miss him. Maybe it was because of all those memories he was gaining that the young man decided to keep a diary. He didn't believe himself as an author or imagined that his diary would be interesting unlike stories like Argonaut. But grandpa always did say that keeping track of one's memories was one of the many challenges that came with age. So why not start sooner? It was a bit difficult to recall what happened in the Far East, but as he laid the pen down, Bell liked to think he got all the details that were important.
Then again, maybe the Haruhime sections were a bit too overly descriptive. Not to mention repetitive as he gave it a read over. Frowning, he crossed his arms. Maybe he should figure out more body gestures than head tilting, back scratching and whatever few things he used in his limited writing skill arsenal. Just as he reached for the pen, he heard footsteps approaching from the other room. Blinking, he looked up, seeing Welf grin at him widely.
"Hey, Bell, buddy! Got a minute?"
With that, the young man vanished back into his forge. Bell blinked before shrugging. Storing the diary at his hip, he stood up and followed him. Stepping next to Kojiro, he gave his teacher a questioning look. Kojiro shrugged nonchalantly before they turned to Welf, his hand on a piece of cloth covering something.
"Well, I promised ya some presents before leaving and a Crozzo keeps his word!" He proclaimed with a grin. Bell frowned a bit.
"You still won't accept any payment?" He asked, knowing where this was going. Welf was quite insistent in making them some sort of protection, as a sign of friendship. But there was a limit to how much Bell could accept without doing something for them. However Welf gave them a pointed look.
"How much cash do you have?"
"Err."
Bell reached into his pockets. Then he remembered that Kojiro usually kept the money. Turning to him, he saw the rather small bag of coins being thrown and caught a few times by the swordsman's palm. Kojiro smiled wryly before taking out two coins and flicking them at Welf, who yelped as they almost hit his head.
"Let's just accept his generosity, young master."
Honestly the albino wanted to give more money, but he decided to be happy they gave Welf anything at all. Whether he liked it or not, the world ran on the exchange of currency and they needed it if they wanted to rest anywhere in Altena and Orario but the streets. He liked having a warm bed as opposed to cold hard stone underneath him. Either way, Welf pocketed the coins, grumbling a bit before putting his hand back on the cover.
"Happy to introduce you too…" He trailed off dramatically before ripping off the cover and presenting his creations with a laugh. "Pyonkichi Bell Edition and Hien-Ryu for Kojiro!"
"..."
"..."
The two guests could only stare blankly at what Welf had created. The armor they were each given shone beautifully, the flame's light flickering on their pristine surface. For Bell, it was similar to the armor he admired before, only with a smoother build. Before it was sort of blocky but now it had fewer edges. It was accompanied with forearm and shin guards as well, leaving the joints free for more mobility. Kojiro on the other hand was offered one complete piece of chain mail, protection granted to his entire center, leaving his arms and legs bare. Overall they seemed to be of good quality. But that was not why they were silent. No, they were silent because of the unfortunate names their armors gained. While Hien-Ryu sounded cool enough, getting the same name Welf gave for armor intended for his little sister... and on top of that being such a cute name... suffice to say, Bell was at a loss for words. Fortunately enough, the blacksmith didn't seem offended at all, instead nodding knowingly as he crossed his arms.
"Yeah. I know. Gotta let it sink in for now."
Bell bit his lip. How could one convince someone that their taste was terrible? He certainly didn't know the answer to that, so all he could do was force a smile and nod a few times. Kojiro on the other hand had some words to share as he recovered and hummed thoughtfully as he tried the chain mail on.
"Well, I cannot say I am a fan of wielding armor."
"No worries, it won't slow you down!" Welf responded, raising his thumb. After a few minutes, Kojiro and Bell moved around a bit, with the latter jumping a few times while Kojiro pretended to swing a sword. The two turned to each other, smiling slightly.
"A bit awkward, but I will get used to it," Kojiro said with an approving nod. Bell tapped the chest piece a few times, tilting his head with curiosity.
"So how tough is it?"
Welf stared at him for a while, smacking his lips a few times. Before Bell could ask what he was doing, he suddenly raised his leg. The albino opened his mouth but the next instance, Welf's foot met him in the chest. Air escaped his lungs as he wheezed, flying backwards against the wall. He wasn't sure if the crack he heard was his own bones or the wall. Sliding down to the ground Bell blinked, staring at the shoe print on his chest while coughing. At the same time Welf turned to Kojiro, smirking as he threw his thumb at Bell.
"Pretty tough."
"Ow," Bell stood up, taking a deep breath. He sent Kojiro a glare as the man chuckled. His anger began to disappear when he realized with what force he was hit with. All things considered, he thought with wide eyes of wonder, this armor did its job.
"That's one way to sell your products," Kojiro said with an approving nod. Then he gestured towards Welf in a questioning manner. "Is this your blood's blessing or... ?"
The blacksmith cracked his neck in response, letting out a snort.
"Hey, I got to level 2 on my own just fine!" He cleared his throat awkwardly before waving his hand dismissively. "Pretty sure I cut my life short by weeks, what with not sleeping at all during that time, but hey, can't stop a fire when's goin', right?"
Bell and Kojiro sweated a bit at those words. Considering what Bell knew about level ups, it required a lot of effort to gain one. How hard did Welf push himself? While he was glad that he gained the skills to make such great armor, it made him pity the Crozzo a bit. The common sense after all was that outside Orario, one needed at least two or three times the amount of effort and trials to keep up with those in the City of Labyrinths.
"Please take more care of yourself," Bell said with a frown. The blacksmith winced before shaking his head with a sigh.
"Geez, you sound like Lord Quirinus." He paused before snickering a bit. "Well, not really, but you catch my drift?"
Bell blinked. What did he mean by that? Judging from the way Kojiro shook his head mirthfully, his mouth thinned. It was probably something teasing. Ignoring that, he waited for the two men to get satisfied with whatever joke they were happy with. Then Welf put his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest with pride.
"Anyway, with this, Pyonkichi Bell Edition and... uh, and... " He snapped his fingers a few times before giving up and pointing at Bell with a pointed look. "What are the names of your blades?"
"Oh." Bell coughed and averted his eyes. "Err. I... didn't think of any yet."
"Better make it fast. Beauties like these gotta be named," Welf argued. Kojiro nodded in agreement.
"Indeed."
The young man winced at their words before staring at the ground. Honestly he was trying to figure out proper names for a while. But every time he tried to come up with an idea, he came up with nothing. When he thought of the swords, he only saw them. No inspiration or some sort of imaginary dream he could name them after. They were still just... shiny. Blank pages in a sense. Maybe one day in the dungeon inspiration would strike but right now, he could do nothing but call them the Daisho as he did before.
Just as he was about to explain himself, loud gongs sounded in the distance. The next instance Welf shot up from his seat, his expression turning giddy.
"He's back!"
Without even waiting for them, the blacksmith rushed out, towards the massive amounts of cheering that grew louder and louder. Bell felt a bit dizzy as he could only watch Welf's retreating back. Only when Kojiro patted his shoulder did he snap out of it. Nodding to each other, the two men jogged after him. However, soon they met with some troubles. Simply put, they could not exactly get past the walls of people blocking them. Bell could see some openings here and there, but he eyed them nervously with a gulp. Would he get out of there alive again, he wondered? So in the end they gave up on that and decided to scale up a wall. Well, Kojiro did and proceeded to force Bell to hold onto him, carried like a monkey by its mother.
While his pride ached from this, at least now they had a good view from the rooftop. Bell gaped at the sight. Flowers were thrown in the air, some sort of water or wine was spilled all over the place, onto the waving and smiling soldiers. Some of them seemed a bit roughed up but other than that, they seemed all fine. To see so many people being loved was quite the sight for Bell.
"Roooooooooma!"
He recognized the voice, as the crowd exploded in cheers. His eyes wandered to the podium being dragged by animals, only for him to take a step back in shock.
"What happened to Romulus?!"
The man grinned widely, his teeth practically shining. However, he could only raise one arm, as the other was put into a sling. On top of that, his armor was cracked all over the place, a piece of its shoulder guard being completely gone. The bandages around his arms, covering them as well half of his face certainly served as a contrast to the perfect picture of a leader he presented when Bell first met him. Despite those wounds however, the crowd didn't seem bothered. Actually they even turned louder in excitement, as if the wounds were medals to look at.
"Hoh. He must've met a strong opponent." Kojiro shook his head mirthfully. "Knowing the past trends, perhaps one of my other companions?"
"The fact that I believe you is very terrifying on its... own... " Bell trailed off, his dry expression turning blank as he looked at what was behind Romulus. "What... ?"
A bearded dwarf. A cat woman. Even a male elf. They wore clothes typical to those races, at least from what Bell could tell from the story books. A bit dirty, shirts, pants and robes, but overall in good condition. However, what stood out the most weren't the state of their clothes or the way they knelt behind him. No. It was the eyes. They reminded him of the time he saved Haruhime.
When he saw the life disappear from the man he killed. Further back, he could see even more individuals, actually stuck in cages as they hugged their knees, staring at nothing. Bell jumped a bit when Kojiro stepped in front of him. Looking up, he saw the man sigh as he glanced back at his student.
"I was hoping you wouldn't have to see it. Spoils of the victor."
It was then that Bell covered his mouth, slowly shaking his head. The dark thoughts he hid away in his subconscious resurfaced. The side that recognized how Rakia could gather so much wealth. After all...
For someone to win, someone else had to lose.