For the (Sake) of Others

I don't like people. Well, maybe that's a bit of an over exaggeration. It's not that I hate people, its that I don't like being around others. I... I just don't want to get close to people and only to be betrayed, or hurt them in some way. I've been like this for as long as I remember. I didn't like hanging around the kids in the village and I always felt like I was bothering them whenever I was around them. Of course, there were expectations. My family ar- were an obvious one. But then there was Gretel, the only other person my age who I was able to connect with. Sure, after a while we didn't see each other because she joined Dia's familia, but even now I consider her my best friend. Even if she might hate me after what I did last time we met.

I was thinking about this because I was surprised. I've been going into the dungeon with Bell for about half a week now and week and a half with Lily. They're weird. First off, it's so hard to think that Bell is even... real. Not because of his strength, which is immense, but because of his attitude. He is way too nice. The fact that he can't tell Lily despises him or is planning something shows that he's pretty gullible, and that he keeps taking her snide remarks in stride tells me he's a good kid. I keep calling him a kid, but he's just two years younger than me. Then, there's Lily. I like her. Not in a romantic way of course. I know she hates me at the moment, but she's also kind. She has two moods it seems. Being fake nice, and despising me. But, I can see a few things in her. I said it before, but she's amazing at keeping our backs safe, not to mention the fact that she hasn't shot either Bell or I. She's also weirdly honest. She never hides some crystals for herself, even when we first met. And she still tries to argue with us to take more money for ourselves.

I want to get to know the two of them better, even if it ends up being a mistake later on. Mom and Dad always said it was important to make friends. Even if there are assholes you meet, there are special people out there. Maybe those two are some of them. Honestly, I still don't know. Even if we do become close I... I don't want to end up hurting them. Especially with where I need my life to go. But, I'll cross the bridge when I get to it.

Getting off my bed, I tapped on the front of my shoes to make sure they were perfectly in place and tight then put my scarf on. Lily, Bell and I decided to take a break from the dungeon for the weekend. Not because any of us are exhausted, but Bell had a few things that he needed to do. Honestly, I did have some chores of my own, but nothing that would take up the whole day, so I had my only casual outfit on. I'll have to find something to do. Eh, wouldn't hurt to do a little bit of training. Opening the door of my room to leave, I expected nothing. After all, the twilight Manor was still mostly empty. But, of course, Loki was waiting just in front of my door. "Viole~ Take me out on a date!"

"I'm busy." I refused in the nicest way I could. I knew I made a mistake telling her I had a day off yesterday, but I didn't expect her to take it in this direction. I don't mind, per say. It seems like this is the way that Loki shows her affection for her children. Doesn't make it not annoying or weird. "Sorry Loki, but I've got a few things that I need to do today. I need to get my gloves repaired." Pulling the gloves out from my back pocket, I showed it to her. "I've been a little... rough with it. Sorry, once again."

Rubbing her chin, the goddess smirked as she examined the gloves. "Well, it's a good thing that I gave it to you! Rather have those gloves mangled than your hands." She said with a wry grin. Perking up, she gave me a soft slap on the arm. "Fine, but you owe me a date!" Now why would I- "Those gloves cost me ten mil after all! Dinner isn't too much of an ask, now is it?" Ugh, and of course her wry smile turned smug.

"...fine. Mom did teach me to pay back favors. Next time, alright?"

"Yipppe!" With that, my carefree goddess left me to my own devices. And by own devices, I mean leaving me feeling like I just made a huge mistake. Whatever. Getting Loki to relax for a while without booze should be good for everyone. Deciding that I'll deal with that later, I walked out of the manor and towards Bable. Not to go into the dungeon, but into the tower itself. Turns our, the tower isn't just used to keep the monsters of the dungeon trapped. It was also a giant shopping center. One that reached into the sky. In fact, apparently Freya's familia calls the tower their home base. As I walked towards the tower, Bell and I came across each other. He seemed to be waiting for someone so he and I only shared a nod.

Once inside the tower, I took an elevator up to the smithing floor. Well, the first smithing floor. The one for the cheap stuff. Sure, I know that Loki said it cost her a lot, but I'm its not like I'm going in the replace the thing, just fix up the monster hide that protected the glove's metal and my hands. Walking through the floor, I made it to my destination, a repair shop that Tione recommended to me.

Inside, the shop owner was lounging behind his desk, reading a book and smoking. Tilting his book down, the old man sat up and blew out a puff of smoke. "Mornin. What can I get cha for?" I placed the black gloves down in front of him.

"I'd like for these to be repaired. As soon as possible, tomorrow at the latest." Honestly, they were in a sorry state. Holes were all over the fabric, both the back and the front of the weapon. Steel was visible around the fingers and knuckles. "From my inspection, the metal doesn't seem damaged at all. So please just patch it up."

With his eyes bulging out of their sockets, the old man picked them up and waved them in my face. "Did you let a killer ant chew on em?! How the hell did they get this damaged?!" Probably my constant punching and stabbing? Oh, a killer ant did try to chew on my hand one time too. So you're kinda right. Deciding that answering would be more trouble than it would be worth, I just gave him a shrug. He let out a sigh and placed them back down. "Fine. But it'll cost a lot. If you don't have the money tomorrow, I'll throw them into the dungeon."

Nodding my head, I turned on my heel and left the shop. Well that lasted like half and hour? What should I do now? There was a lot I could do. Shop around for some magic tools? Nah, while I have a decent amount of cash, I don't have enough to buy the actually useful shit. I don't have friends to hang out with either. Bell and Lily are the closest I have to friends, but Bell is busy and Lily is... wherever she is. Wonder what Aiz is doing right now? I couldn't help but take a glance back at Babel as I walked out of it. The dungeon is sitting just below... and it's not like Loki knows where I am. No. Be patient. What's the point of getting stronger, if I'm going to be killed before I even start my journey? Besides, I'm not wearing my armor. So, I don't have any plans. And if I go back to the manor, Loki'd pester me to go on a date with her. Whatever, let's check out that spot Aiz told me about.

Heading to the edge of town, I reached my destination. On top of the wall that separated Orario from the rest of the world, there was a small free space large enough to train on comfortably. Apparently most of the wall's roofs were locked and guarded. But, this one was always left open for the sword princess. Now, is that because she's super strong or super cute? For some reason, thinking she was cute was embarrassing. Well, she is objectively! No need to get so... ugh. I'm getting more embarrassed trying to defend myself.

I groaned at my own strange thoughts. Deciding to put it away, I activated my magic and began to go through the training regiments that Dad taught me. The magic didn't help me in any way, but why not try to increase my resistance to mind down while I'm here. And so, I trained the day away.

Supporter

Orario is a cesspool. For a lot of reasons. The main reason being that it's teeming with parasites. Those parasites calling themselves adventurers. I won't go into my hatred for adventurers for the thousandth time. While I loooove shitting on those living sacks of Minatour shit, I was busy getting robbed at the moment. It's not a strange occurrence here in Orario, given that its crawling with assholes who think they're a god powered by the actual gods. It's a semi-memorable experience to any normal person here in this city, but to me it's just another saturday.

Why? Well, I'm a part of the Soma familia. A familia made up entirely of alcoholics who would do anything to sniff Soma's sweaty sack if he poured some wine on them. Disgusting maggots, but hey, that's life. These two addicts threw me onto the floor of the ally they found me in. Fuck, I wasn't careful enough! I knew I should have listened for footsteps before I left my hideout. Even though they already had a bag of money in their hands, the bastards were still looking at me like they were expecting something. "Is this all you got, little lady? I would hate to see what would happen if you're holding out on us." The fat fuck sounded drunk already, so why was he looking for me? Yeah, I'm just peachy now. This black eye definitely doesn't hurt at all.

"My, my. Now what would happen if you did?" Before I could yell at the addicts, a strange voice rang out from behind the two. Where the alley leads into another pathway. The shitheads turned to the voice and allowed me to see who interrupted this lovely encoun-

"Viole?" What the hell is he doing here? And why does he look so... weird? I'm used to seeing the freak by now, even with his scarf off. But now something was... off. He usually spoke with such an apathetic and distant tone but that one just sounded strangely excited and joking. The only thing that I could see on his covered face, his eyes, were bright red and glaring at my contemporaries. I'm pretty sure they didn't usually look like that.

Coming closer towards us, his usual guarded yet brisk walk was replaced with one of excitement. Like he had a pep in his step. Is he... happy to see me like this? I knew this bastard was fucking- "Now then, if you two would kindly moce away from my friend and return what you stole, we can all go our merry ways." Closing in on my familia, the freak threw a hand over the fat one's shoulders and stared deep into his eyes. "If you don't, I'll just have to rip your throats out~" What?

"hahaHAHAHAHA!" With a maniacal laugh, the fat fuck threw Vi- the freak's arm off of him. "The hell do you think you are?! If you know this bitch-" His eye twitched at that. "Then you're probably a level 1! I ain't got a reason to be scared of you!"

"That so? Well, you are right. I'm a level 1, and don't have much experience under my belt... but I'm not a fucking idiot. I might not be able to rip you a new one, but Aiz and Finn should be able to. Awww, but then it wouldn't be as fun... oh well! As long as you're bleeding out your eyes, I'll be happier than a drunk sailor!" The hell? He usually didn't talk this much. Or so happily. The weirdest part to me, was that even though his voice carried so much joy, his face was still neutral. I can't see his full face, sure. But you could tell if a bastard was smiling with a mask on. He definitely wasn't.

Looking between his partner in crime, me and V- the freak, the alcoholic threw my money into my lap. "So you're Loki's new kid... you're wasting your time caring about this rat. Maybe do something else with your useless life and you'd get somewhere."

"That so? Well, I couldn't care less what a drunk troglodyte like you has to say. Besides, is that all you got? If you aren't brave enough to hit me, at least say something harsher~ I can take the punishment."

"Freak." Sending me an angry glare, my two fellow familia left the way Vi- the fre- the way he came. Finally leaving me alone to get robbed by this guy instead. Cool. Great, what a wonderful night for me to have.

Turning to me, my apparent savior couched down to inspect me. "Scue's me." Taking my hand into his, he inspected it before looking at me. "Are you alright?" His apathetic tone was back now. Well, it was until he looked up to the top of my head. "You're ears..."

"..." Welp. Busted. Seems like I die today. Seeing it was better to just be honest, and hope for a painless death, I pointed to my head. "It's magic. I'm not a fox... I'm a Pallum." With an 'Oh' he returned to normal once more, stood up and... put a hand out to me. "What? Want the money too?"

"I couldn't care less about money. I'm trying to help you stand up." So he wants me on my feet to punch me. "I'm not going to hurt you, Lily. I want to help you." Taking his hand, I used him to stand up and looked at him when I did. His eyes... they're Violet. I'd noticed his eyes were a weird color, but I never gave a damn enough to actually take in the information. They were pretty. Way too pretty for a guy like him. But, they weirdly fit him. An idiot but a trustworthy one. Wait, did I just fucking think that? Letting go of his hand, I clutched the bag I held tighter. No! He's an adventurer! He'll backstab me one way or another! They always do! "Thank you for the help, Sir Viole. But I must be on my way."

Before I could turn away, he grabbed onto my wrist. Shit! No, no, no! I can't! "Lily, please wait. Those guys, who were they?"

"They're part of the Soma familia. Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it." I didn't bother looking back at him. No, I just didn't want to look at him. I couldn't! "Now please leave me alone."

"How long has this been going on?"

"..." He didn't say anything and just kept his soft grip on me. If I wanted to, I could easily rip myself out of his hold and leave. So, why can't I? "...a while. Since I was a supporter." Shut up! Why are you answering him? "Can I go?"

I heard a long sigh come from him before the sound of cloth moving. After a moment, he let go of me and... wrapped his scarf around my neck. Ignoring the blood coming from my mouth and the dirt and grim covering my body. Why? "Lily, if it's alright with you, come stay with me. I'm sure I can strong arm Loki into giving you a room until we get those guys off your back." Why are you looking at me like that? I expected a few things. Pity, anger, resentment, hell even lust. Not... not what I could only describe as pure sadness. Why? WHY?!

"Why do you want to help me so much?"

He's an idiot. I knew that much by him paying me so much. He definitely has some brain damage for trusting both me and the white haired fool so much. But that's fine. I can use him like that. An idiot is easy to use. So just say something dismissive, or something stupidly hopeful! I... I didn't get that. "I want to help you because I care about you. I know you don't like me or trust me. But, I care about you. I... I want you in my life and I don't want you to get hurt." I felt a migraine begin to form when he said that, and my heart ached. It's no use. There's no way that I could predict he was this much of an idiot!

After staring into his eyes for a moment, I nodded my head and followed him towards the famous twilight manor. The whole time, I couldn't take my eyes off his back or stop gripping onto the scarf he wrapped around me. He's such a fucking idiot! A complete and utter dumbass who I can't ignore! If I don't keep my eyes on him, he's gonna do something stupid! I have to stay around him, or he'll make another stupid mistake. Okay? I have to. "Dammit, I already lost." Thankfully, Viole didn't hear me whisper to myself.

Adventurer

Loki was grinning at me. Never a good sign. It's an even worse sign that she started grinning after explaining Lily's situation. Glancing back at my supporter, she was hiding behind me and rubbing her hand over my scarf. Honestly, I was still a little worried with her wearing it. Not that I didn't trust her, just that it was so important to me and it was weird seeing someone else wear it. I can't count how many arguments with Abby I had because she wore it for a second.

Anyway, I came here to get Loki's permission and help. I didn't feel like I needed Loki's permission to help Lily, but I also hated the thought of her finding out I snuck a girl into my room. Not even a month into adventuring, yet I know that she will hold that act over me for life. Ugh, not to mention the rumors she'd spread. I don't want everyone thinking I'm some sort of playboy. "Viole. Buddy. Pal. I get what you're saying. But, are you sure you just don't want some Pallum pus-"

"Loki. Don't."

"Such a party pooper. It was just a joke." Standing up from her desk, she switched her gaze from me to my friend behind me. "I get the gist of it. Those guys were probably after this munchkin's money so they could get some Soma wine. Can't say I blame them. That shit's to die for!" Damn drunk.

"Wine, huh? Well, I don't care. Whether they were shaking her down for wine, or apples. They hurt Lily."

"Even if she was likely taking the money you paid her went to the same delicious wine?" She said with a strange tone.

Before I could even ask what she meant, Lily popped up from around me and shouted at my god. "Never! I was saving those Valias to leave that familia! I'm never going to be like those drunkards!" Lily? She was weirdly angry about that. Noticing what she just did, the short girl flinched before turning back to me. "I'm not lying Sir Viole. Please, I-"

"I trust you." It's Lily. Sure, I don't know her very well, but she isn't the type to do that. Turning back to Loki, I continued. "Do we have any spare rooms for her?"

"Rooms are for my familia. No one else."

"fine. I'll beg. Pl-"

"Viole Keres. What do you think this is, a hotel? We don't have a lot of space here." Immediately, she raised her hand to stop me from speaking. "Don't point out that this is basically a castle. And before you ask, I'm not giving the girl a loan or something. With all my familia away, I realized somethin. I've been WAAAAAAAY to careful with you. So, from now on, the kiddy gloves are off! Think of this as your first adventure. Nothing says 'hero' like saving a girl!" The trickster let out a hauling laugh before turning to the window behind her. Sure, chose now, the only time I actually need your help, to go hands off. Great. "I can't be bothered to get into all this trouble for a cute girl. But who knows? Everyone else is coming back tomorrow, maybe they could give you advice."

I hate this. But, she had a point. If there's anyone who can help me, it's the higher levels of my familia. "Sure, throw your responsibilities onto your children. Whatever, I should have known better than to ask you for help."

With a witches cackle, she turned back to her desk and pulled a drink out of nowhere. "KEHEHEHEHE! Oh, I just know that isn't gonna be the last time you say that!" Ignoring her, I lead Lily out of the office and into my room. When I got in and threw my sweater off onto the chair, I noticed that she was still standing in the doorway

Looking around.

"Come on in."

"R-Right. Sorry." Walking in, she slowly took off my scarf, folded it and handed it to me. "Thanks for this by the way. It... it was warm." Glad it could help someone else. It always helps keep me calm. The Pallum fell onto my bed and sighed. "It's a nice room. I thought you'd be messier."

I decided to let that comment go and get her a change of clothes. I went into my mostly empty dresser and grabbed her a pair of my spare pajamas. And by pajamas I meant a white shirt and shorts that I wore to sleep. But she gladly took it anyway. "Sorry, this is all I have to spare."

"Isn't this a little intimate?" Her answer was strangely shy, but it was way better than how she was earlier. Thankfully Loki had a tool to heal her eye.

"What? More intimate than sleeping in the same room as a guy?"

"Well... a little bit." She stood up before I could ask what she meant. "I'm gonna go get ready and use the bathroom. Um, thank you Viole."

Not having my scarf on, I resorted to covering my mouth with my hand to hide my embarrassment. "Anytime, Lily." For the first time, the smile she gave me was real. She's cute when she isn't pretending.

F-Rank

After picking up my gloves from the weapon shop, Lily brought me to a strange place. On the eastern side of town, there was an area of abandoned buildings and churches all over. I didn't even know there was a place like this in the city. Trudging through the abandoned streets, I didn't know where we were going, nor did I care. My friend was quiet as well, but she was fidgeting. Clearly nervous. As long as it'll take the edge off. "So, where are we going?"

Flinching in response, Lily surprisingly kept her eyes forward. "One of my hideouts. I need to empty them all out before those idiots do it themselves." Hideouts? As in plural? Wow, she's more careful than I thought. After a while, we reached a crumpled down white building. Pulling some of the debris away showed a small cave filled with all sorts of trinkets, bags and even a small cot to the edge. "Okay, please wait by the entrance. This shouldn't take very long."

I took her order and leaned against the broken building. She was being very cautious, but after last night, I can't say I blame her. "So, you want to leave the Soma familia, right? What does the money have to do with it?"

"The Soma familia is obsessed with money. Not Soma himself, but the people running it. If I want a meeting with the god, I have to pay. A lot. I need the asshole to release my falna and I can leave." Well, that makes sense, and it explains why she doesn't stay at her familia's HQ like everyone else does. "Do you still not trust me?"

"I always trust you, I was just curious." Adjusting my scarf, I stared off into the empty streets. But, there are issues with her plan. If a familia is obsessed with money, and she uses money to try to leave, why would they let her go? What's stopping Soma or the captain from changing their minds or demanding more money? The sound of the girl walking to my side brought me out of my thoughts. Looking down at her, she looked utterly exhausted, the huge bag on her back definitely not helping. But this was also the most relaxed I've ever seen her. I won't let anyone hurt her. I'll find a way to help her. I must say, this felt strange to me. Looking out for someone other than Abby. But, it's Lily. She's special. "So, where's the next hideout?"

It took us the whole day to empty out all seven of her hideouts. All of them being in different random parts of town. She's a careful girl. I have to hand that to her. She and I reached Twilight Manor right as the sun was coming down. As we got closer to the mansion, a small group of people going inside caught our attention. "Oh, you're back. Good, I needed-" My voice died in my throat when I took a good look at the party in front of me.

Everyone was injured in some sort of way. Finn was covered in bruises and his clothes were torn seemingly at random. Lefiya, Tiona and Tione were all leaning against each other for support and barely seemed conscious. The only ones who seemed decently alright were Riviera and Aiz. Rivera's green cloak was simply covered in dirt and Aiz's didn't seem hurt. But... her dress was ripped and one of her... breasts was almost exposed. Only being covered by her chest armor. "Viole." Hm? Aiz's call made me look up at her face, her cheeks slightly red. I waited for her to continue but... she simply just stared. Great, is she doing that again?

"Sorry, Viole. But I think Aiz is a bit tired." To prove his point, the short captain reached up the Aiz's cheek and pulled on it. Getting no response at all. Wow, that dungeon run must have been hell. I'm a little jealous. The captain heaved out a labored sigh and turned to me. "Oh, and who's this?" Pointing behind me, I didn't know who he was talking about until I turned. Lily had once again decided to use me as a shield to block my familia from seeing her. Something that didn't work considering she was wearing a gigantic bag.

"She's my friend. She's staying with me for a-"

"Viole, are you okay?" Sword Princess' mind and body finally merged once again. Interrupting and stunning Finn and I.

An amused huff forced its way out of me. "I'm fine, and I made a few friends. You already met one of them, remember?"

I ignored Lily's protests as I walked behind her, making her the center of attention at the moment. Sorry, Lilly, but if you are gonna live here, you have to get used to these guys. Though, I'm not used to them yet either. "Dammit, Viole... fine. I-I'm Lilly. Pleasure." With a polite bow, she introduced herself to the barely conscious party.

It was at that point that Aiz decided to stare at Lilly for an uncomfortable amount of time. After a solid minute of silence, Riviera spoke up. "Let's just head inside. She probably fell asleep upright again." Aiz can do that? Impressive. Must be an advanced training method. I need to learn that. The green haired elf grabbed the three barely standing adventurers and motioned to Finn to help her. "Keres, I'm leaving Aiz to you."

"Why-" She didn't even bother listening to my complaint and rushed into the manor. Ugh. Lilly and I shared a look, both of us wondering how we were even going to get this girl inside. "Carry her."

"Sir Viole, are you truly going to make your guest do this work?" She's really pulling that card? Reading my mind, my friend smirked at me and nodded. "I'm counting on you, Sir Viole~" So this is what you're really like.

In a way, she reminded me of my childhood friend, Gretel. "I knew I'd like your real personality."

"H-Huh?!"

"...Hello Lily, nice to meet you again." Finally speaking again, Aiz caught our attention once more.

"Sir Viole, you take her right arm, I take her left."

"Understood."

AN: Hello everyone. Unlike last update, I do have a few things to talk about in this AN. First off, I am currently on a break. It seems like I had burnt myself out and I'm also going through a rough patch in life right now. Because of this I've decided to take a break from all of my stories. However, that should not effect this story at the moment because of how far ahead I am with my backlog. I plan on updating this every two weeks still, so when I do come back this story you all won't notice anything. Sorry for this and I hope you all understand.

I plan on coming back sometime in late august or early September. During this time, I'm trying my hand at streaming. I've done a few test streams so far but I'm not ready yet I think to go fully into it. If anyone is interested, my Twitch is Golden_Zeptogram and I've made a twitter and Threads as well. Zeptogram1 for twitter and "Adonis (Zeptogram)" for threads. It's just for anyone who's interested.

Phantom-Zero-V2: It was one of my favorite things to write. I really love writing Lily and I'm glad I was able to show at least a part of it. Thanks for your review.