You know what I want to do in later chapters which I doubt would work out since people have other plans at times? A mini-collaboration arc with another author in this crossover section of Fate and Danmachi. It's like the crossover events in Memoria Freese game where Attack on Titan, Date A Live, even Strike the Blood and other franchises crossover so it can be an amusing and interesting pet project. Franky, I want to do a collab with Digital Lunar Hearth or Incarnations of Legends just because Artoria is there so I can play on certain jokes and their interactions with each other. Although the thought of one with Heroic Myth since it involves Gilgamesh would be amusing since the King of Heroes does enjoy giving Hakuno candy for her hard work, teasing her and making her go tsuntsun like in CCC during his third Secret Garden.
But hey, an author can dream right?
The sounds of a hammer against molten hot steel rang out in the forge. He was at work again, forging this spear at the behest of Hephaistos. It seemed his customer who bought the first spear he sold wanted a new one, using his goddess as a proxy to send a detailed letter of their likes and what could be improved on as the young man was focused on fulfilling the buyer's request.
He had no idea whom it was that he was forging this spear for, but for them to appreciate his work even as a Level One was something he took pride in. He mentally measured the spearhead and frowned. Too long, not what the buyer requested as he tossed it to a small pile of similar failed spearheads. The others were either too short, too brittle, or their metal warped as he scratched his head in frustration. This customer was testing him with their request, but he was determined to complete this task in front of him.
This customer had faith in his work since they first bought it a few months ago, and now he was getting a request from the same person again. If they are impressed with his work, then they'll make a direct contract with each other. His soul was ablaze, he was determined to get this spear done by the end of the day he'll stay up all night to complete this monstrous task before him.
Dawn had approached and he was happy, the shape and length were the ideal measurements. The steel was brand new, and the edges honed and sharped. The strange empty slot in the wooden shaft of the spear was of no concern of his since it was requested by his customer for a reason. The letter referred to it as Merlin-Murderer MK I for some strange reason, probably some inside joke he'll never understand and just leave it at that. He had several hours to rest and meet his customer at the entrance to Babel, saying they'll be with a red-eyed, white-haired boy and a Pallum Supporter. With that, he carefully wrapped the newly forged weapon in a wrap and prepared for sleep.
When he awoke, he looked to check the time and panicked. He had ten minutes left before the meeting and quickly brushed his teeth, changed his clothes, pick up the order and his great sword and dashed on out of there towards the meeting place, such is the situation of Welf Crozzo.
When he got there, he saw the boy and Supporter alright, but the black dress and black veil confused him as if he should know her from somewhere. But then he saw her holding the spear he sold, albeit in black and blue and was seriously worn out to the point it might break soon. He was lucky to find them at least.
"Is this the party that requested a smith?" he asked. The girl in the veil froze as the boy spoke up.
"Yes! My captain requested a smith to see both their works and combat skills to see if they're good enough for a direct contract. I'm Bell Cranel!" the boy greeted with a friendly smile. "This is Lili, our Supporter from the Soma Familia," he gestured to the Pallum who merely gave him a wary look. "And this is my captain, Hakuno."
…
"Hakuno…as in the Holy Witch?" Welf pointed with a shaky hand at her as the girl in question looked uncomfortable for some reason. She only nodded her head as he smiled and carefully walked up to her with the wrapped weapon in hand. He presented it to her and spoke softly, "Thank you for appreciating my works. It means a lot to me." He told her as she carefully took the weapon.
"Thank you Welf," she spoke in a soft voice that was gentle with a hint of wariness. "And I'm sorry with my behavior. It's…it's just that your voice and hair remind me of someone I'd rather forget." The girl apologized as Welf raised a brow at that.
"And just who is the creatin that is causing you unpleasant memories my dear Violet?" a new voice that sounded familiar as the man in a black mantle with red hair and purple eyes appeared right behind Welf.
All Hakuno did was freeze before quickly glancing at Welf and the new man in question back and forth before losing all of composure. "Welf, Lucius…there are two of you!?" she exclaimed in horror.
""What on earth are you talking about?"" both redheads demanded in sync as Hakuno was completely horrified by the harmony these two were sharing.
"It was bad enough for you to be here Lucius, but for Welf to remind me of you by your hair color and similar voice even in the Dungeon is even worse! It's like I can't get rid of you at all!" Hakuno vented her frustration at the Sword Emperor who chuckled at that.
"What can I say my dear Violet? We are bound by fate to be together, no matter how far apart we are dear Flora." The man responded with a coy smile as Hakuno took several steps back.
"Oi, knock it off. Can't you see she's not happy with you right now?" Welf demanded angrily, upset because this man had a history that traumatized the poor girl and the pain he unintentionally caused because his hair color and voice reminded her of this abhorrent admirer that she does not want any relation to.
"What was that plebian? To think you would have the audacity to challenge an emperor for his woman. Know your place in the dirt like the vermin you are." Lucius snarled as he prepared to draw his sword with Welf doing the same. Only for a barrier of black mana to separate the two before they could come to blows as Hakuno had unwrapped her new spear and dyed it with her magic and a gem Welf recognized as a Moonbow Gem in the slot of the spear.
"Enough!" Hakuno snarled angrily as her magical output was creating pressure in the air as the ground below her was being uprooted from the sheer amount she was emitting. "I wanted this day to be peaceful and your actions here are only making my mood worse. Lucius. LEAVE."
This made Lucius smirk at her temper as he released the grip on his sword and turned to leave. "By your wish my dear goddess." He told her as Hakuno resisted the urge to fire a curse at him as he went astral form, much to the surprise of her party and few witnesses there as she began to calm herself.
"I can never be free of that man, can't I?" Hakuno sighed with exhaustion as Welf gave her a sympathetic look.
"I can canc─"
"Don't." Hakuno instantly shot it down and looked at him. "I won't let my issues jeopardize our team when we just met. Especially since I have faith in your potential as a blacksmith." She told him as she looked at her new spear with appreciation and gave it a practiced twirl and practiced a few stances before smiling and nodding in approval. "Balanced, lightweight, and more conductible to magic. Did you use monster parts in it?" she asked as Welf nodded his head.
"A few monster parts like furs, scales, and claws. All to be lightweight and strong…and how is it conductible to magic?" Welf asked in an honestly curious voice.
"Well given that monsters were once 'alive' in a sense, parts of their bodies that you smiths use to make special gear are the only organic parts of them that serve as a conduit to magic. Remember those magic stones they drop? There's a connection between them, so that allows the parts used in the gear to be capable of channeling magic in it when not using special metals like mithril." Hakuno explained, recalling that particular metal being the best conduit for magic.
It did cause Welf to think on something before immediately burying it. He didn't want that subject to ever come up again before eyeing her other teammates carefully. Bell was wearing Guild issued armor and knife, and Lilli was utilizing a wrist mounted crossbow, a tool he cannot craft. Yup, for Hakuno and Bell, he can see them needing new armor. "Alright, so today is a test run on our group, right? What's our safety net?" he asked.
"For now, at least up to the Sixth Floor. We're doing a Dungeon Sweeping quest since the Dungeon has been…agitated for some reason to spawn more monsters than usual. There have been reports of more injuries for new adventurers and it would make things easier for us to both collect some magic stones and possible drop items. It should serve as a warmup for all of us and see how our teamwork is like." She explained in the way a leader was commanding her troops as Welf felt comfortable with how relaxed and friendly the three were as they began their test trial as a group. By the time they took care of the monsters, they made a decent amount of valis and a few good monster drops.
*Hostess of Fertility*
The food was delivered and Welf sighed in relief. He had a contract with the Hestia Familia and already a purchase of his armor for Bell. Hakuno looked calmer now and Lilli looked at him with a wary look even in the Dungeon. "So Hakuno…" Bell began, trying to strike a conversation. "Who is Lucius exactly?"
Hakuno slumped, an aura of depression surrounding her, giving her a presence of an evil witch that made everyone unfamiliar to her to scoot away as Bell immediately spouted apologies for bringing that subject up.
"An emperor from a place called Rome. He's under this delusion I'm some sort of goddess he worships and has been trying to woo me ever since he saw me." Hakuno breathed, trying to not let her composure snap while Lilli looked at her friend with sympathy, and Welf frowning at that.
"No offense Hakuno, but deities are supposed to be beautiful beyond mortal understanding, how could he confuse you, plain as you are, as a goddess?" Welf asked with confusion in his tone as Hakuno chuckled mirthlessly.
"None taken and why? I'm not sure. I only saw him once, but Berserker told me he found me sleeping in the flowerbeds one time and that was what started this whole drama." She explained as the three looked at each other at the name Berserker. Was it some sort of alias or nickname?
But an emperor huh? A rather disturbing one if the look in his eyes warrant caution in the other three adventurers. There was a bloodlust in them that screamed danger, and Hakuno was targeted by such a man? They needed to keep her safe, there was no way they were going to allow Lucius to have Hakuno. She deserved better than the likes of him, way better.
"Ah, Bell-san! I see you're back again." A waitress with silver hair and grey eyes smiled as she walked towards their table.
"Ah, Syr-san!" Bell smiled with a friendly greeting as Hakuno felt the waitress's eyes land on her and a sense of familiarity to them. As if she was looking right into Hakuno's very so─!
The glare Hakuno sent her way caused the waitress to flinch before a green haired elf waitress stepped in front of her friend protectively and glared right back. Both Hakuno and the elf had a glaring contest, and neither were budging.
"Do you even know whom your friend there really is?" Hakuno asked with a controlled calm voice as the elf waitress glared harder at her.
"Syr-san is my friend, and I do not tolerate your behavior with her." The elf replied as Hakuno merely smiled and chuckled at some inside joke. One that confused everyone watching the situation unfolding before them.
"Please, I have nothing against her. She has done me no wrong yet, but I do not like it when she stares at me. It's as if she's looking right at my soul, and it's rather unpleasant." Hakuno said with a pointed look at Syr whose eyes widened in realization and had the decency to look embarrassed, as if caught in the act.
"…you know who I am?" she asked meekly.
"Not exactly, but next time when you decide to role-play, don't let old habits come out and accidently expose who you really are." Hakuno chided with an amused smile as Syr only sighed in relief.
"It's alright Ryu-san, just a misunderstanding on my part. We met at Monsterphilia a while back." Syr explained as Hakuno nodded her head in agreement.
"She was up to some mischief, and I had to stop her before she could pull it off." Hakuno added in as two cat girl waitresses decided to jump in on the proverbial wagon to file complaints about her antics before the owner of the restaurant, Mama Mia yelled at them to get back to work.
"You know Lady Hakuno, Welf-sama here isn't revealing his true colors, right?" Lilli spoke up as Welf looked away, already knowing what was happening next.
"Does it matter? Everyone has things they want to hide until they are ready. You, me, even Welf here have things we are uncomfortable talking about. When he's ready to confess, let him do it when he's comfortable to talk about it." Hakuno replied to the Supporter who had a rather quiet expression and silently drinking her mug, looking away from the others while Welf gave Hakuno an appreciative look while Bell smiled at Hakuno's understanding of other's feelings.
"By the way…why did you decorate your weapon with a Moonbow Gem?" Welf carefully whispered as Hakuno tilted her heard in confusion. Everyone stopped to look, caught off guard as they started regaining their composure as Welf decided to elaborate his question. "That gem you put in the spear…it's a Moonbow Gem, a rare item found only in Crystal Rabbits that rarely spawn in certain parts of the Dungeon." He explained as Hakuno blinked.
"Is it useful for anything?" she asked innocently.
"Is it useful- "Welf smacked his forehead in exasperation before giving her a dry look. "It's considered a rare currency! Used by blacksmiths to trade in rare materials outside of Orario to make exclusive one-of-a-kind gear tailored to the adventure in question and you're using it as a decoration!" his hissed out in frustration as he felt a migraine hit him from that.
"Forgive him Lady Hakuno, you've been here for only a few months and don't know everything about what goes on around here. First off, where did you find the gem?" Lilli asked.
Hakuno cupped her chin in thought, her head swaying left and right while doing so, giving her a cute charm to it while she was trying to recall. "I was hunting spider monsters for their silk they produced when I saw an unusual rabbit by them. I just hunted them like usual and the little rabbit left behind the gem as a drop." She told them as Lilli looked amused by the answer.
"So…dumb luck got you a rare item and you didn't even know it was one." Lilli mused as Hakuno looked away, her cheeks dusted red in embarrassment as Welf just shook his head at that, a smile on his face while Bell laughed sheepishly, picturing himself being in the exact same position as Hakuno was.
"…I might as well hang on to it for now until we get to lower floors, because I do want to get my own custom weapon with the best materials in the world and a promising young blacksmith to forge it." Hakuno told them as Welf now had the decency to blush and look away, scratching his cheek with a finger.
"Hey now, I'm just a rookie to all of this smithing, not even level two and having the Blacksmith Development Ability." He admitted while Bell shook his head in disagreement.
"I don't think so Welf," Bell replied as he patted the new armor he bought from the smith. "Your works hold promise and I know one day you'll reach that peak you've striven for!" he admitted with pure eyes of optimistic hope as Welf had to smile and laugh at that.
"Well with two faithful customers saying such things, then I'll have to meet those expectation!" Welf grinned as their food was delivered. Before they could dig in, a big thump on the table caught their attention as they noticed Hakuno's order was massive. Steak, ham, fish, cheese, turkey, assortment of vegetables and a whole cake was piled hazardously unto the platter as Hakuno carefully placed her napkin on her lap and removed the black gloves she wore and prepared to dig in.
"Oi, can you really eat all of that?" Welf asked, sweating nervously as Lilli, used to eating small meals felt her belly fill up just from the sight of all that food while Bell was genuinely worried about the costs of all that food she was going to eat. Hakuno merely smiled before turning to the waitress in question, Chloe and requested another order to go for Hestia, Primo and Ais as the cat girl looked a bit worried about Hakuno's stomach before heading back to the kitchen to fulfill the to-go order.
Everyone paused from their eating as they watched Hakuno systematically eat everything in front of her. She ate with grace and style of nobility, and everything just disappeared within seconds as the cake was already down to one slice within the span of ten minutes. They couldn't help but respect her as Mama Mia looked pleased with Hakuno's happy expression as she feasted like a queen. As she finished the last bite of her cake, she noticed everyone was staring at her.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that?" she asked with a head tilt.
A/N: So I discovered Welf's voice actor also voices Lucius Tiberius in the Fate/Prototype Fragments of Sky Silver drama cd. Another running gag from Danmachi Memoria Freese that I could not resist doing. Maybe I should do the ATTACK on Orario so Hakuno and Misaka can react to having the same voice.