PT 2

Quite muscular despite his advanced age, the man stepped into the moonlight

with his spine straight and head held high. He was even taller than Welf, over

170 celch. The former head of the Crozzo family, he and his son Wil were the

ones who had given Welf his foundation as a smith.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Welf had learned what a smith

should be by watching this man shape metal to his will.

The red-haired young man did his best to hide the shock of learning his

grandfather had come to Orario as well.

"…Granddad, you came here for the same reason as…"

"I did. I, too, was called upon to ensure your return."

Welf stepped away from Wil, gaining some distance before turning to face his

grandfather with his fists ready.

The eldest Crozzo, however, cast his gaze on Wil, who'd fallen to his knees.

"But, enough."

"…!"

"Your will is too strong, much like tempered steel."

The corners of Garon's lips curved upward, sending a jolt along Welf's spine.

Never once in all his life had Welf seen his grandfather smile.

"Back when you were still a youngster, I was never sure if forcing you to

make magic swords was the right decision…Looking at you now, it's my

greatest regret."

There was a great deal of remorse in his low voice.

When his talent was discovered seven years ago, and Wil was dead set on

forcing him to forge one Crozzo Magic Sword after another, Welf had looked to

him for help. Instead, the elder Crozzo had stared down at his grandson with an

emotionless face and said, "Do it," in no uncertain terms.

For Welf at the time, Garon himself was the very essence of a smith.

Receiving that direct order was an incredible shock and pushed him to the brink

of despair. That event had become the main reason Welf ran away from home,

from the Kingdom of Rakia, to start a new life.

Hearing his grandfather's true feelings caught Welf by surprise. But there was

an edge to Garon's expression.

"However, the blood in your veins will never disappear. The curse of Crozzo

will hound you for the rest of your days, endlessly drawing you back to the path

of magic swords," Garon continued, eyes burning with a passion that time hadn't

taken away. "Despite this fate, are you certain your will won't bend?"

His words had a great deal in common with Tsubaki's; their content was

almost identical.

They both pointed to the makings of the blacksmith and whether or not he

would access the power hidden in his blood.

He hadn't been able to say anything to Tsubaki. At that time, a feeling of

powerlessness had shaken his will.

That was then—this was now.

Standing before his father and grandfather—his link to the Crozzo family—

reminded him of a conviction he couldn't afford to bend.

"No way in hell!"

Welf responded to Garon without missing a beat.

He let his level of devotion be known, especially to Tsubaki, who was

standing not too far away.

"I'll forge a weapon that puts magic swords to shame! Our bloodline means

nothing, and I'll prove it! I'm not just a Crozzo—I'm my own man!"

He would make a weapon his way, something that wasn't a Crozzo Magic

Sword.

He put words to the ambition that drove him to create something godlike.

"…Cheeky young'un."

Garon narrowed his eyes after Welf made his case.

Almost as if he was happy to see how much his grandson had grown.

"We won't pursue you any further."

"But, Father! If we don't…our place in the kingdom, it's as good as gone…!"

Wil looked up from his crouched position, voicing his objection to Garon's

decision.

Every muscle in his wizened face strained under his bloody skin as he

pleaded to the elder Crozzo. The old man responded calmly.

"We will start over. Not as blacksmith nobility but as smiths."

Wil couldn't say anything back. His gaze slowly dropped to the ground as he

clenched his trembling hands into fists.

Then Garon made eye contact with his grandson.

"'With a hammer, metal, and a burning passion, a weapon can be forged

anywhere'…was it? You couldn't be more correct."

Garon looked away from Welf and over to the goddess who had taught him

this valuable lesson.

He narrowed his eyes down to a sliver, as if trying to peer straight through

her, before going into a deep bow.

"We surrender, oh Goddess. The responsibility is mine and mine alone.

Please have mercy on my companions."

"…Fine, then. I shall."

Hephaistos slowly nodded, accepting his declaration of defeat.

No one among the Rakian soldiers voiced any objection. Their defeat had

been a foregone conclusion the moment that Wil's Crozzo Magic Sword

shattered. Completely surrounded by High Smiths, they knew they were in no

position to resist. Dropping to their knees and discarding their weapons, they

held out their hands for the members of Hephaistos Familia to tie them up.

"Idiot."

"…"

Tsubaki busied herself with restraining the soldiers but still found time to get

in a verbal jab even without looking at him.

Welf could hear the disappointment in her voice as she led the prisoners

away, but he said nothing.

He stood in the center of the charred warehouse, battered and bruised as he

watched Rakia's soldiers be escorted out the exit and toward Guild

Headquarters.

His father, Wil, and grandfather, Garon, hands tied behind their backs, were

among them.

At the last possible moment before leaving through the open doorway, Garon

flashed him one more grin. Welf burned that image into his memory.

Even once his family members were gone, Welf continued to stare at the

open door like a statue.

"Welf…"

Bell and Hephaistos had stayed behind.

They looked at the red-haired man, standing alone in the moonlight shining

in from overhead.

The light of magic-stone lamps started to fade from the streets of Orario as night

came to an end. The moon overhead became faint as the eastern sky took on a

lighter hue.

Welf sat cross-legged beneath the last of the night sky as it steadily became

brighter all around him.

He was on the roof of the warehouse. High above the ground and doing his

best impression of a stone statue, he kept to himself without saying a word.

"…"

Bell stood a little ways behind him, unsure what to do.

The clash with the Crozzo family behind him, Welf wanted to be alone. So he

had climbed up to the roof, taken a seat near the edge, and hadn't moved since.

Bell understood the young man wanted some space and kept his distance.

He'd been outside in the chilly night air for several hours now and was very

cold. However, the white-haired boy couldn't just leave the young man behind.

Unable to find the right words, he settled for staring at the man's back the

whole time.

"So, the two of you were up here."

"Lady Hephaistos…"

The clanging of the goddess's boots against the steel roof announced the

arrival of Hephaistos. Bell turned to face her as she walked up behind him.

She came to a stop shoulder to shoulder with the boy, squinting her left eye as

she observed the young man beneath the sky that grew brighter by the moment.

"Bell Cranell. Can you leave this to me?" The deity asked if she could be

alone with the smith.

Bell stood wide-eyed for a moment but responded with a short nod. He made

a quick bow and left the situation to the goddess before climbing down off the

roof.

Hephaistos walked up to the young man as the boy's footsteps grew fainter in

the distance.

"The Rakian soldiers are now in Guild custody."

"…"

"Their path of entry has also been revealed. An informant let them inside on

the promise that they would start a war. Their main objective was to acquire you,

though whether or not there were others remains to be seen…"

Welf remained sitting with his legs crossed even as Hephaistos gave him a

factual update on the current situation.

She wasn't looking at him, though. Instead, her eye was focused on the open

skyline as she continued her report.

"The Guild will negotiate with Rakia to pay for their release. Even if talks

fall through, they'll be released outside the city once things die down."

"…I see," whispered Welf after hearing the fate of his father and grandfather.

Daybreak had arrived. The two were side by side, watching the sunrise.

"…Am I out of my mind?"

Welf finally said something as sunbeams reached out to them from the

eastern sky.

His decision to leave the blood in his veins in the past and find a different

route to a higher realm occupied his thoughts.

The young man's gaze didn't leave his lap as he spoke to the goddess.

"Maybe. Who knows?"

"…"

"Tsubaki is not wrong. Children like yourself are only allotted a brief window

of time. In order to reach where we deities stand, you must commit everything

you are toward accomplishing that goal." Hephaistos laid everything out plainly.

"But," continued the goddess as Welf pushed his lips together, "you've made a

commitment, have you not, Welf?"

"…I have."

"Then never doubt yourself. There's nothing more fragile than hollow steel."

Then the Goddess of the Forge turned to Welf and smiled.

"If there's one thing that we look for in children, it's a will powerful enough

to make the impossible possible. We want to witness that moment when the

children called heroes overcome incredible odds and fight when all hope is lost."

All deities wanted to look upon "children" who defied logic and reason. The

goddess said in a soft, gentle voice that she knew of the potential those like Welf

possessed.

"…I will catch up to you—my way."

Climbing to his feet, Welf reaffirmed his ambitions to the goddess.

There was no uncertainty left in his voice. He squared his shoulders and

looked directly into Hephaistos's eye.

"Is only catching up enough?"

"…I'll surpass you."

The eye next to the black bandage squinted, as if the goddess was enjoying

the moment. Welf also cracked a grin.

Hephaistos's expression was something similar to a mother taking pride in

her child's growth. Then she reached out with her right hand.

She started to run her fingers through his hair, gently patting him on the head.

"—Wh-what do you think you're doing?!" Welf tensed, blushing bright pink

as he swatted the goddess's hand away.

"Oh, you don't like this?"

"I-I'm not a kid anymore! Do that to someone Bell's age!"

"Hee-hee. It's really cute how you try to act like a big brother. I like that

about you, actually."

"!!!!!!!!!!!"

Hephaistos enjoyed a lighthearted giggle as Welf's ears burned bright red.

Indeed, he put on the air of the eldest brother around his new familia, but he

couldn't maintain it in front of this deity.

"Dammit," he swore under his breath, and hid part of his blushing face with

his forearm. For a moment, seeing that smile from the fiery-colored deity nearly

made him fall for her. He scolded himself for it.

But more than that, the fact that he couldn't say anything back reaffirmed the

feelings that he had for her. It was just as Tsubaki had said: He admired

Hephaistos as a goddess, as a smith—and as a woman.

It had started as an ambition to make something equal to or greater than the

Goddess of the Forge. His goal was to show her that he could create something

in her league or even something beyond it.

But that ambition changed little by little each time he stood in her presence.

He was the same as Bell, plain and simple. An immense respect and

admiration had quickly become a longing for his idol. The weapons she created

were what caught his attention, but he soon fell for the goddess who forged

them.

He wasn't naive enough to call it infatuation, nor was he formal enough to

call it love.

I'd prefer to call it…an occupational hazard.

He continued to look at the side of the goddess's face, with his smile and

blushing cheek hidden by the palm of his hand.

"…Or so you say. But is it true?"

"?"

The sun had almost completely emerged on the eastern horizon. Welf, who'd

been getting teased this entire time, folded his arms across his chest and said that

something didn't add up. "I heard from that woman…from Tsubaki that you've

been lonely since I left."

A blank look took over Hephaistos's face.

"Haaa…" A long sigh soon followed. "…My word, that child cannot keep a

thing to herself."

She was neither flustered nor angry. She was just complaining about this

slipup by one of her familia's most well-known members.

With Hephaistos admitting the truth right away, Welf had lost his only way to

retaliate. But at the same time he was also a little sad…Finding out that she

didn't see him that way sent a twinge of pain through his heart.

What's more, realizing that Tsubaki's choice of words had given him hope in

the first place now made him want to curl up in a little hole and die.

"Well, yes, it's been much too quiet without you around. 'Haaa, another one

of my children has left the nest.' That kind of empty feeling."

"Okay then…"

Welf was too embarrassed to make eye contact despite her gentle tone.

Instead, he stretched out his shoulder and squeezed the muscles with his other

hand.

"I would never say this to any of my followers…but you're no longer in my

familia, so yes, I'll say it. I had my eye on you and couldn't wait to see what you

would become."

Hearing his goddess's true thoughts once again threw Welf's feelings into

chaos.

That was most likely the highest compliment she could give him as the

Goddess of the Forge. As a smith, there was no greater honor. It made his body

tremble.

Whether or not Hephaistos knew what was going through Welf's mind, she

turned to face him with a twinkle in her eye and an evil grin on her lips.

"And I was going to reward you if you ever forged something that satisfied

me…Too bad."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her left eye, obviously teasing. At the

same time, a switch flicked on inside Welf's head as he looked at the crimson￾haired, crimson-eyed goddess.

"Is that still on the table?"

"Is what still on the table?"

"If I bring you a weapon that makes your jaw drop, will you still reward

me?"

Hephaistos, caught off guard for once, stuttered, "Y-yes. Yes, if you can," to

the young man whose cheeks were now as red as his hair.

His rash attempt to secure a promise from another familia's goddess a

success, Welf took it a step further by harnessing the passion once again burning

within him.

"If I do…if I make a weapon that satisfies you, then I want you to be mine!"

He said it.

Welf overcame his reservations, as well as the roaring of his heart thumping

in his ears, and watched Hephaistos carefully.

After hearing his once-in-a-lifetime confession, the stunned goddess…tried

to hide a giggle behind her fingertips.

"I-I'm putting my neck out there and you…!"

"Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee…! S-sorry, but I just…can't help it…!"

With her free hand on her stomach, the goddess's body swayed as she

laughed. In fact, her lungs were in pain because she couldn't breathe.

Finally calming down enough to wipe the tears flowing out of her left eye,

Hephaistos smiled at him. "It's been so long since I've had those words said to

me."

"Huh?" Welf froze on the spot. Hephaistos continued.

"Several of my followers a long time ago…Smiths confessed their love for

me, just like you did."

Welf had become nothing more than a breathing statue. The Goddess of the

Forge smiled at him with her left eye. "You're being outdone by your

predecessors."

Now he really wanted to die.

This time, death sounded really, really good.

An urge to jump off the roof shot through his body.

Why are we all like this…?!

Stubborn to a fault, it seemed smiths could confess their feelings only to

someone far superior. Welf grabbed his beet-red head and cursed every smith

who ever lived, including himself.

Hephaistos continued to giggle to herself as the mortal experienced even

more agony. However, her expression quickly became subdued.

"However, not a single one succeeded."

Welf's ears perked up. He raised his head from his hands.

There was a grin on the goddess's lips, the grin of someone issuing a

challenge.

"Will you be the first?"

Welf forgot to breathe. He couldn't even blink as the crimson-haired goddess

looked right through him. A confident smile appeared on his face a few

heartbeats later. He looked her square in the eye. "You bet I will."

He would make a weapon that surpassed magic swords, belonged in the

higher realm, and exceeded this goddess's expectations.

Now he had more goals to achieve.

The morning sun warming the side of his face, he exchanged glances with the

goddess.

"Still…all this talk about me being yours aside, it's about time for you to find

a partner of your own."

She must have been satisfied with Welf's mental recovery because she

changed the subject as she stretched her arms in the early morning light.

At the same time…"Huh?" Welf tensed again, blindsided by her words.

"You're pretty stubborn, but I'm sure you can find yourself a great girl."

"H-hang on a sec! I'm not fooling around here…!"

"Welf, there's nothing to gain by pursuing an immortal like myself. A family

will never happen."

Hephaistos forced a smile to try and stave off Welf's latest advance.

"Not to mention I don't meet the standards of a true woman."

There was no sense of belittlement or self-scorn in her voice. The words

naturally came out of her mouth as she reached for her right eye—and ran her

fingers down the black bandage.

"There's a face under here that's so hideous it'll make you cringe."

"…!"

"Strange, isn't it? A goddess like me. I've never been able to figure it out, no

matter how much thought I put into it. I was ridiculed by the other deities in

Tenkai, constantly laughed at."

Her fingers softly ran down the bandage as she did her best to smile.

The Goddess of the Forge, Hephaistos.

The one with power over fire and metalwork possessed a "hideous" face

unbecoming of a deity.

Gods and goddesses were supposed to be the living embodiment of

perfection. And yet, even with her divine powers of Arcanum, Hephaistos had

been unable to do anything about the true face that made her the Goddess of the

Forge.

She had avoided interacting with her own kind, been called "grotesque," and

been laughed at throughout her entire existence.

"To this day, there's only been one goddess who didn't laugh or jeer at me

after seeing my true face—Hestia."

Hephaistos's cheeks relaxed as she explained why there was a strong

connection between her and the young goddess. Why Hestia was her one and

only friend.

"Even the ones who sought me out on Gekai became afraid. So please, don't

pursue this any further."

She flashed a meek grin before turning away from Welf.

The young man watched her take a few steps, her back getting smaller.

Welf stayed rooted to the spot for a moment before his eyes opened wide and

he caught up with her in a few long strides.

Although he knew it was on the verge of blasphemy for him to do so, Welf

reached out and grabbed Hephaistos's shoulder. Then he pulled her around to

face him once again.

Face-to-face with the shocked goddess, he reached out toward the black

bandage with his left hand.

"Wh-what are you doing?!"

Ignoring her startled voice, Welf pulled the bandage off her face, his fingers

gliding against the fringe of the deity's crimson hair.

Hephaistos didn't budge. This was the first time for the young man to see

both her eyes.

The true face of the Goddess of the Forge was revealed.

Standing slightly shorter than he, Hephaistos only stared up at him, crimson

pupils trembling. As for Welf—his expression didn't change in the slightest.

"Meh," he said with a shrug.

The corners of his lips pulled back into a grin. "Come on, Lady Hephaistos,

that's nothing. Did you think I'd give up on you for something like this?"

He gently placed the bandage in the goddess's hands and gave her a resolute

grin. "This is nowhere near enough to quell the fires you stoked in my heart."

The deity looked up at him for a few moments before slowly reattaching the

black bandage that served as an eye patch.

With almost half her face now covered, she lightly shook her head, crimson

hair waving in the morning light as she looked at her former follower.

"You certainly talk the talk."

"Now we're even."

"Haaah! Smiths. Every single one of them stubborn and hating to lose."

Hephaistos returned his grin and added her own verbal jab.

Welf knew he had finally taken a point back from the goddess. One look at

her clear expression brought a shadow of pride to his face.

The two stood beneath the sunrise. Surrounded by cool morning air, the

young man and the goddess exchanged smiles.

Later that day.

Only those directly involved with the small-scale Rakian invasion knew what

had occurred. Even most Guild employees were kept in the dark.

Guild higher-ups thought that informing the public would do more harm than

good, so they dealt with everything themselves. The captured enemy soldiers

were held in chambers deep in the Pantheon, far out of sight.

Life in Orario continued as normal, the citizens unaware of what might have

happened had events turned out differently.

Amid all that…

"And then Welf—you know what Welf did?"

In an office of the workshop, the voice of an exceptionally chipper goddess

echoed off the walls.

"You've told me seven times, Ladyship…"

Hephaistos sat in a chair, cheeks in her hands and elbows on her desk.

Tsubaki held a large stack of paperwork in her arms as she gave her goddess an

annoyed glare.

Ever since their conversation, Hephaistos had been going on and on about the

moment that Welf captured her heart. Plain and simple, she sounded like a

teenager with a crush. Of course when she was in front of him, and in front of

her followers, she maintained the dignified air of a goddess. However, that was

not the case in her private quarters.

Softly blushing, Hephaistos began to recount her story with a giddy grin on

her face. Tsubaki let out a long sigh and braced herself for the eighth time.

"Sure took you long enough to find your feminine side…" muttered Tsubaki through gritted teeth.

She was clearly frustrated that her high-spirited goddess hadn't done any

work all day. "Now you've done it…" she whispered out the window at the

smith who had finally found a way to get back at her.

Even later that day.

As with Tsubaki, Hephaistos was unable to keep her story secret and spread

the news even further. Other gods and goddesses knew every detail about her

interaction with the man before nightfall. The line that had stolen her heart

became a punch line. """"Lame—!"""" Everyone had the same reaction, and the

entertainment-starved deities had something to provide them with laughs for a

long time to come.

The naming ceremony of Denatus was scheduled for the next day. With this

story fresh in their minds, they decided the young man's title quickly and

decisively.

Henceforth, Welf Crozzo would bear the title of…Ignis, the Ever-Burning.

And so it was that the young man was forced to endure a giggling Lilly and

Hestia, a moved and inspired Mikoto and Haruhime, and Bell's forced smile

whenever the origin of his title was mentioned.

He had to hide his blushing cheeks every single time.