Understandably, There are Consequences. (12.2)

…

"Hikigaya, how's the new coat?" Crozzo wiped the sweat from his brow as he noticed me enter. I raised my hand in greeting before settling on a nearby chair. Crozzo's workshops were always organized nowadays. Probably because of Collbrande. I remembered Crozzo's old smithy. It was just a shed filled with supplies and tools. Very rustic. The new one reminded me more of a factory. "Anything you need changed?"

"Not on the coat. Everything's fine as it is." I shook my head and turned my gaze towards what he was working on. It was a plain length of steel. Looking around, I easily found the stack of Magic Swords that I knew he'd been making since he returned to Orario. They looked more dangerous than the ones he carved from the Goliath Crystal at Rivira. "I'll be needing a new weapon until I manage to get my arm back. Single-handed, quick, and slim."

"That's different from your usual style, Hikigaya. Sounds like a rapier rather than a sword." Crozzo paused thoughtfully, he rubbed his chin. The red-haired blacksmith seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Still, since I've Ranked Up, I can impart better Cutting and Piercing ability to the rapier… it won't be anywhere close to Desperate, but since I can mold Adamantium much more easily now…" He mumbled to himself. I didn't comment. It was a familiar situation given the fact we worked together on making the armor me and my students used. "I should be able to make a decent weapon that can damage the monsters past Rivira more easily."

"Sounds good, Crozzo. I'll be in your care again, then." It was a familiar ritual. For the most part, Crozzo was smart and clever. The armor he made before we met was lightweight and sturdy. The names he gave them were odd. Naming is definitely not a skill of his. Besides that, however, he was talented in his own right. I only had to nudge him with some 'ideas' and soon enough he made them a reality. Good job, me! "How soon can you have it ready?"

"By the end of the day, I'll bring it along to the Hostess of Fertility later. Just have your Valis ready by then, Hikigaya." I kept silent for a moment as Crozzo noticed. When he turned towards me due to confusion, he saw my raised brow. After a moment, the red-haired blacksmith probably realized what he just said. He gave a chuckle and shook his head. A rueful smile formed on his lips as he scratched his cheek. "Guess I can't hide the fact I'm excited to work on something besides a Magic Sword, Hikigaya."

"Just because you can make them now, you shouldn't feel the need to do so." I stated simply. I remembered the words he told me when we first met. How he didn't want to be known as Crozzo, living off the success of his blood. It wasn't the sort of thing I understood even up to now. If I had an advantage, I'd use it without question. I supposed he was just a better person than I was and bought my Magic Swords elsewhere. One thing led to another and finally I convinced him I wasn't using it as a crutch, but as a last-ditch weapon. That's probably the only reason why he's making them now. "Make them when you want to make them. The market for Crozzo swords isn't going to go down. Hell, you'll probably make more of a profit if you don't."

"…" Crozzo didn't answer for a few moments, however his posture changed. The red-haired blacksmith slumped in his seat. A faint frown formed on his face. For a moment, I just watched, but soon enough he squared his shoulders, placed his hands on his knees, and when he raised his face again, there was a ferocity in his gaze that made me blink. Eh? Was this going to be a talk between men? Zaimokuza, you don't have a manly bone in your body. I doubt you can pull this off. "Hikigaya, you and I both know that those Black Goliaths would've been brought down faster if you were using my Magic Swords at the very start." He gestured towards the boxes of Magic Swords. "Those there? If those were in Cranel's hands instead of some other Magic Sword I forced you to buy, then-."

"Don't be an idiot, Crozzo." Bluntly, I stopped his little speech. I knew where this was going and I didn't like it. "You couldn't have known any of that was going to happen. Even if we could've killed both the Goliaths if we had your swords, the people killed by the Calamity aren't your fault." I levelled a finger at him, but he met my gaze firmly. Stubborn too. Great. "You told me a long time ago that you wanted to be recognized by your own skill. That you wanted to be remembered as Welf Crozzo and not just Crozzo. Do you seriously think that even the most talented Level 2 Blacksmith in Orario could've killed those two Goliaths?"

"I… If lives are on the line, then something like pride is worthless! You should know that better than anyone, Hikigaya!" I almost laughed. Even though he said those words with such strength, his hands were trembling. He knows just how far beyond anyone else he is in Orario. As a Level 2 Blacksmith, he's already clothed kings and queens with the products of our little experiments. His own family came to look for him, not for his ability to make magic swords, but because of his own merit. Despite his words, Crozzo didn't want everything that he did to be forgotten because he started making Magic Swords. "So many people were dead, a lot more were barely alive… you lost your arm! If I made that Udaeus sword instead of Elder that would have never happened!"

"…Crozzo, we're all alive because of you. You did your part. You made your Magic Swords." I stood up. "If you were half as prideful as you think you are, we wouldn't even be standing here." I turned to him and pointed at the Magic Swords he made. "I refuse to accept those, Crozzo. Not until you start acting less like a god and more like a blacksmith. We're not omniscient and all-powerful, we can't see the future, and so it's beyond idiotic to think you're responsible for everyone just because you're more special than them."

"Hikigaya…" Crozzo spoke as I made to leave. I didn't know what sort of sorry look he had on his face. Frankly, I didn't care. I didn't put up with arrogant idiots who thought everything and everyone was their responsibility. "…you're a goddamned hypocrite. You say all those things, but you and I both know you hold yourself responsible for too much, just like I am now." He raised his voice ever so slightly. "You're far from someone who can say anything about-."

I cut him off.

"No, I'm not, Crozzo." I turned and met Crozzo's gaze. "All those people I saved during that fight? I saved them for your sake. For Cranel's sake. For Arde's sake. So they could fight and die instead of you." I walked towards the door. I didn't know if I believed what I was saying was true, or if I was just trying to hammer my point into Crozzo's skull. Cranel was the protagonist. Crozzo wasn't. There's only room for two people willing to sacrifice themselves in the web I spun. Me and Cranel. No one else. "I fought for my own self-interest, for the people who I didn't want hurt, and for my own sake."

I pushed aside the door. I could only hope that Crozzo was listening.

"That's enough, Crozzo." I said my goodbyes. It could be the last time I exchanged them with him. But if my words got through to his head, it would be worth it. "It's always enough to just care for yourself and those close to you."

Maybe I really was a hypocrite.

Just more than Crozzo thought.

…

While going through Orario, I generally enjoyed peace and quiet. Though those moments vanished shortly after Tiona Hiryute became my bodyguard, but they sprung up haphazardly when the short-haired Amazon decided to be quiet. Despite the fact the city was a cesspit of scum and assholes, Orario was still an amazing place to live in. Being the richest city in the world, as centers of trade tend to be, there's no denying that it was a beautiful and relatively clean place to live within.

Still, sometimes, the shit in the city overflowed to the point where even the relative peace of the streets was destroyed.

Such as right now.

"Oh, look at this, boys! The mighty Hikigaya!" I honestly didn't even remember the name of the meathead who was accosting me. Still, he was a big guy, musclebound, and wearing leather and chainmail. Judging from the scent of alcohol on his lips, he was drunk. That particular fact didn't discount me from labeling him an idiot, of course, just an alcoholic idiot. He also had three idiot friends behind him, wearing the same thing, but with different weapons. "Oh? Nothing to say this time around, you bastard? Keeping your mouth shut?"

Having just possibly burned down a bridge, I wasn't interested in talking or thinking. My Skill didn't let me forget about what I'd just done, so I just kept walking. They were probably some thugs or cretins I beat up a long time ago. People who held a grudge. News of Rivira traveled fast, given the fact Calamities were rare, and I'm sure that a few idiots were aiming to pick a fight with me after they heard I lost an arm and spent a week in a coma.

Maybe, if I'd lost both my arms, I'd be threatened. Now? I just ignored them.

"Oi! You thinking you can run, you bastard? We're not done talking to you!" The speaker and leader of the group of idiots tried to grab me. Because of his inebriated state, and the fact he went for a limb that wasn't there, I easily evaded his pathetic attempt. "Oh? Gahaha!" He gave a little, slurring lisp. "Forgot that arm of yours didn't exist anymore! Gahaha!"

Drunken idiots who thought they were clever. Wonderful. Truly, Zaimokuza, you really know how to torment a guy. Thankfully, I'm more than used to ignoring dumbasses and just making my way through life. It's a very, very well-trained skill, as one might expect.

"Acting all tough, aren't you? Still think you're better than us?" As expected of an arrogant prick nursing a grudge, the drunken idiot didn't like being ignored. His buddies gave a cheer and slurred encouragements towards their leader. "Well, I think you need to be taught a lesson, eh? Just so that you don't get yourself hurt, right!?"

I moved to evade the sloppy, drunken punch, but there was a sudden shift in the environment. One moment it had just been Orario being its stupid self, and the next I felt as though someone just sent an electric shock through my entire body. All of my senses suddenly went into overdrive. My thoughts regarding Crozzo faded away rapidly. Everything that could be construed as a 'warning signal' by my body initiated at once. My muscles locked, hairs rose, and my heart skipped a beat all at once.

I turned to the source of the sudden, all-encompassing terror and realized that I'd made a very, very crucial mistake.

I hadn't been walking alone, and the person at my side wasn't Tiona Hiryute.

"Worthless dogs…"

Irritation and annoyance. At most, those are the strongest emotions I'd elicited from Ryuu Lyon. I've had the blonde elf raise her voice many times. I'd caused her to flush with irritation and go scarlet with embarrassment.

"…if you value your lives…"

That wasn't the case this time. Sometimes it was easy for me to forget who this person at my side was, what she did, and why she was at my side.

There was no emotion on her face. It was as though a mask replaced her features. A steely, cold visage that betrayed no emotion. However, her eyes spoke at length. An unbridled ferocity and barely-leashed anger gleamed in them. Though she stood innocuously, hands gripping my purchases from Crozzo, there was a perceptible, cloying flood of what can only be called murderous intent emanating from Ryuu Lyon, the only Level 4 to have singlehandedly killed an entire Familia.

"Stop barking."