26 Chapter Twenty-Six

"So, how's the armor?"

Welf asked, sharpening my Kusarigama as I sat next to him, absently watching him slide the blade on the grindstone.

"It works very well, remarkably well done, I have to say..."

I mused, absently running a palm over the parts of the armor that covered my abdomen as they shifted along with every movement of my body.

"Ah, the parts were not hard to make, putting them together was."

He chuckled, pulling the Kusarigama off the stone and looking it over before nodding.

"So... How are things between you and the sword princess going, huh?"

He grinned, looking at me with a smirk and I had to resist slapping him over the head.

"How are things between you and Tsubaki going?"

I asked back, raising an eyebrow, however, I didn't get the response I wanted. A confused expression and a slightly tilted head were what met me.

"What do you mean?"

Oh my god, this colossal dumbass.

I sighed and facepalmed. Here he was, making unfounded connections between someone who was stuck on his past lover, even after fourteen years, and someone who was emotionally stunted, while he was blind to the woman who liked him...

What the hell, man?

"Never mind."

I muttered and laid back, looking up to the ceiling.

"Hey, Bell... Are you okay?"

I didn't look at him, staring up at the ceiling quietly, releasing another sigh before I spoke.

"Just thinking..."

He hummed and I felt his gaze on me for a moment as silence descended between us.

"Wanna talk about it?"

I thought about it, I really did, but who would believe me if I said that I was from another world two times over, fought a god with seven others like me, and killed that god only to die just a bit after?

"Maybe one day, Welf..."

He nodded.

"It's a promise then."

I felt my lips twitch up into a smile. Man, what a guy...

___

"We should take Welf."

I say offhandedly as the Loki Familia enters the main tent along with Tsubaki and me, gaining looks from the two Elves in the group. Finn looked at me with a raised eyebrow, wordlessly asking me to elaborate.

"His magic is useful for what might be ahead."

I shrug and he puts a hand on his chin, seemingly thinking, before looking over to Tsubaki.

"Do you happen to know what his magic is?"

Tsubaki frowns, seemingly thinking over whether she should say or not, before sighing.

"His magic is basically a counter to all magic that has a longer chant than his own... and he has a really short chant."

Finn thought it over and was about to speak when Lefia spoke up.

"Why must we bring a Crozzo?"

I blinked and looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. Riveria put a hand on her shoulder.

"Lefiya, please calm your-"

Lefiya cut in, which seemed to be unusual for her, judging by the surprised expressions of Riveria, Tiona, and Tione.

"But Lady Riveria! They were the ones that created the magic swords that burned down the forests!"

Ah, yes, good old generational hate. Gotta love that. Now, how do I deal with a prideful race known as an elf, who seems to be set in their ways for a long, long time...

"Hey, Elf."

I call out, getting her to look at me with her eyebrows furrowed into an angry expression.

"I have a name!"

I roll my eyes.

"So does the Crozzo, but I don't see you using it."

She flinched back at that but her indignance came roaring back twice as strongly.

"They burned down the forests, killed so many elve-"

I grabbed my dagger and she shut up, tensing, along with everyone in the tent. I took the dagger out slowly, not starteling the adventurers that were already on edge and presented it to everyone.

"What is this, Elf?"

Lefia hesitated, for a moment, glancing at everyone before finally speaking up.

"An elven dagger?"

My eyebrow twitched, a dagger was a dagger, who gave a shit who came up with the design?

"It's a dagger, now tell me, with that small little brain of yours, is it dangerous?"

She scowled at the insult.

"Of course-"

I cut her off.

"No, Elf, this is an inanimate object, it does not do shit. The one using it is dangerous, a dagger can't kill you, the wielder can, Hell, I could kill you with a stick, that does not make sticks dangerous."

She recoiled as I sheathed the dagger back.

"As far as I am concerned, Welf is much more useful than you, and I care about him much more than I do about you, who's only ability is glaring at the back of my head since the day we met. So please, unless its something useful coming out of your oral cavity, keep it closed."