19 Is it wrong to make your friend deal with your BS?

I felt a shiver down my spine. The same sensation that I noticed before. Someone watching me... No, not just me. But Fina and Hestia as well.

Even so, I suppressed my reaction.

I didn't think the gaze was hostile, but I didn't want to risk it. Especially not with Fina here.

So instead, I put on a smile and turned to Hestia and said, "I'm guessing your day went well then?"

Hestia nodded and responded with a smile of her own. "It was great." She looked up at Fina and said, "Our little Princess here was wonderful."

Fina giggled and said, "It was fun!"

"Good to hear, Princess. I'd be upset if you didn't have fun."

Hestia huffed. "And what's that supposed to mean, Bell? Are you implying something?"

"Of course not. Just saying that I'd be sad that our little Princess here wasn't enjoying herself."

Fina shook her head and said, "I'm happy as long as I'm with Mommy and Daddy!"

"Fina..." Hestia's gaze softened.

The rest of our walk back to the church passed by in comfort, just idle chatter passing between us.

I noticed some people give us strange looks, but I didn't sense any hostile gazes. And that mysterious presence seemed to have stopped observing us too.

That was good. Though, the fact that I still didn't know who or what that presence was bothered me...

"Daddy!" Fina leaned forward, teetering over my head.

I flinched and quickly adjusted her. "Oi, hold on there! That's dangerous!"

"O-Oh. Sorry. But look!" Fina pointed and said, "There's a big box!"

"Hm?" Hestia looked over and blinked. "She's right. Did Miach drop something off for us?"

A giant wooden box was standing in front of the iron gate. Well, not too giant. Still, considering the fact that it looked like Fina could fit inside of it, the box was pretty big.

I also knew what it was.

"Oh, that's just my new armor." I set Fina down and then walked over to the box.

Fina dashed after me, staring at the box with wide eyes. "Ooh! What does it look like?"

"Well..." I opened the box.

It was nailed shut. Probably because it needed to be sturdy to hold the heavy armor.

But that wasn't a problem for me. I just reached out and pocketed the nails in my inventory.

The lid was left after that, and I easily pried it off, revealing the shiny black armor inside.

"Ooh!" Fina let out a gasp of admiration and said, "That looks cool!"

Hestia leaned over to look and frowned. "And expensive..." She looked up at me and said, "How much did it cost?"

I waved my hand and said, "Don't worry about it, Tia. I made more than enough... And besides, it's Welf's creation. Buying it let me run into him, so I'll take it as a good investment."

Hestia frowned and slowly nodded her head. "I... suppose. But even so, it can't have been cheap..."

I patted her head and said, "Like I said, don't worry about it, Tia. I make more than enough to cover up something like this... And it should help me make even more in the near future."

After all, the only thing I had to fear was getting slashed by the goblins in the dungeon. Now with this... Well, it was time to go grind.

Fina looked at me and said, "Are you going to try it on, Daddy?"

I looked around and said, "Not out here, but after we get inside." I paused and said, "And after we have dinner. I'm pretty hungry from the dungeon, and I've got a feeling you two didn't eat very well today."

Hestia coughed and blushed.

Fina huffed and said, "I ate a lot though!"

"Yeah, a lot of junk food." I lightly tapped Fina's head and said, "Now come on, Princess. Let's get you some proper food so that you can grow up big and strong like your dad instead of a shrimp like your mommy."

"Hey!" Hestia pouted and jabbed me in the side. "I am not a shrimp! And I'm growing!"

"Of course you are, Tia." I smiled and stored Black Demon away in my inventory along with the crate. After that, I opened the gate and walked inside. "Let's go, you two."

xxx

Dinner was a quick affair. Mostly because Hestia and Fina were hungrier than they let on. Or maybe because my cooking was just that good?

Either way, it didn't take long after I made the food that the two girls in our small family finished eating and turned in for an early night due to a food coma.

I sighed as I tucked Fina in with Hestia on the mattress and said, "Honestly... You two should have a bit more restraint, you know?"

Neither of the two heard me. Or if they did, they didn't react. Instead, Hestia gently hugged Fina to her chest. Likewise, Fina smiled and leaned against Hestia.

It was a beautiful sight. Like that, Fina and Tia really looked like mother and daughter.

...Which meant that there would be complications later.

If it really was impossible for gods to have children, then people wouldn't believe that Fina was Tia's daughter. But with how she looked, her powers, and the fact that she called us her parents...

If enough evidence was there, no matter how unreasonable the conclusion, it had to be the truth. Unless there was an alternative explanation. And frankly, there really wasn't one at this point.

But there was still a bit of time on that, so I could think on it later.

After checking in on Fina and Tia one more time and making sure they were comfortable, I left the room and walked outside.

It was just turning into night time. The blue sky had turned a deep violet, and I could see the moon rising. It wouldn't be long now until the night sky emerged and filled with stars.

But that didn't matter much. What did was my training.

I opened my inventory and checked on the armor.

Like all the other items, it floated about in its own little box. But it was also a bit different.

Was it because my inventory skill responded to my will? Or was it because of a combination of my skills allowing it?

Either way, I could sense that Black Demon would be freely equippable without me having to drag out each piece. Or rather, with just a thought, I could instantly put it on.

So I tried it out.

"Better now than in the dungeon."

I focused on that sensation, staring at Black Demon's icon in my inventory. And then-

Darkness.

Instantly, my vision dimmed, obscured by a black visor. My hearing faded as well, the result of the full plate helmet surrounding my entire head.

But as if responding to my will, that obstruction instantly faded. Energy Manipulation activated and then let me see and hear my surroundings as if the helmet wasn't there. And then Compilation sorted through the information I was receiving and pieced together a comprehensible understanding.

At least, that's what it seemed to be for me. I could only guess, since I didn't really have a way of knowing when those skills were activated, but from the fact that it felt like I wasn't wearing anything at all, they were definitely on.

...No. It wasn't like I wasn't wearing anything, but only that my senses weren't being obstructed.

The moment I tried to move, I felt my body immediately weighed down.

But that was obvious. After all, this lead armor that Welf made was a literal ton of metal.

At least, it sure felt like it.

But...

"Perfect."

...It was just what I needed.

I checked my inventory again to see how many health potions I had left.

There were... two. Somehow or another, I seemed to have spent most of the ones that Miach gave me.

A reason for me to restock soon and help him out, I guess.

But this should be enough.

I took a deep breath and then nodded. "Alright. Let's do this."

The night was long, and the only surefire way to protect my new family was to gain strength. And the only way to do that was to grind. So...

"We'll start with burpees."

I took a deep breath and then went back to my routine, modifying it with my new weighted armor.

xxx

Welf wiped his forehead and then glanced out the window. "Morning already, huh?"

After fighting in the dungeon with Bell the other day, he had a lot on his mind. Mostly about what they would be doing from that point forward.

Bell was... different. Putting the situation with his daughter and ambiguous relationship with his goddess aside, the guy was insane. Probably literally, but at the least in terms of his abilities.

While they were only on the first floor of the dungeon, the fact remained that they had been mobbed by a horde of monsters. Sure, they might have been just goblins and kobolds, but when there were hundreds of them...

Even so, they managed to make it through. And mostly because of Bell.

"I see why he needs some good armor now at least..." Welf muttered and then went back to hammering the steel platemail he was working on.

It was odd. Monsters shouldn't be showing up in that high amount. But from what Bell said, it was natural for him.

Was it because of his relationship with his goddess? The fact that he had a daughter that looked just like Lady Hestia? Or was it because he had just that much potential that the dungeon was trying to get rid of him?

Being able to materialize and dematerialize items as he wished, that calm combat awareness and ability that seemed like a veteran with countless years of experience despite being new to Orario...

Welf frowned and subconsciously found himself staring at the wrapped sword in the corner of his forge. "Blood, huh...?"

Bell had mentioned it. He had just been an ordinary farmer boy until he came to Orario. But after his Falna, he got stronger. And not just by a little bit. The guy said he didn't know the reason why, but if he had to guess, it was his blood. Inherited from parents that he didn't know about.

Welf shook his head and then leaned back to stare at the ceiling. "What a mess."

Rationally, Welf thought that he should distance himself from Bell. From just the little bit that he knew about the guy, Welf could tell that he was more of a bomb than Welf himself was. After all, while being able to make magic swords was enough to start a war, being able to safely store items away like that as well as his combat abilities...

Welf had a gut feeling. And his gut had never been wrong.

Bell was special. Unlike the other adventurers... and even unlike Welf who had the Crozzo blood, Bell was going to end up at a place far ahead of everyone else. And as a result, the enemies he would have to face would be that much stronger as well.

Even so...

"Argh. What am I thinking about?" Welf scowled at himself and then hammered the glowing metal on his anvil.

It was stupid. Didn't he hate being judged by his talents? Didn't he hate how everyone only saw him for his ability to make magic swords? And didn't he hate how people jumped to conclusions about him and avoided him because it was too much trouble?

He was doing the same thing with Bell right now. Just because his life might get more troublesome, Welf was thinking about leaving the party.

That-

"Hey, Bro. You busy right now?"

Welf flinched and looked towards the doorway.

There, a looming figure stood.

Pitch black armor as dark as the night sky that gave off a demonic appearance from the unnaturally sleek edges and bulk. A presence on its own that emitted an intimidating aura separate from the person inside.

But Welf recognized it, as well as the voice that spoke out. Carefully setting aside his work, Welf turned towards the doorway and said, "Bell?"

"That's right." Bell walked into the forge and looked around.

Well, Welf assumed that was what he was doing. It was hard to tell considering the guy's entire body was covered in armor and his head wasn't moving.

"It's a pretty cozy place you've got here." Bell gave an approving nod. "Though it's a bit hard to get to..."

Welf rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Yeah. Sorry about that. I'm still just a newbie according to everyone else, so- Wait a minute." He stood up and shook his head. "Forget about that. What are you doing here, Bell?"

Bell tilted his head and said, "Didn't you want me to tell you how Black Demon fit?"

Welf paused. "I... did say that, didn't I? But you didn't have to come here so early in the morning."

The sun had just risen a bit ago, and the walk from the church to Welf's forge was pretty far... At least an hour. But to arrive wearing that armor...

Welf frowned and said, "Was there a problem?"

That was the only thing he could think of.

But unlike what Welf thought, Bell shook his head. "No. Black Demon's great. It fits well, and it's also extremely heavy. Just the sort of armor I needed to use to train."

"...Train?" Welf blinked.

Bell nodded. "That's right. To be honest, this suit of armor's pretty unwieldy. The individual parts are heavy and the overall weight makes it near impossible to move around properly."

Welf winced. "That's... I suppose that's true."

He had made Black Demon with pure defense in mind, so it seemed like he might have missed a few parts...

Bell walked over and then leaned against the wall. After that, he waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about it. Like I said, it makes it 'near impossible' to move around properly, not impossible." He rolled his shoulder, causing the armor to clink, and said, "You did a good job hooking everything together. Even while it's bulky and heavy, the problem with movement comes from the user's lack of strength, not the armor's inflexibility or anything."

Welf frowned. "That doesn't make me feel much better." Staring at Black Demon and Bell moving it around, he said, "If it wasn't you or a high level adventurer using it, Black Demon would just be dead weight." He sighed and said, "That's what I get for focusing too much on one aspect, I guess. Dammit." Welf scowled and said, "Garet was right."

He was still immature. It wasn't enough to just focus on a concept. You had to take into account all the other factors as well...

Bell shrugged. "Maybe. But it's good learning experience. I mean, it must have been a struggle making this, right?"

"Of course!" Welf nodded and said, "Getting the mixtures right, hammering each piece into place, carefully making sure the links fit together... I spent weeks on Black Demon." He sighed and said, "But from what you said, it seems like it was a failure."

Bell tried to soften the impact, but it was evident that Black Demon was a failure. It looked cool and had good defensive power in theory, but in practice it was worthless.

Hell, it would take a high ranked adventurer to be able to walk around with it, let alone fight-

Wait.

Welf blinked and quickly turned his gaze back to Bell.

"What?" Bell tilted his head.

Welf frowned and said, "Did you walk here in that? From the church?"

Bell nodded. "Of course I did. I told you, didn't I? This is great training armor."

Training armor, he said. And that meant that he walked that entire distance from the church... wearing that.

Welf knew that Bell was strong, and his build showed that even without his Falna, Bell was used to lifting heavy things, but Black Demon was on a whole different level.

And he just casually walked over to Welf's forge wearing it?

No, from how Bell was talking normally and easily moved his body around, it seemed like the guy was already used to it.

Welf blinked again and said, "Bell."

"Yeah?"

"...Has anyone told you that you're insane?"

Bell chuckled.