Store in Danmachi- Side Story: 12

Title: The One-Eyed Promise

Floor 39, The Dungeon.

It’s unusual for the Loki Familia to enter such depths of the Dungeon without a team of supporters and carts of supplies to last their expedition! Despite their strengths, the top dogs of Loki Familia are well-versed in the Dungeon’s one true predictable nature—its unpredictability. Now even the Level 6 top-ranked Familia members or Orario’s ‘King’ can boast invincibility within the Dungeon’s depth. No man of such arrogance has yet to grace the great ‘Mother’s’ walls.

So, Braver ensured proper preparations for their new style of Dungeon crawling.

The frollets push carts and most roles of supporters to the brink of obsoleteness at their levels. Other familia members will do well taking risks and growing on the higher floors in tactical teams to ensure a good chance of their survival.

The rest?

They follow Braver into the depths of the Dungeon, cleaving through groups of monsters one horde at a time. Such a rise in intensity and speed ensures enough wear on their weapons. Even the ‘Superiors’ crafted by master blacksmiths with traits such as ‘Durandal-The Unbreakable’ dulls—losing its keen edge.

The slight wear in the blade’s sharpness is something Ais can deal with effortlessly. Her magic is her ‘Desperate’s’ best friend, dicing her enemies into bloody chunks or ashes based on what gets cut first—the monster’s body or the magic stone—she tries to achieve the former but sometimes gets ahead of herself and destroys the magic stone.

But she isn’t the one to feel shy after her leader assured constant weapon maintenance to get the fullest of their expedition before they left entered the Dungeon.

“Here,” Ais unsheathes Desperate, her silver-blue-handled saber, extending her hand to a familiar figure. Wearing her usual white kimono/crop top, an eyepatch on her left eye, a sleek pauldron on her left shoulder, and a black katana belted on her red hakama, Tsubaki stares at the saber for a long while before smirking in amusement as she sets her portable forge on the ground, rolling her shoulder. “Oye, Gareth, she’s joking, right? There’s no way I’m working on Goibniu’s best without setting another problem for my Goddess.”

Not far from them, biting on quite a fresh apple, Gareth licks his dry lips before chuckling. “She’s always serious ‘bout fighting, her sword, and worrying Nine Highness.”

Ais frowns as she looks at their hired ‘workstation.’ Tsubaki agreed to join Loki Familia in the new ‘era’ of Dungeon prowling the Frollet promises for some terms and conditions suiting her Familia’s needs—but it does not involve working on other Familias’ Superiors and First-Class Items.

“Ais, Goibniu will feel hurt if you let another blacksmith touch his weapons. It’s like sharing another man’s already shared wife!” Tiona chimes, hugging Ais from behind as the blonde canvas of murder, gemlings, and bento blinks in surprise.

“That’s not even close,” Tione sighs at her twin’s antics.

“No, that’s not too outlandish,” Tsubaki smirks. “Anyway! Traveling this deep in the Dungeon without fussing over the supporters is refreshing. Ah, no offense Lefiya.”

The blue-eyed elf collecting the magic stones squeezes a strained smile, ‘I didn’t even think it was a shot at me before you said anything, Tsubaki-san!’ She whines internally but doesn’t possess her younger ‘idol’s’ social obliviousness to skip social ranks formed from an adventurer’s level to correct Tsubaki.

“Damn right, it’s refreshing. I always said weaklings should stay where they belong!” Bete agrees to Tsubaki’s words with a grunt of satisfaction as he leans on a rock. A bag suddenly hits him from behind, almost breaking his balance as the grey-haired werewolf snarls, clutching the package in his hand. “What now, you hag?!”

He glares at a calm Riveria, who points at the flat rocky surface ahead. “Start setting tents. You, too, Tiona-Tione. We don’t have supporters, so it’s our job.”

“But I’m hungry!” Tiona protests before her head snaps in Ais’ direction with a hungry look. The Amazoness unflinchingly stares at Ais’ frollet until Ais bends slightly to meet Tiona’s gaze. “I’m not sharing.” The Blonde Sword Princess affirms with a tight frown.

“Ah~! Captain, I’ll set our tent~!” Tione chimes, quick to work in setting the largest tent. “Hehe~!” Her giggles echo like soothing bells in the gloomy dungeon as Finn blanches. “Jackal definitely DID NOT slide me some of the Love Potions from under the counter~!”

“Speaking of Jackal,” Riveria frowns before looking at Tsubaki critically. “What did he promise you in exchange for your services that night?”

Her blunt question stumps a few others as Bete and the other girls glance at Tsubaki curiously. They already know Jackal’s mysterious helper was Tsubaki, and chances as the Guild knows it, too. But the unwritten rule of the city makes it so the Ishtar Familia cannot move against Hephaestus Familia as easily as they would like, even if the former eventually knew the truth.

“Him? Crates of Soma’s best,” Tsubaki snickers as she works her forge and sets her tent.

“Aha! The choicest stuff after our dwarven swill. How ‘bout sharing it with yer most expensive customer?” Gareth barks a chuckle, his beady eyes gleaming with sincere interest as he would very much like to get his hands on more of Soma’s juices.

{A/n: Pause.}

“Nah, I can only get my hands on it for now. I don’t need a prophet to understand Jackal will raise the price of Soma’s best to high heavens the second he stops paying me what he owes. I intend to savor every last drop~!” Tsubaki giggles as Finn offers.

“Why don’t you save it? You can make good money from the wine.”

“Why don’t ya keep that practice on for your ‘lover’s seal?’” Tsubaki scoffs as Tione’s and Finn’s expression freezes while Tiona and Bete struggle to keep their laughter contained, the latter instantly bursting into full-blown chuckles.

“That’s what happens when you tell a dwarf to stop drinking, an elf from acting superior and judgmental, and a God to act human,” Gareth shakes his head.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Lefiya does not judge,” Riveria frowns.

“I know, Nine Hagness. ‘Tis tu I was talking of!” Gareth grins as Riveria narrows her eyes.

“Set your own damned tent!”

“I’ll just share with Finn,” Gareth shrugs.

“Hah?” Tione snaps as Finn massages his forehead. His annoyance only grows when he sees Ais using her superior dexterity to evade Tiona as she eats her bento despite the latter knowing Lefiya will share hers.

But Tiona just finds AIS’ bento all the more satisfying!

“Um,” a quiet voice buzzes beside Tusbaki as she enjoys the group’s antics.

“Tsubaki-san, is it true about your eye?” Lefiya questions softly, no longer capable of inhibiting her interest in a rumor surrounding Tsubaki and her epithet—‘Cyclops.’

“Huh, I guess you don’t know much about it,” Tsubaki muses as her nostrils twitch and her eyes glance at the box in Lefiya’s hand.

“W-would you like to try some?” Lefiya meekly offers as Tsubaki glances between her dinner and Lefiya’s. “How about we share it and some stories?” Tsubaki snickers, quick to pull Lefiya into a hub while snatching food off the elf’s hand.

“Are you sure about that?” Finn barely gulps the amount of food Tione tries stuffing into his face, thankfully none of which is laced, as he questions while drinking some water. “Your ‘legend’ is widely regarded as a fool’s tale by the masses.”

Tsubaki doesn’t get mad since that’s the truth as she grins toothily, “A fool’s tale that helped my goddess more than any of the wise-asses could hope for!”

---

“Let me go!” shrieks a young Tsubaki, barely eight years. A rough, calloused, and almost blue palm keeps the young half-dwarf high in the air with a grab of the back of her neck! She kicks and punches the air in a vain struggle as all her efforts earn is a disciplining knock on her head.

“Shuddup!” The man growls, a dwarf. His fair skin contrasts with his bushy black hair. But the dwarf’s hands show signs of a strange disease as his skin takes on a bluish hue.

“I did nothin’ wrong!” Tsubaki yells, attracting others’ attention around her. All of them boast impressive frames. Grease stains prevail on their aprons. Some of the men and women wipe the dirty apron across their drenched faces without care. The heat in the House of Furnaces is unbearable for many rookies, but she fits with this environment like a pea in a pod.

“Nothing wrong?” The dwarf barks. “You snuck into Hephaestus’ room, dumbass! Do you wanna get killed after I scouted yer scrawny ass?!”

Tsubaki groans as the grip tightens around her neck until a soft sigh soothes the situation, “It’s enough. She isn’t lying.”

But the stubborn dwarf doesn’t let go. “That only means she believes she did nothing wrong! That’s fucking dangerous for a kid!”

“Dora,” the voice assures the dwarf, the Former Captain of Hephaestus Familia. “I’m fine. There isn’t a need to escalate the situation. Let me talk to her.”

The dwarf grunts one last time before dropping Tsubaki as she deftly lands on her feet before looking at the dwarf and sticking her tongue out, “Beh! You’re too stupid to understand—”

A tough knuckle hits the top of her head as she yelps. Dora snorts at her, “You’re the one too stupid to understand. You don’t run your mouth off to your betters!”

Tsubaki defiantly glares at the dwarf until a beautiful figure appears between their gaze, sporting a head of crimson hair, fair skin unmarred by the heat or the dust of the furnace—glimmering crimson eye that attracts Tsubaki’s red orbs. “Hephi! I swear I just—”

“Let’s talk in my room,” Hephaestus sighs, leading Tsubaki to her room, where the latter stares at a crude, almost ruined furnace.

“You don’t know about it, but I purchased that furnace for my first child. He treasured it,” Hephaestus smiles fondly as her fair palm touches the charred furnace. “She was a human—the first human I met after my descent. I chose not to start my journey at Orario but rather settle in later.”

Tsubaki silently listens until Hephaestus sits on her sofa, changing the topic. “Why did you sneak into my room last night, Tsubaki?”

“I wanted to,” Tsubaki averts her gaze like a child caught red-handed. She can deal with Dora’s tough love, but Hephaestus's gentle demeanor is not what a ‘half’ is used to.

“Can you be more specific?” questions Hephaestus with a smile. “You call me your friend, going as far as calling me ‘Hephi.’ Won’t you keep your friend’s trust?”

Tsubaki chews her lips in frustration before relenting, “Your eye.”

“My eyes?”

“I wanted to see your right eye,” Tsubaki admits. “Sorry. I just want to know what’s behind that eyepatch! Those skanks from Hera Familia say mean things about you all the time! And then there are those other bitchy Goddesses! How can someone as kind as you ever be ugly?” Tsubaki grits her teeth, clenching her fists. “I wanted to see your right eye for myself and prove them wrong!”

Hephaestus thins her lips before she shakes her head. “The best thing to do is ignore them. They are right, Tsubaki. I’m—”

“If you say you’re ugly, I swear to the drunken spirits I will snatch your eyepatch!” Tsubaki snaps, staring directly at Hephaestus. “I don’t care how you look like, or how old you are, or if you’re a half or a full fucking breed! I don’t make friends based on how cute you look! Yes, cuteness helps! But damn it! It’s not everything! A good-looking slab or iron is all the same when you put it in a furnace—I’m the one who determines whether it becomes an awesome sword or a failure!”

Hephaestus bites her words back as she stares at the puffing Tsubaki.

“When you grow older,” Hephaestus begins. “You will understand why I can’t show you my right eye.”

“Just trust me!” Tsubaki’s voice resounds, quaking with each note as her eyes water. “It sucks that others make you sad, Hephi! I don’t care how you look as long as you’re happy! So, trust me!” Tsubaki steps forward. “I want to see that eye, and I promise it’ll still look better than Dora's wrinkly ass!”

Hephaestus is the one to look away, her lone crimson eye unwilling to match and respond to Tsubaki’s unflinching trust.

“I’m sorry.” Hephaestus shakes her head. The flickering light of the fireplace casts dancing shadows on the duo’s faces until Tsubaki lowers her head.

“I get it. But I can’t be your friend in this manner.” Tsubaki responds truthfully, and even before Hephaestus can register the guilt and pain of hurting someone so innocuously good to an ‘Ugly’ Goddess, her eye widens as Tsubaki surprisingly gives her hand into the fire, pulling a small piece of charred wood scorching hot as she grunts in pain before pushing the black coal against her left eye!

“Aaaaagghhhhh!” Tsubaki’s loud yell shocks everyone nearby as Hephaestus jumps from her seat!

“Tsubaki!” Hephaestus snatches the coal without feeling the heat as she tosses it away and clutches the girl’s hand to see her left side burnt and already swelling.

“Oye, I heard—”

Hephaestus snaps at the barging Dora, “Quick! Get me the elixirs! I’m using the few potions I have in my room! HURRY!”

Dora leaves at a speed faster than most monsters as the Smithing Goddess administers some potions until Tsubaki feels slightly relieved from pain—enough to speak and smile with tears running down her right eye.

“See? Now you won’t feel lonely,” Tsubaki sobs and smiles at the same time, clutching Hephaestus’s hand. “We’ll be the Eyepatch Besties—”

A drop of tear falls on Tsubaki’s cheek. It isn’t hers. Her eye widens in surprise as Hephaestus gently undoes her eyepatch, tears streaming down both eyes.

“Dora was right!” Hephaestus thins her lips as tears will not stop. “You truly are an idiot, Tsubaki! Never do something like this again!”

Tsubaki grins. “It’s good to be an idiot.” Tears and snot stain her face, but Hephaestus vows to never forget her smile as Tsubaki claims—“I got to see what those bitches are jealous of.”

---

“And then I lost consciousness,” Tsubaki shrugs, finishing the meal before scrunching her nose. “Damn, I didn’t know Jackal could cook as well as he plans!”

“So?” Reeled in from the beginning, Tiona inquires with sparkling eyes. “What’s behind Hephaestus’s eyepatch?”

Tsubaki grins, not replying or speaking further as she chows down on her food, forgetting her promise with Lefiya to share her food.

***

Alternate Title: The New Era?; Dungeon Prowling; The New Way of Expedition; Resting; A Fool’s Tale; A Friend’s Legend; Tsubaki—A Walking W; An Idiot With a Dream; Trusting Fools; Karma Hits Tsubaki With The Same Choice of Trusting a Fool—She Chose Wisely; Dora The Explorer; Dora: Can You Find a Sneaking Scrawny Brat? Where? Behind Me? Get Back Here!; The Era of Hera and Zeus; The Friendship Experience; The Power of Friendship Chose Hephaestus; Poor Lefiya; Don’t Tell a Dwarf About Their Drink!; Ais Protecting Her Treasure; Social Anxiousness is Anxious of Ais!; Ishtar About To Lose Consciousness When She Finds Out the Cost of Her Captain’s Death Was Alcohol; Tione Has Plans For Finn; Jackal Supporting Tione x Finn… For Now?; A Trust Forged Through Fire