Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

[Vol.4] Quest 334- The Calm Before…

One week later.

"Where is Dad!!" shouted Callisto.

"And where is mom!!" shouted Alise.

"Why are they gone!!" shouted Auberon.

The kids were asking where their parents were.

"Now, now they have a sudden emergency." Said Astraea. "Even my children are working hard."

"But what happened? I’m an adventurer too!" Calli shouted. "I’m a level 3, so I’m more helpful than the majority of Orario!"

"And I’m almost able to get to level 2!" shouted Auberon.

"I just miss Mom and Dad!" said Alise.

"Look you three, I know you miss them, but they have things to do, so how about this?" Astraea made a lighthearted smiled. "You can come with me and deliver your father food and water, but you have to be careful not to touch anything, got it?"

"Got it!" they all nodded.

They went to the second tower and got the food basket for Cirrus.

As they walked to the east section, they could see the city being highly active, and when they went by the Blacksmithing district, they could hear the clanging of their hammers.

Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!!

Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!!

Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!! Clang!!

"It’s really noisy here," Auberon said, covering his ears.

"Don’t worry, we’ll get to your father’s old workshop." Said Astraea.

They walked for a bit more, and they arrived before the workshop.

"It’s weirdly quiet," said Callisto, listening close to the workshop.

"Is dad in there?" asked Alise.

"He is. Just keep your hands to your ears because it’s louder than the whole district."

Astraea opens the door, and a thundering sound quickly fills the streets.

CRACKLE!!!!!!!

CRACKLE!!!!!!!

CRACKLE!!!!!!!!

"!!!" They quickly cover their ears as they enter and close the door.

They could see their father shirtless with welding goggles, sweating intensely with thunder and lightning, sparking off whatever he was doing. He struck the metal with unfathomable strength and precision.

"Grumble!!"

The electricity then cuts off. He puts whatever he was forging to quench in special oil.

TSSSSSS~!!

"It seems your stomach knows when the food is here!" Astraea walks towards Cirrus with the kids right behind her.

"Ah, thanks, Lady Astraea." Cirrus removed his goggles and turned to her. "I was—oh, you brought the kids." He walked over to them. "Sorry, I haven’t been around much, but I have been busy."

"Here is the food." Astraea hands him the basket. "Shall we talk in the kitchen? There is more room to sit."

"Hm." Cirrus nods. "Yeah, follow along kids." He takes the basket and heads over to the kitchen.

They follow him as he enters the kitchen. The kids made sure to examine every last detail of the workshop as the entered the kitchen and examined the room as the one before. They normally wouldn't be this curious but given the situation and the discovery that their father had a special place like this hidden greatly intrigued them to be as attentive as a detective.

Cirrus takes a seat and opens the basket, then eats.

"Dad, what are you doing?" asked Callisto also taking a seat, glancing around while speaking to ger father.

"I’m making weapons for something." Cirrus answered while eating his food like it was his first meal in days, it probably was.

"Then why can’t I join?" She shot her eyes at her father. "I wanna help too!" She made her eyes as big as she can, it was the same trick Ai does to get things from Cirrus.

"Because this is a very dangerous quest, kids shouldn’t be on it." Cirrus was to focused on his food to notice Callisto's puppy dog look to notice.

"How dangerous could it be if we were with you?" Asked Auberon. "You are the strongest person in Orario."

"I am and it's very dangerous Auby." He put down his food and drank some of his drink before looking at each one of his kids straight in the eyes. "Now, I never was one to be a strict parent, but this will be the only time I tell you." His voice grew stern and serious. "Do not, under any circumstance, join or sneak onto the quest, understood?"

Their father's voice was the strictest they'd ever heard. They have heard all of their mothers scold them at least once but never their father. Even Callisto who sticks to her father like glue never heard him speak with such a tone.

"Y-yes…" They said softly, not wanting to know what his voice would sound like furious.

"Say it again."

"Yes."

"Again, I want you three to mean it. Say it with your chest."

"Yes!" They shouted with their chest.

"Good." He scarfs down the food, stuffing it in his mouth like a chipmunk, drinks water to wash it down, finishes eating, and gets up. "Ahh, I still have a few more to make, so you can stay here if you want, but I won’t be able to give you attention."

"I want to stay!" said Alise wishing to stay with her father longer.

"Hmm… I think I’ll just go into the dungeon." Said Callisto, oddly not wishing to stay with her father.

'Odd.' Everyone in the room thought.

"There’s no point if I’m not getting attention." Callisto pouted. "Auberon, come with me."

"O-okay!" Seeing a opportunity to improve himself he took it. "I wanna get better at archery!"

"I have some weapons if you wish to take them off my hands," Cirrus said, walking out of the room. "I was just gonna give them to the Guild or sell but I rather not bother with that."

"Really!?" The sister and brother were surprised and excited for a weapon crafted by their father.

"Yup." He nods. "Follow along my little ducklings."

"You guys go on; I’ll clean this kitchen up a bit." Astraea said. "The plates have piled up a bit. Has any of my daughters-in-laws not done the dishes?"

"They were busy with other stuff so no time!" Cirrus shouted, hiding the fact that his wives spent the time with some intimacy with their husband. "Sorry about that; you really don’t have to do that!"

"It’s no issue for me. Just go spend some time with the kids." She nods as she goes over to the sink.

"Thank you again! Really!"

They followed him down into the basement, where they saw a bunch of materials, from metal to monster drops to even wood and sap from various elven forests. The siblings once again took in the room, studying it like a book.

"Over there." He points to the back, where they saw several kinds of weapons.

"Whoa!!" Callisto and Auberon said, amazed by the wide variety of weapons and even armor.

Daggers, swords, shields, bows, arrows, spears, axes, gauntlets, whips, throwing knives, polearms, great swords, long swords, crossbows, etc. They were all made with masterful skill and care. Had the siblings been trained in smithing, they could tell upon closer inspection that the weapons were all high-grade 2nd-class weapons made from materials such as low-purity iron, adamantite, and even low-quality wood. But there are some polished diamonds in this display of gems.

"C-can we really?" they both said, excited to look through the armory.

"Sure, I was going to sell them anyway." He looked to his youngest. "Alise, do you want something?" He saw her turning her head left and right with gleaming eyes. "You’re not old enough to actually use them, but—"

"Can I get that one?" she said, pointing at a fairly small weapon that is part axe and hammer.

'She had good eyes,' Cirrus made a light smile. 'She picked the one weapon I used some better quality material.'

"Sure!" He nods and pats her head. "I’ll be back working."

"Can I watch you work?" Alise said excitedly with the weapon she picked in her hands. Had Alise been a normal child the weapon would have been impossible to lift, let alone carry, yet for Alise who did gain not only Hecton's intelligence like the other siblings but also his strength, something no other sibling had.

"By all means, you wanna learn some smithing to?"

"Hm!" She nods her head.

"Here." He held out a pair of goggles and earmuffs. "Wear these, okay? You should wear them until you leave the workshop. Don't want your eyes and hearing to go bad."

Alise puts the weapon by her side and puts on the goggles and earmuffs, he picks up her weapon up again.

"Dad, do you think you can put on a strap on Lacerate-Levigate?" She said, handing him the weapon she named Lacerate-Levigate.

"Sure thing. Lacerate-Levigate? You named it?" He picks her up into his arms.

"Hm!" She nods. "It's a good name!"

"It has good alliteration, Lacerate-Levigate. What levigate?" He asked his bright daughter.

"Crush."

"Ah. Should have known from context clues. Did you learn it from one of the books in the Familia library?"

"Uh-huh!" She nod her head again.

They go up together while Callisto and Auberon stay down, looking at the stuff their father made. They also put on the earmuffs.

"Hey Calli, why didn’t you wanna stay with Dad? You always stay with him?" Auberon asked.

Callisto turned to him and smiled.

"Because we are going to keep fighting in the dungeon until we can level up."

A look of concern slowly began to be painted on Auberon.

"B-but Moomah is away! How are we going to update our statue!?"

"We can ask Lady Astraea! She can do it for us! There is this item called a Status Snitch where we can update our statuses! But things like Level, Magic, or Skills couldn't be updated."

"…I don’t think we should do that," he said, a bit concerned. "I mean, Dad told us not to, and he made us say we wouldn’t join."

"C’mon! we can—"

"No—Crack!!" he shouts just as Cirrus gets back to work. "Dad was serious!"

"Yeah but—"

"No buts Calli! This is serious!"

Auberon takes the bow he was eying, along with two quivers of arrows, and walks back up.

"Wait—Crack!!" She shouts, only for it to be drowned out by her father’s thunder.

She grabbed the spear she was eyeing and went after him.

Outside, Astraea waits, having finished cleaning the kitchen.

‘Not very much to clean, she said to herself. ‘The last one here was Ryuu, but one plate was half clean?’

When Auberon comes out, followed by Callisto in a hurry. She could see the angry expression Auberon had and the worried look on Calisto’s face.

"What’s the matter, you two?" she asked briskly, following behind.

"Nothing. I’m going home to practice." Auberon said, taking his earmuffs off.

"I’m sorry, okay! Don’t be mad, Ron!" Callisto shouted, taking hers off as well.

She followed along, listening to them.

Yamato, Fuyukusa.

"Is it me, or is the number of people here rather low, don’t you think?" said Haku.

"I have heard they all went to sea," Said Musashi. "Oi Mai, did you hear anything?"

"I heard from my father and brother that Lady Amaterasu made a truce with Lady Izanami for an emergency quest given out by the Guild and your father." Said Mairu. "Even Chyong began to send people to sea."

"What is the quest?" asked Retsu.

"Um, well… It’s supposedly the Three Great Quests."

"W-what!?!?" They both said.

"Guess that explains why the Poseidon Familia immediately left after dropping me off," Haku said.

"Yes, by the way, I need to go as well," Mairu said. "I need to help my clan with its logistics. This is big. Even the Izanami Familia is helping with this endeavor. Not one resource is going to waste."

Back in Orario, later at night, Cirrus gets a visitor.

"U-um, sir?" said Cassandra, coming in.

"I was wondering when you would come in," Cirrus said, examining one of the blades he just made. "You have been waiting by the door for a while."

"I um… I wanted to talk to you when, um... You weren’t busy?"

She slowly walked up to him.

"Are you here to tell me my prophecy?" He stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

"… Yes." She said it glumly. She couldn’t even meet his eyes. "I… I have been using the magic tool you made for me, the Delphi."

"How bad is it?"

Her expression and mood dropped.

"… Sir, I do not wish to tell you." She began to shake; some tears streamed down. "If I did, I fear they would be true."

"… I see." Cirrus stands up. Understanding what his fate will be—No, even before Cassandra got her prophecy, Vesta told him what would happen should the flames escape. "Do not cry, Cassandra; I understand."

"S-sir!!" She shouted, looking into his eyes. "I-I do not wish you to die!! Please never fight with just your shadows! The One-Eyed King shall crumble The Mountain! Bring your Shadow out into the light! The Twilight will not be able to save you!"

"But do I at least kill it? The One-Eyed King?"

"Y-yes, but you will—"

"That is enough." Cirrus walks up to her and hugs her. "That is all I need."

"S-sir!! Please!! I-I-I do not wish for you to die!!"

To Cassandra, Cirrus was the only person she could truly trust. That he would not turn around and dismiss her words. He was the only one who could understand her. He was to her a best friend; despite how little they personally knew of one another, that was how Cassandra felt towards him.

"We all die one day, Cassandra." He said softly. "A star can only shine so bright before it eventually leaves the night sky."

"But…" She slowly wraps her arms around him. "You mean so much to the world."

"The world will do fine without me. It was here before I was born, and it will be here long after. Do not beat yourself for this, Cassandra."

"Sir…"

Cassandra cried on him. She wished she could find a way to escape, but it seemed his fate was written in stone.

After Cassandra leaves, Cirrus stands in the middle of his workshop.

"… Vesta, you can rest now."

The fire from Cirrus’ forge snuffed out.

Bwoosh!

Vesta appeared on Cirrus’ shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"… About as fine as a person getting diagnosed with a deadly illness or cancer."

"Do you want us to get you anything?" Hecton spoke up from the shadows.

"Maybe ask one of your wives to comfort you in bed?" Fafnir said.

"No, I just wanna sleep. (Sing)." He uses his electricity to quickly get rid of the sweat off himself, giving him the scent of a crisp early spring. He turns and walks up to the bedroom. "Wake me up in three hours."

"Very well." They all said, Disappearing.

Walking up to the bedroom of the workshop, he saw Alise still asleep.

"Zzz~,"

Tap~

Tap~

Cirrus walked quietly. She had remained, watching him work at the forge. She got tired, so he let her sleep in his bed.

He leans over and softly brushes her hair.

"… Please come back, Nox." He said softly as tears rolled down his cheeks.

He wiped the tears and slowly got into bed. He holds his daughter in his arms.

"Hmm…" She curls up into a ball, getting closer to her father.

The father and daughter sleep comfortably in each other’s warmth.

Moonlight Tower, Nox’s room.

"Are you ready?" Vesta said.

"Hm! Let's go!" Callisto said. "But when will they stop chasing her?"

"In time, now hold White Night. Time is running out for us."