[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Chapter 43: Signal FIres Part 2

I frowned at her, catching on quickly.

"Hestia, you should rest," I said. "This can wait until you wake up—and I just got my Status updated."

Hestia shook her head, eyes looking in my direction but not really focusing on me.

"Doesn't matter," She said, the words coming a few seconds after the action was already complete. "This is...this is different. Now more than ever, we should hide your Status. You're..."

She trailed off, but I exhaled slowly and moved to take a seat at her feet, sitting on the floor like Welf. As I did, I saw Hephaestus glance at Hestia and I, frowning slightly as she did, before focusing on me.

"Even if your Status was updated recently, there's something to be said for victory," Hephaestus told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, tilting my head as Hestia's fingers touched my back again, tracing over the symbols upon it.

Hephaestus paused, watching Hestia to make sure she was doing it right, presumably. Doing what right, I wasn't sure; too me, it didn't seemed like Hephaestus was doing anything different as she hide Welf's Status again and gave Hestia a clear example. Apparently satisfied with what she saw, , her eye flicked towards me and she pursed her lips.

"The Falna is improved by the accumulation of excilia," She said after a moment. "That is, through the accumulation of experience. The blood of a god draws out and solidifies those experiences into something more tangible for mortals, and theoretically any kind of experience can some an effect on an adventurer's Status. Of course, some types of experience are worth more than others and not all excilia builds towards the same thing, but the fact remains. Training, smiting, mixing potions—all of these things can bear fruit in time. However, the quickest way to gather excilia is by defeating monsters, especially monsters superior to oneself. So while you undoubtedly gained excilia for your efforts in the battle with the Goliath, from the experience of struggling against it, that excilia is connected to but distinct from the excilia gained from successfully defeating it. That is, in the story engraved within the Status, there's an important difference between 'fighting against horrible odds' and 'winning against horrible odds.'"

Ah, I thought. Well, I suppose that made sense—there was a pretty firm line between those things in real life, too. Sometimes, when you fight against life-or-death odds, you get a nice, big helping of death. That's kind of how life-or-death odds work, after all, and apparently the Falna took that into account. I wonder how far stuff like that went, though...

"Percy..." Hestia murmured, quiet enough that I was pretty sure the words were only meant for me. Her hands paused on my back for a long moment and then began moving quickly, fingers splaying over and tracing the symbols on my back quickly and an odd not-warmth began to sink into my skin. I felt the touch of paper on my skin and then it was drawn away, but I waited a few seconds for Hestia to speak.

"Hestia?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.

"She's asleep," Hephaestus said just as Hestia feel against the skin of my back. I exhaled quietly, nodding once, and then shifting to pick her up easily before carrying her to her bed, settling her in for a hopefully long rest.

"Sorry, Lili," I said as I returned, glancing at my other teammate. "Hestia needs to rest, so it looks like we'll have to wait a while longer to make you an official part of the Hestia Familia."

"Lili doesn't mind," She murmured in reply, seeming down. "Lili's just glad that Mr. Percy and Mr. Welf made it back safely. But Mr. Percy, your Status is..."

"It's gone, right?" I asked, reaching behind me to touch my back. I couldn't see it very well and we didn't have a mirror hanging in this part of the house, but it felt different, so I'd figured Hestia had succeeded.

"Yes," Hephaestus confirmed, glancing it over. "It seems she did good work, as well. That should help conceal your Status from here on out. Had I known about it, I would have warned her sooner, but...it appears I've forgotten what it's like to have a new Familia. My apologies."

"It's no problem," I replied. "Or rather, thank you for all the help you've given us, Hephaestus. I appreciate it, really—and I'm sure Hestia does, too."

"Certainly, but..." She trailed off and sighed, glancing at me with her one eye. "I suppose this isn't the time. However, I'm glad that child protected you well."

Child? I wondered what she was talking about before the purple glow on my arm caught my eye again.

"You made this?" I asked, looking down at my new shield.

"Hephaestus?" Welf asked, eyes widening as he glanced at it in amazement. "You made that, without any of your powers."

"It was a commission," She said, sounding embarrassed. "Hestia wished for me to craft something that would keep you safe. She begged on her hands and knees, so I didn't have much choice. In a way, I'm proud of it, but at the same time, I don't think I will ever make anything like it again."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"That child is just like you," She said, sighing to herself. "Hestia's blessing has been engraved into it countless times—just like you, it has a Status. On its own, it has no particular worth as a shield, but so long as it's held by a member of Hestia's Familia, it can show great strength by sharing in their excilia. Simply put, that shield was designed to be a perfect match for you, with strength that grew with your own. If its owner is weak, so is it, but the stronger the wielder, the better a shield that child will become and the more of its potential it will reveal."

I looked down at it, marveling slightly at that. The purple light around the shield pulsated slightly, like a heartbeat, and I realized after a moment that it was matching mine.

"Then what's wrong with it?" I asked. "It sounds perfect."

Hephaestus made a slight face.

"It's something that improves on its own, without any need for the touch of a smith," She said. "Something that's dependent on the wielder's skill, not the maker's. It's true that I gave that child life with Hestia's help, but even my skill no longer matters to that shield, even if it should become the greatest shield ever made. As a smith, it's something almost abhorrent—and as a business women, it's something threatening. Weapons that grow are weapons that don't need to be improved or replaced, and improving and replacing weapons is literally what I do for a living."

"Then why make it?" I asked.

"Because Hestia wants to protect you, more than anything else," Hephaestus said. "And it terrified her, to see you in constant danger. She said you had some difficulty finding protective equipment that could last or truly keep you safe, so...while it was a tough order, I did my best."

"It's amazing," Welf said, an odd tone to his voice. "Nothing I've ever made can even compare."

I opened my mouth to say that wasn't true, but the look in Welf's eyes stopped me—because kind words aside, it wasn't. None of Welf's armor would have lasted a moment after being hit by the Goliath like this thing had been, and I think he knew it.

Apparently, so did Hephaestus.

"Then keep working hard, Welf," She said, closing her eye. "Until you can make something that can. That's your goal, isn't it? I admit, part of the reason I consented to make that shield was for my own sake—I still want to see how far you can go, Welf. You swore to reach the same level as me, didn't you?"

"Of course," Welf said, straightening and recovering quickly. "It was just a reminder that I still have a long way to go. But...our deal still stands, doesn't it?"

Hephaestus chuckled and smiled at him.

"It does," She replied. "If you can do it."

"I can," Welf said. "I will."

I looked between them, bemused.

"What deal is this?" I asked and Welf's head snapped towards me, as if he'd forgotten that I was still there.

"It's, ah, um, nothing," He assured quickly. "We're just talking about something that's, uh, private Familia business. Don't worry about it, Percy."

I looked at Hephaestus who seemed amused and thought I had a decent idea, one way or another, what the goal of the deal was. I thought about teasing him but...

Well, my experiences on that front weren't particularly funny, at least in my eyes, and I'd rather not think about them too much.

"Okay," I said instead. "Then, I look forward to it Welf. And speaking of making stuff...under the circumstances, there's something I'd like to speak to you about, Hephaestus. Can you stick around while I go get Miach?"

"I intended to, anyway," She said. "I told Tsubaki I'd be waiting her, regardless."

"Let's go then, Lili," I said, seeming to startle the quiet girl. "Unless you'd like to stay behind?"

"No!" She said quickly. "Lili's coming!"

Giving Welf and Hephaestus a nod, I left the church and made my way up the stairs, pausing to wait for Lili at the top.

"I sent you away again," I murmured once she arrived, knowing she'd understand. "You must have been really worried."

Lili paused when she heard the words, knowing what I meant.

"Lili knows that if she had stayed, she would have only gotten in Mr. Welf and Mr. Percy's way," Lili replied, looking downwards so her hood covered her eyes. "Going to find help was the best thing Lili could have done. But...because of it, Lili had to leave behind the people she cares about again, because Lili's helpless. If only..."

I was silent for a long moment before looking at her.

"Then, when I've recovered and we go back into the Dungeon...let's both try to get stronger," I said. "Welf wants to become a better smith and I still have things I'm looking for, too. It's true that I'm scared of what could happen, but I know that no one wants to live, only being protected. So I'll do everything I can to make sure you can live your life for yourself, Lili. Because...we're going to be family soon, aren't we?"

Lili's lips trembled and her eyes looked wet—but then she lifted her head and gave me a shaky smile, nodding quickly.

"Yes!" She said, voice firm even though it almost cracked. "Lili will work hard from now on, too!"

I nodded back, returning her smile, and Lili quickly bustled past me, hurrying in the direction of Miach's place and leaving me behind so I wouldn't see the tears. I sighed as I watched her go and then looked down, raising a hand and lifting the object held by it—the paper that had been in Hestia's hands when she collapsed. My new Status.

But...maybe it was because I hadn't seen the previous one, but...

What did this even mean?

XxXXxX​

Perseus Jackson
Lv. 2
Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0
Hero: H
Mystery: H

Magic:

Blood of Poseidon: Instant Magic.

Flesh of Poseidon: Auto-Magic.

Spirit of Poseidon: Auto-Magic.

Skills:

Despair: Greatly increases the encounter rate of monsters. Effect increases as condition declines.

Hope: Provides benefits in dangerous situations. Effect increases with danger.

Argos, <The Loyal, Enduring Hound>: Allows the user to continue fighting until death. Prevents the user from succumbing to the effects of Abnormalities until the end of battle.

Pythias, <For Another's Life>: User dramatically improves in all areas while fighting in defense of another.

Thetis, <A Plea to Hold Back Fate>: Charges automatically with active action.