[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Chapter 46: Cooking Part 2

Sighing but also resigning myself, I began to describe my adventurers into the Dungeon. There wasn't much to talk about, honestly, because however eventfully they might have been, I'd only been going into the Dungeon for a few weeks now. Honestly, I really had told Eina about most of what had happened, I'd just left out some of the details that seemed like a pain to bring up, especially since it wouldn't make much difference in the long run. I respected Eina greatly and was thankful for her advice, but even if she told me that some things were bad ideas, there was some stuff I just needed to do.

Even so, I couldn't help but watch Eina's face with a degree of dreadful acceptance as it slowly darkened while she continued to take notes. I tried to read them, but my grasp on the language was still flimsy, even without adding in the fact that I was trying to read it upside down with dyslexia. The language Orario used was a lot like English, but the characters themselves were all different, and I hadn't exactly been a great English student either. What little I could make out relied on translating a few words and using guess work on the rest; stuff like 'Killer Ant swarms,' 'Pantries,' 'Soma,' and what I thought was 'magic sword.' The rest was probably about dates and times and other things I did.

I've had my fair share of prophetic dreams, but I didn't need any of them to guess how this was probably going to go.

Eina closed her eyes for a long moment, as if dizzy, but when they opened again, they nearly blazed with her anger.

"Well," She said, tone clearly aggravated as she placed down her notepad. "I think I have a pretty good idea now. A pretty good idea of just how little you listen to what I have to say, that is."

I grimaced a bit, but didn't argue. I'd done what I'd done for my own reasons, but I couldn't really argue against the fact that a decent amount of the trouble I'd gotten into was, if not my own fault, then at least something I should have seen coming. With what had nearly happened against the Goliath especially...

"I'm sorry," I apologized. Sometimes, it seemed like that was about half of what I did while talking to Eina.

"Fighting against hordes of monsters, being repeatedly poisoned, battling in Pantries, going to the thirteenth...to say nothing of everything else!" Eina shook her head, lips pulling away from her teeth. "By all accounts, it should be ridiculous that you Leveled Up as fast as you did, but in hindsight, all that really surprises me is that you survived!"

I nearly corrected her, but immediately thought better of it. I mean, it was at best a technical death—I'd been merely dead, not really, most sincerely dead, so it doesn't really count, except when it did. Which wasn't now.

"Frankly, the only good thing about your recklessness is that it kept you out of trouble yesterday," Eina continued, glaring.

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"Hmph," Eina huffed, looking at me sternly. She was clearly upset with me, but she didn't seem as angry as I would have expected—but then, even if we'd only known each other for a few weeks, a lot had happened. Maybe she was just getting used to it. "Yesterday was a mess. Someone unleashed a monster into the city during the Monsterphilia."

"What?" I asked, straightening. I'd heard that the plant monster had appeared, but nothing about someone being behind it. Or did they mean me?

"It seems someone transported a monster from the Deep Floors into the city, using the Monsterphilia as a cover," Eina explained, looking annoyed by the mere idea. "We don't know about the details, but we're lucky that several first-class adventurers were on hand at the time. If they hadn't been there..."

I nodded, understanding.

"But...how do you know someone was behind it?" I asked, confusedly wondering if I should just show her my Status now and claim responsibility for it.

Eina seemed too paused for a moment, looking at me before frowning to herself and apparently deciding on something.

"Because the Monster didn't come out of the Dungeon," She finally replied, surprising me again.

"What?" I asked, leaning forward. "What do you mean?"

"When a monster was attacked, of course the Ganesha Familia was questioned, but they claimed to have no knowledge of such a creature, a claim which was supported by surrounding evidence and by other adventurers," Eina said. "As such, an investigation was called to look into things and several people apparently came forward with information of odd occurrences. The search eventually led to the sewers beneath Orario, where it seems someone had been keeping the monster for some time now, and another such creature was found waiting therein. There's nothing substantial yet, but several signs apparently pointed to deliberate action, most notably being the timing and positioning of the attack. The Ganesha Familia claimed the monster had been there for at least a week, but it waited until the height of the festival to attack."

"It waited..." I murmured, a shiver crawling up my spine. That couldn't be right...could it? "Eina, that monster—I was attacked by it."

"What?" Eina asked, stiffening abruptly and snapping to attention. "When was this? Where was this? Were you at the festival?"

"No," I said. "I didn't go."

"But then...why would it target you?" She wondered, probably more to herself than anyone. "If you were at your home, you would have been on the opposite side of the city and I wasn't informed of anything like that...?"

"Yeah..." I began slowly. "About me being at home..."

Eina's ear twitched.

"You didn't," She said, narrowing her eyes.

"You know I did," I answered, looking down.

"Percy!" Eina snapped, hand coming down on the table. "You nearly died two days ago—are you honestly telling me you thought going into the Dungeon in that condition was a good idea!? That goes past simple recklessness and into abject stupidity!"

I nearly died yesterday, I thought. But again, I kept it to myself.

"I know," I said out loud. "But something came up. A friend of mine was in pretty horrible condition after the fight with Zanis and I had to do something before it got any worse. Miach didn't have anything that would help and after...everything, I didn't exactly have much money to spend on such things, so I had to do things the hard way. I didn't intend to go past the sixth floor, I brought my entire party with me, and I made sure we were fully stocked on supplies, so I thought everything would be fine...and it was, until we were attacked from above by that monster."

"Attacked from above?" Eina said, narrowing her eyes. "On the sixth floor?"

I nodded.

"It broke through at least the floor above us and it might have burrowed down as far as the sewers you mentioned. I don't know where I was relative to Orario, but I'm willing to bet we were probably fairly close," I said, shaking my head. "I tried to fight it, but when I realized we couldn't win, we were forced to retreat."

"By which you mean you left the Dungeon promptly?" Eina asked, hinting forcefully.

"By which I mean I shattered the floor with Magic and dropped down to the Middle Floors," I replied, telling the truth. "But we fell further than I thought and ended up close to the eighteenth. Without any way to know where the monster was or if we could sneak by it, and without any clear idea of the route to the top, we intended to go to the eighteenth to rest and recover, hoping to maybe catch a ride back up when everything was over."

Eina frowned at me, but seemed to consider that, going over the plan with what I assumed was a fine-toothed comb.

"Under the circumstances, perhaps not unreasonable," She admitted slowly. "But, yesterday..."

"A Floor Boss appeared in the eighteenth," I finished for her. "Yeah."

"What'd you do?" Eina asked, schooling her expression carefully.

"I warned the adventurers in Rivira," I said. "But the Goliath was blocking the only way out, so...I stayed behind and distracted it to give them a chance to escape."

Eina's attempt at control fractured almost immediately.

"Percy...!" She nearly hissed. "Why!? We discussed this before, didn't we? After you nearly got killed...! I accepted your reasons for going so far for a friend, but...didn't you learn anything? You should already know how far people are willing to go to help you, but you still—"

"I know," I said, trying to smile and failing. "My friends...really went through a lot. Welf chose to stay behind and help me. Lili must have been horrified, but she searched and begged for help. And Hestia...even after exhausting herself for my sake, she put herself in a lot of danger to help me. To protect me. I...could have gotten them all killed."

At that, Eina fell silent at that, furrowing her eyebrows at me.

"Percy..." She said, voice lowering.

"I know what you're going to ask," I said. "Why did I stay then? Honestly, I've been asking myself that, too. Welf...Welf said it might be because I have a death wish. Not exactly in those words, but...well, I've been wondering if he's right and I'm not sure. Before I became an adventurer, a lot of the people I knew and...and loved died. I should have protected them, but I didn't and they paid the price. I guess...in a way, that's why I'm here in Orario. Really, being an adventurer in the traditional sense doesn't interest me, but in a way...it sort of feels like a second chance. That if I'm here, there must be a reason and that...this might be my chance to fix things, I guess. But in trying to fix my mistakes, I keep making them again and again. Yesterday, a lot of people I cared about nearly died and though I told myself that this time, I'd definitely protect them, I nearly couldn't. In a lot of ways, nothing's changed."

I shook my head and looked up at Eina. Oddly enough, when I tried to smile again, it came easily this time.

"I don't know if Welf's right or wrong," I said. "But I know that I can't put other people in danger because of my actions—and that's why I stayed behind yesterday."

"Because a Goliath appeared on the eighteenth floor?" Eina whispered, looking at me. Instead of seeming angry anymore, she just looked sad. "Percy, you can't think something like that was your fault."

Silently, I removed the folded up paper from my pocket and slid it over to Eina, who took it with a frown.

"This is...?" She wondered, opening it up. A moment later, her eyes went wide. "These are...!?"

"My Status," I said. "Hestia hid mine so you can't see it anymore, but...this is the latest copy, I guess. And I wanted you to see it, because...well, your my advisor, Eina—and more than that, your my friend. So, I think you deserve to know. I don't think it was my fault; I know it was. I'm threat to everyone around me, I guess. I'm just bad luck."

"That not true!" Eina snapped immediately, looking up and seeming as angry as before. "Percy, having a skill or ability or even a Status doesn't define a person, much less decide their fate! As an adventurer—as a man—you should know better than to say such things! Whatever might have occurred, you're more than your past or the bad things that might have happened to you!"

I scratched my cheek, abruptly embarrassed, but then began to chuckle and smile.

"You said that so quickly," I said, looking at her with slightly wide eyes after that sudden outburst. "Do you really think that?"

Eina flushed again but nodded firmly.

"I do," She said at once. "It's true that I scold you a lot, but it's because you put yourself in danger so recklessly. Even so, the truth is, I admired the lengths you went to for the sake of others. Even against the Goliath, you stayed behind because you didn't want anyone else to be in harm's way, right? It might have been stupid and foolish to do such a thing, but you fought for their sake, just like you fought for Lili's. Even now, the worries you have—it's because of the people you care about, old and new, and how much you want to protect them. The problem is, you keep forgetting that they...that we all want to protect you, too! That's why Welf stayed behind and Lili searched for help and Hestia worked to support you. If you asked, I'm sure any of them would do it again in a heartbeat and...even if I can't do much, I would try to help you as well."

"I know," I told her gently. "I know they'd all be willing to help me if I asked, even with the danger. But that's exactly why I can't put them in danger."

"Putting yourself in danger is no better, Percy!" She chided.

"I know," I said again. "And that's why I wanted to tell you this, too—I'm going to be taking a break from the Dungeon."

Eina blinked at that, looking at me in surprise for a long moment before seeming to comprehend what I was saying and looking down.

"...Are you giving up on being an adventurer?" She asked, looking down. She seemed torn on how to feel about that. "Because of this?"

I exhaled slowly.

"Maybe I should," I said, smiling at her again. "It'd put less people in danger and I could probably find something else to do. But...I can't. Even with everything that's happened, there's something I'm looking for and I can't stop until I find it. But I can't keep endangering people for my sake, so...I'm taking a break for a while, until I'm ready to protect them. When I go back, though, I promise—I'll definitely make sure the people I care about aren't hurt. We'll go and come back together, no matter what."

Eina closed her eyes and sighed before nodding.

"Then...okay," She said, slowly returning my smile. "It's fine. Whether it's a week or a month or a year, take as long as you need—and when the time comes, I'll be here to help you again."

"...Thanks, Eina," I said, shifting my jaw and swallowing slightly. "For everything. I don't intend to take too long, but...thank you."

"And don't worry," She said, apparently ignoring the words, though she smiled a bit wider. "I know you must be worried about not being strong enough, but you're still a young adventurer and knowing you, you'll continue growing by leaps and bounds. If you're worried about not having the strength to protect people, all you have to do is keep getting stronger and understand that it's fine if people rely on one another. Your friends will all help give you strength, Percy."

"Got it," I said, giving her a mock salute. "I already know that, though. Anyway, thanks for the advice on Developmental Abilities. I think that'll be the first step."

"It's no problem," She replied. "I'm sorry I could only give you the broad strokes but really, the choice is up to you and what you intend to accomplish. If what I said helped you even a little, I'm glad."

"Then I'll get out of your hair," I said before quirking an eyebrow. "Unless you want to yell at me some before I go. It might be awhile before you get another chance, you know."

"That would make me life significantly easier," She said wistfully.

"You'll miss it," I replied.

"I won't," She answered. "Though I might miss you. Seeing as we're friends, though, perhaps you could come visit me for reasons beyond near death."

I made a show of wrinkling my face.

"I'll think about it," I said, but silently promised that I would. "Is that a no to the yelling?"

She sighed.

"I suppose that's enough reprimands for today," She answered, tone almost grudging. "So instead...congratulations, Percy, on reaching Level 2. You must have fought very hard."

I scratched the back of my neck, feeling embarrassed, but I smiled to before turning to walk away.

"...By the way, Percy," Eina's voice stopped me just before I could open the door. "Is your shield supposed to do that?"

"What?" I asked, the odd question causing me to break stride. Reaching over my shoulder, I pulled the shield from its place on my back and realized what she was talking about at once, because strange images were writing themselves onto the surface of the shield in gentle-seeming light.

I looked between it and Eina, my eyes wide and my expression probably as confused as I felt.

"Uh," I said after a moment. "I dunno?"