endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 66

Naaza started staying within Tsubaki's house from that day forward. She had been assigned a room within the same corridor as Lili, which was on the opposite side of the building in the eastern wing. Tsubaki's room was located at the furthest section of the hall and connected to the corridor heading towards the western wing and onsen. During the first night Naaza stayed, Tsubaki managed to get both her and Lili to take a bath together so she could talk to them in private.

After that, Naaza had a change in personality and started acting more proactive in her interactions with everyone. Though she was somewhat shy around Vahn, she was constantly engaging him in conversations about medicine and mixtures. She was very surprised seeing how quickly Vahn 'learned' the information and was shocked that he was able to make modifications to the process after hearing about it only once.

When Lili and Vahn weren't training or entering the dungeon, Naaza would often find Vahn to compare notes and ask for advice. She had even convinced Tsubaki to allow her to set up a workshop of her own and began brewing potions according to the 'theories' Vahn had conveyed to her.

Previously, Naaza had only been able to make low-grade potions easily while she struggled to create mid-grade ones. Now, however, she was rapidly increasing her success rate under Vahn's guidance. She even began to suspect he had a lot of experience with mixing, but after seeing him attempt the process himself, she immediately threw that thought out the window.

Unlike forging, which Vahn was able to perform easily with the support of [Will of the Emperor] and [Heart of the Eternal Flame], Vahn struggled with compounding and mixing. Though he possessed all the theoretical knowledge to develop the medicines, he had difficulties when it came to infusing his energy into the solution. Most of his attempts ended up causing the flasks to shatter mere moments after he began.

Naaza was unable to make sense of the nonsensical scene. As she had been observing his training, Naaza knew Vahn was incredibly proficient with controlling his mana. But for some reason, no matter how little he infused into the solutions they ended up exploding! It was like the ingredients themselves were reacting explosively the moment his 'mana' began bonding with the solution. She was determined to find the cause, as it would be such a waste for someone to possess so much talent yet be unable to make even basic healing potions.

---

While Naaza was busy trying to crack the mysterious case of Vahn's inexplicable ability to destroy flasks, on the 30th floor of Babel Tower dozens of gods from Familia throughout the City had begun to converge. Today was the first day of their quarterly meeting known as the 'Denatus'. It was at this meeting they would make decisions that could shape the very fate of Orario and determine the lives of countless adventurers and citizens.

The room was filled with beautiful and handsome figures attired in formal wear. They boisterously interacted with each other while issuing compliments and boasting about their favorite 'children'. Some of them were even placing bets and talking about the upcoming 'Monster Feria' that would be taking place before the next 'Denatus' meeting.

Within the crowd, a lithe and sensual figure moved which caused the heads of both gods and goddesses alike to turn. Many of the goddesses showed discontented expressions, while all but a few of the gods were unable to pull their eyes away. The figure, as if completely unfazed by the looks of the crowd moved towards an area of the floor where a red-haired goddess could be seen.

"Ara, Hephaestus. It's rare to see you show up so early on the first day." The figure spoke in a gentle tone with a slight hint of seduction which caused Hephaestus to grimace before grabbing a new glass of wine from the nearby table. "Freya. To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting the Goddess of the Rank 2 Familia?"