[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Chaper 15: Waiting for Dawn part 2

Come morning, I woke up in time to eat breakfast with Hestia and see her off to work. In the process, I became exceedingly aware of the state of our appliances, furniture, and so on, as well as the fact that they'd all cost money, both to repair and replace. That led to thinking about all the other expenses that would go hand in hand with eventually buying a new house, such as new furnishings, applies, probably taxes of some kind, and probably a bunch of stuff I wasn't even thinking of. On the whole, it served as a reminder that my wallet was extremely lightweight at the moment and so I sighed and got moving. I'd need to spend the day in the Dungeon, but first there were some things I had to do.

"Miach," I greeted as I walked through the door.

"Percy?" He replied with a smile. "Here to pick up your potions and antidotes?"

"If it's not too much trouble," I replied, nodding at the man as I leaned against the counter. "No problems with those Wings?"

"None at all," He replied. "They were in fairly good condition, in fact; very easy to work with."

"Is stuff like that an issue with drop items?" I asked, gesturing vaguely.

"It can be," Miach answered after humming to himself. "Many drops are fairly durable by their very nature; after all, the reason they remain behind after the magic stone is extracted is precisely because enough power has gathered within them that they're able to exist independently of the 'heart' of a monster. Monsters that drop items tend to be more powerful, with the part that would be a drop serving as a kind of secret weapon. An especially sharp claw, for instance—or particularly deadly poison, in a case such as this. Generally speaking, they're fairly durable."

"But some are more fragile than others," I guessed. "A Killer Ant's mandibles probably don't have much trouble, but a Moth's wings are easier to break."

"Precisely," He said. "It's nothing to worry about, however; given that the only way to acquire such items in the first place is by slaying the monster to which they're attached, some wear and tear is to be expected."

"Carrying them around in a backpack full of other drops probably didn't help much, though," I replied with a sigh. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

"As I said, it's nothing for you to worry about," Miach assured. "I simply wanted to inform you of it, as the condition of such items can affect their price as well. As you're working alone, it can't be helped given the simple amount of items you're likely to transport, but you may wish to keep it in mind later on and look into other means of storage. Also, in the case of Purple Moth Wings, you may wish to use something other than your backpack to carry them, as the powder from the wings remains poisonous."

Right. Of course it would, given that was the entire point, which meant I should probably wash out my backpack. Thankfully a fairly easy process for a son of Poseidon, but...eh.

"I'll keep that in mind," I promised. "Oh, also, Hestia will probably talk to you about this the next time you see her, but I might as well tell you while I'm here. You don't have any adventurers in your Familia, right?"

"Ah," Miach replied, looking down at the counter. "Not anymore. These days my Familia is just Naaza and I. Why do you ask?"

"Would you be interested in doing stuff like this again?" I asked him. "I don't mind letting you have your pick from the drops I bring back if you're willing to continue helping me out like this?"

Miach was silent for a moment as he focused on sorting and wrapping the potions and antidotes he'd made me, only responding once he had finished.

"I would like to say yes...but I don't want to cause trouble for the two of you," He replied at last. "Even with the help of your friend, work in the Dungeon must be difficult, no? And money must still be tight for you and Hestia considering. As a new adventurer, there must be a number of things you're trying to save up for and I'd hate to make things more difficult for you by taking advantage of your kindness."

I huffed out a quick laugh as Miach gave me a knowing smile and shrugged. He wasn't wrong and I was especially aware of that now. Given what he'd told me yesterday, I could have made an extra twenty thousand valis, which is the type of thing that could rack up pretty quickly if I made a habit of it. It'd be like adding another major expense to my already-growing tab. I wasn't going to lie and say that I hadn't at least thought about keeping the drops and making more money.

But...even if I needed more money, this was still something I wanted to do. I had a fair share of what I thought were pretty reasonable arguments, just in case, but more than that, I liked Miach and I could tell a lot about how he was doing by the dreary state of his shop. He and his Familia—which was just one person, apparently—might have been doing better than Hestia had been, but it couldn't be by much. And yet he'd still tried to help me and Hestia and had acted nice. I wanted to help him out.

Also, while I didn't claim to know anything about economics—especially not the economics of monster-hunting and potion-making—I'd played a few video games in my time and I knew that when it came to buying and selling stuff at item shops, the money you got from selling stuff was always lower than what it'd take to buy that same stuff. Which made sense, right? That's how that made a profit or whatever. But if so, if I was selling ingredients to the Guild and Miach was buying stuff from them, I figured it probably cost him more money than I made. If I made twenty thousand valis, how much would he lose by comparison?

I had no idea. But somehow, even if it didn't make much sense, it felt like I'd be making things harder on him, for my own benefit. And with no adventurers in his Familia to do things the 'easy' way and just get the ingredients themselves, running an Apothecary must have been pretty hard to begin with.

"I don't think it's anything so one-sided," I finally replied. "I mean, it's not like I don't benefit from getting potions and stuff. You don't have any adventurers in your Familia, I don't have any potion-makers in mine, and since we both having some trouble...it's better to work together, isn't it? Besides...I'm not the only one money must be tight for, right?"

Miach looked down, features growing a touch strained in a way that reminded me of what I'd seen yesterday. I had no way of knowing any of the details, truth be told, but...I was starting to think I might have some idea. Wayland had mentioned that the Developmental Ability called 'Mixing' was pretty much a requirement to sell potions. While it was always possible that 'Naaza' was just a Level 1 training to get it, if the difference 'Mixing' made was a big as Wayland had said, she'd pretty much have to be a Level 2 in order to keep their Familia in business, especially if there was competition. A Level 2 in his Familia, but he claimed to have no adventurers and was clearly fairly poor...I figured Miach's situation was fairly complicated too. I didn't know why and didn't want to pry into what were probably bad memories, but...that didn't mean I couldn't do anything to help.

"Even if I lose some money on selling drops, why don't we just think of it as insurance?" I offered when he didn't respond immediately. "Whatever I lose just getting potions, I think I make up for by knowing a friendly doctor if I happen to have the need, so why don't we just leave it at that, okay? You don't have to answer right now or anything; just think about it before you talk to Hestia. See you later, Miach."

I collected the potions and antidotes and put them in my bag before turning to leave.

"Good luck, Percy," Miach said behind me. "Be careful."

"I'll try," I said, waving back at him as I left. I had one more stop to make before heading back into the Dungeon, so I made my way to the Pantheon and walked inside.

The lobby was pretty clear this early in the morning, probably because most adventurers were already making their way to the Dungeon. Pretty much the only people inside were the Guild employees and the people who needed to speak to their advisors. Speaking of which...

"Hi, Eina," I said. "Did you enjoy the water?"

"Percy," She said, looking up from her work and looking me over. "You got new armor."

"Of course," I said. "I'm not stupid enough to go into the Dungeon without any armor. Again, I mean. I learn from my mistakes, more or less."

"What a reassuring endorsement," Eina replied, standing with a sigh. "Follow me, then."

She led me back to the same room as before, opening to door to let me in and shutting it behind her. Even after I went to take a seat, she remained beside it, leaning with her back against it.

"Percy, listen to me," She said after a few moments of silence. "Because this is something you absolutely have to remember no matter what—adventurers shouldn't go on adventures."

I blinked at her and tilted my head.

"Not to question your vocabulary or anything," I began. "Isn't that a bit contradictory? I mean, I think that's the definition of adventurer."

"That's not what I mean and you know it," She said, looking angry. "The name 'adventurer' is a poor one to begin with, meant to make people dream big and draw them in. They tell stories about them, craft monuments, and make children dream of being like them one day—and if countless people die every year making the attempt, then I guess that's not as good a story as Dungeon Oratoria. But did you know that before they were called 'adventurers', they were called 'mercenaries'?"

"Doesn't have quite the same ring to it," I said, shaking my head. "But I guess that's probably why they changed it."

"Maybe so. But don't forget your roots, Percy," She said. "'Adventurer' or 'mercenary,' it makes no difference. Don't take unnecessary risks, don't be afraid to run, don't forget what your life is worth, and most of all, whatever you find in the Dungeon, don't forget what you're trying to get back to up here. That what I mean when I say don't go on adventurers, Percy. This? It's a job. A scary, dangerous job that could get you hurt or killed if you make a mistake—but it's not something to throw your life away for. Don't forget where you came from, Percy. And don't forget what you are."

I was silent for a moment at that, absorbing her words. I understood what she was trying to say, even agreed with most of it. But what if what I was looking for in the Dungeon were all the things I'd lost up here? What if I'd lost all those things because I'd been too afraid to take the risks? What if I'd agreed t Nico's plan earlier, reached out to my father faster, fought harder and better and more?

"I've never forgotten where I came from or what I am," I said. "And I never will. Because I'm—"

The son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. The failed Hero of the Great Prophecy and a demigod and a really, really, really troubled kid. And I was the leader, and quite possibly the last member, of Camp Half-Blood.

"Me," I finished. "And I couldn't change that, even if I wanted to. Sorry."

Eina fell silent for a long moment.

"You still intend to go back to the seventh floor?" She said. "After everything I said?"

I nodded.

"Why?" She demanded, looking like she wanted to hit me. Instead, she stalked towards me and slammed her hands down on the table with a bang. "Aren't you afraid of death!?"

"I'm scared of a lot of things," I said. "But more than dying, I'm scared that—"

I stopped myself and closed my mouth without finishing the sentence; hell, I was worried about even finishing the thought.

"What?" Eina demanded. "What's so important that you'd risk your life like this?"

"Nothing," I said, closing my eyes. "Sorry, Eina, but...I should probably get going."

She didn't answer immediately, but I heard her breathing quickly and felt the table shake from where it touched her trembling hands.

"Fine," She spat at last. "Go."

I nodded and rose, moving towards the door.

"You know, they were making bets," She said as I reached for it, stopping me.

"Bets?" I asked, confused. "On what?"

"On you," She told me. "Against you and some others. Misha had a hard time finding an advisor for you—a solo adventurer with no background, a new Familia, and a reckless streak a mile wide. Everyone turned her down, because I think they're tired of advising people only for them to die. But when they started betting, I made them stop. I hate it when they do that; I made them promise that if you survived a whole year, they'd stop betting about you. I just didn't realize you'd fight me this hard on the matter."

It was my turn to fall silent at that as I tried to think of something to say.

"Eina," I began at last, deciding to just try and hope for the best. It got me this far, right? "If you want to wash your hands of me, I'd understand. I'll never bother you again. But...I want you to know that at the very least, I promise to come back. I have it on good authority that I beat the odds by making it to sixteen—I'll do my best and make it to seventeen for your sake."

I waited for a response for a moment before opening the door and stepping outside.

"Percy," She interrupted, stopping me again. "Make sure you're here tomorrow morning so I can yell at you again."

I smiled but didn't look back.

"Will do," I said.

XxXXxX​

No ambush had been waiting for me at the entrance to the seventh floor this time. I hadn't had much trouble on the way down, either. Even so, I knew better than to let my guard down as I explored the seventh floor and I was soon rewarded for my caution. The sound of cracking walls reached my ears, but a look around failed to reveal the source; it was coming from somewhere out of sight.

Even so, I just kept walking, not stopped even as the first of the shapes lumbered into sight. In front of me and behind me, monsters filled the hall, cutting off my escape routes in the middle of the floor. They'd waited this time, the Dungeon putting up only mild resistance as I progressed through the floor, before surrounding me at a location of its choosing. At a guess, I assumed the idea was probably a mixture of cutting down my options, herding me someplace to the monster's advantage, and keeping me away from the Pantries.

But the Dungeon wasn't the only one who'd thought things through.

"Okay then," I said, bringing my sword and shield to the ready. "Round two?"