[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Chapter 30: Frying Pan Part 2

The talk at the Loki table continued for some time after that, but after everything that had been said and done, everyone at the table seemed to feel a bit awkward—or at least, most of the people there did and they seemed to keep the rest in line. I was a bit thankful for that, honestly, because it made it easy to avoid any more prying conversations and I figured I'd done enough mingling for one night anyway. After Syr brought out our meal, taking our change in table in stride, I busied myself with eating and mostly let the others do the talking. But as I'd figured I would the moment I saw the Loki Familia, I was kind of killing the mood of their entire party by mere proximity. I wasn't sure how bad I felt about that at this point, but it made things more than a bit uncomfortable at times.

But all told, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I hadn't lied about anything, but I'd managed to avoid saying anything too important—probably—and if there was one thing I'd learned from the Mist, it's that people would see what they wanted to see. What I'd said probably painted a fairly weird picture in its own right, seeing as everyone at the table seemed to think I was some kind of magic prodigy at this point, but hopefully those oddities would keep anyone from prying any deeper.

It wasn't quite what I'd wanted, admittedly. If possible, I'd have liked to simply act naturally outside the Dungeon. I mean, rumors would probably have begun to spread about me at some point, if they hadn't already—I didn't really talk to enough adventurers to know for sure, but I was certain at least the side-effects of my presence had been noted, because anyone adventuring on the same floors as my party and I would probably find themselves getting a smaller 'catch' then normal, simply because all the monsters gave me priority. But on their own, rumors were just rumors. Anyone curious enough to check with the Guild would have just found out I was a Level 1 and probably dismissed the rest as exaggeration or arrogant boasts, while everyone else would probably just see it as one of a million other rumors. I wasn't lucky enough for a ruse like that to last forever, but I'd hoped it would manage for a while, at least.

Of course, Loki's question and Bete's response to it blew that straight to hell. While random conversation and normal rumors had power, cellphones and cameras didn't seem to exist in Orario as far as I'd been able to tell; even if someone actually saw me doing something, nobody could really prove it. But there was still a huge difference between some adventurers chatting about something and what was apparently one of the strongest Familias in the city doing so. If I'd denied being a Level 1 or just stayed silent, I'd have just made things worse, because people would check in that case and when they found out the truth, they'd just be more interested. Not saying anything about it would just have made people wonder more—odd as it was to say, magic was the boring explanation. It was a known quantity, if an extraordinary one, and stuff like this was what magic did. I'd been able to get my take on events out there quickly enough to hopefully counteract the worst of the trouble, even if it meant getting into more in the process.

Oh well. Even if I hadn't wanted to say anything about it, none of it was really new to the Loki Familia. Bete had walked in to find me in a salt water lake, while Aiz had seen even more. Granted, I'd figured Aiz would have just told her goddess and Familia about what happened, which she apparently hadn't, but still; I'd managed to remain as nonchalant as possible and it might have been for the best if they just assumed I didn't have anything to hide. Of course, I hadn't realized that casting magic while moving wasn't the norm—probably because my magic came as naturally to me as breathing and didn't require a chant besides. That one was my bad, for making assumptions when I had no idea what was supposed to be normal, but that's what happens when you don't know everything, I guess.

After a while, however, the night began to wind down. I didn't have anything left to do today but sleep so it didn't much matter to me, but obviously that wasn't true of everyone and eventually the Loki Familia said goodbye. I got another round of apologies, my fair share of curious looks, and then most of the Familia filed out of the Hostess of Fertility.

Except for Aiz, who stood but remained behind even as her Familia left the building, exchanging a few words with her friends as they left. When they were gone, she turned towards me and bowed her head slightly.

"...I'm sorry," She said, hair falling down around her face but doing little to hide her look of disappointment. "I wanted to apologize, but it seems I've just caused you more trouble..."

"Don't worry about it—it's nothing you did," I told her, which just seemed to make her look more sullen. "It was...an experience."

"They..." Aiz paused and sighed. "We shouldn't have asked such things in a place like this. They are...my Familia is..."

It was kind of weird, I noted as I looked at her. On the outside, Aiz seemed to be cool, calm, and collected—but somehow or another, it seems she got sad and embarrassed easily and had a hard time speaking with others. I wasn't sure if those were two different sides of her or if the former was a side-effect of how she seemed to be bad at expressing herself. Either way, I tried to save her the trouble.

"Well, they're your friends, right? Your family," I said, thinking of my own. I didn't really count my father's extended family tree, because it was more of a family forest and it was full of bad apples—but I counted my mom and dad, my brother, and the Camp. "I know a thing or two about friends that cause problems, but...it doesn't really change things, does it?"

Aiz fell silent for a moment at that, looking at me for a moment before nodding.

"...How badly were you hurt?" She asked, absently changing topics as if it were entirely normal.

I sighed at her, shaking my head.

"Isn't it fine not to worry about stuff like that, Aiz?" I asked her. "I mean, I'm fine now. Hell, I fine something like a minute after the fact. There's no point in feeling bad over it now, is there?"

"...Please," She said quietly, eyes serious. "Whether it matters or not, since I was the cause...I want to know what happened."

I looked at her for a long moment before heaving an even louder sigh before looking around. Even besides the Loki Familia, much of the bar had been cleared out due to the time—it was probably close to eleven at this point. Still, that didn't necessarily mean nobody was listening; it just mean it'd be easier to hear. But no one seemed to be paying attention to me at this particular moment and at this point, just about everyone was drunk as hell. And Aiz, apparently, wasn't the type to tell a person's secrets.

"Let me see..." I said, scratching my head and then lowering my voice. "A Minotaur's horn pierced through one of my hands when I stopped its charge. I broke my arms and later my shoulders. I think I got a concussion at some point, probably some whiplash, and I think I broke some number of ribs. Maybe some other stuff, but that's everything I actually noticed. Good enough?"

"Yes," She said firmly. "I won't let it happen again."

"If it's just that, I guess its fine, as long as you don't beat yourself up over it," I said, frowning slightly. "Accidents happen and if anyone had to get hurt, I'm glad it was me, because I heal fast. I got a bit banged up but you saw me walk it off; don't make it more than it is. Everyone has rough days and for me, that's all it was."

She nodded slowly again and then turned to walk away, leaving the bar in silence. As she did, I sat down and sighed, this time echoed by Welf and Lili.

"Was that uncomfortable for anyone else or was that just me?" Welf asked, wiping at his face with one hand.

"Lili thought things were kind of tense..." Lili said, leaning forward to rest her chin on the table. "So that was Loki Familia..."

"They're an interesting bunch," I mused, looking at the door. Even after eating a dinner with them, I wasn't sure what to make of the Loki Familia. It's true that Loki and Bete had caused me problems, but frankly, I just chalked Loki up to gods being gods and Bete up to being himself. Even then, both of them had settled down quickly and been what I assumed was polite for the rest of the meal. Finn and Riveria, who definitely seemed to be the parents of the group, had struck me as nice enough, as did Aiz, even if she took everything upon herself. Tione and Tiona had seemed lively enough, even if we hadn't talked much, and then there was the rest of their very, very large Familia.

I guess I'd just treat them normally and see how it goes.

"I guess," Welf murmured, shaking his head.

"There are high level members in the Hephaestus Familia too, aren't there?" I asked, tilting my head his way.

"Sure, but...it's not the same," He said, making a face. "They're just annoying—some are annoying siblings, some are annoying colleagues, and some are just annoying jerks. But maybe because they're my Familia, they aren't really awe-inspiring or anything. Or rather, it's hard for them to be awe-inspiring when you see them whine like children to Hephaestus."

I thought of most of the gods I knew.

"Fair enough," I said before exhaling slowly. "Sorry Lili. I wanted to just have a nice celebration, but it seems it didn't really turn out that way."

"Mr. Percy has no need to apologize," She replied, looking up at me. "Lili was just worried over nothing. But—"

"Percy!" Syr said, approaching in a worried rush. "Is it true that you got really badly hurt in the Dungeon!?"

I stopped to blink at her, confused for a moment.

"How did you...?" I began before frowning and turning away, looking at the other waitress. Most of them were sweeping or cleaning down tables, but I noticed that the two cat-girls were sweeping the same spot over and over as they watched us, and I frowned at them both. "Hey, if you're going to eavesdrop, don't just leave out all the important parts! And also, Mama Mia, both of them are slacking off!"

"You two..." Mama Mia said, looking up from the counter to glare at both of them. The two of them immediately made what I assumed were supposed to be—but were not at all—cat noises and hurried back to work. Serves them and their super-ears right.

"Percy, you didn't mention that you got hurt," Syr said, frowning worriedly at me.

"Like I keep telling people, it was nothing," I answered, feeling embarrassed again. "You heard that I had healing magic, right? I was fine in a couple of minutes, tops."

"Really?" She asked, still seeming to fret. "I heard a lot of stuff, but...is the rest true? The part about the...Minotaurs?"

"Oh, that," I said, trying not to let my smile grow strained. "Don't worry, I just got mixed up in a little trouble is all. It was nothing I couldn't handle, really."

"And the part about you being a Level 1...?"

As expected, people really liked to talk.

"Ah, yeah, that's...that's true as well," I said, nodding uncertainly and then more firmly as I took a deep breath. "I didn't mean to give you an impression otherwise, but it's true I didn't say it outright. I'm sorry, but I guess I didn't want you to worry too much about me. And I guess..."

"No, its fine," Syr said, quickly shaking her head and raising her hands as if to put me at ease. "I never cared about that, it's just...I was worried when I heard, so..."

We both seemed a bit embarrassed and lapsed quickly into silence before I thought to change the subject.

"By the way, I'm sorry," I said. "We didn't really get a chance to talk tonight—some stuff came up, I guess."

"I noticed," Syr said with a smile. "The Loki Familia aren't quite regulars here, but they stop by fairly often. I didn't realize you knew one another, though."

"We only met recently," I said, deciding not to recount the story again tonight. "Anyway, I wanted you to meet my party. I already introduced you but...if you have time, do you want to sit with us."

"Ah," Welf interrupted with a wince. "About that Percy...I'm sorry, but I should probably go, especially if we're going back into the Dungeon tomorrow. I have to finish up your armor after all."

"Oh, right," I said, nodding as he rose. "No problem, Welf—see you tomorrow."

"Lili should go as well, then," Lili said, hopping down from her chair. "Thank you for the meal, Mr. Percy."

"Wait!" I said a few moments too late, moving to stand myself as I remembered why I was here. I hesitated before following, looking down at Syr. "I'm sorry, but could you wait a minute. There's something I need to tell Lili real quick."

"Sure," She said with a gentle look. "That's not a problem."

Smiling gratefully at her, I followed Lili out of the Hostess. Outside, she had already split away from Welf and begun walking in the opposite direction, but I caught up easily because...well, because I was over two feet taller than her.

"Lili," I said, stopping her in her tracks and making her look back at me.

"Mr. Percy?" She asked, tilting her head. "Is something wrong?"

"Sorry, Lili—I really did want to celebrate tonight," I said. "But there's something else, too. Are you...are you okay, Lili? Is there anything I can help you with?"

For a moment, she just looked at me, silent and expressionless—but then she smiled and shook her head.

"No," She told me. "Lili is fine, Mr. Percy. As Lili thought, Lili must have really worried you with what she said this morning."

"Yeah," I admitted, deciding immediately to just tell the truth. "A lot, really. With everything you said...even when you talked about death, you didn't seem that bothered by it. You said you didn't feel that way anymore, but I was really concerned. So...I know we don't really know one another after spending maybe a day together, but if there's anything I can do to help, then I thought I should say...I'm here."

She just kept watching me, smiling.

"Okay," She said.

"Okay?" I asked before shaking my head. "I mean, yeah. Okay. Um...you know where to find me, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Percy," She said, nodding with the same look as always. "Lili will remember Mr. Percy's kind words."

"Right," I said, nodding slowly. Somehow, I didn't feel less worried. "I'm glad. Thanks, Lili. I'll...I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Percy," She said again. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Lili."