[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Chapter 43: Signal FIres part 1

"What?" Hestia asked, staggering—as in, I had to catch her because she tripped and began to fall.

I couldn't blame her, even leaving aside how long she'd apparently been awake; this was big news. I mean, I was pretty sure I'd drawn attention with the Soma thing, especially when a meeting was called for the gods, but there was a difference between gods keeping tabs on me and them seeing me in action. However much attention I'd drawn fighting Zanis, I figured this would draw and order of magnitude more—and in my experience, at least when it came to the gods, drawing interest pretty much inevitably meant trouble, and that's not even counting whatever issues Hestia was so worried about. This wasn't a matter of rumor, hearsay, and conjecture anymore, after all, and it made me think of the trials I'd been put on.

Hestia must have been worried about that and to an extent, so was I—but truthfully, I was more worried about exactly what they'd seen. If it was just me, that was probably pretty bad, since I hadn't exactly had the option of holding back and it would have been on clear display. But what if they'd seen more than that? What if they'd seen Mrs. O'Leary?

...No, now that I thought about it, whether they'd seen it or not didn't even matter at this point. Hadn't Hestia mentioned something about being around others? And then she'd gotten to the eighteenth floor really fast; odds were there were witnesses to that much. That cat might already be out of the bag and after so many close calls with her recently, I was worried about Mrs. O'Leary.

But here and now, I was worried about Hestia, too, because she looked like she was going to collapse any second now.

"Hestia," I murmured urgently as I steadied her, but she shook her head quickly, raising a hand.

"No, I need to..." She paused, shaking her head as if to clear it, or else make it focus. When she stopped, she stared at Hephaestus, like she still couldn't believe her words. "How? They shouldn't have...?"

"Hestia, don't you remember what we were discussing before you...left?" Hephaestus asked gently. "We were with Loki and—"

"Freya," Hestia finished, expression paling. "That's right—she said she would speak to Uranus about it, but...we weren't gone that long. Were we? H-how much did you see, Hephaestus?"

The goddess of the forge exhaled slowly, shaking her head.

"It's hard to say," She hedged. "But at least the end of the fight. Freya moves quickly when she feels like it and after Uranus gave us permission, we saw you fighting the Goliath underwater."

I frowned, mulling that over. Not as bad as it could have been, then, but they'd probably still seen a lot. 'Fighting underwater' didn't narrow things down much, though, since it could have been anything from after Hestia updated my Status to the very end. Still, they might have had a hard time making out what I was doing with the water in the water, so it could have been worse on that front, at least. But—

"What about his Status?" Hestia asked, sounding worried. "Did they see it?"

Hephaestus hesitated before shaking her head.

"Even though we were allowed to watch, there were a number of restrictions in place," She said. "We were forbidden from looking anywhere but into the Dungeon or using our power to spy on the Status of other Familia or adventurers, among other things. So, at the very least, none of them could specifically look at his Status. However..."

"I was fighting shirtless," I said, looking down at my still bare chest.

"Yes," Hephaestus replied. "It's not impossible that other gods just happened to catch a glimpse or two during the battle. With the majority of restrictions still in place, it's unlike that anyone could see you well enough to get a complete picture, but I can't deny the possibility that some might have seen something."

Hestia swallowed, but I just looked at Hephaestus, silently accepting that. Unfortunate, but oh well—I'd managed somehow.

"What was the last thing you saw?" I asked, getting right to the point I was concerned with.

Hephaestus glanced at me apologetically before her eye flicked to the stairs.

"The situation officially ended when you left the Dungeon safely," She replied.

Fuck.

"No," Hestia said, clenching her eyes shut as if to deny the reality before her. "No, no, no—this can't be happening. How could I have made such a mistake—"

"Hestia, stop," Hephaestus cut her off sharply. "You did well and you acted bravely, entering the Dungeon to protect your Familia—and mine. Don't try to convince yourself you did the wrong thing just because of this."

"B-but, Hephaestus," Hestia replied, looking dizzy. "If they know...and the Guild must have seen it as well...which means...!"

Hephaestus sighed.

"Hestia," She said, voice turning gentle. "You should sleep. Admittedly, the situation is...not ideal, but it's far from as bad as it could have been. You protected your Familia and returned home safely; the rest can be sorted out in due time, once you've rested."

Hestia put her head in her hands and didn't answer, looking more and more exhausted by the moment. Hephaestus sighed understandingly and then glanced towards us.

"Welf," Hephaestus said, glancing at him as he stood stock still, apparently caught up in the implications as well—or else, not entirely sure what was going on, like me. "Come here."

"Yes," Welf said quickly, snapping out of his thoughts at the sound of his name before pausing, right arm reaching up to touch his left shoulder. "But...my arm's broken."

Ah, I thought, probably the first to understand.

"Just cut the shirt off," I said, stepping towards him and drawing Riptide. "Miach will need to look at your arm anyway—and trust me, you don't want to try taking off a shirt the normal way with a broken arm. It's even less fun than it sounds."

"You sure?" Welf asked, gesturing towards his Undine Silk shirt, too which I just shrugged.

"Don't worry about it," I dismissed, frowning and I carefully cut the sleeve, working to avoid touching the break. Once that was done, it was simple enough to just tear the rest of the shirt; Undine Silk had magical properties, but it wasn't much more durable than normal silk when it came to conventional force. Welf helped as best he could with one arm, pulling the shirt away, and I took the chance to take a look at the break. "Hey, Welf."

"What?" He asked, gritting his teeth as he held his shoulder.

"Think about something pleasant," I said and set the bone when he was about half way through a 'huh?'

"Fuck," Welf snapped, reaching for it, but I stopped him with a glance. He clenched his teeth and stopped, grimacing. "Warn me next time."

"It doesn't really help," I told him. I took the remains of his shirt and a piece of wood from a table Zanis had broken yesterday, making a makeshift splint, just in case. I wasn't a doctor, but you pick up a few things at Camp and I was no stranger to broken bones, even though they weren't that big a deal for me. "I'll get Miach in just a minute. Lili, do you have any potions left?"

"Nothing that will help a broken bone," She spoke up apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "Hephaestus?"

"Thank you, Percy," She said mildly, apparently taking the process in stride. "Turn around, Welf."

My friend did, though he grunted slightly. As he did, I frowned as I noticed something wrong—or rather, recognized something's absence.

There was no Status on Welf's back.

"Hestia, look," Hephaestus said, touching Welf's bare back after pricking her finger with a needle. When the ichor touched his skin, something seemed to ripple across it and symbols began to appear. "I assume you're not aware of how to hide an adventurer's Status?"

"What?" Hestia asked, looking up and then staring, seeming momentarily stunned by the sight. "You can...you can hide the Status?"

Hephaestus sighed, but continued to work on Welf, who seemed uncomfortable with being exposed. Or maybe he just wasn't used to having his Status updated with an audience.

"I thought as much," She said. "I suppose it can't be helped, when you've been her for only a few months and only had one child. But under the circumstances, I think this might be a good time to learn. Watch closely, then. As soon as I'm done here, I'll..."

Hephaestus frowned to herself as she trailed off, eyes on Welf's Status.

"I should have realized," Hephaestus muttered to herself before raising her voice. "Welf, congratulations. You've reached Level 2."

"What?" Welf asked, sounding startled and turned without thinking. As he did, his back turned my way and I caught a glimpse of his Status.

Welf Crozzo
Lv. 2
Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I0

Magic:

Will-o-Wisp: Anti Magic.

Burn out, illegal work

Skills:

Crozzo Blood: The user can create Magic Swords. Can raise the power of Magic Swords during creation.

Damon, <For Another's Sake>: User dramatically improves in all areas while endangering one's self for another.

"Welf," I said, looking away.

"A moment, Hestia," Hephaestus said, straightening Welf and giving him and I a glance. "I assume you'll be wanting Blacksmith as your Developmental Ability?"

"Yes!" Welf said excitedly. "Yes please, Lady Hephaestus!"

"Percy..." Hestia said, giving me a look, perhaps having noticed the same thing I had. "Come here."