Prytaneum
Simmer
While Miach brewed another potion in the middle of the room, I was working to make something of my own. Using alcohol as the base, I added milk, honey, several potions, and water, using the latter in place of a pot, as well as an ingredient. Controlling it, I stirred the mixture, brought it to a boil on the stove, and then 'purified' it using Mystery, the process making the contents glow like molten gold. When I was done, I separated the resulting liquid into three vials and let them rest.
The others in the room watched in interest as I worked, gazes switching between Miach and I. Miach himself looked like he was the most interested of all and, once he brought his own work to a stopping point, rose to take a closer look.
"May I?" He asked as I set the potions down on the table, picking on up when I gave a nod. "This is…as I thought, this must be…"
"Nectar," I finished, making him pause before nodding.
"That's one name for it, certainly," He said, sounding more interested than anything else. "Yes, without a doubt, this is 'Nectar.' I've never seen it in this world before, though. How did you make it?"
Miach sounded curious and nothing more, his voice free of any shock or disbelief.
"Mystery," I answered simply. "It's something I have a knack for."
"…Just to be sure, when you say Mystery, you mean the Developmental Ability, correct?" Miach asked, raising an eyebrow when I nodded. "Remarkable. It's only been a few weeks, but you've already reached Level 2?"
I shook my head, but then hesitated and nodded.
"I reached Level 2 today," I told my friend. "But this was something I could do even before that."
Miach furrowed his eyebrows, but was interrupted before he could respond.
"You reached Level 2 as well, Percy?" Welf asked, sounding surprised. Lili sat next to him on the couch, but I'd already told her on the way to Miach's, because I'd wanted to ask her for some advice, so she didn't react.
Regardless, I nodded at him.
"The Goliath must have done the trick for both of us," I said. "Hestia updated my stats again before she collapsed and it said I was Level 2."
"What Developmental Ability did you get?" He asked excitedly.
"I didn't get any, it seems," I said, making him frown.
"That can't be right," He said. "At the very least, someone like you should have gotten a few. If nothing else, you fought enough Purple Moths to get Abnormal Resistance a hundred times over."
"That's just it, Welf," Hephaestus said, though she raised her eyebrow at me slightly. "If there's more than one, then it would need to be selected before it appeared. In a sense, you're still in a transitional phase, Percy—an incomplete Level 2."
"Ah," I said, taking that in and shrugging. If that's how it works, that's how it works, I guess. "I wonder what I got, then."
"With all the monsters you killed, you could have gotten Hunter," Welf said, perking up and then wincing as he shifted his broken arm. Seeing that, Miach looked away from me to hurry back to the potion he was making, adding something too it and continuing to mix it. "Or…or Mage. Or who knows what else."
I stared at Welf, letting the words drift over me before blinking slowly.
"Okay," I said.
"It'll make more sense if you just wait for Hestia to explain it to you," Hephaestus cut it, sighing and tapping Welf's shoulder to make him calm down. "While the choice was simple for Welf, I advise you to take your time and consider your options carefully—even taking a few days to decide might be wise, under the circumstances. To bring things back on track, however, I'll continue Miach's question—how did you make Nectar, Percy?"
"It's just something I became able to do after Hestia gave me her blessing," I replied, shrugging. "And I figured out how to do it eventually, somehow or another."
"It's like with me and magic swords, Hephaestus," Welf pipped up, probably trying to protect me. I didn't see any need to worry about Hephaestus, personally, but I don't think that was what he was trying to do, either. Maybe trying to tell her something without letting her ask? Or maybe there was something I was missing?
"…Hm," She mused, looking slowly between Welf and I. I wasn't sure she was convinced by just a slight explanation, but it would have been a pain in the ass to explain things fully, even if I was actually sure on how it worked. "I see. Then…is this what you wanted to show me, Percy?"
I shook my head.
"That's something else," I replied. "But since Miach was here anyway, I wanted to show it too him."
"Me?" Miach asked, looking up from the potion again. "Why?"
"I figured you might be able to do something with it," I said, shrugging again. "I figured out how to do it yesterday and wanted to show you at some point, and since the cat's pretty much out of the bag, there's no reason not to do it now. It came in handy against the Goliath and I figured out how to do a few things with it, but you're the expert on stuff like this."
"Excuse me, Mr. Percy, Lord Miach," Lili interrupted. "But…what is Nectar?"
"It's a drink of the gods," Miach answered. "Something from Heaven. It has other names, such as Amrita, but regardless of what it's called, it's something divine and I was surprised to see it here. If it was made using something like Mystery, however, I suppose it's possible—but then, that Ability is extremely rare in its own right."
"Is it like Soma?" Lili murmured, looking at it cautiously and swallowing.
Miach frowned at the question, apparently not sure how to answer it, so I stepped in and replied instead.
"I don't know," I admitted. "Because I never drank Soma. But I can say for sure that most people wouldn't become addicted to it if they drank it—they'd probably just die."
"That's certainly a possibility," Miach agreed, though not without giving me a look. "I don't know much about Soma's work or how it compares in terms of taste and quality, but it's certainly true that the originally wasn't meant for human consumption. In all likelihood, a mortal would burn to ash simply by trying to consume it."
I nodded.
"I can drink a little bit," I said. "And if I'm hurt, I can use it to recover or restore energy. But after a glass or two, I start risking spontaneous combustion, so it's not the most reliable healing item."
"That would appear to be an unfortunate side-effect," Miach agreed, continuing to give me an odd look. But Miach wasn't really the type to ask personal questions. That was part of why I liked him. "I suppose I could see what I could do, though I'd be wary of testing the results on anyone."
"Well, I know there's at least one recipe that can make fire that burns underwater, so that's probably wise," I admitted. "If you don't want to, don't feel obligated or anything—it was just an idea."
"Don't worry," He replied. "When it comes to potions, my curiosity is too great to leave such a thing alone. However, if its money you wish to make, you might be wiser to simply sell it in its 'raw' state. Even if it's unsafe for mortal consumption, I'm certain many gods would pay a decent sum for such a thing, and you must be a bit worried about your debts now."
"Got me," I said with a smile and a laugh. "But I'm not much of a shopkeeper, so I figured I'd just make you do it instead. And you still need money too, right Miach?"
"That is…" Miach began before trailing off. "Truly, you don't need to concern yourself with such a thing. You've been of great help to my Familia already, Percy."
"You haven't told him?" Hephaestus asked in what I assumed was a very deliberate fashion.
"Tell me what?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the hint in her voice and tilting my head at Miach.
"Hephaestus," Miach chided, looking past me before giving me a slightly strained smile. "It's nothing to be concerned with Percy, truly. And didn't you wish to show Hephaestus something as well?"
Him saying that made me feel pretty concerned about, especially since Hephaestus apparently felt the need to bring it to my attention. Miach had just avoided asking me any questions about my…everything, so I didn't feel right pressing him for information, especially since he clearly didn't want to tell me. I'd probably feel guilty if I went behind his back and looked into it on my own or pressed Eina for information, too, but that was something else. I'd ask Hephaestus how big of a deal it was and go from there, but for now I'd grudgingly let it slide.
"…Yeah," I said, taking a spool of thread from the set that now permanently resides by the couch and slowly unwinding it. "It's pretty much the same thing, really."
Drawing the water around the thread and using more to lift up Welf's ruined and discarded shirt, I began the now familiar process of transforming the thread into Undine Silk and weaving it into the cloth. The water turned a luminous blue and I wondered for a moment if it was brighter than before—but just like always, the fabric turned into an almost liquid cloth and the ruined shirt's shape became vague before reshaping, like water in a glass.
"That is…Undine Silk?" Hepheastus murmured, narrowing her eye as I worked. "I suppose this is where Welf and Hestia got it from, then?"
I nodded, remaining focused until I was sure the process was done before letting the shirt fall.
"I made them," I confirmed. "All I have to do is try and I can turn thread into the stuff."
"Is it just Undine Silk?" Hephaestus asked. "Or can you make other types of fairy cloth?"
"Just Undine Silk," I said before remembering that the letter next to Mystery was now H. Of course, what that meant, I had no idea. "Or, at least, nothing else worked."
"…I see," She replied, looking at me closely. "And I suppose you would like to sell it in my store?"
"There's some stuff I have to do before I can even consider going back into the Dungeon, but I can't just laze about," I answered. "I've caused Hestia a lot of trouble, too. Even if I can't go into the Dungeon right now, I at least want to make some money."
"That's understandable, but unfortunately, it's not possible," She said, nodding before releasing a sigh. "The only things I sell in my stores are those forged by my Familia—even for the Familia of a friend, I won't change that, though I'm certain it would sell well. Money is important to my Familia's continued functioning and to support my smiths, but it's not the reason I created my Familia and I'm not in particular need of it besides. I can direct you towards a number of shops that would gladly purchase the materials, however, or even towards several of my smiths that would likely wish to do the same. Welf's told me of how it's improved his work, so I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to purchasing a certain quantity for my Familia, either. But as a matter of professional pride and respect for my Familia's efforts, I do not sell the items of third parties in my stores."
"Oh, okay," I said, nodding after she finished. It was just an idea, anyway and her suggestions weren't bad. I just didn't really shop around much anymore, so she and Miach were the only shopkeepers I really knew. Well, them and the seashell vendor.
"What if I incorporated Undine Silk into my work?" Welf spoke up, glancing my way.
"That's fine," She answered dismissively. "I don't question a smith's methods or materials, so long as the results are satisfactory. But Welf, as a Level 2 Blacksmith, if your work passes inspection, its eligible to bear the name of our Familia, with all that entails—and for that reason, it's held to a higher standard. Even with the Blacksmith ability, I won't tolerate half-hearted efforts, especially if it involves an attempt to incorporate high-quality materials."
"Got it," Welf said, bobbing his head before looking my way. "Want to work on something with me, Percy? I want to get some more practice in now that my Status has changed; you want to do the same, right?
"Sure," I said, fine with that too.
"However," Hephaestus interrupted. "More than your financial prospects, I feel there are more important things for you and Hestia to worry about right now."
And there goes the good mood—along with my attempts to put off the inevitable.