Prytaneum
Cool
"Lili thinks that's a horrible idea," Lili said at once. I guess I couldn't really blame her, since the plan in question was basically 'I'll throw myself into danger to see what tries to kill me.' "Even leaving aside how suspicious this Fels person is, isn't it clear that he's just using Mr. Percy for his own ends? Even if we accept that he has ties to one of Mr. Percy's old friends—"
"Which I do," I said. "He was pretty convincing on that front."
"A friend of a friend isn't necessarily any more trustworthy than an enemy of an enemy," Lili continued, ignoring me. "Even if they are members of the same Familia, that doesn't necessarily mean anything—Lili was a part of the same Familia as Zanis, after all. Familia change all the time; Zanis took control by murdering his competition after the previous captain died, for example. Just because this Fels may have known Mr. Percy's friend and heard about Mr. Percy a long time ago doesn't necessarily mean anything in the here and now."
"I agree with Lili, Percy," Hestia said, sending me an apologetic glance. "I understand how important anything connected to your friends must be to you—but at the same time, this situation just seems too suspicious. It's entirely possible that this Fels simply realized that you care about them too, and chose to use his knowledge to gain a hold over you. Even if he is a friend, it seems clear he has his own goals in mind."
"Besides which, even putting that aside…isn't this just too much?" Lili pressed on before I could reply. "A dark figure with a strange request? It sounds like he wanted to give Mr. Percy a quest, but it seems very shady. Especially since the quest itself isn't predicated on Mr. Percy retrieving something or anything that implies he has to survive—Mr. Percy is just supposed to be bait while someone else escapes, right? Then it would be fine even if Mr. Percy died in the process, as long as that person escaped; better, even, since he wouldn't even have to pay this vague reward, if it even exists."
I scratched my head when the two finally paused to take a breath, but then looked at them both unflinchingly.
"To be honest, I agree with a lot of that," I said. "I don't like knowing so little or being used or not understanding the circumstances. But…at the same time, if his goal is to stop Evilus, then I can't just standby, not after finding out how much they'd hurt some of my friends. And creepy and vague though he might be, I trust Fels. I have a good feeling about him."
Hestia and Lili looked at each other and sighed.
"Maybe Lili doesn't have the right to complain, since she owes a great deal to Mr. Percy's 'feelings,'" Lili began. "But Lili is also wary of trusting them out of hand. Have Mr. Percy's feelings ever been wrong before?"
I thought of Luke and the first time I'd met him, and then of Ethan.
"A few times," I said quietly, looking away from her, though it didn't stop me from seeing her spread her hands in my periphery vision.
"Lili just wants Mr. Percy to keep the possibility in mind," She said before hesitating. "And…though it may be cruel of Lili to say such a thing…is it not also possible that Mr. Percy may be seeing what he wants to see, where the possibility of his friends are concerned?"
It was possible, I admitted to myself, but not out loud. More than possible, really. Fels had already said he hadn't heard of anyone but me, but I still wanted to believe that this was my chance, that I'd learn something from him or his god that would mean something, serve as a sign. I could admit, if just to myself, that I was more than a bit desperate.
But even so, that wasn't the only reason I was doing this. My gut told me I could trust Fels and that this was important and it was the same thing I used to make tsunamis and use awesome magical stuff, so I thought it deserved the benefit of the doubt even if it occasionally led me astray. There were signs, in hindsight, that I shouldn't have trusted either of them, but I hadn't accepted them for what they were and that was my fault. And sometimes, I'd eat a big bag of chips and chug a soda and my stomach would try to mutiny; that was my fault, too. I couldn't blame my gut for my mistakes.
"And what the hell is with this Evilus anyway?" Hestia said before I could figure out how to put that into words without all the mentions of food. "I've only heard about them since I only came down recently, but I heard they were completely destroyed."
"Apparently not," I said. "Considering everything? I guess a few of them got away."
Hestia shook her head slowly.
"Don't you remember, Percy?" She said. "Mortals can't lie to the gods. Given how much damage Evilus caused and the enemies they made, they would have been stamped out. I asked Hephaestus once and she's still upset at what they did to several of her smiths and, everything about her aside, Loki's not one to let them go, either. Even leaving out all the other gods, I'm sure those two wouldn't have just glanced things over and called it done—people would have been questioned, interrogated, and bribed until they were sure that the organization itself had been destroyed. If they believed Evilus was gone, it would only be because everyone they questioned believed it as well. How could an organization persist under such conditions?"
"The members could have died and come back to life," I suggested, remembering Fels' words. When Hestia gave me a flat look, I raised my hands defensively. "Hey, I did it. Twice. And Fels mentioned it, too."
Hestia closed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head in annoyance.
"I'll acknowledge the possibility," Hestia allowed. "But if we go so far as to consider all the dead members of an evil organization spontaneously resurrecting, we must also consider a number of other unlikely conclusions as well. I'm not saying it couldn't be the case, but that I find it a rather strange place to start, in the absence of any actual evidence. How do we even know it's truly them behind any of this, beyond circumstantial connections and the fact that they've tried to attack Orario? There are, after all, a number of other groups that might have reason to try such a thing. Another nation declaring war, a bored god, someone wishing to kill a competitor…I just think there are some more logical paths worth exploring before 'evil, undead cultists.' Fels warnings boil down to nothing but vague rumors and ghost stories."
"I'm not lucky enough for it to be just rumors and ghost stories," I said seriously. "Someone says there's a strange monster walking around or evil zombies and I default to the assumption that, yes, it's real, and yes, it's going to try and kill me—"
"Everything tries to kill you, Percy," Hestia groaned, rubbing at her face tiredly. "Even Lili tried to kill you."
"Lili did not try to kill Mr. Percy," Lili protested. "Lili did, however, lure Mr. Percy into a trap and thinks this could also be a trap."
"—And I get the feeling Fels doesn't know much about them yet, either," I continued. "This whole thing seems like an attempt to draw them out, because they're sure to be hunting for whatever the guy exchanging things is carrying. Whatever it is, I don't think he'd be going through this much trouble for it if it wasn't big and if I let them get to it…well, I'm not going to let them get to it. Besides, it's not like I'm going alone. Hell, after I tell her, Ryuu will go, with or without me, and I'm definitely her friend. I have to back her up. And…potentially keep her from putting on any bat or skull printed costumes."
"Lili thinks that statement is evocative of precisely why Mr. Percy must be careful picking friends," Lili said, seeming honestly annoyed. It wasn't until her next words, however, that I realized precisely why. "And what about Lili and Mr. Welf?"
"Ah," I said, understanding the problem. "Well…since the Goliath might spawn again and we're hunting an organization of murderous psychopaths, I was kind of thinking of leaving you guys out of this one…?"
Lili carefully distilled all the disapproval in her body and plastered it onto her face, staring me down.
"So you intend to do all of this alone?" She said.
"Not alone," I told her. "Like I said, I'll have Ryuu and…"
I sighed, knowing that wasn't the point.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm not…I'm not trying to leave either of you behind. I'm not leaving either of you behind. But this is something I have to do, before we can go any further. Fels is right about that much, at least—I have to confront the Eighteenth Floor again, just to know what might happen. Once I do, once I figure this out, we'll go back to adventuring together just like before, alright? I promise."
She looked at me for a long, long minute before sighing.
"…Lili doesn't like this," She murmured. "But…Lili understands what Mr. Percy is trying to do. As long as Mr. Percy promises to take Mr. Welf's swords with him…okay. Lili will withhold her protests just this once. Just…come back?"
"I swear I will," I said, smiling before looking at my goddess. "Hestia? What about you?"
She pursued her lips and shook her head again.
"I don't trust this Fels," She said. "I can't, having never met him. But…I'll allow it on one condition."
"What?" I asked.
"Let me speak to this woman you'll be partnering with," She said. "Even if I don't trust Fels, if I can at least trust her to help you, I'll trust you both to come back safely."
I nodded slowly and then faster.
"Okay," I said. "Meeting Ryuu shouldn't be a problem. I'll take you with me tomorrow. Is that fine?"