Chapter 54: Marinate

Prytaneum

Marinate​

"Hi, guys," I said as I walked into the main store of the Hephaestus Familia, noting that Wayland and Welf were arguing. "I'm here now."

"What do you mean, 'barely third-rate'!?" Welf snapped, shouting right in the older man's face. "I've seen Bryn's work and this is at least as good as his!"

"You're using Bryn as an example!?" Wayland snarled. "Do you have any idea how much that man's work has suffered these last few months!? He hasn't been the same since his contractor died—if you'd seen him before, you'd swallow your words, boy! I'll tell you here and now, if you want to be a smith of the Hephaestus Familia, just having Blacksmith ain't enough! You think you can just half-ass your way up now that you're Level 2, is that it!?"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Welf shouted right back, looking like he wanted to sock the man across the face. I hoped he didn't, because I'm pretty sure Wayland would have kicked his ass.

"It means what it means, dumbass!" Wayland yelled back, as if that explained anything, cheeks flushing red. "I've been a smith since before your fool father first picked up a hammer and I've been a smith of the Hephaestus Familia since before his fool son knew his head from his ass! You think I can't tell how little work you put into these!? Let me guess, you got Blacksmith and you wanted to test out ever goddamn idea you've ever had like every other smith in the entire world—fine. But if you think your first efforts are up to snuff, you must think you shit gold, too! You tried a bunch of random shit, maybe looked it over once, and tossed it aside to work on the next! As a smith, you should know damn well it's not that easy! Did you even take into account how the metal used could alter the effects of what you made? Did you even try and figure out how to compensate for weaknesses of your work or did you just grin and accept it? 'Oh, too bad, the guy who bought my piece of shit armor died!'"

"Of course not, you old geezer!" Welf said, pressing closer and bringing his hands down on the counter. Since it didn't shatter, I knew a Blacksmith had worked on it. "That's why I made them all as strong as I could!"

"Then what the hell is this!?" He bellowed, scooping up one of the breastplates on the counter like it weight no more than a T-shirt and shaking it in Welf's face. "Tell me, do you see the problem with light armor that weighs fifty fucking pounds!? Why didn't you try using a lighter metal, like mithril!? And this—it's durable, sure, but it's got three places where it'll shatter if it gets hit!"

"It has the quality of 'Diamond,' damn it," Welf snapped again. "It's a tradeoff for having the defense of second rate equipment! It's not perfect but—"

"If you knew that, why'd you bring it to me!?" Wayland shouted over him. "Figure out a way to fix it! Just having Blacksmith doesn't make up for shoddy craftsmanship, damn it—if you want your stuff on the seventh floor, don't bring me shit like this! You're work reflects on the Hephaestus Familia, especially now that you're a Level 2, and I'll be damned if you do anything to hurt that reputation; instead of just rushing over here with the first thing you managed to cobble together, make each of these at least ten times and figure out how to make them better! And don't try cheeping out on the materials, either; make 'em right, whatever the cost!"

"Well, I'm glad to see you two are still getting along," I said, coming up to the counter and quietly inserting myself between them. "Good to see you again, Wayland. Sorry I haven't had time to drop by, recently."

The two of them tried to keep glaring at each other, but I was taller than both of them, so it wasn't like they could do it over me. After a moment, both of them looked away, huffing in unison.

"Boy," Wayland replied a moment later, much more calmly. "Good to see you in one piece. I got a little worried when I saw this junk."

"Oi!" Welf snapped, rising to the challenge. "Say whatever else you want about my work, but I take my friend's armor seriously! That's why I've been experimenting and practicing, you bastard—to make the best armor I possibly can!"

"Then hurry up!" Wayland shouted at him. "What kind of smith are you!? Your only customer asks you for a suit of armor and you say 'sure; just give me a few weeks to figure out how to make it'!? Aren't you ashamed of yourself!? This is why you don't have any customers, damn it!"

I raised my hands to stop them both. A part of me wondered if this was normal for Hephaestus Familia and, worryingly, I thought it might have been. I could see Wayland cussing out any new Level 2s that hurried to bring him their work, just to drive them to do better and to not grow complacent. And I could see his point, given that the quality of their armor was literally life and death for adventurers, but I could also understand Welf's frustration. This wasn't about the quality of his work so much as driving him to do better, but he still took it that way, even if Wayland probably would have given him shit for anything that wasn't flawless when he was this new to using Blacksmith. And frankly, I thought the two just had clashing personalities.

"Hey, hey, calm down you two," I said, apparently the voice of reason. Orario got weirder by the day, I swear. "Wayland, Welf made all that stuff as practice for my sake, so it's not really designed for normal use; you know that I set the bar pretty high and he wants to meet it. Welf, you know it's Wayland's job to be picky about this kind of thing and for stuff that's sold in Babel, he needs to be especially careful. Besides, you weren't completely satisfied with these either—and you don't want to disappoint Hephaestus, do you?"

Welf's lips twisted but he looked away and didn't argue. Wayland sighed when he saw that and muttered something about knowing the difference between general and custom equipment, but it was no more than a murmur, so I considered the matter settled. All I had to do now was pretend it was true until reality conformed to my will.

"Anyway," I said, smiling and clapping my hands. Was this how my mom had felt when she dealt with me? "Sorry about the wait, guys; something came up. Welf, did you asking him about—"

"No," Welf cut me off, shaking his head. "I got distracted by our discussion, sorry."

"It's no big deal," I replied. "Actually, it might be for the best. Things have changed a little bit and I brought a guest with me."

"A guest…?" Welf asked, looking at me oddly, probably wondering who I meant, but then the door rang slightly as it opened behind me—and I saw Wayland's eyes go wide.

"Hello," Ryuu greeted quietly, expression unchanging, if perhaps a bit stiff.

"Ryuu?" Welf asked, glancing between me and her. "Um, Percy, what's—"

"Hush, kid," Wayland interrupted, eyes never leaving Ryuu. "It's been a long time, Lyon."

Ryuu looked, if anything, even more uncomfortable, though she looked a bit surprised as well.

"Do you think I wouldn't recognize the woman who saved my life just because you dyed your hair?" Wayland asked, laughing as he noticed the look. "I haven't said anything and I'm not going to, don't worry. Your first name was Ryuu, huh? I didn't realize."

"…Hello again, Wayland," Ryuu answered at last. "Are you well?"

Wayland flexed his gloved hands and smiled broadly.

"More or less," He said. "So you're the girl that's been taking care of him, then? I can't say I'd have ever guessed that."

"No," Ryuu answered calmly, looking my way questioningly.

"I'll tell you later," I said, which she nodded and quietly accepted. "It actually might be important soon, depending on what I find out, but I'm glad you two know each other. Ryuu saved you from Evilus, Wayland?"

"She saved a lot of people from Evilus," Wayland replied, raising an eyebrow at Ryuu. "I'm surprised you even remember me, Lyon. I'd have thought all the people you rescued just blended together at some point."

"No," Ryuu said again.

"Is that so?" Wayland asked, seeming somehow satisfied with that answer. "Well, even so, it must be something big if it brought you here after all these years. I owe you a lot, so I'll give you a listen if there's something you need."

"Actually, she's here because I invited her," I said when Ryuu didn't seem sure how to answer. "Something came up that I wanted to talk to you about but I asked her first and one thing led to another. Still, I didn't feel right getting involved without at least mentioning it to you."

"Oh?" Wayland wondered, brow furrowing as he frowned. "What is it, boy?"

"We don't know anything for sure, yet," I warned. "But…we think Evilus might be up to something."

"What?" Wayland asked, leaning over the counter as his expression twisted. His eyes flickered toward Ryuu before he continued. "I thought you killed them all? And pretty damn thoroughly, too."

"As did I," Ryuu replied.

"Then why do you think they're active?" Wayland asked. His expression didn't sound like he was doubting her, though; more like he was just fishing for more information.

"Because of the monster that attacked during the Monsterphilia," I said. "The Guild is pretty sure that someone was behind it."

"No, it's more than that," Ryuu said, cutting in and shaking her head slightly.

"Huh?" I asked her, as this was news to me.

"If it's simply a matter of wanting to attack or disrupt Orario, there are countless people it could have been," Ryuu answered clearly, looking my way as she spoke. "Anyone from bored gods to other countries could be a suspect if it was that simple a matter. Rather, the issue is how they went about it—by using a monster from the Deep Floors and unleashing it upon the city."

"From the Deep Floors?" Wayland asked before his frown deepened. "Now that you mention it, Tsubaki said she didn't recognize the thing and that it had been a bit tougher than she expected. Then…?"

"Yes," Ryuu said, apparently confirming something. Too bad only she and Wayland seemed to understand what they were talking about, but Ryuu thankfully seemed to notice that. "Smuggling monsters to the surface without the Guild noticing was something Evilus was famous for, during its time. It's a tenuous connection, but it's also a notable one, as getting such a creature past not only the Guild but all the adventurers nearby would be extraordinarily difficult. However, Evilus was somehow able to draw many large monsters from the Dungeon without being caught, and they were famous for unleashing them during public events. Surely, others have also noticed the connection."

"Mm," Wayland hummed before grunting. "Brings back bad memories. I didn't think much of it because it got stopped so fast, but…a monster like that in the middle of a festival…it sounds like something they'd have done."

"Yes," Ryuu said again—and I was somewhat surprised to hear the anger in her normally calm voice.

"I get it, I get it," Wayland said with a smile like a sharpened sword. "Well, in that case, I guess I can't stay uninvolved, can I? What do you need?"

"Uh," Welf interrupted, clearing his throat. "…What are we talking about?"

…Oh, right. I knew I was forgetting something. I guess with how things spiraled out of hand with Ryuu, I hadn't had a chance to tell Welf about anything.

Whoops.