After I had composed myself into a more presentable state, I opened the door and peered inside the church.
Meteria's picnic basket was set down on the table as she busily unpacked everything. She was muttering to herself and didn't seem to notice me.
"Ahem, I Uh- I'm sorry you saw that," I cleared my throat and called out to her. She jumped at the sound before wiping around.
"A-ah, Leon! D-don't apologize, please. It's fine!" She said before looking down," A-are you done…doing whatever you were doing?"
"Ah, yeah, for now. I was just thinking about something," I said, looking away and scratching the back of my head. The sweat had started to dry and was making my scalp itch.
"That's…great. D-do you usually think…like that?" She asked, and a blush appeared on her face.
I tilted my head at that. I wasn't sure what she meant by that.
"Like what?" I asked.
"Um…w-without any…clothes on…" She muttered softly.
"W-what?! No-no, no, no! I just didn't want my clothes to get sweaty since I was moving a bunch! I keep my clothes when I'm thinking normally," I felt panic surge through me as I quickly tried explaining.
I wasn't a perv who just randomly took his clothes off when I thought too hard! Who would do that?
"Ah, right! Of course, that would be silly…" She paused a bit before asking, "So, w-what were you thinking about that you had to take your clothes off?"
"Like I said, I just didn't want my clothes to get sweaty since I was moving so much!" I exclaimed before answering the question.
"I was practicing and thinking about my martial arts style, so I was moving a lot to try out the moves. I knew I was gonna get all sweaty and didn't want my clothes to stink. That's why I took them off," I reiterated.
I had to get that point across. Meteria was the only person I had interacted with more than once since I came to the city. I did not want her to think I was a perv. Also, I liked her company; if she avoided me because of this, I would be upset.
"Oh, I see… Yeah, that makes sense. Totally," She said, nodding a few times before glancing back at me.
"Still, I'm glad that your wounds have healed. I didn't think it would be that fast, though. Did you get a potion?" She asked.
"Oh no, I just heal up fast," I said, waving my hand and looking down at my arm. There were some light scars from everything, but nothing too bad.
"What? You just let everything heal naturally? That's… amazing. Still, why didn't you get a potion? It would have helped you a lot," Meteria said and crossed her arms while looking at me with a frown.
" I… I don't know where to get one if I'm being honest," I said, "I'm new to the city, so I don't know where everything is yet."
It felt weird admitting it, but my little wander around the other day taught me I needed a guide or something if I wanted to find where things were. Maybe I could ask her to show me around; that would help a ton.
"Eh? You're new to the city? How long have you been here?" Meteria furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and looked me up and down before hesitantly speaking.
"Oh, only about a week," I answered truthfully. I don't understand why that matters, though.
"W-what!? Wait a minute, last time we met, you said you just leveled up a few days ago. If you've only been in the city for a week, that means you leveled up right before you got here, right?" She asked, her voice thick with disbelief and something else I couldn't place.
"Yep. I broke– I mean, I leveled up right before I got into the city. Why, what's wrong?" I said, not understanding why she's asking this. I told her last time I had just leveled up.
"So, that was the first time you went into the dungeon, then? When you went to kill the infant dragon, that was the first time you went into the dungeon? And you went all the way down to the tenth floor on your first try?" Meteria had turned paler than usual as she said that.
"Yeah. I mean, there wasn't a point in me just wandering the top floors since they weren't giving me a challenge. So I just kept going down until I hit something that gave me a challenge," I explained, confused.
How else would anyone do that? What's the point of staying on the top floors when nothing can hurt you? You need to push yourself to your limits if you want to break them.
Unless it's different for falna? Hmm, maybe they don't need to risk their lives as much as cultivators do.
Meteria stayed silent and looked at me, pale-faced and jaw open. I slowly got the feeling I had messed up by saying all of that, but I couldn't figure out what exactly was wrong.
"Um, why are you looking at me like that? Is something wrong?" I asked hesitantly. Maybe I had broken some sort of taboo.
Well, another taboo besides going into the dungeon without being blessed. But she didn't know about that one, so it's fine.
My voice seemed to have broken her out of her stupor as she blinked and shook her head. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath before she opened them again, and stared at me.
"Please tell me you went to the library and read up on the monsters?" She said, a slight edge to her voice.
"Oh, yeah, I went and read up on all the monsters. It was very helpful, so thanks for letting me know about it. I was planning on going back into the dungeon in a couple of days, but I haven't been back yet," I thanked her before smiling and continuing.
"I never would have found it without you. So, thanks for caring enough to tell me about it," I said.
She looked at me for a moment longer before she sighed and nodded. "Good. I'm glad I could help. Though please be careful. The dungeon is super dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt like last time."
She paused for a bit before she gestured over to the table full of food and said, "Shall we have breakfast? I packed a lot again, so please, eat as much as you would like."
I nodded and went to sit down. A full spread had been laid out on the table again with enough food to rival a buffet.
We each took a little of the food for our plates and started eating. This time, the main center of the breakfast was potatoes and eggs rather than bread and jams like last time.
"Yum, thank you! Why so much food again, though?" I asked, savoring a bite of the baked potato I had in front of me. I hoped her familiar hadn't ditched her again, but why else would she bring this much food?
"Oh-well… I figured since you ate so much last time, that I should bring the same amount again. I don't want you to go hungry after all," Meteria gave a giggle and took a bite of her eggs.
"Besides," She continued with some food in her mouth, "It's not like anything we don't eat will go to waste. I'll just take it back and save it. Or feed it to my familia when they get back."
"Oh, are they coming back soon?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah, from what I've heard, they are coming back early. They aren't happy about it, but my goddess said they should come back since the city's in an uproar over something," Meteria said before taking a sip of juice.
"What are they even doing anyway?" I popped some of the omelet in my mouth and was greeted with the softest, fluffiest egg I've ever had. How the hell did she make this so good?
"I-I can't say, honestly," She said, her eyes shifting away from me, "I just know they don't plan to stop by for long. A quick resupply and a check on how things are in the city, and they'll be leaving again."
I felt like she was lying about not knowing, but that was fine. We could both hide things from each other and still be friends. Her familia didn't matter to me.
"I see…at least you can see for a little bit before they leave again, right?" I smiled, which she returned.
"Yeah, that's true. I just wish they would stay for longer. I feel like it's been forever since we've eaten or gone out together with everyone. And everyone that stays behind is just so busy," She said sadly.
Silence settled over the table after she said that, as we both quietly ate. I thought about what to ask before deciding that she was the perfect candidate to show me around the city.
I gathered up my courage and thought about how to phrase this. I don't want to come off as creepy or make her feel uncomfortable. Hmm, this is hard…
"Hey, are you doing anything for the rest of the day?" I decided that I should probably ask if she was busy first. Don't want to get in the way of anything.
"Huh? Oh, no, nothing in particular. Why?" She broke out of her train of thought and tilted her head.
"Oh really? Great! Then, do you think you could show me around? Please," I asked with a pleading tone.
Seriously, if she doesn't agree, then I'll have to go back to just wandering around. And that would take way longer than if I got a tour of the place. I at least wanna know the major landmarks and stuff.
Meteria let out a choking sound, which made me stand up and go over to help her. She waved me off, though, and gulped down a cup of juice before giving a few coughs.
"Huff, S-so suddenly? Where do you even want to go?" She caught her breath and asked me after a few moments.
"Well, I mostly want to find out all the major landmarks around the city. After that, maybe find a potion shop too. Oh, and if you know where any clinics are, that would be great too," I thought about it for a moment before rapidly firing off my answers.
"So, will you show me around? Please? I'll be completely lost without you," I added and asked again.
Meteria pursed her lips together and furrowed her eyebrows in thought. I simply waited nervously for her answer.
I saw her nod and shake her head a few times, glance at me, then back around the church before looking at me again. Damn, she's really thinking hard about this.
A minute or so went by before she nodded and looked at me again.
"S-sure. I can show you around, if you're okay with me being a bit ah…slow," She stuttered before hesitantly accepting.
Yes!
"But, let's finish eating first, okay?" She continued, to which I nodded.
"Of course! The food's too good to let go to waste. Say, how did you make the omelet so fluffy? It's the best I've ever had," I said, sitting back down and asking.
"Oh, so the secret is separating the whites and yolks and then beating the whites a ton until they look like snowy mountain tops," She explained with a smile and kept going on to tell me how to steam the eggs to make sure they stay fluffy.
I smiled and listened to her excitedly tell me about how she cooked everything. I had to ask a few questions since I didn't understand some of the terms she used, but I feel like I learned a lot.
We chatted and ate for a while, exchanging cooking escapes and tips. Well, it was mostly me telling her about my mess-ups while I was walking here, and her telling me how to do things properly.
Eventually, we finished eating and started cleaning up the table. While we did so, Meteria changed the subject to where we were going today.
"So, do you have somewhere in mind you want to go? I can show you the main shops I go to and where a lot of the people in my familia go, but I don't know if that's enough for you," She said as she wrapped up the utensils and plates.
"Hmm, you mentioned something about potions, right? I would like to know where a good shop is to buy some, in case I need some again. After that, I don't know, maybe just show me the major landmarks?" I handed her some leftover bread and hummed in thought, but came up surprisingly empty.
I had gotten clothes and a stockpile of food so far. I had shelter; the only thing missing was a way to earn money.
"Oh, and do you know any place that's hiring? I kinda need a job," I said after thinking about it. I doubt Meteria knows any good places to get a job, but I could ask.
"Hmm, let's see… I know a few shops that have potions, so we can swing by them so you can see which you like better. Why do you need a job, though? Isn't the money you make from the dungeon enough?" She finished packing everything up before she turned and raised an eyebrow at me.
"Yeah, about that…" Shit, how do I lie to her? I couldn't tell her that the guild was out since I don't have a familia.
"It's…difficult for me to make enough money from the guild. They won't pay me what I need," I said hesitantly after a few moments of thought.
"Really?" She threw up her eyebrows in surprise.
"Yep. I'm broke," I said, completely straight-faced. It was worth it, but it still hurt, damn it.
"I see…" She looked at me with…sadness? Why was she sad?
"Then, I'll show you some of the cheaper shops. We can go and ask around if anyone's hiring too," She said after a few moments, and the sadness disappeared as she smiled.
"Great! Then, please lead the way," I said with a grin.
We left the picnic basket in the church. Meteria said no one besides us two would go there, so we didn't have to worry about it being stolen. I shrugged and followed along.
We walked side by side, the city slowly starting to come alive around us as the morning continued. The streets slowly filled with people as we walked before we made it to the center of the city.
The tower on top of the dungeon loomed over us as the circle filled up with adventurers making their way toward the dungeon. We made it into the circle before Meteria threw her arms wide and gestured up to the tower.
"Ta dah! Welcome to the main landmark of Orario. This is Babel, built on top of the dungeon and is home to a ton of businesses," She said in full tour guide mode, which made me chuckle.
"Ah, so that's what it's called! Seems like a weird place to build a tower, don't you think?" I asked as I thought about what would happen if the dungeon monsters ever got out.
I guess that's why they have guards at the bottom during the night, huh. During the day, the adventurers handle the monsters by going in and killing everything, and at night, the guards kill anything that might sneak up.
"I think it was meant to be a cap on the dungeon. My goddess told me that before it was built, monsters would just pour out in droves. The land would be covered in hordes the size of a city, and the sky would be blacked out with just how many there were," Meteria said fearfully.
I imagined it and felt a shudder go down my spine. Yep, glad for the tower then. Definitely don't want to deal with what sounded like the apocalypse.
Though it sounded strangely like a beast horde in those cultivation novels…
"Anyway, the shops are a good place to start. The higher floors will be more expensive, but if we stay on the lower floors, then it should be in your budget," Meteria's voice broke me out of my thoughts as she led the way toward Babel.
I followed her as she guided me up the staircase and into the main lobby of the tower. There was a directory that broke down the tower by floor and listed what shops were on each floor.
There was also an elevator.
An honest-to-good elevator.
The hell? Wasn't this world supposed to have the technological equivalent of the Middle period? Why the hell was there just a random elevator?
Magic. That's the only answer. I don't know how, and I'm not going to question it. Magic it is.
Anyway, after taking a ride up an elevator, we arrived on the floor that had the alchemy and potion shops.
Never thought I would say that sentence, but here we are.
"So, the cheapest stuff would be at the beginning. After that, if we walk down some more, stuff starts getting more expensive. They aren't all that effective, but it's better than nothing," Meteria said as we started window browsing.
"I see…how effective are the cheap ones?" I asked as I slowly drifted my eyes over the potions. They had simple names like low healing potion, regular healing potion, and greater healing potion.
The low healing potion was about five hundred valis. Definitely within budget, but I did heal pretty fast already. I don't really wanna waste the money on something that's not gonna be useful…
"I don't really know if I'm being honest," Meteria admitted in a soft voice, which surprised me.
"Huh? You know, like, a ton of stuff about the dungeon and monsters when we were talking about it the other day, though," I said, confused.
She was the one who told me about the monsters' names and all that stuff. Hell, she seemed to know about a ton of stuff in general. It was weird that she didn't know about this stuff.
"Well…I-I've never actually taken one before. I've always taken the uh, the stronger stuff," She explained with some hesitation.
"Really? You only drink this stuff?" I asked with disbelief while gesturing at the regular healing potion. It was about sixty thousand valis. Way out of budget.
"Oh, I don't get potions from here. S-so I don't actually know how, well, everything works," She dropped her shoulders and looked down at the ground when she admitted that.
"I see…So, this is the cheapest spot you know, then?" I asked, realizing why she brought me here.
"Yeah, from what I've heard, anyway. I'm sorry I can't tell you how well they work," She apologized, which made me feel bad.
"No, don't apologize. I asked for a potion shop and you brought me to one. So seriously, don't apologize. Besides, if you've heard about it, then it must have a good reputation," I waved off her apology and smiled.
She made to say something but was cut off when the shopkeeper, a small dwarf with a bushy beard, came over and started talking to us.
"You need some help buying something, or you're just gonna gawk at my wares?" The dwarf grunted.
"Yeah, how good are your low healing potions?" I turned and asked. Great, some help!
"Good enough! Are you gonna buy them or not?" The dwarf snapped with irritation.
"Uh, I mean, like how big of an injury can it heal?" I blinked in surprise and clarified.
"It wouldn't heal a deep cut or a broken bone. It's good for minor scratches and bruises. If you want to heal something by gushing blood, then you need the regular." The dwarf huffed and crossed his arms.
Hmm, that's kinda underwhelming…
"You should get a few low healing potions, Leon. It's dangerous to go in there without at least one for emergencies," Meteria chimed in with a pleading tone.
"Listen to your girlfriend, buddy. Lots of people have died because they didn't have a potion to give them the little boost they needed to get out," The dwarf's voice went low when he said that.
Sounds like he's speaking from experience. I looked a little closer and saw the Qi bounce off his skin, so he was blessed. Probably a retired adventurer.
"W-what!" Meteria squeaked from beside me. I glanced over and saw her face gain a healthy flush as she started talking.
"D-do we really look like a couple? T-that's a bit too soon, don't you think? This is only the second time we've met. Then again, maybe this is a date after all…" Meteria babbled before her voice got so small I couldn't hear it at the end there.
"Hehe, Girly, calm down. You might enjoy that thought, but your face is gonna explode if it gets any redder. Keep your imagination in check," The dwarf let out a laugh at her reaction.
Meteria got even redder and stopped speaking in complete sentences. She resorted to just waving her arms around and shaking her head in denial.
"Th-that's not–I wasn't imagining–I guess it would be–But we're not–", she kept saying.
"We're not dating. She's just showing me around the city. Please don't mess with her," I cut in and drew the attention of the dwarf back onto me.
I felt bad for Meteria. I mean, look at her! Her face is redder than a lobster.
"Anyway, I'll buy two of the low healing potions," I said before reaching into my pocket and taking the required valis from my ring.
"Pleasure doing business with you," The dwarf said, took the money I handed him, and gave me the two potions.
I grabbed them and pulled them behind my back before storing them in my ring. I then turned and got Meteria's attention.
"Alrighty, all done. Let's go," I said and waved my hand at the dwarf. Meteria snapped out of whatever trance she was in and silently followed me out.
We went back out into the hall and walked to where the elevator was. I was thinking about what else I should grab or at least check out if I didn't want to spend the money to buy anything.
I glanced at the directory on the wall and scanned through the floors. Other than the potion shops, there were weapons shops and armor shops as well.
The weapon shops were useless to me for obvious reasons, but the armor shops could be helpful. It depends on what armor we were talking about and how pricey it was.
Then again, my skin kinda acted like armor. At least, against the minor monsters of the first few floors. So, I would need to get some armor that was better than that and was lightweight since I was very mobile when I fought.
"Hmm, what do you think about checking out the armor shops, Meteria?" I asked only to get silence.
I turned around, confused, only to see Meteria was still silent and looking at the ground. Looks like the dwarf really upset her.
"Meteria?" I said before, gently shaking her shoulder.
She reacted like I had just burned her, jumping back from my touch and letting out a little scream.
"Ahh! W-what? Oh, Leon, sorry, I was thinking about…stuff. What did you say?" She caught her breath and asked.
"Uh, I was wondering if you wanted to go check out the armor shops with me? But if you want to go home, then we can do that. I don't want you…pushing yourself," I said hesitantly, unsure how to phrase my offer of going back.
If she felt uncomfortable shopping with me, then I could understand it. The dwarf must have made her upset. She probably didn't want a repeat of that.
"P-pushing myself? W-what? N-no, don't worry, I'm fine. You said armor, right? Then let's go, come on," She said before hopping into the elevator with urgency.
I quickly followed after, and off we went. The ride was silent, but there was this weird tension in the air now. Meteria kept fighting with her hands and shifting from side to side. I was debating on if I should just call it a day and walk her home.
Damn that dwarf, the whole atmosphere is ruined because of him. This was supposed to be a fun outing, and now it's all awkward.
I sighed as the elevator opened up and we were let out onto the armor floor. The noise of hammering and the smell of oil, metal, and leather entered my nose as we walked out.
"So, the cheapest shops are the closest ones, right?" I turned and asked Meteria, who gave a small smile.
"Yep, you got it," She said softly, but I could tell she was still thinking about something. Probably that damn dwarf.
"Got it. Then, do you want to wait out here for a minute while I go and check out the prices? I'm probably not gonna buy anything, I just want to see how much everything costs," I said, trying to avoid a repeat of the dwarf situation.
"Oh, I can wait if you want me to…" She trailed off at the end, her voice unsure.
"I… That's not what I meant," I said, sighing before I decided to just bite the bullet and address the problem.
"I just thought you wouldn't want to come in with me again. You know, to prevent any more misunderstandings and so you don't get upset again," I said, which made Meteria's eyes widen.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Why do you think I'm upset?" She asked.
"Well…you turned really red when that dwarf thought we were dating. I thought you got mad at him, and I didn't want you to get upset again if the clerk thinks we're dating again. So, I asked if you would want to stay out here. So, the whole getting mistaken as a couple doesn't happen again," I explained, feeling a little embarrassed.
It was weird talking about this with someone I just met, and who was so against the idea of dating, but communication is important.
I'm not good at talking or thinking about what to say, so I think it's better to just say what I mean and hope it goes well. I'd rather be blunt and explain everything to her than have her think I don't want her around.
Meteria seemed shocked by my explanation, though I have no idea why. Still, I patiently waited for her to talk. It took a few moments, but eventually she did.
"T-that…Ugh, that's not what happened. I wasn't upset because he thought we were um…dating. I wasn't really even upset, well maybe a little upset, but not because he thought we were dating, but because of something different," She said and rubbed her hand to her forehead.
"Then…why were you so quiet in the elevator?" I asked hesitantly. If she were just embarrassed, then I could understand why she turned red. But that didn't explain why she was so quiet afterward.
"That's…That's because I was thinking about something," She said. I went to ask a follow-up question only to get shushed as she waved her arms in front of her.
"And don't ask me what I was thinking about! Just know, I'm not upset, so we can go in together, understand?" She cut me off with a stern look. I nodded as I let the information wash over me.
Good. I'm glad she's feeling better. Though if I keep talking about it, then she will get angry with me. So, let's drop it for now.
Still, I wonder what she was thinking about that she couldn't tell me?
I didn't have a chance to think about it too hard before Meteria walked into the closest armor shop. I looked at the prices and immediately knew I wasn't buying anything today.
"Well, what do you think?" Meteria called out from my side as I browsed through everything.
"Yeah, I can't afford anything. I'm not surprised, but I was hoping I could get at least something, but no dice," I said, disappointed at the result but not surprised.
"Ah, really? I'm sorry… I don't know of any place that's cheaper than here," She said awkwardly and shuffled her feet.
"Nah, don't worry about it. It's not like I need armor. It'd just be nice to have," I waved my hand and smiled at her.
"Still, thanks for showing me this place, Meteria. I never would have known the tower had shops in it if you didn't tell me. Honestly, this was a great day," I said before turning around.
"Come on, let's go back to the church. That way, you can go home and prepare a nice big welcome party for your familia when they get back," I said and started walking out of the store.
Meteria gave a nod and glanced back at the armor I was looking at before following me.
"Ah, okay." She said, and we quickly went back down the elevator to the lobby.
I was happy with the little outing. Despite the dwarf throwing a wrench in the vibes, I think it was a pretty good day. Shame it had to end–
"Um, please wait a moment!" Meteria called out from behind me. I turned and looked at her.
"I-I need to go and pick something up. It's close by, so if you would like to join me…then maybe we can go together?" She asked. Her voice was hard, like it took all her courage to ask me that.
"Of course! Lead the way!" I smiled and twirled my wrist toward her. She smiled and off we went.
We started going in the direction of the guild, and I started to worry that she had business there. I don't want to interact with Chris after my tax evasion or with Rose after I declined being an adventurer.
I just feel like it would be awkward. Especially with Chris. Who knows, he might have decided to turn me in.
…
On second thought, if he did that, then he would get in trouble too. So no, I'm probably safe from that.
My fears were unfounded, though, as we walked right past the guild and kept going down the street. Though as we walked, I noticed Meteria started to get a bit…strained.
Her breathing started to get uneven, and she started slowing down. Sweat started to form on her face, and her skin started getting paler than it normally was.
"Are you okay? We can take a break if you want," I said gently, but she just shook her head.
"Ha- No, I-it's okay… Once we get there *huff* then I can take a break," She said in between huffs and puffs.
Now, it wasn't like she was breathing like she just went for a run or anything. But it was like how some people would get labor breaths from walking up a steep hill. Only we were on flat ground.
I offered again, but she was determined to keep going, so that's exactly what we did. I nervously kept glancing at her, worried she would get worse, but luckily she didn't.
Eventually, we got to our destination. It was a white stone building that had a crest embedded above the front entrance. The crest was a circle in the middle of leaves with what looked like a flower underneath it.
There was a sign that read "Dian Cecht Familia Pharmacy".
Hm, why did she bring us to a pharmacy? Oh, is this where the good potions that she usually drinks are from? Maybe she just wanted to show me where it was…
We entered the pharmacy, and I was greeted by blue walls, grey pillars, and a granite countertop. There was a woman about my age manning the front of the store.
She had long grey hair, purple eyes, and was maybe five feet tall. Shorter than Meteria and much shorter than me. Oh, maybe she's a halfling.
Wait, that's not what they're called here. What was it again…ah, pallum. That's it. Maybe she's a pallum. Thank you, library… you're still horribly organized.
"Welcome in, how can I–Oh, Meteria, Hi! Are you here for your pick up?" The girl greeted us with a tired voice before she perked up when she saw Meteria.
"H-Hi Airmid. Yes, I'm here for the pick up," Meteria caught her breath and slowly answered Airmid's question.
Airmid threw a glance my way, but nodded and left to get Meteria's order after seeing I didn't need anything.
We were left all alone in front of the store after Airmid went somewhere in the back. Meteria went up and leaned over the counter, and started fanning her face while I leaned back on one of the pillars.
I looked around for a moment, gawking at the interior design before my eyes settled on Meteria. She was acting weird, and I wanted to figure out why.
So slowly, using the instinct I had briefly discovered when I helped Gramps at the clinic, I started to pick her apart.
Her skin was just as pale as when we first met. Her clothes were clean and well taken care of, and her hair was well groomed. She dressed well and had access to a good amount of money.
She looked like a noble lady who came out of a storybook. But there were little things that showed she wasn't healthy.
The way her arms and shoulders tensed when she went to pick something up, and the slow and deliberate movements that she tried to hide. How her chest rose and fell unevenly, like she was constantly catching her breath even before we had our little walk over here.
Her arms and wrists were on the skinny side despite clearly having access to a lot of food. Her skin wasn't just pale from not going out into the sun; it seemed to lack any blood at all. Looking closely, her muscles weren't all that developed either.
And all of this was in spite of the fact that she was blessed. And every other blessed person I had seen had been in peak health. Hell, even Airmid, who was a good half a foot shorter than Meteria, had more fat and muscle on her.
I thought it was weird how out of breath she got from just a short walk, but looking at it from another angle, I was surprised she pushed through. I couldn't see her legs since she was wearing a dress, but if they were as deteriorated as her arms, then that would explain how slow she went.
Hmm, this is painting a picture I don't like…
"Here you go. This should be enough to last for a week, but if not, then let us know and we can prepare some more for you," Airmid came back with a small box and set it down on the counter.
"Oh, I hope it will last that long. I'm not sure now," Meteria whispered sadly, clearly causing some concern in Airmid.
Airmid leaned closer and whispered to Meteria. I couldn't hear what she said, but I could see Meteria nod her head and Airmid's expression darken before she whispered something back.
Meteria let out a soft 'thank you' before she took a shaky breath and turned back to me with a smile on her face.
"Ah, Leon, do you think you could help me carry this? Only back to the church, I'll carry it on my own the rest of the way," She gestured to the crate.
"Of course I can! Do you want to rest a little longer, though? You were pretty tired just now," I was hesitant to bring it up, but I didn't want her to get worse.
"I'm fine now. I had my little break, and I can make it back to the church just fine. It's closer to here than Babel after all," She said with a smile to which I relented.
"Alright. Let's go then. Oh, I didn't say hi, I'm sorry. I'm Leon, it's nice to meet you," I approached and greeted Airmid when I realized I had forgotten my manners.
"Leon? Nice to meet you as well, I am Airmid. I'm the head healer here and also the captain of the Dain Cecht familia. Please come to us if you need any potions or other healing services," Airmid gave a small bow to which I panicly returned.
Though now that I got closer, I noticed that the way the Qi bounced off her was different than with Meteria. With Meteria, it bounced off right when it touched her skin, but with Airmid, there was maybe a centimeter of space between her skin and where the Qi was bouncing off.
Interestingly, the Qi couldn't get as close to Airmid as it could to every other blessed person I met until this point. I wonder why?
I didn't get the chance to ask Airmid why she was so weird compared to everyone else, since Meteria butted in at that moment.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce you two. Airmid, this is Leon. He's new to the city, so I'm showing him around. Leon, this is Airmid. She's one of the best healers in the city, so if you need something healed, then come here," Meteria smiled and happily gave us introductions despite us just doing it ourselves.
"Yes, I am one of the best healers in the city. I am not the best, though, so please keep that in mind if you come here and I can't heal you," Airmid said with a light glare at Meteria.
Meteria stuck out her tongue at Airmid in defiance before she turned to me and said, "Come on, Leon, let's get going."
"Ah, yes. Well, it was nice meeting you, Airmid. I hope you have a good rest of your day," I said as I gathered up the crate and started walking out with Meteria.
"Nice meeting you as well, Leon. Oh, and careful with the crate, the contents are fragile!" She shouted behind us as we exited the shop.
Meteria and I slowly made our way to the church, and I was pleased to find out Meteria had gotten a lot better. I guess the little break she had when we stopped at the shop was enough.
Still, that does beg the question of what was in the crate and why she needed it in the first place.
"So, what's in the crate that you needed to get so badly?" I decided to throw subtlety out the window and just ask.
"Oh, you know… Just some potions for my familia. They are coming back soon, so I wanted to help them stock up on supplies," Meteria said with a giggle, though she gave the crate a nervous glance.
"That's nice of you. I'm sure they'll appreciate it," I responded after a few moments. I didn't believe her, though.
Still, I dropped the topic, and we eventually made it back to the church. It was afternoon, yet the church still gave the sleepy vibes of morning or sunset to me. Maybe that's just because it was a bit decrepit.
"Alright then. Thank you for carrying that back, but I can take it from here. Let me just go inside and get the picnic basket real quick," She said in a cheerful tone before rushing off into the church.
That left me alone with the crate and too much curiosity for my own good. I was dying to know what was in it, so as soon as Meteria went inside, I sprang into action.
First, I delicately put it down, remembering Airmid's words about it being fragile before I opened it with a gentle pop. Inside, lined up in neat rows, surrounded by packaging, were glass bottles filled with a red liquid.
And all of them, without fail, have Meteria's name written on them. Either to help Airmid keep track of them or for some other reason, they all were labeled with Meteria's name. They were also labeled with small neat letters that read, "high elixir".
And there were seven. One for each day of the week. How perfect.
I quickly closed the crate and picked it back up when Meteria came back out. She tried to take it from me, but I insisted on carrying it while I walked her home. And if not to her home, then at least closer than we were.
After a bit of back and forth, she relented and agreed to let me walk most of the way home with her. She grumbled a bit, but I didn't budge and just slowly let my thoughts drift.
Meteria was sick. Very sick.
That was the only conclusion I could draw from everything. Not a hard thing to figure out, but I was glad I did.
Now, I don't know exactly how strong a high elixir is, but considering she didn't even know how well a high potion worked, I'm gonna assume a high elixir was a few leagues above it.
That, combined with how many bottles of the stuff she's going through weekly, led me to believe it's a long-term illness.
One that might not be getting better.
I felt my heart drop at the thought. If she wasn't getting better despite taking a high elixir daily, then something was wrong. Especially if one of the best healers in the city couldn't do it.
I gripped the crate a little tighter and glanced over at Meteria. Sure enough, the walk was enough to get her breathing labored again. I don't know how she would have made it back home if I hadn't helped her.
I just hope I can keep helping her.
I don't want to lose my first friend I made in the city. Especially not to something as stupid as an illness. This is a world with magic, for goodness' sake, there's got to be a way to cure her.
And if there isn't a way, then I'll make one.
Simple as that.
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Whew! This was the longest chapter I've ever written, and I still didn't cover everything I wanted to. Funny how that works out, but that's life for you.
Still, we find out the first major butterfly effect of Leon being here. The Zeus and Hera familias got called back to the city before they could slay Leviathan. Why? Well, the gods are kinda losing their crap about Leon's lightning tribulation. This is just a consequence of that.
Not that Leon knows that lol. Poor man, he's gonna meet someone he is very much not ready to meet. Hopefully, it'll go well when that happens.
As for Leon himself, he has just found another long-term goal. Find a way to cure Meteria. The first step is figuring out if he can do anything to help her. I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually. Might take getting struck by lightning again for it to happen, though.
And to be clear, Leon likes Meteria as a friend currently. He thinks she's cute sometimes, but that's not mean he's in love with her. She's his first friend he met in the city, and it's the only one who seems to give a damn about his well-being. Of course, he's attached to her.
As for Meteria, well, I was actually thinking about writing a whole chapter in her POV. Just so we can see what's going through her head, cause I guarantee you it's a bit different than what you're thinking of. Or maybe you're spot on. Who knows?
I don't know when it'll happen; it might be the next update, might be later down the line when they have more interactions. Let me know if you want that sooner or later. I'm pretty much down for either. If we wait, then we can have more events to go over, but if I do wait, then I feel like it would be too much to go over in one chapter.
This chapter would already be pretty long from her POV as it is. Anywho, let me know if y'all want that now or later.
Until next time, friends!