Chapter 7: A White Lie
(This was uploaded Sunday 2/April/2023 11:22 PM, time zone GMT+3)
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"..." small moment of silence
"Talking"
"He-" Someone was interrupted.
'Thinking or mental conversations'
[Chanting and spells' names]
{System}
Don't shy from commenting on a typo or suggesting a modification to certain things that didn't make sense to you.
I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.
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(Third person PoV. Nephelont is nearly 4 years and a half old)
Today was a rare day. Eucleia went home to stay with her mother's familia for a bit, she has friends there.
This gave Nephelont all the time he may have needed. He wanted to do something in secret, away from Eucleia's clingy gaze. He appreciated the friendship, he really did. It is another thing when he could not even make a surprise present because his friend is always nearby and knows what he does.
Seeing an opportunity, Nephelont immediately requested his mother to accompany him to his destination.
It was more like carrying him there. Aiz took him in her arms and he, a mama's boy, did not object to that in any way.
After walking through the city... and getting distracted by some jagamarukun stalls with new flavors, they reached the familia that is more likely to give him what he needs.
They arrived at the Wheat Manor, the home of the agricultural Demeter familia. It was a manor situated in northern Orario and had flags carrying the familia's insignia. The insignia was that of a woman with a basket that contained diverse types of produce and a flower.
They were told to wait in a guest room until a familia member arrived.
They waited in silence. Neither mother nor child were going to start talking out of nowhere. They are going to talk if somebody said something to them, but otherwise, they preferred not to talk.
While they were waiting, Nephelont laid his head on Aiz's lap, and she understood what he wanted. She patted his head gently.
After a short wait, the door to the room opened. From it appeared a man with tanned skin and a farmer's clothing. His clothes were clean and well taken care of, unlike what would come to mind when associated with his familia's main focus.
He sat on the sofa opposite them and started their business meeting.
"Good morning, sword princess. My name is Mark Phanus. It is a pleasure to meet you" He introduced himself in a stiff tone, not giving much space to have nothing but business. He seemed like the type to take their business seriously.
"Good morning" Aiz returned the greeting in her usual tone.
Nephelont tried to correct his posture to hold the conversation properly. As he started to get up, Aiz held his shoulder with her free hand and kept him laying down. She continued to fluff his hair.
Nephelont resigned to his fate and stopped trying to get up. Instead, he opted to talk like nothing happened. "Good morning, Mr. Phanus. My name is Nephelont Cranel. The pleasure is ours" Nephelont used a more formal speaking pattern to accentuate the importance of this trip to him. The only non-problematic flaw in his situation was the fact of him being given a lap pillow.
"If I may ask, what brings you to our familia?" Mark ignored what happened in front of him. It was merely a mother smothering her son with affection. There is nothing wrong with that.
"That would be something I want to know about your familia" Nephelont replied since it was his idea.
"What do you want to know?" Mark asked.
"I want to know if you grow some flowers in your familia's property, specifically the first arrival variety of peonies" Nephelont needed them for his gift to Eucleia.
"Pardon my rudeness, but that is a peculiar question. Our familia is known for our fruits and vegetables. It is rare for someone to ask if we had flowers" Mark was surprised. The Demeter familia was known for being the source of most, if not all, of Orario's food other than meat. It was always a surprise when someone wanted something else.
"Do you have them?" Nephelont persisted.
"I apologize. I do not think that we have a flower called the first arrival. We have other ones growing in our gardens. However, they are the goddess', lady Demeter's property. We will need to ask her directly for permission" Mark stood up. "Come with me to meet lady Demeter"
They walked through the manor towards Demeter's office, the most likely place for her to be at this time of the day.
"Lady Demeter, guests want to meet you to make a personal request" Mark knocked on the door and announced their purpose to visit her office.
"Is that you, Mark? See the guests in" Came Demeter's voice, giving them the green light to meet her.
Mark opened the door to the office and invited Aiz an Nephelont in.
The office was quite spacious. It has a verdant carpet. It also has bookshelves to one side, presumably holding ledgers and other documents concerning the farms and the manor's income and expenses. The air has a pleasant scent, it seems to have been cleaned today.
'So, that's Demeter. She looks a lot like how she appeared in the anime. Honey colored wavy hair and orange eyes. She has the appearance of a milf. Yep, totally Demeter' Nephelont observed how Demeter was almost the same as her anime counterpart, with much more detail. This is the real world after all.
"Welcome to our manor, Aiz Wallenstein and Nephelont Cranel" Demeter was talking casually as she and Hestia are friends, even if they did not actively visit each other's homes. "Hestia did not close her mouth while talking about how adorable you are, her cute and shy little bunny"
'I'll take my revenge on her then. She just couldn't close her mouth shut' He plotted for yet another revenge.
They sat on one of the sofas arranged around a table in the middle. They chose a sofa closer to the goddess.
"What brings you two to our manor today?" Demeter asked.
"It is a request of mine" Nephelont answered.
"Oh? What is it?" It interested her when the child was the one to talk. 'It may be interesting'
"Do you have purple or ping peony flowers growing in the garden?" Nephelont said.
"We do have them. Although they are normally not for sale, I will make an exception for Hestia's familia" Demeter deemed it okay to agree to this, with a catch. "But first, could you tell me what you need them for?"
"..." Suddenly, Nephelont found everywhere beside the goddess' general direction interesting to look at. His face started to heat up when thinking of what he needed the flowers for.
"Can you tell me?" Demeter sounded like she was having fun playing with an embarrassed little bunny.
"... They are a present to someone" He wanted to be out of this office as soon as possible. If what he remembered about her was right, she would tease him.
"Well, who is the lucky lady?" Demeter wanted to know who the one receiving the peonies was. As judging by his red face, the child, no, the young man knew what he was doing.
They are known as a sign of love and affection, among other things. She could not pass this chance to have fun while observing the starts of a blossoming love.
"Eucleia Crozzo" Answered Aiz in place of her silent son, her voice dull as usual.
"M-" Nephelont wanted to protest, but he was abruptly cut off.
"Shhhh. She can hold a secret" Aiz put a finger on his lip to silence him.
"Mark, take them to the gardens. We shouldn't delay them any further. They may be late for the boy's love confession" Demeter was practically chuckling at this point. It is always great to tease young men about their love interests. They do not look so tough then.
"That's not it" Nephelont's voice came out muffled and muted, as his face was buried in his mother's shoulder. Luckily, nobody saw his face. Unluckily, they knew that it was red in embarrassment.
"Yes yes" The goddess could not hold her giggles any longer. This was fun.
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They arrived at the gardens shortly after "escaping" Demeter's grasp.
"Those are what you asked for?" Mark took them to a flower bed that had herbaceous, peony-looking flowers. Their petals were a perfect shade of pink. Their edges were white, and they darkened at the center. The center itself held golden pistil and stamens.
(AN: Picture for first arrival peonies here. As for this "herbaceous", it denotes herbs, AKA that the plant has a soft stem)
"They perfectly match what I wanted. Thanks, Mark"
"You are welcome" Mark sported a soft smile now. It seems that "business" flew out the window when his lady asked him to guide the duo to her gardens.
'System, since I want to make a flower crown out of them, can I make it so the flowers don't wilt at all?' Nephelont wanted this to last her an eternity. The beauty of these flowers will symbolize his undying wish for her happiness.
{Master can achieve such things}
'Good'
"Can I take however many I want? I will take the longest among them" Nephelont asked.
"You can take as many as you want. Remember to not uproot the entire peony population from this earth" Mark tried to make a joke.
"Don't worry. They'll survive this. Hehe" Nephelont went along with his joke. It was good in his opinion.
Aiz put her son down so he could begin to make the thing he wanted.
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How to create a flower crown (by creativegreenliving . com):
Step one:
Pick an assortment of flowers with soft flexible stems. (AN: The flowers Nephelont uses here resimble the first arrival peonies, a herbaceous species. Its stems are soft enough, assumingly)
Pick the stems as long as you can.
Step two:
Choose three flowers with longer stems and cross their stems over each other, right under the flowers themselves.
Braid the stems together by taking the stem from the outside right and placing it between the other two. Then take the stem from the outside left and place it over the other two.
This is the same as a standard three-strand braid.
Continue in this fashion for about an inch (or the width of a flower head, add a flower by laying a flower so the stem rests on top of the center stem.
Keep braiding, holding the new flower stem together with the center stem.
Continue braiding until you've gone about the width of a flower head.
Then add another flower as you did above. Continue this way until the chain is the desired size.
Step three:
Once your chain is the desired length, braid the remaining ends and then tuck them in near the start to make a crown (or bracelet! or necklace!).
If you are having a hard time getting the end to stay tucked, you could tie it with a piece of thread if desired.
Step four (AN: The most important in my opinion):
Enjoy it.
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"I've done it" Nephelont was delighted that it came out alright. It was just how he practiced it.
"Color me surprised, kid. You have got skill" Mark was still with them to make sure the kid stopped before ruining his mistress' flowerbed. He was amazed, however, when the kid got it right in his first try.
"I've practiced a lot, after all" Nephelont puffed his chest, held his head high and put his hands around his hips. He was proud of his skill.
"KYAAAAA, YOU ARE CUTE" An unseen attack from a stealthy Demeter has reached him.
"can't.... breath" Nephelont struggled until he had no more breath. He became limp in her arms.
"Lady Demeter, my son is suffocating" Demeter had a bright smile while letting go of him.
"I'll have nightmares about "big" onee-sans attacking me, and it's all gonna be your fault, lady" Nephelont was frightened. He was a hair away from passing out. He was also both dizzy and wobbly.
Good thing his mother was there to make the goddess stop pushing his head into her chest.
He went to hide behind Aiz. "Mommy, protect me from people like her, ones that hug me in weird positions that may or may not suffocate me" His face was red remembering where he was enveloped a moment ago.
Aiz took note of more than one person who might do that. Forget about hugging him. She black-listed them all from even coming near him.
'System, now that I'm done with making the things, how do I do it?'
{Master has acquired Arcanum of his own. Using that Arcanum in the form of charges can make wonders. Master can do one of two things without practice using his current amount.
#1: Master can use his Arcanum to fuel any spell he thinks of. Each spell takes a complete charge. Once this takes effect, the spell requires no mind to cast and maintain.
This effect had the side effect of forcing inexistent spells into existence. This has limits, however.
Master is required to have the appropriate element for the spell. Otherwise, master will not be able to make the desired spell using this method.
Once Master uses a charge, a hidden skill will show itself.
#2: Master can use his Arcanum in a manner similar to others}
'A hidden skill?'
{Yes, master. Some skills were hidden until you discover them yourself. My creator made them like this for his fun. To see you struggle, only to realize that you had the skill you needed all along. If you ask about something related, however, I was given permission to tell master about them}
'That sadistic bastard. If I knew I had this, I wouldn't have had any difficulty creating my current spells and some others. Anyway, how do I increase my Arcanum reserves? The charges, especially'
{Ascension. That is the only way. Every time master ascends, his Arcanum becomes better in quality and increases by one charge}
'Let's leave that ascension talk for when I can see a way towards it'
Nephelont thought of a spell of nonsensical proportions, one that will keep the targets youthful and vitalized so long enough mind was poured into it.
"Let's do this" 'since mommy said that Demeter can hold her secrets well, I think I can reveal this to her' Nephelont held the peony crown in his hands and cast the spell. "[Vitalize]" (AN: This was made using his Arcanum directly, rather than an element. Don't worry, it is already near balanced as I thought of its cost and effect for a few days)
A light with the colors of rainbows shone from the boy and the flowers he was holding in hand. Only a moment later, the boy collapsed for unknown reasons, again.
Aiz did not like it in the least when her son did something that might endanger him in any way. Fainting was one of many ways to be in danger and be powerless against it.
Aiz rushed to hold him before he fell to the ground.
"Ara~ Ara~. I did not know this. This boy was one of us, just like Hephaestus's daughter" Demeter was not expecting this in the least.
"This does not need to be of concern to you, lady Wallenstein. Both me and Mark will take this secret with us to our graves" The existence of another demigod was going to stir the city even more than the first, since that would create a new competition of sorts.
Every other god will want to get his hand on one of the two before anyone else. A lot of people will die in the process.
"Un" Aiz nodded. "If you will excuse me. I need to tend to my son" She said this and bid them farewell. The mother returned to the Hearth Manor with her son unconscious in her arms.
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(Nephelont's dreamscape)
"** **** *** *****" What is this?
"N* ***d ** **i**" AH! It's that voice again!
"*o **ll t* **e*k" Why is it the same?
"** v**c* *o c*y ***f*r***" Shouldn't some more things became clearer and more apparent by now?
"B*** o* g** an* *o**" I guess nobody is listening to me here.
"*o* ****l s**l th* b***d*** **g** t*** ***g**s t**i* ******" Yada yada.
"**u *re the **ss*l" Do I even need to, or rather, can I memorize it?
"Y** ar* *** Ho**** *n***t" Nah, I may not be able to since I forgot about it last time too.
The same encrypted message is resounding in my dream. Maybe I'll memorize it another time.
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(Third person PoV)
"Now this is weird. There's no sun this time around" Nephelont thought that he may have woken up early this time, seeing as there is no sun.
Suddenly, he remembered where he should have been before everything went black.
'Where is the flower crown I prepared for her?!' He wondered. He needs to find it without Eucleia knowing, to not ruin the surprise.
"You woke up" Aiz announced her presence.
"What time is it?"
"8:42 PM"
"I'll continue sleeping then. Good night, mommy"
Aiz kissed his forehead and wished him goodnight as well. She wanted to say something to him, but she saw fit to do that in the morning. There was a sleeping person in the room.
As she left the room, she gestured towards a paper bag. She made it clear that she put Nephelont's creations in there.
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(Next morning)
"Sun, we meet once more" Nephelont has developed an unconscious habit of saying this.
"Nephelont, we need to talk" Hearing Eucleia's voice upon waking up was usually a bliss to Nephelont. This time it was not.
Her voice came as lifeless and dull. It was creepy with how it contrasted with her usually cheerful attitude. It was made worse when he could not see her face. She was hiding it.
"What is it, dearest Eucleia?" Nephelont tried to ease her a bit with some honeyed words.
"Praising me will not work this time" His efforts were in vain. "What did you do? Why did you do it? Why did you have to do something that will make you faint?"
"I was playing with my abilities"
"That is a lie"
"Huh?! How is that a lie?"
"Do not try to dodge the questions"
"..."
"DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS WHEN YOU CAME IN UNCONSCIOUS?!"
"..."
"DO YOU KNOW THAT IT HURTS TO SEE YOU LIKE THAT?!"
"..."
"What am I *hic* going to do once *hic* you never come back after one of these *hic* experiments of yours?" At this point, her voice started carrying stifled cries in between words.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT!!! I'll tell you. Don't cry, Okay?!" He became flustered after Eucleia's outburst. He wiped whatever tears he could from her face.
He could now see it. Eucleia's face was twisted with worry and fear. What fear it had eluded him.
"I'll have to give you the surprise I prepared especially for you. It was the reason I passed out this time. Don't worry, I didn't know that it would have knocked me out cold before attempting it"
"Huh?! Was it *hic* important enough that you *hic* deemed it worth going through *hic* with it?" Eucleia tried her best to talk normally to no avail. Her emotions were a mess after going through this incident and seeing her childhood friend and person of interest like that. "Was it *hic* worth lying to me about it?"
"It wasn't a complete lie, though. It was more of a white lie. You see, I wanted to create the best atmosphere to give this to you. It was unfortunate that the situation turned out to be like this" Nephelont grabbed the paper bag on his bedside table. Aiz was sensible enough to hide her son's creations, to allow him to be the one to reveal them however he liked to.
"Peonies symbolize love, honor, happiness, wealth, romance, and beauty. They are commonly given in expressions of goodwill, best wishes, and joy" He said as he took out a flower crown made of pink peonies. "This flower crown will never wilt on its own. It's a physical manifestation of my everlasting wish for your eternal happiness"
"I *hic* will tre*hic* treasure it *hic* for all of *hic* my life" No words were exchanged between the two of them anymore that morning. Eucleia just hugged him and cried on his shoulder. She was crying in relief and joy.
Eucleia was relieved that Nephelont was fine, that he did not do something mortally dangerous or something with apparent, lasting side effects. She also felt joy. She felt joy because of the intent behind the gift she was given. Eucleia will keep this accessory safe and sound no matter the cost.
After a good while, Eucleia finally exhausted herself to sleep.
"Look at this sleeping angel. Hopefully, I can protect her from the hooligans that may show up to harass her once her beauty blooms" Nephelont already recognizes Eucleia as the innocent angel of their two familia's, something the others also would agree with if asked about the matter. Because of that, he was consumed with the thought of actively protecting her from danger.
"You better do or else..." Hephaestus hissed with only half of her face peeking from behind the door. It did not help that the half that was out has the covered eye.
She looked livid and ready for murder. 'How dare he make my daughter cry? How dare he make her feel such distress? He even lied to her?' She asked herself multiple times. These sentences repeated in her head like a broken record.
"I will" A pale Nephelont tried his best to not sound scared. He was sweating bullets with a pale face. He wanted to disappear under the blankets after seeing an angry mother "looking" him with a death glare.
A hand appeared behind Hephaestus. Judging by the gloves, it was Welf. He grabbed her by the head like one would to a naughty child. He then dragged her away from the door. He closed the door gently, not before flashing his nephew a "good job" with his thumb.
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Good day, people.
I guess we can skip most things since this is a double upload.
One thing I have to make clear, only new things or things being viewed will appear in the chapter. Other parts of the abilities section will be hidden. Abilities that were seen before? Hidden. Spells that were seen before? Hidden.
Also, I thought of two development abilities to add to his falna upon level up. The DAs themselves are remaining. I just want someone else to help me balance them a bit.
Leave a comment on how well executed this was in your opinion, especially that last scene.
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{Draconic Bloodline Enhancement:
Because of the lack of dragons with ancient dragon bloodline, you were given the ability to purify the little resemblance in the impure bloodlines, making them closer than they originally are to the ancient dragons.
The effects of this development ability can stack up to three times. The cooldown between stacks is 3 days.
Ranks and effect:
I = 2%
H = 5%
G = 6%
F = 8%
E = 11%
D = 14%
C = 16%
B = 17%
A = 19%
S = 23%
SS = 27%
SSS = 30%
EX = 50%}
{Draconic Bloodline Absorption:
Your normal absorption rate is terrible. You waste a lot of the benefits of what you have absorbed.
This will help you make up for it.
Ranks and effects:
I = 20%
H = 22%
G = 25%
F = 26%
E = 28%
D = 30%
C = 31%
B = 32%
A = 34%
S = 38%
SS = 42%
SSS = 50%
EX = 80%}
The descriptions may be misleading. Let me explain them again.
The first one will purify the present draconic bloodline within a target, say like a magic stone for now. It enhances it by multiplying the bloodline resemblance of its target by the effective percentage for the DA's rank.
i.e. The rank of the DA is G and the bloodline resemblance of the bloodline is 10%. The result will be 10% x 25% = 12.5% bloodline bloodline resemblance for the first application. Second application will be 12.5% x 25% = 15.625% bloodline resemblance. The third, and last, application will be 15.625% x 25% = 19.53125% bloodline resemblance.
The second one directly represents Nephelont's absorption rate for impure bloodlines. So, he will never be able to absorb 100% of a magic stone or a dragon's heart unless it was that of an ancient dragon's.
Continue with the previous example, 19.53125% x 80% = 15.625% is absorbed. That is the maximum percentage he can get from a dragon with 10% bloodline resemblance. The problem is actually finding such dragon, one with a high resemblance percentage.
They have a set number of times they get applied to get to the next rank.
{Draconic Bloodline Enhancement:
From I to H, it will take 300.
From H to G, it will take 1500.
From G to F, it will take 3,000.
From F to E, it will take 30,000.
From E to D, it will take 300,000.
From D to C, it will take 900,000.
From C to B, it will take 1,800,000.
From B to A, it will take 3,000,000.
From A to S, it will take 6,000,000.
From S to SS, it will take 9,000,000.
From SS to SSS, it will take 12,000,000.
From SSS to EX, it will take 30,000,000}
{Draconic Bloodline Absorption:
From I to H, it will take 100.
From H to G, it will take 500.
From G to F, it will take 1,000.
From F to E, it will take 10,000.
From E to D, it will take 100,000.
From D to C, it will take 300,000.
From C to B, it will take 600,000.
From B to A, it will take 1,000,000.
From A to S, it will take 2,000,000.
From S to SS, it will take 3,000,000.
From SS to SSS, it will take 4,000,000.
From SSS to EX, it will take 10,000,000.
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Have a good day,
Draconic_Terror.