Gensokyo is a place full of all sorts of strange things.
In Alice's [Knowledge Repository], there lies a vast trove of information—this much has been mentioned before.
It's also been said that most of the knowledge Alice possesses is highly advanced. For instance, she knows how to shatter space with a single punch. It sounds simple enough: just coat your fist with spatial energy and strike with all your might.
But Alice has no idea how to throw a punch with her full strength.
What's more, nowhere in her [Knowledge Repository] could she find even the most basic training on throwing a punch.
Over at Yagokoro Eirin's place, there are countless theories on potion-making. Following Eirin's principles, Alice could probably whip up all kinds of peculiar concoctions.
But there's a catch: to brew potions, Alice first needs to learn how to identify herbs—to recognize their properties—so she can create effective mixtures.
Basics are everything.
Unfortunately, aside from the magic of the Seven Colored Magic and the art of crafting dolls, almost nothing in Alice's repository includes foundational knowledge.
Even the kappa technology she's familiar with includes instructions on forging a simple hammer, but not how to use one properly.
Of course, Alice doesn't need to learn everything in her [Knowledge Repository]. A lot of the knowledge, while intriguing, isn't particularly useful to her.
Take, for example, the ability to wield the Sword of Hisou to summon weather disasters—completely pointless, as far as Alice is concerned.
Then again, you never know what might happen. If a drought ever struck, a skill like that could come in handy.
So even if she doesn't need to master it all, getting a grasp of the basics here and there certainly wouldn't hurt.
With Alice's talent, it's not like she'd be wasting her time.
More importantly, skills like combat, blacksmithing, and potion-making are incredibly practical. Learning them would definitely work in her favor.
"Hmm…" After a moment of thought, Alice turned to Hestia. "If I wanted to learn, could you introduce me to those gods?"
Hestia's eyes lit up at the question. She sprang to her feet and thumped her chest proudly.
"Of course! Don't let my current… situation fool you—back in Heaven, I was quite popular, you know."
"So if you're serious about learning from other gods, I can take you to them. Anyone you want, I can make introductions."
"But, well, you should know—every god is happy to share their skills with the children of the lower world, but every one of them also has their own Familia."
"So I can introduce you, help you get to know them a little, but I won't take sides or beg them to teach you. If you want to learn a god's craft, you'll have to put in the work yourself."
"I hope you understand. Is that alright?"
Hestia looked at Alice calmly.
Alice smiled faintly. No matter the world, knowledge was always precious—especially divine techniques. They were truly priceless.
In Orario, any god who possessed such skills was generous with them—if their own children asked, they would gladly teach what they knew.
But only to their own children.
Children from other Familias could also learn, so long as they paid a sufficient price. That wasn't a problem.
Not that many adventurers went out of their way to seek out gods and learn their arts.
After all, these were divine skills—how could mere mortals grasp them so easily?
When Hephaistos recruited new members, she would demonstrate her craft to prospective followers.
Even the most skilled blacksmiths among humans would be humbled by her techniques. Only those who could pick themselves back up after such a blow were allowed to join the Hephaestus Familia.
That alone showed how powerful divine techniques really were.
Unless someone was truly dedicated to a craft, few even attempted to learn a god's skill—because they knew it was nearly impossible.
The only reason Hestia made this suggestion was for her own benefit: she was looking for a long-term meal ticket.
Whether Alice could learn or not didn't really matter to Hestia.
Divine skills were notoriously difficult to master, especially for adventurers outside a god's Familia. The cost was high, and success was never guaranteed.
Alice understood Hestia's meaning perfectly:
"I'll introduce you to the gods. What happens after that is up to you."
Though Alice had only been in this world for a few months, she possessed the knowledge and cunning of youkai from Gensokyo who had lived for who-knows-how-long.
Even if Hestia was a god who had lived for hundreds of millions of years, her intentions were a little too obvious.
Alice smiled lightly.
"Don't worry. I'll be counting on you for the introductions, Hestia."
"Leave it to me!' Hestia gave a thumbs-up.
Then, watching Alice bury herself in books again, Hestia's cheek twitched. She sidled up to Alice and whispered:
"So, uh, Alice-chan, you see—"
"Yes?" Alice raised a brow.
"Connections are a pretty valuable resource, right?" Hestia grinned.
"Indeed."
"So, since I'm using my connections to help you out, don't you think you should, you know, show a little appreciation?" Hestia rubbed her thumb and forefinger together, signaling 'just a bit.'
Amused, Alice asked, "And what is it you want, Hestia?"
Ahem. Hestia blushed. "We're friends, right? So I wouldn't ask for much."
She clasped her hands together pleadingly.
"So please, Alice-chan—until Bell can stand on his own, will you take care of us?"
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