Hearing Su Mo's words, Liliruca lowered her head in shame. There was no point lying to someone who could seemingly see through her every sin. Though she'd never taken a life, she had deceived others—driven by greed. That was an undeniable truth.
"I'm a thief… and a liar," she said bitterly. "Someone weak like me has tricked who knows how many people for money. I'm not… worthy of pity."
"If I ended up with broken limbs, or even executed, I'd have no right to complain."
"So go ahead. Do it."
Her voice was calm—not dramatic or manipulative. She wasn't trying to gain sympathy. She meant every word. How many times had she thought about ending it all? Too many to count.
But every time she was on the verge of taking her own life, a small sliver of unwillingness—a stubborn desire to live—had held her back. That faint attachment to life had always kept her going, forcing her to hide her true feelings and continue living in secret misery.
But now, in front of Su Mo—the one person she believed could see her soul—Liliruca found herself finally confronting her true self. Like a sinner confessing to a priest, she laid bare her heart. There was no more resistance left. Perhaps dying would be easier than continuing like this.
"I was never supposed to be alive in this world anyway. Please… just do it."
Her voice was filled with the longing for release. In truth, she hadn't always been this way. When she was around ten years old, her parents died, leaving her an orphan. But even then, she didn't fall into darkness. Though still a child, she worked hard, taking on the role of a supporter for her familia's adventurers. In return, she asked for nothing more than a little food. Just enough to survive. But even that small hope was crushed.
She picked up dropped magic stones during expeditions, careful not to trouble anyone. Even when fellow familia members ignored her cries for help during battles, she never complained—just bandaged her wounds in silence. She worked harder than anyone. Yet when it came time to divide the earnings, they said she was useless. That she hadn't contributed. And so, they refused to pay her even a single vali.
As a child, she blamed herself. She began surviving on scraps—leftovers from garbage bins and wild berries. She improved, became more efficient, doing every little chore before anyone could even ask. She even learned to handle small monsters on her own. Eventually, she became so capable that even experienced adventurers couldn't find fault in her work. She thought—surely now they'll treat me fairly. But what she got instead… was betrayal.
Not only did they refuse to pay her, but they also accused her of stealing magic stones. That way, they could avoid paying her altogether. Only then did she realize the truth—these people had always intended to use her for free. By then, it was already too late. Branded a thief, she could no longer find work, even as a supporter for adventurers outside her familia. Everyone treated her with suspicion. And in the world of adventurers—where scumbags were plentiful—someone like her had no chance.
The abuse and exploitation Liliruca suffered within her own familia were far from unique. Even adventurers outside her familia treated her no differently. The few who weren't inherently malicious would, over time, succumb to pressure or intimidation from others—resulting in beatings, extortion, and more humiliation. Her reputation as a thief only grew, becoming an unshakable stain on her name.
Occasionally, someone with a sense of justice would step forward and try to intervene. But the moment they heard she was "a thief," their attitudes shifted drastically. Their eyes, once filled with sympathy, turned cold and disgusted. In Orario, thieves—those who tried to survive without honest labor—were among the most hated.
Alone and desperate, with nowhere to turn and not a single soul she could rely on, Liliruca one day found herself starving to death during a torrential downpour. At the edge of death, driven by sheer instinct to survive, she finally made a decision.
If I'm going to be treated like a thief no matter what...
Why should I die pretending otherwise?
If they're going to call me one anyway—why not just become one for real?
So, with that bitter resolve, she crept into the home of one of the adventurers she hated most and stole a piece of bread. That single stolen meal kept her alive. From that moment on, she truly became a thief.
Ironically, when she was still a well-behaved, innocent child—doing nothing wrong, enduring humiliation, working without complaint—she had nearly starved to death and was labeled a criminal. But once she became the very thing they had accused her of, she finally gained the means to survive... at the cost of her dignity.
Reflecting on her life, Liliruca couldn't help but wonder if she had ever been meant to survive in the first place. And now, seeing Su Mo's arrival and his attitude toward her, she had resigned herself to her fate.
Su Mo, however, was visibly surprised at her reaction.
I haven't even said anything yet, and you're already mentally defeated?
"Why are you so eager to die?" he asked curiously.
"Because someone like me doesn't deserve to live," she answered bluntly, eyes hollow. "I've tricked countless adventurers, taken advantage of their kindness just to steal their money. In the end, I'm really no different from those bastards over there." She gestured to the three crushed adventurers.
"To be honest, I don't feel the least bit sorry for them. If they died, it would be justice. And maybe the same is true for me."
Despite everything, Liliruca was not delusional. She knew exactly what kind of people her so-called familia were—worthless scum. And by her own admission, she wasn't much better. A thief. A liar. No better than the people she despised.
But Su Mo shook his head at her words. "You've got the wrong idea," he said calmly. "I'm no champion of justice. I have no intention of judging others based on some universal morality."
"So whether someone deserves to die or not, I only care about it from my own perspective."
"For instance, you looked at my wallet but didn't make a move—so I can let that slide. But those guys? They didn't just want my money, they wanted my life. Their fate was sealed the moment they made that choice."
As his voice fell, the ground beneath the three adventurers erupted with a sickening boom. A black crater formed beneath their crushed bodies, caused by the massive gravitational force Su Mo unleashed. The Level 1 adventurers stood no chance. They were obliterated on the spot, their mangled remains likely falling to the next floor below.
Liliruca watched with wide eyes—but instead of fear, her expression was filled with satisfaction. Whatever her own sins, she had no doubt that those three deserved their fate far more than she did. Turning to her, Su Mo continued.
"As for you, you're quite different from them. A person can be humble like dust but should never become twisted like a maggot."
"The struggle between good and evil—that's the eternal theme of humanity. Given your circumstances, your choices were... understandable. Anyone in your place might have made the same ones."
"The key is that in you, there's still a struggle. A conscience. That alone makes you human."
"Those three, on the other hand... had long since decayed. They were evil through and through—rotten, and unaware of it."
His words were not simply a personal opinion but deeply rooted in the teachings of the Zoroastrian faith, where good and evil are clearly defined. His perspective aligned with the dualism of Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu—the god of light and order versus the embodiment of evil.
He neither liked nor disliked Liliruca. Unlike someone like Ais, or a pure-hearted goddess like Hestia, Liliruca was far from innocent. She wasn't a saint—just a small girl trying to survive in a cruel world. She had sins, yes. But she also had hope. She hadn't given in completely. There was still light in her heart.
As for those three dead adventurers, they had become irredeemable filth. Evil without awareness. The kind of scum that even someone like Kotomine Kirei might consider competitors. They might've looked like small-time thugs, committing petty cruelty. But the truth was, most of the world's evil stemmed from people like them.
In contrast, from the perspective of Mithra, the Zoroastrian god of light and contracts, Liliruca still had the potential to walk the path of righteousness. She was a soul in conflict—one worth saving. Those three? They were already minions of Angra Mainyu.
Zoroastrianism taught to reward good and punish evil. By that doctrine, it was they who were the true targets of divine wrath—not her. Hearing all this, Liliruca stared at Su Mo in disbelief. She had fully expected punishment. But instead, he told her... she wasn't beyond saving. That she wasn't like them.
For the first time in her life, Liliruca felt a warmth bloom in her chest. Not because someone was praising a fake mask she wore—but because someone had recognized her, the real her, flaws and all, and still didn't condemn her. For someone who had always been alone, always misunderstood, it was overwhelming.
Moved, shaken, she didn't even notice Su Mo lifting her petite body off the ground. With the radiant energy of the Sun Authority, he healed her wounds—wounds that could've been fatal. In an instant, her injuries faded, her body restored. Once she was back on her feet, Su Mo seemed to recall something.
"Oh, right. Isn't the wine your familia sells really expensive?" Caught off guard by the sudden shift, Liliruca blinked in confusion before nodding.
"Yes... even the cheapest bottle sells for sixty thousand valis. And that's with demand exceeding supply."
"I see..." Su Mo nodded thoughtfully. A plan was already forming in his mind—ever since he acquired the divine authority of Dionysus, the god of wine. Then he turned back to Liliruca with a faint smirk.
"Well, one way or another, I did save your life, didn't I?"
"How about repaying that favor by working with me for a bit?"
It wasn't so much a suggestion as it was an offer she couldn't refuse. He didn't particularly like Liliruca—but he saw her value. With the right guidance, she could be pulled out of the muck and turned into something much more useful. More importantly, she might just be the shortcut he needed to quickly accumulate Philosopher's Stones.
Three birds with one stone.
Why not?
With that, Su Mo—the man with a keen eye for potential—had found his second high-quality tool character. Right after Ais, he'd now picked up another promising recruit. A cause for celebration, indeed.