"Is this Mr. Jericho's home?" Lili asked, looking around the hovel, trying to disguise her interest. She seemed surprised, which was fair I guess. Hestia and I could afford to move to a better place, one with a ceiling that wouldn't leak when it rained, but the topic hadn't come up yet. It would soon enough if only because I wanted a bed that could actually fit me.
The small home was empty at the moment, so Hestia was probably off getting ingredients for dinner. She would be back soon enough.
"Hm," I confirmed with a nod, sitting on the bed to give Lili some space. I gestured to the worn-down couch for her to sit on, paying close attention to her. She looked drained physically and emotionally. For a few seconds, there was a heavy silence, Lili doing her absolute best not to look at me while I didn't know what to say.
"I know it's not to look at but it's enough for me and my goddess," I spoke, at last, going to a safe topic.
"Goddess Hestia? What...what is she like?" Lili asked, sitting on the center cushion. She clasped her hands in her lap, looking down at them to prevent me from seeing her expression.
"Bubbly," I started, scratching at a smooth cheek. "Kind. And she worries a lot about me, probably more than she should. She works hard too -- if you've gone down Spirits Cross, then you've probably seen her work a jagamarukun stall." At that, Lili glanced up at me sharply, surprised.
"She is your goddess? Lili thought Mr. Jericho's goddess would a little more…" she trailed off, shifting where she sat as she looked back down at her hands.
"Yeah," I agreed, knowing what she was trying to say. I would take a double look if I saw someone that looked like me walking down the street with someone like Hestia. "But I couldn't ask for a better goddess," I told her honestly, getting a small nod out of Lili. She fell silent after that, staring at her hands in deep thought. It would seem that I was going to have to carry this conversation.
"Lili...tell me about the Soma familia," I requested, leaning forward so our eye levels at the same level. Lili's hands curled into fists before she realized it, forcing herself to unclench them.
"Does Mr. Jericho know what Soma is?" She asked in a quiet voice, still refusing to look at me.
"I know your familia specializes in selling wine, but only your God makes it," I told her, not wanting to overplay my hand. It would one thing to know common knowledge about her familia, but the inner workings were closely guarded secrets. "But I'm guessing there's more to that story. I've seen some other members of your familia at the teller, and they always seem...desperate for more money."
"That's because they are desperate. Lili's familia isn't like Mr. Jericho's," she continued, clasping her hands together. "The wine that the Soma familia sells, it's all labeled as failures to make true Soma wine. The familia sells it to recoup some losses, and failures are still worth tens of thousands of valis, but it might as well be water when compared to true Soma wine."
"Lili's familia has dues to determine who gets to drink Soma wine. It's no more than a single sip but that's all it takes to get drunk...and...Soma wine...it's…" Lili trailed off, making me glance at my own hands in thought.
"The euphoria that it gives is addicting," I supplied. "The feeling of release. It becomes all they think about, everything that they do is to chase that feeling. It makes the time when they're not feeling it unbearable. They do things that they never would have done before to chase it. And, in their own minds, no matter how twisted and awful, make perfect sense if it gets them what they want."
I glanced up to see Lili staring at me with naked shock. "Has Mr. Jericho…?" She asked, the question a sensitive one.
"My dad," I answered shortly, not wanting to delve deeper into painful memories and a lifetime of disappointment. Thankfully, Lili seemed to pick up on that since she nodded in understanding.
"Lili's parents died because of Soma. They went into the Dungeon to make money to get more Soma, and they never came out." From the sounds of it, that was an old wound for her. "But no one cared. Plenty of members of the Soma familia go into the Dungeon and are never seen again."
"And it's not always the monsters that get them," I stated, earning a slow nod from Lili.
"Lili's familia isn't a real familia. All everyone cares about is drinking more Soma and nothing else. All the stronger members of the familia steal from the weaker ones like Lili, or...kill them to avoid paying them." Lili explained, painting a very grim picture for the Soma familia.
"So...will anyone notice that, uh-"
"Lili doesn't think so. Lili recognized some of them, and most of them were new members," she said earning a sharp look from me. "But Kylar, the one with the sword and shield, did drink Soma regularly, so it's possible that the leaders of the Soma familia might notice that he's gone but they'll probably assume he was murdered for money."
Well, that was a relief. If the Soma familia decided to show up on my door right now, I'd die. No questions asked. I barely won that fight against Asshole the Second, and apparently, he was a generic mook that existed solely to show off how bad the bad guys were.
"The leaders of your familia...they're level 2, right?" I recalled, earning another nod from Lili.
"Zanis and Chandra. They don't really get along, but Zanis is the captain of the Soma familia. He's the reason why the Soma familia is what it is. He's the one that made it that you had to pay to drink Soma, and he doesn't just let his familia kill each other for money, but he encourages it!" Lili practically shouted, the anger I saw a glimpse of before returning, only she was too tired to maintain it. She slumped into the couch, her shoulders drooping in defeat.
I nodded, having known all that already. Zanis was scum of the highest order. He was the worst kind of villain -- a narcissistic mastermind that bought into his own hype that was evil for the purpose of being evil. When I came to this world, I can't say killing him was one of the reasons, but it sure was on the list now.
"And your god just lets that happen? Why doesn't Soma do something about it? I mean, if he just told him to fuck off and not update anyone Status, then I can't imagine Zanis would stay in power long after that," I asked, making Lili clench her fists again, the anger surge in her tense, but small frame.
"Because Soma doesn't care enough to stop it. The Soma familia exists to support him so he can spend all his time making wine. He couldn't care less what happens to the members of his familia," Lili muttered bitterly. I nodded slowly at that, let out a soft breath now that the exposition dump was over.
I heard the door opening behind me. Lili went stiff where she sat as Hestia hummed loudly to herself right up until she noticed that we were here. Several expressions passed over her face before she landed on concerned.
"Is everything okay?" Hestia asked, rushing over with arms full of ingredients, her gaze going over both of us for any signs of injuries. A small gasp escaped her when she found the blood on my arms. "What happened?"
"We were ambushed in the Dungeon by the Soma familia," I told her, making Hestia's eyes go so wide they nearly fell out of her head. "We're fine, but…" I trailed off, feeling oddly exhausted from everything.
"Lili is apart of the Soma familia," Lili picked up, understanding flooding Hestia's eyes. "Mr. Jericho was afraid that Lili might have lead him into a trap, so he wanted Lady Hestia to confirm that Lili hadn't."
Hestia glanced at me and got a nod to confirm what Lili said. "I want to believe her, but it looks sketchy as hell. We went down to the ninth floor, and five of them had been following us for a while. All of them Soma familia." I explained, watching Hestia's lips thin until she wore an expression I had never seen before.
Anger. Hestia looked beyond furious, achieving a tranquil fury that allowed her to take in a long breath before she turned to Lili.
"Did you have anything to do with this?" Hestia asked, her voice ice.
"Lili didn't! Lili didn't know about the ambush! If she did, she would have warned Mr. Jericho about it!" Lili said with conviction. I glanced at Hestia to see that she let out the breath she took as she nodded softly to herself.
"She's telling the truth," Hestia confirmed, lifting a great big weight off my shoulders. Lili wasn't involved in this. She wasn't secretly planning to murder me. There was still the issue of her stealing from me, but at this point, money was money and I knew what she was going to use it for.
Actually…
"Lili...do you want to be in the Soma familia?" I asked, the question completely catching her off guard. She blinked at me, displaying clear confusion that couldn't be faked. Then, slowly, her expression became far more guarded when she glanced at Hestia, who turned to me with a puzzled expression.
"Lili…" Lili trailed off, her mouth open to continue but the words wouldn't come. Then she looked down at her hands, unable to continue. As Lili fell silent, Hestia shared a meaningful glance with me. Somehow, she knew exactly where I was going with this and, despite knowing none of the circumstances, she gave a nod of approval.
I reached out with a hand to give one of hers a squeeze. She offered me a smile that I returned before turning my attention back to Lili.
"Well, that settles it then. I guess we're getting you out of the Soma familia."
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A/N— I'll try to post daily. Powerstones and comments would help, it would mean alot and give me the motivation to continue the story. In fact two chapters a day wouldn't be impossible either.
I'll post an extra chapter every 500ps power stones, no limit!
Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed.
Ps. You can also read ahead till Chapter 81 (each chapter is 3-4k words) at my Patreon to support the story and help me write more. Patrons get two chapters a day and 50 chapter ahead for just a couple bucks :)
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