Ahem, ahem.
Even Hermes was caught completely off guard by Alice's words, coughing involuntarily.
As for Apollo, he had heard every word clearly.
The man standing behind Apollo—Hyakinthos, captain of the Apollo Familia—wore a look of shock and outrage.
Apollo's own expression darkened considerably.
"So, little Alice," Hermes cut in quickly, seeing Apollo about to make a scene, "are you interested in joining the Apollo Familia?"
"No," Alice replied without hesitation.
The moment she spoke, Apollo turned on his heel.
"Hyakinthos, we're leaving!" He strode out of the tavern without a backward glance, followed hastily by Hyakinthos and the other two.
Watching Apollo leave, Hermes let out a sigh of relief.
"Honestly, that guy is nothing but trouble. If he'd really dug his heels in, even I wouldn't have been able to do much. I'd have had no choice but to hand little Alice over."
"Luckily, it didn't come to that. At least Apollo didn't get a clear look at her face, and she's drunk enough that the glow of her soul is dimmed."
"Otherwise, that bastard would never have given up so easily."
Hermes glanced at Alice's adorable face and shook his head helplessly. "Really now, you're not even one of my children. Handing you over wouldn't have affected me one bit—so why did I help you?"
He couldn't help but feel somewhat resigned at his own actions.
"I'll definitely make you pay me back properly for this someday. Let's go, Asfi—off to the Loki Familia."
With that, Hermes and Asfi also left the little tavern.
The tavern remained noisy.
But the scene with Hermes and Apollo hadn't gone unnoticed—particularly by three adventurers sitting at the nearest table who hadn't been drinking, but had clearly overheard the entire exchange, including Alice's words.
"Hey! Did you guys hear that?" a skinny human adventurer asked excitedly, looking at his two companions.
"Yeah, we heard. That's some juicy info," a sturdy but short dwarf replied, eyes gleaming as he raised his mug.
"Who would've thought someone would dare say something like that to a god like Apollo?" a tall half-dwarf licked his lips in anticipation. "Tomorrow, let's sell this info on the black market. Wonder how much we can get for it?"
The skinny human squinted. "Should be at least several hundred thousand valis, right? At the very least, it's just some adventurer bad-mouthing a god—no big deal."
"But if you look at the bigger picture, this involves three familias—Apollo, Loki, and Hermes. This could mean real conflict. That's definitely valuable."
"Right, right!" The dwarf raised his mug. "A toast to easy money!"
Because of Apollo, Hermes and Asfi quickly escorted Alice to the Loki Familia.
It wasn't that the Hermes Familia feared the Apollo Familia—after all, Asfi wasn't Level 2, but Level 4.
Hyakinthos, captain of the Apollo Familia, was only Level 3. If a conflict broke out between the two familias, the one to disappear definitely wouldn't be Hermes's.
Even so, Hermes had no reason to pick a fight with Apollo over Alice.
Doing so would risk exposing the strength he'd been keeping hidden.
So, it was better to let the Loki Familia—or Alice herself—handle any trouble with Apollo. The Hermes Familia would stay out of it.
Still, Hermes needed to explain things clearly to Loki.
After handing Alice over to Loki at the Loki Familia headquarters and recounting what had happened at the tavern, Loki remained calm.
"Thanks for looking out for her, Hermes. I'll have a good talk with Alice about the Apollo situation," Loki said with a smile. "And I appreciate you protecting her, too."
"But honestly, I'm surprised you even know our little Alice—and that you'd stand up to the Apollo Familia for her. That's not like you."
Everyone in Orario knew Hermes had a reputation for being a drifter who never settled down, and Loki was no exception.
No one had ever managed to make Hermes—who always stayed neutral and avoided trouble—confront another god.
Though in this case, Hermes had essentially pitted the Loki and Apollo Familias against each other.
If it had been anyone else, he probably would've handed them over to Apollo without a second thought.
So, Loki was genuinely surprised Hermes had protected Alice in front of Apollo.
"Riveria, could you take care of Alice?" Loki said, turning to the elf beside her. "I know you two planned to go to the dungeon tomorrow, but given her current state, she's going to be in rough shape."
"So, please look after her tomorrow, too."
Though it was evening, it was still relatively early. Riveria hadn't gone to bed yet, and since Finn was handling familia affairs, she had accompanied Loki to meet Hermes.
At Loki's instruction, Riveria took Alice from Asfi.
"So, is little Alice really one of your children?" Hermes asked Loki curiously. "Even drunk, when I asked her, she clearly said you'd tried to recruit her. Didn't it work out?"
At that, Loki's expression fell.
"You know that magical girl who fought with Bete at our doorstep a while back? She's been pretty famous around Orario lately—surely you've heard?"
"It's all because of that idiot Bete. Otherwise, Alice would've joined my familia long ago."
"Heh." Hermes chuckled. "No wonder."
Then he stood up. "Well, since I've brought Alice back safe and sound, my job here is done. It's still early—I'm off for a drink. Care to join me, Loki?"
"Nah, I'll pass," Loki waved him off.
"Suit yourself. I'm heading out, then." Hermes turned to leave.
"Drop by again sometime," Loki said with a smile.
After Hermes had gone—
"Hermes, what are you up to?" Loki frowned, watching his retreating figure.
"The Apollo Familia, huh? With Alice's strength, it shouldn't be a problem. Things are about to get interesting."
"Still, getting this drunk after just one cup… that's pretty rare."
Loki smiled, watching Riveria carry Alice away in her arms.
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