Chapter 76: Loki Familia's New Member!
"Nice going, kid! You were only here for a little while, and you even managed to turn Ouranos to your side. But... I didn't expect the ever-fair Ouranos to be less stiff than I imagined."
Inside the dim prayer room, Loki had just finished signing a contract with Ouranos.
Now, she had one arm around Torajirou Shiro's shoulder as she spoke.
Incidentally, she had also signed an alliance-type contract with Shiro just now.
"Ahem. Loki, mind your words."
Even Ouranos could not stop an awkward expression from appearing on his face after hearing Loki's remark.
Even if his original goal truly was for Orario's sake, who among the gods would believe that?
One only had to look at Loki's expression to understand.
In the eyes of the gods, Ouranos had probably become a rotten god who saw that he would die in the future, broke the order he had personally created, and switched to cooperating with an adventurer.
"In any case, Liliruca is one of your people too, correct? After this, I will have Loki Familia take custody of her."
To prevent Loki from continuing, Ouranos decisively changed the topic.
He said they would take her to Loki Familia for imprisonment, but once she was really brought there, what happened next would naturally depend on Loki Familia's attitude.
With the look Loki had, as if she would kill any god who dared step through her Familia's gates, what god would dare enter Loki Familia to confirm Liliruca's situation?
Even an ordinary adventurer would have to weigh whether they were capable of fighting three Level 6s before going there.
"Do you not need to investigate her Familia's situation or anything?" Torajirou Shiro asked in confusion.
No matter how one looked at it, killing a god was not a small matter.
Yet the Guild could directly decide the culprit's punishment?
Was there no need for a public trial?
Then what was the point of all the investigation he had done before?
The testimony he had prepared ahead of time was actually useless, and that left Torajirou Shiro feeling a little depressed.
"Bah! You think I don't know those gods?"
Loki waved her hand dismissively.
"As long as the fire doesn't burn their own heads, aside from a few oddballs, who cares that much?"
Then halfway through, Loki suddenly gave a wicked grin.
"Besides... those entertainment-loving gods are probably all thinking about how they're going to mock Soma when they return to Heaven. The testimonies and all that can just be left for the children of the lower world to read afterward."
Most cases could actually be handled by the Guild alone.
But to maintain the Guild's appearance of fairness, Ouranos would still send someone to symbolically discuss the matter during Denatus.
However, since those gods wished the whole of Orario would know about the incident, even if they discussed it together, the final result would only be to hand everything over to the Guild.
When it came to participating in the incident, the gods were no different from gossiping spectators.
If one had to point out a difference, it would be that these spectators could always get the freshest gossip before anyone else.
"If there is nothing else, you may take Liliruca back. I will explain matters on the Guild's side."
Ouranos summarized tonight's conversation.
At the same time, he raised a hand to signal that Torajirou Shiro could leave.
And just like that, the deicide case that had caused such a storm was swiftly closed.
The Guild posted an announcement stating that Liliruca Arde, the culprit who murdered the god in charge of Soma Familia, had already been arrested.
Her specific punishment would be discussed during Denatus.
Until then, Liliruca would be placed under Loki Familia's custody.
"So... I was just released like that?"
Shiro "escorted" Liliruca and brought her back to Loki Familia's residence.
On the way, to celebrate Liliruca obtaining her freedom, the two of them even bought two servings of 30-valis Jagamarukun.
Torajirou Shiro discussed part of the earlier conversation in the Guild prayer room with her on the way back.
Even now, Liliruca's expression was still somewhat complicated.
"So gods are all so..."
"Shameless, right?"
"Lily didn't say that. It's just... what Lily learned about those gods is very different from what Lily usually knew... It's almost..."
Almost like ordinary people.
Liliruca did not say those words out loud.
Having spent so long in Soma Familia, her impression of gods was that they were cold and aloof.
Adventurers, meanwhile, were all sinister and cunning.
Only now, after she had truly obtained freedom, did she learn that there were good people among both gods and adventurers.
They could even enjoy gossip like ordinary people.
"What do you plan to do next? Are you going back to open that flower shop you mentioned before?"
Torajirou Shiro picked up a red bean cream-flavored Jagamarukun and asked as he ate.
This was Ais's favorite flavor.
It tasted sweet, almost like a red bean pie.
Liliruca shook her head with some regret.
"The flower shop is impossible now. Lily has quite a few enemies in Orario. If they discover Lily, then without Falna, Lily won't even be able to run."
After a god was sent back to Heaven, the Falna they granted would lose its effect.
It did not disappear, but instead entered an inactive state.
Another god had to reactivate it for the person's original status to return.
This was the so-called "Conversion."
"You can have Loki reactivate your Falna. But watch out for her wandering hands. It'd be best to carry a small knife with you like Ais does when she updates it."
Shiro smiled at Liliruca.
"If someone smashes your flower shop, you can report my name to the Guild. For certain reasons, they've mistaken you as one of my people, so they'll help where they can."
"But don't go using my name to do bad things. If you do petty theft or something, remember to make it clear it has nothing to do with me."
Liliruca ate the last Jagamarukun and threw away the wrapper.
With both hands clasped behind her back, she tilted her body slightly and looked at him as he kept rambling.
"Lily has already given up on opening a flower shop. Lily plans to join Loki Familia and help with whatever she can. Loki-sama already agreed."
"Huh?"
Finally seeing Shiro's surprised expression, Liliruca narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
"Lily didn't really help much this time, did she? Lily didn't even manage to play the scapegoat role Torajirou-sama mentioned before."
"So Lily plans to repay the favor. Don't underestimate Lily. Lily has plenty of experience moving around in the Dungeon."
"No, what I meant was, Loki Familia is one of the top Familias in Orario, yet you said you'd join and they let you join. I didn't expect you to learn how to borrow someone else's authority this quickly."
"Hah?! Torajirou-sama, you idiot!"
Liliruca's face stiffened.
After she reacted, she started hitting Torajirou Shiro's chest with her hands.
Of course, to Torajirou Shiro, who was Level 4, that amount of force felt more like being tickled.
The sky over Orario slowly darkened.
The deep night seemed to glue heaven and earth together.
Stars mingled with candlelight, and the Milky Way connected to the waterways.
Under the night's glow, the sound of the two fooling around gradually drowned out the chirping of insects.
...
"Ouranos."
Inside the dim prayer room, someone wrapped entirely in black clothing spoke from the darkness.
Their hands were covered by black gloves engraved with intricate patterns.
"Are you not going to tell them about the Xenos?"
The old god, who had been seated on his divine throne from beginning to end, shook his head.
"We still cannot confirm his attitude toward the Xenos. After all, in the eyes of Orario's people, monsters are monsters."
"Find an opportunity to let the Xenos come into contact with him. If he truly does not reject them, then we can tell him the relevant matters."
"I see."
After receiving the answer, the black-clothed figure retreated into the shadows and vanished into the darkness.
…
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