"Lord Soma."
Alice's gaze towards the god Soma was as calm as autumn water.
Yet Soma, a deity, felt transparent under this mortal child's eyes, as if his very soul was being laid bare.
"You..."
Soma's mouth opened slightly. In this moment, the feeling Alice gave him was utterly unique.
He hadn't paid attention before, but now, with just one look, Soma realized this child was completely different from any other he had ever seen.
A thought suddenly sprouted in his heart.
'If it's this child... perhaps she wouldn't succumb to the wine.'
Ever since Soma established his Familia, watching his children drown themselves in his divine wine, he had grown disillusioned with the children of the lower world.
But now, for the first time in a long while, he felt the desire to share his divine wine with a child of the lower world.
Yet, at the same time, Soma was afraid. What if this special child also fell into the depths of the wine's intoxication?
"Lord Soma, you seem to look down on the children of the lower world a little," Alice said, her tone gentle, yet Soma heard an icy chill within it.
"Speaking of which, Lili, what were you planning to do when we first met?" Alice suddenly turned to Lili.
Caught off guard, Lili immediately flustered.
"Lady Alice?" Her face paled slightly.
Her first meeting with Alice, and even the few times after, weren't exactly pleasant memories.
"It's alright, you can say it," Alice reached out and gently patted Lili's head.
Alice's hand was cool to the touch, slightly cold, yet it filled Lili with a genuine warmth from within.
"Lili understands."
Taking a deep breath, Lili looked at Alice, a smile forming on her face.
Then she began to speak.
"The first time I met Lady Alice, I had just stolen all the money and equipment from three adventurers. While being chased by them, I saw Lady Alice entering the dungeon and deliberately led the trouble towards her."
"The second time I met Lady Alice, I stole her wallet."
Hearing this, everyone present frowned.
Lili had been staying at Alice's home, and while those present didn't know her deeply, they had assumed she had good character because of Alice's association with her.
And now this...
However, after hearing Lili's confession, though they frowned, none of them felt disgust towards her.
Except for Soma.
His gaze towards Lili shifted from curiosity sparked by Alice to utter indifference.
The others looked at Alice with confusion.
Loki scratched her head, "Alice-chan, why are you having Lili say all this?"
Hearing Loki's question, Alice smiled slightly. "In this city, a god's blessing is very important."
"So Loki, after hearing what Lili said, would you let her join your Familia?"
At this, Loki raised an eyebrow, then curled her lips.
"Depends. I'd use my own eyes to see if she's really like that. After all, I haven't met this Pallum girl more than a few times."
Seeing the smile on Alice's face now, Loki understood her meaning.
Alice smiled faintly at Loki's response, then turned to Hestia.
"And Hestia, knowing that Lili did such terrible things in the past, would you still let her join your Familia?"
Hestia answered matter-of-factly, "I don't know if Lili really did those things before. But from my interactions with her, I can tell she's not a hopeless child."
"I can acknowledge that Lili might have done those terrible things in the past. But if she became my child, I would absolutely never let her do those things again."
Hestia looked seriously at Lili.
Hearing the words of Hestia and Loki, Lili pursed her lips, lowered her head, and teardrops fell to the floor.
"Why..."
Soma was deeply perplexed.
"Why would you still accept a child with such a vile nature?" His tone was full of disbelief and confusion.
Soma didn't want to understand the character of his own children; he had already seen what his Familia members were like.
Though Lili's appearance had changed somewhat, Soma still clearly remembered how the girl before him had been utterly infatuated and lost in the divine wine.
Therefore, he was equally disappointed in Lili.
"Lord Soma, your disappointment in the children of the lower world stems from their intoxication with the wine, correct?" Alice looked at Soma with a smile.
Soma nodded.
"Loki, take out the divine wine you sneaked out earlier," Alice turned to Loki. Loki's actions had been subtle, but everyone present, except for the gods, had noticed—even Lili.
"Huh? Exposed already?" Loki scratched her head awkwardly.
"You were exposed from the start," Alice said with a laugh.
"Well, can't be helped then," Loki reached towards Lefiya, her hand going behind the elf's back.
"Lady Loki..." Lefiya shyly lowered her head.
Then, Loki pulled out two small bottles of divine wine from behind Lefiya.
It turned out that when they left Soma's room, Loki had secretly taken two bottles and tied them to Lefiya's back.
"Alice, you want some?" Loki handed one bottle to Alice, watching curiously to see what she would do.
Taking the bottle, Alice rolled her eyes at Loki's question. "If you want Lefiya and the others to fight me, then sure, I'll drink."
Just a single mug of ale could get her drunk.
If it were this divine wine, Alice was sure she'd do something even more astonishing.
She placed the divine wine in front of Lili and looked at her, asking softly,
"Lili, do you dare take a sip?"
Lili looked at the divine wine in Alice's hand, her eyes wide with terror. Her body even trembled, and she involuntarily took a step back.
Lili's reaction to the divine wine made a light spark in Soma's previously lifeless eyes.
Her response was beyond his expectations.
"Don't worry, I believe in Lili. So, Lili, believe in yourself too, okay?" Alice said gently.
Lili opened her mouth, then closed it. Seeing the calm in Alice's eyes,
she didn't speak, but her gaze grew resolute.
"Lili understands." Her hands were still trembling, but Lili took the divine wine.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.