"Loki, aren't we going to bring her over?"
"Conversion has to be voluntary. If that shut-in won't allow it, we can't force his child to defect."
It sounded capricious to Tsunayoshi. Loki's interest in the little Pallum had flared in a moment—and dimmed just as fast once Soma changed his stance.
"So it's someone in the Soma Familia who's about to be unlucky, huh~"
A wide smile—and the malice tucked behind it—bloomed on Loki's face.
"Did their captain offend you, Loki?"
"He sold me fake wine."
Fake wine.
Tsunayoshi blinked. The Soma Familia ran a business; what they sold the world was Soma's god-wine. Because it tasted too good, even a thimbleful fetched a sky-high price. And fools still lined up to pay it—just to taste Soma's craft.
"Selling fakes is a bit much."
"I've 'heard' Soma's wine is pretty pricey."
"Not 'pretty pricey'—obscenely expensive."
Loki corrected him with uncommon gravity. Whenever she recalled the price, it felt like she was drinking money, not wine.
"A tiny cup goes for 100,000 valis; a bottle is over 3 million."
"For that much, you could buy a decent magic sword."
"And that bastard still watered it down and sold it to me. Leaving trash like that in the Familia is on that shut-in."
Just mentioning the fake had Loki's liver aching with fury.
"Soma must know, right?"
"Yeah. He's a hermit, not an idiot. He knows who's doing what in his house—he just can't be bothered. A god disappointed in his kids can be that heartless."
"But once he sorts out the cause and blame, we might hear about a Soma-Familia shake-up by tonight."
"Odds are the current captain—the 'Wine Warden'—is headed for a lifetime in a Guild cell."
Loki's smile turned wicked; clearly, the fake wine still stuck in her throat.
"Soma will arrest his own captain? How is this sort of mess usually handled?"
Tsunayoshi was curious.
"Generally? There's a split: the method from three years ago, and the one used now."
"Three years… you mean before and after the Great Strife?"
Tsunayoshi thought a moment and ventured a guess.
"Because offenders used to defect to the Dark Faction?"
"Smart."
Loki nodded.
"That was the labyrinth city's old headache."
"Adventurers who committed crimes were lured into Dark Faction Familias, then used to infiltrate Orario from within."
"Because of that—and other reasons—the lax approach from three years back hardened into strict vigilance."
"Especially for offending adventurers: to keep them from being tempted by the Dark Faction, the Guild brands them with a seal that wipes them out as adventurers."
"They tweak the Blessing so conversion is impossible—and strip the adventurer of all trained power."
"The Guild makes them ordinary people."
That punishment hit like a hammer.
Hearing it, Tsunayoshi drew a sharp breath. To tear away hard-won strength—brutal.
"But that kind of tool could be abused, right?"
"Mm-hmm. Which is why sentences for offending adventurers are extremely strict—and only Uranos can pass them."
"Uranos sits the underground altar beneath the Guild. He doesn't meddle in the city's petty balance—so no one fears he'll abuse the right."
"Also, Uranos oversees the gods' self-seals. As overseer, he can, when necessary, temporarily permit a god to use divine power again."
"So he's the best one to wield this measure."
"No one can threaten Uranos. Not gods; certainly not adventurers."
Tsunayoshi now understood why judgment rested with Uranos: a god on neither side of the scales is best suited to keep them level.
"Sooo—selling me fake wine means that bastard is finished."
Loki's expression turned feral. She could nurse a grudge for a lifetime.
"Skimming Familia profits and interfering with the city's tax take… those two charges alone are enough to end that greedy rat."
"In the past, the shut-in looked away because he didn't want to deal with it. But once he decides to act, the only option is to cough everything back up."
Exhaling as if she'd set down a weight, Loki dropped onto the sofa beside Tsunayoshi and gave his thigh a light pat.
Tsunayoshi obligingly shifted, and Loki let her head tumble into his lap. Her cheeks flushed deeper; a faint fragrance of wine drifted from her.
"Haah… that god-wine really is something."
"But for a liquor even gods can't stomach, you handled it fine—didn't even seem affected."
Loki was drifting. Not so far as a mortal would—mindless and lost—but her eyes were hazy with drink.
Tsunayoshi offered no explanation. He set a fingertip aglow with warm orange flame and lightly touched Loki's brow. The heat circulated through her body.
In the next instant, the fog in Loki's eyes cleared. The stiffness and discomfort left her limbs as well.
"Harmony… so that power doesn't just petrify. It can harmonize foreign substances and steady the body."
"Yes. The sky isn't only intimidation—it's profoundly capacious. That's why it can hold so many weathers."
"What an excellent ability."
Loki couldn't help but sigh.
(End of Chapter)
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