The internal reform of the Soma Familia was sweeping.
Out of 312 members, eighty percent were cut at once—only sixty remained.
Sixty percent of those expelled were taken directly into custody by the Ganesha Familia, which all but pronounced their fate.
Of the remaining twenty percent—whose cases weren't as severe—they were simply driven out of the Soma Familia and became abandoned adventurers.
But even those "abandoned" ones would find it hard to join other familias in the future.
They had thoroughly ruined their names by what they'd done under Soma's banner.
The only message Soma sent to the outside world while making such a ruckus inside was this: from now on, he would personally manage his familia.
With that, any small schemes would be nearly impossible to pull off, and several taverns would need to renegotiate their partnerships with the Soma Familia.
Not necessarily a bad thing.
At the very least, trading with Soma was far preferable to dealing with a leech like Zanis.
Soma was much easier to work with than that shameless Zanis—if nothing else, Soma wouldn't sell watered-down divine wine.
The Soma Familia's drastic overhaul had the entire Labyrinth City munching on gossip.
Over on the Loki Familia's side, however, the gods found there was no gossip to eat at all.
Even as rumors spread through the city about a "new child" in the Loki Familia—and the power that child supposedly wielded—neither Loki nor anyone in her familia gave any public response.
"Looks like the effect is obvious."
Astraea lifted her teacup and mused at how smoothly Loki's plan was going.
"Expose a slice of that child's ability, then say nothing. Keep the whole city guessing about his specifics."
"'Summoner' is a well-crafted identity."
"Next expedition—if there's no need for a transport unit, the speculation becomes even more convincing."
"But that will also draw more attention to your child."
"Let them look," Loki said, utterly unconcerned with the city's mood. Everything was moving exactly as she'd envisioned.
"As for Freya—she's very good at seizing the moment and shoving the blame onto Ishtar."
"True. If Freya hadn't punctured things outright, the topic wouldn't have shifted to your child so fast. Ishtar clearly didn't want to reveal what she'd learned from that 'Transcendent' just yet; she wants to know more."
Astraea hadn't expected Freya to make that move, though Ishtar's reaction was about what she'd predicted.
"Freya's the same," Loki snorted.
"She only shoved the topic out in the open because I turned her down. Now she'll use her own methods to dig more intel about Tsunayoshi."
"Soma's situation also made a nice fuse to light."
"It lets us highlight Tsunayoshi's ability as a byproduct. On future expeditions we won't need to be so secretive—much more convenient."
"After this, Tsunayoshi can use puppets to start acting more broadly in the Labyrinth City."
"And for the next half-year," Loki continued, "we'll fix this perception in place until they're convinced Tsunayoshi's ability is that of a 'Summoner,' while he himself is cautious—perhaps even a child with notable shortcomings."
"He controls a special spatial technique, yet the 'Summoner' always hides behind the scenes—people will naturally assume the 'Summoner' himself has defects."
Astraea picked up the thread.
Loki nodded slightly. That was the outcome she wanted.
"Tsunayoshi is special—not only because of his abilities, but his identity."
"So unless it's necessary—and until he fully masters the power to protect himself—he shouldn't stand under the spotlight."
"But as an adventurer of the Labyrinth City, he'll inevitably be seen by the gods."
"If he can't stand in front, then something else must stand in front—stand under that spotlight."
Loki's lips curled.
"A powerful puppet on the stage should draw most of the gods' attention."
"As long as I don't report Tsunayoshi's level to the Guild, he remains a Lv.1."
"Until he reaches a certain height himself, Finn, Gareth, and Riveria are all his shields."
"I'll raise all my children higher, drawing more divine eyes."
"Tsunayoshi's power becomes more 'support-type'; aside from a handful of busybodies who love to pry, the rest will swallow it whole."
"Just like the worry I had at first—children with abilities that stand out too much often have flaws in themselves."
Astraea nodded faintly.
"Overwhelming power can constrain one's personal growth."
"Or that immense power devours all of one's innate talent—the price of that power paid by oneself."
"This is what people call 'balance.'"
Astraea had long believed it. There were too many cases to count.
"Like the 'Silence' whose talent and gift shone astonishingly bright—yet whose life was tragically short."
"As if fate imposed the ultimate limit: brilliance as brief as a flash."
"A child like that is rare."
"And gods don't exactly hope for adventurers who are both too powerful and too inscrutable."
"As long as we mold that child into something similar, it's enough."
Having finished the main topic, Astraea still had a doubt.
"This time you used Soma as the detonator? Or did you want Soma to kick up noise as well, to help you siphon attention?"
Loki didn't dodge.
"Both."
"After Ishtar got intel from Raul's mouth, a lot of her girls started hovering near my home."
"That woman knows I haven't stepped out at all."
"But if you line that up with the intel she's holding—and the mirror facts from Soma's side—it's easy to deduce that I met with Soma."
"I'd planned to let Ishtar leak it. Who knew Freya would stick a hand in."
"As for Soma's side—he's a shut-in and stubborn. If not for Tsunayoshi drinking divine wine without any reaction, that homebody wouldn't have budged an inch."
"So you've confirmed the child is completely immune to the wine's addictive pull?"
Loki shook her head slightly.
"I knew Tsunayoshi wouldn't be caught. His abilities can handle all sorts of situations."
"But I didn't expect him to do it without using those abilities—he actually drank it and didn't react at all."
"Next time he should give me a heads-up, or he'll scare me to death."
Thinking back still left Loki a bit shaken.
Of course, the result was good.
"As for the third goal—I just wanted to mess around. A little mischief."
(End of Chapter)
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