"...And that is roughly how things transpired." Inside the Hestia Familia residence, Liliruca recounted everything that had happened an hour ago. "Lord Soma wishes to see you."
Levi did not respond immediately upon hearing this. Instead, he glanced at the two goddesses sitting beside him.
Hestia and the young man were already close lovers, so she almost instantly sensed his confusion. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Soma was exactly like this when he was in Tenkai. He sets expectations on his own, gets disappointed on his own, and finally attributes all faults to others. So, if you don't want to see him, you can refuse directly."
Hephaestus also nodded her head in agreement. "That's right. Due to his personality, Soma has few friends to begin with. You don't need to worry that refusing him will inexplicably offend some powerful gods or Familias."
Although the two did not have much interaction with Soma, they all belonged to the 'Transcendental Existences' class. After tens of millions of years, they could roughly guess what the other party was thinking.
It was precisely because of this that while Hestia and Hephaestus did not say it out loud, they harbored strong dissatisfaction towards Soma in their hearts.
Good lord, he ignores his own dependents for all these years, but the moment he sees an outstanding child from another family, he starts planning all sorts of nonsense.
Please, acting like this is truly embarrassing for you as a fellow god!
Through the anime he had watched in his previous life, Levi could actually vaguely perceive what kind of idea God Soma was entertaining. Now that he had received confirmation from Hestia and Hephaestus, the guess in his heart was completely verified.
However...
Unlike the expressions of the two goddesses, who looked as if they had touched something dirty, he suddenly smiled at this moment.
"Since God Soma has issued an invitation, I will go and meet him."
"To be honest, I am actually somewhat curious about what kind of words will come out of his mouth next."
Seeing that Levi had made a decision, Hestia knew she couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she shrugged her shoulders. "Then I'll go with you."
Hephaestus sighed. "I won't go. My horoscope is naturally incompatible with that guy Soma. If I hear some idiotic remarks, I might not be able to stop myself from hitting him."
"Alright."
About forty minutes later.
Guided by Liliruca, Levi and Hestia walked into the Soma Familia residence through the main entrance.
Seeing the appearance of the two, many members within the residence revealed expressions of astonishment, or even shock.
Only then did they realize that during the two months Liliruca had disappeared, she had actually been taken in by the Hestia Familia.
Combined with the sparkling wine sold externally by the Guild, a conclusion was quickly reached: The Hestia Familia seemed to be planning to annex the Soma Familia!
The Soma Familia was, in essence, a deformed existence that could barely be maintained by relying on the obsession with Soma Divine Wine. Within the Familia, there used to be many adventurers truly loyal to Soma, but over the past twenty-plus years, their wills had all been altered by Zanis using Divine Wine, or by God Soma's inaction.
As for the members of the Soma Familia, those with slightly better personalities might obtain Divine Wine through legitimate means. However, those with terrible personalities simply did not care about so-called Familia honor. As long as it allowed them to taste the Divine Wine, it simply didn't matter if they got involved with 'the Evils' or numerous gray industries.
Now discovering that they could lean on the Hestia Familia, this group of guys who had long since lost their dignity immediately revealed looks of excitement one by one.
After the figures of Hestia and Levi disappeared into the corridor, they began muttering and communicating about how they should borrow the authority of the Hestia Familia to bully others.
Levi, after two consecutive days of adjustment, had now modified the 'Magic Core: Ice' on his character panel into 'Heaven's Feel (Fragment)'.
[Heaven's Feel (Fragment) · Ice · 6-Star (-)]
[No Chanting]
[Permanent Passive: All Ability Stats except Magic drastically increased (+1000), Magic recovery drastically increased]
[Permanent Passive: Obtain Development Ability 'Spirit Healing S']
[Permanent Passive: Every Lv, Magic Ability Stat or potential value drastically increased (+1000)]
[Mana Burst · Basic: Imbues self with Ice Attribute Enchantment, all Ability Stats except Magic drastically increased (+1000)]
[Mana Burst · Wrap/En/Blade/Shield/Element... Ice Mist Domain...]
The attributes of 'Heaven's Feel (Fragment)' were similar to the Noble Phantasm of 'Dress of Heaven Class Card', only lacking the 'White Grail' domain and the 'Black Grail' domain.
But the buff providing 1000 points of potential Magic Ability Stat or existing Magic value for every Lv allowed Levi's Magic to surpass his Durability, which had been his highest stat until now.
It was also known that due to the 'Chakra Semi-Progenitor' skill, his magic nature had changed from pure Mind to a fusion of Mind and physical stamina.
Thus, accompanied by the increase in Magic attributes, Levi's five senses had unknowingly become increasingly sharp. For instance, right now, even though he had clearly walked into Soma's room, he could still hear the whispers from the corridor and downstairs.
"Although I had long heard of your Familia's situation, seeing it with my own eyes..." Levi exhaled a breath of turbid air, a look of obvious disgust appearing on his face. "It truly makes one want to vomit."
Soma acted like an outsider, paying absolutely no mind to the slander the person in front of him directed at his children. Or rather, he actually thought so as well.
Liliruca, on the other hand, slightly clenched her hands into fists upon hearing this. It was unclear if her self-esteem was hurt by Levi's words, or if it was because of Soma's silence.
Hestia opened her mouth at this moment: "Soma, I won't say any unnecessary nonsense. Didn't you want to see my child? Here, he is here now."
Soma paused for a moment upon hearing this.
He raised his head, and through the gap in his bangs, he observed the pale-gold-haired young man standing opposite him. After about three seconds, he suddenly scooped up a ladle of the wine liquor brewing in front of him and handed it to Levi.
"Drink it. If you can pass my test, then the Soma Familia is yours."
"..." x2
Hearing the words of this Wine God, leaving Levi aside, expressions of disbelief flashed successively across the faces of Hestia and Liliruca.
The twin-tailed goddess started scolding directly: "Soma, did you brew wine every day until your brain broke? You don't care about a single child of your own family, yet you run to my place to show off your authority?"
Liliruca also followed to persuade. She hadn't expected that the other party finding Levi through her was actually to give him a 'God's Trial'. "Lord Soma, please withdraw the decision you just made. Lord Levi is not easy to talk to... uh!"
Liliruca did not continue with her subsequent words.
It wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but that she was fixed in place by the Divine Might of Soma, who had suddenly revealed the eyes behind his bangs. As for the Wine God himself... he looked at Levi again as if he had done a trivial thing.
"Drink it, or, give up on your plan."
In this moment, the Divine Might belonging to a 'Transcendental Existence' permeated the room. Soma was a god after all. Usually appearing as if he didn't manage affairs and was easy to bully, that was because he didn't care.
But right now, merely by revealing a fraction of a god's great power, Liliruca, a holder of Lv.4 Falna, couldn't even make a single move. The other Soma Familia members located in the first-floor hall were also gasping for breath one by one, as if crushed by giant boulders.
As for Levi...
After hearing the other party's words, the young man with short pale-gold hair suddenly smiled.
"I once heard a saying. 'Humans are monkeys wearing clothes, while Gods are merely better-disguised humans.'"
While speaking, he took the wine ladle Soma was holding. "I used to think this saying was a bit excessive, but now it seems..."
After his voice fell, without even the slightest hesitation, he flipped his wrist and poured all the wine liquor in the ladle onto the ground.
Not! A! Single! Drop! Left!
____
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