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There was a reason Lili felt so uneasy.
It was simple.
She trusted no one.
Unlike her, both Bell and Ais trusted Anos almost completely. Because of that, they never felt the constant fear she did.
After defeating the floor boss, things became much easier.
Anos had no intention of descending deeper for now. Ais's stamina and physical condition had not fully recovered.
So the remaining time was mostly spent training Bell.
After returning to the upper floors and finishing some specialized training with Bell, the group returned to the Adventurers Guild.
"Go ahead and exchange these."
Anos patted the head of Liliruca Arde, who had once again drifted close to his side out of habit.
"Eh? …Oh… right…"
Lili blinked blankly, still slightly dazed.
Even after returning to the surface, she had unconsciously stayed close to him.
When they first returned to Babel Tower and noticed the strange looks from other adventurers, she had instinctively let go of his hand.
But now she had drifted back to the same state again, unconsciously moving closer.
She even followed his instructions automatically.
It wasn't until she reached the Guild counter that she finally came back to her senses.
"This is all the magic stones?"
The receptionist who handled her request was Misha Flott, the junior of Eina Tulle.
At the moment, Eina and several other staff members were busy counting the huge number of magic stones brought back by the Loki Familia.
Today's harvest was several percent higher than yesterday's.
Watching from the side, Anos smiled as the Loki Familia members smiled.
Right now it was only the Loki Familia.
But someday…
Every familia would become his workforce.
They could fight on the front lines.
He would simply enjoy the results.
"The total is 2,300,000 valis."
After a long calculation, Misha announced the number.
"Wha…"
Lili instinctively swallowed.
She had seen amounts like this before.
But earning that much in a single day, while spending most of the time training others instead of hunting monsters…
She simply could not comprehend what kind of person Anos was.
Did someone like that really need to scheme against her?
She hated adventurers, but even she had to admit that high-level adventurers had no reason to target someone like her.
Maybe…
He really was like the heroes from those epic stories.
Someone who saved a girl simply because he could.
Though those stories usually involved saving princesses or saints.
Not…
A small prum girl like her.
And besides, Ais clearly admired him.
Even Lili had to admit that she could never compare to the Sword Princess's beauty.
Ais was famous for her beauty said to rival the gods themselves.
A man surrounded by someone like that probably wouldn't be interested in her.
After eliminating every possibility, only one explanation remained.
Maybe the first thing he said had actually been the truth.
He simply needed a maid.
And she happened to be nearby.
At first, she had assumed Anos and Ais belonged to the same familia.
But during the Dungeon expedition, she gradually learned his real identity.
The newly formed captain of the Hestia Familia.
For a newly formed familia…
Recruiting members seemed perfectly normal.
"What are you thinking about? We're here."
Anos's voice interrupted her thoughts.
They had arrived at the territory of the Soma Familia.
The people there showed no concern about an outsider entering their territory.
No one even bothered to question him.
Typical Soma Familia behavior.
"We're… here already?"
Lili still looked a little confused.
"Yes. And it looks like someone came to greet us."
Anos glanced to the side.
He remembered this guy.
Sanis.
"Well well... If it isn't Lili."
Sanis Lustra grinned mockingly.
"So you came back after earning money to repay the familia that raised you?"
He had already noticed the fear and hesitation in Lili's eyes.
Dealing with girls like this was his specialty.
Bullying the weak was the most entertaining thing in the world.
THUD!
Before he could react, something struck him.
The world spun.
His vision dropped from faces to legs.
Only then did he realize something shocking.
He had been knocked down.
Pain flooded his head and limbs.
Warm liquid flowed from his nose onto the ground.
"…Did I just get one-shot?"
It took several seconds for the thought to register.
Yes.
He had probably been instantly defeated by the man standing beside Lili.
Because just before losing consciousness, he vaguely heard someone say:
"Not a very satisfying hit."
Well of course it wasn't.
People said things like, "She's cute, hitting her would feel satisfying."
Nobody ever said, "That guy looks disgusting, punching him will feel satisfying."
"Lord Anos… you hit Sanis, Will he still let me leave the familia?"
Lili asked.
Something in her heart had shifted slightly after seeing that punch But she also knew Sanis wasn't someone easy to deal with.
Normally, leaving a familia meant paying the captain, who then negotiated with the god.
Only then could someone transfer.
The god had delegated that authority to the captain.
Lili knew something else too.
The chance that the god himself would intervene was practically zero.
What she didn't know was that Anos had never planned to negotiate with the captain in the first place.
Why waste time calculating the perfect method for such a trivial problem?
Wouldn't it be better to use that time to predict tomorrow's Dungeon maps?
The solution was simple.
Go straight to the root of the problem.
The god himself.
Knock knock knock.
Anos casually knocked on the door of the god.
"Come in."
A gloomy, somewhat weak voice came from inside.
Click!
Without hesitation, Anos entered.
The one sitting inside was the god Soma.
"You are?"
Soma had already been intrigued by Anos's voice.
Now that the young man had entered, he set aside his research and examined him carefully.
His first thought was simple.
This human seemed unusual.
Then Anos spoke.
"My name is Anos."
He smiled.
"Soma. Want to work for me?"
"Eh? …EH?!"
Lili's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
They came here so she could leave the familia.
Why was he suddenly saying something that sounded like blasphemy?
"You… do understand what you are saying?"
Soma's expression flickered slightly before returning to calm.
"Of course."
Anos formed a magic circle in his hand.
Within it appeared a glass filled with freshly chilled divine wine.
"I'm asking the god Soma if he wants to work for me."
"This… is my bargaining chip."
His smile widened.
Coming to the Soma Familia had two purposes.
Picking up Lili was just a bonus.
His real goal was recruiting Soma.
Convincing most gods would be difficult.
Convincing Soma was easy.
All he needed to do was surpass him at the one thing he cared about most.
Wine.
"You want me… to taste it?"
Soma asked calmly.
He ignored Anos's bold declaration.
To the gods, humans were like children.
Their grand ambitions were often amusingly naive.
"Taste it? Perhaps."
"But whether it's tasting or not… that's for you to decide."
Anos handed him the glass.
As the chilled divine wine warmed slightly, its aroma began to spread.
Just a hint of that fragrance was enough to nearly make Lili faint.
She had tasted divine wine before.
She had lost to its power and become addicted.
Now that she smelled an even stronger version…
She almost collapsed again.
Just as she felt herself drifting into that intoxicating heaven, a pair of hands gripped her shoulders.
"You should wait outside."
A familiar voice.
Then suddenly—
When Lili came back to her senses…
She was already standing outside the door.
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~Support with 300 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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