People are naturally drawn to commotion.
Especially in Orario, the Labyrinth City where everyone loves to stir up trouble.
When they saw the Soma Familia surrounded by people, saw Adam leading them, and heard the Hero igniting conflict once again, everyone erupted in an uproar.
The cheers echoing throughout Orario drew countless onlookers to the scene.
As more spectators gathered around the Soma Familia, beads of sweat formed on Zanis's forehead, his expression growing increasingly panicked.
"W-wait... wait, wait, wait! I don't agree! I refuse!" He shouted desperately, trying to appeal to the gathered crowd.
His agitated state revealed his true intentions to everyone present.
"Captain Zanis, you may not understand the situation here." Adam stepped forward, patting his shoulder while speaking in a low voice, "At this point, whether you agree or not is no longer relevant."
Indeed, Adam had held the initiative from the very beginning. Step by step, he had lured his opponent into a carefully laid trap. Knowing Zanis's character, there was no doubt he had punished Lily in some way.
Adam seized upon this point to launch his offensive. First, he exposed the Soma Familia's scandal, stripping away Zanis's last shred of dignity and leaving him nowhere to hide. Then, taking the righteous stance of "fighting for a comrade", he forced Zanis to choose whether to hand over Lily.
In reality, both sides knew that surrendering her was impossible. This was clearly a ploy.
It was also Adam's prerequisite for the inevitable fight for his comrade.
To further pressure Zanis, he turned to his companions and called out, "Everyone! Shall we wage war to bring back our comrade, even if it means our destruction?"
Welf: "Of course! This bastard took Lilly away, I'll make him pay!"
Mikoto: "For Lady Lily's sake, I'll offer what little strength I have."
Bell: "Ah— for Lily's sake... I'll definitely save her!"
The trio who shared deep bonds with Lily naturally wouldn't refuse Adam's request, immediately showing their determination to fight.
"Goddess Hestia, what is your will?" He softly asked the petite Goddess.
Hestia declared loudly, "Ah, since you've all said as much, I also agree to save our Find your next favorite novel on NovelHub today!
No one had expected that the poor, weak Hestia would agree to wager V$100,000,000 and even initiate a War Game between Familias!
All for the sake of rescuing one girl!
And now, they witnessed it.
"Then, let our Familia's deity — Lady Hestia, formally submit a War Game challenge to your God Soma!"
After speaking, he forcefully pushed Zanis aside.
Adam and the others, led by Hestia, stormed into the Soma Familia headquarters.
"Wait!" Zanis cried out, chasing after them.
Upon entering, they found a strange atmosphere inside. Most members sat huddled in corners, motionless, with vacant eyes and blank expressions — as if under some kind of control. The entire Familia seemed devoid of vitality, like stagnant water.
Unlike her behavior outside, Hestia became aggressive the moment she entered.
After all, she had come here to pick a fight — how could she maintain a peaceful demeanor?
"Soma, Soma! Where are you, you shut-in? Come out right now! Come out!" She strode through the headquarters as if she owned it.
The Familia guards wanted to intervene, but seeing the Goddess Hestia with Adam, Bell, and the others behind her, they backed down — they simply couldn't afford to provoke them.
With no resistance, Hestia grew even bolder in her intrusion. Anyone watching might have thought this was her own Familia's headquarters.
"Soma, Soma! Where are you? Come out right now, you shut-in NEET!" Her words dripped with contempt.
Though Soma was indeed a reclusive shut-in, Hestia's brazen insults toward an enemy Familia's God showed complete disregard for their deity.
Yet the members remained unmoved.
Indeed, these people showed no sign of anger at Hestia's harsh words — not because they didn't dare, but because they simply didn't care.
No, in their hearts, they felt the same way. Some even harbored hatred for both the divine wine and Soma himself, just as Lily did.
'This Familia is finished.' Adam thought.
Their complete lack of reaction to their deity being insulted revealed how weak their sense of belonging truly was. If not for the divine wine binding them together, they might have disbanded long ago.
Perhaps Hestia's shouting had finally disturbed Soma. He appeared on the second floor, silently watching her approach.
"Soma! You shut-in NEET!"
His voice remained perfectly flat as her shout drew her attention.
Hestia rushed toward his location with everyone following behind. They climbed to the second floor and entered a secluded room, where a rich, intoxicating wine aroma lingered in their nostrils.
The God Soma who stood before them seemed somewhat unkempt.
Ordinary — that word could serve as his epithet.
His thick, disheveled hair covered his face, and he wore plain clothes that gave off a laid-back air. Unlike other deities with their distinctive characteristics, Soma appeared utterly ordinary, emanating no divine presence whatsoever.
His detached demeanor made him seem like nothing more than a reclusive shut-in. Even on the streets, passersby would likely mistake him for just another person.
Since descending to the lower world, this deity had shown little interest in developing his Familia. Instead, he spent his days secluded in his room, absorbed in brewing divine wines — a level of negligence rare even in Orario.
Without looking up, Soma asked, "Hestia, what urgent business brings you here?"
His hands never ceased their wine-making motions. The jar in his hands seemed to be his entire world, and he remained completely absorbed in it, as if trapped.
"I'm here to declare war!" Hestia shouted, her anger sparked by his indifference. She pointed at him, "Our Familia declares war on you, Soma! We demand your Familia member — Liliruca Arde! In exchange, we'll wager all assets of both the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia!"
At this unexpected name, Soma's hands paused briefly.
Within moments, though, he resumed his motions. Rather than answer, he addressed his Familia's captain standing behind the group.
"Zanis, handle this. Whether to accept or refuse, it's your decision."
Even in crisis, this deity remained detached from worldly affairs, choosing to be an absentee leader. It was precisely this indifference that had eroded his Familia members' respect.
Even Captain Zanis privately scorned Soma, despising this reclusive God who managed nothing.
"Zanis, you are the Soma Familia's captain, so you decide everything."
"Lord Soma, w-we cannot accept this!" Zanis scrambled to Soma's feet, pleading, "Our Familia is far too weak, we cannot accept a War Game with them!"
"Is that so." Soma continued his work.
But Adam could sense his disappointment in Zanis's choice.
Hestia stepped forward and said, "If you won't agree, then hand over Liliruca Arde!"
"Zanis, give her to them."
"No, we can't, Lord Soma!"
Soma's flat tone contrasted sharply with Zanis's panicked cry.
Of course, he refused Hestia's demand — if he handed over Lily, he would be finished!
"Zanis, I'll say it one more time — hand her over."
"No, we can't, Lord Soma!" Zanis pleaded.
But what he didn't expect was that this time, Soma wouldn't take his side and leave everything to him as before.
Instead, for the first time, Soma revealed his divine will. He raised the wine jar high and smashed it to pieces on the ground!
The rich aroma of wine spread throughout the room.
"Lord Soma... Lord Soma..." Zanis stood stunned.
Never before had he witnessed his deity make such a gesture.
Now Soma looked furious — worlds apart from his usual otherworldly, detached demeanor.
"Silence, Zanis! I am disappointed in you." Soma finally rose from his chair. Glaring coldly at Zanis, who lay prostrate on the ground, he said, "As captain of the Familia, you've done nothing but wallow in divine wine. You — all of you — are utterly disappointing."
"Lord Soma! Lord Soma!" Zanis couldn't believe his ears.
The deity who had always been lost in brewing wine, who never took action, was now expressing fierce disapproval!
But while Zanis reeled in shock, Adam's brow furrowed.
"Wait, Lord Soma, I disagree with what you've said."
Everyone stared at his sudden outburst, baffled by why he would speak up now.
"Oh? What do you disagree with?" Soma's curiosity was evident.
"There's a timeless truth I must share with you. When a child goes astray, the responsibility lies squarely with the parent. Lord Soma, as deity of your Familia, you are like their father. Yet when your Familia members — your children — made mistakes, you neither corrected nor guided them. Instead, you let them run wild, leaving them to grow untended. Your disappointment is self-righteous, for you have simply abandoned them. This is your failing."
Soma fell silent for a moment, his expression a mix of anger and wry amusement.
"...These Familia members drowning in divine wine, how could they be worthy of my guidance?"
"Is that so? That remains to be seen."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"There is one, isn't there? The girl you first had hopes for, then abandoned." Adam smiled at the God who showed renewed interest, "That one will definitely not disappoint you, Lord Soma."
"...Lily." Soma whispered softly.
Indeed, it was Liliruca Arde — the pallum girl Soma had raised in childhood and held expectations for, but abandoned after she fell under divine wine's spell, now long forgotten by him.
"Lord Soma, shall we make a wager?"
"Let's bet on whether Lily can break free from your divine wine's enchantment. How about it?"
"Very well, I accept." Soma didn't refuse.
Those colorless eyes once again filled with light. Perhaps in his subconscious, he too wanted change rather than letting the Soma Familia continue to rot.
"Zanis, bring Lily here."
"Lord Soma... alright, I'll go now." Zanis wanted to refuse, but seeing his deity's stern expression, he bit his lip and agreed.
"Wait — Bell, Welf, Mikoto, you three go with him." Adam didn't trust Zanis to bring Lily back willingly, so he sent the trio to protect her.
"Tch." Sure enough, Zanis clicked his tongue softly. His plan had failed.
After the four left to get Lily, only Soma, Hestia, and Adam remained in the room.
"You, your name?" Soma asked.
"Adam Carter." Adam bowed slightly in respect.
But Hestia wouldn't miss this chance to show off her child.
Patting his back, she proudly announced, "Hehehe, this child is the strongest in my Familia, and even has the title of Hero!"
Her utterly unconcealed pride showed she wanted Soma's envious gaze.
However, it didn't come.
"Ah, is that so." Soma remained as indifferent as ever.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
It wasn't until Bell and the others returned with Lily that the tension dissipated.
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The two small figures embraced.
Reuniting with Hestia and the others made Lily very happy.
However, one final trial awaited her.
"Lily, did Bell tell you about the divine wine?"
"Yes! If it's for Master Bell and Lady Hestia's sake, I'll face this trial!" Lily declared with resolve.
Soma said nothing. He simply handed her a cup of divine wine.
In his heart, that old feeling of expectation had returned. Could his Familia member — the child he had once favored — withstand this trial?
Lily took the divine wine.
As she gazed at the crystal-clear liquid and inhaled its intoxicating aroma, her expression grew troubled. Memories of being controlled by divine wine flooded back, spinning through her mind like a kaleidoscope.
She had always feared and loathed this wine. She had especially avoided this substance that had destroyed her family and brought her such hardship.
Though she had sworn never to touch it again, here she was — drinking it for herself, for her companions who cared about her. For Master Bell, for Lady Hestia, for everyone who had shown her kindness.
"I, Lily... I will overcome this trial!"
With steely conviction, she drank it all in one gulp!
The cup rolled across the floor.
The world warped around her. An endless intoxication swept through her, her consciousness twisting in waves of euphoria. Her limbs trembled uncontrollably, and she collapsed.
Rather than crying out in pain, her face flushed with pleasure. A smile crept across her face, her eyes grew unfocused, and her body went limp as drool trickled from the corner of her mouth.
A complete loss of dignity.
Surely she would fall now, becoming like those beasts who begged for divine wine!
Not just Soma, but even Hestia and the others feared she wouldn't survive this trial.
But at Bell's cry, Lily stirred.
A tear rolled down her cheek as the drunken smile faded. She slowly wiped away the drool.
Most importantly, her eyes blazed with brilliant light!
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