Chương 100: Toward Soma Familia

"That is true, but I am stronger than before too. My strength is on par with Lv. 4." Cael looked at the worry between Hestia's brows and confidently raised his arm, flexing the biceps that barely had any muscle to show. His remaining Basic Abilities were also around two thousand. Doubled, that became four thousand. His fight with Aisha had let him calculate the gap. Suppose a Lv. 1 had 500 in an ability, a Lv. 2 also had 500, and a Lv. 3 also had 500. Because a Lv.

2's ability values were much more refined than a Lv. 1's, they could be counted as roughly double. A Lv. 3 would be even more refined, roughly triple a Lv. 1. By that estimate, 500 plus 1000 plus 1500 made 3000. Aisha's values were certainly more than 500, so Cael estimated her at around 4000. Even on his own, his values were still higher than Aisha's at Lv. 3. She had three Development Abilities, so he was not her match in close combat, but in almost every other aspect, he held the advantage. Only Lv.

4 combat power could suppress a Lv. 3 like that. At full output, Cael could undoubtedly reach Lv. 4.

"I believe in everyone's strength," Hestia said.

"But outside Orario, there are other powers too. Forget it. We will talk about that when the time comes." She sighed. For now, there was no choice but to proceed.

"In any case, leave the next steps to me. Also, there are still seventeen days until Denatus, so everyone's titles will have to wait. I am actually looking forward to what titles they will receive." Hestia took responsibility for the next steps, then spoke with anticipation. After that, she reminded Cael of a few things and left the basement to work. She did not say it, but Cael knew she was now working two jobs at the same time to repay the debt for the two swords in his hands.

Making Hestia unhappy left Cael feeling guilty, but even if he had to do it again, he would still act the same way. I will explain it to you later. When the time came, Cael knew Hestia would support him no matter what, as long as he remained firm. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. Then only Cael and Lili remained in the basement.

"Lili." Cael smiled with exaggerated sweetness as he walked toward Lili, waggling his fingers.

"Did reporting me feel satisfying?"

"Th-this... Lady Hestia asked Lili. A-and Lord Cael was wrong in the first place. Lili only..." Lili timidly shrank her neck and stepped backward until she reached the corner and had nowhere to retreat.

"Only what? If Lili does not give me a good explanation, then you are getting tickled until you apologize." Cael laughed with obvious mischief.

"Lili only did not want Lord Cael to go astray." Her eyes drifted around as if searching for an escape route.

"Oh? Go astray?"

"Aaaah, Lord Cael!" Soon, laughter and pleading came from the basement.

"No, spare Lili, Lord Cael. Lili will not tell on you next time."

"Next time? So you will tell on me the time after that?" A few minutes later, Lili collapsed on the sofa, breathless and red-faced from laughing.

"Lord Cael is awful..." Between Cael's index and middle fingers was a feather he had projected with Projection Magecraft. Unlimited Blade Works could project more than swords. As long as he was especially familiar with an object, he could project it too, though the difficulty was much higher.

"Hehe. Lili was clearly worse."

"How did Lord Cael know Lili is ticklish?" Lili puffed out her cheeks and put her shoes back on, looking at Cael with resentful eyes. The memory of that feather only made her glare at him harder. Still, she knew Lord Cael acted like this only with people close to him. Toward outsiders, he was calm, even a little cold. With his own people, he was completely different.

"Now it is time for serious business. Let us go, Lili." Cael walked up the basement stairs and waved to her.

"Are we going to the Dungeon? Or the Middle Floors? Lili still recommends going with Lord Rengoku and the others."

"We are not going to the Dungeon today."

"Then where are we going?" Lili asked in confusion. Other than Dungeon adventuring, what else was there to do? The Drop Items had already been sold, and Lord Cael had no equipment to repair.

"Did we not agree on this before? We are going to help you leave Soma Familia." Cael smiled.

"Fortunately, Soma is a reclusive god. If he ran around like Hermes, I really would not know where to find him." Hearing his words, Lili froze. Her eyes trembled slightly. She pressed her lips together, warmth spreading through her body. Then she gritted her teeth.

"Actually, it does not matter whether Lili leaves Soma Familia. Things are already good now. Lord Cael does not need to take risks for Lili. Lord Soma... he will not listen to anyone. We might even have to face the whole Soma Familia, so..." Cael turned and looked at Lili with her head lowered. Did Lili want to leave Soma Familia? Of course she did. But the first thing she considered now was Cael's safety. After all, Soma Familia's captain knew Lili had a large sum of money.

For members of Soma Familia who valued money above almost anything, letting Lili leave would be like trying to steal from a starving wolf.

"Is this enough for you? Are you satisfied like this? I am not. I want Lili to become Lili of Hestia Familia. I want to cut the chains around you. Otherwise, it will keep eating at me."

"Nothing will change my mind. Not even my goddess." Cael smiled as he said something forceful and selfish. Once he made a decision, he would not change it. He would never regret doing what he wanted to do, because not doing it would be the true regret.

"Let us go, Lili. I will not wait." He opened the door and walked out. Moved by Cael's forceful words, Lili bit her lip and followed him. Stupid Lord Cael. He only knows how to bully people.