Chương 101: Soma Familia

The outer edge of the Fifth Ring, South Main Street. Orario was divided not only by eight great streets, like a cake cut into slices, but also by seven rings that formed a neat spiderweb across the city. From the Fifth Ring outward, most districts belonged to ordinary citizens. By the Seventh Ring, the streets were already close to slums and ruined neighborhoods. Soma Familia's home stood in the Fifth Ring. By location, it should have looked like a common residence. Instead, Soma Familia occupied a garden mansion.

That was not strange. Soma was a god of wine, and the wine he sold was extremely expensive. His divine wine was especially coveted. Adventurers chased after it, and even gods were willing to pay heavy prices for a single sip. With money like that, building a garden mansion here was perfectly reasonable. In front of Soma Familia's tightly closed gate, a crowd had gathered like addicts begging outside a locked door.

"Please, Lord Soma, give me one cup. I will do anything."

"Just one sip. I only need one sip, Lord Soma."

"I brought money. I brought a lot of money. Please."

"I cannot live without it anymore."

"One sip. Just one sip is enough." No matter how they begged, the Soma Familia members guarding the gate did not move. Their faces even carried a faint arrogance, as if they stood above the people outside.

"No wonder Soma completely lost hope in his Familia," Cael muttered.

"Unless the god is evil, no god in Orario would be proud of this." Looking at the scene, he felt as if he were watching addicts gather for drugs. Was Soma's divine wine really that addictive? What a shame. Because of his Skill, Cael might never experience the blissful drunkenness those people craved.

"They are nothing but scum," Lili said without mercy.

"Lili doubts there is another Familia in Orario as rotten as this one." While their god ignored everything, Soma Familia had touched countless dirty businesses. Lili would not have been surprised if they had ties to the underworld.

"Let us go," Cael said.

"We will break in directly." Two swords slowly appeared in his hands, and a sharp pressure burst out around him. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The people crowded near the gate scattered in terror when they saw an adventurer walking toward them with naked hostility.

"What is going on? An intruder?" The gatekeepers' faces twisted in alarm. Before they could react, two swords flew from Cael's hands and struck the wooden gate. With a blast of light and sound, the gate exploded. Splinters flew outward like shrapnel, and the guards near the entrance were thrown to the ground, groaning. Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. The alarm bell rang through the mansion.

"Lord Cael really just broke in..." Lili stared blankly for a moment. Attacking the home of a Familia with more than one hundred members was almost too direct. But she quickly calmed down. Lord Cael was someone who had defeated the Monster Rex. Soma Familia's captain, Zanis Lustra, was only Lv. 2. Cael strode into Soma Familia's courtyard. Because of the alarm, more than a dozen adventurers had already gathered there with swords in hand, glaring at him.

More people rushed out from the mansion and corridors, carrying swords, spears, and shields.

"You dare invade Soma Familia's home?"

"Drive him out!"

"Catch him!" Cael ignored their shouting and gave a short whistle.

"Lili, count to three." Lili had not even answered when Cael vanished from where he stood. A dark blur flashed through the courtyard. The adventurers who had rushed forward scattered across the ground, clutching their bodies and crying out in pain.

"Wh-what? Lv. 4? Impossible. Soma Familia never provokes strong adventurers. How could this..." Zanis Lustra, Soma Familia's captain, had just walked out of the mansion. He usually tried to look refined, but now his face twisted into something ugly. When he saw Lili, he understood at once.

"Lili! So that is it. This boy is the one who crippled Canoe for you. You found someone to back you up and came here to settle old scores?"

"Lord Zanis, Lili is not here for revenge." Lili gritted her teeth.

"Lili is not as rotten as all of you. Lili only wants to leave Soma Familia."

"Still lying even now?" Zanis drew the sword at his waist, his expression warped by anger. But before he could move, a cold sensation spread through his shoulder. Hot blood splashed across his face, and his shoulder suddenly felt lighter.

"Too slow," Cael said as the sword in his hand faded away.

"Someone like you is not fit to be an adventurer." He did not even look back as he walked into the mansion. Lili hurried after him. Behind them, Zanis's scream tore through the courtyard.

"My arm! My arm!" With Lili leading the way, Cael arrived at the room where Soma brewed wine. The room was dim, almost like a witch's hut filled with strange objects. Bottles and jars were piled carelessly in the corners, and the containers on the shelves leaned at odd angles as if no one had organized them in years. In the center of the room stood a god in a dust-stained white robe. His hair was unkempt, and he looked like a man who had forgotten how to speak. He stirred a waist-high vat with a wooden rod.

An intoxicating aroma drifted from the vat and formed a hazy mist above it. Soma seemed so absorbed in brewing that nothing outside the wine could move him. Lili remembered that Lord Soma had not always been like this. When she first joined Soma Familia, he had looked after her. At some point, however, he had sunk deeper and deeper into his wine. Whether things were right or wrong, he stopped caring. Even the disappearance of Familia members failed to move him.

"I apologize, Lord Soma, for meeting you in this way," Cael said. He placed his right hand over his shoulder in a formal Roman-style salute. In the Lower World, gods were not physically stronger than ordinary people. Even a Lv. 1 adventurer could kill their mortal body. But their true existence was still divine. Cael did not underestimate him. Soma did not answer. He only continued stirring the vat. Cael took Lili's hand and stood before him.

"If I drink your divine wine and do not drown in it, will you hear me out for a moment, Lord Soma?" Soma's hand paused. He raised his head, his lifeless eyes showing faint surprise. Then he took a bottle from the shelf, poured a cup, and placed it in front of Cael.

"Drink."