Chương 37: Meeting Lili Again, and a Simple Choice

"That said, even though Hestia Familia has more members now, our home really cannot meet our needs anymore." Hestia folded her arms, and a trace of worry passed between her brows.

"I cannot do anything for everyone. I feel so useless."

"Lady Hestia, how can you think that? Our Familia has only just begun. Even Loki Familia started from somewhere like this, didn't they? Their palace was built by the members themselves."

"Leave everything to us." Cael patted his chest and spoke with complete confidence. Besides, Lady Hestia only had to handle the important work of being cute.

"One day, we will have you living in a huge, gorgeous palace. That is when Hestia Familia will finally have the presence it deserves." For example, he and Rengoku could make a loud show of themselves in the Dungeon, display some ridiculous heroic brilliance, and instantly attract the attention of gods with bad intentions. Then those gods would launch a War Game to get their hands on them. With a little clever handling, Hestia Familia would have everything. The Familias that started War Games were usually mid-tier.

Small Familias did not dare start them, and no one cared about their property anyway. Large Familias did not need that kind of game. If they had a problem, they usually crushed it head-on. Only mid-tier Familias had enough confidence and ambition to try swallowing another Familia's assets and members. Their captains were usually Lv. 3 at most. They might have more members, but most were Lv. 2 or Lv. 1. Against Hestia Familia's absurd lineup, those people would be practice targets.

"Cael..." Hestia's eyes turned watery with emotion as she held his hands.

"Meeting a child like you makes me so happy."

"I feel the same, Lady Hestia." Cael smiled and held Hestia's hands. So soft.

"Right. Cael, I will be away on business for two or three days. If Kyojuro's friends come while I am gone, make sure you keep them here, okay?" Hestia's lips curved into a semicircle, her cheeks rosy, her whole face saying she was about to do something important.

"No problem. Leave it to me. I will make sure every last one of them stays." Cael watched Hestia happily bounce away, and a warm smile rose on his face. If all the Hashira became members of Hestia Familia, then becoming Orario's strongest Familia would only be a matter of time.

"Now we wait." The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Next, Cael planned to go to the Dungeon to earn money. In Orario, money was important. Nothing worked without it. He stopped by the Guild first and was immediately grabbed by the collar by Miss Eina, who questioned him angrily.

"Something that dangerous happened yesterday, and you did not even come tell me you were safe? I was worried sick, do you understand?" Only after Cael apologized sincerely did she finally stop scolding him. After that, he prepared some food and water before heading to Daedalus Square to meet Lili. It seemed, however, that Lili had run into a little trouble. Cael had known this kind of thing happened. Still, actually seeing it for the first time filled him with anger.

Not far from the fountain in Daedalus Square, inside a small grove, three adventurers whose faces and eyes practically advertised what kind of trash they were had surrounded a petite Supporter carrying an enormous backpack. Anyone could tell bullying was about to happen. Even so, the adventurers who noticed only glanced over coldly before walking away as if nothing had happened. None of them intended to help. After all, there were three of them.

Kindness could bring trouble down on your own head, and no one wanted that.

"Hey, Arde, stop playing dumb. We all saw it last night. You teamed up with that rookie brat and earned a lot of money. A full twenty thousand valis. Hand it over."

"Ah!" A middle-aged chienthrope adventurer shoved her hard to the ground and reached out his hand. The two adventurers behind him crossed their arms with malicious smiles. If she did not listen, they clearly planned to make her suffer.

"I... I did not receive any money yesterday. I was only the Supporter. Why would an adventurer give me that much?" Lili shook her head fearfully from where she had fallen.

"Hmph. Looks like you still do not understand, Arde. Do we need to help you remember? You are nothing but a useless Supporter. How dare you disobey orders from us adventurers?" A shaggy-haired adventurer raised his foot with rotten malice on his face and stepped onto her shoulder. Pain twisted Lili's face, and she bit her lip.

"No. That adventurer never shared anything with me." She refused to hand over the money she had earned yesterday.

"Still running that mouth? Who do you think let a useless Supporter like you become a member of Soma Familia in the first place?" He was about to teach her a lesson, but before his foot could rise, a white longsword stabbed into the ground beside it with a sharp clang. Half the blade sank into the earth.

"Bastard! Who was that?" The chienthrope adventurer went pale with fear. He immediately raised his head and glared in the direction of the attack. A black-haired, black-eyed young adventurer walked toward them without expression. Blue Magic light glowed around both his hands, and two white longswords slowly formed within that light.

"Mr. Cael?" Lili, still pinned to the ground, abruptly raised her head and murmured in disbelief.

"Oh, the rookie adventurer who teamed up with this brat?" the shaggy-haired adventurer said, spitting on the ground with a vicious look.

"What do you want, brat? Looking for trouble?" The other two adventurers also glared at him and put their hands on their sword hilts. Cael immediately put on a warm, friendly smile.

"Oh, no, no, no. Please do not misunderstand. I simply saw everyone having fun here and wanted to join in. After all, I have some connection with this Supporter." The middle-aged chienthrope adventurer burst out laughing.

"Hahaha. What, you want a cut too? Makes sense. We are all adventurers here." Lili bit her lip. The light left her eyes, and she tugged her hood lower to hide them. Of course. For one instant, she had imagined he had come to help her. How stupid. Adventurers were all the same. Everything he said yesterday had been a lie.

"But brat, why should we let you have a share?" the shaggy-haired adventurer asked with a mocking look.

"No, no. I am not here for the money. I saw my friends bullying this Supporter just now. This big brother shoved her down, and you stepped on her. Did it feel good?" Cael smiled as he spoke. Lili looked up at him, eyes wide.

"Oh, so you want to bully this brat too? Hahaha! Of course it feels good. A brat like this cannot fight back anyway." The three adventurers burst into laughter. Lili swallowed fearfully. Her body trembled. These were no adventurers. Monsters lived inside their hearts.

"Good. Then I will give everyone two choices." Cael's eyes gradually turned cold. His smile remained, but his voice dropped like ice.

"First, kneel and apologize to my Supporter.

"Second, leave behind the hand that pushed her and the foot that stepped on her.

"If you want dignity, keep it yourselves. If you do not, I will help you keep it."