Soma stepped forward until he stood before Lili.
He looked at Lili, who was being supported by Hestia and two puppets, and finally spoke.
"What is your name?" Truth be told, Soma already knew Lili.
Lili had been born into the Soma Familia. Her parents, striving to save money, had ventured into the Dungeon and lost their lives when she was just a child.
During Lili's earliest years, it was Soma himself who had looked after her.
Because of this, Lili was one of the rare children Soma actually remembered.
However, as Lili grew older, Soma had gradually withdrawn his attention.
Now, Soma wanted to truly know this child he felt he had 'abandoned'.
"Liliruca Arde. My name is Liliruca Arde."
Supported by Hestia and the puppets, Lili struggled to stand on her own feet. She lifted her head, her gaze firm and resolute as she met Soma's eyes.
"Lord Soma, I wish to leave the Soma Familia. Please remove your Blessing from me."
Though her voice was weak, the will behind it was unshakable.
Hearing her words, Soma regarded Lili with utter seriousness.
"Liliruca Arde. I will remember it." Soma carefully carved this name into his heart. "Your request, I grant. Please bare your back."
His words immediately brought a look of joy to Lili's face. She moved to lift her clothes, but her body, drained of strength, went limp.
"Hestia, please," Soma said, his tone unexpectedly gentle as he saw Lili's condition.
Hearing that softness in his voice, Hestia was genuinely surprised, a slight smile touching her lips.
"So, you've actually changed for the better, huh."
Hestia helped Lili adjust her clothing, exposing her back which bore the intricate pattern of the Soma Familia's Blessing.
Soma raised his hand to his mouth and bit down on his own finger, breaking the skin.
Compared to using a needle or a blade, biting one's finger was far more painful and inconvenient.
In the mortal world, gods possessed physical bodies no different from ordinary humans.
Soma's action would leave his finger sore for days.
Divine blood welled from the wound and dripped onto Lili's back. A blue light emanated from the point of contact.
The pattern of Lili's Blessing shimmered into view, and just like that, Soma's Blessing was severed. All that remained was for Hestia to inscribe her own Falna, completing the transfer of allegiance.
"Hestia," Soma turned his gaze to the goddess. "Liliruca Arde... I entrust her to you now."
With that, even before Hestia could begin the ritual to bestow her own Blessing,
Soma walked over to Loki.
"Let's go, Loki. Didn't you intend to bring charges against my Familia? We should proceed to the Guild now to handle the necessary formalities."
Inside, Soma felt a calm similar to before.
But one thing was different.
Where once he had felt only disappointment for the mortal world, now he looked upon the future with a flicker of hope.
However...
Soma had taken only a few steps before he paused, turning to face Loki with a serious expression.
"Loki, concerning what my children have done these past few days, I have no knowledge of it. I don't know what they did. Of course, that is no excuse to shirk responsibility. You claim my children stole from you and sold your goods."
"Therefore, the large quantity of brewing materials I recently acquired must have been purchased with the profits they made from selling what they took from you."
"If it is at all possible, I am willing to pay any price to buy back the items you lost. If they cannot be recovered, Loki, you may simply name a price, and I will do everything in my power to compensate you."
"So long as you do not dissolve my Familia, or have me sent back to Heaven."
Wealth meant nothing to Soma.
If he truly wished to make money, he could casually toss out a few bottles of his divine wine. Even without that, simply refining a few ordinary wine recipes for his children to produce and sell in Orario would generate immense profits.
He hadn't done so before because he had been so disillusioned with the children of his Familia that he let them run wild.
But now, Soma had decided to take charge of his Familia.
He was well aware of what Sanjouno had done under his deliberate negligence. He hadn't cared then, but now, to prevent other children like Lili from being ruined, Soma resolved to have faith in his children and guide them properly, just as Loki and Hestia did.
The prerequisite for this was that his Familia must not be dissolved, and he must not be forced to return to Tenkai.
Therefore, Soma desperately needed Loki's understanding.
Hearing Soma's words, Loki's heart leapt with secret delight.
What real benefit would she gain from dissolving the Soma Familia and sending Soma back? Absolutely none!
At best, she could confiscate his entire stockpile of divine wine.
And she'd get a pile of brewing materials. As for money? The members of the Soma Familia spent like water. Even the recent profits from selling the comics had been converted into more materials, so recouping actual cash was nearly impossible.
And since Loki didn't know how to brew, those materials would just have to be sold off to others.
So now, with Soma offering compensation, Loki was perfectly happy to agree. Calculating at one thousand Valis per book, for sixty percent of Orario's population...
Soma wouldn't get off without paying well over a billion.
(A/N: Since I couldn't find the exact setting, let's use Academy City as a reference: 2.3 million people. Let's say Orario has 2 million. Sixty percent is 1.2 million. Multiply by a thousand, that's 1.2 billion. I considered changing it to one hundred Valis per book, but decided against it in the end.)
(1.2 billion sounds exaggerated. In the original story, Bell's debt of two hundred million for his knife scared off plenty of people. But different Levels mean different earning capacities. As Tiona needs four million just to get her sword serviced sometimes. And that giant bladed weapon, the one that got melted in the side story, cost one hundred and twenty million.)
For Soma, a billion might not be a big deal at all.
Given Soma's abilities, all he needed to do was modify a single wine recipe, create a brew that could be sold all over Orario, and he could undoubtedly make the entire city love it.
Even if a bottle sold for one hundred Valis, with a profit of just ten Valis...
A billion Valis would only take Soma a month or two to earn.
After all, the largest demographic in Orario was adventurers, and they loved to drink. You could never have too much alcohol.
So, for Soma, anything that could be solved with money wasn't a real problem. The only thing limiting his earnings was production capacity.
And for Loki, since Soma wouldn't care how much she squeezed out of him, then squeezing out as much as possible was definitely the right move.
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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If you guys wanna check it out.