As Lili continued down the corridor, her heart was undeniably uneasy. In the end, whether she could successfully leave the Familia depended on the god's consent.
"Soma…"
Her feelings toward this god were complicated. When she was younger and had barely enough to eat, it was Soma himself who fried potato balls to fill his stomach.
When had she stopped visiting his room?
It was probably after being tricked by the former Familia captain, Zanis, into drinking divine wine. Ever since, Lili had never seen the god who once showed her kindness.
Standing in front of the brewing room door, her gaze flickered with hesitation. Still, she raised her hand and knocked lightly.
No answer.
After waiting a few moments, she knocked again.
Still no reply.
Yet Lili, without a second thought, pushed the door open. What greeted her eyes was a familiar setting—overlapping with distant memories.
It felt like the room had been frozen in time for ten years.
The only difference was that, while her memory painted it as simple and warm, now it was filled with all kinds of brewing ingredients stacked everywhere.
It was now purely Soma's brewing chamber.
Standing at the workbench was a figure dressed in a white lab coat. Thick black hair draped down naturally over the shoulders, covering most of the face.
Even as an adventurer entered the room, Soma's hands didn't stop stirring the mixture.
He had long since lost faith in all his Familia members.
As long as no one interfered with his divine wine brewing…
Lili's eyes didn't linger on the ingredients. With clear intent, she walked straight to Soma, her words already rehearsed in her mind.
She looked up at the god and said with firm resolve,
"Lord Soma."
"I want to leave Soma Familia. Thank you very much for all you've done for me."
She wanted to say it was because of the Familia's disorder.
But as memories buried in her heart surfaced, she found herself unable to say those words.
Instead, she said simply but firmly,
"I've found a new goal. I hope you will allow me to leave."
Soma's hands paused slightly in their brewing motion. He turned around. Even with his hair covering his eyes, he immediately recognized the girl before him.
He didn't reply. Instead, he poured a glass of divine wine and placed it before Lili.
Of course, Lili wasn't foolish—she knew exactly what this meant.
This was the "Exit Trial"—a tradition in Soma Familia. She looked at the crystal-clear liquid in the glass.
Without hesitation, she picked it up and drank it in one go.
The taste of divine wine was indeed dangerously alluring. No wonder the members of the Familia... even her own parents... had lost themselves to it.
Its ambrosial flavor made her momentarily lose focus.
But her heart clung to her dream, and her meeting with… that annoying guy. These were the reasons she needed to leave Soma Familia.
Placing the empty glass back on the workbench, the girl's expression remained composed as she repeated her request:
"Please, Lord Soma, allow me to leave the Familia."
Once viewed as the hope of the new generation, Lili had just downed the divine wine without flinching—and now, still clear-headed, she faced Soma once more.
Even behind his calm expression, Soma couldn't hide the shock in his heart.
This was an outcome he hadn't expected—but quickly understood.
It was probably due to the chaos and downfall of the Familia.
After a moment of silence, Soma reflected inwardly and made a decision. He looked down at the child who had found her path and was striving toward it. His voice was quiet.
"I'm sorry."
This apology wasn't just for Lili—but for his own past irresponsibility.
He didn't deny her request.
And, in a rare moment, Soma gave his blessing to a child he once had high hopes for.
"Go. Just one step more and you'll reach the path of destiny. Set sail toward your firm dreams. No matter the hardship…"
"Thank you."
——
The withdrawal process went unusually smoothly—something Lili hadn't expected. After expressing her gratitude to the god who once helped her…
He didn't even retrieve the divine blood from her body.
According to Soma, she could keep it until she joined a new Familia. The next god could simply overwrite it with their own divine blood.
"Still don't know…"
"Which Familia that guy belongs to."
There was only one person Lili referred to as "that guy"—Liang Yue.
Of course, one of her biggest reasons for staying in Orario… was meeting him.
If anyone asked her outright, she'd definitely deny it.
She just wanted to become a stronger adventurer—so she could one day face the kind merchant couple who once helped her.
Leaving Soma's brewing chamber, she didn't see Liang Yue in the corridor.
What greeted her instead was a thick stench of blood—far stronger than before!
"This is…"
Her relaxed expression vanished, replaced by panic. Growing up in Orario, she knew all too well what a large-scale slaughter of a Familia meant.
She understood just how serious the consequences could be.
Heart pounding, Lili hurried to the second-floor corridor. And then—
Even though she had mentally prepared herself, she still couldn't stop the wave of nausea that hit her.
The floor was strewn with corpses. Blood pooled on the wooden floors of the Familia base. Not a single adventurer had survived.
"They've lost their minds…"
Lili muttered in disbelief. A sense of dread threatened to swallow her whole.
Her eyes followed the trail of blood—to the figure leaning against the doorframe of the Familia's front entrance.
The culprit behind the annihilation of Soma Familia—Liang Yue—stood there quietly.
It wasn't like he was begging for survival. He just needed to leave the city before the Guild discovered what had happened.
Never once had Lili feared becoming his target.
But his entire plan was now upended. She ran to his side, ignoring his calm and slightly confused gaze.
Grabbing his hand, she had already planned the escape route.
But no matter how hard she pulled, he didn't budge. She turned around, not with blame, but with desperation.
"If we don't go now, what are you waiting for?"
"You want the Guild to find us and label us criminals?"
"I should've taken you with me when I left! How could you be so reckless? Do you even know what killing an entire Familia in Orario means?!"
Her hands were small and soft—and paired with her stern little face, it looked almost comical.
Liang Yue suddenly found it amusing. He turned his head toward the blood-drenched scene behind them and said flatly:
"Of course I know."
"Then why aren't we running?!"
"Why would we run?"
He shrugged and replied in a nonchalant tone:
"Soma Familia members tried to distribute highly addictive divine wine throughout Orario."
"They were undermining the foundation of the adventurer community. My actions were for the good of the people—justice, even."
"...Huh?"
Lili stood there, stunned. She hadn't expected him to justify his actions with such righteousness, declaring that Soma Familia deserved destruction.
She looked up, eyes locked onto Liang Yue's.
He smiled and added with relaxed sincerity:
"You know, history is written by the victors."
"And you—you're just another concerned citizen of Orario."
"...?"
Is that how we're playing this?!
The boy's bright, innocent smile was in stark contrast to the carnage behind him. Lili's expression was complicated. And the heart she'd just managed to calm—
Sank again.
Good news: She successfully left Soma Familia.
Bad news: She'd boarded a pirate ship!
---
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