Liliruca Arde (Please Vote and Follow!)

When Syr slipped out through the back door of the Soma Familia's grounds,

she hugged the jar of wine in her arms with delight, the smooth ceramic wall pressing reassuringly against her through the thin cloth.

Hestia and Hephaestus's appearance had thrown my plans off a little, but things were still under control.

As long as I could get Lord Thor to drink this divine wine later...

Syr's heartbeat quickened, and her cheeks grew warm.

Even someone as great as him would surely leave me the tiniest opening, wouldn't he?

If I could get a little closer then... just a little closer...

She could almost picture the intoxication clouding Thor's deep eyes... The thought alone made her fingertips tingle and her breathing quicken.

Her lovely fantasies were as light as bubbles, but as she passed a dark alley, an incongruous sound from within burst them in an instant.

It was a muffled groan, stifled as though forced from deep in someone's throat.

Then came the painful, dry heaving, breaking the alley's silence in ragged bursts.

Her irritation at being disturbed instantly drowned out her dreamy thoughts.

Syr frowned, pausing to glance coolly into the alley.

In the gloom, three male adventurers stood surrounding someone.

A small figure was curled up in the middle. A Pallum girl, her light-brown curls covered in dust.

Her cheek was swollen, and the finger marks and bruises stood out starkly in the shadows.

She had clearly been beaten badly.

The groan had come when one of the burly male adventurers had driven his knee hard into her stomach.

The girl was bent over like a shrimp, sprawled on the ground and retching violently, her little body convulsing with pain.

A dwarf adventurer grinned cruelly, grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her head up without a shred of pity.

"Hey, Liliruca Arde, quit playing dead! Where's this month's money? And the stuff you've been hiding—hand it all over!"

The dwarf bellowed, spittle nearly spraying across the girl's twisted face.

The other two folded their arms and gave nasty chuckles, looking at her like a piece of trash waiting to be dealt with.

Another sordid shakedown... Ugly and boring.

Soma really didn't care about his Familia at all...

Syr glanced instinctively at the four adventurers' souls. Unsurprisingly, the Pallum girl being tormented by the three men was tainted, too.

This wasn't a case of one-sided bullying. It was dogs biting each other.

If the Pallum was being treated like this, she could only blame herself...

A trace of undisguised disgust crossed Syr's eyes, as if she'd spotted vermin in a filthy corner.

She couldn't even be bothered to look twice.

Lord Thor was waiting for me... How could I waste precious time in a place this squalid?

She hugged the ceramic jar and turned to leave...

Syr had only taken two steps when she stopped.

If Lord Thor were here... he'd step in, wouldn't he?

The thought struck her without warning.

Before, when vermin in some filthy corner tore into one another, she wouldn't have spared them even a glance.

But now... she was Syr of the Thor Familia. If she stood by and did nothing, wouldn't that tarnish Lord Thor's reputation?

She sighed inwardly.

Turning around, she walked back into the alley's shadows, where the air reeked of mildew and cheap liquor.

The three adventurers were lost in the pleasure of tormenting their victim. The dwarf raised his hand high, about to punch the girl again.

"Stop."

Syr's voice halted him. A faint purple glimmer flashed deep in her gray eyes.

[Charm] activated.

The air in the alley seemed to freeze for a moment.

The wild expressions on the three men's faces went rigid. Their eyes grew vacant and obedient.

The blow never came. Lili, her mind already clouded, instinctively looked toward the alley entrance.

Sunlight spilled in from the mouth of the alley, dispelling some of the chill.

"Leave all your money and equipment behind." Syr's voice came from behind her mask, calm and commanding.

Like puppets on strings, the three adventurers began carrying out her order without hesitation.

Their purses clattered onto the filthy ground. Leather armor, bracers, and weapons came off one by one and were piled together.

Then, like bodies emptied of their souls, they filed out the other end of the alley, moving stiffly.

Lili curled up on the ground and gasped for breath, her mind blank with pain and the fear she'd just felt.

She stared in bewilderment as those usually fearsome men suddenly became so strange, then obediently disappeared.

Only when she saw the person in the white mask standing beside her did she snap out of it.

"Eep!"

Lili curled in on herself, instinctively raising both hands to shield her bruised, swollen face. Fear nearly left her unable to breathe.

Syr looked at the little figure trembling on the ground, her gaze passing over the vivid finger marks and bruises on her face.

A flicker of compassion she hadn't expected to feel crossed her mind.

Never mind.

...I've already gone this far.

Might as well see it through and play the good Samaritan.

She sighed silently, and the faint stirrings of compassion soon faded.

"You," Syr said through her mask. Her voice betrayed no emotion, but allowed no argument. "Come with me."

Follow her?

Lili's instincts warned her to be wary.

But if she stayed here...

The money pouches and equipment scattered across the ground shimmered faintly, like bait—or a warning.

The adventurers who'd bullied her could come to their senses at any moment...

At the alley's entrance, the figure stopped. She didn't look back, simply standing there as if waiting for Lili to decide.

The air was so heavy it felt suffocating.

Lili swallowed, her throat painfully dry.

In the end, her legs felt like lead, but she still inched forward, one step at a time.

She didn't dare get close, following silently from a distance.

Syr didn't go home.

Instead, still holding the wine jar, she returned to the Hostess of Fertility.

Hestia would be moving into my home in two days.

If that sharp-sensed woman found the wine I'd hidden there...

Just thinking about it made Syr feel a sense of danger.

She didn't want her plans interrupted.

Seeing the other woman lead her to the tavern, Lili jogged a few steps to catch up, confused.

Syr took out a key, put it in the lock, and opened the restaurant's back door.

She passed through the kitchen with practiced ease and made her way to the front entrance.

The dining hall was empty in the afternoon. Sunlight slanted across the polished wooden counter, and the place was so quiet she could hear dust settling.

At two or three in the afternoon, everyone was either out shopping or resting. The first-floor hall was empty.

Syr walked straight to a round table by the wall and carefully set the ceramic jar, engraved with the Soma Familia's crest, in its center.

"Sit wherever you like," Syr said casually to Lili, who'd followed her in.

Lili jolted back to her senses just as Syr took off her mask.

For a moment, time seemed to stop.

Sunlight streamed through the window, outlining her face.

She wasn't stern or cold, as Lili had expected. She was... Lili couldn't find the words.

Her gray eyes were like a still, deep pool. Her features were so exquisite she seemed otherworldly, soft light flowing across her cheeks. She had a presence that was... almost impossible to look at directly, gentle yet distant.

Lili's cheeks inexplicably grew warm. She hurriedly lowered her head, her heart pounding beneath her ribs, unsure what to do with her hands and feet.

She stiffly pulled out the nearest chair and sat down, her body rigid.

Syr seemed not to care about her reaction. She turned and headed for the stairs to the second floor, disappearing around the corner.

Lili was left alone in the hall.

The dead silence closed in around her.

She shifted uneasily, her shoulders drawing in as her gaze darted around the empty hall like a startled little animal.

Rows of neatly arranged tables and chairs, the spotless floor... and at last, inevitably, her eyes returned to the ceramic jar in the middle of the table.

She saw the Soma Familia's crest engraved on it.

Was it divine wine brewed by Lord Soma?

From the packaging, it seemed like a defective batch...

But even if it was defective, there was a whole jar. If she stole it... sold it... with that much money...

The thought slithered into her mind like a snake, cold and tempting.

She could almost feel the weight of the coins in her hands, almost breathe in the scent of freedom.

No!

Lili jerked her head, as if trying to shake off the filthy thought.

Her fingernails dug deep into her palm, bringing a sharp sting.

What am I thinking?!

She just saved me!

How could I... how could I even think of stealing from my savior?!

A wave of self-loathing instantly washed over her.

I was even thinking of stealing from the person who saved my life...

She squeezed her eyes shut, afraid to look at the jar again, as if even one more glance might tempt her.

After waiting a long time without seeing the other woman come down, Lili grew even more confused...

She opened her eyes and looked toward the stairs to the second floor.

She brought me here... What does she want?

That impossibly beautiful woman... She saved me, then left me sitting here...