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Soma is a young god of medium build. His slender figure gives a delicate impression. His loose-fitting clothing, similar to a robe, has sleeves and hems that have turned a yellowish-brown due to dirt.
His completely unkempt bird's nest-like hair is shrouded in a cloud of miasma, and his face, buried under long bangs, is visibly disheartened.
He remained motionless, just staring at Emiya.
After a long while, Soma slowly spoke, "What's the point of talking to those children... who easily indulge in wine?"
Soma was disappointed, disappointed in the members of his own faction.
The collapse of the [Soma Familia] initially began because Soma used [Divine Wine] as a reward.
The main god originally intended to use the divine wine to reward the members, as a catalyst for the faction. Who would have thought that the members would become addicted, as he said. Each member wanted to get the divine wine first, and in the end, they even started to engage in ugly competition, scheming against each other.
As for Soma himself, he probably just wanted to use the cost he could afford, offering his own fragrant and mellow wine as a reward. However, the children instead became addicted to the divine wine, repeating foolish behaviors. Seeing their disgraceful behavior, the male god couldn't help but feel a sense of disillusionment.
Thus, Soma gave up on the pitifully foolish lower world residents, continuously giving rewards to the annoying believers who clamored for divine wine, merely using them.
"The voices of children indulging in wine... are extremely shallow," Underneath the long bangs, deep disappointment was etched in his dark eyes.
Emiya understood the logic and emotions of the wine god Soma, and then—
He turned and left.
"Don't you want to say something?", Soma whispered.
Emiya: "...What's the point of talking to a god who easily indulges in his own world?"
He used Soma's own words against him.
Soma: "What?"
"God Soma, the lives of the lower world do not exist to fulfill your expectations," Emiya's voice was calm, "Expecting on your own, testing on your own, then being disappointed on your own... I only feel arrogance in your thoughts."
Gods are beings far beyond humans in terms of life hierarchy. The divine wine brewed by the wine god is something that not even many gods can resist, let alone humans.
Creating something that shouldn't exist in the lower world, then being disappointed because the lower world people can't resist its temptation... What's the point of that?
In Emiya's view, the behavior of the wine god Soma is no different from taking a sharp weapon to cut down unarmed ordinary people, injuring them, and then feeling disappointed in their fragility.
Confusing cause and effect.
"After all, how you mess around with your familia is your own business. Correspondingly, the 'collapse' and 'degeneration' of the Soma Familia leading to its own destruction, and me coming to destroy it, is my business."
If the wine god Soma's attitude towards the lower world people is disappointment, Emiya's attitude towards him is indifference, unconcern.
Emiya said no more, he walked into Zanis's office.
Soma reached out towards the boy's back, but in the end, he said nothing, silently lowering his hand.
Only a soft sigh remained, "Did I... do something wrong..."
And Emiya, entering Zanis's office, quickly found what he was looking for.
Zanis's ledger.
'The various misdeeds of the Soma Familia adventurers were not their spontaneous actions, but organized behaviors induced by [Divine Wine]. Once this is confirmed, the Soma Familia is finished.'
The same crime, whether stemming from the moral corruption of individual adventurers or the guidance and organization of the familia, are two completely different natures.
Emiya casually tapped Zanis's desk, and then he immediately realized that the sound wasn't right.
With a sword strike, he cut the wooden desk in half, and hidden ledgers fell out from the hollow inside.
'This is the transaction record between the Soma Familia and the Evilus, liquor trade, smuggling channels, fire stones, magic swords...'
———
Today was an unusual day for the labyrinth city. In one day, Orario lost two large familias.
One of them was a large familia with second-tier adventurers, whose main force was completely destroyed by Mia Grand alone. The Bruno Trading Company it supported promptly abandoned the dark side, providing a large amount of evidence of the familia's collusion with the Evilus.
In the end, the Bruno Trading Company was stripped of half its assets as punishment by the guild, and the supporting familia was forcibly dissolved, with the main god being sent back to the heavens.
On the other hand, the Soma Familia, with much weaker overall strength but comparable numbers, met the same fate.
The evidence that the familia leader Zanis used Divine Wine to guide members to earn money through criminal means was enough to make the Soma Familia suffer. Cooperation with the Evilus completely sealed the Soma Familia's fate.
Zanis provided funds to the Evilus in exchange for their protection and lent the smuggling channels for liquor to the Evilus to purchase weapons from countries outside the city. This situation could already be considered deep cooperation.
The Soma Familia was forcibly dissolved, and the main god Soma was prohibited from brewing divine wine. Considering that this god had long been sidelined by the familia leader and was completely unaware of Zanis's cooperation with the Evilus, the guild did not send Soma back. He is now confined in a detention room in the Babel Tower, writing a self-criticism.
After Soma reflects for a hundred years, he might be allowed to reestablish the Soma Familia.
Even if the Soma Familia had not cooperated with the Evilus, the result would probably have been the same. The guild's reaction to "Divine Wine" was very intense, believing that the existence of such a thing has an immeasurable potential impact on Orario's order.
Except for some drunkards, most adventurers in the labyrinth city were pleased with the fall of the Soma Familia. Because the Soma Familia's reputation was too bad, many had been stolen from by Soma Familia adventurers or had monster offerings forced upon them.
They could only say good riddance to the Soma Familia's demise, "should have been wiped out long ago."
However, compared to the other disbanded familia, the Soma Familia received much less attention. But some still noticed the process of the Soma Familia's fall, and some legends began to spread in Orario.
After all, Emiya's solo assault on the Soma Familia made a huge commotion, and he didn't kill anyone during the process; the adventurers in the Soma Familia's base were only knocked out.
Moreover, some adventurers belonging to the Soma Familia were even more pleased with its fall. For example, a dwarf girl whom Emiya casually knocked out when he stormed the Soma Familia's base even started to idolize him as a hero.
Zanis, who had his Divine Blessing sealed, was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, during the transfer to the Ganesha Familia's prison, he mysteriously disappeared. The Ganesha Familia leader, Shakti, remained tight-lipped about it, hastily concluding the case as a suicide to avoid further investigation.
Late at night, at the [Hostess of Fertility] tavern.
The Ganesha Familia leader, a first-tier adventurer with Lv.5 strength, [Elephant God's Staff] Shakti Varma, quietly arrived at the tavern's backyard.
Ignoring the cat girl Chloe, who was trembling in the corner due to her presence, Shakti threw down a large black bag.
She looked at the silent elf girl, handed her an envelope, and then sighed softly, "[Gale]... Ryuu, take care of yourself."
———
"Phew, she's finally gone, scared the cat out of me."
Chloe looked in the direction Shakti had left, letting out a long breath of relief.
While repairing the warehouse, she suddenly encountered that disaster, and Chloe was so scared she didn't dare to breathe, her heart almost stopping.
"That was the Ganesha Familia leader, [Elephant God's Staff] Shakti Varma, right nya?"
Lunoire teased, "Stupid cat, what's wrong with you, looking like a mouse meeting a cat."
"Damn it, cats aren't mice nya!"
Chloe was furious, "You don't know how scary that woman is, if you fought her, you'd definitely perform worse than a cat nya~"
Anya: "You fought Shakti? Who won?"
Chloe: "..."
'That's a first-tier adventurer, and if I could win, why would I be scared of her?'
Chloe gave Anya a look, not voicing such embarrassing words.
"By the way, why did you fight Shakti? Did you take an assassination mission for Shakti? Just kidding, no cat could be that stupid, taking an assassination mission for a first-tier adventurer...nya~", Anya laughed, but seeing Chloe's heavy expression, she slowly stopped laughing.
"You really took it?", Anya was shocked.
Chloe: "..."
"Um, do you know that the Ganesha Familia has double-digit first-tier adventurers...nya~", Anya cautiously asked.
"Ahhh, back then I had just arrived in Orario, completely unaware that there would be such monstrously strong adventurers here nya~"
Chloe frantically rubbed her hair, "I hadn't fought a first-tier adventurer before, how was I to know she'd be so strong nya~"
Clearly, Chloe had been beaten badly by Shakti, barely escaping with her life, leaving a strong psychological shadow.
"To think a cat would go assassinate a first-tier adventurer, hahahaha, what a super idiot nya~", Anya loudly mocked her fellow cat girl.
Chloe's face turned red, but before she could explode, Lunoire fell down.
"I'm actually, on the same level as this stupid cat...", Lunoire pounded the ground with her hands, her voice filled with grief.
"Lunoire, don't tell me you..."
"When I first arrived in Orario, I took a mission to take out the [Four Warrior's of Burning God]..."
Anya & Chloe: "..."
The [Four Warrior's of Burning God], also known as the [Gulliver Brothers]
Members of the Freya Familia. All four are powerful adventurers.
The leader is named Alfred Gulliver, a pallum who reached Lv.5.
Together with his three Lv.5 brothers, they are collectively known as the [Four Warrior's of Burning God], wielding sword, hammer, spear, and axe respectively. They are considered the city's strongest team, their coordinated attacks possessing Lv.6 level combat capability.
Chloe sighed, "You're even more amazing than me, I only dared to take on one nya..."
"So, one of you provoked the Freya Familia, the other tried to assassinate the Ganesha Familia leader."
Hearing this, even Syr couldn't hold back: "You two are really, 'the sleeping dragon and the young phoenix.'"
Emiya watched the noisy girls, and gradually, Lunoire and Chloe also began to blend into the environment here.
"Probably under the protection of Mama Mia, they finally feel a rare sense of security."
The girls' inescapable pasts were all blocked by the iron fists of Lv.6 [Little Giant] Mia Grand.
"I am the 'law' of this bar, and also its 'owner'. No matter what others say, it cannot shake this fact. Even those foolish gods can't complain about my style."
"As the owner, I am your 'mother', and you are all my 'daughters'. Everything in the shop is mine, and if anyone dares to take advantage, I will make sure they regret it."
Mia's declaration was just like that, incredibly arrogant, yet reassuring.
The [Hostess of Fertility] is a terrifying tavern where even the strongest adventurers, outlaws, or scoundrels can only flee with their tails between their legs.
No matter what past the girls have, here they can only work diligently, striving to provide delicious food and wine, sharing joy with more guests.
"Ryuu, what did Shakti's letter say?", Syr looked at Ryuu, who had been silent since earlier, just staring at the letter, and cautiously asked.
Ryuu didn't answer immediately, she paused for a dozen seconds, then slowly shook her head, saying, "Nothing, just some criminal records of the Soma Familia..."
She folded the letter and handed it to Emiya, "Shirou..."
"I've already seen it," Emiya said softly.
The evidence Shakti obtained was initially provided by him to the Ganesha Familia.
Unconsciously, Anya and the others also stopped talking, and Lunoire grabbed the collars of the two curious cat girls peeking out.
"We're heading back now," Lunoire unceremoniously pulled Anya and Chloe back inside.
"Ryuu, Shirou, I'll go pour you some tea," Syr whispered, also turning back into the tavern.
Under the vast starry sky, only Emiya and Ryuu remained.
"During the 'Great Struggle', the Soma Familia leader Zanis had been sharing smuggling channels with the Evilus. He gained wealth by smuggling liquor to countries outside the city, while the Evilus used the cover of liquor smuggling to purchase equipment and items from outside Orario," Ryuu softly repeated the information from the letter.
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