When Hestia declared war on Apollo, an unexpected incident occurred—Liliruca was taken away by members of the Soma Familia.
Speaking of the god of wine, Soma, he stood out even among the many eccentric deities.
His entire existence revolved around winemaking. The divine wine he brewed, despite lacking any [mystery] power, was so potent in its flavor and crafting that even gods became intoxicated by it.
However, to mortals with weak willpower, the divine wine was akin to a drug. Even its inferior versions were enough to ensnare a person completely.
The members of Soma Familia were drawn in by the allure of this wine and willingly submitted to exploitation in exchange for it.
Some even resorted to criminal activity to earn money—only to trade it for more divine wine.
Soma, deeply disappointed in the condition of his Familia, focused solely on winemaking and left all management to the captain, Zanis.
Zanis was far from a decent man and bore much of the blame for the corruption within Soma Familia.
He took advantage of Soma's disinterest, using the wine to control the members, expanding the Familia's size to gain more profit—Zanis was responsible for many tragedies.
This time, Liliruca was taken back because Zanis believed her unique magic, "Cinder Ella," could be exploited for gain.
However, Charles didn't concern himself with rescuing Liliruca. His role was only to train Bell before the War Game.
Sure enough, Liliruca successfully escaped from Soma Familia and officially transferred into the Hestia Familia. Just like in the original timeline, she drank the divine wine but did not fall under its spell.
This was why gods adored mortals—because mortals could create miracles even gods could not predict.
War Games weren't an everyday event, so Orario was more lively than ever. The whole city had a festive air.
The Guild began preparations for the battlefield, street vendors gathered, and adventurers even began placing bets on the outcome.
After attending the special divine meeting organized for the War Game, Hestia confirmed the format of this battle:
It would be a siege match. Apollo Familia would defend; Hestia Familia would attack. If, within three days, Apollo Familia's captain Hyakinthos was not defeated, or Hestia Familia was completely wiped out, Apollo would be declared the winner.
If not, then Hestia Familia would be victorious, and Apollo would have to accept a condition of Hestia's choosing without argument.
At first glance, this siege format heavily favored the defending Apollo Familia.
After all, siege battles were traditionally seen as contests of numbers—breaking through fortified defenses required overwhelming force.
Even with Takemikazuchi Familia's Mikoto and Hephaestus Familia's Welf transferring to Hestia Familia—and with Apollo allowing one member from outside Orario as support—their total number was only five.
This couldn't possibly compare to Apollo Familia's force of a hundred members.
But Charles thought otherwise. Compared to other formats, a siege might actually be the most favorable to Hestia Familia.
With the right strategy, they could engineer a one-on-one confrontation between Bell and Hyakinthos, nullifying the advantage of numbers.
Word was, the method of war was decided through the gods submitting suggestions and Hermes drawing one at random.
Well… Charles had no idea if that "random" draw was rigged.
Hestia Familia's plan went like this: Liliruca, using her transformation magic, infiltrated the fortress in advance.
Then Lyu, invited by Syr to participate as the external support, served as the vanguard and blasted open the city wall using a magic sword.
Disguised as Hyakinthos, Liliruca issued false orders, drawing half of Apollo Familia's forces toward Lyu.
Mikoto then entered the fortress through the breach, further diverting forces and creating the illusion of a full-scale assault through that point. This locked Apollo Familia's main force at the wall and left Hyakinthos's position dangerously unprotected.
At that moment, Liliruca opened the gates from within, allowing Bell and Welf to enter. Welf cleared a path for Bell, guiding him straight to Hyakinthos.
The whole plan unfolded flawlessly. What was supposed to be a three-day War Game ended in a single morning, with Hestia Familia pulling off a stunning upset.
Of course, the greatest credit went to Liliruca. The plan's success hinged entirely on her transformation magic.
Later, wielding the Silencer crafted by Charles, she used paralysis rounds to systematically take out many of Apollo Familia's elite who interfered with Bell's battle.
Interestingly, Cassandra had predicted this "Trojan Horse" scenario when the transformed Liliruca entered the fortress—but, as always, no one believed her warning.
Naturally, the climax of the game was the battle between Bell and Hyakinthos.
Over the past few days, Bell had asked Charles to crank up the intensity of his training to the maximum. As a result, Bell achieved a major breakthrough and leveled up before the War Game began.
Having gone through so many trials, Bell had long fulfilled the requirements for leveling up. Charles's training pushed his abilities to the limit.
As Charles put it, even pre-upgrade Bell wouldn't have stood a chance against Hyakinthos—there wouldn't even be a worthy feat to gain from it.
That's how wide the gap had been. But after his second evolution, both achieved through pushing his stats beyond their limits, Bell's overall capabilities now far surpassed the seasoned Level 3 Hyakinthos.
Losing was not an option—anything less would dishonor Charles's efforts.
Bell's victory came as no surprise to Charles. In fact, the moment he saw that suspicious little pallum in the broadcast's illusion magic feed, he'd already confirmed the outcome and lost interest.
As agreed, Apollo Familia was disbanded, and their former headquarters became the Hearth Mansion. This incident, born of a god's selfish desire, came to a complete close.
Thanks to Bell's performance, Hestia Familia became the talk of the city. With their acquisition of the Hearth Mansion, they seemed poised for rapid growth.
Indeed, many adventurers came rushing to apply after Hestia announced recruitment.
But when they learned that Hestia Familia's current finances were negative two hundred million valis—thanks to that little black knife Bell carried—everyone fled.
Upon hearing that the dagger he'd been using was worth two hundred million, Bell actually passed out from the shock.
Charles, however, didn't pay attention to the fuss surrounding Hestia Familia. He and Stella returned to the dungeon.
Their original plan had always been to train in the dungeon, only derailed by the War Game.
But Charles didn't expect that another incident would land right in his lap.
He was starting to wonder if, during his next level-up, he might end up with Bell's [Luck] development ability—because the frequency of unexpected events around him was getting ridiculous.
Right now, standing before Charles and Stella was a monster unique to the middle floors—a Vouivre. But this one was unlike any Charles had seen before.
Vouivres were extremely rare monsters, typically with the upper body of an adult woman, a serpentine lower half, and dragon wings.
However, the being before them resembled a human girl far more closely. Her pale blue skin and patches of scales were the only clues she wasn't human.
She had the same sharp fangs and long ears as other Vouivres, but amidst her blue hair, one could see a red gemstone on her forehead and amber eyes.
But the most extraordinary thing about her wasn't her humanoid appearance—it was the rationality and intelligence in her eyes.
The Xenos incident—Charles hadn't expected to encounter its most crucial figure before Bell did.
(End of Chapter)
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