Loki was engrossed in a comic book.
Alice was reading a book on forging.
The study was perfectly quiet.
Then, a knock came at the door, and Riveria's voice sounded from outside.
"Members of the former Apollo Familia are here. They wish to see Alice."
Inside the study, Alice looked up.
"People from Apollo's Familia? What could they want at this point? Seeking revenge?" Alice wondered, glancing at Loki.
Loki remained rather nonchalant, her attention still buried in the comic. "Probably about the Apollo Familia's former headquarters."
"Though it wasn't an official War Game, Apollo accepted your trial, Alice-chan. Not sure what the exact conditions for passing your trial were supposed to be."
"But since Apollo got booted back to heaven, there's no doubt he failed."
"So, representing the Apollo Familia, he took on your trial, failed, and got sent back. And since you stated before the trial even started that the Apollo Familia would be disbanded, the current situation is just like if they'd lost a regular War Game."
"Everything left behind by the Apollo Familia now belongs to you, Alice-chan. The members, the headquarters, any treasures they had... absolutely everything that was Apollo's is now yours."
"Those members showing up now are probably just here to ask what you plan to do with it all."
Loki gave a simple explanation. Alice understood, but she found the whole thing incredibly bothersome.
"The Apollo Familia members are mine now too? So I have to manage an entire Familia's worth of people?"
"If you don't wanna deal with them, Alice-chan, you can just disband them outright," Loki said with a shrug. "Besides, aside from a few like Hyakinthos who joined Apollo from the start, most members were snatched up by him using underhanded tricks."
"Truth is, a lot of Apollo's former members are probably pretty grateful to you for what you did."
"And I'll bet almost all of them already have a good idea which Familia they want to join next, now that Apollo's gone."
"So, you can just send everyone packing and simply take over all the assets and property they left behind."
Hearing this, Alice felt a wave of relief. She already had Lili at home, and Hestia and Bell next door.
Then there were the few from the Loki Familia she interacted with.
For Alice, this small, comfortable social circle was perfect. The thought of actually managing an entire Familia sounded utterly exhausting.
"In that case, I'll go see them. But Loki, you're coming with me. I'm not really familiar with asset transfers, and Lili isn't with me right now, so you'll have to help."
Alice closed her book and addressed Loki.
"Ughhhh..." Loki dragged out the sound, clearly annoyed. "Can't it wait? I just got to the part where Goku fights the Great Demon King! It's the climax!"
"Oh really?" Alice's eyebrow twitched. She looked at Loki sprawled on the sofa, then stood up and headed straight for the door. "Fine, I'll go by myself. After I'm done with the Apollo folks, I can get back to preparing to open my shop."
"Riveria, let's go." Alice left with Riveria, who was waiting outside.
The moment Alice stepped out of the study...
The boundary between illusion and reality vanished instantly, and with it, the comic book in Loki's hand disappeared too.
"Hey!" Staring at her empty hand,
Loki immediately sprang from the sofa and dashed out of the study. She saw Alice and Riveria already walking away, heading towards the reception room.
Panic set in for Loki.
"Wait! Alice-chan! I didn't say I wouldn't go with you!" Loki hurried to catch up.
Once she reached Alice's side, Loki rubbed her hands together, putting on a fawning smile.
"Look, Alice-chan, every other Familia has their eyes on you right now. Sure, you're plenty strong, but you're still not above Level 4."
"So, if a whole bunch of Level 4 adventurers ganged up on you, you could still lose. Why not stay with my Familia for a few more days? At least until I finish reading this story arc! How about it?"
Loki was acting like a complete sycophant, without a trace of a god's dignity.
If anyone else saw her, she'd be ridiculed for sure.
But Riveria, as a veteran of the Loki Familia, had seen more than her share of Loki's embarrassing antics.
So, even though Loki was being utterly shameless now, Riveria showed no particular reaction.
However...
"Comic?" Riveria seemed intrigued by the unfamiliar word in Loki's rant. "It sounds like a book that records stories."
"Yes. Similar to a Hero's Tale," Alice nodded. While comics contained many types of stories, the one Loki was reading, Dragon Ball, indeed told a story quite similar to a Hero's Tale.
"Tch, tch, tch~ It's nothing like those childish things," Loki interjected, suddenly opinionated upon hearing their conversation.
"Hero's Tales are all the same story, boring as can be. They can't even compare to comics. If the comics Alice showed me could be printed, they'd absolutely sweep all of Orario!"
As she said this, Loki's eyes gleamed.
"Hey, Alice-chan, how about partnering with the Loki Familia! You let me read all the comics, and my Familia will handle the artwork. We'll find a partner to publish them, and we can discuss the profit share details."
"I'd definitely make sure you get your fair share, Alice-chan!"
"Plus, from what I heard from Lili, you want to make some high-grade puppets, right? That's gotta be a huge drain on materials. Even with your little shop opening, you probably can't afford it."
"And, well, our Loki Familia isn't exactly rolling in funds either. This is a win-win! How about it? Think it over!"
Hearing Loki's words, Alice suddenly remembered her planned creations. Just the experiments, let alone the final products, would cost a fortune in materials alone.
So, she began to consider it seriously.
"Loki, are you sure that if I let you read the comics, you can mass-produce them and sell them all over Orario?"
In response, Loki pounded her chest confidently.
"Of course! My Familia might be combat-oriented, but we have plenty of partners. And don't you have the Hermes Familia as an ally on your side too?"
"We've got the stories and the production pipeline! We're gonna make a killing!"
--+--
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.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
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If you guys wanna check it out.