'This is absolutely the target those people from the Soma Familia are pursuing.'
Mainly because Ron's recognizability was simply far too high.
In all of Orario, it was genuinely difficult to find an adventurer who carried so many weapons and pieces of equipment while exploring.
As a result, the moment he had just walked out of Babel Tower—
Liliruca Arde had already locked onto this walking eyesore. As for why she was looking for him, the reason was also extremely simple, exactly in line with Bruno's view of Ron.
A fat sheep in every sense of the word.
However, she did not intend to make contact in an especially stupid way. After all, Bruno had completely died in the Dungeon, and she herself had participated in that incident as a supporter.
The risks involved were absolutely not something she could afford to bear.
As for disguising herself as an adventurer, deceiving the other party into trusting her, and then stealing his weapons and equipment—Lili felt that the likelihood was extremely slim. Ron would certainly be on guard.
After thinking it over again and again, the fastest and most straightforward method was to use her identity as a member of the "Soma Familia" to sell information to Ron. That was the most reliable way to make money she could think of.
It would both disgust that bunch of rotten vermin, and allow her to earn a considerable sum of Valis, completely pulling herself out of this utterly rotten quagmire. As for Ron's eventual outcome, it was not within the scope of her considerations at all!
"You should have run into them, right?"
"Members of the Soma Familia searching for traces in the Dungeon. But even if you haven't encountered them, it doesn't matter—you only need to know that they're looking for you."
"…"
It was a somewhat inexplicable way for things to unfold.
Ron did not respond. He only looked at the supporter girl in front of him, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity—yet her outward appearance was far too unfamiliar.
But as he began to analyze the content of what she had said, a familiar name inexplicably surfaced in his mind.
She was also a major character in the original DanMachi—born into the utterly chaotic Soma Familia, bullied by her companions due to her status as a supporter.
As for the result—
That was her descent into darkness, developing hatred toward all adventurers.
Until she encountered Bell, overflowing with kindness, and after experiencing several acts of redemption, this darkened Pallum supporter ultimately turned over a new leaf completely.
The legendary king of backstabbing—"Liliruca Arde."
And the Cinder Ella magic that Liliruca possessed allowed her to transform into the facial features and appearance of other people, even imitating gender and physical traits.
Even Bruno, who had no prior connection to her whatsoever, could develop malicious intent because of the equipment Ron was carrying.
Let alone Liliruca.
Ron believed that he was not the kind, soft-hearted type. Just the daily routine of Soulslike Dungeon exploration was already exhausting enough—who had the spare time to mess around with redemption play?
He decisively refused.
"The information you're talking about doesn't interest me."
"Hm?"
Hearing Ron's unreserved rejection, the girl raised her head in surprise, trying to find some ripple of emotion in his brown eyes—but in the end, she could not detect the slightest emotional fluctuation.
Perhaps he was a rookie adventurer, unaware of the methods of the Soma Familia?
In any case...
Lili had no intention of letting a fat sheep slip away. All of the armaments were products of the Hephaestus Familia—equipment that could be stamped with a mark represented its grade.
Her smile remained unchanged: "Perhaps you've only just arrived in Orario and aren't familiar with the situation of the Soma Familia."
"The adventurers who tried to surround you that day are dead. Given the temperament of Captain Zanis, he will absolutely investigate the matter to the very end, even if—"
"Even if it has nothing to do with you, he will definitely not let you go."
"After all…"
"In his eyes, all Familia members are nothing more than tools for making money. And when a tool disappears, the loss will naturally be recovered from somewhere else."
"And then?"
Even after putting it this way, Lili still did not see the slightest ripple in Ron's eyes, as if the matter had nothing whatsoever to do with him.
It really was more troublesome than expected.
But Lili firmly believed that anyone's pressure tolerance was ultimately limited: "Today, the adventurers who went into the Dungeon to look for the truth—if they don't encounter the so-called aberrant monster—will ultimately only suspect that you killed them."
"My price is very cheap."
"Just one million Valis. All information the Soma Familia has about you, I will obtain it truthfully and then pass it all on to you."
At this point, the girl's slightly childish face wore a smile filled with shrewdness.
"Won't you really consider it?"
"…"
As for why the specific information had reached the Soma Familia—
It was most likely that, when Bruno led the attempt to surround him, someone slipped through the net, returned to the Dungeon, and then informed Zanis of the entire sequence of events.
As for the so-called "endless stream of trouble"?
Ron was not particularly worried. If members of the Soma Familia truly dared to chase him into the Dungeon, then whatever remained could go complain to their ancestors' graves!
The real hidden danger, in fact, lay in the secrets he himself carried.
If Zanis were to realize that Dungeon aberrant monsters did not actually exist, yet whenever trouble arose for Ron inside the Dungeon, abnormal incidents kept occurring—
Anyone with even half a brain could guess the truth.
And coincidentally, Zanis—who had relied on underhanded methods to eliminate candidates for captain and manipulate the entire Familia—perfectly fit that description. If he were to deduce the underlying cause, the consequences would be extremely difficult to handle.
Before he had truly grown strong, if the explosive news that the "abnormal incidents" were caused by Ron himself were to spread among Orario's adventurers and the Guild, the most likely outcome awaiting Ron would be being placed on a blacklist.
'Really damn irritating.'
'Run into a pile of dog shit and detour around it—yet the stench from the gutter still keeps chasing after me?'
The misunderstanding on Ryuu's side had not yet been completely resolved, and immediately afterward, an even greater hidden danger appeared, like a landmine buried all around him, ready to explode at any moment.
Ron felt a headache coming on.
Male-oriented fantasy novels really had a point—if you cut the grass without uprooting it, there would absolutely be trouble later on.
And having still not received his reply, Lili—who was only one last million Valis away from saving enough money to escape the Soma Familia—smiled and bared her own wounds as she spoke: "Adventurer."
"Please don't harbor any illusions. As a member of the Soma Familia, I know even better than you just how despicable their methods can be!"
"Even if you escape…"
"They will still find you like hyenas, then turn your real life into a complete mess, dragging you into that rotten, putrid mire."
Recalling the period when she fled the Soma Familia and was taken in by a kind florist couple, the girl's smile carried even more self-mockery: "All those who once helped you will be placed on the retaliation list. There will be countless troubles…"
The rest of what Lili said was hard to evaluate.
But one thing was true—there was no room for wishful thinking. If the matter of the "Dungeon's hatred" were to leak out, he would not even have any countermeasures prepared.
Unless it were a sufficiently powerful Familia, capable of withstanding pressure from the Adventurers Guild.
Otherwise, the only thing waiting for him would be changing Familias.
Ron truly liked the atmosphere of the Hestia Familia—not because he was lusting after cute young girls, but more because such an environment allowed space for independent growth.
Resolve the hidden danger in advance.
Was that really so difficult?
With his current strength, plus the half–home-field advantage within the "Dungeon," accomplishing it seemed not entirely impossible!
After making his decision, his tone carried a hint of reflection: "Countless troubles…"
"That's right!"
Finally receiving a response and believing she had found a breakthrough, Lili clenched her teeth and decided to release something truly ruthless: "They indeed won't do anything to your god."
"But your family—your parents—can they withstand this kind of pressure?"
She herself had no idea how it should be resolved. She only knew that what she needed to do was purely to make this money from Ron; everything else was irrelevant.
However, Lili's words did not have any effect at all.
On the contrary, Ron's expression became increasingly strange. As a despicable transmigrator, whether before or after transmigrating, he had always been absolutely invincible in this world.
He sneered: "Parents and family?"
"Don't talk to me about that kind of pointless nonsense!"
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---