NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21 – Lili Joins the Family.
[Chapter Size: 2146 Words.]
Lucius POV
Abandoned Church.
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"I have nothing against you," I began, staring at Lili as Hestia, Bell, and Riekling listened.
"But I know you tried to hinder me. If it were someone else, they might be dead, and you would be indirectly responsible. I would consider you a murderer, just like the situation with Bell. I won't treat you as my best friend after everything that happened."
"I will trust Bell's judgment and consider you a member of this family. Sometimes, I believe in second chances, but..." I looked into her eyes as she shrank back. Hestia and Bell had horrified looks at my next words.
"But if you betray or put any member of this family in danger again, I will kill you personally." My voice didn't carry anger, hatred, sadness, or any emotion; it was just indifference.
My voice conveyed how sure I was that I would do exactly what I was saying, emanating a coldness that made the people around shiver, even Riekling looked at me cautiously.
"I understand, Lord Lucius..." She said softly.
"HEEEHEE! Why are you threatening to kill people here?!" Hestia shouted.
"I'm telling the truth. If she wants to be part of this family, she'll at least have to have common sense. Otherwise, why let her in to begin with?" I said.
"But Lord Lucius..." Bell was about to protest.
"Bell, you're too naive. Being a hero is not just being nice to everyone... You have to be smart and know who you're dealing with!" I told him, and he shrunk a bit at my words.
"I think it's very nice that you're a hero, Bell, believe me. But you have to see the world as it is, not just as you want it to be. One day, you'll lose your life like this, and no matter what kind of life you had, death is the end." I said, and Hestia was going to protest, talking about the other world where souls go, but I interrupted her.
"You get what I mean! And I'm not saying this just because of your insistence on saving her, but she has to understand that you'll have to rely on your back for her. From now on, you'll be together in the dungeon, and at any moment, it could be the end if someone falters for a moment. You'll depend on each other as much as she depends on you."
I said, and everyone fell silent, absorbing a bit of what I said. If Lili is going to join the family, they must trust each other from now on, without leaving any loose ends. I wanted to teach Bell a lesson in naivety.
"I know you had a hard life, Lili, and I can understand some of your actions. But I will trust Bell and Hestia's decision. I just ask that you be loyal to them. If you accept to join this family, I'm sure Bell and even I could help you when needed, even if we have to face the entire Soma family." I said in a serious tone.
Hestia was amazed at the audacity regarding another family, but I shrugged, waiting for Lili's response.
"I... I want to be part of this family! I promise never to betray you again, promise always to help. I don't want to go back to that life; I'm sorry, I will never betray you again! I don't want to leave!" Lili began to cry with her last words.
No one could speak as Lili cried and apologized sincerely.
"Did she hear when I said we would destroy the Soma family?" I wondered, imagining a reaction to that statement.
I was the first to break the silence as Lili cried. I smiled at her and said.
"No need to cry anymore. I will trust you. Anyway, welcome, since Hestia accepted you into the family. So, you've become a valuable ally, and we're here to help each other in times of need." I turned 180 degrees with my mood, leaving everyone stunned.
I really said what I said, but there's no need to keep that mood all the time, is there? After all, Lili is important to the Hestia family throughout the story. She is quite intelligent, often rivaling Finn, with the potential to surpass him. Not to mention that she may be the reincarnation of Fianna, the legendary knight, so she has much more potential than it seems.
"Now, why don't we eat something?" I said again to change the subject while Bell helped Lili recover.
"Y-Yes!" Hestia stammered but accepted my escape to end the matter.
"HEEE!"
"Well, two beds! One for my green partner here, too."
"HEE."
"That and another for Lili." I said with a smile, and Hestia started laughing at this interaction.
[Author's note: I'm going to open the nickname screen; if you don't like it, you can skip—it's not crucial to the story, but I like to keep it as a reminder of some events in the story.]
I sat in a corner of the church while Bell and Lili prepared for a dive into the dungeon.
"I'm going to open Pandora's box here!" I said as I opened the system, with Riekling by my side.
Nicknames: [+(!)]
Clicking on the box, a new screen opened outside the status, as the list was too long for the Status screen to handle alone.
Loser/Useless Family Member/Dungeon Beggar/Milf Slayer/Bastard Taking Advantage of Beautiful Goddesses/Foe of the Hephaestus Family/Mana Monster(New)/Evil Demon(New)/Enemy of the Loki Family(New)/Interesting Stranger(New)/Shameless Boy(New)/Orario Drunkard(New)/Vagabond(New)/Prostitute Lover(New)/Story Contact Lord(New)/Unknown Bedmate(New)/Ungrateful Son(New)/Dungeon Addict(New)/Bizarrely Powerful(New)/Weirdo with Strange Cloak(New)/Square Pervert(New)/Narcissist(New)/Assassin(New)/Monster(New)/Goblin Slave Trader(New)/Enemy of Women Who Love Cute Animals(New)/Cruel(New)
'I knew I'd regret opening this,' I murmured.
From what I'm seeing, those I hadn't seen before have the (New) icon next to them.
Mana Monster(New): Nicknamed by those adventurers from the Soma family.
Evil Demon(New): Nicknamed by the same adventurers after showing no mercy.
Enemy of the Loki Family(New): This event was when I went to the Hostess of Fertility and offended Bete. It seems he made me an enemy of his family as well...
Interesting Stranger(New): Who nicknamed this? Was it Loki?
Shameless Boy(New): This was due to my lines in the Hostess of Fertility, some adventurer who overheard, perhaps.
Orario Drunkard(New): So many people saw this; I can't say who it was.
Vagabond(New): Damn, I was just drunk!
Prostitute Lover(New): I never slept with one to begin with; who was the idiot? Going to a brothel to find a prostitute doesn't mean you're going to sleep with her, does it?
Story Contact Lord(New): Finally, a suitable nickname among so many misfortunes, thanks, Haruhime!
Unknown Bedmate(New): Ishtar for sure, even though I don't remember how I ended up in her bed while being with Haruhime, a little before.
Ungrateful Son(New): Hestia, due to my disappearance and lack of contact.
Dungeon Addict(New): Hestia, not surprisingly.
Bizarrely Powerful(New): Hestia strikes again, thanks to my Status.
Weirdo with Strange Cloak(New): My cloak is cool! Who dares to disagree!
Square Pervert(New): Damn, that's too much!
Narcissist(New): I have to agree...
Assassin(New): You stole my family member, and you want me to give you a candy for it?
Monster(New): I'm ruthless, I admit.
Goblin Slave Trader(New): Here we go again...
Enemy of Women Who Love Cute Animals(New): What is this?
"Damn Riekling, you're making my life difficult here..." I couldn't help but comment.
"HEEE!"
Cruel(New)
"So, I'm cruel, Hestia?!" I shouted to her, and she shrugged, admitting it was her, as I tried to educate Lili and Bell.
"Man, all of this happened in two weeks; I wonder what this list will be like in the future..." I couldn't help but lament...
It didn't take long for me to leave the church. Thinking about my next steps, I couldn't help but think that everything happened according to the original story, except for the fact that there were 8 adventurers instead of the original 3, who could escape, as I didn't think Bell had a chance against them.
I believe they somehow found out about the disappearance of those fools from the Soma family, who tried to ambush me and became more cautious, changing their strategies.
But now I'm not worried about these small differences in the original story with my presence. I just can't change too many things because that would alter my knowledge of the future to where I read in the books and saw in the anime, which takes my knowledge of the story until Bell makes his first Raid on the deeper floors and ends up on the thirty-sixth floor with Ryuu Lion.
Not that I'm afraid of changing the story, but I'm confident that I can get stronger without worrying about my life or the lives of my companions for now, and I care about Hestia and the others now. I may be a narcissist and idiot many times, but I'm loyal to mine; that's how I became part of them; it happened since I accepted Hestia's Falna. I know she has many questions about me, my strange rapid evolution, and the ability to acquire spells, but she remains silent without pressing too much regarding our formed contract.
Walking through the streets, I didn't bother hiding my goblin by my side
, who also walked peacefully by my side with just his backpack; I told him to leave his spear at the church.
"Hey, hey, that's a monster!" I heard voices whispering from civilians and adventurers as they stared at me early this morning.
"He's a tamer; it's possible. But I've never heard of a tamed goblin," another voice said.
"How cute!" I heard other women exclaim.
'Cute? That's a goblin. He's ugly, not cute.' I exclaimed internally.
I began to notice that Riekling had an effect on women, beyond that darn nickname. I hope this doesn't bring more problems for me! I thought as I looked at my partner, who looked at me with confusion as I turned my head toward him.
"HEEE??" He said, bewildered, feeling my gaze on him.
I turned to look ahead, ending my thoughts about Riekling, and continued walking without giving him a response since he seems so oblivious to his surroundings. Lucius had no idea he was becoming an enemy of the female gender at this exact moment.
Arriving at the guild, as we took our first steps inside, many people drew their swords when they saw me with Riekling. Most of them were level one, already terrified of monsters from the early floors, and goblins were one of them, what I could call a natural reaction.
"HEE?" This alerted Riekling.
"HEY HEY, can we calm down a bit? Can't you see him with a backpack?? He's my partner, and his name is Riekling, so I would appreciate it if you weren't so hostile and lowered your weapons!" I shouted, enraged and ready to defend my support. I would burn anyone who attacked us here.
"Lucius!?" Said a Rose at one of the counters, drawing everyone's attention. All who saw this calmed down a bit, seeing that I'm known to one of the staff, even if she's the most unfriendly one.
"Hello, Rose. I came to register as a tamer!" I said, gaining her surprised look, but seeing the goblin accompanying me without being hostile to anyone, she shouldn't be.
"Why am I still surprised every time you enter this place after you left your old family? You're giving me more headaches in two weeks than in the last 2 years!" She smiled, and it was something that surprised everyone who was watching; Rose was an ice wall to everyone, seeing her speak spontaneously and smiling at someone was unprecedented for them.
So, I took Riekling to the counter where, unsurprisingly, she found him cute and threatened me in case I was tough on my partner. I nervously laughed at that.
'She never threatened me before...' I thought.
After everyone calmed down, and I filled in new information for both myself and Riekling, explaining that it was due to a low-level spell, I had to address another matter as well, and Rose would help me with that.
"Rose, can you give me the address of the Takemikazuchi family?" I asked with the intention of seeking a little help from that family.
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