Madness of Prohibition

Once she arrived at her new hideout, Lily took out the pouches that contained today's income and started to count them. After she was done, she separated them; some were for her own while the rest was her tax for her Familia.

The Pallum sighed at the reminder. She had tried to run away from the Soma Familia several times, but since she didn't make much from her job of selling her service as a supporter – at least until now – her scope was limited to somewhere within the city, meaning that it was just a matter of time until they found her before dragging her back.

A part of her wondered if she could ask Hestia Familia to help her with the situation. After thinking of it for a while, it was unlikely that they could give any help…or rather, wouldn't. While Bell was indeed a much better person than she initially thought, the same couldn't be said for Morgan.

Sure, his wife was nothing like the adventurers that often swindled her, but she was the type that would throw her into the jaws of monsters without batting an eye if that meant saving her husband.

Actually, that made her wonder; just how did those two become married considering their clashing personality? Maybe the term "opposites attract" could indeed occur in romantic circumstances.

"Oh, that's right." Speaking about her, Lily remembered that she received something from the mage. "I wonder what's inside it…"

When she opened the pouch and turned it upside down – her hand below it ready to catch the content – the little girl saw that it was a blue gem in the shape of a ball. Upon inspecting it, the Pallum noticed that there was a symbol of a bow and an arrow on it.

"What is this exactly?" She asked herself. "This couldn't be an ordinary gem, considering who give it to…"

CIIIIIINNNGGG

Without any warning, a bright light suddenly exploded from the gem.

"Gah!" That was the last word coming out of her mouth before Lily lost her consciousness.

When the Pallum was awoken, the first thing that she noticed was how the night sky had been replaced with daylight. Wasting no time at all, she immediately prepared her backpack before exiting her hideout, heading towards the home of Soma Familia.

It didn't take long for Lily to receive a reminder of why she hated the place.

"Please, just a sip."

"Come on, look at all of these golds! These should be enough, right?"

"Give me one, give me! I can't stand it anymore."

Clicking her tongue, the Pallum turned her attention away from the rabble and walked into the mansion. It was then she was reminded of another reason why she hated the Soma Familia beyond the abuse its members committed upon her; many of them were just…pathetic, there was no way to sugarcoat it. They enslaved themselves to the wine that they – by now – should have realized that they would never acquire.

Wanting to spend no longer than necessary in this place, Lily immediately went towards the room where the man that called himself her captain – her superior – was waiting for her. When she entered the office, the brunette saw him in the middle of working on the account book.

"Ah, Lily." Zanis Lustra greeted her with a warmness that was obviously fake to anyone with a working brain. "You come later than usual."

"Yeah, yeah, I was a bit tired, OK?" The Pallum replied as she threw a pouch full of valis into the desk. "There, my cut. Farewell."

"Oh, Lily, you're always so…hm?" The captain stopped talking, noticing something. "Lily, can you show me your wrist? The one with the crossbow?"

"Hah?" She didn't even bother to hide her annoyance.

"That's an order." Zanis didn't even pretend to be friendly as well.

Clicked her tongue once more, Lily folded the cloth on her arm, showing the wrist-crossbow in her possession…only for her to realize that it was not her wrist-crossbow.

No offense to the one who created it, but her wrist-crossbow was practically a toy against the monsters of the Dungeon. The most that the bolts fired from it could do was wounding the beasts, even if they came from the upper floors. The crossbow currently tied on her wrist, however, appeared to be able to do more than that. It was definitely well-made, something that would take an expert craftsman quite a while to make.

"My, my, that's one good crossbow." The Captain of Soma Familia commented. "Certainly not something you can't buy with your own money."

"As if you care about that." The Pallum thought in her mind. "You can't have it."

"I am not asking." He showed the palm of his hand; the message was obvious.

"And Lily said no."

"Give it to me!"

Zanis' hand went to grab the wrist-crossbow. Reacting by instinct, Lily jumped back and triggered the weapon.

TWIING

"GAH!"

Luck was not on the side of the Level 2 adventurer for the bolt flew straight into his heart. As he fell back, the brunette looked at the wrist-crossbow in a mix of amazement and confusion: it was capable of penetrating the skin of a Level 2 adventurer which was more than what the majority of adventurers could claim. Yet there was also the question since last time she checked, she hadn't had time to load it with a bolt.

"YOU FUCK…KING…!"

The moment she heard it, Lily immediately moved away from the captain, creating as much distance between them. In her panic, she couldn't help but also feel curious at how…slow Zanis was. Sure, he had a bolt in his chest, but that shouldn't be enough to…

Wait, why was his mouth foaming?

"Augh…ugh…"

With no warning whatsoever, the man fell to the floor, writhing in pain. The Pallum simply watched as groan after groan came out from his mouth…until there was no voice anymore. She leaned a bit, wondering if this was a trick or something. Seeing no reaction from the captain, she did the only thing that she could think of.

Run away.

"And that's how it happened."

Once she finished telling the story, Lily went back to her seat and took a sip of the offered tea. Meanwhile, the Hestia Familia – who had been listening – tried to digest what they had heard.

"I admit," Morgan was the first to speak. "That of all scenarios in consideration, killing your superior is not even on the list."

"So, you have something to do with this?" The Pallum said as she pointed at her crossbow.

"Consider it a gift." She simply shrugged. "I have noticed how…lacking you are in offensive power and thus came up with the solution."

"What exactly is that?" Hestia asked, pointing at the weapon as well.

"It will be easier to explain if we could have access to her status." The Servant explained. "However, I don't believe that that's an option."

"Until Lord Soma allowed me to leave, no." Lily shook her head.

"Um, excuse me," Bell raised his hand, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "But shouldn't we do something about – you know – the dead captain of Soma Familia?"

The Pallum was about to say that there was nothing to worry about…until she remembered who exactly the person whose life she had just taken before her face became pale.

"Yabee, that's not good," Habetrot commented.

"That captain might be a piece of shit," Lily didn't bother to hide her distaste. "But he's also the only one keeping the members of Soma Familia in line."

At that, Morgan's eyebrow twitched; that sounded too familiar to comfort.

When they arrived at the mansion of Soma Familia, the group wondered if another Familia attacked the building before their arrival.

While the state of the church where Hestia Familia currently lived was obviously not good, there was at least the excuse of it being abandoned a long time ago. The same thing could not be used to explain the state of the Soma Familia's mansion which had holes on its walls, not a single window remaining intact, and signs that indicated some part of it had caught on fire.

After standing for several minutes, the group began to enter the mansion. The gate that separated the complex from the rest of the city was no longer on its hinge. Looking around the courtyard, they saw several people lying on the ground, grunting that came from their mouths indicating that they were still alive.

"S-Should we do something about them?" Bell asked, looking at them worriedly.

"Hmm…nope." Lily took a look at the figures lying on the ground before giving her answer. "I know these people. Trust me, we better leave them to the Ganesha Familia. Lying on the hard surface wouldn't kill them."

The group then entered the very building itself. Like the gate before it, the door of the mansion had been torn off from its place. While their feet were covered (or not even touching the ground in the case of Habetrot), they still carefully navigated their way through the floor that was rife with wood splinters. They also found out that there were more wounded people inside.

It didn't take long for them to reach the room that used to be the office of Zanis Lustra, the Captain of Soma Familia. Upon entering it, they saw that not only the place had been ransacked, but the corpse of the man remained where he had lost his life. The Pallum in the group slowly approached the body and – once she was close enough – kicked the head.

"Fuck you!" Lily let out the curse, followed by a stomp on the head.

"O-Oi, Lily!" The white-haired boy exclaimed and was about to approach her before he was prevented from doing so. "M-Morgan?"

"Let her vent her anger." His wife told him. "She deserves at least that much."

Thus, others stood by as the little girl let out every bit of anger in her heart. When she was done, it was clear that if there would ever be a funeral for the deceased captain – regardless of how unlikely such a thing was – it would be one with a closed casket.

"Are you done?" Hestia asked, slowly moving her hand to the brunette's shoulder.

"Yeah…I am…" She panted for a while before she was able to control her breath. "There's…still one room that we should check."

"Let's go then." The goddess replied.

Leaving behind the office, the Pallum guided them deeper into the mansion. After a minute or two of walking, they entered another room. It was immediately clear what this room was and who owned it the moment they set their eyes on the sole inhabitant of the room who also happened to be the only one unharmed.

"Oh, Lily." Soma, the God of Wine, greeted her before letting out a sigh. "Unfortunately, there's nothing valuable left in here. They have taken everything away…including my tools."

"It's not for money that I am here." Lily retorted. "I am here to inform you of my resignation from Soma Familia."

"Very well," Without any protest, he agreed with the demand. "Show me your back."

"You know," Habetrot spoke. "I am surprised that he's actually pretty fine despite everything."

"Hurting or even killing a god is a taboo," Hestia explained. "Plus, making the guys who control your afterlife angry is not exactly the wisest course of action."

"Oh?" Morgan – who had been looking around the room – noticed an opened bottle of wine with the glasses nearby. "May I?"

"Suit yourself." The wine god replied as he began to work on the Pallum's falna.

The Servant poured herself at least a quarter of the glass. After that, she swirled it before putting the glass under her nose, smelling the wine. One of her eyebrows raised a bit before taking a sip.

"You know, for a wine made by the God of Wine," She commented. "This is quite a disappointment."

When she drank the liquid made from grapes, Soma had finished releasing Lily from becoming part of his Familia. Upon hearing the statement, he froze with the exception of his head which slowly turned towards Morgan.

"Ah, that must be the failed one." The brunette said as she covered her back. "It's delicious, but nothing compared to the true one, according to what I heard."

"No, that's a True Soma." The god immediately corrected her.

"Say what now?!"

"Why do you call it a disappointment?" Soma asked, ignoring the cry of his former child.

"If I have to put it in words, the wine is contaminated." The former queen explained as she picked up the wine bottle. "I suspect that – during the sealing – it was not done properly?"

"Indeed. A very unfortunate thing." He chuckled. "At least it's still something worthy of the high table."

"Um, wouldn't that mean the wine is now a failure?" Lily couldn't hold her curiosity.

"The difference between a true and a failure depends on the end product of the process." The god explained. "Even a True Soma that is not in a prime condition is not something the best failure could match."

"Lord Soma," Morgan spoke up. "It appears to me that your Familia has basically abandoned you. In other words, you will no longer have the resource needed to do your hobby."

"What are you trying to say?" He tilted his head.

"A proposal." She made a smirk that had been known to make many tremble in fear.

Meanwhile, in the Twilight Manor, the Goddess Loki suddenly sneezed without any warning.

"I don't know why," The trickster goddess spoke. "But I just have a feeling that something bad is about to happen with my beloved Soma wine."

"Lily wanted to say that she couldn't believe that Miss Morgan would do something like that." The Pallum said as the group headed back to the church. "But Miss Morgan is the type of person that would hire a mass murderer without batting an eye."

"L-Lily!" Bell exclaimed at the statement.

"Calm down, husband. She's not exactly wrong." The Servant said while smiling. "Though a bit of correction; I didn't hire a mass murderer, I adopted one."

At that, the rest of the group of five stared at her, not exactly believing what they had just heard.

"That should be better how?" The little girl couldn't hold her snark back.

"Mass murderer of fairies, I assume?" Habetrot asked, receiving a nod in return. "Figures."

"What do you mean?" The goddess asked.

"Let's just say that – despite being a fairy – I can't hold people that want to exterminate us to be at fault."

That statement caused the atmosphere to become really awkward.

"Oh, that's right." Not wanting to bear with it any longer, the brunette changed the subject. "Miss Morgan, how did you manage to just…ignore the wine? Every people that I know who had drunk it ended up going mad wanting another sip."

"That's the thing; I just ignore it." The Berserker replied, causing others to look at her in confusion. "First of all, I am quite experienced with food possessing…otherworldly taste. So, while impressive, the True Soma is not something I never experienced. Related to that, I believe the reason why so many falls to the taste is because they refuse to forget about it."

"Um, what do you mean by that?" The white-haired boy asked.

"Dear husband, is there a food of which you love the taste of and desire to have another bite in the future?" After receiving a nod, she continued. "Now, before I mention it, was your mind thinking about the food in question?"

Realization slowly came into his head and he was not the only one. The rest of the group also began to understand the meaning of her words.

"I see." The Rider-class Servant spoke. "Because of the unique taste of the True Soma, those who drink it want to enjoy it as long as possible. There's nothing wrong with that, but they refuse to let the taste go, causing their minds to be continuously plagued by it. This made them want to have another taste of the True Soma and considering how hard it is to get one…"

"L-Lily can't believe this!" Her tone revealed the sincerity of her opinion. "All this time…all this time, all that they need to do…is to just let go of their desire?!"

"I suppose that's why the God Soma is so depressed. It's that easy to not be consumed by his greatest work." Morgan stated. "On the other hand, there's a reason the word 'obsession' exists."

"I guess experience and mindset play a part as well," Hestia suggested. "Many gods like Soma wine as well, but you wouldn't find them groveling on the street for it. I had once drunk Dionysus' wine and his creation was no worse than Soma's. I know what I am talking about."

Upon arriving back at the church, the first thing that was done was make Lily a member of the Hestia Familia. The second thing that was done was write down her status.

Liliruca Arde
Level 1
Strength: I98
Defense: H111
Dexterity: H137
Agility: G202
Magic: F300

Magic:
Cinder Ella: Shape-shifting magic. Target will take the envisioned shape at the time of the spell magic will Fail without a clear image. Imitation is recommended.

Trigger: Your scars are mine. My scars are mine
Release: Stroke of Midnight's Bell

Yew Bow: Delivers poisonous bolt able to affect even spiritual beings.

Skills:
Artel Assist: Activates when carried weight exceeds a certain level. Amount of assistance is proportional to weight carried.
By One's Blood: Reveals the echoes of the past.

"Lily is not a betting woman," The Pallum stated upon seeing her status. "But Miss Morgan must be the one responsible for…this."

"Only half of it." The Servant replied, looking intrigued as well. "The other one is unexpected."

"So, what exactly happened to her?" Hestia asked as she cleaned her finger.

"Back when I was alive, I have a trio of knights known as the Fairy Knights of the Round Table. The three of them – shall we say – received a blessing that allowed them to wield the power and abilities of the Knights of the Round Table." Morgan explained. "As for the Knights themselves, they were legendary knights and leave it at that."

"Actually, if you don't mind, Morgan…" Hearing about them, Bell couldn't help but be curious about tales of heroes from her homeland.

"I do mind." Her tone left no room for negotiation, causing her husband to sigh.

"So, I am basically one of these 'Fairy Knights' now?" Lily asked.

"Of course not." The Berserker waved her hand. "At best, you're some kind of a squire and that's being charitable. The quality of the catalysts in this city means that the best that I could do is give you some boost-up and a special ability. Nothing compared to the likes of those three."

"Oh, well." The Pallum simply shrugged. "Can't see myself fighting like adventurers anyway."

Unbeknown to her, the witch smirked at the statement. She did find such naivety rather amusing.

"Hold on," Habetrot suddenly said. "What about the other half that is not expected?"

"Maybe a previous life?" The Goddess of the Hearth suggested. "One of the tasks that we gods have back in Tenkai is to cleanse the souls of the deceased so that they could be reborn in another life."

"The theory has a merit," Morgan stated. "Plus, I know little of how the afterlife work. So, it's not like I could disagree."

"So, I basically remember my time as…" Lily commented. "I don't know, an errand girl of the Fianna Knights or something?"

"Maybe one of the knights?" The white-haired boy suggested, causing the supporter to chuckle.

"Come on, Mister Bell, be realistic." She said as she shook her head. "No way Lily's past life is being a member of such a group."

The next day after all the issues were solved, the adventurer party of the Hestia Familia once more returned to the Dungeon with their blacksmith. Despite the increase in power and even a new ability, as she had said, Lily decided to remain a simple supporter. Thus, not much had changed during this expedition.

Once they were done with their business in the Dungeon, the party returned to the surface and went towards the Guild to exchange their loot for money. After the process was completed, they divided their gains and the two Familia went on their respective way. It was at that point that a staff of the institution revealed that she had something to tell them about.

"Excuse me, Mister Bell, Miss Morgan," A pink-haired woman called for them. "I am Misha Flott, Eina's friend. I have heard that your Familia is looking for a new dwelling place?"

"We do," Bell replied. "What about it?"

"You know how she said she's going to look up for it, right?" The staff explained. "Well, there's actually already an empty house that would suit your needs along with it being within the acceptable price."

"That sounds rather strange for her to not mention it." The Servant commented.

"To be honest, it's likely due to how the previous owners…didn't exactly meet a peaceful ending."

"Ah, a haunted house, huh?" The boy admitted that it made sense for their advisor to not talk about it.

"It wouldn't matter to us," Morgan stated. "Tell us where the house is."

"Of course. It's…" The woman picked up a paper. "It's the former house of Astraea Familia."

Abandoned. That was an apt word to describe the building in front of them.

It was in a better condition in comparison to the church that Hestia Familia used as their dwelling, but it was clear that slowly yet steadily nature was retaking the land with vines growing all over the house.

"Shall we take a look then?" The former queen said as she produced the key provided by the Guild.

"Let's do it." Hestia agreed with the decision. "To think that Astraea used to live here."

"You know her, Goddess?" Bell asked as they headed towards the building.

"She's one of my friends. A fellow virgin goddess." She explained. "She dedicated herself to justice and I heard that her Familia used to safeguard Orario."

"They did. I was but a child back then, yet I still remember it clearly." Lily stated. "Unfortunately, a tragedy caused the death of all but a single adventurer. Not that long after, Lady Astraea departed from the city."

"Out of curiosity, what happened to the last member?" The boy asked.

"She got blacklisted for avenging the deaths of her comrades." The Pallum said. "There are many rumors about it. Some said that her targets have friends in high places and use their influence to stop her. Others said that she got innocent people involved, becoming no better than those that she hunted."

"Anger could take even the noblest of person to unexpected places," Morgan commented before opening the door.

The first thing that they noticed was the dust all over the place which was not unexpected. The group spread out, each of them doing their own tour of the place that could become their new home. They also noticed that there was still furniture in many of the rooms, like beds, sofa, rug, table, and more; indicating that the Goddess Astraea and her last child departed from their home in a hurry.

"It looks nice. There are many rooms for us and potential members." Habetrot commented once she finished the exploration. "To think that this building is just left alone…"

"Well, with the tragedy that befell the Astraea Familia in consideration," Hestia commented. "It makes sense many would think that this place might be haunted by the dead adventurers."

"Do ghosts actually exist?" Bell couldn't help but ask. "As in, haunting buildings and the likes?"

"I don't know. You better ask the gods who handle death on daily basis like Hades or Odin." The Goddess of the Hearth replied. "I can say though that – despite the creepy atmosphere – this place is definitely not haunted."

"I agree with the statement," Morgan said, joining the group. "I have been checking the building and found no sign of magic. Any dread that one feels from this place is simply due to the rumors."

"In that case, Lily doesn't see anything wrong in acquiring the building." The Pallum gave her opinion. "I am sure Lady Astraea wouldn't have a problem if we use it."

"I know her, she wouldn't." The black-haired deity stated. "I believe she wouldn't have a problem if we used the furniture as well. It's not like we could return it to her due to not knowing where she is now."

"You sure you're not just wanting to mooch from yet another friend of yours?" The witch pointed out.

"Hey!" The reaction caused others to laugh.

"So, you're finally moving from the church into a proper house?" Hephaistos said as she offered her friend a cup of coffee. "I must say, you're moving quickly in life. Even more than I was when my position is similar to yours."

"Now, now, no need to be that humble, Hep," Hestia replied, accepting the offer. "At least you're capable of working on metal, unlike this lazy goddess."

Both of them chuckled at the words. Currently, the two friends were inside the office of the red-haired goddess. With Hestia deciding to move her – and thus her Familia's – place of dwelling, it was only proper that she visited the Blacksmith Goddess first for being the owner of the church.

"Astraea's old house, huh?" The one-eyed woman commented. "Never thought I would see the day that it would come back to life. Do you have any intention of replacing her position?"

"Nah, I am no goddess of justice. I want nothing more than a simple, peaceful life for my Familia." The black-haired goddess replied. "However, I can see Morgan deciding to do that when she's ready to stake her claim on the city."

"That's going to be a challenge what with Loki, Freya, Ganesha, and other Familia." Hephaistos pointed out.

"I doubt that she would see it as something that would stop her. I mean, Zeus and Hera used to practically rule Orario for a thousand years before Loki and Freya dethroned them." Hestia shrugged. "Say, if you don't mind me asking…?"

"What is it?"

"How exactly do you attract people to join your Familia?" She asked. "Bell, Morgan, Habetrot, and finally Lily, all of them joined mine due to what can only be described as sheer dumb luck. I can't exactly rely on that."

While she knew that Bell could – technically speaking – simply summon more Servants, it was not exactly a reliable method to increase her Familia or even sustain it. One day, the boy called Bell Cranel would die, and – unless he transferred the pact – his Servants would follow soon. Considering Morgan's personality, she would likely follow him.

"Well, as you have said, I could work on metals, so I naturally attracted the attention of blacksmiths," Hephaistos stated. "You're going to need to use a different strategy than mine."

"Unfortunately, I don't think hearth and family are going to attract people considering the reason why people go to Orario." The deity replied before remembering her first children. "Well, most people."

"Perhaps you could use the reputation of that boy of yours." The red-haired woman suggested. "He is – after all – the current record-holder of the fastest adventurer to ever Level Up."

"I guess…" Hestia didn't sound sure about it. "I don't know, that might be putting too much burden on Bell. Also sound rather sketchy since it's like I am saying that by joining my Familia, you could become a record-holder as well."

"Well, unlike our home, this world is not perfect, so a bit of unfairness is to be expected." She put it bluntly. "As for him, it's only a matter of time until the pressure of his title is felt. The best you could do is prepare him for that."

"I'll take that in mind." The Goddess of the Hearth stated as she took a sip of her drink.

Answers to some reviews:

haziqsaffari2: Well, I am not sure if a god could know about Syr's true nature considering how she interacted with other gods. So, I just put it as "good enough to fool a god."

Wally991: It's because Morgan already knows about the history and even told Bell about it. So, no need for Lily to explain it.

Loken Lupercal: This is after Morgan's death in LB6. So, yeah, Bell would have a fun time ahead with his dreams.

JD91B: Let's be honest, can you imagine someone like Bell ever being in a relationship with someone like Morgan le Fay?

So, I admit that I am not exactly satisfied with this chapter. The part with Lily and Soma Familia is shorter than I thought, so I have to add more to it. Then it was still not enough, making me have to add even more topics for the chapter.

Oh, well, hopefully, the end product is not that bad.

If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.

Review, please!