A few days had passed since Lili's first meeting with Ais Wallenstein. They continued their partnership and went down to the Dungeon together. However, yesterday Ais said that she had a mandatory rest day, so Lili decided to go to the Dungeon alone.

Because she was alone, Lili did not dare venture further than the first floor. The problem was that the first floor was chock full of newbies like her, making it hard to find any monsters and collect the magic stones. Lili clicked her tongue as her next target was hunted by someone else. They were lucky she didn't pay attention; she'd tag their face and confront them otherwise.

After killing several more goblins, Lili decided to end it today. Going alone was not productive at all. She left the Guild with five hundred valis more in her pocket instead of around one thousand she got when she split the money with Ais. Whatever. At least now she got five thousand valis.

As she entered Soma Familia's home, somebody blocked her way.

"Oi, squirt. I heard you're properly fighting monsters. How about sharing some valis with me?"

If Lili remembered it right, the guy in front of him was Canoe Belway. Tch, this was why she hated Zanis' scheme. Everyone lost their minds over the wine that they resorted to anything to even get a single drop of it, even extortion of fellow Familia members.

This was why she really needed powers, fast. Glaring at the raccoon demihuman, Lili raised the spear she was dragging behind her. "Fuck off, or else..."

She made her threat clear.

Being the coward who can only extort a six-year-old kid, Canoe backed down when he faced a sharp spear. Good. Her message was understood. With nothing else blocking her way, Lili went toward Zanis and put five thousand valis on his hand.

"I'm meeting Lord Soma for a status update. Five thousand valis per update, right?"

"Only the first time," Zanis smirked at her. "But I'm being generous. Next time and only next time, it'll cost you five thousand too. After that, it's ten thousand, same as the others."

This damn rat... Lili buried her anger at Zanis' cruel treatment of his Familia members. Ten thousand valis per status update. It wasn't about the amount of money; it was the fact that to become stronger, you have to line up Zanis' pocket with your own hard-earned money. That was the cruelty that Lili could not forgive her Captain for. What if they didn't have money? They had to face the death trap that was the Dungeon without any status update!

Zanis opened the door to Soma's work room, and Lili entered.

Hearing the door close behind her, she looked at her God, who was mixing something up for his wine.

"Lord Soma," Lili started, getting the attention of the Wine God. "I'd like to have a status update, please."

Soma did not change his expression. He just gestured for Lili to show her back to him. Did he even realize what was happening in his Familia? Lili frowned.

Lili showed her back and let Soma work on her falna. She did not expect a gasp coming from behind her, though.

"You..."

"Hm?" Lili turned her head and tried to look at the God behind her. "Is there something wrong, Lord Soma?"

"You have a lifetime worth of memories..." Oh, right, her memories as Fianna. Did Soma somehow see them? Was it because he was updating her falna? This was the first time Lili got her falna updated in her life, after all.

"Yes," Lili answered shortly. After that, she felt Soma's fingers leaving her back. "Is it over?"

"Here," Soma handed Lili her updated status. There was an increase in strength, as she expected for carrying an oversized spear. However, what was unexpected was her newly acquired skill, False Strength. It was a skill that compensated for her lack of strength when carrying something.

"Thank you, Lord Soma."

He did not reply. Soma just looked at Lili with an unreadable expression.

"Why do you fight?" He suddenly asked after several seconds of silence. Soma looked at Fianna's memories, and now as Liliruca Arde, she also took arms and ventured down the Dungeon. She assumed he wanted to know her motivations.

"Do you even realize what happened in the Familia?"

Soma gave her a look of confusion. This God... clicking her tongue, Lili lashed out at him. "Stop wallowing in your wine and look around, you shitty God. Your Familia is in shambles because one guy is playing a tyrant, and the rest doesn't care for anything but your failed product. Is this what you want as a patron God?"

Of course, Lili did not raise her voice that much. She was wary of Zanis attempting to eavesdrop on their conversation. However, she did not see any remorse on Soma's face.

"They are disappointing. To lose their mind over my failure..."

And yet he was interested in her and wanted to know her cause. Was it because she resisted his wine? Unbelievable.

"...I respect you, do you know that, Lord Soma? I know you took care of me when I was little. I appreciate you, not just as my God but also as someone who cared for me despite my idiot parents. I wanted to gain power and become stronger, so I went to the Dungeon. I want to overthrow Zanis' tyranny.

Lili gritted her teeth. "But it seems that my respect is misplaced. You're a shit God and don't deserve anyone."

She did not wait for Soma's reaction and moved to leave. Before that, she looked at the shocked expression on Soma's face and continued, "But I will still fight and struggle. Because while you don't care for the addicts, I do. Even when they act like bastards and resort to anything, even if they never cared for me, I'll still fight for them. At least, they deserve good Gods who cared for them."

And with that, Lili slammed the door, leaving her last shred of respect for her God inside.

A/N: False Strength is just like Artel Assist. But since the way she acquired it is different, I feel like the skill name should be different, and I'm still shit at naming skills lol.