[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Interlude: The Ash-Covered Girl (2)

"You don't have to do this, Mr. Percy, Mr. Welf," She said, looking at the two men beside her. "Lili will be fine, really."

Neither looked particularly convinced, though she couldn't really blame them. Out of all of them, she was by far the most reluctant to be heading in this direction—but what she wanted didn't really matter. In truth, a part of her was glad to have both of them here, even if she knew it was pointless. They'd keep the threats on the street at bay, but not the ones within her 'home.'

"You know, if you want, you could stay at my place," Percy said abruptly, eyes still scanning the street carefully. "I'm sure Hestia would be fine with it if you need a place to stay—or I could just buy you a room at a hotel. You mentioned before that you didn't like going home.

It was tempting, especially as the home of her Familia came into sight. Standing here, in front of the place she hated the most in the world, the idea of simply walking away was truly tempting. There was a reason, after all, that she came here so rarely.

But she knew better than to try and run away.

"Thank you for the offer, Mr. Percy," She said, smiling at him with all the cheer she could muster. "But that won't do. Tonight is the Soma Familia's monthly meeting and as one of its members, Lili must attend."

"Monthly meeting?" Percy asked, frown deepening as he glanced her way. "About what?"

"Mm," She hummed, not really wanting to think about it herself. "It would take a while to explain everything, but the main point is to announce this month's expenses. The Familia as a whole needs to make a certain amount and each individual member needs to reach a specific quota."

"A quota?" Welf repeated. "To pay for expenses and stuff?"

"Oh, like how I provide for Hestia?" Percy said, blinking. "I didn't really think about it, but...is it that big an issue for larger Familia?"

"It can be," Welf said. "When you have dozens or hundreds of members, even basic expenses can add up, and that's even without getting into adventurer or business expenses. Although, in truth, I don't know much about stuff like that either. The Hephaestus Familia supports itself off of a portion of everything we sell; it gets split between the smith and the Familia, basically. Since we're...us, paying for basic expenses isn't really an issue. Each smith is expected to provide for their forges out of their own pocket, though."

Percy nodded slowly, probably thinking his way through the logistics of that, but from what she understood, the Hestia Familia was both very new and small. For an adventurer of Percy's caliber, providing for himself and his goddess was probably fairly trivial. Of course, it wasn't as though the Soma Familia had much trouble paying for what it needed, either. The absurd size of their expenses was due to other reasons.

"...What happens if you don't meet the quota?" He wondered, looking at her again with another worried frown. It was easy enough to guess what he was worried about.

"Nothing," She answered, almost smiling at the thought, if not quite out of happiness. "It's nothing like what you're thinking, Mr. Percy."

"...Really?" He asked, looking more than a bit doubtful.

"Really," She answered—and it was the truth. In and of itself, the only thing that resulted from failure was 'nothing.' Those who could not meet the quote received nothing, because to most of her family, getting nothing was the worst punishment. "Of course, you aren't rewarded for failure, either. Among other things, Lord Soma only updates the Status of those that properly support the Familia or gives them gifts."

And only those who met the quota received 'Soma.' Only those who played their part received anything. But she didn't want what they offered to begin with.

"You have to meet your quote to update your Status? Is that normal?" Percy asked, scowling and turning towards Welf questioningly.

"It varies," Welf said, though he also had a slight frown on his lips. "For larger Familia, updating everyone's Status every single day is just unfeasible. It's probably a bit different for you, since you're the only one in Hestia's Familia, but for one like mine...if Hephaestus tried, she'd get never get anything done and she'd probably bleed herself dry. So usually there's a system of some kind in place, though how it's decided varies according to the Familia, though. Sometimes the god will just do a certain number each day or there will be a predefined schedule. In my case, I just have to make an appointment with Hephaestus and give a bit of notice. I used to do it every couple of weeks or so, because my progress was slow, but I've been advancing a bit more quickly lately, so I've tried to do it every few days."

"I...see," Percy answered, nodding his head slowly. "But nothing else happens? You're not in any trouble?"

"It's possible Canoe will complain, but...no, Lili thinks she will be okay. There shouldn't be any problems tonight and it's unlikely he would risk trying anything."

"Do you want me to wait outside?" He asked, still looking concerned. "Just in case."

"Lili thinks Mr. Percy would look a bit suspicious," She said, unable to stop herself from giggling at the thought. "But Lili already knows Mr. Percy will do as he pleases. Lili hopes he will not wait too long and forget to sleep, though."

And truthfully, the idea that he'd be there was reassuring, even if she knew there was nothing he could do to change any of this.

"Just do something noticeable if anything happens," He replied. "And I'll come running."

"It would be very rude to enter another Familia's home in such a way, Mr. Percy," She told him. "Lili thinks many people would take offense."

"People get made over all kinds of things," Percy answered with a shrug before leaning against a wall opposite her home. "Will you leave once your meeting's over?"

"Yes," She said. "Lili will see both of you soon."

With a cheerful wave, she began to walk away from them and towards the looming gates of her Familia home. They weren't actually looming, of course, but she could all but feel her mood declining with every step she took away from Welf and Percy. As she passed through the doors and shut them behind her with a soft click, she couldn't help but feel like she'd left something behind and shut her eyes mournfully.

"Nothing this time either, Liliruca?" A voice abruptly asked, nearly making her jump and making her heart skip a beat. Even before she turned around, she knew who it was.

"No, Lord Zanis," She said to the head of her Familia. "Lili is nothing but a pathetic supporter who can't do anything right. Please forgive Lili."

The head of the Soma Familia didn't look like much, the only thing that stood out about him being that he barely stood out. He had a thin face with glasses, slightly curly hair, and an average build. None of which changed that he was the strongest member of her Familia and the one who'd made it into what it was today. Though it was often had to decide on a precise order, he was one of the people he hated the most in the world.

But slowly, he sighed and shook his head.

"Sometimes I wonder about you, Liliruca," He said before turning. "Follow me."

She obeyed without answering, letting him lead the way towards the meeting room—except, that's not where he took her, taking an early left and then guiding her towards an office she'd never been in before.

"Lord Zanis," She said, honestly starting to worry. "What about the meeting?"

"Do you think I'm stupid, Liliruca?" He asked instead of answering, looking at her over his desk.

She knew better than to say what she thought, but shook her head anyway.

"You haven't been meeting your payments—or rather, you haven't been making your payments," He said. "You don't drink the Soma, even when I give it too you freely—"

No. Nothing in this Familia was ever free. It was true that Zanis regularly gave tastes of Soma to even those who couldn't meet the quotas, but it wasn't 'free.' It was just a means of controlling others and making them obey.

"And you haven't updated your Status in nearly six months now," He continued. "It's enough to make me worry—and wonder. Could it be that there's something you want, Lili? Something you want even more than Soma?"

She looked down at her feet to keep him from seeing her face.

"No, Lord Zanis," She said. "Lili is simply incompetent—to worthless to waste something as valuable as Lord Soma's work upon. I apologize for any worry I have caused you."

He chuckled and smiled indulgently at that, but his eyes remained sharp behind his glasses.

"Please, Lili, don't be so concerned. I'm just a bit curious—I have to look after my family, right?" He said. "I've always looked after you, so I thought there might be some way for me to help. Do you remember how I kept you safe from Canoe before?"

She did, though she obviously didn't remember it the way he did. Canoe had robbed her and Zanis had looked on and watched it happen before asking her something similar to what he did today. When she hadn't answered, Canoe had kicked her to try and force her to reply, and then suggested selling her to a brothel and putting her to work there. Zanis had decided not to—because Chandra had pointed out that it might upset the Ishtar Familia if they did.

"Yes, Lord Zanis," She said out loud. "Lord Zanis has always been kind to Lili."

"I've kept your secret, as well," He said, startling her again which seemed to make him smile. "Come now, of course I know—I know the Status of everyone in this Familia. How else would I keep an eye on them? And yours...well, it's an interesting ability. Some had considered other uses for it, such as having you transform into monsters to draw out others for capture, but I never allowed it."

What 'others?' Were there actually more people who knew or was this just a disguised threat?

"But I've heard some interesting news of late," He told her, not giving her time to think too deeply about it. "Such as of a group of thieving Pallums who've been robbing adventurers and escaping. Of course, I know you'd never resort to theft, Liliruca."

This entire Familia was full of thieves, she wanted to reply. And he, specially, and murdered and worse.

"Don't look at me like that, Lili," He said, voice shifting slightly. "I know my Familia does...many things. But have I ever ratted any of them out? No. Because we're a family, Lili—and all I want is what's best for our family. Including you."

And what was best for the family was apparently him in charge, as he'd murdered the opposing candidate to take the reins of it. What was best was for everyone to be addicted to Soma and do anything they could to get more, feeding money into his hands. What was best for the family was—

"Do you still want to leave, Lili?" He asked her.

And she froze. Despite herself, she froze.

"What?" The words fell from her numb lips without her even thinking.

"It's been a long time now, hasn't it?" He mused. "Since you ran away. I was really surprised when I first heard about it, you know—surprised and worried. No one had ever tried to run away before, you know. You were honestly the first. But that family that took you in..."

She remembered it clearly. The sound of things breaking as members of her Familia wrecked the shop. The elderly man being beaten. The store being robbed. The kind couple who had taken her in—

"I wish I had never met you."

"But...if even after all that, you want to leave...I suppose I could help you," He said. "If it's me, all it would take was a word to convince Lord Soma. One could even say that I'm the one who decides who can leave."

"How...how much?" She whispered. She couldn't stop herself now, not with it so close—

"Hm," He considered. "How much indeed. Ten million valis? A hundred million valis? It's hard to say. Releasing a member of a Familia carries with it so many risks—especially a member as valuable as you, Lili. There's so many thing you could do if you stayed with us, after all. So much money you could make. Even being conservative, if you spent, say, twenty years working for the Soma Familia, how much could you make in that time? It's hard to imagine isn't it?"

She felt her heart sink with every word he said, her hands shaking in simple despair, but after a moments pause he continued.

"But perhaps there's another way," He seemed to decide. "Something only you could do that would be worth a lifetime of service."

"What?" She asked and she couldn't even try to hide the desperation in her voice. But if this was her chance—

"That's an interesting group of adventurers you've found, Lili," He told her. "Welf Crozzo, was it?"

And just like that, she understood. Her hands shook for another moment and then stopped.

"Yes," She murmured.

"To think there was a Crozzo in this city all along," Zanis said with a sigh. "No matter. I assume he's genuine."

"Yes," She answered again, feeling even emptier than before.

"And he has one?" Zanis asked, not even bothering to conceal the naked avarice in his voice anymore. "Crozzo's magic sword."

"Yes."

"Such a thing..." He paused and released another, wholly different sounding sigh. It was disgusting, but she couldn't even muster up any disdain right now. "Would be worth millions of valis. It's kept safe, no doubt, and robbing a member of the Hephaestus Familia would be foolhardy indeed—but can you imagine?"

"Yes."

"Does he trust you, Lili?" He asked her directly.

At that, she couldn't help but react. No, she wanted to say. Neither of them should have trusted her. A few days wasn't long enough to really get to know someone—and someone like her should have been trusted even if they did know her. But...

"Yes," She said, hands briefly shaking again.

"Well, then," Zanis told her. "I hope nothing unfortunate happens to either of them. So many thieves have been around of late."

For a long, long moment, she was silent.

"...Is there...any other way?" She asked and Zanis immediately narrowed his eyes at her.

"No," He said firmly. "This is the only way for you to leave, Lili. I hope you aren't having second thoughts again—not after what that couple in the flower shop did. Not after all the adventurers who betrayed you. Do you think they'd still be so kind if they knew you for what you really were? Or have you forgotten that yourself?"

"No," She answered his questions—and her own doubts.

That's right. She was just a thief, in the end. That's all she'd been for a long, long time—and this was the only way that would ever change. The only way it could change. Time was up and she'd always known the truth. All it would take was one last theft and once she had the magic sword...

They'd be better off without her, anyway. This world would be better off without her.

And without the Soma Familia, too.