Dragon Ball: Saiyan's Gourmet Journey

Chapter 681: The revision of the plan script triggered by the suggestion of the neutral god, and the return of Loki's Familia to the surface.

"First of all, your plan to replace the leader of the Soma Familia and to rectify the terrible atmosphere of the Soma Familia feels to me to be very crude and barbaric, like a plan that a brute warrior came up with on a whim without thinking too much."

Hermes first gave his own assessment.

Broly: "..."

He's a brute, I'm so sorry!

"Of course, I'm not saying that such a plan is bad. When you have the strength to win, a straightforward plan is always better than some nonsensical schemes and tricks."

Hephaestus and Mihe are not foolish gods. The fact that they were able to devise such a plan with you suggests that they have great confidence in the strength of your Hestia Familia.

On this point, I trust their judgment and I also trust Hestia and the invincible strength of your kin.

Therefore, my suggestion will be offered as icing on the cake, based on the premise that you are certain to win.

"Don't beat around the bush. Just say what you want to suggest."

Hestia said.

"Your plan is to train Lilyluka's strength, commission the Hephaestus Familia to create a set of expensive and exquisite equipment for her, and commission the Mih Familia to develop a special potion to cure the addiction to divine alcohol. On the day of the Soma Familia's divine alcohol banquet, you plan to secretly feed the special potion to others to cure their addiction to divine alcohol."

Then, he directly challenged Chanis, the leader of the Soma Familia, during which he also dealt with other Soma Familia members who supported Chanis. After his victory, he announced the change of power within the Soma Familia to the other onlookers, right?

"Yes."

"Then, before challenging for the position of leader, you should first ask the other party to convert you to another religion."

"However, the leader of the Soma Familia is a treacherous and greedy villain. He is the one who single-handedly caused the Soma Familia to become what it is today. That person will definitely not let Lily off easily."

"That's right, this may be common knowledge, but you can't treat it as a known condition. Instead, you should treat it as an unknown condition and try to verify it."

Just imagine, when this poor little girl finally manages to scrape together enough money to leave the clan, and is refused when she asks to leave, which side do you think the weaker members of the Soma Familia will lean towards or sympathize with more?

Is she the treacherous wine keeper, or the little girl who painstakingly saved money to see a glimmer of hope in escaping the mire, only to have the plank to free her pulled away by the cunning leader of her clan, causing her to sink back into the mire?
The answer is self-evident: the weak tend to empathize with those who are weak like themselves, even within the Soma Familia, where the internal atmosphere is currently terrible.

Hermes made a judgment.

"And when that time comes, the girl, whose hope of escaping the mire has been extinguished, will draw her sword to seek justice for herself and challenge the treacherous wine keeper for the position of captain. Wouldn't that make her actions even more justified and righteous?"

Hermes, the god, seemed to be immersed in his own imagined script, narrating the story's development with operatic arias.

"That's right. This should be a just struggle that the oppressed have no choice but to fight, not a conspiracy by those who want to usurp power."

Hermes, with simple words, presents the image of a girl suffering from injustice and oppression to the public, enriching the inevitability and righteousness of the little girl's rebellious behavior as a rebel.

Broly could feel Lily Luca tightening her grip on his hand, clearly influenced by the words of the deity before him.

"But what if the wine keeper agrees to let Lily leave the familia?"

Hestia asked the question.

"Children from the lower realms may be fickle, but their nature is hard to change. Besides, if you really thought that wine keeper would be willing to let go of that little girl from the other side, you probably wouldn't have devised such a plan to directly kick her out of the leader's position and take her place, would you?!"

Hermes shrugged and said that he had investigated the Soma Familia leader along with him, and that the leader was a greedy fellow, so it was not hard to imagine what kind of choice he would make.

"That's right."

Hestia nodded, while Broly remained silent. He genuinely considered the current leader of the Soma Familia as the villain of this scenario and was determined to destroy him, directly rejecting the possibility that the other party might actually do something for money.

"To put it another way, if the wine keeper is really willing to take the money and release the person, then you have achieved your goal, haven't you?"

After all, wasn't your original goal to help that little girl escape the quagmire of her original clan?

"Broly, what do you think?"

Hestia asked the boy if his intention to target the Soma Familia was not only to free Lily from the mire, but also to seek revenge against those who had bullied her.

“If that wine keeper is really willing to take the money and let Lily go, then I can consider not selling him to Captain Frini of the Ishtar Familia. But later, I will secretly make those who bullied Lily pay the price they deserve.”

Broly answered.

"Hey, so what are you planning to do?"

Hermes asked.

"Sneak attack, cut off their heads."

Broly's words were concise and to the point.

Hermes: "..."

Even if you have a good relationship with them and are willing to take money to release them, they'll still die.

While it's certainly a little better than being sold to the man-killer Frillney, it's not much better.

This personality...

Hermes pondered for a moment and found the perfect description in his mind.

More like a brutal tyrant than a hero.

Is it really okay for you to kill people so casually?

Hermes asked the question.

"I didn't kill anyone randomly; I just wanted to deal with the people who bullied the girl."

Broly corrected the other person's words.

"The reasons are sufficient, but doing so still makes it easy to get blacklisted by Orario."

"Thank you for the reminder. I will be mindful of the impact and keep my identity hidden."

Hermes: "..."

Am I reminding you to hide your identity?

Seeing that Hestia made no attempt to stop him, Hermes understood that the goddess of fire also supported the boy, so he said no more.

"My second suggestion is that after you have obtained the righteous cause, you also need to obtain the nominal cause."

Hermes held up two fingers and continued.

"What do you mean?"

Lily Luca didn't quite understand, so she asked.

"The core of the clan is the gods, and the so-called righteousness is naturally the gods' own thoughts. Before you take action against the Soma clan and rebel against them, you can first go and communicate with Soma."

Hermes said.

"Hey, if we want to rebel against the leader of the Soma Familia, do we need to inform Soma, a god who doesn't concern himself with the affairs of the Familia, beforehand that we're going to rebel against him as the leader of the Familia?"

Hestia thought that Hermes, who said those words, must have been kicked in the head by a donkey's hoof.

"Of course, we shouldn't say it directly, but rather in a more tactful way. For example, you could ask Soma what he thinks about his own people now."

You can also ask Soma hypothetically if the current situation of the Familia were suddenly changed, would he have any objections?
Trust me, the answer that Dionysus has given you will be what you need.

Hestia looked thoughtfully at the frivolous blond god opposite her and asked, "Hermes, you can get along with many gods, do you know about Soma's situation?"

"I cannot say that, because I am a neutral deity. However, I have already given you my advice. Whether you are willing to listen to it is your business."

Hestia was somewhat speechless at Hermes's indirect response. The other party was practically implying that they should modify the plan according to his suggestion, but he just wouldn't explain or clarify.

You're such a riddle master, get out of Orario!

. . . .

"Lily, what are you planning to do?"

After leaving the Hermes Familia's stronghold, the Loli Goddess asked the little girl beside her a question.

"I want to test Lord Soma's attitude."

The little girl answered.

"Then go ask Soma, I'm going on a date with Broly."

Hestia nodded.

"Oh, I didn't say we should test the waters now."

The little girl immediately said.

"Cut~"

The loli goddess looked like her plan had failed.

"Lord Hestia, shall we go home now?"

Broly asked.

"Instead of going home, let's go to Tianqing Pharmacy and see if Mihe has finished making the antidote for alcohol addiction."

Hestia shook her head, and the three of them went to the Azure Pharmacy. "Lord Mih said that the divine wine of the Soma God is very addictive, but he has found a way to cure it. He will make the antidote before the Soma Familia holds its divine wine banquet this month. But right now, Lord Mih is in seclusion researching and does not want to be disturbed."

They did not see the god Mihe. After receiving this answer from the dog-woman girl Naza, Hestia took Broly on a date, although Lily Luca was also with them, making it a date for three.

The three of them went to the park, found a bench in a secluded corner, sat side by side, and began to look through the information on the members of the Soma Familia that they had just acquired.

The people inside can be divided into three types. One type is the wicked and unscrupulous villains. Even if these guys haven't bullied Lily Luca, they will still be sold off along with her. They are not worth recruiting.

One type is those who go with the flow and become swindlers and con artists because the environment has turned them into a place of swindlers and con artists. If these people are willing to respond positively after Lily takes power, such as supporting Lily and Luca in reforming the internal atmosphere of the Familia, then they can be dealt with accordingly.

The remaining members are the Soma Familia members who have principles, and these are the people worth winning over.

. . . .

Just as Broly and his two companions were re-categorizing the intelligence they had, Bell, on his way to buy a thank-you gift for Eina, encountered Irene, a rabbit-woman girl, and Anna, a human girl, who were out buying wrapping paper and braiding rope.

"Huh, you're buying a gift for a woman? Is it for your girlfriend?"

"Ah, no, that's the guild employee who taught me about dungeon monsters, not my girlfriend. To be precise, I don't have a girlfriend yet..."

Watching the white-haired boy frantically explain his reasons for buying the gift, and occasionally stealing glances at her, the human girl Anna chuckled.

"So, little Bell, do you need help?"

"Huh? What kind of help?"

"Of course, I'll help you choose a gift to thank others."

"Oh, then, I'll leave it to you, Miss Anna."

"Me too, me too!"

The bunny girl, Irene, raised her hand, wanting to help choose a gift as well.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to Irene as well."

The white-haired boy, the rabbit girl, and the human girl teamed up, which could be considered an unusual three-person date.

. . . .

"That's just the way it is."

Meanwhile, Finn, the leader of the Loki Familia who had returned to the surface, compiled and reported the intelligence he had gathered from his in-depth investigation of the underground city to the guild.

"The mysterious black-robed dragon hunter, huh? So, you haven't encountered each other directly, have you?"

"The guild's de facto supreme authority, a somewhat overweight elderly elf," Royman Madil asked, frowning.

"Yes, we only heard some information from some adventurers. Among them, the disappearance of the 27th floor master [Amphispina] should have been dealt with by the other party in a casual manner. Although we have not seen his whereabouts, we can be sure that the mysterious person is very strong."

Finn emphasized that what he really wanted to say was that it was time to deliver on the promises made by the guild when issuing the quest regarding information about the deeper dungeons.

"Guild Master Royman, if you intend to refuse to give us information about the dungeon by claiming that the information we brought back this time is insufficient, then I think our clan's chief deity will have to have a personal meeting with the guild's chief deity, Lord Uranus, the creator of Orario."

Upon hearing this, the fat old elf behind the desk twitched his lips, but still took the information about the mission reward from the bookshelf and handed it to the ambitious little dwarf leader in front of him.

"Then I won't bother you any longer."

After obtaining the intelligence, Finn took his leave and headed to the Gubnew Familia to order a batch of corrosion-resistant weapons and equipment, in preparation for the next expedition to the dungeon.

. . . .

"What, you want us to make you weapons again?"

"Ah."

"Hmm what? Where did your Urga go?"

"That's a peerless weapon that we forged using a huge amount of refined gold and stone, working day and night!"

Several blacksmiths from the Gubney Familia surrounded the flat-chested Amazon girl, inquiring about the girl's original weapon.

"The original Urga was accidentally dissolved."

Tiona stuck out her little tongue and replied cutely.

"Oh no!"

Upon hearing this news, the blacksmiths cried out in despair.

"They don't cherish it at all again!"

In another forging room, the elderly blacksmith examined the Sword of Despair in his hand and spoke to the sword maiden in front of him: "A sword with the attribute of indestructibility is indeed as its name suggests, it will not be destroyed. However, overuse will also lead to a decrease in sharpness. I should have told you this before."

Some blacksmiths don't like people who don't cherish their weapons, and clearly, this skilled Gubernian craftsman didn't like Ais's way of using a sword.

"terribly sorry."

Ais apologized sincerely, leaving the elderly blacksmith somewhat helpless.

"So, what exactly did you cut with it?"

"There are many monsters that can spew out a strong dissolving liquid."

"Sigh..." The elderly craftsman sighed and asked, "The repair fee is the same as before, is that alright?"

"no problem."

"It's worn down to this extent. It will take at least five or six days to restore it to its original condition. Until then, you can use this."

The elderly craftsman turned around, took a long sword from the wall, and handed it to the sword maiden.

"Although it doesn't have the property of being indestructible, its sharpness is guaranteed; it just takes a little time to get used to."

"How much is the deposit?"

"You're one of my regular customers, so you don't need to pay a deposit. Just don't break it."

The girl's swordsmanship was extremely rough, and the elderly blacksmith had to give her a warning.

"I understand, thank you."

The swordswoman thanked her and walked out of the forge with the substitute sword.

"Then, I'll leave the second generation Urga to you."

"You make it sound so simple!"

The blacksmiths shouted in dissatisfaction.

"Tiona, the blacksmiths have rejected you again!"

"This happens often, I'm used to it. How's the situation on your end, Tione?"

"All the props have been sold at prices higher than the market price. We haven't let the leader down."

"That would be wonderful."

After finishing his discussion with the Gubney Familia about a large batch of custom-made weapons, Finn came over and praised the Amazon girl.

"Is there any reward, like, 'Captain, give me a kiss' or something?"

"No, but you do have a two-week long holiday."

"Tch, the leader fooled me again~"

"Ais, you must be tired too. Go back and get some rest."

As for finding someone to teach me swordsmanship, that's not urgent.

At least, I should say hello to Loki first.

Finn, noticing the distracted swordswoman, offered a reminder.

"Ah."

Fiora nodded.

. . . .

At the Loki Familia's residence, the Twilight Mansion, Finn had just returned with his crew when a red-haired figure with a single ponytail rushed out from the opened gates of the Familia: "Welcome back! Is everyone alright?!"

The god of clowns pounced, and Loki's followers, long accustomed to their god's temperament, dodged him one by one. Finally, the slightly slow-reacting elven girl was tackled, her chest grasped and kneaded by the god's hands: "I was so lonely when you weren't around~"

After a noisy commotion at the entrance, the entire Loki Familia returned to their camp. Taking a bath and resting were exactly what they needed after their expedition through the underground city.

As the leader of the group, Finn also needs to report the results of this investigation and Ais's situation to his god.

"Leaving aside the matter of the black-robed dragon hunter and the new type of monster, what's the matter with Ais wanting to ask the little dwarf (Hestia)'s family members about swordsmanship?"

"On the 15th floor, we encountered the Minotaur herd fleeing. When we chased them to the upper area, Ais met that person, sparred with him in swordsmanship, and was defeated..."

Grace succinctly explained what she knew.

(End of this chapter)