Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

Aside from Bell and the others, Lily had never told anyone about this magic, yet he knew about it. Just as Lily was surprised, Chanis answered straightforwardly, "I asked the god Soma about it." It was none other than the chief god (Soma) who revealed the "magic," so it was only natural that he would know this.

Judging from the timeline, he probably learned about the transformation magic (Cinderella) sometime before or after Lily faked her death.

"Let me confirm... Erd, can you transform into a monster too?"

"...So what if it is?"

Upon hearing this answer, Chanis revealed a vicious smile.

A sinister gleam lurked in his eyes as he looked down at Lily, who was now on high alert.

"There's something I really need your help with. It's nothing, just a small business deal."

"What kind of business...?"

"I want you to lure out the monsters, capture them, and then market them... Simple, right?"

How foolish—Lily scoffed inwardly.

Even after being tamed, ferocious monsters will only obey their tamers. Even if tied up in a hut and left to wait, they will still attack without mercy if anyone other than their tamer approaches. This is why monsters were not commonly used as a substitute for carriages or other modes of transportation.

Regardless of the process, monsters are "enemies" that threaten humanity.

It is different from a submissive slave.

"Monsters cannot have any commercial value."

"Hehe...it's hard to say."

In contrast to the girl's assertive voice, Chanis revealed a wicked smile with lustful eyes.

Lily glared at him with pure anger.

"You dragged Lily, the members of the Soma Familia, and Lord Bell into this commotion just for something like this?"

"Why would you say it's for something like this?"

Without realizing it, Chanis's voice rose.

"I want the divine wine brewed by Soma, I also want money and women, and I want to taste even better food—I want to greedily enjoy all the pleasures in this world that satisfy my physical desires!"

With a loud "clang!!", Chanis's shoe sank into the fence.

The specially made iron fence, which even adventurers who had received "divine grace" couldn't break despite their wild banging, was visibly dented and deformed. The sight of the shoe-shaped dent in the fence made Lily's eyes tremble and she was speechless.

Chanis's expression spoke volumes about the depth of his desire; his demeanor was more horrifying and vile than anyone Lily had ever seen—even more so than those addicted to the "divine wine."

"I really like this [Family]. No matter how many bad things I do, the Supreme God won't blame me. As long as I don't interfere with that guy's (god's) pursuit of his interests, he can do whatever he wants. There's no better environment than here."

"...His true nature has been revealed."

Ouch.

Upon being pointed at by Lily, Chanis covered his repulsive smile with one hand. He moved his foot off the fence and stood up straight as if nothing had happened.

Instead of showing respect, Chanis completely disregarded the god (Soma), which aroused Lily's strong disgust. She clearly realized that the Soma Familia had degenerated to this extent not only because the main god was indifferent to the operation of the Familia, but also because of the leader in front of her.

Just as Lily looked up at Chanis, who was wearing a cold smile...

"...?"

"Alarm bells... Enemy attack?"

A loud alarm sounded, loud enough to be heard even in the heavily stone-walled dungeon.

After the piercing chimes, countless footsteps echoed from the ceiling. Lily, lying on the stone floor, looked around and overhead several times, wondering what was happening.

"Chandra! Chandra, isn't she here!? Tell me what happened!"

Chanis roared toward the stairs leading to the ground at the other end of the passage.

A while after he shouted, a burly dwarf slowly approached, seemingly indifferent.

"Just look for yourself... Are those feet just decorations?"

"Stop talking nonsense. What happened?"

"It seems like rats have crawled in. Those people belong to different [families]...and there seems to be a young goddess among them."

Chandra, a short-haired, bearded, and aloof dwarf, glanced at Lily in the cell.

The words "young goddess" made Lily's heart skip a beat. Chanis seemed to realize who the intruder was as well, and his pupils behind his glasses narrowed happily.

Where are the invaders now?

"Fighting is still ongoing in the square near the warehouse."

"Is that so? Then—I'll go and drive them away. I'll take command."

Upon hearing what Chanis said, Lily's expression changed drastically.

She moved her unsteady legs, clinging to the iron fence with her arms tied behind her back.

"This isn't what we agreed on! Didn't you say you wouldn't harm Goddess Hestia and the others?!"

"They attacked themselves. They couldn't just leave the sparks on their clothes untouched, could they?"

"Then, Lily, go and persuade them! Lily will convince them to leave, so...!"

"No. I can't let my important companion go to such a dangerous place. Besides, they want you, don't they?"

Chanis's unabashed claim that it was an act of self-defense to protect his companions infuriated Lily.

"If you break your promise, Lily will not help you!"

"Really? What a pity..."

Chanis closed his eyes and slowly walked to the front of the cell.

Then, he curled the corners of his mouth and brought his face close to Lily's, who was pressed against the fence.

"Since that's the case, then there's no other way. I'll let you drink a drop of the 'divine wine' I stole."

“——”

Lily's time was frozen.

"In order to obtain the 'divine wine,' you will become a docile servant... I'm sure you will willingly grant my wish."

The ultimate product brewed by Soma.

It brings an extraordinary sense of intoxication and is a superb wine that captivates the hearts of people in the lower realms.

In the past, Lily had become a hungry ghost who only drank one sip of the divine wine.

"!!"

Ignoring her bleeding head, she rammed her head against Chanis outside the cage.

The head, hidden behind the iron bars, made a loud thud that shook the entire cell. Chanis, standing right in front of her, twisted his eyes in mockery as Lily, blood streaming down her forehead and her face contorted with rage.

Enduring her gaze, which was even tinged with hatred, Chanis finally turned and left.

"Chandra, you stay here and keep watch, don't let Erd get away."

"snort……"

Chandra didn't even bother to reply to the commander's order, and plopped down in a chair with his back to the cell. Chanis just smiled at the sight, and disappeared into the depths of the passage under Lily's watchful gaze.

Lily wanted to tell him to stop, but she was trembling with anger and couldn't even speak. That man had planned to break the contract at any time from the beginning; he only wanted to use Lily as a puppet.

Damn it. Lily almost ground her teeth to powder, determined to escape from the cell.

There's no point in staying here any longer. In order for Hestia and the others to escape, she has to take action.

"...!"

She was desperately trying to break free of the ropes from where Chandra couldn't see her, as she was against the wall next to the cell.

The dwarf touched his waist, took out the gourd he had brought and drank heavily, not even glancing at her. After struggling for several minutes with the steel cables tightly embedded in her skin, Lily finally freed her hands by using her honed thieving skills—and quickly chanting in a low voice, transforming only her hands into those of an orc with sharp claws.

She carefully considered her options, keeping her hands behind her back as Chandra tried to figure out how to escape the guard without alerting him to the loose rope.

Just as Lily was secretly watching Chandra for any oversights and racking her brains... slowly...

The dwarf man spoke.

"Go out if you want."

Lily was taken aback.

Ignoring her reaction, Chandra remained seated on the ground, reaching out only one hand to grab the cell lock and forcefully breaking it.

"W-Why...why are you rebelling against Lord Chanis?"

"I hate that guy."

The vibrations of battle came from above, and the indifferent dwarf replied calmly.

"I came to the labyrinth city because I heard that the most fragrant divine wine was here. Then, I joined this faction. However, now the faction has almost become that man's private property. We can't even get a few sips of the main god's divine wine."

Lily stared intently at Chandra's profile as he drank the wine from the gourd.

Chandra Ishtar. A Level 2 advanced adventurer, just like Chanis.

When the lonely Lily was bullied by the members of her faction (the Familia), he neither helped her nor harmed her.

"You don't like that guy either, right? In that case, I'll just turn a blind eye."

He glanced at Lily, his brown eyes meeting her chestnut gaze.

Lily decides to believe that he is a dull-witted man who came here only in search of fine wine.

"I'm sorry, thank you."

After thanking her, Lily rushed out of the cell.

She desperately leaned forward, her body, which was confined in the cell and unable to move freely, and rushed up the dungeon stairs.

"...!?"

The moment I stepped out of the stone building on the first floor, the atmosphere of battle suddenly became very close.

The violent roars and the sounds of swords and spears grew even more intense, and anxiety burned in her small chest. Lily couldn't help but turn her head to look around and noticed a window for lighting at the corner of the corridor in the distance. She immediately rushed forward.

She jumped up and buried her face in the small window with iron bars.

"Lord Welf! Lord Renmei and the others have arrived too...!?"

Intruding into the narrow field of vision were the figures of Welf and others fighting against the Soma Familia.

Within the site where several warehouses had been built, they were besieged by countless enemies. The vanguard, Welf, Sakura, and Mikoto, who occupied a corner of the warehouse, fought valiantly, while the rearguard, Naza, Chigusa, and others provided continuous support. However, the number of members of the Soma Familia did not decrease.

Although most of the enemies were novice adventurers, we were outnumbered.

"Go back! Please go back! Get out of here right now!!"

Pale-faced Lily gripped the iron bars tightly and shouted with all her might.

Kind-hearted people would invade other factions' territories like this, with no other reason than for their own benefit. The fact that they were hurt because of her was something Lily found unbearable.

She yelled through the window, telling them to stop fighting. At that moment, Hestia, who was hiding in a corner of the warehouse with her hands behind her head, noticed her.

"Miss Supporter!?"

"The goddess Hestia!"

Hestia saw Lily peeking out from behind Nazha and the other defenders, and quickly ran over to her.

They were able to reunite despite being separated by a thick stone wall.

"Lily's alright, please run!"

"That won't do! We're staying here until we get you back!"

"Why! Lily just didn't want to cause any more trouble for everyone, and she didn't want to drag Goddess Hestia into this, so Lily did that...!"

"Go back or not," the two young-looking girls argued fiercely for a while, then Hestia cried out.

"We're going to play war games with Apollo!"

「!?」

"The format is a siege battle, involving a direct clash between the total combat power of [Familia] and [Familia]!"

After listening to Hestia's rapid-fire explanation, Lily was truly speechless this time.

The Hestia Familia, with only one member, actually wanted to engage in a war game with the Apollo Familia. This wasn't just reckless; it was utter chaos. And it was a siege battle, no less.