"What?"
"Ah, sorry about that."
Ultimately, this was probably the first time I saw Lilly with my own eyes. I only saw her from a dream and saw her through someone else's eyes on a screen. So, sure enough, I quite admired Lilly's appearance.
'She's small, but her appearance is actually good and cute— I don't understand why the people in Soma Familia are cruel to her. Or are they just using her because she's a weak and small girl? Oh, well. Those people are just alcoholics because of Soma's Wine, after all. No wonder—' I thought like that while nodding my head. Meanwhile, Lilly was still looking at me suspiciously, and her face was probably a little confused.
"So, as I said before. I'm thinking of making a proposal about working together between the two of us as an adventurer and a supporter. And, of course, I will give you a satisfactory share of the result."
"Well, that sounds good," Lilly replied with a sweet smile on her face before she added a question to her sentence. "But may I ask who's familia you came from?"
The question is very understandable because I'm pretty sure Lilly doesn't want to get involved or target adventurers from the big familia. Hence, she targeted many adventurers from small Familia, such as Bell and others. There is no point in having problems with a big familia. Also usually big familia have their supporters too, which means they usually do not need freelance supporters like her.
"Ah, that's right. I never introduced myself. Huh, I apologize if I've been impolite. My name is Arvadia from Ishtar Familia." I replied to her question, and her response to my answer was quite understandable since she appeared to be quite surprised as her eyes widened.
"Huh, there's no way, right? I can't believe someone from such a big familia needed a freelance supporter like me." She answered with a little mockery in her tone.
"Well, even you said that. I'm really from the Ishtar Familia. However, it can be said that I'm a new member who has only joined for less than two weeks. You could say I'm just a 'newcomer' after all."
"Really?" Lilly still looked completely unconvinced of me and she looked at me with a suspicious expression.
"Yeah, I don't even have my own party yet. You know ninety percent of the members of the Ishtar Familia are girls, right? So it's not strange that I don't have a party yet. Therefore, I'm hoping to get some help exploring the dungeon, even if it comes from a freelancer like you. I want to level up as quickly as possible." I just replied with something that at least sounded reasonable.
"I don't know. It sounds unbelievable to hear about." Lilly responded as she still didn't believe what I said. Maybe she didn't believe in adventurers in general, and then I came to her saying that I came with good intentions. Of course, she wouldn't believe me right away. After all, I looked like an imposter in his eyes, just like the other adventurers he loathed—
"Hm, this is difficult," I said as I downed the drink that the waiter had just delivered. Lily also immediately enjoyed the food that just came to the table. I could see her smile for a bit while she was eating delicious food. Well, eating good food always brings some enjoyment after all.
I still remember when I was raised by slave traders, I only ate foods that could be considered nutritious but without any flavor and the like. It was as if they were feeding me so that I could grow up and be sold at a good price.
"How about we do a trial run of up to one week? I guess there's no harm in that for you, right? I think it would be more comfortable for you to be at a party with me. Especially when you're being chased by the adventurer you just tricked. At the very least, I can help you." I said while giving a little threat and warning as if it were blackmail.
"That's—" Lilly's face immediately turned pale as she probably realized that I knew what she was used to. Even so, I still try to provide benefits for her.
"Also, what do you think 70-30 share profit? I think it's good enough, right? I don't know how much you get by scamming those adventurers. But I think it will be very beneficial for you to work with me since you will get a stable income and you don't have to worry about adventurers trying to get revenge on you. Especially when you need a lot of money to leave your familia."
I could see Lilly's expression change from a pale one to become sharp when I said that. She put down the fork from her hand and threw a question at me.
"How did you know?"
"I hope you don't look down on me too much. I don't just pick people to be my supporters, and I looked into you, Lilly. I can see that you're trying hard to escape. I also know how rough the Soma Familia members were when they dragged you back. Honestly, I feel a little sorry for you."
"Is that so? Are you saying this is why you asked me to become your supporter?" Lilly nodded slowly, but I could see that she looked at me with a displeased look to my face without any hesitation from her.
"Well, I can say that's part of my reasoning. However, I don't want you to think I sympathize with you. Because, to be honest, I also expect something from you. This is probably one of the biggest reasons I want you to support me."
"Hm, What is it?"
"I'm telling you because I want you to trust me. There is one thing I expect from you. That is, I want your affection." I was honestly quite surprised that those words could come out of my mouth. It seems that Lilly never expected my words. Her brain took a few seconds to digest what I said.
"Huh—" Before showing her surprise with an expression that could easily be read as— 'Can you say it once again? I feel like I heard it wrong.'
Lilly looked like her brain couldn’t comprehend what I saying and had those cute stupid face as her mouth opened a big O—
It was just for a moment thought—
Renzo· Apr 17, 2024
tftc
