Rex allowed the duo through the tall brown gates and onto the Cupidinem compound, leading them down a wide, gently curving stone path. Magic stone lamps lined the way like streetlights, spaced between occasional trees. The path branched off in several directions, spreading across the open estate.
"How'd ya lot even afford all this land?" Loki asked, brows raised as she looked around. "Even from here I can tell it's bigger than our whole damn Manor."
Every structure sat far apart, separated by grass fields, flowerbeds, and decorative trees. From the path, they could spot one of the large mansion-like buildings used as living quarters, its windows glowing with warm light.
"This land's in an undesirable location," Rex explained. "Its at the edge of the industrial district, near Daedalus Street, right next to an abandoned cemetery—and a rough neighborhood. The previous owners were eager to sell once we showed interest."
"Heh… lucky, aye." Gareth gave an approving nod, his eyes roaming the landscape. "Got a good feel to it. Like its own li'l world out here."
"Yeah, it's a good way to house over two hundred people without it feeling cramped." Rex looked over his shoulder at them. "I haven't seen Twilight Manor, but does it have a similar setup?"
"Nah..." Loki sighed, squinting off at the horizon. "We missed our chance. Coulda snagged more land early on, but now it's either taken or costs a fortune thanks to the 'prime' tag slapped on it."
"I mean, living next to the Loki Familia would be prime real estate," Rex said with a small nod.
"You lot best not go repeatin' our mistakes," Gareth said, resting a hand on his belt. "If Soma Familia keeps growin', land 'round here's gonna shoot up in price—mark my words."
"Guess I'll have to tell Zanis to start buying up what's left around here before it's too late." Rex mostly said it to himself, but Gareth chuckled.
"That'd be for the best," the dwarf nodded, letting out a low whistle as he took another look around. "Real nice spot. Open skies, green all over… an' the air's clean—trees're doin' their work, eh?"
"Yeah," Rex said, nodding. "We paid Demeter Familia almost a billion to make it look like this." He grimaced slightly at that money. 'Could've just used Overgrowth myself... but the relationship with Demeter was worth it.'
Loki and Gareth exchanged a look. Loki let out a crooked grin. "Tch… you guys are loaded."
"Haha, we are." Rex replied with a light laugh. "Mostly because we don't have a bunch of high-rank adventurers burning through tens of millions on gear upkeep."
They walked on. As it was already night, and most of the Familia members were either at dinner or in their quarters so they met no one—except for one guy on a bench under a streetlight, quietly drinking like he was a tragic protagonist.
Rex decided to lead them towards the Familia central building instead of the guest house. He wanted to build a closer relationship with the Loki Familia, and it felt more fitting to host them there. Besides, since they would be drinking real Soma, it would be far more convenient to have the bottles within arm's reach than having to dash between buildings.
After a few minutes of walking, they passed through a second set of gates, stepping into what felt like a separate estate altogether. The front area opened into a wide green courtyard, centered around a large water fountain with magic stone light around it and some fishes swimming within. A good distance beyond it stood the four stories tall main mansion with lighting flowing from the windows and trimmed shrubs bordering the entrance alongside a few lanterns.
Inside, Rex brought them through the main hall and down a side corridor, stopping at a sitting room tucked far from the residential wings.
The room was spacious, lit by magic stone lamps on pale ash-grey walls. A dark-teal L-shaped couch sat in the center with matching armchairs around a blackwood table. Shelves lined the walls, filled with ornamental bottles, neatly arranged books, and a few decorative pieces.
A fireplace sat at one corner, and beside it stood a black grand piano. Across from the entrance, beyond the middle sitting area on the opposite wall, a charcoal recamier rested under a drawn curtain.
"Please, make yourself at home," Rex said, stepping toward the hearth to light the fire.
Loki immediately flopped onto the couch, kicking off her blue boots and stretching like she owned the place. "Oi, Soma around?" She asked as Gareth sat one of the sofas, leaning back comfortably but keeping a straighter, more composed posture.
"Don't know," Rex said, crouching by the fireplace. "He's usually in the brewery, unless he's home tending the garden or updating someone's status." He stood and dusted his hands while turning to Loki. "I can ask."
Loki waved lazily. "Eh, don't bother." She curled her legs up below her. "Let's quickly get to drinking~."
"Give me a moment." Rex said as he turned to leave the room.
He stopped by the kitchen to grab a tray, then climbed to the empty Zanis's office. Unlocking the cabinet with a hidden spare key, he pulled out a full bottle of untouched Soma, placing it on the tray. He then added three bottles of the standard diluted variant and three wine glasses on the tray.
Everything arranged neatly, Rex carried the tray back to the sitting room. Entering, he closed the door behind him and Loki immediately sat up, her eyes locked on the ornate bottle in the middle like a predator spotting prey.
"That the real Soma?" she asked, not even trying to hide her hunger.
"Yep," Rex replied, setting the tray down on the center table. He picked up the central bottle with both hands. "Perfect Soma Wine—grape flavor." He looked up at the duo, "One bottle goes for about eight million valis."
"Well, I'll be damned," Gareth muttered, leaning in with a raised brow. "You sure we oughta be drinkin' that?"
Rex glanced down at the bottle, then shook his. "Not really." He turned slightly to leave. "I should probably return—"
Before Rex could finish, Loki lunged and latched onto his wrist, dropping to her knees. "Please! Jus' one sip! Lemme taste the real Soma!" she cried, clutching him like her life depended on it. "I ain't ever had it—not once! I'll off myself if I don't drink it tonight!"
Rex blinked, caught off guard. "Didn't your people buy Soma from Ishtar the night it dropped?"
"That was watered-down swill," Loki huffed. "I want the real damn thing."
"How do you even know that?"
"I've downed plenty of fake," Loki said as she kept clutching his wrist. "What Ishtar's sellin' might be better than most—but it ain't the real deal."
"Hah! She's been grumblin' like that since her first glass," Gareth chimed in with a chuckle. "Knew it was off soon as it hit her tongue."
"Most folks wouldn't catch it. But I ain't most folks." She asked, looking up at him with her vermillion eyes. "I'm right, ain't I?"
Rex nodded inwardly. 'Indeed you are.'
Soma Familia didn't send fifteen bottles of real wine to Ishtar—just eleven, carefully diluted to stretch the stock. A huge violation in Soma's eyes, who hated anyone tampering with his creation. Rex had no idea how Zanis managed to convince him otherwise.
'And she noticed without ever tasting the real one…' Rex glanced down at the goddess clinging to him, impressed. "But..."
"C'mon!" she shouted, her eyes welling up with tears. "I'll owe ya—I ain't beggin' just anyone for a drink, y'know!"
Rex grinned inwardly. 'There it is.' He'd been using Scavenger since he approached them, waiting for the perfect moment—and Loki had walked right into it.
'All according to plan.'
He kept his tone easy as he said, "Alright. I'll take you up on that favor." With a light smile, he added, "So, why don't we test your theory that this stuff's fake?"
They returned to their respective seats, with Rex sitting on the sofa across from Loki, his back to the door and Gareth sat to his left on a separate sofa. It wasn't a position he liked—his back to the door—but sitting on the other side of the L-shaped couch where Loki had settled felt a bit too familiar.
Rex placed a glass in front of each of them, then reached for the center bottle. The moment he popped the cork, a rich, honey-like grape scent filled the air—potent enough that someone with a weak mind might get drunk off the aroma alone.
Loki was already drooling. Gareth, meanwhile, kept a straight face, even though he wanted to taste the real Soma just as bad. Rex poured first for Loki, filling her glass to about a fifth, then moved to Gareth, and finally poured his own. He corked the bottle again and set it safely aside. They each picked up their glass.
"Let's toast," Rex began. "To our first—"
"Screw it!" Loki blurted out, lifting her glass without waiting
"Hol' on—!" Rex tried to stop her, but it was too late. She downed the entire serving in one gulp.
She froze, her body giving a sudden spasm—then slammed the empty glass on the table. The glass didn't shatter, thankfully built to survive exactly that kind of recklessness.
"Aaahhh~!" she exhaled with a dazed grin, cheeks flushed deep red. "This's the real shit!" she declared. "This's the real Soma!"
She burst into laughter, clearly already drunk from the single hit. Her mortal body just couldn't handle real Soma even at the small dosage—especially not chugged all at once.
"I knew it!" she shouted, slamming a hand on the table. "That Ishtar stuff's diluted trash!" Her fingers were already wobbling toward the bottle again.
"C'mon, Wall Smasher~" she slurred, looking up at him with glazed, sparkly eyes. "Be a good boy 'n' gimme some more."
'Wall Smasher?' Rex blinked, not sure where that title came from. "You need to wait at least thirty minutes before even thinking about another glass, lady Loki." he said. "You're already well past drunk."
"Drunk? Pppsshhh~!" Loki scoffed, smacking her lips like she had just tasted divinity. "I ain't drunk!" She waved the empty glass high like a declaration. ""Refill the glass of this glorious, busty goddess!"
'Bu... busty?' Rex blinked at her ironing board of a chest. 'Yeah def drunk.' He thought as he set his glass down and raised two fingers.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked, holding his hand steady.
"Twenty One," she said proudly, dead serious, not even blinking.
Rex looked at his hand, then paused. "Why the hell did I even check that?" he muttered, pushing his hand closer to her. "It's two. I'm holding up two."
"Nuh-uh! You totally changed it!" she barked, eyes narrowing. "I saw you!"
"How?" Rex asked, deadpan. "I don't even have that many fingers to begin with."
"Don't play yer little tricks on me, boy!" she snapped, stretching her arm out all sneaky-like—though there was nothing sneaky about her drunken lurch toward his drink.
Rex calmly placed both his own glass and the real Soma bottle on the ground beside him. "Why not try some of the false Soma for now?" he suggested, reaching for one of the unopened bottles. "You can have more of the real stuff later—for variety."
He poured some of the fake Soma into her outstretched glass.
"Uugh, fiiiiine~." Loki groaned dramatically, floppin' back into the couch like she'd just sacrificed her soul.
"And please drink it slowly this time," Rex added, "because you will only be getting another glass in a few minutes." Before she could say anything he said, "Eight million per bottle." She instantly went silent, mumbling something about 'bad boy' which Rex chose to ignore.
Rex turned to Gareth, who was quietly savoring his drink. The dwarf caught his glance and smiled.
"Hah! This might be the best damned thing I've ever tasted," Gareth said with a low chuckle. "If you'd offered more o' this back then, I might've signed on with your familia myself."
Rex gave a short nod. 'Well, that's how we got most of our original members.' He thought.
From there, the conversation flowed naturally—from daily life in Orario to Familia politics and whatever odd topics came to mind. It wasn't long before Rex gradually steered things toward the question he'd been holding onto.
"By the way," he said and Gareth gave a distracted hum, lifting his glass again to his lips again.
As Rex moved the real Soma bottle out of Loki's reach—the goddess had started crawling across the floor, hoping he wouldn't notice—he asked, "How is it down on the 50th floor and beyond?"
Gareth swirled the wine in his glass, savoring it as Rex continued, "The Guild doesn't let info from the Deep Floors out," Rex continued. "So… are there some eldritch horror down there?"
He already knew the answer—Scavenger had confirmed there were no such things. But still, he wanted a first-hand account. Gareth nodded and started talking, clearly too drunk to realize he probably shouldn't be sharing this kind of detail—or maybe he just didn't care. After all, the wine was good enough payment.
Their conversation kept going, and thirty minutes passed in a blink of an eye, and that's when the door suddenly opened.
All eyes turned to Soma.
Soma paused, staring at the room: Gareth lounged comfortably on the couch, Rex sat nearby on the adjacent sofa, and Loki—half beneath Rex's legs—was in the middle of crawling across the floor toward the real soma bottle. Just behind him, Zanis silently adjusted his glasses, observing everything with unreadable calm.
Zanis had gone to Soma's brewery to check on an upgrade Soma had requested. They returned together and on their way back, Soma caught the scent of a freshly opened bottle of his wine. Curious, he followed it—and, as always, Zanis followed after him—to this room.
"Soma!" Loki shouted.
Soma instinctively tried to close the door the moment he heard her shout, but Loki was faster. She darted forward, yanked it open, and Soma, caught off guard, lost his balance and tumbled right into her arms.
"Oi oi~! There ya are, darlin'," she slurred, hugging him tight. Soma tried to push away, but Loki didn't let go. Instead, she dragged him over to the sitting area and plopped down beside him.
She turned her head. "Wall Smasher!" she called, hoisting her empty glass. "Pour yer god a refill, yeah?"
Rex looked at Soma, but before the god could respond, Loki leaned in front of the god's face, blocking it from Rex. "C'mon, ya ain't gonna leave yer god high 'n' dry, are ya?"
With a sigh, Rex poured a fourth of a glass and handed it over. Loki grinned and turned to Soma.
"Let's drink, yeah? Our honeymoon's startin' tonight, Soma~" she slurred, her eyes more glued to the wine than the poor god she was handing it off of.
She raised the glass to his lips, but Soma gently took it from her. "I can drink myself," he muttered.
While the two gods awkwardly fumbled through their exchange, Zanis adjusted his glasses and reached to close the door. "I'll see myself out," he said, preparing to close the door.
"Why don't you join us!" Rex called out before he could close it.
"Come on, lad." Gareth chuckled. "Sit yerself down." He motioned toward the far end of the L-shaped couch with his glass.
Zanis stepped in with a small sigh, closing the door behind him. Without a word, he made his way over and settled onto the couch. Rex left, returning with two more glass, filling one for Zanis and handing it to him.
Another hour passed and now everyone was drunk.
Even Gareth was overly cheerful now, talking nonstop about topics that barely connected and that Rex honestly didn't care about. For example; 'One time, I took a shit...'
Loki had gone full wild—laughing, clinging, shouting—while Soma sat off to the side, mumbling to himself.
As for Zanis—he had fallen asleep. He was the type who could stay composed while drinking, but once he passed his limit, he was out. He now sat elegantly on the couch, back straight, legs crossed, hands neatly folded over his lap, glasses still resting perfectly on his face. You wouldn't even know if he was sleeping unless you look at his eyes.
Rex was the only one still sober, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Everyone else was either drunk, passed out, or in their own world. Meanwhile, he just sat there, drinking the wine as if it was water.
Soon, Loki was in the mood for dancing so she turned to the god beside her. "Hey, hey~ Wanna dance?" she slurred, swaying in place. "C'mon, just one song! Even you can handle that, ya stiff~!"
Soma didn't even blink. He remained seated, mumbling under his breath, completely lost in whatever strange fog his thoughts were tangled in. She shifted closer and waved a hand in front of his face.
"Hellooo~?" she sang, waving a hand in front of Soma's face. "Soma, ya grape-soaked corpse, y'still alive in there?" She poked his cheeks. "Tell ya what—I'll pour ya another if ya get up 'n' shake that leafy god-butt of yours."
Still nothing.
"Last chance," she warned, crouching in front of him and staring right into his eyes. "We dance now, or I'm draggin' you across the floor by your wine-stained hair. Don't test me."
Soma gave a soft murmur in response, eyes distant, lips twitching as he continued muttering something about fermentation ratios and 'grape spirits.'
"Tch… buzzkill," she muttered, groaning she lightly slapped his cheek. "Yer lucky you're cute…" she grumbled, gaze drifting from the unresponsive god to Rex, who sat slouched with his arms crossed and eyes shut, seemingly sleeping. "Oi. I know yer awake."
He didn't react, still 'sleeping.'
"If ya don't open those eyes, I swear I'm smashin' this bottle over yer head."
'Scavenger, facts or cap?' he thought.
Facts.
His eyes snapped open. Loki stood in front of him with a wide grin, both hands holding an empty bottle of fake Soma raised above her head, with vermillion eyes seeming to glow.
'Are you for real?' he thought, staring wide-eyed at the crazy goddess.
Before he could say anything, she tossed the bottle to the side—it hit Zanis's head, bounced off, and landed on the floor without breaking. Zanis didn't even flinch.
"Come on, Wall Smasher!" she grinned, lunging in and grabbing Rex's arm like a child demanding candy. "Dance with me~!"
"Gareth can dance." Rex quickly pointed with his free hand toward Gareth, who was filling his glass with fake Soma, using it to pace himself between sips of the real thing so he wouldn't lose control too fast.
"Gareth can't dance fer crap," she said with a nod, deadly serious.
"M-me too! I can't dance!" Rex added quickly. 'Well, that wasn't convincing.'
"Y'can't lie to a goddess, y'know!" she barked, yanking on his shirt with both fists. "Get up, you sexy bastard, and dance—!"
She suddenly froze as she stared at him. "…Wait." She mumbled, Rex blinking in confusion as she leaned in, planting her hands on his chest. "...The hell?"
"???"
He looked down at the tomboy goddess as she started feeling around his pecs.
"You got boobs?" she asked, brows lifting in slow confusion.
"No, those are pecs," he said quickly.
Before he could stop her, she grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it, exposing his warm, golden-brown skin. His broad, firm pecs were defined without being bulky, with his nipples sitting slightly outward—small and a subtle shade darker. Below, his abs were clean-cut with sharp definition, and the faint V-line disappeared beneath his pants.
"Woah!" he shouted, trying to pull down the shirt.
"Don't move, I'm checkin' somethin'." She planted her palms on his chest, then her own, then back again, brows knotting up like she was running the numbers. "What the fuck…" She came to a conclusion.
"You… ya bastard… you got bigger tits than me." Her voice cracked. "Bigger tits than ME!"
"No, these are pecs," he corrected, trying again to pull is shirt down.
"These ain't pecs, they're betrayal!" she cried, pressing her forehead to his chest, one hand resting over his pecs, stopping him from pulling down his shirt. "Why'd I get the short end o' the tit-stick?!"
'Sad now?' Rex thought, glancing toward Gareth for help.
The dwarf was deep in a one-sided conversation with Soma, who still wasn't listening.
Loki then dropped onto his lap, crying against his chest. "That damn loli-cow STOLE all my boobage!" she sniffled, fist weakly pounding his chest.
'Is she talking about Hestia?' Rex wondered.
"That cow-bitch!" she howled. "Damn you, Hestiaaa! Damn yer traitorous tits! I hope your back hurts forever!!" She said all this while still clinging to Rex and pawing at his chest.
'Haah~.' He looked up at the ceiling. 'If I knew it would turn out like this, I would've ended it earlier—' Then he suddenly felt her pinch his nipples and he instantly pulled her arms away from his pecs.
Loki raised her head on his chest, amber meeting vermillion, then;
"WAAAAHHH~!" she burst out again, tears and snot flying as she buried her face into his chest.
'Oh. My. Fucking. God.' He wanted to cry with this goddess. 'I wish I was drunk…'
[Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
This is, I believe, the first chapter I have written with no plot progression at all. Even the last one had the introduction of William Massachusetts so it could be considered plot progression, but this one had none at all. Kinda nervous about that. Does this chapter feel like a waste? A filler? Let me know so I can learn for the future.
And I can't believe it took 70 chapters for the MC to finally have a formal conversation with Loki. Other fanfiction I have read have this happen many chapters earlier, like 10 to 30 chapters in. Does this feel slow or dragged on or is this good?
Anyway, the next chapter would be the end of this slow arc and it would be the start of the next canon event so look forward to that. Also, we hit the top 20 today. Even though it was for a brief moment, I am still happy I reached it. Thanks for the support.
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day. Peace, OUT! o(*￣▽￣*)ブ]