Zanis wore a smile as he placed the large amount of valis received today into his personal treasure chest.
Separated by four or five meters, Roy hid in the dark corner, yet the other party failed to notice him entirely.
This level of alertness left Roy speechless, utterly disgracing the face of a Level 2 adventurer. The other party controlled Familia authority and earned a fortune simply by selling wine—likely not having entered the Dungeon for several years.
"Ahem!"
Roy coughed lightly. The sudden sound nearly scared Zanis half to death.
"Who?" Zanis whipped his head around, looking toward the dark corner, instinctively about to call for help.
Roy's legs exploded with power, instantly crossing the distance between them. Moving like lightning, his large hand clamped around the other's throat, preventing any sound from escaping.
Zanis's pupils quaked, his mouth gaping wide—the other's status exceeded his own.
"Don't be nervous, and don't make a sound. I'm just here to buy wine. Understand?" Roy pressed his voice low.
With his life in the other's hands, what could Zanis say? He nodded repeatedly.
Only then did Roy release his throat.
Zanis gasped for breath, yet dared not make a loud fuss. At this distance, the other could kill him as easily as reaching into a bag—already proven moments ago.
Zanis spoke: "We have proper channels for selling our wine. Why come to me?"
"I don't need those defective products. I want the original Divine Wine!" Roy sneered coldly. The Soma Familia's externally sold Divine Wine were all defective versions; only internal personnel could enjoy the original.
The original Divine Wine's deliciousness surpassed the ordinary. Even defective versions were extraordinarily expensive—a small bottle could reach sixty to seventy thousand valis.
Zanis's pupils contracted. Only a handful of Gods knew that what was sold externally were defective products.
"How much do you want?"
"However much you have, I'll take!"
"Impossible! Those drunkards will kill me!" Hearing Roy's lion's demand, Zanis jumped in fright. The main God Soma was obsessed with brewing and paid no heed to worldly affairs.
These years, he had ruled the Familia with an iron grip, consolidating his position by controlling the distribution of "Divine Wine." If he handed over all the Divine Wine, members unable to drink the original would tear him apart on the spot.
Don't doubt this.
The "Divine Wine" brewed by the main God Soma was terrifyingly potent, causing people to lose their rationality. Once having tasted that flavor, escape became impossible.
"Give me half of the Divine Wine you can control." Roy spoke. He hadn't actually wanted all the Divine Wine—simple negotiation technique.
Indeed, hearing this, though Zanis ached inwardly, it was not unacceptable.
"The original Divine Wine's price is rather expensive—"
Knowing this person came to purchase Divine Wine, Zanis immediately reverted to his greedy nature.
"Rest assured, I won't short you on the money."
Roy pulled out a large bag from the shadows—in truth, taking it from his spatial ring while Zanis wasn't paying attention. Opening it revealed gold coins, at least a million valis, the dim room illuminated by glittering golden light.
Zanis's eyes were firmly captivated by this large bag of gold coins, flashing with greed and desire.
Zanis led Roy to a wine cellar containing over a dozen jars of original Divine Wine. The defective products sold externally were all diluted from this original.
Roy glanced at Zanis. The Divine Wine here was definitely not half of what the other controlled, but for him it was sufficient. Too lazy to haggle.
Zanis asked, "How will you carry it?"
"That's none of your concern!"
Roy spoke coldly, appearing behind the other like a ghost, delivering a hand chop to the back of his neck.
Zanis completely failed to react, collapsing to the ground. When he abruptly awoke over ten minutes later, the dozen jars of Divine Wine in the cellar had vanished.
Zanis's face was ashen, his eyes wide staring at the empty cellar, inwardly screaming impossibility.
And when he rushed back to his room and saw that large bag of gold coins still there, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Roy used his spatial ring to pocket the dozen jars of Divine Wine, leaving the Soma Familia's territory and returning to the Stardust Garden.
Regarding Roy's frequent disappearances, the Astraea Familia members had long grown accustomed, showing little reaction. The only one who knew the truth, Goddess Astraea, looked at Roy, wanting to speak yet stopping.
But Roy gave her no opportunity.
Time was tight, the mission heavy. Roy greeted everyone briefly, then swiftly returned to his room, taking out the Divine Wine brewed by Soma. The moment he lifted the lid, an intense wine aroma burst forth.
Simply smelling this fragrance, Roy felt a sense of dizziness, various wonderful things floating through his mind, as if placed above Heaven itself, incomparably satisfied.
Roy raised the Divine Wine, taking a small sip. The instant the liquid touched his tongue, it was as if faint electric currents spread throughout his body, an indescribable pleasure flooding his entire brain, dopamine secreting madly.
Unlike ordinary wine, Divine Wine did not blur one's consciousness. Instead, it made the brain clearer, but all sensory perception would focus upon the Divine Wine's deliciousness, ignoring everything else around.
Roy gritted his teeth. Though he had never touched "ice," Divine Wine was absolutely more potent than "ice"!
Conquering Divine Wine was no easy feat.
Fortunately, he had another trump card. Roy took out the orchid perfume obtained from the silver treasure chest.
---
Lying on the bed, Roy slowly awoke, seeing Goddess Astraea sitting beside him.
Roy spoke: "Not seeing members of the Freya Familia at first glance—it seems I've succeeded."
"Can you explain what happened now?"
Astraea spoke irritably. She had been frightened to death. In hundreds of millions of years of divine life, rarely had she experienced such stimulation as today. One wrong step meant Familia annihilation!
Roy took out a jar of Divine Wine from his spatial ring and tossed it to Goddess Astraea.
Astraea opened the stopper. When she smelled the Divine Wine's aroma, sudden realization dawned upon her.
"Whew!"
Roy breathed a sigh of relief.
Goddess Astraea could block Freya—after all, Freya's notorious reputation stood in opposition to the "Justice" that Astraea presided over.
But Astraea could not block Loki. If the other insisted on coming as a guest, what could be done? Turning away the main God of one of Orario's strongest Familias—presumably no Familia dared do such a thing.
However, what Roy feared was only Freya's charm. A God's ability to detect lies—he had already cracked it!
Divine Wine brewed by Soma + orchid perfume!
Using Divine Wine to intoxicate himself, then hypnotizing himself—this was a method he learned from a certain God.
A God with sealed divine power was no different from an ordinary person. Since the other could accomplish it, there was no reason he couldn't, merely a gap in willpower.
And orchid perfume could enhance spiritual power; its intense fragrance could also mask the wine smell on him.
The hypnotized him forgot everything. The words he spoke were truer than true—even he himself believed them to be true, let alone the Gods.