[You know, it's strange, coming back to Orario after failing in the final battle.] Zomo wrote in the diary. [The sight of Orario in ruins is burned into my memory. Walking through the streets, seeing it back to normal... It feels surreal. Comforting... But it also fills me even more with determination. The determination to put that dragon in the dirt once and for all.]
Hestia's eyes lit up, and the other diary holders felt intrigued and even slightly horrified when he spoke of Orario in ruins. They couldn't picture Orario in its entirety in ruins... Evilus had definitely gotten close, but the Dragon causing such devastation was definitely a terrifying thought.
[Hm? It seems I have a topic today... Liliruca Arde... Oh, I have to write about Lili! That's fine by me, I only have fond memories of her, after all.]
Lili, currently holed up in her small apartment, blinked in surprise as she read that... Someone had fond memories of her? Was she close to Zomo in the future? That couldn't be possible, Zomo was an Adventurer. Lili hated Adventurers, she would have absolutely robbed him.
So... Why on Genkai was he talking about her like he was fond of her? Like he... Cared about her?
[Before I get into writing about Lili, I want to write about the rewards that I received from the Diary. They were incredibly good, and I want to list my thoughts on them before I keep talking.]
The girls perked up, many of them curious about just what rewards he could have received to make him call them 'incredibly good.'
The Goddesses and Adventurers reading all got the feeling that Zomo must have been a relatively high level before his death, perhaps Level 4 or 5. At those levels, your definition of 'good' or 'useful' things greatly changed.
[Since it was my first time writing in the diary, I got a special bonus- meaning I obtained three things. While I didn't obtain any items, I directly received three skills. The first skill I obtained is called Silver Tongue. While not the most impressive skill, it's still a great skill. It makes it so nobody can see through my lies- not even gods.]
Loki's eyes widened as she read that. A skill that allowed one to deceive even the gods? What an outrageous skill! However, Loki quickly realised that this must be the Diary's way of protecting itself and the fact that Zomo was a time traveller. If he couldn't lie to Gods, it would become impossible to ever trust him since their built in lie detectors would go off.
[This skill is crucial for me. While I don't want to lie to Hestia and the others, I shouldn't be revealing too much about future events to others. If I change too much, the future itself may become completely unrecognisable, and I'll have no idea on where to go or what to do. So, Silver Tongue is the perfect skill to make sure I don't give away anything.]
[The second skill I obtained is a combat based skill- known as the Flames of the Sky. While its name would make you think it is magic, you'd be dead wrong. This skill runs on stamina and willpower, nothing else. While I haven't practised with it much, supposedly prolonged exposure to the flame will result in the people around me also obtaining their own flames too. Not necessarily the flames of the sky, but some sort of flame with special abilities. I'll need to be careful about using this around others.]
"... You must be kidding..." Hephaistos shook her head in disbelief.
A flame he could wield by only using stamina and willpower, that carried special abilities... On top of that, just by being exposed to the flame others could obtain a variant of this skill. What kind of skill was that? Wasn't that a perfect skill for any Familia?
"Need to make sure my kids are around Zomo, even if it means interacting with shorty," Loki murmured. If her kids could awaken that skill, then- depending on the special abilities the flame came with- her familia would shoot up in strength.
Hestia had a pleased smile on her face. Zomo mentioned that their Familia would grow in the future after he joined. That meant this skill would spread across the Familia, making them even stronger! She happily continued to sell Potato Snacks with cheer, keeping an eye out for anyone who could be Zomo while looking at the diary whenever nobody needed her service.
[The last skill I obtained, however, is absolutely the most important. Only one person in Orario had a similar skill in my previous life, though my memory of them has been damaged and I can't remember what they look like or their name. I just know they were part of my Familia, the Vice-Captain.]
[The skill is a Growth-Type Skill... In other words, a skill that increases the amount of Excelia you receive. It even increases the body's potential, allowing you to break past the ordinary stat cap of S999. While I don't know how high it goes, I know that the Vice-Captain once had a Magic Stat of 1300, and it likely could go even higher. I don't know how my own skill- Dia Kaos- will stack up, but I don't think it will be inferior in any way.]
"... Growth-Type..." Syr whispered, her eyes lighting up... With such a skill, what kind of soul must Zomo have? This was bad, she knew he wanted to join Hestia's Familia for the sake of Orario's future... But she really wanted to see his soul and, if it was up to her standards, to take it for herself...
"Just like my new skill," Ais murmured softly. It wasn't surprising- if she could receive such a skill, why couldn't Zomo who was the owner of the diary?
[With the skills now written down for further review later, let's get into talking about the Diary's topic- Liliruca Arde.]
Lili took a deep breath, hands trembling slightly as she focused on the book. She hoped- she really hoped- that this would be worth it.
[I guess if I'm talking about Lili, then I should start from her background. Lili was born into the Soma Familia, the child of two members of the Soma Familia- which essentially made her a member from birth... But sadly, Lili's parents weren't good people. Like many other members of the Soma Familia, they were completely hooked on wine. Instead of caring for Lili, they ordered her to make money for them so that they could get their hands on more wine. Absolutely despicable- both her parents, and Soma for never doing anything about the corruption in his own Familia.]
Lili's breath hitched in her throat... That alone confirmed it- this person did indeed know her on a personal level. Few people knew the truth about Lili's background- she was pretty sure the only people who knew her history could be counted on one hand, with three fingers left over.
[Of course, hopped up and crazed for divine wine, Lili's parents bit off more than they could chew and ended up dying in the dungeon. Contrary to the freedom Lili had hoped for, she instead suffered even more. The Soma Familia only treated her like shit, crazed and only desiring wine. Lili was completely isolated and left feeling utterly alone.]
Riveria frowned as she read the lines in the diary slowly... She had known that the situation in the Soma Familia was bad, but it was this bad even when the girl who was chosen was a child. That meant that the Familia had been this bad back in Orario's dark ages... And that, alone, made Riveria concerned about the Soma Familia's motivations.
[Of course, with no support, Lili had no choice but to try working as an Adventurer to earn money. But sadly, Lili wasn't blessed with talent. She ended up finding her calling as a supporter, which only made this worse. As with most supporters, she was looked down on by the people she partied with- which ultimately led to Lili absolutely hating adventurers.]
[It was only after she'd suffered at their hands for so long that Lili decided to cut her loses and run away from the Soma Familia, deciding to just live a normal life.]
The pallum girl closed her eyes, not wanting to read what was about to be written next. After all, she had lived it- and those memories haunted her... The one time in her life she had truly felt happy, and it had been ripped away by those people...
By Soma, his nihility, and gods be damned Zanis who didn't want to let her go.
[Lili was found and taken in by an elderly couple. They took care of her, and for the first time Lili truly felt happy in her life... But, of course, Soma's Familia didn't let her go. They destroyed the store of the elderly couple and stole their money. As a result, Lili was shunned by the couple out of fear that the people would come back again.]
Loki's eyes narrowed... She understood this must have happened during a dark time, but what the hell was going on here? She didn't know if Astraea Familia had been killed at that point or not, but Ganesha Familia would have still been around. And yet such a blatant act of vandalism and thievery had been swept under the rug somehow?
Loki knew that Soma wasn't the kind of God who would get involved with Evilus. Such a thing just wasn't his style; the man was wholly dedicated to making wine.
... But that said nothing of the Captain of the Familia, who had free access he defective wine products.
"Soma Familia must have ties to Evilus," Loki scowled in annoyance. "Not Soma himself, but it wouldn't surprise me if his captain was involved... Gandharva, Zanis Lustra..." She groaned. "Ahh, fuck... How annoying..."
[Of course, this act only angered Lili. She ended up hating Soma himself, cursing his laziness. She hated him for creating a Familia that he never even took care of. After that, Lili ended up falling down a dark path herself. With her hatred of Adventurers, she felt no guilt in tricking and stealing from them- embodying the very traits Pallum were distrusted for in the first place as a means of survival. Her only desire is to gather enough funds to pay Zanis the fee to allow her to leave Soma's Familia and then live an ordinary life.]
Lili took a moment to compose herself, setting the diary down...
Every word written was completely true. She didn't know how Zomo found out about it in the future other than from her own lips, confirming his words that they must have been close. Maybe he could have learned it from Zanis, but she doubted it- that bastard liked to play everything close to the chest after all.
Zanis didn't trust anything except for himself, and money.
Likewise, Lili didn't trust anyone except for herself. She had been hurt too many times in the past to every trust again, of that much she was certain.
So, Zomo must have somehow learned about all of this from Lili herself...
But why?
Why would she share her past with someone? How could he have broken down her walls and gotten her to share her past like that?
She took a deep breath before she lifted up the diary and opened it up once again... She doubted he was done writing yet, so she needed to know. Who was Zomo to her? What had he done for her to trust him enough to share her past?
[That is everything I know about Lili from before my time in Orario... But from hereon, I'll be writing about my own experiences with Lili. How we first met, and how she eventually became a member of the Hestia Familia. One of my closest confidants, who became known as one of the greatest strategists in Orario.]
Lili, Hestia, and countless others froze in place.
They had a feeling they were about to be learning quite a bit...