Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

Liliruca lay slumped on the ground, not lifting her head. As the distant screams gradually faded, a bitter smile spread across her face.

"Lili doesn't have anything that Adventurers want."

"No, you do. You just don't realize it yet."

Bell looked down at Liliruca. It had to be fate—how else could something like this end up in the hands of a tiny Pallum girl?

But he didn't care whether it was fate or not. Either way, he was only going to help this Pallum girl once.

In the cannibalistic city of Orario, whether you're an Adventurer or a supporter, you live with the constant possibility of dying at any moment.

If something like this happened again, then for this Pallum girl, it would only mean she died a few days later.

Without offering any further explanation, Bell raised his hand. He drew Runic Letters that transformed into shackles, binding Liliruca's body.

He pulled out a potion bottle, heavily sealed with enchantments.

Then he brought his hand close to Liliruca's heart.

A Runic Letter appeared in Bell's palm, and it began spinning rapidly in a counterclockwise direction.

'This... what is this...?'

Liliruca didn't understand the meaning of the Runic Letters, but she knew these special runes had become popular in Orario recently. Even the cheapest Rune Stones fetched a price as high as 100,000 Valis.

In that moment, Liliruca realized who the person in front of her was.

He was the nameless craftsman who had always remained hidden behind Hephaestus's Familia.

Before she could think further, the spinning Runic Letter gained a mysterious traction and shot straight into her chest.

Just as she thought she was about to die, she felt no pain.

'Isn't this supposed to kill Lili?'

But a second later, it made perfect sense.

'If he really wanted to kill Lili, he wouldn't need to go through all this trouble. Just leave me to the Killer Ants like the others.'

'So he's not trying to kill Lili. Then what is he doing?'

The answer came quickly.

Drawn by that strange force, a swirling black mist began to rise from her heart.

Liliruca's eyes widened in shock. She had no idea something like this was inside her.

'I knew it.'

'It's the Poison of Greed.'

Just seeing it was enough for Bell to confirm his suspicion.

He continued drawing out the black mist into the bottle. The mist didn't resist at all, obediently flowing inside—just like the Poison of Envy had before.

Once the last wisp was sealed inside, Bell secured the bottle with a final, comprehensive seal. Only then did he let out a breath.

'After the Poison of Envy, now it's the Poison of Greed. I wonder if the other sins will show up one by one too.'

Bell had no answer to that.

This thing had appeared on the right cheek of Hephaestus-sama, and now it had shown up in the heart of Liliruca Arde. Who knows where the other sins might appear next?

Still, he wasn't particularly surprised that Liliruca Arde bore the Poison of Greed.

In a world as chaotic as this, trying to find peace by earning money to escape the Soma Familia—it was almost laughable.

But maybe what had latched onto this tiny Pallum girl wasn't actually the Poison of Greed... but the Poison of Pride.

Perhaps the reason it manifested as the Poison of Greed was because of this girl's unrealistic dreams and her relentless efforts—clawing toward the light, even while trapped in darkness.

In a way, it was greed taken to an absurd extreme.

"I met you three times in the Dungeon. The first time was when you were with those guys, right?"

"The second time was when you were luring those Adventurers to their deaths."

"And today is the third—abandoned like bait."

Bell's tone was calm. There was no mockery, no coldness, just a quiet statement of fact.

"Have you woken up from your dream?"

"The dream where you thought you could save enough money, right under the noses of those greedy people, and leave the Soma Familia."

It was just a dream...

Liliruca bit down hard on her lip, her hands gripping the ground tightly.

She knew all too well that it was nothing more than a fantasy. In reality, it was impossible to leave the Soma Familia by paying her way out. Those greedy bastards would only see her as more valuable and keep squeezing her dry—until the day they tossed her aside completely.

"Freedom is never something the oppressed can expect. It is a right denied to them."

"What worth do you have?"

"To whom should you prove that worth?"

"Then what strength do you have to stand before your Familia God?"

'My worth...'

Liliruca clung desperately to those words. She knew he was right. On her own, she could never leave the Soma Familia—not even if she saved up all the money in the world.

To leave a Familia, the approval of the Familia God was required.

So how could she gain the god's approval?

How could she even meet the god and ask for permission to leave?

"I won't comment on the things you've done. Everyone has their own way of surviving, no matter the means."

"Whether you're an Adventurer or a Supporter, in the end, everyone climbs forward over a pile of corpses. No one's hands are clean."

"But only the strong get to survive."

"So this time, I'll let you go."

"Remember this—it's charity from the strong to the weak. Don't expect there to be a next time."

As those words were spoken, the dragging force holding Liliruca vanished.

So did the person who had just been standing in front of her, the one whose face she had finally seen.

Yet one final message still lingered in the air.

"You have one minute to escape this floor."

Liliruca immediately pushed herself up with her hands and stood.

She glanced at the Adventurer whose body had been half-devoured by the man-eating ants. The first thing she noticed was the hand still clutching the key to Lili's vault.

But the corpse was surrounded by man-eating ants, all of them watching hungrily. She was scared.

'I can't hesitate any longer!'

After a brief pause—maybe ten seconds—Liliruca gritted her teeth and stepped right onto the ants.

Shoving her fear aside, she sprinted toward the remains at full speed.

She tried to pry the hand open with all her strength, but once she touched it, she realized just how tightly it was clenched.

'I don't have time for this.'

Losing more precious seconds, Liliruca finally drew her small knife and began hacking at the wrist, severing the hand completely.

She grabbed the severed hand and bolted toward the exit.

In that moment, only one thought filled her mind—

'I want to live!'

That thought made her legs move faster.

Especially once she heard the growing swarm of man-eating ants behind her—she ran with everything she had.