Under these circumstances, Lili became the Captain of the Soma Familia. However, being only ten years old and inexperienced in management, the primary tasks still fell to Lord Soma. This was no easy feat. Soma had regained his spirit, but it was fleeting; his only true interest was brewing. After the initial passion faded, he found himself overwhelmed by the administrative chaos.
In truth, this wasn't entirely Soma's fault. The gods of Orario were all like this; they decided the general direction, but left the tedious details to their subordinates. Dealing with bureaucracy was a fate worse than death for them.
Since Roy had caused the mess, Soma expected him to help solve it. He sent over a dozen invitations to Roy.
As Roy walked through the Soma Familia grounds again, the members he passed showed varying degrees of resentment. If not for Roy, they would still be enjoying their wine instead of facing this mess. But they only dared to resent him; no one dared to act. After that night's battle, Roy had earned the unofficial title of the strongest Level 3 adventurer! Even low-stat Level 4s weren't certain they could defeat him.
Roy entered the mansion and went to Soma's study, where only the god and Lili were waiting. Soma's disheveled appearance had been tidied up by Lili. His hair was trimmed, his dirty work clothes replaced. He was actually a rare handsome man. Gods, born from chaos, were naturally flawless; it was only his lack of grooming that had hidden it.
Lili looked delighted. "Master Roy!"
Roy smiled. "Lili, you are the Captain of the Soma Familia now. I'm just an ordinary member of the Astraea Familia. You don't need to be so formal."
"Master Roy is Master Roy!" Lili insisted, her respect unwavering. "Master Roy, how is your hand?" Her eyes moved to the bandages on Roy's hand.
Zanis's final struggle had wounded him. Logically, a Level 2 like Zanis should have been no threat, but Roy had taken the hit to save her. Lili was filled with guilt.
"It's fine. It looks worse than it is. I can take the bandages off in a couple of days," Roy replied. Level 3 endurance was no joke.
Lili kept her head down. Seeing the gloomy atmosphere, Roy changed the subject. "How is the Familia doing?"
At that, Soma and Lili looked even more dejected, deep exhaustion clouding their faces. Managing a group of over six thousand people was incredibly difficult, especially during this transition. Lili explained their predicament: the rank-and-file members were clamoring for wine, held back only by force. There were many bad actors among them stirring up trouble.
Furthermore, the distributors kept sending people to ask if there would be a stable supply of Divine Wine. If not, they demanded contract termination fees. The black-and-white contracts were piled high. The Soma Familia was currently in ruins; they didn't have any wine to give.
It was a mess—a headache-inducing disaster. Several executives and hundreds of members had already petitioned Soma to replace Lili, citing her age and lack of experience.
"...That's the situation, Master Roy. What should we do?" Lili asked for help.
Internal strife and external pressure—Roy was impressed Lili hadn't just run away yet. The Soma Familia was a total wreck. It was easy to conquer, but hard to rule. Roy could suppress them in a single night, but for Lili to manage them, it would take a hundred times the effort.
Roy mused, "I could help you solve this, but in what capacity would I be doing it?"
As an outsider, interfering in another Familia's business was overstepping. It would breed resentment. Strength alone doesn't always earn respect, and Roy wasn't truly invincible.
Soma knew this, which was why he had called Roy. "The Soma Familia is in chaos. I would like to invite you to be the Vice-Captain."
Roy was stunned. "Vice-Captain... Me?"
Appointing an outsider as Vice-Captain was a bold move that surprised even Roy. Soma couldn't strip Roy of his Falna. If Roy wanted to use the position for profit or to harm the Familia, no one could stop him.
"Yes. We want to hire you as Vice-Captain!" Soma said seriously. The Familia was in such shambles they didn't know who to trust. Roy was from the Astraea Familia, he was powerful, and he stood for justice. He had suppressed the Familia just to help Lili. If they couldn't trust him, who could they trust?
"Master Roy, please, help us!" Lili's eyes trembled, fearing a rejection.
Roy laughed. He was back to his old habits. "Alright. I will serve as Vice-Captain temporarily until things stabilize."
"Thank you!" Soma and Lili were overjoyed. Get him to stay first, then try to let him resign? Not a chance!
With Roy confirmed as Vice-Captain, the next question was what to do with the members. Zanis had corrupted the Familia; among the six thousand members were numerous criminals who had done terrible things for the wine. Soma and Lili were conflicted about how to handle them.
Roy's answer was simple: "Expel them all!"
His decisiveness startled them. Doing that would gut the Familia's strength.
Roy said, "Lord Soma, there is a saying: 'If you are not decisive when you should be, you will only suffer the consequences later!'"
Soma hesitated but eventually agreed. The rest was simple. First, they gathered everyone to announce Roy's appointment. Unsurprisingly, it caused an uproar. Everyone stared in disbelief at Lord Soma and Roy. Appointing an outsider as Vice-Captain was a first in Orario—perhaps in the whole world!
"Lord Soma, please reconsider!"Many people immediately stood up to oppose the decision, but their objections were naturally ignored by Soma. He had gone to great lengths to recruit Roy; he wasn't about to fire him over a few complaints.
The remaining executives were equally dissatisfied. They had assumed that with Zanis dead, they would finally have their turn at the top. Instead, Soma had handed the Captaincy to a ten-year-old brat and invited an outsider to be the Vice-Captain. What was the meaning of this? Was the Soma Familia completely out of talent?
"He didn't come here with good intentions!"
"Don't rush. Let's see what he plans to do first."
These executives were more patient than the rank-and-file. They didn't strike immediately, instead lurking in the crowd, whispering and conspiring.
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