A portrait of a promising Black artist. Felicita was intently gazing at my likeness depicted in that portrait.
After a while, she seemed to have some dissatisfaction in her eyes.
“Hmm…”
“Felicita, why? Don’t you like the painting?”
“Quit nitpicking and let’s get going, shall we?”
In response to me and Elena, Felicita alternated her gaze between me and the version of me in the portrait.
“Is this all the artist could manage to create?”
“Sounds like a waste.”
Elena, seeing Felicita’s reaction, once again draped a cloth over the portrait.
She mentioned it was intended to be hung next to Father’s portrait in the hotel’s restaurant.
“And honestly, reality always looks better, I think.”
“Of course. How can you capture an entire person in a painting?”
Even Father’s portrait in the restaurant was like that. While it portrayed his aspects as a Godfather, Wolf, and Boss well, other parts seemed inadequately represented.
A patriarch, a revolutionary, a lover.
At least the father that Elena and I remembered didn’t quite match up with that portrait.
“Luke, there’s something else I need to tell you besides the painting.”
“What is it?”
I thought perhaps Lumini was raising concerns about the division of our territories.
But to my surprise, it seemed Vanella had sent me a special gift.
“Metalman and Holeman?”
Those were species I had only seen as illustrations in books. I had never seen them in person.
It had been a while since Father entrusted Elena with the Academy, but I had a peculiar hobby.
In this place where all sorts of races gathered, Hebili.
Some called it a melting pot of many races, while others referred to it as a mosaic of races.
Some who disliked such diversity might simply call it a hodgepodge.
If I were to mention my old world for a moment. I enjoyed collecting various things a lot.
In games, I’d hardly pay attention to areas that didn’t trigger my collecting instinct. Like all the companions, subordinates, or special mercenaries one could meet in a game.
In this world… collecting while living the life of the underworld had its own unique flavor.
I might display the belongings of those I killed or take parts of their bodies. Though the latter wasn’t the prettiest sight, so I eventually stopped that.
Anyway, thanks to my collecting instincts affecting the racial aspects, my wolves had more racial diversity than any other pack.
Honestly, who wouldn’t welcome a Gorilla Man and a Buffalo Man dressed up like mobsters, defending themselves in style?
“Make sure to thank Vanella for me.”
“Should I have them come up right away?”
“No, it’s already late; there’s no need for that. I’ll check slowly when I have time.”
“…Really?”
Elena, well aware of my hobby, asked surprisingly.
“Why would I lie? After all, those who were suddenly dragged in must be feeling uneasy.”
Usually, wolves train orphans from childhood. However, the mixed breeds that came into my possession couldn’t truly be called wolves.
Of course, it was a bit more complicated than just being a simple collecting target.
After frequently skirting the line between life and death together, they now felt like brothers without blood ties. Ah, though this was somewhat different from my relationship with Elena.
In particular, Carso, who held a high rank among the wolves, was such a case. He was a Golem, a rare sight even in the Felini Family.
“….”
Oh, I just remembered something I’d forgotten.
“Wait, I have something to tell them.”
I shared everything that had happened during the meeting with the bosses with my two wives. What I had said to them alongside Kazin and what their reactions had been.
Especially, Darius Russo’s furious response and Sanchez’s affirmation of choosing drugs and money without care.
“How did Father and Manfredi seem?”
“They didn’t seem odd.”
Especially, Vito Marinelli’s acting was impressively intense, even chilling. Naturally, it was to be expected when a drug addict plays a drug addict.
Come to think of it, while Elena might not know, Felicita probably heard about what happened at the meeting from her family without me even saying anything.
“…Sanchez is such a dimwit.”
It was as Elena said.
He must have thought what he could gain by cooperating with the Russo Family was less than what we could offer them. Still, I didn’t expect him to voice that so openly.
“At least it’s fortunate that Carmen is isolated on her own.”
“Well, I suspect Russo might lean towards Carmen now.”
Dragovich had already sided with Sanchez, so that was a plausible scenario.
Of course, if that happened, it would set up a situation where Sanchez and Dragovich would confront Carmen, while Russo would backstab Sanchez from the north.
“Russo won’t be of much help anyway.”
Felicita’s words were deep. Considering the distance, it was unclear if Russo, who hadn’t helped Sanchez, would actually aid Carmen.
*
“Yeah, they’ll likely focus on us anyway.”
Although Russo didn’t vent his anger at this meeting, he would likely be more vigilant about us than the war in the west.
After chatting about various topics related to the meeting, we decided to deal with the real actions later on.
Meanwhile, Felicita suddenly got up from her seat. She bid farewell to me and Elena. It was just returning to her room, but still.
“Felicita, see you tomorrow.”
“Yep, I look forward to it.”
Today was a day for Elena, and tomorrow would be for her.
Elena seemed uncomfortable with the notion of us exchanging such conversations.
“Alright, just hurry up and go.”
“Okay, okay. I’m going!”
After Felicita fully disappeared into our room, Elena quickly wrapped herself around me.
It felt like I was suddenly turned into some kind of doll.
“Why didn’t you show it when Felicita was here?”
“Forget it. I don’t want to deal with that girl.”
Considering their usual relationship of growling at each other, this display could indeed happen. But Elena seemed keen on not letting her precious time with me be interrupted by her.
“Elena, since it’s getting late, how about we get some sleep?”
“So soon?”
Elena’s disappointment was evident, but a busy tomorrow awaited us.
“Alright, then let’s head to bed.”
“No, I can go to bed by myself.”
Following my words towards the bed was fine. However, Elena picked me up like a cat, or more precisely, she placed her hands under my armpits and lifted me up in an extremely inappropriate manner.
“Elena, come on, I’m still your brother.”
“Keep ticking like that, and you really do feel just like a cat.”
Despite whatever I said, Elena laid me on the bed, transforming me from a little wolf into a little cat.
“….”
Thud. A minor act of rebellion. I turned off the lamp before Elena could lie down on the bed.
“Still, I can see everything anyway.”
The elves in this world had excellent night vision. Especially the Dark Elves had even better sight.
“Go on, sleep already.”
If it had been a day with Felicita, I would’ve likely ended the day with a sticky session of passion.
But with Elena… a sibling and passion? Most importantly, we had not had a good relationship at the time of our marriage, so we hadn’t even shared our bedding on the first night.
Instead, we chatted until just before sleep, and I responded warmly to her.
The next day, morning.
I woke up early, roused Elena, and headed to Felicita’s room.
The moment I entered the room, the imposing presence of a massive moth welcomed me.
Hebili adhered to my body quietly, inspecting me here and there. It was as if checking for any injuries.
No, I suppose that was indeed the case. I was wondering if insects had such high intelligence.
“What’s up? When did you arrive?”
“Just now.”
I lifted Hebili, which had climbed from my thigh and waist on top of my head, with both hands as I replied.
“But Felicita, sorry to say this…”
“If you’re sorry, then don’t say it?”
It seemed she caught on to the next words I was about to say. But she wasn’t the type to let me go just like that.
“It’s a necessary task.”
With such a serious response, Felicita quickly made it a condition for me to get back soon and set me free.
Afterward, I left Felicita’s room, joined with Carso in the elevator, and headed to one of the warehouses at the port.
I couldn’t disclose the exact location, but important operations were underway inside the warehouse.
White powder.
Not the stevedores, but our family’s handpicked affiliates were carefully checking, filtering, and packaging that powder.
After going through various processes, the powder, once weighed, was sprinkled onto thin brown paper, and finally, that paper was wrapped to form a packet of drugs.
“How far along is the packaging?”
“The most recent batch is almost complete.”
“Good, let’s reserve half of that. We’re supplying it to another family.”
“So… that would mean we’re only supplying Sanchez, Marinelli, and Dragovich for now?”
“I’d prefer to leave those Russo bastards out, but let’s sell to them for now.”
If we only supplied the other three families, we’d be giving them justification. Of course, if they caused trouble after receiving our drugs, we could just cut them off in the future.
“Brother, what about the existing supplies to the Marinelli family?”
“Consider it separately. Since I’m keeping them updated on the meeting’s contents, and the boss is even doing some acting, this much should be fine.”
Afterward, I discussed various matters related to the drugs, then asked Carso to pay attention to ensure the territory distribution would progress smoothly.
It wasn’t just a couple of territories changing hands. Some, like Anthony Salmo, were suddenly assigned their areas.
“Yes, understood.”
However, no sooner had Carso responded than one of the Golem members approached and whispered something to him.
“Uh, brother. It seems there’s some dissatisfaction coming from Lumini.”
“Yeah, I suspected that.”
Given the encirclement towards Lumini, it wasn’t surprising for them to react that way.
To address this issue, I headed back to the top floor of the Lupus Carlton Hotel, where Boss Elena was located.
