The squabble between the two wives continued until we arrived at the mansion.
“….”
Is it my fault?
No matter how much I pondered, it seemed like the mere fact that I was present beside Elena and Felicita was the actual problem.
When it was just the three of us, things weren’t as serious.
“Brother, we’ve arrived.”
“Good job, Warren.”
As the armored car came to a stop in the front yard of the mansion, I had already transformed into a wolf even before the door opened.
“Luke?!”
In the hands of my two wives were only the clothes I had been wearing.
Although I was in the body of a wolf, opening the back door of the armored car was a piece of cake. Just because my body was a wolf didn’t mean my intelligence had turned into that of a wolf.
“Elena, Felicita, I’ll see you later.”
I’m sorry for the two of them, but I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to try this at least once.
“Luke! Wait!”
I dashed towards the mansion in my wolf form.
“What the?! Why is a wolf….”
In the meantime, George Skela, who seemed to have fully adapted to his gardener life, looked shocked by my sudden appearance.
“It’s the Godfather. Don’t mind it.”
“Ah….”
Should I be relieved? One of the wolves nearby explained.
“….”
Having safely entered the mansion, I glanced back for a moment. What if Elena transformed into a wolf and chased after me?
“Luke! Why are you standing there?!”
‘Hmm….’
The two wives clearly showed signs of wanting to follow me, but they didn’t push themselves too hard.
Since both of them were pregnant, it made sense.
I quickly ran up the central stairs, veered left, and descended the stairs again. I figured Elena and Felicita would head to the second floor.
While loitering around the first floor, something caught my eye.
It was Little Dom’s son, bustling about in the mansion’s large hallway.
“Uh?!”
As soon as I recognized him, he seemed to have recognized me as well.
“….”
Little Dom stood completely still after spotting me. Honestly, if I were him and suddenly came across a wolf inside the mansion, I might react the same way.
A standoff between a tiny hamster-human and a small wolf.
In that tense moment, I was the first to move.
“Hey there, little guy.”
“Hello!”
“…What the? A wolf talking without freaking out.”
Could it be that he knows my true identity?
More importantly, it seemed Little Dom had raised his kid well. Greeting a talking wolf like me was something.
Considering the standards of a nation of propriety, this kid might just pass.
“A wolf?”
“Yep?”
But it looked like my expectations were a bit off.
From the way he spoke, it seemed Little Dom didn’t fully realize I was in wolf form.
“Are you the Godfather?”
“Did you figure it out by my smell?”
“Yes!”
Little Dom, having gotten it right, quickly ran over and started petting me.
Come to think of it, they say hamster-humans have poor eyesight. But their hearing and sense of smell are incredibly well-developed.
“Why have you turned into a wolf?”
“I’m just taking a quick escape.”
“Excuse me?”
He seemed incredulous at my response.
‘After all, it is quite funny for the homeowner to escape their own house.’
“Can you help me out?”
“How?”
Little Dom asked how he could help rather than saying he couldn’t. I found myself liking this little guy more and more.
Maybe it was just because he was so cute.
“Just hide me somewhere safe.”
“….”
He contemplated for a moment after hearing my words and then lifted me up with his tiny, adorable hands.
“This little guy is surprisingly strong.”
“You’re light, Godfather!”
The accurate way to say it would be ‘You’re light, Godfather,’ but since he was still young, I decided to let that slide.
Come to think of it, how old is this kid anyway?
“….”
Being held by Little Dom was a bit uncomfortable, but maybe because he was so fluffy, it felt somewhat cozy. It was the kind of comfort that made drowsiness creep up on me unexpectedly.
*
My consciousness slowly returned.
I had no idea when I had fallen asleep or how long I had slept.
“Luke, are you awake now?”
A familiar voice echoed in my ears the moment I blinked a few times in wolf form.
“…Huh?”
What the hell happened?
I found myself nestled in Little Dom’s arms, while Little Dom was resting on Elena’s lap.
“Did you think we’d not find you hiding in this little boy’s room?”
“….”
I hadn’t actually intended to hide in Little Dom’s room. To him, it was just a suitable place since he lived here with his family.
“Oh my, Elena. If someone hears you, they might think you found him. It was Sarina who found Luke, right?”
Of course.
With Elena here, Felicita wouldn’t be left out. Meanwhile, her unexpected mention surprised me.
“Sarina?”
“She’s at the mansion. So are the other Caporegime members.”
“Ma’am, could you take this child?”
“Yes.”
While Elena answered my question, another furry arm appeared alongside Felicita. That arm belonged to Little Dom’s mother, essentially Little Dom’s grandmother.
She was the one who had completely squashed the elf DNA of Big Dom and taken over the Solomon clan with hamster-human lineage.
As Little Dom’s grandmother held him and exited the living room on the second floor, I settled into a spot on Elena’s lap.
“…Elena, how much time has passed?”
“About three hours. You were sleeping quite soundly and seemed unaware of the time passing.”
“Time really flies.”
Elena chuckled lightly at my response. But Felicita’s reaction was different.
“Luke, you haven’t been overworking yourself, have you?”
“No. Not like that. I’m not the type to sleep too much anyway.”
I just thought Little Dom’s hugging was really comfortable. That’s what I wanted to believe.
“That’s a relief.”
As soon as Felicita’s words finished, Elena asked me to return to my original form.
“Sarina and the others are waiting for us?”
“More precisely, they’re waiting for you, Luke.”
Hmm. Then I guess I could’ve been woken up sooner.
“But it’s alright to take your time.”
From what I gathered, Sarina and the other Caporegime members were being held up by a grand banquet.
In particular, Little Dom’s mother, who had just taken her grandson away, was reportedly getting rave reviews for her homemade oxtail stew.
“….”
Just hearing about it made my mouth water.
“I’ll just take a quick trip.”
I announced as I hopped off Elena’s lap.
I needed to put on some clothes not in the dining area, but in my bedroom first. Because when I shifted from wolf form back to my original form, I would end up completely naked.
Well, something like a ring that wouldn’t fall off even in wolf form was fine, but still.
Elena and Felicita couldn’t hold back their smiles upon seeing the small wolf sprinting out of the living room.
‘Maybe it’s fine to rely on that little guy every now and then.’
In the midst of hastily changing, I found myself thinking of Little Dom. It had been proven that cuddling with him was better than any sleeping aid out there.
Maybe asking for help once in a while wouldn’t be so bad.
“Luke.”
“Hi, Sarina.”
After switching back to attire suitable for a civilized person, I encountered Sarina on my way back to the living room.
“Where have you been? We haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I just took a quick nap.”
“A daytime nap?”
“I’m a person too, so I can take a nap.”
In this world, the meaning of a person was quite broad. Not just human but also… any intelligent species seemed to fall into the category.
An exact definition might be that they’re beings who think, use language, create tools, and live socially.
“So when do you plan on coming downstairs?”
“Well, I have some things to confirm first.”
“….”
Sarina didn’t press further. Instead, she simply left me with a message to see her soon.
Her expression seemed to hold more unspoken words, no matter how I looked at it.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back, Luke.”
“Let’s get started right away.”
With Felicita welcoming me faster than anyone else and Elena urging me to get to the point, I jumped straight into business.
“About the new area distribution? I have some rough ideas.”
“Wait. There’s something else you need to know first.”
“…What is it?”
“Darius took care of one of the Viper Training Facilities.”
Three hours was more than enough time for that. But the important thing was not the time but what had actually happened.
“Did they handle everyone inside?”
“No, it seems not everyone. According to Viola, they didn’t kill the orphans inside and left them alive.”
There were about a hundred orphans in total. Of those, around 70% were handed over to Viola by Michael and his subordinates, while the remaining 30% were led by Arta Russo and taken under his wing.
It seemed Arta had refused to hand over the orphans he saved to Viola and Michael.
“Are they trying to establish an orphanage or something?”
“Well, it doesn’t seem that way. They’re probably trying to imitate us.”
It was clear they were planning to use the orphans who were meant to become Vipers for something, likely to turn them into loyal members of their organization, tailored to their tastes like wolves.
“Elena, what about the last facility?”
“It seems they started another attack just a little while ago. Probably this time they won’t kill the orphans but will leave them alive as well.”
“Hmm….”
That was enough information regarding Darius and the Viper Training Facility.
My two wives and I moved straight on to the next issue. This time we had to allocate the newly acquired areas and adjust for the exchange with the Marinelli Family.
“How about we place the Gollymen territory under Armo?”
“That doesn’t sound bad. Besides the territory, Armo’s original role is to protect us.”
“Sarina suggests we move here.”
“…Sarina?”
“What’s wrong with Sarina?”
Usually, it was just a discussion of opinions between Elena and me, but occasionally Felicita would chime in.
She hadn’t said much regarding her sister, but she was much more proactive when it concerned Sarina.
In any case, after several discussions, we decided on the following area allocations.
Hmm… It doesn’t seem like a bad situation at all.
