The Portrait's Discontent
Felicia stared intently at the portrait of me painted by the promising young Black artist. After a long while, her expression shifted into one of clear dissatisfaction.
"Hmm..."
"Felicia, what's wrong? Don't like the painting?"
"Why don't you stop nitpicking and just leave already?"
At our reactions, Felicia alternated her gaze between me and the painted version of myself.
"Is that really the best the painter could do?"
"How petty."
Elena covered the portrait with a cloth once more, mentioning it would hang beside Father's in the hotel restaurant.
"And as expected, the real thing is far superior."
"Of course it is. How could a painting ever capture a person completely?"
Even Father's portrait in the restaurant proved the point. It captured the Godfather, the Wolf, the Boss—but not the family man, the revolutionary, the lover. At least, not the father Elena and I remembered.
"Luke, there's something else I need to tell you besides the painting."
"What is it?"
I assumed it was about Rumini voicing complaints over the territory distribution we'd decided on. But I was wrong. It seemed Banella had sent a special gift for me.
"Metal humans and hole humans?"
I'd only ever seen them in book illustrations. Never in the flesh. After Father handed the academy over to Elena, my visits there had grown less frequent, but I still had one particular hobby. Hevilly was a melting pot—or a mosaic—of countless races. Some despised the diversity and called it a hodgepodge, but I found it fascinating.
In my previous world, I'd always enjoyed collecting things. Games only held my interest when they offered new companions, subordinates, or unique mercenaries to gather. Here, in the underworld, indulging that same urge felt refreshingly novel. I used to display the belongings of those I'd killed or take parts of their bodies—though I eventually stopped the latter for aesthetic reasons.
Thanks to that collecting instinct extending to races, the wolves under my command boasted far greater racial diversity than any other crew. Who would turn down a gorilla-man or buffalo-man in a sharp mafia suit?
"Tell Banella I said thanks."
"Should I have them come up right now?"
"No need. It's already late. I'll check on them when I have time."
"...Really?"
Elena, who knew my hobby well, looked genuinely surprised.
"Why would I lie? Besides, those two were probably dragged here out of nowhere. They must be unsettled enough as it is."
Wolves were usually raised and trained from orphaned childhood, but the other races I'd taken in weren't. They weren't true wolves in the traditional sense. Yet after crossing so many life-and-death lines together, they felt more like brothers bound by blood than mere collectibles. Though, of course, nothing like my relationship with Elena.
Even Carso, one of the highest-ranking wolves in the Fellini Family, was such a case—a rare golem among us.
"..."
Come to think of it, there was something I'd forgotten to mention.
"Wait, there's something I need to tell you both."
I shared everything that had happened during the meeting with the bosses. What I'd said alongside Kazin, how they'd reacted—especially Darius Lusso's furious response and Sanchez's decision to side with the drugs and money instead.
"How did Father and Manfredi seem?"
"Nothing unusual."
Vito Marinelli's performance had been terrifyingly convincing. A drug addict acting like a drug addict was only natural, after all. Elena might not have known, but Felicia had probably already heard the details from her family regardless.
"...That sounds just like Sanchez, the blockhead."
Elena was right. He must have figured that siding with the Russo Family would yield less than accepting our offer. Still, I hadn't expected him to say it so bluntly to our faces.
"At least Carmen being isolated on her own is a small mercy."
"I wouldn't count on that. Russo will probably side with Carmen."
With Dragovich already aligned with Sanchez, that outcome was entirely possible. It would leave Sanchez and Dragovich facing off against Carmen in the west, while Russo stabbed Sanchez in the back from the north.
"Russo won't be much help anyway."
Felicia's words carried weight. Given the distance and Russo's past reluctance to aid Sanchez, their willingness to help Carmen remained uncertain.
"Yeah. They'll focus on us regardless."
Though Lusso hadn't vented his anger during the meeting, he was far more likely to keep an eye on us than join the western war. We continued discussing the meeting and its implications, but decided to handle any concrete countermeasures later.
Then Felicia suddenly stood up and bid us farewell—though "farewell" only meant returning to her own room.
"See you tomorrow, Felicia."
"Yeah. I'll be waiting."
Today was Elena's day with me. Tomorrow would be Felicia's. Elena clearly found the casual exchange between us uncomfortable.
"Just go already."
"Alright, alright. I'm going."
Once Felicia had completely disappeared from our room, Elena quickly pulled me into her embrace. I felt like a doll all of a sudden.
"You should've shown her earlier."
"It's fine. I don't even want to think about her right now."
Given how the two usually snarled at each other, this reaction was expected. But Elena clearly didn't want our precious time together interrupted.
"Elena, it's getting late. Why don't we just go to sleep?"
"Already?"
Elena looked visibly reluctant, but a busy tomorrow awaited us.
"Fine. Let's head to bed, then."
"I can walk to the bed by myself, you know."
Following my words was one thing, but the way Elena picked me up—hands under my arms like a cat—was highly improper.
"Elena, I'm still your older brother no matter what."
"You keep grumbling like that and you really do look like a cat."
Ignoring my protests, Elena laid me—now transformed from a small wolf into a small cat—onto the bed.
"..."
Click. A small act of rebellion. I turned off the lamp before Elena could lie down beside me.
"You know I can still see everything, right?"
Elves in this world had excellent night vision. Dark elves especially so.
"Let's just sleep."
If it had been Felicia's night, the day would likely have ended in a passionate tangle of limbs. But with Elena... sleeping with my sister? Our relationship hadn't been good when we married, so we hadn't even consummated the marriage on our wedding night. Instead, Elena talked to me until we fell asleep, and I answered her with care.
The next morning, I woke early, roused Elena, and headed to Felicia's room. The moment I stepped inside, I was met by the overwhelming presence of a giant moth.
Heb made no sound as he clung to my body, checking me over as if searching for injuries. Perhaps that was exactly what he was doing. I wondered if insects were truly this intelligent.
"What? When did you get here?"
"Just now."
I answered while lifting Heb, who had crawled up my thigh, waist, and finally onto my head.
"By the way, Felicia, sorry to say this, but..."
"If you're sorry, then don't say it."
She'd clearly guessed what I was about to say. Not that she would actually let me go.
"It's something I have to do."
Seeing my serious expression, Felicia reluctantly released me on the condition that I return quickly. After leaving her room, I met Carso at the elevator and headed toward one of the dock warehouses in the port district. The exact location was confidential, but inside, an important operation was underway.
Pure white powder. Only trusted family associates—not dockworkers—were carefully inspecting, sifting, and packaging it. After various processes, the measured powder was sprinkled onto thin brown paper, which was then rolled into individual drug packets.
"How far along is the packaging?"
"The most recent shipment is nearly finished."
"Good. Set aside half of it separately. We'll be supplying other families."
"So... just Sanchez, Marinelli, and Dragovich for now?"
"I'd rather exclude the Russo bastards, but we'll sell to them at first too. If we only supply the other three, it'll give them an excuse to complain. Of course, if they cause trouble even after receiving our product, we can just cut them off later."
"Boss, what about the existing supply to the Marinelli Family?"
"Treat that separately. They're still feeding us information from the meeting, and their boss is putting on an act himself. They deserve at least this much in return."
After discussing a few more matters regarding the drugs, I asked Carso to ensure the territory redistribution went smoothly. It wasn't just one or two territories changing hands—Anthony Salmo had also been suddenly assigned a new district.
"Understood."
But the moment Carso replied, one of the golem members approached and whispered something to him.
"Boss... it seems Rumini has some complaints."
"Yeah. I figured as much."
Given the encirclement closing in on Rumini, their reaction wasn't surprising. To handle the issue, I returned once more to the top floor of the Rufus Carlton Hotel—where Elena, the boss, awaited.