[TL/N: New Book -
Anime Group Chat in a Doomsday World!]
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For now, Alice's responsibilities were limited to managing the daily affairs of the familia. However, Renata planned to eventually entrust her with handling communications with the Ares Familia.
After all, they couldn't rely on Kayn for everything—he was merely a hired operative, not a true member of their familia.
"As long as we have enough materials, production won't be an issue for the time being, nya," Alice reported.
Renata raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean for the time being? Is there a problem?"
Alice let out a helpless sigh. "That's right. The long working hours are exhausting everyone, nya."
Renata had certainly earned her reputation as a ruthless capitalist—the workload in her familia was notoriously intense.
With a shortage of manpower, production had been unable to keep up, leaving them no choice but to enforce overtime.
Even a three-shift rotation wasn't feasible, forcing workers to alternate between only two 12-hour shifts.
At first, it wasn't too bad. But as time dragged on, even adventurers—who were physically superior to normal people—began to struggle under the strain.
In the past few days, Alice had spent most of her time calming the growing unrest among the overworked familia members.
The adventurers, exploited by their own leaders, were starting to reach their breaking point.
When had they ever been subjected to such inhumane treatment?
Sure, the pay was slightly better than their previous dungeon expeditions, but the workload was on an entirely different level.
Back then, they could take it easy, hunt a few monsters, collect magic stones, and still make a decent living.
Now? They were grinding away in near-endless shifts.
What did they do to deserve this 24/7 suffering?
It was only a matter of time before they decided to fight back.
Renata, however, remained unfazed.
"If they're tired, let them rest. The familia's funds are in good shape right now—is it really that difficult to hire more workers?"
Alice's ears perked up. "I'll arrange it as soon as possible, nya!"
Renata smirked. Still so naive.
Alice had yet to experience the true struggles of the business world. But since Renata had given her the green light to use the familia's funds, she was confident hiring new members wouldn't be a problem.
"Remember," Renata added, "redirect all production efforts toward life potions. I want the Dian Cecht Familia's entire stock to rot in my hands."
"I got it, nya!"
Just as Renata was finalizing her plans, Sol caught wind of something troubling.
The number of male gods and adventurers gathering outside Pleasure District was growing at an alarming rate.
What started as scattered individuals had now coalesced into an organized alliance.
Although it remained unclear whether someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes, one thing was certain—this group had united under the pretense of "restoring the glory of the Pleasure District."
It was likely that many female adventurers found the whole movement revolting.
Yet, emboldened by the belief that strength in numbers would protect them, more and more men were joining their ranks.
Some had even begun testing the waters, sneaking into Pleasure District in small groups.
Naturally, the guild remained silent, offering no intervention—an omission that only fueled their delusion.
These men had completely misinterpreted the guild's neutrality.
They seemed to believe that the guild's inaction was a tacit disapproval of what Sol's familia had done to the Pleasure District.
But they never considered the possibility that the guild had already submitted to Sol's authority.
By the time Sol became fully aware of the situation, this so-called alliance had already amassed dozens of gods and an untold number of adventurers.
Their sheer numbers alone proved just how much the Pleasure District meant to the male adventurers of Orario.
Of course, not all of them had noble intentions.
There were plenty of opportunists lurking within the crowd, hoping to take advantage of the chaos.
Under the banner of their so-called alliance, these fools aimed to pressure Sol into surrendering a portion of Pleasure District's interests.
Unfortunately for them, their dream was destined to remain just that—a dream.
Sol had never been one to cough up the meat already in his mouth for others to feast on.
If they wanted to steal from a tiger's jaws, they had better be prepared to get swallowed whole.
"This is the compiled list of the alliance members currently stationed outside Pleasure District."
At the Sol Familia's residence, Riveria placed a document in front of Sol.
She found the entire situation utterly absurd, yet in this world, absurdities had a way of becoming reality.
Sol picked up the list and scanned it, his main focus being whether there were any familiar names among them.
If this so-called alliance consisted only of weak, insignificant familias, he was prepared to let Morgana and Kayle clean them up immediately.
But then his eyes caught a particular name.
He blinked.
And then scowled.
Loki?
Of all the names on the list, that one stood out the most.
Sol could ignore the male gods—most of them were simply opportunists looking to stir up trouble. But Loki?
That old lily had nothing to do with the Pleasure District.
There was no way she was here for anything other than pure mischief.
"For now, the Ares Familia takes priority," Riveria said, immediately recognizing the shift in Sol's expression. "We can deal with this nonsense after that."
Sol clicked his tongue in frustration. "Tsk. Do these ignorant fools really think they can ride on my head?"
Most of the gods backing this so-called alliance didn't even have a single Level 5 adventurer in their ranks, yet they had the audacity to challenge him?
Who the hell gave them the courage?
"Have Kayle and the others handle them for now. Once I have time, I'll deal with them myself."
"I understand."
Riveria hadn't expected him to change his mind, but that was fine.
The important thing was making sure he didn't act prematurely.
Priorities had to be set. Right now, their focus needed to remain external—fighting against the Ares Familia.
Attacking so many familias at once, even if they were weak, would only complicate things politically. It was better to wait and move at the right time.
"But don't worry," Sol muttered. "I've waited this long. I can wait a little longer."
It was always the last stretch before dawn, the final moments of waiting, that felt the most unbearable.
That was what concerned Riveria the most.
Would Sol be able to endure this last test of patience?
"Make sure everyone is ready. The moment Renata's deal with Ares is completed, we send that muscle-brained fool packing back to the Kingdom of Rakia."
Renata had already laid out her strategy for Sol.
To completely cripple the Dian Cecht Familia's business, she had chosen the simplest yet most brutal method—killing the chicken to scare the monkey.