Accepting the role of Captain brought a new sense of responsibility to Roy. Looking at Ryu's slightly off-color expression, he knew she wasn't upset but was likely remembering the previous Captain, her dear friend Alise Lovell.
Sadness like that could only be blunted by time—or by resurrecting the fallen. Nearly a year had passed since they met. Their relationship had become so blurred that even if Roy proposed ending their "contract" now, Ryu likely wouldn't react much.
Dead men don't return. Perhaps, at some point, Ryu had accepted this. She hadn't brought it up to Roy lately, fearing she would make things difficult for him. But Roy's mindset was different. When you're in this business, you keep your word—not just to enemies, but to your own people.
Roy rubbed his temples. Two years left. He needed to focus on the resurrection. The Shikon Jewel could resurrect, but it required a body or at least intact ashes. Alise and the others had been consumed by monsters in the Dungeon. That path was closed.
After the banquet, everyone went to their rooms. Though they wanted to keep celebrating, their bodies were spent—especially Tione and Tiona, who had traveled far and fought all day.A room to call their own, the freedom to arrange their personal belongings, and soft, oversized beds with warm quilts—for the first time, the twin sisters felt the warmth of something called "home." Roy also returned to his room to rest.
Unlike the sisters, who embraced their new life and fell asleep in seconds, Roy tossed and turned. He found himself unable to drift off without that familiar, gentle scent nearby. He needed his Goddess-sized body pillow!
As time ticked by and Goddess Astraea failed to appear, a flicker of disappointment crossed Roy's eyes. It wasn't until the entire manor had fallen into a deep silence that his bedroom door creaked open just a crack.
Roy's eyes lit up.
Goddess Astraea tiptoed into the room and quickly clicked the door shut behind her. In the past, Ryu would spend her nights out hunting the merchants and mercenaries linked to the Dark Sect, and Daphne and Cassandra weren't high-level enough to track the Goddess's movements. But now, the manor housed Tione and Tiona—Level 3 Amazons with incredibly sharp senses.
As a Goddess of integrity, Astraea had a reputation to maintain; being caught by her dependents would be mortifying. She was still wearing her thin nightgown. Her graceful silhouette, illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the window, was enough to make anyone's pulse race.
Her movements were practiced and fluid as she slid under the covers and into Roy's arms.
"How is your body feeling?" she whispered.
"It hurts. I pushed myself a bit too hard today. I expect it'll take another ten days or so to fully heal."
Astraea looked at Roy's pained expression as he clutched his chest and offered a meaningful smile. His act had zero credibility. She had seen him defeat Tione in a single move at the arena just hours ago.
She stroked Roy's sharp features and said softly, "A fledgling must eventually leave its mother and spread its wings to fly alone."
Roy caught the underlying hint and felt a jolt of alarm. It's over! My Goddess pillow is going to be taken away! He replied with a deadpan expression, "I believe people should be late bloomers. Especially me."
Pfft!
Astraea couldn't help but laugh. Yet, no matter how hard Roy tried to plead his case, he couldn't sway the Goddess's decision to eventually stop this nighttime routine. Roy steeled his heart; he might as well enjoy the moment while it lasted.
Since it was the "last night," Astraea let her guard down, allowing Roy to indulge in his antics. Her face flushed a deep peach, the color spreading all the way to her ears. But after a dozen minutes, Roy gradually calmed down. What was the point of a "last supper" if it just ended?
He felt like crying but had no tears. "Lady Goddess, seriously? You just handed me the Captaincy, and now you're burning the bridge before I've even crossed it!"
"Haa... haa..." Astraea's breath was hot and shallow, her head a bit dizzy from the proximity. Hearing Roy's complaint, a bitter smile touched her beautiful face. Members of other Familias would fight to the death for a Captain's position, yet in this boy's mouth, it sounded like a thankless chore.
But she understood. The Soma Familia had to offer half of their monthly divine wine auction profits just to keep Roy as a nominal Vice-Captain. To Roy, leadership was indeed a job—one that required a salary.
Astraea bit her reddened lower lip and said in a voice barely audible, "That... depends on your future performance."
Roy froze, then felt a surge of ecstatic hope. For the sake of his Goddess pillow, he had to give it his all! The two embraced and drifted into a sweet, dreamless sleep.
As a sliver of white appeared on the horizon, the diligent Astraea woke early and slipped out of Roy's room to avoid being seen by the others. Roy saw no point in staying in bed without his "pillow," so he got up as well. As a Level 4 adventurer, four or five hours of rest was enough to keep him energized all day.
With the Goddess's promise as motivation, Roy reheated the leftovers from the night before, filled his stomach, and began his first day as Captain. He hadn't personally managed a Familia, but he had seen it done; the administrative tasks were second nature to him. Funds, equipment, taxes for the Guild—these tasks previously handled by Astraea now fell to him. Applying modern management models made the process surprisingly smooth, partly because the Familia was still small and lacked internal conflict.
There was one final task: every member had to submit their status, development abilities, skills, and magic. As Captain, if he didn't know the exact strength of his team, his leadership would be useless.
He already knew the stats for Ryu, Daphne, and Cassandra. He was primarily interested in the twins. It wasn't a forced order; they submitted them voluntarily, keeping only their most private secrets hidden.
Roy received two copies of their status sheets. As expected, most of their stats were high—B-rank or above. They only needed an "Exciting Narrative" to reach Level 4. Their development abilities were Fist Strike and Diving.
Tiona possessed the skills Berserk and Grand War, which boosted attack power based on damage taken and raised all stats when near death. Tione's skills were Vengeance and Grand Counter, which boosted power based on rage and damage, and increased Strength when near death. Their upbringing in Telskyura had resulted in nearly identical skill sets.
────────────────────────────────────────
Support me here: https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Danmachi : Starting with an Elf (405 Chapter – Ongoing)
Join the journey and become part of the story!
────────────────────────────────────────