My front door leads to a comic strip

Chapter 191, Section 190: Confrontation with Soma, Handling the Aftermath

"Ouch—"

"Gently, gently—"

Hours later, a cacophony of agonizing wails echoed outside the Ganesha clan's encampment.

The leader of the group, Shakti Falma, came out upon hearing the sound, and the sight that came into view made her freeze in place. She saw a group of adventurers kneeling in a disheveled state at the foot of the stone steps in front of the door, all of them with bruises and swollen faces, ragged clothes, and expressions of fear like frightened birds.

Shakti immediately recognized them as members of the Soma Kinkaku.

Behind them, Gu Yuan stood there calmly, holding Lilyluka Erd, as if everything before him was perfectly normal.

"Commander Shakti."

Seeing that the person in charge had finally appeared, Gu Yuan pointed at those people and calmly said, "I've brought you my performance record."

Shakti's handsome eyebrows shot up, and before she could voice her questions, the kneeling members of the Soma clan, as if grasping at their only lifeline, scrambled towards her, crying out in a cacophony of voices, "Commander Shakti! We surrender!"

"Please lock us up!"

"We'll confess everything!"

The scene before him only confused Shakti further.

Having ruled the Ganesha's retinue for many years, she had seen those who resisted stubbornly and those who denied everything, but this was the first time she had ever seen so many people vying to be imprisoned.

She couldn't help but turn her inquiring gaze to Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan lifted Lily up slightly, coughed lightly, and began to explain.

It turned out that after arriving at the Soma Familia's headquarters with Chanis, who had been beaten to a pulp, he intended to use Lily's experience as a pretext to forcibly suppress any possible resistance and collect evidence.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived and took down several troublemakers who tried to resist, the remaining members recognized him.

Given the captain's miserable appearance, they assumed something had happened and the Astrea Familia had sent people to investigate.

In an instant, like mice encountering a cat, their psychological defenses collapsed, and they all surrendered easily, which Gu Yuan took for granted.

"They probably felt they couldn't beat me, and since their backer had fallen, they figured they might as well try to get leniency."

"Although the physical evidence was destroyed by Chanis in advance, the witnesses—you saw it—are all eager to testify against him."

Shakti fell silent.

She looked around at the group of adventurers whose spirits had already collapsed, and gained a new understanding of the oppressive aura of Gu Yuan that was enough to make people crumble without a fight.

At this moment, more Ganesha members in the camp were alerted and came out to see what was happening. Some passersby also stopped to watch and point and whisper.

To avoid suspicion and prevent any unforeseen complications, Shakti decisively waved his hand, signaling the group members to take the group of crying and wailing Soma clan members inside and detain them.

For a moment, cries for mercy, shouts, and chaotic footsteps mingled together.

After the crowd dispersed and order was restored somewhat, she gestured for Gu Yuan to follow her into the residence.

In a relatively quiet corridor, she stopped and asked earnestly, "Mr. Gu Yuan, why did you go to such lengths?"

"Although the Astrea Familia has law enforcement powers, this is the first time I've seen such a scale and method of arresting over a hundred people at once."

Gu Yuan smiled, his tone relaxed: "There's a first time for everything. For me, it's just something I do easily, of course—"

He hesitated for a moment, then stopped and had someone take Lily to another place to rest.

Lily nodded obediently and left, hand in hand with a kind-looking female member of the group, turning back every few steps.

After confirming that no one was around and the footsteps had faded away, Gu Yuan turned his gaze into the distance: "Mainly because I don't have much time left, I'll be leaving Orario for a while soon."

Shakti paused, a hint of surprise flashing across his face: "Left? Do Alicia and the others know?"

"I haven't told them yet," Gu Yuan shook his head, "but I hope to resolve some potential problems before I leave."

"The Soma Familia is one, and the remnants of the dark factions that may make a comeback are the other."

His gaze sharpened as he turned to Shakti, "While I'm away, I hope you can keep an eye on the Astrea Familia."

"We must not be soft on those scumbags. I do not want to let the people around me get hurt because of pointless mercy."

A brief silence fell over the air, broken only by the faint sounds of city noise in the distance.

Looking at the unwavering determination in Gu Yuan's eyes, Shakti seemed to see a reflection of him when he suppressed turmoil and pointed his sword at the gods.

That strong sense of responsibility moved her.

She took a deep breath, nodded heavily, and made a resounding promise: "I understand. You and Leon saved my sister. I, Shakti Falma, will remember this kindness."

"As long as the Ganesha Familia exists, we will do our utmost to protect the Astrea Familia."

The two walked for a while longer.

Tap tap tap—

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar, breaking the silence of the corridor.

A member rushed over and whispered nervously in Shakti's ear: "Captain, something bad has happened. Somo God has come in person. He's in the reception room, and his expression—is not good."

As she spoke, she glanced cautiously at Gu Yuan.

Xia Keti's heart tightened, and he turned his head to look at Gu Yuan. Gu Yuan's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes were slightly deeper: "What is meant to come will come. Let's go and see him together. Some things need to be said face to face."

The two arrived at the reception room and met Soma, the god famous for brewing divine wine, which also caused chaos among his followers.

He was dressed in a plain white divine robe, and his gloomy temperament seemed to be innate. His long bangs covered his eyes, making it impossible to see his expression.

But his tightly pursed lips and the oppressive aura emanating from him betrayed his displeasure.

Upon meeting, Soma abruptly stood up, his voice heavy with barely suppressed anger, and demanded bluntly, "Gu Yuan, even if you are Astrea's child, you have no right to interfere in the internal affairs of my Soma clan!"

Why did they arrest my group members?

Heaven knows how he reacted when he learned that over a hundred people had been arrested at once, while he was engrossed in brewing wine.

Half of the members! If he doesn't take action soon, the clan will fall apart.

Gu Yuan seemed to have anticipated this, and did not lose his composure despite the god's wrath. He waved for someone to bring in Lily, who was waiting outside.

"So Mo God, do you still remember this child?" Gu Yuan asked.

Somo's gaze swept over Lily, and he was clearly taken aback for a moment; of course he remembered her.

Two years ago, he met Lily, who was all alone and wandering the streets. He felt pity for her, or perhaps it was some kind of inexplicable fate—after all, Lily's parents had been members of his clan—that led him to take her into his household.

The dirty little girl in my memory seems to overlap with the girl in front of me who, though frightened, has clear, bright eyes.

Just as Soma was lost in memories, Gu Yuan's voice rang out again, piercing the silence: "This child suffered endless bullying in your Soma Familia, her mind and body controlled by divine wine, like a walking corpse. It was the goddess Astraea who took her in and gave her a new life."

"But just yesterday, your commander, Chanis, discovered her and tried to take her away by force."

"The reason? Perhaps to silence her, or perhaps to continue using the divine wine to control her, turning her back into that obedient slave."

He stepped forward, bombarding Soma with questions, each word like a heavy weight pressing on Soma's heartstrings: "Soma, if you were in such a situation, how would you handle it?"

"If an ordinary passerby encountered injustice, what would they think?"

"As a member of the Astrea Familia, it would be a true violation of my conscience and a disgrace to the name of the goddess if I turned a blind eye to such atrocities."

This series of questions, like a heavy hammer blow, left Soma speechless, and his originally fierce momentum faltered.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute that the divine wine itself was not wrong, but rather that human desires were.

But under Lily's clear yet slightly wounded gaze, he simply couldn't bring himself to say those words.

Gu Yuan pressed his advantage, handing a thick stack of papers to Su Mo.

These are the testimonies and fingerprinted accusations provided by many members of the Soma clan just now.

The document details a series of shocking crimes committed by Chanis and his cronies, including persecuting colleagues, reselling religious liquor, and embezzling public funds.

Soma was not initially concerned; he was unwilling to believe that the children of his clan had fallen to such a state.

But as he read on, his eyes, hidden beneath his bangs, gradually widened, and his hand gripping the paper began to tremble slightly, tightening its hold more and more.

"Hmm—" he let out a suppressed nasal sound, his heart pounding with fear as he looked.

The crimes were so numerous that even he, the supreme deity, was completely unaware of them!

Chanis has practically stripped him of his management authority within the clan. A large portion of the sacred wine allocated to the clan each year for maintenance and incentives is being resold privately by him for huge profits!

In a daze, Soma even felt that he was the one who was "working" for Chanis.