After Elric retreated to his room to get some well-deserved rest, the entire living room absolutely exploded with social activity.
Twelve women, all crammed into one shared space.
And women? Women talk. Sometimes way too much.
In just a little over an hour, through layered conversations, subtle teasing, careful probing questions, and those sharp evaluating glances women give each other...
They'd all figured out exactly where everyone stood in the unspoken hierarchy.
Even without anyone spelling it out directly, not a single woman present was stupid enough to miss the social cues.
With just sixty minutes of strategic interaction, they could accurately assess:
Who held the most "power" and favor in Elric's eyes Who was basically harmless and non-threatening Who might become a serious rival worth watching And who would probably remain stuck at the bottom of the social ladder indefinitely
It was like watching a nature documentary about pack animals establishing dominance, except with more passive-aggressive compliments and fewer actual fights.
The One Standing Above All — Elizabeth
Among all the newcomers, the woman who received the absolute highest internal ranking was unquestionably Elizabeth.
The reasons were brutally obvious:
Her appearance — Even in this group packed with objectively beautiful women, her looks were simply a tier above everyone else. That face belonged on magazine covers, not in an apocalypse.
Her aura — She clearly didn't care at all about competing for Elric's favor or attention. That indifference itself made her more attractive and intimidating.
Her credentials — When she'd casually mentioned during introductions that she'd been a national academician and research institute director before the world ended, every single woman present instinctively respected her intellectual authority.
A woman who doesn't fight for attention, doesn't scheme or play games, doesn't need validation...
Yet possesses both top-tier beauty and genius-level intellect?
She naturally becomes the unspoken apex predator that no one dares challenge.
Only Nina seemed genuinely unhappy with Elizabeth's automatic elevation to queen status, but that was perfectly normal—Nina disliked literally anyone prettier than herself, which was basically everyone.
The Next Tier — Natasha and Rachel
The two women who received the second-highest level of respect and deference were:
Natasha
Warm, genuinely polite, emotionally intelligent, and knowledgeable about seemingly everything.
She instantly positioned herself as the "big sister counselor type" that everyone could turn to for advice.
She treated every single newcomer with gentle kindness, making people feel genuinely safe and welcomed rather than threatened.
She was clearly the "household center"—the diplomatic glue who could keep this increasingly complicated group of women functioning together without constant drama.
Rachel
A former police officer and a confirmed superpowered ability user.
Even women who normally disliked competition and hierarchy didn't dare provoke or disrespect her openly.
Authority and demonstrated strength create their own natural hierarchy that transcends personality.
Plus, that police uniform definitely helped establish her "don't fuck with me" credentials immediately.
The Comfortable Middle — Jenna, Erin, Grace, Elsa, Lily
These five women were quickly recognized as "Elric's early group" and therefore possessed automatic seniority status simply from being here first.
Jenna
She clearly wanted to imitate Natasha's calm "mature housewife" composure and grace...
But she was just too jealous, too openly emotional, too obviously insecure.
After just a few sentences of conversation, her real feelings would leak through in passive-aggressive comments.
Erin
She maintained an excited, almost manic smile the entire time, especially when talking to or about the attractive newcomers.
That behavior alone immediately made several women deeply wary and uncomfortable around her.
Grace, Elsa, and Lily
All three had genuinely stable, balanced personalities—neither aggressively competitive nor pathetically weak.
They naturally filled the comfortable middle levels of the household hierarchy without drama.
The Lower Tier — The Unclaimed and the Unwanted
There were four women who clearly, painfully sat at the absolute bottom of the internal social hierarchy.
The two rescued college girls.
They explicitly weren't Elric's women and had openly stated during introductions that they were only here as domestic help—basically glorified maids.
No one directed active hostility toward them... but they also had exactly zero social status or voice in group decisions.
Oli
Because she remained so self-conscious about her facial scars, she barely spoke during the entire introduction process.
When Jenna had bluntly introduced her to the newcomers as "the disfigured one," most of the other women had immediately lost interest in befriending her.
Only Grace, Elsa, and Lily tried to engage with Oli again afterward, genuinely sensing her crushing loneliness and wanting to help.
Nina
The absolute rock bottom of the hierarchy.
The women had all collectively assumed she was some kind of captured enemy or prisoner because they'd witnessed her being restrained and clearly tortured earlier.
They didn't know her actual background, didn't understand her real relationship with Elric...
So they openly sneered at her, ignored her attempts to speak, or delivered ice-cold shoulders.
Only Elsa and Elizabeth remained carefully neutral, since they actually knew Nina's true identity and status.
But neither of them bothered stepping in to correct the others' assumptions.
They just stayed silent.
This silence made Nina absolutely furious.
She tried desperately to explain her actual position, but with her extremely limited vocabulary that consisted mostly of street slang and profanity, everything came out sounding like pure hostile garbage.
"You dumb idiots! I'm not the fucking enemy here!"
"I'm also Elric's woman, you morons!"
"You stupid bitches don't understand anything!"
Her foul mouth only further lowered everyone's already terrible impression of her.
The more she talked, the worse it got.
As midday approached, the atmosphere in the apartment shifted dramatically.
With twelve women now sharing one home, cooking became a full-scale military operation requiring coordination.
They prepared an absolutely incredible spread:
Roast lamb with herbs. Multiple roast chickens. Clean white rice that Elric had provided. Fresh vegetables, cold milk, actual fruit—all completely untouched by contamination or decay.
A meal that would've been completely normal and unremarkable just two weeks ago...
Now looked like an imperial banquet fit for royalty in this hellish apocalypse.
Eight of the women sat properly at the large dining table, silverware laid out, chairs arranged.
Meanwhile—
And Nina...
Still wearing those damn ability-suppressor handcuffs, unable to access her powers, she squatted miserably in the corner like a scolded prisoner, muttering creative curses under her breath that accomplished absolutely nothing.
But even with all this amazing food laid out and smelling incredible...
Nobody picked up their chopsticks to eat.
Because they were all waiting for one specific person to arrive first:
Elric.
After about half an hour of rest, Elric finally emerged from his room looking refreshed and well-rested.
He walked calmly to the head of the table and sat down in the central position.
But he didn't immediately start eating.
Instead, he looked directly at Nina—miserable, handcuffed, socially isolated in the corner—and spoke with calm, absolute authority:
"First, let me make something crystal clear to everyone here."
The entire table immediately fell silent. All conversation stopped mid-sentence.
"Nina is not an enemy or a prisoner."
He paused for emphasis.
"She is one of mine. She belongs to this household."
A visible ripple of shock moved across the assembled women like a wave.
Several faces showed embarrassment at having treated her poorly. Others looked skeptical but didn't dare argue.
Elric then turned his gaze specifically toward Elsa and Elizabeth—both of whom had deliberately remained silent earlier while watching Nina get bullied.
His voice remained calm but carried unmistakable reproach:
"You two knew the truth and chose not to correct the others' assumptions. Don't let that happen again."
Neither woman argued or made excuses.
Both simply bowed their heads slightly in acknowledgment, accepting his criticism and authority without protest.
Then Elric looked toward the corner where the outcasts had gathered.
"Oli. Nina. Come sit at the table with everyone else."
Oli hesitated nervously, clearly not believing she deserved a real seat.
But when Elric looked directly at her with that commanding gaze, she quietly obeyed, taking a chair.
Nina practically wanted to burst into tears of relief—not that she would ever admit to crying.
Then Elric added something that made Olivia's entire world stop:
"Oliv, in a few days I'm taking you on a special trip. We're going to fix your face."
Oliv froze like she'd been struck by lightning.
Tears immediately gathered at the corners of her eyes, threatening to overflow.
To her, those simple words sounded like divine salvation—like someone had just offered to give her back her entire stolen life.
At the exact same time, Nina's emotional state shot from absolute rock-bottom despair to overflowing gratitude.
Elric hadn't even been trying to manipulate anyone's feelings.
But naturally—almost effortlessly—he'd just soothed internal conflicts, elevated group morale, secured deeper loyalty, and reminded everyone exactly why they followed him.
Even the more perceptive women noticed the pattern:
He deliberately let them clash and establish their own hierarchy first...
Then stepped in as the merciful hero who fixes everything...
Making everyone feel grateful for his intervention and guidance.
A natural ruler's instinct, whether conscious or not.
Once Elric finished eating at a leisurely pace, he stood up from the table without any ceremony or announcement.
He walked directly behind Elizabeth—who sat calm and elegant as always, her expression perfectly unreadable behind those stylish glasses.
And simply lifted her into his arms like she weighed nothing.
The entire table froze.
Elizabeth didn't resist even slightly.
She simply adjusted her glasses with one finger, nodded once in acknowledgment, and allowed herself to be carried away without protest or embarrassment.
Everyone present knew exactly what was about to happen next.
The bedroom door closed firmly behind them.
In Elric's mind, a soft, pleasant system notification chimed:
DING!
There is 60 chapter Advance, in my patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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