"That doesn't sound so bad, does it?" Arin asked Johny with a perfectly innocent expression. The moment the words left his mouth, Johny's eyes slowly began to shine with the same dangerous light. It was the kind of expression shared only between young men who were about to make decisions that would absolutely ruin someone else's day. Around them, the younger craftsmen in the workshop also started grinning as realization spread through the room. They had all suffered beneath the tyranny of the family tea system. Every single one of them had watched their carefully gifted tea vanish into the hands of parents and grandparents under the excuse of "safekeeping." Now, for the first time in years, an opportunity for revenge had appeared.
"No," Johny agreed solemnly while nodding. "You're right. It is only natural that we follow the patriarch's example in his punishment and generously hand over the tea for proper protection."
The room instantly erupted into suppressed laughter. Several young members nearly fell from their chairs trying not to choke. Meanwhile, the older craftsmen who had remained inside suddenly went pale as death itself. They immediately understood where this conversation was headed and wanted absolutely no part in it.
Before anyone could stop them, three fathers and two grandfathers sprinted out of the workshop like terrified deer fleeing a forest fire.
"Cowards," Johny muttered while watching them escape.
"Smart cowards," another young craftsman corrected.
Arin stood up and stretched lazily before placing his unfinished bow aside. "Come on. The elders are already holding a meeting right now. If we move quickly, we can have a proper family discussion before they hide the tea."
That single sentence turned the workshop into organized chaos. Young members immediately pulled out their phones, messaging siblings, cousins, and friends throughout the estate. Within seconds, group chats exploded with excitement. Years of resentment over confiscated tea leaves transformed into unity faster than any clan emergency ever had. Apparently nothing brought a family together more effectively than collective revenge.
As they marched through the forest paths toward the main villa, more young members joined them one after another. Some carried training bows over their shoulders while others still wore work aprons from the forge. None of them cared about appearances anymore. This was war.
Thankfully, none of them feared retaliation too much. Outwardly, the Sonneberg men carried authority within the family. They handled negotiations, combat, trade, and external politics. Everyone respected them publicly. Internally, however, every single family member knew exactly who truly controlled the household. Rumors had circulated for years that the women of the clan secretly held "discipline meetings" where they exchanged methods for keeping stubborn husbands under control. Officially, nobody confirmed those rumors.
Unofficially, every married man in the family looked terrified whenever the women gathered in groups.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the incoming disaster, Teun sat deep underground inside the military bunker studying the instruction manual for one of the army's excavation machines. The massive diggers had originally been designed during the drone wars, when surface combat became almost impossible due to surveillance technology. Eventually humanity had been forced underground, turning warfare into brutal tunnel fighting where only small firearms remained practical. Heavy explosives simply collapsed tunnels and killed everyone involved.
Teun scratched his head while flipping through the manual. Operating the machine was not impossible, but it certainly wasn't easy either. Still, he preferred dealing with machinery over family politics any day of the week.
Sadly for him, peace never lasted long inside the Sonneberg clan.
"TEUN!" someone suddenly screamed from the bunker entrance.
Teun nearly jumped out of his chair. "What now?!"
"Your children are rebelling!" Derik shouted while running down the stairs in panic. "How exactly did you raise those monsters?!"
Teun frowned instantly. Nobody insulted his children except himself. "What are you talking about?"
"There's no time to explain!" Derik cried dramatically. "They're trying to hand all our tea over to the wives!"
Silence filled the bunker.
Teun slowly lowered the instruction manual.
"…What?"
"They're targeting the tea stash!"
Teun exploded upward from his chair so quickly the manual flew across the room. "Why didn't you lead with that?! Move!"
The two men sprinted out of the bunker at full speed. Teun's face had become deathly serious. He had only recently managed to reclaim his son's coming-of-age tea allocation after some quick emotional manipulation. Worse, half his personal reserve had already been stolen by his own father, while another hidden stash turned out to contain counterfeit leaves bought from outsiders. Now that he finally possessed genuine family tea again, he refused to lose it.
Absolutely refused.
If someone observed the Sonneberg estate from above at that moment, it would have resembled a disturbed anthill. Adults ran frantically between buildings hiding containers in increasingly absurd places. Some buried tea tins beneath flowerbeds while others shoved them inside weapon lockers or cultivation chambers. One desperate grandfather reportedly attempted to hide his stash inside a hollow training dummy.
The recruits camping in the outer forest had no idea what was happening. Most of them were too exhausted from training to care. After surviving the instructors' brutal schedules, they were simply grateful for a temporary rest day. Some slept in hammocks while others collapsed directly onto the ground.
Inside the main villa, however, disaster approached rapidly.
Arin pushed open the doors to the meeting hall with complete confidence while dozens of younger family members followed behind him like loyal revolutionaries. The elders inside looked up in confusion. Most had no idea what was happening because the adults who understood the situation were currently too busy hiding their tea supplies to warn anyone else.
The younger generation entered smiling.
That alone terrified several elders immediately.
"Good afternoon, respected elders," Arin greeted politely while bowing deeply.
Three chairs scraped loudly against the floor as startled men stood up instantly. Arin acting respectful was more frightening than him openly causing trouble.
"We heard about the noble sacrifice currently being endured by our patriarch," Arin continued with a perfectly serious expression. "We were deeply moved by his dedication in donating his precious plant collection for the rearmament of the family."
Several women immediately covered their mouths to suppress laughter.
"Arin," one elder warned slowly, "whatever you are planning, stop now."
Unfortunately, at that exact moment Teun burst through the doors breathing heavily from running.
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!" he roared while pointing at Arin. "You have some explaining to do!"
Arin ignored him completely.
"As the younger generation," he continued calmly, "we felt ashamed that we were not following our patriarch's honorable example. Therefore, after much careful thought, we have come forward with a humble suggestion."
By now the men in the room finally understood the situation.
And they hated it.
Teun immediately tried advancing toward Arin, likely intending to drag him away by the ear before the speech finished. Sadly for him, his own mother stepped directly into his path.
"Now, now, Teun," she said sweetly while smiling. "I think it's important we let Arin speak. He's a grown man now with his own opinions."
Teun froze instantly.
Every man in the room silently mourned him.
"Thank you, Grandma," Arin said respectfully before turning back toward the gathering. "Our proposal is simple. Since our fathers and grandfathers have always protected our tea supplies so diligently, we believe it is only proper that they now follow the patriarch's example and hand over all tea reserves to the women of the clan for safekeeping."
Silence.
Utter silence.
The color drained from every male face in the room simultaneously.
Because unlike the younger generation, the older men actually possessed tea reserves worth protecting. The youths had already lost theirs years ago. They had no stake in this battle anymore. The fathers and grandfathers, however, suddenly watched visions of their precious tea collections disappearing forever.
Meanwhile, the women looked increasingly interested.
"I think that's a wonderful idea," Karl suddenly declared loudly with a vicious grin. Since his own tea had already been confiscated by his wife earlier, he now embraced equality through shared suffering.
"I agree," Annemiek added warmly. "Hand over your tea stashes, gentlemen. We'll make sure they remain perfectly safe."
The smiles on the women's faces were radiant.
The expressions on the men looked like survivors of a catastrophic house fire watching the flames consume their final possessions.