Sword, Magic and Academic Society

"Yo, Ren-kun! I was hoping to talk to you about something. Are you free now?"

It was one of those days when I had gone out to hunt in the prairie east of the Royal Capital with the members of 'Apple', after a long time. I just arrived at the Eastern Branch to deliver some materials when the fatty from 'Gold Rat' approached me.

We first met around the time when I just registered for an explorer license, one thing led to another, and I ended up beating him to a pulp. After that, he would occasionally pester me for a fight only to have the tables turned on him again and again, and who knows what kind of wind suddenly blew in later on, but he started to act chummy with me. Truly a mannerless fatty, his name was… Benza, I think?

"I don't have time to waste with you. Also, stop talking to me as if we're buddies. I was almost about to give you a panda eye."

I was walking toward the warehouse when the fatty greeted me.

"Come on, Ren-kun. This matter isn't just about me; it concerns all the mutual aid societies in the capital. Also, it'll totally affect your 'Apple' too. At least listen to me first!"

I sighed. It was plain as day that his news was anything but welcoming, but if it was gonna affect even 'Apple', then...... Hmm, maybe it wouldn't hurt to lend him an ear.

No, wait. If I readily agreed, then this chap would take it as a sign of friendship and would become even more chummy with me. I wouldn't be able to show my face to Roye-aniki anymore.

'Alright, I should just chase him away,' I made up my mind when Roye-aniki suddenly circled his arm around the fatty's shoulder, the same fatty that had floored him before over some idiotic argument.

"Ren, Benza has truly toned down his mischief recently, even helping out the kids of ‘Apple’ whenever they're in trouble or smoothing over the situation if others try to act bossy. I think it's time to forget the past and move on, eh? It wouldn't hurt to listen to him."

What? Did all of that happen? Woah, I didn't know this mannerless fatty had suddenly become a well-mannered fatty.

"......I can't say no if you're the one pushing for it, Roye-aniki. Alright, I’ll at least listen to what he has to say..."

Hearing my words, Benza said 'Thanks a bunch~' with his usual cheap smile. Sure enough, a human doesn't change his character so easily.

I, Roye-aniki, and Benza went to the Eastern Branch's dining place, leaving the rest of the materials to Po and the team of 'Apple' to handle.

◆◆◆

"Does Ren-kun… I mean, does Aniki know about the Rose Family?"

......Haa, I knew it would be nothing good. He just had to start with a bummer.

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My mood immediately took a nosedive. But for now… I decked the idiot's head.

"Who're you calling, Aniki? Idiot. Aren't you around 18 already?!"

"I'm serious. I was awestruck by Ren-aniki's strength and chivalry! Age can go to hell! You're already the Aniki of my heart!"

Benza announced, his eyes filled with an inexplicable grief. What the heck was that Aniki of your heart supposed to mean?...... Did he think he's J*yan? (T/N - Doraemon reference, Jiyan, the big bully.)

"You're not the one to decide that, it's too gross! If you utter that word again, I’ll leave right at this moment! Anyway, stop dilly-dallying and continue with the topic. I don't have free time like you."

Benza seemed like he had more to say as I said my piece, but he reluctantly stopped himself and began explaining the situation.

◆◆◆

Benza was really an outright idiot, his explanation sucked, so I had to add my own information and more from my other sources to finally make out the general gist of it.

Long story short, it concerned the underworld's situation in the Royal Capital. This wasn't the first time I've heard about them, with each organization managing a part of the Royal Capital’s dark side. The eastern part of the capital was managed by an organization called Crane-Dragon Union.

They typically didn't interfere in general matters unless the dispute between the two parties went beyond the underworld, or two mutual aid societies couldn't see eye-to-eye for their explorer activities. The organization would step in to mediate the situation.

As compensation, the groups under their umbrella had to pay a certain sum… The typical protection money.

The ceiling of an individual's strength in this world compared to Earth was extraordinary, so it was easy for the people of this world to snap and start a fight.

There was the official police department of course, but it was hard to take care of everything with their numbers, so the government deliberately turned a blind eye to the situation.

Mimosa from Serdos had grumbled about how it was a headache to act as the 'Boss' of everyone. Her role, though, was more or less along the same lines.

The outlaw society's role seemed to be keeping those among the common populace who were capable of taking down monsters in line. It wasn't rare for greedy merchants or power abusers to vanish in the dark if they didn't stop their unreasonable actions. Plus, one would need to be of sufficient caliber to keep everything straight.

Returning to the topic, the Royal Capital was vast, and along with the vested interests of many people, the situation gave birth to multiple organizations. Crane-Dragon Union was one such organization which was in charge of the Eastern Region.

However, the order of the underworld has recently been shaken like never before.

Following the extensive history of the Royal Capital, underworld organizations also improved on many fronts over the years. There hasn't been any large disputes for several decades, but the peace was lost when a newcomer organization, the Rose Family, suddenly built its empire in the underworld in a mere span of a decade. It was apparently now poaching the groups under the other organizations.

The Rose Family also showed little to no interest in pushing its affiliated groups to follow the gentlemen's creed that the other organizations had been following for a long time.

Like, the other organizations pushed their explorers to participate in the cleanup or construction tasks throughout the Royal Capital, which tended to be delayed due to low acceptance rates. They also formed a schedule regarding when to harvest plant or herb materials along with an area allocation to make sure that the resources weren't completely dried out.

But ever since Rose had gotten substantial power in their hands, their attitude had been especially arrogant in this regard. They would hunt down monsters for materials but would leave behind the bodies despite them being rich in meat, or they would only harvest plants that fetched a high price.

Now the corpses of monsters were becoming the reason for monsters appearing at the outskirts of the Royal Capital near the herb-picking locations, making it difficult for ordinary people to go anywhere near those areas. It had gotten to the point that it was impossible to ignore it anymore.

Now, the typical question here as a Japanese person would be 'Shouldn't there be some law in place to hold them down?', but the reality was that while laws could be implemented, there was no organization who could effectively enforce it. In the end, the situation would still remain the same, the typical ‘Life's unfair’ and bla bla bla.

It was the same back on Earth. The international treaties would often have many loopholes due to the vested interests of the participating countries.

The situation was somehow being controlled by the Explorer Association as they handed out the tasks in their capacity, but the situation didn't look bright as the Rose Family was even in control of a big marketplace.

The other underworld organizations tried to warn them so many times, but Rose only showed superficial compliance and never reform their group.

On the flip side, the leaders of other organizations were recently being targeted by some mastermind, turning the underworld upside down.

◆◆◆

"The boss of Gold Rat is saying he wants to leave the Crane-Dragon Union and join the Rose Family. He said he had tried to hold the things together, but Crane-Dragon has failed to fulfill their role as their patron, so he also doesn't have any obligation to stick with them anymore.

Also, when the situation turns south, and we have no food to put on the table, the first ones to suffer would be us, the laborers. But...... my gut feeling is telling me he's 'straying from his path', as you call it, Ren-kun. I'm dumb, so I don't even know what's going on. What do you think of the situation, Ren-kun?"

Frankly, it's just impossible for the Rose Family to become this strong on their own. The two bearded duo were dumb, but that Red or whatever chap didn't appear to be that strong either.

Furthermore, they even seemed to be keeping an eye on the situation of the 3rd legion. They would have to be a spy of a foreign nation for sure.

I wasn't sure if they'd already struck a deal or how they were managing things now, but the truth was that as long as they kept doing their rotten acts, it was only a matter of time before the knight order took them down.

Master has already ordered that I should keep my distance from them, and I didn’t have any intention to get close to them either. Well, it wasn't something Benza needed to know, so I basically pretended that I didn't see the big idea.

"What do you mean? I’ll do what I want. I don't like what the Rose Family is doing, but I doubt they’ll be able to continue their act forever. Besides, it's not for us to correct the situation.

It's subjective to an individual's decision if they want to take the risk for some extra money. If you want to make any changes, first become strong. It's not easy to live freely as you want."

Hearing my words, Benza was astounded as if he was struck by thunder.

"......Are you giving up here? What happened to the Ren-kun I knew who brought down the best of the other ruffians? Are you turning your back to the opponent just because they're big and strong?!

Why?! We just need to bring together the explorers whom you taught a lesson, and then we can at least correct the order of this area to some extent! The only one who can bring us together is you, Ren-kun!"

......Ah, so that was his true motive, huh?

It was quite commendable that he was thinking that far for everyone, despite realizing his own lack of wit, but… relying on others never ends well.

Our supposed opponent was someone who managed to push the professional patron of this area into a dysfunctional state. Opposing them was no different from willingly jumping into a lion's den.

"Listen, we have a lot of pipsqueaks in 'Apple' and most of their tasks are within the capital's premise. I don't think we’ll be seeing any effect ourselves for now.

We're not some heroes; we should only focus on what we can do. What's wrong in calling a strong opponent strong? If you don't agree with me, feel free to take matters into your own hands."

I paused there, then lowered my tone by an octave, and continued in my rough tone.

"Of course...... It wouldn't end pretty for them if the Rose Family dares to disturb me or even tries to push their agenda on 'Apple'. Not at all."

Benza gave me a frustrated look. To be frank, I was vexed at how he suddenly started acting close to me, so I was hoping this would keep him away.

I got up from my seat, urged the fidgety Roye-aniki to follow too, and was about to leave the place when a group of three people, who had been peeping at our group since a while ago, also stood up from their seats to chase after us. Man, they should've stopped there honestly.

One of the dumbo goat-bearded people that I happened to encounter during a request I took to reach Ment Village, was in that group.

Maybe they were wary of my detection magic, so they'd been trying to appear less suspicious all this while. It backfired, though, and I already noticed them the moment we entered the dining hall.

"You're finally here, huh, Mad Hound? Man, you sure kept us waiting for over two weeks. Anyway, I’ve heard of you guys. Look, isn't that what I'd call a realistic person?...... You remember Red-san, the leader of our Rose Family, right? He’s been waiting for you. Come along with us."

The bearded idiot spoke with a loud voice, enough for everyone to hear, and circled his arm around my shoulders as if we were long time buddies.

The onlookers stirred as they heard his tone and attitude.

Benza was looking at me with a ludicrous gaze, as if his close one had betrayed him. Eh, not that I cared though.

I sighed. I truly didn't care about what others thought. But—

The chummy act of this goat-bearded person was getting on my nerves.