Chapter 361 - 361 - Violence Is the Bedrock of Justice

With Asfi having spelled it out this far, there was no way Leon hadn't caught on.

She was clearly just going the long way around to say his inexperience was exactly why some swindler had found an opening and conned him!

Remembering the 1.95 million he'd been fleeced of, his expression instantly soured.

"Mr. Hart, do you have any thoughts on this proposal?"

Just as he was about to say something, Royman suddenly switched gears and turned the spotlight on Leon.

Every gaze in the room snapped to him in an instant.

Some looked curious, some looked like they were enjoying his misfortune, and some wore open contempt (a certain cat man, for instance)...

"Tch, a measly Lv.2..."

"Allen!"

"Heh..."

The three of them simply ignored the foul-mouthed cat man. On the surface Leon put on a thoughtful air, but under the table he was quietly poking Jeanne and Rose.

He looked exactly like a student suddenly called on by the teacher without a clue about the answer, who, caught off guard, can only frantically beg his reliable deskmate for rescue.

"Huh?"

He had no idea what they were even arguing about. What kind of suggestion was he supposed to have?

Luckily, the dependable Rose stepped in to bail him out just in time.

"Guild Master Royman, I believe this matter still calls for careful deliberation. After all, the compensation is an enormous sum. A full 2.5 billion in reparations... I'd imagine that, at present, only the Guild has the capacity to mobilize cash on such a scale immediately, wouldn't you say?"

The moment Rose spoke, the corners of Finn's and Hedin's mouths lifted in a barely perceptible curve.

So she's stated her position. Good.

Lucky thing Demeter Familia didn't side with the Guild. Otherwise Royman would most likely have run with it, pinned an "incompetence" label on us, and used the chance to bleed us dry.

At that thought, both of them shot Rose an approving look.

As for Royman, his eyes bulged. Breathing heavily, he shot Rose a vicious glare, then fixed his stare hard on Finn and Hedin.

"So... you two are dead set on making the Guild shoulder the entire compensation alone?"

The words hadn't fully left his mouth before the air in the conference room turned thick with gunpowder.

"Oi, fat pig. Can't you read the situation? Who do you think you are? You're nothing but a puppet under Ouranos's thumb, and you actually think you're the lord of Orario? Heh..."

By now the "foul-mouthed cat man" Allen had completely run out of patience after three-plus hours of this back-and-forth. He dropped the act entirely, laid his cards on the table, and just spoke his mind straight out, not sparing a shred of face.

"Vana Freya!!!!!!"

Royman's face flushed crimson, every roll of fat on his body trembling, a pudgy finger quivering as it pointed at Allen. He was so furious he couldn't squeeze out a single full sentence.

"Dead fat pig, don't point that filthy finger at me... or you want me to chop it off for you?"

Seeing that Royman was nearly about to pass out from rage, Hedin pushed up his glasses and "mediated" right on cue:

"That's enough, Allen. Royman is the Guild Master, after all. He deserves at least some respect."

"Apologize."

"Tch..."

Allen bared his teeth at Hedin, vicious:

"Shut up, you sissy elf!"

"Allen, I'll say it one more time. Take that back, and then apologize!"

"Heh, looks like you've been unhappy about me being vice-captain for a long time, haven't you? Four-eyes elf..."

"In that case, let's step outside and settle this."

Four-eyes elf?

A flash of cold light crossed the depths of Hedin's eyes:

"Allen, you'll regret this!"

The cat man glared right back without the slightest restraint:

"I'm the vice-captain!"

Bang!

"Enough!"

"Hedin, Allen, both of you shut up and sit down."

At that, the strongest fighting force in the room "gently" slapped the table and issued the command in a low voice.

"You pig man...!"

Allen glanced at the pair of massive fists wrapped in red gloves on Ottar's hands, his throat bobbing a few times. Still wearing a look of defiance, in the end he meekly sat back down. Only, the way he sat with one leg propped up on the chair, knee hugged to his chest, really didn't look like someone attending a proper meeting.

"Now then, Lord Guild Master."

The smile resurfaced on Hedin's face as he looked toward Royman:

"What were you saying just now?"

Everyone: ...

After all that, what the hell was Royman supposed to dare say now?

They'd played good cop, bad cop, and everything in between, and on top of that there were those massive fists...

Leon was off to the side, quietly relishing the show, occasionally letting out little "tsk, tsk" sounds...

He leaned in toward Rose and Jeanne, wearing the face of someone watching for kicks, and lowered his voice:

"See that? The turtle just shattered Royman's dream of being city lord in three punches."

"And that proves one thing: here in Orario... it still comes down to whose fist is harder."

Hearing his gloating remark, the two ladies couldn't help finding it a little funny.

Asfi and Alise on the other side, however, seemed to hold a different view.

"Leon, that way of thinking of yours..."

Alise had barely started before Leon raised a hand to stop her:

"I know what you're going to say. If everyone went by 'might makes right,' then what's the difference between us and Evilus, right?"

"But what I want to say is, having no sword in hand, and having a sword in hand but not using it... those are two completely different things."

"The way I see it, violence is the bedrock of justice."

"Without violence that can suppress everything, how exactly are you supposed to enforce justice?"

"You can't very well do it by running your mouth, can you?"

"What do you think?"

Alise was momentarily at a loss for words...

Asfi, too, fell silent.

A seat over, Tsubaki heard this maxim of Leon's, raised an eyebrow, and felt it suited her tastes quite well.

Across the table, Riveria slowly drew her gaze back, a thoughtful look on her face.

As for Alise, she'd been struck dumb by that single line from Leon.

Even though she still believed there was something wrong with Leon's whole argument, that it was twisted, heretical reasoning...

And though she still felt the argument was somewhat extreme, bordering on sophistry, yet... when she thought it over carefully, she found she couldn't actually come up with anything to refute it, and even faintly sensed there was some truth to it.

Justice... what exactly was it?

Leon noticed that Alise's gaze had gone vacant, and he knew this girl had started overthinking again, spiraling into her own head.

Shakti, who likewise fought on the front line of order, was the first to show a look of agreement:

"Leon's right. If you want to set rules and maintain order, violence... or power, rather, is an indispensable condition."

"As a member of the military police, I deal with all sorts of people year-round, so I know this from experience."

Watching the topic on their end drift further and further off course, and finding himself on the receiving end of a "tag-team beating" from Finn and Hedin, Royman fired off a few token jabs before decisively giving up the struggle and quickly banging the gavel to pass the compensation plan. In the end it was all Guild money anyway, not coming out of his own pocket, so there was no need to fall out completely with these two troublesome characters.

Besides, as the city's twin pillars, the Guild would have plenty to rely on them for down the line. A step back opened up a much wider horizon.

"Ahem. This compensation... will be borne by the Guild."

The moment the words landed, nearly everyone present broke into a genuinely heartfelt smile.

Royman, however, switched gears:

"In that case, since the funds are the Guild's responsibility, as for manpower... surely all of you can provide some support?"

"As you all know, the Guild's personnel are quite limited."

So long as it wasn't about gold coins, everything else was easy to discuss.

Finn declared his position right away:

"No problem. Loki Familia can lend three Lv.4s, ten Lv.3s, and thirty Lv.2s."

Hedin wasn't about to be outdone either:

"Freya Familia is willing to send one Lv.5, three Lv.4s, five Lv.3s, and ten Lv.2s. All of the Lv.2s among them are excellent healers belonging to the Andhrímnir."

Seeing the two big-name Familias state their positions, the other factions naturally fell in line quickly.

"Our Demeter Familia has shallow reserves. Three people in support is already our limit."

[Read 50+ chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/NiaXD]