Alessio’s brow furrowed. “A shift in the balance of power? What do you mean?”
“Though I do not enjoy having to tell you this, the truth is the truth: at this rate, there is no place for the Luciano family in the new underworld.”
The Stollen boy spoke in a plain and straightforward manner, as if such an outcome were entirely obvious. But the board was not going to stay nearly as calm, not after they’d just been told their extinction was on the horizon. Ire and venom flew across the conference room, filling it with an atmosphere of danger and uncertainty. Durinn, in particular, was especially fiery.
“So you’re saying we’re going to get weeded out, is that it?! You know who you’re talking to, right?! Keep up this lip and I’ll crush your skull with my own hands, you little shit!”
The rest of the board echoed the dwarf’s sentiments, but Noel remained entirely unfazed. He was a clan master in the regalia—gangsters’ attempts at intimidation meant nothing to him.
“Then let me ask you this,” he said. “Do you have the power to beat any of your business rivals?”
“Of course we do! Who among ’em could stand up to us?! Nobody, you idiot!”
“Gangsters, yes… I suppose if we’re speaking strictly among the families, none could hope to defeat you.” Noel smiled coldly. “But what if your rival was a Seeker clan? Could you beat them?”
“Huh?! What’s that s’posed to mean?!” Durinn’s eyes boggled, as did those of all the other board members.
Alessio was the only exception, and he offered a nod. “I know what you’re trying to say, snake. Our future rivals are going to be Seekers turned gangsters.”
“Exactly that,” said Noel.
The don’s son had some real foresight, and he understood the situation Noel was getting at immediately. The same could not be said for the rest of the executive board.
“What the hell are you talking about, brat?!” Durinn barked. “Tell it to me straight!”
The dwarf was essentially admitting to his own stupidity, but he demanded an explanation all the same. Noel glanced at him as if he were no more than an insect.
“Let’s start with the basics then,” Noel said. “On the one side are Seekers, and on the other are gangsters. In my opinion, there is little difference between the two. Neither has governmental authority, but both make their living through violence. Whereas Seekers focus their violence on beasts, gangsters target the weak. This is the only clear difference. In terms of expanding power and influence through the use of this violence, Seekers and gangsters are birds of a feather.”
“So you say, but they’re still different. According to your logic, men and women ain’t much different neither,” spat Durinn. “But they are—you’re a man with a bitch’s face, and as for that gay Finocchio, who even knows what the hell to call him, eh?”
The board chuckled derisively at Durinn’s crude jabs. Noel never flinched. Instead, a frigid and unfeeling smile rose to his face as he spoke once more.
“The fact that you make fun of others to bring attention to yourself is proof that your parents did not love you enough when you were young. Such behavior is usually something to be ashamed of. Given that you haven’t fixed this part of yourself by your age, you must’ve had a horrible upbringing. You have my sympathy.”
“Wh-what the hell?! You little douchebag!”
Durinn exploded at being talked down to, and he rose once more from his chair. Once again, Alessio’s order kept the dwarf under control.
“Control yourself!” he barked. “This is your second warning. There will not be a third!”
The dwarf could not talk back to Alessio, and he growled as he fell once more into an unsatisfied silence.
“As I was saying,” said Noel, entirely undeterred, “there is little difference between Seekers and gangsters. You must be thinking, why haven’t you had to compete with Seekers until now? The answer is simple: it is far too troublesome. Seekers receive more than enough of a reward from slaying beasts, so none of them want to put in the extra effort to go up against gangsters. That’s all it is. But soon, all this will change.”
In an instant, the board was hanging on Noel’s every word.
“Even if the Valiant is defeated handily, we cannot avoid a certain amount of chaos. Amid this upheaval, what was once thought of as a potentially annoying side gig for Seekers will become much more appealing. On top of that, it will be terribly easy for them to step up. Why? Because the underworld and the government won’t be able to grasp control of the situation.”
If the barrier to entry was low, a great many Seeker clans would start taking on side gigs in addition to their beast-slaying careers. When it came to making a quick buck, forcing easy profits through violence in the underworld would become more appealing than the annoying procedures and formalities of their primary work. If this sort of activity were to spread, it would result in what Alessio had mentioned earlier—Seeker clans turned gangsters.
Having come this far, the executive board realized exactly what kind of crisis they would soon find themselves in. The faces around the table were pale, but Noel was not about to give them time to take it in.
“Judging by your complexions, I see you understand the severity of this. We have seen cases of Seekers going rogue and entering the underworld, but these Seekers were by and large those who could not handle the pace of the industry. Even then, these Seekers have been troublesome, have they not?”
He was right. Even the mad clown Finocchio had been forced to deal with rogue Seekers on his turf. They were eventually disposed of, but not without a fight—and a messy one, considering how strong they were.
“In the near future, it won’t be the rogues you have to deal with but the clans at the top of the food chain. Not just one or two either. Let me ask you all this: could you win in a battle against those clans?”
Not a single person at the table could answer. Everyone avoided Noel’s gaze with an awkward nervousness. However strong the Luciano family once was, they were now far too accustomed to peace, and they lacked both the manpower and willpower to face off against a Seeker clan.
“Now just hang on a second!” blustered Durinn in a panic. “I won’t deny that we’re in some deep shit if Seeker clans become our rivals, but we’ve got the throne backing us!”
Durinn spoke the truth: the Lucianos, rulers of the underworld, had strong ties to the imperial family. Theirs was a relationship of give and take.
“The throne? Do you really believe that such a thing will protect you? If so, there is nothing left to call you but stupid,” said Noel, laughing derisively. “The imperial family is not your friend. They are merely your business partners. If they deem that you are no longer able to control the underworld, they will terminate your relationship. Surely you gangsters, who put so much into your duty-bound relationships, must know that they alone will not fill your pockets?”
“I-I…” Durinn stammered, but words failed him.
“The ‘gangsterfication’ of Seekers, as it were, is an inevitability,” said Alessio, cutting in. “Will it really influence the balance of power as much as you say, though? In the past, no Seeker clan has been able to intimidate us.”
“The difference between then and now comes down to the numbers. The total number of Seekers has increased over the last ten years, as has their general skill level. While the Luciano family has expanded its influence during that time, its resources have gone into economic power. In terms of fighting power, you’ve grown weak.”
Ten years ago, the Luciano family was strong enough to compete with a Seeker clan—not just in terms of manpower but also combat readiness. But since becoming the key organization in the underworld, the Luciano family put its energy into business pursuits. The family’s strengths, then, were less violent in terms of bloodshed and more violent in terms of capital.