Chapter 190

"Rock, paper, scissors, ha!" This cheerful chant echoed through the early morning at the Bahamut familia home.

"Ha, I won!" Vasileios shouted with glee.

It had been five days since the incident on the 18th floor of the dungeon, and a lot had happened since then.

The darkness enveloping Orario was weighing heavily on everyone's minds, but they had to endure.

Fortunately, Bahamut noticed this quickly and began holding daily talk sessions with the children every evening.

This initiative helped them maintain a semblance of cheerfulness during such dark times.

Currently, the children were working to determine pairs for their patrol routes around the area.

Crime had been skyrocketing as more people succumbed to the temptations of evil.

It wasn't entirely their fault; the prices of goods had been rising as merchants withdrew from the city.

At first, it was subtle, but now it was palpable everywhere.

The only thing keeping the city's economy afloat was the guild, which mediated with various familias to sustain Orario.

However, this was merely a patchwork solution.

The Evilus needed to be eradicated quickly, or Orario risked collapse.

After finishing their game of rock, paper, scissors, the pairs were formed, and the children departed from their familia home.

"Stay safe, everyone! And if you run into trouble you can't handle, launch a flare as discussed," Draco warned as he and Clair set off on their patrol route.

Over the past few days, Draco had deemed the dungeon too dangerous to enter.

The recent death toll had spiked due to Evilus ambushes.

Luckily, the Bahamut familia had a surplus of money and supplies, allowing them to sustain themselves for at least a month.

Many adventurers, however, were not so fortunate and faced the grim choice of entering the dungeon to earn money or turning to theft.

'To think that merchants were so deeply involved,' Draco mused, scanning the streets for any disturbances.

Bahamut had relayed most of her discussions with Loki, Freya, and Astraea to him.

The information had been shocking, bringing back memories from his past life.

'Now that I think about it, merchants were agents of chaos in my old world too. They may have dressed it up with complicated terms, but it was the merchants who truly ran the world,' he reflected.

An employee was merely a merchant selling their services for income, while an employer hired those services to gain income.

'Just how many high government officials have businesses running in the background? It's why they become greedy, seeking benefits for their enterprises… Why can't people be content? Hoarding ridiculous amounts of wealth only leads to the next generation suffering or becoming lazy.' Draco's thoughts trailed off as he realized he was spiralling down a rabbit hole.

"Draco, are you feeling okay?" Clair asked, noticing his fluctuating emotions.

"Ah, sorry. I just got a bit angry thinking about certain things," Draco replied.

"If it's something you can talk about, I'm here to listen," Clair offered.

"Hmm, thanks for the offer. I will when I can," Draco responded, sighing inwardly. 'How hypocritical of me—letting myself get heated about something I might be contributing to. Poverty and suffering will always exist; Its up to us to change their definition. Maybe then the world would be a better place.' He chuckled at the thought, shaking his head.

By evening, Draco and Clair found themselves in the southern part of the city.

They hadn't intended to reach this area, but an incident at noon had forced them to deviate from their planned route.

"I'm glad we got there in time. It could have ended much worse," Clair said, shaking her head in relief.

An adventurer had nearly killed a street vendor in a fit of rage over being scammed.

With everyone on edge about money in the current Orario, tensions ran high in incidents involving it.

The adventurer had fled the scene before they arrived, so it took a while to track him down.

After his arrest, he was handed over to the Ganesha Familia.

"Yeah," Draco replied, stretching his back.

They had been walking all day.

"Hmm, isn't that Kaguya-san? She looks really angry for some reason," Clair remarked.

Draco turned and spotted not only Kaguya but also Ryuu, who appeared deep in thought.

"Yo!" Draco greeted as he approached them.

"Draco," Kaguya muttered, recognizing him.

"So what's got you looking like a ripe tomato?" Draco asked.

"Don't get me started. We just ran into some creepy god named Eren, who seems obsessed with this silly elf for some reason," Kaguya replied, pointing at Ryuu.

"Eren? Isn't that the god whose 400 Valis was stolen?" Clair asked, her brow furrowed.

"How did you know that?" Draco asked, surprised.

"Michalis told me," Clair explained.

"Hmm, I'm surprised you even remember, considering it happened long ago and you weren't even there," Draco said.

"Well, it was quite a funny story, so it stuck," Clair replied.

Turning back to Kaguya, Draco asked, "So you're upset because a god might be interested in Ryuu?"

"I knew you had a soft spot for Ryuu despite all the bickering," Draco teased.

"Ugh!" Kaguya nearly retched upon hearing this.

"Sorry, you just said something so disgusting that my stomach couldn't handle it," Kaguya replied, wiping her lips.

"Kaguya…" Ryuu exclaimed in rage, finally coming to her senses.

'Whatever Eren said must have really shaken her,' Draco thought.

Although he was curious, it didn't feel right to pry, nor did he want to deal with any extra problems at the moment.

"Remember, we're on the street, girls. You wouldn't want to ruin your reputation," Draco reminded them as tensions began to rise.

"Ahem, so care to explain what happened?" Clair suddenly asked, curious about their encounter.

'Ugh, you silly girl. We could have just called it a day and gone home, but you just had to ask,' Draco thought, resigned to listen to their story.

In summary, Eren had pointed out some major flaws in their views of justice but didn't provide any answers.

He referred to Ryuu as pure and the one he wished to find answers with.

The girls couldn't refute his logic nor accept his opinion, so they were pissed.

'Well, that was a rollercoaster,' Draco mused.

Draco believed that justice for all was an ideal, not something attainable.

The reason was simple: one person's sense of justice often differed from another's.

This discrepancy stemmed from individual free will, which leads to varying opinions.

Differing opinions usually resulted in disagreements, and disagreements can escalate into conflict.

Conflict can lead to loss of life, and those who survive may harbour resentment, resulting in a repeating cycle.

This is why fair laws were essential; they are meant to establish a unified concept of justice that represents the many, not just the few.

However, even with fair laws, they can easily be broken, whether by choice or circumstance.

Furthermore, the definition of fairness is inherently ambiguous, as it ultimately circles back to differing opinions.

In summary, the topic of justice was quite complex and multifaceted.

"So what do you think?" Ryuu asked, her eyes searching for answers.

"All I can say is that you have to solve this assignment yourself. My perspective might confuse you. You may understand it, but you'll likely reject it because your ideals differ from mine," Draco paused, noticing her disappointment.

"Don't look at me like that. If you need a hint, it would be: follow the cycle," he said before pulling Clair along with him and heading straight home.

......…

As night settled over the city, in district seven to the northwest, two adventurers peered through the window of a certain building.

"Are you sure this is the place?" one whispered.

"Yes," the other replied confidently.

"We've seen some shady characters coming in and out, using some kind of item to mask their scent. Even beast-folk noses can't track them," the second girl added, concern edging her voice.

The two sisters, Shakti and Adi Varma, crouched low at the window, keeping a watchful eye on the building they were observing.

It was a dusty old church, long abandoned for worship.

Above the closed front door, a stone portrait of a goddess loomed, though half of it had been worn away or destroyed over time.

"It seems we've finally found where the smugglers are hiding their goods before selling them on the black market. I can't believe it wasn't in the trade district at all," Adi said, her fists clenching in anger.

"Tsk, this was indeed a clever hiding spot. If not for their mistake, they might have eluded us completely. That mistake is going to cost them tonight," Shakti replied, a glint of resolve in her eyes.

Just then, another member of their team approached.

"Captain, everyone is in position and ready to begin on your signal," the team member reported.

"Alright, let's make this a clean operation, everyone," Shakti commanded.

Members of the Ganesha familia had stealthily surrounded the church, awaiting their captain's signal to spring into action.