Day 323 - 10:21 AM - Evernight Base, Kachidoki, Chuo City, Tokyo
After the commotion outside, Mark stood behind the door, monitoring the Shinto Priest outside. When the Priest finally left, only then Mark went away from that position.
At this ti, i and the rest were silently watching Mark. The situation this ti seed worse than the previous ones, and Mark behaved pretty oddly as he stood behind the door. They only started asking after Mark left the door with a sigh.
"Gege, are you okay?"
i asked Mark, observing if he got injured or anything. He might have an absurd regeneration, but it did not an she would not worry.
"I'm fine," Mark replied and patted i's head. "As if those people can do anything to ."
Amihan then appeared from the stairs. She was on the second-floor window, watching what was happening outside. However, it was not Amihan who manipulated the wind to disarm those Yakuza mbers.
"Master," Amihan called out as she plopped on Mark's shoulder. "You should have called if you needed to use wind magic."
Mark tapped Amihan's head.
"You'll end up killing those guys. Your control is better than before, but precise magic is still impossible for you."
That was right. While everyone who witnessed what happened outside would think that Mark's [Sylph] aided him, it was actually Mark. He had the [Wind Manipulation ntal Crystal] on his hand. Since the crystal was just marble-sized, it was not hard to hide.
"What happened there, anyway?"
Spera chid in.
Since all the windows on the first floor were pretty much covered up, there was no way for them to see what was happening outside unless they ca out of the door or went up to the second-floor window. Nonetheless, they could hear the shouts coming from outside.
Mark relayed what happened, making the rest of the group frown. Only Abbygale and Miracle were not that interested in the topic.
"Aren't they too brave?" Spera shared her thoughts. "I know they are mbers of the Yakuza, but isn't this the territory of Black Lotus?"
Since the Reclaid City was divided into territories of powerful groups, it was unthinkable to commit acts against the rules of the landlords. It was even more unthinkable to happen to Mark's group considering their direct connection to the Black Lotus Group.
But then, there was an exception that could make so people brave enough to run rampant in soone else's territory.
"Those guys must be mbers from another group that rules a part of the Reclaid City."
Mark said his assumption. After all, it was the only possible reason why those mbers of the Yakuza were that courageous. Unless... They were just a bunch of idiots.
"Let's just ask Ren later," Mark shrugged. "If I'm right, she will get involved in this."
"What about the Priest?"
Emika asked.
"We let's just ignore that for now," Mark nonchalantly said. "That Shinto Priest is just testing the waters. Or else, he won't just leave like that."
And the discussion ended with the decision to wait.
***
After lunch, Ren, with Tadashi and Mako, appeared as Mark had expected. Well, she was actually pretty late, in Mark's opinion. After all, Ren also had so secret guards planted around Mark's group. She definitely heard what happened soon after it ended.
By the looks of it, Ren was pretty angry, not at Mark's group but at that group of Yakuza mbers.
Mark did not even need to ask. Ren revealed the information that he needed on her own. And he was right. Those Yakuza mbers belonged to another group at the sa status as the Black Lotus Group and the Blood Lion Troupe.
The Yakuza group was called Shinono. Literally translated to Dawn. And which part of the Reclaid City did they rule? It was the Shinono District that was part of Koto City. Was their na a bit too subtle for a cri group? Furthermore, their group na was the sa na as their territory.
However, the na actually held a deeper aning to the group.
Due to the apocalypse, many Yakuza groups and families got forcibly split apart. It was no surprise. Not all were lucky to survive the initial surge of the [Infected].
But when the Reclaid City was established, those broken Yakuza Groups gathered together into one large group. To commorate their new start, they nad their group Dawn. And by coincidence, it was the sa na as the territory they were given afterward.
It was odd that their territory was almost at the center of the Reclaid City and one of the safer areas. But as Ren explained to Mark, the reason was not surprising. The Yakuza had strong connections with the governnt.
This situation was quite baffling to the eyes of the common people. Two of the territorial groups that ruled parts of the Reclaid City were directly connected to violence. One was the Blood Lion Troupe, and the other was Dawn.
But then again, the two were different in the nature of how they managed their territories.
Dawn was an organized group and more interested in accumulating riches and influence. The Blood Lion Troupe? They were just a group of hoodlums craving violence and drowning themselves in their desires.
In fact, Dawn was managing so businesses in the rich district. In terms of financial status, Dawn was the richest among the territorial groups.
Still, who could have thought that they would run rampant here in the territory of the Black Lotus Group.
"I wish I could say I can do sothing about it, but aside from enforcing our rules in Kachidoki, there's really nothing much I can do either. Complaining to them won't do anything good either."
Ren said to Mark with a deep sigh.
It would have been different if Ren was still a mber of the Mitsui Clan. But as soone who cut ties with her family, Ren's influential strength was limited to the common people.
"No, it's fine," Mark replied. "If anything else, I have to thank them instead. No one knocked on our door after they left, after all."
That was right. Due to the confrontation between Mark and the mbers of Dawn, no one had knocked on their door since then.
"You're getting into all kinds of trouble, huh," Ren understood what was happening. "That's just how it is here once soone new managed to get so fa. Unless you solidified your stance and position, people would continue to approach with all kinds of agendas."
"Resorting to violence and clashing with one of the territorial groups isn't really sothing I would recomnd, though," Ren continued. "They have power and influence. Who knows what kind of strings they could pull behind you."
"It's fine," Mark replied. "That kind of concern is more fitting for regular people."
Ren gave Mark a skeptical stare. However, given how mysterious Mark and his mbers were, there were a lot of possible scenarios. She had to keep an open mind here.
"In any case, be careful," Ren warned. "I'll do what I can on my side."
At this ti, i ca out of the kitchen and placed so snacks and drinks in front of their guests.
"Please, help yourself."
i said in Japanese, although the tone and pronunciation were about awkward.
"Thank you." Ren smiled while Tadashi and Mako silently nodded. "Eh? Pudding?"
Ren was surprised as she finally paid attention to the food. She never expected to get sothing like this at this ti.
"It's not the Japanese kind, though," Mark said, taking a spoonful of his snack. "It's a Poor Man's Pudding. A pretty simple one."
"It's good."
Ren complinted. Well, it had been a long ti since she had eaten one. Of course, this one would be delicious for her.
It was the sa for Tadashi and Mako. Tadashi was more reserved as he ate, while Mako clearly enjoyed it.
"Anyway, you look awfully busy," Mark pushed on the next topic. "I thought you'll co much earlier after what happened."
"You said it," Ren shrugged. "Thanks to you, we already have the funding. I'm trying to procure and stock on as much supply as I can."
"But it's not going smoothly."
Mark continued Ren's words, to which she nodded.
"There isn't enough stock," Ren complained. "The amount we can buy from the governnt is limited too. If we can't address this within this week, we'll have no other choice but to procure the needed supplies from outside ourselves."
Ren was feeding those incapable of working within her territory. Those terminally ill, disabled, and orphaned children were under her care. And due to a lack of funds, their supplies were running out. And now that they had money, there were not enough supplies to procure. In the end, they were back to step one.
The Black Lotus Group still had a week before reaching a critical level in the number of supplies they could distribute to their people.
One week... Those words made Mark and Mako glance at each other.
Mark only had a week to study and repair the artifact Mako lent him.
"The expedition is also returning soon," Ren shared another of her worries. "Your group had just arrived recently so you don't know about this. About a week before you arrived, all territorial groups sent mbers to the army to destroy a large [Infected Nest] in Kanagawa. It's not too close to us, but the nest seems to produce so odd kinds of [Infected]. We can't leave it alone. Today, we just received word from the first returning teams that the expedition is a success, and they will be returning soon if there's no delay. The negotiation about rewards and stuff will be awfully annoying for sure."
Ren, as the leader of the Black Lotus Group and a territorial lord, sure had quite a number of things to worry about.
"Oh, right," Ren seed to have rembered sothing. "Gramps is looking for you. He said you still have so unfinished business."
"I know," It was Mark's turn to shrug. "And you already know why I can't leave."
Ren went silent. Mark was the only man in this group, and there were only two people in his group who could speak Japanese. And there was no way Mark would let Emika answer the door.
"Want to lend you actual guards or sothing?" Ren suggested, not even hiding that she had already placed hidden guards. "The ones I already placed were for ergencies and communication, after all."
Mark could only stare at Ren, who was enjoying her food. She was opening up pretty nicely to him and his group.
And Ren's suggestion... Mark could only accept.
"Can I bother you with that? Even just temporarily. Of course, just female guards."
"No worries," Ren smiled. "We have a good number of female elites. We should have done this since the start. If we did, we could have avoided annoying complications."
Mark could only shrug. No one expected it to be like this, after all.
***
Ren's visit ended after a short rest after the snack. It seed that she was really tired today. Visiting Mark's place beca sothing like a relaxing break for her. It seed that she would send the guards tomorrow.
***
Unfortunately, it seed the guards were needed much earlier.
In the middle of the night, a group of black-clothed individuals infiltrated the first floor through the back entrance. They were ard. Their movents were without any noise. These people were definitely experts in this field.
What was their goal? Their bodies exuded the aura that killers had. They should have killed quite a number of people in their line of work. However, their killing intent was barely there as they carefully entered the restaurant.
***
Outside, the eyes watching Mark's group noticed what was happening. And, of course, they were not going to do anything but watch.
This was the perfect opportunity to actually gather a good amount of information about Mark's group.
Unfortunately for these people, they would get nothing.
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