I made my way toward the director's office. I knocked on the door slowly. The clubs had a director and a leader—I hadn't met their leader yet. When I opened the door, the frog-faced man I had seen earlier was sitting at his work desk.
"Good work, Rei. You can now become a member of this club. That man's title will be taken away."
"I see. It's good that I can become a member, but what are the advantages? Or what will we be doing?"
"This club is about being superior together and dedicating yourself to growth. Every title has its levels. The information and game coins we provide vary depending on your level. You can also gain connections. In short, the higher you rise, the more power you have. To increase your level, you need to achieve more game successes and show that you can be more useful to the club. You'll start from level one—I'll explain the details later. You can quit the place where you work. As long as you're a member, we'll pay you a salary, and the amount increases according to your level, of course."
"I understand. Thank you."
My face began to return to normal. The emotionless self I had during the game was slowly starting to fade—apparently, I thought I was no longer in danger. I kept looking at the man. His face really was that of a frog; I guessed he belonged to the frog race. Below that, he was dressed in a suit—it was a comical sight. But in my current state, I didn't have the energy to laugh at such things.
"We'll make sure that man doesn't mention anything. And don't you go talking about this club for no reason either, alright?"
"Alright."
As my eyes momentarily glanced toward the window, I saw a dragon of small stature passing through the distant mountains in the air. The frog man, noticing what I was looking at, decided to look out the window and inform me about it.
"Beyond this area lies the territory of the dragon race. There aren't just dragons there—there are other creatures too. They live in caves within the mountains and can revert to human-like forms. We have a power-based agreement between us, which is why this city isn't at war with them. Both sides try to curry favor with each other. They shouldn't be underestimated—physically, they are vastly superior to a human. A war could break out in the future."
As I continued listening to the frog man's words, I kept looking out the window toward where the dragon had disappeared from sight. I slowly turned my face back to the frog man. Seeing such things no longer shocked me excessively—I was beginning to get used to the world I was in.
"Can we go and see them?"
"They're asleep at this hour. It wouldn't be right to disturb them while they're sleeping. You can go check the valley twelve hours from now. They won't act hostile without reason. Besides, because of the Six Card Game, you're famous among important people everywhere, so they'll recognize you or want to get to know you. They generally sleep for twelve to fifteen hours."
"I understand. Thanks for the information. I'll go check on them."
"You're welcome. Your membership has officially begun—you can drop by this area whenever you want. If there's a meeting, a notification will appear on your phone; other than that, you're not obligated to visit. But don't be a complete stranger—members socialize here and are generally around. You know Gyoma; Gyoma's the same, usually hangs around here."
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
"What about the other clubs?"
"They're in a similar situation, but naturally, we are superior to them. It's as simple as that. By the way, one of our members really wanted to see you—he should be here now."
"Someone?"
The door opened behind us, and Itsuki entered the room. The moment he saw me, a devilish smile appeared on his face. The old me would have been surprised, but such situations were no longer things that surprised me. When Itsuki saw I wasn't surprised, he hesitated for a moment—it was as if I was stealing his fun.
"What's up, Rei? Did the birds tell you I was coming?"
"No."
"What's with that attitude then? Didn't you miss me, huh?"
Itsuki mockingly linked his arm through mine.
"I figured you'd come here and be able to become a member. A place like this suits you, after all. So I became a member here too. We'll play games, right?"
I didn't answer his question and kept looking at his face.
"We could have gotten along so well. I really liked you—I still really like you, don't worry. So we're going to play some really good games. But instead of doing that, we could have escaped from there together, couldn't we? And the way you used me, deliberately had me send the money in separate payments, and took precautions to get me kicked out of there—it was so brilliantly clever. When I got kicked out, I was both furious and thrilled. You made me feel strange emotions, Rei!"
"I thought killing everyone didn't align with my philosophy."
In my current situation, maybe I could have done that, but my friends wouldn't want me to be that way. That's why I was trying to control my own aggression. They wouldn't want to see me like that, and because of that, I didn't want to be that way either. I wanted to preserve my ethical framework as much as possible.
"I see. So it's your philosophy..."
"My philosophy is like this too. I enjoy inflicting pain. I enjoy crushing, feeling superior, and I really like powerful people. You know, I've completely accepted these dirty thoughts of mine and embraced them. Thanks to my father."
"Your father?"
"You're curious, aren't you? Let me tell you then."
"My father was a serial killer. Ever since I was little, he taught me that power is everything. I used to help him dismember body parts—we had so much fun together. We really enjoyed causing harm; we understood each other. My father taught me how much pleasure domination brings. We kept doing things like that together. He taught me that power is everything in this world—he told me about his own truths. My father was strong, logical, sadistic, and at the same time, very intelligent. I wanted to be strong like him, so I started climbing to the top. The ambition inside me was insatiable. When I obtained power, an immense pleasure washed over me—I wanted to keep that going. I wanted to meet powerful people, to become one of them. That's my reason for living!"
Itsuki grew more and more excited the more he spoke; he seemed to enjoy showing off to me. There was a sadistic grin on his face. With his cute face and short-to-medium height, just like Haru, he was far darker than Haru. If Haru was a broken person, Itsuki was perhaps the devil himself.
"So, did you like it, Rei?"
"It was fine. I understand. I need to go—I'm going to sleep."
"But I just got here!"
"I'm tired."
"Pfff, fine. But come back here—I'll be around here too, okay?"
"Alright."
I quickly walked away from him. Behind me, Itsuki called out, saying he would be thinking about me constantly. I left the club, teleported in front of the company building—the hotel was closer from there. After making my way there, I went to my room and quickly fell asleep in my bed. I thought about the things Itsuki had said.
How ordinary aggression is...
But if I realize that the things I value have perished, perhaps I will become the most ordinary person of all. I have no right to judge such things or other individuals. I should focus on myself. All I need to do is keep winning and take responsibility.