Chapter 37:Factions

"I think we went a bit off-topic," Daiki said halfway between one of Simon's retorts

"What do you mean?" Simon asked.

For as infuriatingly confusing as the green-haired guy could be Simon found it very easy to talk to him. He was very good with taking whatever Simon said and turning it into a conversation topic.

Simon was loathed to admit it and if he was asked he would vehemently deny it but he was coming to like the dude in front of him.

They had been talking back and forth for hours now and despite the sting in his voice Simon was enjoying it quite a bit.

So, when the damned asshole asked for his attention he grudgingly gave it.

"So... Don't get mad but I might have had an ulterior for staying behind and speaking to you." He said looking slightly sheepish.

"Obviously." Simon retorted acting as though that was a foregone conclusion.

In truth, he had no idea what or why he would have ulterior motives. His mind, however, was already giving himself a small mental high five to finally find a legitimate reason as to why he was allowed to hate this dude in front of him.

"Simon, I am being serious." Daiki's voice took on a more grave quality as he said those words, then he continued.

"Do you know why four of the most powerful tamers in the first year and some of the top tamers in the entire academy decided to take valuable time out of their day to humor you and make you feel welcome?"

Those words started making Simon ponder but he still could not dig deep into it as the green-haired boy was still on a roll.

"Granted the reason we came here was that the dean said there was something we should not miss in the lounge but for all of us spending thirty minutes doing nothing but chitchat is a severe waste of our time. I just got lucky because today was one my 'off' days and decided to use it to get an early march."

The words struck Simon as the gears in his head started turning.

The reason he had thought they were so cordial was that they were all colleagues here.

But what if that was the point?

Tens of thousands of students enter every year and supposedly this 'Planar University' could comfortably hold up to a million bodies at any given time. If he were to go only through the first bit of information given, he was only one of five students admitted who had a high-tier bond as his first...

"I am very valuable aren't I?" Simon breathed out the conclusion he came to.

"See! I knew you weren't stupid!" Daiki said grinning.

The glare he gave the annoying asshole was piercing but the smile never wavered from his face.

Even Amy growled a bit, but it was very half-hearted in his ears. She probably knew that Daiki was just teasing.

He then cleared his throat and look Simon dead in the eye.

"Now let me fill you in on just how fucking valuable you are. Strap in because this is going to be a long-ass exposition. The personal power you have is not even worth a fucking mention, there are some fifth-year students that could take you on one on one with no problem. No, it is the idea that you bring to bear. You and I represent some of the strongest of what humanity can offer and that sort of ideal is something others wish to rally behind. Tamers will flock to you as they did me and that is what makes you valuable. You see, the school wants us to be the goals every tamer sets to be for a long list of frankly shit reasons and so gives every 'blessed one' an opportunity to make a 'club' centered around them. Honestly, it is a bona fide faction system with the 'blessed' being the head of each faction. Currently, the first years are generally divided into five groups. Dudes that follow my horny self and my equally as horny 'Lovers'. Arsalan and his god-complex of a 'holy order'. Leone and his 'Dark Knights'. The bullheaded Ryu and his bullshit 'Rising Dragons'. Then there are the bunch that doesn't want to deal with the shitty politics and decided to peace out. Up to this point all of the 'clubs' have been relatively equal in power and there has been a sort of harmony. With me so far?"

He said all of that with barely any breaks in between but in such a way that Simon got an idea of what was being said so he nodded.

"Now you pop up out of absolutely nowhere and have the same qualifications as us. It probably did not hit the rest of those assholes yet but they will probably kick themselves for not realizing how big of a catch you are. Outside of Ryu, That ass has only two things on his mind, getting a real dragon and beating the shit out of monsters."

Something about what Daiki just said did not feel right with Simon and since the guy was being frank he asked.

"Am I not a threat? Can I not establish my own 'club' that opposes the agenda of the others?"

Daiki was wide-eyed for a second at his remark but quickly calmed himself as he shrugged.

"You probably could. But that will not mean much. If this was the beginning of the school year you probably would have been a threat. As it stands now, well... most of those who wanted to join already joined a 'club'. If you do make a new 'club', sure people will join but don't get any hopes of it ever amounting to too much. Not saying it can't happen but the odds are very very low."

Some of his questions were answered but since Simon had Daiki's ear he pressed on with the other thing that was bugging him.

"Why are you telling me this? Surely you realize this decreases the odds of joining your 'club'?"

A smile bloomed on Daiki's face and Simon was shocked to find out that there was no edge of teasing or anything of the like to it. This smile came straight from the soul.

His next words similarly had none of the rough edges of his normal speech.

"You see, my friend. Most of us start our clubs with a goal we want. Mine was to show the world that turning monster girls into tools was not the way of the future... Don't give me that face. If you lived in the city you would realize just what I am talking about. Give a monster girl just a little bit of love and she is willing to bring down the world for you, you don't even have to bond. Most of the higher-ups seem to be blind to the fact and many rules exist in deliberately making a monster girl's life harder with no feasible reason as to why it should be necessary. I want to change that... I probably won't succeed... But what I want to do at the very least is to spark an ember that maybe one day turns into a roaring flame."

Simon had another question and he was about to ask such before Daiki put his index finger up, silently asking him to wait. His next words answered the question that was bubbling in his throat.

"The way you treat your monster girls... I don't care which faction you join, you are the ideal I want this messed up society to achieve. As long as your love for your monster girls stay as it is now, you will be a walking example of the future I want to achieve."

Well... Simon was expecting a lot of things... But not something so... heartfelt. The shift was so drastic that he was struggling to come up with a proper reply.

Since nothing else was coming to mind, what he said was.

"Ok..."