Although Reiji knew that the origins of a syndicate this large and powerful couldn't be simple, this backstory was far more extravagant than he'd ever expected, especially because it meant that their initial purpose was...acceptable.
"But even with my Maternal Grandfather protecting you at the start, how on earth did it end up growing this much?" he asked, getting more and more invested in this story.
Daichi smiled.
"Well...The thing is, due to my intention merely being to earn some quick cash, I never wanted to continue this so-called 'business' after I graduated. But your mother and her best friend didn't share the same sentiment. The former saw the good we were doing and wanted to keep it up, while the latter was blinded by the money that was coming in. After all, by the time we were about to graduate, we'd already made enough to keep us financially free for a decade if we lived as we did at the time."
Reiji caught onto a key detail.
"Right, you mentioned this best friend before. I don't remember there being such a person near Mom when I was young."
Since they were being so open today, Reiji didn't expect the mood to fall so fast, with his Dad's amusement transforming into a stiff scowl, and the men behind him donning similarly grim looks.
"She...She isn't with us anymore," Daichi sighed.
"....She died?"
"I wish," he chuckled. "That woman has significant mental issues, and none of us really noticed because we simply thought she was money-driven. But she's not relevant right now, because that's a whole different story on its own."
Reiji frowned, and a flicker of doubt drilled into his mind.
'Mental issues? And related to the syndicate?'
His first thought was of the mysterious Z, who had been hanging over his head like a shadow because of how terrifying he could be.
'But... Z is a man, that I'm sure of, so that can't be it. And though I don't know much about his background, he was part of that particular event, wasn't he?' Reiji thought, recalling a certain part of the game.
He shook his head and discarded the thought.
In the criminal industry, there was a high probability of landing a strike on a person with mental issues if you threw a ball at a group of them.
"Anyway, the reason we ended up continuing the group after graduating was because of a combination of two factors. The two women wanted to continue, as well as the fact that we were approached by the government," Daichi muttered, his tone heavy with fatigue, like he was tired.
"The government?"
"Remember how I told you that one of the reasons we hold this much power is that we unilaterally suppress the rise of other organized crime units?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, that wasn't the only reason. Back then, we were secretly approached by the government and reached an agreement with them. Their budgets were constrained by a large margin in trying to help the economy recover, which meant they weren't able to spend much money on taking down petty criminals and were more focused on gangs and yakuza. Another problem was the fact that these petty criminals were starting to get more violent, and officers were getting injured or killed on a regular basis. Their solution was to approach mercenary groups and give them the green light to break laws without repercussions as long as our targets were criminals or evildoers, essentially throwing the mess to us. There were quite a few mercenary groups back then, as I wasn't the only one with such an idea, and most of them had entered into that agreement with the government. The government got to reduce impactful crime without spending too much, and we were able to grow our business without being so limited in our operations. A win-win scenario. Of course, we couldn't publicize our cooperation with them because they didn't want to openly approve of violent methods of fighting crime."
Reiji rubbed his temples, processing this flurry of information.
Though it made sense on paper, managing and monitoring these mercenary groups so that they didn't cross the line would've been difficult.
"How did they manage to keep you all in check?" he asked.
"It's much easier to supervise mercenary groups that operate in the open when compared to underground gangs and individual criminals. A lot of transgressions still went unnoticed, but the government chose that option rather than letting the overall situation get even worse. The whole thing was honestly a little flimsy, but not only did it work for the most part, but it also allowed them to focus purely on recovering the economy."
"But... wouldn't they renege on their agreement after the economy normalized?"
This was the thing that Reiji was focusing on, since there was no way the government would have let these groups continue and grow their influence.
And Daichi's subsequent smirk piqued his interest.
"Yes, that certainly happened. But I'm afraid I can't tell you how we got over that hump, because it involves certain national-level secrets," he responded, his smug arrogance not hidden in any shape or form.
"Huh?? That's not fair!"
"Oh? I thought you didn't want to take over the syndicate, so why the interest in such things?"
Daichi's smirk grew wider.
"Well, how am I supposed to take over if I don't know what I'm getting myself into? What if that secret bubbles over if I do, and it comes back to bite me in the ass?" Reiji retorted, coming up with an excuse on the spot.
In reality, he was just overly curious.
"The thing is, I can't divulge that information because I really can't, not unless you agree to become the next leader," Daichi shrugged. "That's part of the agreement that was made."
".....Is that supposed to make me agree?"
"Of course not. I've decided that I won't force you anymore."
".....What?"
Reiji plopped back into his seat as doubt and suspicion dominated the small sense of relief.
"Don't get too excited, I have my reasons," Daichi replied, crossing his fingers together. "The reason I've told you all this, about our origins, is that I want you to understand why we even exist in the first place. From now on, the tasks I assign won't be as dangerous as the previous one, and I hope that as you continue to do them one by one, you'll want to take over on your own terms."
"That's..."
There was hesitation on Reiji's face, but not a clear refusal.
He had to admit that knowing all this really did make the syndicate more acceptable to him, with it clearing most of his moral issues with what they did.
But it still didn't reduce the danger aspect of the job, and it was one of the bigger reasons why he'd been so firm on his stance.
"Why are you telling me all this now? Why not at the start?" Reiji asked cautiously.
"For multiple reasons. I wanted to see if you were really fit for the position in the first place, and wanted to test out your capabilities and leadership qualities when you were under the impression that we were 'evil'. In other words, to see if you'd be influenced by that or make your own stand. Secondly, hiding our true purpose allowed me to probe just how much your personality has changed from the past. No....I should say that I wanted to check if you'd returned to how you used to be," he stated, his eyes softening ever so slightly.
Reiji pursed his lips.
'....Yeah, OG Reiji wasn't so bad before his Mom's death. Though he was still a bit of a brat.'
"And finally...It's mainly due to the secrecy of our cooperation with the government. There are veeeery few people who are aware of it in the first place, with only a handful of people excluding the ones already in this room. I could not tell you about it before confirming you'd take over, otherwise it'd put you in unnecessary danger."
"Then why tell me now if you haven't confirmed it?" Reiji groaned, hoping that Daichi's intention wasn't to tie him to the group by divulging the secret.
But the man just crossed one leg over the other and sighed.
"I only told you the parts you're at liberty to know. Plus, I'm betting on the fact that learning about this will make you appreciate your assignments more, and that seeing the impact we have on the citizens of this country will move you. And also.....I made a promise."
".....A promise?"
"Mhm."
The brisk reply showed that Daichi had no thought of telling him more about this so-called promise, so he could only shrug with exasperation.
And then he started to seriously consider those words.
'What do I do...'
His conflicted expression was visible to all of them, and silence enveloped the room as they gave him time to think.
".....What about the illegal businesses we do?" he asked quietly.
"For two main reasons," Daichi's deep voice echoed. "One, it allows us to maintain a certain level of influence, information channels, and control over those industries, limiting external forces from sneaking their way in and offering even more heinous goods and services. Second, it's a way to earn money, and we don't cross any major lines with what we supply either."
Reiji nodded, expecting such an answer.
He already knew that those businesses were more or less low-level stuff, like marijuana, alcohol, and things of that nature.
Not great, but not terrible either.
Seeing that Reiji was still contemplating, Daichi gave him a way out.
"I'm not expecting an answer from you at this point, since I realize that this is a lot to take in. For now, just complete the assignments I'll give you from time to time and see how you feel about all of this down the line. As I promised, they won't be as dangerous as the crossbow incident."
"....Fine," Reiji sighed, toying with the ring on his finger out of stress.
But there was a small sense of anticipation deep within that he couldn't ignore, but that only made him more wary.
He stood up, stretching as he spoke.
"Is that all? Can I leave now?"
Daichi tilted his head and then smiled.
"Hmmmm....Since you ranked first in the midterms, how about I give you a gift?"
"Gift? What is it?"
Reiji's eyes narrowed when he saw Daichi's smile grow wider.
'....This can't be good.'