Chapter 247: The True Intent Behind the Wolf Strife: Who is the Sacrificial Goat?

Author's Preface
A grand discovery: If you read series featuring mind games and write your own story feeling like you've become smarter yourself, you can maintain your motivation!

Even now, I genuinely think this guy is an idiot.
I mean, actually seeing it in person made me realize, "Ah, so there are a lot of people in that demographic," but as expected, if you're running a massive clan, the executive-class members are highly capable... or rather, it's full of gamers who are used to this kind of management.

In other words, despite whatever heckles were thrown, this idiot decided to slam down a veto right to the faces of "Black Wolf"—a clan that hasn't lost control of its steering and is fully capable of making sound judgments.
This time, Psyger-100 didn't just twitch her eyebrow; she clearly scrunched her face in a frown before slowly opening her mouth.

"Fuu......... Right, I'll ask just in case... Why?"

"We aren't Black Wolf's errand boys, you know? You can't just tell us to hand over information for free and expect us to go, 'Yes, understood,' right~?"

"We've been providing you with various conveniences, haven't we!"

Fufufu, you idiot. Can't you tell your clan leader is currently making a face that screams, "I wish you'd keep your mouth shut"?
Every time you step out of line, a landmine gets buried right beneath your feet, you know? And those landmines are specially crafted by a bastard who finds joy in trapping people.

"Conveniences? Just that much? That's a harsh joke... If you had an information advantage on the level of Library or SF-Zoo, that'd be one thing. But if you're just a clan with deep pockets, there are tens of thousands of others just like you, you know? Got i〜t? Rydyrdy〜?"

"Ah, she ripped me off."

"She's a complete straight-upgrade in terms of annoyance, though."

"You wouldn't even be able to complain if someone punched her for that."

The moment the baton passed from me to Pencilgon, she had completely seized the initiative in the conversation.

"Aside from their lore-crafting, Library also functions somewhat like an information broker guild. Now that's definitely worth befriending, even if it means handing over a Unique."

"........."

"SF-Zoo messed up just a liiiitle bit recently, but their know-how regarding animal-type monsters is in a league of its own. In fact, when I heard they managed to track the Marking and pinpoint Lycaon's spawn pattern, even I was surprised."

Actually, despite having various issues, that clan is genuinely capable... Or rather, there are suspicions that they have people who work with animals in real life.
I've even heard stories about someone asking for advice about their pet's illness and getting a response packed with hardcore, professional knowledge.

"It's not like we're refusing to hand over information on Unique Monsters, you know? As a matter of fact, Library has completely disclosed all the information regarding Wethermon the Tombguard that we provided them."

"Besides, I pretty much provided Lycaon's behavioral patterns, didn't I?"

Poking and prodding with the needle of legitimacy. They want to argue back, but any poorly thought-out statement gets completely hijacked by Pencilgon.
Those who understand that simply shut their mouths and take it, while those who don't want to show off.

"Leader, could you leave this to me?"

H-

((((Here it comes!!))))

I can say this with absolute certainty: at this exact moment, although there were differences in whether or not they let it show on their faces, all four members on Wolfgang's side shared the exact same emotion.

"Ah, allow me to introduce myself. I am Liberios, the Sub-Leader of the clan 'Black Wolf'."

"H-Hoon... Nice to meetcha."

I replied while desperately suppressing the urge to burst out laughing.
I suppose I should commend Pencilgon for not showing a single change on the surface.
Kyou-timate, who similarly didn't show any emotion on her face... No, wait, your animal ears are twitching like crazy.
OiKatzo, you bastard, learn how to keep a poker face better! Because you're forcing your expression to stay stiff, you look like you're making an ahegao face while sucking on a pickled plum!

Watching my state, Psyger-100 let out a single sigh and silently nodded at Liberios-whatever, who had stepped forward with a smug look on his face for some reason.
Watching through the salmon mask as the smug look on Liber-whatever's face deepened, clearly thinking he had been entrusted with this situation, I sent him my condolences internally.

Poor Liber-whatever. You're the Scapegoat this time.

Time rewinds to even before the start of the discussion with Black Wolf.

"...Umm, in other words?"

"Momo-chan and I have joined hands behind the scenes."

"Did you hear that, Kyou-timate? Tomorrow's discussion just became ninety percent farce."

"I'd very much like a detailed explanation."

How should I put this... we just got hit with a spectacularly severe spoiler.
That being said, we should pass final judgment after an interrogation. Depending on the situation, we might have to tie a weight to her and throw her into the sea... No, never mind.

"Momo-chan has a habit of going berserk quickly, but the fact that she cools down just as fast is both her flaw and her virtue, you see. Plus, fundamentally speaking, she's a moderate."

"Then why go out of your way to hold a discussion?"

"Well, our side might be a small group capable of unifying our intentions, but their side isn't like that, right? They need to make sure their members understand the explicit results."

Well, that's not the only reason, though, Pencilgon continued, sticking her tongue out playfully.

"I've already mentioned that Black Wolf is split between the 'Gamers' and the 'ShanFro-Only Hardcore Gamers', right?"

"Yeah."

"That's correct, but also incorrect. The clan 'Black Wolf' is split in a much simpler way... The 'Psyger-100 Faction' and the 'Liberios Faction'."

To begin with, what exactly do hardcore gamers seek? Firepower, stats, the fact that they stand at a higher peak before anyone else... Well, any motive works, but in essence, the fundamental principle is the emotion of "I want an advantage over the other guys."
But here's where the question arises, and that is the biggest ticking time bomb the clan Black Wolf is harboring.

"Calling them moderates and hardliners is correct, but also incorrect. To be precise, it's the 'Defeating Lycaon as the Objective Faction' versus the 'Remaining a Top Clan as the Objective Faction'."

Exactly. The very reason the clan 'Schwarz Vulf'... commonly referred to as 'Black Wolf' because the name was a mouthful... was created in the first place was to defeat the Unique Monster 'Lycaon the Night Raider'.
Draping themselves in hardcore equipment and reigning as a top clan is merely a method and a process, not the objective itself.

From that perspective, the original "Black Wolf" was never supposed to be a hardcore gamer clan, but rather a clan hyper-specialized for a "Specific Objective," much like Library or SF-Zoo.

"Ah... Wait, I'm starting to see the background here..."

"What a coincidence, Sunraku. I'm getting a bad feeling about this too..."

"Nffuffu... Exactly. To begin with, this isn't a clash between 'Black Wolf' and 'Wolfgang'."

It's a clash between the moderates of 'Wolfgang' + 'Black Wolf' against the hardliners of 'Black Wolf'. It's not a collision between two different clans; it merely looks that way. In reality, it's a setup where another clan has shoved its nose right into the internal infighting of a single clan.

"Momo-chan and I are best buddies, after all. She actually reached out to me with various propositions quite early on."

The clan "Black Wolf"... Strictly speaking, the people who joined because they wanted to defeat Lycaon only care about defeating Lycaon.
I see. It's true that information regarding Wethermon and Ctarrnid is intriguing, and if they had to say, they'd want it. But it's not a strong enough reason to put their highest-priority objective on the back burner.

"To be perfectly honest, all Momo-chan and her group want is the know-how you guys used to defeat Lycaon. Or rather, instead of negotiating with Us (Wolfgang), she probably wants to dedicate her real efforts to negotiating with 'SF-Zoo'."

I couldn't help but think, Look who's talking, considering she's the exact person who forced SF-Zoo to keep their mouths shut, but since saying it wouldn't change anything, I let it slide.

"But the players who want to be 'Number One Among Players,' with Liberios at the forefront, won't accept that."

Human desires are ultimately bottomless, after all. They want to be Number One, and they want to be the Only One.
For guys like that, a minor clan consecutively taking down Unique Monsters is a thorn in their side... No, it's like the top name on a rhythm game leaderboard that they can't surpass no matter how perfect their score is.
They find us incredibly, overwhelmingly annoying, but they desperately want our Information (Score).

"The objective of the Liberios Faction is to exploit 'Wolfgang'... or rather, to Absorb us, I'd say."

That's generally what happens when the strong force their will on the weak. You can invent as many reasons as you want, and being allowed to join a top clan is a condition generally categorized as "good news."

But it's not like we're playing this game because we want to mingle with hardcore addicts. To begin with, the original "Wolfgang" was just a tight-knit circle of friends. Honestly, I can't deny the feeling that things started getting unnecessarily complicated ever since Pencilgon began her Demon Lord roleplay in earnest, but at the very least, getting absorbed by a major clan isn't something I'd go "Yay, hooray!" over.

"Momo-chan and I roughly orchestrated the arrangements for today, too. A blatant board state, an incompetent clan leader... Nffufufufu..."

Nimaa, smiling as if to declare that she was the one enjoying ShanFro the most in the entire world at this exact moment, Pencilgon made her proclamation.

"Triggering an internal division within the clan 'Black Wolf'... Aah, how incredibly fun! I can practically hear the Symphony of their dissonance!"

"Hey, OiKatzo. Don't you think it's about time we lay the groundwork for an 'Our Demon Lord threatened us in real life' excuse?"

"Nn~, I don't think they'll believe a single word coming from the warhead loaded into the Demon Lord's bazooka, though?"

Hahaha, alright, I accept that challenge.
This is just the opening act. I'll send you flying, you Cannot-Trigger-Uniques-Himself Bastard!!

Author's Afterword
It's a bit different from "Too many cooks spoil the broth," but it's more like the difference between someone who values the destination the ship is heading toward versus someone who values the luxury of the ship they're using to get there.