Ch.298[Chapter 298] Clan Wars

Sir Dominic ate the porridge given by Sir Dominica, recovered, and went outside for the first time in a while.

As everyone probably knew, it was a well-known fact that eating a heartfelt porridge would restore 3 Action Points (AP).

“Come to think of it, perhaps because I’ve been away from Gachaland for so long, everything feels new to me.”

Sir Dominic muttered as he strolled through downtown Gachaland.

The sunshine was warm, the breeze was cool, and there weren’t many people on the streets—perfect weather for a walk.

Of course, as always, that was until an incident occurred.

“Waffles.”

Sir Dominic showed interest in a newly opened waffle shop.

Now that his body had recovered, it was warning him that he lacked energy.

He was craving sugar and carbohydrate-rich food.

And the cream-filled waffle before his eyes satisfied all those conditions.

“One cream waffle, please. With plenty of apple jam.”

Sir Dominic opened his inventory, took out some Credit, and purchased a waffle.

The waffle, filled with apple jam as Sir Dominic requested, looked sweet just by looking at it.

Sir Dominic was impressed by how generously it was filled with cream, but he couldn’t just keep admiring it.

Sir Dominic brought the waffle to his mouth to taste it.

Just as Sir Dominic’s teeth were about to bite into the waffle…

Bang! The building behind Sir Dominic exploded.

To be precise, it was the dumpling shop next to the waffle store.

Sir Dominic’s teeth cut through empty air.

Due to the impact from the explosion, Sir Dominic’s waffle had flown far away.

Sir Dominic stared blankly at his empty hand for a moment, then sighed.

It seemed he had been caught at the edge of another incident.

“Well, you’re still quite lucky, sir.”

When Sir Dominic sighed dejectedly, the waffle shop clerk consoled him.

“These days, clans are running wild. I suppose it’s because the beta test is approaching.”

“Beta test?”

Sir Dominic took out Credit from his inventory and handed it to the clerk again.

The clerk took the Credit as if accustomed to it and quickly made a waffle to give to Sir Dominic.

“Until now, it’s been the alpha test. Now the true Gachaland is about to begin.”

The waffle shop clerk said as he filled a piping bag with cream.

“Unlike the alpha test where various experiments were conducted, the beta test will have a direction. And this is a secret…”

The clerk looked around, then leaned forward as if telling a great secret, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered.

“From the beta test, I hear it’s going to be reorganized around clans.”

“Around clans?”

“Yes. It’s already famous news in Gachaland.”

Then it’s not a secret, is it? Sir Dominic thought, but since he didn’t know about it, it could still be considered a secret in a way.

“Well, that’s why clans are running wild now. I think there will probably be around eight clans left in the end.”

Sir Dominic chewed his waffle as he listened.

Clans, huh. Come to think of it, when he first arrived in Gachaland, he knew such things existed, but hadn’t he been putting it off until now?

“Clan. Clan…”

Sir Dominic ate the last piece of his waffle while thinking about clans in the devastated street, except for the waffle shop.

That last piece was very sweet.

…

“Clan. A clan is…”

Sir Dominic continued to think about clans even as he left the ruined street.

He was so absorbed in thoughts about clans that he didn’t see the person coming from the opposite direction and bumped into them.

“Ouch!”

“…? Ah. I’m sorry. Are you alright… Doremi?”

Sir Dominic was startled by the sudden impact and finally snapped out of his thoughts.

As soon as Sir Dominic emerged from his thoughts, he apologized to the person he bumped into, but surprisingly, it was his sister, Doremi.

“Ugh, that hurts… Huh? Brother?”

Doremi was lying on the ground about 2 meters away from Sir Dominic.

In the collision between Sir Dominic and Doremi, it was natural for Doremi to fall with her lighter weight and weakened physique from long experiments, rather than Sir Dominic with his large build and armor.

Considering the difference in their physical stats, Doremi had practically been flung away.

Sir Dominic looked at Doremi awkwardly, then approached her and extended his hand.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking because I was thinking about something else.”

“Ah. Well, let’s say that’s what happened. Yeah.”

Doremi more or less accepted Sir Dominic’s apology.

Sir Dominic found her attitude strange.

She seemed busier than usual.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Sir Dominic asked Doremi what she was doing.

“Are you busy, by chance?”

“Huh? Ah. Somewhat. There’s a clan war going on right now. And it’s a big match where the winner absorbs the loser.”

“Clan?”

Sir Dominic stroked his chin at the mention of clans again.

It seemed Gachaland was in the midst of a clan fever.

“Yeah. Fighting against those damn mechanophiles… Sorry. The Manufactorum clan, who believe machines will solve everything. I guess they’re after our Lumière clan’s technology.”

“Lumière clan.”

“Yeah. Do you know the Star Lords called The Tentacle Explorer and Giant of Hundread Hands? They joined hands to create this clan, and I joined because the treatment is quite good.”

Sir Dominic thought the names sounded familiar, then suddenly remembered the two Star Lords he fought in Region 3.

Back then, they acted like they would devour each other, but somehow they seemed to have become friends.

“Come to think of it, what clan are you in, brother? I’ve never heard about which clan you joined.”

“I’m unaffiliated.”

“Is there a clan called ‘none’?”

“No, I just haven’t joined any yet.”

Doremi’s eyes blinked at Sir Dominic’s words.

“No way. You mean you haven’t been receiving clan bonuses all this time? Really?”

“Yes. Clan bonuses? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

Or perhaps he had heard but forgotten. Sir Dominic didn’t bother to mention the latter.

“…Wow. My goodness. And you’re still this capable? No, maybe you’re so strong because you didn’t join a clan? I don’t know…”

Doremi looked incredulous after hearing Sir Dominic’s words.

Joining a clan provided quite a lot of benefits.

It was a structure where one could gain advantages in many areas, such as support for growth, help in quickly advancing through Story Mode, relationship stories, and more.

Yet Sir Dominic had reached his current position without the help of a clan, which showed how remarkable his abilities were.

After being momentarily dumbfounded by Sir Dominic’s clan issue, Doremi soon came back to her senses.

She remembered she was still in the middle of a clan war.

“Ugh, I don’t have time to think about other things. Anyway, brother, let’s talk later. If you’re thinking of joining a clan, please consider the Lumière clan. Of course, it might not match your concept, but I can somehow work that out.”

“Doctor? C5 sector has been captured by the enemy. I recommend you provide support to either C2 sector or D8 sector.”

“Ah, we’re already being pushed back? Ugh, anyway, I’m busy now, so let’s talk later! I’m going to hit them hard!”

Doremi could no longer turn her eyes away from the clan war and, heeding Android Zero’s advice, immediately rushed to the battlefield.

As she went, she slammed the watch on her wrist, and simultaneously, an orbital bombardment fell in the distance, but Sir Dominic’s mind was focused elsewhere.

It was on the topic of clans.

“Clan. A clan…”

Sir Dominic fell into deep thought as he repeated the words he had uttered countless times today.

…

In fact, Sir Dominic wasn’t the only one thinking this way.

And not everyone was just thinking about clans.

“Here are the results of this clan war, uncle.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Senator Muscleman, the de facto leader of the Tanker Labor Union, accepted the documents handed over by Pandemonium.

The documents detailed the results of battles against eight clans, and without exception, all recorded victories for the Tanker Union.

“By the way, our survival in the beta test is practically guaranteed. Is there really a need to reduce other clans?”

Pandemonium conveyed his thoughts to Senator Muscleman in a worried voice.

“If we’re trying to expand our scale, we could wait for other clans to fight and then intervene at the end—”

“We’re not trying to expand our scale, Pandemonium.”

Senator Muscleman interrupted Pandemonium.

“We’re pruning. We’re just giving a little help so that large clans will fight each other instead of wasting effort trying to merge with smaller clans.”

“…Is that beneficial for our Tanker Union?”

“It is.”

Pandemonium stared intently at Senator Muscleman.

Senator Muscleman was always someone who prioritized the rights and interests of tankers.

Since this was being done by such a person, Pandemonium nodded and decided to watch Senator Muscleman’s actions.

“Alright. Then I won’t question it further.”

“Actually, you can question more. We don’t have many opportunities to talk like this these days, do we?”

“That’s true.”

Senator Muscleman had become busier as the beta test approached.

The Gachaland Executive branch was trying to minimize the shock that would come to Gachaland.

Thinking “You live such a tiring life,” Pandemonium suddenly had a thought.

“Speaking of tankers, uncle.”

“Yes.”

“Sir Dominic, I don’t think he’s joined a clan yet, has he?”

Thud. Senator Muscleman’s hand stopped.

Then Senator Muscleman slowly raised his head to look at Pandemonium.

His expression suggested he hadn’t thought of that.

Pandemonium thought it was the most foolish expression he had ever seen on Senator Muscleman’s face.

The Tanker Union realized that Sir Dominic was still a freelancer.