Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

"Your syndicate is the wealthiest, but not the strongest? That doesn't make sense," Rudy uttered.

"Money doesn't relate power and strength, you know?"

"Yeah, but they are indirectly related to each other." Rudy changed his position on the seat and sat beside Maria.

"If your syndicate is the wealthiest, then other syndicates must also know about it, right?" Rudy asked with a curious look on his face.

Maria nodded and said, "That's why we are called that."

"That means, the smaller organizations who aren't part of any syndicates would surely want to join your syndicate. Hence, it would naturally also increase the manpower of your syndicate," Rudy asserted without taking any pause.

"Of course, I am not saying this based on any proof. It's just a theoretical assumption," he added.

Maria covered her mouth and giggled to stop herself from laughing.

"...did I say something funny…?" Rudy asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"No." Maria shook her head and said, "I am just surprised that you came to that conclusion after knowing one thing about my syndicate."

"..."

"But you are right. On paper, we are not the strongest, but we do have a lot of organizations in our syndicate. And besides, the underworld has been at peace for the last twenty years, so no one truly knows what strength one possesses."

"That's a good thing?" Rudy wondered and thought, 'In my past life, there was a major underworld outbreak a few years later. I don't know what caused it, but the entire underworld was turned upside down.'

"You know, when my father was around our age, he was so evil to the core. He did so many evil things that I can't describe without feeling disgusted. He was like that for years. Even after he married my mother to gain the power of her family organization, he didn't love her. He slept with dozens of women every day and treated my mother harshly. He never paid attention to her. He killed all the women who got pregnant with his child to avoid future drama. He wanted only one heir— a son."

"He had threatened my mother that if she gave birth to a daughter, he would kill her and the child. But luckily, my mother gave birth to twins. One was a boy, and another was a girl," Maria scoffed as she said that.

"Father was confused. But since mom gave birth to the son, he didn't do anything to the daughter and my mother. Years passed by, and he still remained evil. He taught my brother and sister how to kill and conquer."

"My father was feared in the entire underground. His enemies left the fights whenever they heard he was coming. All the organizations wanted to join our syndicate. The other syndicates also wanted to make a peace pact with our syndicate. Our syndicate had become the most powerful in the underground." Maria looked into Rudy's eyes and said, "And that's how our syndicate became the wealthiest in the entire underground."

"That makes sense," Rudy nodded after hearing that. "But he didn't give off evil vibes in the casino."

"He changed 20 years ago and turned into a big-hearted man. No one knows what happened to him, but he became a kind person. He started taking care of everyone. He apologized to the families of the people he had killed and gave them money. He donated funds to charity and did many good things." Maria shrugged her shoulders and said, "Maybe he saw a devil that made him realize the true meaning of evil."

"Or maybe he changed because you were born?" Rudy said with a judging look on his face. "You are 20 years old, right?"

"Heh!" Maria snorted and said, "That's not possible."

"Why not?"

"There are no pictures or evidence of my birth. Normally, parents record those moments because they are precious and memorable moments for any parent." Maria smiled wryly as she continued, "I don't know what happened to him twenty years ago. But there was an underground war that happened around the same time."

Maria was awfully calm and open while talking with Rudy.

Even Rudy found it strange, but he recalled how awkward she felt while calling Rudy her friend.

'She doesn't know the boundaries of friendship. She is naive and innocent on this side,' Rudy scoffed softly and smiled at Maria.

Maria squinted her eyes and said, "What are you laughing for."

"You are not like other mafias, or should I say… you don't look like one."

Rudy said that because the entire family had a background.

According to Maria, her father was an evil lord. She didn't talk much about her mother. While her brother was married and had a healthy relationship with his wife.

Rudy came to that conclusion because Rusher was flirting with his wife when they were playing the game.

Maria's sister didn't get along with her husband, and she drugged him every night to subdue his lust. She was having an affair with her brother, which was extremely immoral.

Considering all that, Maria was the only one with no secrets and peculiar habits.

Maria looked into Rudy's eyes and said, "Do you truly think I am different from the rest of my family?"

"Yeah…?"

"I knew it." Maria bit her lips and said, "I always felt out of place with them. You know, I think I am not truly my father's daughter."

Rudy raised his brows with a curious and confused look on his face and asked, "Why would you think that?"

"Sometimes, I just feel like I don't belong there. Like there is no connection between me and the rest of my family members…" Maria muttered with a disdainful tone.

"You look awfully a lot like your sister, though. So I am pretty sure you are part of the family," Rudy reassured.

"If you look close enough, all humans are the same."

'Not, they are not…' Rudy sighed and tried to say something, but he thought it would be best to keep his mouth shut since it seemed to be a sensitive case for her.

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Author's Note- A revelation in the next chapter. Any guesses?