"Money, power, military might—lacking any one of these means you're not qualified to step onto the Re-Estize's political stage.
"As everyone knows, in that horrific war a few years back, the king of the Sorcerer Kingdom, Ainz Ooal Gown, wiped out the Re-Estize's main forces. Even now, the army hasn't caught its breath, and they can't even muster enough local militia. The only unit still maintaining elite combat strength is the Royal Knight Order, directly under the old king's command.
"The one who leads the Royal Knight Order can only be the Warrior Captain, meaning whoever can push their own proxy into that position will control the Royal Knight Order's military power."
Down below, EeDechi sat upright in her leather chair, nodding silently to herself: "Not bad. Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun."
"The most revered Warrior Captain in history, Gazef Stronoff, died on the battlefield in that terrifying war against the Sorcerer Kingdom a few years ago. The Royal Knight Order is leaderless now, under the king's direct jurisdiction.
"Since they couldn't find a warrior as outstanding and reliable as Gazef, the Warrior Captain position has stayed vacant these past few years. But this year, the king issued proclamations across the land, starting the reselection process for the Warrior Captain.
"The second prince, along with the major nobles, are all itching to jump in, sending their own fighters to compete in the selection. From what I hear, the most promising candidate under Princess Renner is Brain Unglaus. I'm sure you've all heard of this genius swordsman—he's practically one of us, once rated at orichalcum-level just on his Martial Arts alone..."
At the edge of the table, EeDechi let out a snort of laughter. "Haha, this guy's a genius swordsman? You all must have some misunderstanding about what 'genius' means."
In the entire tavern, only Tony was speaking from the high platform, and the adventurers below were all listening intently, so EeDechi's laughter, even though she deliberately kept her voice low, still came across as jarringly out of place.
Tony's displeased gaze swept over from the stage, and the surrounding adventurers frowned as they turned toward EeDechi.
Barrett quickly flashed them a smile full of apology, using both hands to make the universal gesture among adventurers that signaled his companion was a fool—please, everyone, pay her no mind.
Seeing Barrett's gesture, the displeasure faded from the crowd's faces, and they went back to listening to Tony's speech.
EeDechi tilted her head curiously and asked Barrett, "What did that string of gestures mean?"
"I meant that you're a really smart one, and they ought to heed your advice." When it came to sweet-talking women, Barrett could lie without a second thought.
"Oh, got it." EeDechi had a lightbulb moment and nodded with satisfaction.
Old Tony went on with his plan, "But right now, the situation's rife with hidden tensions, and the Warrior Captain's selection tournament is full of dirty tricks. From what I hear, some nobles are sending dozens of warriors to compete—they wear down other contestants with tag-team tactics, then throw the match to their own guy. That way, the whole group props up one like stars around the moon, easily boosting a fighter to a top ranking.
"Princess Renner doesn't have many warriors or mages under her command, so she can't pull that off to rig the contest. Brain's got to go it alone, just him and his blade against those noble cliques teaming up—he might even get backstabbed to death.
"But our Adventurer's Guild has never been short on top-notch warriors and mages." Old Tony scanned the crowd of adventurers below in their motley gear, then added, "Her Highness Princess Renner hopes we'll join the tournament and stir up this already murky pond even more."
"Take out as many opponents as you can handle, but when you face off against Brain, throw the fight on purpose. That way, we boost Brain Unglaus right up to the Warrior Captain spot.
"Employers cough up the reward, adventurers get the job done. But this time, Princess Renner has put out a bounty to every adventurer in the Re-Estize—she wants us to take her gig. The medical fund from Her Highness and the nobles backing her? That's our fat payday.
"Once the Warrior Captain selection tournament hits its boiling point, all the casinos are bound to open up betting lines on who's gonna be the next Warrior Captain. We'll dump our stakes on Brain, heh heh, and rake in a fortune..."
...
Night had fallen deep, but the Golden Harbor tavern was still ablaze with light. Guildmaster Old Tony's speech had wrapped up, and the adventurers below were buzzing with heated discussion.
Most adventurers had no beef with Old Tony's pitch; only a handful griped that it tangled them too tight with nobles and royals, clashing with the free-wheeling vibe adventurers live by.
The smattering of naysayers got swallowed up quick by the rowdy cheers, and Old Tony called for an anonymous vote. The count showed the overwhelming majority were down to accept the quest from Princess Renner.
Deal struck—a rickety but solid beast of a machine was gearing up to roll. The elite adventurers who'd shown up for the meet would scatter across the Re-Estize, jumping into the tournament fray.
Local Adventurer's Guild branches would get the word from the capital guild, slap up notices, and rally their adventurers to join the Warrior Captain tryouts and back Brain Unglaus.
"This kind of match-fixing is obviously the sort of shady business only a deep state could pull off in secret, yet here you are, holding an open meeting to hash it out, even renting a whole tavern for a fired-up discussion. Do you really think the second prince and the nobles backing him are deaf?" EeDechi lounged back in her leather chair, her face full of scorn.
Seeing her like this, Barrett couldn't wrap his head around it: how could a clueless girl who gets ripped off by crooked merchants even when buying dates have the nerve to act like she's a veteran of political scheming? And what the hell was "deep state"?
"This is an above-board plot, out in the open, so no need to skulk around in the shadows like some dark mages. We adventurers aren't up to anything that can't stand the light of day. The client showed up first with the reward, signed the contract—of course adventurers would agree to work for her."
A figure in a blue mage's robe spoke in a flat tone. The two turned to see Old Tony had somehow appeared behind them.
EeDechi shot him a glance. "Hey, Tony, you can't pin your hopes on Brain. This boy's sword skills are average at best, and his mental grit is weak. After I beat him once, his face looked like he was on the verge of falling apart. His personality just isn't bold enough!"
As she spoke, EeDechi wagged a finger.
No, no, Brain's the bravest guy I've ever met—good grief, he actually dares to have a crush on you. Barrett thought of the blue-haired swordsman's earnest eyes, and his emotions churned inside. Of course, he didn't dare say it out loud.
"You beat Brain?" Old Tony's eyes bulged in surprise.
"Of course, I took him down easy." EeDechi said offhandedly, like she was describing the taste of her lunch soup, without trying to put on airs.
This was actually EeDechi exaggerating a bit; though Brain was her defeated foe, when it came to pure swordsmanship and martial arts, he was truly top-tier among ordinary folks in this world.
Old Tony stroked his goatee and looked at Barrett. "Is what your companion said true?"
"One hundred percent." Barrett nodded in agreement. He'd seen the captain fight multiple times and never once questioned her strength.
"Heh heh, no wonder it's the woman on top and the man below, woman strong man weak." Old Tony kept nodding, staring at Barrett as he repeated "woman strong man weak" several times.
Barrett shot him a glare, wondering if he should jump in before EeDechi and rip this guy's goatee right off.