Meanwhile, across the sea dividing Simpleton and Entropa, in the country of Great Hiana...
"Jorgen, we can't keep going like this!" A very tired Maxwell protested, "We need to partition ARA, it's gotten too big!"
"To divide our forces is the same as creating a border between them." Jorgen sat in his chair, "If we go forth with that naive plan of yours, the individual partitions will no doubt wish to become autonomous, leading to them becoming a rival gang to ARA."
"But then...! No, that's wrong." Maxwell refuted, "Okay, we'll appoint a captain to each partition, the captains will each hold monthly or even weekly status reports that will then be discussed with the others!"
"Maxwell, it took us many years to get to this point." Jorgen sighed, "To root out every single other gang in Great Hiana and absorb their members into ARA. Are you saying you wish to undo all of this hard work and progress just to make it easier for yourself in the long run?"
Unable to find a flaw in his rather harsh but true arguments, Maxwell was forced to leave the situation as it is. In this scenario, change is not possible. Why fix something that isn't yet broken? But it is true that the generals of ARA are facing plenty of hardships in trying to properly keep their huge nationwide gang in check.
"You two, move out." Aaron slammed the door to Jorgen's office open, "Another group of our members has gone AWOL on sector G7."
"See, Jorgen!? This is what I mean!" Maxwell used the moment to try and teach him, "These types of groups have been popping up more and more lately, and sooner or later it's gonna turn lethal!"
"Now isn't the time for that." Jorgen got up to run out of the room, "I suggest you quit whining and do your job as an ARA general."
Maxwell could do nothing but groan at this response. With all three of them running outside, it didn't take but even seconds for them to find where the problem was situated. Thanks to their masterful teamwork and years of experience, to these three generals it was nothing but lightwork.
"We're saying ARA's gone to shit!" One of the protestors preached to the crowd, "It's way too large, they don't even know what the fuck to do with it anymore!"
"You shut your mouth!" One of the ARA defenders sent him flying with a punch, "The generals are doing a great job making sure everyone's needs are met! You wanna ruin the good thing we got going on!?"
"Ptu! Fucker...!" The protestor spat out blood before taking out a shiv, "We haven't eaten anything but porridge for a month now!"
"Whoa, he's got a knife!" The crowd stepped back in fear, "Watch out, everyone back off!"
"Ehh, what's this? What happened to all that confidence just now?" The protestor mocked them, "You were so adamant about dickriding the generals, but now you don't feel like it when you know your life's in danger?"
"Bastard, that's not the same-!"
"Shut the fuck up!" The protestor yelled, "When was the last time we ate meat, huh!? Maybe you don't remember, but we do—It was 2 months ago, on Nelly's Day!"
"Tch, so what? It's our gang's holiday, no shit we'll eat good on it." The defender asked.
"But we're the one and only gang in the damned country! The best! We're on top!" The protestor explained, "Yet we can only afford to eat like all the other middle class nobodies once a year, and on the memorial of some random ass girl dying in a fire!"
As soon as he said that, the crowd around him went deathly pale and quiet. Anxiously, they all moved aside to make way for three people. Their gaits were calm, collected, yet behind those determined faces laid an almost blood boiling rage. The protestors were now scared stiff once they realized their leader cussed out these three general's most prized day—Nelly's birthday.
"Ah, so just another case of people not being themselves when they're hungry." Jorgen calmly approached them, reassuring the brave defender that they can take it from here.
"I told you, bitches be hangry." Aaron mocked.
"It's a fact that ARA can only afford to serve everyone porridge for our meals..." Maxwell muttered.
"H-Hey! Hear that, everyone!? The generals themselves proved me right!" The now uncertain protestor anxiously gripped his blade tightly, "We got no food, we live off the streets! This system is flawed!"
"No one said you can't get a job." Jorgen exhaled through his nose disappointedly, "We make sure you're all well fed here and can live comfortably, but if you want more than the bare minimum, you'll have to work for it."
"Work for it!? The fuck do you think we've been doing, jackass!" The protestor shouted, "We've been fighting your battles to grow and expand our turf! We put our lives on the line until all our enemies were either killed or joined by our side! Isn't that enough work!?"
As if hyping up their leader, the other protestor lackeys jumped on the chance to cheer and agree with him. This was no longer a single person spouting nonsense, it was a viral disease and he managed to actually infect some others.
"We gotta put a stop to this quick or my wish might actually get fulfilled without our intervention." Maxwell grit his teeth.
"Aaron." Jorgen nodded.
"Ooh, my time to shine? Finally!" Aaron cracked his neck with a wide grin as he stepped in front and cleared his throat, "Ahem! With all due respect, good sir, please kindly shut the fuck up."
"Haah?" The protestors laughed at him, "Is that the best argument you got, gayboy?"
"I may be gay, but I at least know the basics of life." He shot back without missing a beat, "You really don't get it, do you? You risked your life to stay with us, so we rewarded you with porridge. Even we, the generals, sit side by side with you at the very same dining table, and our porridge comes from the same batch as yours."
"That's right! You tell 'em, general!" One guy from the crowd hyped him up.
"Thanks for the kind words, cutie!" Aaron turned around to blow the muscular man a kiss, "You'll get the real thing later."
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"Urgh, no thanks, general... I regret saying anything, general." The poor guy recoiled.
"Welp, your loss." Aaron shrugged before fwipping back around flamboyantly, "Still, whenever this gayboy ever feels that his gut's gotten bored of porridge, you know what I do?"
"Buy yourself a nice fancy dinner with our funds!" The protestor pointed a finger at him, "And don't try to weasel your way out of it—Me and my boys saw you eating dinner with your boyfriend Jorgen at that new place that opened downtown!"
"You two, this is a big deal." Maxwell said to the other two generals.
"Not at all. Aaron is handling the situation very well." Jorgen shook his head.
"Nah, fuck that." Maxwell looked pissed, "Why the fuck didn't you invite me!? You knew I wanted to check it out!"
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Right now, the gang members who were forming a crowd around the debacle have essentially been divided into two groups—The ones siding with the protestors, and the ones siding with the generals. This was especially the case after the protestors' leader outed them for having richer meals than their subordinates after they explicitly stated they don't do that.
"Sorry to disappoint your BL fantasies, but Jorgen and I aren't like that." Aaron smirked proudly, "I got turned down that evening."
"Why do you look so proud of that?" Jorgen facepalmed.
"Who cares about you fags!" The protestor ran at him at full speed, holding the shiv's handle with both hands, "Your age is over!"
"Hm?" Everyone from the crowd blinked in confusion, not even realizing what had happened.
"See? I'm just that good!" Aaron flexed his lanky muscles to everyone, "I didn't even have to move a millimeter and he got his face launched into the ground.
Just as he said, the protestor had his face smashed into the ground in front of Aaron. His body lied there, motionless, though he probably wasn't dead. There was no doubt that Aaron could have taken this guy with ease, but what confused everyone even more so were two things—One, Jorgen was the one standing in between them, and thus the one who dealt the round ending blow. And two, quite literally no one saw him do it. This is the power of the generals of ARA.
"Call Aaron whatever slur you want, he'll wear it like a badge of honor..." Jorgen mumbled, "But I'm not into men, so get your facts straight."
"Wow, he really got offended by that." Maxwell snickered.
"And another thing." Jorgen added after a brief pause, as if only now remembering what the root of the problem was, "Aaron worked a part time job to scrounge up enough money to pay for that dinner."
"Huh?" The protestors looked confused.
"As he said—If you want to earn the right to sleep in our beds, drink our water and eat our porridge... You'll do your duties as proper gang members." Jorgen grinded his teeth, "And if you want a more lavish lifestyle than that, then you're gonna swallow your pride and grind for that extra spending money like the rest of society."
"Pheh, easy for you to say when you're the most revered rank in the country!" One rowdy protestor growled, "Not everyone remembers our president's name, but even kids know about Jorgen, Maxwell and Aaron!"
"Except-!" Aaron began to yell.
"Except he worked at retail to get that money." Jorgen revealed, "Not as a general of ARA, bur Aaron Gray. Now, you can learn from this homophobic idiot under my boot or you can join him. The choice is yours."
With that, the meeting was adjourned rather quickly, and everyone was instructed to disperse and continue on with their day. A job well done for the generals, but it did not feel rewarding in the slightest.
"I'm pissed." Maxwell grit his teeth.
"Still mad about not getting invited to the dinner date?" Aaron chuckled, "Sorry, but you already declined me once. You would've just been the third wheel."
"Not that, I'm talking about what the protestors said." Maxwell grunted, "It's true. We're practically leading this country, and even helping the western side of Entropa by sending out our men to help rebuild the cities and villages that were destroyed during the war, and yet we can't even afford proper food."
"It seems you wish to get your face smashed into the ground as well, Max." Jorgen looked tired, "If you want good food, you need to earn it."
"Oh yeah? If that's the case, then why did you accept to go on a date with Aaron?!" Maxwell shot back, "Unless of course, you two really are...?"
"He invited me to a fancy dinner. I ate and left." Jorgen spoke unapologetically, "He seemed eager to pay for the bill too, so I thought to abuse my situation a bit."
"Wow, is that really why you accepted my invite so easily back then!?" Aaron was heartbroken, "That stings, man! And here I was getting hopeful once I saw you salivating at the mouth!"
"I-I was not!" Jorgen smacked him, "And it was for the food, the food! Not you!"
"Looks to me like even our top dog is feeling a rumbling in his stomach if he was actually drooling just at the thought of eating something that's not porridge." Maxwell joked.
"...Even I wish to try something spicy every now and again." Jorgen pressed on.
"Huh!? Hey, were you talking about the food or me?" Aaron quickly followed next to him.
"I told you, I only came for the food!"
"Yeah, yeah, all I hear are excuses!"
"So wait, if Jorgen goes on dates he's not interested in just so the other guy pays for the bills..." Maxwell thought aloud, "Does that make him a hoe?"
He was promptly beaten up by Jorgen as Aaron kept laughing and calling them both hoes. This is the current state of ARA, the one and only gang that has single handedly taken over the entire country, and is even spreading its influence and goodwill to the surrounding countries. Most even refer to Great Hiana as ARA these days, praising the generals that lead it. But those very same people are completely unaware of the shenanigans these three actually get up to.