The Mafia Empire

"Some of you may ask me, \'Are you saying all this to restore the kingdom?\'" Julian tightly pressed his lips together and shook his head. "I\'ve never thought of using other people\'s lives in war to achieve something for myself or a few individuals. I don\'t seek the restoration of the kingdom.

What I fight for is justice, equality, and respect that should belong to us in this society but has been taken away from us!"

"I am unwilling, I am in pain, I am angry!"

"When I walk the streets, and those Ordinian or Provian eyes of disdain fall upon me, I feel like dying. I am the descendant of the great King Ordlero. We once conquered the world, and we should be respected, but we are not." His voice grew louder so that all could hear him.

He waved his fist and shouted, "No one respects us! We only receive mockery, ridicule, and contempt! Whose fault is this? Is it the Ordinian\'s fault? Is it because the Star Empire defeated us that we lost all this? Should we blame them?" Julian waved his arm fiercely.

"No! This is not the fault of the Ordinians, nor the Star Empire. It is our fault."

"Someone threw a dog\'s food bowl in front of us, and some of us knelt down, eating the food from the bowl like dogs. How could they possibly treat us as equals, how could they respect us?"

"They are poor, content to be poor, content to receive relief food, content to wallow in such an environment. They kneel on the ground, crouching by the dog\'s bowl, barking when they don\'t get their way, wagging their tails when they do."

Julian pulled his gaze back and continued to shout, "There\'s a question you may have already been asked, and today, I ask you the same thing: \'Do you want happiness?\'" This was the slogan the church used to entice ordinary people into their chapels. It had once even been printed in the most authoritative imperial magazine, The Pioneer.

Many were drawn by this slogan and walked into the church, becoming its followers. When Julian asked this, many people couldn\'t help but nod.

Poor neighborhoods were always the church\'s main targets for expansion. The church knew well that while the rich might join, they would never sincerely devote everything to the church. Because they were rich, they had fewer emotional and life deficiencies than the poor. As long as they had money, they were happy, and money was their happiness.

Thus, the church preferred to spread its message in places where the poor gathered, attracting more people and expanding its divine power.

This phrase had circulated on this street more than once, and everyone had heard it before.

Julian nodded slightly in acknowledgment, his face serious and his eyes sharp. "I cannot give you happiness!" The crowd murmured in confusion. This statement was in stark contrast to the previous one. Many people had nodded, hoping for happiness, only to find Julian now saying he couldn\'t give it to them. The abrupt shift made them feel deceived, though they hadn\'t erupted just yet.

Julian smirked slightly and said, "Because happiness is never something that anyone can give you. It\'s something you must strive for with your own hands. And that, too, is why I\'m here! While some people still willingly become wagging dogs, accepting the fate handed to them and begging for food from others, there\'s already a group of people who have stood up.

They use their hands, their lives, and fight with everything they have to pursue happiness.

"Some may mock them as fools: \'Look at them, they died for nothing.\' But I\'m here to tell you that they are not fools. Those who carry hope for the future, who live their lives passionately, can never be looked down upon by those who are already dead inside while still alive! No one, no one, can look down on a warrior. They haven\'t left us.

They\'ve only become spirits, accompanying me, guiding those willing to rise, to break free from hardship, and create our own glory!"

Julian jumped off the stool and walked to the two mothers, once again grasping their hands tightly. "No one can mock your children because they are heroes!"

...

After crossing several intersections, by the time Julian drove away, a large crowd had already gathered on the street to see him off. In their eyes, there was a long lost sense of anticipation, as if the sky itself had split open because of this man named Julian. Brilliant colors broke through the heavy, gray clouds, falling to earth and bathing the world in a dazzling glow.

Julian withdrew his gaze from the car\'s rear windshield, sat upright, and adjusted his clothes. He had spent a lot of money today, but every penny was necessary. He recalled in one of his dreams, where he had met many powerful and varied people, a particular individual whose words left a deep impression on him.

That man was a professor. Julian wasn\'t entirely sure what he taught, but the prominent figure Julian often saw in his dreams held him in high regard. After a social gathering over tea, the professor said something memorable to the influential man:

"When people construct a building, they consider every possible and impossible contingency. So, they make the structure as grand and solid as possible. Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods—nothing can easily destroy it. You have to build your business empire with the same foresight, because once it\'s up and running, the wolves will already be waiting outside, and you\'ll have no chance to go out and fix it."