Three Items

Then Esdeath voiced her doubts.

"Th-That... shouldn't be possible, right?" Minister Honest was uncertain as well. "The vessel containing the Essence of the Demon was specially made. Besides, a few years ago, someone drank the Essence of the Demon and went mad. Logically, it shouldn't have failed so quickly, should it?"

"By the way, since Miss Lilith doesn't want it, why not drink it yourself to find out whether it has failed or not?"

"That is indeed a way..."

Esdeath was not afraid of any danger from drinking the Essence of the Demon. She put the spout to her lips and gulped it down in one go.

"How does it taste?"

From the original story, Lilith knew that the Essence of the Demon supposedly tasted rather good. But that was only in the original story. She was still curious what normal people would think it tasted like, so she asked.

Did the taste even matter?

Minister Honest, standing nearby, wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but held it back.

"It tastes surprisingly good."

Normal people would only find blood to have a rusty taste. No matter how one looked at it, that had nothing to do with the words "rather good."

"Could it be that, when this Teigu was made a thousand years ago, they even took its taste into consideration?"

If that were true, then those craftsmen from a thousand years ago had been far too bored.

Or perhaps they had simply become willful because they possessed endless resources and every craftsman in the Empire?

Lilith suddenly recalled the bizarre names of some Teigu, as well as the functions of certain Teigu that made one desperately want to complain.

"Could the taste be because its source was the blood of a Super Dangerous Species from the Far North Land? After all, it was a Super Dangerous Species."

Minister Honest pondered aloud.

"This..."

Suddenly, Esdeath's pupils contracted. Boundless killing intent surged into her mind, seeming to threaten to drown her.

At that moment, Esdeath understood why those who had drunk the Essence of the Demon before had gone mad.

"Such immense negative emotions... going mad would be normal. But for me, this is still far from enough!"

Anyone else would have long been swallowed by those endless negative emotions. But for Esdeath, the more negative emotions there were, the more excited she became!

An overwhelming aura that startled Minister Honest radiated from Esdeath's body. Then, she seemed to return to normal.

"It seems you've already subdued the Teigu. Congratulations. The strongest Teigu user has been born."

Esdeath was not particularly pleased by Minister Honest's congratulations.

"The strongest Teigu user? Not necessarily."

"??? Could there be someone stronger than you?"

Esdeath did not answer Minister Honest's question. Instead, she asked Lilith, "What about you? That little bit of blood doesn't seem enough to grant the Essence of the Demon's ice-controlling power. Have you taken a liking to any other Teigu?"

By now, Lilith had examined nearly all the weapons in the small secret chamber.

She picked up a ring.

"This one. I think it suits me quite well."

"That is Water Dragon Possession: Black Marlin. It was made from the water-controlling organ of a Dangerous Species that lived in water. It can control water currents."

Minister Honest introduced it.

After speaking, he could not help glancing at Esdeath.

One controlled ice, while the other controlled water. If these two Teigu were used together, would they not be invincible?

After hearing Minister Honest's explanation, Esdeath's eyes flashed.

"We really are kindred spirits. Even the Teigu we chose go so well together."

Esdeath walked up to Lilith, intending to hug her, but Lilith sidestepped her.

"Kindred spirits is going too far. This ring just happens to suit me."

"If that isn't being kindred spirits, then what is?"

This time, Esdeath did not try to hug Lilith again. She knew that Lilith was deeply resistant to such intimate gestures,

but precisely because of that, Esdeath could not help wanting to conquer Lilith.

"Still, I heard from my father long ago that there was a category of Dangerous Species known as Super Dangerous Species. But those Super Dangerous Species seem to have all disappeared?"

"They were probably all killed a thousand years ago to create the Teigu. Even if any survived, they would be living in places humanity cannot reach."

"Like the Far North Land?" Esdeath said.

"That's right." Minister Honest continued, "Now that you have become Teigu users, what are your plans next?"

"The northern Foreigners cannot stir up much trouble for now. First, we should properly familiarize ourselves with the Teigu's power."

"In that case, I have already prepared residences for you. If there is anything you dislike, I can replace them."

"There's no need. I don't have many requirements for where I live. What about you?"

Esdeath was asking Lilith.

"I hope the area around my residence can be quieter."

"Of course."

Lilith nodded. She had no other requests.

"But speaking of which, are all these Teigu just going to sit here gathering dust?"

Before leaving, Esdeath looked at the Teigu in the room and felt it was a pity.

"It can't be helped. Every Teigu user is difficult for ordinary people to suppress and control."

Minister Honest would not easily trust others. As for dangerous weapons like Teigu, he would rather let them gather dust here than allow them to become weapons that might threaten him.

After all, he knew that countless people wanted his life.

"In that case, how about giving these Teigu to me?"

Teigu users being difficult to control was not a problem at all for Esdeath.

"...I cannot give you all the Teigu. At most, I can give you three more."

"That will be enough." Esdeath nodded in satisfaction.

Three? That was two more than she had expected.

She had thought Minister Honest would only give her one. She had not expected him to be so generous.

Esdeath had misunderstood entirely. Minister Honest was giving so many Teigu to Esdeath because he believed she had the ability to suppress their users, not because he was particularly generous.

"Then do you have anyone in mind to become Teigu users?"

"Not yet."

After all, Esdeath had only just become a Teigu user herself. How could she happen to know others capable of becoming Teigu users?

"In that case, I can recruit some warriors to test their compatibility with the Teigu."

"Sorry to trouble you."

"Hehe, it's only a matter of giving my subordinates an order. It hardly counts as trouble."