Sixteen: Three Items

Then, Esdeath voiced her doubts.

"This... it shouldn't be, right?" Minister Honest was no longer sure. "The vessel for the Essence of the Demon was specially made, and besides, someone drank the Essence of the Demon a few years ago and went mad. It shouldn't have lost its effect so quickly?"

"Speaking of which, since Miss Lilith doesn't want to... why don't you drink it to verify if it's still effective?"

"That is indeed a method..."

Esdeath wasn't afraid of any danger from drinking the Essence of the Demon. She directly brought the pot to her lips and downed it in one gulp.

"How does it taste?"

From the original story, Lilith knew that the Essence of the Demon apparently tasted quite good. But that was just the original story. She was very curious about what normal people would think of its taste, so she asked.

Taste is irrelevant, isn't it?

Minister Honest wanted to retort but held back.

"The taste is surprisingly not bad."

A normal person would only find the taste of blood to be metallic, like rust. There was no way that could be described as "not bad."

"Could it be that when this Imperial Arms was created a thousand years ago, they also considered the taste?"

If that were the case, those craftsmen from a thousand years ago were too bored.

Or perhaps, with endless resources and all the empire's craftsmen at their disposal, they simply became willful?

Lilith suddenly remembered the strange names of some Imperial Arms, and the functions of certain Imperial Arms that made one want to complain.

"As for the taste, could it be because its prototype is the blood of a Super Dangerous Species from the far north? After all, it's a Super Dangerous Species."

Minister Honest pondered.

"This..."

Suddenly, Esdeath's pupils contracted, and an infinite killing intent surged into her mind, as if trying to drown her.

At this moment, Esdeath understood why the people who drank the Essence of the Demon before had gone mad.

"With such immense negative emotions, it's normal to go mad, but this is far from enough for me!"

Anyone else would have been swallowed by these endless negative emotions, but for Esdeath, more negative emotions only made her more excited!

A domineering aura that surprised Minister Honest emanated from Esdeath, and then she seemed to return to normal.

"It seems you have subdued the Imperial Arms. Congratulations, the strongest Imperial Arms user has been born."

Esdeath wasn't particularly happy about Minister Honest's congratulations.

"The strongest Imperial Arms user? That's not necessarily true."

"??? Is there someone stronger than you?"

Esdeath didn't answer Minister Honest's question. Instead, she turned to Lilith and asked, "What about you? A small amount of blood doesn't seem enough to gain the ice-control power of the Essence of the Demon. Are there any other Imperial Arms you fancy?"

By now, Lilith had looked through almost all the weapons in the small secret room.

She picked up a ring.

"This one. I feel it suits me well."

"This is Water Dragon Possession: Black Marlin. It's made from the water-controlling organ of a Dangerous Species that lives in water, and it can control water flow."

Minister Honest introduced.

After speaking, he couldn't help but glance at Esdeath.

One controls ice, the other controls water. It felt like if these two Imperial Arms met, they would be invincible.

Esdeath's eyes gleamed as she listened to Minister Honest's explanation.

"We truly have a telepathic connection. Even the Imperial Arms we choose are so compatible."

Esdeath walked up to Lilith and tried to hug her, but Lilith dodged her with a sidestep.

"Telepathic connection is too much. It's just that this ring suits me very well."

"If that's not a telepathic connection, then what is?"

This time, Esdeath didn't try to hug Lilith again. She knew Lilith strongly disliked such intimate actions.

But precisely because of this, it made Esdeath unable to resist the urge to conquer Lilith.

"But speaking of which, I've long heard from my father about a category of Dangerous Species called Super Dangerous Species. But these Super Dangerous Species seem to have disappeared?"

"It's likely that they were all killed a thousand years ago to create Imperial Arms. Even if some are still alive, they live in places inaccessible to humans."

"Like the far north?" Esdeath said.

"Exactly," Minister Honest added. "Since you have both become Imperial Arms users, what are your plans now?"

"The northern Foreigners can't cause much trouble for now. We should focus on familiarizing ourselves with the power of our Imperial Arms."

"In that case, I have already prepared your mansion. If you are not satisfied, I can arrange for a change."

"No need. I don't have that many requirements for accommodation. What about you?"

Esdeath was asking Lilith.

"I wish my mansion grounds could be a bit quieter."

"Of course."

Lilith nodded, as she had no other requests.

"But speaking of which, are all these Imperial Arms just going to be left here to gather dust?"

Before leaving, Esdeath looked at the Imperial Arms in the room with a sense of regret.

"There's no helping it. It's difficult for ordinary people to suppress and control each Imperial Arms user."

Minister Honest didn't easily trust others. He would rather let dangerous weapons like Imperial Arms gather dust here than let them become weapons that could threaten him.

After all, he knew how many people wanted him dead.

"If that's the case, how about entrusting these Imperial Arms to me?"

Imperial Arms users being difficult to control? That wasn't a problem for Esdeath at all.

"...I can't possibly give you all the Imperial Arms. I can give you three more at most."

"That's enough." Esdeath nodded with satisfaction.

Three items? That was two more than she had expected.

She had thought Minister Honest would only give her one. She hadn't expected him to be surprisingly generous.

This was purely Esdeath's misjudgment. The reason Minister Honest was handing over so many Imperial Arms to Esdeath was because he believed she had the ability to suppress those Imperial Arms users, not because he was being generous.

"Then, do you have any candidates in mind for the Imperial Arms users?"

"I don't, actually."

After all, Esdeath had only just become an Imperial Arms user herself. How could she possibly know others who could become Imperial Arms users?

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

"I'll trouble you with that."

"Heh, it's just a matter of giving orders to my subordinates. It's hardly any trouble."