A Vicious Plan

At the critical moment, Akto's acting did not fail him like his trembling legs had. Even though he was so terrified that he felt a little dizzy, Akto, who had carved "performance" into his bones, still put on a flawless expression of "fearless before blades" and righteously recited the lines the "man in black" had prepared for him:

"Evil? Continuing to indulge Ganatica would be the real evil! If this goes on, everyone—all those innocent poor people—will die. Lord Tauno, do you dare deny that fact? Even if our tragedy was not caused by that foolish leader's conspiracy, it was certainly caused by his mistaken decisions! We surrender to the nobles and make amends before it is too late, then send that idiot leader to the guillotine to atone for his sins. Then everyone can live. This is... the Greater Good known as 'kindness'!"

The facts proved that although "talk-no-jutsu" sounded absurd, it was often extremely powerful. Especially against a kind-hearted professional like Tauno, whose horizons were not particularly broad but who valued reason and principles, the biggest fist meant nothing. Whoever could persuade him was the real boss.

Akto had gained nothing else from his years as the Mutual Aid Society's adjutant. He had been a level-seven combat professional when he joined the Mutual Aid Society, and he was still a level-seven combat professional now. Only his eloquence—or rather, his skill at "conning people"—had improved enormously. By the time he finished his composed, perfectly modulated stream of nonsense, even Akto himself felt that he had made a great deal of sense.

"That's right. Sacrificing one person to save many, and the person being sacrificed is a criminal who deserves death anyway. Mm-hmm, this is the Greater Good. Only the Greater Good is true 'kindness'!"

As he repeatedly hypnotized himself,