"I was about to ask you that, kid. I locked the door last night, so how did you get in?"
The innkeeper seemed quite curious about it too. At first, he had thought Koizumi was a thief, but seeing that nothing was missing and that Koizumi did not seem to have any money either, he set aside his suspicions.
But then again, wasn't this innkeeper a little too kind?
Wouldn't most people detain whoever was in front of them first, no matter what had happened?
"Oh, right. I think Leone and I were drinking here, and then... I got drunk!"
Only then did Koizumi's thoughts finally clear up, and he seemed to realize something.
Koizumi fumbled through his clothes. His cheek immediately twitched hard as he finally understood what had happened.
I got robbed last night, didn't I...? Damn... I really was too naive.
"Kid, don't tell me you had something stolen. You should hurry up and report it to the authorities."
With that, the owner did not intend to say anything more and instead instructed one of the waiters to attend to the guests.
Koizumi looked at him with an odd expression. You knew I accidentally slept here for an entire night, yet you didn't suspect me of stealing anything? Wasn't this innkeeper a little too kind?
Forget it. It was only some money, and I did not really need money anyway.
At least it was a lesson learned.
Still, whoever dared steal from me should remember this. No matter what, I had to let that person know that even beautiful women could not just steal things whenever they wanted.
With that thought in mind, Koizumi slowly headed outside.
The instant Koizumi stepped over the threshold, he collided with someone wearing a black cloak.
Everything Was Strange
Bang!
Koizumi collided with the person in the black cloak. The other person only took half a step back, while Koizumi was knocked straight to the ground.
"Are you all right?"
The person seemed very surprised and hurriedly stepped forward, extending their right hand.
Looking closely, he was a short boy with a sturdy build. Something seemed to be strapped to his back, and his eyes carried a resolute look. It was clear that he was a boy with an exceptionally strong will.
"Sorry, I was thinking about something and didn't notice you."
"It's fine. I didn't take it to heart." Koizumi smiled faintly. He truly had not taken the matter to heart.
At the same time, Koizumi extended his right hand, and the boy pulled him up in one swift motion.
"I'm really sorry about that just now." After pulling Koizumi up, the boy apologized again.
Koizumi responded with a faint smile. "It's fine. I have some things to do, so I'll be leaving first."
With that, Koizumi slowly departed. After glancing at Koizumi's back, the boy slowly entered the inn.
The boy walked into the inn, found a random seat, and ordered a few simple dishes.
Pulling down the hood that covered his head, the boy could not help sighing. Worry flickered between his brows.
"Still, I saw Akame on the wanted poster just now. Do you think something happened to Akame?"
"And this world is completely different from what I remember. There's no news of Night Raid, no news of the Revolutionary Army, not even any intelligence on other countries. It's as though the entire world only has the Empire left. What exactly is going on?"
The boy muttered to himself, his gaze occasionally darting toward the outside of the inn.
From what he had observed earlier, the common people seemed to be living quite well. It gave him the strange feeling that he was in a dream.
Although it did not seem bad this way, there was always a voice in the boy's heart telling him that this was not right.
"Looks like I need to find Akame first. Since Akame chose to betray the Empire, she must have discovered something."
The boy muttered those words, an indescribable light gleaming in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Koizumi walked down the street, looking around in confusion. Come to think of it, was it just his imagination?
Why did he keep feeling that this Imperial Capital was somewhat different from the one he knew? What exactly was different?
Slowly, Koizumi arrived at the place where he remembered the Hakurei Amulet Shop and the Noh Masks shop being located.
However... the instant Koizumi arrived there, even he could not help being shocked.
Both shops had vanished into thin air. Even stranger, they had been replaced by the original storefronts.
Had Reimu and Hata no Kokoro sold the shops so quickly? No... that should not be possible.
Koizumi hurriedly dismissed the impossible thought that had suddenly surfaced in his mind. Leaving Hata no Kokoro aside, Reimu would never sell her shop, not even if she were beaten to death. Reimu was extraordinarily greedy for money. Given her personality, if anyone dared snatch away the capital for her business, she would fight them to the death. How could she possibly sell the shop?
Koizumi frowned slightly. It seemed that something serious had happened.
Could this be the so-called distortion...? It really did seem bad.
Thinking that, Koizumi glanced at the Command Seal on his hand before surveying his surroundings.
This was not the place to summon them. He should go somewhere else first, then summon Reimu and the others.
As Koizumi prepared to head to an unoccupied corner for the summoning, he inadvertently noticed a large crowd gathered around a posted notice, all of them pointing at it and discussing it.
Curious, Koizumi walked in that direction and saw a portrait of a young girl on the notice.
She was an exceptionally beautiful girl, the kind whose appearance made people's eyes light up at first glance.
"Akame..."
That was the name written on it, and she apparently was a fugitive from the Empire.
"As expected, things are different from before. This wasn't here previously..."
Koizumi muttered, deep wariness gleaming in his eyes...
"She's a traitor..."
"Yeah, she's truly detestable. She actually dared betray the Empire..."
"Her family must be the same kind of despicable people..."
Just like that, the people around them cursed the girl named Akame for betraying the Empire.
Having heard every word around him clearly, Koizumi frowned slightly. He did not know the full story. After all, this was his first time seeing the notice, and he knew nothing about Akame or why she had betrayed the Empire. Yet these ordinary citizens were blindly cursing her without knowing right from wrong. It was truly excessive.
Unable to listen any longer, Koizumi was just about to say something when—
A figure stepped in front of everyone, looking as though she were on the verge of tears. The sight made people feel a pang of pity.
"That's not true! There must be a reason my sister betrayed the Empire! My sister must have been framed!"
The girl before them wore a black school uniform and had short black hair. Her pretty face required no makeup, and it looked extremely similar to the face on the wanted poster. Tears glimmered in her pitch-black eyes.
She called Akame her sister. Could she be the younger sister of that girl named Akame...? Koizumi thought.
"This is bad!"
The next instant, Koizumi immediately realized the problem. If this girl stepped forward like this, something would happen...
Sure enough, just as Koizumi expected, a large crowd of residents who knew nothing about the situation began cursing the girl without hesitation.
Some of the more excessive citizens even threw stones and other things at her, forcing the girl to retreat again and again.
"Come with me!" Koizumi rushed forward without hesitation, grabbed her arm, and sprinted off to the side.
The girl looked completely bewildered as Koizumi dragged her away, leaving her with no chance to resist.
The citizens chased after them for a while, but once they got tired, they no longer wanted to continue.
After dragging the black-eyed girl into a corner, Koizumi panted heavily. Those people had really been insane.
Why did it suddenly feel like the Empire's citizens had become fanatically devoted to the Empire? Was it just his imagination?
Koizumi subconsciously glanced at the black-eyed girl beside him and realized that she was panting too.
Maybe she had overexerted herself from running...
"Are you okay?" Koizumi could not help asking.
"I'm fine, thank you..." The black-eyed girl replied gratefully. "My name is Kurome. What's yours?"
"Koizumi... By the way, is Akame from that wanted poster your sister?"
As he said this, Koizumi looked at her curiously. It was actually a pointless question. Aside from their eyes, the two looked almost identical. If they were not sisters, then what were they?
"Mm, she's my older sister..."
At the mention of Akame, Kurome's expression darkened. She truly could not understand why her sister had betrayed the Empire.
Noticing her gloom, Koizumi smiled faintly and patted Kurome on the shoulder.
"If you don't know why your sister betrayed the Empire, then ask her clearly when you meet her. You're sisters, right? There's nothing sisters can't talk through, is there? You share a blood bond that no one can sever, don't you?"
At those words, Kurome's eyes suddenly lit up.
The Gluttonous Kurome
"Kurome, are you all right?"
Three girls stood before Kurome. According to Kurome's introduction, they were Gin, a girl with long pale silver hair; Remusu, a girl with long flowing hair; and Mamin, a short-haired girl wearing black glasses. From the way they looked at Kurome, it was clear that they were very close.
Mamin adjusted her glasses, deep concern flashing in her eyes.
"We heard from Natala just now that your sister Akame is on a wanted poster. What happened?"
"I don't know either. I haven't seen my sister for a long time, but she must have had her reasons!"
Kurome's tone was full of grievance, but no matter what, she stood by her sister.
Mamin and the other two exchanged looks, then all nodded.
"We believe you..."
Mamin and the other two said those words in unison, and Kurome immediately felt deeply moved.
But in the next moment, Mamin and the others looked at Koizumi behind Kurome with puzzled expressions.
"Kurome, who is this?" Mamin was the first to ask the question on everyone's mind.
"My name is Koizumi. I just met Kurome..." At that point, Koizumi paused for a moment before looking helplessly at Kurome. "Say, Kurome, aren't you afraid that I'm a bad person? What if I approached you with bad intentions?"
Did women these days have no sense of caution at all? Why would she so easily bring an unfamiliar man home?
Kurome gave Koizumi a blank, adorable look, then said calmly.
"You can't beat me."
Kurome's words brimmed with confidence, but Koizumi did not doubt her in the slightest.
The wanted poster said Akame had been part of the Imperial Assassination Squad, and as Akame's twin sister, Kurome probably possessed impressive skills as well. The reason she had been affected by those ordinary citizens earlier was likely because the matter involving her sister had thrown her into turmoil.
"..." Even if you could fight, that was not a reason to casually bring an unfamiliar man home.
Girls these days were really confident in their ability to defend themselves against creeps... Koizumi thought speechlessly.
Kurome briefly looked Koizumi over, then slowly walked inside with Mamin and the others.
The only reason she had brought Koizumi along was because he had helped her earlier and given her a great deal of comfort.
Without Koizumi's reassurance, she probably would have found it difficult to recover from the fact that her sister had betrayed the Empire.
Just as Koizumi had said, she and her sister were bound by blood. If she did not understand her sister's actions, she only needed to ask her face-to-face. There was no need to agonize over it.
If her sister truly had a reason to do this, then she only needed to follow her sister.
No matter where they were, as long as her sister was with her, she could feel happy, couldn't she?
Since they truly did not seem to mind him coming in, Koizumi slowly entered as well and looked around.
It was a very ordinary residence, though it was much larger than the storefront Reimu and Hata no Kokoro had bought. After all, four girls lived here, and these four girls seemed to be connected to the Empire, so it was only normal for the house to be larger.
Grrr~~~ Grrr~~~
At that moment, someone's stomach seemed to be protesting nonstop. Koizumi suddenly understood. It was time for lunch.
Mamin, Gin, and Remusu all turned to look at Kurome, helplessness appearing in their eyes.
They seemed to have long grown accustomed to this, while Koizumi looked at Kurome in surprise.
Judging from their reactions, could Kurome actually be a girl with quite an appetite?
Kurome pouted, clutching her stomach with a trace of dissatisfaction on her face.
Before you continue