"Morning, Boss..." Akame paid no attention to that remark and greeted her naturally.
"Morning... Today, Mine and Lubbock are going to the Imperial Capital to gather information. Don't forget to remind them."
The woman Akame called Boss did not continue teasing her and instead got down to business.
"The Imperial Capital..." Akame murmured, unconsciously covering her chest with both hands.
What was going on? There was an inexplicable stirring in her heart... The Imperial Capital?
"What's wrong, Akame?" Boss asked with a slight frown.
"Nothing... It's just... do you need me to go to the Imperial Capital, Boss?"
Akame's sudden question left Boss slightly stunned.
"Akame, is there something in the Imperial Capital you're worried about?"
It was surprising that Akame would voluntarily ask to visit the Imperial Capital. After all, Akame should know that there was still a wanted poster for her there. Going to the Imperial Capital would be dangerous. Mine and Lubbock had no wanted notices there, so it was not a problem for them. Besides, Akame had always shown almost no enthusiasm for anything besides missions. Of course, matters concerning her younger sister counted as one exception, but Boss did not know about anything else.
That was why Boss was surprised by Akame's sudden request to go to the Imperial Capital.
It truly was a very rare occurrence.
Since she was somewhat concerned, the woman Akame called Boss asked her about it.
"To be honest, I'm not sure either. I just feel like there's something in the Imperial Capital that concerns me... or perhaps... someone..."
The further she spoke, the more conflicted Akame's tone became. In short, it was a strange feeling that even she could not understand.
"Anyway, I feel like I have to go to the Imperial Capital..."
As she said this, Akame's utterly calm eyes fixed on the woman before her.
Boss could not help resting a hand against her chin, a thoughtful gleam flashing through her eyes.
Akame's intuition had always been accurate. If she said there was someone or something in the Imperial Capital that concerned her, then perhaps there truly was something there.
After thinking it over, Boss nodded and made her decision on the spot.
"Fine, Akame. This time, you can go to the Imperial Capital with Mine. But be careful. Don't expose yourself."
Worried about Akame, the woman repeatedly reminded her, and the concern in her eyes warmed Akame's heart.
"I understand, Boss."
Akame nodded, and a rare smile appeared on her face.
Afterward, Akame slowly headed toward Mine's room. Judging from Boss's tone, she had woken up late today. If Boss had called it late, then Mine had probably already gotten up.
After Akame left, another girl entered the hall. She had long, loose purple hair, purple eyes, and wore a light-purple long dress styled like a Chinese cheongsam. She was a bespectacled girl with purple-rimmed glasses.
She carried several books in her arms, seemingly having come in to read.
"Sheele..." Boss raised her head slightly and smiled.
"Boss, was that Akame just now?" Sheele asked, a hint of confusion on her face.
"Yes. I had Akame and Mine go to the Imperial Capital today to take a look," Boss replied flatly.
Sheele nodded gently, as though she had noticed nothing, making Boss chuckle softly.
If it had been anyone else, they probably would have noticed something was off by now. Akame still had a wanted poster in the Imperial Capital, so why would Boss send Akame and Mine there? But given how absentminded Sheele was, she probably had not thought that far.
Koizumi felt like his head was splitting apart. The piercing pain made him groan repeatedly.
"Ah—"
Koizumi clutched his head as he slowly woke up, then looked around in bewilderment.
This was?
A very familiar shop, and—an equally familiar shrine maiden with exposed armpits...
But how did I get here? Wasn't I... Wait, had I forgotten something?
"Reimu?" Koizumi called out her name.
Reimu turned her head slightly. Her expressionless face made Koizumi feel somewhat uneasy.
The next moment, silence spread through the surroundings, making Koizumi swallow unconsciously.
A bad feeling is creeping over me... Koizumi thought.
Sure enough, just as Koizumi expected, Reimu appeared before him in the blink of an eye.
Then, without hesitation, Reimu kicked him straight in the chest.
"You bastard who made me pay money, go dieeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The Money Was Stolen!
"You bastard who made me pay money, go dieeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Reimu kicked Koizumi directly in the chest. Instantly, Koizumi felt an incredibly terrifying impact strike his chest, and the rush of blood made his face flush red.
If Reimu kicked him a few more times, Koizumi figured he could go see God directly.
Koizumi hurriedly rolled away from her attack and quickly got to his feet.
"What money? Why don't I remember? And could you explain yourself before kicking me?!"
Koizumi spoke irritably. He had just woken up with a headache and immediately gotten kicked over. Even a clay figurine had some temper.
Come to think of it, was Reimu's temper a little too explosive?
No, she was only this explosive whenever money was involved.
"Master..." At that moment, Hata no Kokoro suddenly appeared behind Koizumi and stared at him expressionlessly.
"Hata no Kokoro?" Koizumi froze slightly, his right hand still pressed against his head.
It could not be helped. His head hurt too much. Come to think of it, why did his head hurt so badly?
"Mr. Koizumi, you drank so much at another establishment last night, and you even forgot to pay. You dared to dine and dash without a single coin on you. That's quite impressive..."
Seryu's resentful voice rang out beside Koizumi, startling him.
Wait! Drinking! Dining and dashing!
Koizumi finally remembered. While wandering around, he had accidentally entered the slums and met a beautiful woman. Her name seemed to be Leone. Then that woman took him drinking, and before he knew it, he had gotten drunk.
No wonder his head hurt so much... Koizumi rubbed his forehead again, a troubled look appearing on his face.
He should not have drunk so much. With his head hurting like this now, he only had himself to blame.
Wait... He remembered bringing money. Reimu had even handed it to him with a conflicted expression.
"Hey! Where did your money go? Didn't I give you money?"
Reimu had thought of the same question. She narrowed her eyes at Koizumi, her face full of displeasure.
Had this guy really spent all the money she had given him in one go? She had saved that money through great hardship!
"That's not right. I was thinking about things the whole way there. I hadn't used any money before I started drinking..."
Koizumi was equally confused. If he had used money, why did he not know about it? Could it be that someone else had used it?
What kind of joke was that? The money was on him, so if he had not used it, then who had... Wait, was the money still on him?
Koizumi seemed to realize something serious. The face of that blond woman with the bold smile surfaced in his mind. No way... Could that blond woman have been trying to get him drunk and then...
But that seemed to be the only possibility... Koizumi's expression turned ugly.
"Could Mr. Koizumi have had his money stolen? Well, I also don't think Mr. Koizumi is the kind of person who would dine and dash, so it must have been stolen by a thief..."
Seryu looked at Koizumi with an expression that said she had seen through everything, nodding as she spoke.
However, she seemed not to notice Reimu's face darkening. The money Reimu had earned had been stolen.
Reimu found that feeling extremely unpleasant. But... she had already given that money to Koizumi, so it should no longer have been hers. Although it still hurt a little, finding the money again would be far too troublesome. Thinking that way was the only way to avoid trouble.
Yes, that was right. Reimu wholeheartedly agreed with herself.
Koizumi looked at Reimu strangely. What was going on? Her face had been dark just moments ago, so how had she recovered so quickly?
Koizumi did not understand it at all, but it was fine as long as she was not angry.
"By the way—" Koizumi suddenly seemed to remember something. He hurriedly looked at Reimu and the others, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes. "How did I get back? And what did you mean earlier about paying money?"
"Shouldn't we be asking you that?!" The moment Reimu brought up this matter, she got angry.
"Last night, Miss Reimu and I saw that Master had not returned, so we went looking for you together!"
Hata no Kokoro spoke flatly, her tone completely calm.
Seryu had initially been curious about the way Hata no Kokoro addressed Koizumi, but she quickly got used to it.
"Then, for some reason, you suddenly used a Command Seal to summon Hata no Kokoro and me. Because of the spatial transfer, we accidentally smashed the tables and chairs in that shop, and I had to pay them quite a lot of money!"
"Is there something wrong with your brain?! You can use a Command Seal even while asleep!"
Koizumi froze slightly and quickly looked at the hand marked with Command Seals. Strangely enough, there were still three Command Seals on it.
Command Seals? What were those? Seryu looked at the three of them in confusion. However, since everyone had their own secrets, she did not ask too much. Perhaps it was something unique to their homeland. Still, that spatial transfer was rather concerning. After all, shouldn't only Imperial Arms be capable of something like spatial transfer?
With those thoughts in mind, Seryu watched Koizumi and the others curiously.
There were forty-eight Imperial Arms in total, and many had been scattered abroad for various reasons. Seryu did not think it strange that Koizumi's homeland might have one such Imperial Arm.
"Even worse, you bastard, you were vomiting in your sleep! Hata no Kokoro and I spent the entire night cleaning up here. Were you trying to keep us from sleeping?!"
Honestly, Reimu had nearly been driven mad by Koizumi's antics over the night. If possible, she would rather die than go through that again.
Although she did not need rest as a Servant, that was not a reason for this bastard to torment her like this!
"That's not right. I still have three Command Seals on my hand?"
Koizumi frowned slightly as he looked at the two of them.
"You idiot, don't forget that one Command Seal recovers every day!"
Reimu rolled her eyes at Koizumi and replied irritably.
Koizumi immediately looked at her awkwardly. Right, he had forgotten about that.
Koizumi now understood why Reimu had broken down like this. All he could do was apologize.
"Sorry, Reimu, Hata no Kokoro... I was also inexplicably dragged out drinking by someone."
Come to think of it, he should have been on guard the moment that person invited him drinking. This was an unfamiliar environment, after all. Being invited to drink by someone he had just met and not being wary at all was truly ridiculous.
Learn from this mistake. He had better be more careful next time.
"Someone? Who was it? Mr. Koizumi, this is a theft case. No matter what, you must take it seriously. In the future, it would be best for you to bring Miss Reimu or Miss Hata no Kokoro whenever you go out. Otherwise, if something like today happens again, you'll cause Miss Reimu and Miss Hata no Kokoro a lot of trouble!" Seryu said sternly.
"Yeah, yeah..." Koizumi responded perfunctorily as he looked at the two of them speechlessly.
Come to think of it, which two idiots had refused his invitation to go out together? If they had not refused, would he have gotten robbed? With that thought, Koizumi stared speechlessly at those two people.
Reimu's body immediately stiffened, and she awkwardly turned her head away.
Hata no Kokoro also put on her monkey mask and turned her head away.
Fine, after going around in circles, it really did come back to them. This did indeed seem to be their fault.
Gathering Information, Part One
"Akame really is careful..." In the Imperial Capital, a girl with long pink twin-tails, pink eyes, and a light-pink dress muttered helplessly to herself.
From the name Akame coming out of her mouth, it was obvious that she was the girl previously called Mine.
Mine wore a helpless expression as she surveyed the surroundings.
Honestly, what frustrated Mine the most was the companion she had come out with this time...
Thinking that, Mine glanced at Leone beside her and immediately felt helpless.
Why did she have to be paired with Leone? Lubbock was already frustrating enough normally, and now it was Leone. Couldn't Akame have asked someone more reliable? But then again, aside from people like Akame who had wanted posters in the Imperial Capital, there did not seem to be anyone more reliable.
And Mine did not seem to realize that, in some ways, she herself was not very reliable either.
"It's perfectly normal that Akame didn't come. The Imperial Capital's security is tight. No matter how well Akame conceals her identity, it would be hard for her not to be discovered once she entered the city," Leone replied calmly.
"Besides, little Mine, don't tell me you think I don't know that every time you come to the Imperial Capital, you're here to buy pretty clothes?"
As she said that, Leone wrapped an arm around Mine's shoulders, a teasing smile appearing on her lips.
Before you continue