At her words, Mine's cheeks immediately flushed red. Even so, she still shot Leone a fierce glare, her face full of displeasure. Clearly, Leone's words had irritated her.
"Don't think I don't know that every time you come to the Imperial Capital, you run back to your hometown. And I heard you went drinking yesterday too. You probably tricked some newcomer who'd just arrived in the Imperial Capital again, didn't you?"
Leone chuckled and did not deny what Mine had said. They claimed to be in the Imperial Capital to investigate, but outside of that, they also did whatever they wanted.
Leone would occasionally return to her hometown, and she often tricked newcomers who had just arrived in the Imperial Capital.
Koizumi had been one such example before. He had been scammed by Leone on his very first day in the Imperial Capital.
Of course, Koizumi had been tricked largely because he had lost his past memories. His life experience seemed to have been reset to zero, leaving him to rely only on the instincts and intuition he had not yet lost. On top of that, Seryu had been the first person he met. Her enthusiasm had subconsciously made Koizumi believe that everyone in the Imperial Capital was warm and welcoming, so he had not thought much of Leone's boldness.
Koizumi had not taken Leone's enthusiasm and boldness to heart, which was why he had been tricked.
"Well, that young man was strange, but he was very polite too. A pretty decent sucker."
Leone smiled faintly, clearly not taking the matter seriously.
That was only natural. She had done this sort of thing many times, so of course she would not care much about it.
"The guy you tricked must have been a complete idiot. He was probably... another pervert fooled by your huge boobs..." Mine's eyes instinctively settled on a certain prominent part of Leone's body, and her cheeks twitched.
At the same time, Mine glanced at a certain very flat part of herself, and the irritation in her heart grew even stronger.
Sure enough, big boobs were the worst... Mine thought to herself.
"By the way, Akame wanted us to find someone, right?" Leone suddenly looked at Mine.
She only knew the general idea. It seemed Akame cared deeply about someone, but she did not know who.
Mine scratched her head, then shook it, a trace of confusion flickering in her eyes.
"Actually, I don't know either. Akame really does seem to be looking for someone, but she never told me who. She only said to keep an eye on the Imperial Capital and see whether anyone from out of town had arrived recently. I don't really get it either. Come to think of it, hasn't Akame been acting a little strange lately? I heard she has a younger sister in the Empire. Could her sister have returned?"
Mine analyzed the situation as she spoke.
"Speaking of little Akame's sister, I remember Boss saying that her sister still hated little Akame because she misunderstood why Akame left the Empire. So I don't think it's her sister..."
Leone had learned quite a bit from their Boss and came to that conclusion after some analysis.
"Then who could it be? Someone Akame cares about that much?"
A trace of confusion appeared on Mine's face, and she could not help scratching her head.
Her twin pink ponytails fluttered as she shook her head, attracting quite a few gazes.
Mine was very cute, so she easily drew the attention of many people.
"I'm not sure. We can only look around and ask people. I'll go ask around in the slums, while you wander around the Imperial Capital, Mine." With that, Leone smiled and prepared to head toward her hometown.
Mine's mouth twitched hard. Sure enough, that damned big-boobed woman only wanted to return home whenever she came to the Imperial Capital.
Though she was the same. Whenever she came to the Imperial Capital, she liked buying pretty clothes.
But was it wrong to buy pretty clothes? She was in the prime of her youth. If she did not buy nice clothes and dress herself up properly, would that not be a waste of someone as beautiful as herself?
Thinking that, Mine snorted and stopped bothering about Leone returning to her hometown.
Everyone had already gotten used to it, and Boss probably knew long ago. After all, they were not weapons, so their Boss turned a blind eye to everyone's personalities as long as they completed their missions.
Mine and the others knew that, so they did not go too far. A little indulgence was enough.
As Mine walked slowly, she scanned her surroundings while listening to the conversations of the Imperial Capital's citizens.
Unlike Leone, Mine would not go drinking at inns, where she could obtain information from drunkards.
Mine could only gather information from the conversations of Imperial Capital citizens while shopping or while buying clothes.
Sure enough, after taking a fancy to a pink dress in a clothing store, Mine casually asked a question.
"Say, ma'am, have any new shops opened in the Imperial Capital recently? Have any outsiders come to your store?" Mine asked while trying on the pink dress.
Mine came to this store often. Most of the clothes here suited her tastes.
It seemed the proprietress had figured out Mine's preferences as well. Quite a few of the clothes matched Mine's aesthetic—that was, pink...
After hearing Mine's question, the proprietress pondered for a moment before answering.
"There are, actually. Two shops opened yesterday. One sells amulets, while the other sells masks. I heard quite a few people went to buy things as soon as they opened, especially the amulet shop. Their amulets are very effective..."
Gathering Information, Part Two
"There are, actually. Two shops opened yesterday. One sells amulets, while the other sells masks. I heard quite a few people went to buy things as soon as they opened, especially the amulet shop. Their amulets are very effective..."
The proprietress spoke with obvious admiration in her tone.
To be honest, she had not believed in those amulets at all at first. Reimu had been the first person to sell such things in the Imperial Capital, and since no one had tried them before, few people believed in them.
Then Seryu from the Imperial Guard had been the first to use one. Seryu had been saved by the amulet once, and many people had witnessed it. Once they learned the amulet had been made by Reimu, a crowd immediately rushed over to buy them.
Koizumi was worried this might bring unnecessary trouble, though.
But with Reimu and Hata no Kokoro's formidable combat power, Koizumi temporarily set aside his worries.
"Huh? Amulets? Aren't those things scams?"
Mine was not unfamiliar with amulets, but in her eyes, such things could not possibly be real.
Mine was the kind of person who would not believe in something's effectiveness unless she saw it with her own eyes.
"It isn't a scam. Someone from the Imperial Guard tested one before. That guard was attacked while arresting someone and was about to get hurt, but the amulet suddenly glowed and blocked the attack for him, so he was not injured. Many people saw it at the time. I happened to see it too."
As she spoke, the proprietress seemed eager to show off and took an amulet from her pocket.
"I just bought an amulet for wealth and prosperity from there, and business has been very good."
When the proprietress had come to buy that amulet, Koizumi had worn a complicated expression.
When he had first arrived at this Singularity, Yakumo Yukari had briefly introduced Reimu and Hata no Kokoro to him. When introducing Reimu, Yakumo Yukari had specifically mentioned that Reimu was fated to be poor for her entire life unless she married someone wealthy. But if her spouse's fortune was not good enough, even a rich person would probably become poor.
Koizumi had been utterly speechless at that. A proprietress had come to seek wealth and prosperity from a shrine maiden who was poor herself. Reimu could not even seek wealth and prosperity for herself, yet this woman had come to ask her for it. Had her brain been squeezed by a door?
Naturally, the proprietress had no idea what Koizumi was thinking, so she honestly asked for the amulet.
Reimu had handed it over with a complicated expression. Whether it would work depended on the heavens.
But apparently, the proprietress was lucky, and her store's business had already been good these past few days. Thus, she believed the amulet had worked and became deeply grateful to Hakurei Amulet Shop. It seemed she even intended to buy a few more.
Maybe once the amulet's power ran out, she would no longer have wealth and prosperity, so she planned to go ask for more.
Mine curiously glanced at the amulet in the proprietress's hand and tilted her head.
It did seem somewhat unusual, but Mine truly could not see what was so impressive about it. After all...
The amulet was not hers, and she had not personally witnessed its power.
Thinking that, Mine still believed the thing was a scam and completely useless.
As for the proprietress saying business had improved recently... Hmph! Any store this young lady liked would become popular sooner or later. This was only good luck. Even without that amulet, this store would still become popular. After all, this was a store this young lady liked.
Mine placed her hands on her hips, her face full of disdain. She hated this sort of deceptive trick the most.
"What's wrong, Miss Mine?" Seeing Mine standing with her hands on her hips and frowning, the proprietress could not help asking.
Perhaps she had not noticed the disdain on Mine's face, but even if she had, she probably would not have said anything.
She herself had not believed in it at first either. Without seeing it personally, she would not have believed it.
After all, no one in the Imperial Capital had ever sold things like amulets. In a prosperous place like the Imperial Capital, almost everything sold outside the slums was luxurious, while amulets were generally considered something only country folk had.
For example, if someone from a village left to build a career, the village chief might give them an amulet as encouragement.
In truth, that was merely psychological encouragement.
But since this thing could really save one's life, who would not want one?
The Imperial Capital was said to have the most vicious assassin organization—Night Raid.
In a place where one could be assassinated by killers at any time, an amulet that could truly save one's life was extremely useful.
"Nothing..." Mine curled her lips but did not say anything else.
Though she felt disdainful inside, Mine was not socially inept enough to say it outright.
After all, the store's business really had improved after the proprietress got the amulet.
If Mine casually said such things, it would be far too disrespectful.
"Why don't you go take a look too, Miss Mine? The amulets are not expensive, and if they work, they benefit you. If they do not, just consider it a small loss. So many people have bought them already, haven't they? These days, your life is more important, right?"
The proprietress brought over several pink outfits as she made the suggestion to Mine.
Mine frowned slightly, her soft lips pursing as if she were thinking.
That was true. Akame had told her to pay close attention to whether anyone had recently arrived in the Imperial Capital.
Maybe the people Akame was looking for were the owners of those two shops that had just arrived in the Imperial Capital?
In any case, she would only be going to take a look. Whether she bought an amulet or not would depend on her mood, right?
At that thought, Mine nodded. That was right. She was only going to have a look.
And there was also a mask shop, was there not? Masks sounded rather interesting too.
"Then, ma'am, do you know where those two shops are?"
Mine asked the proprietress. Since it might be related to what Akame had asked her to do, she needed to go take a look.
"Of course..."
The proprietress answered as though it were obvious. She had bought things there before, so how could she not know?
After saying that, the proprietress began telling Mine the locations of Hakurei Amulet Shop and Noh Masks.
Once Mine learned where the two shops were located, she immediately left without even buying any clothes. Well, her funds had been tight lately. No matter how much Mine liked those clothes, she had to save money.
A Troublesome Matter
At that moment, something rather helpless was happening at Hakurei Amulet Shop.
Seryu scratched her head and looked apologetically at Koizumi and the others. Behind her stood several members of the Imperial Guard.
"What is going on?" Koizumi frowned tightly as he looked at the scene before him.
Seryu had come by this morning, and less than an hour had passed. Why had she come again, and why had she brought so many people?
"I'm really sorry, Mr. Koizumi. I didn't mean to..." The moment Seryu saw Koizumi, she hurriedly apologized.
Koizumi frowned slightly. What was wrong with Seryu? Had she done something to betray them?
But compared with that, Koizumi actually wanted to know why the Imperial Guard had surrounded his place.
The shop had barely been open before it was surrounded. The Noh Masks shop next door had not been surrounded, though.
Heh. If Noh Masks were surrounded and the masks got damaged, Hata no Kokoro would probably explode.
Though Hata no Kokoro always looked expressionless, she cherished those masks dearly.
In terms of how much she cherished them, those masks were definitely above him. Though Koizumi was crying inwardly and reluctant to admit that cruel fact, a fact remained a fact no matter what he said.
At the same time, Koizumi glanced at the cash box outside Hakurei Amulet Shop's entrance.
He did not know where Reimu had gotten that thing, but it had been there since this morning. Reimu had repeatedly warned him that nothing could happen to that cash box, or she would definitely settle the score with him.
Fortunately, no one had smashed it. But then again, the Imperial Guard were not bandits. Was he overthinking things?
"What's wrong, Seryu? Why has the Imperial Guard come here? And why are you leading them? Has something happened to my shop?"
Only then did Koizumi ask. Before speaking, he had also looked over the people behind Seryu.
They were all tall and sturdy. Was that to be expected of people who could enter the Imperial Guard?
But then again, why did this group of Imperial Guards look more like street thugs?
Is that just my imagination? Koizumi kept asking himself that question over and over.
That was normal, because anyone who saw the Imperial Guard's appearance and build, then felt their presence, would think the same.
Meanwhile, many Imperial Capital citizens had gathered outside Hakurei Amulet Shop to watch, concern visible in their eyes.
The nearby residents had become familiar with Hakurei Amulet Shop. Was that the power of life-saving amulets? Hakurei Amulet Shop had become so popular nearby in just one day. Reimu would surely be extremely popular if she ever went around scamming people.
Koizumi silently mocked the situation in his heart as he looked toward the guilt-ridden Seryu.
"I'm truly sorry, Mr. Koizumi. This was my fault. I accidentally let slip what happened with Miss Reimu. Then Master Ouka decided that Miss Reimu was connected to the leader of the Peaceful Path Sect, who possessed special abilities. He ordered me to forcibly dismantle this shop. Hakurei Amulet Shop cannot remain open. If you refuse to comply, we will have to take all of you away."
Seryu had always obeyed her master without question, but when it involved her friends, she hesitated.
Before you continue