Kyon's Fear / A Scolding ...

"My training can get people killed at any time. If you let your guard down for even a moment, you might die. Are you sure you want me to train you?" Esdeath felt her sadistic excitement begin to rise.

Kurome's body trembled slightly, but she endured it and nodded heavily.

Having received a definite answer, Esdeath nodded excitedly. It seemed she would not be bored for a while.

"Very well. I'll train you from now on. Pack your things first, then come with me to the palace."

With that, Esdeath prepared to leave, but—

By chance, Esdeath glanced at Koizumi and frowned slightly. There was an inexplicable aura around him.

As she examined him, Esdeath noticed the three blood-red marks on the back of Koizumi's right hand.

Suddenly, Esdeath revealed a look of realization.

Koizumi's Fear

From the moment Esdeath began speaking to Kurome until now, Koizumi had remained silent.

There was indeed fear mixed in. From her mere presence, Koizumi could tell that if he interrupted carelessly, she would probably torment him to death. The Esdeath before him was absolutely not someone who valued human life. Her aura had not changed since she appeared; if anything, it had grown stronger and stronger.

Even Reimu did not possess such an exaggerated aura, though that might have had something to do with Reimu's personality.

But there was one thing Koizumi could be certain of: Esdeath was very strong, perhaps even stronger than Reimu.

Koizumi could not judge for sure. Using himself as a benchmark made it difficult to say anything, since he was still very weak.

So from the moment Esdeath arrived until now, Koizumi had not said a word. Although he was somewhat afraid, more than that, her aura had pressured him so much that he could not speak at all. Since he could not speak, he could only remain silent.

However, the instant Esdeath's gaze swept over him, Koizumi felt his muscles tighten.

If he fought her, he would undoubtedly die. Even though death was practically nonexistent for someone with a vampire's vitality, he undeniably had that feeling in his heart.

This death was not physical. It was more a death of will and mind.

Being endlessly regenerated, then endlessly shattered until his will collapsed—it was not impossible.

That was exactly what Koizumi was thinking, and the female general before him was clearly the sort of person who would do such a thing.

"My training can get people killed at any time. If you let your guard down for even a moment, you might die. Are you sure you want me to train you?" The moment those words left Esdeath's mouth, Koizumi became even more certain.

As her gaze swept over him, the unease in Koizumi's heart grew heavier. Especially when her eyes settled on the back of his right hand, he became even more suspicious that she might be a Servant connected to distortion.

Koizumi had not yet figured out the particular aura Servants possessed. Although he had gained the power of a vampire, he had not trained his senses, so he did not know whether she was truly a Servant.

And if she really was a Servant, there was nothing he could do to her right now anyway.

After all, he was simply too weak... Hmm, her gaze had left him.

The instant her eyes moved away, Koizumi subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. It could not be helped—the pressure in that gaze had been too overwhelming. If he had to compare it to something... it was practically like being stared down by Yakumo Yukari.

If Yakumo Yukari set her sights on him, there would be the feeling that she might play a prank on him. But when the person before him looked at him, it was an utterly suffocating feeling, as if he were standing before death itself. Still, the two were alike in one respect: both were powerful.

From Reimu's tone, it was clear that Yakumo Yukari was considered one of the strongest among Servants.

However, perhaps because of her class, it seemed she had placed more of her abilities into support.

According to Reimu, Yakumo Yukari possessed a form far more powerful than her current class, but she had simply never shown it.

Esdeath did not linger long and merely departed slowly. Perhaps she had noticed Koizumi's Command Seals, or perhaps she had not.

But Koizumi had a premonition that Esdeath might know something, only she had not said it outright.

Then the three officers behind Esdeath followed her away. As Esdeath departed, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. Unlike before, there was no longer any disgust in their gazes toward Kurome; there was only fear... What ugly faces. They did not inspire the slightest bit of goodwill.

Aerya did not say anything more. The disgust and hostility in her eyes vanished completely, and the smile on her face did not change in the slightest, but Koizumi no longer wished to have anything to do with her.

After this incident, Koizumi decided that he could no longer stay in her home. He should find somewhere else to live.

He had to admit that the emotions those people and Aerya had shown toward Kurome during this incident filled him with heartfelt disgust. Kurome was indeed the younger sister of a traitor, but what did that have to do with Kurome? If they wanted to blame someone, they should blame the traitor. Dragging an innocent Kurome into it only showed their incompetence.

Koizumi took a deep breath, hoping to sweep away all those negative emotions.

Even so, he had no reason to blame them. It was merely a difference in values. If he forcibly twisted someone else's beliefs to make them more like his own, that too would be an unreasonable form of coercion.

Then what difference was there between him and them?

Suddenly, Koizumi noticed someone tugging at his sleeve. Slowly, he turned his head.

Kurome was staring at him, as though some emotion flickered in her eyes.

It was an expression called hope. Kurome seemed to be hoping for something as she gazed at him.

With only one look, Koizumi roughly understood what Kurome was thinking.

Did she want him to go to the palace with her? It seemed like a decent suggestion. Although he might get caught by the person who had wielded lightning earlier, there should not be a problem if he had Esdeath's protection.

After all, he wanted to find out what exactly was inside that palace.

Reimu had also said that the lightning power that person had accumulated was excessively strong. And honestly, the way the Imperial Capital's citizens had changed their attitude toward the Empire before and after was also deeply suspicious.

Before leaving the Imperial Capital, Koizumi had not been interested in the Empire's affairs. If he could avoid getting involved, he would.

But when he returned to the Imperial Capital, he discovered that they had become so fanatically devoted to the Empire.

If there was nothing wrong behind all this, Koizumi would write his name backward!

But then again, going alone to such a dangerous place did feel like courting death.

If Reimu found out what he was doing, she would probably give him a thorough scolding.

"If this is what you hope for, then do whatever you want, Kurome. After all... I have nowhere else to go now either, don't I?"

Koizumi spoke softly, while Aerya was slightly startled before revealing a trace of disappointment.

At his words, Kurome's eyes immediately lit up. Then she nodded frantically, unable to stop the smile on her lips.

She really was a cute girl.

A Scolding

"Eh! It's Mr. Koizumi!" The energetic Remusu was the first to spot Koizumi, and she hurriedly rushed out.

Gin and Mamin followed behind her, both wearing rather troubled expressions, while Kurome silently stayed at Koizumi's side.

This time, they had returned mainly to pack their things before moving into the palace.

Kurome also had to tell the others so that Mamin and the rest could move in with her.

After all, they had lived together for so long that Kurome could not bear to move in alone and leave them behind.

So this time, Kurome had returned to pack everyone up and take them away together... Though that phrasing was a little strange, the meaning was exactly the same. Only the wording differed.

Incidentally, March of the Dead: Yatsufusa was securely held in Kurome's hand. It had to be said that Kurome suited this Imperial Arm exceptionally well. It truly made one wonder whether Esdeath had brought it because she had already determined that Kurome could wield it.

But judging by Kurome's appearance, she clearly did not know Esdeath. That was where it became strange.

Since Kurome and Esdeath were meeting for the first time, how did Esdeath understand Kurome so well and know that she could wield this Imperial Arm? After all, one had to try an Imperial Arm first to know whether it was compatible, right?

Speaking of Imperial Arms, Koizumi knew quite a bit about them. After all, the little dog following Seryu around was an Imperial Arm.

Koizumi had asked what Imperial Arms actually were. Although Seryu had been puzzled as to why he was asking, she still answered honestly. Put simply, Imperial Arms were products of alchemy, somewhat similar to the Noble Phantasms of Heroic Spirits.

Around a thousand years ago, in order to maintain lasting rule, the founding emperor of the Empire used unimaginable wealth and authority to gather the finest craftsmen from around the world. Using legendary ultra-dangerous species as materials, along with rare metals such as orichalcum and numerous lost secret arts, they developed forty-eight weapons that could never be replicated. These were known as Imperial Arms.

Although he was impressed by Imperial Arms, it was only a momentary impression. Compared to the Noble Phantasms of Heroic Spirits, Imperial Arms were rather low-tier. Besides, Koizumi could obtain Remilia's Noble Phantasm, Gungnir, through their contract, so Imperial Arms were not particularly rare treasures to him.

That said, those biological Imperial Arms did interest Koizumi slightly, though only slightly.

After all, they were quite unusual. Even Heroic Spirits probably rarely had Noble Phantasms that were living creatures.

Koizumi had barely seen Noble Phantasms like that. The young lady, Reimu, Hata no Kokoro, and even Yakumo Yukari did not possess so-called biological Noble Phantasms, so naturally he was more interested in biological Imperial Arms.

However, after seeing Koro beside Seryu transform into that giant form, Koizumi decided he was no longer interested in the remaining biological Imperial Arms. It could not be helped—they felt ugly.

Koizumi also roughly understood what Seryu meant by feeding Koro.

The food a gigantic creature like that could eat was clearly not ordinary rations.

...It should be death-row prisoners. Eating human flesh really did make his stomach turn.

He hoped that the next time he saw Seryu, she would still be the same as before, at least not completely fallen into distorted justice.

If that one-in-ten-thousand possibility truly came to pass, then he would probably have no choice but to strike down his former friend.

Shaking his head to cast aside all the random thoughts in his mind, Koizumi could not help but reveal a bitter smile.

It was better not to jump to conclusions about things that had not happened yet. What he should focus on was the present.

With that thought, Koizumi turned his gaze toward Mamin and the others before him, sweeping over their faces.

Indeed, everyone here felt extremely familiar to him. A voice in his heart told him that he definitely knew them; he had merely forgotten for now.

He absolutely could not refuse to speak with those who had originally been his friends simply because of a temporary loss of memory.

With that thought flashing through his mind, Koizumi slowly stepped forward with a smile.

For now, it was better not to tell them that he had lost his memories. It would not be good.

It was also so that they would not worry about him too much. He should handle this matter on his own.

The next moment, Kurome told everyone about encountering Esdeath on the road. She then invited them to live with her in the palace and explained that Koizumi would be going too.

Though Koizumi felt that her tone was a little strange, because the way she spoke made it seem as though she were using his cooking to tempt them, as if she were saying that there would be delicious food if they went to the palace with her.

Koizumi could only express deep contempt for that. How was this any different from the behavior of a cunning villain!

However, she was also indirectly praising his cooking as delicious, so Koizumi would reluctantly accept that praise.

Well, to put it plainly, Koizumi's behavior was quite shameless too. Should he not be a little more modest when receiving praise from others? Accepting it as though it were only natural also showed that Koizumi had rather thick skin.

"Eh! We get to live in the palace? I never expected you to run into something so wonderful, Kurome! You're so lucky!"

Remusu's eyes immediately lit up. The palace was magnificent and luxurious, a place many people wished they could live in.

Of course, without ties to the imperial family or government officials, it was extremely difficult to live there. But since Kurome had connected with General Esdeath, General Esdeath would naturally prepare a room in the palace for her.

Besides, the general's residence was huge and had plenty of rooms. Although it was not Esdeath's original intention, she had considered that she might have many capable subordinates in the future and thus had not objected.

If her subordinates lived close to her, she could assign them missions at any time. It was simply more convenient.

"You idiot, even if it's lucky, don't say it so loudly! And you too, Kurome! I told you not to sneak out by yourself! Luckily, you ran into Mr. Koizumi and General Esdeath this time, or something would have happened again! How many times have I told you? Honestly!" Though Gin was delighted and envious of Kurome's good fortune, she did not hesitate to scold Kurome for her actions.

Faced with Gin's scolding, Kurome could not say anything and merely lowered her head silently.

Heh, it looked like this girl was quite afraid of her, Koizumi thought with a quiet chuckle.

Heading to the Palace

They only needed to pack clothes and the like. After all, those were about the only things girls needed to pack, so Kurome and the others finished quickly. Yet it seemed Kurome had packed more than just her clothes—

Looking at the bags of cookies Kurome carried in her hands, Koizumi did not even know how to complain.

Forget it. She was a glutton to begin with. If I take it seriously, I lose.

With that thought, Koizumi decided not to say anything. Would she still be Kurome if she were not greedy for food?

Hmm? Wait, I had only just met her. How did I know she was such a glutton? Koizumi's heart was suddenly filled with confusion.

Right, I knew her before. It was only that I did not remember, since I had forgotten these things.

But it seemed he still remembered certain things. No, it would be more accurate to say that his subconscious still remembered them.

Koizumi could not help but smile bitterly. Forgetting his friends really was too much, and he could not even tell them.

Still, there would come a day when he confessed. When that time came, he would properly apologize to them. This was all he could do for now. If he told them about his amnesia, they would definitely be disappointed and worry about him.

To avoid making them worry too much, he could only choose to do this for the time being.

He shook his head, preparing to put those matters out of his mind, but Kurome seemed to notice that something was wrong with him and could not help looking over.

Everyone else was excited at the thought of heading to the palace, which was perfectly normal.

After all, to them, the palace was a luxurious and noble place. Being able to go somewhere like that was naturally exciting. However, among them, Gin did not seem excited for that reason. She was excited because she would get to see Esdeath.

Though he had forgotten some things, Koizumi had used this time to figure out the personalities of some of them. For instance, Remusu, who had looked so excited upon seeing him earlier, was the energetic and simple type.

Mamin wore glasses and was the rational sort, giving off a very quiet impression.

Gin, on the other hand, was ambitious and valued strength highly. If Koizumi had not personally seen Gin lift such a huge pile of luggage by herself, he would not have believed that such a slender girl was actually fairly capable.

Of course, that "fairly capable" was only compared to ordinary people. If Gin fought him, Koizumi would kill her immediately. The gap in their strength was too great, and it would not take much effort at all.

Koizumi already understood just how powerful Servants were, since he had personally experienced that power.

Some Servants could even possess endurance beyond what they had in life because of their special nature. Their bodies were far stronger than those of ordinary humans, with traits such as being immune to injury from mundane blades or having increased resistance to magecraft.

As a vampire, the young lady had apparently hated sunlight in the past. After becoming a Servant, her resistance to sunlight had improved somewhat, but unfortunately, she still could not avoid having her power weakened by the sun.

There was nothing to be done about that. Vampires simply had no answer to sunlight.