Back to the point: once he had figured out their personalities, things became much easier. After all, striking up a conversation without knowing someone's temperament could easily make them angry, and might even expose the fact that he did not remember meeting them before.
Now that he understood their personalities, Koizumi had nothing to fear as long as they did not bring up their previous meeting. He just had to avoid answering thoughtlessly. Fortunately, Koizumi was usually sharp enough not to say something stupid and provoke them.
Slowly, Koizumi followed Kurome and the others into the imperial palace. Looking at the gleaming golden halls, he felt something indescribable... Extravagance? No, palaces were supposed to be like this. How could that be called extravagance? If they did not display status, what was the point of building them? But then, what was this feeling?
Just looking at them and continuing forward gave him a strange feeling. It was not excitement or exhilaration, but something far more oppressive, something that made Koizumi deeply uncomfortable.
"Phew..." Koizumi let out a breath and pressed his right hand against his chest, seemingly trying to ease the heaviness within him.
"What's wrong, Koizumi?" Kurome seemed to notice something unusual about him and quickly asked.
Kurome cared greatly about this new friend of hers. Unlike the others, she was not especially excited about entering the imperial palace. There was only one thing that excited her: becoming stronger, then saving her sister.
"It's nothing..." Koizumi smiled faintly and forced himself to calm down.
Kurome nodded gently without saying much more, her gaze fixed on the palace before them.
"Are you excited?" Koizumi cast aside the gloom in his heart and looked at Kurome with a smile.
To Kurome, her sister would always be the most important person. Now that there was a way for her to reconcile with her sister, perhaps even stay by her side forever, it was probably the most exciting thing imaginable for her.
Seeing his friend happy made Koizumi happy too, though...
His gaze swept over the palace again, and a bitter smile appeared on Koizumi's lips.
He had thought this would be a place that was difficult to approach, yet he had somehow entered it like this.
If Reimu and Hata no Kokoro found out about this, what would they think...?
"I really am excited. I'm happy that the general noticed me, but what makes me even happier is that I finally have a way to bring my sister back to my side, maybe even keep her with me forever..."
Kurome's eyes shone with intense excitement. She really was a child who was easy to satisfy.
Yes, she was still a child. A child who could not bear to be separated from her sister.
She could make friends normally, but she could not leave her sister behind and become independent. So, in Koizumi's eyes, she was still just a child.
But then again, in a way, he was just a child too.
Once he left Chaldea, he had no idea what to do. How was that any different from a child who did not know what to do after leaving their parents?
Still, being a child was fine. It was far better than living in this world without knowing what he was supposed to do.
At least he still had a goal to achieve. As long as he knew that, it was enough...
Budou and Esdeath
"Hmph! You haven't changed at all, Esdeath! As expected, you are the greatest ticking time bomb in this Empire! You'd better hope I never find any leverage against you!" A stubborn, old-fashioned-looking middle-aged man emerged from Esdeath's residence. He was around forty, clad in heavy armor, with a white cape billowing in the breeze behind him. The aura he gave off made his presence overwhelmingly powerful, and every step he took was solid and heavy.
Just standing there and looking at him made Koizumi involuntarily lower his head slightly.
That terrifying aura... probably only Esdeath could contend with him. But what did he mean by that?
General Esdeath was the Empire's biggest ticking time bomb? Had General Esdeath done something?
Then again, was it just his imagination? Koizumi felt that this man's presence seemed somewhat familiar.
Sigh... Koizumi could not help letting out a sigh. If his strength had not been lacking, he probably would have remembered people's auras clearly long ago. Unfortunately, he had only begun desperately training after leaving the Empire.
In the end, he had started too late... Thinking that, Koizumi looked at his hands, his heart feeling somewhat heavy.
Even if he was late, if he trained desperately from now on, someday he would be able to fight alongside Reimu and the others.
Koizumi firmly believed that. There was no need to be so depressed now. Rather than wallow in gloom, he should work hard and become stronger, remember this deep unwillingness in his heart, and turn it all into motivation.
Shaking his head slightly, Koizumi cast those thoughts aside and looked over the imposing man.
It looked like he had come here to discuss something with Esdeath, only for things to fall apart... Esdeath did not seem like an easy person to get along with, but she appeared quite friendly toward Kurome. That was rather strange.
"You old fossil, you haven't changed either. You're blindly loyal to an absurd degree! And do you still not understand what I, Esdeath, want? In an Empire with neither war nor opponents capable of fighting me, it is unbearably boring!"
Esdeath slowly stepped out of the luxurious estate, but her words made Kurome and the others stiffen.
Had they just heard something they were not supposed to hear? Was General Esdeath planning to rebel against the Empire?
Then, would they be directly executed by General Esdeath for hearing these forbidden words?
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Kurome and the others began trembling. Koizumi, however, was not panicked in the slightest.
Neither Esdeath nor this man had revealed even a trace of killing intent. What were they panicking for?
Since Esdeath had brought Kurome over to her side, she was hardly going to kill people on a whim just because she had nothing better to do.
Besides, Kurome had been promoted by Esdeath, so she could be considered one of Esdeath's people. Why would Esdeath weaken her own forces for no reason? Though with Esdeath's strength, losing one Imperial Arms user might not even hurt.
Still, judging by normal logic, Esdeath should not attack Kurome and the others.
Of course, that was normal logic. What if General Esdeath did not follow the normal route?
Forget it. There was no point thinking so much. Even if Esdeath did attack, he would not be so easily slaughtered.
If it came down to it, he could only use a Command Seal... Though constantly thinking about using Command Seals really felt awful.
"Hmph! Sooner or later, I will eliminate you, this unstable bomb, for the sake of the Empire!"
The imposing man said something utterly unworthy of his current aura. It could not be helped; it just sounded too lame. Anyone could make threats like that. If you only threw out threats without actually attacking, it felt far less impressive.
Though Koizumi could roughly guess that it was for the Empire's stability, should he not have attacked first and said that afterward?
After silently complaining about it, Koizumi focused his gaze on Esdeath.
Esdeath looked utterly disdainful. Although the man before her claimed that their strength was roughly equal, if they truly fought, nobody could say what would happen. Perhaps she would win.
This stubborn, rigid man who only knew how to make threats was General Budou, the one who had attacked Reimu before.
He was one of the Empire's strongest alongside Esdeath, though the two had rarely fought because they belonged to the same side.
But Esdeath was obviously the type of battle maniac one could identify just from her words...
Wait, what had Esdeath just said? Koizumi froze slightly. He felt as though he had overlooked something!
In an Empire with neither war nor opponents capable of fighting me, it is unbearably boring!
An Empire without even war... Did this Empire not have any wars? What about the Revolutionary Army and the foreign tribes?
Could it be that General Esdeath only meant there were no wars capable of making her take things seriously?
No. If she meant wars that could make her serious, she should have stated it clearly.
As expected, something was wrong... There had been a huge problem ever since he lost his memories... It was as though some kind of abnormal change had occurred!
Koizumi's eyes flickered with gravity, and he raised his guard to the highest level. There was no room for even the slightest carelessness now.
Meanwhile, after making his threat, General Budou prepared to leave immediately. He did not want to remain around Esdeath any longer, or he might truly lose control and attack, destroying this unstable bomb for the Empire.
Esdeath herself loved war. If there was no war, then without question, she would create one herself.
Her stance did not matter. Even if they were on the same side, as long as it satisfied her, she could rebel at any time.
To Esdeath, loyalty was not important. This world respected the strong. If you were strong enough to suppress everything, was loyalty even necessary? Others would betray you only because you were weak.
In Budou's eyes, Esdeath, with such a mindset, was undoubtedly a bomb that could destroy the Empire at any moment.
His instincts told him that if he did not take precautions against Esdeath, she would eventually strike against the Empire. No matter what, he had to remain extremely vigilant regarding her.
Holding on to that vigilance, General Budou slowly departed beneath Esdeath's disdainful gaze.
Esdeath's Sudden Attack
General Budou directly ignored Koizumi and the others. It was not contempt; in his perception, their strength truly was not high enough to warrant his attention. Most of his focus was on Esdeath, who was harmful to the Empire.
That made sense. Though Koizumi possessed a vampire's power, sunlight suppressed it during the day, including his aura. It was difficult to sense a vampire's presence in daylight.
Besides, Koizumi had not transformed into his vampire form, making it even harder for Budou to notice anything.
Still, when Budou passed by him, Koizumi could not help feeling uneasy.
There was no helping it. Sneaking deep into enemy territory was simply too thrilling, thrilling enough to make Koizumi extremely nervous.
Fortunately, that nervousness vanished completely after a while, and Koizumi did not reveal any flaws.
If something went wrong here by accident, it would be mortifying.
The next moment, Esdeath led Koizumi and the others inside. She knew Kurome's social circle quite well, so Koizumi's arrival did not surprise her at all. In fact, it would have been stranger if he had not come.
After bringing everyone to the training grounds, Koizumi looked around, his eyes filled with solemnity.
From the moment he entered the training grounds, Koizumi had felt something very unusual...
Was there a barrier here? The moment he entered, he felt how sealed-off this place was. Still, that was normal. Considering Esdeath's strength, without a barrier, she would probably cause damage inside the imperial palace.
Esdeath's personal training was no game. She was one of the Empire's strongest!
"Kurome, you and your friends can train here for now."
Esdeath spoke calmly while giving a look to the three retainers behind her.
On the way in, Esdeath had already introduced her three retainers to them.
The Three Beasts—Liver, Nyau, and Daidus—possessed Water Dragon Possession: Black Marlin, Musical Dream: Scream, and Twin Great Axes: Belvaac respectively. All three possessed extraordinary strength.
Liver was a silver-haired general who looked rather mature. He was said to have once served as an Imperial general, but after committing a crime, he was released by Esdeath. Captivated by Esdeath's charisma, he became her subordinate.
Nyau was the boy who looked like a woman. He was small in stature, born to a prestigious family, and cold-hearted by nature. He liked dissecting small animals and had a habit of collecting women's faces. Still, he truly was powerful and served as a core member of Esdeath's army.
Daidus was a rough-looking, burly man who had once followed Esdeath in her campaign against the northern tribes. A battle maniac, he liked fighting strong opponents to increase his experience points. But seriously, did he think killing people was a game? Talking about gaining experience points was just too ridiculous... Forget it. If he took it seriously, he would lose!
Thinking that, Koizumi merely pursed his lips and said nothing. Why dwell on it so much?
Kurome nodded silently, took out March of the Dead: Yatsufusa, and began training nearby with Gin and the others.
Gin and Mamin did not say anything, but Remusu seemed somewhat reluctant.
There was no helping it. Remusu's constitution was not particularly good to begin with. Furthermore, after failing to make the cut in the Imperial Assassination Squad, she had actually ranked somewhere in the dozens. In terms of talent, she could not compare to Mamin, Gin, or Kurome at all.
And now Kurome had obtained an Imperial Arms, so her strength had certainly increased. Remusu was even less of a match for her.
Still, since Gin and Mamin were so enthusiastic, she absolutely could not spoil everyone's mood.
Thus, Remusu could only force a smile and train with Kurome and the others.
It was obvious that Kurome's strength had improved significantly after obtaining March of the Dead: Yatsufusa.
When someone had a high degree of compatibility with an Imperial Arms, the host's strength would also improve to some extent.
It was the same principle as whether a weapon felt comfortable to use. If it did not suit the user, their strength would be affected.
Therefore, even Gin, Mamin, and Remusu joining forces found it somewhat difficult to deal with Kurome.
What a pity. Esdeath still had some disappointment in her eyes as she watched Kurome. Though Kurome's physical condition was far better than in her memories, her strength had undoubtedly declined, and not by a small amount.
As expected, in such a peaceful era, assassins like Kurome, who were essential in chaotic times, had no place to display their abilities.
Who would have thought that the Imperial Assassination Squad, originally second only to the Elite Seven, would be completely disbanded, with only the Elite Seven selected?
So it was truly regrettable that Kurome had not received proper training.
But... Esdeath's gaze suddenly shifted toward Koizumi, who wore a conflicted expression.
That was right, Koizumi was indeed conflicted. He was considering whether he should join them in training.
However, before Koizumi could make up his mind, Esdeath suddenly revealed an excited smile and stomped her right foot on the ground. In the next instant, a massive ice spike burst from the ground and stabbed toward Koizumi.
"What—!!!!!"
Koizumi froze slightly, and his hands instinctively condensed a pink spear—Gungnir!
Gungnir was raised horizontally before his chest as the ice spike collided against it with lightning speed, producing a violent scrape.
Sparks burst from the friction, and the force of the impact sent Koizumi flying.
Koizumi gritted his teeth. The instant he evaded the ice spike's attack, a pair of crimson wings formed behind him.
Slowly, his black eyes completely turned blood-red and began to glow.
At the same time, his teeth became sharp, making him look exactly like a vampire.
Though he did not know why Esdeath had attacked him, there was no doubt that she wanted to fight him. If she wanted a fight, then he would accept it. Even if she was the strongest general, so what?
Still, Koizumi was curious. Why had she attacked him?
Koizumi could not understand. Was it because he was a wanted criminal? If that were the case, she should have attacked him while she was speaking with Kurome.
Or was there some other reason? That was all Koizumi could guess for now.
Esdeath's face was filled with excitement, and she released her aura without the slightest restraint.
The expression in her ice-blue eyes was like that of a starving beast that had finally seen food. That ravenous hunger made people instinctively afraid.
Before you continue