Using FGO to Open the Anime World

Getting back to the matter at hand, Koizumi felt a bit like he was sitting on pins and needles with Reimu staring at him like that. After all, that look of hers...

Forget it, never mind. He'd better just eat in silence. If he said too much, he was afraid he'd get beaten to death.

He'd already taken enough of a beating this morning. Actually, if Koizumi hadn't stopped Serenity, Serenity and Reimu would have had a full-on brawl right there. No, wait... Serenity was poisonous, and Reimu knew that, so she probably wouldn't get into a brawl with Serenity.

Akame and the others were looking at Koizumi and Reimu with strange expressions. It seemed like they were the ones who caused the commotion this morning, huh?

But then again, Serenity seemed to be getting very close to Koizumi. Was it just their imagination?

Of course, Hundred Personas remained perfectly calm. Serenity forming a contract with Koizumi was within its expectations. Others might not know Serenity's life story, but how could it not, as a fellow Old Man of the Mountain?

So, when it learned that Koizumi was completely immune to Serenity's poison, it guessed this would happen.

Hata no Kokoro was still as expressionless as ever, just quietly sitting next to Koizumi and eating. She didn't seem to care about Serenity's odd behavior.

She was probably the least troubled person there. Compared to Koizumi and Reimu, Hata no Kokoro only cared about her masks.

"Koizumi-sama, may I ask when the amulet matter will be resolved?"

Najenda noticed the atmosphere was a bit heavy, so she decided to bring up a topic to get people's attention.

But come to think of it, that topic wasn't all that engaging, was it? It would probably just make the atmosphere even more depressing.

Talking about serious matters was never easy... Koizumi felt utterly speechless.

Koizumi could also tell that Najenda was trying to change the subject to ease the strange atmosphere, but that topic would only make the atmosphere even more depressing, wouldn't it? It's not like she didn't know that they were just in a cooperative relationship.

However, Koizumi could understand how much Najenda valued amulets.

So, to Najenda's question, Koizumi simply nodded.

"Rest assured, as soon as the information the Revolutionary Army hands over to us arrives, the amulets will definitely be made on time."

Koizumi might seem easy to talk to, but when it came to getting down to business, he was very serious.

So, Koizumi said that as soon as the information arrived, the amulets would definitely be made on time.

Reimu also nodded silently. Although she had a disagreement with Koizumi this morning, she would still do what needed to be done. She wasn't some Gap Youkai who would leave a bunch of things to clean up for herself.

When she was serious, Reimu was very reliable...

Najenda breathed a sigh of relief. The purpose of her question was twofold: to ease the atmosphere and to inquire about the matter.

The purpose of the inquiry, needless to say, was for the Revolutionary Army's amulets. She had to urge them on, no matter what.

Of course, she also knew the principle of "money for goods." She was a Boss, after all. How could she not know that?

"Very well. By the way, Leone, have there been any recent missions?"

Najenda's gaze turned to Leone again. Leone had gone to the Imperial Capital recently for two reasons: to gather information and to take on missions. After all, there were many poor people in the Imperial Capital who were full of resentment. Those poor people were living in misery and were even being bullied. It was simply outrageous.

Leone nodded silently and took out a file from somewhere.

"These are the incriminating pieces of evidence of the Reyas family, an Imperial noble family. They often bring young girls from out of town back to their home, first offering them good food and drink, and then secretly taking them out of the Imperial Capital and into areas where Danger Beasts are frequently active. Then, they watch them get killed by the Danger Beasts. By the way, they also capture some humanoid Danger Beasts and those young girls..."

At this point, Leone paused slightly, her expression becoming very ugly, and glanced at Reimu.

Seeing Leone's expression, Koizumi frowned slightly and roughly understood what Leone wanted to say.

Chapter 84: Accepting a Mission

Danger Beast hybrids were considered a taboo, whether in the Empire or in other countries.

According to legend, there was a village where a man's mother was r*ped by a humanoid Danger Beast, and she eventually gave birth to him. As soon as he was born, he was incredibly strong, and his skin couldn't even be cut by a knife.

However, the people in the village all treated him like a monster. In the end, he was drowned alive by his own mother with tears in her eyes, because he was a cursed child, a taboo that would bring misfortune.

Many people in the Empire were superstitious. The birth of such a child would only be a tragedy. However, there were some exceptions. In the eastern part of the Empire, there was a religion called the Peaceful Path Sect. Their leader was a hybrid of a human and a Danger Beast. It was said that he was born with the ability to heal and predict the future, and he was now revered by many believers.

This was also why Reimu was not well-received by the Imperial Guard in the Empire, and they even launched attacks on her directly.

Leone was doing this to take care of Reimu's feelings. In their eyes, Reimu was indeed...

Reimu's lips twitched violently. If she still didn't understand what they were saying, then she would have been a Hakurei Shrine Maiden for nothing.

At least her IQ was still there. If she didn't have any IQ, Reimu wouldn't be able to resolve so many incidents.

Gensokyo often experienced incidents, and Reimu, as the administrator of Gensokyo, was responsible for resolving them one by one.

Najenda glanced at Reimu, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes. She also understood what Leone meant.

Reimu rolled her eyes at this group of people and said speechlessly, "Don't worry about me. I'm not a Danger Beast hybrid. Don't overthink it. I'm just a shrine maiden. How could I be a Danger Beast hybrid..." If I were a Danger Beast hybrid, how could I be a shrine maiden? Shrine maidens may not care about bloodlines, but they're not something that Danger Beast hybrids can become...

Najenda smiled slightly and remained understanding. In fact, many people were like this, constantly denying their own bloodline.

Najenda could only remain understanding towards these people. After all, not everyone could accept their own bloodline.

People of mixed ethnicities also hated their ethnic blood, which was actually very normal.

So, Najenda was now looking at Reimu with an understanding expression, which made Reimu's head fill with black lines.

What are you understanding! I'm clearly a human! Why are you suspecting me of being some dog-blooded Danger Beast hybrid?

It's been like this since the Imperial Capital, and even now that I've joined Night Raid, I'm still being suspected like this.

Forget it... I'd better not say too much... Saying too much will only bring tears... I've been in a bad mood all day today. It seems like today is not a good day for me, Hakurei Reimu. First, I saw an unpleasant scene early in the morning, and now I'm being... "understood" like this!?

What are you understanding! I don't need this kind of boring understanding, okay!

Reimu lowered her head speechlessly, silently eating her meal, deciding to just let it go in one ear and out the other. Listening too much would just make her irritable!

Koizumi couldn't help but find it amusing. Reimu really was a bit pitiful. Oh well, he wouldn't make fun of her.

"Alright, you guys can continue. Don't mind Reimu..." Koizumi knew that Reimu wasn't some snake-skinned Danger Beast hybrid. It had always been something those bastards had made up themselves. Although Reimu had been explaining it all along, it didn't seem to be helping.

Najenda nodded and gave Leone another look, signaling her to continue.

Akame and the others listened intently, afraid of missing a single detail.

"This is the pattern of movements for the noble Rayas family. I've pretty much sorted it out. By the way, the client is a servant of the Rayas family, who was kidnapped along with those little girls and taken to the Rayas residence. But because he's a man, he's still somewhat useful. He's abused every day, and he witnessed his lover being turned into a humanoid Danger Beast... So he hopes that we, Night Raid, can bring divine retribution upon their entire family..."

By the way, the words "bring divine retribution" should be taken as a joke. No one has the right to judge anyone else. It's just a matter of self-righteousness... That's what Koizumi thought. After all, the punisher isn't God or anything. Do they really think they have the right to do that? It's just that they're acting in a way that best suits their current emotions.

Doesn't Night Raid choose to help all the clients because of feelings like displeasure and hatred?

The action derived from this emotion is the so-called "retribution." To put it bluntly, this "retribution" is just self-righteous. Of course, that doesn't mean Koizumi is unhappy with their actions. Koizumi is just saying that.

"So, what about that client?" Koizumi was curious. Wouldn't Rayas notice his servant hiring an assassin without knowing anything? That kind of noble would be a bit too stupid. Of course, not all nobles would care about their subordinates' private actions, but being in the Imperial Capital, being careless like that would just make you an idiot.

"He committed suicide. He said that even though he managed to leave without Rayas knowing this time, he would definitely be discovered, so he chose to commit suicide. He only hopes that we, Night Raid, can avenge him and his lover. He also said that every day, people in the Rayas household who can't take it anymore choose to commit suicide, so his suicide won't arouse any suspicion."

A complex look flickered in Leone's eyes. Seeing this kind of thing too often would naturally lead to numbness.

But no matter how many times it happened, Leone could never calm the feeling in her heart.

Koizumi also pursed his lips slightly, a complex look appearing in his eyes. He seemed to be able to understand the other person's feelings.

It was the feeling of not being able to protect the people around you, and watching the people around you suffer in front of you while being powerless... Koizumi had vaguely experienced this kind of pain before... Remilia being injured by Berserker and the final battle, and her own sister painfully making the decision to fight to the death and ultimately dying at her sister's hands...

Seeing Remilia disappear before his eyes, Koizumi also felt a sense of suffocation in his heart.

After a long while, Koizumi couldn't help but sigh slightly. It seemed that there was a lot of darkness in the Imperial Capital that he didn't know about.

Amidst his complex emotions, Koizumi couldn't help but recall Seryu from before, that girl who spoke of justice all the time.

If she knew that there were such things happening in the Imperial Capital under her jurisdiction, he wondered what kind of expression she would have. And that Ouka... The way he looked made him seem like no good.

Speaking of which, it had been a day or two since he left the Imperial Capital. Should he have Serenity take a look at how things were with Seryu?

Oh well, he should take care of the matter at hand first.

"Najenda... Could you give me this mission..."

Calming the emotions in his heart, Koizumi turned his gaze to Najenda and spoke slowly.

At the same time, everyone else looked at Koizumi in surprise, even Reimu and Hata no Kokoro were no exception.

Chapter 85: Surprise

To be honest, Koizumi and the others joining Night Raid was just a temporary measure. It wasn't because they wanted to join, but because they were cooperating, and Koizumi and the others had nowhere else to live, so they could only stay with Night Raid.

After all, they were all in the same group, although the "same group" had to be put in quotation marks and emphasized.

So Najenda and the others didn't expect Koizumi and his group to take on Night Raid's missions at all.

Although Reimu and her group had good character, that didn't mean they would definitely help their group complete missions together.

So Koizumi taking the initiative to step forward and accept this mission was an incredible thing for Najenda and the others.

Reimu and Hata no Kokoro also looked at Koizumi with stunned expressions. Was there something wrong with this guy's head? Was he doing this because he had nothing better to do?

Of course, this thought was just in Reimu's mind. Hata no Kokoro was only surprised that Koizumi would accept a mission.

Koizumi looked at the others speechlessly. What's wrong with me accepting a mission? Why are you all looking so surprised? Is it that surprising? It's as if I would never accept a mission from Night Raid in my life.

"Why are you so surprised... I'm just accepting a mission, it's not something worth being surprised about."

Rolling his eyes at Najenda and the others, Koizumi said indifferently.

"No, it's just that Koizumi and the others don't seem to be people who like trouble, so we thought Koizumi wouldn't care about Night Raid's missions..." Najenda said with a wry smile.

There was no helping it. Everyone in Night Raid knew that Reimu liked leisurely things. After all, Leone had told them about it, so subconsciously, they also thought that Koizumi was similar to Reimu.

"The one who likes leisurely things is Reimu, not me. I consider myself to be someone who likes to join in on the fun..."

Koizumi's lips curled up slightly. He wasn't wrong in saying that. The one who liked leisurely things was Reimu, not him.

Although he also liked leisurely things, after all, who wouldn't want to live a leisurely life? But the current situation didn't allow him to be leisurely.

So he could only choose to suffer first and enjoy later. He would first go through this difficult and arduous period, and then taste the sweetness.

Everyone understood the principle of suffering first and enjoying later, and Koizumi naturally understood it as well, so that was the idea he was holding now.

As for choosing to accept this mission, it was because Koizumi also needed to get used to this kind of life. He chose this heinous noble as his first kill. Since he was going to kill someone sooner or later, it was the same whether he did it sooner or later.

If he didn't do it sooner, he would become unaccustomed to killing people later on.

So Koizumi chose to participate in Night Raid's mission now, and if possible, it would be best to get used to this kind of thing.

The things he would experience later could be very cruel. Thinking of Lady Remilia's younger sister, Koizumi couldn't help but feel a palpitation in his heart. That wasn't an ordinary existence. She had the same Vampire and demon bloodline as Remilia, and her strength seemed to be even above Remilia's. She directly killed Remilia in a head-on battle.

That kind of strength was simply terrifying. At least Koizumi had no chance of winning against her at all.

Just looking at her made his heart tremble... At least Koizumi had to change his current situation and work hard to become stronger.

Reimu and the others, as Servants, basically had their strength set. If they wanted to change, unless their Spirit Base became stronger.

But Koizumi was different. As a human, Koizumi had the infinite possibility of becoming stronger, and that possibility was the contract.

Constantly forming contracts and getting stronger... Speaking of which, I formed a contract with Serenity, so did I get their poison body? Doesn't seem like it... Reimu attacked me this morning, and I'm perfectly fine...

"So, you're saying you'll take this mission?" Najenda confirmed once more, just to be sure.

Koizumi nodded calmly. Now that he'd accepted, he couldn't just back out... That would be too dishonorable.

No, it wasn't just a matter of honor; it was a matter of integrity...

"In that case, I'll leave this mission to you... But to avoid any unforeseen circumstances, I'll have Akame and the others accompany you..." Najenda wasn't worried about Koizumi's strength, but she was concerned about unexpected problems. Akame and the others were experienced, so with them along, Najenda wouldn't have to worry about anything.

Koizumi couldn't help but smile wryly. As expected, she was still worried about his lack of experience... But that was understandable.

After all, he was still a newbie when it came to assassination. It was normal for Akame and the others to guide him.

Koizumi glanced at Bulat and the others, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

There was no helping it. Even if he believed in his own abilities, Akame and the others probably wouldn't be at ease.

To this, Koizumi could only purse his lips and say nothing, accepting their kindness was the better option.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be confidence, but just him showing off, and Reimu and Hata no Kokoro would worry about him.

Thinking of this, Koizumi could only nod, saying nothing, his gaze sweeping over Akame and the others.

"In that case, let Akame give me a hand. Night Raid doesn't need to send out so many people, right?" Koizumi's lips curled into a slight smile. Compared to the others, Akame would be more suitable to team up with him.

Compared to Leone and the others, Koizumi was more used to partnering with someone as exceptionally calm as Akame.

Moreover, Akame's combat power was among the top ranks in Night Raid. The strongest in Night Raid was Susanoo, followed by Bulat, and then Akame.

So, Akame was among the top tier of strength in Night Raid.

"If you're still not at ease, you can let Chelsea go with Akame and me. Chelsea's Teigu ability is very useful, isn't it?" Koizumi wasn't lying. He knew that Chelsea's Teigu ability was indeed very useful.

Transformation Free: Gaia Foundation, a makeup-type Teigu—that was Chelsea's Teigu.

It was said to have been stolen from a certain governor's mansion, and it allows the user to transform into anything they desire.

It's not very useful in direct combat, but it's very suitable for assassination and reconnaissance.