Kyon's Thoughts / Chelsea's Way ...

A faint blush rose to Akame's face, but she still appeared remarkably calm.

Clearly, Akame was much better at controlling her emotions. At the very least, she would not suddenly become embarrassed or anything like that.

Listening to Chelsea, Koizumi could not help but feel black lines fill his head. What did she mean, there was something wrong in that department? Explain yourself! He simply did not want to start some inexplicable romance under these circumstances, one that was doomed to end before it even began!

Besides, it was time to begin the mission. Was it not perfectly normal to think things through? Why were they idly chatting here instead? Did they have that much free time? They might have plenty of time, but his was hardly abundant!

Unable to find words for Chelsea, Koizumi could only shake his head helplessly and turn his gaze toward the two women.

"First, let's go to the dangerous beast settlement Reias often visits. Once that guy comes out, the hunt begins..." A glint of coldness flashed through Koizumi's eyes.

Although he knew he could not let his emotions sway him so easily, honestly, Koizumi was furious beyond measure at Reias. A man who treated human lives so lightly would not be enough to vent his anger even if he died a thousand times over!

"Are we not going to enter the Imperial Capital and assassinate him? Wouldn't that be easier...?"

Since they were discussing the mission, Chelsea naturally became more serious and began talking strategy.

Chelsea was right. Compared to hunting him outside, entering the Imperial Capital directly would let them wipe out everyone in his household at once. However, recent developments within the Imperial Capital forced Koizumi to be more cautious.

If Koizumi were alone, escaping the Imperial Capital would be easy. Even against that general, he had ways to get away. After all, Yukari had been watching from Chaldea and could help at any time. She was only holding back because she wanted him to train himself. Still, he could not leave his life here.

Moreover, Koizumi had already vaguely touched upon Yukari's power, though he could not understand the principles behind using it.

Perhaps at a critical moment, Koizumi could even use a gap to escape directly. So this was not an unsolvable problem for him. But that was only if he were alone. Now, Chelsea and Akame were with him.

Chelsea was not much of an issue. Transformation Free: Gaia Foundation was a highly useful Imperial Arm, and escaping the Imperial Capital would be simple for her. But Akame was different. Unlike him, she could not fly. Even if Koizumi could carry her away through the air, there would still be problems. If that general caught up with them, Koizumi would have difficulty fighting while carrying Akame, and both of them might end up captured. He had to consider Akame's safety.

"Security in the Imperial Capital has been extremely tight these past few days. Once night falls, the gates are practically sealed shut; not even a fly can get out. Do you think Akame is suited to sneaking into the Imperial Capital? You have Transformation Free: Gaia Foundation, and I can fly, so the two of us do not need to worry. But Akame should not enter the Imperial Capital... Besides, many Imperial guards have recently been patrolling alongside the Imperial Guard. They have people on nearly every street. If we really enter the Imperial Capital, with Akame's notoriety, she probably would not last even two hours before being noticed."

Koizumi shot Chelsea a look, feeling utterly speechless. Still, he knew Chelsea had only recently been added to Night Raid, so she did not know much about the Imperial Capital's current situation.

Koizumi had previously asked Leone. Since Leone often went to the Imperial Capital, she naturally knew about these matters and had warned him to be careful.

Koizumi's Thoughts

Even Chelsea was rendered speechless. How had the ordinarily lax Imperial Capital become like this?

She had not carried out many missions lately, so she did not know the situation there. It was understandable.

Fortunately, she had not gone recently. It would have been terrible if her lack of intelligence had gotten her into trouble.

But once her speechlessness passed, Chelsea's eyes lit up as she stared at Koizumi.

So Koizumi really had been thinking about a battle plan. It seemed she had underestimated him. But was he truly ignoring her and Akame's charms, or was he too embarrassed to mention them? Chelsea found herself curious about the Koizumi before her.

Akame could not help glancing at Chelsea, confusion flashing through her eyes. Why did Chelsea seem a little strange?

Was it just her imagination? Probably. After all, she had only known Chelsea for a short time. Chelsea seemed very friendly, but there was still much Akame did not understand about her. It was normal to find her strange.

"So next, we go there and set up an ambush in advance, then assassinate him? What about the rest of Reias's family?" Chelsea did not think there was anything wrong with Koizumi's plan. At least, it was safe.

What bothered Chelsea slightly was that if they only assassinated Reias, would not everyone else in the Reias family escape? That could hardly count as completing the mission, and she could not quite accept that.

Koizumi merely smiled faintly. He understood Chelsea's concerns. Who said he would not kill the rest of them? It was simply inconvenient to act, so he did not need Chelsea and Akame's help. He only needed to act alone.

Of course, Chelsea would clearly be better suited to handling this matter, but Koizumi was not afraid of the people in the Imperial Capital at all.

Besides, he had accepted this mission himself, so Koizumi intended to settle it alone. He did not want to rely on others.

He had only agreed to let Akame and the others accompany him because he was worried Najenda would be concerned. But since nothing would happen, there was no need to make Akame keep following him. Once Reias was dead, Koizumi could handle everything else himself.

At least, that was what Koizumi believed. Explaining it to Chelsea and Akame would likely be difficult. After all, they would not watch him carry out the mission alone without saying anything. In Koizumi's opinion, Akame definitely would not.

It seemed he would have to spend some time dealing with Akame later. Chelsea probably would not act so recklessly, though.

Koizumi understood Akame well enough to know she would not let him storm the Imperial Capital alone. He did not know Chelsea very well, so he could not say for certain. Still, he hoped this assassination would go smoothly.

"Don't worry. Leave the rest of Reias's family to me. Once you and Akame deal with Reias, you can return to Night Raid. Leave everything else to me. Even if I'm surrounded in the Imperial Capital, I'm absolutely confident I can escape their hands!"

Koizumi radiated overwhelming confidence, making even Akame and Chelsea's eyes light up.

However, Koizumi's words made Akame and Chelsea frown slightly. They were somewhat worried by his inexplicable confidence. They had faith in Koizumi's strength; after all, neither Hakurei Reimu nor Hata no Kokoro intended to interfere in this assassination, which showed that Reimu and Kokoro trusted his abilities enough not to intervene.

Even so, that was not a reason for them to let Koizumi storm the Imperial Capital alone. If anything happened, they would have a hard time answering to Reimu and Kokoro. Besides, since he had joined Night Raid, Akame considered him a comrade. Even if they were only temporary partners, Koizumi had left a good impression on her.

Akame had once been one of the Imperial Assassination Squad's Elite Seven. Nearly all of the former Elite Seven had perished. She had watched countless comrades fall before her eyes, so to Akame, comrades were family.

She remembered one comrade who had been injured but kept quiet out of fear of worrying her. In the end, the injury flared up, and that person died. It solidified a belief in Akame's heart: if a comrade was injured before her, she could never stand by and do nothing. No matter what, she had to save them.

Therefore, Akame could not possibly feel at ease about Koizumi entering the Imperial Capital alone.

Chelsea felt the same. She also could not rest easy with Koizumi entering the Imperial Capital by himself. This was a mission they were completing together, and since they were doing it together, they were comrades. She believed she had to go with him.

Chelsea might enjoy teasing people normally, but the assassination team she had once belonged to had been wiped out, leaving only Chelsea alive. As a result, Chelsea viewed things very realistically, while also cherishing her comrades deeply.

"Hey, are you sure this is okay...? Security in the Imperial Capital is so tight that even I wouldn't dare risk going there with Transformation Free: Gaia Foundation... Are you really going to infiltrate the Imperial Capital alone and assassinate Reias's whole family?"

Chelsea looked seriously at Koizumi, her eyes filled with deep gravity.

This was no joke. If anything went wrong, Koizumi would definitely be caught by the people of the Imperial Capital.

"I think so too, Koizumi... At the very least, don't casually enter the Imperial Capital. You know how tight the Imperial Guard's security became after you, Reimu, and Kokoro caused such a disturbance last time. Why not let Hundred Personas and the others act? As the Revolutionary Army's ace assassins, their assassination abilities truly surpass those of the other Night Raid members."

Koizumi could not help shooting Chelsea and Akame a look. It seemed the two had decided he definitely could not complete this task, and that if he went to the Imperial Capital, he would certainly be caught by the Imperial Guard...

Fine, Koizumi admitted he could indeed be caught easily. But he could fly, at least. Had they ever seen anyone in the Imperial Capital who could fly? He refused to believe he could still be caught like that!

"Don't worry. I won't be caught so easily. Besides, Reimu, Kokoro, and I have a special way of contacting each other. If anything happens to me, Reimu and Kokoro will immediately come to my side."

Chelsea's Method

Akame and Chelsea said nothing in response to Koizumi's words. They now understood that Koizumi was stubborn too. Since they could not persuade him, they could only choose to follow him in secret.

Chelsea could accomplish that. Transformation Free: Gaia Foundation could transform her into anyone, anything, or any object, so if possible, she was the one most capable of staying by Koizumi's side.

Therefore, Chelsea no longer intended to persuade Koizumi. She would simply follow him later.

Of course, Chelsea did not stop to consider whether she could handle an opponent Koizumi could not defeat.

Still, Chelsea could be quite useful. Ordinary people truly could not see through her disguise. Even that general who wielded lightning might not necessarily be able to see through Chelsea's disguise.

A sneak attack at the right time might prove quite useful, though whether her ambush would succeed was another matter.

After all, Chelsea herself was very weak. She was only a little stronger than an ordinary person. Aside from being agile and possessing an Imperial Arm, Chelsea was almost useless, about on par with Seryu without Koro.

Seryu was not especially strong without Koro either. Otherwise, Reimu's protective talisman would not have saved her life before.

Chelsea planned to secretly follow Koizumi when he went to the Imperial Capital to carry out the assassination. Akame intended to do the same.

It was not as though Akame had never secretly infiltrated the Imperial Capital before. If she avoided the Imperial Capital simply because there was a wanted poster of her there, would she not be unable to carry out any missions? So Akame was not overly worried about that.

Her only concern was Koizumi. After all, this was Koizumi's first time carrying out such a mission, so Akame could not help worrying.

People on their first mission often encountered dangerous situations. Akame intended to follow him in case anything unexpected happened.

Koizumi, Akame, and Chelsea arrived at the dangerous beast settlement. Koizumi needed to familiarize himself with the terrain here.

If an accident occurred, he also needed to calculate an escape route in advance so that no problems arose.

For example, if he accidentally ran into a dead end—especially while fleeing—that would be incredibly awkward.

Come to think of it, the Reias family seemed to have hired quite a few formidable people. The dangerous beasts here were not low-level; ordinary guards from noble households would likely struggle against them. Yet Reias came here frequently.

Of course, many noble households had extremely powerful guards. Nobles had extensive connections, after all.

Having broad connections meant they could meet more capable people, so it was normal for their guards to be powerful.

Still, there were also experts among ordinary people. These nobles could not afford to be too arrogant. Family background was always placed first.

Akame looked at the dangerous beast settlement before her, and a trace of nostalgia flashed through her eyes.

Come to think of it, the environment here resembled the forest where she had trained during the selection for the Imperial Assassination Squad. Though this place was not large, it looked quite similar overall...

It truly brought back memories. That time had been dangerous, but it had undoubtedly been the warmest period she had shared with Kurome.

Unfortunately, it had also marked the beginning of her and Kurome's suffering. The Elite Group only needed seven people, and Kurome had happened to rank eighth. To sever their bonds, sisters could not be placed in the same group, so Kurome had been separated from her.

After all, if their relationship as sisters affected a mission during an operation, that would be disastrous.

That was what the instructors of the assassination unit had said back then, and Akame had felt helpless about it.

What a pity. Those days had been so wonderful, but the relationship between her and Kurome had now reached the point where only death could end it.

"Kurome..." Akame murmured, an indescribable light flickering in her eyes.

"What is it, Akame?" Chelsea slowly approached Akame and asked.

A gleam flashed in Chelsea's eyes as she watched Akame. In truth, she and Akame had met before.

Perhaps Akame had forgotten, but Chelsea had not. Back when she belonged to the Revolutionary Army, there had once been a mission targeting the Elite Seven. Though she had never spoken with them, she had observed Akame and the others from afar.

Unfortunately, someone discovered her then, and Chelsea could only retreat.

There were later operations targeting the Elite Seven, but she did not encounter Akame again. Instead, she met others.

After returning from one mission, Chelsea discovered that her entire team had been wiped out, leaving her as the sole survivor.

Chelsea and Akame could be considered acquaintances, but Akame did not know her. In fact, they had never met face-to-face.

Hearing Chelsea's question, Akame shook her head slightly. "It's nothing. I just remembered some things from the past. Back when I was still in the Empire, the selection for the Elite Seven involved training in a dangerous beast settlement much like this one. Kurome and I passed through that sea of trees together. Thinking about it now, it was really dangerous..."

Without realizing it, Akame spoke of some things from her past.

Complex emotions flickered in Chelsea's eyes. She understood what Akame meant.

Chelsea knew that Akame's younger sister, Kurome, was in the Empire. She also knew Akame was reminiscing about the days she had spent with Kurome.

Unfortunately, the two sisters were destined to become enemies. At that moment, Chelsea made a decision.

Since Akame could not bring herself to harm her younger sister Kurome, Chelsea would kill Kurome in Akame's place.

Even if Akame ended up hating her for it, that was fine. It would be better if a sister did not have to kill her own sister. At least, Chelsea did not want that to happen.

In the end, Chelsea chose this because she cherished her current comrades.

She did not want her current comrade to suffer so much, so she would bear it all in her place.

This was how Chelsea cherished her comrades. She cared for them in her own way.

"What's wrong with you two? Why are you standing there without moving? Did you see something? A dangerous beast?"

At that moment, Koizumi slowly walked over, a puzzled expression appearing on his face.

Why could he not sense anything? It was not a dangerous beast? Then why were they standing there in a daze?

Chelsea and Akame were slightly startled. Then they looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

Koizumi stood frozen for a moment before scratching his head, making it clear that he had no idea what they were doing.

Wariness Toward the Revolutionary Army

Reias perhaps had no idea that Night Raid had already fully grasped his movements, so he did not know Koizumi had brought Akame and Chelsea to wait for him at the dangerous beast settlement.

As long as that bastard dared to come here, Koizumi would make sure he came standing and left lying down.

And Reias truly knew nothing. He left the Imperial Capital with a large group of guards and a pair of twin sisters.

The twin sisters were named Lia and Lie. They were young girls whom Reias had lured away just a few days earlier.

Having just arrived in the Imperial Capital, they had been completely dazzled by its prosperity. Unfortunately, they lost all their money as soon as they arrived. With no other choice, they could only seek refuge with someone else. Then Reias extended his friendly hand.

That was right. To outsiders, it truly appeared to be a friendly hand. But in the eyes of the Imperial Capital's citizens, it only drew sighs.

Two more poor young girls had been lured away. But what could anyone do after they were taken? They could only watch helplessly. These citizens, having lived in the Imperial Capital for too long, had long forgotten what resistance and protest even meant.

The servility ingrained in their bones made them afraid to say anything. They could only watch in silence.

And so, knowing nothing, the twin sisters were brought to Reias's home and treated to fine food and drink.

Basically, Reias satisfied whatever they wanted to do every day. This delighted the twin sisters greatly. Reias was quite handsome, after all, and his family was so wealthy. Both sisters desperately wanted to marry into his household and rise from obscurity to become phoenixes. Anyone could dream of meeting a Prince Charming.

Lia and Lie had just arrived in the Imperial Capital from the countryside. Seeing its magnificence all at once, such thoughts naturally arose in their hearts. Then they happened to meet someone like Reias, so they naturally believed he was the Prince Charming of their dreams. As for two sisters serving one husband, that was simply how this era was. Why care about it?

Noble households had countless lovers. Becoming a wife was already rare enough.

Thus, both Lia and Lie wanted to become wives in Reias's household.

This time, Reias said he had a secret to tell Lia and Lie. Joy immediately filled their faces. If he was going to tell them a secret, did that not mean he was about to make them his wives?

The twin sisters chuckled to themselves. Unfortunately, Reias was destined not to be the person they imagined.

Following Reias out this time was destined to send them from hearts full of hope into utter despair.

Honestly, these people truly loved playing this kind of game. Whoever it was, they liked letting girls become full of hope first, only to watch their expressions turn into complete despair in the end. That contrast before and after deeply satisfied these nobles.

These nobles were truly twisted, enjoying such expressions.

Koizumi did not know what the Revolutionary Army behind Night Raid was like, but at least Night Raid's original purpose was much more agreeable in his eyes.