Ambush / Seryu's Confusion ...

Koizumi lay in ambush within the forest while Akame and Chelsea explained some of the Empire's darker side to him.

Clearly, Koizumi did not know much about the darkness within the Imperial Capital. Otherwise, he would not have stayed there for so long before. He surely knew little about the Capital's internal affairs, and he was also unclear on matters concerning the Revolutionary Army and Night Raid. Akame and Chelsea were currently explaining those matters to him.

Akame had once belonged to the Empire's assassination unit, while Chelsea knew the Empire's darkness well. At the same time, she understood some of the Revolutionary Army's darker aspects. She simply believed the Revolutionary Army's darkness was far better than the Empire's, so she did not concern herself too much with it.

She was merely an assassin, and she knew what an assassin should and should not say, so she was very self-aware.

However, since Koizumi had asked, there was no harm in talking about the Empire's darkness. As for the Revolutionary Army, she could not be bothered to discuss it.

Akame was responsible for explaining matters related to the Revolutionary Army, since she had been in both the Empire and the Revolutionary Army.

"I see. So there are so many dark matters within the Empire. But then again... I haven't really heard you mention much about the Revolutionary Army. You only gave a rough introduction to the surface-level information, didn't you?"

Koizumi's gaze settled on Akame and Chelsea, his eyes filled with deep confusion.

Could it be that, because he was now part of the Revolutionary Army, they considered the subject taboo?

But that did not seem right. Akame and Chelsea did not seem like the sort to avoid such a topic. Could it actually be because of him?

Were they wary of him, unwilling to discuss the matter because they feared he might turn against the Revolutionary Army?

Koizumi asked himself that in his heart, but the more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed. Akame clearly would not act that way.

Chelsea might have been somewhat wary of him at first, but during this mission, she had relaxed around him.

So Chelsea was clearly no longer that wary of him. Then why was she still saying nothing?

Could it be that Chelsea herself did not know much about the Revolutionary Army? It seemed he would have to learn about it from Najenda. Najenda had often gone to the Revolutionary Army headquarters in the past, so she surely knew quite a few things.

The reason Koizumi wanted to ask about the Revolutionary Army was mainly because of how wary he was of them.

The Revolutionary Army had Hundred Personas and Serenity as Servants. There might even be other Servants at their headquarters.

Since they were connected to Servants, Koizumi truly did not believe the Revolutionary Army had nothing to do with this distortion.

Thus, Koizumi remained wary of the Revolutionary Army. As for Serenity, he had neither asked nor had time to ask her. After speaking with Serenity last night, she had formed a contract with him. It had then gotten late, so Koizumi went to sleep. Early that morning, Reimu nearly kicked the breath out of him with one kick. Later, he took on this mission and had Serenity investigate Ouka the Ogre while also keeping an eye on Seryu. Only after Serenity left did Koizumi think of these questions—whether the Revolutionary Army had any connection to the distortion, whether there were other Servants at their headquarters, and so on. Unfortunately, by then, Koizumi and the others had already set out.

At Koizumi's questions about the Revolutionary Army, Akame and Chelsea exchanged a glance and could not help shaking their heads helplessly.

Ambush

"Mr. Koizumi, it isn't that we don't want to tell you. It's that we don't know much about the Revolutionary Army's internal affairs ourselves. We're just assassins. Assassins only need to do what assassins should do; we don't need to worry about anything else. So Akame and I don't actually know much about the Revolutionary Army's inner workings. It might be better if you ask Boss."

Chelsea gave a bitter smile. Perhaps Koizumi had some misunderstanding about people like them.

Assassins were only responsible for killing. They could not involve themselves in politics, or they would invite plenty of gossip.

Just as Chelsea had said, even if they knew something, they had to forget it all in the end. Otherwise, trouble would follow.

So Chelsea could not tell Koizumi too much, lest she drag him into it. Besides, she truly did not know many of the Revolutionary Army's secrets. Only a former female general like Najenda knew quite a bit of the relevant inside information.

However, Najenda might not know that much either, since she herself had been a surrendering general.

A surrendering general knowing the Revolutionary Army's dirty history? That was a joke. It was already fortunate that she had not been dealt with.

Akame truly did not know much, since she genuinely had no interest in such matters. As long as she knew that the Revolutionary Army would overthrow the Empire and the people would live better lives, that was enough for her. She did not wish to understand the rest too deeply.

Koizumi nodded. Chelsea was right; assassins only needed to do what assassins should do.

Assassins did not need to think so much about everything else. That was also a form of fulfilling one's duty.

Therefore, Koizumi did not say anything in response to Chelsea's apology. What Chelsea was doing was exactly what a normal assassin should do.

At worst, he could ask Najenda or Serenity next time. Koizumi did not purely want to learn some dirty history.

What Koizumi wanted to know was simply whether the Revolutionary Army had other Servants. If it did, then he would need to visit their headquarters. Serenity and Hundred Personas would know more about such matters. Hundred Personas might not tell him, but Serenity certainly would.

Incidentally, Koizumi also wanted to know whether the Revolutionary Army had any other problems. If it did, he would have to prepare to oppose them. If possible, Koizumi also wanted to win Night Raid over as an ally.

Everyone in Night Raid was quite decent, at least when it came to their character.

So compared to those people in the Imperial Capital, Koizumi preferred staying with Night Raid.

"I understand. Sorry..." Koizumi replied with a soft smile, his voice carrying a trace of apology.

Chelsea and Akame gently shook their heads. They did not mind the matter. Although they were curious why Koizumi was asking so many questions, he surely had his own reasons.

"By the way, will Reias really come? There isn't anything wrong with the behavioral pattern Leone worked out for Reias, right?"

Koizumi furrowed his brow slightly. It could not be helped; Reias had yet to appear, and that truly puzzled him. Thus, he remained somewhat doubtful of the behavioral pattern Leone had established.

After all, this was currently Koizumi's only mission with Night Raid, so he did not yet have a thorough understanding of Leone and the others' capabilities. If Akame had been the one carrying out this mission, she might have understood that better.

Although Leone was usually rather unserious in the Imperial Capital, there was no doubt that she was trustworthy when it came to missions.

Chelsea did not know Leone very well either, but there was no question that one had to place a certain degree of trust in one's teammates. Thus, Chelsea had said nothing so far and merely waited in silence.

"Don't worry. Leone may usually be unserious, but she's reliable when it comes to missions."

Akame spoke calmly and lightly patted Koizumi's shoulder, yet she did not lower her guard in the slightest.

To Akame, since they were carrying out a mission, she could never let down her guard no matter what. Otherwise, she would expose a weakness.

Once a weakness was exposed, things would become troublesome. That was something Akame could never allow herself to do.

She did not want anything to happen to her teammates, but she did not want anything to happen to herself either.

After all, if something happened to her, her teammates would be heartbroken as well. And... before resolving the matter with Kurome, she absolutely could not let anything happen to herself. She could only kill Kurome or be killed by Kurome.

A glint flashed through Akame's eyes. After shifting her gaze away from Koizumi, she once again looked around.

"Chelsea, use the power of your Imperial Arms to scout the area. That guy might already be here."

Chelsea could transform into birds, eagles, and other creatures capable of flying through the air, allowing her to scout the surroundings.

Unfortunately, if she acted too deliberately, it would be easy for the other party's experts to notice. Still, a noble like Reias probably would not hire particularly formidable experts. His routines had been discovered by an assassin organization, yet he had made no preparations at all. That was rather foolish.

Chelsea nodded and picked up the Transformation Free: Gaia Foundation in her hand. The next moment, she transformed into an eagle beside Koizumi and flew into the sky without hesitation.

Chelsea had undergone extensive special training in order to adapt to the Transformation Free: Gaia Foundation.

After disguising herself as a person or animal, Chelsea could almost perfectly reproduce their personality.

Unfortunately, before Chelsea could even fly high into the sky, waves of screams came from the distance.

Without even listening closely, one could tell that the screams belonged to girls. At the same time, roars from Danger Beasts also rang out.

Akame and Koizumi exchanged a glance. The next moment, shockwaves exploded beneath their feet, and they vanished from where they stood.

At that moment, Serenity was also investigating Ouka the Ogre while following Koizumi's instructions to keep an eye on Seryu.

Koizumi felt it was necessary to see how his friend had been doing lately.

Using Presence Concealment, Serenity slipped into the Imperial Guard without being noticed by anyone.

Ouka was not in the Imperial Guard. Seryu was leading the team in his place.

Apparently, General Bude had taken over the Imperial Guard and said he wanted to thoroughly investigate those who had infiltrated the Imperial Capital.

For some reason, General Bude was placing extreme importance on this incident, which felt very strange.

Seryu's Confusion

Seryu had been rather dazed lately, and it was for no other reason than that her master had been demoted.

Her master, whom she had always regarded as a paragon of justice, had actually been found by General Bude to have committed evil acts. It was as if Seryu's entire worldview had been rebuilt. She simply could not believe that her master had committed evil deeds.

She did not dare believe it, but faced with the absolute evidence, she had nothing to say.

Because she was an Imperial Arms user, General Bude had promoted her to captain of the Imperial Guard.

Even so, Seryu did not feel even the slightest bit happy, because she knew that she had been led around by a bad person all along.

She had actually called an evil man her master all this time, and her father had even considered that man a close friend.

Reality was too real and too cruel, leaving Seryu unsure of what to say. Her heart felt stifled, and she did not know how to resolve it.

Normally, at a time like this, she could have gone to Koizumi and the others for help, to vent the bitterness in her heart.

But now, Koizumi and the others had left. They had been driven away by General Bude and forced away by her evil master.

She desperately hoped that Koizumi and the others could return, not for any other reason, but because she felt she had wronged them.

Thinking about it carefully now, there had been almost no evidence that Koizumi and the others were affiliated with the Peaceful Path Sect.

If it had been before, Seryu might have believed her master when he told her such things. But now that her master had been identified as an evil man, did his claim that Koizumi and the others were Peaceful Path Sect agents planted within the Imperial Capital not lose all credibility? Had Koizumi and the others not caused a commotion in the Imperial Capital because of what her master did? If her master had not stubbornly insisted on his own views, Koizumi and the others would not have acted. If they had not acted, they would not have alerted General Bude. If they had not alerted the general, then none of this would have happened.

Thinking that far, Seryu could not help taking a deep breath as those complicated emotions surged up within her once more.

She began to regret it. If she had not listened to her master and had instead followed the thoughts in her heart, would none of this have happened? Would she now be sitting in front of the Hakurei Amulet Shop, drinking tea?

Thinking back carefully, it was truly strange. She had known Miss Reimu for barely two days—strictly speaking, not even two full days—yet she had become so familiar with Miss Reimu, Miss Hata no Kokoro, and Mr. Koizumi. From time to time, she would sit at the entrance of the Hakurei Amulet Shop, drink tea, and chat with them. Or, whenever she encountered something interesting while patrolling, she could have a good talk with Reimu and the others, laughing and chatting together.

Those days had truly been peaceful and happy. But now, the oppressive atmosphere within the Imperial Guard grew heavier by the day. Since General Bude took over the Imperial Guard, old friends had been kicked out one after another. She had never expected that so many old Imperial Guard friends, who had once chatted and laughed with her, had also committed evil deeds.

Then came a large number of unfamiliar seniors. She had heard they were all subordinates of General Bude.

Those seniors looked very strong. At the very least, Seryu believed she would be instantly defeated if she fought them in close combat.

"Yo! Seryu, you're back from leading your team!" At that moment, a man who had recently joined the guard greeted Seryu.

Seryu looked rather dispirited, but she had not forgotten the manners she ought to observe.

"Hello, Senior..." Seryu bowed to the man before her, her eyes filled with respect.

No matter what, he was a member of the Imperial Army responsible for protecting the Imperial Capital, someone she should respect.

The Imperial Army was a force managed and trained by General Bude. It could be said to be one of the Empire's great blades.

General Bude's decision to have some members of the Imperial Army join the Imperial Guard was, in Seryu's estimation, because security in the Imperial Capital was extremely important and he feared that someone might cause trouble within the Empire. Still, Seryu herself greatly approved of having so many seniors who upheld justice in the Imperial Guard. It was simply that recent events had made her feel terrible.

It could even be said that recent events had only made Seryu regret what had happened before.

"What is it, Seryu? What's wrong with you? You haven't seemed right lately. Are you feeling unwell?"

The Imperial Army members who had joined the Imperial Guard were all very friendly toward Seryu. It was for no other reason than that she was different from the others. First, she was an Imperial Arms user. Second, while the Imperial Guard was filled with trash who ate the people's food while doing nothing for them, Seryu alone worked earnestly. Although her methods were a bit excessive, perhaps she could change if properly taught. At the very least, she would not be as cruel as before.

Thus, Seryu was quite well-liked by these people. After all, comparisons only made the contrast sharper.

When a clean and upright person emerged from among a crowd of evildoers, people naturally viewed them more favorably than ordinary people.

That was why those seniors were all very concerned about Seryu. Unfortunately, Seryu herself had not paid much attention to that.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior. I'm fine. It's just that... even now, I still can't believe that my master actually..." Indeed, whether others were evil or not would not have made Seryu so low-spirited. But Ouka the Ogre was an existence of extraordinary significance to her. He could be said to have shaped the way Seryu acted throughout her life.

"No wonder..." The man nodded, understanding appearing on his face.

Seryu's master was Ouka. Ouka held a very high place in Seryu's heart. Ever since Seryu's parents died, Ouka had been like both father and mother to her. So for Seryu, this was no different from her parents suddenly being arrested and thrown into prison for breaking the law. It was only natural that she found it hard to believe.

What was even harder for Seryu to believe was that this man, who had been breaking the law all along, was the one who had taught her to uphold justice. Honestly, it was truly ironic.

"Don't think too much about it. A person like that isn't worthy of staying in your heart."

The man patted Seryu's shoulder and slowly walked into the guard's base.

Seryu fell silent for a moment, then sighed before finally following him inside.

In a corner Seryu did not notice, a slender black shadow flashed past.

At the same time, Koizumi, Akame, and Chelsea had already begun fighting their target.

Rescued

Lia and Lie had fallen into complete despair, and it was for no other reason than the Danger Beasts behind them.

They had never imagined that the noble who had always taken care of them was such an ugly person. He wanted to see the expressions on their faces as they fell from hope into despair, then kill them. That could no longer be described as mere bad taste.

Lia and Lie ran desperately ahead, terrified that the Danger Beasts would catch them.

Their hurried footsteps mixed with the sounds of bushes being pushed aside.

Although the clothes they wore looked magnificent, they had now been torn to shreds by branches.

Lia held her younger sister's hand as they fled blindly through the forest.

Although Lia knew this forest was extremely dangerous and was home to Danger Beasts, she had no choice today. Every path out of the forest had been blocked, so she could only take her sister deeper inside.

Honestly, Lia and Lie still found it unbelievable. One moment ago, they had been full of hope for the future, and the next, they had fallen into despair. It was a complete reversal between heaven and earth.

"ROAR ROAR ROAR ROAR ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The next moment, waves of roars came from behind them, making Lia and Lie's legs tremble. They lost their balance and fell to the ground.

At the same time, a massive dinosaur appeared before Lia and Lie, roaring furiously.

Come to think of it, was this the Jurassic era? Why were there even dinosaur-like Danger Beasts here...?