The Imperial Capital's True Evil (Part 2) / Seryu's Confusion

But Seryu's unusual behavior was still noticed by Koizumi. After all, with nothing else to do right now, all he could do was observe the little girl properly. Her features were delicate, and upon closer inspection, she was quite a cute young beauty.

Of course, no matter how beautiful a girl was, once she went dark and pulled one of those grotesque expressions... the image was simply too beautiful to imagine.

So Koizumi could only choose to prevent Seryu from going dark. Otherwise, he would have quite a headache.

If Ouka had been killed without proof of his crimes being presented, Seryu going dark would have been perfectly normal.

But now that General Bude had personally produced evidence of Ouka's crimes, Seryu had nothing to say.

At most, she felt miserable inside, but with the comfort of her new teammates, Seryu had gradually gotten much better.

Besides, Seryu had three friends in Koizumi, Reimu, and Hata no Kokoro. Since Ouka was evil, then Koizumi and the other two must have been framed by him. That was Seryu's logic. Actually, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.

Back to the point, Koizumi slowly took off his coat and draped it over Seryu beside him.

Seryu froze slightly and glanced at the black coat over her body, her eyes flickering with confusion and bewilderment.

Yet amid that confusion and bewilderment, warmth still welled up within Seryu's heart.

Looking at Seryu's confused and lost expression, Koizumi merely gave her a warm smile.

"Sorry. I seem to have forgotten that the nights have been rather cold lately. I forgot to tell you to wear more clothes."

Koizumi's words became streams of warmth that flowed into Seryu's heart, warming it completely.

A radiant smile appeared on Seryu's face. At the same time, she felt guilty for having doubted Koizumi before. Mr. Koizumi was still thinking of her now, yet she had been doubting him earlier. She really was terrible.

Koizumi perhaps did not know that such a casual gesture had changed Seryu's judgment of him.

If he had known, Koizumi would probably have only mocked her inwardly. This little girl is so easy to fool.

She trusted him so much just because he had casually draped a coat over her. If he tried to win her over a little more, wouldn't that be absurd?

Of course, Koizumi was not deliberately trying to win her over. It had merely been a casual action, something he was used to doing.

As long as they were women he knew, Koizumi would basically do the same. Perhaps that was what having high emotional intelligence looked like.

"Mr. Koizumi, why haven't you gone in yet? Are you waiting for something?"

Seryu truly could not suppress her curiosity any longer. Koizumi's actions were simply too strange.

In response, Koizumi merely smiled and patiently explained.

"Seryu, think about it carefully. If we just walk in directly, we'll end up being accused of trespassing into a mansion. It would already be fortunate if we weren't mistaken for thieves. Even if you enter as the captain of the Imperial Guard, my identity has already been exposed to everyone in the Imperial Capital. There are wanted posters for me on the streets. If you go in like this, you'll be accused of colluding with a criminal, and General Bude will punish you instead. So, to avoid all those problems, we need to wait for an opportunity."

Koizumi's explanation was so reasonable that Seryu could not find the slightest flaw in it.

All Seryu could do was nod as she asked her question.

"The opportunity Mr. Koizumi mentioned... what kind of opportunity is it?"

"Koro beside you is an Imperial Arm, Seryu. So did you think the little kitten that was following me earlier was just an ordinary kitten?" As he said that, Koizumi winked teasingly at Seryu.

Seryu was instantly shocked. As if to express her feelings at that moment, she covered her mouth with her hand.

It was as though she was afraid she might suddenly cry out...

"That little kitten is an Imperial Arm too?"

"No, but someone used an Imperial Arm to transform into it. The Imperial Arm is Transformation Free: Gaia Foundation. She's a friend I know. I happened to run into her when I was leaving the Imperial Capital, so I asked her for help this time. Reimu and Hata no Kokoro aren't really suited for sneaking into the Imperial Capital, and it's rare that they don't have to do business lately. Both Reimu and Hata no Kokoro wanted to rest properly. Hata no Kokoro is fine, but as for Reimu, you know what her personality is like. It's rare for her to have some free time."

By the end, Koizumi could not help showing a bitter smile.

And as if she had recalled the sight of Reimu venting her frustrations, Seryu could not help smiling nostalgically as well.

I really miss the days when I drank tea with Miss Reimu... Too bad I can never go back...

The Empire's True Evil (Part Two)

"You really know how to order people around..."

Chelsea silently jabbed her poison needles into the necks of several guards who had not noticed her at all. Her face was cold and indifferent. Chelsea had long since grown numb to death, and even killing them caused no ripple in her heart. After all, these people deserved to die. Killing such people placed no burden on Chelsea whatsoever.

The only thing that displeased Chelsea slightly was that Koizumi had actually left all the small fry for her to clean up.

It was obvious that Koizumi wanted to persuade that girl named Seryu to join them. And it seemed that Seryu felt guilty toward Koizumi... What a scumbag. He was actually taking advantage of her guilt to do something like this.

Chelsea looked down on Koizumi immensely and even despised him, because his actions made her very uncomfortable.

Of course, despite thinking that way, Chelsea still obediently carried out Koizumi's orders.

For no other reason than that Koizumi's approach was quite good. This was also recruiting people for Night Raid, the organization she belonged to, so Chelsea did not intend to say anything. After all, an Imperial Arm user joining Night Raid would be an enormous boost. Night Raid was rather short on people right now.

If an Imperial Arm user could join Night Raid, Najenda would not have anything to say either.

In truth, Seryu's close-combat ability was not particularly impressive, but Koro was extremely powerful.

Without finding Koro's core, defeating Koro would probably be very difficult.

Even Reimu would probably find it difficult to defeat Koro without using her danmaku attacks.

Koro's combat ability was actually quite formidable, and Koro even had a berserk state, similar to Berserker.

Chelsea silently dragged the guards she had poisoned to death into a corner. No matter what, she could not let Seryu discover them. Seryu was still the captain of the Imperial Guard, after all, so it would not be good for her to see this.

After dragging the guards into a corner, Chelsea turned her gaze to the side.

Before long, Koizumi led Seryu into the mansion.

To avoid being discovered by anyone else, I should keep watch here... Chelsea silently thought.

But then again, Seryu had been wearing Koizumi's coat just now... He really was a scumbag who knew how to use every chance to raise his favorability.

Remembering that Koizumi had three women around him, Chelsea silently gave him that label.

After all, Reimu, Hata no Kokoro, and Shizuka had the best relationships with Koizumi, and Shizuka was especially blatant about it.

Though she had not shown it through actions, perhaps because Chelsea had not seen it, there was no doubt that Shizuka's eyes had already betrayed her. Chelsea had long guessed what Shizuka felt for Koizumi. Shizuka merely believed she had hidden it very well.

Even Boss Najenda had probably noticed Shizuka's issue.

But perhaps it could not really be called raising favorability. It was also a sign of high emotional intelligence, wasn't it?

Chelsea's lips curled slightly. Men like that were not annoying at all. On the contrary, they easily made people feel favorably toward them.

What a pity. She was not the one enjoying that warm side of him. She still had to stand here and endure the cold wind.

Chelsea could not help shaking her head. She slowly transformed into a little kitten and silently hid in the grass to keep watch.

The moment anyone came in, Chelsea would immediately leap out and meow. Her appearance made it easy for her to blend in. Ordinary Imperial Guard members would not notice anything strange about her, but if it was General Bude, Chelsea would have to prepare to retreat alone and rush to Night Raid for reinforcements.

As for who she would bring as reinforcements, there was no need to say it. Naturally, it would be Reimu and Hata no Kokoro.

Both Reimu and Hata no Kokoro could fly, while no one else could get past the city gates. There was simply nothing to be done about that.

Meanwhile, Koizumi and Seryu had already entered the estate, but Seryu looked worriedly behind her.

To put it bluntly, Seryu kept looking toward the gate, as though she was worried about something.

There was no need to think about what Seryu was worried about. She was simply concerned whether Koizumi had killed those guards.

"Stop looking. Those guards are fine. I'm not so low as to kill people randomly in front of you."

Koizumi rolled his eyes at Seryu, his tone filled with speechless exasperation, as though he was exasperated by her lack of trust in him.

Still, it was understandable for her to worry like that, and he really had killed those guards.

Though Koizumi had not acted personally and Chelsea had killed them instead, she had still done so under Koizumi's instructions.

Koizumi simply believed that he could not tell Seryu about it yet. No matter what, he had to wait until she saw the diary.

But honestly, even now Koizumi found it absurd that these nobles liked keeping murder diaries.

All he could say was that their methods were truly impressive... Weren't they just handing people evidence of their crimes?

Or had they become so brazen that they did not care at all, thinking the Imperial Guard would never investigate them?

Forget it. There was no point saying any of this now. Besides, they really had to thank that diary this time.

Otherwise, Koizumi would have found it very difficult to find reasonable evidence to show Seryu and persuade her.

Seryu fell silent for a moment, then nodded. Though she was worried, she still chose to believe Koizumi.

She's Mr. Koizumi's friend, so she shouldn't do anything reckless... And if she's an Imperial Arm user who fights by transforming, then her own strength probably isn't that great. Knocking them out should already be her limit. She probably can't kill anyone.

But then again, if she could knock them out, why could she not kill them? Wasn't there something wrong with that logic?

Koizumi knew where the diary was. After all, Leone had investigated carefully.

Koizumi had to admit that although Leone liked tricking travelers out of their money, she was genuinely capable.

She had actually managed to investigate the diary's exact location. She really was impressive.

Since she had helped him this time, he would let go of the matter of her cheating him out of money last time.

They were part of the same organization now anyway. Although it was only cooperation, everyone understood the real situation without saying it aloud.

Reimu and Hata no Kokoro also had a good impression of Night Raid, so temporarily joining them was not a problem.

After secretly entering Reias's room within the Reias residence, Koizumi found a notebook and handed it to Seryu. They had not encountered any guards along the way. Aside from those outside, the rest had probably been taken away by Reias.

Incidentally, Reias was a noble, so naturally he had quite a few lovers around him. None of them had any formal relationship with him, which meant he did not even have a nominal wife. All he had were lovers.

But then again, with so many lovers, what had Lia and Lie been thinking to fall for a man like him? A prince charming was not supposed to be someone like that, was he?

Seryu took the diary with a puzzled expression and slowly opened it.

"A diary?"

From the format alone, it was clear that this was a notebook used to record a diary, but—

When Seryu saw what was written inside, her expression immediately darkened.

At that moment, she finally understood what Koizumi meant by the true evil.

Seryu's Confusion

To be honest, Seryu had not taken Koizumi's words about the true evil seriously at first.

She had merely thought that Koizumi might have had some conflict with Reias and wanted her help.

Though she had been curious about the so-called true evil, she had not really cared that much. She had only been curious.

But now, after seeing the things written in this diary, Seryu was completely shocked.

The nobles she had always been protecting were actually the true source of evil. They had been oppressing outsiders from beyond the Imperial Capital all along. It could even be said that, until now, no one had reported them or even discovered them.

No, perhaps people had discovered it, but they had not dared to report it. Everyone knew the authority these nobles possessed.

Did that mean she had been deceived all along by these nobles who appeared so kind on the surface? And deceived thoroughly?

She had always believed that Night Raid was utterly evil, constantly assassinating these kind nobles.

Yet these supposedly kind nobles were actually monsters wearing human faces. Did that mean everyone in Night Raid was fighting to eliminate evil? What exactly was going on? Seryu's heart was in complete chaos.

Her breathing became rapid. It was obvious that she found this sudden revelation utterly unbelievable.

She felt that her entire worldview had completely collapsed. The people she had always protected were actually the people she hated?

Slowly, Seryu could not help backing away. She felt all the strength leaving her body.

What exactly is the justice I've always upheld? Is it protecting these monsters wearing human faces who have been persecuting outsiders all this time? No! This is absolutely not the justice Father taught me! This is wrong!

Seryu clenched her teeth tightly, cold light flashing in her eyes as killing intent seeped from her body.

A trace of satisfaction flashed through Koizumi's eyes. Good. This was exactly the effect he wanted.

Now that Seryu had seen this family's ugliness clearly, she naturally would not choose to protect them as the captain of the Imperial Guard. Instead, she would act together with him and slaughter the entire family.

"How is it? Are you all right?" Koizumi's question carried a hint of knowingly asking the obvious, but it was necessary.

Even if he knew, what could Seryu do? Could she run from something like this? She was overthinking it.

Living in this Imperial Capital, sooner or later she would discover how rotten it was. Of course, she might also sink into its darkness.

The result of that descent would be becoming a warped bringer of justice. Naturally, such an outcome would not surprise Koizumi either.

Of course, under Koizumi's intervention, Seryu would not become so twisted. Koizumi was quite confident of that. It was not bad for things to develop as he had imagined.

"Mr. Koizumi, may I ask... are you with Night Raid?"

Seryu's eyes suddenly became exceptionally calm as she stared at Koizumi and slowly spoke.

It was obvious that Seryu had completely calmed down, and she had also noticed that something was wrong with Koizumi.

After all, Koizumi had deliberately brought her here so she would discover that there was something wrong with Reias's family.

But how had Koizumi known about Reias's family? And why had he brought her here?