A Showdown with Esdeath

"Hmm, your suggestion is good. I'll break one of your legs as punishment."

Yotsuba Mahiro's smile remained unchanged, still as amiable as ever, but the force with which he stomped was no less; he could probably crush even the bluestone slabs.

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably be crippled by a single stomp, but for an oddball like Ogre, the force was just right.

However, Mahiro found Ogre a bit noisy, so he kicked him, hitting Ogre directly in the chin. With teeth and blood spurting out, Ogre immediately fainted.

"Do any of you have any other complaints about me?"

Yotsuba Mahiro raised his head, his smiling gaze sweeping over the many captains in front of him.

They immediately shook their heads like rattles, cold sweat pouring down their faces.

This kid looks young, but he's really ruthless; he managed to beat Ogre to a pulp.

It was thanks to that idiot Ogre that they tested the waters; otherwise, they probably wouldn't have fared much better Ogre.

"Are you sure everything's okay?"

Yotsuba Mahiro asked again.

"Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm actually a very democratic person. My greatest strength is [winning people over with virtue and reason]. If you have any opinions, you'd better raise them now. If something like this happens again in the future, your fate will be much worse than this idiot's."

Upon hearing this, the team captains couldn't help but shudder.

Immediately someone shouted:

"Loyalty!"

"We will always be loyal to the Vice Minister!"

Once there's a leader, others will naturally follow.

The room was instantly filled with the captains' hoarse, desperate oaths.

This move surprised and impressed the Minister of the Guard.

He knew all too well just how unruly his men were, not to mention that their positions had been suddenly taken away.

The cleanest and most efficient way is to subdue them.

However, this method seemed familiar to him.

It was as if he saw Esdeath, that sadistic woman. Although he knew that Yotsuba Mahiro had trained with Esdeath for a period of time and was said to have gained Esdeath's favor.

Could it be that he's favored because of his sadistic personality?

Nevertheless, the minister nodded in satisfaction.

"Very good, now no one questions my ability to pick people, right?"

"Minister, you have a discerning eye. With your leadership, I believe His Majesty will look upon our Imperial Capital Guard Corps in a new light."

"Yes, remember to cooperate obediently with the new vice-minister Yotsuba Mahiro. I'll come over occasionally to check on things. If anything goes wrong, I won't let you off the hook."

He instructed the captains to introduce the main situation of the security team to Yotsuba Mahiro, while he himself slacked off and left the duty room.

With the deputy minister sharing the workload, his job will indeed become much easier.

However, it was fortunate that I hadn't selected a deputy minister earlier, otherwise I would have missed such a good prospect.

Worth nurturing.

After listening to their Mahiro introduction, Makoto understood the main situation of the current Imperial Capital Guard Corps, which was largely in line with his expectations.

Those dozen or so captains were required to lead their men on patrols every day to maintain order in the Imperial Capital.

However, to be precise, their main role is to protect the rights of the nobles, adhering to the principle of "whoever has the money listens to them." Once a conflict arises between the poor and the nobles, they immediately transform into the nobles' vicious henchmen.

As for major cases like murder, they will be handled by higher-ups, namely him and the minister.

But most of the time, this won't happen.

Because killing was the exclusive right of nobles, done in the name of executing slaves.

After all, slaves have no legal rights; they are private property, and the guards have no jurisdiction over them, only the option to profit from them.

Afterwards, several people carried Ogre to the infirmary, and the others then dispersed to begin their work for the day.

One of them was responsible for taking him to the office assigned to him.

To Yotsuba Mahiro's surprise, the deputy minister and the minister's offices were not in the guard unit's duty room, but inside the military headquarters.

What's even more outrageous is that his office wasn't far from Esdeath's office; they were practically neighbors.

It's obvious that things will get very lively from now on.

However, before he could even settle into his seat, he suddenly heard an argument coming from next door.

Just by listening to her voice, I knew it was Esdeath.

"I need an explanation!"

The slender high heels clicked on the hard floor tiles as Esdeath stood with her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the man sitting behind the desk in front of her.

"Yotsuba Mahiro is very talented and can unleash his full potential under my command. Give me a reason to refuse the transfer!"

"Don't be in such a hurry, General Esdeath, listen to me—"

The head of the Imperial Capital Guard Corps, sitting in his chair, said unhurriedly, "First of all, Yotsuba Mahiro was originally a member of our Imperial Capital Guard Corps. Even if she went to the military for training, she was doing things according to the rules set by General Budo."

Secondly, although this transfer is still within the military, it is still an inter-departmental transfer and requires General Budo's approval. Vice General Esdeath, do you have General Budo's transfer order?

Finally, I also understand very well that it's understandable that a general like you, Esdeath, who is fighting on the front lines, looks down on us, the troops stationed in the rear to maintain order.

But we also need talents like Yotsuba Mahiro.

The minister's words were very reasonable and well-founded, but Esdeath sneered after listening to them:

"But I've heard that this deputy minister cost 100,000 gold coins to acquire. Is this how you value talent—through bribery?"

"General Esdeath, what kind of place do you think the Imperial Capital Guard Corps is? A garbage dump for a bunch of good-for-nothings?"

Faced with Esdeath's questioning, the minister responded with a serious counter-question.

"To gain a foothold here, strength is indispensable, and Yotsuba Mahiro happens to possess that strength. He intimidated all the captains as soon as he arrived, and now Captain Ogre, who was provoking them, is still lying in the infirmary."

So, the reason I paid for his promotion was simply because the regular promotion process is too slow, so I helped him out.

What's more, the price he offered was very satisfactory; it was 100,000 gold coins... those poor merchants don't even contribute that much in a year."

"Hmph!! The Imperial Capital has become so rotten precisely because of your existence."

Esdeath frowned and said.

She didn't abhor bribery, because wealth is a form of power, but she wouldn't condone it either.

"That's too much to ask, General Esdeath."

The minister laughed and said, "Even if I hadn't had the foresight to make an exception and promote him, given his abilities, he could easily have risen to his current position in just two or three years. Now that we've saved two years, it wouldn't be a problem for him to become minister in three or four years. Isn't that a faster path to advancement than following General Esdeath?"

"But the achievements and merits accumulated to become a general are truly substantial!"

"If that's your point of view, then there's nothing I can do. Unless you can unilaterally negotiate with him and obtain his consent to relinquish your duties as vice minister, or... General Esdeath can persuade General Budo to issue a transfer order, otherwise there's nothing I can do to help you."

The minister shrugged, indicating that the guest should see him out.

"... In that case, I'll take my leave."

Esdeath pulled down her military cap and turned to leave, but a subtle smile appeared on her lips.

"Take care, and don't bother seeing me off." The minister waved his hand, bidding farewell to the female general.

As the head of the security force, he had no need to give face to his deputy, Esdeath.

Although many people feared her sadistic personality, in his eyes, she was nothing more than a young girl with martial arts skills but who was still naive and immature.

Moreover, what he said was indeed true.

If Yotsuba Mahiro had stayed by Esdeath's side, given Esdeath's extremely controlling personality, Yotsuba Mahiro would have ultimately only become a vice-general, equivalent to a vice-minister.

Unless Esdeath removes General Budo, Yotsuba Mahiro will not be eligible for promotion to general.

The problem is, that's nothing short of wishful thinking.

Any normal person would know how to make the right choice.

Chapter 124 Showdown with Esdeath (5K)

However, what the minister did not expect was...

His words happened to enlighten Esdeath.

For a conqueror, a warmonger, there is no easier means than conquest.

Since the formal channels weren't working, she decided to try a different approach: demonstrate her strength, beat the other party into submission, and then force him to relinquish his vice-ministerial position.

After all, in this dog-eat-dog world, there is only the relationship between dominance and subjugation.

And Esdeath is the one who is most skilled at using this method.

"Plunder what you like; only the strong deserve to live." This has always been Esdeath's motto!

And so, Esdeath kicked open the door to the vice minister's office.

"Who the hell is it, coming to cause trouble on my very first day in office?!"

Yotsuba Mahiro, who was sitting leisurely in a chair contemplating the future, was about to utter a curse, but upon seeing the person who had arrived, she involuntarily swallowed her words.

It was that sadistic queen, Esdeath.

Wearing her blue and white military uniform as always, she displayed her graceful and mature figure, and walked step by step with her slender and powerful legs to his desk.

They looked down at him from a superior position.

"Oh, isn't this General Esdeath? May I ask what brings you here so suddenly? And you even kicked down my door."

I have to say, this woman's kick was really strong. Even though his door was made of a metal-like material, she managed to kick it and break it!

Are you some kind of dangerous humanoid?!

However, the next second, a strong gust of wind suddenly swept in.

Holy crap, it's black!

As soon as I looked up, I saw Esdeath raising her leg high, and I could even see her panties under her short skirt!

Wrong!

Mahiro got up to dodge, and then saw Esdeath's strong, long leg suddenly come down.

Boom!

Wood chips flew everywhere.

The desk in front of him was swiftly and decisively smashed to pieces.

"General Esdeath, what do you mean by this?"

"Hmph... Hehe... Hehehe, I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Yotsuba Mahiro, you really are to my liking!"

Esdeath laughed, a beautiful smile spreading across her lips, as if she had found her most beloved toy, and a warlike flame ignited in her icy blue pupils.

He immediately threw a punch.

A simple, unadorned straight punch produced a sharp, piercing sound as it cut through the air!

Snap!

Yotsuba Mahiro easily caught it with a single reach, but the smile on his face gradually faded.

"General Esdeath, did you come here specifically to fight me?"

"That's right."

Esdeath withdrew her fist and readily admitted, "Come fight me. If you lose, you'll be fired from this boring job, obediently return to my side and accept my training, and everything you have will be mine!"

Yotsuba Mahiro: "..."

It seems Esdeath is even crazier than he imagined.

Confident, willful, and arrogant.

That makes sense, considering that in the original story, this woman was able to take out a collar and put it on Tatsumi right there and then.