Maiden, Have You Learned Your Lesson? (5.5K) (Continued)

"Yes, Minister, you seem to care a lot about the elite team in the Assassination Department and Vice Minister Yotsuba Clan."

Bill said meaningfully, "Minister Honest said he was very pleased that you were able to lead the elite team in training and achieve such results."

"So what?"

"Therefore, the minister asked me to convey to you that, starting today, you are the deputy head of the Assassination Department."

"???"

Mahiro slowly typed out a few question marks, looking at Bill's bald head with a strange expression.

"Are you serious? I'm the deputy minister of the Imperial Capital Guard Corps under General Budo. Although General Budo doesn't participate in politics, this method of poaching people isn't very good, is it?"

"It's not really poaching. The minister's idea is that you will remain the deputy minister of the security force, but concurrently serve as the deputy minister of the Assassination Department. Moreover, we can support you to become the minister of the security force."

"Oh..."

Upon hearing Mahiro, Mahiro couldn't help but scoff, "So you're planning to make me take sides, huh?"

Bill nodded seriously, without hiding anything.

"General Esdeath has already reached an agreement with Minister Honest, so the minister also hopes to join forces with you."

This is what the minister wanted Bill to convey.

It has to be said, that fat pig Honest had a pretty good plan.

With Esdeath as their trump card in the external affairs, and considering that fat pig already controls 70% of the discourse in the court, as long as they can also get rid of him internally, they can sit comfortably in the position of minister without any worries.

By then, even General Budo will be powerless against this fat pig.

It's a pity--

"I'm sorry, I have to decline. I'm not interested in taking sides."

Without a moment's hesitation, Yotsuba Mahiro rejected the invitation outright, saying, "Instead of something so trivial and boring, you might as well provide some equipment support. You're supposed to be an assassination squad, but you're all carrying ordinary weapons. Don't you think that's pathetic?"

"That's another reason I'm here today."

As he spoke, Bill suddenly waved towards the forest behind them.

"You guys, bring that box over here!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the group of boys and girls who had just left returned, carrying a box that could probably fit one person inside.

It was placed in front of him with a thud!

"This contains official equipment preserved in the Imperial Archives. While it may not be as high-quality as Imperial Arms, it is still excellent and well-made. You can equip the elite team with it."

"As for your refusal of the invitation, it was within the minister's expectations. The minister's meaning is that he can wait, and you can continue to sit in the position of deputy minister of the Assassination Department."

"That's all I wanted to say... But there's one more thing. You'll need to put more effort into disciplining those kids. I've noticed that only those six girls are really unruly; they even dared to talk back!"

When Bill mentioned the girls in the Elite Group, his tone immediately turned cold.

"Okay, I understand."

This was entirely within his expectations.

It's obvious without even thinking that it was that idiot Pony who came out to talk back, since no one else is as outspoken as Pony and speaks without thinking.

I can only say that I've spoiled them over the past two years; not only are their skills different from the assassins in other groups, but their performance is also quite different.

Even their personalities are the same.

It's fair to say that these girls would probably obey no one but his orders; he held the entire Assassination Squad firmly in his grasp.

Only--

What happened?

His purpose in accepting these girls was precisely this; he didn't care how others treated him, as long as they were loyal to him.

However, Bill did not see through his thoughts and left the box of supplies with the rest of the group.

"Let me see what's inside."

Instead of seeing the bald minister off, Mahiro opened the box and examined its contents.

The so-called imperial tools were products made by the emperor who tried to imitate the imperial tools four hundred years after the founding of the empire.

Because they could never surpass the weapons of the past, and could only produce weapons that were inferior to those of the emperor, the emperor considered this a disgrace and sarcastically called these weapons "ministerial weapons," and sealed them away.

Although these things were far superior to ordinary weapons, in Mahiro's eyes, this pile of things was still garbage.

For example, this Thousand-Layer Garment can manipulate the soil and burrow underground, but it consumes a great deal of the user's physical strength. It can be said that the longer it stays hidden in the soil, the more dangerous it becomes for the user.

What's the point of this? It's the kind of trash you'd even refuse to run away from.

Or like this Crusher King, which grants the wearer superhuman strength through gauntlets, but improper use can also cause harm.

What kind of otherworldly Seven Injury Fist?

It's a Pyrrhic victory, right?

Or there's the Youzhi Pants, a cloth garment that grants acceleration and enhanced leg strength, though the increase isn't significant, thus requiring considerable strength from the user.

If you have enough strength, would you even need to equip yourself with this stuff?

Of all these weapons, perhaps only the Kiriichimonji and the Water Dragon Sword are somewhat useful.

One ability makes cuts impossible to heal, while the other enhances combat power for three minutes, but leaves the user extremely fatigued afterward.

It's somewhat useful, but not much.

"Never mind, let me make some minor modifications."

These things are quite good as raw materials, and he plans to use them to create a batch of Imperial Arms that are unique to him.

Consider it a graduation gift for these girls.

A month is neither a short nor a long time; it passed quickly.

In just one month, the girl also formed a deep friendship with her loli mentors who lived and ate with her.

The most obvious example is Pony, who, upon hearing that they were about to part ways, hugged Aihara Enju and cried, refusing to let go.

While others weren't as dramatic, their reluctance to part was still evident.

"Yotsuba Clan... will we ever see each other again?" Cornelia asked on behalf of the girls.

"It should be possible. As long as you stay by my side, we'll meet again someday."

Mahiro didn't speak too definitively; after all, who can predict the future?

However, for those young girls, such a response was enough.

Who else could they follow if not Yotsuba Clan?

"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's begin the final test, a comprehensive review of the results of your training over the years."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately fell silent and perked up.

Nahashu had been raising his eyebrows and looking at the small fry with dissatisfaction and an arrogant demeanor, immediately looked at them seriously.

Just as Bill said, these girls did indeed have a deep attachment to Yotsuba Mahiro, and even Nahashu was the same, his eyes filled with reverence for Yotsuba Mahiro.

In fact, this kind of emotion is not good for an assassin; on the contrary, it is a burden.

Because in the profession of assassin, if one is too emotional, one might lose their rationality at any time, or even act on impulse.

Nahashu this, which is why he always maintained a cold expression.

Yotsuba Mahiro was well aware of this, so in order to enable them to become independent, he set up the final test.

"The next test can be described as simple, but it can also be described as very dangerous, and it could very well threaten your lives, so please be mentally prepared."

Their strength and skills have been honed to perfection; now it all depends on their mindset.

And the content of his test was as simple as he described.

In this forest, he set up nearly twenty prisoners, each of whom was a vicious criminal he had carefully selected from the military prison.

Each of them has at least a dozen lives on their hands.

What the elite team had to do was intercept these prisoners before they could escape the forest and then kill them.

They returned with their heads.

Of course, he said the same thing to the group of prisoners.

If they can escape the forest or eliminate the Assassination Squad, they will regain their freedom.

"Don't worry, Yotsuba Clan, it's... very easy. We were able to defeat more than a dozen members of other Assassination Squad in one go just a few days ago," Little Silver murmured.

"Little Silver, your hands are shaking," Akame said, looking at the monstrous girl with her beady eyes.

"Idiot... Idiot, don't you know that's trembling with excitement?" Little Silver looked flustered, unable to hide her nervousness.

"Don't worry, as long as you act normally, there won't be any problems. We underwent so much special training from the Yotsuba Clan- sama just for today," Cornelia, the eldest sister, said reassuringly.

"You're right, they're no match for us," Pony said fearlessly.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I distributed weapons to them. They could really die if they're not careful!"

The way these murderers sparred with the previous Assassination Squad was different; they would stop at nothing to fight for even the slightest chance of survival.

You must always remember to set aside your compassion; they are merely your enemies.

"Understood, we'll do our best," Tsukushi said bravely.

"If there are no objections, let's set off."

Yotsuba Mahiro spoke coldly, his face expressionless.

There were no blessings, no comforts, a stark contrast to her usual gentleness.

"Yes, Yotsuba Clan!"

They knew the importance of the matter and were well aware that the high-risk missions they would be undertaking in the future would be many times more dangerous than the tests they had been given.

In order to have a chance of coming back alive, they must take this academic proficiency test a million times more seriously than ever before!

Nahashu; he never even considered the possibility that he might not be able to complete it.

He said he had been looking forward to the special training for killing for a long time.

Afterwards, the eight people concealed their auras and disappeared into the forest in several different directions.

They are difficult for ordinary people to spot without seeing them with their own eyes.

The long-term training in breath control has finally yielded results.

However, these death row inmates were well hidden in the forest. They could have escaped quickly, but these were all deranged murderers, and they would never let go of such a legitimate opportunity for cruelty.

But then again, this was actually a bit of a selfish motive on Mahiro.

Since he was training assassins anyway, he wanted to cultivate these people into his own team. If they were going to fight anyway, why not fight for him?

However coldly she spoke, Yotsuba Mahiro ultimately chose to conceal herself and follow behind them, silently watching over their safety.

But the result was beyond his expectations.

Everyone performed very well.

Nahashu may appear arrogant and flamboyant on the surface, but he is actually very meticulous.

Two prisoners hid in the bushes, intending to join forces to kill him.

Before he could even get there, Nahashu discovered him and slit his throat.

Surprisingly, the best performer was Kurome.

Perhaps due to early training in killing, he was extremely ruthless when he took action.

Using scent concealment to stealthily move through the forest, one can kill any enemy encountered with a single blow.

They had already killed four or five people in a short time.

Then came Akame and the single-minded Pony, who also killed three or four people.

Tsukushi, on the other hand, was holding a pistol and demonstrating the close-range shooting skills that Professor Tina had taught her.

Unlike Mine, she wasn't good at long-range sniping, but she was incredibly accurate at close range.

"So... so scary!!!"