Criminal Investigations Need Evidence; Counterterrorism Only Needs a List (5.1K) (Continued)

However, this scene was witnessed by the group who had just said goodbye to Mekime and Remus.

Akame and the others were filled with envy.

They not only envied Mine for being so close to Yotsuba Mahiro Mine, but also Mekime and Remus. The two of them had very poor talent as assassins, but Yotsuba Clan- sama not only did not abandon them, but also arranged another path for them.

Just by looking at her, I can tell that working and serving Yotsuba Clan- sama in the mansion must be a very happy thing.

Then, with two maids watching them go, their procession set off.

This trip takes place on the northwestern border, a very long distance from the Imperial Capital, almost beyond Imperial Capital jurisdiction. This is why the Revolutionary Army and the foreign tribes were able to so brazenly attempt to collude.

Under normal marching conditions, it would take at least six months to reach the northwestern border; if traveling on horseback at a faster pace, it would take about two months.

The journey was quite long.

Therefore, they could not dawdle and immediately set off at full speed.

However, they had only been riding their horses for a little over ten minutes when they heard Kurome's faint call from behind.

"Yotsuba- Yotsuba Clan, could... could we ride a little slower?"

Mahiro tugged on the reins and turned around to see Xiao Kurome, who was a hundred meters behind, lying face down on her horse, her small body swaying unsteadily.

Actually, it was the first time for all eight of them to ride horses, and none of them had his incredible control skills, so they needed time to learn and master the techniques.

Therefore, Mahiro deliberately slowed down and didn't rush at full speed, but little did he expect that Kurome would fall behind.

What's going on?

"Yotsuba Clan, I... I can't reach the pedals."

"Kurome called out weakly."

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed discovered that her two little feet couldn't reach the stirrups.

Because Kurome wasn't particularly tall, and the warhorse she was led out of the military was too large, her feet were completely dangling in the air.

Not to mention that this was Kurome's first time riding a horse, and she had no idea what to do, so she simply lay on the horse's back and barely managed to keep up.

On the other hand, Pony, who was also not very well-developed, was like a wild girl, riding on horseback and looking very excited, so there was no need to worry about her at all.

That's true. Don't let Pony's thin frame fool you; she's grown quite a bit in height, almost as tall as Akame, so there's not much to worry about.

"That was indeed my oversight..."

"No, it's not Yotsuba Clan -sama's fault, it's Kurome's too useless," Kurome said softly.

"Um... Yotsuba Clan, if it really doesn't work out, let Kurome ride with me on one horse. I'll take her," Cornelia suddenly suggested.

"You? No, your riding skills aren't very good either. You might get injured if you carry her."

Mahiro shook his head, directly rejecting Cornelia's suggestion.

Akame also seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

She originally wanted to say that she would go but she would bring her sister, but she was a step too late and Cornelia spoke first.

However, after hearing Mahiro's refusal, she gave up.

After all, like Cornelia, it was her first time riding a horse.

Moreover, their riding skills are all the same; they're already doing well if they can even take care of themselves.

It would take more than ten days of practice to master the controls.

"Sorry."

Seeing that her actions had dragged down her teammates, a hint of embarrassment appeared on Kurome's pretty face.

"It's alright, everyone has a first time, and it's not your fault because of your physical condition. It's entirely my responsibility as the team leader."

So, Kurome, come and ride with me on one of my horses."

Upon hearing Mahiro's words, the girls were immediately stunned and speechless.

As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining!

I'm so envious of being able to ride a horse with the Yotsuba Clan- sama.

"Yes, Yotsuba Clan."

Hearing the unexpected surprise, Kurome smiled sweetly.

However, before she could even jump off her horse, Mahiro's whip had already wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his arms.

As Mahiro embraced her slender waist, savoring her warm and soft body, he controlled the whip and reins.

Suddenly nestled in the Yotsuba Clan- sama's warm embrace, Kurome revealed a sweet smile, happier than if she could eat her favorite candy.

Akame saw her Yotsuba Clan- sama taking special care of her younger sister, and a hint of tenderness appeared in her crimson eyes as she looked over.

"Kurome are so nice."

Tsukushi and Little Silver gently bit their cherry lips, looking enviously at Kurome sitting in Mahiro's arms.

"Let's go, our first target is the northwest border." Mahiro spurred the horse on, and it galloped off for more than ten meters.

Nahashu and Green, who were following behind, were now numb; this wasn't the first or second time that Yotsuba Clan- sama had indulged them.

Nahashu had brought it up several times before, but Yotsuba Clan- sama's answer was always the same: she treated them as family.

It can be said that this is completely different from the teaching methods of Gozuki in the past.

But Nahashu didn't fundamentally dislike this atmosphere.

"Yotsuba Clan, look! There's a town ahead!"

With the excited shouts of the Kurome in my arms, I turned my head to look carefully, and sure enough, a fairly prosperous town came into view.

After two months of travel, they finally arrived at their destination!

"The town ahead should be Great Plains Town, mentioned in the intelligence report, located at the intersection of the Empire's northern and northwestern borders. Our objective for this operation should be within that town."

"Yotsuba Clan, you haven't told us who we're supposed to kill," Akame asked, pulling on the reins in confusion.

"Yes, they are rebels entrenched in the northwest of the empire. They are attempting to collude with the foreign tribes in the northwest to oppose the empire, so our main purpose is to wipe out that group of rebels who are trying to overthrow the empire."

According to intelligence, the Sabatini acrobatic troupe, which frequently travels throughout the empire performing, is the rebels' informant, responsible for gathering intelligence on our empire for the northern barbarians and rebels. They should still be touring in Great Plains Town, which is our target."

"Yotsuba Clan, let me go and wipe them all out," Nahashu said coldly, his hand already gripping the Water Dragon Sword at his waist.

Colluding with foreign races is the most hateful thing. Although the corruption of the empire is obvious, the rampage of foreign races is even more terrifying.

These guys have harmed countless people on the border!

Damn it!

"Yotsuba Clan... but we don't... we don't have any evidence to prove they're traitors, we should investigate thoroughly!"

Akame did not support Nahashu's decision to kill without hesitation.

Despite being trained as an assassin, she, being kind-hearted by nature, still harbored some reservations.

"Akame, you're too indecisive. Just listen to what Yotsuba Clan -sama says, and you can't go wrong. Besides, how could you possibly find out?" Pony said dismissively.

"There's a way. We can try to infiltrate the circus troupe and make contact with them, then probe their background," Akame suggested, winking at Mahiro.

"The idea is good, but it's not a very good option."

Mahiro shook his head, disagreeing, "Forming a relationship with a target is the most foolish tactic. As assassins, whether it's Akame or any of you, you must remember: never make contact with a target casually, or you will endanger your lives."

"Moreover, evidence is needed for investigating cases, but only lists are needed for counter-terrorism. Being merciful to the enemy is the greatest cruelty to oneself."

The inability to act on feelings developed after prolonged contact with the target, or being deceived by the other party's lies, are all reasons for this.

This has happened before.

At the very least, this happened to Akame once in the original work, and she was almost killed.

I just didn't expect this girl to still be so naive, even though she performed quite well in the assessment test.

Indeed, it is precisely because of Akame's gentleness and kindness that she was tricked into joining Night Raid by Najenda, becoming an important character throughout the Akame trilogy.

Akame remained silent; she knew Mahiro was telling the truth.

But the next second, Mahiro suddenly changed the subject.

"However, since you've brought it up, Akame, I'll make an exception and grant your request this time."

"R-really?"

Upon hearing this, Akame's eyes immediately brightened.

"Well, you just want to know the truth, right? Then let's investigate."

"Thank you, Yotsuba Clan- sama!"

Akame never expected that Yotsuba Clan- sama would indulge her willfulness!

But what she Mahiro was different from what he expected.

On one hand, they wanted to help Akame resolve her inner conflict and make her understand that they were not indiscriminately killing innocent people.

On the other hand, it's also about Mahiro some of my own little ideas, such as some interesting ways to deal with Night Raid in the future.

"Yotsuba Clan, we can keep a few alive for interrogation," Cornelia said solemnly.

"Okay, let's do it that way. As for the interrogation, leave it to me. I have my ways of getting them to tell the truth."

After saying that, Mahiro tugged on the reins and headed towards Great Plains Town.

After all, if you want to take action, you need to figure out the other party's location first.

Although this town is currently bustling, it is still worlds apart from the Imperial Capital; it could easily be called a slum. However, due to its location near the border, trade with other ethnic groups is quite prosperous.

The group followed Mahiro and checked into an inn to rest for the night.

Early the next morning, Mahiro dispersed them throughout Great Plains Town to begin gathering information about the Sabatini Troupe.

Although the young emperor gave him a lot of information about the Revolutionary Army, he gave him very little about the Sabatini Troupe, and he didn't even know what the target looked like.

It only explains that two foreign tribes in the northwest colluded with the rebels, and that the Sabatini Troupe acted as their informants.

That's correct.

If the Empire truly knew the truth, it would have dispatched a large army to wipe them out long ago; why would it need to use assassins and spies from the Assassination Department?

Half a day later, Nahashu and the others returned to the hotel one after another.

"Yotsuba Clan, according to the information I gathered from the plaza, the leader of the Sabatini Troupe Sabatini, and he leads a group of itinerant performers on tour. Today is their second day of performance," Cornelia said.

"According to the schedule on the flyer, they will leave Great Plains Town the day after tomorrow for their next destination. Yotsuba Clan- sama, when should we make our move?"

Nahashu added to Cornelia's words and then asked another question.

"Let's wait until we leave town; that will make things easier for us," Mahiro suggested after some thought.

Throughout this entire process, Akame remained completely silent.

She had already seen the Sabatini Troupe's acrobatic performance and found that it was indeed just an ordinary acrobatic troupe, not at all like the rebels described in the intelligence.

Seeing her sister's thoughts, Kurome whispered a word of advice:

"Sister, don't overthink it. We just need to obediently follow Lady Yotsuba Clan's orders. Pony and I don't have the same worries you have."

"Yes, Yotsuba Clan is definitely not wrong," Little Silver interjected, having overheard her friends' conversation.

When Pony heard Kurome praise him, he narrowed his eyes, revealing two fangs.

Mahiro ignored them, took out a map from his bag, spread it out, and pointed to a section of road five kilometers from Great Plains Town, a necessary route to the northwest.

"We'll do it right here."

"Hiranami Mountain bandits?!"

Upon seeing the location on the map, Green adjusted his glasses and warned him, "Yotsuba Clan, that's where a group of bandits are based, including some valiant northern barbarians..."

"So what?"

Before Green could finish speaking, Mahiro looked up at him with a smile, "They're just lowly bandits. Isn't it perfect for you to warm up?"

"That's right, Yotsuba Clan is right!"

Pony said enthusiastically, "If they dare to sabotage our mission, watch me wipe them out and rid the people of this menace!"

Cornelia and the others were also eager to get started. Except for Akame, everyone else was incredibly excited about their first mission.