The Empire Reborn (9K)

"Wow, I was only gone for a little while, and the house has become so lively?"

"Yotsuba Mahiro?!"

Chelsea, Night Raid, and the others looked terrified when they saw the figure appear at the gate.

Even Taeko's delicate body trembled slightly.

Mine's maids were overjoyed to see Yotsuba Mahiro.

"Owner!!"

Mine rushed forward and hugged him tightly, crying, "Waaah, Master, you're finally back! Those people dared to impersonate you and bully Mine! You have to help Mine get revenge!"

"Okay, okay, stop crying, be good~ I'll help you get revenge in a bit."

Mahiro patted Mine's head to calm her down, then looked at the others in the courtyard.

To be precise, he was looking at the orange-haired girl with the lollipop.

"I think you're the one who's bullying my Mine, Miss Chelsea."

"You... you stay away, I'm warning you!"

Chelsea took two steps back in a panic.

She didn't know how this bastard could recognize her even though she had never shown her true form to him.

But there was no time to think about it.

Because she felt her chastity was once again strongly threatened!

Susanoo stepped forward, drew his weapon, and stood in front of Najenda, looking at Yotsuba Mahiro.

As a biological Teigu, he sensed a strong threat from Yotsuba Mahiro!

This threat is even greater than that of the super-dangerous species!

"Alas, it seems we have another unwelcome guest... Mahapadma!"

In an instant, the world was put on pause, and everyone's expression froze on their faces.

When time passed again, they found that Susanoo was lying on the ground!

"This is what happens to unpleasant guests."

Mahiro tossed the core of Susanoo in his hand, then flipped his hand, and the magatama-like core vanished instantly.

Najenda's eyes widened slightly as she realized she had lost contact with her Imperial Arms!

How did you do that!

"Susanoo!!!"

Tatsumi gasped in surprise, his gaze towards Mahiro filled with hostility, and he clenched his teeth slightly.

To kill such a good person so casually...

"Oh..."

Mahiro lightly, too lazy to pay attention to this hot-blooded youth, and instead looked at Najenda and said:

"Don't worry, although you broke into my residence and tried to take my prisoners, fortunately you didn't hurt anyone, so we can still sit down and talk."

And coincidentally, someone else wants to see you.

"Wow, big brother Yotsuba Clan, there are so many people at your house! What are they doing? Are they preparing for a banquet?"

As Mahiro to the side, a petite girl in green appeared before them.

Who is this?

Everyone was puzzled by the girl's identity.

Only Najenda found it unbelievable.

"... Your Majesty?! This humble subject Najenda... greets Your Majesty!"

Najenda immediately knelt down and bowed.

However, this left the Night Raid members around them completely stunned, exchanging bewildered glances. Even Chelsea nearly dropped her lollipop.

They wondered if there was something wrong with their ears and eyes.

This young girl is actually His Majesty?! How is that possible?!

But Najenda would never admit her mistake.

Although they hadn't met many times, and although his makeup was completely different from his usual dignified appearance, she would never mistake him for His Majesty!

However, Najenda was sweating profusely at that moment.

How could Her Majesty... be here?!

Chapter 170 The Resurrected Empire (9K)

"Oh, I remember you. You must be Najenda? Rise."

Upon seeing someone greeting her, she instantly switched from being a cute little girl to a majestic emperor. The girl stood Yotsuba Mahiro, her gaze sweeping over Najenda with indifference.

However, the other members were thunderstruck when they saw her imposing demeanor.

This girl is indeed His Majesty!

But how could it be a little girl?!

"Your Majesty, I, the humble subject Bulat, pay my respects!"

Bulat then knelt down, followed by Leone, Lubbock, and others. Even Tatsumi was forcibly pulled to kneel on the ground.

Only Sheele and Akame didn't react.

Akame didn't care about the emperor or anything like that; instead, she quietly came to Mahiro's side and stood guard.

Sheele didn't quite understand; she just thought the little girl was cute.

It wasn't until Leone reminded her that she understood, and she knelt down along with the others.

"Oh... Night Raid?"

Upon hearing their self-introductions and their respectful demeanor, the young emperor seemed to show some interest.

"You're the Yotsuba Clan -sama... cough, um, the Night Raid raiders that Minister Yotsuba Clan mentioned, the ones who caused such chaos in the Imperial Capital, right?"

"Yes..."

Najenda lowered her head deeply.

She had originally intended to wait until after the overthrow of Minister Honest before meeting the young emperor, but she never expected to run into him here.

But soon, someone stood up and refuted her words.

"No! We are not thieves, but righteous people who protect the Imperial Capital and its people!"

"Tatsumi?!"

None of them expected that Tatsumi would say such a thing at this time.

However, Tatsumi ignored their objections and continued:

"My name is Tatsumi. I come from a remote rural area, hoping to make my way in the Imperial Capital. But after Imperial Capital, I've witnessed countless darknesses, utter filth and depravity! As the emperor, why can't you lower your head and look at the people below, listen to their voices! Punish those sinners, led by Honest!!!"

Since he had already fallen into the enemy's hands, Tatsumi decided to speak his mind, hoping that his heartfelt words would move the ruler before him.

But he was so engrossed in talking that he didn't notice the little emperor had already pouted, looking rather uninterested.

"It's the voice of the people again..."

She had heard similar words countless times, spoken to her by countless corrupt old fogies, but did these people truly understand the situation in the court?

All they do is complain, but they can't come up with a decent governance plan.

Does he think it's only natural to dump everything on her, the emperor?

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, this is..."

"It's alright."

Najenda tried to defend him, but the young emperor waved her off.

"You said your name is Tatsumi... right? Have you finished speaking?"

"Of course not! Your Majesty, we hope you will listen carefully to the voices below. Everything we do is for the prosperity of this empire!"

Only when the people live and work in peace and contentment can the country truly prosper, right?

But now the people are suffering from the exploitation and oppression of the cruel and inhumane nobles. Doesn't all of this make Your Majesty feel heartache?

"Haha... it's really laughable to hear such a rebellious person like you say that."

The little emperor held his belly and laughed.

"Since you enjoy asking questions so much, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll answer them one by one. First, you said the Imperial Capital is dark? Just how dark is it? Where there is light, there is naturally darkness; this is an eternal and unchanging truth. Aren't you Night Raid raiders part of that darkness?"

Secondly, you claim it's for the prosperity of the country and to protect the people's peaceful and prosperous lives? In my view, you are the culprits who have disrupted this order.

My loyal minister, Minister Yotsuba Clan, has clearly managed everything perfectly, working tirelessly to maintain order. But what about you?

"You keep talking about saving this empire, yet you wantonly kill my ministers. Aren't you the ones who did all this?"

"Those we killed in our Night Raid were all people who deserved it! Those guys, as officials of the Empire, were corrupt and wicked, and everyone had the right to kill them!"

Tatsumi responded to the young emperor's question with great emotion.

"Oh, so you Night Raid are acting on behalf of the Empire? What do you consider the Empire's laws to be?! And who will fill the vacant positions?!"

"They are the ones who defy the law! Since the law cannot effectively punish these wicked people, then our Night Raid will naturally bring them to justice and divine retribution!"

"So... all of you Night Raid raiders are traitors."

After listening to Tatsumi's words, the girl sighed softly.

"A country has its laws, and a family has its rules. They disregard the law, but aren't your Night Raid the same? If everyone were like your Night Raid, then the country wouldn't be a country, and the family wouldn't be a family. All rules would be destroyed at will, and everything would be decided by strength. What would this empire become?"

"But..." Tatsumi opened his mouth, but could no longer utter any words in rebuttal.

He didn't even dare to look the emperor, who was younger than him, directly in the eyes of the man standing before him.

"Your Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army never had the intention of saving the people or the empire from the beginning. Everything you did only exacerbated the chaos in this country!"

The assassination of an important official caused widespread panic throughout the Imperial Capital.

It is you who have truly caused the people to suffer and live in misery. All you have done is overthrow my rule, destroy this empire, and then let ambitious Revolutionary Army build a new nation on the empire's ruins!"

"How could this be... We, the Revolutionary Army, are responding to the voice of the people..."

"Responding to the voice of the people?"

A cold smile crept across the young emperor's lips.

"Whose voice are you responding to? Do you know how many wars have taken place since I ascended the throne?! Do you know how many people have died?! Do you know how many innocent people have been implicated and displaced because of you?!"

The girl strode forward, step by step, until she stood before Tatsumi.

Despite her petite stature, she exuded an imposing presence, her dignified aura almost suffocating!

"For the sake of this empire, there are still people? Don't make us a laughingstock!"

Throughout history, ambitious individuals who coveted the imperial throne and plotted to usurp the throne have always found such a plausible reason to justify their actions!

"Uniting with foreign tribes, slaughtering their own comrades, and dividing up the empire's lands, the so-called Revolutionary Army is nothing but a bunch of traitors and rebels!"

"... No, that's not it!"

"Where isn't it?!"

The young emperor's words were like pearls, each sentence piercing Tatsumi's heart like a sharp blade, dissecting it open.

The sharp, piercing pain rendered Tatsumi completely unable to describe any images, leaving him pale-faced.

After all, how long had he been a member of Night Raid, and how much did he really know about the Revolutionary Army?

Not to mention that not long ago he was a poor boy from the countryside, and he wouldn't know anything about these things.

In fact, it wasn't just him; everyone else did the same, bowing their heads deeply.

Najenda herself was also reflecting on this issue. After actually seeing the situation inside the Revolutionary Army, she realized that what Yotsuba Mahiro said was indeed very true.