"Cough, cough..."
The sound of suppressed coughing rang out.
Although the person making the noise was trying their best to restrain it.
Inside this cramped basement, it sounded especially harsh.
Bulat sat shirtless on the sofa.
Layer upon layer of bandages wrapped around his muscular chest.
During his previous clash with Esdeath, he had nearly been pierced through the heart by her sword.
Thankfully, the Demon Armor possessed tremendous defensive power. Otherwise, Bulat would probably already be buried underground by now.
Akame moved closer to Bulat, her crimson eyes filled with worry.
Bulat lightly inhaled, then looked at Akame and said.
"It's fine. It's not a fatal wound."
"Right, still no news from Najenda's side?"
Akame shook her head. Although she showed little expression on her face.
She felt extremely uneasy inside.
"No news at all."
Bulat fell silent.
The situation now seemed to have reached a terrible point.
Esdeath was even stronger than he had imagined.
And Najenda's side remaining completely silent for so long was truly abnormal.
Esdeath was in the Imperial Capital, which meant the one who went to Jellalck could only have been Uesugi Ryu.
Since something had gone wrong, it proved that Uesugi Ryu had truly made his move.
Mine held a teacup in her hands, her gaze unfocused.
"I wonder how that idiot Tatsumi is doing..."
"No... no! Why would that country bumpkin be the first person I think of?!"
Akame stood up and walked over to Mine's side. She called out twice.
"Mine... Mine?"
Seeing that Mine remained dazed with no response.
Akame bent down and poked Mine's shoulder with her index finger.
By the time Mine came back to her senses.
Bulat was combing his pompadour with a comb as he teased her.
"Mine, you're not thinking about Tatsumi, are you?"
Having her thoughts exposed instantly made Mine explode.
"Wh... who would think about that idiot?!"
"I'm just worried about Boss and the others' safety!"
The corners of Akame's mouth unconsciously curved upward slightly as she seriously said.
"Really? We should get going."
Mine froze for a moment. The sudden announcement that they were leaving left her confused.
But in order to quickly move past the topic, she said nothing and immediately got up to retrieve Pumpkin.
At the moment, Bulat and the others were located in the basement of Lubbock's bookstore.
Their hideout in the outskirts had already been destroyed by Esdeath and her people, leaving them temporarily without anywhere to go.
So they simply did the opposite and hid inside the Imperial Capital instead.
Akame put on her hat and walked upstairs.
"I'll go get Lubbock."
Akame walked up the stairs and entered the bookstore after opening a door.
The bookstore was somewhat dim at the moment. Lubbock had drawn the curtains shut.
Hearing the door open, Lubbock's entire body trembled.
After seeing it was Akame, he immediately gestured for silence.
Akame instantly understood. Somewhat puzzled, she walked over to Lubbock's side.
Lubbock was peering outside through a gap in the curtains.
On the street outside, a group of people dressed in clerical robes escorted a carriage as it slowly departed.
"People from the Path of Peace?"
Akame also recognized them.
According to the Revolutionary Army's plans, they should have already formed an alliance with the Path of Peace and begun preparing for an uprising.
Lubbock gritted his teeth, his expression extremely ugly.
Only after the convoy disappeared into the distance did he lower his voice and say.
"Something definitely happened on Najenda's side."
"Akame, I just saw your sister Kurome."
Akame frowned and lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking about.
Then the two exchanged glances before heading back toward the basement.
Accompanied by the creaking sound of the wooden door shutting.
A ray of sunlight pierced through the heavy shadows through the curtain gap and shone upon the brown bookshelf.
............
Jaegers Headquarters.
Inside the lower hall, Esdeath sat in the seat of honor.
Seryu, Wave, Bols, and Stylish stood on either side.
A long red carpet stretched through the middle, giving the place a somewhat grand atmosphere.
Uesugi Ryu slowly walked in with his group.
Supporting her chin with one hand, Esdeath gazed at Uesugi Ryu and softly said.
"Welcome back!"
Uesugi Ryu raised his head to look at Esdeath, surprise flashing through his eyes.
Unlike her usual military uniform.
For some reason, Esdeath was wearing a V-neck lotus-leaf dress this time.
Compared to her usual image as a powerful female general.
She now carried a bit of the aura of a girl-next-door older sister.
But Uesugi Ryu did not look too much, lest misunderstandings arise.
He withdrew his gaze and loudly said.
"I have fulfilled my mission."
After speaking, Uesugi Ryu slightly stepped aside.
Behind him, Run escorted Najenda forward.
Esdeath slowly rose to her feet as she looked at Najenda with interest.
"It's been a long time, General Najenda."
Najenda expressionlessly responded stubbornly.
"Don't call me by that title anymore, Esdeath."
Esdeath smiled as she slowly walked in front of Najenda.
"You fell into my hands so easily. I was originally hoping you'd entertain me a little longer."
As she spoke, Esdeath used her pale fingers to tightly pinch Najenda's cheeks.
"What a pity. Looks like this is all you're capable of."
Najenda's face darkened upon hearing this as she tried to struggle.
Unfortunately, the heavy shackles restrained her completely, making escape impossible.
The only thing she could do was glare fiercely with her remaining eye.
"I didn't lose to you, so stop flattering yourself!"
The smile on Esdeath's face grew even brighter.
Watching silently from the side, Uesugi Ryu inwardly sighed.
"As expected of veteran actors. This acting is incredible!"
Esdeath slightly leaned forward and whispered into Najenda's ear.
Unlike the warm breath ordinary people exhaled while whispering.
Najenda felt as though a block of ice had been pressed against her body.
Bone-piercing cold swept over her, causing her body to shiver uncontrollably.
Esdeath appreciatively admired Najenda's reaction as she softly said.
"That's a nice look in your eyes, Najenda."
"The last time I took one of your eyes and one of your arms, you didn't look at me like this."
Using her left hand, Esdeath pulled open Najenda's remaining eyelid as she curiously observed the eye.
"I wonder how I should play with this remaining eye~"
Najenda's bluish-purple pupil trembled frantically as fine beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
Only at this moment did genuine fear finally appear within Najenda's heart.
Esdeath chuckled softly and released Najenda.
"Throw her into the dungeon."
"We'll catch up properly later, Najenda."
The nearby guards escorted Najenda away.
Esdeath turned to look at Uesugi Ryu.
With a spin of her body.
Her skirt followed the motion of her twirl.
Like an ice flower suddenly blooming, it traced out a perfect arc.
As her skirt swayed with the movement, Esdeath stepped to Uesugi Ryu's side.
Slightly raising her head, she asked.
"So? Does it look good?"
The change in atmosphere was truly a little fast. Just moments ago she had been a queen overflowing with sadistic energy.
And now the style suddenly shifted into a romance drama.
Uesugi Ryu pondered for a brief moment before replying.
"I've never seen you wear other clothes before. It's pretty novel."
Stylish pressed two fingers against his forehead and revealed a helpless smile after hearing that.
"Vice-Captain Uesugi really knows how to talk."
Wave frowned after hearing that.
"What's wrong with that? I was thinking the same thing."
Kurome covered her mouth and laughed.
Uesugi Ryu saying that was intentional. But Wave thinking that way was simply pure iron-willed straight-man behavior.
Kurome laughed as she scolded him.
"Idiot Wave!"
"What? Is there a problem?"
Wave looked completely confused.
Like a shy adolescent girl, Bols tugged at Wave's sleeve.
"Wave-kun, lower your voice. Esdeath-sama will hear you."
Run did not participate in the teasing.
A smile remained on his face as he quietly watched everything.
Esdeath was not very satisfied with Uesugi Ryu's answer and continued pressing him.
"So it's not pretty?"
There were many possible answers.
Uesugi Ryu chose the most straight-man answer possible.
"It's not bad."
Esdeath lightly sighed.
"That's really perfunctory~"
"Fine, I'll let you off this time."
Esdeath turned and walked outside.
After reaching the doorway, she turned sideways to look at everyone behind her.
"Let's have a party and celebrate for our hero."