Six Teigu were laid out before Chen Li.
In addition to the five from the members he had just faced, there was another that greatly interested him: the one belonging to Mine, the sniper who had shot at him from the shadows and caused him to throw out his back. Romantic Firearm: Pumpkin.
It was a gun-type Teigu that converted spiritual energy into shockwaves, its power increasing in proportion to the danger the user faced.
[Precision], [Reinforcement], [Spiritual], [Overlimit]
The other Entries were fine, but he had never seen the [Overlimit] Entry on any other item, and its brightness was not low.
Although the Cutter of Creation Teigu had few Entries, they were all ones Chen Li happened to need:
[Sever], [Holy Light], [Hardness]
The scissor-type Teigu was almost too specialized in its function. But that wasn't a problem; Chen Li only needed the [Sever] Entry.
"Alright, let's talk about you lot now." After setting the Teigu aside, Chen Li looked at the group, who were tightly bound in their sacks.
Compared to Fu Xuan, who had been unable to escape simply because the sack's quality was too high, the six members of Night Raid, perhaps because they were assassins, were all tainted with some degree of sin. This made it even more impossible for them to break free from sacks specifically designed to contain sin.
"Just... kill us," the naturally spacey, glasses-wearing Sheele said directly.
"Alright. Drag them away and execute them all," Chen Li nodded.
"Wait! Don't be so hasty!" Lubbock immediately wriggled forward in his sack, making himself stand out from his comrades. Trapped as he was, this was the only way he could express himself.
"Do you have anything else to say?" Chen Li asked.
"Uh, I feel like there might be a misunderstanding between us," Lubbock said in a small voice.
"Oh? Weren't you all so brave just now, fighting me directly? Why the change of heart?"
"Is there a possibility that when we asked you together, we were trying to get an explanation, but you were the one who said you'd show us your 'ultimate, well-honed technique' and charged in to beat us up?" Lubbock felt they had been grievously wronged.
He had recognized Chen Li as the hero who had stormed the Minister's mansion the night before and had warned his comrades, not wanting to kill an ally by mistake. This was Night Raid's code: if a noble's crimes were confirmed, their accomplices would also be punished. But they would not kill ordinary people caught in the crossfire.
"Oh, is that so?" Chen Li blinked.
Oh, I guess that's right.
But it didn't matter.
"So, since we've all been captured now, we should be able to sit down and talk properly, right?" Lubbock said to Chen Li.
"That's a fair point. So, go on. What do you want to explain?" Chen Li nodded and asked.
"Shouldn't you be the one explaining?" Akame interjected.
"Now look here, I won the fight. What do I have to explain? I've captured you all. If I felt like it, I could just drag you to the Minister's house, or even the Imperial Palace, to claim a reward. At the very least, I'd be granted a life of wealth and glory."
"Then what's the deal between you and the Minister?" The members of Night Raid were puzzled.
"Just a small, insignificant transaction. I spared his life in exchange for him gathering all the Teigu he can find within the Empire as quickly as possible," Chen Li said.
"Cooperating with the Minister is no different from making a deal with a tiger," the possibly-gay Bulat offered as a friendly reminder.
"It's fine. I have a Teigu that can forge compulsory contracts with people. I made it myself."
"Wait, what? There's someone who can still forge Teigu?"
"Never heard of it."
"That's amazing!"
"Hey, kid, want to join the Revolutionary Army and overthrow this Empire?"
Hearing that Chen Li could forge Teigu, the group was clearly shocked, and they started spouting nonsense.
"It's not nonsense. We're serious about inviting you to join the Revolutionary Army," Lubbock said again.
"Not interested. I'm disappointed in this world. I have no interest in supporting either the Empire or the Revolutionary Army. So, I plan to establish a new, enlightened ruler," Chen Li said with great anticipation.
"A new ruler? Who? Is it the leader of the Path of Peace?" the group mused.
"Take a guess," Chen Li said.
"It's probably the leader of the Path of Peace, who has amassed a large following and formed a significant force in the east of the Empire."
"It could also be our boss. Najenda is skilled in both governance and leadership."
"If we have to say, General Budo of the Empire, while old-fashioned, is said to be a good man."
"Holy shit, Esdeath? Are you serious?!"
When they heard the name that was practically taboo within Night Raid come from Chen Li's mouth, they were all stunned.
You want to make that woman, whose mind is filled with nothing but fighting, who is completely insane, and who lives by the philosophy of "survival of the fittest," the new empress?
"It's just a preliminary idea. If you have objections, you can raise them," Chen Li said.
"I have an objection! A strong objection! That woman Esdeath knows nothing about governing a country!" Lubbock was the first to "squat" up and speak.
"But I feel that no matter how rotten this Empire gets, it can't get much worse," Chen Li said, stroking his chin.
"Isn't the Revolutionary Army a good choice?"
"Well, the system I want to implement could also be considered a kind of revolution," Chen Li said, trailing off.
The reason he chose Esdeath was not that he thought she was suited to be empress, but because she didn't use her brain. She only wanted to fight. Esdeath had no interest in wealth or power, which meant that under Chen Li's "suggestion," she might just make a decision that went against all her ancestors—distributing land to all the peasants. And if conditions allowed, she might even go a step further...
However, Chen Li didn't actually have much passion for governing the Empire. It wasn't his country, after all. As long as it became a place he could tolerate looking at without getting angry just by thinking about it, that would be enough. But even this simplest of conditions, the Empire could not meet.
So he had no choice but to seek a higher power.
The Revolutionary Army? He was already starting a revolution, so why be so conservative as to choose the even more conservative Revolutionary Army? Why not make a real spectacle of it?
Actually, the leader of the Path of Peace they mentioned earlier seemed like another viable candidate to govern the country. Since Esdeath was brainless, she certainly couldn't rule. She just needed to obediently lead her Ice Slimes and suppress all opposition. The person actually governing would have much more to consider.
"But in the end, I'm not from this world. Why am I getting so worked up about this?" It was only after arguing endlessly with the members of Night Raid that Chen Li suddenly had this realization.
Holy shit, that's right. What do I care if the Empire has a bright future or not? I'm just here to stock up on goods.
While one of the implicit duties of a Curio Forger was to save worlds, a bunch of newbies pecking at each other wasn't going to affect the world in any meaningful way. This Empire, at the end of the day, was just one country on this continent; there was another kingdom right next door.
Destroying the world? Impossible.
A force that could truly destroy a world would have to be like the Xianzhou: with a nearly omnipotent big daddy watching over them, a long-life species whose population would explode without birth control, and whose average combat power was monstrous.
Strictly speaking... changing fate to obtain Miracle Crystals and Miracle Cards was Chen Li's true goal.
At this thought, his eyes became clear again.
"I have one last question for you all. If you had the power to change everything, what would be the ideal configuration for your new Empire?" Chen Li asked not only the members of Night Raid but also Sayo and Ieyasu, who had been standing there like wooden posts from the beginning.
"First, the leader of the Empire must be benevolent to the people," Lubbock said.
"I think the Path of Peace is good in that regard," Sayo offered. The Path of Peace had a massive base of believers; even the chief of her village was a follower.
"The Empire should also have the military strength to resist foreign enemies, without being oppressive towards its own people. Esdeath is actually pretty good at that. It's just that she herself is a little unhinged," Bulat said. As a former Imperial soldier and a "Hundred-Man Slayer," he placed great importance on this point.
"The people must be able to live good lives. I think our boss would be a great minister," Leone said.
"If possible, it should not be hostile towards mixed-blood people from other ethnic groups like me," Mine added, clearly caring deeply about this.
Chen Li felt that wouldn't be a problem. If he wasn't mistaken, Esdeath was currently on a rampage in the north, having buried an army of 400,000 from the other ethnic groups. What discrimination would there be after that? They would be the minority now. If there were bonus points on exams for them in the future, ordinary people would be green with envy.
"It's decided. How about this for the new Empire? Esdeath leads the slimes to guard the nation's borders, the Path of Peace serves as the state religion to guide people towards good, and your boss Najenda finds outstanding individuals with a sense of justice to govern the country," Chen Li proposed.
"It's a nice thought, but there will always be people who disagree," Lubbock shrugged.
"If someone disagrees, can't we just turn them into a slime? It's only because I have more options now. Otherwise, I would have started collecting evil souls long ago and just slaughtered the entire Empire," Chen Li said, clenching his fists and standing up.
Although his vision was a bit naive, it wasn't a problem. The Elation Die would help.
However, considering he had used up all his Elation Points, Chen Li decided to find some entertainment. He was doing this purely to save the Empire, absolutely not because he wanted to watch some drama himself.
With a wave of his hand, the sacks binding them, which had left only their heads exposed, all came undone.
"I can let you go, but I'm keeping the Teigu."
"We're lucky to be alive," Lubbock said with a shrug, though his eyes remained fixed on the spool of thread not far from Chen Li. Clearly, he still cared a lot about it.
"But there's compensation."
"What compensation?"
"I can get you some contraband."
"Huh? We don't do that stuff," the group shook their heads.
"Not that kind of stuff. I mean... have you ever heard of a mech?" Chen Li asked.
"Huh?"
"The kind that can combine!"
---o---