"Ahem, everyone. I have discovered that under my rule, the Empire is suffering, with disasters and hardships everywhere. For this, I am deeply pained. Therefore, I have decided to abdicate the throne. Tomorrow, a national assembly will be convened to formally transfer the throne to Takeru-san! Isn't that right, Minister?" The young Emperor spoke, even consulting Honest at the end.
"Your Majesty, your decision is most wise!" Honest, on his part, spoke while chewing meat.
Everyone present was shocked upon hearing the young Emperor's words, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Then, everyone looked towards Great General Budo and Administrator Theodore. But the two acted as if they hadn't heard, remaining silent.
"Your Majesty, I implore you to reconsider!" One diplomat, seeing no one else stepping forward, gritted his teeth and stood up to advise.
"Elro, this is His Majesty's decision. Do you think His Majesty is joking?" Seeing Elro's action, Honest narrowed his eyes and spoke.
The corrupt officials aligned with Honest also looked fiercely at Elro. For them, who the Emperor was didn't matter as long as Honest remained in power.
After all, they had always been Honest's direct subordinates, their interests tightly bound to his.
"We, your subjects, obey Your Majesty's decision!" At that moment, Great General Budo and Administrator Theodore knelt on one knee and spoke loudly.
Seeing the two who most opposed Honest comply with the young Emperor's words, everyone was astonished, completely unaware of what had happened. But regardless, no one dared to continue opposing and quickly knelt to express agreement.
"Your Majesty, I dare to ask, who is this Takeru-san?" Seeing everyone submit, Elro gritted his teeth and inquired.
"It's me." Hearing Elro's words, Takeru no longer remained silent and spoke with a smile.
Seeing Takeru's outstanding appearance, everyone instinctively wondered if Takeru was Honest's illegitimate child. But that didn't seem quite right, as they didn't look alike at all.
Moreover, if he were truly Honest's illegitimate child, Great General Budo wouldn't have agreed to the young Emperor's abdication.
"Everyone need not speculate. Tomorrow's national assembly will undoubtedly be very busy. Please return and prepare." Looking at everyone, Takeru said calmly with a smile.
With a smile, Takeru and Esdeath didn't give everyone much opportunity to ask further questions and went directly to the Jaegers.
Only after Takeru left did Esdeath look at him with admiration. She hadn't expected Takeru to so easily control Honest and the others. Honest and the young Emperor were one thing, but even Great General Budo had been manipulated.
In the Jaegers' meeting room, noticing Esdeath's arrival, everyone looked at her seriously, ready to hear the next orders.
"For today, everyone can rest. Tomorrow, the Empire will hold a national conference. It will be very busy then. Tomorrow, everyone needs to maintain order properly." Looking at everyone, Esdeath directly said.
"Yes!" Hearing Esdeath's words, Wave and the other three had no doubts because Dr. Stylish wasn't present. In fact, he was currently fully occupied completing the task Takeru had assigned him.
Only Ran vaguely sensed something amiss, mainly because he noticed that today Esdeath seemed to subtly defer to Takeru.
Then he dismissed this somewhat absurd thought.
"Kurome, come here for a moment." After Esdeath finished announcing, Takeru directly beckoned to Kurome.
Hearing Takeru's call, Kurome hesitated, glanced at Esdeath beside her, then quickly went to Takeru's side.
Takeru had already placed his glowing blue hand on her head. Feeling the familiar warmth, Kurome couldn't help but close her eyes slightly.
As time passed, when Takeru stopped, Kurome also found her physical condition had improved again.
...
Meanwhile, while Takeru is still the imperial palace…
In Night Raid's secret base, Najenda had returned.
This time, she even brought a biological Teigu, Susano'o, and a new member, Chelsea.
Upon learning about Takeru's situation, Najenda frowned, feeling anxious. But because she needed to be responsible for everyone, she couldn't recklessly order a rescue. Instead, she had Leone wait in the capital to see if she could find Takeru.
The others were also in the wilderness, monitoring as much as possible, looking for an opportunity to extract Takeru.
Takeru, worried that everyone was concerned about him, also took Esdeath to stroll around the capital. While enjoying themselves, it was also somewhat of a date.
After taking a slightly roundabout route, in Takeru's perception, Leone's figure appeared within the range of his Observation Haki.
Then, Takeru also said something to Esdeath beside him, quickly disappeared from the spot, and stood in a relatively secluded place.
"Takeru!" Not long after, after confirming no danger, Leone quickly appeared and hugged Takeru tightly.
"Long time no see, Leone." Looking at the somewhat haggard Leone, Takeru gently patted her head.
"Mhm, Takeru, let's go back quickly. Everyone is waiting for you." After checking Takeru over, Leone quickly said.
"No, Leone, I can't go back." Hearing Leone's words, Takeru directly shook his head.
"Why? Are you afraid the capital will issue a warrant for you? At most, we just won't show our faces afterward." Hearing Takeru's words, Leone quickly said.
"No, Leone. Some things are hard to explain briefly. But after tomorrow, you'll know." Looking at Leone's concerned eyes, Takeru said calmly.
"Tomorrow?" Hearing Takeru's words, Leone was stunned.
"That's right. Tomorrow, the Empire will hold a national assembly. Several major events will happen. Also, Minister Honest will fall from power and be publicly executed. Besides him, many corrupt officials will be punished." Looking at Leone, Takeru said seriously.
"Are you feeling alright?" Hearing Takeru's words, Leone quickly pressed her forehead against Takeru's, suspecting he might be delirious.
As for how firmly entrenched Honest's rule was, Night Raid, which is considered a thorn in his side, understood it best.
In fact, for them, they would rather believe the Emperor had changed than believe Honest would fall.
"Leone, bring everyone to watch tomorrow. After tomorrow, Night Raid will no longer be wanted criminals. Also, Esdeath and Great General Budo have been subdued by me." Gently stroking Leone's head, Takeru said with a light laugh.
Hearing Takeru's words, Leone pursed her lips, momentarily unable to decide.
What Takeru said was truly too shocking. Leone really wanted to believe Takeru, but subjectively, it felt completely impossible.
"Alright, we'll know everything tomorrow. Go back and tell Najenda, Akame, and the others. You can come watch Honest's execution tomorrow. I need to go back and prepare too." After speaking, Takeru even kissed Leone's cheek while she was dazed.
Feeling Takeru's action, Leone's face flushed slightly. Then, without overthinking, she lightly nodded and directly ran back towards the new secret base.
After Leone left, Takeru also showed a smile and walked towards Esdeath's location.
"It was someone from Night Raid, right?" After Takeru returned, Esdeath said while eating dango.
"Mhm." Hearing her words, Takeru lightly nodded.
Hearing Takeru admit so frankly, Esdeath calmly nodded and didn't press further.
"Well, the purpose of coming out this time is almost achieved. Let's go back and wait for Honest's son. According to Honest, he possesses a spatial movement-type Teigu that can instantly transport a target to a pre-marked location." Takeru looked at Esdeath and directly said.
"Is that so? As long as we don't give him a chance to act, right?" Hearing Takeru's words, Esdeath said with a light laugh.
"Correct. Also, his Teigu has considerable strategic value. I need to recover it. Don't lose it." Hearing her words, Takeru also said with a smile.
"I understand." Hearing this, Esdeath once again obediently nodded.