บท 160: Chapter 160: The deal with Night Raid
Chapter 160: The deal with Night Raid
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After three rounds of drinks, Leone had already finished two bottles. As Aoki was about to grab a third, he noticed Akame and Kurome walking toward him, hand in hand.
"Have you two finished talking?" he asked.
"Yeah," Kurome smiled.
Akame looked serious. "Hello, I'm Kurome's sister, Akame."
"I've heard a lot about you," Aoki replied. "My name is Aoki."
Akame said earnestly, "Thank you very much for saving Kurome!"
Aoki smiled. "I'll gladly accept that thanks."
He fully understood the bond between the two sisters and felt he had earned that gratitude.
"Although it might be inappropriate to ask something right away," Akame continued, taking a deep breath, "as Kurome's sister, I want to ask you one thing: please make her happy in the future…"
"Wait!" Aoki interrupted. "How did this suddenly become about making Kurome happy? I think there's been a misunderstanding."
Akame looked confused. "Aren't you two lovers?"
Kurome quickly intervened. "No, sister, Aoki and I aren't lovers."
"Then why are you two living in the same room?" Akame asked, shocked.
Leone guiltily took a sip of her drink.
Looks like my information was wrong, she thought.
Kurome gently pulled her sister's hand. "Sister, I'll explain everything later."
"Alright," Akame agreed, deciding not to press further.
For her, the best thing that could happen was Kurome recovering and leaving the empire. As for the rest, as long as Kurome liked it and was happy, nothing else mattered.
Aoki spoke up, "Since you've almost caught up on everything, let's get down to business."
"Business?" Akame and Leone both turned their attention to him.
They had only come to find Kurome; they hadn't expected anything more.
"I want to make a deal with Night Raid," Aoki said.
"What kind of deal?" Akame's expression turned serious.
When it came to Night Raid, things were no longer just personal.
Aoki explained, "I'll kill Minister Honest for you, and in exchange, you help me hunt down four super-dangerous species."
This had been part of his plan for a while now.
The super-dangerous species were far too powerful. For him and Kurome alone to extract the silver beads from the heads of the remaining three super-dangerous species was nearly impossible.
Especially considering that after the last encounter, those creatures might remember them. They could even call for reinforcements right at the start of the next battle.
The combined strength of him and Kurome wasn't enough—they needed more allies.
There were only so many strong individuals in the world.
Esdeath was the strongest.
But he and Esdeath had a deep grudge, and Aoki had plans to seize the Imperial weapon and kill the emperor.
Not only Esdeath, but all the powerful figures allied with the empire were out of the question. That left him with only one option: the empire's enemies.
And the most famous and powerful of these enemies in the capital was Night Raid.
All of Night Raid's members were Teigu (imperial weapon) users. Among them, Akame and Bulat were two of the strongest.
Mine's Teigu was one of the rare long-range weapons, while Teigu like Susanoo's Cross Tail were ideal for control and reconnaissance.
Given Kurome's relationship with Akame, it was clear that Night Raid was the best option for an alliance.
"Kill the minister?" Leone and Akame were both stunned.
The minister wasn't an easy target. He was Night Raid's ultimate goal, the figure they sought to weaken through every mission they carried out.
Where did Aoki get the confidence to take down the minister?
Their reaction wasn't one of skepticism, but rather a judgment based on experience and logic.
Aoki easily guessed their thoughts. Without further explanation, his body shifted rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a handsome young man with a pale complexion and cat-like, plum-red pupils.
"Does this explain everything?"
"It's you!"
Akame's expression shifted dramatically. They had just seen the wanted poster the day before and discussed the matter specifically, so she recognized him immediately.
Leone's jaw dropped even wider.
What was going on? Was Aoki the assassin who had infiltrated the palace at night? After causing such a commotion in the palace, how could he have escaped unscathed from General Budo's clutches?
What had been her earlier judgment?
That's right, it had been, "Aoki is just an ordinary person."
Leone was now near tears.
That judgment couldn't have been more wrong.
She suddenly recalled the scene from the previous night when they were drinking. Aoki had mentioned the assassin who infiltrated the palace, then casually brought up Night Raid.
Turns out he knew everything! He had even subtly defended Night Raid.
Aoki must have been laughing to himself the entire time.
She had been wrong—completely wrong!
Aoki was not a good guy at all!
Leone downed her drink in grief and anger.
She wanted to drink more—drink up all his wine!
"Yes, it's me."
Aoki returned to his original appearance. "By the way, I have some news for you: the four Rakshasa demons are dead."
Akame's expression shifted slightly.
She certainly wasn't a stranger to the Four Rakshasa Demons. They had been on missions together before, and two of the women were even her friends.
Were they really dead? Killed by a single person?
If it had happened in the palace, the battle would have been over quickly.
Akame realized that Aoki's strength might be even greater than they had anticipated.
"Can you really kill the minister?"
"Absolutely!" Aoki's tone was calm and confident.
He could change his appearance and teleport—abilities that made him a natural-born assassin.
If he truly wanted to kill someone, no one in the world could stop him except Esdeath.
The only challenge in assassinating the minister for him was finding the man.
"We'll need to discuss this," Akame said.
This was a huge decision, both for Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army, and she couldn't make it on her own.
"No problem," Aoki replied, understanding.
Though Akame held a high position, she wasn't the true leader of Night Raid.
He wasn't expecting an answer today anyway.
"Regardless of whether we make a deal, I will help," Akame said firmly.
Aoki had saved Kurome, and the debt she owed him was immeasurable.
As long as it didn't go against her principles, she was willing to help him with anything.
"If the time comes, I won't hesitate to ask," Aoki said.
He respected the importance of their potential transaction.
For him, assassinating the minister was an easy task, but for Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army, it was their most difficult objective.
Seeing that the conversation was coming to an end, Leone asked curiously, "Aoki, why did you break into the palace?"
There were all kinds of rumors circulating. Now that she was speaking to the man himself, she had to ask.
"Because there was something I wanted in the palace," Aoki replied.
"That's it?" Leone blinked, stunned.
"That's it."
"You don't hold any grudge against the Empire? You're not trying to assassinate the Emperor?"
"Of course not."
How long had he even been in this world? At most, he had a personal vendetta against Esdeath.
Leone looked disappointed, as if she had hoped for some juicy gossip but had gotten nothing.
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T/N: There is a patreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early access of 40 chapters.
Patreon link:- patreon.com/ANelite
And also:
Imperial weapon = Teigu
Teigu = Imperial weapon
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