Chapter 34: We Are All Professional Assassins!
—He took the bait!
Kobayashi raised his water cup to hide the snicker at the corner of his mouth.
A high-end hunter often appears in the form of prey. It seemed his little act wasn't wasted, and his efforts to play dumb and reveal flaws weren't in vain.
From the very beginning, he had been acting.
He was pretending to be a country bumpkin who had come to the Imperial Capital to make a name for himself and get rich, but was afraid of being deceived. People like this could be found everywhere in the Capital; the only difference was that Kobayashi had a Teigu.
Of course, if Kobayashi were a bad person, even if he were a Teigu user, Mine, who did things entirely based on her own preferences, would probably have dismissed him from her mind. But who told Kobayashi to be a good person? And a great person who had even returned the money she had lost!
That was a huge bonus point!
Even if they had a small, unpleasant encounter before, Mine just chalked it up to Kobayashi's personality.
"What should I do next?"
"Just follow my lead!"
Mine grabbed Kobayashi's arm and stormed out of the tavern.
He had thought she would take him directly to Night Raid's secret base, but he hadn't expected them to go on a massive shopping spree in the Capital first.
She had a great time, but it was torture for Kobayashi.
Using the excuse that she was delicate and fragile, she semi-forcefully made him carry a huge amount of merchandise for her.
It wasn't until evening that a satisfied Mine finally led Kobayashi, who was laden with large bags all over his body, towards the city gate.
After leaving the city, they followed the main road in the opposite direction of the Capital, and the surroundings became more and more sparsely populated.
Kobayashi realized that she was taking him to Night Raid's secret base.
To prevent her from getting suspicious halfway, Kobayashi was the first to make a move, feigning a lack of stamina. "I say, Mine, how much further? I'm exhausted."
"We just left the city gate and you're already tired? What a useless man," Mine said, flipping her twintails, looking at him with some disgust.
Provoked by her gaze, Kobayashi's feigned annoyance turned real. He held up his hands, gesturing for her to look at the bags hanging all over him.
"Whose fault do you think this is?"
"Urk..."
Mine was a little embarrassed, but her tsundere personality wouldn't let her admit fault. Instead, she passed the buck to him.
"Then why didn't you let her carry them?"
She pointed at RyuZU.
Kobayashi said, displeased, "RyuZU is a delicate girl just like you. How could I let her carry heavy things?"
You're calling a Teigu a delicate girl?
Although RyuZU looked about the same as her on the outside, she was one of the forty-eight Teigu with immense power! And you're saying she's a delicate girl just like me?!
Mine pouted and said no more.
They walked for another stretch of distance.
Kobayashi spoke up again. "Mine, where are you taking me? Why is it getting more and more remote?"
"I'm taking you to see a former general of the Empire. She deliberately lives in such a remote place to avoid harassment from the Capital's Prime Minister. She rarely makes a move, so you'd better be grateful to me later!"
She must be talking about the assassin group's leader, Najenda.
Mine was hinting to Kobayashi that he was about to meet a big shot, hoping to get him excited while also making him overlook some minor, suspicious details. Little did she know that Kobayashi had already seen through her, and was just playing along.
"Then is there anything I should pay attention to?"
Kobayashi pretended to be a little nervous. "You see, I'm a country bumpkin. It wouldn't be good if I accidentally offended her."
"You don't need to be so cautious. The Bo... ahem, that lady is very easy to talk to. You're a Teigu user, so you will definitely be given an important position. I can guarantee that."
Mine seemed to have a high opinion of Kobayashi.
But this didn't reassure him. Afterward, he would ask again every few moments, his anxious appearance just like that of a fresh graduate about to have an interview.
At first, Mine would explain patiently, but later she got so annoyed that she just walked on ahead with her head down.
Seeing that his goal was achieved, Kobayashi stopped bothering her.
After walking for a long time and passing through a dense forest, they arrived at a cliff with a wide-open view.
By this time, it was already dark.
Seeing the familiar dark silhouette, the exasperated Mine's mood brightened.
Finally back!
Lubbock, who was on guard duty, saw the long-overdue Mine and let out a sigh of relief. He turned his head to report to Najenda on the main seat.
"Boss, Mine is back."
"She's finally back."
Najenda looked up from the intelligence report sent by the Revolutionary Army. In truth, she had lost the heart to read the reports a long time ago. Hearing Lubbock's report, she also let out an unconscious sigh of relief.
But Lubbock's next sentence made her heart leap into her throat again.
"There's an anomaly. It's not just Mine who's back. There are two others with her."
"Two others?"
"One man and one woman. The man is slightly less handsome than me. The woman is cute and dressed gorgeously, like a noble lady."
Hearing Lubbock's report, Najenda gradually became serious.
"What about Mine?"
"Mine looks normal, no signs of being controlled. And she didn't give any secret signals on the way back to warn us. She shouldn't have been captured by the Imperial Army."
Lubbock reported truthfully, then asked, "Boss, what should we do?"
"Mine shouldn't be bringing people back casually," Najenda thought for a moment and ordered, "Just in case, assemble all members of the team."
"Yes!"
Receiving the order, Lubbock gathered his comrades.
Meanwhile, Kobayashi and Mine soon arrived at the secret base.
Walking into the main hall, he looked up and saw a one-eyed, white-haired, beautiful woman in men's clothing on the main seat. Her mechanical right arm was very eye-catching.
"Boss, I'm back," Mine greeted her.
Najenda nodded and replied, "Thank you for your hard work buying necessities for the team. And these two are?"
"Boss, listen to me!"
Mine took the initiative to claim credit, pointing at Kobayashi and RyuZU. "He's a Teigu user, and the one next to him is his humanoid Teigu. I saw that he had potential, so I brought him back!"
"Have you been learning from Leone? Seeing potential in everyone? And you even brought a stranger to the base. I remember telling you all that's not allowed, right?" Najenda gave her an annoyed look.
"Urk..."
Seeing that she was angry, Mine stuck out her tongue. But a Teigu user was a very rare talent.
Najenda's gaze fell on Kobayashi, who was standing not far away with great composure. She felt that this young man was not simple.
Seeing her interest, Mine said with a hint of smugness, "He was a little reluctant at first, but I still managed to trick him into coming here! Aren't I amazing!"
She had completely dropped the act now. She even had a wicked smile on her face, as if in revenge for being teased earlier, and provoked him, "Actually, I was lying when I said I would introduce you to the higher-ups of the Empire. What do you think? Didn't expect that, did you?"
However, Kobayashi wasn't angry. He looked as if he had expected it all along.
Najenda's eyes glinted, and she said in a deep voice, "Mine, this young man was deliberately tricked."
"...Deliberately?"
Hearing Najenda's words, Mine's eyes widened in disbelief as she turned to look at Kobayashi.
"You tricked me?!"
"You were the one who tricked me first, Mine."
This sentence undoubtedly confirmed Najenda's words; Kobayashi had indeed deceived her.
As if in provocation, and also in humiliation, Kobayashi took the initiative to tell Mine when he had discovered her anomaly.
"From the very beginning."
"You found out from the beginning?"
"That's right."
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Kobayashi began his reasoning.
"Mine, you were dressed gorgeously and had a proud attitude like a noble lady, but you had no guards to protect you. That's suspicion number one.
Although you had a lot of money and were shopping constantly, you didn't buy expensive luxury goods like a noble lady, but instead spent your money on cheap ingredients and ordinary daily necessities. That's suspicion number two.
Even though you generously treated me to a meal, you were clearly in a hurry to leave at that time. But when I took the initiative to reveal that I was a Teigu user, your attitude changed instantly. That's suspicion number three."
"And finally..."
"There's more?!"
"Of course. Actually, you almost let it slip several times. I was so nervous for you I broke into a sweat. With your level of intelligence, you still want to trick people? You should eat more walnuts to nourish that brain of yours."
Demolished.
Utterly and purely demolished.
After spending so much time with RyuZU, Kobayashi's sharp tongue had also improved considerably. The moment he opened his mouth, he dealt a huge blow to Mine.
Najenda coughed lightly.
"In any case, thank you for not making a move on Mine."
An unprotected sniper was very vulnerable, not to mention Mine hadn't even brought her Teigu with her this time. Originally, her partner Sheele should have been with her, but there happened to be a mission that required Sheele's Teigu, so Mine had gone to buy supplies for the base alone. She never expected to be seen through by a suddenly appearing young man.
Najenda was curious. "But you're very bold. Knowing it was a trap, you still dared to step in. Are you confident in your own strength?"
"You could say that," Kobayashi didn't deny it.
"'If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger's cub?' When I realized you were a group, I thought of taking you all down in one go, as my pledge of allegiance."
"A pledge of allegiance?"
"I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to make a name for myself. And you all are my contribution."
"A contribution? Ahahahahahaha!"
As if hearing something hilarious, Najenda couldn't help but burst into laughter. "If you really did take us all down in one go, that would be a heavenly contribution. You might even be made a general."
"Oh? Really?" Kobayashi feigned surprise.
"Young man, looking at you, it seems you don't know who we are."
"This is my first day in the Imperial Capital. I have no idea who you are. I thought you were some ignorant bandits after my Teigu, but now it seems... you're quite famous?"
"Famous? Ah, of course we're famous!"
Najenda said with considerable pride, "Just as people decay, a country will one day face its ruin. Even the thousand-year prosperous Imperial Capital is nothing but a corrupt hell on earth, where demons in human skin run rampant! If heaven is powerless to punish evil, then we shall bring about its demise from the darkness! We are all professional assassins!"
As she spoke, the members of Night Raid made their grand entrance.
(End of volume 1)