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"Hey... is that really Kaito-sama? He hasn't been possessed or something, right?"
"Shh, lower your voice. Don't forget how petty Kaito-sama is."
"Kaito-sama is actually petty?"
"Of course he is. I'm telling you, in the current Imperial Guard Legion..."
Kaito listened to his utterly unreliable subordinates gossiping nearby, the corner of his mouth twitching nonstop.
Very good.
All of you are getting sent on missions later. Mandatory overtime every single day.
No, wait... that lunatic Esdeath doesn't even give people rest days.
I've got it.
I'll throw all of them into Shinobu's barbecue restaurant.
Hmph. Let's see if you dare gossip about me after that.
Completely unaware they had already been blacklisted by their own boss, the group continued happily digging their own graves.
"I see... understood."
Najenda sighed softly after hearing Kaito's words and slowly sat back down, disappointment visible on her face.
Meanwhile, the members of Night Raid looked at their Boss with concern.
"Woohoo!!! Kai-chan! Kai-chan! Look what I found!"
Just as the atmosphere turned heavy, an energetic voice suddenly rang out.
A tiny fairy flew into the room excitedly while carrying a butterfly several times larger than her own body.
"Ramiris-sama!"
The moment everyone saw the little fairy, they immediately stood up respectfully and bowed.
Kaito's expression instantly darkened.
What the hell is this?!
You're all this respectful toward Ramiris, but you ignore me?
Am I not the boss of the Jura Tempest Federation anymore?!
In reality, it wasn't because they lacked respect for Kaito.
Quite the opposite.
Everyone respected Kaito immensely, perhaps even more than Rimuru herself.
It was simply because everyone knew Kaito hated formalities.
Combined with his usual laid-back personality and habit of dragging people around to cause trouble everywhere, it was difficult for anyone to genuinely fear him.
Ramiris, however, was different.
Although she personally didn't care much about etiquette, they absolutely could not endure the cold gaze of a certain squinty-eyed Chairwoman.
If that woman ever found out they had been disrespectful, they could forget about entering Academy City ever again.
After all, Academy City had already developed to an unimaginable level.
It was no longer merely a school city.
It contained countless research institutes, the world's most advanced scientific technology, and cutting-edge magical knowledge.
Even factories for constructing space battleships had been relocated there.
Regarding this, everyone could only helplessly sigh.
The higher-ups really spoiled their children too much.
Whenever anything good appeared, Academy City always received it first.
As a result, Central City, the capital of the Jura Tempest Federation, now looked far less modern by comparison.
And unfortunately for them, that squinty-eyed woman happened to be the right-hand assistant of Academy City's Chairwoman.
Nobody wanted to encounter that terrifyingly doting mother figure the moment they arrived at the city gates.
"Ahem. Very good. Keep it up."
"Hehehe! (￣▽￣)~*"
Receiving praise from Kaito, Ramiris puffed out her tiny chest proudly, her little face overflowing with happiness.
While Kaito and the others waited for Esdeath to arrive at the Imperial Capital with her army, somewhere far away in a familiar room within the Jura Tempest Federation...
"Those people have been investigating more and more aggressively lately. Does anyone have any ideas on how to handle this?"
Under the dim candlelight, a petite figure wearing a black robe sat in the main seat and spoke in a low voice.
After hearing the question, the black-robed figures seated on both sides remained silent.
"How about we lie low for a while...?"
"Also... why are you sitting in the main seat again...?"
The burly man seated first on the left cautiously spoke up.
He still felt this place was incredibly unsafe.
After all, he had been caught in this exact same room before.
"Hmph. Looks like those guys have already scared you senseless."
"Since none of you have any useful ideas, then let me introduce our secret weapon."
"A secret weapon?!"
The surrounding black-robed figures immediately erupted into discussion.
"Come out and greet everyone."
As a figure slowly emerged beneath the candlelight, everyone present stared in shock.
"T-This is...?!"
"It's actually here?!"
"The Vice President is incredible to actually recruit this one!"
"Now we don't need to worry anymore. This shipment will definitely be distributed safely."
"Exactly. Because of those inspectors, lots of people haven't received new supplies lately."
Listening to the excited voices below, the petite figure sitting in the main seat slowly stood up and raised the wine glass in hand.
The crimson grape juice inside swayed gently.
"Everyone... let us toast to our coming victory!"
"To our coming victory, cheers!!!"
Everyone raised their glasses and drank the grape juice in one gulp.
Meanwhile, the figure everyone had pinned their hopes on looked disdainfully at the wanted poster in hand.
Then it casually moved the paper toward the candle flame.
The wanted poster bearing a reward of three thousand Tempest Coins slowly burned into ashes.
"Chairwoman, if this continues, shouldn't we let Zegion handle it already?"
"If we don't catch that thing soon, Academy City is going to be completely destroyed."
Inside the conference room, Shizu sat in the main seat with her usual gentle smile while listening to the principals below her speak anxiously.
"I believe Principal Ivankov has a point."
"With Sakuya absent lately, that child has become increasingly unruly."
Treyni, seated beside Shizu, narrowed her eyes while smiling gracefully.
"Without Miss Sakuya around, that child has completely stopped behaving."
"The other day it destroyed the academy swimming pool."
"And while escaping, it even tore down the gymnasium gates."
"That's right, Chairwoman. We absolutely can't allow it to continue like this."
"..."
Facing the endless complaints from the principals, Shizu maintained her gentle smile the entire time.
"Hehe, I understand."
"It seems that child truly needs a proper lesson."
"How about this? I'll personally go catch that child and educate it properly."
The moment Shizu said that, all the principals present immediately stood up in shock.
"What?! You're going personally?!"
"Something this minor doesn't require your personal intervention, does it?!"
"Exactly, Chairwoman! Just send Zegion. His abilities perfectly counter that thing."
"You're already so busy every day, yet you're still planning to go personally..."
Before the principal could finish speaking, Shizu gently waved her hand.
"Hehe, with Kai-chan and Sakuya absent lately, it has indeed become a little naughty."
"I'll personally educate that child. It won't take long."
The moment everyone heard the word educate, they all instinctively shivered.
Treyni's smile became even brighter as she softly murmured:
"Oh my... for Shizu to personally say the word educate... that child is truly doomed this time."
Not a single person present doubted whether Shizu could catch it.
What truly shocked them was that the Chairwoman herself intended to personally handle the matter.
Meanwhile, somewhere else...
A certain figure who had just burned the wanted poster suddenly felt an inexplicable chill run down its spine.
It instinctively tightened its black robe and nervously looked around.
Only after confirming everyone present was one of its own people did it finally let out a small sigh of relief...