Several hours earlier. Night Raid Hideout.
In the Night Raid hideout's meeting room, Leone, Akame, Lubbock, Sheele, and Mine were all looking at Bulat, who had gathered them, waiting quietly for him to speak.
"Boss should be back in three days as scheduled. But I don't think this can wait for her."
After a moment's thought, Bulat continued, "When we were completing the mission, I had a bad feeling about something in the Imperial Capital's city district."
"Ah, me too."
"Same here."
Seeing that Leone, with her sharp senses, and Akame, highly sensitive to killing intent, both agreed with him, Bulat nodded slightly.
"At first, I thought we should finish the mission and see. But by the time we finished, the feeling was gone. Plus, the City Guard mobilized surprisingly quickly this time, so I didn't tell everyone."
"Sigh... so you're bringing it up now. You must have a new idea?"
Lubbock, who had already recalled some information, said thoughtfully.
"If Akame, Leone, and you, Bulat, all sensed something was off, it means the person who gave you that feeling was most likely a Teigu user."
"I don't know all the Teigu users in the Imperial Capital, but there's only one who wanders the streets late at night, isn't there?"
"Zank the Beheader—it has to be that scumbag."
Zank the Beheader. This was the culprit behind the recent string of serial murders in the Imperial Capital.
No more needed to be said. They all knew that, as a Teigu wielder, he would be their target sooner or later.
On one hand, Night Raid couldn't allow such scum, who endangered the people of the Imperial Capital, to continue living.
On the other, the Revolutionary Army behind Night Raid also needed new Teigu to strengthen their forces.
"Yeah, I thought so too. But on the way back, I faintly sensed another wave of killing intent."
"Ah, everyone should have sensed that one."
Recalling the energy spike from an hour ago, Mine clicked her tongue, annoyed.
"That fluctuation was definitely caused by a Teigu user. And judging from the energy intensity, that Teigu must be a destructive-type focused on pure power."
"My Pumpkin would have to be facing an extremely powerful enemy to unleash that kind of energy. As for your Teigu... honestly, in terms of raw destructive power, they might not compare to that one."
"Yeah. But soon after, we sensed that the Teigu, which was emitting that terrifying energy, started moving *towards* the Imperial Capital."
Lubbock, who had been thinking, constructed a rough hypothesis in his mind.
"Let's first assume that Zank the Beheader was dealt with and his Teigu was taken. Then, in the second fight, the two sides were the party that killed Zank, and another party that was chasing them."
"But at the same time, that powerful energy definitely didn't come from the person who killed Zank—after all, if the person who killed Zank possessed such a terrifying destructive-type Teigu, we would have sensed it in the Imperial Capital."
"Mhm, right. Lubba, keep going."
"So, taking it one step further: the second battle was between the party that killed Zank and the party that was chasing them."
"And the party with the powerful destructive-type Teigu started running towards the Imperial Capital not long after the fight began. Although I find it ridiculous, this looks a lot like..."
Seeing Lubbock trail off, Akame didn't hesitate to finish the thought.
"It sounds like the chasing party was beaten and ran away, right?"
"Yeah, exactly. If that's the result, then the party that defeated Zank took down two Teigu users in a short period of time. I think, Bulat, you called us here because you're worried that this mysterious presence might interfere with Night Raid's operations?"
"That's part of the consideration, but I was actually thinking of something else."
Placing both hands on the table, Bulat looked at his five companions.
"If our hypothesis is correct, it means the person or team that defeated Zank has the power to fight Teigu users. And their fight with Zank... if it wasn't a case of them being out at night and getting attacked, it's possible they were actively 'fishing' for him."
"And if they were 'fishing', it means they were either after Zank's Teigu, or they couldn't tolerate his scum-like behavior. I'd say there's a one-in-three chance they're righteous people who hate evil. If possible..."
"––I want to try and recruit these people."
"I'm in!"
Leone, who loved a good gamble, immediately cast her vote in favor.
"One-in-three odds are pretty high."
"I still think we should wait for Boss to decide. And don't forget our public image, Bulat."
Unlike Leone, Akame spoke to her comrades with perfect calm.
"The people you want to recruit can fight Teigu users, and defeated two of them in a short time. I don't know if they had Teigu when they fought Zank, but their strength is definitely not inferior to any one of us."
"They're not like that boy Leone dragged home; they aren't pushovers we can just... handle. If they also have the preconceived notion that Night Raid is just a simple assassination group, I doubt they'll join us."
"Hmph, exactly. And don't forget, there are high bounties on all of us. It's one thing if they refuse to join. But if they dig up info on us and sell it to the Empire, who are we going to cry to?"
With a dissatisfied look, Mine flatly rejected the proposal.
"I disagree!"
"Hmm, everyone has made very good points..."
Looking around at her companions, each with their own opinions, Sheele said, distressed, "I can't decide..."
"...How about this? You all wait here, and I'll go and meet them."
Seeing the mood turn sour, Lubbock quickly tried to lighten the atmosphere with a grin.
"In terms of eloquence, I'm probably the best of the six of us. And my combat power isn't half-bad. Even though those people beat two Teigu users..."
"––There's no way they came out completely unscathed, right? Thinking about it that way, my safety shouldn't be a big issue. At least I can retreat if I have to."
"No, I made the proposal, so I'm going too."
After saying this, Bulat placed his Teigu key on the table.
"[Incursio] lets me turn invisible after I equip it. If things go south, with me there, Lubbock can definitely get away. Besides..."
At that moment, a fierce light flashed in Bulat's eyes.
"We're recruiting them on the premise that... they are comrades who share our ideals."
"If Lubbock and I discover that they aren't the people we imagined, then I'll choose to take the Teigu they snatched from Zank. And if they turn out to be irredeemable villains..."
"I will deliver Heaven's Punishment upon them in Night Raid's name!"
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