Leone was panicking.
In truth, she had woken up an hour ago. But after regaining consciousness, she hadn't dared to move a muscle.
When she opened her eyes, she had seen the young woman staring blankly at the young man lying on the ground.
Perhaps because the girl's attention was focused entirely on her companion, she hadn't noticed Leone opening her eyes.
But even so, Leone couldn't escape!
Normally, she could have broken free of these ropes even without her Teigu.
But right now, her limbs were still covered in sword wounds.
Although she had activated her ultimate, [Lion Never Perishes], to try and forcefully heal her injuries before the belt was ripped off...
She really hadn't expected that white-haired girl's strength to be so ridiculous.
In an instant, the girl had rushed to her side and just yanked the belt right off.
Without the belt, Leone couldn't transform.
And while she had recovered some of her injuries after activating her ultimate, the remaining wounds were enough to immobilize her.
Even now, though she felt the bleeding had stopped, she didn't dare move.
She had been completely beaten by this young couple even *with* her Teigu. Now, without her Teigu and injured...
If you asked Leone what she wanted to do most right now, it was to go back in time and give her past self a good couple of punches.
*Why did I have to provoke those two!*
*Why did I think I could win against someone even Bulat couldn't beat, just because he was weakened!*
*He stole [Demon Armor: Incursio]! Even weakened, he's still a powerful Teigu user. I was really...*
Thinking about how this always seemed to be her style, Leone was filled with regret.
Unfortunately, regret was useless.
While she was waiting for an opportunity, the young man woke up.
Although the two of them didn't pay any attention to her for the next few minutes, just as Leone breathed a sigh of relief...
—that girl pulled the trigger right at her head.
The shot wasn't aimed at her, but just hearing the massive explosion behind her, Leone knew the power of that shot was definitely more vicious than most of Mine's cannon blasts.
Damn it, damn it, damn it! So they weren't even using their full strength before.
If that little sister decides to blast holes in me with those black and white guns... even with [Lion Never Perishes], I'd be dead!
If my body gets blown in two, what's the point of 'Never Perishes'!
Although the two of them had a small argument after that, they quickly finished.
"Alright, that's enough of that. Now..."
Aaron glanced at Leone and said casually.
"This one has some value, at least. Considering she attacked us... hmm..."
"Maybe we should just turn her over to the Empire for reward money."
"Hey! Don't!"
Hearing this, Leone couldn't stay still any longer.
"This little..."
"Hm?"
"This... Big Bro! Calm down! According to our Night Raid's intel, your wanted posters are already all over the Imperial Capital! And you just killed the Three Beasts. Esdeath won't let you go!"
Spurred on by her will to survive, Leone's brain started working faster than usual.
"I know we were in the wrong before! If you let me go this time, we at Night Raid will absolutely never provoke you again—I mean, we don't even have enough Teigu left! We'd never come looking for trouble with you! We're not worthy!"
"Ah, now look at this."
Hearing Leone rattle off that speech without taking a breath, Aaron smiled and crouched down.
"Miss, don't sell yourself short. As long as [One-Cut Killer] cuts my skin, I'll still be killed by its curse. And the user of [Roman Artillery] didn't die this time. The next time she sees me, she'll immediately feel she's in immense danger. By channeling that danger to overload [Roman Artillery], she also has a chance of killing me."
"Who said Night Raid isn't worthy of troubling me? You're quite a threat to me."
"You... If you know all that, you'll definitely be on guard! Doesn't that mean we have no chance?"
"There's the saying, 'One can be a thief for a thousand days, but one can't guard against a thief for a thousand days.' As long as Akame and the Teigu gunner are alive, I can't rest easy. And what I'm seeking is peace of mind. Tell me, after I injured three of your companions and stole two Teigu, will Night Raid just let it go?"
"..."
"See? You know it, too. And even if I wanted to turn you in for the reward, I could just have someone else do it. I imagine if I tell Esdeath you're from Night Raid, and that Night Raid's Bulat used [Demon Armor: Incursio] to kill her beloved subordinates, she'd definitely be interested in you."
"Hmm. I also heard she enjoys torture. Looking at it that way, if I want to vent some anger, sending you to her seems like a pretty good option."
"Hey, don't make that face. Last time, and this time, you're the ones who attacked first. From the day you became killers, I assume you were prepared for this. You work for the Revolutionary Army, after all. I'd think your ideological resolve would be quite high."
"So how about acting a little tougher? Don't make me think everyone in Night Raid is like this, just from watching you beg for your life."
After Aaron said all this, Leone finally relaxed slightly.
*He's said so much. It looks like he doesn't plan to kill me.*
*Otherwise, given how he just picked up that spear and threw it at Mine, if he wanted to kill me, I'd already be dead.*
*Sigh. I need to think. What do I have that I can bargain with?*
*I definitely can't give up intel on everyone or the base's location. I'd rather die than sell out my comrades.*
*But the problem is, what *can* I do?*
*Offer to get my Teigu back and fight for him? He's not an idiot. Why would he return a Teigu to someone who was just trying to kill him?*
*As for... selling my body...*
Glancing at Kiana, who was still sulking next to Aaron, Leone decisively gave up on that unreliable idea.
*Even a fool could see how much that little sister relied on the black-haired young man.*
*Trying to use seduction at a time like this... putting aside whether it would even work, she felt she'd probably get her head blown off by that girl the instant she tried.*
*Ugh, I really can't think of anything.*
*He's not... actually planning to hand me over to Esdeath, is he???*
............................