She made her intentions clear without hesitation. As long as she could avenge her mother, she did not care even if it meant betraying Alvarez.
Irene was not surprised by Brandish's decision at all. To her, this was nothing more than a familiar little drama of avenging one's mother.
"Heh. I have to admit, you are quite impressive. With just a few words, you managed to pry away one member of the Spriggan Twelve, along with one candidate who was practically guaranteed to join them in the future.
The Empire is going to have a headache now. The Spriggan Twelve were already short-handed as it was. After this, the title will be even less deserving of its name."
Kabe turned to look at Irene, who had spoken those words so calmly, and there was no hiding the delight in his voice.
"So that means Lady Irene agrees to my request too?"
"Why would I not? Do you really think I was ever that loyal to the Empire or to Zeref?
We were simply using one another to get what we wanted. And when a better option appears, the chips he offered me before naturally lose their value."
As she spoke, Irene rose to her feet with one hand resting on her staff, looking down at Kabe from above.
"But do not misunderstand. Even if I leave the Empire, I will not be joining any organization in Ishgar.
I am leaving solely to research the Dragon Slayer you mentioned.
I am going back now to make preparations. Tomorrow morning, I will come find you again. The two of you should get ready as well."
After leaving those words behind, she lightly tapped the floor with her staff, and in the blink of an eye, her figure vanished.
After Irene left, Brandish also dropped her previous lazy attitude and hurried upstairs to start packing her personal belongings.
Once both women were gone, Kabe sprawled alone across the sofa and let out a long breath.
'We just got here, and now we are already leaving again. Things went so smoothly it almost caught me off guard.'
As he lay there reflecting, he lounged around for a while longer before feeling a bit hungry again.
"Brandish-chan, is there any food left in the house? I am hungry again."
Hearing the shout from downstairs, Brandish, who was in the middle of packing, immediately had a throbbing vein pop on her forehead.
'That bastard already ate an entire week's worth of my food and still dares to say he is hungry. Is he a pig?'
Annoyed, Brandish decided to ignore him.
But to her surprise, after getting no response for a long time, Kabe actually came straight upstairs and knocked on her door.
"Brandish-chan, treat me to a meal outside. Using Ishgar money here is way too inconvenient."
"You bastard, who said you could come upstairs?! And why is your face so thick? How can you say something so shamelessly and act like I should naturally be the one treating you to food?!"
Even as she cursed him like that, her hands had already unconsciously stopped moving.
Setting down the half-folded clothes she had been packing, she opened the door irritably, shot Kabe a displeased look, then turned and walked downstairs.
"Come on. I am in a good mood today, so I will take you out for your first proper look around Vistarion."
Now that she had already decided to leave, Brandish wanted to take one last good look at the city before departing.
Of course, it would have been even better if this clingy pest behind her were not tagging along the whole time.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Irene also summoned Heine and Juliet the moment she returned.
"Heine, Juliet, I am leaving Alvarez tomorrow. Go and help me pack up all the books and magic tools I have collected over the years."
The two girls who had been called over were instantly filled with confusion when they heard that order.
Juliet said, "Lady Irene, what do you mean by leaving?
If you are only going on a long trip, there is no need to take everything with you, is there?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. I am leaving the Alvarez Empire.
If the two of you have any dolls or clothes you like, pack those too. Tomorrow, we will all leave together."
At those words, both girls were completely stunned.
What in the world was going on?
Lady Irene had only gone out for a short while, met that brat from Ishgar once, and now she had come back with such a drastic change in attitude.
Although the two "girls" before her were subordinates created through Irene's magic and could be trusted absolutely, Irene clearly had no intention of wasting words explaining the truth to them.
"Stop asking questions and go handle it. Everything should be packed before I return."
Seeing the faint anger in Lady Irene's expression, the girls immediately dared not say another word. They obediently nodded and quickly left to carry out her orders.
After they were gone, Irene did not remain idle either. Instead, she casually fabricated a document authorizing the transfer of resources, then personally took it to the Empire's logistics and supply department.
Faced with a large-scale material request from Irene, who was effectively one of the second or third most important people in the Empire, the officials in charge of imperial logistics did not dare harbor the slightest suspicion. They immediately gave full approval and began mobilizing every kind of supply she had requested.
No matter how hard those officials thought, they would never have guessed that this one of the Empire's Twin Walls, one of His Majesty's most trusted subordinates, was planning to squeeze the Empire for one last massive haul before running away.
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