In the mountains where Longxi Village was located, two young girls moved through the forest.
They were quick and agile.
Even with many obstacles around them, and on steep, rough ground, their steps were steady.
After reaching the foot of the mountain, they did not show themselves right away. Instead, they watched the person they had come to escort.
"That's him, right?"
"Yeah, no mistake. His appearance matches the information. Black hair, slim body, handsome face, two or three years older than us. It all matches. That person is Dr. Noah."
Before showing themselves, the two girls talked for a moment.
Then the girl with long black hair stepped out first and brought her companion with her.
When Noah saw them, he waved his hand as a greeting.
After they came closer, Noah looked at the girl in front of him.
For a brief moment, surprise flashed in his eyes.
'She looks too similar.'
'Far too similar.'
This girl looked eighty percent like Kurome.
The main differences were her build and the color of her eyes.
The girl in front of him had ruby-red eyes, while Kurome's eyes were deep black.
This girl had long hair, while Kurome's hair could not grow long because of the side effects of the Enhancement Drug, so she kept it short.
'Well, they are twins after all.'
In truth, these two were pitiful.
They had depended on each other to survive, but because sisters were not allowed to be in the same unit, they were separated into two different teams.
They did not have a chance to meet.
And Akame, as the older sister, probably did not know what Kurome went through in the Enhanced Unit.
"Hello, Dr. Noah. I'm Akame. I came to bring you to Longxi Village."
The black-haired, red-eyed girl did not show much emotion.
She looked serious, as if she was treating this as a proper mission.
Compared to her, the other girl seemed much more like a girl her age.
"Hello, Dr. Noah. I'm Tsukushi."
The girl hid behind Akame with her hands behind her back.
When she greeted him, she leaned half her body out with a cute expression.
Her short flax-colored hair and the flower accessory on her head suited her.
"Hello."
'No.'
'Wait.'
'This girl is actually...'
As the girl moved, her chest also swayed.
Noah's pupils shrank slightly!
He took back what he just thought.
This was not something that matched a girl her age.
Her breast size was almost the same as her head!
'Is it about the same as Stella's?'
If it was only about size, Stella was still above her.
But this girl's body was smaller overall. If body proportion was included, then she was above Stella.
The human body really was mysterious.
Stella's body could be explained by her natural constitution as a Blazer. She ate a lot, stored a lot, and all of the fat went to her chest.
But this girl could only be called naturally gifted.
Noah moved his gaze away and spoke to thank them.
"Thank you for coming all the way down the mountain to meet me."
Akame answered, "No, Dr. Noah. You haven't come back in more than ten years. You may have forgotten, but the mountains around Longxi Village are dangerous. Tsukushi and I need to protect you."
"Protect me..."
"Yes. Don't worry. We won't let you get hurt, we will safely bring you to the village."
Akame raised one arm and patted the muscle on it with her other hand.
She looked confident.
Tsukushi smiled and said, "Leave it to us."
"I see. Then I'll be counting on you."
Longxi Village had been created for the elite seven, but no mountain road had been built.
For a village in the mountains, having no road was more natural.
Besides, building a mountain road would need manpower and resources that the village was not supposed to have.
As they walked through the mountain forest, Noah teased them.
"Akame, Tsukushi, even though you're girls, you both have great stamina. You can move fast on a mountain path without getting out of breath."
"Hehe, Akame and I are very strong. We've trained a lot."
"Oh right, whose children are you?"
"Oh, we aren't villagers from Longxi Village. We live nearby."
Tsukushi's personality and appearance were misleading.
She looked careless, but while giving harmless information, she asked a question in return.
"Dr. Noah, you're Miss Martha's relative, right? Are you her older cousin or younger cousin?"
"Hmm, probably younger cousin. To be honest, I barely remember Martha. By the time I started remembering things, I was living in the Capital."
Noah made up a lie.
This was part of his agreement with Gozuki.
His real identity had to be kept secret from the elite seven.
During the mission, he had to act according to the fake role prepared for him.
His identity was that he was a relative of Martha, the restaurant owner in Longxi Village.
He had studied medicine in the Capital.
Noah had read the information on everyone in Longxi Village and he has memorized the information about the elite seven.
"The Capital..."
Hearing that word, even the serious Akame reacted.
Tsukushi completely forgot about testing him and asked, "What kind of place is the Capital? It must be huge, right? I heard the Capital is the center of the Empire, the busiest and most prosperous city."
"Yeah, it is huge. It's bigger than any city I know. It is prosperous, because the Capital is not only the political center, but also the economic center."
"Then why did you come back?" Akame asked.
Noah looked at her.
He could see the caution in her eyes.
'So she is testing me.'
To remove her doubt, the best method was to mention the person she trusted most.
Noah explained using the story he and Gozuki had prepared.
"Actually, someone I know in the Capital asked me to come."
"Someone you know?"
"Yes. Mr. Gozuki took care of me when I was in the Capital. He knew I was originally from Longxi Village, so he asked me to return and help deal with some things."
"Eh? Father did?"
Akame and Tsukushi both cried out in surprise.
Noah watched their reactions, and his eyes darkened slightly.
'It seems Gozuki's brainwashing worked.'
Just hearing his name made them show respect and admiration.
'As expected of someone who trained an assassination unit.'
This method was beyond ordinary manipulation.
The question was whether this brainwashing could continue forever.
Especially now that all seven of them had reached adolescence. Their way of thinking would likely change in some way.
But Longxi Village had been built for exactly that purpose, so that guy had a full plan.
Probably.
"So you really are Mr. Gozuki's daughters?"
"Yes. We love Father the most," Tsukushi said.
Akame did not say anything, but her expression became softer.
"Mr. Gozuki helped me a lot in the Capital. Since you are his daughters, I'll give you both a small gift."
"Eh? A gift?"
Tsukushi looked at him in surprise.
Noah smiled, moved his backpack to the front, and opened it.
He compared the color with Tsukushi's flax-colored hair, then took out a pale blue lily.
He placed it in the girl's hair.
Then he took out a mirror and held it up so she could see herself.
When Tsukushi saw the pale blue flower, she was drawn in by its clean and elegant look.
More importantly, it matched her hair color well.
"So pretty!"
The glowing petals and stamen gave off a faint light.
"I'm glad you like it."
Noah did not tell her that this was a poisonous plant.
Its poison had been strong enough to kill a Large Danger Beast. Any creature that smelled it would rot from the inside.
However, Noah had removed that poisonous scent and used it for something else.
Now the flower no longer had poison. It was purely decorative.
Compared to ordinary flowers, it had a strong life force.
Cold and drought could not kill it.
It could survive on sunlight alone for more than a month.
It was tough.
"For Akame, this should suit you."
Noah took something out of his backpack and handed it to the girl.
Akame accepted it with some confusion.
She looked at it closely, then smelled it.
Right after that, her expression changed.
"Th-this is!"
"Oh, it's a small snack I made. It feels simple as a gift, but I'll be glad if you can accept it."
"A snack?" Akame's eyes shone.
'As expected!'
'That smell is food!'
The girl opened the wrapping and swallowed the snack inside in one bite.
A rich aroma filled her mouth.
Before she could properly chew, it was as if a bomb of delicious flavor exploded in her mouth.
Clear tears appeared at the corners of her eyes.
She was so moved that she could not control herself.
"Delicious!"
She had never eaten anything this tasty before.
It changed her view of food.
This was like dream-like cuisine!
Noah looked at her reaction without any smile in his eyes.
This reaction was exactly as he expected.
He had memorized the personalities and likes of each of the elite seven.
To lower their guard around him, he had prepared gifts based on their preferences.
Tsukushi liked beautiful things.
Akame liked food most of all.
That was the same as Kurome. From that point alone, it was clear that the two were twin sisters.
The true form of the snack was dried meat.
Noah had added some science and tricks to it.
As for flavor, he only needed to adjust it with Weaver to make it many times more delicious.
If he wanted, he could make a shoe insole taste like steak.
After a long while, the two girls recovered from the shock of beauty and deliciousness.
They trembled and enjoyed the memory.
Then they said together, "So this is the level of the Capital!"
'No, it is not.'
Noah wanted to comment, but he held himself back.
...
After thirty minutes, the three of them reached their destination.
Longxi Village.
After entering the village, Tsukushi and Akame were more familiar with the people here than Noah was.
People around them called their names and greeted them.
Noah followed the two girls to the village chief's house.
"Uncle Village Chief, we brought Dr. Noah!"
Tsukushi called out from outside the yard.
After a short while, a man holding a cane walked out of the house.
He looked at Noah and confirmed that Noah was the target Gozuki had told him about.
Then he began acting.
"Oh my, could this be Noah? It's been so long."
"Village chief, long time no see."
Noah and the village chief looked like they knew each other.
So Akame and Tsukushi stepped aside and stopped talking, letting the two of them speak.
The village chief invited the three of them into the house.
But Akame and Tsukushi said, "No, Uncle Village Chief. We still need to go to the restaurant to pick up ingredients. If we go back late, Father and the others will be starving."
"Hehehe, how capable you are, Tsukushi-chan, Akame-chan. Come visit next time."
"Understood. Thank you, Uncle Village Chief."
After sending the two girls away, Noah and the village chief entered the house together.
Noah stopped his stiff acting and snapped his fingers.
An invisible barrier blocked sound from spreading outside.
Seeing this, the village chief stopped pretending to be a kind old man.
He knelt on one knee and said, "Thank you for coming all this way, Professor Noah."
"No, it wasn't that tiring. At least my body isn't tired."
"Your residence has been prepared and the research facility has been opened. If you need anything else, please write it down. I will pass the request along later."
Noah glanced in the direction where the two girls had left, then asked, "Did Gozuki say when the plan starts?"
"Yes. The planned time is one week from now. At present, we have placed the bacteria into the water source. In about a week—"
"Oh."
What Gozuki was doing was troublesome.
He had to create a fake infectious disease and infect the elite seven, the villagers, and himself.
Then Noah would give the elite seven the Grace Elixir.
It was a roundabout method.
But this was because the Grace Elixir was a national secret.
Very few people knew about it.
Even the elite seven were not allowed to know.
They had to receive the Grace Elixir, but the truth had to be hidden from them.
This stupid method was probably something Gozuki had spent a long time thinking up.
He really was a hardworking government official!
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