When Budo appeared, Noah knew he had finally escaped the trouble that was Esdeath for today.
Frankly, even if he got serious, he had no idea whether he could beat her.
The strength that madwoman possessed now was something even a Level 4 adventurer might not be able to claim a steady victory over.
In fact, if only personal combat ability was considered, an ordinary Level 4 probably would not even survive one exchange against her.
For example, a certain "superhuman" husband...
Before, Esdeath had no Teigu, so her combat power was still limited to the realm of human possibility.
Even if she could shatter several-meter-tall rocks with one kick and knock down thick trees with one punch, her speed, attack power, range, and tactics were still restricted.
In terms of martial skill alone, the previous Esdeath had already been worthy of the title of Imperial general.
But now, after obtaining the ice-type Teigu, her strength had risen dramatically.
Many of her previous limitations had vanished, and her power had stepped into an entirely different dimension.
That was the difference between possessing a supernatural nature and not possessing one.
The old Esdeath, no matter how overwhelming her physical ability and potential were, could only use methods like punching and kicking.
Yet the moment she obtained a Teigu, she could unleash terrifying killing moves like the ones just now.
If she were given enough time to continue developing that Teigu's power, her strength would surely leap even further.
Forget Noah's current upper-Level-2 state.
Even if he ranked up to Level 3, he still could not confidently say he would defeat her.
Of course, that was assuming he did not rely on outside methods.
Combat was not as simple as comparing stats and fighting power.
Even an ordinary person holding the button to launch a nuclear weapon could kill tens of millions, even hundreds of millions, with one finger.
If Noah wanted to kill Esdeath, there were plenty of feasible methods. They were not limited to neurotoxins, soul manipulation, or blood manipulation.
He had never defined himself as a "warrior," "swordsman," or "fighter."
Open and honorable duels, glory, things like that—he had never cared about any of it.
The main reason he disliked revealing his abilities had never been because he wanted to keep a low profile.
It was to preserve "mystery."
A fight where he could kill an enemy through a surprise first encounter was not merely ten or a hundred times easier than a frontal battle.
The difference was far greater than that.
Take Wallenstein, the one-armed Sword Saint who had once attacked Hagun Academy, for example.
In terms of strength, he had been recognized by the Mage-Knight League as an A-Rank, a first-rate powerhouse on the world stage.
Yet even a famous veteran like him had no time to react when faced with Noah's soul manipulation.
He had been twisted into a broken mess before he could do anything.
Even Esdeath, if she was careless and let Noah touch her, would not end up any better than that.
There was simply no need for him to do it.
The two of them were not enemies.
Esdeath's feelings toward him were not hatred or disgust, merely obsession.
Whenever Noah thought of that, he regretted it!
Why on earth had he gone to watch that martial arts tournament that day?
Why had he looked toward that blue-haired girl back then?
If he had not taken that extra look, he would never have inexplicably gotten involved with her, and he would not have ended up with such a deranged stalker!
Nor would the later incidents have happened, causing this woman to keep him "on her mind" for so long.
'Tch.'
Although Esdeath's face was expressionless, Noah understood her well enough to know that she was definitely in an awful mood right now.
"It seems General Esdeath has recovered her senses. What a relief! Otherwise, the Prime Minister and I might have been killed by you."
Noah knew she was unhappy, so he deliberately needled her.
Sure enough, Esdeath's expression darkened.
Noah then looked toward Budo, one of the rare people in the Empire who could stand at the top while remaining loyal and upright.
Unlike the Prime Minister, this man sincerely wished for the Empire to continue.
Loyalty to the royal family had already taken deep root in his heart.
It was difficult to call him a good person.
If the royal family ordered him to massacre civilians, he would carry it out without changing expression.
That level of blind loyalty was rare even in this world.
He would never overstep.
He would never use his position as a subject to correct the Emperor's actions.
As a military commander, what he needed to fulfill was simple: carry out the Emperor's orders with absolute loyalty.
Nothing more.
He understood right and wrong. He knew good from evil.
But the royal family's command stood above all of that.
However, the current Prime Minister also seemed to have begun changing his original way of thinking.
Noah had noticed that ever since he had revealed some methods related to prolonging lifespan, Honest had gradually started to change.
It was just that this change had not yet clearly shown in his behavior, so it was not obvious.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
Before, Prime Minister Honest had probably only been thinking about how to enjoy everything he possessed within his limited time.
But now that the possibility of long life existed, in his current position, he naturally would not want the Empire to simply collapse.
As the person closest to the root of the Empire's corruption, Honest had been able to elevate a child with no competitive ability to the throne and become the Emperor's most favored minister.
Of course he was not some simple fool.
He was not merely cunning and treacherous.
He was resourceful and extremely clear-headed. He was simply too selfish, caring about nothing beyond his own interests.
He must also be able to see that the Empire was on the verge of collapse.
If he was convinced that lifespan extension was possible, then even for his own sake, he would likely put effort into preserving the Empire.
Budo looked at Noah, who still dared to provoke Esdeath, and truly sighed inwardly.
Such a brilliant talent, and yet he had gotten mixed up with that Prime Minister.
'The Empire clearly has so many capable people...'
'Why can the country still not find peace?'
Wars with foreign tribes were one thing.
No matter how many of them he slaughtered, as the Empire's Great General, he would not soften his heart. But crossing blades with former colleagues made him feel a faint sadness.
More and more officials had betrayed the Empire, including several high-ranking ministers.
More than half had fled the Imperial Capital because they could not stand against Honest.
Not long after escaping, they joined the rebel forces in various regions.
With these capable and organized ministers joining them, the rebel groups, which had originally been nothing more than disorganized mobs, had actually begun to grow into a serious force.
They were gradually becoming a threat the Empire could not ignore.
And even Imperial generals had...
"Esdeath. Your campaign on the southwestern border was brilliantly done. However, regarding Najenda, I hope you can give me an explanation."
Esdeath looked at Budo, completely unaffected by his pressure.
"What is there to explain? She betrayed the Empire. It's that simple."
Perhaps it was because of the Teigu's influence, but Esdeath's aura now contained an added chill and danger.
Even facing the Great General Budo, she remained as proud as an ice queen.
Naturally, Budo could not be satisfied with such an explanation.
He questioned her again. "There is no way Najenda would suddenly betray the Empire for no reason! There must have been a cause!"
"Heh."
Esdeath laughed coldly, as though recalling something laughable.
And in her view, that was exactly what it had been.
Najenda had been so foolish it was almost funny!
"She was too naive. That's all. She actually felt guilty over the fate of the enemy, then betrayed the Empire over something like that. She even secretly fled with her subordinates in the middle of the night. If you have questions, why don't I capture her and bring her back so you can ask her yourself?"
Their brief exchange contained a staggering amount of information.
General Najenda had committed treason?
And it was because of the war with the foreign tribes!
Esdeath also intended to personally capture her and put her on trial?
Noah thought back.
Not long ago, he had gone drinking with those two at a tavern. That had been the day before they set out for the southwestern border.
He clearly remembered Esdeath admitting that she and Najenda were friends.
Both of them were rare female generals of the Empire, and they had always gotten along well.
Esdeath, who normally had extremely high standards, seemed to think quite highly of Najenda.
He did not know what had happened on the southwestern border to overturn all of that in such a short time.
But Esdeath's was not joking.
If Najenda fell into her hands, her fate would be absolutely miserable.
Because this madwoman's hobby was torture!
From the moment Najenda betrayed the Empire, in Esdeath's eyes, she had changed from a friend into "valuable prey."
This woman's obsession with hunting stood above all other emotions.
"Hunting" and "torture."
One was the meaning of her existence, while the other was one of her few interests.
Having her as an enemy would be one of the worst possible situations.
Noah could imagine that Esdeath probably hoped he would betray the Empire too.
That way, she would be able to hunt him however she pleased...
Budo's brow tightened.
Then, with an extremely stiff tone, he said, "No, General Esdeath. Compared to General Najen—"
Seemingly realizing it was inappropriate to call a traitor a general, Budo changed his wording.
"Compared to Najenda, I hope you can assist a special unit in a support operation."
"Mm? Assist? Support?" Esdeath was slightly confused.
The Empire should not have any large-scale battles recently.
The only restless foreign tribes beyond the southwestern border had been slaughtered to the last by her troops in less than two days.
What battlefield still required support?
Even if she knew this was Budo's tactic to keep her away from Najenda, she did not care.
Because what she loved most was war.
Countless prey, all there to be trampled as much as she pleased.
A mere smalltime woman Najenda was far less attractive than a proper war.
She would rather throw herself onto the battlefield.
Especially now.
She could not wait to temper her new power.
Whether it was her strengthened body or her newly acquired supernatural ability, she wanted to fully master that power immediately.
And for that, battle was the fastest and most effective method.
"Have you heard of Putra?"
Esdeath pondered slightly when she heard that place name.
The location Budo mentioned was a barren land not included within the Empire's ruled territory.
It had no rare resources, the climate was harsh, and even the land itself was rocky.
It was not even suitable for farming.
"A war in a place like that?"
"We are the ones who started it..."
"Mm?" Esdeath asked in surprise. "Why?"
Although she enjoyed war, slaughter, and everything that made her blood burn, she also fully understood the conditions needed to start a war.
Starting a war was both simple and difficult, but one hundred percent of the time, it was complicated.
Precisely because the Empire had the ability to start wars almost at will, she had been willing to serve as an official in the Empire instead of continuing as a lone wolf.
A place like Putra had no resources worth the Empire's effort to wage war over.
If there were no benefits to plunder, the Empire would not bother provoking conflict.
At this moment, the Prime Minister, who had been absent from the conversation for quite some time, suddenly cut in and explained.
"Ahem. Speaking of Putra, that place has a very long history. More importantly, it is where ancient royal tombs are located. Out of respect for the old kings, even now, the people of Putra use a special ability to plunder gold, silver, and treasures for offerings."
"Oh?"
That single sentence drew the interest of several people.
Esdeath had already realized what he meant.
Simply put, the Empire had its eye on the gold and treasure that Putra had accumulated until now and wanted to take it for itself.
The people of Putra were guilty of possessing something valuable.
Therefore, they were to be destroyed.
In other words, this was a war of one-sided Imperial aggression against Putra.
There was no justice in it at all.
But she did not care.
As long as there was killing and fighting, that was enough!
On the other side, Noah also became very interested, and the reason was the Prime Minister's phrase "special ability."
A special ability possessed by the people of Putra?
It did not sound like some technique acquired through learning.
Considering the claim that Putra had a long history, Noah formed a guess.
Could this so-called special ability be... secret arts?
In this world, the two major arts connected to mystery both originated from Danger Beasts.
One was alchemy.
The other was secret arts.
During the creation of Black Nightmare, Noah had discovered something: there were certain things alchemy could not accomplish.
He had referenced many Teigu and Shingu and discovered that another art was involved in them.
Using the alchemy notes left behind by Lamur, it was easy to infer that this art was none other than secret arts.
Take Nahashu's Shingu, the Water Dragon Sword, which Noah had once studied.
The Water Dragon Sword's ability strengthened combat power for three minutes.
Its essence was a drastic enhancement of the body.
And that so-called enhancement was, in fact, the temporary transformation of the body into that of a Danger Beast.
Such a technique had clearly exceeded the scope of alchemy. It did not conform to the basic theories of alchemy.
In fact, one could even say it violated them.
Therefore, there was only one possibility for the technique applied within the Water Dragon Sword.
It was secret arts.