I don't want to be an elf!

No, it's necessary to collect enough time.

"I never want to try this kind of fighting again in my life."

Kurumi Tokisaki gripped the flintlock pistol tightly in her hand. Although the injuries caused by Rashomon had been completely healed, her body still seemed to be suffering from phantom pain.

She was far from being as relaxed as she had appeared earlier.

After all, she wasn't the real Kurumi Tokisaki; she hadn't suffered many injuries before, and her pain tolerance was practically zero.

Some things can be imitated, but some things, no matter how you imitate them, can never become the real thing.

But it doesn't matter. In the end, she was just acting, and the most important thing about acting is to make it look real.

Whether you believe it or not is not important.

The important thing is to make others believe.

Thanks to her acting skills, Ryunosuke Akutagawa was clearly fooled by her performance and believed her act.

That's enough for the girl.

Taking a deep breath to suppress the phantom pain within her body, and bringing forward her plan to replenish time in her mind, Tokisaki Kurumi also stepped down from the fighting arena and came to Izumi Kyoka's side.

“Your ex-boss won’t bother you anymore… for a while,” she said, trying to sound casual. “But even if he comes back a lot more, I won’t let him take you away, so don’t worry.”

"I'm not worried about Akutagawa, I'm worried about your injuries, sister." A wavering expression appeared on Izumi Kyoka's usually placid face. "Are you really alright?"

Having witnessed the entire battle, Izumi Kyoka's emotions were like a rollercoaster ride.

Several times she wanted to rush up and help Tokisaki Kurumi, but when she remembered that Tokisaki Kurumi told her to trust herself, she could only suppress her eagerness and watch from the sidelines.

Fortunately, Ryunosuke Akutagawa lost, and Kurumi Tokisaki won.

However, the battle itself was quite terrifying.

Having endured two fatal attacks, he stood there as if nothing had happened, leaving Izumi Kyoka completely bewildered.

"I told you before that I have twelve abilities, right?"

"Ah."

"You've already seen the Tenth Bullet's ability; it can read the memories of the objects or people it hits. The ability I used to recover was the Fourth Bullet, which has the ability to reverse time," Kurumi Tokisaki explained. "The Fourth Bullet allows my body to rewind to a state before I was injured, so as long as it's not an attack that's instantly fatal, the Fourth Bullet can negate it with a single shot, without any side effects or leaving any hidden dangers."

After receiving the explanation, Izumi Kyoka was visibly relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.

She gained a deeper understanding of Tokisaki Kurumi's abilities and gradually realized that her older sister was not just a pretty face.

Kurumi Tokisaki was able to become the second guerrilla squad leader after Ryunosuke Akutagawa because of her hard-earned strength.

Izumi Kyoka didn't know the extent of her true strength, but from her perspective as an observer, the two should be at roughly the same level.

Although Tokisaki Kurumi won, she almost died twice during the battle. If Akutagawa Ryunosuke had been a little more ruthless, he might have been the one to win.

The battle was extremely dangerous; even though we won, it was a Pyrrhic victory.

Izumi Kyoka really doesn't know who will win next time.

Although it was their first meeting today, this older sister who had rescued her from despair and given her care had already held a significant place in her heart.

She didn't want her savior to die because of her.

“I am very grateful to my sister for fighting for me, but please take better care of your health.” She put on a stern face. “I have already received enough. I don’t want my sister to give up her life for me.”

"Are you worried about me? What a lovely child."

"I was serious."

"Don't make such a serious face. Okay, okay, I'll be careful."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Returning Home

Having defeated Ryunosuke Akutagawa, there were no further obstacles to obtaining ownership of Izumi Kyoka.

Keeping his word is one of this man's few virtues. His commitment to promises has made him a trusted subordinate of Mori Ōgai. Therefore, Tokisaki Kurumi doesn't need to worry that one day he will challenge her to a duel again and try to reclaim Izumi Kyoka's ownership.

No, it should be said that a duel is definitely going to happen. Being defeated by a newcomer from an organization is an unacceptable fact for him. Once he believes he has become stronger enough to defeat Tokisaki Kurumi, he will definitely challenge her to a duel to regain his honor.

But these are all things for later.

Without Akutagawa Ryunosuke's obstruction, Tokisaki Kurumi and Izumi Kyoka could officially leave.

Stepping out of the dull and oppressive port mafia headquarters and standing in the sunlight, Izumi Kyoka's expression seemed to soften somewhat.

"So, I don't need to kill anymore."

She looked somewhat dazed, turning back to gaze at the dark skyscrapers standing in the city center behind her, and murmured to herself with a complex expression, "I never thought I could one day be free from this kind of life."

"Don't talk like you're no longer a member of the Port Mafia."

Seeing Izumi Kyoka's hesitant and uneasy expression, Tokisaki Kurumi reminded her, "Although I don't need you to kill people, the fact that we are members of the organization remains unchanged."

"If the boss orders me to kill someone, should I still do it?"

"No," Kurumi Tokisaki said calmly. "I won't let him do that."

Although his tone was calm, it contained a confidence that anyone could hear.

Izumi Kyoka looked at Tokisaki Kurumi and remained silent for a moment.

If she remembered correctly, Tokisaki Kurumi, like Akutagawa Ryunosuke, was a guerrilla squad leader in the organization, directly under Mori Ougai.

Although the guerrilla squad leader held a high position in the organization, he still did not have the power to disregard the officers, much less the power to disregard the Boss.

Even Ryunosuke Akutagawa dared not disobey in the slightest when carrying out a mission.

Unless one stands at the pinnacle of the Port Mafia and becomes one of the five powerful executives, no matter how high their status or strength, they are ultimately just a powerful henchman.

Even those with superpowers are just tools that can be discarded at any time.

She opened her mouth, then hesitated before saying, "If the Boss wants me to kill someone, I will."

“You are my subordinate, he has no right to order you around.”

"But... isn't my sister the boss's subordinate?" Izumi Kyoka asked, puzzled.

"Well, it's both yes and no," Kurumi Tokisaki said, organizing her thoughts. "My relationship with Mr. Mori is rather special; it's not a normal superior-subordinate relationship."

Izumi Kyōka was stunned.

As if struck by a thought, her eyes widened slightly, filled with disbelief: "An abnormal boss-subordinate relationship?"

"What's going on in your head at such a young age?"

Guessing that Izumi Kyoka had misunderstood, Tokisaki Kurumi flicked her forehead hard: "I don't have any impure relationship with that lolicon... at most it's just a dirty business relationship."

Izumi Kyōka's eyes widened even more.

Isn't this... making things even worse?

After a long pause, she finally managed to say, "Sister...you must...take care of your health."

"Hmm? Haven't you said that before?" Kurumi Tokisaki tilted her head. "And it feels like it means something different now."

“Boss, he’s not a good person,” Izumi Kyoka said anxiously. “Let’s not continue this, we’ll definitely regret it later.”

"Puhaha---"

Kurumi Tokisaki couldn't help but laugh, ruffling Izumi Kyoka's hair: "Just kidding, just kidding, little Kyoka is so naive. He and I aren't in that kind of relationship."

"Huh?" Izumi Kyoka was a little confused. "Then why doesn't my sister have to take orders from the Boss?"

“Because I know Mori Ougai’s weaknesses, and I also know many secrets of the Port Mafia,” Tokisaki Kurumi replied easily. “If Mr. Mori makes me unhappy, I also have ways to make him unhappy. However, happiness in this world is conserved, so the government will definitely be happy.”

"I see." Izumi Kyoka nodded thoughtfully.

During her six months with the Port Mafia, she not only acquired the skills of an assassin but also came into contact with many dark aspects of the world.

As intelligent as she is, she has naturally deduced the true relationship between Tokisaki Kurumi and Mori Ougai from just a few words from Tokisaki Kurumi.

It's less a superior-subordinate relationship and more an equal one.

Although Tokisaki Kurumi is ostensibly Mori Ōgai's subordinate, unlike other subordinates, she has the right to refuse unreasonable requests and tasks.

Because she possesses secrets that the organization doesn't want others to know.

Generally speaking, when an organization encounters such a person, it will kill them to prevent information from being leaked.

However, Tokisaki Kurumi's abilities were too strange and mysterious, and even Mori Ougai was not 100% confident that he could kill her.

If the hard approach doesn't work, try the soft approach.

Therefore, Mori Ōgai had no choice but to find a way to recruit Tokisaki Kurumi into the organization.

This is why Tokisaki Kurumi was able to become a guerrilla squad leader overnight.

It's important to know that before this, there was only one guerrilla squad leader, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, which alone shows how difficult it was to become a guerrilla squad leader.

When Izumi Kyoka first met Tokisaki Kurumi, she was a little confused as to when the organization had gained someone of equal status to Akutagawa Ryunosuke.

As an assassin, Izumi Kyoka not only needs to eliminate the organization's enemies, but is also required to kill her own people at certain times.

Therefore, she had a thorough understanding of all the members of the organization.

But she had never heard of Tokisaki Kurumi's name.

Now, her doubts have finally been answered.

Tokisaki Kurumi knows important secrets of the Port Mafia. Mori Ōgai, in order to prevent her from revealing this information to others, offers a high-priced incentive—the position of guerrilla squad leader—to lure Tokisaki Kurumi into joining the organization and taking control of her.

However, Tokisaki Kurumi is no pushover either. She knows how to use her advantages. Although she has become Mori Ōgai's subordinate, she still holds the initiative. Therefore, she is not afraid of Mori Ōgai's authority in the Port Mafia.

Rather, to some extent, Mori Ōgai should be mindful of her mood.

"Now you don't have to worry anymore, right?" Kurumi Tokisaki asked.

"Ah."

"Then, let's go."

"Walk?"

Izumi Kyoka had only taken two steps when, as if remembering something, she hesitated and asked, "Where to?"

"go home."

"My sister's house?"