You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

“I have no such thoughts!” Akame retorted immediately. “Disciplining or anything like that… I would not treat Kurome that way. As long as she can be freed from the Empire’s control, that’s all that matters.”

But I hope you have that kind of thought—Iori stroked his chin.

Sisters' bowls are indeed very immoral, and Iori, as a true gentleman, would never do such a shameless and bottomless thing.

but!

If Iori doesn't take the initiative, but instead her proud and aloof younger sister insists on coming along because she can't live without her older sister... then Iori will have no choice but to reluctantly accept it.

Who can blame him for being such a responsible and good man?

Sigh! Poor Iori, the infamy falls on Kurohime!

Of course, this is just a beautiful fantasy at the moment. Let alone Sister Donburi, he hasn't even managed to get Akame yet.

"By the way, where is your dowry maid—no, your dear sister?"

Iori asked curiously, "You didn't bring her with you?"

“I brought her, but her medication intake has been restricted recently, and her physical and mental state is unstable. I was worried about something going wrong, so I didn’t take her downstairs.”

Akame glanced at the second floor of the inn: "My companion is watching her in the room, there won't be any problems."

"You'd entrust your most beloved younger sister to someone else's care... There aren't many companions you can trust like that, are there?"

"That's right, you should have heard of her name."

Akame hesitated for a moment: "Kuroame's condition is already very bad. I'll take the antidote upstairs now... My companions will come to find you later, but you don't need to worry. You can leave if you don't want to talk."

I will always remember this kindness, and I will never refuse to help you whenever you need it!

Iori wanted to tease her a bit, but Akame grabbed her things and went upstairs before he could speak, it seemed that her sister's condition was indeed urgent.

After a while, just as Akame had said, a woman with short silver hair, her right eye covered by a black band, and her right arm replaced by a mechanical prosthetic limb walked down.

She has a tall and voluptuous figure, and even wearing a men's suit cannot hide her charm. Her face, which combines heroism and charm, is even more captivating, enough to make people ignore her physical imperfections.

As she walked toward him, Iori's eyes revealed an expression of no surprise: It really was her, the traitorous general of the Empire, Najenda!

She was once a very outstanding general and a powerful Teigu user, but when she decided to defect, she was pursued by the "strongest in the empire". As a result, she not only lost two Teigu users, but also lost an arm and an eye.

But this does not mean she was incompetent. On the contrary, being able to escape from the pursuit of the "strongest in the empire" was already a great achievement!

Although Najenda is no longer a powerful fighter, her talent as a general has not disappeared. She still holds an important position in the Revolutionary Army and travels around searching for strong men for them... It is obvious why she came to find Iori.

"There's no need to introduce yourself; this isn't a place where secrets can be kept."

Iori had no intention of testing or playing games; she spoke frankly, saying, "I have no intention of joining the Revolutionary Army, and no one can give me orders. But if it's a win-win cooperation, I'm very interested."

"Oh? A win-win situation?"

Najenda, having seen her share of storms, remained unfazed by Iori's aloof attitude, calmly sitting down and asking curiously, "For example?"

"For example... Chief Minister Ernest has a son named Sheila, who is said to be even more ruthless than his father and will become your great enemy sooner or later. I am also very interested in this person or what he has."

Iori smiled slightly: "If you can provide me with information about Sila, I can conduct a hunt for free."

Chapter 30: I Don't Eat Beef.jpg

This world is not just about the Empire. A thousand years ago, the first emperor unified the most prosperous central region of the continent and drove the foreign tribes to the harsher, more remote areas.

Western kingdoms, southern islands, northern frozen tundra, and the most mysterious eastern island nation.

Despite being the most powerful entity, the empire could not ignore the threats from all sides. For thousands of years, it had been implementing a policy of appeasement towards other ethnic groups. However, in recent decades, due to the repeated upheavals in the empire's power structure, the surrounding ethnic groups had become restless. But the empire's military strength had not yet weakened, so it was still able to forcibly suppress the rebellions.

In particular, a certain female general, who is known as the "strongest in the empire," has been killing so many foreign tribes in recent years that they are terrified. She is only twenty years old, but her fearsome reputation can already stop children from crying at night.

However, even under such circumstances, there were still those who dared to challenge the imperial authority.

That was the foreign tribe that occupied the frozen north. Their people were fierce and warlike. Under the leadership of their prince, they had fought the empire to a standstill in many conflicts, and it could even be said that they had the upper hand.

They haven't officially started a war with the Empire yet, but after years of preparation, they have amassed 300,000 to 400,000 troops on the border, so it wouldn't be surprising if they started an attack at any time.

This also put the empire's northern provinces on high alert. From the capital city to the border towns, almost everyone knew that winter was coming and spent every dark night in a state of tension.

Waaaaaah~~ Waaaaah~~

It was also an unsettling night. The fickle blizzard goddess descended upon the North. The biting wind didn't just blow; it lashed out like cavalry, assaulting every passerby. The bare branches whistled mournfully in the wind, like the howls of some unknown, dangerous creature. The vast expanse of white snow seemed endless in the darkness, making one momentarily believe they had reached the end of the world.

The four of them, along with their luggage, rode on a pack animal that resembled a giant ground sloth, braving the wind and snow to make their way through half a meter of snow.

Even though everyone possesses unique skills and is no ordinary traveler, they are still somewhat lacking in the ability to withstand the power of heaven and earth.

The leader was even more furious:

He possesses an extremely powerful Imperial Arm that allows him to instantly teleport to extremely distant locations, with the limitation that he can only move to locations that have been marked in advance.

It was his first time going to the northern permafrost, and to reach his destination he had to walk there, which was extremely frustrating.

"Your Highness Shira!"

Just then, one of his men shouted, "There's light ahead! We've found the town!"

"Oh, I saw it too! That's great! I thought I was lost."

"Hurry, hurry, I'm freezing to death!"

The group of four, led by the minister's son Sheila, roused themselves and urged their weary pack animals to move forward faster. As the light in front of them slowly drew closer, they discovered that it was a two-story tower specifically designed to guide travelers, with people specifically assigned to guard the fire source.

The guards questioned the four people briefly before letting them pass. Given the weather and the fact that there were only four of them, they couldn't possibly be bandits or scouts from another tribe. They seemed to be travelers, so the guards enthusiastically pointed out the way to the only inn in town.

They arrived at the inn, settled the pack animals into the stables, and when they knocked on the door, a kind and rugged middle-aged man with the typical appearance of a Northerner appeared out; he also seemed to have some ethnic ancestry.

"What's up, checking into a hotel?"

"Yes, yes, anyway, let's have a hot meal first, we're almost frozen." Sheila smiled slightly exaggeratedly.

"Really..."

In this kind of weather, the shop owner didn't seem willing to open for business, but considering that this group of people had nowhere else to go, he let them in.

There were clearly few customers in the shop, except for three mysterious-looking men in cloaks sitting around a table.

Could they be spies from a foreign tribe? — Sheila squinted at them.

But that has nothing to do with him. Do the four of them need to be afraid of a mere alien race?

These three cloaked men are behaving themselves, but if they dare to make any trouble, we'll take them down!

Sheila and her three companions, skilled and daring, boldly chose a table in the lobby, then took off their cloaks and coats, revealing their true faces, each with a distinct style, which surprised the shop owner.

Sheila was a young man with brown skin, messy white hair, a fit physique, and a rebellious look on his face.

His three subordinates were a young man with a sinister gaze, a mature woman with a frivolous expression, and a middle-aged warrior with an aloof demeanor.

The shop owner had never seen anyone dressed like that before, especially a samurai... But then again:

"You're all dressed too lightly! Even indoors, this isn't acceptable!"

Apart from the samurai, the three of them, including Sheila, were dressed quite...fashionably, as if they had run away from some kind of masquerade ball. The two men showed off large chest muscles, while the woman was dressed in something resembling erotic clothing.

This greatly shocked the guy from the North, who had grown up in the icy wilderness: "Aren't Southerners afraid of the cold?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Sheila waved her hand, smiling gently, but inwardly she was quite impatient with the shop owner's concern.

"More importantly, please bring us our food!"

"You're from a big city, right?"

The shop owner suddenly looked very curious: "At least no one in the North dresses like this... Could you be from the capital?"

“Uh…you guessed half right, I am from the capital.” Sheila pointed to herself.

According to his usual style, the shop owner who dared to interrupt him was already courting death, but now that the blizzard hadn't stopped, he could only stay in this small town... at least until he had eaten his fill before killing him.

"But why travel all the way to the Northern Border... Oh, I see, life in the capital must be very difficult, right?"

The shop owner gave her a knowing look, which made Sheila laugh.

The beautiful woman beside him became interested: "Why is it not going well? I come from a Western kingdom. Although I have never been to the capital, shouldn't the capital be the most prosperous place?"

"You're not from the Empire, no wonder you didn't know."

The shop owner chuckled and turned to retrieve a wine pot, wine cups, and a small stove for warming wine from behind the counter. As he started the fire, he said indignantly, "Isn't it all because the capital is now controlled by the ministers, causing widespread resentment and anger?"

"Minister? Which minister?"

"Who else could it be? Of course it's Chief Ernest, the real dog minister! Countless people hate him to death!"

"Oh? The dog minister?" Sheila grinned, the firelight casting his shadow on the wall, making him look like some wild beast opening its blood-red maw full of fangs.

"But I heard he's a pillar of the empire."

His companions also glanced at him subconsciously, each with a playful expression.

"Isn't Ernest just a dog minister and a dog nobleman?"

The shop owner, oblivious to anything amiss, continued cursing, "That dog minister's son, Sheila, is a complete bastard! A beast among beasts!"

"Ha ha……"

The brown-skinned youth laughed even harder: "A beast among beasts? Haha, what, do you have a grudge against him?"

"That's right. My cousin and her husband used to teach in the capital. If it weren't for that bastard Sheila killing innocent people indiscriminately, how could my cousin's husband have died? If he hadn't condoned his subordinates' violence, how could those students have been tortured to death?"

The boss looked up and said, "Look, that's my cousin. She has no one else to rely on but herself, so she has come to me for help."

Everyone's gaze shifted to the second floor, where a beautiful, simply dressed woman with long hair was slowly walking down the stairs with a puzzled expression. The closer she got to Sheila, the more uncertain and suspicious her eyes became, and finally, she was filled with fear, her legs trembling slightly.

"Wow, your cousin is quite pretty!"

Sheila narrowed her eyes, revealing a predatory glint in them, already plotting how she would ravage this woman later.

Come to think of it, he did have a vague recollection of that face; he seemed to have indeed seen it in the capital... but he had killed too many people to remember which one was her husband.

It's such a pity. Otherwise, finding her husband's grave and ravaging his wife in front of it, letting her wronged spirit watch helplessly as her murderer revels, would surely be even more impactful.

Well, I'll just use my cousin's head as a substitute for that.

"Let me tell you, that bastard minister and his beastly son will definitely go to hell after they die, and never be able to be reincarnated!"

"That beast Sheila, don't ever have a son again, or he'll be born without an anus!"

“Cousin…who are these guests…” the woman asked cautiously as she approached, her voice trembling.

"Oh, they're just passing by. Don't just sit there, come over and help them see what they need."

As he spoke, the shop owner seemed to suddenly remember something: "Oh right, are you hungry? I'll make you a pot of noodles. A cow just died the day before yesterday, you're in luck! I'll make you braised beef noodles!"

"Okay~ put less cilantro, I don't like it."

"Understood!"

The shop owner strode into the kitchen behind the curtain to cook, while his cousin, who had been asked to help, stood there fearfully.

But Sheila simply said "Come here," and she trembled and walked shakily to the table.

"Hmm~ Nice figure~"

Sheila and another sinister-looking youth leered at her, but did not make a move, because in their view, the game was not over yet, and the prey was best enjoyed at the end.

"You recognize me, don't you?"

“Sera, son of Minister Ernest.” My cousin took a deep breath, as if she had mustered her courage, but it was tinged with resentment.

“Since you know me, you should know I won’t let you off the hook, right?” Sheila teased.

The others chuckled, amused by the woman's desperate state.

"Well!"

My cousin seemed to be in despair too: "Why, why did you do this? Is killing fun?!"

Does murder require a reason?

Sheila, on the contrary, said matter-of-factly, "My pleasure is the most important thing!"