Chapter 139: First Assassination Mission
"Congratulations, Deputy Minister Yotsuba! You've finally achieved your goal of sitting in the minister's seat!"
The first to congratulate him upon hearing of his promotion was none other than the former minister of the Imperial Assassination Corps, now deputy minister—Bill with his strong-man hairstyle and bald head.
Though his expression didn't quite match the congratulations.
Of course it wouldn't—after being forcibly demoted, it was already good enough that he didn't immediately draw his sword for a fair, just, and open samurai duel.
So Mahiro stepped forward and patted Bill's shoulder, comforting him with profound sincerity:
"Bill, old friend, don't take it so hard. These distinctions between senior and junior positions are trivial matters."
"You'll still lead your Enhancement Unit, and I'll continue leading my elite squad. We won't interfere with each other."
"I truly regret ever letting you take over the elite group's training."
Bill fixed him with an intense, unwavering stare.
Others might not know, but as the department head, Bill understood all too clearly.
Were the eight members of the elite group strong now?
That was beyond doubt—their strength had been evident during the imperial palace turmoil.
But strong as they were, no one could control the elite group anymore. Everyone now followed only Mahiro's orders.
So Bill truly regretted it now.
Why hadn't he asked Dr. Stylish to inject those kids with addictive drugs back then? If he had, they wouldn't have slipped from his control.
"What a pity, there's no such thing as a regret pill in this world, don't you agree? Deputy Head Bill."
"What exactly are you after?" Bill asked in a low voice.
At first, he had thought this Mahiro had no desire for power, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such an outrageous request to the young emperor—to personally oversee two departments!
Even if it was against the rules.
Yet he had managed to persuade the rules themselves!
Moreover, it was said that the security team had long been consolidated by Mahiro, and no one dared to defy this young man.
"Purpose? I have no purpose. I just don't want anyone, including that fat pig Honest, to trample all over me. That's all."
Power? He truly didn't care about that.
If he did, he could have just killed that fat pig Honest and taken his place.
Everything he was doing now was simply to enjoy—to enjoy this extraordinary life brought by this different world.
However, his words shocked Bill, who broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead. He never expected this seemingly young boy to not even regard the Prime Minister with any concern!
"Oh, by the way, I hope Deputy Head Bill will keep today's conversation confidential."
"Do you think that's possible? After all, I'm an official from Prime Minister Honest's faction," the bald deputy head Bill snorted coldly.
"That doesn't matter either."
Mahiro smiled, his expression playful. "Even if you walk out that door right now and report directly to that fat pig Honest, it wouldn't matter. It would just bring forward an unavoidable massacre. Do you think I'd care?"
"Hmph, I hope you don't play with fire and get burned. I won't speak of today's conversation. I want to see how you plan to fight against Prime Minister Honest, who holds the most power in the Imperial City, and the strongest General Budo!"
With that, Bill turned and left without hesitation.
Watching his retreating back, Mahiro couldn't help but laugh.
"Why would I need to fight them?"
Although Bill appeared as steady as an old dog on the surface, even daring to confront him coldly, Mahiro could tell that Bill was terrified inside.
Afraid that he might suddenly erupt and kill him, then dispose of the evidence.
Just like what had happened in the imperial palace inner court.
And with Mahiro's current influence and close relationship with the young emperor, he wouldn't face any punishment whatsoever.
Simply put, Bill would die for nothing.
But he didn't want to die yet, so he planned to watch from the sidelines and not get involved in their conflict. To be precise, Bill had already lost the qualification to participate.
After Bill left, Mahiro summoned Seryu and the other captains.
He first praised Seryu for her recent performance and her achievements in diligently capturing criminals, then promoted her to the position of captain.
As for the others, he dangled a big carrot in front of them.
Since the position of deputy minister was now vacant again, his implication was that over the next few years, as long as they performed well, anyone could climb to that position.
However, the effect was somewhat mediocre, as all the captains were well aware of the close relationship between Seryu and him.
Many already believed the deputy minister position was undoubtedly reserved for Seryu.
Yet no one showed any dissatisfaction; on the contrary, they seemed quite approving of him as minister.
According to normal practice, the bulk of the money collected from merchants had to be offered first to the minister and deputy minister. Originally, there was only one minister, so when Mahiro suddenly parachuted in as deputy minister, it meant their income would decrease.
That was why they had been very dissatisfied with Mahiro initially.
But later, they discovered that Mahiro, the deputy minister, had no interest in money whatsoever, leading to no change in their allocated shares.
And now, with Mahiro promoted to minister and the deputy minister position vacant again, and Seryu being just as disinterested in bribes as Mahiro...
Didn't that mean they could get an even larger share?
Just thinking about this, even if they couldn't climb to the deputy minister position, no one would complain.
In fact, they were quite happy to accept this reality.
Afterwards, Mahiro delivered a few formal remarks, pumped them up a bit, reassigned tasks, and then left the office.
Moreover, it was already the next day when he went to the Assassination Department.
In the Assassination Department office, the eight members of the elite squad had gathered early and were waiting.
After offering somewhat formal congratulations on his promotion to minister, they stood obediently, awaiting his orders.
It seemed the lesson from that night at the palace not long ago had been quite effective.
Even on the day they met with Prime Minister Honest, Poney had unusually refrained from speaking recklessly.
Actually, Poney had wanted to speak at the time, but she was promptly restrained by Cornelia, Akame, and others.
After all, that was the Prime Minister—one wrong word could cost them their heads!
"Alright, no need to be so formal. Sit wherever you like."
Seeing them lined up neatly, Mahiro gave the order to disperse.
Hearing this, they glanced at each other first, then relaxed.
Especially that fool Poney, who immediately plopped down on the floor without caring how dirty it was.
Nahashu, as usual, found a corner to sit in and pulled out a book he carried with him to read, while Green sat beside him.
Akame and Kurome casually found chairs to sit on.
As for Cornelia, Tsukushi, and Gin, they were gazing longingly at the sofa next to him, wanting to sit there but not daring to.
"Alright, stop staring. Didn't I just say it? Sit wherever you like."
"Yay!"
Tsukushi and Gin cheered, quickly scampering to his side, each grabbing one of his arms, then leaning in and pressing their chests against his arms.
They sat there with delighted expressions.
Cornelia, a step too slow, could only settle for sitting one space away.
"Ah! How sneaky! I want to do that too!"
Poney shouted as she scrambled up from the ground, then plopped directly onto his lap. She wriggled a bit to adjust to a comfortable position—one could say the spot was just perfect.
Upon seeing this, the sisters Akame and Kurome first froze in surprise, then began gnawing their nails in frustration.
Tch, she stole the initiative!
"Alright, enough fooling around. Let's get down to business first."
Mahiro lifted Poney from his embrace and set her aside, squeezing her next to Gin.
Though both were rather unwilling, upon hearing they were moving to serious matters, they immediately suppressed their emotions and pricked up their ears to listen attentively.
"First, congratulations to all eight of you for officially graduating from assassin training. Starting today, you may remove the weights you've been carrying and no longer need to wear them."
Mahiro spoke earnestly, and they listened with equal seriousness.
Especially upon hearing they no longer had to wear the weights, they cheered with joy.
Indeed, they had been wearing weights all along.
Whether during previous assessments or even during the palace turmoil, they kept them on because they hadn't received Mahiro's order to remove them.
Thus, they wore them even while sleeping and training, only taking them off briefly during baths.
Now, they were finally liberated.
After taking them off, they excitedly exclaimed how light their bodies felt. Their speed now was such that even Tsukushi, the least adept at running, could move as swiftly as the wind.
"Alright, don't get too excited yet. I haven't finished speaking."
Hearing this, they immediately quieted down.
"Good. Next, we're going to carry out an assassination mission..."
Upon hearing about an assassination mission, they all perked up, rubbing their hands in anticipation—this was precisely why they had undergone training.
However, this mission came rather suddenly. The story begins from yesterday—
"General Budo, have there been any issues at the border recently?"
In the lavish palace, the young emperor seated on the highest throne asked the mighty warrior beside him.
Below him, court officials stood in two rows, with the influential Prime Minister Honest at the very front. Even though it was court session time, he nonchalantly chewed on a piece of meat, and no one dared to call him out on it!
"Your Majesty, not long ago, General Esdeath sent news of victory. The foreign tribes at the southwestern border have been suppressed. As for the northern tribes, though they rebelled a few years ago, other generals are currently guarding the area, and there have been no issues so far!"
Budo replied calmly.
"As expected of General Esdeath. Though I've only recently ascended the throne, I've repeatedly heard of her deeds. When she returns from campaign, I shall reward her properly."
"Thank you for Your Majesty's grace. I express gratitude on behalf of General Esdeath."
Though it was somewhat presumptuous for General Budo to say this on her behalf, as her superior, it was reasonably appropriate.
However, at that moment, a court official stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, according to intelligence gathered, the Revolutionary Army, which seeks to overthrow our empire, has suddenly moved toward the northwestern border. It seems they intend to collaborate with the northwestern foreign tribes."
"Indeed, Your Majesty, Intelligence Chief Shimiya is correct. Those damned rebels are secretly conducting underhanded activities, gathering intelligence in an attempt to oppose the Empire! Though it's only in its early stages, I hope to resolve this quickly."
Honest tore violently at the meat in his hands, his blunt teeth making his expression appear even more ferocious.
"Oh? Does Prime Minister Honest have a solution then?" the young emperor asked curiously.
"Of course, Your Majesty. Since they have intelligence operatives, we have our own—and even more superior assassination units! This is the perfect time to deploy them against the Revolutionary Army. I believe having the deputy chief of the assassination unit lead this operation would be ideal!"
Based on the information from Bill, Honest knew full well that it was impossible to sideline Mahiro within the assassination department.
Mahiro commanded the strongest elite squad, and that squad would only obey Mahiro's orders.
Therefore, Honest planned to take a roundabout approach: let Deputy Chief Bill achieve some merits and produce results, while he fanned the flames from the sidelines.
This way, Bill would regain the young emperor's favor!
However, plans are often like an untouched virgin, while reality is a multi-threaded whore that never follows the script.
"Deputy Chief?"
The young emperor tilted his head in confusion before exclaiming, "Oh! I remember now—that ugly Bill, right? But he's the deputy chief; how can he abandon his post to lead a mission? Besides, he's already old, nearly at retirement age. He definitely can't lead a team to complete tasks. Let's summon Chief Yotsuba instead. I have more faith in Chief Yotsuba's abilities."
"Your Majesty!"
Honest was shocked and inwardly furious, viciously tearing into his meat as if biting into someone's flesh.
After chewing and swallowing a piece, he calmed down and said, "Your Majesty, I find this inappropriate. If Deputy Chief Bill cannot leave his post, how can Chief Yotsuba Mahiro do so?"
"Hehe, it's fine! I trust Chief Yotsuba's abilities. He'll arrange everything properly!"
The young emperor said carelessly.
Completely disregarding Prime Minister Honest's feelings, he immediately summoned Mahiro to the palace.
Honest's face turned exceptionally grim as he continuously gnawed on his food to vent his inner rage.
Meanwhile, Mahiro stood calmly before the ministers. Most officials viewed him as a thorn in their side, but General Budo and the few remaining conscientious faction members admired his composure.
"Chief Yotsuba, if I dispatch you to suppress the rebels in the northwest region, will it not delay the work of the security team and assassination department?"
"Your Highness, there will be no issues whatsoever."
Mahiro stated plainly, "I've already arranged the security team's work and have corresponding contingency plans. As for the assassination department, even in my absence, Deputy Minister Bill won't have any problems."
"Right! There's still Deputy Minister Bill! Then it's settled—while Minister Yotsuba you're away from the Imperial City, Deputy Minister Bill will temporarily handle your duties."
"If you successfully complete the mission and return, I'll give you a great reward!"
The young emperor patted her chest as she guaranteed.
However, Mahiro only smiled slightly without saying anything.
This attitude of remaining unperturbed by honor or disgrace greatly impressed General Budo, though he felt this Mahiro seemed somewhat disrespectful toward His Majesty.
The problem was, the young emperor didn't mind at all, reaching into her slightly loose robe to pull out an almost completed Rubik's cube, holding it up as if showing off.
"Look, Minister Yotsuba, I've almost finished the Rubik's cube you gave me before! When it's done, it'll be your turn to fulfill your promise!"
"Don't worry, Your Highness, I won't go back on my word."
Their conversation between ruler and subject didn't resemble that of an emperor and his minister at all, but rather like an older brother humoring his younger sister.
This made Honest's eyes gleam with malice—he had realized his influence over the young emperor was weakening.
And the reason was precisely this Mahiro who had bewitched the young emperor!
Finally, the young emperor ordered all collected intelligence about the Revolutionary Army to be handed over to Mahiro for advance preparation.
With just a casual glance, Mahiro understood.
This mission was perfect as the elite team's first external assignment!
A Revolutionary Army unit disguised as a circus troupe...
Exactly the same one the elite team had assassinated in the original story, and the beginning of what would shake Akame's resolve!
However, since they were going out for an assassination mission, they naturally couldn't continue wearing the assassination department's uniform—it was too conspicuous.
Fortunately, during their last break, they had coincidentally purchased civilian clothes.
They just hadn't expected to have the opportunity to wear them so soon!
First was Akame, wearing a black sleeveless dress that reached just above her knees, with calf socks revealing a section of smooth, pale thighs.
Over this, she wore a light black coat.
This girl seemed particularly fond of black—besides her clothes, even her gloves and shoes were black.
Paired with her fair skin and those crimson pupils, it gave her an air of mystery.
Then came Kurome following behind, who also chose black—specifically a black JC sailor uniform, with slender black-stockinged legs visible beneath the fluttering black pleated skirt, quite pleasing to the eye.
This gave the normally quiet Kurome a more lively and playful temperament.
"Lord Yotsuba, how do you like my clothes? Are they pretty?"
A stylish beauty wearing a white shirt with tight pants underneath had changed and come out.
The first two buttons of her shirt seemed unfastened, revealing a deep cleavage, and the two enormous breasts contained within seemed ready to burst out of the clothing.
"Button up properly," Mahiro said impatiently.
Who was she trying to show this to?
Normally, it might be fine to dress like this for personal viewing, but wearing such an outfit on a mission—could it be an attempt to seduce the enemy?
"I can't fasten it myself, Lord Yotsuba, please help me."
Gin pouted and ran up to him, spreading her arms wide. Instantly, her clothes were pulled taut by the motion, straining at the seams.
Mahiro's lips twitched as he reached out to support the weighty, immense bust. He then tugged the collar together, but Gin let out a pained whimper.
After a brief struggle and realizing it truly wouldn't fasten, Mahiro gave up.
"Go change into something else!"
"Why? I really like this outfit..."
"Enough nonsense, go change now!"
"Indeed, Gin, you're too plump for such tight clothes," Cornelia chimed in, stepping out in a jacket. Though she also wore a white shirt underneath, it fit perfectly without any exposure.
Her long, slender legs were clad in form-fitting elastic pants, just like Gin's, since she, Poney, and Gin all excelled in martial arts and needed clothing that wouldn't hinder movement.
Gin seemed displeased with the remark, but before she could retort, Cornelia slipped behind her and lightly tickled her sensitive spot. Gin couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
With a sharp rip, the front of her shirt tore open, and the fastened buttons popped off.
As she jolted, her massive assets slammed right into Mahiro.
Even through the pretty lingerie, their astonishing elasticity was unmistakable.
Truly terrifying...
"Cornelia, you idiot! You ruined my clothes!"
"Serves you right for wearing such revealing attire."
"That's not true! I bought this with you, Cornelia!"
Blushing and fuming, Gin tangled with Cornelia, the group's big sister, in a playful scuffle.
"Cornelia, Gin, you two idiots are getting your nice clothes all dirty," Poney remarked, emerging in her changed outfit. She swayed her orange ponytail and sighed at the scene.
Due to her slender figure, Poney had opted for a sports tank top and black tight shorts—the Teigu pants.
"We don't want to hear that from you," the two girls retorted in unison.
However, the most striking of all was undoubtedly Tsukushi.
Under his gaze, she shyly lowered her eyelids. Though she wore a common long-sleeved minidress, it was enough to catch the eye.
The dress, woven in white and brown, cinched at the waist with brown fabric that gently supported her bust, rivaling Gin's in impressiveness. A large white bow was tied at the back.
Her plump, slender legs were exposed, their crystal-clear skin seeming to reflect the sunlight.
He hadn't been mistaken—Tsukushi truly had the makings of an idol. Perhaps he should have these girls form a group and debut someday.
He could act as their manager, occasionally indulging in a bit of underhanded manipulation?
He felt as if he'd discovered a new avenue for amusement.
"Stop it, Lord Yotsuba... don't look at me like that. If you don't like it, I'll... I'll go change into something else."
Tsukushi, her cheeks flushed, turned to head back to her room, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Don't change, that outfit is very cute and suits you well, Tsukushi."
"Lord Yotsuba, what about me? And me?" Poney pointed at herself as she spoke.
"You're not bad either."
This response felt somewhat more perfunctory compared to the one given to Tsukushi.
But Poney still showed a happy expression, taking it as Mahiro genuinely praising her.