After a night passed, Cornelia, who woke up first, looked at the sleeping and adorable Akame and Boni, and a big sister-like smile subtly curved her lips.
Now that her father wasn't here, she had to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of everyone.
Cornelia, wearing a yukata, went alone to the inn's hot spring.
Humming a tune, she entered the hot spring, pulled aside the curtain, and the first thing she saw was a girl floating naked in the center of the hot spring, as if drowned!
"Ah, are you alright!"
Kind-hearted Cornelia rushed into the hot spring, and her bath towel even fell off as she prepared to rescue the person.
But Miao Zi, floating on the water, slowly opened her amber eyes upon hearing the sound.
In an instant, the eyes of the two girls met, and both showed a bewildered surprise.
They quickly realized what had happened, but neither Miao Zi nor Cornelia spoke.
Only an awkward atmosphere lingered between them.
Miao Zi peeked at Cornelia from the side, then her gaze involuntarily shifted to that pair of surging breasts.
Cornelia awkwardly reached out to cover her breasts, but her slender hands simply couldn't cover those full, large objects, instead causing luscious flesh to squeeze out from between her fingers, creating a very alluring effect.
Finally, Cornelia forced a smile and broke the silence: "Oh, it seems I was being presumptuous!
I thought something had happened to you."
"I'm sorry, it's my fault… for making you misunderstand; I should be the one apologizing.
I thought I could have the place to myself by getting up early…" Miao Zi straightened up and sat against the side of the hot spring.
"I understand! I understand!
After having the hot spring to yourself, you just want to enjoy yourself freely.
By the way, my name is Cornelia, and as a disciple of Shaolin Temple, I am currently undergoing martial arts training across the country."
Cornelia gave a self-introduction mixed with lies, while observing the other person's figure.
The other person had a pair of long legs and firm, beautiful breasts; although not as surging and captivating, it was still an alluring and beautiful figure.
To be Honest, Cornelia really envied the other person's well-trained body.
Because of her overly large chest, Cornelia had to give up many cute clothes she liked.
"Ah… a martial artist from Shaolin Temple?
Cornelia is truly amazing!
My name is Miao Zi, and I am traveling with my grandmother to various places to broaden my horizons."
Miao Zi also casually fabricated her background.
In fact, she was an assassin from Oarburg, accompanying Instructor Barbara to assassinate the Empire's elite seven-member team here.
However, at the White Wolf River, Gozqi discovered the rebel army's plan, and all crew members except Miao Zi, Barbara, and Chelsea were killed.
Barbara and Miao Zi, sensing something was wrong beforehand, retreated without a fight, thus they didn't get a clear look at the seven-member team's faces.
Looking at the calm and composed Miao Zi, Cornelia saw Akame's shadow in her and wanted to treat her as a younger sister.
"By the way, will Miao Zi be staying here for a while?
You remind me a lot of a friend of mine.
If possible, I'd really like to introduce you to her?"
Cornelia said with a pure and brilliant smile.
In truth, deep down, Cornelia wished she could live the life of an ordinary girl, rather than one filled with fighting and killing.
"A friend?
Since I've always been with my grandmother, I don't have any friends.
So, I'm also very happy to make a friend.
Thank you, Cornelia!"
On Miao Zi's usually calm face, a rare, knowing smile appeared.
"It is I who should say so; if you don't mind, please guide me as well."
Cornelia replied with a smile, sitting in the hot spring, happily enjoying the warm water.
And so, two people with completely different, even opposing, stances became friends.
After Miao Zi finished breakfast, she wandered the streets.
Around a corner by the roadside, she saw a beautiful orange-haired girl wearing black headphones, walking over unsteadily and looking very tired.
This beautiful girl with a delicate face was Chelsea, Miao Zi's junior sister. Although her junior sister's stamina was poor, only at a mob level, due to the Imperial Armament Gaia Foundation, she could transform into any creature, making her very suitable for intelligence gathering.
At this moment, she had just brought back information about the Seven-Person Group.
The wrinkled instructor, Barbara, sat on a stone pier, solemnly looking at the portraits of the Seven-Person Group that Chelsea had brought back. She never expected that the Empire's elite assassination group would be a bunch of underage children.
Miao Zi also leaned over curiously, and she too was shocked. The girl never expected that among these portraits was her new friend—Cornelia.
In the afternoon, when Cornelia returned to the inn from the mountains, she suddenly felt a cold wind blow across her back.
"Miao Zi?" Cornelia turned her head and saw the friend she had just made that morning.
"I have something I want to talk to you about, it's about a man. Can you come out with me? It won't take too much time." Miao Zi's eyes were filled with sorrow, as if she had encountered some trouble.
Even though Cornelia saw the long katana behind Miao Zi, she didn't think much of it and followed Miao Zi out of the inn to a deserted ruined wall.
"Miao Zi, are you having relationship problems?" Cornelia asked with concern.
"Mm!" Miao Zi lowered her head and replied, as if unable to meet Cornelia's dazzling gaze, she slightly averted her eyes.
She had never had anyone she could call a friend; Miao Zi was always carrying out assassination missions with her instructor. In truth, she really wanted to be friends with Cornelia, to go to hot springs together, to go shopping and enjoy delicious food together.
A gentle breeze blew, hiding a chilling killing intent within. The kind-hearted Cornelia had not yet noticed it.
Suddenly, a floating leaf carried by the wind blocked their line of sight.
Clang! The sound of a sharp blade being drawn was so clear!
"Miao Zi?!"
Cornelia heard the sound of the blade and shivered all over, too shocked to think.
Almost instinctively, Cornelia twisted her waist, relying on her astonishing body coordination, and managed to avoid being decapitated by the katana, but a long bloody gash was still left on her cheek.
"Did you dodge it? ...I'm sorry, Cornelia! I'm an assassin hired by the Revolutionary Army... I didn't want you to feel any pain." Miao Zi lowered her body, holding the katana horizontally across her chest.
"Since you're an enemy who's come knocking, I'll just have to kill you!"
Cornelia's expression also changed from surprise to coldness. Half a year ago, Cornelia's first assassination mission was a criminal who resembled her adoptive father, and the girl had not hesitated for a moment to blow off the criminal's head.
Now, since Miao Zi was an enemy, she had to deal with her here. The girl twisted the iron ring on her elbow, and in an instant, the Imperial Armament Smash King transformed into a steel gauntlet, covering her entire right arm.
Without much hesitation, Cornelia took a swift step, her right hand, covered by the Smash King, aimed at Miao Zi's face, delivering a heavy punch.
"I am the breath of the Death God Oberon, the unpredictable wind, leading you to the underworld!" Miao Zi's expression remained unchanged. When Cornelia rushed forward, she flicked her right hand upwards, seemingly intending to cleave Cornelia head-on, but it was a feint, and the katana swung from the side towards Cornelia's neck.
Because the Smash King's attack range was insufficient, Cornelia could only raise her right hand to parry.
Clank!
The Smash King collided with the katana. Miao Zi used the force to retract the katana, flicked her wrist, and delivered another incredibly vicious strike towards Cornelia's chest.
The unpredictable slashes greatly shocked Cornelia! As an assassin ranked No. 3, she was completely suppressed by Miao Zi, only able to passively defend.
"No, I can't lose, Akame and the others are still waiting for me to return!"
Cornelia gritted her teeth and retreated several steps, moving out of Miao Zi's attack range. She clenched her fist and slammed it onto the floor. With the added power of the Imperial Armament Monstrous Strength, the girl lifted a two-meter-long large stone slab.
"What, she actually has such strength!" Miao Zi looked in shock at Cornelia, who was holding up the large stone slab with one hand.
"Take this." Cornelia forcefully lifted the stone slab, weighing several tons, and threw it at Miao Zi.
"Ridge Crossing!" Miao Zi did not dodge. She gripped the hilt of her blade with both hands and performed a top-down cleave, effortlessly slicing the thick stone slab in two like flowing water.
However, the dust from the shattered stone slab obscured Miao Zi's vision.
Boom!
Cornelia's leg muscles bulged, and she dashed two steps to Miao Zi's side, flexing the muscles in her right arm, causing veins to pop out. With a heavy punch that whistled through the air, this time, the Smash King, capable of crushing rocks, finally struck Miao Zi, and the immense force sent Miao Zi's entire body flying.
Although Miao Zi instantly hardened her left arm to block, a sharp pain still surged through her, making her break out in a cold sweat. Her left hand, used for the secret technique defense, was crippled, and the broken muscles and blood vessels in her forearm contracted together, dripping blood outwards.
"Cornelia is truly amazing."
Miao Zi found it somewhat unbelievable. Instructor Barbara had told her that she was the strongest among the younger generation. But if she and Cornelia continued to fight like this, she would definitely be the first to die.
"Smash King!"
Cornelia's footsteps instantly quickened, her right fist raised, seemingly aiming for her face.
Miao Zi gripped the katana with both hands; the power of the Smash King was too astonishing, she could only protect her face. But she didn't expect to suffer a heavy kick to the abdomen first, causing her to stagger back several steps.
It turned out that Cornelia had received the true teachings of Gozuki, allowing her to freely dislocate her body joints. While Miao Zi's attention was fully focused on blocking the Smash King, Cornelia successfully kicked her in the abdomen.
"I win!"
Cornelia's lips curved slightly. Looking at Miao Zi, who was spitting blood and whose breathing was erratic, she swung her slender yet powerful right arm, preparing to deliver a merciful final blow to her friend!
However, an unexpected change occurred.
Cornelia coughed up a large mouthful of blood with a 'wah' sound, only then realizing that her limbs had become incredibly stiff, her eyelids extremely heavy, and her vision blurry.
Cornelia touched the wound on her face and realized that the katana was poisoned.
"Oh no!" The girl found it difficult to breathe and began to gasp for air. She had to finish the fight quickly. Cornelia unleashed her ultimate move; the Smash King generated a powerful vortex, blasting the opponent with immense wind pressure.
Under the threat of death, Miao Zi lowered her body and, with full concentration, performed a draw-and-slash. Pushing past her limits, she unleashed the best strike of her life.
"Secret Technique, Light Wind!"
The katana and the Smash King collided, sending sparks flying.
"Break!"
To Cornelia's shock, the katana sliced down, severing her entire right elbow along with the Smash King. Then the sharp blade was pulled out of Cornelia's arm, drawing a blood-red arc in the air.