Soon, after everyone had eaten part of the strange bird, Takeru and Najenda were full. Only Akame seemed to have no intention of stopping.
"Takeru! Akame!" Quickly, Leone's voice rang out. After arriving beside Takeru, she affectionately pounced on him, hugging him tightly.
"..." Feeling the scent emanating from Leone, Takeru felt somewhat helpless. It had been the same this morning… as soon as she saw Takeru, she had pounced on him, not treating him as an outsider at all...
In fact, Takeru still remembered Mine's blushing face when she saw Leone's actions this morning. She had loudly scolded Leone for being shameless, but after being easily rebutted by Leone, she had backed down.
"Leone, eat with us too." Noticing Leone's arrival, Akame softly spoke and even tossed a piece of meat with bone towards her.
Seeing this, Leone quickly stretched out her hand and caught the meat. "Thanks!"
"Leone, the boss is back." Only after Leone had almost finished the meat in her hand did Akame remind her.
Because the strange bird's body blocked Najenda, Leone hadn't seen her presence at first.
"Ah! Boss!" After going around the strange bird, Leone saw Najenda and revealed a pleasantly surprised smile.
"Hello." Seeing the delighted Leone, Najenda also calmly greeted her.
"Welcome back! Did you bring any small gifts?" Leone asked enthusiastically with a smile.
"Forget about that. Leone, I heard during the operation three days ago, your combat time exceeded the limit?" Najenda looked at the enthusiastic Leone and just calmly raised her mechanical arm.
"Oh no!" Hearing the creaking sound of the mechanical arm and seeing Najenda's expression, Leone's face stiffened. Without another thought, she chose to run.
But clearly, it was already too late.
Without transforming, Leone hadn't even run four meters before Takeru saw Najenda's mechanical arm suddenly shoot out, accurately grabbing her and dragging her back using a steel cable.
"Over-indulging in enjoying battles with strong opponents is not a good thing. You must find a way to break this habit." Najenda said while pulling Leone back.
"I get it! Please make that creaking sound stop!" Leone said miserably.
As for Takeru, he calmly watched this scene, 'Indeed, as a top assassin, being obsessed with combat was not a good thing.'
"By the way, Takeru is the one you brought back, right?" After releasing her, Najenda spoke directly and calmly.
"Yes, boss! I recommend Takeru, a top-tier talent!" Hearing Najenda's words, Leone hugged Takeru again happily.
"Oh? A top-tier talent?" Hearing her words, Najenda's expression also turned serious.
"Yes!" Facing Najenda's look, Leone still spoke with firm determination.
"Akame, gather everyone. I want to hear reports, including about Takeru." Seeing Leone's fondness for Takeru and learning from both of them about Takeru's talents, Najenda became even more curious about Takeru.
…
Soon, everyone gathered in the base's conference room. Reports were given about the events of the past few days, as well as about Takeru.
Upon learning that Takeru possessed healing and purification abilities, Najenda's breathing became slightly hurried. The look she gave Takeru was as if looking at some rare treasure.
Although top-tier combat talents were scarce, with some attention and training, they could still be nurtured. But someone with miraculous healing abilities might very well be unique to Takeru.
"Leone, you did very well this time." After hearing everyone's reports, Najenda quickly spoke.
"Of course!" Hearing Najenda also acknowledge Takeru's value, Leone was overjoyed, holding Takeru tightly.
"Shameless!" Seeing this scene, Mine's face turned red again. Akame and Sheele watched blankly, while Lubbock showed an envious expression. As for Bulat, he showed a regretful look.
Because he had been warned by Leone not to have any improper thoughts about Takeru...
"Now, Takeru, how much do you know about Night Raid?" After understanding Takeru's value, Najenda also looked seriously at Takeru.
"It's an assassination group, primarily targeting corrupt officials and scoundrels." Hearing her question, Takeru answered directly.
"Correct, but not completely. Far south of the capital, there is a base for revolutionary forces opposing the Empire. Initially a small faction, it has now grown into a massive entity. Consequently, inevitably, tasks like intelligence gathering and assassinations… these unsavory jobs were organized. And that's how we, Night Raid, came to be."
"Although we are currently only eliminating pests, when the army rises, we will surely take advantage of the chaos to personally punish the root of corruption… the Prime Minister, Honest." After hearing Takeru's words, Najenda spoke seriously.
"I see. I understand." Hearing her words, Takeru showed a surprised expression and nodded.
"Then, if one day, the emperor abdicates, the Prime Minister is executed, and national policies change, would you still continue the revolution?" Suddenly, Takeru seemed to think of something, looking intently at Najenda.
"Impossible!" Hearing Takeru's words, Najenda frowned and spoke.
"What if it happens?" Takeru insisted.
"If that really were to happen, as long as the nation develops in a good direction, then our Night Raid could retire having accomplished our mission. But such a thing will absolutely never happen. After all, the capital has two guardian deities." Hearing Takeru's words, Najenda spoke directly.
"I see. I understand." Hearing her words, Takeru nodded lightly and said no more.
"Then, I formally welcome you in my capacity as boss. Welcome to the path of carnage, Takeru." Najenda extended her right hand to Takeru, speaking seriously.
Hearing this, Takeru simply nodded without further comment.
"By the way, you were previously working under Akame, right? Then continue following her for training for now." Najenda also spoke directly.
"Understood." Hearing this, Takeru naturally wouldn't object.
…
In the blink of an eye, three days passed. During these days, through interaction with everyone, Takeru had thoroughly integrated into the group. Apart from the somewhat jealous Lubbock, everyone was very good to Takeru.
Following Akame, Takeru had been hunting all over the place during this time, though they hadn't carried out many missions.
Like catching river tuna… by using Zetsu, Takeru easily concealed his presence and effortlessly caught a large number of river tuna, astonishing everyone.
Besides these, there were also hunts for Earth Dragons, where Takeru displayed formidable combat prowess.
Apart from hunting and cooking, Takeru engaged in uninterrupted training every day, especially in Nen Training and his own physical conditioning. Each day brought not insignificant progress.
Today, Takeru, Akame, Leone, and Najenda were also gathered at the dining table, preparing for the next mission.
Because Mine and the others were out on another mission, they weren't present.
"Now, Leone, begin your report." After eating enough, Najenda directly addressed Leone.
"Ogrey. The targets are the Imperial Police's Ogre and the oil merchant Jawanle. According to the client, Ogre takes large bribes from the oil merchant Jawanle. Then, whenever Jawanle commits a crime, Ogre finds scapegoats for him. The client's fiancé was wrongfully accused because of this and executed."
"And this is the commission fee paid at that time. I smelled the scent of disease on it. Probably accumulated through constantly selling her body..." Leone spoke somewhat gloomily.
"Has it been verified?" Najenda asked seriously.
"I saw it with my own eyes, heard it with my own ears. They are guilty." Leone said earnestly.
"Good. Night Raid accepts this commission. The new nation has no need for such utterly heinous scum. Deliver divine punishment upon them." Najenda spoke solemnly.