Here is the thirteenth chapter in this story released when I wanted it to be released based of my release process for this series. Asta and Noelle are now members but what do Magic Knights actually do? Well as they find that out two of their squad mates head out to do what they do as Magic Knights and the results of which might lead to a new mission for the rookies but first an investigation has to occur to determine if a follow up mission is necessary. That is all I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and there are no guest reviews that need a response or questions to answer so I will end this here. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate. That is it for this pre-chapter note so it is time to sit back and enjoy the thirteenth chapter in Akame ga Clover.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.
Chapter 13: Investigation
"So, what does a Magic Knight Squad actually do?" Asta asked as the Black Bulls gathered around one of the many tables in the dinning room of the hideout with all known members of the Squad but Yami present.
Asta's complaint came after another morning of backbreaking manual labor as he cleaned the hideout, fed Yami's magical beasts, and did the laundry which as with before contained a large assortment of Vanessa's lingerie that highlighted the size of her assets. Thankfully the other female members of the squad didn't put their dirty clothes in that pile, but Vanessa was utterly shameless on that front, which seeing as that was all she wore when in the hideout wasn't a surprise.
Still, all this wasn't exactly different to what Asta had done back at the church before he became a Magic Knight, so he was really confused hence why he had asked the question as they sat down for breakfast. As with most meals, it was a smorgasbord of meat that both Charmy and Akame were tucking into with gusto as everyone else enjoyed the food at a more leisurely pace though they did make sure to keep their plates to themselves.
Charmy may not steal food, her Sheep Cooks kept her well fed, but other than the Captain's food the Squad had learned not to be late to meal lest Akame eat it at an inhuman speed after she finished her own food. Complaints about lost food and waiting for more to be cooked were usually made to the business end of one of Akame's blades as it was their fault for being slow.
Asta and Noelle didn't know this bit yet having not experienced the loss of food that came with being late to a meal. In fact, neither actually knew what magic most of the Squad had beyond Magna's fire, Luck's lightning, Charmy's cotton, Finral's spatial, and Vanessa's thread magic so they'd yet to learn that the multitude of blades that kept appearing around the hideout were Akame's. They would learn that in time of course but for now Asta had another question that he asked before he even got an answer to the first one.
"Noelle, why don't you ever help out with the cleaning and other chores?" Asta asked the royal sitting next to him. "We're both rookies so you should help out there."
"I'm royalty." Noelle said. "I don't clean."
"And?" Asta asked. "You're also a new recruit so you should pull your weight here."
"Please, I've never done cleaning or laundry in my life, I don't need to." Noelle said dismissively. "So why should I start now."
"Are you bragging about being lazy?" Asta asked amazed.
"Might be a Sheele situation." Tatsumi said from across the table as he enjoyed his food and kept a guard up just in case Akame decided to steal it under guise of being an endearing girlfriend though it was a great way to train his reflexes given Akame's speed. "Course we'd need to prove it but could very well be the case."
"What?" Asta asked looking up at the boy across from him who was the only member that seemed to always be armed with something non magical, he'd yet to see the Captain's sword, and Asta was eager to learn what he could from a fellow swordsman. "Who's Sheele?"
"Friend of mine." Tatsumi said not going into specifics as Asta wasn't in the know yet. "She never did chores back when I knew her not because she was lazy but she was so grossly incompetent that she wasn't trusted. She couldn't shop as she'd get confused between sugar and salt, she'd just break stuff and make a mess cleaning, she'd usually wash other people with the clothes…"
"She ruined the meat." Akame added helpfully as she ate. "That was annoying."
"I'm not incompetent. I just don't have to work." Noelle said defensively.
"That sounds a bit like Mine, another friend of mine and Akame's." Tatsumi said as he continued to eat while the others watched the whole exchange. "It is a team thing though so we should all do our own work."
"And with two new members Tatsumi and I can focus on other things." Akame said which peaked Vanessa's interest. "Not that Vanessa, not yet at least, but rather our special missions."
"Yeah what they said." Asta said looking to Noelle.
"As I have said." Noelle began as she enunciated every word. "I. Am. Royalty. I. Do. Not. work."
"Yeah, we know you won't let us forget that you are royalty." Asta said.
"Silence insect." Noelle said simply though there was no venom in it, more of a reflex as Noelle had warmed to Asta, internally at least.
"And we're back to that." Asta grumbled as he gave up and looked to Magna who was enjoying a drumstick. "Anyway, what does a Magic Knight Squad do Magna?"
"What?" Magna asked amazed at how stupid Asta was being, so much so that he walked around the table to grab the front of his robe and hauled him up off his seat so as to get in his face. "What do you think we do? We protect the kingdom you moron. You know, keep everyone here safe so it's the manliest job in the world. Why'd you even join if you didn't know what the job entailed?"
"I wanted to be the Wizard King." Asta got out before it devolved into more insults from Magna while the others ate around them as if nothing was going on while they made some idle chatter about nothing important.
"Will someone else tell him what a Magic Knight Squad does." Magna said as he walked away from Asta, who was still standing, not really in the mood to deal with him. "Vanessa, stop drinking so much wine and tell them."
"Ah that hits the spot, wine to start the day is always good." Vanessa said as she finished her drink while Magna was speaking to her before looking to the newbies as she refilled her glass from the bottle in front of her. "Just the usual I guess, safeguard the citizens, keep them and the kingdom safe, that kinda stuff."
Vanessa then took a full drink of her wine to pause as she thought on what else to say. When it was done she added.
"And you get to meet some fine gentlemen when you're on guard duty so that's a nice bonus as well."
"Oh ok." Asta said. "Makes sense."
"Er…" Noelle said looking away as it was clear Asta didn't get what else Vanessa meant and it was certainly something that didn't interest her at all.
"Well for me the best part is all the people you get to legally fight as a Magic Knight." Luck said excitedly getting into Asta's personal space to shadowbox there. "I get to spend hours beating up criminals, enemy soldiers, you name it, and no one will bat an eyelash at it."
"That is true though kill sanctions aren't as frequent as they should be." Akame said simply as she ate. "Outside an engagement with enemy soldiers that is, that's war so killing is allowed."
"Um…" Noelle said looking to Akame as she ate across from her.
"My magic isn't exactly safe in combat, well I can make it so but that's just annoying." Akame said as if it was nothing. "So not having to hold back is useful."
"More than anything though it's an excellent career." Gauche said before Asta or Noelle could figure out the meaning of the raven-haired girl's words as Gauche was now thrusting a picture of his little sister Marie in their faces while having a nosebleed which drove everything else from their minds. "It makes my sister proud that I'm a Magic Knight and that keeps me going. See her, this is my angelic sister Marie. I use my wages on her to buy her nice things but if you lay a finger on her then you die."
"Huh?" Asta asked as he and Noelle both slightly recoiled from that.
"He doesn't mean it." Tatsumi said. "At least I think so. We've got killers here but Gauche ain't one of them. Still, get in the way of his time with his sister and he's damned effective at stopping criminals."
"Er, ok." Asta said not sure how to take that and turning to Finral. "What about you Finral?"
"Saving women left and right and making them want you because you saved them." Finral said trying to sound mysterious and aloof. "What more could a man ask for."
"Common sense." Akame said. "Understanding women. Drive to be more than a sleaze."
"Just because you're taken doesn't mean the others here are." Finral said as he cried, and Gordon mumbled something that no one could hear. "Tatsumi is so lucky."
"That I am." Tatsumi said with a grin as Akame gave a small smile at that.
"Wah, the food, it's all gone." Charmy said getting their attention. "I was nowhere near full. Sheep Cooks, feed me more."
Asta and Noelle stared in shock at that as Charmy created more Sheep Cooks that quickly whipped up more food from the reserves and fed it to her and Akame as they were the only ones still eating though neither rookie knew where they put all that food. It was a sight to behold, and not a good one, as Charmy picked up a hunk of meat and drooled at it.
"The best thing about being in a Magic Knight Squad is that you can eat as much as you want and you get all the tastiest meats." Charmy said happily. "Akame makes sure we eat the finest when she goes out on a hunt, and she always brings back something new from a mission."
"I second what Charmy says." Akame said as she tore a chunk off her leg of meat and wolfed it down. "Best meat around when you're a Magic Knight, much better than the crap I had to live off before I joined. Well, the crap I didn't hunt during my time in the Strong Magic Region that is."
"So why are you a Magic Knight?" Noelle asked the mostly expressionless girl who's only read she'd gotten so far was that she liked meat, made strange comments, and was dating the brown-haired boy next to her. "Akame, was it?"
"Yup and technically I'm a convicted criminal serving a suspended sentence as a Magic Knight to earn my pardon." Akame said as if it was nothing causing both Asta and Noelle to stare at her words in shock, but Akame didn't notice as she ate some more meat before continuing. "Course I only agreed to the sentence, 5 years by the way, if it was with the Black Bulls. If I do well, I'll be pardoned in a few months after 2 years on it."
"Er…" Noelle said. "You're a criminal?"
"Yup, was sold to some assassin school, survived brutal training and a culling of us when we were dumped in the Strong Magic Region as kids, was sent to kill the Captain after I got my grimoire, failed, got caught, made a deal with the Wizard King, now I'm here." Akame said deadpan, so much so that they weren't sure if they believed her. "Failed my first review, that was my fault I accept it, so hopefully I won't fail the second. Naturally I'll be staying afterwards just no longer as a criminal with a full, clean record."
"Um…" Asta said but before he could Grey, who had used Akame's statement to get into position behind him and Noelle, pulled out his grimoire and in a puff of smoke turned into Asta which again distracted them from trying to understand what the hell Akame was going on about. "Wait, what?"
"Well, it's just a good job, you know." Grey said in Asta's voice as Asta looked at his clone. "Pay is decent, good people to live and work with, you get to help the kingdom out, all the good stuff. I'm really looking forward to working together on a mission soon."
"Sure." Asta said as Grey transformed back into the big guy blowing smoke and walked away.
"Man, there are some serious weirdos here." Asta said as he took his seat at the table again.
"Yeah that sums up the Black Bulls." Tatsumi said as Noelle once again questioned her position here with the insanity around her though she was sure that Akame had been pulling her leg. "We're a misfit Squad of eccentrics and weirdos, you'll love it."
"So, what made you join?" Asta asked.
"Oh, I'm here for my village." Tatsumi said. "So, I went through the normal method of taking the Entrance Exam and the only offer I got was for the Black Bulls though I'd run into Yami by accident right before the exam started but I got a good feeling for him so when he offered me a spot in the Black Bulls I knew it was the right one."
"Wait really?" Asta asked amazed.
"Yeah, I was the strongest there, spent an extra year honing my skills to make sure I was as ready as I could be as my magic isn't exactly common so I needed to master it, and then went to the exam to join a Squad." Tatsumi said as Charmy glazed some meat and began to shove it into Asta's mouth though he was listening to Tatsumi. "Plan was to become a Magic Knight and earn money for the village which I do and now my village is thriving thanks to the money I send back. Course I did destroy some noble girl with a single punch in my exam and basically only the Black Bulls would take me after that but it was the right thing to do, the brat was an utter sadist with a rotten personality."
Asta was really confused by what was going on and how strange the Squad was. Even Tatsumi, who seemed a lot like him as he was a rural boy helping his village out and a swordsman to boot, had a few screws loose it seemed if his story was to be believed. Asta was going to ask more when suddenly Yami kicked the door off its hinges and walked in as if it was nothing.
"Tatsumi, I heard you mention that girl from your entrance exam, good timing." Yami said as everyone turned to him as he approached the table and pulled out a sealed scroll and handed it to Tatsumi while both Asta and Noelle were a little concerned with the entrance their Captain had made but no one else was. "Just got this from Mushroom Head, seems that your latest mission secured more intel, and an investigation into that family has been sanctioned. You and Akame are to go and sort it out but this is pure recon, no fighting and no killing yet. They want intel to confirm the rumors before making a final determination."
"Intel?" Tatsumi asked as he took the scroll. "Sir, Akame and I are decent at that but Chelsea's the specialist there. We're the wet work and apprehension normally now that we've got her helping out."
"She's busy apparently, something to do with a potential Diamond spy I think." Yami said. "So, get to it."
"Yes sir." Tatsumi said as Asta and Noelle looked confused at what was going on and who the hell this Chelsea person was as there wasn't anyone in the Black Bulls with that name that they knew of. "Been waiting for this for a year now, there's no way she's clean so bringing her down will be good."
"Magna, we're going." Yami said looking to Magna. "It's time for our mission so come on."
"Yes Captain Yami sir." Magna said as he got up a serious look on his face which was at odds with the utter lack of seriousness that was his mission.
"I'll come along too." Asta said getting up. "On either of them."
"No these are real grown up missions, only real men." Magna said seriously. "You're not ready for it."
"Trust me, you don't want to go on that one, you don't have the money or experience for it just yet." Tatsumi said as he passed the scroll to Akame who broke it open and began to read their orders. "And as for my mission, it's a dull one and I am sure you'll be on the follow up. That's were the real fun will be."
"Those two get special missions." Finral explained. "You'll learn soon enough though."
"Special missions?" Asta asked.
"Oh it will be, it's just what we've been waiting for." Akame said as she showed the note to Finral in such a way that neither Noelle nor Asta could see it which only added to their confusion about what was going on. "Hey, can you make a portal near here in an hour. Tatsumi and I need to get ready."
"Yeah sure, I know a place about two miles away." Finral said internally complaining that he was the superior. "That should be enough cover for you, right?"
"It should be." Akame said putting the note away. "Tatsumi, get changed. Until you get Incursio's trump card working as a spell we're doing this differently."
"Yeah I know." Tatsumi said suddenly getting deadly serious in a way that sent a chill down Asta's spine and for the first time he realized that the slightly older boy was a lot more than he seemed. "I'll get my coat, if I recall there's a town or village nearby, I'll get the intel there while you go to the estate and see if you can find hard evidence while there. This should take all night."
"Agreed." Akame said.
"Alright listen up gang." Yami said before Akame and Tatsumi could leave. "No breaking stuff while we're all gone, I want to come back to a still standing building."
With that Yami and Magna left the room followed by Akame and Tatsumi as everyone said goodbye in their own way, or in Finral's case complained about wanting to hit on women though he tried to hide it as wanting a mission. As with before Noelle was wondering why she was here and Asta was just eager to get a mission of his own soon. He'd seen how serious the two teams had been when they'd gotten their orders, so he was really curious as to what kind of mission they were.
What he did know was that he really wanted to go on one of his own and soon he'd get that thanks to Yami and Magna's failure to win at cards. What he and Noelle didn't know was that the mission in question would lead to the first appearance of the threat that the Wizard King had been worried about that would change the Clover Kingdom or that the seed within Noelle's heart would finally sprout thanks to Asta's actions there.
"There it is." Tatsumi said as they stood on a hill overlooking a wide valley below them with a small town, really just a large village, in it and another hill on the far end that had a large estate on it with a stone and iron fence with a forest around it that extended around the valley so that the only way up to it was a road that cut through the valley. "The estate of House Highball, our current mission. At last, they've slipped up and we can get the intel we need to take them down."
"The rumors aren't good, when you said she was like Aria I was surprised but I guess there are monsters like her here as well." Akame said from next to him. "Evil people will always exist and throw in money, nobility, and the ability to get away with it and they can express their evil as they see fit. This time the place is a bit more out in the open than it was in our world, but I can manage. We need that invisibility though."
"In time I am sure I just need to boost my stamina some more to get it, or maybe the right situation to trigger the spell." Tatsumi said as he pulled the hood of his long white coat over his head. "But for now, you're better at stealth and infiltration, you're trained in that. I'll focus on the social aspect and gleam what I can from the local tavern, maybe even get some coin but I got the bribe and gambling budget just in case."
"You are better at that than I am." Akame admitted. "I'll make my way to the trees around it and find a vantage point to await nightfall. Go and find what the locals know."
"Will do." Tatsumi said before he turned to Akame and pulled her to him. "And remember, I love you Akame, come back safe."
"I love you too Tatsumi." Akame said as she leant up and kissed him on the lips though it was only a chaste one as they didn't have the time, or the place, for anything deeper. "And you too, we died once before and got lucky in being reborn in the same world with access to our memories. Never again."
"Agreed." Tatsumi said with a nod before he headed off and began to make his way into town while.
Akame just pulled the hood of her own black coat up over her head, an addition to the long coat she'd bought that had reminded her of the one she'd once owned, and made her way around the valley sticking to the trees that covered the landscape to sneak up on the house. It would take some time to get into position and when she was, she would await nightfall when she could make her move.
As for Tatsumi he simply walked to the road that cut through this part of the kingdom and then followed it down the valley and into the tow, a pack on his back that hid his sword though he had easy access to it should he need it, hood up and eyes low as he moved at a slow pace as if beaten down by a long walk. Naturally he wasn't beat down, and he was sensing the ki around him as he walked but it was all part of the cover that he was projecting.
That cover was the vibe of a weary traveler with so little magic that he couldn't fly and was wandering from town to town and village to village through the sticks looking for work like many people his age did and that was exactly his cover story though he'd moved his grimoire bag to his lower back to hide that it was bigger than a commoner's should be. Course Tatsumi was more than this and his senses were on high alert as he read the ki around him to be able to know what was coming.
This was a simple ruse that they'd used before they were able to get Chelsea and Mine on board and one, they'd use again as it worked perfectly fine for what they had to do. Neither wore robes or identified themselves as Magic Knights and as Black Bulls they weren't known by face, so he was good on that front as well. This was why he and Akame were perfect for these kinds of missions and so long as they maintained this level of secrecy on them, they could continue acting as the Wizard King's secret agents of justice as they worked to route out and end corruption and oppression in the Clover Kingdom.
As such Tatsumi was ready as he approached the single tavern in what he was convinced was definitely a village and not a town that was aptly named the Poisoned Chalice. He was ready for another successful mission that would end another corrupt noble house as he and Akame began their work to bring the crimes of House Highball to light and those who committed them to justice.
"How can I help you good sir?" A woman behind the bar in the sparsely populated tavern said interrupting Tatsumi's thoughts as he entered it though as it was morning it wouldn't get busy until lunch at least which was good for him. "The kitchen is closed so all I can offer is a room or a drink."
"I'm looking for a room to rent and work to do." Tatsumi said as he walked up to the bar where the woman was his head still low which would now come off as someone from the sticks so beat down that he was deferential to anyone with a greater social status to him. "You got either?"
"Former sure, we don't get many travelers so plenty of space." The woman said. "Well, not many that stay as most merchants and delivery people don't stay in the village. Work can't speak to that. Not season for farmwork and not much need around here for much else."
"What about the nobles that oversee the area?" Tatsumi asked. "I saw their estate as I walked into town, hard to miss it, so they must have some work a down on his luck peasant can do for cheap."
"I, I wouldn't know." The woman said hesitantly and Tatsumi heard the note of fear in her voice at the reference to the local nobles. "The Highballs are a kind and benevolent family; they look after commoners in need but I don't know about work."
"Alright, thank you." Tatsumi said. "Room then, three nights if possible. If I find work I'll extend it, if not I'll move on."
"Hundred yul and that gets you dinner and breakfast as well." The woman said. "Half that to go without. No lunch, that's not included so you'll have to buy it yourself."
"Hundred is fine for that deal and I can go without lunch." Tatsumi said as he reached to a pouch on his belt and pulled out the coins and placed them on the bar. "Thank you."
"Thank you for your service." The woman said as she took the money and handed him a key. "Room 5, second floor at the end."
"Thanks." Tatsumi said taking the key and leaving.
He didn't need to say anymore to the woman as he left her there and made his way to his room. He kept his sense sharp and detected the ki of someone in the kitchen who was likely getting them prepared for lunch and two in one of the rooms that were for guests. Tatsumi was sure that there were more, but he couldn't sense them without using mana sensing as well and even then, he wasn't much better with it. Ki had a lot more uses he'd learned so he stuck with it now that he could use it as he made his way to his room and entered.
It was a simple affair with a single bed, desk, chair and small table by the bed. It would do and as he didn't intend to sleep here, he didn't need to worry as he put his bag down on the bed, took out his sword and positioned it so that he could reach it before he took his seat at the desk as he thought over the brief interaction he'd just had.
Clearly something was a foot here. The woman, he presumed she was either the owner, manager, or related to that person, was clearly nervous about the Highballs which given the reports they'd heard regarding their potential crimes made sense. Now though it was time to prove it.
Ever since Tatsumi had dealt with Venalia during the entrance exam he'd known something was up with her and had reported it through Yami to the Wizard King after everything that happened once he joined the Black Bulls had been sorted out. The Highballs were a lower-middle tier noble family, not strong or rich enough to get into a Squad without the exam but with enough power to earn a spot in it if they did well which clearly Venalia managed in getting into the Blue Rose Knights.
As such they weren't exactly a high priority for the Wizard King as they weren't connected enough to have the corruptive influence in the Magic Parliament that would draw concerns and they didn't have the wealth to be an issue via the assassin school, especially because they tended to spend their wealth on themselves. It also didn't hurt them that the area they oversaw wasn't a big or notable area with just this large village in it with a handful of farm fields and some timber output in the woods around it that helped increase the family's wealth somewhat as there was a rare species of tree here.
All of that had helped them fly under the radar but Tatsumi's interaction had been enough to put them on the Wizard King's radar. That was what had opened the file on them and added their name to a list of nobles that were worth investigating if their names ever came up in other investigations. Even without them being involved in corruption or assassination they could still be guilty of using their status to cover crimes or their oppression of commoners and when Tatsumi had shown that there was a spark to look at things began to come to the surface about the Highballs when others had been caught over the year.
The main thing was that there were a lot of reports, many Julius found himself when he was wandering around the kingdom in disguise, that revealed that travelers who made their way through the town looking for work or a place to stay were never seen again. They just vanished but as they were commoners few cared and the village itself was never affected so it was all chalked up to the commoners just moving on to the next town or village over and never looked into.
Honestly that was a clever ploy. If they wanted to be bastards and sadists to commoners, then who better than the transient ones that wouldn't be missed by the village because they were just passing through. All they had to do was say that they moved on and that was it, no one would bat an eyelash at that, and they'd continue doing their own things.
Tatsumi was sure that some of the village had to be in the know about the Highball's actions, or at least suspected, while the half a dozen guards and several servants that the Highballs employed had to know. All that added to how they got away with it and with all the land that they had around them you could hide all the bodies so it made sense.
However, despite this there had been no proof that they were up to anything. After all, Lord Highball was a respected gentleman who'd once been a Purple Orca before retiring to succeed his father at this post and was known for his impressive Glass Magic as was the common attribute of the family that his daughter had inherited as well.
Meanwhile, his wife was from a similarly standing family and one of the few in the kingdom with Poison Plant Magic that she used to make cures to poisons and had built a name for herself as a respected botanist that did what she could to help out the locals that lived in her husband's domain. Then there was their daughter, a charming girl who served in the reputable Blue Rose Knights and was now Intermediary rank Magic Knight.
It was the perfect cover for them but their glass house so to speak was about to break. Thanks to all the work that the Black Bulls, along with Chelsea and Mine now, had done one of their recent captures had revealed during her interrogation that the Highballs killed the transients for their own sick gain. How or what they did was still to be determined, it was just a conversation where the lord bragged about it as a way to impress the woman, but it was still enough to investigate their crimes against the kingdom.
Killing commoners was something Julius abhorred as it showed the worst kind of corruption in the nobility, the ability to get away with something so heinous. Alas, it was not as punished as it should be.
As such he'd detailed in his message to Tatsumi and Akame, through Yami, that they were to investigate and get concrete visual proof of this. Then, they were to report in, Finral would make them a portal in the same location after they contacted him through one of the coms devices that they had on them, and go from there. If there was action to be taken, they'd take Asta and Noelle with them as that would be their test to see if they could be trusted with the truth of Akame and Tatsumi's past. First though they had to find said proof.
That was where their two pronged plan came into effect. Tatsumi would use the tavern to get some intel under the guise of a traveler looking for work, which was the usual target pool for the Highballs, while Akame used the cover of night to sneak into the mansion and find what she could there as well as on the grounds.
Mushroom Head would then be able to determine the truth of what they found so all they had to do was see and experience things for his spell to show the Wizard King what they'd seen. The only rules for this mission were that they couldn't kill and ideally they wouldn't use magic around anyone as their attributes were rare and noticeable but otherwise intel was free to gather as they saw fit and they intended on doing so.
For Tatsumi that meant waiting until later when the tavern began to fill after the workday ended where the alcohol would flow, the games be played, Highball employees might show up off the clock, and Tatsumi could get what he needed there. Until then though all he could do was rest and relax in the room which he did so. This was a stakeout of sorts and they'd come early to be in place but now came the waiting and he knew that Akame would still be on her wide arc to the manner before she too set up there and waited for her moment to gather intel.
As such Tatsumi made sure everything was set, the door locked and his sword and grimoire nearby before he laid back on the bed to nap as there wasn't anything else for him to do so best to be refreshed for later. He wasn't exactly tired but this would mean that he wouldn't be sleepy deep into the night which was what he needed as he drifted off into his nap.
Tatsumi ended up sleeping for a few hours so it was midafternoon when he woke up and he was hungry, but he'd prepared for this and took out a snack that Charmy had made him from his bag to eat. He was sure that Akame had already eaten her rations and likely found a hide somewhere to wait out and do some light hunting to supplement it. He could last without that though and just enjoyed his snack.
After that he still had a few hours to kill so he spent it in the room getting ready, doing a light workout to boost his stamina as he was sure that it would at least play a part in unlocking Incursio's trump card in this world, and reviewing his grimoire. He was likely not going to use magic today, it was too risky to do so with a rare kind like Armor Magic, but he liked to review his spells from time to time just to see how they'd progressed.
When Tatsumi had gotten his grimoire, it only had had 4 spells in it, the 4 sets of armor that he could make, and that was it. Thanks to training for a year with it he had added two shield based spells, a binding spell that he didn't fully understand why it was classified as armor not that he was complaining as he'd likely use it when the time came to arrest the Highballs, and a torture spell he'd never used and still wasn't sure how it worked. He also had a support spell that he'd not yet had the chance to use as it was a specific situation spell, but he knew one day it would come in handy.
However, he'd not added to his grimoire since becoming a Black Bull though he'd felt that his magic had changed slightly in some way since the block had been removed. Not stronger per se only that it felt different, more complete in a way which made sense as his memories were back thus completing the missing part that he'd felt he'd always had due to the unexplained feelings he'd dealt with until the block broke.
Still, he trained his magic as much as possible in hopes of improving Incursio and his other spells as well as gaining new ones in time. That would come he was sure of it but until then he was going to keep getting stronger in any way that he could and doing his duty for the kingdom and tonight was no such exception.
It was as he was thinking of this that his mind wandered to the two new recruits that they had gained in the wake of the Entrance Exam, though only one came via the exam itself, as they'd soon be coming along on one of these missions to determine if they could be trusted with the information on him and Akame. That had been Julius's plan and Tatsumi intended to do his best there so that Asta and Noelle had no illusions as to what he and Akame did for the kingdom or the level of rot and corruption that existed in it.
That was how Night Raid had been for him when he'd been recruited by them and how he'd be for his new teammates as well. Hopefully they understood but if not, well, they were free to walk away, and Marx would ensure they forgot what had happened.
Tatsumi didn't think that this would be the case, however. Asta was a decent and clearly hard working guy who while loud and a little dim when it came to social situations at times came off as loyal and hard working so he'd understand even if he'd likely not agree with the extremes that Tatsumi and Akame were willing to go to when on a mission, well unless he saw the uglier side of being a Magic Knight in his first mission which was likely soon if the Captain and Magna's gambling skills were as bad as ever today.
Noelle on the other hand he felt was a bit more of a wildcard. She gave Tatsumi some extreme Mine vibes in the way she had a cold, distant, personality but clearly there was more to it and that was shown when they all showed her support after they rescued her from her own out of control magic and welcomed her into the squad.
If she was like Mine, Tatsumi mused, then there was a high chance she ended up falling in love with Asta, especially after the support he'd shown in her, and then being in denial about it. What Asta would do about that was anyone's guess but if it happened Tatsumi would sympathize as he'd partially been there himself though he'd never been able to reciprocate Mine's feelings because he'd already fallen for Akame.
As for the nature of his and Akame's work, again he wasn't sure how Noelle would take it. She was a royal, a very uptight and pretentious one at that though likely that was part of her personality and as coping mechanism as it was clear she had personal issues due to her lack of control which was uncommon for a royal. At the same time the royals also understood, at least the ones like her brother Nozel and Fuegoleon Vermillion, what was necessary to win at times so maybe she wouldn't mind.
Tatsumi hoped that they didn't mind so that they could be fully welcomed by him and Akame into the Squad with the revelation of their former lives, but he'd wait until then. The hour was upon him now and he rose to grab his coat, put it on, pull the hood up, and head down to the bar as the noises began to pick up and he felt the ki of several people enjoying the night in the tavern. It was time for some old fashioned social intelligence gathering and to see if anything came his way.
As such Tatsumi left his room and walked down into the bar area to see that it wasn't packed yet, but it was filling up as townsfolk had begun to gather and were drinking, eating, and chatting there. He did note that there wasn't the usual high-level revelry that you'd expect from a bar as if something was subduing it which was interesting, and he intended to find out more but first he needed to establish himself here.
That wasn't too hard as he was clearly an out of towner, not the only one as he'd noted two sources of ki earlier one of the rooms that were for guests, and he quickly noted them as a man and a woman around his own age with black hair and the unassuming look of simple village folk appearances who were sitting at a table off to the side enjoying their meal and chatting with the closeness of a couple. Likely they were actual travelers looking for work as well so Tatsumi would keep his senses open and trained on them to see what might happen and if something did to see if it happened to him as well.
Until either that happened or he had the desire to make a move he would observe the room around him and the easiest way to do so was to be a patron. As such, he found a table in the corner and sat down with his back to it so that he could see the whole room and waited to be served as he pulled out a small book and pretended to be engrossed by it though it was merely a façade so that he could observe the room.
As he was 'reading' it, he noted that the bar maid he'd met earlier was still behind the bar but there were also a few waitresses in simple dresses of the same color and design flitting here and there with drinks and food for the patrons while also taking orders. Good, that would work just fine for him and Tatsumi waited until one approached him.
"You're staying in room 5, right?" The waitress said as she reached him.
"Correct." Tatsumi said his head low so that she didn't see his face as he kept his eyes on the book though he wasn't taking in anything on the pages before him. "I paid for a room and meals so what does that get me."
"The standard meal, a meat and vegetable stew, bread and a side of boar though if you want a choice slice of meat or anything else you need to pay for it." The waitress said. "Also, drinks aren't included."
"Works for me." Tatsumi said. "I'll take the standard meal and a tankard of your local ale."
"Coming right up." The waitress said with a nod before she left with his order.
Tatsumi didn't want to drink too much, after that party Leone had thrown in his old life when he'd gotten back from his first Esdeath abduction where he'd gotten hammered in celebration of his return only for them to be attacked by Dr. Stylish when he was hungover, he'd not been a fan of excessive drinking. True that attack worked for them as they killed the mad jaeger without losing anyone but still it had been a lot to handle while hungover.
As such, he wanted to keep his wits about him at all times just in case something like an insane mad scientist who liked to engage in human experimentation and his cronies attacking Tatsumi's home happened again. That said he still had to play the part so he would do just that as a tankard of dark ale with a good head of foam was placed before him.
He thanked the waitress and took a drink from the surprisingly decent beer as he scanned the room. It had started to pick up with the locals now getting there and chatting with friends and family as they were served so things were starting to look good.
To add to it a man in nicer clothes than most and wearing a cape with the crest of House Highball on it had just entered and almost immediately noticed the two other non-locals. Tatsumi watched as he immediately made a beeline for them, introduced himself, and then sat down and began talking intently with them.
That was good, it showed that there was someone here from their target's household staff and that could provide some useful intel, especially because the employee had shown a clear interest in the out of towners. All Tatsumi had to do was wait for the man to come over, ply him with drink if need be as he had a reimbursement allowance for this, and he should get something useful out of him.
That was just one of the two things he needed as his food was served and he let the stew cool a bit while tearing up the bread to use as a sponge to absorb the soup part of the stew. The other was a card game to break out with money involved that he could monitor before joining.
Those were always a good source of information, the Captain had taught him that though it had been more inadvertent than deliberate, so Tatsumi was waiting for one of those to begin and get underway before he joined in. That would come though as he put his book away and began to eat the surprisingly good stew that went well with the warm bread that had to have been freshly made and the decent hunk of boar meat. It wasn't at Charmy's level of cooking but still it was a good, hearty, meal and one that he'd no doubt get envious glares from his girlfriend for enjoying.
It was as Tatsumi was eating that it happened, and it was just as he'd been expecting. He'd been keeping an eye on the Highball employee, anyone working for them had to be aware of their crimes which made them complicit in them, so they shared culpability and punishment for them, as the man bought drinks for the out of towners and chatted with them before handing telling them something and leaving which got the pair to talk heavily on what he'd said to them.
The man didn't leave however as he went up to the bar to talk to the woman there and they exchanged some words. She seemed a little nervous as he chatted with her with a smile that Tatsumi didn't trust but after some coins were placed on the table she nodded and gestured towards Tatsumi as he finished up his meal. The man seemed to thank her and began to walk over to Tatsumi's table. This was going to be good just not for the man but for Tatsumi. In fact, the man would be lucky if he lived through the end of the week if Akame found the evidence of heinous crimes but only Tatsumi knew that.
"I hear you're looking for work." The man said as he sat down at the table and signaled to the waitress who brought over two tankards that he proceeded to pay for along with the one that Tatsumi was currently drinking. "I may be able to help you on that front. Let me buy you a round and see if you're interested."
"So long as it's honest work that pays enough to keep me moving then I'm down for it." Tatsumi said looking up enough to meet the man's gaze, but his hood was low enough to hide his hair color. "What's the job?"
"Nothing nefarious I assure you." The man said as he took a deep pull from his tankard the moment it was set down, Tatsumi simply too a sip from his own, which was still his first drink of the night as he didn't touch the one the man had bought him, and then set it back on the table. "As you can tell I'm an employee of the local noble who oversees this area, Lord Highball."
"Ah that explains the clothes." Tatsumi said playing dumb. "I've not seen such finery before."
"Really, you must be from the Forsaken Realm then." The man said with what he likely thought was a nice smile, but Tatsumi knew that it was a predatory one especially with the gleam in his eyes. "You're a bit far from there if you're out here in the Common Realm."
"About as forsaken as you can be and still be subject to King Clover." Tatsumi said as he added enough back story to really interest the man. "Grew up an orphan there, no family or friends so left the backwater village I was born in when I was old enough to make my own way in life. Been travelling to the Capital since I got my grimoire doing odd jobs for coin along the way, providing they're legit, and making my own way in this kingdom."
"Ah a man seeking is own path, perfect." The man said his grin now showing just a shade too many teeth and Tatsumi could feel the negative ki coming from the person as he heard Tatsumi's partially true backstory. "You're in luck, I work as the head steward and guardsman to Lord Highball, we go back to his days as a Magic Knight when he saw my potential in finding competent workers, so when he, his wife, and his daughter whenever she's back in town need help, I go and find it for them. I was just chatting with the others from out of town and they seem interested in some work as well. I might be able to add you to the job too, they are kind and benevolent nobles with plenty of coin to spend on good help."
"I'm sure they are." Tatsumi said knowing that the man was meaning himself and not Tatsumi or the other out of towners who he hoped took their time before accepting the job or better yet opted to reject it instead and move on. "So, what's the job?"
"Well what magic do you have?" The steward asked. "I can sense you've got a fair amount, more than most from your part of the kingdom, so perhaps we could use you for the guard, as nobles they need protection from disgruntled commoners, or we can use your assistance around the estate if your magic works that way. It all depends on what you can do and how you do it."
"Metal." Tatsumi said going with the school his attribute was in as it was common enough rather than the specific attribute he had as it was likely one the steward had never heard of before. "So, I'm good with that kind of stuff."
"Perfect, we could use that." The steward said as he finished his drink. "How long are you around for? I'd love to bring you back to meet the lord and his wife so they can assess you personally, they do that with all potential hires as it gives them a better feel for the person. They'll even put you up in the mansion for the duration of your work, save you some coin here and it's a lot nicer than this tavern."
"A generous offer, I'll have to consider it." Tatsumi lied. "And I'm here as long as I need to be here. If the winds take me away, then I'll leave without a word so as to not disturb anyone but if they decide I should stay then I will stay."
"Well think on it, the Highballs are great employers." The steward said as drained the rest of his tankard and he got up. "They've never had a complaint from any former employees of theirs."
"Good to hear." Tatsumi said with an idea as to why they'd never had a complaint as the man turned and left the bar.
It was certainly something to note for sure and Tatsumi thought on it as he finished his first drink before moving onto the next one knowing that was safe as he'd watched it be poured out of the corner of his eye just to be certain. It would seem that the Highballs used this steward person, or maybe others from their household staff, to recruit people via the tavern, clearly preying on travelers looking for work, and were even willing to pay for information.
That also meant that the proprietor and staff here would likely have to be questioned as part of the follow up investigation to see what they knew about the Highballs' crimes as well. That would come later though as the Highballs and their permanent staff like the steward and the other guards were the top priority in this mission.
Thanks to his chat with the steward Tatsumi was now certain that the staff of the Highballs were involved so things were looking up for their investigation. He still needed a local perspective and Akame would get the real concrete proof of crimes when she infiltrated the mansion, so he took his tankard and drank slowly as the card game he was waiting for began on a nearby table.
Tatsumi knew that he couldn't just barge into the game, especially because the table was full from the start of the game, so he just waited until the players were a few drinks in and one of the participants ran out of money and left before making his move. By that point he had his third and final drink of the night and the table where the cards were being played was nice and inebriated so Tatsumi saw his chance as he rose and walked to the table.
"Got room for another?" Tatsumi asked as he pulled out a small coin pouch to show that he had the coin for the game. "I saw your buddy lost so I figured you could use another source of coin to try and win."
"Huh, oh sure, I'm always down to take someone's money." One of the men, judging by his build he was a farmer, said with a slight slur to his voice and Tatsumi nodded and took a seat. "Even if they're just some out of towner, ain't like we'll see you again so may as well get some use from that coin rather than let it fall just disappear with you."
"What does that mean?" Tatsumi asked innocently as he put his coins and drink on the table and looked around to note that the four others on the table, all men, appeared to be a laborer, a blacksmith, a shop keeper if Tatsumi had to guess, and a builder so standard jobs for a village like this. "I'll admit that I'm travelling through looking for honest work and then I'll be on my way."
"That's what they all say." The blacksmith said as he dealt out the cards not looking at Tatsumi as he did. "We get the usually travelers through here, not hard being in the Common Realm and a decent source of specialty lumber so we're not off the beaten path. As there are always backwater peasants like yourself keen for coin that look to make some here."
"We saw the head steward and guard to the Highballs with you, so you already know that the only place to get it is with them." The shop keeper added. "It's the only place that hires out of towners, we stick to our own in town and most of us barely have enough to hire locally so we can't hire transients who will be gone soon enough."
"Why?" Tatsumi said as he looked at his cards, he didn't really care about them but tossed some coins into the pot to stay in the hand and keep the men around him talking.
"Safer." The laborer said with a shrug. "Better to care for our own than let the Highballs get 'em."
"Silence." The blacksmith said sharply. "Don't talk bad about the Highballs, they control our taxes here and keep them low enough to survive. There are other towns and villages that barely make ends meet because of the taxes the nobles impose on them in addition to what the King imposes."
"Really?" Tatsumi said as he selected the cards to discard and then get new ones as it was a standard game of 5 card poker while also noting that the blacksmith might be a person of interest for the Magic Investigation Department descended on this place after their follow up mission, providing that that happened of course. "Makes sense, why pay an out of towner like me when you can look after your own. Not like I'm going to be sticking around to make a life here so it's pointless to hire me if you can't afford it. Best let the nobles pay because they can afford it."
"That's how it is around here." The farmer said as he folded. "Those who come looking for work end up finding it with the Highballs. We may get some in for harvest season as added field hands if it's a good harvest and anyone who has specialty training in wood can always find work in the forests around here, but Highballs always offer more money, so they go there. Then we never see them again."
"Figure they just get paid and move on as dem Highballs pay well so why stick around when you got the coin to move to a better place than this one." The builder said though Tatsumi felt that there was a note of fear in his voice. "We don't question it because it's above our stations in life."
"I see." Tatsumi said as he showed his cards and lost the hand to the shop keeper. "So should I go work for them?"
"Your choice." The blacksmith said. "Just don't involve the townsfolk. The Highballs are our lords, we can't upset them or else they'll raise taxes and stop spending money in town."
"Ah I get it." Tatsumi said as the laborer began to shuffle and deal. "That is the way of nobles."
"We don't talk bad about the Highballs, they're good people." The blacksmith said fear clear in his voice and ki. "Best you don't either, we commoners should know our places in this system."
"Oh, I do." Tatsumi said a note of darkness in his voice as he looked at his cards. "Trust me I do."
From then on Tatsumi stayed and played several more hands as he got more rounds for the men and asked some more questions though he made sure to never be too probing with them. He didn't learn much more than what he'd already known but it was clear that there was an undercurrent of fear for the Highballs at the table.
That could be normal as the nobles here did exploit the commoners on a regular basis but it appeared that the Highballs were actually decent to the village as their overlords so Tatsumi was sure that there was more to the fear than just higher taxes and general mistreatment. Alas the people at the table wouldn't say no matter how much they drank and gambled so Tatsumi wouldn't get any more out of them on that front.
Still, it was useful intel and Tatsumi kept the talk up, telling a false story about himself that had some truth to it as the best lies were grounded in truth, and played cards with them deep into the night. He made sure to win a few hands, but his goal was intel not money, hell he was basically paying for it right now as he got what he needed and, in the end, lost a fair bit before bowing out of the game with some coins still left but not until he'd help knock out the shop keeper so as to avoid arising suspicion.
It was all part of his plan, and the Wizard King would reimburse him for this when he finally left significantly poorer, but it was worth it as he'd gained a good bit of knowledge about the local area and the fear the Highballs had instilled there. Now all was left to do was rendezvous with Akame and see what she'd found out to make sure that they had the proof that they needed to bring the Highballs to justice. She would have the real good intel but Tatsumi knew that his would be helpful in its own way when this was all said and done.
Thankfully when Tatsumi got back to his room and stopped pretending to be drunk he saw that the special device he and Akame had and which he'd hidden under his pillow as he didn't want it on him in while he was in the tavern's common area was flashing. That meant that she'd completed her task and gotten the needed proof that something was up so it was time to head to the pickup point.
They would contact Finral from there with the coms device that Tatsumi had in his bag and get out of here so he made sure he had collected everything he'd brought with him. Then left a note for whoever would read it saying that he'd decided to leave and find work elsewhere rather than stay but to keep the coin, and headed to the window that he threw open.
Keeping his senses alert, Tatsumi leapt from the window and into the alleyway between the tavern and the next house, armor greaves appearing on his as he did to protect him as he fell to the ground. As soon as he landed, he crouched down but there was no one around other than in the tavern so he knew he was safe.
With the coast clear, Tatsumi then turned and ran into the countryside around the town to headed to the pickup point and meet Akame there. It was time for them to leave and learn what info Akame had gotten that would allow them to bring down the Highballs.
Akame had indeed found what they needed and then some. She'd been as busy as Tatsumi had been only without talking and much stealthier as she used all her assassin training from two worlds to ensure that she acquired the intel needed to prove to Mushroom Head that the Highballs were committing crimes against commoners and boy were they.
As soon as she and Tatsumi had split up Akame had made her way down the hill they had been on in the opposite direction to him and then through the forest as she arched around to get to a vantage point in the trees that overlooked the vast Highball estate. It had taken Akame a good few hours to make the trek as the had to be careful and cautious to not be spotted by any locals who worked in the forest and would be suspicious but ki really helped there and after two hours of trekking through the trees she'd reached her destination.
Along the way she'd seen at least two foresters or rangers, she wasn't sure of their job titles, that bore the crest of House Highball on their clothes so it seemed that they had employees in the forest as well. They may not be in the know, though of course Akame avoided them with ease, but they'd still have to be arrested and questioned if that order was given.
The same couldn't be said for the confirmed 6 guards and the servants who worked in or on the estate itself as they had to be in the know of any crimes that were being committed there. Akame had learned of all the employees, and confirmed the guard numbers, after she was in position and made her way up a tree to hide in a good vantage point to look over the mansion, where she could observe and study the place without being seen.
The mansion itself was surrounded by a stone wall with long, sharp tipped, iron spikes on the top, and a guest house off to the side and behind it with a thick padlock on the door and the blinds closed that she would have to inspect later. It was certainly a large and fancy place and she made sure to see as much as she could as she set up and began her stakeout of the place.
Unlike Tatsumi who could just relax in the tavern and not draw any suspicion, she wished she was doing that with him but this was much more important, Akame was on full stakeout as she settled in and got out her gear for it while trying to ignore her rumbling stomach. Her only concern was that someone would use mana detection on the surrounding woods and find her location as they'd yet to replicate the magic dampening item that Akame had used to get close to Yami but thankfully it seemed that the guards were just for show and not scanning for observers in the trees.
Well, that was one of her concerns, but the other was her hunger so not exactly something to worry about too much. Akame had rations and she ate the at the appropriate time, but she was going to need a Charmy feast when she got back to the hideout because it wasn't enough as she watched the mansion for any intel she might get, and got hungrier when she saw all the food that the kitchens had been making for first lunch and then dinner.
Alas Akame didn't get much intel from her stakeout as it was during the day so nothing much beyond normal daytime business was going on it seemed. While the Highballs, not including their daughter who was likely with the Blue Rose Knights but would be expelled from them when her own crimes came to light, were present they didn't really do much more than what Akame would expect from nobles who lived in such a house and had duties over the local area would do.
The patriarch simply sat in his study working and occasionally chatting with guards or servants, all of whom clearly had the familiarity of long service to him, while his wife tended to the garden with her magic though Akame noted that all the plants were poisonous and was able to identify many from her assassin school days. It wasn't until evening and night began to fall that things started to look up as Akame patiently watched from her vantage point, that was when the first notable thing happened.
Lord Highball left his study and met with a man that Akame had identified as a senior staff member, likely some combination of steward, butler, and personal guard as the man had been around the whole place making sure things were running while also giving orders, and chatted with him as they walked to the dining room. Akame of course couldn't tell, and the dining room wasn't visible from her vantage point other than the door to it, she'd identified it at lunch when the wife went there, but she saw them head to it and pause outside it for some final words. Then the man left, and the noble entered.
Akame tracked the man as he left the mansion, past some of the guards who were taking up the evening shift and following the same pattern and rotation that Akame had been noting all day, and left the grounds to head down the hill to the village in the valley below. That was interesting and hopefully Tatsumi could get some intel there as she wasn't sure why he'd go to the village at this time of day other than to see if he could find any travelers making their way through the area who wouldn't be missed. It made her certain that something was about to happen, so she kept a keen eye on things.
Alas for her it turned out that nothing did happen as the man returned a few hours later, by this point the nobles had had their meal and the wife retired to bed, and met with the lord in his study which he'd returned to after dinner. They chatted for a moment and then he left while the lord finished up some paperwork before he too retired for the night. It looked like it was almost time for Akame's infiltration.
She would wait a few more hours before making her move, however. It wasn't until it was the dead of the night, but when that came and it was clear that the staff and nobles were asleep, other than three guards with two on the perimeter and one inside, were the only ones left did Akame act.
Akame had been still and quiet the entire time as she'd noted the schedule and patrols of the guards so that when she decided to act, she was able to hold out her hand and create a long blade of metal in front of her the same length as a broom that was nice and sharp and leapt onto it from her tree branch without being noticed. In her time with the Black Bulls, while Akame did own a broom for flying, she'd learned that she preferred to fly on one of her blades that she created without the need for a spell as it was just easier and more comfortable for her.
As such Akame landed on her flying blade and crouched on it as it shot off point first towards the mansion. It had the added bonus of allowing her to miss the well-manicured grass and thus ensure that no one noticed her intrusion unless they were looking for the mana she was giving off.
However, as she entered the estate the mana levels spiked thanks to there being so much mana due to the noble levels of mana the Highballs had so even with mana sensing abilities you'd need the fine levels of control and skill that someone like Luck possessed to notice her as she flew over the open area and up to the open window there. Still, she would have preferred to have that magic concealing item that but alas the other all three that had been used had either been destroyed or lost with the assassins' deaths and the secret to make them had yet to be found from the records they'd recovered.
Still, Akame could manage without them for this mission as she crouched down low to fly through the window without touching anything before she banked her blade as she turned in the corridor and flipped backwards off her blade to land in a crouch on the corridor floor. The moment she was off the blade it vanished, and she kept herself low to the ground.
Akame was glad that the window had been left open, likely to get a some nice breeze in, and these people probably thought that they were safe enough given their location, guards, and magic levels. However, that weren't the best at security if this was all they had, or more likely they hadn't expected someone of Akame's skills the break in. They'd pay for that as she crouched in the corridor while she got a sense for what was going on in the mansion by reading the ki around her.
There were a few sources of it around her that she could feel but most were coming from the Highballs and their staff sleeping in the mansion with the exception of the one roving guard assigned to monitor the interior of the mansion. With him awake and moving Akame was easily able to isolate his ki and lock onto him as he moved through the house as it allowed her to ensure that she didn't run into him as she did the same. There was no way that he'd find her and she was sure that the security here would be lax as she moved to the study where the noble had been working.
It only took her a few moments to get there and as expected it was unlocked so she easily slipped inside it and closed the door silently behind her thanking the tastes of nobles for making sure that the hinges were well oiled so that they didn't make a sound as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. The room itself was dark, but she'd already gotten accustomed to the darkness as she made her way through the room to his desk to check it out.
Careful to not disturb anything on it so as to not reveal her intrusion, Akame carefully searched it but found nothing of note in it. Just the standard papers and what not that she'd expect from a noble which wasn't a good sign. Still, she didn't desist as she moved around the room to search it for anything that might be hidden. This was Lord Highball's personal office, if he had anything it would be here and finally, after a few moments, she struck paydirt.
She had to resist rolling her eyes as she found that a bookcase in the office on the far wall from the door hid the entrance into a secret chamber that had been built there and was on some system where you just pulled a fake book out and the bookcase opened in the middle. She did just that and let the smooth mechanism do its thing, trust a noble to have it such that it was easy rather than done in a way to notice intrusion, and slipped into the chamber. That was where she found all the evidence that she needed to get the Wizard King to sign an arrest warrant against Lord Highball at the very least.
The chamber was filled with more bookcases that lined the entrance corridor and contained ledgers but that wasn't all as the chamber went deeper past them, and Akame finally had to use her mana to light the way as she ventured down it as quietly as possible. What she found there was something that made her stomach recoil as the coppery scent of blood hit her nostrils though at least it was a stale scent.
Akame was intimately familiar with killing, she was a killer after all, but that was her training, she was an assassin by trade thanks to her last life even if she'd failed her only true assassination attempt on this one. However, when Akame killed she did her best to make sure that it was quick and clean. That had been one of the best aspects of Murasame in her old life after all as it would almost always kill so long as it broke her opponents skin baring a few exceptions.
What she did not go in for, however, was torture so when she found the noble's torture chamber she was disgusted by it. It was as you'd expect a full on torture dungeon with all manners of whips, knives, restraints and so much more that she had no idea what they were for but it to inflict pain on another human being. Many of the implements seemed to be made of glass which made sense given Lord Highball's attribute but that also carried its own problems as glass could easily be broken off inside someone.
To add to it there were devices set up in the walls, hanging down from the ceiling, and set up all around the room but what really disturbed her was that there was an old mattress on the floor with blood stains on it, as well as on many of the implements and devices around the room.
Oddly there were no cells or what not, it seemed that this was just the torture chamber for him, and possibly his guards as well, so likely anyone brought in here didn't survive it. Akame made sure to look at everything in the room as she shone her mana on it all despite the revolution, she felt at it before she backed up and got out of the as soon as she was done.
On her way out, though, Akame made sure to look at the ledgers as well and saw that they were all bound and labeled with either the noble's name, his parents as it seemed they too had had a taste for this, his wife's, his daughter's, or others that had to belong to the staff. So that was how they stayed, the family recruited like minded individuals who shared their evil and then recorded their actions as a way to make sure that if something happened, they all went down together.
It all added to the growing evidence in Akame's mind for Mushroom Head to pull out when they debriefed him. One thing was certain, Akame was going to have to make sure that this room was preserved in the attack that was to come which meant that the attack had to start by securing it.
Thankfully that would come soon enough as Akame had gotten what she needed to bring the noble down, or at least to arrest for the investigation as she dared not disturb the journals, along with his wife, daughter, and staff, so she left the secret room. The bookcase returned to normal, and she made sure that her intrusion wouldn't be noticed before she left the study and as swiftly as she could made her way back to the open window that she'd entered the mansion through. It took a few extra minutes this time as the guard was on the top floor but she made it there and left.
As with her way in, Akame used her raw magic to create a blade in the air as she leapt through the window without touching anything and landed on it in a crouch. As soon as she was on her blade Akame flew it down and around to the guest house as fast as she could as that was the last place to check out.
She had to loop around to avoid detection from the pair of guards that were wandering around the estate but soon she reached the side that faced the exterior wall around the estate as that was the least likely place the patrol would come while she checked out the guest house. Once she was in position Akame dismissed the blade from the air to fall onto the ground and peer into it. The building was padlocked so she couldn't break in and the shades down but there was a crack in them, so she used that to look in and what she saw only made everything worse.
It turned out that the daughter was not with her Magic Knight Squad but in fact present and very much awake. There were lights in the guest house, though they were dim, so Akame hadn't noticed until now, that revealed that the interior of the house had been hollowed out and converted into a prison of sorts with cages on both walls. In fact, Akame was looking through a cage right now, one with a man's dead body on the ground covered in purple marks indicative of a poison from one of the plants and surrounded by fresh blood that he'd coughed up, to the wide-open area in the center.
Standing on the ground in the center of the room was Venalia Highball in all her finery, her Blue Rose Knights robe on, as she grinned sadistically and held a glass staff with jagged pieces of glass coming out of it. She was clearly engrossed in her work so there was no way for her to notice Akame as Akame made sure to get a good, clean, look at the girl and the insignia of the Blue Rose Knights that was on the back of her robe.
The robe itself was clean but staff was red with fresh blood that dripped down it and off the shards that protruded from it though only Venalia's hand had any on it, so Akame repositioned herself to look around and shuddered at the sight. It was as disturbing a sight as she'd expected but after all she'd seen Akame could look at it though it was still a tough sight to see.
Strung up from ropes that had been pierced through the forearms with glass, were three attractive, naked, female commoners all bleeding from multiple cuts to their bodies that clearly had not been made by the staff alone. Venalia was grinning at it and Akame looked to see that all three were dead and freshly so. She cursed herself because if she'd been here a moment earlier then she may have been able to act to save them, they could make a field decision like that, but she couldn't now. The best she could do was get justice for these women, so Akame made sure to see everything for their sakes.
Akame swore she would ensure that justice was served on this monster and her memory would be enough to place an execution order on Venalia as she turned back to make sure she got a good view of Venalia. She then watched as Venalia struck each body with her weapon to make sure they were dead and nodded to herself, her grin getting wider at the confirmation that the women were dead.
It was a sight that was hard to see but Akame made sure that the did so. She knew that she had to leave but she couldn't at the moment as she needed to see everything, so she watched Venalia put her weapon down and backed up to sit on the ground with her back to the padlocked door as she looked at her handiwork. She then, to Akame's utter horror and revolution, got a look of extreme pleasure in her eyes and hiked up her skirts.
At that Akame did turn away and headed out because she knew she'd be sick otherwise and she didn't need to see that, she'd seen more than enough to ensure that Venalia faced the ultimate punishment. That girl was beyond twisted and Akame needed to get back to the rendezvous point, so she hurried away, using another blade to fly over the wall and disappear into the forest around the mansion where she got off it to travel the rest of the way on foot. As soon as she was safely away she circled back to her tree to reclaim her back and then left.
As she was leaving to the rendezvous point, she sent the message to Tatsumi to get there before she hurried to it as it would take here some time to get there while Tatsumi finished off getting any intel he could from the tavern. She wanted to be in his arms again and then to get back to the hideout for a hot bath to scour herself after what she'd just seen but only once they'd reported in. It was more than enough to bring the Highballs down and she was going to make sure that they were.
It took Akame half an hour to get to the meeting point, as it was night she was able to take a more direct route to it than she had leaving it to get to the mansion, from where they'd be picked up by Finral and when she did Tatsumi was already there and waiting for her with the coms device to contact Finral in his hand. Instantly she went to him, ignoring the scent of alcohol on his breath as she knew that he had to drink as part of the cover, and let herself be pulled into his arms.
"That bad." Tatsumi said as he held her for a moment, he knew Akame had seen some horrible shit in her life, mainly the last one, but even she had limits and one thing she never went for was torture.
"Worse." Akame said as she felt the warmth of her love as he held her just the way she liked. "But I saw more than enough to take them down and to do so with extreme prejudice. It will have to be hard and fast to preserve the evidence against the parents but what I saw from that monster they call a daughter, she's done for. She's the worst of them by far."
"Good then let me be the one to carry it out." Tatsumi said. "And in front of Asta and Noelle, they need to see it to truly understand what we do."
"They need to see the guest house, it's as bad as Aria's if not worse as I only saw enough to seal Venalia's fate." Akame said. "They won't truly understand until they see that. Same for the room in the father's office, that's his private torture chamber."
"We'll make sure of that." Tatsumi said. "But we need to report in. The town is at least wary and know that travelers are never seen again but that may be all they know though the bartender did take money from the head steward before pointing to me so she's going to get some questioning for that."
"There needs to be a full investigation into the area by the Magic Investigation Department when this is done, it's not the first time but this is a little different to standard corruption." Akame said as she pulled away though she still took Tatsumi's hand in hers. "So, let's get to it, no point in wasting time."
Tatsumi nodded as he opened the device to contact Finral to make a portal to get them out of here. It was time to report in and bring down these bastards for good. That would be the mission that Noelle and Asta learned of their true mission for the Wizard King, hopefully after their first mission they'd be able to handle it and thus be able to learn the truth about them as well. First though they needed that mission and as Finral answered Tatsumi told him to get them and take them to the Magic Knight Headquarters right away as they had the intel that they needed so it was time to report in.
Well, there it is, a glimpse into the kind of stuff that Tatsumi and Akame do for the Wizard King, a return of Venalia Highball as I said I wasn't quite done with her or her family just yet, and a little tease of what is to come but not for a few chapters as there are other events to deal with, mainly the aftermath of Asta and Noelle's first mission. For those wondering, that mission takes place during the later part of this chapter and won't be seen in this story (though it will be referred to when necessary) so that will remain as pure canon stuff. Some of the missions that Asta and Noelle go on will remain as canon while Tatsumi and Akame do their own thing, especially early on, but some will be different and show how the reborn affect the story it will just vary from mission to mission, same with non mission events. Saussy made more sense to leave as is as it's an important growth mission to not mess with while also allowing for the set up for Asta and Noelle to see the full extent of what Tatsumi and Akame do which they will soon. There is one thing that was supposed to be one chapter but is now two due to length and what goes on in them that has to be sorted out and then we shall return to see what happens when Asta and Noelle join Akame and Tatsumi on a mission. Anyway, that is all for this long chapter so I will leave it off here. If you like my story then please follow, favorite, review, PM, etc. it is all appreciated and helps me get better and stay motivated to keep producing more content and any questions asked I will do my best to answer both privately and at the start of the next chapter. Until next time.
Stringdog