Chapter 106: The Smile of Esdeath

“What a dangerous fellow.”

“What an interesting fellow.”

Tazmi and Qi spoke almost simultaneously, yet the meanings behind their words were entirely different.

“What’s interesting about someone like that?” Main asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“That’s because she’s simply too lonely, so she passes the time this way. And when dealing with enemies, one must be ruthless—whether it’s killing with ice, a blade, or bare hands, what difference does it make? Back when I was invincible in the Qi Kingdom, I also… ahem, anyway, she’s an enemy. No matter how interesting she is, a fight is inevitable.” Qi shifted the topic.

“Then why didn’t I see her come out yesterday? Things were already such a commotion.”

“You should consider yourself lucky. She’s currently away, leading a campaign against the northern tribes. I heard that the northern hero, Numa Seka—the prince of the northern tribes—has never tasted defeat since birth. His strategies are brilliant, and he’s deeply trusted by his people.”

“The force he commands is invading the empire’s border. To deal with this tribe, the empire formed a northern expeditionary army, led by General Esdeath,” Najehitan said in a solemn tone.

“Don’t worry too much. Even with that tribal prince’s leadership, it should take Esdeath at least a year to quell the rebellion,” Labork said with a smile, shrugging.

“Yeah, maybe. In any case, for now, we can be more active and cut down those who deserve it,” Najehitan sighed.

“Hey, perverted Qi, you’re not going to wear that tattered cheongsam all day today, are you?” Main shot a sidelong glance, her expression as if looking at some dreadful thing.

“Flat-chested Main, wasn’t it you who was supposed to wash my clothes? What, already can’t wait to do my laundry?”

“W-what? You cross-dressing pervert! You lost the contest this morning, so aren’t you supposed to skip lunch?”

Since she was suppressed in every way, Main could only grasp at this to hold some advantage.

“I’m not eating rice; I’m eating loneliness.”

“Loneliness, my foot…”

…

Northern Empire.

“We’re almost at the border, right? This is so boring. Every time we suppress a rebellion, we have to travel such a long distance. Can’t we just strike directly at the capital?”

Under the warm early summer sun, a gentle breeze lifted strands of sky-blue hair belonging to a tall woman seated atop a horse.

She wore a black-and-white military police uniform. Her sky-blue hair, reaching down behind her calves, fluttered behind her on horseback, as did her blue eyebrows, lashes, and pupils, all expressing displeasure.

“General Esdeath, we are about to reach the northern border,” an officer reported.

“Ah, I hope this so-called hero can entertain me for a while. Is there really no worthy opponent in this world?” The empire’s top warrior, Esdeath, smiled coldly and cruelly.

“Report, General. A letter from the capital,” a messenger hurried over holding an envelope.

“It’s probably another order to finish quickly and return,” Esdeath muttered as she opened the letter.

“Hahaha, hahaha! Interesting, truly interesting. As expected, there are many fascinating people in this world after all. Accelerate the march—today we’ll push all the way to the border and exterminate that so-called hero and the tribes. I want to return to the capital early; there’s an interesting person waiting for me. If we don’t reach the border before dinner, the entire army gets thirty lashes. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’m already excited. Don’t disappoint me, boy,” Esdeath said with a ruthless smile, spurring her horse forward.

…

“Hey, little Qi.” Brand, Main, Hill, and Labork entered the kitchen where two were preparing dinner.

“What are you all doing? Dinner isn’t ready yet! Huh? Dressed like that—are you going out?”

“Yes, there’s an urgent mission,” Brand smiled.

“A mission? You’re taking me along? This is my first mission, and it came so fast,” Qi smiled.

“Haha, rookie, you’ll stay here and guard the house. The four of us veterans will handle it perfectly. You just stay put and cook! Hahaha,” Main said smugly, pointing at Qi.

“What? You defeated loser dare to talk like that? Weren’t we supposed to train our teamwork? It’s rare to have a mission, and you didn’t invite me,” Qi said unhappily, brandishing a kitchen knife.

“You’re under Akatome’s command now, so naturally she manages you. Besides, it’s not a dangerous or difficult mission; the boss decided so,” Labork said with a teasing smile.

“Exactly, we’re leaving now,” Main said, tossing her pink twin tails arrogantly as she turned to leave.

“Wait, take this with you. If things get dangerous, crush it—it might save your lives,” Qi tossed four dazzling diamonds to them.

“These are so hard, how could I possibly crush them? They’re pretty, though. I’ll use them as jewelry,” Main admired the diamonds in her hand.

“Don’t worry; if I say you can crush them, you can. Remember, only use them in danger,” Qi said seriously.

“All right, we’ll eat your cooking when we come back,” Brand said with a smile.

After seeing them off, Qi resumed cooking. “Why is it that, as members of an assassin organization and the strongest at night raids, I have to cook for you all every day? Can’t we hire a maid?”

“No choice. I’m in charge of everyone’s meals. Since you work under me, you have to cook too. If we hired a maid, who knows when food poisoning might wipe us out,” Akatome said, tying her loose black hair into a ponytail and wearing an apron, continuously sampling the food on the table.

“You call yourself responsible for the meals but just keep eating everything I cook?”

“That’s not true. I’m just taste-testing to see if your food is up to standard.”

“But how do you explain those empty plates over there?”

“Not tasty—can’t serve it to everyone or they’ll get diarrhea.”

“Aren’t you afraid of getting diarrhea yourself?”

…

“Finally, dinner time.” Leona hurried to the table, eagerly grabbing a piece of meat and stuffing it into his mouth, chewing happily.

“Leona, that’s so rude,” Najehitan said, swallowing her food.

“The boss has no right to say that. Huh? Akatome isn’t eating so fast today? Has she changed?” Leona said, surprised as he watched Akatome eat slowly and deliberately.

“She just ate too much while cooking, and I was eating too. By the way, boss, why don’t you ever take me on missions?”

(Because two tables arrived while we were eating. Heh heh, I advise everyone not to go to restaurants when the chef is about to eat; scary things might happen, gugu hehe. Also, there’ll be an extra chapter tomorrow to thank the fairies who recommended us thirty votes. Sigh.)