"Dad, did you catch that venomous python?"
Just then, several more children ran out from the depths of the forest—four girls and three boys, seven in total.
Two of the boys were supporting the already injured boy, whose groin area was drenched in blood. Though they had applied antidote herbs, the unnatural skin tone of poisoning still showed on the boy's body.
In such a condition, even if the poison were neutralized, there was basically no saving him—at the very least, his male functions were certainly lost.
This couldn't be blad on anyone else. After all, he had stepped on the venomous python's tail while relieving himself. The sleeping python, feeling a sharp pain and then spotting the boy, imdiately reared up and bit down.
Had his companions not arrived in ti, the boy would likely have been swallowed by the venomous python.
"Oh, Najasho, you brought them along too."
Gozuki glanced back at the boys and girls, then turned to him and said, "Let introduce them—they are all my children."
"Mm."
Mahiro's reaction was quite indifferent.
His gaze subtly assessed the seven individuals.
Apart from the boy Gozuki had just referred to as Najasho, the injured one should be that lustful devil Guy, though he hadn't expected such an unfortunate turn of events.
The one helping Najasho support Guy was likely Green.
As for the girls, his eyes swept over them one by one.
Cornelia, Poney, Tsukushi...
This must be the elite squad of the Imperial assassination unit from the original story, the one that ended up with only Aka surviving, right?
It seems Gozuki is currently training them.
Not bad. He quite liked it.
However, Mahiro's attention eventually settled on a black-haired, red-eyed girl.
Her behavior was peculiar—unlike the others who were observing him with varied expressions, she was focusing her gaze on Mine by the riverside...
No, more precisely, on the chunks of at Mine was handling.
The girl actually walked straight over, crouched down beside them, pressed her index finger to her lips, and stared intently at the fresh at laid out before her.
"!!!"
Mine, who was cleaning the ingredients, was startled. But upon seeing the girl's fervent gaze fixed on the at, she quickly shielded the food behind her.
"Wh-what do you want?!"
Mine raised her voice sharply, as if trying to scare the other party away.
But the black-haired girl seed completely unfazed, her eyes still locked on the at hidden behind Mine.
"My na is Aka. Could I have a piece of that at?"
"No! This is food for and my master!"
The mont she heard soone wanted to share the food, Mine imdiately bared her small fangs, like a kitten hissing.
However, their conversation reached Gozuki's ears, and when he heard the girl refer to the boy as "master," his eyes lit up.
He had already ford an idea.
"About you stealing my prey... I'm quite angry, but if you're willing to sell your little maid as a daughter, not only will I let bygones be bygones, but I can also arrange an official position for you in the Imperial City. How about it?"
Gozuki grinned at him, finally baring his fangs and revealing his true intentions.
After all, that brat Guy was already useless—even if he recovered, he'd be of no use.
If he could acquire this girl, she would perfectly fill the vacancy.
So, when Gozuki made this offer, he deliberately spoke loudly.
From afar, Mine, who was in a standoff with Aka, trembled upon hearing this, her face suddenly turning pale and bloodless.
"Master..."
Although her master could be strict at tis and occasionally improper, most of the ti, he treated her well.
She also loved this life and hoped to stay by her master's side forever. She didn't want to end up like those pitiful girls under other nobles, traded away like goods.
So, the girl fixed her gaze on Mahiro, desperately hoping her master would say sothing on her behalf.
Sothing like a refusal.
But who could resist the temptation of an official position in the Imperial City?
Especially since their very purpose for this journey was to go to the Imperial City...
"You want to know my answer? Co closer, and I'll tell you the answer slowly." Mahiro maintained his gentle smile as he beckoned to Gozuki.
"Oh, interesting."
Gozuki raised his eyebrows slightly and approached until he was one ter away from Mahiro.
At this distance, a drawing slash would be perfect to kill the opponent—a single strike to seal the throat!
So, discreetly, his hand had already casually rested on the hilt of his sword.
If the other party intended to refuse, Gozuki planned to kill this young man outright and forcibly take the girl away!
However.
The idea was good, but reality had other plans.
What happened next was completely beyond Gozuki's expectations.
Smack—
A crisp slap resounded, shocking everyone.
Gozuki's vision blurred, followed by a sharp pain in his cheek. The next mont, he was sent spiraling backward, crashing face-first onto the ground and skidding a long distance across the gravel.
Then, the children saw a bright red handprint swelling on Gozuki's right cheek, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Mine was utterly stunned.
She had thought it would be the height of kindness if her master simply refused, never expecting he would directly confront the other party. And that uncle looked dangerous...
"Oh? I didn't expect you to be so resilient. Are you the legendary 'King of Endurance'?" Mahiro tilted his head, unable to resist teasing.
He had only used thirty percent of his strength in that slap.
It seed that after recently consuming Danger Beast at, he felt his strength and speed had increased significantly. At the very least, a slap with thirty percent of his current strength could kill an ordinary beast outright.
But when it landed on this man, instead of the expected broken neck—like so axe gang leader spinning his head a few tis—he was still alive and well.
All of this was thanks to Gozuki's past as one of the Four Rakshasa Demons of the Temple, possessing an incredibly robust physique that even gave him a chance against Teigu users.
"Damn you, how dare you hit ?!"
Gozuki spat out a few teeth with hatred, slowly rising from the ground.
Though his vision was still slightly blurry, he recovered quickly.
His eyes glared viciously at Mahiro as he pressed his hand against the hilt of his sword, slowly crouching like a leopard ready to strike.
"What if I hit you? Otherwise, how would you wake up from that daydream?" Mahiro's gentle smile suddenly turned cold and stern, his gaze as if looking at a dead man.
"...Then die."
Gozuki wasn't as violent and arrogant as one might expect, nor was he blinded by rage.
He was as light as the sound of his words, his presence vanishing entirely. Though standing right in front of you, he seed to rge with nature itself.
"Feels a bit like that dead bald donkey Kokonoe Yakumo's concealnt technique, doesn't it? But this should be more like masking one's presence, right?"
Even with danger imminent, Mahiro continued to critique calmly.
At that mont, the tachi at Gozuki's waist was already drawn, swinging toward Mahiro's neck.
A flicker of amusent passed through Mahiro's eyes as he effortlessly caught the blade of Gozuki's strike with one hand.
"Is that all you've got, dear Mr. Gozuki?" Mahiro glanced at the blade clear as spring water, his voice tinged with mockery.
This ti, however, Gozuki was utterly stunned, as if his entire worldview had been shattered.
Soone had actually caught a Teigu bare-handed?!
And it was Murasa, the one-hit kill weapon?!
How was this possible!
Not only that, Gozuki could feel trendous force transmitted through Murasa, as if it were wedged in a rock crevice—completely impossible to pull out.
Gozuki imdiately gritted his teeth, explosive strength surging through his arm as he twisted his wrist in an inhuman direction.
The captured Murasa suddenly rotated violently in Mahiro's palm, its sharp edge finally slicing through his skin and drawing blood.
But bizarrely, as blood flowed, black markings resembling cursed script rapidly spread from the wound.
Seeing this, Gozuki finally laughed again.
"Haha, you brat! That's the lethal curse poison carried by the Teigu Murasa—incurable! I'll take care of your little maid for you, so just obediently go to hell and repent! Hahaha!"
Gozuki's laughter was maniacal.
Nearby, Mine had turned deathly pale at the sight, trembling like a leaf.
She shuffled forward in small steps toward Mahiro.
"Please... Master, don't die..."
Unable to hold back any longer, tear drops the size of beans spilled from her eyes, dampening the stone ground.
But Mahiro himself expressionlessly observed the slender wound on his palm and the curse poison that had already spread along his entire arm like a cursed seal.
No matter how strong he was, he remained human—being cut by a blade wasn't surprising.
Still, he felt quite curious about this curse poison. Was it truly that powerful?
As he activated his Eye of the Spirit for analysis, the Self-Repair Spell had already begun operating.
[Self-Repair Spell, automatically activated.]
[Backup system reading core personal data.]
[Magic formula loading—complete.]
[Self-repair—complete.]
The miracle occurred in rely 0.01 seconds.
The curse marks that had just been spreading from his shoulder toward his heart suddenly vanished. Not only that, but the wound on Mahiro's palm also healed completely as if ti had reversed.
Gozuki's laughter cut off abruptly as he stared at the youth as if seeing a ghost.
"You... you're not dead?! Impossible!"
"Perhaps... you should try again?"
Mahiro offered the suggestion with utmost sincerity.
Repeated provocations finally plunged Gozuki into all-consuming rage.
Forgetting the gap between them entirely, he abandoned assassination techniques and directly charged forward with Murasa, swinging once more at Mahiro's neck.
But just like before, Mahiro caught it bare-handed.
Gozuki attempted to repeat his earlier maneuver.
This ti, however, Murasa's blade emitted a mournful shriek—
Crack!
The blade bizarrely fractured from the middle, snapping clean in two!
Gozuki stared in disbelief, exclaiming "Impossible!"
After all, Teigu were forged from orichalcum reinforced with materials from super Danger Beasts—they were supposed to be the hardest tal in the world!
How could it break so easily!
So shocked that Gozuki even forgot his body was tilting forward uncontrollably.
Until a peculiarly shaped pistol pressed against his forehead.
"Checkmate."
"W-wait! I don't an to be your enemy! Can we negotiate?! I'm from the Elite Seven..."
Facing the dark gun barrel, Gozuki broke into a cold sweat. At this distance, even if he wanted to dodge, it would be absolutely impossible!
Moreover, this was a firearm produced by this bizarre youth—he didn't dare gamble with his own physical resilience!
However, Mahiro's response was rely an inscrutable smile.
"Mist Dispersion"—activate!
As the trigger was pulled, the kneeling Gozuki before him instantly burst apart and vanished.
There was no bloody scene—only a broken blade and a pool of dust scattering in the wind remained on the spot.
Mahiro bent down to pick up Murasa, casually scattering Gozuki's ashes as well.
But when he looked at Murasa broken into two pieces, he had to admit it pained him quite a bit.
He hadn't expected the weapon to be so brittle—he'd just applied a tiny bit of magic, and it snapped with a crack.
This wasn't his fault; it must have been the blacksmith who forged Murasa improperly, leaving such a serious flaw.
Yes, that was definitely the reason.
"Mine, pack up the food, we're leaving! Your maid training isn't over yet, so don't slack off."
After storing the broken blade, Mahiro glanced briefly at the group of boys and girls before ignoring them, instead calling Mine to gather their belongings.
"O-oh, coming!"
Mine took a deep breath, patted her cheeks to shake off her astonishnt, then hurriedly wrapped up the at and obediently followed behind Mahiro.
As she watched Mahiro's back, it suddenly seed inexplicably taller and more imposing.
Master is really amazing...
He actually defeated a Teigu user.
Though she didn't really understand what Teigu were—they seed more like legends—it didn't stop her from admiring Mahiro even more.
After they left.
The six children remaining on the spot, having witnessed their father's annihilation, were completely stunned. They couldn't snap out of it imdiately, or perhaps found it hard to believe what had just happened.
It can't be!
How could Gozuki—the "father" they revered and admired most, with his imnse strength—die so easily at soone else's hands?
Among them, the ponytailed loli known as the simple-minded idiot, Poney, cried the hardest. After all their training ti together, she had truly co to see Gozuki as her real father.
Aside from the cold-faced boy Najasho, the other four children remained silent, beginning to worry about their future.
Now that their elite assassination unit's instructor was dead, how would the higher-ups in the Imperial City deal with them? Would they be eliminated by the Empire...?
Only Aka's reaction differed from the others.
She felt no sorrow, nor any worry.
Instead, she reluctantly stretched out her hand, gazing at the two figures fading into the distance, and murmured involuntarily:
"Ah... the at... walked away..."
Aka didn't share Poney's deep attachnt to Gozuki—after all, it was because of him that she and her sister had been forcibly separated.
Now, dead was dead.
She didn't care about her own future either.
If anything, that delicious-looking snake at had been far more appealing.
...
anwhile.
Mahiro led Mine along the river, heading straight for the Imperial City according to the map's directions.
He didn't dwell on the matter with Gozuki.
As for those children, honestly, he had no particular thoughts about them yet.
While raising them might not be bad—they seed around Mine's age—traveling with deadweight, especially so many of them, was out of the question.
Besides, judging by their reactions, they'd never follow him willingly, especially that ponytailed Poney.
So, if fate allows, we'll et again.
As long as they were in the Imperial City, they would eventually et.
It didn't seem too late to take them into his fold one by one when the ti ca.
As for Mine, she was already mostly trained. Though not yet a master of all household chores, she was already quite capable of cleaning, laundry, and cooking.
So, after lingering in the forest for a few more days, he took Mine and bought a carriage in a nearby town, heading straight for the Imperial City.
After all, having co to the world of Aka ga Kill, he simply had to et that legendary woman.
...
...
...
Rumble, rumble—
The wheels rolled over dirt and gravel as a dust-covered carriage slowly erged from the horizon under the glow of the setting sun and lingering clouds.
"Master! Co out quickly and look—we've arrived at the Imperial City!"
Mine, the twin-tailed loli in a maid outfit, poked half her head out of the carriage, shouting excitedly at the scene ahead.
A magnificent city wall abruptly appeared before them, towering nearly ten ters high, seemingly blocking out half the sky along with the setting sun.
Looking left, the wall seed endless; the sa was true when looking right.
The massive city periter was so vast that its exact circumference in kiloters was impossible to discern, standing imposingly and silently between heaven and earth.
Mine stared wide-eyed at the grand city before her, at the crowds that seed minuscule in front of the wall, and murmured to herself:
"I... I've really co to the Imperial City?"
Mine could hardly believe it.
After all, just a few months ago, she had been nothing but a wandering wild child struggling to survive. Who would have thought that now, transford, she would follow her master to the most magnificent and majestic Imperial City!
It felt like a dream.
"Ouch!"
Suddenly, Mine felt a sharp pain in her cheek.
She saw Mahiro grinning as he pinched her face.
"Ow... Stupid master, what are you doing?"
"You were wondering if you were dreaming, right? So I helped you verify—if it hurts, then it's not a dream."
"Oh... Then it really isn't a dream!"
Mine nodded, only half-understanding.
Her silly little head was completely occupied with excitent, failing to realize that Mahiro was teasing her.
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