Chapter 17
(Raijyou)
Rubbing my eyes, I woke up from the sofa where I slept. Beside me was Lubbo whose drool was dripping down to his chin. Mine was sleeping at the next long sofa just beside ours. Then, Leone was sleeping while strangling Tatsumi unconsciously at the next couch. And based on Tatsumi's face, he was having a nightmare.
I chuckled at his struggles and proceeded to the kitchen to get some water. Entering the kitchen, I found Akame holding a plate of apples on her hand.
"Oh, you're awake," she exclaimed in her expressionless face and monotonous tone.
"Yeah. I was thirsty," I replied. "And you're here, eating so early in the morning."
"It's none of your business."
I grabbed a glass of water as she began peeling those apples. I drank the whole down and stood beside her because I wanted to ask something from her.
"Say, what are you gonna do after this fighting is all over?" I asked nonchalantly.
"I want to board a ship and travel all over the world with everyone," she replied, a small smile was forming in her lips as she began to fantasize her dream.
Her eyes were fixated on the apple but, it spoke of her dream and it was blinking with bliss. She seemed really happy about it.
"Cheesy," I teased while chuckling.
"It's not," she retorted while giving me an irritated eye.
Right after she peeled and sliced an apple, I took it and chomped it down in one bite. She gave me an angry glare while I smirked at her.
"Are you trying to agitate me?" she uttered in a low but annoyed tone.
"Am not." I playfully smirked at her while chewing the apple inside my mouth.
I grabbed the other apple and took the knife from her hand. I peeled it and said, "You know, for a ruthless killer, to have a cheesy dream like that is rather cute." Right after I peeled it, I sliced the apple and feed it to her mouth.
"Guess you're not as scary as I thought you'd be," I exclaimed while cheekily smiling.
She bit the apple and the rest of the fruit fell down on the plate. Then, she shot me a killer glare indicating that I was getting under her skin.
"I bet your dream is cheesier than mine," she hissed.
"Yep," I replied, smiling at her. "To die for the freedom of the people. That is my dream."
I turned around and started leaving. I knew that I promised my brother that I will live. But, on the way, I realized that I will have to face the strongest evil generals and it will surely mean my death. At the very least, for as long as I'm alive, I will do everything I can to protect and free the people who are trampled on.
(Esdeath)
It's already morning and Lucifer still hasn't come back. Did he thought of running away? Was it wrong to let him investigate alone?
Hmm, I should've placed a tracker on him. I forgot that he's quite the rascal too. He's strong willed and could get disobedient. Oh well, when I heard news that he's rebelling against us, I'll kill him on spot even if he was a good pawn for our forces.
But, at least, I'll send some guards after him and have them investigate about his whereabouts. After all, I wouldn't want to lose such a good chess piece. He carries the Lost Teigu and we could be invincible if he teams up with us. If he sides with the revolutionist army, our chances of winning will greatly decrease.
That dog.. Even if he hasn't realize his full potential, he could kill an entire army. I propped my chin on my hand whilst drinking water from the glass with my other hand.
"You look in deep thought, General Esdeath," Ran said, gently smiling.
"I was just thinking about my pet," I replied calmly whilst slightly smiling. "For his first assignment, he's taking his sweet time. I was beginning to think that he betrayed me."
"Or something bad happened to him. What if he encountered Night Raid and got held as hostage?" Wave stated anxiously as he was eating his chunks of salmon.
"That might be true. At any rate, I'll have my men investigate his location. If he becomes a traitor, I will obliterate him and if he gets held by the enemies, we'll take him back then," I remarked while smirking evilly. "Either way, this will be a good fight."
"I didn't expect you to care about your pet, Esdeath-sama," Dr. Stylish exclaimed while placing his hand on his cheek and wearing that homo-looking smile of his.
"It's not that I care about his state or anything. I just need his abilities as a fighting pawn. He's a good warrior and losing a fighter like him is a huge loss."
"How very likely of you, Esdeath-sama. Still ever so stylish!" He raised his arms in the air in amusement and adoration towards me.
As always, I still don't understand his definition of stylish and I don't understand why he loves saying that.
"Don't worry, Esdeath-sama. I will contribute to the search for looking for your dear pet."
"Thank you."
(Raijyou)
It was noon and Akame and I were sent to the mountains for hunting because yesterday's hunt was not really successful due to Lubbo's injury and the hunt ended quite early. Mine and Tatsumi were asked to stay at the headquarters to guard it while Leone and Lubbo headed to the capital to talk to the client and gather information as I have heard.
As we were hiking in the mountains, we carried huge baskets on our backs under the scorching sun. There was an awkward silence between us and no one dared to speak a word. But as the minutes passed, I couldn't get any more uncomfortable so, I decided to break the ice.
"Hey, just how far are we going to hike? Are we there yet?" I asked in a complaining tone.
"Soon," she shortly replied without even looking at me.
She's giving me the cold shoulder as usual. Soon, we reached the middle of the mountains and it was a vast place with nothing but rocks and a bit of trees and shrubs.
"Mountain Rams, that's our target," she said.
"Meat again?" I asked while chuckling.
"Shut up," she hissed while placing the baskets down and preparing herself for the huge catch. "You be the bait and I'll strike them right after."
"What am I supposed to do?" I asked.
"Mountain Rams are attracted to human's smell so, remove your clothes and wait for them to come. Their horns are really sharp so, don't hold them on it."
"Got it,"
I removed my shirt and hanged them on the branch of a nearby tree. I stood around naked as I waited for a Mountain Ram to come and attack. After a few seconds, I heard a few rustlings not far away from me. It seemed to have come from behind. I looked at my peripheral vision to examine the target.
All of a sudden, it came rushing towards me, its horns pointing towards me. It was going for the kill as it snorted angrily. As soon as it was about to hit me, I lunged to the side and yelled, "Akame!" to get her attention.
She jumped out of the huge rock and plunged her sword down on the head of the Mountain Ram. The ram was beheaded and fell flat on the floor. But all of a sudden, another ram was heading towards Akame. Before it hits Akame, I rushed it and kicked it right at its head, sending it flying away.
"Oh, you don't have to thank me," I haughtily said while chuckling.
"I wasn't planning to, anyway. Plus I was ready to strike it down though," she remarked in a cold voice.
"You could've at least have some gratitude. I just saved your ass." I rolled my eyes off her stubbornness.
In an unexpected event, I suddenly felt the presence of another monster charging its way towards us. In a split second, it was about to strike Akame with its huge sharp horns so, I dashed forward and pushed Akame far away.
The Ram was a lot of times bigger than the ones we killed. It had sharp horns, claws, and teeth and also red eyes. I felt an immense stinging pain at my left rib as the monster bore a huge wound on me.
"Sh*t.." I held my left rib while grimacing in pain.
I felt the blood gushing out of me smoothly as the wound. It suddenly became hard for me to breathe and my vision is starting to twitch and become blurry.
The ram was grunting heavily as its saliva was dripping from hunger. It was gnawing its teeth at me and gazing at me so intently like I'm some delicious prey.
End of Chapter 17