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Monsters only ever charge straight ahead.
But fighting humans is different. There are countless things you have to watch out for.
From the start, Alex didn't teach Ais the three great sword schools outright. Instead, he fought her every day, letting her learn through real combat and reach her own understanding.
Only when she'd more or less grasped it did he formally pass on Sword God Style from among the three major schools.
Water God Style and North God Style didn't suit her temperament at all. Teaching her those would only have muddied her path.
Ais had studied under Alex for just one week, yet her improvement was already astounding.
She didn't just adapt quickly to PVP combat, she also mastered Sword God Style.
During that same week, she even found time to head into the Dungeon, solo the floor boss Udaeus, and level up to Lv.6.
With that, Loki Familia welcomed its fourth Lv.6 adventurer.
For a time, all of Orario was in an uproar.
The reputation of the "Genius Sword Princess" only grew louder.
Since Ais no longer needed instruction, Alex used his free time to study sacred script.
When he wanted to relax, he'd open the chat group and watch Roxy and the others' expedition livestreams.
Life was calm, but fulfilling.
Just like that, another week passed.
Alex finally mastered magic sword forging completely, and he'd learned all of sacred script as well.
Unfortunately, Hephaestus still hadn't returned. She was tied up handling matters in the Swordsmith City.
With her not around, there was no way for him to learn divine forging techniques.
In that case, he might as well pay a visit to Esdeath's world and recruit Night Raid into his familia.
…
After giving himself two days off to properly rest, Alex contacted Esdeath.
Private chat.
Alex: "Esdeath, just post any quest. I want to go to your world."
Esdeath: "You're after Night Raid, aren't you?"
Alex: "Yeah. They've all got good potential."
Esdeath: "That's fine, but what do I get out of it?"
Alex: "What kind of benefit do you want?"
Esdeath: "I want to date someone. Which means I need a man."
Alex: "Whoa, weren't you love at first sight with Tatsumi?"
Esdeath: "That's original canon. In this timeline, I haven't even met him."
Alex: "Then… we can give it a try. Just don't tell anyone, especially Hestia."
Esdeath: "Heh. Men."
Alex: "…"
[Group Member Esdeath has posted a quest: Destroy the Empire. Difficulty: ★★★. Reward: 100 points!]
Alex: "Why are you offering so many points? Ten would've been fine."
Esdeath: "Do you think I'm short on points?"
Alex: "…"
He really wanted to say yes, you are, but remembering Esdeath's stubborn personality, he decided to drop it.
[Group Member Alex has accepted the quest!]
After accepting, Alex left the DanMachi world and was transported by the chat group to the Akame ga Kill world.
This was an ancient empire with a thousand years of civilization, the most powerful nation on the continent. The surrounding tribes had been suppressed so thoroughly they'd lost all will to resist.
Only the Western Kingdom could rival it. The southern deserts and northern tundra lagged far behind, while the eastern islands were still uncivilized lands.
Time passes. Just as people die, nations rot, slowly decaying toward inevitable ruin.
The once-glorious empire was now nothing more than a corrupt hell on earth, crawling with monsters wearing human skin, running rampant without restraint.
A flash of light flickered in Esdeath's residence, and Alex appeared before her.
She wasn't wearing her usual white general's uniform. Instead, she had on casual home clothes, her ice-blue hair tied into a ponytail. There was a faint smile on her face, making her look almost like a gentle wife.
Alex couldn't help staring. Was this really Esdeath?
While he was still stunned, she stepped forward, pulled out a collar with a chain attached, and snapped it around his neck.
Smiling brightly, she declared, "From today on, you belong to me."
"Hell no! I'm not into that!" Alex snapped out of it and tore the collar off.
"Didn't you agree to be my lover?" Esdeath said, clearly annoyed.
"Who puts a collar on their lover?" he shot back.
"Huh? Isn't that how it works?" She looked genuinely puzzled.
Alex sighed and changed the subject. "Can you take me to where the Empire stores its Teigu?"
"You want to copy them?" Esdeath asked.
"Yeah. They're not that strong, but their abilities are varied. Worth collecting," Alex replied.
"Alright. Let me change first."
She returned to her room, and a short while later came back out in her familiar white military uniform.
As one of the Empire's two strongest generals, backed by the Minister himself, Esdeath wielded enormous authority.
Walking through the palace, no one dared stop her.
Together, they strode into the treasury and opened the weapon vault.
There were many weapons inside, but only a few Teigu remained. The rest were already scattered across the land.
Besides Teigu, there were also quite a few lesser relics.
Alex didn't bother picking and choosing. He copied everything.
"All done?" Esdeath asked.
"Yep."
They left the vault and headed straight for the young emperor's residence.
At the time, the young emperor was "discussing matters of state" with the Minister.
In truth, it was less a discussion and more the Minister talking while the emperor nodded along.
Mid-conversation, they noticed Alex and Esdeath walking in.
The Minister frowned slightly. "General Esdeath, why are you here? And who is this lowly commoner beside you?"
Esdeath ignored him and turned to Alex. "Want to do it the easy way?"
"Yeah. Faster that way." Alex smiled faintly as a strange light bloomed in his eyes.
The moment the Minister and the emperor met his gaze, they both froze, trapped in an illusion, faces blank and unmoving.
"Your talent for magic really is incredible," Esdeath said with a hint of envy. "You cast little spells like this without even thinking."
"Want Hestia to give you a holy flame baptism too?" Alex joked.
Esdeath stared at him in silence.
Alex coughed awkwardly. "Honestly, with your talent, there's no need to force magic. You'd be better off learning swordsmanship and battle aura from Roxy's world. Their god-tier fighters are no joke."
Esdeath's eyes lit up. Right. Why was she so fixated on magic?
"Teach me the three sword schools and aura cultivation later," she said at once.
"No problem," Alex agreed.
"What about those two?" She pointed at the Minister and the emperor.
"Kill the Minister. Keep the emperor under control," Alex said after a moment's thought.
"Using the emperor to command the realm?" Esdeath grinned with interest.
"More or less. You don't have to overthrow the Empire outright. You can rebuild it, then have the emperor abdicate later," Alex replied with a smile.
"I get it."
Esdeath stepped forward and, with a single swing, took the Minister's head.
She removed his Teigu and tossed it to Alex.
The moment it hit his hands, the copy was complete.
After that, neither of them left. They simply claimed the emperor's palace as their own residence.
As for the young emperor, he could live wherever was convenient.
The next day, court was held.
When the officials gathered in the audience hall, they all noticed something strange.
Where was the Minister?
And why was there an unfamiliar young man standing beside the emperor?
Alex looked at their expressions and smiled faintly.
Don't worry. The real shock is still coming.
Then the young emperor spoke.
"Minister Honest poisoned my late father, deceived me, and caused the deaths of many loyal ministers. Thanks to General Esdeath and Alex, the traitor was executed yesterday. I hereby appoint Esdeath as Grand General, equal in rank to General Budo, and grant Alex the title of King by Special Decree!"
The hall exploded.
Officials stared in disbelief.
The Minister was dead?
Who was this Alex who appeared out of nowhere and was instantly made king?
And Esdeath had been promoted to Grand General.
Grand General was the supreme military post, commander of all armed forces, equivalent to a supreme marshal.
Though Esdeath and Budo were known as the Empire's twin pillars, her authority in the army had never matched his.
Now that she'd been elevated to equal rank, the military balance was bound to shift.
The sharper minds immediately realized it.
The Empire was about to change.
One by one, officials dropped to their knees.
And they weren't kneeling to the emperor.
They were kneeling to Alex and Esdeath.
"..."
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