These past few days, Run often went with Captain Esdeath to see Lady Eblana, while Kurome spent her time with Akame—who was with Night Raid—her own elder sister.
Stylish often grumbled that this place lacked the equipment for research and experiments, but ever since he met a green-haired girl in a white lab coat, he'd been frequently visiting the medical wing.
After that, he was constantly scribbling and sketching something, looking incredibly energized.
Bols would occasionally take out photos of his wife and daughter, seeming utterly nostalgic for his family.
Everyone had their own affairs to attend to… except for him.
Leaning his arms on the second-floor balcony railing, Wave had now been here for two months, and the confusion in his heart only grew.
He had thought that becoming a prisoner of war would mean enduring harsh torture, but instead, he spent each day eating well and living comfortably—aside from the occasional missions he carried out alongside Captain Esdeath.
The objective of these missions was to guard those aspiring individuals whom Lady Eblana had poached from the revolutionary army, ensuring they could smoothly and safely take over the territories of the nobles who had surrendered to her.
If they encountered nobles with ill intentions, they would issue a warning; if any nobles resorted to extreme measures, they would carry out a just arrest.
Yes, justice.
Wave felt that what he was doing now was just.
Even though he was working for the Empire's rebels, helping those traitors take control of imperial territory, he didn't feel he was doing anything wrong.
Yet that only deepened his confusion.
Bang!
A loud crash of the door being thrown open interrupted his thoughts.
Wave turned to see Esdeath striding into his room with a smile on her face. "Wave, we have a mission."
"A mission… huh?"
Wave wasn't particularly surprised. After all, he couldn't just freeload forever, and by now he had grown quite accustomed to the nature of their tasks.
"Another escort job?" Even though he was used to it, he still needed to confirm.
"That's right, and I had to fight for this one," Esdeath nodded.
Fighting for a mission—that was an experience she'd never had before.
Back when she was cooperating with the Empire and Minister Honest, no matter what the task was, as long as she spoke up, Honest would hand it over without hesitation.
After all, part of their deal was satisfying her thirst for battle.
But things were different here.
Although Eblana valued her, that value was more superficial.
Rather than deploying her directly, Eblana saw her more as a strategic deterrent. When actual missions arose, Eblana tended to choose the far weaker Night Raid assassins instead.
And that made sense.
Eblana certainly held a contemptuous attitude toward the nobles who surrendered to her and didn't care much for their allegiance—after all, if she wanted to, she could force them to submit at any time.
But that was a separate matter. If they hadn't surrendered, Eblana could freely use violence against them; after all, they were enemies on opposing sides, and using force against enemies was justified.
However, if they had surrendered and Eblana still sent people to openly discipline or even kill those nobles, the situation would be different.
That would only make everyone excessively fearful of Eblana's methods and could even influence whether others would choose to submit to her in the future.
Such an impact wasn't a major issue for Eblana, but it also couldn't be casually ignored.
That's why she chose Night Raid—a group specialized in this kind of work—to carry out these covert escort missions and disguise the scenes afterward.
As long as it couldn't be traced back to Eblana, it was fine.
But Esdeath completely contradicted the core of such missions.
Whether in terms of identity, ability, or public presence, Esdeath's recognition in the Empire far surpassed that of Night Raid.
Basically, every mission she took part in would blatantly expose that 'this was Eblana's doing.'
But Esdeath didn't care about any of that. Willfulness was part of being strong. As long as she didn't cross Eblana's bottom line, she had room to indulge her own interests.
Eblana's assessment of this was… 'Let her be.'
As mentioned before, such matters were merely an annoyance to Eblana, not a real obstacle.
The objectives were still achieved, and if there were headaches to deal with afterward, it would be Najenda and Chouri's job to handle them.
After all, gathering talent was Najenda's duty, while screening and managing talent fell to Chouri.
She only needed to steer the broader direction.
Eblana was in a good mood now that she finally had sufficient manpower.
The hardest part of starting a venture, she reflected, was when you had no people, no talent, and no numbers—back then, she had to handle almost everything personally.
Now, at last, she was starting to feel like a leader.
In her office, Eblana took a satisfying sip of black tea and relaxed.
"Getting a taste of the perks of being a manager?"
On the side of the desk sat a slender yet curvaceous girl wearing a white lab coat that covered nearly half her body.
She tilted her head, gazing at the relaxed Draco.
From Eblana's perspective, she could only see the girl's thoroughly covered back and the black-stockinged knees crossed over one another.
"…Not being one would be better."
The Draco, who had been calm a moment ago, showed a slightly pained smile.
"I've only just gotten a chance to relax; before this, I was running nonstop."
"Isn't it nice, though? The feeling of gradually seizing more and more power with your own hands, gaining greater and greater influence."
Mobius [Dark Amber] turned her upper body, picking up the seal on Eblana's desk with one hand.
"That sense of conquest… it'd be a shame if you didn't enjoy it at least a little."
"I don't have that kind of ambition…"
Eblana sighed. "Damn it, if only my main self had invested more rolls and pulled Reed out sooner, I could've clocked out faster."
"Have you considered…" Mobius's smiling face took on a more mischievous tone. "…that by then, I would be Eblana."
"Ah, right…"
That was true.
"Two months have passed. With that battle maniac Esdeath being so active, the nobles in various regions have pretty much settled down completely," Mobius remarked.
"Although your reputation among the revolutionary army and aspiring talents has fallen quite a bit, under the deterrence of power, the rear has been thoroughly stabilized."
"Yes. This way, the war can enter its final phase," Eblana set down her teacup.
Esdeath's style certainly didn't align with Eblana's original intentions, but her iron-fisted and blatant actions had also helped Eblana stabilize her current territory faster than anticipated.
A skilled manager adjusts strategic directions based on their subordinates' capabilities and the current situation. Since the timing was right, she had no reason not to act.
"Notify Najenda and tell her to come discuss the timing of our next campaign."
Though she claimed not to be used to it, her tone and demeanor already carried something of a leader's air. Mobius smiled, accepting her orders without complaint.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.