"Are we going to war?"
Inside the Night Raid meeting room, everyone gathered closely, listening intently as Najenda relayed the outcome of the council meeting.
This particular war council hadn't been long, and the attendees were just Eblana, Najenda, and Run—who had now fully joined Eblana's faction.
Run's seat should technically have been occupied by Esdeath, but she had never shown much interest in such meetings, and besides, she wasn't in at the moment.
Najenda actually quite admired Run. After meeting him a few times, she'd even expressed regret that he hadn't joined the Revolutionary Army back in the day.
Run had simply smiled and brushed it off with a comment along the lines of, 'The Revolutionary Army is even more of a shithole.'
Well, he didn't put it quite so bluntly, but the meaning was clear enough—he looked down on the Revolutionary Army.
Najenda felt a bit awkward about that, but the feeling quickly faded.
After all, when she thought about it, she didn't really have any ties to the Revolutionary Army anymore.
Once another option besides the Empire or the Revolutionaries had appeared, she'd joined up immediately, hadn't she?
If there was any connection at all… did poaching people from the Revolutionary Army count?
Realizing he couldn't really get under her skin, Run didn't press the issue further.
The three of them were in complete agreement about launching an attack on the capital. With their rear secured, it was time to fight.
Normally, a situation like this would call for a conservative voice to offer opposing viewpoints and help everyone consider things more thoroughly.
Unfortunately, none of the people here were that type—or rather, they genuinely didn't think the current circumstances called for any conservatism.
After all… from the Grand Minister's perspective, it was the Ultimate Teigu + Budo versus Eblana + Esdeath.
But from the perspective of Run and Najenda, it was Eblana + Esdeath + Night Raid + the Jaegers versus Budo + the Imperial Guards, with the Imperial Martial Arts Temple thrown in at most.
How could they possibly lose?
And in Eblana's eyes, the Ultimate Teigu was more like the Empire's ultimate dice roll—utterly hyped up as the world's most invincible weapon, only to be knocked down a peg by Night Raid's G2, Tatsumi, revealing it as nothing more than a flash in the pan.
All it took was finding its weakness and overpowering it with raw stats.
And when it came to finding weaknesses and overpowering with stats…
Well, sorry, you'll have to take that up with my General Esdeath.
Eblana couldn't say for sure whether it was because the little Emperor's bloodline was too impure to unleash the Teigu's full power, or if the Teigu itself was just old and rusty.
Regardless, faced with this kind of narratively-convenient, epic-level nerf, there was no reason for her to hesitate.
If it really came down to it, she could always cheat.
Having cheats at your disposal but choosing not to use them was a completely different feeling from having none at all.
Once the three of them had settled on a date for the expedition, planned the pre-war mobilization, and arranged morale-boosting visits for the troops, the conversation moved to the next stage.
"What about the Revolutionary Army?" Najenda asked.
Hearing this topic, Run was actually a bit baffled.
As far as he knew, Night Raid belonged to the Revolutionary Army, Najenda belonged to the Revolutionary Army, and the Revolutionary Army belonged to Eblana.
That was the extent of his knowledge. So what did she mean by asking 'what about them' now?
"After we take the capital, we'll separate the useful ones. The useless ones will be paid off and sent packing. Those whose loyalties are crooked will all be executed."
Eblana's answer was simple and direct.
"Huh?" A cold sweat broke out on Run's temple.
He knew that Eblana's backstabbing of the nobles who surrendered to her was mainly to consolidate power and weed out the truly monstrous ones. But the sheer bloodlust in her words still sent a chill down his spine.
These people had helped her so much.
Even if they might become obstacles later, to turn around and kill them right after ascending the throne… wasn't that a bit…
Shouldn't she at least wait until her rule was completely secure, then use subtler methods to slowly cut them down?
She'd be the founding Emperor—she could handle them however she wanted. Was it really necessary to stain her reputation like this?
Or… was his new master truly this bloodthirsty, even more cruel and brutal than Captain Esdeath? That wouldn't be a good thing…
"I understand." Najenda raised no objections.
Noticing Run's stiff expression, she realized he wasn't aware of the specifics and kindly explained, "Lady Eblana and the Revolutionary Army have never had a lord-subject relationship. It's always been a partnership."
So this wasn't about betraying one's own subordinates. It was about two allies who had joined forces to defeat a common enemy now facing each other in the final showdown.
"...Huh?"
However, this answer only confused Run even more.
Wasn't the Revolutionary Army Eblana's? This contradicted everything he'd witnessed over this period.
After all, the Revolutionary Army's talents and manpower were all unconditionally available to Eblana. To anyone looking in, the Revolutionary Army was practically groveling at her feet.
How could they not be on the same side?
Thinking this, Run found it both contradictory and perplexing. If they were already groveling like that, having shed all pretenses of dignity, why not just formally submit to Eblana?
Growing more and more puzzled, he simply gave up thinking about it. Anyway, the Revolutionary Army had colluded with foreign races to attack their own country.
Capable of such an act, it was only natural they couldn't read the current situation clearly and were still putting on airs.
What Run didn't know was that it wasn't that the Revolutionary Army wanted to put on airs, but that no matter how fervently they pledged their loyalty to Eblana, she acted as if she hadn't heard.
In truth, she didn't dislike subordinates with ambition and desire. After all, everyone struggled and climbed to high positions driven by their own private motives.
Expecting everyone to be righteous and incorruptible was a pipe dream.
As long as their loyalties weren't misplaced, and their ambition and greed didn't swell to the point where the common people couldn't survive, it wasn't really a major issue.
The Empire had plenty of talent. There were always people who could replace you. Perhaps someone with less ambition but comparable ability, willing to sit in your seat, would emerge.
So as long as their loyalties were straight and they had talent, Eblana was happy to use them.
Her upcoming purge of the Revolutionary Army wasn't just about issuing a warning; it was also a reminder.
Having minor schemes was fine—just don't cross the line.
After the meeting adjourned, Najenda returned to the Night Raid building to inform everyone about the upcoming operation.
"It seems this will be the final battle." Bulat clenched his fist, his fighting spirit burning hotter than ever before.
"The final battle…" Akame thought of her sister, of this period of pure leisure without killing or combat.
Her eyes shone with unwavering determination and hope for the future life to come.
Mine hugged her Teigu, Pumpkin tightly, unable to stop thinking of her days spent hiding and starving.
If Lady Eblana took note of her performance… if she could earn a noble title… she would definitely protect all mixed-blood children!
Lubbock gazed distractedly at the confident, spirited Najenda. He had left his life of wealth and privilege to join the army solely to follow her. This would be the last battle.
Afterwards, Najenda would have more time to rest, right?
If he invited her to go shopping with him then, would she say yes?
"Whoo! Leave it to me to show my stuff then, Boss!" Leone didn't have any particularly grand ideals or aspirations.
She had accidentally joined Night Raid after killing a noble she couldn't stand for their cruel games. After that, it was less about having a dream and more about going with the flow.
Tatsumi also clenched his fists, exchanging a look with Bulat, his fighting spirit soaring.
Though his initial goal had simply been for his village to live better, now he was truly fighting for his comrades and the people. There was no other reason—just pure, sincere passion.
Only Chelsea felt somewhat at a loss.
How was it already the final battle? I haven't accomplished a thing yet.
Night Raid doesn't seem to think much of me either.
Once the final battle is over, will there still be a place for me in the wealth and glory?
It wasn't that she lacked the grand wish to overthrow the Empire and give everyone a better life. But she also had her own desires to become a wealthy noblewoman.
Yet, realizing the intensity of this war was completely beyond her ability to participate in, she froze stiffly on the spot.
Ah… this feeling of not fitting in… why does it feel so much stronger now…
--+--
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.