After returning to the Capital, it was already getting late.
However, Esdeath did not immediately go to pay her respects to the Emperor. Instead, she headed first to the torture chamber.
To be precise, calling it a torture chamber was inaccurate, since it was actually an enormous open-air plaza.
Hundreds of rebels hung upside down from torture racks, their flayed and bloodied bodies swaying slightly with their screams.
An astonishing variety of torture devices were scattered everywhere.
At the very center stood an enormous cauldron.
Steam billowed upward, and the flames beneath it roared fiercely, making the entire place resemble a living hell.
The Prime Minister purged his political enemies, and Esdeath received the dissenters for torture and amusement.
It was her hobby.
At the same time, this behavior also helped the Prime Minister increase his intimidation and authority.
On a whim, Esdeath was currently instructing the torturers in proper interrogation techniques.
Uesugi Ryu leaned against a nearby wall, expressionless as he watched.
Honestly, it reminded him of two old acquaintances.
There were sadists everywhere.
Esdeath was even more brutal than Tokage Goumasa and Kijima Shiki from the ghoul world.
At least those two could claim hatred for ghouls, a struggle between species.
Esdeath, on the other hand, simply enjoyed it.
In her eyes, the weak likely did not even deserve to be considered human.
After a while, Esdeath took the Three Beasts and Uesugi Ryu and prepared to go meet the young Emperor.
"Esdeath, I'm not feeling very well. I'd like to return and rest first."
Uesugi Ryu was injured, and more importantly, he had no interest in following Esdeath to the palace.
If she summoned an imperial physician to treat his wounds, things would become troublesome.
Uesugi Ryu addressed Esdeath by name.
Esdeath, however, seemed not to mind.
She worshipped the law of the jungle.
The strength Uesugi Ryu had displayed earlier was enough to earn her respect.
This was the privilege of the strong.
Esdeath nodded and stopped walking, staring intently at him.
"Fine. Come to the palace tomorrow afternoon. You know where, right?"
Uesugi Ryu naturally knew Esdeath's standards for a partner.
Aside from not being from the frontier and lacking an innocent smile, he almost perfectly matched her preferences.
To avoid catching Esdeath's eye, he had deliberately kept a cold expression throughout the journey, barely showing any emotion.
Apparently, it had not helped much.
Avoiding Esdeath's rather heated gaze, Uesugi Ryu replied coldly,
"I understand."
Then he turned and left immediately.
Watching his departing figure, Esdeath found herself even more interested.
She casually ordered,
"Liver, investigate his background."
"Yes, General Esdeath."
The white-haired Liver bowed slightly in response.
.........
Uesugi Ryu sat by the terrace, deep in thought.
He had always planned to make contact with Esdeath.
He simply had not expected it to happen so soon.
Joining Esdeath's forces had both advantages and disadvantages.
Esdeath was extremely generous to her subordinates.
If he could earn her trust, he might even obtain a chance to choose a Teigu for himself.
With Esdeath's protection, he could also rapidly expand his influence.
At that point, there would be no need to pay protection fees to anyone.
The downside was that his freedom of movement would be somewhat restricted, which would affect his future plans.
"Looks like I'll have to play both sides."
Uesugi Ryu chuckled softly, tapping his fingers against the stone railing.
He did not care about sides or loyalties.
Only profit was eternal.
"In that case, I'll need to speed things up."
Night Raid had ultimately refused to kill for him.
It did not matter.
At present, Uesugi Ryu already stood at the top of the pleasure district industry.
There were only three or five other significant competitors.
Their influence and connections were inferior to his, and naturally, their personal guards were as well.
Mephisto and Gore could handle matters easily enough.
Mephisto would carry out the assassinations.
Uesugi Ryu would confiscate their gold and valuables.
Gore would take over the remnants of their operations.
Of course, with limited manpower, one could not become fat in a single bite.
As a result, the rate of annexation was not particularly high.
So far, Uesugi Ryu had only dealt with two rivals.
There was no need to disguise the assassinations.
Everyone would naturally assume Night Raid was responsible.
Gore had been extremely busy these past few days.
They were somewhat short on manpower.
Most of Uesugi Ryu's personal guards had been reassigned.
Not that he needed them anyway.
"A bunch of paupers. Not a single one even had a Shingu."
Uesugi Ryu shook his head and withdrew two soul fragments from the Soul Devourer space.
One was earthy yellow.
The other was dark green.
He opened his mouth and tossed both soul fragments inside.
Crunch. Crunch.
Uesugi Ryu chewed the souls apart with gusto.
The shadow cast upon the wall twisted like a beast ready to devour men.
After a long while, he licked his lips and let out a satisfied burp.
A brilliant golden light flashed through his eyes as he muttered softly,
"Full. Looks like I'll need some time to digest."
Without the System's assistance, there were inevitably some impurities when he crushed souls himself.
[Soul Devourer activated. Mana +67. Soul Strength +1]
[Current Mana: 1054. Soul Strength: 14]
The souls of Special-Class Danger Beasts were of excellent quality.
At the very least, they were far superior to so-called SSS-rated ghouls.
The impurities would take some time to process.
Fortunately, he probably would not have many opportunities to hunt Danger Beasts for a while.
Gore knocked before entering directly.
He looked somewhat uneasy.
"Lord Uesugi, the officials are very dissatisfied. They're not cooperating with our operations. What should we do?"
Expanding influence was never as simple as saying the words.
Every faction was watching like hungry wolves.
Connections were built on money and women.
If those greedy officials were not satisfied, they would certainly not cooperate willingly.
It had been quite a while since they had been sent any women.
Previously, Uesugi Ryu had repeatedly delayed matters by citing the Night Raid attack and the need to rebuild the pleasure district.
Although profits still maintained the relationships, dissatisfaction had clearly begun to grow.
"Ignore them. Suspend operations for now. It'll be resolved tomorrow."
Uesugi Ryu's expression did not change.
To him, this was merely a trivial matter.
His calm confidence reassured Gore somewhat.
Then Uesugi Ryu continued,
"Tomorrow, move that hostage to the pleasure district. Be discreet."
Gore nodded and withdrew.
Esdeath would definitely investigate his background.
Keeping Sheele here would become troublesome.
In that case, he might as well return her to Night Raid first.
He was not worried about them refusing payment.
Uesugi Ryu gazed out the window.
In the dense night sky, a Magu Falcon flew overhead.
Its clear cry echoed before quickly fading into the darkness.
The Magu Falcon was a Class Two Danger Beast raised by the Revolutionary Army for use as a messenger.
The technology tree in Akame ga Kill was rather strange.
Firearms and weaponry were highly advanced.
Civil infrastructure, however, was abysmal.
Information still had to be transmitted by manpower or trained birds.
A few seconds later, Mephisto flew in carrying the Magu Falcon.
Standing beside Mephisto, the falcon appeared rather small and timid.
It dropped a letter into Uesugi Ryu's hand, then retreated to one side to quietly await his response.
A trace of surprise crossed Uesugi Ryu's face.
What convenient timing.
He unfolded the letter and quickly read through it.
After a brief moment of thought, he took out a steel pen and swiftly wrote several lines on the back.
He rolled it up and placed it into the message tube attached to the falcon's leg.
The Magu Falcon trembled slightly.
That was the instinctive fear of a living creature.
The aura radiating from Uesugi Ryu was simply too overwhelming.
The Magu Falcon quickly fled as if escaping for its life.