An hour later, inside the imperial palace.
Emiya let out a soft chuckle.
Wu Zetian, who was processing state affairs at the desk, looked up.
"Master, what's so funny?"
Emiya was holding his phone.
"Nothing much. I just came across something very interesting."
Wu Zetian's curiosity was immediately piqued.
"Oh? Tell me about it."
"Yesterday," Emiya said, "someone submitted a letter to the Box for Recommendations, claiming to be a Teigu user who wanted to join the Imperial Guard."
Wu Zetian nodded.
"I know. I already handed it over to Heracles of the Imperial Guard. Is there a problem with that Teigu user?"
Emiya shook his head lightly.
"No problem at all. Because that person is Mine from Night Raid."
"Mine?" Wu Zetian recalled the Akame ga Kill plot she had reviewed over the past few days and immediately understood.
"I see. The half-blood of the Empire and a foreign race."
"That's right," Emiya continued.
"And when Heracles was recruiting her into the Imperial Guard, a man suddenly stood up and shouted that it was unfair and rigged."
Wu Zetian raised an eyebrow.
"Was that man also a Teigu user?"
"No," Emiya replied. "Just a naïve young man who doesn't even know what a Teigu is."
Wu Zetian immediately lost interest.
"Then what's so funny about that?"
"The key point," Emiya said calmly, "is that his name is Tatsumi."
"Tatsumi?" Wu Zetian froze for a moment.
"The male protagonist?"
"Exactly." Emiya smiled knowingly.
"I originally thought that with our intervention, Tatsumi and Night Raid would never intersect. But I didn't expect him to meet Mine anyway. Do you think this is what people call fate?"
In the original story, Tatsumi and Mine had truly been a couple.
During the Imperial Capital Uprising, Mine had rushed to the execution grounds to save Tatsumi. During their retreat, they were intercepted by General Budou. To protect her companions, Mine unleashed her full mental power. She won-but at the cost of her consciousness, falling into a vegetative state.
After the war ended, Tatsumi woke her, only to discover she was already pregnant with his child. The two married and withdrew to the borderlands, living a quiet life together.
Meanwhile, Tatsumi continued to evolve, eventually surpassing even the strongest Teigu. He defeated the Emperor, though his body fused completely with his Teigu, turning him into a dragon.
Even so, Mine never abandoned him.
Wu Zetian spoke thoughtfully.
"Perhaps it really is destiny."
Emiya nodded.
Maybe, in some unseen way, the fates of certain people were already intertwined.
However, when he casually mentioned this idea during dinner, he was met with nothing but ridicule.
Especially from Medea.
"Coincidence," Medea said flatly. "If fate were truly predetermined, I wouldn't be here right now."
Hephaestus glanced at Emiya with a knowing smile.
"She's right. If fate were fixed, the one saying goodbye to me back then wouldn't have been you, would it?"
Emiya fell silent for a moment.
"...I was just speaking casually. You don't need to take it that seriously."
Shouko continued eating calmly, pretending she hadn't heard a thing.
Wu Zetian looked up at Emiya.
"I never imagined my Master could even conquer a god. I truly underestimated you."
"Can you shut up?" Emiya said tiredly. This was not the time to add fuel to the fire.
Wu Zetian snorted.
"Even if you are my Master, you don't get to tell me to shut up. No one in the world dares to speak to me like that. Still-since you are my Master-I'll allow you to be presumptuous this once."
Emiya rolled his eyes.
As expected of a former emperor... difficult to deal with.
Sensing his embarrassment, Hephaestus quickly changed the subject.
"So, what do you plan to do about Mine?"
"She already joined the Imperial Guard," Emiya replied calmly.
"She's a member of Night Raid. Aren't you worried she has ulterior motives?"
"It doesn't matter," Emiya said indifferently.
"She's just a Teigu user. She can't cause any real trouble."
With Heracles overseeing her, Emiya had never considered Mine a threat.
"As long as you've thought it through," Hephaestus said.
Emiya nodded and asked, "How's the Teigu research coming along?"
"I've already mastered the manufacturing process of biological Teigu," Hephaestus replied calmly.
"I can reproduce them perfectly."
"As expected of you," Emiya said sincerely.
Medea added, "We've already studied most of the Teigu within the imperial capital. Next, we plan to examine the protagonist's Teigu."
"You mean Incursio?" Emiya asked.
"Yes," Medea replied.
"It's one of the strongest Teigu. Its ability to evolve is especially valuable."
Emiya agreed.
Incursio was indeed special.
It was armor forged from the remains of the dragon-type Danger Beast Tyrant. Its defense was fortress-like, but the burden it placed on the user was immense-ordinary people would die just by wearing it.
In its inactive state, it appeared as a short sword. When activated, the armor would automatically assemble itself onto the user's body, vastly enhancing their physical abilities. It also possessed a sub-weapon, Red Back Shrike, and even the ability to grant temporary invisibility and aura concealment.
More importantly, Tyrant was not truly dead-it merely existed in another form.
Among all Teigu, Shikoutazer was considered the first and strongest-the Supreme Teigu.
Logically, nothing should surpass it.
Yet Tatsumi used Incursio's evolution ability to eventually surpass even Shikoutazer.
That alone proved how extraordinary Incursio was.
A Teigu that could evolve was, in itself, terrifying.
No wonder Medea wanted to study it.
"It's practically a living weapon," Emiya concluded.
"Understood," he continued calmly.
"We'll visit Night Raid tonight and take Incursio from Bulat."
He said the word take without the slightest shame.
Bulat was a member of Night Raid-an enemy, in a sense. Emiya had no intention of killing him, but taking his Teigu posed no moral obstacle.
After the research was complete, he could simply return it. Compensation could come later.
Neither Hephaestus nor Shouko objected. Medea, of course, had no issues either.
After dinner, the group left the imperial palace.
Wu Zetian remained behind to handle state affairs.
Emiya, accompanied by Hephaestus, Medea, and Karyuusai Shouko, headed toward Night Raid's base.
Though Emiya had never been there before, he knew it lay within a forest near the imperial capital.
Releasing his Observation Haki, he quickly pinpointed its location.
He walked up to the entrance and knocked.
The sound echoed sharply through the quiet night.
Inside, the assassins were instantly alarmed. Tension snapped taut as weapons were drawn.
"Calm down."
As a seasoned warrior, Bulat recovered first.
He gestured for the others to hide and motioned that he would handle it.
Akame and the rest silently complied.
Bulat took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped outside.
Four figures stood before him-one man and three women, all unfamiliar.
His heart sank, but a smile appeared on his face.
"It's quite rare to meet people this deep in the mountains," he said casually.
"Did you lose your way?"
Emiya shook his head.
"We're here to find someone."
Bulat's heart sank further, but his expression remained composed.
"Oh? And who might that be? Aside from me, there doesn't seem to be anyone else around."
"We're here for you," Emiya said calmly.
"Me?" Bulat was genuinely startled.
"That's right."
"With all due respect," Bulat replied slowly, "I don't recall knowing any of you. Perhaps you've come to the wrong place."
Emiya smiled.
"We're in the right place. To be precise, we're here for your Teigu-Incursio."
Bulat's expression darkened.
"My Teigu?" he asked coldly.
"So you're collectors? People who hunt Teigu users?"
"We're not here to seize it," Emiya said evenly.
"We want to study it. If you're willing, we'll compensate you-and return it afterward."
Bulat tightened his grip on his weapon.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I think you should," Emiya replied calmly.
"For your own good. What do you say?"
Bulat shook his head.
"I don't trust you. If you want my Teigu-"
He raised his weapon.
"-then come and take it yourself. Incursio-"
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