"Of course, you shouldn't get too smug either, Najenda."
Prime Minister Honest sneered.
"I'm merely the first person he kicked out of the game. Your Revolutionary Army will be next."
"If he can replace me so easily, then he can just as easily replace the emperor."
"He could even replace the leader of your Revolutionary Army."
"The entire world is nothing more than a toy in his hands."
"All he has to do is move a finger, and your Revolutionary Army will collapse from within."
Hearing Honest's words, Najenda could not help shuddering.
Just how terrifying was someone who could alter another person's perception?
No one truly knew.
But Honest's current situation offered a glimpse.
Yesterday, he had still been the all-powerful Prime Minister standing above the imperial court.
Today, he had become a prisoner rotting inside a jail cell.
Calling that a fall from grace would almost be an understatement.
Even someone like Great General Budo had apparently had his perception altered in an instant.
Then what about Night Raid?
Would they also have their perceptions rewritten the moment they saw that mysterious man?
Would they suddenly believe he was the leader of the Revolutionary Army?
Someone closest and dearest to them?
And before they realized it, would they become his pawns—
the blades in his hands?
It was not merely possible.
It was terrifyingly possible.
Just imagining such a scene sent chills down Najenda's spine.
"How could such an absurd ability possibly exist in this world?"
"Yes…"
Honest muttered bitterly.
"How could such an absurd ability possibly exist?"
It was not only Najenda who could not understand it.
Even Honest himself could not comprehend such a ridiculous power.
He glanced at Najenda's constantly changing expression, and a trace of satisfaction flashed through his eyes.
Just now, he had confirmed several things.
First, the person who had replaced him was not one of Najenda's people, nor was he affiliated with the Revolutionary Army.
Second, Honest had successfully planted a seed of suspicion in Najenda's heart, turning the man who replaced him into a potential enemy.
That meant the Revolutionary Army might eventually clash with the impostor.
When that happened, a confrontation between the two sides would be inevitable.
Unfortunately, Honest probably would not live long enough to see it.
At that thought, Honest suddenly shuddered.
He clearly realized something.
He was going to die.
But he did not want to die!
He genuinely did not want to die at all!
He was the Prime Minister!
Prime Minister Honest, the man who controlled the entire imperial court!
How could someone like him die in a miserable place like this?
This was not how his story was supposed to end!
He wanted to live!
He wanted to liveeeeeee!
And then—
he died.
Najenda had no intention of sparing such a sinister and cunning bastard.
Not only did she kill him, she even cut off his head and brought it back to Night Raid's headquarters, placing it directly on the table.
The members of Night Raid gathered around it.
Looking at Honest's severed head, Lubbock could not help sighing.
"So this is the Prime Minister."
"I always thought we'd have to go through hell and back before we could finally kill him."
"He got off way too easily."
Akame, Sheele, Mine, and the others nodded in agreement.
Considering everything Honest had done, dying once was nowhere near enough.
Even dying a hundred times would not have repaid his crimes.
"The real Prime Minister is dead."
Najenda looked around the table.
"But the fake Prime Minister is still alive."
"And this fake may be even more dangerous than the real one."
Najenda then told everyone everything she had learned.
"He can alter people's perception? Are you serious?"
Mine was so shocked that her twin tails practically stood on end.
Wasn't that ability far too ridiculous?
Bulat said,
"These were the Prime Minister's own words, so they're probably true."
"If the impostor didn't possess such an absurd ability, the real Prime Minister never would have fallen into this state."
Everyone glanced at the severed head sitting on the table and nodded almost simultaneously.
That was extremely convincing.
Without an ability that outrageous, how could Prime Minister Honest possibly have been thrown out of his own residence?
And there was no way their Boss would have been able to kill him this easily.
Leone rested one hand on the table while supporting her chin with the other.
"So what do we do now?"
"The Prime Minister is dead, so technically our mission is complete."
"But now there's an even more troublesome fake Prime Minister who can alter people's perception."
"Do we assassinate him?"
"Assassinate him? How?"
Mine immediately retorted.
"The moment you look at him, he could forcibly change your perception."
"For all you know, you'd start treating him like Boss."
"How are you supposed to assassinate someone like that?"
"If he changes your perception and makes you believe he's your lover, you might throw yourself into his arms on the spot."
Leone frowned.
"I don't have a lover."
She had lived this long without meeting a single man she found appealing.
Her companions did not count.
Among Night Raid's two male members, Lubbock only had eyes for Boss.
As for Bulat…
he was gay.
No matter how Leone looked at it, neither of them was exactly a romantic option for her.
Besides, she had no intention of pursuing romance before the revolution succeeded.
Mine calmly replied,
"So what if you don't have a lover?"
"If that guy can make people believe he's the real Prime Minister, why couldn't he make you believe he's your lover?"
"Don't forget."
"His ability changes perception."
Leone could no longer laugh.
She did not think Mine was joking.
Something like that genuinely could happen.
An ability capable of altering perception was simply too outrageous.
How were they even supposed to defend against it?
At that moment—
Bang!
Lubbock suddenly slapped the table, startling everyone.
Once all eyes were focused on him, he said,
"I think we've all fallen into a misunderstanding."
"Why are we assuming that we need to assassinate this fake Prime Minister?"
"We don't even know whether he's a good person or a bad person."
"Before deciding to kill him, shouldn't we first figure out what kind of person he actually is?"
Everyone froze before suddenly realizing the obvious.
That was right.
Night Raid might be an assassination group, but they were not murderous villains who killed innocent people without reason.
They were revolutionaries whose purpose was to eliminate the parasites poisoning the country.
"Now that you mention it, I think I was being a little extreme earlier."
Mine came back to her senses.
"His ability is just way too easy to misunderstand."
Everyone nodded deeply.
The main problem was that—
how should they describe an ability like that?
It was simply too perverse.
Someone possessing such a power could openly indulge in countless evil acts.
That was why everyone had instinctively assumed that its wielder could not possibly be a good person.
Of course, Honest's final words had also influenced them somewhat.
That bastard really was detestable.
Even on the verge of death, he had still tried to dig a pit for them.
If no one had kept a clear head, they might actually have fallen for it.
Najenda gave Lubbock an approving glance.
Lubbock immediately became ecstatic.
Boss looked at me!
Boss looked at me!
He sat alone in his chair grinning like an idiot.
Najenda felt rather helpless.
She knew exactly how Lubbock felt about her.
Unfortunately, she truly had no intention of dating anyone before the revolution succeeded.
Lubbock would simply have to suffer for a while longer.
After discussing the matter, everyone eventually decided to send someone to approach the fake Prime Minister.
They would investigate whether he was good or evil, then decide what to do based on the results.
As for who they should send—
Najenda already had someone in mind.
…
Meanwhile,
Rowan had no idea that Night Raid was currently discussing him.
He did not even know that Honest was already dead.
In fact, after replacing Honest, Rowan had stopped paying attention to that failure altogether.
In Rowan's eyes, once Honest lost his identity as Prime Minister, he was little more than a stray dog on the roadside.
There was no way he could create any meaningful trouble.
And even if he somehow managed to stir up some waves, Rowan did not care.
Because in this world—
Rowan was essentially invincible.
Even if all forty-eight Imperial Arms users joined forces against him, they still would not be his opponents.
A mere former Prime Minister was nowhere near important enough for Rowan to waste effort on.
What Rowan currently wanted to do was actually very simple.
Eat.
He wanted to sample the unique cuisine of this world.
As the Prime Minister who held overwhelming authority throughout the country, he genuinely possessed that privilege.
With a single command, countless delicacies from across the land would be delivered directly to him.
Including Danger Beasts.
Whether in terms of energy or flavor, Danger Beast meat far surpassed ordinary food.
It quickly became one of Rowan's favorites.
When the officials below learned that Rowan enjoyed this kind of food, they immediately sprang into action.
They began gathering men to hunt Danger Beasts.
When Rowan learned about this, he was rather speechless.
Danger Beasts were called Danger Beasts precisely because they were—
dangerous.
Ordinary people were simply no match for them.
If someone attempted to hunt a Danger Beast without thorough preparation, the casualties could be enormous.
Rowan was not willing to let other people suffer ruined families and tragic deaths merely because he wanted something tasty to eat.
Helpless, Rowan issued a new order.
Only Imperial Arms users were permitted to hunt Danger Beasts.
Ordinary soldiers were forbidden from doing so.
Of course, if there were genuinely powerful experts capable of hunting Danger Beasts safely, Rowan would not be stingy with rewards.
Only a few days after this order was issued, a group of people brought a hunted Danger Beast before him.
When Rowan heard about it, he personally summoned these civilian experts for an audience.
But the moment he saw them, he became speechless.
Weren't these all members of Night Raid?
Leone.
Sheele.
And Tatsumi.
However, in the next instant, Rowan noticed something strange.
Leone and Sheele were standing together.
Tatsumi, meanwhile, stood alone off to the side, seemingly unfamiliar with the other two.
Could it be that Tatsumi had not joined Night Raid yet?
Although Rowan thought about this internally, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Alright, everyone."
"Introduce yourselves."
"Who are you, and what kind of reward do you want?"
He pointed toward Tatsumi.
"You can go first."
Tatsumi froze briefly before answering,
"My name is Tatsumi."
"I want to save my village."
"Oh?"
Rowan raised an eyebrow.
"What happened to your village?"