The original purpose of the Hunters was to counterbalance night raids and prevent thieves from causing trouble in the imperial capital.
But now in just a few days, several hunters have died, and thieves are becoming more and more rampant.
"What exactly is going on?!"
In the magnificent palace, the young emperor sitting in the main seat asked with dignity: "General Esdeath, give me an answer."
Even at a young age, he had a royal demeanor.
pity……
"Is it okay for me to say that, Minister?"
The next second, he turned around and asked the fat middle-aged man beside him.
The immaturity of the young man is perfectly reflected, which all shows that he is now at the mercy of the minister and is just a puppet on the stage.
吭哧吭Chi——
The minister who was biting into the raw meat steak raised his head.
Wiping his greasy beard, the elder pretended to be gentle and praised: "That's very good, Your Majesty. But General Esdeath is a loyal minister of the country and cannot be reprimanded and blamed so harshly."
"That's right."
The little emperor nodded in understanding.
"And it's not entirely General Esdeath's fault. The thieves are all too cunning, so let's listen to General Esdeath's explanation." With the little emperor's rebuke, the minister pretended to be red-faced. Good people.
"You are right, Minister."
The little emperor nodded, looked down at Esdeath, who was kneeling on one knee, and asked, "So, do you have any explanation, General Esdeath?"
"yes."
Esdeath responded and said only one sentence: "It's all my fault, and I am willing to accept the punishment."
It was hard for the two of them to deal with it all at once.
Before the meeting, the minister told the little emperor that a little beating would be enough, and there would never be any real punishment.
After all, there is no direct dispute of interest between Esdeath and the minister, so there is no need to go to the line just because of a trivial matter.
Therefore, Esdeath could have used a ridiculous excuse like "I have been feeling unwell during my period recently", but I didn't expect that she would actually take all the responsibility.
But that's part of its charm.
"Well... General Esdeath has just come back after all, so it's understandable that he doesn't know the thief's strength for the time being. Right, Your Majesty?"
"S-That's right, minister."
It was clear that they were the ones holding the blame at the beginning, but now they are the ones making excuses for each other.
A bit unspeakably funny.
"But this matter is still very strange." The minister said seriously: "The members of the Hunter are all Teigu users, so there must be something wrong with losing three of them so quickly."
"What do you mean, minister?"
Esdeath tilted her head slightly.
The minister did not say it directly, but instead asked, "Is there a new member of the general's army? I remember his name is Xiao Lin?"
"Yes, he was recruited by me personally."
"Didn't the general suspect him?"
The members of the Hunters are all personally selected by the minister, and they know their origins, personalities, and strengths very well, so they know that they will never die so quickly.
unless……
Thieves know their vulnerabilities and target them specifically.
Among the hunters, only Xiao Lin is an unknown variable, so it is difficult not to suspect him.
"Does the minister mean that there is something wrong with him?"
Esdeath understood what the other party was implying, but without waiting for the minister to nod, he said: "Xiao Lin is the person I recruited personally."
"but……"
"I believe in my subordinate, he can't be a thief." Esdeath denied decisively, with a look that seemed displeased.
There is no way to convince the other party.
The minister stopped talking and his eyes flashed slightly.
Although he is bad, he has a good mind and knows everyone's position clearly, otherwise he would not be sitting in his current high position.
But now thieves are still rampant, and Esdeath is too confident.
It seems necessary to recall Sheila.
————
"Damn it! Hiss - it hurts!"
Will punched the table in annoyance, but grinned in pain because of his serious injury.
"It's better not to show off at this time." Heitong said to him coldly.
Will clenched his fists and gritted his teeth and said, "But Porus and Seleu were... damned!"
Cursing under his breath, you could tell he was angry.
But he was seriously injured by the opponent's sneak attack as soon as he came up, and now he can only sit here and rage.
"Porus and Seleu are dead. I can only blame them for being too weak to blame others." Esdeath's words were rather ruthless and cruel, but she added: "But they are my subordinates after all. Colleagues, we have no choice but to avenge them."
"Ah! I will definitely avenge them both!" Will clenched his fists and looked determined.
Black Eyes suddenly interrupted: "Will, let's forget it, you are too weak."
These words almost caused the simple young man to break his defense on the spot, because it was too devastating to his momentum.
After finally being serious and trying to show determination, the next second he was ridiculed for being too weak, which no one could accept.
"I am also a Teigu user after all!"
"The Teigu user who was hit from the inside of the city to the outside of the city?"
"That was a sneak attack!"
"But it's true that he was beaten outside the city and seriously injured."
"Uh...can't refute that."
Will opened his mouth, and finally could only admit that it was his fault.
Xiao Lin also said slightly disappointed: "I'm sorry, I was also wrong. I didn't leave the thieves who attacked at night, but chose to escape."
Some scars and bruises can still be seen on his face, and his clothes are a little messy, but they are much better than Will, whose whole body is wrapped in bandages.
"It's not your fault, Xiaolin. It's all because Will was sent flying because he couldn't be used."
Black Eyes comforted and belittled Will.
Will also reassured: "That's right. He was able to escape from the siege of two Teigu users with only minor injuries. He has done a good job."
If Xiao Lin was wrong, then he made an even bigger mistake.
"Damn it! If the patrol area hadn't been changed last night, Porus and Seleu wouldn't have to... Damn it! Hiss - it hurts!"
Will was angry and annoyed.
I don't know if I'm angry at myself for being too incompetent, or because I'm angry at the thieves for being too rampant.
"No, it's not your fault."
Esdeath said: "I asked you to change, so if the ambush was really deliberately designed last night, then the people who died now are probably you and Xiao Lin."
This is why she doesn't doubt Xiao Lin.
In fact, she had been testing Xiao Lin very early on.
From being rejected for the first invitation, to actively applying to join later.
It is impossible not to doubt it.
Therefore, Esdeath has tested Xiaolin many times, and even sleeping with him was a test... although the idea of testing only occupied a little bit.
But even if she was undefended, Xiao Lin didn't take action against her.
In every sense.
Moreover, Will stayed with Xiao Lin all the time last night. According to the intelligence, they were attacked at the same time.
There were only two thieves on Xiaolin and Will's side, while Porus and Seleu fought against eight enemies.
It was obvious that the other party's purpose was to use the absolute difference in strength to kill the two of them, no matter who it was, and the remaining two only needed to hold them back to prevent them from rescuing.
In addition, the change of patrol area last night was specially arranged by her. How could Xiaolin know in advance what she was thinking?
So Xiao Lin is definitely not an undercover agent!
——After reading her inner thoughts, Kobayashi smiled in triumph.
