20 Return
Ink decided to go back to the town together with two girls he just met but he said he would choose the inn since he didn't want to run into Silvie. The moment they arrived, guards were suddenly more alerted than before and some of them could be seen running around, observing all people. Although the girls were confused, they still arrived at the inn recommended by Ink without any problems.
"So you turned into an adventurer? What kind of job even is that?" Akame asked while stuffing herself with squid.
'This girl...' Ink looked blankly at Akame who was asking him a question with a fully stuffed mouth.
"I am basically going around exploring the continent. I used to live inside that small village so I wanted to go out and learn about the world. You could also call me a small merchant but that's just a side thing. Anyway...Where is Kurome?" Ink replied with a smile before asking with an uncertain expression because he didn't even know if "Kurome" was still alive and if he was supposed to know that.
"That...She is somewhere, in the Capital." Akame replied with a sad expression while looking down.
"I see, so she isn't with you. Well, at least she is still alive." Ink said with a sympathetic expression before affectionately brushing through Meela and Loris's hair who obviously didn't appreciate his actions but they still looked like they are just embarrassed in front of the girls.
'Treating us as kids...hmph! If he only knew that we already saw everything he did to Silvie.' Meela and Loris looked at each other and smiled as if they were thinking in similar lines.
"I am happy for you. I am glad you could find such cute sisters and treat them as your real sisters" Akame said with a kind smile.
'...She appears to be kind but I can feel darkness behind that kindness. And that katana of hers she is carrying around isn't a regular weapon. It's a high-quality one.' Ink thought and tried to ask a few more things without appearing suspicious.
"*Hey, have you heard rumors?*" A table next to them, 2 men were "whispering" to each other but it was loud enough for Ink's group to hear.
"*About assassination of the city lord? Yeah, guards are running around like crazy, I have never seen them with such tense expressions. Do you think it's the truth, though?*"
"*Why else would they act like that? They are usually too lazy to even leave their posts*"
"Eh?" Akame and Tsukushi looked alarmed upon hearing the guys talking, they looked at each other and nodded their heads.
"Um, Shinji, there is an important matter we have to deal with as soon as possible. I am sorry for cutting our meal short but I enjoyed talking to you again, though I must say that you have changed a lot, however, I guess that's given...Please excuse us." Akame stood up and lightly bowed her head along with her friend.
"Huh? A-Alright, no problem but we are planning to leave as soon as possible. If not for meeting you, we would have already been on the way to the next town." Ink said with a made-up confused expression.
"That's quite alright, don't let me slow you down. I am sure we will meet once again, just be careful on your journeys, there are many bandits and Danger Beasts roaming around." Akame said as her friend paid for the meal.
Ink nodded his head with a serious expression while resting his hands on the twin sisters' shoulders.
As soon as Akame and her friend left the tavern, Ink's smile completely disappeared and a cold look appeared instead.
"Let's disappear, quickly" Ink said in a low voice and the trio quickly left the tavern. Instead of heading towards the main gate of the town, he decided to sneak out unnoticed because he had a feeling that the main gate would be strictly guarded and he didn't want to get involved in that.
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As they were on their way back to the hideout...
"Who the hell is Akame?!" Meela questioned with a completely confused expression.
"I am more interested in that friend of hers, did you notice those jugs?" Loris said with a perverted look on her face while moving her hands up and down in front of her small chest.
"Don't speak like some third-rate thug. And I have no idea who Akame is, I just decided to play along, I thought you noticed that." Ink said while giving them a questioning look.
"Ehh...*cough* O-Of course we noticed! Who do you take us for?!" Twin sisters replied while blushing a little and looking to the side, not meeting Ink's eyes.
"Suure..."
"Ehm, you still should have some idea who she is, no? Or was that "playing along" all for nothing?" Meela asked, raising her right eyebrow.
"What I discovered from that short conversation with her...She is definitely someone from my village. I barely remember anything around the time before Babara and Taeko found me. I only remember killing one of the bandits when he tried to..." Ink replied while walking on the road but he didn't finish his words, instead he closed his eyes for a few seconds.
"Tried to...what? You can't just open up to us and not finish your story!" Loris wasn't as mature or "knowledgeable" as Meela therefore she asked a stupid question. Even Meela got the idea that the subject is quite sensitive for Ink.
"...Nothing, it doesn't matter anymore. He is dead and everyone else is also dead...no need to dwell on the past. And whoever said that I was opening up to you? If you have enough energy to joke around, you better pick up the pace!" Ink replied before he increased his speed a bit.
'There were those children who were sold to the Empire but no one had an idea what exactly will happen to them. I wonder if they are working for the Empire now...Well, I don't need to care. The Empire, the Revolutionary Army...it doesn't matter. As long as they are not my target, there is no need to care about the politics of this world.' Ink thought while trying to recall Akame or Kurome from his blurred memories.
"W-Wait, don't walk so fast!" Both Meela and Loris almost had to start running since their legs were too short and Ink was walking fast in big strides.
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It took them several days to arrive back at the Oarburgh hideout. Right now, the trio were standing in front of Mera who was once again lazing on the couch.
"Good job, I already received the news from our spies, I will ask for details from Meela and Loris later, for now, could you girls leave us alone?" Mera said with a kind smile and the twin sisters nodded their heads several times before leaving the room.
"Spies...Don't tell me one of them is using the name Silvie" Ink asked with a blank expression on his face.
"Hm? I have no idea what are you talking about." Mera replied with a confused expression but Ink kept just staring at her without saying anything else.
"..." 5...10 seconds passed by
"Ugh, fine...They were our spies. Happy?" Mera said with an annoyed expression.
"Why would you do all of that and why not inform us that we have spies there?" Ink asked after releasing a low sigh but he didn't seem too surprised by her words.
"I wanted to test you and how far you would be willing to go to obtain information. From Silvie's report, I must say that you performed very well, you didn't make any unnecessary moves but-" Mera said with a smile before her smile disappeared and a grumpy look appeared on her face.
"She also didn't forget to mention "Tonight is all about you". Apparently, if she wouldn't have received information about you beforehand, she could have been charmed by then. She also explained what you did to her in quite great detail...If she wasn't so far away, I would have educated her by now for sure! Her job was to seduce you and make sure you do some mistakes but instead, she became the victim here...How frustrating!" Mera said with a dissatisfied expression.
"Uh..." Ink just stared at her, not knowing what to say about this entire situation.
"*sigh* Forget it, you have done well. There is something waiting for you on your bed inside your room." Mera just waved her hand with a tired expression.
Ink thought about telling Mera about their encounter with Akame and Kurome but he decided to not say anything since Meela and Loris might say something instead later.
"I hope it's not another Silvie." Ink said but all he received was a glare from Mera, telling him to just leave and so he didn't bother her anymore.
"Hmph!" 'When did he learn to joke like that in front of me?' Mera thought when Ink left the room.
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Ink went back to his own room just to find a black box lying on his bed.
'Hm? This is...' When he opened the box, a pitch-black katana was revealed in front of him. It didn't look extraordinary nor did it have any special patterns, it looked just like regular pitch-black katana. Despite its ordinariness, Ink's eyes were captivated by its sharp black blade.
The first time he saw the sword, he felt some kind of attraction towards it.
'...What is this feeling? I never felt that way in front of any kind of weapon and I have seen thousands of different weapons here...' Ink thought with a confused look in his eyes while slowly stretching his right arm towards the katana's handle.
