Mountain range

The group left the capital and traveled to the nearest mountain range where they split up in the groups they previously agreed on.

Valdis and Kurome went to explore the opposite side of the mountain from Esdeath and Wave. During an hour of just strolling around, they were attacked only by a few reptile-like Danger Beasts and some Tree Beasts disguised as trees. During this entire time, Valdis relied only on his physical strength and the experience he gained through the usage of his Sharingan.

The due barely talked however he judged from the texts with points he got for spending time with her and getting to know her that she actually liked it this way. The combined points he got from getting closer to Kurome and killing some species of Danger Beasts for the first time numbered around 500 points.

Even Valdis noticed that the points he is gaining are increased compared to before which was soon explained by the system.

Ever since he has reached the peak of his physique with the potions, he stepped into what could be called the 2nd stage where the points for every single action were increased to meet the demand for the points inside the shop.

"There are no good materials for my new puppets..." Kurome muttered in a sulky mood. Valdis already witnessed her Teigu, Yatsufusa along with her reanimated childhood friend.

'Reanimating your dead friend to keep yourself from being lonely...what a fucked up mentality, though, it's not like I care or view it as "immoral". It just shows her weakness.'

"What did you expect to meet here? Super Class Danger Beast?" Valdis asked as they stopped by a small clearing to get some rest.

Kurome ignored his comment and instead paid attention to her Teigu.

"Hm?" Valdis started to observe the surroundings with a more focused expression as he suddenly felt slightly uneasy. It was nothing extraordinary to feel unease in such a territory filled with dangers, however, ever since they left the Capital, he had a suspicion that someone is following them. At first, he thought it is Stylish to keep an eye on him but there was probably one more group that has a reason to spy on him.

"*munch* Why are you so paranoid? Most of the Danger Beasts here are weaklings" Kurome said while eating her cookies. For the onlookers, they would look like regular snacks but Valdis is aware of what is inside those cookies so he decided to tease her a bit by hungrily looking at her snacks.

"!! I won't give any!" Kurome pressed the bag of cookies to her chest as if to protect it.

"Not even one? How about this...if you give me at least one, I will buy you hundreds later in the Capital" Valdis winked at her with folded hands.

"No means no!" Kurome shook her head, stingily frowning at him.

"Why?! You are acting as if they were some super cookies that can give you superhuman strength!" Valdis pouted with an oblivious expression but his words still caused Kurome to flinch.

"In fact, they do just that. They are one of its kind therefore I won't share any with you."

Valdis was quite surprised to see Kurome play along with his joke. She practically told him the truth but others would obviously take it as a joke and just drop the matter entirely.

As Valdis was thinking about how to tease her next, out of the corner of his eyes he noticed a glimmer in the distance at the smaller mountain.

*BANG!* Valdis jumped toward Kurome without any hesitation and pushed her to the ground, dodging the bullet by hair's breadth.

"?! Enemy" Kurome's surprised and confused expression immediately changed to a serious one.

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---On the mountain not too far away---

"Shit! Sorry, everyone" A small girl with pink hair swore under her breath.

"It's alright, Mine. It just means it's our time to make a move"

"I still don't understand why the boss told us to refrain from killing that guy if possible. Tatsumi, he most definitely killed Sheele, and yet..." Mine grit her teeth in anger.

"I understand your anger, Mine!" Tatsumi clad in armor clenched his right fist but he was determined not to let anger control his actions.

"It is most likely due to the reason that he has yet to reveal the location of our old base. My threads had yet to detect anyone infiltrating aside from small fries. We are most likely trying to understand what led Valdis to such actions, still, no matter the reason, it doesn't excuse his actions"

"Shut up and get us down there already, Lubbock!" Mine said with a poison-filled voice.

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Valdis and Kurome were facing the direction in which the shot came from.

"I wouldn't mind a short "thank you", you know?" Valdis muttered while observing the surroundings with his Sharingan active.

"I would be able to dodge that bullet." Kurome retorted which made Valdis form a faint smile.

'Good, it would be troublesome if she died before I can make her useful to me. Despite her words, this action alone gave me 100 points. Most likely because now she knows that she can rely on me a little on the battlefield.' As Valdis finished his thoughts, a group of 3 people revealed themselves.

"Night Raid...Does that mean my dear sister is anywhere near?" Kurome asked with a cold smile despite how warm her words sounded.

"Akame doesn't have to be here to take care of you personally" Mine said resolutely, hiding behind her companions so she could make most of her Teigu in this formation.

"3 Teigu against 2 Teigu...Do you know what that means?" Valdis whispered to Kurome who was about to summon her puppets which stopped her from doing so.

"What?" She frowned at his question as if she was predicting her next words.

"You retreat and I will cover you. We are split up so we should regroup first"

"What?! I am not weak to retreat in such a situation, we aren't even at that much disadvantage thanks to my Teigu"

*BANG!* A shockwave of spirit energy forced the pair to jump a few meters from each other.

"I don't care! You are no longer in an assassination unit where you are disposed of if deemed weak! Right now I need you to be smart, not mindlessly brave! Or did you perhaps forget about my Teigu?" Valdis shouted which caused Kurome's eyes widen, quite a big change from her aloofness.

'Looks like Tatsumi already has Incursio, good. It looks like their target is Kurome and not me' Valdis thought as he noticed Lubbock attack Kurome from above with a large battle axe formed of steel threads.

"Tch! Can you really hold 3 of them for at least 10 minutes?" Kurome asked while she dodged another shot from Mine and Valdis blocked Lubbock's battle axe for her.

'Why is Tatsumi just standing there? Is he observing us?' Valdis frowned.

"I am confident in lasting 10 minutes against Esdeath, is that a good enough answer?!" Valdis's eyes changed and a dark green aura started swirling around him, forcing Lubbock to gain some distance as he felt how dangerous the aura is.

"...Then prove it and I might not report your words to the leader!" Kurome grit her teeth and turned around to retreat.

"Not so fast!" *BANG!* A large shockwave of spirit energy was fired in Kurome's direction, if that shockwave were to hit her, she would most likely evaporate.

However before the attack could reach her, Valdis appeared in its trajectory causing a medium explosion.

Kurome who already started running glanced behind her at Valdis's figure clad in a dark green aura in form of large ribs, she subconsciously smiled at how reliable Valdis was. She could have just dodged the attack which would at most slow her down but Valdis just recklessly took it head-on.

'Is he that confident in his Teigu? I just hope he will hold on for long enough' Kurome already started accepting him as her comrade therefore she didn't wish for him to die. Although when she saw how he took that strong attack head-on and remained standing still, it caused her feel a little relieved.

Valdis glanced at Kurome's distancing back before focusing his gaze at the trio who looked tenser, seeing him in such a state.

"You have an explaining to do, Valdis" Tatsumi finally said in a harsh tone, a battle aura surging around him.

"Do I? What would you like to know? If you are asking what I was doing here with Kurome, we were on a date until you interrupted us." Valdis stopped using his Susanoo and replied half-jokingly with a friendly smile which completely irritated the trio.

"How can you act like that after what you have done?!" Tatsumi pointed his finger at him and finally lost his cool.

"Bulat would not react that way...it's you, Tatsumi, right? What do you mean by that?" Valdis continued to act oblivious.

"Were you the one who killed Sheele?! Answer me!!" Mine shouted, pointing her gun at him.

"..." A friendly smile disappeared from his expression as he heard her question and for a split second a sorrow could have been read from his expression but that quickly changed.

"Hmm, who knows?" Valdis shrugged and replied with a slightly fake smile. His actions only ignited more hatred from Mine and Tatsumi who were ready to attack at any moment but Lubbock who was reading his expressions as much as possible found something strange.

'It is apparent that he was the one behind Sheele's death, however, why did he look sad for that split second? Why didn't he reveal the location of our old hideout?' Lubbock was racking his mind about this issue, however, he couldn't figure out any reason for Valdis's actions.