Chapter 73: Esdeath's... Feelings?

"Rei Ao-sama!" Ayame exclaimed, rushing into Rei Ao's arms, a fragrant breeze trailing behind her.

Everyone nearby couldn't help but be envious—not of Rei Ao, but of Ayame. After all, getting close to the one who was revered as a god, who had protected the Iron Fortress, blessed Ayame with strength, and could even turn 'Kabane' back into humans, was a rare opportunity. Some men even wished they could be like Ayame, thinking that if they were beautiful enough, maybe Rei Ao-sama would favor them too.

Rei Ao, unaware of their thoughts, was nonetheless uncomfortable with the intensity of their gazes. "Prepare two clean train carriages for me," he instructed Ayame.

"Everything is ready, Rei Ao-sama," she replied with a smile. She had made sure to reserve a few cars specifically for his needs, hoping to provide him the comfort he deserved.

As Ayame led the way, Rei Ao glanced at the young girl at his side. "So, what do you say, my dear Kajika?"

Blushing, Kajika could only nod shyly, unable to meet his gaze. But before she could react further, Rei Ao swept her into his arms, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"Ayame, lead the way," Rei Ao commanded.

"Yes, my lord!" she responded eagerly.

As they left, the remaining passengers began to gossip in awe. "Wow, Kajika caught the god's attention. How lucky!"

"It's no surprise. She's kind and beautiful—it's only natural she would be chosen by the god."

"I only wish my daughter could be as fortunate. She's still young, but one day…"

"How old is she?"

"Six."

"…What?"

Meanwhile, Kajika, now inside the train car that had been meticulously prepared for Rei Ao, felt nervous. She wasn't sure what to expect.

As Ayame busied herself with preparations, Rei Ao gently placed the girl on his lap, studying her face.

He decided to speak directly. "You risked yourself for that boy, Ikoma, because you like him, right?"

"W-what?! No!" The girl quickly shook her head, denying the claim. "Ikoma is just a friend. I don't have any romantic feelings for him. Please believe me, my lord!"

Rei Ao chuckled, unfazed. "I believe you." He wasn't concerned about proving her feelings, knowing soon enough, she would belong to him. His hand gently stroked her cheek, causing the girl to stiffen. She was so close to him now that her heart raced uncontrollably.

"But you didn't do all of that just for a friend, did you? What is it that you truly desire?" Rei Ao's voice was soft yet firm, as though he already knew the answer.

Her body trembling, she finally gathered her courage and looked up into Rei Ao's eyes. "I want to be like Ayame-sama—to serve you, my lord, and gain the power to protect others. I don't want to be a burden anymore!"

She had watched Ayame, and the others possessed incredible strength while she could do nothing. She felt useless. Now, she wanted to change that.

A notification appeared in the chat group:

[Ding! Kajika has issued a trade request!]

[Trade Objective]: To gain strength.

"You want to serve me?" Rei Ao pulled his hand away, leaving her momentarily confused and disappointed, thinking she had failed. Had she been rejected?

But then Rei Ao spoke again. "Very well, I'll give you a chance," he said, gesturing toward her.

Her heart raced. She had been given an opportunity.

[Ding! Your trade request has been accepted!]

[Trade Terms]: Unlimited use of her body.

"!!!"

Startled for a moment, she hesitated briefly before accepting the trade without a second thought.

[Ding! Trade initiated!]

With her body trembling slightly, Kajika knelt before Rei Ao, her hands softly releasing her tied hair. Her gaze flickered with hesitation, but she forced herself to move forward, knowing the decision was already made.

Suddenly, another notification appeared.

[Ding! Would you like to start a live broadcast?]

Her eyes widened as she processed the option. After a brief internal struggle, she chose: Start the broadcast.

As the live stream began, Rei Ao's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

…

Stella: "Can 'Kabane' really be cured?"

Megumi Kato: "Aren't 'Kabane' like zombies, basically dead bodies? Does healing them mean reviving corpses?"

Shizu: "Based on what everyone has described, 'Kabane' do seem like dead bodies. Even if you eliminate the virus, they shouldn't be able to come back to life."

Shizu: "Unless there's some kind of resurrection power involved."

Saeko Busujima: "At the very least, I don't think healing a dead body is possible."

Frieren: "Simple wounds can be healed with magic, but the 'Kabane' virus... that's something we would need to experiment with to understand."

Mai Sakurajima: "Speculating doesn't help. Someone on-site should just explain the situation."

Ayame: "Rei Ao-sama has already cured the person who was about to become a 'Kabane'."

Frieren: "Ah, so they hadn't fully turned into a 'Kabane' yet. In that case, there would still be a chance to reverse it."

Stella: "So the trade is complete, and Rei Ao…"

Stella suddenly had a bad feeling.

[Ding! Kajika has started a live stream!]

Stella: "I knew it!!!"

Entering the stream, she immediately saw Rei Ao.

Stella: "@Rei Ao, you're at it again!"

Rei Ao: "What does this have to do with me? Kajika started the live stream, didn't she? (laughs)"

Stella: "You…"

Stella was frustrated but couldn't argue.

Frieren: "It's always like this. Why do you insist on doing this in such a roundabout way? Isn't there a simpler way?"

Frieren was curious. In her mind, it should be more straightforward, and she couldn't grasp why this method was being used.

Megumi Kato: "..."

Sui: "..."

Everyone, except for Frieren, remained silent. Strangely enough, after witnessing it once, twice, or even three times, they found themselves becoming accustomed to it. However, engaging in a discussion about it? No, they'd rather just watch quietly. After all… it was quite entertaining?

Yet there were always people like Frieren who remained unaffected by the topic.

Akame: "It must be exhausting."

Frieren: "It looks that way."

Saeko Busujima: "I think it's fine. It's not that big of a problem."

Saeko Busujima: "Though Rei Ao often makes me think of a sewing machine."

Akame: "What's a sewing machine?"

Frieren: "I'd like to know too."

Saeko Busujima: "It's…"

The three continued chatting, occasionally commenting on Rei Ao's "technique."

"Geez… how is it always like this…" Sui whispered to herself in the inn, curling up in Rei Ao's jacket, half wanting to watch and half too embarrassed to look. Her eyes, glancing at Rei Ao's rhythmic movements, couldn't help but recall what Saeko had said about a sewing machine.

She could never unsee it again.

In the end, Sui buried her face in the jacket, her mouth slightly agape, seemingly trying to learn something from this strange scene.

…

"Saya, did you see it?" Rei Miyamoto suddenly asked.

"S-see what?"

Saya Takagi replied, her eyes shifting evasively.

"I'm not watching 'that' kind of stuff. It's dirty!"

She would never admit that she was, in fact, watching.

Rei smirked. "I'm talking about how trading can make you stronger. Don't you want to be as skilled as Saeko?"

"..."

Saya and Shizuka Marikawa fell into deep thought.

Saeko had already gone out hunting zombies, while they could only stay inside the safe house, waiting. The feeling of being powerless was frustrating. Deep inside, a seed of desire was planted in their hearts.

…

In the Imperial Capital.

The city was bustling with activity.

There was barely any time to mourn the death of General Budo and the thousands of soldiers. The big news? Esdeath had returned!

"General Esdeath has come back!!!"

Her return ignited excitement among the officials and nobles. With such a strong force back in the city, they felt protected again. No one was more thrilled than the corrupt minister. He immediately had the young emperor summon Esdeath.

However…

"General Esdeath said she wants to rest and won't be able to come right now."

The soldier delivering the message stammered.

"What???"

The minister's eyes widened in disbelief. She refused an imperial summons?

Fear and anxiety rippled through him. This wasn't good at all. A powerful general who had earned such immense merit suddenly disobeying orders… It unsettled him.

As for Esdeath herself, she couldn't care less what the minister thought. Even though he had given her the Teigu, she knew it was all just a mutual exploitation. She lived by the law of survival of the fittest. Now that she had lost to Rei Ao and submitted to him, she no longer cared about the Empire's approval.

Relaxing in a bath, washing away the fatigue of travel, she sipped wine and watched the live stream. Seeing Rei Ao so different from how he had been when fighting her—much gentler now—she smiled to herself, intrigued.

"Ah… it's just because she's weak. He doesn't want to break his toys, huh?" she mused, finding Kajika fragile, even compared to her ordinary soldiers. Watching Rei Ao handle Kajika with care, she struggled to reconcile this with the man who had pushed her to her limits in battle.

"A different side of him…"

Esdeath pondered, her thoughts drifting to another side of herself.

For instance…

She found herself wanting to experience love.

…

Rei Ao was relatively gentle with Kajika. With Ayame present, there was no need to be too harsh on her.

He then said, "I will grant you my blessing."

With a tap of his finger on Kajika's body, a mark appeared on her right arm.

"Ah!" Kajika felt a surge of power flow through her.

[Name]: Kajika

[Level]: 1

[Abilities]: "Fire Dragon's Power," "Rei Ao's Blessing," "Inherent Device: Red Flame."

Unlike Ayame and the others, Kajika received the power of a fire dragon, granting her the strength of a mighty flame dragon.

Ayame, who stood nearby, immediately instructed Kajika, "Thank Rei Ao-sama."

"Thank you, Rei Ao-sama, for your blessing!" Kajika quickly snapped back to reality, filled with gratitude as she realized she was no longer an ordinary person.

With a slightly shy tone, she asked, "Rei Ao-sama, could you give me all of you in the end?"

Surprised by her boldness, Rei Ao raised an eyebrow. "You're not afraid?"

Blushing, Kajika nodded. "I'm ready, Rei Ao-sama. Can we...?"

With a sly smile, Rei Ao replied, "Since you're asking, of course."

As Ayame joined in, Rei Ao had to let them know what Anime Harem Stamina was.

…

In the final two hours, after confirming that there were no nearby towns or people for miles, Rei Ao froze the entire area in ice, quickly harvesting experience points from the dead creatures. However, after reaching level 40, relying on weak monsters like these to level up had become much more challenging. Even after freezing a large area, he only gained a single level.

Still, he wasn't too disappointed. Any gain was better than none.

Afterward, he took Kajika for combat training, helping her reach level 6. Along the way, they found the infected pregnant woman Kajika had been worried about. Rei Ao cured her, eliminating the 'Kabane' virus and ensuring both she and her baby would be safe. This miraculous feat once again led to people kneeling before him in awe, and Kajika became even more infatuated with Rei Ao.

After leaving that world, Yukina teasingly said to Kajika, "So, you've become Rei Ao-sama's servant too, huh?"

Yukina nudged Kajika and added playfully, "I didn't expect you to be so open-minded. Some of the things you did... even I haven't heard of them."

Blushing deeply, Kajika fiddled with her skirt and sheepishly replied, "It was Rei Ao-sama and Ayame-sama who taught me..."

"Are you thinking about becoming Rei Ao-sama's servant too?"

"What? Why would you ask that?"

Kajika blinked innocently. "Well, Ayame-sama and I alone don't seem to be enough to serve Rei Ao-sama."

She still didn't quite understand what "Anime Harem Stamina" meant, but she knew Rei Ao's stamina was exceptional, far beyond what she had expected. Kajika then turned her wide-eyed gaze toward Yukina and Mumei.

"What about you two? Any thoughts?"

Yukina, usually so confident, was a bit flustered. "I-I wouldn't mind, but I don't think Rei Ao-sama would be interested in someone like me."

Yukina, dressed in her mechanic outfit, didn't feel as ladylike as Ayame or Kajika, leading to some insecurity.

Kajika reassured her, "Maybe you should try. You never know."

"Let's see…" Yukina wasn't sure how to feel about becoming a servant, but it was something to consider.

Turning to Mumei, Kajika asked, "What about you, Mumei? As a 'Kabane' hybrid, isn't your condition dangerous? Maybe Rei Ao-sama could turn you back into a human."

Mumei remained silent. She had always considered herself her brother's weapon, born to fight 'Kabane'. She had never desired to return to being human, believing it impossible. But after seeing what Rei Ao did for Ikoma, she was suddenly unsure.

Kajika and Yukina exchanged glances and decided not to press the matter.

…

Back home, Mai didn't say much, perhaps growing accustomed to Rei Ao's unpredictable nature. Rei Ao joked, "I should've brought you along earlier for some leveling up."

This earned him a playful glare from Mai. "You're not really talking about leveling up, are you? You're probably thinking about something else entirely."

Rei Ao feigned surprise. "Oh?"

"Ah-ha! I knew it!" Mai pouted. "You pervert!"

Rei Ao's amused expression shifted into a more mysterious smile. "You're still wrong."

"What?" Mai gave him a suspicious look.

"You forgot about Saeko."

"You jerk!" she shouted, throwing a couch cushion at him, sending it flying in a perfect arc.

~~~

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