She turned her gaze to Arisa.
"I will join you. Tsugumi's words don't count!"
Tsugumi's expression changed drastically.
"No, I"
Seeing the two on the cusp of quarreling, a sharp voice cut through:
"Enough!"
A piercing rebuke quelled their fight.
"Chatter, chatteryou're both so noisy."
Yuzuriha Mana, having adjusted to her body, came over in annoyance, folding her arms and giving the pair a dismissive glare.
"One is a cripple, the other a short pipsqueak with no real figure. Do you seriously think Rei Ao would even look at you?"
With that, she pulled out her phone and held it up for the two.
"Just look at how perfect Rei Ao is. He's the most flawless 'Adam' I've chosen. Do you think you're worthy of him?"
At first, their faces were dark with resentment at being so abruptly insulted, but once they saw the photos, they both fell silent.
The picture showed two people with no clothes on. The man among them was vigorously entwined with Arisa, an indecent image of overwhelming embarrassment. Yet the two girls couldn't tear their eyes away. That man
They'd never seen such unbridled masculinity or that star-like sharpness in his features, or such perfectly proportioned, well-toned musclesstrong and powerful.
They'd never met anyone that special. Indeed, compared to any handsome celebrity male, he outclassed them. If that was truly the Rei Ao they spoke of
They realized they might truly be unworthy.
(Then) "Now look heredo you really measure up to any one of these women?"
Mana flipped again through a few images: pictures of Esdeath, Frieren, and others combating monsters with all sorts of supernatural abilities.
It wasn't just about those frightening creatures or the variety of powers. Simply glancing at each of those women, you saw pale, flawless skin, unbelievably beautiful faces, distinctive figures, unique stylesevery single one an absolute stunner. Tsugumi and Ayase both had to concede how far they fell short.
"Those women"
"Hmph," Mana sneered. "I bet you guessed: they're all Rei Ao's beloved companions." She stowed her phone. Gazing down on them with frosty eyes, she said:
"Don't think so highly of yourselves. Even being a 'toy' for Rei Ao to summon is your greatest blessing."
She didn't glance their way again, simply pivoted with cool ease and walked off.
~~~
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Chapter 479: Helpless and Free
They had no rebuttal.
Compared to those healthy, gorgeous women with formidable superpowers, the two sisters amounted to nothing at all. They'd lost, completely and utterly even to the point of feeling a bit inferior.
Fortunately, Arisa, with her keen sense of others' feelings, offered some consoling words.
"No need to think so poorly of yourselves."
"Inori already told Master about you. He agreed to let her take you in, which probably means he's interested in you, too."
"Huh?"
Tsugumi was perplexed. "But we've never even met him."
"Ah, don't underestimate our Master's abilities. He might have already examined every single hair on your bodies in precise detail."
Having lived through the Black Bullet world, Arisa practically worshipped Rei Ao as though he were an omnipotent god. The above statement was basically her own fantasy, but the sisters believed it.
"Every single hair?"
Tsugumi involuntarily glanced at a certain place where Ayase was seated. She herself was a "white tiger" (i.e., no hair down there). But her sister wasn't. Tsugumi often helped her sister bathe, so she knew perfectly well. Ayase wasunique: very short and fine, just barely thicker than fuzz a peculiar sort of charm.
"Tsugumi!"
Sensing Tsugumi's gaze, Ayase glowered in embarrassment, forcing Tsugumi to jerk her eyes away.
Exhaling, Ayase made up her mind. Fixing her stare on Arisa, she said seriously, "No matter what, I want to restore my legs.
"But if possibleI'd like to meet him in person yourMaster?"
To her, the term "Master" felt strangely shameful. Arisa hardly minded. Crossing her arms and thrusting out her ample chest, she nodded, pleased at the pair's change of attitude.
"All right, I'll bring it up with Master later."
"Later?"
"Ah, Master's awfully busy right now."
With that, she turned and walked away, not looking back, leaving the two alone.
Not far off, Menjou Hare approached Inori with a puzzled look. Right then, Mana arrived with her phone in hand. Hare was aware of Mana's identity by now. Curious, she asked, "Mana, what did you just show them?"
"Wanna see?"
Yuzuriha Mana smirked playfully, handing over her phone.
"Here."
Hare received it gingerly, only to freeze wide-eyed as soon as the screen lit. It showedscenes from when Rei Ao and Arisa (plus others) were "mixing it up," while Hare herself had stood around gawking like a fool.
"!!!"
"Hare~ Next time, you'd better offer yourself to Rei Ao, y'know. Can't let Master's power go to waste."
Mana, in queenly fashion, tipped Hare's chin up. Although she got jealous jealous enough to want to destroy any other women around Rei Ao she wouldn't allow any defiance toward Rei Ao from those by her side.
"Um"
Hare, easily flustered, flushed beet-red. Even if she could scarcely bring herself to talk about it, she nodded.
"Mhm."
Mana seemed satisfied. Inori remained calm and asked, "When did you take those pictures?"
Mana gave a cryptic grin.
"Guess~"
At the Funeral Parlor.
Tsutsugami Gai regarded the data center's screen with cold eyes. On it appeared handwriting that Tsugumi and Ayase had left:
[Tsutsugami Gai, we know your secret. You've betrayed the Funeral Parlor from the very beginning; everything you did was for Yuzuriha Mana!]
[We, Tsugumi and Ayase, have decided to leave the Funeral Parlor!]
"..."
His wrinkled, bone-thin hand trembled around a cane. The folds on his face quivered in rage. He didn't really care about the two defectors so much as the fact that other people had discovered Mana's secret.
Recalling that letter from not long ago, he understood that it had been the pair's test. As for something deeper, it involved Inori.
He inferred the two and the missing Inori were connected, and that Inori had revealed the secret to them. Now the vessel Inori was gone. Two major Funeral Parlor assets had defected, even taking away a trove of data before running off.
The crucial Void Genome for his plan had disappeared alongside Inori. Everything he'd worked for was now forced into a passive state.
"Hoo"
He breathed out slowly, his gaze turning frigid. He muttered, "Manano matter what, I will become Adam"
A pity he was unaware Yuzuriha Mana had already been "awakened" by Rei Ao for the first time and turned into a yandere hopelessly fixated on him.
At the Yukinoshita home.
Back in her familiar bedroom, Yukino thought of her sister and walked out.
"Yukino?"
She ran into her mother right at the door. Raising an eyebrow, her mother asked, "When did you get home?" She hadn't realized Yukino had come in.
"I"
Yukino froze; she didn't know how to answer. Hearing the commotion, Haruno came over and spoke for her:
"Mother, Yukino was with Rei Ao yesterday. He probably sent her back here with that miraculous power of his."
"..."
Yukino then remembered that her mother already knew. She'd been on the verge of making something up on reflex, but that reminder made her realize telling the broad truth sufficed.
"I see"
Her mother let her air of authority subside. Faced with matters related to Rei Ao, she had no choice. Mysterious powersshe simply couldn't comprehend or control them. Realizing how out of her hands things were, this ever-calculating matriarch wore a faintly bitter and weary look.
"All right then."
She turned away. In both daughters' eyes, it was the first time their mother had looked so forlorn.
But Yukino was more worried about her sister at that moment.
"Sis, are youokay?"
While she spoke out of genuine care, it felt awkward to Yukino herself, as it was a first for her.
"Pfft!"
Haruno actually laughed out loud. "This is the first time I've gotten such clumsy concern from little Yukino. I can't tell if I should laugh or cry."
""
"You can do neither."
Yukino's face had already iced over.
"Haha, fine, fine."
Haruno pantomimed wiping tears that weren't there. She knew Yukino was easily embarrassed, so she quit teasing and, for once, displayed a genuine, melancholic look.
"Honestly speakingit's my first time feeling thisfree."
~~~
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Chapter 480: Pleased, and Next Time?
Freedom.
Once, it was something Haruno could never have imagined for herself, and yet now it had dropped into her lap like a stunning, naked beauty appearing beside her, so sudden and unexpected.
Yet she took no joy in that freedom, because it was granted to her by the very treasure she had once cherishedYukino. Or more precisely, by Yukino's boyfriend, who was certain to become her husband in the future. That same man who even their mother couldn't maintain a dignified front against.
She regretted only that her mother hadn't witnessed that moment when Rei Ao destroyed an entire world with her own eyesotherwise, she might have understood just how insignificant she really was.
At the very least, Haruno now fully grasped that she would no longer be able to change anything about Yukino's life.
Meanwhile, Yukino frowned a little.
"Sis, that's not what I wanted to talk about."
"Mhm, I get ityou must've heard from Rei Ao about how flustered I looked when I saw someone die."
Haruno gave a self-deprecating smile. She welcomed Yukino's concern, but it wasn't a concern for her calm in the face of death. This made her all the more aware that Yukino had set off along a path entirely different from her own.
She fixed Yukino with a complex gaze.
"There's no need to worry about that. Your Onee-chan here isn't so fragile.
"But compared to all that, I'm starting to feel that so many of the things you do, Yukino, have left mefeeling like nothing matters anymore."
A wave of nihilism welled up inside her. She couldn't resist voicing the question that had been gnawing at her heart, growing ever stronger:
"Yukinowhen I grow old, will you still be as young as you are now?"
""
Yukino froze. It made her recall what Rei Ao had told her: the stronger you become, the longer your lifespan, to the point of living as long as the heavens and the earth themselves. Haruno's sorrow-laced tone gripped Yukino's heart. A vision flickered in her mind:
She remained youthful; their mother had passed on; her older sister had grown old.
She couldn't accept a scene like that!
"II'll ask Rei Ao to"
"No need."
Realizing Yukino's intention, Haruno cut her off. She didn't want Yukino violating her own principles for Haruno's sake. All Yukino needed to do was live her life.
"All right, that's enough."
Having gotten her answer, Haruno didn't continue the subject, because she knew Yukino would say something that clashed with her principles. Haruno's face returned to a sunny smile, the faade sliding back into place.
"I gotta go. Even if Mother's given me my freedom, I still need to keep things at home running."
"Off I godon't go pining for your Onee-chan, 'kay~?"
With those words, she departed, leaving only a carefree figure in her wake.
"Sis"
Yukino abruptly felt something stuck in her chest. She couldn't imagine life without the mother and older sister she had once despised.
In Akame's world.
Rei Ao's empire.
"Kisara, your first time surpassed my expectations."
In the imperial harem belonging to Rei Ao Ordinarily, an emperor was supposed to preserve his "dragon vitality," flipping through nameplates to choose a consort each night.
But Rei Ao had no need for that. His ability far outstripped any ordinary emperor's, so it was only natural he could indulge everyone in the harem if he wished.
At the moment, Akame and the others, having been "favored," had already left one by one to carry out the tasks Rei Ao assigned.
Only Tendou Kisara remained. He had presumed her first experience might be nothing special, but her performance astounded him. If he had to sum it up, she was extremely bold, very proactive, and the most striking thing was how snug and supple she felt.
"Phew You really are a monster."
Tendou Kisara mustered what remained of her strength to say that while eyeing Rei Ao's muscular arms.
Then she fell limp, not wanting to move another inch or even open her mouth. All the soreness and fatigue swarmed over her in the aftermath.
This was after Rei Ao had already fixed her damaged kidney and bestowed power upon her. Right now, she just wanted to close her eyes and rest.
But a single remark from Rei Ao made her force her eyes open again:
"Oh, by the wayyour friend's dead."
"Friend?"
Still in the lingering haze of pleasure, Kisara couldn't figure out which friend he meant. Rei Ao was idly twirling a small human heart in his hand, smiling faintly. "That friend of yoursSatomi Rentarou."
"Him?"
Kisara squinted as she remembered. A hint of doubt flickered in her eyes.
"With his do-gooder 'saint' personality, I'd have assumed he voted in favor of that Cursed Children Rights Law, right?"
"Heh."
Rei Ao chuckled.
"Funny story. He thought you'd gone missing, so he went running all over looking for you. In the end, he figured the law was pretty much doomed anyway, so he didn't hurry to vote. He missed the cutoff, and so he died."
""
She hadn't expected a twist like that. She blinked her dark eyes.
"Why are you telling me this out of nowhere?"
"No particular reasonjust wanted to see how you'd react."
Kisara rolled her eyes the same way she had while straddling him earlier.
"Disappointed that I'm not reacting? Well, sorry. I can't, really. He was just a normal friend."
