Chapter 41: There Are As Many Truths As There Are Stances in the World

Late at night.

The members of Night Raid were gathered to discuss intelligence regarding Kobayashi.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the scatterbrained Sheele thought for a long time before offering: "He likes reading history books, though I don't know if that counts as useful information."

"That is very good intelligence. You did your best, Sheele."

Najenda nodded, then turned to Leone and asked, "I heard you had a thorough sparring session with him today. What is your impression of him?"

"He's amazing! And exceptionally talented!"

Bulle gave high praise, saying with some excitement, "Although he's still a bit inexperienced right now, his learning capability is off the charts. He's definitely worth training properly."

"Oh? He has talent in combat as well?"

This came as quite a surprise to Najenda.

The combat power of Teigu went without saying; the sole weakness of a human-shaped Teigu was likely its wielder. If Kobayashi himself was also exceptionally strong, then combining the two would be far more than just one plus one equals two.

"Very useful information. I'll leave it to you to keep training him, Bulle."

"Yes! I'll train him well!"

...Hopefully he meant combat and not something else.

"Lubbock... you can sit this one out."

"Hey! Don't look down on me!"

Lubbock instantly grew anxious.

Najenda asked with a puzzled look, "Didn't I hear that after Leone disciplined you, you didn't spend much time with him?"

"I still discovered quite a lot, okay?"

Lubbock paused, gathered his thoughts, and began: "He seems to be someone who values promises deeply and always follows through on what he agrees to. But he's a bit too soft-hearted; even when faced with unreasonable requests from us, he rarely refuses. Furthermore, he's neutral good—neither leaning toward nor opposing order, acting purely on his own benevolence. If we want to win him over, appealing to his conscience should be an effective way to guide him."

"Ohhhhhhhh!!" xN

Hearing Lubbock's report, the members of Night Raid couldn't help but start clapping.

"As expected of Lubbock, truly reliable."

"Hmph, naturally!"

Being praised, Lubbock proudly rubbed his nose while casting a sidelong glance at Najenda sitting in the main seat.

He wanted praise from the person he loved.

Najenda didn't disappoint him either, offering a word of praise: "Well done, Lubbock."

"Hehehe."

Lubbock flashed a proud yet shy smile typical of a young man.

"Next..."

"Me, me, me!"

Leone raised her right hand high and, with a deadpan, serious expression as if she had discovered a major secret, declared: "Kobayashi's alcohol tolerance is incredible. I'm no match for him."

"...What kind of intelligence is that?"

"There are very few people whose alcohol tolerance beats mine. Don't you think this counts as a massive secret?"

"No way."

Najenda massaged her temples and sighed. She really shouldn't have held any expectations for Leone.

While Lubbock might lack seriousness, he occasionally brought small surprises; Leone, on the other hand, was purely a troublemaker.

Next.

"Listen to me, Boss! I bought him so many new clothes, and he didn't budge an inch. Don't you think he's being too much?!"

Mine, who had felt aggrieved all day, finally got her chance to vent.

She complained bitterly to Najenda about Kobayashi's flaws, the reason being that he had looked down upon the clothes she bought him.

This unreasonable grievance gave Najenda a headache.

"So, the massive budget you requested from me was just to satisfy your own shopping urges while buying clothes for Kobayashi?"

"W-Well... No, it's not like we couldn't take him out or anything."

Mine whispered in her own defense.

Unfortunately, Najenda knew her personality well and wasn't going to buy her excuses.

She immediately ruled that half the money spent would be deducted from Mine's mission rewards as compensation, which only made Mine harbor an even stronger grudge against Kobayashi.

Finally.

"Akame, what do you think of Kobayashi?"

"He's great at catching fish!"

"Huh?"

"Kobayashi is amazing at catching fish! He just gives a whistle, and schools of fish leap right onto the bank! If I can learn that trick, I'll never have to worry about not catching fish again! So Boss, we absolutely cannot let him go!"

Akame's eyes flashed with the devotion of a true foodie.

Najenda rubbed the bridge of her nose. She had thought Akame might be useful in winning Kobayashi over, but hadn't she been won over by him instead?

Still, to be able to seize upon Akame's weakness—that man really has a way about him.

"Achoo—!"

Kobayashi let out a loud sneeze.

Were Aqua and the others talking about me? Or is the mountaintop a bit chilly tonight?

At that moment, Kobayashi was strolling along the back slope of the base.

Because Najenda had stated she had important intelligence to discuss, and Kobayashi had not joined Night Raid, he wasn't allowed to participate.

With no other choice, he had wandered out to the back hill.

Just as he reached the edge of a cliff, he spotted two stone piles with a bouquet of flowers placed atop them.

"These are the graves of my childhood friends, Ieyasu and Sayo."

A slightly sorrowful voice came from behind him.

Tatsumi walked closer, stopping beside Kobayashi, and slowly began: "The three of us were ambushed by bandits and separated on our way to the Capital. When we finally found them, they had been imprisoned and tortured by filthy aristocrats to the point of being unrecognizable, and ultimately died in humiliation. At first, I just wanted to make money to save the village. Why did it have to turn out like this?"

The gnashing teeth of anger and the aura of sorrow were profoundly infectious.

Kobayashi patted his shoulder and comforted him: "This isn't your fault. The Capital is entirely to blame."

"That's why I've decided! I'm going to become an assassin, and I'm going to eradicate every single parasite in the Capital! I'm going to strike down the Prime Minister, the corrupt root cause of all this! Well? Such a lofty ideal—won't Mr. Kobayashi join us?!"

Tatsumi was extremely passionate, his momentum fierce.

Kobayashi's hand froze on his shoulder.

"What is it, are you here to try and persuade me too? I thought since you hadn't shown up all this time, you intended to stay out of it."

"At first, I didn't want to. I don't like forcing people either."

"Then..."

"But the Boss, Big Bro, Big Sis Leone, Akame, even Sheele and Mine all hold high expectations for you. So I thought I'd give it my best shot and see if I could convince you to join us."

"Become an assassin, huh..."

Kobayashi raised his head to gaze at the bright moon, letting out an ambiguous sigh.

After waiting for a moment, Kobayashi suddenly asked: "Tatsumi, do you consider yourself an assassin?"

"...I think I am."

Having completed numerous missions alongside the members of Night Raid and having killed so many people, Tatsumi felt he qualified as an assassin.

"That's true, you've seen blood after all."

Kobayashi abruptly turned his head, locked eyes with him, and said: "However, Tatsumi, becoming an assassin won't save the Capital."

"...Eh?"

"Tatsumi, your ultimate goal is to cut down the Prime Minister, right? But that's just the beginning. Have you ever thought about what comes after?"

Without the Prime Minister, it meant the existing order would collapse, and the country would inevitably plunge into chaos.

Coupled with the Empire's prolonged prosperity and oppression, other nations had long been eager to turn the tables; with the Prime Minister gone, they would surely start a war.

Internal trouble and external aggression flaring up all at once—who would save those innocent civilians then?

Although the Empire stood supreme in this world, there was still the Western Kingdom, which could rival it. And while the Southern Isles and Northern Frostlands were relatively backward, they were forces that could not be ignored.

...As for the Eastern Island Nation, it was an uncivilized land not worth fearing.

How similar was this phenomenon to ancient China?

Yet Tatsumi argued: "What about the Revolutionary Army? As long as we get rid of the Prime Minister, the Revolutionary Army will stabilize the country, won't they?"

"Who can guarantee that the Revolutionary Army are the good guys?"

"...Eh?"

People really were such simple creatures.

When people endorsed something, they would instinctively criticize its opposite. Similarly, when people criticized something, they would instinctively endorse its opposite.

There were as many truths in the world as there were perspectives.

Night Raid's ambition was to eradicate evil, but the Revolutionary Army might simply be invaders hiding behind a righteous banner.

"And that is the real reason I refuse to join Night Raid."