"From the changes in this small town alone, it's clear that those deep-rooted problems which the court and the Revolutionary Army both find hard to eliminate, those vicious factions that seem unimaginably powerful in the eyes of ordinary people, are to you no more than pebbles by the roadside."
"You don't even need to deliberately clear them away, just kick them aside casually and that's enough."
"The reason you can speak about it so lightly is probably because there's no difficulty involved at all, right? Is this… the composure that only a true strong person can possess?"
The girl fell silent for a moment. She instinctively looked toward Iori's face, but because of the mask, she couldn't tell what expression he had right now.
She was genuinely curious about how Iori managed to do it. It didn't seem like something that could be explained by brute force alone.
Speaking seriously, in terms of strength, both Esdeath and Grand General Budo each possessed the combat power of an entire army. In terms of status and authority, the combination of the minister and the young emperor was flawless.
In terms of popular support and influence, the many churches represented by the Path of Tranquility could reach into almost every village and town.
Yet so many capable people were gathered together, and still not a single one of them could do what Iori had done.
Even from a more macroscopic perspective, the Empire's overall national strength was still formidable. Even though it had split internally into several factions, it could still firmly suppress the surrounding non-human tribes.
And in recent years there hadn't been any large-scale natural disasters or anything like that…
Yet the state of the world continued to deteriorate day by day.
Farmers grew grain but couldn't fill their own stomachs. Artisans built magnificent palaces yet lived in crude shacks. Government treasuries everywhere were empty, while officials' private vaults were overflowing.
The emperor, the minister, the generals, the church leaders, the Revolutionary Army… these big figures who either had lofty ideals, or power, or violence, all watched such phenomena spread unchecked with their own eyes. It wasn't that they lacked the ability to change things, they simply rarely put real effort into it.
Isn't that strange?
She thought about it seriously for a while, then came to a conclusion.
Iori was an exception.
"Sometimes I suddenly realize that you're actually a great man."
Akame's eyes, usually sharp and piercing, softened. It was a smile without stray thoughts, extremely pure.
"It's as if, as long as you're willing, there's nothing in this world you can't do!"
"Maybe that really is the case."
Iori deliberately put on a serious expression. "So why aren't you hurrying up and hugging my thigh? The merit of following a rising dragon is very valuable!"
"If you could be a bit more serious, that would be even better."
Automatically ignoring Iori's half-understandable weird remarks, Akame spoke gently as ever. After spending so much time with him, she was already used to these inexplicable short sentences.
"It would be best if there were more towns like this. When the Empire is full of places like this, we can truly retire from the front lines."
"That'll take a lot of effort. I don't have enough manpower." Iori turned his head and asked her half-seriously, "Interested in switching jobs?"
Akame didn't take it seriously. She and Iori were old friends, and in private there was even a bit of ambiguity between them. Although this topic was sensitive, given their relationship, there was no need to be cautious.
So she casually shot back, "Go be your subordinate? That's not..."
"It's to be the boss's wife."
"...Not something I can't consider."
After saying that, Akame blinked, then suddenly reacted. "Eh? What did I just say? That doesn't count, it doesn't count just now!"
[Beep~ Your friend Akame has retracted a message~]
Under the mask, the corners of Iori's mouth slowly curved upward, revealing a rather nasty smile, as if he really enjoyed teasing people like this.
"You seem pretty resistant. Do you hate me that much?"
"Hate? No! I absolutely don't hate you. If anything, it's… that has nothing to do with this!"
The black-haired, straight-haired girl became a bit incoherent, but quickly calmed down and realized she had once again fallen into one of Iori's "traps."
"Is this really that interesting? You're deliberately leading me to embarrass myself, aren't you?"
"I can't help it. Your panicked look is just too entertaining~"
"You jerk…" Akame had never thought there would come a day when someone would actually make her laugh out of sheer anger, but without realizing it, her hand had already gripped the hilt of her blade.
But then Iori said something else, and it instantly made her tense, "Since you're against it, then I'll go ask Esdeath instead."
Like a conditioned reflex, the moment Iori said the name "Esdeath," Akame felt a sharp pain deep in her head. Her mood immediately darkened, and it showed on her face.
She had already realized that Iori was joking, but she still felt an indescribable sense of entanglement.
"Honestly, can you be a bit more serious? I'm discussing something very serious with you."
"No, I'm quite serious."
Iori asked back in surprise, "After being rejected, it's natural to switch to the next target. Why do you think I'm joking?"
"..."
"Could it be that you want me to keep pestering you even after confessing?"
"T-this…" Akame's eyelid twitched slightly. She suddenly realized she had fallen into a trap and, without noticing, had been pushed into a dead end by Iori's words.
What now, explain her attitude?
"Wait a second, I really don't get it… why would you choose Esdeath? You've only met her once in total!"
"Love at first sight. Is that not allowed?"
Akame narrowed her eyes. "I feel like I've heard someone say something like that before."
In a place the girl couldn't see, Iori laughed freely, he had used the same line to tease Akame before.
"The situation is the same," Iori said matter-of-factly. "Even though her personality is kind of… that, Queen-sama really is quite good-looking, isn't she?"
"…I can't deny that." Akame compared Esdeath's image with her own in her mind and evaluated them objectively.
Facial features and looks were subjective, so she skipped that for now.
In terms of presence and aura, Esdeath was an unquestionable overwhelming winner. Akame wasn't bad either, but compared to a queen who looked down on all others, she really did fall a bit short.
As for figure… well, this comparison was just too brutal.
Akame wasn't flat, but she was only at the normal level for a girl her age. Esdeath's development, on the other hand… was completely supermodel-like, tall posture, full bust, shapely hips, and long, straight legs.
Akame felt that even if she were well-nourished and grew to twenty, she probably still wouldn't catch up to that queen... 'Wait, what am I worrying about?'
I'm not planning to agree anyway. Who he goes after has nothing to do with me, right? Such ridiculous matters, let someone else agonize over them.
Akame steeled her resolve in an instant, but when she opened her mouth, the words that came out had a slightly different tone, "Do you like Esdeath that much? What exactly do you like about her?"
Perhaps realizing that this sounded too much like jealousy, Akame added, to avoid letting Iori misunderstand, "I mean… for what reason did you… take a liking to Esdeath?"
Boobs, uniform, long legs, several tags instantly flashed through Iori's mind.
But who was he? Naturally, he couldn't be that blunt, so he polished it a little, "It's a bit embarrassing to say, lust."
"..."
Akame was dumbfounded. It took her a long while to recover, and she immediately felt both embarrassed and annoyed, with a hint of frustration at wasted potential. Her eyes reflected Iori's figure, as if saying, "Look at how little ambition you have!"
"There are other benefits too."
Iori began listing them off. "First, it helps build a more solid alliance. Although I subdued her a few days ago, relying on verbal promises alone does feel rather flimsy."
"Second, it increases the stability of the army. When soldiers know that their leader and the rebel leader are extremely close, close enough to wear the same pair of pants, any unease caused by an 'uprising' will naturally dissipate."
"Third, she's also a gi, cough, an extremely excellent spouse candidate, isn't she?"
After hearing that, Akame actually felt it made a lot of sense. At least on the surface, she couldn't find a reason to reject Esdeath.
"No, no… I still can't imagine Esdeath marrying and having children like a normal woman." The black-haired girl frowned deeply.
"I always thought she'd live her whole life like a lone wolf…"
"Setting aside her identity as an Imperial general, Esdeath is still a normal person, a young girl just awakening to romance. Naturally, she's also considered the possibility of getting to know and falling in love with someone."
"Perhaps all of you see her as some kind of monster, but beneath her fierce record and style, she also hides a soft maiden's heart. You just haven't noticed it."
"A maiden's heart? Heh, you're really joking." Akame laughed casually, clearly unconvinced.
"She's only interested in challenging the strong. I don't think she'd turn red and get flustered over a loved one like an ordinary girl~"
"Too much confidence isn't a good thing. People are complex. How do you know what Esdeath is like in private?"
"Don't make it sound like you know her so well!"
Akame rolled her eyes at Iori inwardly. 'You've only met her once too, why are you acting like everything's under control?'
"And besides, even if you pursue her, Esdeath might not like your type anyway."
"Mm, that is indeed a problem." Iori reached up and touched his mask. "Inconvenient in all kinds of ways…"
Akame looked at him deeply, paused, then shifted her gaze elsewhere.
She was very curious about what Iori looked like beneath the mask. Even if his face were completely ruined and unrecognizable, she still wanted to see it at least once… but she wouldn't bring it up herself, to avoid touching on Iori's painful memories.
"Then, since you're so against it, I won't ask Esdeath."
"Wha..."
Akame panicked. "Why are you making it sound like I have ulterior motives!"
"Hahaha…"
The two continued walking through the marketplace. Iori teased Akame several more times, leaving the dashing female assassin utterly exhausted in both body and mind.
And as their conversation was about to end, Iori mentioned Esdeath again, but this time not in relation to personal feelings, instead focusing on her war with the northern tribes.
Then he moved on to the institutional reforms recently pushed by the minister, and how the rapid expansion of the Path of Tranquility was making all sides uneasy…
"The situation is getting more and more tense. The Empire is now facing troubles both within and without. Although the Revolutionary Army has occupied a lot of territory, they don't have the spare capacity to restore livelihoods. Life for the people at the bottom is still hard."
"No spare capacity?" Iori suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"Do you think they really did everything they could and truly had no way, or that they were unwilling to invest resources outside the war at such a critical moment?"
"..." Akame fell silent for a moment. She already had the answer in her heart.
The Revolutionary Army wasn't some grassroots force that sprang up overnight. They had been brewing in secret for a long time before raising their banner, and as a separatist force they had existed for quite a while. There was no way they truly had no spare capacity all this time.
Judging from the fact that they could provide remote logistical and intelligence support to Night Raid, letting them wreak havoc in the Imperial Capital, the Revolutionary Army clearly had plenty of resources.
So had the Revolutionary Army previously paid attention to the livelihoods of the people in their own territories?
The answer was, they had paid attention, they had dealt with it, they had tried, but in the end, they gave up.
Because they discovered that thorough reform would create many enemies for themselves, and when expanding outward, local governors would resist to the death… greatly affecting their strategic plans.
To win over more fence-sitters, they naturally had to make certain promises and preserve some interests for those people.
By the same logic, they could even form alliances with non-human tribes.
And not just the Revolutionary Army, the Empire was the same, wasn't it?
There were many people who could see where the problems lay, but very few were willing to offend others or take risks to change everything. And among those few who did…
It was actually Iori, an unknown bounty hunter, who truly started doing things. From start to finish, it had only been a few months, yet he had already made things look surprisingly proper.
Big figures like Honest, Esdeath, and Budo absolutely had the ability to do the same things, but no one had ever seen any of them truly do it…
Akame wasn't a politician, and her level of education was fairly average. It was only because she had seen more while following Najenda and Iori that she developed these doubts. As for the details… she couldn't really articulate them.
She only knew one thing,
Iori was indeed very special. He truly could see the ordinary masses one by one.
Even though he also had a nasty side to his personality, and was suspiciously a lecher… still, if one day Iori and the Revolutionary Army ended up on opposing sides, Akame felt she would probably choose to support Iori.
Just like Najenda did that day when she swore her loyalty to Iori.
As for being lecherous… as long as it wasn't too excessive… maybe it wasn't completely unacceptable… just treat it as sacrificing herself for the people.
Like sparks falling into an autumn forest, the wildfire of rebellion instantly swept across the entire Empire, spreading so fast that it exceeded the expectations of everyone, including Iori, who believed themselves to be "players on the chessboard."
Some things, once started, allow you to decide only how they begin, not how they end.
Iori did nothing extra, merely advancing his plans step by step. He had originally thought it might take some time to ferment, yet in just a single month, he witnessed how this vast nation collapsed.
Once the people's anger was ignited, whether it was the Revolutionary Army, the minister, or even the Path of Tranquility, all could only go along with the tide, unable to resist that all-destroying wave.
Iori had originally wanted to guide and intervene in the process of dynastic change, preserving as much vitality for the country as possible and sparing the people some suffering.
But the facts proved that no matter how much he prepared, he couldn't control everything. The speed of the Empire's collapse even surpassed the speed at which Iori and the Revolutionary Army were scrambling for territory…
Illusory prosperity takes a thousand years to build, but destruction needs only a single night.