Time quickly passed, and it was already the next day. Last night, Mine, Sheele, and the others had also perfectly completed their mission and returned.
Early this morning, everyone was awakened from their sleep because Lubbock's alarm system had been triggered. Clearly, enemies had discovered Night Raid's hideout.
"Number of intruders and their locations?" Najenda directly questioned Lubbock.
"Judging from my barrier's reaction, there are about eight people. All have already infiltrated near the base!" Hearing the question, Lubbock quickly replied.
"To have found this place, they're quite capable. Probably assassins from a different ethnic group. Move out. Kill them all, leave none alive." Najenda coldly issued the order.
Upon receiving the order, Takeru and the others all mobilized immediately. Takeru was pulled along by Akame to a location with enemies.
Soon, by a small stream, Takeru and Akame saw three enemies!
"That's the woman on the wanted poster. And the man is probably an accomplice!"
"So, the Night Raid's base is indeed nearby!"
"This woman is quite cute. After killing her, we can have some fun. Don't damage the body too badly." The three men, upon seeing Akame and Takeru, taunted, not taking Takeru seriously at all.
"Akame, leave them to me." Hearing their words, Takeru narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned to Akame.
Hearing Takeru, Akame looked at him blankly, not understanding why he wanted to trouble himself.
"Haha, just a pretty boy. Die!" The three said, preparing to attack. However, a gentle breeze seemed to pass. The moment the three reacted, they found Takeru's figure gone.
Simultaneously, they felt a slight pain and itch on their necks. Soon, their gazes turned vacant, and their heads fell off. It turned out in that instant, Takeru had severed their heads with his Priest's Staff. The speed was so fast their bodies hadn't even reacted...
"You seem rather leisurely in enemy territory." Akame, seeing Takeru deal with the three, calmly commented mockingly.
Elsewhere, others encountered their own opponents. First, Leone faced two intruders. After transforming, she easily pulverized them with her fists.
In a cave, Lubbock caught a female intruder. Despite her pleas for mercy, Lubbock acted decisively and killed her.
Then there were Mine and Sheele on a high cliff. Mine used binoculars to find a fleeing intruder. Then, using another intruder to heighten the sense of crisis, she fired a shot, blasting the enemy who had fled quite far into powder...
As for the intruder used to heighten the crisis, Sheele effortlessly bisected him.
The reason for this complexity was mainly due to Mine's Teigu. Teigu: Pumpkin, a gun-type Teigu that converts mental energy into shockwaves for firing.
Its power increases according to the level of crisis the user faces. Its ultimate move involves removing restrictions to greatly increase the weapon's power, but afterwards, it overheats and becomes temporarily unusable. Forcing a shot in this state could damage the Teigu.
Takeru also sensed Mine's attack. Based on a simple judgment, he suspected if Gluttony absorbed it, it would probably yield three to four hundred points of mana.
Finally, Bulat encountered difficulty. Compared to others, he faced the most… eight people. However, seeing them, Bulat remained unhurried. Having already activated Incursio, his strength and defense had greatly increased.
Even if there were twice as many, they wouldn't pose any real trouble.
Facing the group's assault, Bulat simply roared, his weapon rapidly swinging. Almost instantly, all the attackers were completely obliterated, their bodies turned into mincemeat and blood, instantly dyeing his armor red.
Due to the intruder incident, Takeru's training under Mine was postponed for a day.
Soon, another day passed.
In the morning, following Najenda's instructions, Takeru needed to wake Mine up. However, when Takeru reached Mine's door, his Observation Haki sensed she was currently changing clothes. Seeing this, Takeru didn't act rashly but waited quietly outside the door.
Soon, when she was almost done, Takeru knocked.
"Mine, it's getting late. Time for the mission." Knocking on the door, Takeru spoke calmly.
"I know!" Hearing the voice, Mine quickly came out. Then, Takeru and Mine headed towards the kitchen.
"Hey, Takeru, why did it take so long?" Seeing Takeru return so late, Najenda curiously asked.
"Nothing, just thought Mine wouldn't be ready that quickly." Hearing her question, Takeru answered directly.
"How rude! I was already prepared long ago!" Hearing Takeru's words, Mine said angrily.
"Really? If you were prepared long ago, you shouldn't have needed me to knock to come out." Hearing her, Takeru showed a half-smile.
"None of your business!" Seeing Takeru's expression, Mine was annoyed but couldn't refute it.
After breakfast, Takeru and Mine headed towards the capital. Their mission today was to patrol the capital.
Walking through the capital, Takeru noticed that although the streets were crowded, most people had expressionless faces.
Even living in the bustling capital, only a very small portion of people were happy, which are the high officials and nobles.
Passing by a small alley, Takeru heard a painful cry. In Takeru's perception, two youths were bullying a little girl.
Without much thought, Takeru walked inside. Mine saw this and quickly followed.
"Don't gang up on someone weaker!" Mine stepped forward and directly scolded the two.
"What's it to you?"
"This person is a refugee from another country. She can't resist us nationals." The two spoke dismissively.
"So what?" Hearing their words, Mine's face darkened, a trace of killing intent unavoidably leaking out.
The two unconsciously stepped back.
"Takeru!" At this moment, Mine called Takeru.
Takeru stepped forward, looking at the two. A wave of malicious Aura washed over them. Instantly, they felt as if plunged into an icy cellar, their faces pale.
"Scram." Ten seconds later, Takeru calmly spoke to them.
"Ah!" Hearing Takeru, the two screamed and fled the spot.
Even after they left, Takeru's expression remained somewhat grim. He privately lamented that not only the upper echelons but also the lower levels showed signs of corruption.
"Are you okay?" After adjusting his mood slightly, Takeru looked at the girl gently.
"Thank you. I'm fine." Seeing Takeru's caring expression, the girl quickly said.
"Don't say thank you. You need to learn to protect yourself too." However, hearing the girl's thanks, Mine spoke coldly, then turned and left.
"That's just how she is. But her words are true. Only by being strong yourself can you protect yourself and what you cherish." After Mine left, Takeru gently patted the girl's head and earnestly advised.
"I understand. Really, thank you." Looking at Takeru's sincere, caring gaze, the girl thanked him seriously again.
After bidding farewell to the girl, Takeru quickly caught up to Mine.
"Too slow." When Takeru caught up, Mine said impatiently.
"We're not that short on time, are we?" Hearing Mine, Takeru replied calmly.
"Hmph!" Hearing this, Mine said no more.
Then, Takeru and the others began strolling through the capital… eating delicacies, shopping, buying clothes… like an ordinary couple.
For example, when Takeru and Mine went to a clothing store, the clerk would smile and recommend couple outfits to them. At a restaurant, the waiter would also smile and ask if Takeru and Mine wanted a couple set meal.
Every time they were misunderstood, Mine would blush and argue with the clerk. Takeru would watch with a smile, then later apologize to the clerk with a light laugh.
"It seems her personality isn't too good. You have it rough." Every time Takeru apologized, the clerk would sigh.
"Not really. I'm used to it." Hearing the clerk, Takeru would reply with a light laugh, then show a gentle smile towards Mine, as if she were a child throwing a tantrum.