Introduction

"Um...I think we started off the wrong foot so can we just forget about that fight?" Tatsumi asked with an uncomfortable expression. He was currently in an unknown environment filled with dangerous assassins, therefore he felt like he should at least ally himself with the one who wasn't together with them.

"I wasn't the one who lost so there I have no trouble forgetting about it, however, what about you?" Valdis asked with a smirk.

'So infuriating! Why did I even bother with him?!' Tatsumi immediately regretted his actions but he still felt wronged by his words.

"You might have managed to disarm me in a cool way, however, there wasn't a clear victor in that fistfight." Tatsumi said through his clenched teeth.

"Disarm you in a cool way, huh? Thanks, I guess." Valdis laid down on the bed and replied with his hands behind his head.

"Tatsumi..." Leone opened the door and called out for Tatsumi before winking at Valdis as if to reassure him.

'They haven't started fighting yet, huh? It looks like that misunderstanding didn't cause any bad feelings between them.'

Tatsumi left the room right after throwing a nervous look at Valdis. It took close to an hour before Leone returned.

When she opened the door to the room, Valdis was no longer lying on the bed in a nonchalant manner, he was sitting on the edge of the bed while staring at the ground with a thoughtful expression, however, the moment he noticed Leone's presence, a relaxed smile replaced his worried face.

'...It seems like he likes to hide his troubled feelings deep inside. I guess that's what the slums do to a person, causing them to close off' Leone caught the glimpse of Valdis's "real" emotions just as he planned.

"Let's go meet the boss, I am sorry you have to go one by one like this, however-" Leone wanted to explain herself but Valdis stopped her with his hand as he got up from the bed.

"No need for an explanation, I fully understand." He said before walking out of the room, following after Leone.

"So serious, where did the innocent handsome boy I have met two days ago go?!" Leone tried to ease the atmosphere with a little joke.

"Well, you would act the same if you were to discover that the beautiful onee-san you have met turned out to be an assassin. Obviously, I still think that onee-san is beautiful, I am just on my guard, no hard feelings.

Shortly, they arrived at the meeting room where everyone was already gathered, and even Tatsumiw as standing on the side with the group as if he was already part of them. In the middle, Valdis saw a woman with short, silver hair and purple eyes, wearing an eyepatch over her right eye.

"Hi, my name is Najenda. I have already heard about Tatsumi's circumstances, however, I have yet to hear any details about your situation...Valdis."

*Sigh* "You want to hear why was I at that place that night, right?" Valdis sighed and asked with a tired expression.

"It's just as Leone said, you are quite quick to catch on" Najenda complimented him, however, in his ears, it sounded more like she was urging him to hurry.

Valdis began telling his story under everyone's stares, telling them about his life in the slums and how he began investigating sudden disappearances when a few of his acquaintances suddenly disappeared. That was his reason for being there since all the clues he gathered were pointing towards that family of nobles. He was aware of their good reputation, however, he didn't plan to judge them just based on the rumors.

"Hmm, I understand your situation" Najenda nodded her head and threw a glance at Leone who was standing on the side behind Valdis who in return nodded her head.

"There have been rumors going around the slums about some cloaked figure giving coins to orphans recently" Leone added which made Valdis smile inwardly, however, he suspected that she had already given a full report to Najenda beforehand.

'She didn't disappoint me with her investigation. Thanks to knowing her history, I knew about her connection to the slums.'

"Mm, I have been told that you are quite self-critical. Why is that? Aren't you the one helping the orphans around the slums?" Najenda asked with a curious expression, not trying to hide her curiosity.

"...Because where do you think that money comes from?"

"Oh?" Najenda didn't expect Valdis to ask the question they have been wondering about so openly.

"I have been stealing money from rich-looking people right from their pockets. Even if I do the right thing something as giving that money to the orphans, it won't erase my crimes of taking money that doesn't belong to me. Plus I am also keeping some money for my living expenses so it's not selfless theft, it could also be that I am giving out money just because of my guilt and not because of my generosity." Valdis explained, making everyone in the room shut. After several seconds of silence, Najenda decided to break it.

"Be it your guilt or generosity, it doesn't matter, what matters is that you do it. Tell me, why do you do it? Don't give me a half-assed answer as to clear conscience" Najenda said gently as if she was leading him to the answers he was keeping at bay.

Valdis looked up at the ceiling before sighing aloud.

"To prevent those kids from having to walk the same path as me, a criminal. What does it matter if I rob or kill one more person to save someone? It's not like killing 1 person instead of 10 is making me less of a murderer."

"Well, at least, you seem more mature than this guy" Mine added with a teasing tone while looking at Tatsumi.

"Hey-!" Tatsumi wanted to protest but was stopped when Najenda raised her hand.

"You have your own cause you steal and kill for...Why not use your skills for us, we are trying to change this country for the better." Najenda extended her prosthetic hand toward him.

"...If you think you can make use of my skill and you are truly aiming to change this country, I am willing to join the group of fellow criminals" Valdis said in a slightly joking manner before grasping her hand.

Almost everyone smiled at his last comment.

"Welcome to the Night Raid!" Najenda said with a smile as she squeezed Valdis's hand.

'Thought I tend to join only temporarily' Valdis smiled with closed eyes after being welcomed so warmly.

"Now let's hear about your skills, we already interrogated this rookie and I must say he is hardly qualified. I hope you won't be the same disappointment, hmph!" Mine said puffing her non-existing chest out.

'They probably know something or at least heard something about red eyes, after all, it's not like I can be completely careful and make sure no one sees me when using it. Plus I am pretty sure Tatsumi has seen it already during our fight, though, maybe he didn't have time to be focused on my abnormal eyes. Still, I can make use of this, they don't know Sharingan's abilities!'

"Well, since we are on the same boat now... guess, I ought to reveal some of my secrets" Valdis turned at the group with closed eyes before opening them, revealing his Sharingan, making everyone instantly alarmed.

"What the hell is that?!" Even Mine lost her composure. She might have shouted those words on the spur of a moment, however, she couldn't deny the natural attraction those eyes had.

"I have become aware of these eyes after experiencing a certain trauma in the slums I don't wish to talk about yet. Ever since that day, I became able to change my original eyes to these red eyes which enhances my perception and my vision. With the eyes also came occasional premonitions, basically, I am allowed to look into the future for a short while, however, I cannot control that power." Valdis decided to slightly change the abilities of his eyes to suit someone who could predict what is going to happen in case he needed them to do something without him describing why.

"Ugh...that is a lot to take in" Lubbock said while putting his palm on his forehead. Normally, Valdis wouldn't dare to even expose any power in his eyes, however since he was already accepted by them, he knew they wouldn't try to do any excessive experiments on his eyes. Currently, he was still too weak to expose his powers to the villains of this world.

"Could it be Teigu?" Akame muttered with a thoughtful expression.

*Screech* "?! Najenda, intruders!" Lubbock suddenly shouted, alarming everyone.

'It's already the time? Well, I think it went alright'

[You have made a decent first impression on 5 major characters]

[Reward: 500 Villain Points]

'So Leone, Akame and Tatsumi weren't included, huh? Anyway, I have enough points to once again evolve the Sharingan. It was a good decision to join this group.'