Chapter 16: The "Justice" Girl, Seryu

"..."

Molested again...

Feeling the cool, soft touch on his face, Blayn realized just how cold Esdeath's hands were.

With a speechless expression, he moved her hand away. "If you want me to smile on command, I won't be able to."

Still, he couldn't help but notice the subtle changes in her.

It wasn't just her hands—there was a faint chill radiating from her entire body. It was barely perceptible, but Blayn's sharp senses picked up on it.

She hadn't felt like this before.

Then there was the mark on her chest. He had noticed it earlier but hadn't said anything about it until now.

"That mark on your chest... it wasn't there before, was it?" Blayn finally asked.

He suspected that whatever was changing about Esdeath had something to do with that mark. Could it be related to the "Teigu" she had just obtained?

"That's right. I received my Ice Teigu today. After drinking a full pot of blood, this mark appeared," Esdeath explained.

"Blood? So there are Teigu that use blood too?"

Blayn was a little surprised.

He had always assumed Teigu were physical weapons—blades, swords, spears, hammers, and so on. But now, a blood-based Teigu had entered the mix.

"This is my first time seeing one as well, but the forty-eight Teigu are all unique and unpredictable. You don't seem very familiar with them, do you? You should take some time to study ancient records. If you ever face another Teigu user, you don't want to be caught off guard by an unknown ability," Esdeath suggested.

"Yeah, I'll look into it."

Blayn nodded.

His biggest weakness right now was a lack of knowledge about this world. When it came to Teigu, he was completely in the dark.

Esdeath was right—understanding them would be crucial.

Even though he had Double Kamui, he couldn't afford to be careless. He still didn't know if there was a Teigu out there capable of countering it.

Blayn had since parted ways with Esdeath and was on his way to report to the Imperial Capital Security Force.

As he walked through the streets, someone suddenly called out to him.

"Excuse me! Are you Blayn?"

Hearing his name, he turned his head.

Standing before him was a young girl with orange hair tied in a high ponytail, bright orange eyes, and a cute appearance. She was dressed in a gray breastplate and shoulder armor—standard gear for the Security Force.

Despite her friendly and cheerful smile, Blayn had learned his lesson from Aria. In a place like the Imperial Capital, he wasn't about to take people at face value.

"That's me," he replied.

"We received orders from General Esdeath to escort you," the orange-haired girl said, giving him a formal salute before introducing herself. "I'm Seryu Ubiquitous, a new recruit in the Imperial Capital Security Force."

At this point, it seemed that Seryu had not yet obtained her biological Teigu, Magical Beast Transformation: Hekatonkheires. Otherwise, she would undoubtedly have Koro with her.

"I'm new here too. No need to be so formal," Blayn said.

"That's different! You're the Vice Captain. I'm just a rookie—we're in completely different leagues," Seryu corrected him.

"...Alright then."

With that, Blayn and Seryu set off toward the Security Force headquarters.

Along the way, Seryu eagerly struck up a conversation, her cheerful energy apparent.

"Vice Captain Blayn, what made you join the Imperial Capital Security Force? You must have some noble ideals, right?"

She was clearly curious.

The Security Force members didn't know much about Blayn's background. All they knew was that he had been appointed by the Prime Minister and personally recommended by General Esdeath. As a result, many assumed he was some kind of rising talent.

"Nothing that noble, really..."

Blayn felt a little awkward, unsure how to answer.

The truth was, he had simply taken the position as a means to learn more about the world.

"Come on, you're just being modest, aren't you?" Seryu grinned, unconvinced.

"I, on the other hand, joined the Security Force to uphold justice and eliminate all evil!"

Her expression turned serious, her gaze filled with conviction—she wasn't joking.

"That's an admirable goal," Blayn said.

But only if her sense of "justice" was truly just and not something twisted.

Of course, he didn't know anything about her yet. From his perspective, if she genuinely had a strong sense of justice, maybe she could bring some light to the darkness of the Imperial Capital. That wouldn't be a bad thing.

"Right?"

Seryu beamed, clearly pleased that the Vice Captain had acknowledged her sense of "justice."

Before long, they arrived at the Security Force headquarters.

"Vice Captain Blayn, we're here!" Seryu announced.

Looking around, Blayn noticed that all the Security Force members wore the same breastplate and shoulder armor. This uniform was clearly a symbol of their unit.

There weren't any complicated formalities. Since he had already been assigned the role of Vice Captain, all that was left was to meet the captain and familiarize himself with the rest of the team.

And apparently, Seryu was assigned to assist him with that.

Blayn was starting to think she was just a rookie doing errands.

"Vice Captain Blayn, I'll take you to meet Captain Ogre first," Seryu said. "Captain Ogre is incredible! He even has a nickname—'Ogre the Demon.' Criminals are terrified of him! If I had his strength, I'd be able to carry out justice even better. That's why I'm trying to become his apprentice!"

"Is that so? Well, good luck with that," Blayn responded casually.

A few moments later, they arrived in front of a large office.

"Captain Ogre is inside," Seryu said.

"Alright, thanks."

Blayn pushed open the door.

Inside, sitting behind a large desk, was a tall, middle-aged man with a vicious scar over his left eye.

Blayn's attention was quickly drawn to the room itself—it was far more extravagant than he had expected.

Was the captain of the Imperial Capital Security Force really living this luxuriously?

"Captain Ogre, this is Vice Captain Blayn. I've brought him here," Seryu said respectfully, saluting again.

"Good," Ogre nodded, giving her a look that signaled she was dismissed.

Turning to Blayn, he spoke in a polite tone.

"Vice Captain Blayn, we don't know much about you, but we do know you're no ordinary man. Looking forward to working with you."

Despite his position, Ogre wasn't putting on airs.

After all, anyone personally endorsed by General Esdeath was not someone he dared to treat lightly.

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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