Dumbfounded

Akame spent the night watching Garou as he meditated in silence. She remained curled up against the cave wall, too exhausted to move yet too restless to sleep. The flickering fire cast shifting shadows across the cave, making his unmoving figure seem even more unnatural. His presence was suffocating—not because he did anything, but because of what he represented. The man who had caused her and her friends so much trouble and pain sat there, still and at peace, as if none of it had ever mattered.

She wanted to say something, to challenge him again, to force him to explain himself further. But what was there to say? Her thoughts spiraled in circles, replaying their conversation, forcing her to confront an uncomfortable truth: their battle had been meaningless. The weight of it all pressed down on her, it made her already aching body feel like stone.

For hours, she remained still, barely shifting as she fought against her own thoughts. She tried to tell herself that Garou was wrong, that the Revolutionary Army was different from the Empire, that their fight meant something. But his words kept digging into her mind like a splinter she couldn't remove. She had spent years believing she was fighting for justice, yet now she wasn't sure what that even meant anymore.

The night dragged on. Her exhaustion grew unbearable, yet she couldn't let her guard down around him. Every time her eyelids grew heavy, she would jolt awake, her instincts screaming at her to stay alert. But Garou never moved, never even acknowledged her presence. He simply sat there, breathing steadily.

Eventually, morning arrived. The fire had long since died out, leaving behind only faint embers. Akame's body was stiff and sore, her muscles protesting as she forced herself upright. She had barely slept, and it showed in the dull haze clouding her mind.

Garou finally stirred. He opened his eyes and looked at her, expression unreadable. Then, as she reached for her sword and tested her footing, he spoke.

"Since moving doesn't seem to trouble you anymore, I'll be taking my leave."

He turned without another word and began walking toward the cave entrance. His casual dismissal irritated her, but she didn't have the energy to respond. Instead, she simply watched as he stepped into the daylight, his figure shrinking into the distance.

She let out a long sigh, a mixture of relief and exhaustion washing over her. He was gone. But the weight in her chest remained.

With tired steps, she started her journey back to the Revolutionary Army camp. The sun felt too bright, the air too heavy. Every movement was sluggish, and her mind, already worn down from battle and exhaustion, refused to settle. The conversation from yesterday echoed relentlessly. How could she explain this to the others? That Garou truly wasn't their enemy? That those who had died… had died for nothing?

Losing friends and comrades always hurt. But knowing they had died in vain—knowing she had been part of the cause—was unbearable.

She walked, her expression dark with unspoken grief. She didn't want to think about it anymore. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling that something inside her had changed forever.

______________________

Hours later, Garou arrived at the capital and made his way straight to the orphanage. When he was a corner away from the orphanage, he heard Budo's voice screaming madly, Garou frowned as he fastened his pace.

Upon turning around the corner, he couldn't help but get shocked. The twin and the little emperor were fighting against each other, or to be more exact, the poor emperor was being ganged on by the two. Garou watched as the twins were thrashing the poor boy. In addition, Budo was standing at the side screaming madly, cheering for the little emperor while not forgetting to insult and threaten the twins. Garou was shocked by the great general attitude, was this the same strict general from before? Another thing he noted was a group of soldiers behind the general passing money to the other children from the orphanage with disheartened looks while others taking money from the children with happy faces. Were they betting? Garou wondered.

"What is going on here?" Garou asked which made everyone stop in their tracks.

Everyone turned around looking surprised to see Garou, Ari and Eren were the first to react followed by the beaten emperor.

"Teacher!" All of them said

"Care to explain why the three of you were fighting? And what do you and your soldiers think yourselves doing?" Garou asked the children first before his stare moved to the Budo and continued his second question.

"Cough…'' Budo faked a cough trying to retain his deposition and get rid of this embarrassing situation. He then said "His majesty came here for a specific purpose and the spar was needed to prove how foolish the others could be" At the end, he gave the twins a glare promising pain.

"What about your soldiers? Why were they betting on the fight with the other children?" Garou asked again.

The general became stunned for a moment before turning around to look at his soldiers, who were sweating as they avoided his gaze. One of the soldiers glanced at the general and their eyes met. The general eyes had nothing but fury in them, the soldier shivered as he spoke hastily "I B.BET ON HIS MAJESTY"S VICTORY" then he pointed his fingers at the soldier next to him and said "HE BET THAT HIS MAJESTY WILL BE BEATEN UP" making the poor guy pale in terror.

The general's eyes had a burning fury inside them as he screamed "ARE YOU STILL ROYAL GUARDS? YOU DAMNED FOOLS, I SHALL PUNISH YOU ALL MYSELF"

"You are no better than them, I could hear your scream from afar" Garou commented.

The general heard Garou but didn't look or react to him, he was too embarrassed to even look at Garou. He continued scolding the guards ignoring everything else.

"Teacher! Why did you come back early? I thought it would take you a few days or even more than a week to come back" The little emperor asked while nursing his bruises.

"I got what I wanted and it was boring to stay there, so I came back. And again, why were you fighting like that? Even if it is a spare, why two vs one?" Garou said.

"Because he thought he was great and mighty" Ari said with a huff.

"He thought he was strong enough to do whatever he wanted." Eren added

Garou was now more curious than before. As he looked at the three pupils of his. Two of them were angry and acting arrogantly, while the third, who is an emperor, is looking down depressed.

"Welcome back, Garou" Himiko came from the inside and said with a smile.

"Thanks. Do you know what is going on here?" Garou asked her, as he felt it was pointless to ask the children or the stupid soldiers.

Himiko started laughing, while Garou frowned again [ What the hell is going on here? I was absent for two days only ]

"Sorry.." Himiko said while trying to contain her laughter "It is just his majesty who came to propose an engagement to Ari. He wanted her to be his fiance and future wife. But she and Eren refused immediately saying he was not good enough for her and he was too weak. And so, the fight broke to prove he was qualified"

Once she finished speaking, she started laughing again, while Garou was now even more confused and shocked. He turned to the depressed emperor and said "Where did you get the idea from? Aren't you too young for this? "

The emperor looked up with shame as he said "The prime minister has pointed out that I came of age and I need to find a suitable fiance, while the marriage should be postponed a few years until I'm a little older. He also suggested a few candidates of what he deemed fit. But I didn't like any of them, I prefer Ari as she is beautiful, smart and a fellow student under you"

Garou was now staring dumbly at them. At this moment, he was truly stunned beyond words, and for the first time, he lost his focus to the point he was defenceless. Even Esdeath's antics couldn't make him reach this point. Garou's head moved slowly to the general and asked dumbly "Hey Budo, you didn't object to this?"

Budo stopped shouting and scolding and look at Garou seriously then he replied " A stronger wife means stronger and better heirs"

The great general clearly didn't mind, he was a practical man. In his opinion, Ari was better than the noble girls, she was not arrogant nor spoiled. Moreover, he saw her courage, strength and how hardworking she was first hand. He naturally wouldn't object.

On the other hand, Garou finally facepalmed himself.

______________________

In the palace, the prime minister stormed through his chambers, his face red with fury.

"That worthless brat! How could this happen?" he seethed. "I offered him the finest, most noble girls in the empire, and yet he chose a filthy orphan? An orphan, of all things! I was supposed to keep him under my thumb!"

His fist slammed against the table, rattling everything on it. His breathing was ragged, his mind racing with rage.

"This is all his fault!" he spat. "First, Esdeath makes him her obsession, then the emperor starts listening to him and ignoring me! That damned street rat… I won't let this continue!"

His expression darkened, his lips curling into a twisted scowl.