Chapter 9: Shimotsuki Village

A few days later, they finally arrived at Shimotsuki Village.

"Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to Master Koshiro's dojo?"

"Oh, are you here to learn swordsmanship too?"

"Yes, I've heard great things about it."

"Just follow this road straight ahead, and you'll find it."

"Thank you!"

Ethan and Akame walked along the path. "This is such a peaceful village," Akame remarked.

"Is it?" Ethan, who hadn't experienced the chaos and darkness of Akame's empire, couldn't quite relate.

As they walked, they noticed a group of people in gray cloaks, one of whom had a face so large it couldn't be fully hidden by the hood.

"What the fuck…" Ethan was shocked. He hadn't expected to run into the Revolutionary Army, let alone Emporio Ivankov. (Having only read the manga and watched the anime, he knew the main plot but didn't remember the detailed side stories or cover pages. Don't judge—it had been over a decade, and he couldn't possibly remember everything.)

"Hmm? What's wrong, boy~?" Ivankov noticed Ethan's gaze and the peculiar expression on his face.

"Ah, I was just surprised to see such a... large face. My apologies," Ethan said, quickly regaining his composure.

"Such a polite boy~ No worries, there are many strange people in this world. You'll need to travel more to broaden your horizons, boy~" Ivankov didn't mind. They were setting sail tonight anyway, so even if Ethan reported them to the Marines, it would be too late.

"Understood. Thank you for the advice."

After they parted ways, Ethan glanced back at Akame. If it weren't for him, Akame would have left the empire and joined the Revolutionary Army, becoming the ace of their assassination squad, Night Raid. In other words, Akame had her own ideals of overthrowing a corrupt empire. What if one day she suddenly said, "I want to overthrow the World Government, so I'm joining the Revolutionary Army. Thank you for everything up until now." What would he do then?

"What's wrong?" Akame tilted her head cutely, noticing Ethan's silence as he stared at her.

"Nothing." Ethan, a terminally single straight man in his past life, suddenly felt a wave of depression. He didn't know how to charm women, say the right things, or make them stay. If Akame wanted to leave, he wouldn't be able to stop her or tie her down to his ship, blocking her from pursuing her dreams and goals.

Perhaps sensing Ethan's unease, Akame wrapped both hands around Ethan's right hand and gave him a gentle smile. At that moment, even the sunlight seemed brighter, and the air felt fresher.

"What are they doing?" A voice shattered the moment.

"I don't know," another child's voice chimed in.

"Are they going to kiss?" a third child asked.

Ethan snapped out of it and looked over to see three kids in dojo uniforms, holding bamboo swords. "Tsk…" He clicked his tongue, glaring at the kids who had interrupted them.

"Eek! Scary!"

"Run!"

The three kids bolted toward the dojo at the end of the road.

"Let's go," Ethan sighed.

"Okay."

...

The two entered the dojo and saw a black-haired kid in a white T-shirt, striking a straw-wrapped wooden post with a bamboo sword, producing crisp "thwack... thwack..." sounds.

"Hey, boy, is the dojo master here?" Ethan called out to him.

The child looked up, and Ethan was startled. "Huh…" He realized it was Kuina. 'Oh no, I called her the wrong thing!'

"What's wrong with your eyes?" Akame was baffled by Ethan's inability to tell genders.

"Little girl, is the dojo master here?" Ethan forced a smile and asked again.

"Yes, follow me." Kuina put away her bamboo sword and went to fetch Koshiro.

When they met Koshiro inside the dojo, he asked, "And you are?"

"I'm Ethan Voss, and this is Akame. We're here to learn swordsmanship at your dojo," Ethan introduced himself, pulling out 1,000,000 Berries. "This is the tuition fee."

"That's too much. You don't need to pay that much," Koshiro waved his hands in refusal.