"The King of Danger Beasts."

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"Alright, let's get started."

Minato looked at Esdeath as he played with the demonic chess piece and said, "Take off your clothes."

"Huh?"

Esdeath blinked in surprise.

Take off her clothes?

For placing the chess piece?

Something clicked in her mind. "Do the pants come off too?"

"..." Minato.

Did she misunderstand something?

This is not where he thought this was going...

Shaking his head, Minato clarified, "Just your coat. Face me like that, and it's enough."

Oh, just that?

For some reason, Esdeath felt a little... disappointed.

She glanced at Minato's handsome face.

Well, there'll be other chances in the future.

"This woman… she's dangerous."

Watching everything unfold, Leone's eyes sharpened.

"Esdeath is one of us now, not an enemy."

Akame gave Leone a light pat. "Don't be hostile."

Akame, do you really get what's going on here?

We were here first, you know.

Leone covered her face with one hand, unsure how to explain.

At that moment!

Esdeath had already taken off her outer coat, and her figure surged like waves.

Watching closely, Minato placed the demonic chess piece onto her body.

"Mm..."

Esdeath let out a soft gasp, a faint blush creeping onto her face.

Even if she's a cold-blooded killer, she's still a woman...

Instinctively, she glanced at Minato.

Master... seems to be really enjoying this?

The thought made the corners of Esdeath's lips curl up as she locked eyes with him.

But soon, a dark red magic circle began to glow and rise from her body.

Her expression started to shift.

Her body was changing.

So hot... Like something powerful was rising from deep inside her.

The next moment—

Two bat-like wings spread wide from her back.

With a whoosh, a long demonic tail sprang out and started swaying behind her.

"Damn… that's long…"

Minato's eyes flickered.

Among all his subordinates, Esdeath's tail was the longest.

"Master, want to touch it?"

Esdeath smiled and swung her tail playfully in front of him.

Minato grabbed it without hesitation and began squeezing it.

"Ahh...!"

Her body trembled. She felt like she was burning up all over.

"Is it nice, Master?"

She looked at Minato, her ice-blue eyes glistening like they were about to cry.

"Heh heh."

Minato chuckled and finally let go of the tail.

But Esdeath didn't pull it back. Instead, she kept swaying it in front of him like she was teasing.

"..." Leone.

Ughhhh… Is this really the same woman who once terrified the entire empire?

She looks more like a mischievous seductress now.

I don't think I can compete with that...

"Are you trying to provoke me?" Minato asked with a smile.

Lately, all his new subordinates seemed bolder than the last.

"How could I, my Master?"

Esdeath replied with a sultry look in her eyes, though she finally pulled her wings and tail back into her body.

She hadn't forgotten that Akame and Leone were still watching.

Being ogled by others? Not now. Not yet.

After Esdeath became his subordinate, the entire empire was shaken again.

The officials who had hoped her return would bring reform had given up all hope.

Many started begging just to be spared.

Meanwhile, Minato had a lot more free time.

When he wasn't reading, he was guiding a few subordinates in their training.

But more importantly—

It was time to deal with Teigu.

"My lord, this is the Teigu technology we've reconstructed based on records from the royal archives."

A group approached Minato and handed him a thick notebook.

They were the empire's top alchemists.

Leading the group was none other than Dr. Stylish.

Now that Minato controlled the empire, this man was naturally under his command too.

[Origin +15]

[Origin +17]

As Minato looked over the documents, his eyes lit up.

No doubt about it—this Teigu tech was the real deal.

Based on his experience, fake junk wouldn't boost his Origin Points at all.

Looking at the group, he nodded in approval. "Not bad. You've done well."

"It's an honor to serve you, my lord."

Dr. Stylish bowed respectfully. "However, while we've recreated the technique, making powerful Teigu requires rare materials."

"The hardest to get are... the Super-Class Danger Beasts."

Minato put the documents away. "So, what's the bottom line? Got any leads?"

"My lord," Dr. Stylish replied, "aside from a few well-known Super Danger Beasts, there's a legend about the King of Danger Beasts, deep in the Far West."

"It's said that the Empire once tried to hunt it to create a Teigu—but they failed every time."

He didn't need to say more.

The meaning was clear: to forge the ultimate Teigu, that so-called 'King' was the perfect material.

"So something like that actually exists, huh?"

Minato's eyes gleamed.

This wasn't mentioned in the original story.

Then again, this was the real world—of course there'd be secrets hiding out there.

After all, he had crossed dimensions into this one, hadn't he?

"Looks like I'll have to pay this Danger Beast King a visit someday."

In his mind, this legendary beast was already marked as raw materials.

Just then, Najenda entered the room, her expression serious.

"What's up?"

Minato waved off the alchemists and asked calmly.

"The Revolutionary Army is on the move," Najenda reported. "They've gathered nearly a million troops. At their current pace, they'll reach the capital soon."

"What's our move?"

"They finally made a move, huh? Took them long enough."

Minato grinned. "Go find Esdeath and the others. Wipe their army off the map."

"Oh, and one more thing—the Emperor's basically useless now. Let him unleash that Supreme Teigu of his and burn out what little usefulness he's got left."

Once these small matters were out of the way, it would be harvest time.

This world's supernatural knowledge might help him level up again.

Most importantly, supernatural technology could be developed and improved.

That meant this world could be milked for gains for a long time.

And bringing peace and prosperity to the people?

That was just a nice little bonus.

"Yes, Lord Demon."

Najenda nodded, her face unreadable.

Her worldview had already been completely turned upside down during this time.

She now understood—sure, a million troops sounded terrifying...

But to beings like him?

It wasn't even worth mentioning.

"....."