I love time travel the most!

Lubbock followed up with words of comfort: "Tatsumi, although you are still inexperienced, you are surprisingly talented. Brand also thinks highly of you and always says that you will definitely surpass him in the future."

"That's right, big sister also believes you will become a good man, and then you will belong to big sister." Leone affectionately rubbed Tatsumi's little face, dispelling his sad expression.

Akame nodded in agreement: "I believe in Brand, and I believe in Tatsumi."

"...Thank you everyone."

Tatsumi wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, put away his sadness, and chose to cheer up again.

Everyone supported and encouraged each other, creating a harmonious and joyful atmosphere.

But that won't do!

Although they have all grown, they are absolutely no match for Esdeath in their current state, and they are even more certain of this after witnessing her strength.

If you can only grow by lacking companions every time, then...

Kobayashi said slowly, "I'm leaving Night Raid."

He made a startling statement as soon as he opened his mouth.

The crowd, who were still trying to rouse themselves, suddenly stopped, and the warm and inviting lobby instantly fell silent. Everyone stared at Xiaolin in disbelief.

"Wha...what?"

"Withdraw from the night raid?"

"Saying he's going to quit or something, hahaha, Kobayashi, you're really joking."

"Exactly, that joke is so lame."

Everyone laughed it off, but when they saw Xiaolin's serious expression, they realized the seriousness of the problem.

"It's a lie, it's fake!"

Leone spoke first, demanding, "Why, why are you saying you're quitting now?!"

Najendan was also puzzled.

She asked in confusion, "What made you decide to quit Night Raid? Let me hear your reasons."

"The reason... Leone should know it best."

Kobayashi closed the book and said in a low voice, "After witnessing that person's terror, you can still laugh and joke. I have to say, Leone, you really are thick-skinned."

"Leone, you secretly ran away to see Esdeath?"

Najendan turned to ask if it was true.

"Ah, Kobayashi and I did go to see Esdeath, and Kobayashi even had a conversation with her at the time."

Leone bluntly revealed her whereabouts, but at the same time asked angrily, "Did you become too afraid to confront her after seeing her, and immediately switched sides?! Answer me, Kobayashi!"

"How could that be? I just simply felt that I couldn't beat her with my current Night Raid... with my current strength."

Kobayashi's muttering made the Night Raid members think he had ulterior motives, but regardless, Kobayashi decided to leave Night Raid.

Do you think you can just back out now?

Leone clenched her fist and said angrily, "Coward! I'll correct your cowardly thinking and beat you until you never say you're quitting again!"

“You’ve got one thing wrong, Leone. I’ve never joined Night Raid.”

"……Aha?!"

"Yes, I have never said that."

Kobayashi slowly stood up from his seat and calmly looked at them: "It was you who just assumed I was your companion."

"What did you say……"

Kobayashi's words completely enraged Leone.

There are reasons for the deaths of companions, reasons for Kobayashi's withdrawal, and reasons related to Esdeath.

In short, she is very angry right now.

"Why, why would you say that!" Tatsumi demanded. "Aren't we comrades? If not, then why are you working with us to clean up the Imperial parasites?"

"Because we share the same philosophy. And... just like you need to pay for meals and room fees to sleep, I'm just paying for accommodation."

Kobayashi said something even more unacceptable.

"Is it just considered an equivalent exchange?! Kobayashi! You... bastard!" The enraged Leone instantly activated her Teigu and transformed into a lion woman.

"Leone, your next sentence is... So what do you consider our relationship to be? Just something to chat and have fun with?"

"Then what do you consider our relationship to be? Just something to add to our casual conversation?... Ah!"

Leone's anger paused for a moment.

Kobayashi slowly put away the book in his hand, his eyes seemingly seeing through them, and said to her and everyone present, "It's because of this impulsiveness that your thoughts are so easy to guess, Leone, and of course, the same goes for you."

"You're right, we're not mature enough yet."

Najenda readily admitted the shortcomings of Night Raid, while also expressing surprise: "But I didn't expect Kobayashi to grow so quickly. Now we can't let you leave, whether it's preventing Night Raid's intelligence from leaking or your talent, both are things we need."

As she spoke, the Night Raid members all took out their Imperial Arms and subtly surrounded Kobayashi, just like when he first came, except that two people were missing.

But unlike his previous swift surrender, this time Kobayashi was confident.

This made the Night Raid members slightly uneasy.

"Speaking of which, it seems you don't know about Liu Zi's abilities yet, so don't underestimate her."

"what?!"

The night raiders rushed towards Kobayashi at lightning speed.

Even in such a critical moment, he remained very confident, and even whispered, "Don't worry, I will not reveal any information about you. I guarantee it with my integrity."

Because they are still needed to restrain Esdeath.

Leone has the strongest burst of power and is also the fastest.

She reached out and grabbed Kobayashi: "Stay here with me!"

"Sorry, that's impossible." Kobayashi smiled, waved, and said softly, "Goodbye, everyone."

Swah——

Time seemed to have been cut off, and Kobayashi, who was so close, suddenly disappeared.

The group's attacks landed on thin air.

"Damn it! What do you mean by guaranteeing it with your personal integrity? How can anyone believe your words?!"

Leone angrily pounded the ground with both fists, creating a large hole in the floor. Unfortunately, Kobayashi did not hide under the floor; he had indeed disappeared.

Najendan remained calm and lit a cigarette.

After thinking for a moment, he ordered the remaining men: "Abandon this base and relocate immediately. Also, do not appear in the capital for the time being, and list Kobayashi as an enemy... When you meet him again, show no mercy!"

Esdeath is already troublesome enough; if Kobayashi is added to the mix, the consequences are unimaginable.

Most importantly, they didn't even know about Liu Zi's abilities after all this time!

Although Kobayashi's active role in deliberately covering up Ryuu's relationship with her was also a factor, it was indeed their dereliction of duty not to investigate the abilities of the Imperial Arms. The information should be sent back to headquarters as soon as possible so that they can allocate some manpower to search for the Imperial Arms' abilities!

Honestly, this is getting more and more troublesome.

------

Back mountain

"Hey, have you kept us waiting, everyone?"

Kobayashi and Ryuu suddenly appeared and greeted the three people who had been waiting for them.

"Well, it has been a bit long. But knowing what you're going to do makes me less anxious. How about it, everyone must be pretty angry."

"Of course!"

Hearing him say that, Kobayashi poured out his grievances and couldn't help but complain, "Especially after you died, when I suggested leaving again, those guys wanted to chop me into several pieces."

"Hahaha! There's nothing we can do about it, everyone cares about Kobayashi after all."

"Thank you so much."

Kobayashi rolled her eyes at him, then looked at the third person.

"General, you don't seem very happy."

"I am no longer a general, but a servant."

He kept a low profile, but even with his usual composure and calmness, he couldn't help but ask, "I'm happy for you all because you're so happy, but I still need to confirm, is it really possible to save my master?"

"Ah, I assure you with it."

Kobayashi pointed to the green eye pattern on his forehead.

"Can you see the future with the Imperial Arms...?" He nodded knowingly, but then asked with a puzzled look, "If it can revive me, why not revive my two colleagues as well?"

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm not a junk collector. I'm judging people too, okay?"

Kobayashi said with disdain, "Those two guys aren't as calm and collected as you, General. If they were to come back to life, they would definitely cause a huge scene. Besides, they're completely useless, and we need a body to cover up the mess, don't we?"

"really."

He seemed to be convinced.

“Nageshita is right, talent is the most important thing.” Kobayashi said with a regretful look, “Unfortunately, we only have the Shogun’s Ring as our Teigu right now. By the way, you use your Teigu Tatsumi very well, so you don’t need to worry.”

"I knew he could do it! After all, he's the man I've always liked!"

"Yes, yes, you are right."

He waved his hand dismissively.

"Alright, alright, what should we do next?"

Kobayashi pinched her chin and thought carefully for a moment before coming to a conclusion: "As expected... dark and cruel things don't suit me. I still prefer the lighthearted and cheerful style of Kobayashi and Suharu."

The corrupt empire was beyond saving, but he didn't want the rebels to occupy the capital.

Got it!

Kobayashi gazed at a certain cult in the distance, a pleased smile spreading across his face: "Hey, the Kingdom of Axis... don't you think it's a pretty good name?"