Even if I transform, I will never be captured.

Satella tilted her head and smiled brightly: "Even if you knew, what could you do about it?"

"—!"

"Frozen!"

Satella snapped her fingers in a very cool way... but it didn't ring. However, that didn't matter. What mattered was that at the same time Satella shouted those words, even though Minister Ernest was trying his best to dodge, the extreme cold still quickly froze his lower body.

"This is... an Imperial Arms?!"

He tried to struggle but couldn't break free. Ernest's face darkened. "Miss Satella, is this how you ask for help?"

“Attitudes are subjective and vary from person to person,” Satella shrugged.

—Perhaps from a purely pragmatic standpoint, temporarily cooperating with Minister Ernest and then betraying him after completing the mission would have been the wisest decision…but it just wasn’t possible!

Essentially, Satella is a girl who clearly distinguishes between love and hate. She would risk her life to protect the people she likes, but she wouldn't even glance at the people she dislikes.

And without a doubt, Minister Ernest was the latter.

However, this is not the reason why Satella suddenly turned her back on her.

If you were to ask for the real reason, it would be—

"The weak are attacked because they possess wealth, that's all."

This is the lesson Satella learned in "Akame ga Kill!", and it is also the most suitable lesson for this world.

Satella needed Ernest's help, but she was unwilling to lower herself to ask him directly, so she chose to approach Ernest, who was weaker than her.

"Since I'm stronger than you, why should I ask you anything? Wouldn't it be better to order you around?"

As Satella said this, she shrugged, and at that moment, a sinister smile appeared on Ernest's lips.

"There's a flaw!"

Snapped!

Before Satella’s incredulous eyes, the ice on Ernest’s body suddenly shattered, and then the decorative headband on his head cracked open in the middle, revealing the gem inside.

hum!

A laser-like light radiated from the center of the gem, causing Satella, caught off guard, to instinctively avert her gaze.

"Naive! Utterly naive!"

Minister Ernest burst into maniacal laughter: "Use your childish brain to think! If I were so easily subdued, how could I have survived to this day? I, on the other hand, am a product of the Imperial Fist Temple and have undergone rigorous training! Now your Imperial Arm has been destroyed by my Imperial Arm, [Ireston]. You, weak and powerless, what can you possibly use against me—"

The sound abruptly stopped, and Ernest stared at the girl in disbelief, his jaw nearly dropping.

"It must have been really difficult for you to explain it so clearly."

Satella conjured a giant ice hammer in her hand with ice magic, hoisting it onto her shoulder with a calm expression, as if everything was under her control. Her beautiful red eyes were as serene as a lake with ripples on the water...

What a load of rubbish!

She was cursing him out in her heart, okay?!

Damn, this modification is monstrous!

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Ernest was clearly a master of the Imperial Fist Temple, but in the anime he was portrayed as a complete weakling with no fighting ability! Also, his Teigu form was supposed to be a headband, but in the anime it was changed to a ring!

Did you almost capsize in the gutter?

If I could travel back in time, I would definitely beat that animation writer to a pulp!

Leaving aside Satella's resentful thoughts, Ernest was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he cried out in a trembling voice, "Why...why can you still use Imperial Arms?!"

"Who knows? Maybe your Imperial Arm is a fake?"

Satella curled the corners of her lips, raised the giant hammer in her hand, and walked towards Ernest.

"—!"

Faced with a powerful 'Teigu user', Ernest instinctively wanted to escape, but only then did he realize that his feet had been frozen solid.

This momentary misjudgment cost him his last chance.

Posing like she was playing whack-a-mole, Satella brought her giant hammer down towards Ernest's head—

Duang!

With a dull thud, Ernest's eyes glazed over, and he bounced around like a zombie.

However, he persisted in not fainting because he believed he could still turn the tide!

"This is my lair! My bodyguards, the Four Demon Rakshasa—"

boom!

As if in response to his words, a headless corpse smashed through the door and fell in front of him.

A girl with long, ice-blue hair walked in, waved the severed head in her hand, and sneered, "Although it took some effort, if the Rakshasa Four Demons you mentioned are this guy, then I have already killed him."

"..."

Ernest's vision went black, and he completely fainted.

Author's Note:

P.S. Many readers might not believe it, but I actually spent eight hours writing this chapter... I feel like I've completely drained myself during the two weeks I spent at home for the Chinese New Year. Even thinking of a title took me more than twenty minutes; I feel like a complete wreck.

Chapter 110 The Deal with Ernest

"Well then, thank you for your time today, Minister Ernest. We'll come again next time."

"Then I look forward to Miss Satella's next visit."

Satella and Ernest were saying goodbye at the gates of Minister Ernest's residence. Their farewell was so intimate that a stranger might mistake them for longtime friends.

However, only they themselves know exactly how they feel.

Anyway, Satella hated Ernest from the bottom of her heart, so it wouldn't be strange for her to kill him after using him.

Moreover, Satella believed that Ernest must have thought the same thing.

When Satella emerged from Lord Ernest's residence, it was around 10 a.m., the busiest time of day in the city.

Look around.

The bustling capital city basked in the sunlight, with elegantly dressed people moving in and out of buildings. Sometimes they bought things from the surrounding stalls, and sometimes they browsed clothing stores, keeping the lively atmosphere in the air alive. Soldiers in armor occasionally passed by on the streets.

No matter how you look at it, it appears to be a scene of peace, prosperity, and perfect order.

However, Satella knew that those dressed in finery were nobles, and those soldiers in armor were the nobles' guards.

As for ordinary people, they are all working hard at this time, so how can they have time to go out shopping?

In short, this is a decadent city disguised as prosperity, and Satella naturally attracts a lot of attention as she walks its streets.

However, unlike the appreciation and amazement felt in the worlds of A Certain Magical Index and Konosuba, those gazes were nothing short of naked possessiveness, which disgusted Satella.

The situation improved considerably when Satella put on the hood of her cloak, but the thought of living in the city for three years still filled her with an indescribable sense of unease.

Suddenly, she felt a tap on the shoulder.

"Hey."

The one who spoke was Esdeath, "What do you think about what Ernest mentioned?"

Satella paused slightly: "What is it?"

"What else?" Esdeath's icy blue eyes gleamed slightly, and a wild and eager smile appeared on her face: "Assassinating Gozchi, of course!"

—Clearly, Esdeath is excited about this.

Satella tilted her head slightly.

Well, for a battle maniac like Esdeath, this is quite normal.

After all, that Gozchi is known as the 'strongest man in the empire'!

Two hours earlier, Satella had used magical devices that blocked sound from several locations within the Ernest mansion to kidnap Ernest.

—Calling it a kidnapping isn't quite right, in fact, the following conversation still took place in the drawing room of the Osnet mansion.

However, Ernest, as the master, was the one who was tied up.

After Ernest was brought to his knees with a slow-acting poison, the rest of the conversation was very simple.

In a commanding tone, Satella directly demanded to meet with Akame and Kurome.

However, upon learning that both were members of the Imperial assassination squad, Ernest's response was as follows:

"I don't know where you heard this news, but the Empire's assassination squad was only established three years ago. It's an elite force specifically trained to eliminate dissidents for the Empire. The children selected are all pure and innocent. In order not to affect their education, no outsiders are allowed to come into contact with them. The head of the assassination squad is Bill, the Minister of Intelligence. He's a loyal royalist and doesn't listen to my orders at all."

At this point, Ernest did not yet wield the immense power depicted in the original story, so his response was not entirely unexpected.

Upon hearing his reply, Satella tilted her head and said, "Then I'll go find that Bill. As for you..."

The threat in his words immediately alarmed Ernest, who shouted, "Wait a minute, Bill is the head of the intelligence department, and he's always on the move. Even if you wanted to find him, you wouldn't be able to! And even if you did find him, it's hard to say whether those die-hards would back down—actually, I have a suggestion."

Seeing that Satella remained silent, he quickly continued, "Why don't we cooperate? With Miss Satella's martial prowess combined with my authority and intelligence—I'll find Bill, and Miss Satella will be responsible for assassinating him. Then I'll use my power to put you in charge of the assassination squad. Finding two people won't be difficult then."

For Ernest, the position of commander of the assassination squad was indeed very important, but if he could use such a position to bring a powerful Teigu user and a girl of the level of the Four Demon Rakshasa into his camp, it would be a win-win situation no matter how you looked at it.

—Of course, the most important reason is that my life is now in the other party's hands.

Satella had no reason to refuse such a proposal, and after thinking about it, she agreed.

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After seeing that Satella agreed, Ernest pointed out a few things that needed special attention.

First: Satella should participate in the upcoming martial arts tournament and achieve a good ranking, so that he will have a reason to promote Satella.

Second: Bill has a close friend named Gozchi, who is currently the instructor of the 'elite seven assassination squad' and treats them as his personal property. Rumor has it that he even makes the kids call him 'Dad'. If you want to get involved in the assassination squad, you have to be prepared to confront him. The best way is to kill him as soon as possible. After all, Satella is in the shadows, while the other party is in the open. If you wait until you kill Bill before you make your move, the situation will be reversed.

……

Just thinking about the conversation made Satella rub her face in frustration.

Originally, the reason she went to see Ernest was to avoid that martial arts tournament.