Shirou's clones number 30 million

"That being said, I think you gave yourself away from the very beginning."

"From what I've observed, he doesn't like small animals at all, but he's particularly fond of the kitten you turned into."

"You understand what this means, right?"

"Because the kitten I transformed into is exactly his type?" Chelsea said subconsciously.

"How did you become so stupid? You were quite smart at first." Leone looked at her speechlessly. "The answer is obvious. You gave yourself away from the start."

"Huh...? Then why did he do that?"

"Perhaps it's because it's interesting."

"Sigh... Actually, I thought of it a long time ago, but I just didn't dare to admit it."

"So... are you planning to continue like this?"

"What do you recommend?"

"Find a good opportunity to confess your feelings."

"Understood, I will find an opportunity to confront him."

As soon as she finished speaking, Chelsea suddenly realized what she had said, her face flushed red, and she stammered, "..."

"What...what are you talking about? What is a confession? I don't understand what you're saying at all."

"Hehe... You really don't understand?" Leone chuckled mischievously for a while, then said, "You actually have quite a few opponents. First of all, there's Esdeath. She's very strong, the second strongest after Esdeath."

"Moreover, they were childhood sweethearts and have known each other since they were young. Many people would believe they were a couple."

“If Esdeath hadn’t moved to the princess’s residence, you really wouldn’t have had any chance at all.”

"Therefore, you must confess now, before Esdeath realizes that you have feelings for her."

"I... how could I possibly like him?" Chelsea instinctively retorted, then stammered again, "Hypothetically, just hypothetically. What do you think the chances of success would be if I confessed?"

"Thirty percent, I guess." Leone held up three fingers and smiled. "Do you need my help?"

Chelsea shook her head repeatedly, denying it:

"No, I didn't intend to do that kind of thing, I was just saying it casually."

Chapter 123 I Want to Pet a Cat Too

Chapter 123, Section 124: I Want to Pet a Cat Too

"Is this the capital? It's definitely different from the countryside."

"Isn't that obvious? Sigh... I wonder how Tatsumi is doing, whether he made it to the capital safely?"

"Don't worry, Sayo, Tatsumi is so smart, he'll be fine!"

On the streets of the capital, a young boy and girl from the countryside were looking around.

"Shayou, let's go to the recruitment office to register first! Then we can explore the capital properly."

"Ah."

However, after walking through many streets and asking passersby, the two still couldn't find a place that resembled a recruitment center.

Just then, a female voice suddenly came from behind them:

"Would you two like to join the army?"

Looking back, the speaker was a blonde beauty dressed in a bold and unrestrained manner, giving off a carefree and easygoing vibe.

“Yes, do you know where the recruitment office in the capital is?” Shayou nodded slightly.

"I'm sorry, the capital's army isn't recruiting right now. However, if you're really interested in joining the army, I do have some connections."

"really?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Shayou realized a problem.

The other party wouldn't help me for no reason; there aren't such kind-hearted people even in the countryside.

"Referral fee, approximately... how much?"

"Oh...you're quite perceptive, young lady. But no need for cash, just buy me a drink."

"Is this all right? Thank you very much."

Afterwards, Sayo and Iyeas followed the blonde beauty to a small tavern.

When they came to their senses, there was no one in front of them, and the money bag containing all their savings had also disappeared.

"Where is she? How did she suddenly disappear?" Iyeas looked around in surprise.

At that moment, Shayou felt a strange sense of unease and quickly asked the tavern owner:

"Did you see our companion who came to the tavern with us earlier? That blonde beauty."

"You mean her? She's long gone." The shop owner paused, then added, "By the way, more than ten people have been swindled out of their money by her at my shop."

"Huh...? That guy who seemed like a good person was actually a liar!" Iyeas couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

“Iyeas, you idiot! Judging by appearances is wrong. It’s obvious we’ve been fooled.”

Sayu looked disappointed and sighed softly.

“I had a feeling something was off earlier. After all, the military doesn’t recruit from outside, yet she claimed to have connections. No matter how you look at it, she doesn’t seem like the kind of person who has connections.”

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I... I thought that as long as I was careful, I would only lose some money for drinks at most. Who would have thought that she would take all our money!"

"So what do we do now?"

"sorry."

"No, Sayo doesn't need to apologize. We were both fooled, so we should each take half the responsibility."

Just as the two were about to leave the tavern, they suddenly found the owner blocking their way and couldn't help but exchange a glance.

"Boss, you haven't forgotten to pay for the drinks, have you?"

What do you think?

"I'm sorry, we're penniless right now. Could you please pay on credit?"

"no!"

"Please make an exception..."

Iyeas suddenly pulled Sayo aside and stepped forward to confront the tavern owner loudly:

"Your tavern has a con artist, shouldn't you also bear some responsibility for this? We didn't drink a drop of wine. Since you know that con artist, go ask her for your money back!"

"You're just too stupid to have been scammed. What does it have to do with my shop? If you're not willing to pay, I'll call the police to arrest you."

"Damn it! We have no money. If you insist, then use my sword as collateral."

"Not enough," the tavern owner uttered simply.

Without the slightest hesitation, Sayo decisively removed her weapon and placed it on the table:

“Then add mine! I don’t know how expensive your wine is, but my sword is a gift from the village chief before I left home. He said it’s the best sword in the whole village.”

"We'll keep it with you for now, and we'll definitely come back to redeem it once we've made some money."

The tavern owner glanced at the sword on the table and nodded slightly:

"Okay, I'll hold it for you for a month. Pay up to redeem it before then. After that, I'll sell it to someone else."

"it is good."

They left the tavern in a disheveled state, penniless and without even the weapons they used for self-defense.

"Shayou, what should we do now? We're penniless and can't afford a hotel tonight. We can't just sleep on the streets, can we?"

Iyeas scratched his head, looking blankly at the passersby on the street.

"Moreover, without weapons, even the desire to go out of the city to hunt dangerous species for money has become impossible."

"Is that even a question? Of course, we need to find that swindler before dark and get the money back. It's a pity we don't know her name, otherwise we could find her much faster."

For the next few hours, the two continued asking around along the street.

The blonde, bold beauty should have been quite eye-catching, but the two of them asked around the whole way and still couldn't find any useful clues.

……

The capital city, the residence of a high-ranking official.

"How's it going? Any new developments?"

Shirou sat in the head seat, petting the cat while asking questions.

"I've replaced some important positions in the capital with my own people, and some governors outside the capital with governors who are my own people. In addition, Esdeath's fame-making plan is progressing smoothly. I've used her name to build several orphanages and military academies..."

As he continued, the minister-like Shirou clone sighed softly, saying with a hint of helplessness:

"Unfortunately, we have too few capable people under our command. If we remove the ministers, the situation will instantly spiral out of control."

"Continue recruiting veterans. Also, launch a training program for veterans, teaching them to read and write. If a large number of veterans are settled in rural towns, our power will be secure."

"No need to explain, I understand. General Bud has never been on a campaign, and his influence in the military has been gradually eliminated by us. Now, the military and military officers are basically our base."

The so-called struggle for power is nothing more than increasing the number of one's own people (expanding one's base), winning over neutral parties, and eliminating enemies.

The minister-like Shirou clone suddenly shifted his gaze to the kitten in his arms and asked with a smile:

"You've been taking this cat everywhere you go lately. It seems quite interesting. Can I pet it too?"

The clone Shirou was created the night before Shirou set off to destroy the Revolutionary Army.

Therefore, he had no memory of what happened after that, and only thought it was an ordinary kitten.

"No," Shirou refused without hesitation.

"Huh...? It's just a kitten, why are you being so stingy? As your clone, I don't even have the right to pet the cat? Don't treat your clone like a human being!"

"No matter what you say, it just won't work."