Shirou's clones number 30 million

"The purpose of the Night Raid is to use assassination to cleanse the darkness in the capital, in response to the revolutionary army."

"Putting aside whether you are righteous or not, and whether this approach is correct or not, your behavior is just causing me trouble."

"The empire is rife with darkness; most nobles are rotten to the core..."

Leone couldn't help but interject:

"Since you know this, why do you still serve the empire? You don't seem like the kind of person who is blindly loyal."

Shirou's lips curled up slightly, and he said:

“Blind loyalty, huh? I am not loyal to anyone, and my fight against the revolutionary army is not to prolong the life of the empire.”

"Then what is it for?"

For hobbies and interests.

Every wicked nobleman is a potential target for me.

Of course, there's no need to explain further.

Some things, even if said aloud, cannot be understood by others, who will assume they are lies or perfunctory.

“I have no need to explain to you, Miss Leone, you are free.”

"Huh...? So that means I can leave anytime?"

"Ah."

"Where are Akame and the others?"

“They’re not ready yet. If they break free of their shackles on their own, I will never stop them from leaving. But now, since they are spoils of war, they should act like spoils of war.”

"Can I stay? Well, I want to leave together after they sober up. I definitely don't mean to stay and freeload."

"Oh...? You think they can break free of their shackles on their own?"

"Yes, it definitely can." Leone nodded solemnly.

"Staying here isn't out of the question. Would you like to be a diner or a maid?"

"Aren't there any other options? Like guards or something?"

"This house doesn't need guards. If you're not satisfied with the diners and maids, I can offer you a new job."

Leone lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

What is a diner? It sounds like someone who just eats for free, but there's probably no such thing as a free lunch; there might be traps involved.

I'm not interested in maids, and besides, they don't seem to suit me.

What is the new job?

"Pet companion".

"What? Did I hear that right? Could you repeat it?"

"Pet companion".

Leone stared at the serious-looking Shirou for several seconds before she came to her senses and cautiously looked at the kitten Chelsea:

"Is that... your pet on your shoulder?"

"That's right. To be specific, it means playing with it, serving it tea and water, doing whatever it wants, and following its commands the whole time. You do whatever it tells you to do."

"Uh... even if you say that, I still can't understand cats talking?"

"You really don't understand?"

"No, I can actually still understand it."

Leone chuckled a few times, staring intently at Chelsea the kitten, thinking to himself:

What are these two up to?

This tone clearly indicates that he knows Chelsea's true identity.

After all, if you were to serve a real kitten, you would never say things like "serving tea and water."

Chelsea, too, knew that her identity had been exposed.

If that's the case, why pretend we don't know each other's identities?

What is the point of this kind of role-playing game?

"How should I address you from now on? Boss? Or Master?"

"Just call me Adris."

“Oh…you’re completely different from other nobles. Well…Adris, can I ask you for a favor?”

"What is it? Speak."

Leone glanced at Chelsea the kitten again, chuckled mischievously, and then said:

"I have a friend who possesses a Teigu (Imperial Arms) that allows her to transform into various small animals, but she seems to have recently gone missing. Could you please help me find her?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not good at finding people, so I can't help you." Shirou shook his head slightly.

At this moment, Leone really wanted to expose Chelsea and break the ice.

But thinking of the two people who might become angry and embarrassed, he fell silent.

Chelsea doesn't have much combat ability, so there's not much to worry about.

But if Adris really gets angry, who knows how he'll treat me?

"Speaking of which, you're already 20 years old, aren't you? Don't nobles usually get married quite early? At your age, most nobles are already married. Even if they're not married, they've already made an engagement."

What are you trying to say?

"You don't have anyone you can marry, right? In that case, why not consider me?"

At that moment, Chelsea, the little cat who had been on tenterhooks, woke up with a start and stared at her in astonishment.

Chapter 127 Unexpectedly, this was a technical task.

Chapter 127, Section 128: Unexpectedly, this is a technical job.

What are you talking about, Leone!

Just kidding, right?

Even so, Chelsea, still in her cat form, couldn't do anything but perch on Shirou's shoulder and look back and forth between him and Leone.

Shirou was also taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Sorry, you're not my type."

"So... what kind of type do you like?"

"That's none of your business. If you have nothing to do, start working."

"Huh...? Work?"

Before Leone could react, he saw him handing over the kitten and quickly reached out to take it.

"I have something to do and need to go out for a while. I'll probably be back tonight. Until then, you should just focus on fulfilling your job responsibilities."

"Ah... oh."

By the time Leone came to her senses, Shirou had already disappeared from her sight.

The next moment, the kitten suddenly transformed back into human form, and Leone was involuntarily pushed to the ground.

"Lei, Ou, Nai. What exactly did you mean by what you just said?"

"To help you."

"He said he'd help me, but what if he actually agreed?"

"That's impossible. He would never agree. You know that deep down, don't you?"

Chelsea fell silent for a moment, then, after a long while, staring into her eyes again, she said softly:

"What about what you said before? Are you so eager to expose me?"

"It's not that I want to expose you, but it's obvious he already knew all along."

Leone sighed speechlessly, then laughed:

"Speaking of which, what exactly are you two doing? He knows you're not the real kitten, and you know you've been exposed, so why are you still so happy playing this role-playing game?"

"Hmm... I'm not enjoying it at all. It's been very hard for me to avoid having my identity exposed." Chelsea unconsciously looked away.

"Really? You must have had a lot of trouble."

Leone paused for a moment, then teased:

"By the way, I'm your pet companion now, hehe... This is the first time I've ever heard of such a profession. It must have been something that guy came up with on a whim."

"That guy said he'd be back tonight, which obviously means you're free to do whatever you want until then."

"In that case, how about we go shopping together?"

“Okay.” Chelsea nodded gently, without objecting.

To be honest, I've been living in the capital for a while now, but I haven't really had a chance to explore the city's streets properly.

……

Shirou left the kitten with Leone for two reasons: firstly, because what he was about to do was too dangerous for her, and secondly, to give her more free time.

After all, Imperial Arms consume a lot of physical strength, and maintaining the cat form for a long time is not good for the body.

As for what to do, it is naturally to hunt dangerous species.

Last night I promised Shirou, the investigator from the ghoul world, that I would prepare some dangerous ghouls as experimental subjects for him, so I might as well prepare a lot now.

"Speaking of which, most dangerous species don't taste good, but there are some exceptions. It's been a long time since I've had that kind of meat. I'll go catch a couple later."

In the past, before sharing power with others, he lacked Observation Haki, sensory magic, and was not skilled in familiar magic, relying entirely on luck to find dangerous species.

Moreover, although he is known as the strongest on earth, there are many forbidden and dangerous species in remote places such as wilderness and mountains that he must deal with with caution.

But now, things are completely different.