[Empire's Capital]
[Outer District's Edge]
Among the countless houses scattered across the Outer District, a single wooden house stood alone.
The building creaked under the weight of its years, its sagging roof and rotting walls barely holding together.
The air inside was thick with the overwhelming stench of spilled booze, decaying food, and neglect.
The unpleasant smell made it difficult for anyone to willingly step inside, yet the house was currently occupied by three intruders.
The unknown intruders were none other than Bulat, Mine, and Tatsumi moved carefully through the dilapidated home.
Previously at the base, following Bulat's detailed account, Najenda had directed Bulat and Mine to address an urgent matter since Lubbock, Akame, and Leone were occupied with their own missions and couldn't join them.
Tatsumi, eager to prove himself had asked to join them and after a full five minutes of banter, Najenda had agreed, though only after he promised to follow Bulat's and Mine's orders without question.
Thanks to Najenda's timely return from the Revolutionary Army's base, the trio had travelled swiftly on a flying Danger Beast she had brought with her.
The beast had carried them to the outer edges of the Empire's capital in just over an hour, a journey that would have taken five hours on land.
Upon arriving, they didn't waste any time. Mine, who shared a close relation with Sheele, led them to the house of Sheele's friend.
However, as they found the house, all three of them had sensed something was amiss when they saw the broken door at the front.
This was a red flag.
Now inside the house, the trio began their investigation in a hurry.
The old, worn-out interior was littered with broken furniture, empty bottles, and chicken bones. Every corner of the room spoke of a life lived in squalor.
"Someone had already searched the entire house," Bulat said as he saw house utensils scattered all around.
He moved toward a dusty table, his sharp eyes narrowing as he spotted a small trail of blood droplets on the wooden floor.
He crouched down, tracing the blood with his fingers, inspecting its colour and texture.
'It's recently enough, likely around twenty to twelve hours ago.' He thought.
He looked up and spoke in a low voice, "This blood is recent. Could've been a struggle, or straight up execution."
Mine, still holding the half-empty bottle of booze, glanced around the room again. "There are no signs of a struggle here," she remarked. "Just objects scattered around, probably from someone searching for something."
Tatsumi scratched his head, still looking puzzled. "Couldn't any of them had just left a letter or something on the table for us to read? If they had left even a single hint, we wouldn't have to go through all this hassle."
Mine shot him an annoyed glance. "And possibly help the Imperial Army or other dangerous people figure out their location, Mr. Genius?" she mocked, rolling her eyes.
But after a moment, a small frown formed on her face. "Though, I do admit, it was reckless of them to leave without telling us or the boss anything. Even, Boss was angry about it. Who knows what she'll do when we get back to the base."
Tatsumi frowned, feeling his worry deepen. "Do you think they could really be in serious danger?"
Mine shook her head firmly. "Who do you think she is? Sheele is one of the best fighters I know. No one's going to take her down without a serious fight."
She continued, her voice more matter-of-fact now. "And that masked bastard Bane is with her. From what I heard, the boss says he's been with the Revolutionary Army for six years and they don't give Teigu to just anyone, so they must've handed him one because he earned it and is compatible with it."
Hearing this, Tatsumi's curiosity sparked. His eyes widened as he asked, "So, if I do well on missions, could I get my own Teigu?"
Mine looked at him like he had just said the most ridiculous thing. "Ha! Look at this idiot. You haven't even been with Night Raid for a month, and you're already thinking about getting a Teigu for yourself?"
Before Tatsumi could snap back, Bulat interrupted, his voice calm as he walked around the room, inspecting for clues. "Don't worry, Tatsumi. Boss always recognizes talent. Seeing your progress, I think she will let you try one if in the near future we recover one. And if you are compatible with it, you might get your own."
"Thanks, brother!" Tatsumi said, smiling.
Mine sighed, clearly impatient. "Enough about Teigu, you moron. You're wasting time with your nonsense. Focus and let me and Bulat find some real clues!"
She scanned the room again, her earlier thoughts drifting back to when she had sensed Bane's killing intent at the base. 'He's definitely not weak,' she thought, remembering the near rampage he almost had after seeing Sayo's condition.
Snapping out of her thoughts, mine continued. "It's more likely they interrogated whoever was living here. Whoever it was, it definitely wasn't Sheele's friend. That drunkard was probably using this place for some other reason. They could've tortured him for information and then left in a hurry—"
But she wasn't able to complete at Tatsumi's sudden scream cut her off.
"Ahhh!! Something's in my pants again!"
The young man started shaking his legs frantically, his hands desperately shoved into his pants. He looked like he was performing some bizarre dance as panic spread across his face.
Mine, instantly annoyed, snapped, "What the hell are you doing, you bastard? Do I really need to blast your pants with Pumpkin to calm you down?!"
Just as she was about to raise her weapon, Bulat stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. "No need for that," he said calmly, his sharp eyes catching something unusual. "Looks like we won't need to look for clues anymore. The answer's right in front of us."
He reached out and, with a quick motion, lifted Tatsumi into his muscular arms, shaking him lightly but firmly.
"Wha—brother, wait! What are you doing!?" Tatsumi yelped, flailing helplessly.
With a final shake, something small and slithering popped out of Tatsumi's jeans. It hit the floor with a faint thud.
A tiny white snake.
The snake slowly uncurled itself, looking up at the trio as if it had done nothing wrong.
Tatsumi, now standing on his feet, pointed accusingly at the snake. "See! I told you there was something in my pants!" he shouted, glaring at Mine.
Mine stared at the snake, unimpressed. "Seriously, you're scared of a tiny snake? What kind of man are you? Also, do snakes love your pants or something?"
Ignoring her mockery towards Tatsumi, Bulat bent down to inspect the snake.
"It's not just any snake," he said. His eyes sharpened as he noticed something in the creature's mouth. A small, folded piece of paper wrapped in plastic.
Bulat carefully took the note from the snake's mouth and unfolded it.
All eyes turned to the note in Bulat's hands.
Tatsumi stood silently, remembering what Bulat had told them earlier on their way to the capital.
How he learned something was wrong. The note had been a signal left behind by Bane, meant to activate if he and Sheele ran into danger and couldn't return to base.
The note explained that if anyone from Night Raid was reading this, it meant they were already in trouble.
It also mentioned their destination, Sheele's acquaintance's house, but the reason was unwritten.
At the time, everyone had assumed that Bane had trained the snake to deliver messages, but now, as another snake delivered a similar note, Tatsumi began to rethink things.
A sudden realisation struck him. "Maybe he can control snakes through his Teigu, Jormungandr. He could be sending messages through them. But is it even possible to control snakes from hundreds of kilometres away? If it is... that's insane!"
Bulat shook his head slightly, eyes still on the note. "I don't think that's the case. From what I can tell, he might leave specific snakes with preset instructions, like seeking out one of us if certain conditions are met like just now. I'm not sure how it all works, but it's an effective backup plan, for sure."
"Can he-" Before Tatsumi could ask another question, Mine kicked him in the shin, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Ouch!"
"Stop asking dumb questions, idiot. We're already in a hurry!" she scolded, her face flushed with impatience.
Tatsumi groaned, rubbing his shin, but wisely chose to stay quiet as Bulat diverted his attention and started to read the note.
[A/N : just one more chapter for some action!]