“You’re Senna, right? The Shingu user who took over Prometheus from Tsukushi.”

  “And you’re Kelly, the former captain of Team B.”

  “And you, Joe—I remember you were the captain of Team C.”

  ...

  Byn had everyone introduce themselves one by one, carefully memorizing their faces as he went.

  Thanks to his Mangekyō Sharingan, he had an almost perfect photographic memory.

  For example, he had gnced at the roster back in the carriage, and even now, he still recalled every detail about the individuals on the list.

  Seryu stood beside him, also trying to memorize the names and faces of their new comrades.

  The assassins were growing increasingly surprised—this new manager actually seemed to care about them.

  He wasn’t holding a roster or any kind of notes, yet the moment someone said their name, he could immediately recall information about them.

  This meant that he had already memorized their details beforehand.

  Many of them began to change their opinion of Byn. Whether or not he was strong, at the very least, he seemed approachable. But then again, could this just be a test?

  Considering that possibility, they remained cautious, unwilling to let their guard down.

  Finally, Byn turned to the girl sitting in the corner.

  Although he had never met Kurome before, his memory was sharp. Since her name hadn’t come up yet, it was easy to deduce that the dark-haired, bck-eyed girl must be Kurome.

  Compared to the others, her outfit was somewhat unique—a bck cropped top, a short bck skirt, and thigh-high stockings.

  She had a petite frame, slightly long short hair, and delicate, doll-like features. Her expression was bnk and somewhat dazed.

  In her hands, she held a katana with mysterious characters engraved on the hilt—likely the Teigu Yatsufusa.

  On the table beside her y a bag of snacks, beled Kurome’s Treats.

  “If I’m not mistaken, you must be Kurome?” Byn asked directly.

  “Yes...”

  Kurome blinked, snapping out of her thoughts as she lifted her head slightly to look at him.

  Her gaze was immediately drawn to his blood-red eyes—they were the same color as her sister Akame’s. However, unlike Akame’s, Byn’s eyes had strange patterns swirling within them.

  “Sister...”

  The word slipped from Kurome’s lips instinctively.

  “No, I’m not your sister, Akame. I’m your new manager, Byn.”

  Byn’s voice was calm, cutting off any misunderstanding.

  “Sorry... I got distracted for a moment.”

  Kurome lowered her head slightly.

  She knew, of course, that her sister wasn’t here.

  “It’s fine.”

  Byn turned away, preparing to address the group again.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Seryu opening her mouth, seemingly about to say something to Kurome. Without hesitation, he grabbed the back of her colr and dragged her away.

  He could already guess what she wanted to say—probably something along the lines of Kurome is just, Akame is evil. The st thing he needed was for Seryu to start pushing that ideology onto others.

  “You were originally divided into four teams—A, B, C, and D. But now, with only about twenty of you left, we’ll be merging you into just two teams: A and B.”

  Byn looked at the group. “For now, I’ll be in charge of Team A, and Seryu will handle Team B. We’ll see how it works out.”

  The original team divisions hadn’t been based on strength. The squads had been fairly banced, and he pnned to keep that bance while redistributing them.

  “As for captains—Kurome will lead Team A, and Kelly will remain the captain of Team B.”

  Byn continued, “If anyone has objections, feel free to speak up.”

  Most of the group shook their heads, while a few remained silent.

  They were too used to obeying orders to question them.

  Byn waited a few moments, but no one spoke.

  “Alright, then that’s settled. Starting tomorrow, we begin our first training session under my command.”

  At his words, the expressions of nearly everyone turned serious.

  Every previous training session had resulted in injuries, sometimes even deaths.

  Their former managers had been strict—if someone got hurt, the entire team would be punished with imprisonment.

  And if an injured person couldn’t recover quickly enough, they would be disposed of without hesitation.

  Everyone nodded solemnly, mentally preparing themselves for another round of hellish training.

  ...

  That night, Byn and Seryu remained at the assassination squad’s base.

  Byn spent some time finalizing the next day’s training pn.

  ...

  Early the next morning, Byn and Seryu led the squad out of the Imperial Capital, heading toward a designated location.

  “Commander Byn, what’s our training exercise this time?”

  Midway through the journey, Kelly, the captain of Team B, approached and asked.

  “Hunting Danger Beasts,” Byn replied casually.

  “Hunting Danger Beasts...?”

  Kelly looked surprised.

  The others also showed varying degrees of shock.

  Their past training had almost always been about assassination—killing people, many of whom were even stronger than Shingu users.

  By comparison, hunting Danger Beasts seemed much easier.

  However, none of them dared to rex just yet.

  If the mission required them to hunt special-css or even super-css Danger Beasts, it wouldn’t be easy at all.

  “That’s right,” Byn confirmed. “For this training, the two teams will not be separated.”

  He then eborated, “The targets you need to hunt are: twenty second-css Danger Beasts, ten first-css Danger Beasts, and two special-css Danger Beasts.”

  Byn carried a map marked with locations where Danger Beasts were frequently spotted within the Empire.

  Outside human settlements, the nd belonged to the Danger Beasts.

  Some areas had higher concentrations of them, while others were home to rarer, deadlier ones—special-css or even super-css beasts.

  Upon hearing the details, the assassins’ eyes sharpened.

  Good thing they hadn’t let their guard down—this was going to be brutal.

  At least they wouldn’t have to split up. With Kurome, their strongest member, they had a better chance of surviving the challenge.

  Byn gnced at Kurome. Even during training, she carried that bag beled Kurome’s Treats.

  He found it a bit curious—was it really just snacks?

  Sensing his gaze, Kurome blinked at him, tilting her head slightly.

  Then, as if realizing something, she suddenly pulled the bag closer to her chest, looking at him with a bnk yet wary expression.

  “I’m not sharing.”

  PinkSnake