Byn immediately realized what Kurome was referring to—she wanted to head to Seiga Cave in search of a hibernating Super-Rank Danger Beast.

  "Of course I haven't forgotten."

  Byn replied.

  "Then we can leave today or tomorrow."

  Kurome said right away.

  "Let’s go today. The sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll be back. It’d be best if we return while everyone is still on break."

  Byn hoped Kurome would have a chance to enjoy some rest as well.

  "Seryu, while they’re out exploring the Imperial Capital, I’ll leave them in your care."

  He turned to Seryu. With her protecting them, he could be at ease.

  "Leave it to me!"

  Seryu lifted Koro in her arms and decred, "If we run into any evildoers, Koro and I will judge them in the name of justice!"

  Byn flicked her forehead.

  "I told you not to keep going on about justice and evil all the time."

  "Uhh... I got it..."

  Seryu lowered her head obediently.

  Before leaving, they took Yasha to receive medical treatment, heading straight to the base’s research personnel. Byn and Seryu accompanied her.

  ...

  "It’s the toxin of a Special-Css Danger Beast—Verdant Chryseis. It doesn’t seem too severe, so she must have taken the antidote in time. However, recovering from the physical weakness will be difficult."

  "Medicine has its limits. If it were a normal toxin, it could be neutralized with basic antidotes."

  The researchers were assessing Yasha’s condition.

  Though they didn’t say it outright, they were surprised that Byn hadn’t simply "disposed" of her.

  If it had been the previous commander, that would have been the outcome without question.

  After all, the researchers had participated in such "disposals" before.

  "No matter how difficult, as long as she can recover, that’s all that matters. I’ll leave her treatment in your hands."

  Byn said.

  "As long as you approve."

  The researcher nodded.

  "From now on, she should come in for treatment every night. Once she resumes training or missions, we can reduce it to once a week."

  They outlined a preliminary pn.

  "No need for that. Until she’s fully recovered and able to fight normally, she won’t be participating in training or missions."

  Byn stated firmly.

  "That works too. We’ll follow your orders."

  The researcher agreed, though his curiosity deepened. He couldn't help but remark, "It’s rare to find someone like you in a pce like this."

  Byn chuckled wryly.

  "Yeah, being normal around here makes you the odd one."

  As Byn and the others left, the researcher watched his retreating figure.

  This new commander clearly didn’t understand the full extent of the Assassination Unit’s dark underbelly.

  He couldn’t help but wonder—once he learned the truth, how would he react?

  …

  "Commander Seryu, can I hold Koro?"

  In the break room, a girl hesitantly asked Seryu.

  "Of course!"

  Seryu tossed Koro to her like a stuffed toy.

  The girl panicked but managed to catch Koro, handling him with extreme caution.

  "Koro is actually a Teigu. Without my command, he won’t attack anyone, so there’s no need to be so careful."

  Seryu reassured her with a smile.

  She was ruthless toward enemies but had complete trust in her comrades. She was so open that she casually revealed Koro's nature as a Teigu, something that could be considered a trump card.

  "A Teigu, huh? I’ve heard of biological Teigu before... No wonder Koro was so strong."

  Kelly muttered in amazement.

  The sight of Koro in his massive form, tearing apart Danger Beasts, was still fresh in his mind.

  Truly, a Teigu was on another level.

  Just then, Kurome stood up, signaling that it was time to move out.

  "Kurome, are you really going to Seiga Cave? That pce is way too dangerous."

  "Commander Byn will be with her, so it should be fine."

  "Yeah, and Kurome is a Teigu user. Nothing short of a Super-Rank Danger Beast could be a real threat to them."

  "..."

  Everyone was clearly worried about Kurome.

  But she didn’t expin her reason for going.

  "Don’t worry, I’ll come back safely."

  Kurome assured them.

  With that, she and Byn set off.

  ...

  Seiga Cave was located on the western border of the Empire.

  The journey from the Imperial Capital was long—far too long to travel by horse.

  A horseback trip would take several days, wasting valuable time, so Byn requested a flying mount from the Empire.

  It was a Css-One bird-type Danger Beast.

  Though wild, Danger Beasts could be tamed, and the Empire had an entire division dedicated to training them. Even Esdeath had done it numerous times.

  Records showed that Special-Css Danger Beasts had been successfully domesticated, though Super-Css ones remained untamable.

  Super-Css Danger Beasts, after all, were used as raw materials for many Teigu and existed on an entirely different level from Special-Css ones.

  Byn’s mount resembled an enormous dragonfly, rge enough to carry multiple passengers and significantly faster than a horse.

  "Are you holding on? We’re about to take off."

  Byn reminded Kurome.

  "Mm."

  She grasped his sleeve with one hand.

  "This way, I won’t fall."

  As usual, her other hand clutched her bag of "Kurome’s snacks," never letting go.

  Byn found himself curious once again.

  Before he could say anything, Kurome had already sensed his gaze. Just like st time, she looked up at him with a bnk yet serious expression.

  "I’m not sharing."

  Byn sighed.

  "No, I was just wondering—do you like sweets that much? You always have them with you."

  "I do love sweets, but these cookies also contain medicine. It’s convenient to mix the two."

  Kurome expined.

  "I see… But it seems like you rely on medicine a lot, as if you always need to take it."

  Byn was beginning to suspect this medicine was far from ordinary.

  "Yeah. It’s necessary to maintain our bodily functions. If we don’t take it regurly, we suffer."

  Kurome’s tone was completely ft, as if she were discussing something trivial.

  "..."

  Byn fell silent.

  From her description, this sounded like a drug with severe addiction and withdrawal effects.

  The side effects must be serious—perhaps even worse than he thought.

  "Feed me."

  Kurome suddenly said.

  "...Huh?"

  Byn blinked in confusion.

  "My hands are full. I need you to feed me."

  One hand gripped her snack bag, the other held onto his sleeve. She truly had no free hands.

  She sat there, waiting patiently, looking almost like a kitten expecting to be fed.

  Her expression remained calm—bnk, even—completely unbothered by the situation.

  PinkSnake