Honest had indeed considered slipping away quietly.
But the battle had ended too quickly!
Just as the thought of fleeing rose in his mind, Souta had already knocked Esdeath out.
Budo was unconscious.
The palace guards were all down.
Now only he and the young Emperor remained.
And their enemies had multiple Teigu users...
Cold sweat formed at Honest's temples. He held the Anti-Teigu Erastone, capable of destroying other Teigus—a trump card in battle.
But using it came at the cost of shattering its embedded gem.
The gem needed a full week to regenerate and couldn't be used again until then.
It was utterly useless in the current crisis!
"M-Minister, what do we do...?"
The young Emperor was trembling.
"Let's deal with you first!"
Ignoring the Emperor, Honest activated Erastone and aimed it at Souta.
It did absolutely nothing.
Souta glanced at the bloated pig of a man, lifted his hand, and casually waved it through the air.
Smack! A hand formed from condensed air struck Honest across his pudgy face, knocking out all his teeth. His massive body flew down the steps and crashed hard onto the floor, screaming in pain.
Souta ascended the steps and walked up to the throne. With a flick of his hand, a gust of wind tossed the Emperor down the steps, landing him beside the groaning Minister.
Souta claimed the luxurious throne for himself.
Chelsea hurried over, producing a fine handkerchief from her pocket and handing it to him.
Souta wiped his hands and passed it back.
Chelsea accepted it respectfully, but internally, she was full of complaints.
Does he really need to act this over-the-top?
She wanted to punch someone. Could she start now?
Of course, that was just a thought. She'd never say it aloud.
Souta had threatened her: if she didn't cooperate, he'd deactivate her neck's cellular regeneration ability.
What could she do? She was utterly helpless.
After cleaning his hands, Souta leaned back with one leg crossed, resting his cheek on one hand and yawning lazily.
He looked at Najenda and the others below the steps, speaking in a calm tone:
"You can deal with the Minister however you see fit. The Emperor stays as a puppet for stability until a new one is crowned."
Najenda walked up to the groaning Honest and stomped his face viciously.
"You bastard... you finally got what you deserve!"
"Boss, can I handle him?"
Leone walked over, cracking her knuckles.
"You can't kill me! You lowly... mmph!"
Before he could finish his threat, Leone stomped on his mouth, cracking his jaw.
"Hmph. You don't get to resist. Think of how many lives you've ruined, you monster!"
Her voice was full of fury.
No one present felt any sympathy.
This man deserved to die a hundred times over!
"Don't be too hasty."
At that moment, the Path of Peace, the lord stepped in, stopping Leone.
"Huh?" Leone looked puzzled, as if to say, Even our boss agreed to kill him—what, are you playing saint now?
The Lord ignored her and turned to Souta, offering counsel:
"My God, since you've decided to keep the Emperor, Honest no longer has any strategic value. Why not execute him publicly to appease the people?"
"Do you have a plan?" Souta glanced at him.
He wasn't particularly skilled in political maneuvering, preferring direct approaches.
If the Lord had a better idea, Souta didn't mind letting him handle it.
"Yes," the Lord replied respectfully. "To eliminate the Minister's factional poison, we need to know who's involved. Surely the Minister holds that knowledge. Please grant me access to that memory—I'll work with Night Raid to carry out the purge."
Souta waved his hand. A flash of golden light flickered.
Immediately, the Lord's mind filled with an assassination list.
Souta didn't stop there. He erased the memories of the palace guards and teleported them out.
When they awoke, they would be dazed and unable to recall what had happened.
Finally, Souta looked down at Budo.
If possible, he didn't want to kill Budo.
Not because he admired the old soldier, what was there to admire?
But keeping Budo alive would help maintain order in the capital. And if the Revolutionary Army acted out, he could send Budo to suppress them.
Souta thought for a moment, then tampered with Budo's memory.
He didn't go overboard, just planted a few things: "Chelsea is the former Emperor's illegitimate daughter" and "the current Emperor has no royal bloodline."
Naturally, he also embedded a subconscious compulsion to obey him. Since they were destined to be enemies, Souta saw no reason to be polite.
While Souta was altering memories, the Lord turned to Najenda and the others, smiling warmly:
"Forgive me, but you won't get to execute the Minister yourselves. He'll be executed publicly tomorrow at noon, cut to pieces by the citizens of the capital."
"...That's quite a gruesome end." Leone muttered, giving the Lord a strange look. "Are you really a man of the cloth?"
"Of course." The Lord kept smiling like a spring breeze. "But when it comes to devils, we needn't follow divine doctrine—don't you agree?"
"Najenda, you'll handle the Revolutionary Army's surrender. Take charge of assassination efforts."
At that moment, Souta spoke again from the throne:
"Night Raid now serves me. You all don't mind, do you?"
His fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest, filling the room with tense silence.
Najenda sighed internally.
She straightened up, knelt on one knee, and answered solemnly:
"As you command, my God. I will carry out your orders."
Bulat looked at her, conflicted.
Among them, he was second only to Najenda in loyalty to the Revolutionary Army.
Seeing their leader submit so easily, he was at a loss.
"Bulat," Najenda stood and looked at him. "What we've fought for has already been achieved. Fixing the Empire now is just a matter of time."
"The Revolutionary Army... no longer has a reason to exist."
Bulat finally accepted it.
As for the rest of Night Raid, they had no objections.
"My God," Najenda looked back at Souta, asking, "What should we do about Budo and Esdeath?"
Both were dangerous. In her opinion, it was best to deal with them now to avoid future trouble.
But since Souta hadn't spoken, she wouldn't act without his word.
"Don't worry about them. I'll handle it."
Souta's voice was cold and firm.
Of course, he understood Najenda's concerns, but he wouldn't let her have her way.
Esdeath was a sharp sword.
She was perfect for suppressing the border tribes, and for putting down any rebellious sparks from the Revolutionary Army.
More importantly, Esdeath was... strange.
As long as you defeated her, you could order her to do anything.
Souta thought: as the victor, commanding her to fight for him was exactly the kind of "reward" she'd approve of.