The woman seated at the head of the table froze, along with everyone else around it. Even the black-haired girl behind Shirou lowered her head slightly, clearly baffled by his response.
"I won't join any organization," Shirou repeated solemnly, tilting his head to face them.
It wasn't that Shirou had trouble obeying orders as part of an organized group; rather, he simply didn't belong to the Empire. Although their goals appeared similar, the difference was fundamental.
Night Raid wanted the Empire and its citizens to improve, whereas Shirou wished for the citizens and then the Empire to become better.
The former prioritized making the Empire strong and corruption-free, thus allowing people a better life.
The latter prioritized the people's well-being, and from that foundation sought a stable and prosperous Empire.
Shirou placed the people first, while Night Raid placed the Empire first. Even if the Revolutionary Army succeeded, the Empire would remain fundamentally the Empire.
Aside from the black-haired girl, the members of Night Raid weren't professional assassins. They easily risked exposing themselves to guards or servants during missions. Once exposed, they would have no choice but to slaughter the majority of the mansion's guards, servants, and even unfortunate victims of noble cruelty, simply because they had seen Night Raid's faces.
This was why reports of massacres frequently followed Night Raid's attacks.
On the one hand, these slaughters projected Night Raid's strength to the masses, reassuring the citizens that there was a powerful organization fighting against corruption.
On the other hand, these killings instilled fear into the Empire's corrupt elite, temporarily restraining their cruelty toward the common folk.
Yet no one could judge another's heart after just a single glance. Night Raid couldn't know whether the guards and servants who saw them were good or evil.
They couldn't risk their lives by hoping those who saw them wouldn't expose their identities.
The only guaranteed keepers of secrets were corpses.
Even servants and guards innocent of any wrongdoing had to be killed. Even clients who hired them for missions would be executed if their motives were ever suspect.
Night Raid couldn't afford the risk of investigating each suspicious client—what if it were a trap?
Having fought the Empire so long, they'd learned harsh lessons. Akame herself had nearly died once due to a client's betrayal. Even though that person had desperately apologized, she'd shown no mercy.
If it had happened once, it could happen again. Letting someone who knew her combat style and weaknesses walk free was courting disaster.
From that day forward, suspicious clients were eliminated without hesitation.
Night Raid's members were key assets of the Revolutionary Army. They had to value their comrades and their own lives above ordinary Imperial citizens.
Shirou understood their methods perfectly. If Night Raid weren't ruthless, the consequences would be even more brutal for them. From their perspective, Shirou saw nothing wrong—in fact, they were exceptionally effective, even merciful, compared to true assassins. At their core, they were a group of idealists, not merely killers.
Shirou understood their reasoning clearly. But he couldn't accept it, nor approve of it, and certainly couldn't act alongside them.
"Don't you want to change this Empire?" Lubbock stood first, questioning Shirou with a frown. Of everyone there, he'd spent the most time interacting with Shirou. He knew very well Shirou's intentions were genuine.
"Yes," Shirou agreed calmly, nodding toward Lubbock. "But I won't accept your methods."
Even when he had accompanied the Three Beasts, only the designated targets had been fatally harmed. All other guards and servants, even those who actively resisted, had merely been lightly wounded.
"You object to assassination itself?" Najenda asked thoughtfully, resting her chin upon her hand as she scrutinized Shirou with her single, clear eye.
Najenda genuinely hoped Shirou would join their cause. According to Bulat, this red-haired youth had stopped both Bulat's own strongest blow and Liver's final, desperate strike. Such strength would easily rank second in Night Raid, surpassed only by Akame herself.
Najenda had privately asked Bulat if he, in perfect condition, could defeat Shirou.
Bulat had simply shaken his head. Even with Incursio, he couldn't have blocked an explosion of that magnitude—the kind Shirou had produced even when already severely weakened.
Besides, Incursio had already found a new master in Tatsumi. Bulat could no longer command it, which deeply saddened him. Unlike other Teigu, which lacked their own will, Incursio had a soul—it was capable of rejecting a former user in favor of another.
Other Teigu, like Mine's Pumpkin, could be freely wielded by anyone suitable; the weapons didn't care who used them first or later, having no consciousness of their own.
If someone like Shirou—someone capable of overwhelming Teigu users even without possessing a Teigu himself—joined Night Raid, their missions would become significantly easier, and far safer.
"We can't let you leave and risk leaking information," Najenda stated coldly. "If you refuse, death is your only choice."
Her gaze narrowed slightly, closely studying Shirou's reaction to the threat of death.
With blinding speed, Akame's blade flew from its sheath, coming to rest firmly against Shirou's neck. She waited silently—one wrong answer, and she'd sever his head without hesitation.
Fearing death wasn't shameful; no one in Night Raid was unafraid, not even Akame herself, who'd faced death countless times. They simply valued something greater than their own lives, which was why they shone so brilliantly even in the face of inevitable mortality.