"I refuse!"
Shirou seemed utterly unfazed by the blade pressed against his neck; his voice remained unshakably firm.
Najenda couldn't possibly alter Night Raid's operational methods merely for Shirou's sake.
Nor would Shirou join such a group merely to gain their assistance.
"Why?" two voices questioned simultaneously from across the table.
Neither Lubbock nor Tatsumi could understand Shirou's stubbornness. They weren't enemies, so why would Shirou resist joining Night Raid so fiercely?
"Then, let's discuss cooperation instead."
Najenda wasn't inflexible. Seeing Shirou's resolute gaze, she understood that forcibly recruiting him into Night Raid was impossible.
Najenda had no intention of killing Shirou either. Just as Lubbock and Tatsumi thought, Shirou was not their enemy. If he wouldn't join as a subordinate, he could still become an excellent ally.
She wasn't Esdeath, after all—she didn't demand his submission. Keeping Shirou alive was undoubtedly more advantageous than killing him. Eliminating Shirou would barely harm the Empire, considering he wasn't Esdeath or even one of her Three Beasts.
On the contrary, he was another warrior opposing the Empire, just like them.
"Cooperation?"
Shirou looked at Najenda questioningly. Akame silently lowered her blade, dissolving the tension instantly. Lubbock and Tatsumi let out sighs of relief.
Lubbock found Shirou's presence comforting, enjoying their conversations, so he didn't want Shirou to die here. Tatsumi also couldn't bear to see his savior lose his life due to internal conflicts.
"How would this cooperation work?" Shirou asked. He clearly had no intention of helping Night Raid accomplish their assassination missions, making him of limited use to them.
"Information."
"You can safely recover here, but in exchange, I'll need you to provide intel on Esdeath and the Empire's internal affairs," Najenda explained clearly.
"As assassins, don't you already have channels to obtain this information?"
Najenda shook her head.
"The Empire's defenses, especially among the upper ranks, have always been tight. We haven't had a chance to infiltrate the imperial palace deeply, nor could any spies manage it in such a short period."
"We've always been passive, judging internal movements based solely on the Empire's broader actions."
Lubbock constantly surveilled areas near the palace, gathering intel daily, while their scattered informants could hardly penetrate the palace itself.
"But I don't have any special insight into the Empire either. If I did, I wouldn't have followed Liver and the others in the first place," Shirou admitted.
Indeed, Shirou himself suffered from a severe lack of reliable intelligence, making his actions uncertain. He was even more eager than Night Raid to discover what was truly happening at the Empire's highest levels.
"Your identity was extremely well concealed," Najenda continued. "Apart from Esdeath, almost no one else within the Empire recognizes you, correct?"
Shirou nodded. Besides Esdeath and the Three Beasts, anyone else he'd encountered had either been killed or couldn't freely enter and exit the palace. Ordinary soldiers aware of his existence lacked the authority to enter the imperial palace.
Indeed, among the Empire's truly influential figures, only Esdeath knew his identity. Minister Honest himself was aware of a mysterious fourth individual allied with the Three Beasts, but he'd never met Shirou personally.
"So, you want me to infiltrate the Empire as a spy?" Shirou questioned doubtfully.
Najenda nodded affirmatively.
If Shirou refused to stay, maximizing his usefulness meant exploiting his potential for intelligence gathering. Just housing Shirou temporarily before sending him off was an unquestionably profitable exchange.
"But Liver and the others are already dead. If I return alone, it'll be impossible to avoid suspicion," Shirou remarked cautiously.
He genuinely desired to enter the Empire's inner circle, as firsthand confirmation outweighed mere hearsay. However, with the Three Beasts defeated by Night Raid, Shirou's survival would be inherently suspicious. Furthermore, he'd directly clashed with Esdeath, complicating any chance of infiltration.
Suddenly, Shirou recalled something and asked Najenda, "What about Nyau?"
"He's imprisoned at Revolutionary Army headquarters."
Undergoing interrogation and providing intel, Najenda thought privately, leaving that unsaid.
Shirou nodded solemnly. If Nyau returned to the Empire first, his own chance of infiltration would be gone; wanted posters featuring him would be everywhere.
"You don't need to worry," Najenda reassured him. "Esdeath intends to recruit you. Compared to us, you'll have a far easier time entering the Empire."
Najenda wasn't ignorant of Shirou's battles. Though details on him weren't extensive like Tatsumi's, Najenda kept strict tabs to avoid internal betrayal. Yet, the intel of Shirou fighting Esdeath twice had truly astonished her. Despite him clearly losing both times, Shirou's ability to even challenge Esdeath had already removed any thoughts of killing him from Najenda's mind.
Esdeath's overwhelming strength was Night Raid's greatest obstacle. Shirou's existence significantly boosted Najenda's hopes for victory. Originally, she'd envisioned Shirou joining Night Raid, confronting Esdeath alongside Akame and the Revolutionary Army's combined forces in the decisive battle.
With Shirou capable of directly engaging Esdeath, Akame would have ample opportunities for a decisive strike.
Najenda understood clearly: Defeating Esdeath was essential to toppling the Empire.
Any power capable of contending with Esdeath warranted her fullest effort to recruit.
Besides, Esdeath's consistent restraint in not killing Shirou indicated clear ulterior motives—most likely recruitment. Given her nature, she valued strength above all else, making her intentions easy to deduce.
Surely, Esdeath wouldn't be thinking about romance, Najenda mused skeptically.
"Well, should I give it a try?" Shirou finally agreed, sensing that without Night Raid, he'd be aimless. An opportunity to approach the palace directly gave him clarity, a goal at last.
Even passively living inside the imperial palace was preferable to wandering aimlessly outside.
Confiscating Shirou's weapons was meaningless anyway—he could summon them anytime he desired. Since his arrival, Shirou's magic circuits had rarely been closed, only briefly shutting down during rest and restarted promptly each morning.
Unlike the demon-infested world he'd experienced previously, danger here wasn't limited exclusively to nightfall.
Thus, Shirou remained perpetually ready, magic circuits open and primed, able to project weapons at will.
In a world lacking countermeasures against magecraft, he had no worries regarding his safety, even deep within the imperial palace.