Chapter 96 - #95 New Pets (1/2)

I carried Suzuka out of my tent and then tied her to one bigger tree.

Now only to wait for her to wake up. Anyway, Suzuka might be slightly impulsive but she definitely isn't stupid. This time she was just careless and of course, I helped her to be careless. She will definitely try something once she wakes up.

”Taeko, once she wakes up, ignore everything she says, no matter what it is. You mustn't show her any kind of reaction.” I said in a low voice just in case.

”I understand.” Taeko nodded with her stoic expression and only then I realized how stupid I was to expect Taeko react impulsively to Suzuka's words.

...

”Mm” Roughly after 15 minutes, Suzuka finally regained her consciousness and opened her eyes just to see me crouching down to match her level since she was sitting on the ground while being tied to the tree.

”Hello Suzuka, it looks like circumstances changed a bit” I said with closed eyes and a small smile.

”Oh, I see...Are you perhaps into bondage, Akashi?” Suzuka exclaimed with flushed cheeks when she found herself bound by the ropes.

”Who knows, there are many people with many fetishes. But this is not about me, we are here to talk about you, Suzuka.” I said with a thoughtful expression before looking at her with a smile.

”Me?! I am glad you show some interest in me, I will be more than glad to answer all of your questions!” She said while looking at me with an obsessed smile but I noticed her occasionally glancing at Taeko who was completely hidden underneath her cloak. She was standing some distance away from us while leaning her back against the tree, she was giving us some space to talk but she was still able to hear Suzuka's words.

Unfortunately for Suzuka, Taeko didn't react a bit, she didn't even flinch.

”Hmm, we will see about that. First of all, tell me why a woman like yourself needs to sneak into a man's tent and sėxuȧŀly ȧssault him?” I asked with a serious expression.

”A woman like myself...I like sound of that, thank you for the compliment. As for the reason why...I didn't intend to sėxuȧŀly ȧssault you but you looked too inviting so I couldn't help myself. You also looked like you didn't mind it so I simply went with the flow.” She said and then licked her lips while looking at me and I just smiled at her.

”But that's not what you want to know, right? You want to know why I am here.” She said with a confident smile.

”And will you tell me that information?” I asked with a gentle smile.

”Hmm, no.” A thoughtful expression appeared on her face for a while before she rejected with a wide smile.

”And why? Aren't we friends?” I asked her with a confused expression.

---

'Because this is a good opportunity to get tortured by your own hands, Akashi. I have fantasized not a few times about it already.' Suzuka thought with a naughty smile and flushed cheeks but she clearly couldn't say it aloud because she knew Akashi. He wouldn't do anything she wanted to.

---

”Because it is a secret and I, of course, am loyal to the Empire!” She said dramatically, trying to look vulnerable while playing to be strong.

”You just want to be tortured by me, right?” I asked with a deadpan face.

”W-Wha?! Of course not!” She was surprised how easily I saw through her but she still tried to deny it.

”...Please stop, Suzuka. I know you quite a lot and I also know that you are quite smart despite being impulsive.” I said with a serious face.

”*sigh* I guess I really screwed up this time, heh. At least I can be glad that you know so much about me.” She released a disappointed sigh before saying with a smile.

”Suzuka, just tell me why you are here and I will let you go. I have no interest in causing you pain because I know that you will only enjoy it. It would be better to just kill you rather than torture you.” I said with a tired expression.

”How can you say such things after telling me that we are friends?! Anyway, I am pretty sure you already know why I am here. I am here to discover who is your companion and your reason for being here.” Suzuka noticed that I was losing interest in this playful conversation so she decided to switch to her more serious side.

”...That was fairly easy, haven't you said something about being loyal?” I asked her with a small smile.

”I am loyal to the Empire and you are also someone of high authority plus lying to you won't help me a bit.” She replied while shrugging her shoulders.

”Fair enough, I will answer your doubts. She is someone trained by my family and as for why she is hiding her appearance...We are in the territory that could be said to be hostile to Empire, if I will need to send some ȧssassins here later, I would be glad if they weren't already known by the locals. As for my reason for being here...I am scouting and also looking around how is this city actually flourishing. Is this enough?” I explained and then asked her if that's enough for her while getting ready to unbind her.

”Good enough I guess but how can I be sure that you aren't lying?” Suzuka asked with a smile while rubbing her wrist.

”You can't and I don't care, for all I care, you can go back and tell others that I am here to start a revolt against Empire but I guess it would be much better to go directly to Rebels instead of this smaller organization.” I said with a bored expression.

”Hmm, that's a good offer but I will have to refuse. As you said, we are friends. And I have seen you slay numerous Rebels so there is not even a shred of doubt in my mind that you are trying to cooperate with them. But that doesn't mean that we can't continue where we previously left, right~?” Suzuka said and slowly approached me while warily looking at Taeko who has yet to say a word or move an inch.