Chapter 126 - #125 Cat and mouse (2/2)

”Yes, sir!” The guard saluted while doing his best to tear his eyes away from the sack in Captain's hands.

The guard escorted Akashi and the rest of his group inside the carriage through the checkpoint without any problems, except for some people shouting that it's not fair but they were quickly calmed down by other guards.

”Whoaa, so this is the Capital?” Kana who was sitting next to the Akashi at the driver's position muttered while looking around like a country bumpkin, however, she wasn't the only one, most of the kids peeked out of the carriage just to take a quick look around while local people were looking at them like on idiots.

”*Don't let this image of mighty and glorious city fool your mind. You aren't safe even if you are inside this city, you would do well to remember that*” Akashi whispered to Kana when they finally passed through the enormous gate, finally entering the Capital.

Kana and Tetsu looked at each other before they nodded their heads with determined expressions.

---

Once someone passed through the gate, they could see a small pub right on the side beyond the gate. There, a woman with short blonde hair with two long tufts that frame the sides of her head and golden eyes was sitting at the table, watching everyone passing through the gate.

She was wearing a revealing outfit with a black tube top and scarf around her neck. Overall she was a curvaceous woman and her cleavage was gathering a lot of attention but most people seemed to know her already as no one dared to approach her and flirt with her.

”Ugh” The said woman ġrȯȧnėd while gulping down the remaining beer inside her mug.

'”Try to look out for any potential members, strong, strange people. Or people who might know something” She said...easier said than done. Sometimes, she has the craziest demands.' The woman thought while crossing her legs, to find more comfortable position.

'Well...At least there will be apparently a new member joining us in a few days. Heh, I heard it's a cute girl from Lubbock. Anyway, that should be enough for toda- Hm?' The woman stretched out her arms while yawing but before she could stand up, she noticed a new carriage passing through the gate and she immediately spotted a few kids peeking from inside it. This garnered her attention since it was very rare to see so many kids being transported at the same time.

'Who is that driver? Is he a human trafficker? Well, I didn't have any action since the morning, I might as well take a look at this case.' The woman thought and continued sitting while stealthily observing the carriage.

Akashi's senses have gotten much sharper since he began his training with the blindfold and he could feel that someone was eyeing him or carriage itself.

'Person who is currently watching me must be very experienced, I have no idea from which direction they are looking at me. They are also good at hiding their malicious intentions which makes it even harder to discover them. Not to mention that there are simply too many people inside the Capital to discover which person is it.' Akashi thought and decided not to take any shortcuts and instead he took some detours into streets where people don't usually gather.

The woman was carefully watching everything from a safe distance on the roofs of the Capital. However, when Akashi's carriage took a sharp turn to the right behind the building where she was currently staying on, she was forced to jump over to another roof but when she got the carriage in her sight once again, it wasn't moving a bit.

'What's this? Why stopping in the middle of nowhere? I can tell that those kids are still inside but...?! Where is that man?!' The woman thought with a confused expression.

”Enjoying your creeping on little kids?” The voice came from behind her which made her body snap around, looking at the red-haired man wearing a cloak and blindfold with wide-open eyes in surprise.

'I was too focused on those kids and carriage but to think that he would be able to pinpoint my location so easily, he must be really strong...' The woman thought while taking one step back with her right leg.

”Ha-ha, you must be joking, of course not! I am into ȧduŀts, by the way, hi! I haven't greeted you yet!” The woman replied with a forced laugh and an ”innocent” smile.

”Are you saying that you weren't following the kids but me? I am flattered.” Akashi replied, playing along with her despite his voice being devoid of any emotions.

'What should I do? He is obviously just playing with me...There is no going back now. I can't fight him since I have no idea how strong he is or who he even is!' The woman thought with a complicated expression while looking to the side on the ground.

”Well, I would like to talk more with you but I forgot to put out the fireplace at my place, see you later~ Lionel!” The woman said with an apologetic expression while seductively pouting before she shouted one word and her hair became longer and she gained lion ears, tail, and claws.

'?! He is dangerous!' Due to having her Teigu activated, her senses were enhanced to a much higher level and she could feel that behind that blindfold and cloak was hiding a monster. She couldn't really feel any murderous aura from him but she could feel his strong fiery aura which was more than enough alone for her to know that she should flee.

She quickly jumped away at another roof, she covered numerous meters with just one jump, indicating that her strength was enhanced by a lot.

'Hm? She is similar to the Gravekeepers in their transformation but they weren't using any tools to transform. Of course, the difference between those two is still visible since her transformation isn't too much beast-like as of those Gravekeepers. Yet it looks like her physical abilities are enhanced even more than of those Gravekeepers.' Akashi thought with a curious expression before he quickly jumped after her, following her.

And this is how cat and mouse game began.