Chapter 126 Thunderous Exposure
Esdeath supported her right hand with her left, resting her chin on it, and stared at Akame with a serious expression. Then she pulled out a small notebook she always carried and began taking detailed notes.
"Ara, what are you writing?"
Kurumi took this rival's behavior very seriously—much more seriously than Akame or Scáthach. Especially since Esdeath often found excuses to engage in intimate contact with Eric, Kurumi couldn't afford to let her guard down.
"Nothing much, just recording Eric's secret preferences..."
"Don't write that down!" Eric had been lowering his head, but upon hearing Esdeath intended to write down his dark past, he was horrified!
What was supposed to be just a month-long struggle for survival might now become a lifetime nightmare?
"It's already done."
"That fast?!"
Eric's gaze turned hollow as a black aura of despair physically wrapped around him, and he fell to his knees.
"But I didn't expect Akame to know Eric this well... I can't let my guard down..." Esdeath cast a serious glance at Akame.
"Perona, why are you using negative ghosts on the captain again?" Although Kurumi spoke reproachfully, her hands didn't stop as she rapidly clicked the camera shutter—"click click".
"I didn't!" Perona shouted in protest. "But it feels like Sister Akame's words are even more effective than my negative ghosts..." She shivered, afraid of having her own black history exposed in front of everyone.
Akame: "?"
Eric forced himself to stand, trying to sound composed. "You all go and have fun. I'll go gather intel on the auction. We still don't know what kind of Devil Fruit it is."
The truth was he didn't have the face to stay with them any longer. Not only had his shameful cosplay been seen, it had been exposed in front of people he knew well.
At the mention of free time to play, Perona and Porche's eyes lit up immediately. They had lost much of their playtime recently due to Chiron and Scáthach's alternating lessons. Today was finally a chance to make up for it.
"Master, Teacher Chiron, please look after these two. And take your communicators with you—don't let another bounty hunter incident like a few days ago happen again."
"Understood."
"Ugh..." Upon hearing Eric's words, the two girls made troubled faces. Because of the intense training, they were now quite afraid of both Master and Chiron—just seeing them triggered memories of their recent painful lessons.
Seeing their expressions, Eric chuckled and said, "How about Esdeath instead?"
"Eek!" The two girls jolted as if struck by lightning, their hair standing on end.
"Huh? What do you two mean by that?" Esdeath looked down at them with one eye, her posture lofty and intimidating. Although their heights weren't that different, it felt like the gap between them grew wider. Perona and Porche shrank like quails, becoming smaller and smaller.
"Hahaha, don't scare them like that, Esdeath," Eric quickly stepped in to stop her intimidation.
"You two shouldn't be so afraid of Esdeath. She's only cruel to enemies. To her own people, she's actually very kind."
"Hmm, I've decided. I'm going to give you both lots of love." Esdeath pulled them each into an arm and pressed them to her chest.
Esdeath's magnificent chest smothered their faces, a sight that even made Eric feel a pang of envy.
"Let's have a beautiful day together~" Though Esdeath was smiling sweetly, to the two girls it looked like the devil himself grinning at them.
"Ka... mmph..." Perona tried to call out to gentle teacher Chiron for help.
"Ak... mmph..." Porche instinctively tried to call out to the sister she trusted.
Before they could say a word, Esdeath's flawless white hands covered their mouths. "Off we go."
She picked up both girls and headed straight to the amusement park.
"Captain, we'll go with them too," said Chiron and Scáthach, exchanging glances, nodding, and bidding Eric goodbye before following the abducted girls.
Kurumi was surprised that her greatest rival—Esdeath—hadn't argued with her about dating Eric today. "Something's off. Very off."
Akame offered an explanation: "After spending a lot of time with you, General Esdeath probably concluded that you're too tsundere and reserved. At most, you'll just hold Eric's arm. She's not worried you'll make any bold moves, so she felt safe taking Perona and Porche to play."
"Phfft—"
Victim number two of Akame's remarks appeared.
"Is that really how you see me...?" Kurumi asked in a tone of uncertain certainty.
Akame nodded earnestly. "Yes."
"Phaha!"
Kurumi's heart took even more damage.
Eric reached out and gently pulled Kurumi into his arms. "Kurumi, are you okay?"
"E-Eric-?"
Kurumi curled into Eric's embrace, lifting her head to look at him with her pitiful doe eyes.
If only "My Heart Will Go On" were playing in the background at that moment.
"It's okay, Kurumi. To me, you'll always be that tsundere noble lady who says one thing and means another."
Eric delivered yet another blow.
I'm gonna die from rage!
Kurumi activated her Haki and used the universal move every girl knows: twist and pinch.
"Eek!"
Although it was a cry of pain, Eric let out the wail in a musical tone, singing out every possible version of "ah".
...
"Sir, our auction will be held in four days, on the evening of April 30th at 8 PM. The specific item list is confidential. Guests must bring at least one million Beli in cash to enter. But we can confirm that the highlight of the event is a Devil Fruit." The staff member in a black suit explained enthusiastically.
"Could this be a scam? Like luring people in with fake info, or not auctioning it at all and just having insiders bid it up to absurd prices before buying it back?" Eric voiced his skepticism.
"Sir, you must be joking. If something like that happened, you'd be welcome to destroy our auction house!"
As he left the auction entrance, Eric clicked his tongue. "Tch, no matter what, they won't reveal the Devil Fruit type."
Though still angry at Eric for his earlier jabs, Kurumi stayed focused on the bigger picture and offered a suggestion: "How about we secretly catch him and let me use the Bullet of Ten on him?"
"Forget it," Eric shook his head. "A small fry like him probably doesn't know highly classified info. Even the weakest Devil Fruits sell for over a hundred million. No way would the auction let a doorman know the details."
"Besides, I just combined my Goro Goro no Mi lightning powers with Observation Haki to form a [Mind Net]. I listened to his heartbeat. When he said he didn't know the fruit type, there was no change in rhythm. He was telling the truth."
Kurumi raised an eyebrow. "Ara, Eric- learned a technique like that? When did that happen?"
"Hmph, my strength isn't standing still. One day, I'll become the world's strongest man!"
"Hmph, you're turning into Esdeath," Kurumi pouted. The man she liked was becoming more and more like her rival, wanting to grow stronger.
Eric took Kurumi's hand and said tenderly, "Only by becoming the strongest can I protect you better."
Kurumi was caught off guard by Eric's words, and her cheeks gradually turned red.
But Akame, who usually would've gone to buy snacks, suddenly spoke up—having quietly followed behind them: "Eric, your skill at sweet-talking girls has gone up again."
Sweet-talking skill level +1.
Then she added another jab: "You also once told me, 'You'll always be with me, never abandon me.' Was that a lie too?" (See Chapter 3)
Hearing this, both Eric and Kurumi's faces went pale!
(END CHAPTER)
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