Volume 1 Chapter 90: As an Apology, I’ll Give Her to You

Although Kaguya felt very annoyed with this masked woman, the truth was that the woman had already taken the bait.

Kaguya slightly raised her eyebrow, and a sly smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

She had purposely acted like an unreasonable madwoman who could not be negotiated with and only wanted to kill everyone here, all for this exact moment!

Kaguya was not stupid. Of course she knew that barging in like this without understanding the enemy’s background was extremely dangerous.

But she also understood something else. While she did not know Dian’s true strength, Dian also could not figure out hers!

Dian naturally knew that Kaguya had easily killed the synthetic beast, but she still did not know Kaguya’s true identity… This was obvious from the fact that her subordinate, Liu Li, had completely failed to recognize her.

In other words, in Dian’s eyes, Kaguya was a powerful magical girl with an unknown identity.

And the battle with Sasha just now had clearly strengthened that impression even further!

Even though Kaguya kept talking about wiping them all out, she never truly believed she could easily kill everyone here…

And even if she did kill them all, so what?

This so-called Empire had roots far too deep. Even if she eliminated all of them, new people would simply replace them and continue the plan.

There was one thing they had not guessed wrong, Kaguya really was not a patient person.

So she had no interest in endlessly dealing with the Empire’s schemes and attacks. What she wanted was to completely remove the problem at its root.

And to achieve that goal, she needed information about the Empire…

As well as a little trust from people inside it.

That was why she first acted like someone completely impossible to communicate with, giving them a strong warning from the start. Then, once the other side softened their attitude, she could step back naturally and take control of the situation.

After all, only people with strength had the right to sit at the negotiation table.

Those without enough strength would only be crushed mercilessly.

And for this plan to succeed, Kaguya had paid twenty-three days of her lifespan.

Now, she only had three days left to live.

The transformation she used last night had only cost her six days of life, and her fighting power back then was nowhere near her current level.

In terms of pure strength, she was probably still far weaker than Amethyst or Amber at that time.

After all, Liu Li was only a small appetizer. Dian, the person hiding behind her, was the real main course. Since she did not understand the enemy’s true strength, Kaguya had already carefully planned how to use those remaining days from the very beginning.

Twenty-three days was all…

At worst, she would just squeeze it all back out of Amethyst and Amber later!

That’s called sustainable development!

To be honest, this plan was still very risky. After all, Kaguya had no idea whether there were even stronger enemies hidden inside this so-called secret base.

Sasha truly was powerful.

But thankfully, Kaguya had won the gamble.

And judging from the current situation, everything was moving smoothly in the direction she wanted.

Even though Dian wore a mask and Kaguya could not see her expression, the woman had already fallen into the trap. Now Kaguya could openly move on to the next step.

“Sasha is one of the Empire’s core pillars, but sometimes she is indeed too impulsive. I truly wonder when she will fix that problem…”

Dian, sitting across from Kaguya, nodded lightly toward the girl. Her tone still remained completely emotionless.

Compared to Heidi’s earlier apology, Dian’s apology sounded much more formal, like empty polite words she was forced to say.

“Oh my, saying polite words is one thing, but if you’re apologizing, shouldn’t you show a little sincerity?”

Kaguya lazily rested her cheek against one hand while leaning back in her chair.

Still, she was genuinely curious. This so-called professor seemed determined to recruit her, but Kaguya and her did not appear to share any common goal.

So what exactly was she trying to say?

But…

This woman kept repeatedly emphasizing things like “I know you’re not the same as those magical girls,” so could it be…

The girl narrowed her eyes slightly, already beginning to form a guess in her mind.

“Of course.”

Dian nodded, but she did not continue discussing the apology. Instead, she directed her cold gaze toward Kaguya and calmly said:

“Miss Kaguya, your relationship with those so-called magical girls… probably isn’t very good, correct?”

Oh?

After hearing those words, Kaguya did not answer immediately. Instead, she carefully observed the masked figure before her, revealing an interested and playful expression.

“The professor sees things quite clearly. I really am not the same kind of person as them.”

That was actually the honest truth.

She truly was not the same as Amethyst and Amber. If those two ever learned about the things she had done these past few days, a serious conflict would definitely happen.

“I thought so.”

Dian nodded calmly and looked at the cute girl before her with those cold, emotionless eyes.

“In that case, we share the same goal. There is no need for us to kill each other.”

She stood up and looked toward the dark and frightening statue in the center of the hall. For the first time, a slight change appeared in her voice.

“Unlike Miss Kaguya, those magical girls are beings that should not exist in this world. They are false illusions that pollute this world.”

“They force this world to live under shadows and fear, so…”

Dian turned around again and quietly stared at Kaguya. After a long silence, she finally continued,

“I believe we can cooperate, can’t we? Together, we can defeat those so-called magical girls.”

“We will provide full support from behind the scenes. And after everything is done, whatever kind of wealth or glory Miss Kaguya desires, we can give it to you.”

“Oh? Are you serious? You want to hire me?”

Hearing this, Kaguya could not help laughing softly.

Wealth and glory? She was not lacking those things right now anyway…

Still, she had already expected Dian to make this request, so she did not look very surprised. She only smiled lightly and said,

“Heh, defeat magical girls, huh… why choose me?”

“I’m actually a very unreliable person. I often mess things up, you know~ The professor might end up disappointed~”

Why would this woman rather find an uncontrollable outsider to deal with magical girls instead of spending more effort raising stronger Disaster Beasts herself?

“…Because aside from Sasha, the people we can currently use are still far from enough.”

Faced with Kaguya’s question, Dian paused slightly. For the first time, a hint of helplessness appeared in her usually emotionless voice.

Mm, translated into simple words, that meant, ‘Our people are too weak to win, so we need outside help.’

At least she was honest.

Kaguya almost burst out laughing. Her cheeks puffed slightly as she painfully held back her smile in order to maintain her image.

A mocking smile rose in her heart.

So this so-called professor… actually did not have many people she could use. Or was the Empire simply this weak?

“What do you think, Miss Kaguya?”

Dian extended her hand toward Kaguya. She did not know what Kaguya was thinking, but she could tell that the girl’s attitude had softened considerably.

Ah… so the professor only watched from the side earlier because she wanted to recruit Miss Kaguya?

Sitting nearby and unable to join the conversation at all, Heidi thoughtfully nodded her head.

She did not really dislike Dian’s decision. After all, Kaguya truly was very strong. If she really joined them, she would definitely become a huge help!

It was just…

The girl rolled her eyes slightly as she recalled the things Sasha had said to Kaguya earlier.

I was not constantly talking about Kaguya! And what does she mean by staring blankly at recordings of her every day…?

As a warrior of the Empire, isn’t it perfectly normal to study recordings of an opponent’s abilities?

Hmph, Sasha was obviously teasing her on purpose!

The more Heidi thought about it, the angrier she became. She puffed out her lips slightly, while faint blushes quietly appeared on her cheeks.

If she absolutely had to describe it, then toward this strange person named Kaguya, who did not seem like a magical girl at all, Heidi only felt respect, fear… and just a tiny bit of admiration…

After all, the Empire always respected strength above all else. And Kaguya, whom even the usually overbearing Sasha could not defeat, had clearly left a deep impression on Heidi.

Mm, although Miss Kaguya seemed pretty crazy earlier, now it felt like she actually could be reasoned with. Cooperation might not be impossible…

But with Kaguya’s personality, she would definitely refuse, right?

“Well, since the professor put it that way…”

Kaguya’s soft laughter suddenly sounded beside her ears. Heidi, whose thoughts had drifted away, subconsciously raised her head.

She saw Kaguya walking lightly around Dian with her hands behind her back, smiling as she carefully looked the professor up and down. She looked both cute and charming.

Finally, she stopped walking. Without even glancing at Dian’s still-outstretched hand, she gave a mischievous smile.

“Then cooperating with you isn’t impossible… though I might abandon all of you at any moment, you know~”

Hearing Kaguya’s answer, Dian silently nodded.

“Very good. Then I hope we will cooperate well together. We can discuss the details later.”

Eh? Eh!? Kaguya agreed!? She actually didn’t refuse? We’re really going to cooperate with her!?

Heidi blinked blankly, her brain unable to react for a moment.

Then she saw the professor casually lower her right hand before shifting that cold gaze slightly toward…

…her?

Eh? Why is the professor looking at me?

A very bad feeling suddenly rose inside Heidi.

“Then, as compensation for what happened earlier…”

“...I’ll leave Heidi to you.”