Najenda was awakened by the sound of an iron door opening and closing.
The grating noise of pulleys grinding together pulled her consciousness back, stirring her awake from the chaos.
The pain at the back of her neck was still sharp. Instinctively, she tried to raise her hand to check the wound, only to realize that she was tightly bound by multiple iron chains.
Both her hands and feet were shackled by chains as thick as an arm. She tried to break free with brute strength, but it was completely useless.
These chains clearly weren't made of ordinary steel. They must've been infused with some special minerals that made them far tougher than usual.
Otherwise, with her strength, she could have easily broken free.
Najenda wasn't unfamiliar with these kinds of special restraints—chains like these were more than enough to hold even dangerous creatures, let alone humans.
Realizing she wouldn't be able to break free for the time being, she struggled to move her body and managed to sit up.
She was currently locked in a dimly lit prison cell.
Although the environment was dark and damp, it surprisingly didn't seem too terrible. It looked like someone had cleaned it.
Even so, a cell was still a cell—the air was thick with an unpleasant stench that made her frown.
"Damn it..."
Thinking back to her last memory before passing out, Najenda clicked her tongue in frustration. Her expression turned grim.
Bringing Yoshino directly to the Revolutionary Army's headquarters—she had acted without thinking.
Maybe it was because she had never truly considered herself part of the rebellion, and always viewed things from the Empire's perspective.
That was why, when she heard Yoshino plan—a plan that could resolve the Empire's deep-rooted issues at their core—she had been completely shocked.
Overwhelmed with excitement, she had ignored all other concerns.
It was only after listening to the Commander's words that she suddenly realized:
Yoshino plan would be a hundred percent beneficial to the Empire, but for the Revolutionary Army, it would bring nothing but harm.
Of course, part of it was her own lack of understanding about the Commander.
She knew that the Revolutionary Army was a mixed bag—some were great people who genuinely cared about the people, while others were opportunistic schemers.
In her mind, the Commander had always seemed like a mediator-type middle-aged man—not someone with the charisma to inspire loyalty at first glance, but someone who could bring differing opinions together with a smile.
Put simply, he seemed like a "nice guy."
But she should've realized it sooner. If the Commander was truly just a "nice guy," he could never have maintained control over the Revolutionary Army for so long.
After revealing his true nature during the territory-for-aid negotiation, he dropped the act completely—knocked her out and threw her into prison.
After her initial anger subsided, Najenda could only sigh helplessly.
She couldn't really blame the Commander.
From the perspective of the Revolutionary Army's leader, everything he did was for the benefit of the cause.
Even Najenda herself had once considered taking Yoshino Teigu by force and using her to threaten Esdeath.
It was practically a guaranteed win.
The only thing she had to overcome was a moral line.
As long as she could push past her conscience, she could potentially save tens of thousands of soldiers' lives. Anyone would be tempted by that kind of deal.
But Najenda was someone with a strong sense of moral purity.
Otherwise, back when she and Esdeath led a southern expedition and witnessed the merciless slaughter of mountain tribes—men, women, and children alike—while the court turned a blind eye, she wouldn't have become so disillusioned and defected from the Empire.
And so, even now, she couldn't bring herself to drag an innocent girl into such a scheme.
But the Commander could.
To him, as long as the revolution succeeded and Honest and Syura were brought down, any cost was acceptable.
If he could go as far as to cede land in exchange for aid, how could he hesitate for even a second over whether a girl was innocent or not?
"Mercy should not command troops… Mercy should not command troops… heh, the ancients truly didn't lie."
Najenda chuckled bitterly to herself. "I, a former general of the Empire, have ended up like this… Clearly, I'm not someone cut out for great things."
As she worried about how to deal with the Commander in the future, something caught her eye.
In the shadows of the corner, someone was lying down.
Under the flickering firelight, she focused her eyes and recognized the figure lying in the corner—it was Yoshino, who had come here with her.
"The Commander has already made his move?"
Najenda struggled to move closer to Yoshino, painfully crawling her way over and patting her on the cheek.
She called her name a few times but received no response.
Though Yoshino was unconscious, her breathing remained steady—it seemed she had only been drugged, not harmed.
Seeing this, Najenda realized Yoshino wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
She gave up trying to wake her and returned to analyzing their situation.
Because of this, she failed to notice Yoshino eyes were slightly open—just a narrow slit.
That's right. Yoshino hadn't actually been drugged unconscious.
In fact, the moment she met the Commander, she sensed something was wrong.
After all, she had been brought here by Najenda, and Najenda was the only person she knew in this place.
Logically, if the Commander truly wanted a proper discussion, he would've brought Najenda into the conversation as a bridge between them.
But Najenda, who had entered the city lord's mansion ahead of her, had completely disappeared.
At first, Yoshino wasn't too suspicious.
Considering Najenda hadn't used the restroom all the way here, she might've gone off to relieve herself.
Also, if there were sensitive matters the Commander didn't want Najenda to hear, it was understandable for him to ask her to step out.
However, during their conversation, the Commander became increasingly chatty,making Yoshino more and more uneasy.
Her plan was extremely simple:
Obtain the mind-reading Teigu, take it to Makoto, and let him see Honest true nature.
No need for complicated preparations, no political gambles, no elaborate setups—just hand over the Teigu.
Yet the Commander wouldn't stop talking.
And in the end, when she asked where Najenda was, the Commander claimed she had been assigned a mission and wouldn't return for a while.
That was when Yoshino became fully certain: this seemingly kind, middle-aged uncle had no intention of cooperating.
That whole conversation had just been a stalling tactic.
But why stall for time?
Looking at the untouched tea in front of her, she quickly figured it out.
There was definitely something in that tea.
Because she had been speaking with ventriloquism the entire time, she hadn't felt thirsty—so the Commander tried to drag out the conversation until she drank it.
So she took a small sip.
Sure enough, shortly after, she felt something strange in her stomach.
Though she didn't know what was in the tea, it clearly wasn't poison.
Which meant the only other possibility—it was a sedative.
However, with her body reinforced by spiritual energy, something like that wouldn't knock her out so easily.
Now that the tea had confirmed her suspicions, she became sure the Commander had bad intentions.
Though she didn't yet understand why he was doing this, she knew their collaboration was effectively over.
So she went along with the act and pretended to pass out.
Just as expected, once she feigned unconsciousness, the Commander took Yoshino away and threw her into the prison.
What to do next would need a whole new plan.
During her time pretending to be unconscious, Yoshino mind worked quickly, considering her next move.
About an hour or two later, Najenda heard a rustling sound beside her.
She turned her head and saw Yoshino slowly opening her dazed eyes, struggling to move.
But her arms and legs were shackled with the same heavy chains—even heavier than her own body—making it impossible for her to get up.
"Yoshino, are you alright?"
Seeing that Yoshino had awakened, Najenda immediately asked, "Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"
"Umm… aside from a bit of dizziness, everything else seems fine," Yoshinon voice rang out. "But why are we in a place like this? Yoshinon remembers that the Supreme Commander was supposed to be taking Yoshinon and Yoshino to the guest room…"
Hearing that it was Yoshinon speaking instead of Yoshino, Najenda was clearly stunned.
Because normally, the personality of Yoshinon would only appear when she was channeled through the rabbit puppet — which had already been taken away by the Supreme Commander.
Now, there was nothing in Yoshino hands.
Logically speaking, Yoshinon shouldn't have been able to appear.
"Could it be that because both hands were tied behind her back, and her senses dulled by the drug, she didn't realize Yoshinon was gone right away?"
After thinking it through, the only explanation for Yoshinon personality still being present despite the puppet being missing was that.
But in a way, this was good.
After all, the only one she could really communicate with was Yoshinon — Yoshino herself had never spoken a single word to her.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, she could finally explain everything that had happened.
So, Najenda opened her mouth and clearly explained the reasons why the Revolutionary Army couldn't cooperate with them.
"I see…"
After listening to Najenda explanation, Yoshinon sighed deeply. "It was my oversight. I didn't consider things from the Revolutionary Army's standpoint. Although my plan would have brought nothing but benefits to the Empire, it's not necessarily the same for the Revolutionary Army."
"That's not your fault," Najenda said with a bitter smile. "Even I overlooked that point. If we're talking responsibility, I actually bear more of it."
"Forget it. Things like responsibility don't matter now. What's done is done. Miss Najenda, let's escape, shall we?"
"Escape?"
"Yes! The Supreme Commander has locked you up too. Next, he'll definitely use Yoshino as a bargaining chip against Esdeath. If we don't escape, are we really going to let that middle-aged man use us?"
"No, I meant — how do we escape?" Najenda sighed. "Though my combat ability isn't weak, don't expect me to suddenly awaken some powerful strength to break the chains and bust out of the cell…"
As Najenda was speaking, there was a clank.
A heavy object fell to the ground.
Najenda looked in shock and uncertainty at Yoshino, who had easily broken free of the chains, momentarily left speechless.
These were special chains that could restrain even Danger Beast Level One monsters!
How could a little girl like her break free?!
Could it be… that the Supreme Commander, seeing that Yoshino had lost her Teigu and no longer posed a threat, deliberately didn't tighten the chains?
While Najenda was still wondering, Yoshino walked over to her.
Her small, fair hands looked soft and boneless, but with a sudden exertion of force, she effortlessly tore apart the chains that Najenda had struggled with using all her strength.
"…Eh?"
After helping Najenda break free, Yoshino stood up from the floor and patted the dust off her clothes.
Then, as if just realizing something was wrong, she raised her left hand.
Her face, previously expressionless like a doll's, suddenly turned deathly pale.
She stared blankly at her left hand for a long time before finally looking back at Najenda. Her eyes, once vacant, now carried a pleading look.
"Yo… Yoshinon…"
A voice as clear as spring water echoed — it was the first time Najenda had heard Yoshino real voice.
But within that voice was a tone of grievance and sobs, making it almost impossible not to feel sympathetic.
"Yoshinon is gone."
"Don't look at me — I didn't take your Yoshinon," Najenda said helplessly. "It must've been the Supreme Commander. A Teigu that can rival Esdeath is extremely important to the Revolutionary Army — he wouldn't let it go."
"Yoshinon isn't a Teigu," Yoshino voice trembled. "She must've… she must've fallen somewhere. I have to find her."
Without waiting for Najenda to respond, Yoshino kicked at the cell's iron door.
The sturdy metal bars were instantly blasted away.
Seeing this, Najenda heart tensed, and she immediately chased after her.
"What was that noise?"
"What happened?"
The two guards outside the cell obviously heard the commotion and gripped their weapons in alert.
However, before they could even react, they only vaguely saw a moss-green blur flash past their eyes.
Heavy footsteps followed.
"Sorry!"
Chasing after Yoshino, Najenda raised her steel prosthetic arm and slammed it hard into the two guards.
Najenda strength was already considerable — combined with the power of her steel arm, one punch sent the two trained guards flying, nearly killing them on the spot.
But she had no time to finish them off. After dealing a heavy blow to the guards, she immediately continued chasing after Yoshino.
"Yoshino! Stop looking! That rabbit puppet was definitely taken by the Supreme Commander!"
Najenda shouted anxiously while running.
"We'll go back to the Night Raid hideout first! After we get back, I'll have someone go to the Capital and buy you a new one!"