Only a few minutes later, the Piglet Squad and Liohime had arrived at the former's base, the settlement of the group known as the Killcounts.

The Killcounts were an interesting bunch of people, to say the least. A majority of the members consisted of former illegal Magical Beast Raiders and thugs, and even a rare bunch of Shinigami Soldiers who had entered the second layer and were spared before being converted into Killcount members through obeying and carrying out large scale work demands over a consistent period of time. They were ruthless, ensuring that all rogue Magical Beasts in the area were taken down and any Magical Beast eggs spotted would be taken to the outskirts of the third layer for a reason only known by the inner tight-lipped circle of the tribe.

Outsiders would be treated with hostility, and would be killed if they do not provide anything deemed valuable enough that would be worth sparing their life for. If something is unsure to be deemed valuable, or the outsider is given a mixed reaction by members, they are to be taken to the base where the leader would decide what to do with them.

Most of the members are not Magical Beast Users. Only a selected few of the high-ranking members are usually allowed to use or keep Magical Beasts, white outsiders or regular members rarely do have them, as most newcomers are killed when having a possession of a Magical Beast for an unknown reason.

Either way, with solid earth being paved as a road slithering through wooden buildings and various passers-by with mean-looking faces in the distance, Liohime held his breath for a split second, taking in the view as the camp lay within the heart of the Lost Forest.

"Well, this is it, handsome," mumbled Melty, before showing off a cheeky grin. "Welcome to your new home, the Killcounts."

"Hey, we're not even sure if he's deemed to remain alive or not yet," snapped Poly. "Let's take him to the boss first."

"Tch."

Melty grumbled, and then directed her attention to Liohime once again.

"Hey, handsome, you better return to me with all of your bones intact. I'm not fucking someone who's dead or injured. I'm not into that."

"I-I have a name, okay? It's Liohime Kitagami," Liohime responded with a sigh. "I know all of your names already, so just take me to see this guy already."

"Mhm, sure thing, sure thing!"

Thus, the trio moved forward with Liohime right behind, still being eyed with suspicion by Koro.

Several feet away, a group of men huddled together, listening closely to an older woman who gave out instructions with a stern voice.

She wore dazzling, dark purple hair that curled with elegance.

Her eyes were of a light purple, and her pupils showed off an unnatural yet fascinating hazy grey.

She had been grieving out orders concerning the operation of finding more outsiders that have reportedly entered the second layer when…

A powerful burst of something like a cold wind crawled against her skin as it rose upwards, and the pupils of her eyes contracted as she flinched hard.

"B-Boss? Are you-"

"Silence."

"-hk."

With that one word, she held out her index finger to one of the men who was going to ask if she was okay, and she easily cut him off as she immediately turned back, shortening her breaths into light but quick outbursts.

Her gaze never wavered. It remained on the young man with gradient yellow hair.

As the trio walked along with him to her location, his eyes met hers, and she could not contain her composure for a few seconds.

Liohime, easily noticing her troubled disposition, looked behind himself, believing that she must have been glancing over at someone else. But, he noticed that there was nothing truly significant that could cause his reaction, so he cautiously stepped forward and closed the gap even more.

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, the older woman also stepped forward, and the both of them stopped just a few feet away from each other.

"Boss, we have brought one back to you! This is-"

"Quiet, Melty."

"H-Huh?"

Melty had been silenced almost instantly, and the woman reached out for Liohime's left arm and gently brushed her right hand over his own left hand while many looked on with confusion.

Liohime froze, unsure of what was going on, but his alertness was now at an all-time high.

If he sensed any danger, he would have to use Shihon as his emergency weapon, and although this was one of the worst placed to summon her with almost a hundred people present he would have to fight until the bitter end-

"Mother Kanshudo."

"Huh?"

Liohime paused as those words suddenly escaped the woman's lips, and at the same ime, the woman drew back placing a hand over her mouth before trying to correct herself.

"I-I meant, 'may this person be of use to us, f-for Kanshido, and for Kinen'. It's a prayer, wishing you success while you become part of our future. Y-Yes, that's it."

Liohime merely blinked as he heard Kinen once again, but coupled with a name that he was unfamiliar with, while others around him responded affirmatively with her prayer.

"For Kanshido, and for Kinen!" they all collectively answer in sync, before the woman spoke up again while releasing her grip on Liohime's arms.

"Please follow me to my meeting room. I wish to have an important conversation with you and you alone."

Just like that, she had said something that was completely unusual to the Piglet Squad, but they did not raise their concerns, remaining patiently by her side before she issued commands.

"Piglet Squad, take some rest. At night, you will join forces to go out with the Cow Squad to go looking for more outsiders. That's all for now. Disperse."

"Yes, boss!" they answered collectively before leaving, with only Melty turning around to blow a kiss to Liohime.

"For the rest of you, we will continue our discussion later. For now, disperse."

"Yes boss!"

And with that, the others who had surrounded her and listened to her order quickly left, leaving her alone with Liohime Kitagami as she began to move forward.

Her expression did not change, but now a smile had faintly emerged as she weakly spoke up.

"Let's have a chat, young man."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.