Chapter 79

Always, I'm sorry for the typos, omissions, and overly simple calculation mistakes.

Thank you for your report.

"Kuppa peh!!"

The moment Emma removed the violet threads from her mouth to talk to the ninja, Komai's cat punch exploded on the ninja's cheek.

"!!!"

"Komai! That's not nice! Look, he's missing a tooth..."

William picked up the tooth that had flown out when the ninja was punched.

"Huh? This isn't a tooth?"

"Isn't that it? Maybe it's something like a poison they put in to prevent information leaks if they fail?"

Georg peered at the tooth-like object William was holding and replied.

"? Do they die if they fail their mission? That's a bit much, isn't it?"

Joshua criticized Georg for thinking so violently.

"Well, they are ninjas..."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Because they are ninjas."

Joshua, who had been told by the three brothers that ninjas are like spies, knew that the kingdom's spies wouldn't take their own lives for failing a mission. In the military, it was rare for someone to be executed for failing a mission, but it was a very rare and special case.

Even Joshua, who was familiar with foreign countries, couldn't have imagined the unique culture of the Imperial Kingdom, which the three brothers spoke about as if it were normal.

"So, what has Komai been doing all this time?"

"Meow?"

She was sticking her fluffy paws into the mouth of the ninja who had lost a tooth.

"Oh, is she making sure he doesn't bite his tongue?"

"Meow♪"

It was Komai's way of being kind, but the image of a ninja with fluffy paws in his mouth was surreal. It was almost... a bit enviable.

"Ninja, what's your name?"

Komai removed her paws from the ninja's mouth, allowing him to speak, but the ninja didn't answer.

"Unfortunately, even if you bite your tongue, I know first aid, so I can't let you die."

She spoke with a smile, trying to reassure him, but the ninja's face only became more terrified. How much had the cats... tortured him?

"My name is Emma Stewart."

She introduced herself with the manners Hilda had taught her. Even if the ninja knew her name because he had sneaked into the house, a proper greeting was necessary for smooth communication, as her grandmother often said.

"My brother, Georg Stewart, and my younger brother, William Stewart. And my childhood friend, Joshua Rothschild. The cats are Komai, Ryu, Kan, and Cho. The spider is Violet."

She introduced everyone in the room, but the ninja's hard expression didn't change. However, the ninja now had the wrong impression that the kingdom's cats and spiders were incredibly large and strong.

"Ninjas... there are many of you, so I'll call you Hattori for convenience."

Well, when you think of ninjas, you think of Hattori. She tried to proceed with the conversation by giving the silent ninja a name, but then she noticed that Hattori looked shocked.

"Do you... know everything?"

The ninja sighed, as if giving up.

The abnormal combat power of the large cats and spiders, which could sense even the ninja's presence.

The poison they had prepared for mission failure was removed, and even biting the tongue was anticipated and prevented.

Out of 19 ninjas in the same outfit, they had pinpointed the leader and even guessed his name... It was a complete defeat.

"What... do you want to know?"

He couldn't betray the Imperial Kingdom, but with such a significant power gap, resistance was futile. They could easily be killed, but they were captured alive, so there must be some information they wanted.

Returning Prince Task to the Imperial Kingdom was their top priority. If necessary, they would have to make a deal.

The girl in front of her, after lowering her body to meet the ninja's eye level, answered in perfect Imperial Kingdom language, which felt completely natural.

"Are you... hungry?"

"Huh?"

The unexpected question made her voice involuntarily come out.

"Just a guess... but the kingdom doesn't know about the existence of the Hattoris, does it? Even if you take turns eating, you can't go shopping if you don't understand the language. Even if you steal or scavenge, it would be risky with 20 people..."

Food was one of the problems they faced while operating in the kingdom.

They had brought little food from their homeland, which was suffering from a food shortage, and it was almost gone.

Prince Task had a long way to go as a student in the kingdom.

This girl... was she trying to threaten them with food?

They were the Imperial Kingdom's ninjas, and elite at that. They couldn't be underestimated.

"I won't be incapacitated just because I'm hungry. I am a ninja...!"

After a knock, the door opened with a click.

"Excuse me, Miss Emma, your meal is ready."

Martha entered the room with a large pot and a lot of bread on a cart. The gentle aroma of corn cream soup wafted through the air.

"Corn cream soup!!!"

It was Emma's favorite.

"Miss Emma...? This is their meal, you know?"

Martha warned Emma, who was drawn to the smell.

After eating so much in the morning, she was still planning to eat, and Martha looked at her coldly.

Emma turned to Hattori, avoiding Martha's gaze, and smiled.

"As they say, a hungry man is not a good fighter."

The ninja's eyes widened, realizing that this girl knew the sayings of the Imperial Kingdom.

She was a weak, thin girl with large, injured eyes, but she had never expected to be manipulated to this extent.

"Komai, wake up the other ninjas? We should eat together."

"Meow♪"

Following Emma's instructions, Komai pressed her paws against the foreheads of the unconscious ninjas.

"...Ugh..."

"...What?"

"...Moo?"

Hattori, seeing his subordinates waking up one by one, muttered in disbelief.

"Are they... alive?"

William, who was removing the threads from Hattori to allow them to eat, accidentally answered the question.

"Of course they're alive. We don't kill people just for breaking in."

"William, is it okay to speak in Imperial Kingdom language?"

Georg, who was removing the threads from the ninja next to Hattori, pointed out in Imperial Kingdom language for some reason.

"No... both of you are speaking it?"

"Ack!"

Hattori and the other ninjas looked at Georg and William in surprise.

All the hard work of only Emma speaking Imperial Kingdom language was ruined. What a disappointment.

"......"

"Let's eat, anyway!"

It was too late to do anything about it. Emma smiled and served the soup, placing it in front of the ninjas. There were no tables or chairs in the unused room, so she placed the bowls on the floor, which was a bit impolite but acceptable.

To make up for it, she laid out the doilies she had made in her embroidery class. She had made about 150 of them, and even after giving some to the young master who gave her sweets, she still had many left, so Martha had thoughtfully brought them.

"Miss Emma?"

After serving 19 bowls of soup, Emma's hands didn't stop. She was clearly planning to eat as well.

"Brother, William, are you eating?"

"I'm a bit hungry..."

"Looking at it makes me hungry, too."

After the morning's events, Georg and William sat quietly next to the ninjas, waiting for the soup.

The ninja next to them shuddered but ignored it.

"What about Joshua?"

"I'll eat, too!"

Joshua answered enthusiastically and sat next to the ninja.

"Miss Emma is... serving me... soup...! Like a married couple! Newlyweds! Oh God... I'm so grateful, so moved, rain, a...h...!"

Before Joshua could mutter, Martha placed the bread she had already served to the ninjas in front of him, looking at him with pity.

The ninja next to him also looked at Joshua curiously, even though they couldn't understand the language.

"Everyone, let's eat!"

Emma smiled and clasped her hands, and the newly awakened ninja looked at her anxiously.

"Leader, what's going on?"

"What's happening?"

Even Hattori, who had been conscious and had spoken directly to Emma, didn't understand. It was understandable that his subordinates were anxious.

This was the first proper meal they had had since leaving the Imperial Kingdom. What if it was poisoned? What if it contained a truth serum?

"It's not poisoned."

As if reading their minds, Emma said and took the first sip of the soup.

"Mmm! It's delicious!"

She kept bringing the spoon to her mouth, smiling with satisfaction, and holding the spoon with her other hand to keep her cheeks from falling.

"We should eat, too..."

Faced with Emma's disarming smile, Hattori decided to lift his bowl.

"Leader!"

If they wanted to kill them, the giant cats and spiders would have done so already.

Even if they wanted information, they knew not only the existence of the ninjas, which was a secret even in the Imperial Kingdom, but also his name. They were not an opponent to begin with.

Even if this yellow liquid was poisoned, they had no choice but to eat it.

Following the girl's example, he brought the yellow liquid to his mouth with a spoon-like object.

"Ugh!"

Seeing the leader's body convulse, the subordinates tensed up, thinking it was poisoned.

Ignoring his subordinates' concerns, the leader swallowed the liquid and exhaled.

"...Delicious! What is this? So delicious!"

The sweet taste spread in the mouth of the ninja, who had been hungry beyond hunger and had been focused on the mission without complaint.

The warmth of the soup relaxed his body, which had been tense with fear. The rich cream fell into his empty stomach, asserting its presence.

A small laugh could be heard, and when he looked up, he saw the girl's smile.

Hattori stopped in his tracks.

Why hadn't he noticed before? The beauty of this girl.

Hattori asked himself. All the people of the Imperial Kingdom had blue hair and eyes. The various colors of the kingdom's people were always a source of confusion.

But how beautiful the girl in front of him was...

"Isn't it? It's really delicious, right?"

Narrowing her eyes, the girl tilted her head and asked Hattori. At that moment, his heart skipped a beat. Had he ever felt this way about his wife?

Like a teenage boy, his face turned red, and he nodded silently.

"Huh? Leader?"

"Are you okay? Is it the poison!?"

He tried to reassure his worried subordinates and encourage them to eat.

It wasn't poisoned, and even if it was, it was worth eating for the delicious broth.

The broth was delicious, but more than that...

His heart was beating so loudly, it felt like it was echoing throughout his body.

He shouldn't look at that girl any more.

His rational mind was sounding the alarm, but for the first time in his life as a ninja, his instincts... won.

Just as the girl took another sip of the soup, their eyes met, and she looked at Hattori, pressing her cheeks.

So cute! Beyond the limit of cuteness!! Supreme!! Sacred!!

She's... an angel.

An angel with beauty and cuteness. Hattori was certain in his heart.

Hattori Hanzo

Age 52.

A poor man firmly within the range of Emma's charm.

The bridge effect from the terror of the cats and spiders had made him one of the many victims who had fallen to the depths of Satan's hell.

On all fours, pressing his chest, Hattori was watched by Georg and William, who were drinking corn cream soup from the pot.

"Huh? Déjà vu? I've seen this scene before..."

"Sister, when I thought you were being kind to the ninja... it turns out he's a stoic, cool older man, Hattori..."

"Creepy, sis. Creepier than the devil."

Ignoring the brothers' fear, Emma took her empty soup bowl to the pot.

"Anyone want seconds?"

"YEAH!"

The younger ninjas, impressed by the rich corn cream soup, had already been won over.

For Emma, even the elite ninjas of the Imperial Kingdom were easily conquered.

"Sister, you're doing this unconsciously, right?"

"It's... kind of ridiculous, isn't it?... I'm going to report to Father..."

After pouring the remaining soup into his mouth, Georg stood up.

In the end, they had turned all the ninjas they had captured into allies without even asking them anything.

And here, the charm unexpectedly activated.