Being Overpowered in Akame ga Kill

The next day, inside a room in Haruki's mansion, he sat alone on a luxurious sofa.

After a while, the storage ring on Haruki's hand emitted a red flash, and a girl appeared directly in front of him.

She wore a red-and-white princess-style gown, had shoulder-length blonde hair adorned with a large bow, and wore black-and-white striped stockings. Her appearance was undeniably cute. This was Dorothea, the alchemist Haruki had previously sealed within his storage ring at the Cartel estate.

Despite her youthful appearance, Dorothea was, in fact, much older.

"Ah, finally out!" she exclaimed, stretching lazily with a contented sigh, not even taking a moment to observe her surroundings.

Being confined within Haruki's storage ring had been far from pleasant.

Unlike the rings used by the other women around him, Haruki's storage ring was not only more spacious but also divided into multiple sections: storage, pet quarters, and prison cells.

Given that Dorothea had been part of the enemy faction, Haruki hadn't shown her any leniency. He had placed her in the prison section—a gray, boundless space where no matter where one walked, the scenery remained oppressively monotonous. For those lacking strong willpower, prolonged exposure to such an environment could easily lead to a mental breakdown.

"You're surprisingly optimistic," Haruki remarked upon seeing her reaction.

"Huh? Why are you here? Where is this place?" Dorothea's body tensed as she turned toward the voice, her guard up. Upon seeing Haruki, she asked in surprise.

"This is my residence. As for why I'm here, considering you're my prisoner, that question seems rather pointless," Haruki replied with a hint of amusement.

"Tell me, why did you bring me here? Don't tell me you've taken a liking to me. I'm old enough to be your mother," Dorothea said, puzzled.

She wasn't naive enough to believe Haruki was attracted to her looks. While she appeared cute, she knew she didn't quite measure up to the women who had been around him before.

"Heh, young lady, don't be so certain. How can you be sure I'm as young as I appear?" Haruki chuckled. In this world, perhaps only Yuki and a few other super-class Danger Beasts were older than him.

"Wait, are you saying you're older than me? Are you an alchemist too?" Dorothea asked, intrigued.

"Alchemy isn't the only path to immortality, but I must admit, your alchemy is quite impressive," Haruki responded.

Though he didn't directly answer her question, Haruki's words implied that he was indeed much older than Dorothea.

"Who exactly are you? Even with alchemy, one can maintain a youthful appearance, but extending life for such a long time is impossible," Dorothea asked, shocked.

"What if I told you that I am the founder of this empire and the creator of all the Teigu, including the one you mentioned? Would you believe me?" Haruki said with a playful smile.

As previously mentioned, all members of Wild Hunt were Teigu users, and Dorothea was no exception. Her Teigu, Blood Collection: Absordex, was a fang-shaped weapon installed in her mouth. It allowed her to drain her victims' blood, turning them into mummified corpses, which she could then use for self-healing and enhancing her own strength. This Teigu was designed based on vampire principles.

"Haha, what a joke. If that were true, you'd be over a hundred years old by now," Dorothea immediately retorted, unable to believe such an outrageous claim.

"Why not?"

At that moment, Haruki shot back with a serious expression. Honestly, it was kind of fun provoking the little lady in front of him.

"Hey, hey, don't scare me. You're not actually serious, are you?"

She hadn't believed him at first, but after seeing how serious Haruki looked, Dorothea couldn't help but start doubting whether he might be telling the truth.

"Think whatever you like."

Just as he had piqued Dorothea's interest, Haruki suddenly went quiet.

"You… Fine. Just tell me why you brought me here. What do you want?"

Frustrated by Haruki's vague answer, Dorothea pointed at him in irritation—but then remembered she was his prisoner. With no choice, she lowered her hand and asked helplessly.

"Nothing much. I just want you to work for me. Whatever Syura could offer you, I can give you too. In fact, I can offer things he never could."

Since she asked, Haruki didn't bother with pleasantries and laid it out plainly.

He genuinely admired Dorothea's talents. Not only could she use alchemy to maintain her youth, but she could also transform others into whatever creatures she wanted. In the original manga, she had modified Cosmina into a spider-like Super-Class Danger Beast—its power was no joke.

Among the members of Wild Hunt, Haruki felt Dorothea was the only one who still seemed remotely sane. The only reason she had joined Syura was because he provided her with enough research materials.

"Becoming your subordinate… doesn't sound too bad. But aren't you worried I might just be lying to you?"

To Dorothea, it didn't really matter who she worked for—she only cared about who could give her better materials for her experiments. Haruki's earlier remark about age had clearly caught her attention, but she still found it odd that he would trust her so easily.

"You're right. You're smart. Why would I trust someone I've only met a few times? That's why—you need to drink this."

As he spoke, Haruki took out a test tube filled with red liquid from his storage ring. It was the same thing he'd made Dr. Stylish drink earlier.

"Do I have to?"

She didn't know what it was, but she was sure it couldn't be anything good for her.

"Of course not. You could always choose to be food for the Hell Butterflies—you've seen them before, right? They won't take long to finish you off. Or, you could stay in that place you were kept before. Forever."

Haruki offered her the alternatives with a calm, indifferent face.

"Haha, I was just kidding. I'll take the first option."

Hearing those other two choices, Dorothea shivered. She quickly smiled at Haruki, conceding.

"You should've picked this one from the start. And it's not like this stuff has no benefits—there aren't many people in the world who get to drink it. You'll understand eventually. Now, drink up."

Seeing her agree, Haruki handed her the test tube.

Gulp gulp.

Having made her decision, Dorothea didn't hesitate. She pulled out the stopper and drank it all in just a few swigs.