It feels... so-so.
I guess tourist attractions everywhere in the world are pretty much the same. Online, they're photographed to look like breathtaking paradises on earth, but once you actually arrive, it turns into one of those shameless scams where "photos are for reference only; actual conditions may vary."
Don't travel. It'll only shatter your dreams.
Damn it. You inherently evil capitalists. One of these days, I'll kill every last one of you with my own hands.
"Wow, Cid, this is amazing! Aside from the sacred site of the Divine Teachings of Goddess Beatrix, this is my first time visiting another sect's sanctuary. A year ago, I thought the next god I'd encounter would be the Beast God worshipped by the Beastman Kingdom!"
The unmistakably naive, innocent voice interrupted the little drama playing out in Cid's head.
A country noble from a backwater region, Kanade looked eagerly from side to side at the rows of red torii gates around them, her light brown eyes practically sparkling.
"I told you not to make such a fuss. You've got everyone around us staring. But Kanade, that Beast God you just mentioned... what is it?"
Cid held down the bouncing Kanade and did his best to ignore the strange looks coming their way, only to pause at the end of his question.
The name "Beast God"... hadn't he heard it somewhere before?
Cid thought for a while, but he genuinely couldn't remember when he'd heard the name, so he decided not to bother. If he couldn't even remember it, then it was either some insignificant minor character or someone he'd already killed.
As for the Divine Teachings of Goddess Beatrix, it was a sect that people across various countries in this other world had become obsessed with after Cid's reincarnation. There was nothing worth paying attention to. None of its members could fight, and the impression it had left on Cid was weaker than that of another similarly named figure, the Elf War Goddess. At least she had actually been strong.
"Is this your first time here, Cid?"
Noticing his expression, Rias leaned over and asked with a smile.
"Yeah, it's my first time. Isn't it yours too, Rias-senpai?"
Cid nodded. Whether in his previous life or in this new world, this was his first time visiting a place called Kyoto. Sure, it was ancient, but there wasn't anyone here worth fighting.
"Nope. I came to Kyoto several times when I was little. You could say it's... one of the places my family visits every few years. Out of all the cities in Japan, Kyoto is probably my favorite. What do you think? It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Rias tapped a finger against her chin as though thinking it over, then spoke with a subtle leading tone as she guided Cid's gaze toward herself.
It feels pretty average.
Cid silently disagreed. Although he had always worked hard to cultivate the image of a dashing and refined nobleman, he was actually a pragmatist. Once he determined that this place wasn't particularly suitable for standing atop a mountain with his back to the masses, he promptly put it on his blacklist.
"Really? Then could you show me around, Rias-senpai?"
That was what he thought, but naturally, it wasn't what he said. Cid understood what was happening. Rias was basically someone excited to introduce a friend to something she loved. Besides, he really did intend to look around the city, and it wasn't going to cost him anything, so why not?
"Sure. We'll be staying for a few days after the negotiations with the Mitsugoshi Company anyway, since we need to inspect our base in Kyoto. During those days, Sona and I can take you all around and be your guides."
"Great. Thanks, Rias."
"Hehe, with our relationship, you don't need to thank me for something this small."
Rias covered her mouth as she laughed. Apparently, getting to show someone the things she liked while spending time with someone she cared about made her genuinely happy.
Cid was happy too. At the very least, having someone guide him around would make it easier to scout the area and see which places were suitable for standing with his back to the masses. A top-tier Eminence in Shadow never fought an unprepared battle.
Ideally, it would be a calm, moonlit night with flower petals drifting across the sky. He would stand at the summit of the heavens, step into the sky one step at a time, then unleash his signature move and destroy the world.
Man, just imagining it was exciting.
"You two really are something... Cid is one thing, since he isn't a Devil, but Rias, how are you still able to flirt when the sense of rejection here is this strong?"
Souna Shitori shifted uncomfortably. As someone from a local supernatural faction, she felt uneasy all over. More importantly, as a Devil, she was naturally incompatible with places like shrines. Her Devil Bloodline was being suppressed, and her urge to fight was steadily rising.
"It's really not as bad as you're making it sound, Souna Shitori. Come a few more times and you'll get used to it."
Rias spoke casually, paying little attention to Souna Shitori's discomfort. After all, she was already a regular visitor here.
"What's wrong, President Sona? Is there something strange about this place?"
Cid instinctively wondered whether there was something nearby that he hadn't noticed, so he carefully sensed his surroundings again.
Nothing but air. Not a single person worth fighting.
He'd have to hold back a little when he destroyed the world here.
"Huh? What's going on? Is the world about to end again?"
The adorably clueless Kanade seemed to have only just realized that something was wrong. Perhaps she'd suffered through one disaster too many, because the first thing out of her mouth was the end of the world.
Cid thought she was being a little too pessimistic. He was only wondering whether the world was beyond saving.
"...No, it's nothing. I just think it's a little too optimistic for all of you to start planning your sightseeing before the negotiations have even been settled."
Souna Shitori quietly looked over the three people in front of her. One was hopelessly love-struck, one could barely qualify as a normal ordinary person, and one was an extreme pessimist. The glare reflecting off her glasses concealed her expression, leaving the three of them to see only her sigh.
"President Sona, are you that worried about the negotiations with the Mitsugoshi Company?"
"Yes. After all, this is my first time negotiating on my sister's behalf. Even if it's only a business negotiation, I still want to do a good job."
Souna Shitori nodded lightly. Remembering the last time her sister Serafall had negotiated with the Joker was enough to make her blood pressure rise all over again.
Why had her sister still been acting like a cheerful magical girl in the middle of negotiations?
At the time, Souna Shitori couldn't exactly rush up and correct her sister without considering the situation. Her sister was the one leading the negotiations, after all. Worse still, that unreasonable, pestering approach had actually worked on Dulio. In the end, Souna Shitori could only escape the scene and pretend she hadn't seen anything.
She could tolerate losing in anything else, but absolutely not in this.
"That's enough, Cid. If you keep going, Sona's really going to shut down. Ever since she came back last time, she hasn't wanted to talk about it."
Rias whispered into Cid's ear while watching Souna Shitori somehow become fired up and depressed at the same time, looking thoroughly accustomed to the sight.
"Sounds like things on your side aren't much better than ours."
After taking stock of everything he'd encountered so far, Cid understood.
The whole world was probably going insane.
Why did everyone he met seem to be either shady, mentally unstable, or outright lunatics trying to destroy the world? There were barely any normal people left.
"Cid, you can't say that! How can you say something like that after what happened to us when a whole horde of zombies surrounded the building? We almost got eaten alive!"
Cid had been criticizing people's mental state, but Kanade immediately took it as a contest over who'd suffered more and jumped into the conversation. Surviving a zombie horde and successfully clinging to Christina's coattails was an achievement she considered worthy of being recorded in her family's genealogy.
"I heard about that. When I first saw the report, I was worried about you, Cid. I didn't relax until I saw your name among the members of the End Alliance afterward. But I've actually always wondered... isn't that name a little strange?"
"Right? Right? I thought the name sounded unlucky from the start. Who names an organization 'End'?"
Kanade eagerly joined in, but halfway through, she noticed Rias giving her a strange look.
"I didn't think it was unlucky. The characters used for 'End' can mean 'binding together' or 'unity' in Japanese, so I only thought the name sounded a little unusual."
"Huh?"
Feeling thoroughly betrayed, Kanade slowly turned her stiff neck toward Cid, only to find him smiling at her.
"I knew it. You traitor. You were plotting something from the start. I'll remember this."
"Guh... but the name really is weird."
Caught out, Kanade stubbornly refused to back down and kept trying to defend herself.
"That's where you don't understand, Kanade..."
Cid raised one finger and wagged it, a smug look spreading across his face.
"A name doesn't matter. What matters is your track record. For example, if someone says, 'I'll be the one to end the End Alliance,' then according to the principle that two negatives make a positive, the moment he says it, he's already ended himself. You start off by winning before the fight even begins."
"..."
A rare silence followed.
Even Souna Shitori, who normally played the role of the one pointing out everyone's nonsense, was left speechless. Yet after thinking about it carefully, she somehow felt there was a little logic to it.
"You think I'm going to fall for that nonsense?"
"Haven't you already fallen for it?"
Cid chuckled at Kanade's stubborn denial and continued.
"That's why I'm saying the name doesn't matter. Your achievements do. No matter how impressive or meaningful your name is, it's worthless if you show up for the first time and immediately get wiped out. But if you choose a name like 'End,' then maybe two negatives will make a positive and summon an Angel to save your life."
Souna Shitori turned toward her best friend with a questioning look.
Rias thought for a moment.
"It's probably some kind of folk tale from the country Cid was born in. It sounds cute, doesn't it?"
"I shouldn't have asked you. You're beyond saving."
After making that remark, Souna Shitori looked ahead. By now, Kanade was practically convinced.
"Of course, everything I just said was complete nonsense, so please don't take it..."
"Who's calling for an Angel?"
Just as Cid was about to finish fooling Kanade, a woman's voice suddenly rang out, startling both of them.
Cid turned his head and found himself staring directly at a head poking out from the nearby woods.
"Huh? Irina Shidou?"
"Cid-kun?"
The two stared at each other, their eyes widening at the same time.
Then came the sound of running footsteps, and a girl with short blue hair appeared.
"Irina, your sensing ability had better not be wrong, or you'll be taking full responsibility for trespassing in another faction's territory... Cid?"
Still complaining, the newly arrived blue-haired girl followed Irina Shidou's gaze, spotted Cid, and abruptly stopped.
"Xenovia?"
Cid recognized the two of them. Irina Shidou and Xenovia, the Church's brainless idiot and perpetually grumpy duo.
Unexpected things just kept happening one after another.
Could someone please explain why he was running into both Devils and Church personnel at a shrine in Japan?
"A Devil!?"
"The Church!?"
While Cid complained internally, the two from the Church and the two Devils met each other's gazes at the exact same moment.
Almost instantly, all four drew their weapons and prepared to fight.
Cid! Cid! What do we do?
Kanade had retreated beside Cid and desperately tried to signal with her eyes that he should think of something, only to suddenly notice the ill-intentioned gleam in his gaze.
What are you planning!?
This is exactly what I've been keeping you around for. Time to repay me, Kanade!
Cid, don't tell me you're...
"Thud!"
Before Kanade could finish communicating with her eyes, Cid kicked her squarely in the butt and sent her flying into the middle of the four.
"Whoa! Cid, you heartless bastard!"
Kanade scrambled up from the ground and immediately started yelling, but when she felt the dangerous, frozen stares coming from both sides, she forced an awkward smile onto her face.
"Um... can we make peace?"
The four exchanged looks, glanced at Kanade standing in the middle, then looked toward Cid.
Finally, all four nodded together and lowered their weapons.
"So you sensed a believer calling for help, and that's why you ignored territorial boundaries and barged in?"
"You Devils actually entered another shrine just because you came here sightseeing?"
After briefly exchanging information, the four finally understood what had happened.
They all thought the other side's reason sounded absurd, but both excuses were equally ridiculous, so neither side was really in a position to criticize the other.
"That's strange. If you Devils weren't trying to hurt anyone, then where did the distress signal from that believer come from?"
Irina Shidou scratched at her brown hair, completely baffled.
"We can't help you with that. At the time, there was no one else at that location besides us."
Rias calmly helped Irina Shidou sort through the situation. If they could avoid a fight, she had no intention of starting one.
Maybe the believer was already killed by you Devils?
Xenovia thought it, but with Cid there as a witness, she decided not to say it aloud.
"But summoning an Angel... I seem to remember Cid joking about summoning an Angel just now."
Recalling what had happened earlier, Souna Shitori turned a suspicious gaze toward Cid.
"What? I was just saying random nonsense. Irina, tell them. Do you really think something like that is possible?"
Cid immediately objected and looked toward Irina Shidou, hoping she'd prove his innocence.
How could anyone seriously connect him to such an absurd theory?
"Impossible. That signal can only be sent by the most devout believers. As for why I was the only one who received it... that must be because I'm the most devout Angel!"
"I think you just sensed it wrong!"
Irina Shidou confirmed Cid's claim while taking the opportunity to jab at Xenovia, only for Xenovia to grab her by the neck.
Xenovia had been switching sides back and forth from the beginning.
Since Irina Shidou was the only one who had received the signal, she'd originally suspected that Irina Shidou had simply sensed it incorrectly.
Then Devils had appeared at the scene, so she'd decided Irina Shidou probably hadn't been wrong after all.
Now she had no problem switching back again.
"All right, we're here. Fushimi Inari Taisha."
Rias came to a stop and excitedly pointed beyond the torii gate toward the mostly red shrine ahead.