It was probably a few days after they formed the alliance with Christina. Somehow, the "End Alliance", which Cid had joined with the mindset of playing a game and which had seemed thrown together with incredible carelessness, managed to overwhelm most of the nobility in the Kingdom of Midgar in one fell swoop.
God only knew what had happened, but Beta had actually gotten serious. She kept saying that with the Thirteen Nightblades and the Fenrir Sect completely wiped out, this was the perfect opportunity to take control of the Kingdom of Midgar all at once. Yet after watching the whole process, Cid felt like Gamma was the only one working herself to the bone without complaint, while Beta shamelessly used her position for personal gain and raked in the profits. She looked less like a founder and more like a parasite inside Mitsugoshi trying to split the company apart.
Then there was Princess Iris, another hopeless member of the surrender faction. No matter how the advisors behind her analyzed the situation or tried to persuade her otherwise, nothing could stop her from surrendering. Her attitude practically screamed, Compared to those monsters, Christina is still more trustworthy.
Finally, there was the King of Midgar. Just a few days earlier, he had looked brimming with ambition, carrying himself with the majesty of a ruler who believed everything beneath the heavens belonged to him. Then the very next day, he surrendered without hesitation and entered a state of complete resignation.
Looking back over the entire process, it was as though everything had aligned perfectly in their favor. The greatest setback during the entire power grab was actually Alexia protesting against Christina turning the tables on her and usurping her authority. Then Princess Iris arrived and promptly subdued Alexia.
And just like that, this joke of an alliance, an organization founded almost entirely by students with not a single member over twenty, successfully seized the right to speak for the Kingdom of Midgar.
Are you kidding me? Not even the most ridiculous power-fantasy novel would dare write something like this!
Wait, don't tell me I really just got absurdly lucky and ended up in the right place at exactly the right time?
That was Cid's first thought once he realized what had happened.
To be fair, he had never expected much from Christina's alliance in the first place. No matter how he looked at it, the whole thing seemed unreliable. The main reason he had agreed was... publicly, Christina had practically invited him to become the power behind the throne. Privately, what man could resist that kind of temptation?
But he had genuinely never imagined this childish little organization would actually succeed.
In Cid's original prediction, Christina was supposed to suffer setback after setback until outside pressure eventually forced her to dissolve the alliance. Even in the worst-case scenario, he could simply push Kanade forward as his scapegoat.
Damn it. Aren't promises supposed to be lies anyway?
Was he seriously going to spend the rest of his life working himself into the ground for this alliance?
Had something gone wrong with Kanade, his supposedly infallible bit-player compass? He had followed Kanade's actions almost perfectly. Could it be that Kanade was not actually a bit player, but a supporting character who merely looked exactly like one?
The moment that thought occurred to him, Cid immediately chose to flee and lower his presence.
Maybe he could try something like this in the future, but right now he was still in his bit-player phase. He had no interest in becoming some all-powerful kingmaker behind the throne.
Cid was even beginning to suspect he had been cursed. Why did every organization he created somehow go completely off the rails?
He had wanted to play Shadow Garden for the rest of his life, only for his companions to discover the truth. That fell apart, and they parted ways peacefully before creating their own little clique and leaving him out.
He had only wanted to find a terrorist organization to use as disposable cannon fodder, yet the Library somehow became the world's greatest arms dealer.
The "End Alliance" he had casually formed with Christina should have "collapsed halfway through its founder's grand undertaking," yet thanks to a series of surrenderists and generous suckers, it somehow coasted to victory.
As an aside, Cid genuinely had no idea what sort of once-in-a-generation geniuses made up First Princess Iris's advisory group.
Halfway through their discussions, they had begun splitting into factions and attacking one another.
One side would shout, "Which faction are you from?"
Then came, "What? We were on the same side!? But I've already cut you, so I guess you'll have to die."
Elsewhere, someone would declare, "With the two of us brothers fighting together, how could the enemy possibly last a single exchange?"
Only to receive, "Big Brother, forgive me. I've already joined another faction. You can disappear from the Kingdom of Midgar along with that lord."
Every last one of them spoke in cryptic nonsense instead of saying anything remotely normal.
Still, Cid had thoroughly enjoyed watching the spectacle over those few days. He had been so entertained that he had not even gone out to rob criminals or hunt wild game.
"We've arrived in Kyoto, Japan. It's absolutely beautiful, everyone. Let's take a look at the scenery nearby."
"Huh? Isn't that Cid-kun? Actually, let's admire the scenery farther away instead."
Smack!
"Wah! Waaah!"
Cid grabbed Kanade's face with one hand while she was taking pictures with her phone. Ignoring her cries, he dragged her right in front of him.
"Why the hell are you here too!?"
Cid shouted at Kanade in utter frustration.
He had been completely confident that his escape plan was flawless. No one except Gamma had known about it, yet Kanade had somehow appeared on the exact train he was taking out of the country.
"Ow, ow, ow! Let go, Cid-kun! If you squeeze any harder, you're going to crush my skull! A beautiful young girl in the prime of her youth is about to be brutally murdered!"
"Brutally murdered, my ass. I couldn't openly deal with you on the train, and you seriously had the nerve to get off here with me. Talk. How did you know which train ticket I bought?"
Cid dragged Kanade into a dark, deserted corner and threatened her. His fingers tightened around her head hard enough to make her bones creak.
Why did he run into this bit player everywhere he went?
If he could not get to the bottom of this today, then Cid might truly have no choice but to show no mercy, even to a girl.
"How am I supposed to know!? I bought my ticket because I wanted to escape the Kingdom of Midgar. Then somehow I just happened to run into you!"
Kanade clutched her head indignantly.
She felt wronged too. She had gone through enormous trouble to escape without anyone noticing, so why did she still end up running into this sadistic, black-hearted bastard Cid wherever she went?
She had fled all the way to Kyoto, Japan!
"Escape? Kanade, what do you mean? Why are you running away?"
"Guh..."
Kanade's aggrieved expression instantly froze. She covered her mouth, only now realizing that she might have accidentally said something extremely dangerous.
"Hehe... my beloved Cid-kun, you didn't hear anything just now..."
She tried acting cute in the hope of bluffing her way through it.
Unfortunately, the dead look Cid was giving her made one thing perfectly clear. If she did not explain herself, this heartless bastard really would drag her back.
"I had no choice! I'm really not cut out to work under Christina-sama. If I didn't run away, I was going to die!"
"Huh?"
Under Cid's puzzled gaze, Kanade slowly began recounting what she had experienced over the past few days.
At first, things had gone exactly as Kanade had imagined.
Most people in the kingdom looked up to her with admiration. Even the noble young ladies who used to look down on her shamelessly came seeking her out, thoroughly satisfying Kanade's vanity.
Unfortunately, what came afterward was nowhere near as pleasant.
Millions had died in the royal capital, and the disappearances occurring throughout the country could no longer be concealed. Mountains of documents came crashing down on Kanade.
Christina, Alexia, Beta, and Princess Iris all threw themselves into their work and diligently dealt with the paperwork.
Kanade, however, simply did not have the brains for it. No matter how hard she tried, she could never finish processing all those documents before the workday ended.
If that had been the only problem, Kanade might still have endured it and forced herself to keep going.
Then the bribes and threatening messages started appearing among the documents.
That was what finally scared Kanade out of her wits.
Kanade might be as dumb as an ox when it came to most things, but when her own life and property were at stake, she became shrewder than anyone.
She knew perfectly well that if she accepted those benefits, Christina would treat her like vermin and kill her, so Kanade did not dare touch a single one.
But at the same time, she was terrified that if she refused them, those nobles might secretly have her killed.
Given those choices, her decision was obvious.
On one side was an impossible position combined with endless overtime. On the other was a wonderful life of vacation and freedom.
Besides, the Kingdom of Midgar belonged to Alexia, Princess Iris, or Christina. Kanade was not stupid enough to sacrifice her life for someone else's property.
And so, cowardly little Kanade chose to run.
Now that she, the weakest and easiest target, was gone, those idiotic nobles could go challenge the two princesses or Christina directly if they had the guts.
What happened after that?
She fled to Japan to hide, only to run into Cid on the train and get mercilessly taken out by him in person.
"Seriously, how did everything end up like this? I really never meant for things to go this far."
After recounting her miserable experiences, Kanade could not help complaining.
Then her body suddenly stiffened.
She slowly raised her head and met Cid's eyes.
He had caught the flaw in her words.
"You never meant for things to go this far? Then how far did you originally plan to go?"
Cid looked openly curious and amused.
Come to think of it, he suddenly realized that having a bit player like Kanade around to scout ahead for him might actually be useful in this unfamiliar country.
"Well, Christina-sama's plan obviously sounded unreliable. But with Christina-sama's status, there was no way she'd actually die. So I figured I'd pledge my loyalty first, then take advantage of the situation after everything failed. That way, once I graduated, I wouldn't have to wander around making money like some vagrant Knight. I could become Christina's lackey and exploit the common people instead. Hehehe..."
Good grief.
Cid had thought he was the only one with that idea, but apparently Kanade, the very first person to swear loyalty, had also been a turncoat from the beginning.
Then again, she was already a turncoat and a surrenderist.
So that was completely normal.
Let me think. I'm definitely the first person who should be excluded. Kanade is second. As for Zeta and Beta... considering how they seem to be fighting and sulking at each other, there's a ninety percent chance something's wrong with them too. And Alexia is literally the former alliance leader who has ambitions of seizing power and rebelling.
Who would believe that this ramshackle excuse for an organization was secretly ruling the Kingdom of Midgar?
Were they really sure the enemy could not just slap the whole thing to death?
Oh.
Right.
The enemy was an even greater collection of infighting lunatics led by the surrender faction.
Thinking of First Princess Iris and that bizarre group of advisors, Cid suddenly felt much better.
Calling it two groups of amateurs flailing at each other would be unfair.
They were clearly evenly matched.
No matter how Cid looked at the Kingdom of Midgar, only two words came to mind.
It's doomed.
Cid released Kanade.
Thinking about this absurd, once-in-a-lifetime situation, he suddenly felt there was no reason to keep arguing with these people. Doing so would only make him look petty.
Still, Kanade's brain seems to be working fine. Her judgment is exactly the same as mine. So where did the strength of this "End Alliance" come from? Kanade and I both thought it should have been effortlessly crushed, not effortlessly crushing everyone else.
Pondering that question, Cid walked out of the ridiculously enormous station, intending to enjoy the sights of Kyoto.
After walking a short distance, however, he stopped and looked back at Kanade, who was furtively following him.
"...What are you doing?"
"I just realized that a pickpocket seems to have stolen all my money. Now I'm penniless and stranded in a foreign country. You'll save me, right, my beloved Cid-kun?"
You're a Magic Swordsman with at least a C-rank level of strength, and you expect me to believe some pickpocket stole your wallet?
Just how strong and fast was this pickpocket supposed to be?
Cid's face twisted.
He reached into his pocket, intending to pull out a stack of cash, slap it against Kanade's face, and denounce her as a disgrace to Magic Swordsmen.
Then...
His hand found nothing.
I must have remembered the wrong pocket. Yeah, it's in the other one...
His body moved faster than his conscious thoughts.
Cid reached into his other pocket.
Empty.
...I see.
This wasn't an ordinary pickpocket.
The evil Great Red must have taken offense at me. To get revenge, it concealed its presence, came into the real world, stole my wallet, and took Kanade's while it was at it.
Having identified the culprit, Cid nodded with a mixture of admiration and emotion.
Great Red.
Truly an enemy possessing unprecedented power and terrifying speed...
Next time we meet, I'll break your legs, beat your eyes swollen, and draw two little turtles on your wings!
"Um... Cid-kun?"
Kanade called out tentatively.
She stared fearfully at the trembling ground and slowly moved closer to Cid, whose expression had suddenly become strangely terrifying.
For some reason, all of Kyoto...
No.
The tectonic plates of the entire planet had suddenly begun trembling slightly.
Within only a few seconds, the intensity rose at an astonishing speed.
The familiar sight instantly awakened Kanade's PTSD.
Without thinking, she moved toward the nearest powerful person she could cling to. The only reason she had survived this long was because she was exceptionally skilled at attaching herself to someone stronger.
"It's an earthquake! We should hurry and... huh?"
The shaking suddenly stopped.
Kanade looked at the motionless ground, then met Cid's eyes again and gave him an awkward smile.
Cid snapped out of his tenth simulated battle against the pickpocket-murdering... Great Red.
He stared silently at Kanade for several seconds before sighing.
"Follow me. While we're in Kyoto, I'll take care of your food, clothes, lodging, and transportation."
"Really? That's great! I knew you loved me, Cid-kun."
"Heh."
Cid smiled and hooked an arm around Kanade's shoulders as she came over.
"But I need you to do me a favor."
"Uh... I mean, if it's you, Cid-kun, I don't mind, but isn't this moving a little too fast...?"
"What the hell are you imagining?"
Cid immediately stopped Kanade before her thoughts could wander any farther.
His expression became more serious than ever.
"Do you remember who stole your money?"
"Why are you asking? Don't tell me yours was also..."
The human imagination could move very quickly.
Sometimes, however, an arm closing around a young girl's throat moved even faster.
"I merely wish to make a small contribution to public safety in this world."
"...You really are such a kind person. Just what I'd expect from my beloved Cid-kun."
Cid and Kanade exchanged equally forced smiles.
As for why Cid did not simply remember the thief himself, do not ask.
He had forgotten.
There was nothing he could do about that.
Everything around him felt as fragile as paper. Unless he deliberately looked at them, ordinary people had about as much presence to him as air.
They were practically life-forms from different dimensions.
That said, the worldwide tremor just now had absolutely nothing to do with Cid.
The planetary structure created by the fusion of four planets was simply so unstable that the slightest push could make the whole thing move.
So it definitely was not his fault.
Probably.
As for how to fix it...
Unless someone went around repairing the Spirit Veins like a programmer fixing broken code, the planet was beyond saving.
But what kind of sucker would ever volunteer for something like that?
...
Deep beneath Kyoto, Georg, one of Cao Cao's companions, sneezed.