The reconstruction is so fast.
Looking at the high-rises outside the window, rebuilt in only a few days, Cid sighed inwardly in admiration.
Magic existed in this world, so buildings could be repaired extremely quickly. The damage caused by the aftermath of his battle a few days ago had already been about ninety percent restored.
"Want one?"
"Ah, thanks, Koneko-chan."
Cid turned back to thank the silver-haired loli, accepted the cream puff Koneko Toujou handed him, then looked out the window and began eating it.
"Oh my, Koneko-chan. You're actually sharing your food with someone else? How rare... But there is one thing I should remind you of. Cid-kun is someone Rias has her eye on. I'm sure you understand what I mean."
With a flirtatious voice and a teasing tone, Akeno Himejima sat off to the side, smiling as if she were enjoying the show while she slowly spoke to Koneko Toujou. Her hands never paused as she brewed the tea.
"..."
Koneko Toujou did not answer. She merely glanced at Akeno Himejima, then took a few steps to the side and stood beside Cid, silently fixing her gaze on him.
"...What's wrong?"
Noticing Koneko Toujou staring straight at him from the corner of his eye, Cid thought for a moment, then decided not to pretend he had not noticed.
"Mm..."
When Cid turned to look at her, Koneko Toujou seemed conflicted. In the end, she let out a deep breath, raised her head, and met Cid's eyes.
"Senpai, um..."
She opened her mouth, but halfway through, under Cid's puzzled gaze, Koneko Toujou hesitated again.
"Oh my, Koneko-chan. Are you really planning to steal him from Rias?!"
Akeno Himejima covered her mouth with one hand in exaggerated shock, wearing an obviously fake frightened expression as she teased her. Koneko Toujou, who had been nervous, was interrupted by Akeno Himejima and glanced at her in displeasure.
"Senpai, why did Nee-san's scent on you suddenly become so strong?"
Her solemn voice carried a mechanical quality. Combined with Koneko Toujou's serious expression, the relaxed atmosphere in the conference room instantly grew heavy.
"!"
Cid's pupils sharply contracted, and the cream puff in his hand was silently cracked apart by the sudden force in his grip.
"Scent? Oh, that..."
As he said that, Cid swallowed the entire cream puff in one bite to calm himself down. Feeling the smooth texture of the cream puff as he chewed, he put on an indifferent expression.
Why? I took three showers and even sprayed on a colorless, odorless concealment perfume that erases scents. So why can Koneko-chan still smell Kuroka on me? Is this the bond between sisters...? This is exactly why I hate people with sharp noses and bad brains!
"Probably because Delta came to see me a few days ago, and when Kuroka came to pick her up afterward, we accidentally bumped into each other and the scent rubbed off."
Cid said it casually, without thinking much of it. But to his surprise, the amused look on Akeno Himejima's face instantly vanished. Koneko Toujou stared at him with an unfriendly look, and even Gasper, who had been peeking out of his cardboard box to breathe, was so frightened that he shrank back inside and trembled.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
After swallowing the cream puff in his mouth, Cid looked at the suddenly serious room in confusion. Was there something wrong with what he had said?
"Cid, do you have no idea how big of a problem it is that you know Delta and the others, and that you're close to them?"
Carrying a plate of pastries, Rias walked out of the storage room nearby, one hand pressed to her forehead as she spoke helplessly.
"What's the prob..."
His words abruptly stopped halfway. Cid finally realized that he seemed to have said something rather serious.
Had ten-billionfold sensitivity fried his brain? How could he think there was nothing wrong with knowing Delta, Kuroka, and the others? Those people were officially designated terrorists!
It seemed high-intensity combat was not advisable. In half a month, he had fought Great Red, the Hundred-Form Monster, the Evil Dragon King, and another version of himself. After playing so many high-level matches, he had apparently gotten stupid enough to subconsciously think people of that level could not cause much of a storm.
"Exactly. Vali and the others have openly declared themselves terrorists who joined the Hero Faction. If not for their special identities and the fact that this incident did not become too serious, then based on how familiar you acted with them this time, Cid, you would already have been arrested.
I do trust you, Cid, and I don't mind your friendship with them. But I hope... I hope you'll think carefully about it, or tell us so we can help you think it through. How exactly did you meet them? I'm really worried about you, Cid."
Rias spoke earnestly, set down the pastries, and sat across from Cid. At the same time, she shot Akeno Himejima a glare, making it clear that she had heard everything Akeno had said earlier.
"Ahem. Rias is right. The situation was too urgent before, so there was no time to explain properly. Now that it's over, Cid, you should tell us the details. After all, Claire asked Rias to help take care of you, hehe..."
After being glared at and realizing Rias was unhappy, Akeno Himejima also tried to talk seriously, though her tongue still slipped at the end.
Koneko Toujou did not speak. She simply stared fixedly at Cid. Clearly, whether it was about her sister or about Cid, she wanted to know everything.
"To be honest, Cid, you're in danger right now. You know what the Hero Faction has done, so I'm sorry, but we need to know certain things."
The only reason Cid had not gotten into trouble, been dragged away, and had his memories searched was purely because of his identity and because Rias was backing him.
"All right, all right. I'll tell you everything. Who do you want to start with?"
Cid sighed. He had already had a bad feeling about this at the time, but he had also been burying his head in the sand and hoping for luck, thinking that he was only a background character. Even if he somehow got involved with a bunch of big shots, no one would pay attention to him.
But fine. True powerhouses never feared difficulty. So what if he was in a dangerous situation now? This was exactly the moment to show off the top-tier play of an Eminence in Shadow.
"Then... let's start with that Therianthrope named Delta. Cid, how did you meet her?"
"Delta? She barged in out of nowhere while I was eating. I fed her a few pieces of grilled meat, and we became friends. After that, through that connection, I met Koneko Toujou's older sister, Kuroka Toujou."
"Do you have any evidence to prove that?"
"The restaurant I went to should have surveillance footage in the hallway outside."
Rias nodded and murmured softly to herself, clearly making note of it. Then she turned to the petite figure who had appeared at some unknown point.
"Natsuki-chan, you heard what Cid said too."
"That's far from the only problem, Rias. The people managing Itogami Island are desperate to find a scapegoat right now. Unless you give them detailed evidence, they won't give up."
Her tone was neither warm nor cold, but she clearly laid out the current situation for Rias and Cid.
Although the clues were vague and fragmented, enough time had passed for the major factions to investigate the general outline of the entire incident.
Without a doubt, if blame had to be assigned for this incident, the Shadow faction ranked first. But they could not find them, and they could not beat them.
Second were the Fallen Angels. Although traces of involvement from the Hero Faction and the mysterious Cult of Diablos had been found, neither group could be located.
Third was Itogami Island's Gigafloat Management Corporation. Such a massive illegal base had been built, and illegal experiments were being carried out, yet they failed to discover any of it. If they did not take the blame, who would?
Fourth was the Underworld. Although the Underworld's new government insisted that it was an individual act, no one believed them. But since the Underworld's two Transcenders were both working overtime on the World Battlefield, no one said much about it. They simply kept the debt in mind.
In short, among all the possible targets to take the blame, Itogami Island was the softest persimmon, since the controversy surrounding the Fallen Angels' Kokabiel had not been settled yet.
Under those circumstances, with such a huge blame suddenly landing on them, Itogami Island's higher-ups could only scramble to find someone else to take the fall.
And Cid, who knew Vali and the others, was a very convenient scapegoat. It did not matter that Vali's group and the Evil Dragon were not actually on the same side. Vali's group was part of the Hero Faction, and among the people causing trouble, there were also members of the Hero Faction.
"Those bastards only know how to bully the weak."
Rias spoke through gritted teeth. She had originally thought this was only a simple inquiry, but after Natsuki Minamiya's reminder, she understood at once.
In the end, if they were going to cause trouble for Cid because of Delta and the others, then why did they not go directly after Vali and his group?
"Rias-chan, calm down. Our priority right now is to clarify everything. Forget it, I'll ask instead..."
Serafall, who had appeared at some unknown point in a strange magical girl outfit, grabbed Rias and spoke playfully. Then she looked toward Cid and sat down.
"Hi, Cid-chan. Could you do cute magical girl Levi-chan a favor and tell Levi-chan exactly what happened?"
Her attitude was so deliberately cutesy, and for some reason had shifted so dramatically, that even Cid was startled.
"Sure."
Cid withdrew his gaze from the number above Serafall's head, which was close to three digits, and nodded.
"Ahem, ahem. All right, first, Cid-chan, when did you meet Vali?"
"Last Sunday. I picked up a... little girl on the street, and met him when I took her home."
Thinking of the absurdly powerful Magical Power inside Ophis, Cid felt that she probably counted as... a little girl.
"Okay, that should be fine. But can Levi-chan ask a few more questions? Cid-chan doesn't have to answer if it's difficult."
"I don't mind."
"Good. Then, Cid-chan, can you tell Levi-chan how you met the Third Primogenitor, Giada?"
"We met by chance while eating. It was the day before I met Vali and the others. Somehow, over a cup of tea, we just ended up talking."
It really had been inexplicable. The moment he opened his eyes, there had been a perverted woman pressed against him, inhaling like crazy.
"Mm-hmm. Then how did Cid-chan meet the Holy Sword Wielders from the Church?"
"Holy Sword Wielders... You mean Xenovia and Irina Shidou? I felt sorry for them, so I let them stay with me for a few days."
Although Asia had been the one who picked them up, Cid was indeed the one who agreed to take them in.
"This is getting more and more ridiculous. Then, does Cid-chan also know Asia, the former Saintess of the Church who appeared at the scene with Delta that day?"
"I guess so. We live together, though Asia has been staying at the Church the whole time these past few days. Is there anything else?"
"There are actually a few more things, but Levi-chan thinks Cid-chan probably doesn't know them himself, so let's change the subject. In any case, this should be enough to clear you."
"What subject?"
Serafall put away the notebook in her hand, dropped her playful manner from before, and solemnly extended an invitation to Cid.
"Are you interested in joining the Underworld's Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"
Everything was clear now. No wonder the man in front of her gave off the sense of being a natural-born scumbag. What an unbelievably powerful innate talent for living off others.
And it was not even intentional. Having watched him from beginning to end, Serafall could clearly see that Cid's gaze carried not the slightest desire. It was as if he were only looking at numbers.
Serafall looked at the utterly ordinary man before her in amazement and sighed inwardly.
Too strong. With such weak strength and a face that could only be called decent-looking, he had managed to survive among a group of eccentric powerhouses and even get acquainted with them.
What was even more impressive was that those people seemed fully aware that his charm was high. In just a few days, they had managed to track down the whereabouts of dozens of people.
"I'd like to first...?"
"Wait! Leviathan-sama, how did the topic suddenly jump to that? No, something's not right. Why is Cid joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs all of a sudden? Cid has never studied anything in that field."
Compared to Cid's confusion, Rias reacted much faster. Serafall was trying to steal her person.
"Does he even need to study?
Wouldn't it be a waste not to bring those social skills into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"
Serafall asked Rias in astonishment. No matter how many times she went over Cid's answers, she still found them absurd.
Although his ability to live off others was far too ridiculous, Serafall felt that as long as she kept a proper distance, there was no need to worry.
He was capable, not stupid, came with his own network, had great potential, and possessed high emotional intelligence. If they brought him in, then even putting everything else aside, his existing connections alone would be enough for Cid to draw a salary without doing anything.
"B-but..."
Rias really wanted to argue that Serafall was poaching him, but the gap in status made it impossible for her to say that out loud. She could only open her mouth and stammer, looking unconvinced.
Serafall narrowed her eyes, the corners of her lips curving into a faint smile, then leaned close to Rias's ear.
"Besides, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the few places where Cid-chan can truly shine. Rias-chan, you want your parents and older brother to approve of you two, don't you?"
"That..."
Rias froze up. It had to be said, Serafall's words struck straight at her heart.
Serafall simply looked at Rias and once again marveled at how absurd this was. Although she had already learned about it in advance through Sona Sitri's leaked information, she still found Cid's conquest ability, the kind she had only seen in anime, utterly ridiculous.
"Um..."
Cid raised his hand, drawing Serafall's attention.
"I'm still a student. I haven't even graduated yet!"
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