The brush lightly swept across the golden antique, which carried an air of age. The dust clinging to its surface fell away, revealing its magnificent exterior.
"Alright, this is the last one."
After finishing the cleaning and checking it several times, the antique, stabilized with Magical Power, was carefully placed back into the glass display case.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned to look at the massive warehouse lined with densely packed shelves, each filled with antiques. A smug smile spread across Cid's face as he burst into laughter.
This was a large warehouse located in the northern part of Itogami Island, filled with every treasure he had collected since birth. It was Cid's personal treasury.
Some of the treasures before him had been seized from the hideouts of terrorist organizations or thieves during his operations, while others had been purchased at great cost.
Every single item was incredibly valuable. For example, the golden mask he had just cleaned was a treasure from ancient Egypt, worth hundreds of millions of zeni on the market and of immense collectible value.
Then there was this golden ring. Its noble golden sheen spoke of its purity. As a one-of-a-kind piece in the world, the long-lost ancient forging techniques behind it testified to just how valuable it was.
"Hahaha..."
Cid laughed arrogantly. Every time he admired these priceless treasures, he couldn't help but feel proud.
As expected, to maintain the style of an Eminence in Shadow, these things were indispensable. Just thinking about the rarity, artistry, and elegance these treasures represented made his presence as an Eminence in Shadow feel even more elevated.
Thinking about it that way, blowing all the money he had painstakingly saved in one go to acquire these treasures seemed almost acceptable. Though even now, he could still feel the sting from swiping his card.
Suppressing the lingering discomfort that accompanied his pride, Cid withdrew the Magical Power that had been blocking his laughter and, with satisfaction, opened the door to another section of the warehouse.
With the antique section taken care of, next was the Magical Artifact section.
The Magical Artifact section didn't require cleaning. These treasures imbued with special powers would not allow dust to settle on them.
With a raise of his hand, the Magical Power in the air transformed to match the attributes of the Magical Artifacts, flowing into them as a source of energy to keep them from running dry.
Magical Artifacts were not as fragile as antiques and could be infused with Magical Power. While antiques would not be physically damaged by such infusion, it would effectively ruin them all the same.
Infusing Magical Power would leave traces, casting doubt on the authenticity of the antique. After all, with modern magical technology, forging antiques was far too easy.
Although the traces were faint, anyone careful enough would definitely notice them. And how could a collection belonging to an Eminence in Shadow contain items of questionable authenticity?
That was why there was not a single magical defensive spell set up in the entire warehouse. Cid was worried those spells might affect the authenticity of his antiques.
Compared to the antique section, the number of items in the Magical Artifact section was much smaller. This was only natural. In a world with supernatural power, items imbued with special abilities were far more valuable than antiques without them.
Simply put, the value of antiques without special powers depended on personal preference, while Magical Artifacts with special powers were true hard currency.
It was just like gold. Gold created artificially or through alchemy held no value at all. Only naturally formed gold possessed magical value.
Of course, Cid did not think that way. Whether something had special powers or not did not matter to him. As an invincible Eminence in Shadow, he should be able to defeat his enemies even while holding something like a "Pink Fluffy Bunny." Relying on external tools would only lower his purity.
Antiques were collections that represented the elegance and style of an Eminence in Shadow. Magical Artifacts were also collections, representing the power of an Eminence in Shadow. He wanted both.
After scanning the area and finding nothing unusual, Cid revealed a satisfied smile.
In truth, there was no need for him to come to the Magical Artifact section. The only maintenance required here was periodically supplying them with Magical Power.
He had come simply because he was in a bad mood. Whenever that happened, he would come here to look at his collection. It always cheered him up, filling him with a deep sense of satisfaction.
"Oh, right, there's one more thing."
Suddenly remembering there was something else to do besides supplying Magical Power, Cid turned and walked toward the depths of the warehouse.
He passed cabinets radiating a gloomy dark aura, scorching heat, and icy white chill. Then he stopped in front of a white cabinet filled with sacred holy light. Reaching out, he added dozens more sealing spells onto the Light Element treasure inside the glass case, which was already layered with hundreds of seals.
"Done. That wraps it up."
After confirming that these sealed treasures could no longer transmit any information outward, Cid nodded in satisfaction.
The last time he went to Heaven to investigate how the "System" had discovered his true identity, he found the answer within the System itself. Something around him had been sending his location to it.
Although Michael's arrival forced him to leave in a hurry, so he did not get to see exactly which item was transmitting his location, it did not matter. He only had a handful of light-attributed treasures on him. Since he could not identify the culprit, he simply sealed all of them.
Now that each of those light-attributed treasures had hundreds of seals placed on them, he refused to believe any of them could still send his location to the "System."
After admiring his collection for a moment, Cid began taking inventory.
"This one, found eighty-three days ago at 9:12 PM in a terrorist organization's base in Northern Europe. A top-tier masterpiece. The abstract style is genuinely unsettling."
"A cross covered in all sorts of strange symbols. Obtained one hundred and nine days ago at 9:34 PM from a church. According to Asia's account, the enemy was likely a Fallen Angel."
"A pure gold magical cross necklace. Got it eleven days ago in the afternoon from some old guy in the back mountain. What was his name again... forget it, not important."
"The Alcazava, a battle suit radiating Holy Light. Took it last Tuesday night while I was wiping that old guy's memory."
"And also..."
He checked everything one by one and confirmed nothing was missing. Satisfied, Cid nodded and casually picked up a few small treasures.
Zeta's sudden appearance last time had caught him off guard, leaving him no time to set things up in advance. Having learned from that, he now carried a few convenient treasures on him at all times.
"Time to go."
Seeing that the sun had already risen, Cid had no time to stay any longer.
He stepped outside the warehouse and locked the door behind him. Walking to a corner, he snapped his fingers, and his clothes were covered by a black coat. With a stomp of his right foot, he shot into the sky. Activating an optical invisibility barrier, he avoided any prying eyes and returned home.
"Thud!"
He landed on the balcony, one hand striking the ground with a crisp sound. Cid stood up and turned his head, looking through the glass door toward Asia, who was standing in the hallway. Startled by his sudden appearance, she froze completely, and the item in her hands fell to the floor.
"Good morning, Asia. Up so early to hang out the... sheets?"
With a casual snap of his fingers, the black coat vanished as Cid greeted her.
Midway through speaking, he noticed that Asia was still wearing her pajamas from last night. What had fallen earlier was not clothing, but a bedsheet.
At the same moment Cid realized this, Asia snapped out of her shock. A deep blush spread across her face, her lips parted slightly, and she looked completely overwhelmed.
"Ahhh..."
In the end, her face burning red, Asia let out a scream and ran all the way back to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.
"?"
Puzzled by her reaction, Cid hesitated for a moment before crouching down and picking up the bedsheet she had dropped.
Only after lifting it did he notice a large damp stain in the middle.
Frowning slightly, just as Cid was about to spread it out and take a closer look, Asia's door suddenly opened again.
She rushed out in a panic, snatched the bedsheet from his hands, ran to the bathroom, tossed it into the washing machine, then covered her face and hurried back into her room.
"Hmm..."
Taking it all in, Cid narrowed his eyes. Something felt off.
Every morning when he woke up, his sheets were soaked and needed washing because he had activated Triple Magical Power Forging. But why were Asia's sheets wet?
He thought about Asia's strange behavior, washing her sheets in broad daylight. Then there was the way she had run off earlier like some dark secret had just been exposed, the wet mark on the sheet, and that faint unusual smell he had caught from it...
Cid opened his eyes.
He got it. There was only one possible truth.
Asia had wet the bed.
Shrugging, he shook his head helplessly, a teasing smile on his face.
"Honestly, Asia... it's just bedwetting. What is there to hide? Sure, wetting the bed at her age is a little embarrassing, but I'm not going to laugh at her. Pfft... okay, it is kind of funny."
With a faint grin, Cid walked over to the fridge, planning to enjoy one of his newest hobbies, soaking in a steaming hot bath while drinking sweet milk to relax.
It was Eta who had suggested it. According to her, drinking the milk she sent over while bathing helped the body absorb its nutrients better.
"What's going on here?!"
Cid stared blankly at the few scattered milk bottles left in the corner.
"Alright, Asia probably drank them."
Rubbing his brow, he remembered telling Asia last week before heading out that she could drink it freely if she liked, and that one bottle of milk a day was good for the body. Cid pursed his lips.
He was not really angry. With how much milk Eta had been sending him lately, even if he drank two bottles a day, it would still be enough to last him a year. Not to mention Eta kept sending more and more, as if she were worried he would run out.
He took the last two bottles out of the fridge, then opened the cabinet beside it and restocked it.
After refilling it, he shut the fridge door, went into the bathroom, filled the tub, and adjusted the water to a suitable temperature with Magical Power.
"Ah..."
As his whole body sank into the hot water, Cid took a sip of the chilled milk he had just taken from the fridge and let out a contented sound.
To be honest, he had not really felt any of the easier nutrient absorption Eta talked about, but the contrast of hot and cold really was comfortable. It felt like all the fatigue from the night had vanished.
And so Cid lay in the bathtub, quietly enjoying that brief moment of peace. Only when the water had gone cold did he get up and let it drain.
Having learned his lesson from last time, Cid made sure to get dressed before leaving the bathroom this time.
When he walked into the living room, the first thing he saw was the church idiot duo packing their luggage, with Asia beside them helping move things.
"Asia, what are you all doing?"
Noticing Cid's appearance, Xenovia turned her head away, clearly not wanting to deal with him. Beside her, Irina Shidou gave an awkward smile, unsure how to answer. Asia, meanwhile, blushing, stepped forward on her own.
"Cid-san, I'm very sorry about earlier. I was terribly rude."
"It's fine, it's fine. I don't mind."
Waving his hand, Cid ended up comforting Asia instead.
"Actually, Asia, you really didn't need to panic like that just now. Sure, it's a bit embarrassing, but don't worry, I'm not going to look at you strangely because of it."
"Eh!"
Startled, Asia let out an adorable little sound.
"Cid-san, y-you... know?"
"Mm."
Seeing Cid nod in confirmation, Asia's eyes trembled and her face turned pale in an instant. She hurriedly tried to explain herself.
"Wait, Asia, you don't need to do that. Sure, your situation is a little rare, but at most it just counts as... somewhat unusual. Overall, it's still a normal physiological reaction."
Seeing Asia react like that, Cid hurried to reassure her.
"N-normal?"
"Yeah, it's a normal physiological reaction. Just pay a little more attention when dealing with it next time. There's no need to apologize over something so small."
"S-something so small?!"
After giving Asia a look that clearly said he understood, Cid walked past the stunned girl and looked at the church idiot duo behind her who were still packing.
"Why are you looking at us like that?"
Being stared at so directly made Xenovia uncomfortable, and she finally spoke up.
"What are you doing?"
"Packing. Didn't you tell us yesterday to leave this place?"
"Don't worry, Cid-san. We'll finish packing soon. We won't cause you any trouble."
After thinking for a moment, Cid looked at Irina Shidou.
"Just asking, but where are you planning to stay after you leave?"
"Um... well, we haven't found a place yet, so for now we can only look for a church to stay in."
"There are no churches on Itogami Island."
"What?!"
The two of them stared at Cid in shock when they heard that, then quickly came back to their senses and adjusted their expressions.
"Saying there are absolutely none might be a bit much, but all the churches still left on the island are ruins. One thing is certain, they're not places people can live in."
Now that they knew the information was real, neither of them said anything, but the disappointment on their faces was obvious, and even their packing slowed down.
"So, are you still going to leave?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
The more simple-minded one of the pair was the first to ask, blinking in confusion.
"Exactly what it sounds like."
Cid shrugged and answered in an indifferent tone.