"Um… I don't really understand what you're going through, Yukina, but what I said just now wasn't anything special. It probably won't be of much help to you."
There was no act in those words. From the bottom of his heart, Cid didn't think there was anything remarkable about what he had said. He was just a low-ranking noble, no different from commoners, venting about the dirty backroom dealings of the upper nobility. He simply understood those things a bit more clearly than most.
"No, I'm still very grateful, Senpai. At the very least, you helped me realize what I should be doing now."
As she spoke, Yukina Himeragi placed the spear back into its case, her eyes sharp with resolve.
"Well, that's good to hear."
Cid smiled and nodded. The two of them met each other's gaze, and for a moment, silence settled between them.
"Senpai…"
After a long pause, Yukina Himeragi spoke first. She took a deep breath and looked at Cid.
"If this were the last time we see each other… how do you think we should say goodbye?"
"Huh!? Is it really that serious?"
Cid looked slightly surprised.
"Maybe."
She nodded, then turned her head away, unable to meet his eyes.
"Hmm… sorry. That's a bit too heavy. I can't really think of anything."
After thinking it over and coming up empty, that was all Cid could say.
"How could this be our last meeting? I was just joking… haha…"
Covering her face lightly with one hand, Yukina Himeragi let out a small laugh, trying to sound casual.
But as she laughed, the smile gradually faded.
"Senpai, I want to help my friends the way my teacher has taught me since I was little. But doing that might hurt a lot of people, even my teacher. Do you think I should still go through with it?"
Seeing the sorrow on her face, Cid blinked. The scene felt strangely familiar, like he had seen it somewhere before.
In that brief instant, memories from both his past and present lives flashed through his mind. Then suddenly, it clicked. His eyes widened as he stared at Yukina Himeragi and blurted out:
"You're also Rose!"
"Huh?!"
Startled by the sudden outburst, Yukina Himeragi's sorrowful expression broke. She pointed at herself, completely confused.
"Senpai, what do you mean I'm also Rose? Who is Rose?"
Regaining his composure, Cid's expression returned to its usual calm as he replied casually,
"Rose-senpai is a very kind upperclassman who treated me well. Of course, we're not particularly close. I just thought you resembled her a little."
"Ah… I see. Then… I'll be going now, Senpai."
With that interruption, the atmosphere turned awkward. Yukina Himeragi lost the will to continue the conversation and turned to leave.
"Wait."
Cid called out to her, took a sandwich from his bag, and tossed it over.
"The shop gave me an extra one. Here. I don't know what you're planning to do, but it's better to eat something first."
"Senpai…"
Looking at the sandwich in her hands, Yukina Himeragi's eyes grew misty, and she smiled.
"Thank you, Senpai."
Watching her walk away, Cid's nose twitched slightly.
"That scent is pretty strong."
This was an ability his body had developed during the last Rating Game, when he altered its evolutionary path from immunity to the Power of Destruction to repelling it. He called it "Breath of the Mortal World."
Destiny had a scent.
A person's future, their current state of mind, and their past experiences all manifested in the scent of their destiny.
Everyone's scent was unique.
Those at the top, like politicians, usually reeked of decay, foul and unbearable.
Ordinary people walking the streets, struggling to make a living, had scents as plain as water. Yet depending on the light or darkness in their hearts, that scent could occasionally turn fragrant or rancid.
As for the president of the Mitsugoshi Company, one of his childhood friends, Gamma, her scent was a dense stench of money.
As for Yukina Himeragi earlier, when Cid first encountered her, the scent around her fluctuated in intensity.
That meant she was standing at a critical turning point in her life.
The future depends on the present. If you take a path that runs counter to that future, the very scent of a person will change.
As Yukina Himeragi walked away, the scent around her suddenly intensified dozens of times in Cid's perception. It had even started to sting his nose. That meant…
"That's a bit extreme…"
Yukina Himeragi had begun heading down an extreme path. In this situation, there was a high chance she would choose either the best or the worst among the three possible options.
Giving Yukina Himeragi the sandwich didn't carry any special meaning. Cid simply felt that, just like when he had given Rose a sandwich before she took an extreme path, now he was once again the one handing out a sandwich before someone made that same kind of choice. It had a certain aesthetic fitting for an Eminence in Shadow.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph…"
Just thinking about how he had completed the "Big Boss Disguised as a Nice Guy" achievement made Cid want to burst out laughing.
A hidden Eminence in Shadow lurking within the city, searching for someone with the potential of a tyrant, then offering them a sandwich before they take their first step. That was just too perfect.
"Ha, wonder what Yukina Himeragi is planning. Oh well, not my problem."
He forced himself to hold back his laughter. After all, only second-rate Eminence in Shadow types or typical villains would laugh out loud right after accomplishing something big. That kind of behavior could easily expose one's true identity.
Turning to head home, Cid sealed off his sense of smell along the way. Being the only one who could perceive the scent of destiny in the entire world was honestly overwhelming for his nose.
As for why his body had evolved this ability, Cid had his own guess.
It was probably because he had repeatedly failed when trying to use the Eye of Destiny. So his body adapted, evolving a similar ability based on the way he channeled Magical Power through his eyes.
It wasn't that Cid couldn't peer into fate using methods like divination. By analyzing the core of the divination techniques within the Library, he had already grasped the key knowledge needed to enter the world of destiny.
By applying Magical Power along the same pathways as that core knowledge and channeling it through his eyes, in theory, the moment the power activated, his vision would enter the world of destiny, allowing him to directly observe the fate of the entire world. Compared to divination, which only gave fragments of unreliable information and often led to trouble, this should have been far superior.
But when Cid's vision actually entered the world of destiny, all he saw was a vast white expanse. The trajectories of fate were completely covered by white light, making it impossible to see anything.
Cid could tell that this white light did not originate from within the world of destiny itself. So in theory, as long as he moved beyond its range, he should have been able to see the true flow of fate.
But the absurd part was that no matter where he shifted his vision within the world of destiny, the white light followed him.
It infuriated Cid to no end. Back then, he had worked so hard to learn divination just to figure out the best places to rob the rich and help the poor, only for everything to be ruined by this inexplicable white light.
Now, the only real use his divination had was similar to when he played chess with Sona Sitri. He could use his own Magical Power to construct a "fate board" within the world of destiny, input Sona Sitri's data, and use the properties of that world like a computational tool.
The world of destiny had no matter, so it produced no sound. His vision was completely blocked by that strange white light, leaving him unable to see anything. So instead, his body adapted, allowing him to rely on his sense of smell to detect the scent of a person's destiny.
Even so, this ability was far inferior to directly observing fate within the world of destiny. At best, he could tell whether someone's future leaned toward a favorable or unfavorable outcome, but he couldn't perceive the specific details of their fate.
Thinking of all this, the satisfaction Cid had felt from earning an Eminence in Shadow-style achievement gradually faded, and his expression returned to calm.
"Sigh… I'm back."
With a sigh, Cid pushed open the front door and called out to Asia inside.
"Cid-san, welcome back. Just a moment, I'll start cooking right away."
Seeing him return, Asia greeted him and immediately moved toward the kitchen.
Since Cid had come home earlier than usual, Asia had still been praying with Irina Shidou and the others and hadn't started preparing the meal yet.
Fortunately, Cid had expected this. He raised a hand to stop her and placed the bag he was carrying on the table.
"No need to cook, Asia. I felt like eating something different today, so I bought takeout. Here, this is for you all. My treat."
"Really? Thank you so much."
No sooner had he set the bag down than the Church's dumb duo gathered around. Seeing that, Asia had no choice but to put down the pot she had just picked up and join them.
"Huh? Why are there only three? Aren't you eating, Cid-san?"
Noticing there were only three sandwiches in the bag, Asia looked up and asked.
Xenovia and Irina Shidou also paused and turned their attention to Cid.
"Me? I already ate mine on the way back."
Though I only ate one. The other one went to Yukina Himeragi to complete my Eminence in Shadow achievement.
Cid shrugged as he gave an honest answer.
None of them noticed anything off, and after hearing his explanation, they relaxed and started eating. Cid simply stood by, quietly watching them.
"Cid… is something wrong?"
Unable to endure his gaze, Irina Shidou scratched her head shyly, her cheeks slightly red as she spoke.
"Did you find any clues about the Child of God today?"
At the mention of their mission, Irina Shidou straightened up, her expression turning serious as she answered with regret.
"I'm really sorry, Cid. We didn't find any clues about the Child of God."
Even though she knew Cid had nothing to do with their mission and wasn't her superior, seeing how much attention he paid to the Child of God still made her feel a little ashamed.
"You don't need to apologize to me. There's no hierarchy between us. I'm just curious about the Child of God, a legendary hero. I'd like to meet him."
And see if he can fight me.
Cid waved his hand with a relaxed smile, acting as if it didn't matter.
"Hmm… maybe you should give up on that idea, Cid. Today, Xenovia and I searched every abandoned church on Itogami Island and asked a lot of people, but we still couldn't find any information. The spot I mentioned to Irina earlier is still open for you."
Xenovia, thinking about the truth behind this mission, couldn't help but try to persuade him.
"No thanks. I'm not interested in the Church."
Cid naturally knew she was referring to the recommendation slot she had offered him before as repayment, and he rejected it casually.
"Oh, I see."
Xenovia didn't push further. It had only been a gesture of goodwill. They weren't the type to label someone a heretic just because they didn't believe.
"Then you must have gotten some information about the Child of God's appearance from that believer named Rudolf. Tell me, and I'll help you look."
At those words, Xenovia and Irina Shidou exchanged glances.
"No. For some reason, Rudolf-senpai kept insisting the Child of God exists, but he didn't know anything at all about him. Not even what he looks like."
Xenovia, who knew the inside details, took the initiative to explain.
"Then how were you searching for him?"
"We just asked people directly."
"?"
Cid's expression twisted for a moment upon hearing Irina Shidou's answer, while Xenovia turned her head away awkwardly.
"So what you mean by 'asking directly' is going up to random people on the street and asking if they know anything about the Child of God, without knowing his appearance, background, or any distinguishing traits. Is that right?"
"Yeah."
As Irina Shidou nodded, Cid's face contorted, while Xenovia looked like she couldn't bear to watch. Even she knew how ridiculous it sounded.
"There's no way you'd find anything like that."
Cid's mouth twitched. He had already given up on expecting anything from this pair.
"But you must at least have some way to identify him."
Knowing how unreliable they were, Cid asked one last question without much hope.
"We do!"
Unexpectedly, Irina Shidou suddenly perked up. She nodded vigorously while shaking Xenovia beside her, and a sword appeared in her hand.
"Our Church's weapons can't harm our Lord, because He is the source of all light and Holy Light in this world. And since the Child of God must share similar traits, then…"
Irina Shidou grinned proudly, while Xenovia wore a lifeless expression, as if she had given up on everything.
"All we need to do is use Xenovia's and my holy swords to strike once each. If the person isn't injured, then they must be the Child of God."
Hearing this absurd method, a thought quietly formed in Cid's mind.