Setting down his teacup, Cid closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips as he manipulated light-attribute energy to draw the Excaliburs held by Irina Shidou and Xenovia.
Within his perception, his mental power grasped two concealed, highly concentrated clusters of light energy, repeatedly pushing and pulling them in and out of the two Excaliburs.
Under Cid's control, each sphere of light would merge into the Excaliburs only halfway. The moment it reached that point, he would pull most of the energy back out, leaving just a tiny trace behind.
High-density energy condensates were the best materials for strengthening weapons. Unlike Sacred Gears created by the God of the Bible, which rely on emotion to reach their limits, this was something that could truly raise a weapon's baseline potential.
High-level weapons, in particular, often possessed a kind of instinctive consciousness. Some gained it from the souls of powerful beings that had been captured and sealed within them. The Boosted Gear among the Longinus was a classic example. Its owner had wandered into the ancient battlefield of gods and demons, been slain by the three factions, and had his soul extracted by the God of the Bible to forge a Longinus.
Others developed consciousness simply because of their high grade. Incinerate Anthem, another Longinus, was a representative example. Its intelligence was not especially high, but it could still instinctively choose its wielder.
The Excalibur of ancient times likely had its own consciousness as well. But after it was shattered, that consciousness should have vanished along with it.
Still, these Excaliburs had been reforged from fragments of the original blade. Even if they were now little more than lifeless objects, being pushed to the brink of enhancement again and again had begun to awaken a desire for evolution. The flickering Holy Light on their surfaces was their way of expressing it.
Two invisible hands of mental power concealed the movements of the energy condensates. As half of each condensate was pushed into the Excaliburs, Holy Light burst forth from their surfaces.
Pull it out, and the light faded.
Push it in, and the light flared again.
Pull, push, pull, push…
It was fun.
"Hello, may I sit here?"
Just as Cid was enjoying himself, a mature female voice came from across the table.
"Go ahead."
Without opening his eyes, Cid calmly picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and maintained the appearance of someone savoring his tea.
"Thank you."
The sound of a chair being pulled back followed as the woman sat down. Cid paid her no attention, continuing to toy with the two Excaliburs using his mental power.
After estimating the timing in his mind and seeing the excited expressions on Xenovia and Irina Shidou's faces, Cid smiled inwardly in satisfaction.
That should be enough. On the first day, a small improvement would serve as a setup, but he couldn't let them catch on too quickly. Tomorrow, he would disguise himself as the "Child of God" and leave traces in front of them. Then on the third day, he would appear before them and display overwhelming power.
Ah… what a perfect Eminence in Shadow scenario. Just thinking about it was exhilarating. Though… he would have to borrow some equipment from Gamma. All the clothes he had collected were dark in tone, which didn't match the image of the Child of God.
Admiring his flawless plan, Cid stopped teasing the two Excaliburs with the energy condensates. His invisible mental hands decisively pulled out all the remaining energy and prepared to destroy the two light-attribute condensates on the spot.
The moment the condensates were completely removed from the Excaliburs, both swords suddenly erupted with intense Holy Light. A force of attraction surged out, trying to hold onto the departing energy.
Unfortunately, they were nothing more than lifeless objects. Cid didn't even notice the pull as he casually crushed the condensates with his mental power.
To erase any trace and ensure no one discovered what he had done, he also scattered the light-attribute energy released from the shattered condensates into the sea.
"Alright, done."
Muttering that to himself, Cid opened his eyes. The next instant, his pupils shrank as he sucked in a sharp breath.
Smooth, lightly tanned skin with a healthy sheen, as if brimming with vitality. Waist-length pale green hair, fresh and vibrant like lush greenery. Eyes as deep as a quiet lake, shimmering like emeralds.
She wore a light white dress. Her chest, neither too large nor too small, formed a soft, rounded shape under gravity.
From Cid's angle, he could clearly see her firm, well-shaped hips, along with legs as sleek and powerful as a cheetah's, graceful yet filled with explosive strength.
There was no doubt about it. This was a beauty on par with Alpha and the others.
And yet, this very mature and elegant woman had completely abandoned all decorum. She was sprawled across the table, casually pushing the teacup aside.
Her head was buried near Cid's neck, her nose twitching as she carefully avoided direct contact with his body.
"Sniff…"
The sound of her inhaling came right by his ear. The woman who had seemed refined and composed was now acting like… no, if Cid had to put it precisely, she looked like someone completely intoxicated, obsessively breathing in his scent.
Did I just run into a pervert?
Cid tried to come up with some explanation for her behavior, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't find a single reasonable excuse. Nothing could justify the blissed-out expression on her face.
It was not like he was some kind of addictive substance, nor did he have any strange scent on him. If something was wrong, it had to be with her.
"Ah…"
Hearing his voice, she slowly came back to her senses. She glanced at Cid with bright, satisfied eyes, then sat back down with a relaxed expression.
"You're awake."
No matter how you look at it, you're the one who seems out of it. I just closed my eyes for a moment to control my mental power. How did that look like I was asleep?
Hearing her slightly lazy tone, Cid could not help but complain inwardly.
Also, are we even acquainted? And where did everyone else in the restaurant go?
Only now did Cid notice that the entire floor had been emptied.
"Sorry, I lost myself for a moment. Your scent is just too pleasant."
The pale green-haired woman composed herself and apologized with a gentle smile.
"Haha… well, nice meeting you. I'll leave the seat to you. I won't disturb you any longer. I'll be going now."
Letting out an awkward laugh, Cid stood up, intending to get as far away as possible from this suspicious woman.
Whoosh…
A black streak cut through the air in front of him, producing a sharp tearing sound before slamming heavily into the wall and leaving a large crater.
Cid turned his head.
The pale green-haired woman was looking at him, still wearing that same gentle smile.