His fingers tapped across the keyboard, quickly pulling up Mitsugoshi Company's surveillance footage from the time of the attack Irina Shidou had mentioned.
The laptop screen showed the dense crowd of shoppers inside Mitsugoshi Company that day. Using the background Devil faces he had deliberately memorized, Cid quickly found the Devils who had sought shelter with Rias and the others back then.
He switched from one clip to the next, and with his sharp eyesight, quickly confirmed the alibis he had gotten from those Devils earlier that morning. So...
"Am I just making trouble for myself?"
His fist clenched. Cid genuinely wanted to punch his past self for being so stupid. Why had he gone and played detective for no reason? He already knew perfectly well that the killer hiding among the Devils was just something he had made up.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
Feeling the hand stroking her head stop, Delta, who had been lying across Cid's lap, sat up and tilted her head at him.
"I just suddenly realized that the past, veiled in mist, has misled the road that should have led toward the future. Where should this world's future go now...?"
"Uh... Delta doesn't understand."
"It's fine. I don't understand either."
Cid smiled, and the hand resting on Delta's head began moving again. Delta immediately relaxed into a soft, blissful expression as she was petted.
"It seems Delta-sama and..."
"Cid. Cid Kagenou."
Without stopping his hand, Cid noticed Kuroka Toujou's hesitation and gave her his name.
"You and Cid-sama really are close."
"It's just my daily dog-petting routine. Want to try? The pup's very friendly."
"Uh..."
An unprecedented sense of danger pressed down on Kuroka Toujou's heart. Her smiling face instantly froze. From the corner of her eye, she looked at Delta lying across Cid's lap. There was no emotion or killing intent in Delta's hollow eyes. This was Delta in hunting mode.
"I wouldn't dare. I'm only Delta-sama's servant. How could I possibly overstep my place?"
The moment she said that, Kuroka Toujou felt the crushing pressure disappear, and she could not help letting out a breath of relief.
She had no doubt that if she had accepted Cid's invitation, then once Cid left, Delta, who already disliked her, would definitely pin her down and assert her position as leader.
"By the way, Delta, why are you hanging around with other people? Don't you usually stay with Alpha and the others?"
Cid asked in confusion. In truth, he had already found it strange when he ran into Delta last night. With Delta's intelligence and personality, how had Alpha and the others dared to let her out on her own? And she had even recruited a cat girl as a subordinate?
"Mm... Because Alpha and the others were saying things Delta didn't understand, like Boss doesn't want everyone anymore, and Shadow Garden doesn't need to exist anymore. So Delta ran out to find Boss. Delta doesn't like everyone the way they are now."
So because I didn't want to play the game anymore, Alpha and the others stopped bothering to keep up the act and just disbanded Shadow Garden?
...Everyone really has grown up. But isn't it a bit heartless to not even look after Doggie? No matter what, we did grow up together.
"Wait. I remember you were there when I announced I was leaving Shadow Garden, Delta. Why did you leave afterward and come looking for me?"
Cid blinked, suddenly feeling that something did not add up. With Doggie's intelligence... she should have taken what he said in front of everyone back then as him saying he did not want them anymore. So why had Doggie been acting like nothing happened?
"Eh! Boss doesn't want Delta anymore?"
Now that Kuroka's tact had let her relax, Delta, who had been absorbed in being petted, seemed to finally realize that what Cid said back then sounded like he was abandoning them. Her eyes snapped open, and she cried out.
"What kind of delayed reaction is that?"
"Boss doesn't want Delta anymore. Boss doesn't want Delta anymore. Boss doesn't want Delta anymore..."
"Uh... I didn't say I don't want you. I just remember saying I was leaving Shadow Garden. Delta, why are you still calling me Boss?"
Seeing tears well up in Delta's eyes again, Cid quickly hugged her and comforted her, denying her wild assumption out loud.
"Sniff... Thank goodness. Delta thought Boss didn't want Delta anymore."
"Relax, relax. My relationship with you, Delta, won't change from beginning to end. But you still have to explain why you're still calling me Boss. I remember you were there when I said I was leaving Shadow Garden."
Using the top-tier dog-petting technique he had trained himself in, Cid calmed Delta down while thinking... Could Delta's intelligence really have improved? Did she realize that Shadow Garden was only a game, and that his bond with the Seven Shadows was not tied to Shadow Garden itself?
"Huh? Boss left Shadow Garden, so Delta can't call you Boss anymore?"
"...It's not that you can't. I'm just asking, don't you think me leaving Shadow Garden means I abandoned you?"
"No. Boss not wanting Shadow Garden doesn't mean Boss doesn't want Delta."
The hand stroking Delta's back stopped. Cid stared straight into Delta's innocent eyes for a few seconds, then could only pat her head with a strange expression.
"You didn't misunderstand. The logic in the middle is absurdly wrong, but the answer you reached is correct. Congratulations, Delta. You've successfully caught up with Gamma and the others."
Let's just take this as a good thing. Back then, he had impulsively left Shadow Garden and thought Delta would cause trouble for Alpha and the others, meaning Alpha and the others would need to guide her through it. He never expected Delta's refreshingly unconventional thought process to make her completely unaware of how ambiguous his words had been.
"Wait, that's not right. By Therianthrope logic, shouldn't you have gone to Alpha, Delta? Why come to me?"
Since the question fit perfectly with a Therianthrope's survival-of-the-fittest logic, Delta answered almost instantly.
"Delta did go to her, but Alpha was practicing swordsmanship and completely ignored Delta, so Delta came to find Boss."
"Ah... I see what you mean, Delta. Fine. Since you've come to me, I'll help you find Gamma for now."
Cid nodded and decided he would have Gamma keep a closer eye on Doggie later. No matter how busy she was with work, she couldn't just forget about her companions.
"No, Boss. Delta has a better, stronger plan..."
Cid blinked and stared at Delta expressionlessly. He could already guess what Delta was about to say.
"Boss and Delta will have ten thousand children and build the strongest tribe in the world. Then Delta will lead the children to defeat everyone, capture them all, and make them have Boss's children too."
Insane!
Cid had thought he was mentally prepared for whatever absurd thing Delta might say, but he had not expected it to be this absurd.
"Too bad there aren't enough high-quality females. Delta only found three, and Le Fay completely disagrees with Delta's plan. Boss is clearly the strongest in the world. Having Boss's children should be an incredible honor, so why would she reject Delta? Delta doesn't understand."
No, no, no. Under normal circumstances, anyone with a brain would refuse. Someone like Kuroka Toujou, who had a brain but was being controlled by her body's urge to reproduce, was the abnormal one.
While Cid was silently retorting, Delta, who had sounded a little dejected, suddenly straightened her back and broke into a smug grin.
"Later, Delta figured it out. It must be because Le Fay hasn't met Boss, so she doesn't understand how great Boss is. Once Boss appears in front of Le Fay, Le Fay will definitely bare her belly and submit obediently, then give Boss lots of children."
What the hell? "Bare her belly and submit" is such a weird way to put it. And Delta actually has more than one subordinate...
"Even that super-strong female Delta can't beat, Boss will definitely defeat her too, make her bare her belly, and have lots of children..."
At that point, Delta paused. Her shining eyes turned toward Cid.
"Boss, after you defeat that super-strong female, can Delta be second-in-command? Ever since that strong female showed up, Delta's subordinates stopped listening to Delta. Delta wanted to go toward where the sun sets to find Boss, so Boss could defeat her and make her have children..."
Cid listened to Delta's complaints. They included, but were not limited to, her daily attacks on that powerful female being ignored from start to finish, her searching west when Cid was in the east, and her attempt to knock Kuroka Toujou down, climb on top of her, and declare that dogs outranked cats, only for Kuroka Toujou to fight back. In short, it was one long record of a giant problem child causing trouble.
"Interesting. What kind of being could be so powerful that even you, Delta, think she's untouchable..."
Cid rubbed his chin, keenly noting the powerful female Delta had mentioned. Someone even Delta couldn't beat...
"She sounds like she'd be strong. Come to think of it, haven't I heard the name Vali somewhere before?"
He searched through his memories, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't remember where he had heard the name Vali. At most, it somehow reminded him of that absolute powerhouse called "Ophis."
"Right, Delta. You said you were planning to search for me by heading south, so why did you suddenly change your mind and come to Itogami Island?"
Since he couldn't remember and couldn't be bothered to keep trying, Cid focused on Delta instead.
"It was Vali and that strong female. They said there was some kind of..."
Delta suddenly got stuck and scratched her head, as if trying to remember.
"The Red Dragon Emperor."
A teasing female voice came from the side. Kuroka Toujou stepped forward with a smile.
"As the White Dragon Emperor of this generation, Vali said he sensed a challenge sent out to the world by his destined rival, the Red Dragon Emperor.
But the signal was too faint to determine the Red Dragon Emperor's exact location, so he specifically asked the Infinite Dragon God, the strong female Delta-sama mentioned, about the Red Dragon Emperor's approximate location. The conclusion was that the signal came from this island."
Cid raised an eyebrow, turned in a second, and shifted into a cool sitting posture. Delta, who was lying across his lap, naturally turned with him.
"Oh, the leader of that evil organization Khaos Brigade and the White Dragon Emperor? Looks like Delta recruited some impressive subordinates. Go on."
Seeing that Cid was interested, Kuroka Toujou chuckled softly and slowly explained what had happened.
Among the Sacred Gears God bestowed upon humanity, there are thirteen Longinus said to be powerful enough to slay gods. Two of them are called the "Red Dragon Emperor's Boosted Gear" and the "White Dragon Emperor's Divine Dividing," and they were made from the two Heavenly Dragons who intruded upon the Biblical God Faction's civil war in ancient times.
The grudge between the two Heavenly Dragons did not end even after they were turned into weapons, so the wielders of these two Longinus in each generation are known as the "White Dragon Emperor" and the "Red Dragon Emperor," carrying on the battle the Two Heavenly Dragons had fought in life.
"Mm. So what about the Infinite Dragon God?"
Cid gave Kuroka Toujou's explanation a brief compliment, but he did not really care. What was there to care about in someone Delta could solo? What he cared about was the legendary Infinite Dragon God.
"I'm sorry, Cid-sama, but I don't know much about the Infinite Dragon God. I only know that the Infinite Dragon God seems to have created Khaos Brigade solely to defeat another one of the world's strongest, Great Red.
Of course, Cid-sama, you could ask the Infinite Dragon God yourself. With your strength, I'm sure the Infinite Dragon God would gladly tell you these minor details in order to recruit you against Great Red."
Her goal is to defeat Great Red... What do I do? I suddenly really want to join Khaos Brigade.
"Defeating Great Red, huh? That truly is a fascinating game. But witnessing Infinity and Dream being swallowed by pitch-black darkness will probably take a little more time. No matter. Wine tastes better after it has been allowed to mature."
"Tell me about the Red Dragon Emperor. You've been searching for several days, so you should have found at least some clues. The destined battle between Red and White may not compare to the meeting of Infinity and Dream, but as a prelude to the clash between the two great Dragon Gods, it is still a fine spectacle."
An intrigued smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He picked up his cup, poured himself some sake, and took a measured sip.
"Cid-sama really is full of confidence. As for clues about the Red Dragon Emperor, I do have one lead, though I'm not sure whether it counts..."
Kuroka Toujou spoke with a bright smile, then put on a hesitant expression, as if she were unsure whether she should say it.
"Speak."
"Last night, a large number of Church warriors appeared on this island and attacked the heir of a Devil noble family.
During the battle, someone appeared and attacked both sides at once. That person was a subordinate of another of the world's strongest, Shadow. According to the rumors, things escalated until Shadow himself personally appeared in the end. Ah... I don't think there's any need for me to report on last night's beautiful moonlight."
Cid stopped petting Delta. He smiled at Kuroka Toujou as his body began to tremble, and the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
Kuroka Toujou stared blankly at Cid, unable to understand what his reaction meant.
Cid covered his face with one hand. As if he had heard something hilarious, he threw his head back and laughed.
"Hm-hahaha... hmhmhahaha..."