At the entrance to the supermarket's public restroom, Cid leaned against the wall, tapping his toes in a steady rhythm and glancing now and then at the clock on the supermarket wall.
To be honest, Cid was starting to regret this again. Ever since Sherry had said she wanted to fix the clothes that had gotten messy when she fell and gone into the restroom, he had been waiting for almost half an hour.
Girls really were such a pa…
"Cid-kun, sorry to keep you waiting."
A soft voice interrupted Cid's indiscriminate mental attack on all women, and he instinctively looked toward the source.
When he saw the pink-haired beauty in front of him, Cid froze for a moment and blinked several times.
"Um, what's wrong, Cid-kun? Is there something strange about my clothes?"
With Cid staring straight at her, Sherry's face flushed at once, and her delicate hands at her sides grew so nervous that she did not know where to put them.
"No, that outfit suits you very well. You look beautiful, Sherry."
Cid gently shook his head and smiled as he praised her.
It was not flattery. Sherry had changed out of the loose, old-fashioned black coat she had been wearing earlier and into a fitted white blouse, with an off-the-shoulder jacket draped loosely over it. The young girl's slender, graceful figure was now visible, and the ruby set in the badge on her chest gave off a captivating glow that added even more charm to her appearance.
Even Cid, who had grown up around his older sister, Alpha, and the others, developing an eye for exceptional beauty, found Sherry truly beautiful at that moment. Her quiet, fragile air made it hard not to feel a slight urge to protect her.
"I'm glad. I'm not good at dressing up, so I was worried you might not like me looking like this, Cid-kun."
Facing a relieved Sherry, Cid only smiled and said nothing more.
Could someone tell him how, when there was clearly no storage space floating around Sherry, she had somehow changed into a completely different outfit after one trip to the restroom?
Also, this was just a chance meeting and they had only decided to walk around together, but the moment shopping was mentioned, she had spent this long changing clothes… As expected, women were troublesome.
"Let's go. I'm an outsider too, but today I'll act as the host and show you around properly."
"Mm. I'm looking forward to it."
Seeing Sherry's excited face, Cid gave a bright laugh and turned to head outside and lead the way. Then, as if realizing something, he paused and backed up a few steps until he was beside Sherry.
"It's almost noon, so there'll be more people around. We should stay a little closer."
Cid explained calmly in response to Sherry's surprised and shy gaze.
"You're so considerate, Cid-kun!"
"Don't forget, you just walked right into me. When you walk, you need to keep your eyes and ears open. I remember reminding you about that before…"
Sherry carefully stole glances at Cid from the corner of her eye. For some reason, her heart was beating very fast. Cid's instructions no longer reached her ears, and her thoughts gradually went blank, as if the entire world had emptied out until only Cid and herself remained.
"Watch out!"
"Wah!"
A loud shout snapped the dazed Sherry awake. At the same time, a force tugged her from behind, pulling her straight into a broad shoulder.
"Whoosh!"
A car sped past right in front of Sherry. Realizing she had just brushed against death, Sherry's face went pale, her breathing quickened, and her heart began beating even faster.
"Sherry, are you feeling all right?"
Looking at Sherry, who was still shaken in his arms, Cid scratched his head in distress. At first, when he noticed Sherry was not paying attention to his lecture, he had not thought much of it. After all, he knew that kind of talk was probably somewhat annoying to a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl.
"Are you feeling sick, Sherry?"
"I'm fine. I just… spaced out for a moment. Let's keep going, Cid-kun. I want to walk around the island a bit more and get familiar with the area."
Seeing the worry on Cid's face, Sherry hurriedly shook her head in denial. She still wanted to stay outside a little longer.
"All right. But pay attention this time, Sherry. There are a lot of people on the road. Don't get separated."
After thinking for a moment, Cid still did not refuse when he saw how unwilling Sherry looked to stop.
"Um…"
Just as he was about to start walking again, Sherry called out to him. She looked at Cid with a conflicted expression, then finally seemed to make up her mind.
"Cid-kun, to keep me from bumping into people again, could you… could you hold my hand…"
Her voice grew softer and softer toward the end, but Cid still heard every word with his sharp hearing.
"Hold hands?"
Cid repeated it instinctively, then began considering whether it was feasible.
"Mm. Sure."
After looking at Sherry for a few seconds and finding no major flaw in the logic, Cid smiled and nodded.
With Cid's answer, the tension in Sherry's heart vanished at once. She broke into a happy smile, stepped forward to take Cid's hand, and walked off with light, cheerful steps.
"By the way… Sherry, do you know the address?"
After being pulled along behind Sherry, Cid asked with a puzzled look.
"Huh? What address?"
What Cid saw was a beautiful face looking back at him with the same confusion and asking the question in return.
Cid fell silent.
"You weren't listening to what I said earlier, were you?"
Sherry did not answer, but the way her beautiful eyes guiltily shifted away had already told Cid everything.
"…No, Sherry, it's already noon. Aren't you hungry?"
Sherry blinked. Only after hearing Cid say that did she react and look down at her stomach.
"Growl…"
Her stomach made a sound that fit the situation perfectly. Sherry's face instantly turned bright red, and she looked as if she wanted to dig a hole and hide in it on the spot.
"Heh. Come on. The smell is coming from this direction. I'll take you to have a proper meal."
After teasing Sherry, Cid took over the lead as naturally as could be.
It should be said here that while Cid looked like the penny-pinching type, he actually did have standards when it came to enjoyment.
After all, he saved money so he could live comfortably all the way until old age, not so he could die clutching a pile of useless gold and silver.
So as long as he judged something to be helpful to the great cause of an Eminence in Shadow, he would buy it without hesitation.
That did not only apply to antiques and art. It applied to gourmet food made from high-class ingredients as well.
"Here we are."
After they finished ordering, a clay pot was brought over by a staff member of the Mitsugoshi branch restaurant. Cid sat in place while 559 at his side lifted the lid, and a rich fragrance rushed out at once.
The magic bear paw had been slow-simmered in a rich broth until it absorbed every bit of flavor. Its surface was glossy and almost translucent, the meat tender and springy, and the broth thick and deeply savory. It truly lived up to its reputation as one of the ancient Eight Mountain Delicacies—though, given the price, he had only eaten it a handful of times.
"Ah, thank you, Victoria-chan."
Cid thanked Victoria-chan, who was standing beside him, slicing the paw and placing piece after piece into his bowl. He picked up his chopsticks and reached toward the meat in his bowl, only to stop halfway.
"Um…"
He looked at Sherry's completely empty white porcelain bowl and her awkward expression, then at Victoria, who stood beside him like a guard after finishing her service. Cid hesitated, unable to find the words.
"…Understood. No. 711, come here!"
Understanding what Cid meant, Victoria glanced at Sherry with her gray-blue eyes, then began giving orders to the employee who had brought over the clay pot.
No. 711, who had kept her head lowered ever since entering, heard Victoria's command and stepped forward in small, careful steps to begin slicing the meat.
"I'm terribly sorry for disappointing you. This is the most we can make her do."
"No, it's fine. This is already very good."
Hearing Victoria's low apology and sensing the Magical Power inside the two of them, which was clearly different from the other Mitsugoshi Company employees, Cid shook his head and praised Victoria, though he had no idea why she was apologizing.
Come to think of it, he had not introduced them yet. Both of the women before him were victims of Demon Possession he had personally treated. Victoria-chan was someone he had picked up while taking a walk. As for No. 711… he remembered finding her in an experiment tank while looting an evil science base. When he released her back then, she had even gone mad and attacked him.
He had heard that evil base was funded by an organization called the Thirteen Night Swords. Anyone who funded that kind of evil base probably was not a good person either. He would kill them in passing the next time he went back.
"So good."
During that brief moment of recollection, No. 711 had already finished slicing the meat and stepped aside, prompting Sherry, who had tasted the delicacy, to let out an admiring sigh.
"Here, Cid-kun, try a bite too."
Looking at the slice of meat Sherry held out in front of him, Cid shrugged and ate it in one bite. Rich protein awakened his taste buds like spring rain nourishing the earth.
"Mm, it really is good."
Cid nodded in satisfaction. He had to admit that after obtaining even higher-quality ingredients, this already famous dish had become even more delicious.
Seeing that Cid liked it, Sherry instinctively smiled as well. But after glancing at Victoria and No. 711, who were standing nearby to serve them, she pressed her lips together.
"Um, thank you very much for your service. You can leave for now."
At Sherry's words, Victoria's body stiffened slightly. She narrowed her eyes, glanced at the smiling Sherry, and answered, "Yes."
"By the way, Sherry, did you come to Itogami Island for something?"
Cid picked up a slice of meat and put it into his mouth, speaking in clear syllables despite not stopping eating as he looked at Sherry across from him.
"Me? I suppose you could say I came to meet one of my pen pals… maybe?"
Caught by the sudden question, Sherry thought for a moment before giving a very vague reason. By the end, even her own tone carried a hint of uncertainty.
"A pen pal?"
"Mm. A pen pal who suddenly sent me a letter after one of my presentations. We shared the same interests, so we got to know each other."
"Wow! A presentation! That's amazing, Sherry… Should I start calling you Dr. Sherry now?"
Cid spoke half in admiration and half in jest. He had always known Sherry was talented in that field, but he had not expected her to have already held a presentation in the academic city of Laugus. So this was what a genius looked like.
"No, not at all, Cid-kun. If you praise me like that, I'll get embarrassed. It was only a small breakthrough."
Sherry scratched her head shyly and looked away, flustered by the praise.
"But it really is amazing. What happened after that? Didn't you come here to meet her in person? Why are you here alone?"
"Oh, that. I already met her."
"What kind of person is she?"
"Someone who isn't a bad person, but definitely isn't a good person either."
"?"
"How should I put it? To me, she's a very good friend. So good that she's practically my only friend. But if I found her appearing beside someone I cared about, I would kill her without hesitation."
"???"
Seeing that Cid still looked confused, Sherry did not explain further and only shook her head with a smile.
"Let's not talk about her. If you want to know about me, Cid-kun, you can learn more later. Right now, I'd rather know about you."
Cid's chopsticks, which were holding a slice of meat, stopped. Meeting Sherry's expectant gaze, he began thinking over recent things that had happened to him and could actually be said out loud.
"My life is pretty boring."
Cid tried to laugh it off.
"If it's about you, Cid-kun, then I want to know even the boring things."
Nee-san, she's good. She's flirting with me!
Looking at Sherry's sparkling eyes, Cid entertained himself inwardly.
"Uh… have you heard about the city lockdown on the European continent a few days ago because of a large-scale curse?"
After thinking for a long time, Cid realized that this was probably the only thing from the past few days he could bring up.
"Ah… I-I've heard about it."
As Cid spoke, Sherry blinked and nodded a little hesitantly.
"That makes things easier. Although the Church hasn't released any news yet, I can tell you for certain that it's true. Do you know why?"
"W-why?"
Although they were in a private room, Cid still waved Sherry closer for the sake of atmosphere.
"I'm one of the people involved."
"What!"
Cid's voice was very quiet, but Sherry was still so frightened that she cried out. Her seated body shot upright at once, and one hand opened her bag as she frantically searched for something.
"Keep your voice down. I didn't say I was the Curser. I was the one who got attacked."
"Oh, oh."
Only after hearing Cid's explanation did Sherry barely manage to sit back down, but her hand still did not stop searching through her bag.
"According to the Church's investigation, the person who cast the curse is connected to Devils. So the Church contacted the Devil side on their own. After a round of friendly discussion, both sides decided to send people to investigate, and I'm the investigator from the Devil side."
"T-that's amazing, Cid-kun!"
Sherry wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled as she praised Cid.
"It's nothing amazing. Mainly, my detective itch suddenly acted up… I remember you like reading detective novels too, Sherry. Why don't you investigate with me? I'll be your perfectly ordinary little assistant. How does that sound?"
As he said this, Cid raised his eyebrows at Sherry and teased her.
"T-that…"
Cid had thought Sherry would agree with a smile, but instead she only stammered, her eyes suddenly drifting away.
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