Nagisa should be more or less clear-headed now, no longer trapped in her grief.
Thinking of that lively teenage girl trying so hard after confirming that her brother might not be dead, and might even be revived, Cid smiled to himself.
To be fair, Nagisa Akatsuki probably still did not trust him all that much. She was only treating his words as bait, as a shred of hope. That much was obvious from the fact that she had not told anyone about it.
But that was fine. He had given her something to do, something to help her get through the next few months. As long as things went as expected and Kojou was resurrected in the end, that was enough. After all…
Nagisa Akatsuki's tearful face flashed through his mind, and Cid sighed helplessly. In the end, he had gone soft after all. Still, it was no big deal.
Rather than worrying about that, he should worry about his own immediate future first…
"That is just too much!"
The beautiful girl with vivid red hair, who normally carried herself with ease, grace, and elegance, was now trembling with rage.
"Rias, calm down. Getting angry right now won't help us!"
Akeno Himejima, unusually without her usual amused smile, was beside Rias trying to calm her down, in case Rias really got so angry that she rushed off to fight someone. The important part was that she could not win.
"I am calm, Akeno!"
Rias practically forced the words out through clenched teeth. But when she looked at the message displayed on the Magic Circle in front of her, the visitation notice sent last night by the Fallen Angel Governor General, Azazel, she still felt like she was going to faint.
"We should report this to Leviathan-sama first. The Fallen Angel Governor General is coming much earlier than we predicted. It's very likely he still hasn't given up and wants to start a war just like Kokabiel did. We need to make preparations as soon as possible…"
Halfway through, Rias suddenly stopped and looked at Akeno Himejima in confusion.
"Akeno, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering whether love really can change a person this much."
"Rias-sama, are you thinking clearly? No matter how angry we are, we can't mix our personal feelings into the report. We can analyze it afterward."
Akeno Himejima spoke with a sigh, and when Rias looked like she wanted to argue, she cut her off in time.
"Stop, Rias. How about this? I'll report to Leviathan-sama first. You go find Cid and see whether the Fallen Angel Governor General did anything to him yesterday. All right?"
"…All right."
Rias let out a breath. She knew her current state was not suited for meeting Her Highness Serafall. But there was nothing they could do about it. The message had been sent last night, and they had only seen it this morning. They did not even dare imagine what might have happened in between.
"Oh my, what a bother. This was supposed to be our rare day off after finally getting through that big battle, but because of that Fallen Angel Governor General, our precious leisure time has ended early. It really makes one feel…"
Under the harsh morning sunlight, Akeno Himejima's gentle, beautiful smile returned to her face, but the words coming out of her mouth were frighteningly vicious, as if she were trying to cast a curse.
Rias had no time to pay attention to Akeno Himejima's state. She pulled up Cid's address and immediately hurried into action, abandoning her original plans for the day.
Cid, please be safe.
While Rias thought that and flew toward Cid's house, Cid was in the middle of showing off.
"Personally, I'm more used to the kind of training where the teacher leads you through the door, and the rest of cultivation is up to the individual…"
Time stood still and flowed at once. Space stretched on without end. Flames radiating cold healed dying life. The strange, dazzling scenes around them shifted constantly along with Cid's words, dreamlike and unreal.
"You're not suited for close combat. More accurately, you simply don't have the talent for it. So, have you decided which one you'll choose?"
As the mysterious and unfathomable scenes faded away, Cid asked Nagisa Akatsuki, who was still immersed in the magnificent spectacle before her.
"I… can't decide."
Nagisa, do you know this? If Cao Cao dared say that to me, I'd already be driving over him in a jeep right now.
"Your path has already been determined, but when it comes to the finer, more detailed route, you still can't decide which way to go. If you keep this up, how are you supposed to fulfill our deal?"
Cid lightly snapped his fingers. In Nagisa Akatsuki's perception, the space around her seemed to undergo some strange, wondrous change, letting out a sound like breaking glass.
"Lesson One, Endless Transformations, is over. Your homework is to understand yourself. I hope you can give me a satisfactory answer the next time we meet."
Sunlight once again shone in through the window. The white figure seated on the sofa stood and walked past the silent Nagisa Akatsuki.
"Thank you!"
Just as Cid was about to leave, Nagisa Akatsuki's voice suddenly rang out, making him pause. He glanced back at her from the corner of his eye.
"Why thank me? We're only using each other."
"But you had other choices. I didn't even have one."
"I had nothing better to do, so I did it on a whim. There's no need to talk about choices."
"…I'm still grateful. Thank you for giving me this hope for revenge."
"If you think saying a few nice words will soften my heart, you may be thinking too much."
"That's not it. I just wanted to thank you."
Cid turned around. Facing Nagisa Akatsuki's sincere gaze, he fell into a rare silence.
"I'll do my best to bring back Kojou Akatsuki's soul within a few months. You don't need to worry about that. For now, you should think about yourself. What you agreed to… is a deal from the darkness."
He snapped his fingers, and the white figure began to disappear from where he stood.
"What should I call you?!"
As if something had suddenly occurred to her, Nagisa Akatsuki asked that question. The figure, already almost gone, glanced at Nagisa Akatsuki and moved his lips slightly.
"Teacher."
Leaving that final word behind, the white figure vanished completely from Nagisa Akatsuki's sight, leaving only scattered points of starlight.
"Teacher, huh…"
In the darkness, Nagisa Akatsuki murmured to herself. After a moment of silence, she suddenly smiled.
"That's wonderful, Kojou. You're saved."
A girl trapped in despair had found hope, and the tragedy that had happened could still be undone. What could be better than that?
"Knock, knock, knock!"
The knock at the door suddenly snapped the girl out of her joy. Nagisa Akatsuki, who had regained her spirit, wiped away her tears, opened the curtains first, and then walked toward the door.
"Creak…"
"Nagisa, I'm sorry about earlier."
The heavy door opened from the inside. Looking at Nagisa Akatsuki, who seemed like a completely different person from before, Cid said those words.
"No, Cid-nii-san, you don't need to apologize…"
The next second, he felt a force against his chest. Nagisa Akatsuki buried her face in Cid's chest, her muffled voice sounding from there.
"Kojou… really only left for a few months. He'll be back in a few months."
Not knowing what to say, and worried about exposing his identity, Cid simply stroked Nagisa Akatsuki's back without saying a word.