"So, that's basically what happened. He didn't do anything too excessive to me, so there's no need for President Rias to worry too much…"
Sitting in a chair, Cid slowly explained what had happened to him yesterday to Rias, who sat across from him. By the end, he was even comforting her instead.
"But it was still far too dangerous. That was the Fallen Angel Governor General. Given what happened a few days ago, we can't guarantee he won't hold a grudge against you, Cid, or try to take revenge because we exposed the Fallen Angels' conspiracy."
"Honestly, I don't know why either. The world had finally settled down over the past few months, and now all these major incidents have happened one after another. On top of that, a whole pile of factions and people have set their sights on you, Cid."
After patiently listening to Cid recount his experience yesterday, Rias thought back on everything she had gone through recently and clutched her head as she complained. The major incidents that had happened this month alone had already surpassed everything from the past year combined.
I'd like to know why too. Are these people insane?!
Listening to Rias vent, Cid also grumbled inwardly. This was an unimaginable crisis for his extra identity. At this rate, he had a feeling his only option would be to die!
"Yeah, why indeed? Maybe because the period of unrest has ended, and everyone thinks stirring up a little trouble isn't a big deal anymore. That's why people say the only lesson Humanity can learn from history is that Humanity never learns from history."
Cid said it with a sigh, but he was not making things up. When he had nothing to do, he often wandered around the world, killing people, setting fires, and robbing criminals.
Most of the time, he killed them outright, but sometimes he would wait a little first and listen in on some shocking gossip.
Did she know about the Khaos Brigade, the organization whose evil in this world was second only to his? In just the past few days, as far as he knew, at least one major faction's radical faction had developed some shady relationship with the Khaos Brigade.
Cid did not know what they were planning to do, because the deal had almost been completed at the time, so he simply stepped in and robbed them. But if he had to describe it, it had a kind of Showa staff officer beauty to it. Every one of them thought everything was under control, that the advantage was theirs, and none of them were afraid of raising a disaster they could no longer control.
At first, the various factions around the world had still been able to suppress the terrorists and radicals in their own territories. After all, they did not want to get themselves killed too. But as the pressure on the World Battlefield gradually stabilized, some people suddenly had too much free time.
Barring any surprises, the next stage would be "warring states" and "the collapse of order and propriety." But that was exactly what he wanted, so hurry up and accelerate! Accelerate!
"Cid, you really do understand them!"
Rias looked at Cid with slight surprise, then leaned forward, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip. A hint of admiration flashed through her emerald eyes.
"…Well enough, I guess. They're just some online conspiracy theories."
Though I don't think they're conspiracy theories.
"If only they really were just conspiracy theories…"
At that topic, Rias returned to the worried expression she had worn at the beginning.
"If the Church attacking us Devils had happened a year ago, the major factions would have stepped in long ago to prevent the conflict between both sides from escalating further, instead of smoothing things over like they are now."
At this point, Rias's tone grew more agitated.
"Especially now that this matter involves the Fallen Angels too. Azazel, the Fallen Angel Governor General, has even come here in person. Now we really can only rely on Leviathan-sama to negotiate."
I feel like what comes next isn't something an extra like me should be hearing. Should I leave right away?
That was what Cid thought, but he had no intention of leaving. What a joke. Deep down, he was still the kind of person who wished the whole world would fall into chaos, and besides, Rias was the one saying it herself.
"I've heard that Azazel has an unimaginable interest in the Sacred Gear granted to humans by God. He even captures people who awaken Sacred Gear and uses them for experiments. Some people who awaken overly dangerous Sacred Gear are directly killed by the Grigori surveillance agency under the Fallen Angels, and their Sacred Gear are taken."
"All I can say is, thank goodness you don't have Sacred Gear, Cid. Combined with the sensitive situation right now, that's probably why he didn't act against you directly."
Human experimentation? I feel like he and Eta would get along.
"Let's hope everything goes smoothly. Leviathan-sama said she has no intention of going to war. The situation is too sensitive right now, so she wants the Fallen Angels to compensate us instead. But how should I put it…"
Rias set down her teacup, a very strange expression appearing on her face.
"Apparently, the Fallen Angels' spatial treasury was suddenly emptied overnight. All kinds of rare treasures, precious materials, and Sacred Gear combinations vanished. A large number of research institutions were forced to stop operating, and even the energy used to maintain their barriers is nearly insufficient. I really don't know who could have such incredible ability."
So powerful!
Admiration flashed in Cid's eyes. Emptying the stockpile of a major faction single-handedly was far too powerful. A role model for people like him!
Although he was no longer short on money, he still deeply admired that kind of powerhouse.
"That's the situation now. Negotiations, negotiations, and more negotiations…"
It was obvious that when Rias finally said "negotiations," she was extremely unhappy.
"Peace is pretty important, after all."
"But it really is infuriating, isn't it…"
"True. It really makes you want to kill them all."
Cid spoke calmly and nodded in agreement. Well, it was understandable. They had been attacked, both her Peerage Member and her best friend's Peerage Member had been taken, and after all that suffering, they were still being told to reconcile. Anyone would be furious.
"Exactly. It was clearly the Church who attacked us without bothering to distinguish right from wrong, judging everything based on a single comment about our aura. It was clearly those damned Fallen Angels who abducted Yuuto and Sona's Peerage Members. And then there's that Shadow. Even after interrogating Kokabiel from beginning to end, we still haven't figured out what role he played in all of this. Yet in the end, the ones under the greatest pressure are us in the Underworld…"
After hearing Cid's answer, Rias showed an expression of agreement and spoke with rising emotion. But halfway through, she lowered her head, looking dejected.
What role did I play in all of this… I'm really sorry, Rias. I don't know either.
Cid tried to sort out the sequence of events, but the process was a little complicated, so he decided it was better not to think too much about it. In any case, it was very Eminence in Shadow!
"Clearly, none of this should have had anything to do with us…"
The low voice snapped Cid out of his thoughts. Only then did he notice that Rias's current aura seemed a little… gloomy?
In Cid's impression, the usual Rias was sharp, energetic, mature, calm, and like an older sister. But right now, she gave him the feeling of a string stretched so tight it was about to snap.
"Cid, you may not know this, but during the previous battle where I worked with Leviathan-sama to surround and capture Kokabiel, I received some news…"
Perhaps it was the quiet atmosphere around them. Perhaps it was because the two of them had just been complaining together. Perhaps it was because the person in front of her was Cid. At this moment, Rias felt an urge to pour out everything that had been weighing on her heart, and she really did.
"Over the past dozen or so days, among the warriors the Underworld has sent to the World Battlefield to fight enemies from another world, the number of deaths has begun to rise. Meanwhile, the death toll among the other factions has been falling. And the reason for all of this is me…"
She spoke plainly, but from Rias's gradually trembling body and the number above her head that had begun to fall, it was clear she was on the verge of breaking down.
"Just because of that ridiculous Rating Game of mine that somehow spiraled out of control, the people sent by the various factions were seriously injured. To get back at the Underworld, they've started joining forces against us…"
For the major factions, the World Battlefield had now become a convenient place to repay grudges and settle scores.
For one thing, no one cared if people died there. Trying to find the culprit through divination or similar means was impossible, and the constant fighting would destroy every trace.
The threat posed by enemies from another world was great, but not so great that it was overwhelming. There was no way to defeat that other world with its endless military strength, but with the rule of "balance," as long as the major factions did not lose their minds, they could keep fighting for hundreds of years.
To put it bluntly, a large amount of combat power had been freed up, so naturally they started causing trouble.
As for the Underworld, which had angered everyone, even if the upper ranks wanted to cooperate, the warriors below could not possibly be completely without resentment. They did not need to target the Devils openly. They could prioritize supporting others, allocate inferior supplies to the Devils, or move a little slower when blocking attacks. There were far too many ways to do it, and the worst part was that there was no way to call them out on it.
Mm. Cid's assessment was that they had too much free time. If they deployed a massive amount of combat power in one go and pushed the balance to its limit, naturally no one would have the energy to cause trouble.
"This time is the same. Because I failed to keep a close eye on Yuuto, he was misled by the Fallen Angels, attacked people from the Church, and brought trouble to the Underworld again. And then Yuuto betrayed me too…"
Tears began to gather in Rias's eyes. After learning all of this, she had acted normal on the surface so her family would not worry, but the pressure bottled up inside her had only grown heavier by the day.
"I don't understand. I only wanted to take back my freedom, so why did it turn into such a huge mess? What did I do wrong…?"
If it had only been a simple battle, Rias naturally would not have ended up like this. But being told all at once that her mistake had caused more than a thousand deaths was far too heavy a burden for Rias, who was still in the middle of growing up.
"If I…"
If she had never tried to break off the engagement, if she had paid more attention to the condition of her Peerage Members, would none of this have happened? Those thoughts naturally appeared in Rias's mind, haunting her at night and leaving her tossing and turning these past few days.
"Rias-senpai…"
To be fair, Cid felt he had no right to comfort Rias. After all, part of the responsibility seemed to fall on him too.
Ah… there were plenty of excuses he could use to push the blame away. For example, even without him, Cao Cao and the others would have caused trouble anyway. Or that he had done it to deal with those two Evil Dragon Gods from another world. But… forget it. The truth was, he had simply thought it was cool.
"I don't think this is your fault. Do you want to hear what I think…?"
For the record, this was not comfort. He was only saying what he truly thought, while also explaining the logic from the standpoint of someone involved.
"To me, Rias is someone who is always confident, knows how to take care of her family, and works hard for her dreams."
"Defying a political marriage must have put you under enormous pressure, Rias-senpai. Especially when you were suddenly pushed onto such a major stage for no clear reason, and even opposed by your own family. That pressure must have been tremendous."
"But in the end, you still stepped onto that stage, didn't you? Because you knew very well that it was your only chance to win your freedom…"
"Cid…"
Rias accepted the boy's intense, almost matter-of-fact gaze. Some things did not need to be said. Looking into each other's eyes was enough to understand the sincerity behind those feelings.
"I can understand your dream… Even if the entire world denied it, I would still understand!"
"To pursue your own dream and act on it is more noble than anything else…"
"But… but what I did…"
Her voice trembled. Looking at the boy whose face was filled with passion, Rias felt as though her heart had been pierced again.
"I long to live according to my own way of life. No matter what obstacles appear before me, no matter who denies me, I have stayed true to it until today."
"But Rias, right now, you have twisted your own way of life!"
"I… I haven't… I haven't twisted it…"
"Is there any need to listen to what those idiots say? Everyone knows this has nothing to do with you, Rias, yet they still only dare to vent their dissatisfaction on you, Rias-senpai."
"Please find your true self again. When something is clearly wrong, yet you doubt yourself because of it, can someone who has even lost their sense of self really still be the Rias-senpai who dared to pursue freedom?"
Mm, that should do it. That was about enough.
Seeing Rias fall into thought, her entire body frozen in a daze, Cid nodded inwardly. He felt he had explained it clearly enough.
Once again, this was not comfort. He was simply making the logic clear. In his eyes, walking into a trap because of one's own stupidity, then turning around and blaming the bait placed behind the trap, was idiotic beyond belief.
"Heh. I really… didn't misjudge you."
Tears slipped from Rias's eyes, but they were no longer the crushed, despairing tears from before. They were tears of relief, accompanied by a smile breaking through.
He looked like he cared about nothing, yet he was willing to face every hardship for the blazing feelings in his heart. That will, one that would never give up even if it meant making an enemy of the world, was truly… dazzling.
As Rias gazed at the calm-faced boy, her emerald eyes seemed to see straight through the space between them and glimpse the sincerity in Cid's heart.
"I'm sorry, Cid. I got a little too emotional just now."
Wiping away her tears, Rias pulled herself together again.
"Let's talk about something happier. Diodora of the Astaroth House is holding a banquet to celebrate the truth coming to light. Do you want to go togeth…"
"Thud!"
The sound of a collision rang out, making Rias turn her head and see Asia fallen on the floor.