New WorldShadow - 414/415 (Patreon)

Chapter 414: Aren’t You Afraid of Dying?

Inside the shrine, in a place no one could possibly find, Cid was enjoying the bliss of the hot spring.

Nestled between mountains and water, the spring offered a view of the lush green forest whenever he looked up, with the fresh scent of nature filling the air.

Wisps of white steam drifted around him, dreamlike and ethereal. It really was beautiful.

Breaking in had definitely been worth it.

Nodding in satisfaction, Cid finally understood why anyone had bothered building a shrine in a place with no real attractions. This hot spring alone made the trip worthwhile.

“But what exactly were Epsilon and the others doing here?”

It was already daylight. After soaking for several hours and temporarily putting that bankruptcy plan out of his mind, Cid finally got his head back in order and remembered all the suspicious details from the night before.

Rationally speaking, Cid had no real desire to meddle in his friends’ affairs. Everyone had their own path to follow, and he had neither the need nor the right to stick his nose into their business.

But if he remembered correctly, Epsilon had already left the Seven Shadows and taken a group of her own subordinates with her to Netheril... So what exactly was she trying to do?

He had already tried sounding Epsilon out about it indirectly, but all he got in response was, “to sabotage the Cult of Diablos.”

Wasn’t that just an obvious excuse?

Still, Cid hadn’t pressed her. If Epsilon had answered him like that, she clearly didn’t want him to know. There was nothing he could do about that. Everyone had their little secrets.

Anyway, whether Epsilon was planning to ambush the Japan Self-Defense Forces or destroy some special agency, as long as she didn’t shove it in his face, Cid couldn’t be bothered to pry into his friend’s affairs. He would simply pretend he knew nothing.

Cid relaxed again, tossed his worries aside, and went back to enjoying himself. He had come here to unwind, so why waste time thinking about pointless things?

With that thought in mind, Cid quite naturally picked up a hot spring egg sitting nearby and started eating it.

“...Where did this hot spring egg come from?”

Halfway through chewing, Cid realized something was wrong.

He had snuck in here.

Only then did Cid notice a reflection in the water, someone standing directly behind him.

“Hey, Nagisa Akatsuki. Good morning.”

Cid casually raised a hand and waved as though nothing were wrong. Nagisa Akatsuki responded with a faint smile.

“Good morning, Cid-nii-san... How are you here? Has the blockade outside been lifted?”

Her smile was visibly strained. Wearing nothing but a bath towel, Nagisa Akatsuki picked up the basin containing the eggs and set it aside before casually lowering herself into the water beside Cid.

“I snuck in.”

“Huh? You snuck in? That’s amazing. My grandma’s people have completely sealed this place off. Even I’m not allowed to leave. How did you manage that, Cid-nii-san?”

Nagisa Akatsuki had looked completely relaxed after getting into the water, but Cid’s answer seemed to startle her. Her eyes widened in surprise.

She shifted against the edge of the hot spring, sat upright, and turned toward Cid.

“Well... honestly, I’m not entirely sure what happened myself. Those two women chased me away last night, and while I was on my way out, there was suddenly a huge explosion behind me.”

“So I came back to see what was going on. For some reason, those two women didn’t show up to stop me this time. Maybe some evil-to-the-core, world-famous lunatic with grand ambitions had beaten them half to death. I figured it was a rare opportunity, so I slipped inside.”

After Cid finished recounting what had happened the previous night, naturally leaving out everything he couldn’t talk about, Nagisa Akatsuki ignored the obviously questionable parts of his story and came to her own conclusion.

Someone had tried to force their way inside and defeated the Sword Shaman and Shamanic War Dancer guarding the mountain. But the resulting commotion had drawn the attention of the other patrols, and in the end, the intruder had been subdued by high-ranking members of the Lion King Organization or a team led by the Three Saints.

Meanwhile, her Cid-nii-san had taken advantage of everyone being distracted and slipped inside.

...That was incredible.

Nagisa Akatsuki stared in amazement at the man lounging lazily in the hot spring before her and swallowed.

As for why she believed the intruder from last night had already been subdued, the answer was simple. When she woke up, the shrine was peaceful, and hardly anyone seemed to have been injured.

No matter how she looked at it, the intruder had to have been caught.

It wasn’t as though someone could break in and then do absolutely nothing, right?

“Mmm, Cid, you’re really lucky.”

Nagisa Akatsuki sighed as she spoke, casually picking up a hot spring egg and popping it into her mouth.

She wasn’t wrong. If even one thing had gone badly, Cid would have been discovered, arrested, and thrown out.

“By the way, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask since last night. I came here with you and got kicked out, so why were you fine, Nagisa?”

“Huh? Well... this is my home. Or, more accurately, my grandmother’s home.”

After thinking about it for a moment and considering everything that had happened recently, Nagisa Akatsuki gave up and decided to tell him the truth.

“It was a little over a year ago, around the time the three worlds first merged. Before that, I always thought we were an ordinary family, except for my mom, Mimori Akatsuki, being a regular researcher at Magna Ataraxia Research.”

“But around that time, I found out that my grandmother, Hisano Akatsuki, was a retired high-ranking official from one of this country’s special agencies. My father, Gajou Akatsuki, was the famous ‘Returnee from the Netherworld.’ My older brother, Kojou Akatsuki, was the legendary Fourth Primogenitor. And my mother was actually a high-ranking member of Magna Ataraxia Research too.”

“Before I found all that out, if you ignore the period where my father caused me to lose part of my memory, I genuinely believed I was just a normal person.”

Nagisa Akatsuki spoke through gritted teeth.

It was obvious that even she found the idea of her entire family deceiving her, and only her, completely ridiculous.

“That sounds... pretty rough.”

Cid swallowed the food in his mouth and answered with a trace of guilt.

He was doing something similar himself, after all. He was keeping his own parents and older sister completely in the dark about his activities as an Eminence in Shadow.

“Right? Even now, I still can’t understand what Gajou Akatsuki and Mimori were thinking.”

Encouraged by Cid agreeing with her, Nagisa Akatsuki immediately became more animated, eager for him to validate her even further.

“Maybe they were trying to keep you safe. Some identities can cause a lot of trouble if they accidentally become public.”

Like Shadow.

Shadow.

And Shadow...

Perhaps because the topic reminded him of himself, Cid couldn’t help putting in a good word for Nagisa Akatsuki’s unreliable parents.

Nagisa Akatsuki responded with a despairing stare.

“Cid-nii-san, don’t try to comfort me. Even I don’t believe that. I was wondering why that bastard Gajou Akatsuki suddenly had enough free time to take me on a trip and help me clear my head. I actually thought he was worried I’d fall apart because of Kojou’s death, but it turns out he just needs my help again.”

“Again? Help?”

“...Ahaha, yeah. Gajou Akatsuki asked me to come here and help Grandma with something.”

Realizing that she had accidentally let something rather important slip, Nagisa Akatsuki hurriedly laughed it off and tried to brush the matter aside.

Cid merely gave her a sidelong glance.

Family drama?

Whatever. It had nothing to do with him.

“For a bastard father like that, you should hit back hard. Do what my sister would do. Nagisa, do it for me, okay? Pull out all your dad’s hair and call him ‘Baldy.’”

“Great idea. Once I’m finished here, I’ll pull out all of Gajou’s hair and send him off on his archaeological digs completely bald.”

One joke was enough to sweep away the awkwardness, and Nagisa Akatsuki quickly returned to her usual teasing attitude.

“Let me think... Where was I? Oh, right. After my parents and Grandma finally told me the truth, I transferred schools, and during that time, I also started training under Grandma.”

“All the friends from my old school drifted away from me, and several of my new classmates belonged to different factions that would start fighting the moment they saw each other. The school was supposedly built around ‘friendly exchange,’ but nobody paid any attention to me. Thankfully, that was around the time I met you, Cid-nii-san...”

When Nagisa Akatsuki first started talking about the subject, she had sounded fairly depressed.

But as she continued, it gradually turned into reminiscing. Before long, she was laughing as she recounted it like an embarrassing chapter from her past.

As Cid listened, he began to notice something.

How had their conversation drifted this far off course?

Weren’t they originally talking about why Nagisa Akatsuki was here?

Did explaining her background really require recounting her entire life story?

As Nagisa Akatsuki continued telling him everything that had happened to her since childhood, Cid felt an increasingly powerful urge to make a sarcastic comment.

In the end, however, he didn’t interrupt.

It wasn’t hurting anything, so there was no reason to make a point of stopping her.

“...And that’s basically it. Gajou brought me here to Grandma’s shrine. He wants me to use my exceptional spiritual abilities to communicate with the Primogenitor’s soul possessing my body, then use its power to open the seal beneath Kannawa Lake.”

“After that, Grandma’s people will take control of the ancient relics inside the seal and eliminate the risk of those ancient weapons running out of control and destroying the world once and for all.”

Sometimes, once someone started talking, it became difficult to stop.

Nagisa Akatsuki knew perfectly well that she wasn’t supposed to tell Cid about any of this.

But once the fear and pressure inside her became too much to bear and she chose to confide in him, the emotions she had been holding back spilled out along with everything else.

“Hey, Cid-nii-san... What do you think of me right now?”

Nagisa Akatsuki lowered her head. Her damp, short hair fell across part of her eyes, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

“Aren’t you afraid of dying?”

Cid’s answer was simple.

He answered her question with one of his own.

“But there’s nothing else I can do, right? My role in the ritual was always going to involve some danger. Besides, Gajou and Grandma both told me it’s very safe. They’ve already worked out a way to deal with the risks of possession. Taking a little risk for everyone else is worth it.”

She spoke quickly, as though trying to convince Cid not to worry.

Or perhaps she was trying to convince her own frightened heart.

But the truth was that Nagisa Akatsuki was lying.

No matter how many times the Lion King Organization assured her that the ritual had a high chance of success, they couldn’t fool someone who had already experienced possession twice.

The first time a dead spirit possessed her, she had nearly died.

The second time, she had taken in the soul of the Fourth Primogenitor, allowing her older brother, Kojou Akatsuki, to successfully become the Fourth Primogenitor.

Possession was an extremely dangerous ability by its very nature.

It placed an enormous burden on the body, and battles of the mind were often even more dangerous than physical combat.

Physical battles were ultimately constrained by reality. Once the difference in strength grew large enough, even the strongest willpower could accomplish nothing.

Mental clashes were different.

There were too many unknowns. Experience alone offered no guarantee of safety.

Cid understood that, and Nagisa Akatsuki, who had already gone through it twice, understood it even better.

One of the Fourth Primogenitor’s souls was still inside Nagisa Akatsuki’s body even now, steadily drawing away her life force.

So Cid simply looked at her.

Only after Nagisa Akatsuki noticed his gaze did she gradually calm down.

“Cid-nii-san... do you think I’m going to die?”

Nagisa Akatsuki kept her head lowered, avoiding Cid’s eyes.

“I ran into Natsuki-chan in Kyoto a few days ago. She told me that the break at Saikai Academy ends in the next day or two. If you don’t go back to school, Nagisa-chan, I get the feeling Natsuki-chan will chase you all the way to Hell and drag you back herself.”

Cid thought for a moment.

Instead of answering Nagisa Akatsuki directly, he brought up something that seemed completely unrelated.

“Haha, Cid-nii-san, what are you talking about? Natsuki-chan isn’t that scary. If she found out you were slandering her like this, she’d definitely arrest you, drag you off to the Island Guard, and make you eat pork cutlet rice.”

Nagisa Akatsuki froze for a moment.

Despite what she was saying, however, she started laughing.

“So if you die now, Nagisa, you won’t get to see Natsuki-chan arrest me.”

“For the sake of your friends and comrades who care about you, and the people you care about too, do your best to stay alive. Otherwise, they’ll be heartbroken.”

“...What about you, Cid?”

“Me? Of course I’d be heartbroken. So you’ve got to do your best to stay alive too, Nagisa Akatsuki.”

Cid said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, looking straight into Nagisa Akatsuki’s crimson eyes.

“Cid-nii-san, you really haven’t changed at all.”

Still meeting his gaze, Nagisa Akatsuki suddenly said those words.

“Hm?”

“Ha, it’s nothing.”

Cid didn’t really understand what Nagisa Akatsuki meant by that strange remark.

But when he saw the relieved smile that finally appeared on her face, he figured she had probably worked through whatever had been bothering her.

Still...

The soul of the Fourth Primogenitor?

Cid’s perception suddenly shifted as he looked at Nagisa Akatsuki.

His gaze passed beyond Nagisa Akatsuki’s physical body, revealing an incomplete foreign soul attached to her own, steadily draining away her life force.

According to Nagisa Akatsuki, Kojou Akatsuki had become the Fourth Primogenitor by chance.

One of the Fourth Primogenitor’s souls was currently being preserved inside Nagisa Akatsuki’s body, using her life force to sustain its own existence.

That was probably why Nagisa Akatsuki, despite clearly having greater natural talent than Asagi Aiba, was progressing at roughly the same rate in her training.

With an “experience thief” hanging off you, even the greatest talent wouldn’t save you.

“Plop...”

Just as the two were enjoying their conversation, the sudden sound of a stone falling into the water came from nearby.

They both turned toward the noise in confusion and spotted another young girl.

...

Chapter 415: Shirona Kuraki Makes Her Entrance, Cid Gets Caught Again

The sound that drew their attention came from a petite, white-haired girl who looked about the same age as Nagisa Akatsuki. At the moment, she was sprawled on the gravel path beside the hot spring in a rather comical pose.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation. I won’t tell anyone about this!”

Realizing that she had been caught eavesdropping, the fallen girl hurriedly scrambled to her feet and apologized in a soft, flustered voice. She bowed as she spoke, seemingly unaware that she was wearing a bathrobe and had just exposed a generous amount of cleavage.

Cid merely glanced at her before looking away. Compared to that trivial bit of eye candy, something else concerned him far more.

Is schizophrenia really that common these days? Or is this shrine, which might not even have a proper business license, actually a psychiatric hospital disguised as a shrine?

Cid joked to himself. Since his attention had been diverted halfway through observing Nagisa Akatsuki, he had noticed something unusual about the girl before him.

For instance, clinging to the soul of this obviously young girl was an otherworldly spirit so dark that it gave off an ancient, decaying aura.

It was remarkable that two cases of schizophrenia, something you might normally go your whole life without seeing even once, had somehow gathered in this tiny shrine. Anyone who didn’t know better might really think this place was a psychiatric hospital.

“Gulp...”

Nagisa Akatsuki swallowed softly as she stared longingly at the generous cleavage exposed by the girl before her. Her blatant desire completely overwhelmed the faintly sentimental mood from earlier.

Oh, right. Cid had forgotten that Nagisa Akatsuki was actually quite the pervert.

For some reason, this little girl-next-door had an urge to play with all sorts of wonderful things she herself didn’t possess, regardless of gender. Those wonderful things included, but were not limited to, giant slime balls, elf ears, Therianthropes’ tails, ogre horns, Devil Wings, and so on...

As for the slime on the girl in front of them, Cid could only say that among everyone he knew, only Epsilon, that “cheat code” player, could surpass her. Everyone else could at best match her evenly.

“Nagisa, could you please wipe the drool that’s about to drip from the corner of your mouth? I’m not that broad-minded.”

Cid spoke expressionlessly. He didn’t know how anyone else would feel about it, but the thought of a beautiful girl’s drool getting into the hot spring he was soaking in was seriously disgusting.

Nagisa Akatsuki snapped out of her trance at Cid’s reminder and smiled awkwardly. Once she had fully recovered, however, she gently nudged Cid-nii-san’s arm with her elbow.

“Then could you please stop staring like you’re completely mesmerized, Cid-nii-san?”

She spoke with obvious displeasure, glancing down at her own chest, which remained painfully unremarkable even with a bath towel wrapped around it, then at the unfamiliar girl in front of her. Nagisa Akatsuki gritted her teeth in frustration.

“Tsk...”

Cid clicked his tongue, glanced at the disgruntled Nagisa Akatsuki, and sat back down where he had been.

“Don’t lump me in with you, and don’t think I’m that vulgar. Normally, when I’m soaking in a hot spring, I try not to look at anyone else so everyone can enjoy their bath comfortably.”

“If you could actually stop staring, Cid-nii-san, I’d be more than happy to believe you.”

“...I said normally. Besides, what I’m actually looking at is a strange supernatural phenomenon deep within the soul.”

“Mm-hmm. I believe you.”

Nagisa Akatsuki said she believed him, so Cid decided to take her at her word. The two then turned their attention back to the girl before them.

While they had been bantering, the beautiful girl had somehow backed away a short distance and looked ready to flee.

“Hello! You’re here to soak in the hot spring too, right? Want to join us?”

With Nagisa Akatsuki’s terrifying level of sociability, she effortlessly stopped the timid girl from escaping. Though, more importantly, the girl apparently hadn’t really intended to run away in the first place.

“Excuse me, then.”

After saying that, the girl stepped into the hot spring. Out of courtesy, Cid briefly averted his gaze.

“Um, my name is Nagisa Akatsuki. Are you a Shrine Maiden here? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

Only after the girl had entered the water did Nagisa Akatsuki seem to suddenly remember to ask, sounding slightly embarrassed.

After all, she had already spent several days here, and with Nagisa Akatsuki’s personality, she had become familiar with almost everyone at the shrine.

“N-No, I’m not. My name is Shirona. Shirona Kuraki. I was sent here to keep watch and make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Although she looked extremely timid, the girl still forced herself to speak and explained who she was.

“Wow, that’s amazing. I didn’t expect someone so young to already be doing something like this... Aren’t Grandma and the others going a little too far? They’re dragging such a young child into something this dangerous.”

After voicing her admiration, Nagisa Akatsuki realized something was wrong. Judging by Shirona Kuraki’s build, she was actually even smaller than Nagisa herself. How could they drag such a young child into a dangerous ritual like this?

“No, I have to talk to Grandma about this.”

Nagisa, this might sound harsh, but the “little kid” you’re talking about could probably flatten you with a single slap.

Cid carefully observed the enormous amount of Spiritual Energy flowing from the girl as she interacted with Nagisa Akatsuki. A rare grave expression appeared on his face.

She was an extraordinarily formidable opponent.

If combat were purely a contest of numerical values, then those numbers would essentially consist of a person’s base physical and Magical Power stats multiplied by their ability multipliers. Most forms of counterplay in battle ultimately amounted to reducing the opponent’s effective stats.

Of course, combat wasn’t actually as simple as comparing numbers. Take Obito Uchiha, for example. Setting aside the absurd mechanics of Kamui, Kakashi could reliably solo him. Some abilities were simply so terrifying that they could function as an entire mechanic-based enemy all by themselves.

Conversely, having high Magical Power didn’t necessarily make someone strong. Just look at that little fox imp. Even with such ridiculous energy reserves, didn’t Kakashi still solo him one-on-one in the beginning?

That didn’t mean this method of calculation was wrong, though. As long as someone’s abilities weren’t absurdly overpowered, this method could accurately predict the outcome of more than ninety percent of battles.

As for the girl in front of him, judging purely by her internal Magical Power and physical strength, as long as her abilities weren’t as hopeless as Gamma’s, her combat power was at least in the three-digit range.

That was no small number. The Infinite Dragon God’s peak combat power was only a little over 100,000. Great Red was around 110,000. As for Shiva... he barely broke 10,000.

Incidentally, Cid estimated his own normal combat power at around 530,000. Truly a number worthy of the title “Demon King.”

With that in mind, did they understand just how impressive a three-digit combat power was? You would only need a few hundred people at that level to surpass Great Red. They might even be able to kill Great Red...

Pfft.

“Hey, Cid-nii-san, what is it? Did you think of something funny?”

Cid had been relaxing in the hot spring and letting his thoughts wander when he suddenly laughed aloud, drawing the attention of Nagisa Akatsuki, who had been chatting with Shirona Kuraki.

“I did think of something pretty funny.”

“Can you tell me?”

“...It’s a joke from my hometown. You wouldn’t understand it.”

“Oh, I see.”

Cid flatly rejected Nagisa Akatsuki’s request. He had no interest in making himself look like a weirdo.

Nagisa Akatsuki wasn’t bothered by the rejection. She simply pulled Shirona Kuraki along with her and rested her head against the edge of the hot spring, letting out a contented sigh.

After enjoying a brief moment of peace, Nagisa Akatsuki quickly grew restless again. Her crimson eyes drifted toward the enormous slime beside her. That beautiful teardrop shape, perfect in both size and form, tugged irresistibly at Nagisa Akatsuki’s heartstrings.

Under normal circumstances, Nagisa Akatsuki would already have seized the opportunity to cop a feel. She had absolutely no resistance to things like this.

But Cid-nii-san was sitting right beside her...

Making a good impression on Cid-nii-san was still a little more important.

With that thought in mind, Nagisa Akatsuki reluctantly tore her lingering gaze away from Shirona Kuraki’s enormous slime and turned toward Cid-nii-san instead.

Then her eyes lit up again.

Cid-nii-san’s stomach... actually isn’t bad either.

Normally, Cid looked so thin, yet now that his clothes were off, clearly defined abs were visible above the hot spring water.

So Cid-nii-san was the type who looked slim in clothes but had a surprisingly muscular body underneath. Especially with his stomach relaxed like that. It looked so cute and beautiful.

“Smack!”

“Splash!”

The sounds rang out as Cid caught the little hand Nagisa Akatsuki had extended without even realizing it and pulled it above the surface of the water.

“Care to explain?”

“Uh...”

Under Cid’s expressionless stare, Nagisa Akatsuki grew embarrassed and hurriedly turned toward Shirona Kuraki, who was watching the scene with wide eyes.

“Shirona-chan, come to think of it, you were eavesdropping on my conversation with Cid-nii-san just now, weren’t you?”

It was an incredibly clumsy attempt to change the subject, but it could still work if the other person was easy enough to distract.

Shirona Kuraki, who had been enjoying the spectacle, immediately had her attention diverted by Nagisa Akatsuki. Blushing, she submerged her head in the water. After what appeared to be an intense internal struggle, she finally raised half her face above the surface and nodded.

“Uh, then when did you start listening?”

Faced with another question from Nagisa Akatsuki, Shirona Kuraki remained silent even longer than before. Eventually, she raised her head from the water and answered hesitantly.

“...Probably... probably from when you started talking about why this man was here.”

“So you heard everything from beginning to end?”

Cid couldn’t help but comment, while Nagisa Akatsuki stiffly nodded beside him. She had clearly been caught off guard too.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have eavesdropped on your conversation.”

Cid had only been making a casual remark, yet Shirona Kuraki reacted as though she had been scolded and hurriedly began apologizing. Her reaction left both Cid and Nagisa Akatsuki too embarrassed to keep pressing the matter.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. It was nothing serious anyway. Cid-nii-san and I don’t mind. But if it’s okay, could I ask you for one favor?”

Nagisa Akatsuki waved her hand generously to show that they didn’t care. Then her tone shifted, and with a mischievous chuckle, she took Shirona Kuraki’s hand and put on her friendliest smile.

“What do you need me to do?”

As though she had suddenly gathered her courage, the petite girl inexplicably became far more assertive. All the timidity and unease vanished from her voice, replaced by a firm, composed tone completely unlike the one she had used moments earlier. She smiled confidently as she returned Nagisa Akatsuki’s question.

Unfortunately, Nagisa Akatsuki didn’t seem to notice the change at all. Still chuckling, she clasped her hands together and earnestly pleaded with Shirona Kuraki.

“Shirona-chan, could you please not tell my grandma or anyone else that Cid-nii-san is here? Please?”

Faced with Nagisa Akatsuki’s shameless attempt to act cute, Shirona Kuraki merely gave an eerie smile and reached out with one hand to grasp Nagisa Akatsuki’s clasped hands.

“Why?”

“Huh?”

Shirona Kuraki’s sudden boldness caught Nagisa Akatsuki off guard, but she didn’t think much of it and awkwardly explained herself.

“Shirona-chan, you heard what we were saying. Cid-nii-san snuck in here. If Grandma or anyone else finds out, Cid-nii-san will be in serious trouble. I don’t want that to happen to him.”

“Well...”

Seeing Nagisa Akatsuki’s pleading expression, Shirona Kuraki placed a finger against her lips and seemed to consider the request. In the end, she smiled faintly and gently shook her head.

“No. How could I simply let someone who trespassed into such a secret location walk away?”

“Huh?”

Now even Nagisa Akatsuki could tell that something was wrong.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Shirona Kuraki, one of the Three Saints of the Lion King Organization, a being that is neither fully human nor fully demon. I came here specifically to take you, Miss Akatsuki, to prepare for the ceremony.”

The petite, white-haired girl rose to her feet without the slightest attempt to hide herself. She now wore a confident smile, and an extraordinarily powerful aura radiated from her body.

“Sh-Shirona-chan, you’re joking, right? Impersonating one of the Three Saints of the Lion King Organization is a very serious crime.”

This time, Nagisa Akatsuki was the one speaking timidly.

Cid, on the other hand, had already anticipated something like this. It wasn’t a big deal. Even with multiple personalities, the second personality had to be given some time to come out. That was even more true for something like this, where two personas shared a single body and could easily switch places simply by suppressing the other’s soul.

“Please prepare for the ceremony, my lovely young lady.”

Shirona Kuraki merely shrugged at Nagisa Akatsuki’s question and answered with a smile. Then she turned toward Cid, who was still leisurely soaking in the hot spring.

“As for you, little one... You’ve got quite a lot of nerve, trespassing into a restricted area without permission. There’s no chance I can let you leave. If information about this place were to leak, it would be no small matter.”

“But don’t worry. For the sake of Hisano and the Akatsuki House’s daughter, you’ll only have to stay locked up here for a few days. If everything goes smoothly, you’ll be free to leave afterward.”

As Shirona Kuraki spoke, Nagisa Akatsuki’s emotions passed through tension, despair, relief, and speechlessness in rapid succession before she finally let out a relieved sigh.

“Cid-nii-san, don’t worry. My grandma and the others always keep their word. Once I get everything sorted out on my end, you’ll be able to leave.”

“I believe in you, Nagisa.”

What else could Cid say? All he could do was encourage Nagisa. He had already enjoyed his soak anyway. Being locked up would give him a good opportunity to see whether he could attain some enlightenment in prison and figure out a way to refine his plan.

At Shirona Kuraki’s call, the hot spring door opened once again, and a figure Cid found strangely familiar stepped inside.