Chapter 5
Cid
I ended up going home without Sis since her business ran late. She asked one of the Mitsugoshi staff members to walk me back, but that girl was way too attractive for me to be seen with. Just the thought of someone seeing me walking with a girl late at night, the horrible rumours would take forever to smother!
So instead I did the only logical thing and gave that girl the slip. Right before we left the building, I simply pretended to need the bathroom before climbing out the back window. Then I met back up with Skel and Po to give them their chocolates.
Along the way I heard the sounds of fighting so… sorry pals, but adventure awaited!
Which is how I found myself standing on a rooftop in my Shadow costume staring down as three of those Garden of Eden guys are attacking Alexia.
I had just been making a wild guess that these guys were anti-monarchist revolutionaries. But with this attempted assassination on the princess right in front of me I must have been dead on the money. Still not sure why they tried rescuing her if they were just going to try to kill her, but maybe this is the "rival factions of the same organisation with different methods" plotline.
Would make sense, the rescuers I saw were all girls. While these assassins are all guys. And from what I've seen the guys are all way weaker than the girls by a noticeably large mile. Pure pleb hour over here!
These guys feel more like the faceless minion types, I can safely kill a couple of them to drive the stakes up. Just so long as I don't kill anyone that seems like an important character
Alexia is holding her own, but losing ground bit by bit as she's faced with multiple opponents. She's clutching her upper arm where blood seems to be dripping and clenching her teeth in pain.
"Why are you killing the innocent?" She asks them.
"We are Garden of Eden," they reply with emotionless voices.
"Is that why you fight?"
"We are Garden of Eden."
"Look behind you, the full moon looks beautiful tonight."
"We are Garden of Eden."
I glance behind myself to check and admire the moon. It certainly sets the scene perfectly for my stage.
"All you do is just repeat that 'we are Garden of Eden' crap... I'm sick of it!" She takes a deep breath and rushes forward. Her stab goes low, beneath her target's guard, and impales flesh. But his associates move in and strike, causing her to be unable to get her guard into position in time and ends up having it knocked out of her hand.
"Damn it, three on one against a dainty girl? Have you no shame?"
"We are Garden of Eden."
"Yes yes, you said that already."
One of them steps forward and raises his sword. Alexia tenses.
Time to make my dramatic entrance.
I drop down into the alleyway, moving as if time is in slow motion. Alexia sees me and her eyes widen even as the sword falls towards her as if it's moving through thick water. Fortunately the Garden of Eden thugs haven't noticed me at all yet.
I leisurely straighten up. And just before the blade strikes Alexia I attack with my slime. From anyone else's perspective I simply dropped into the alleyway, and then blood exploded from the assassins - who then collapse to the ground without so much as a cry of pain.
Alexia immediately turns her sword on me. It trembles slightly.
"You're that Shadow guy right? From the Cult of Diablos. Why did you rescue me just now?"
"Garden of Eden is an enemy to the Cult of Diablos. They had to be removed for our plans to move forward."
She clenches her fists and glares at me. "That's all you have to say? Why did you Cult freaks kidnap me? What are these plans? You have a lot to answer for!"
I chuckle slightly and look up to the moon. She was correct earlier, it truly is beautiful tonight. In the distance I can hear Princess Iris running towards us, but the mood isn't ready for a confrontation so soon.
"The stage is not yet set. When the light of the moon reveals all, you will understand. Until then live in fear of what lurks in the shadows, and know you dance on puppet strings you can neither see nor sever."
On the last word I vanish into the darkness while a metallic slicing sound chimes from somewhere unseen. I was too busy to bother thinking about such though. She's probably thinking about how cool and mysterious that encounter with the dark shadowbroker was. A secret battle between two secretive groups with the fate of the Kingdom at stake... Yeah I'm so hyped for this!
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Well, Skel and Po wiped out.
Between Skel being dragged kicking and screaming behind the school by a furious upperclassman and Po getting beaten to a pulp by his crush and her friends, I might need new mob companions soon.
I glance at the box of chocolates in my hand. Clearly this thing is bad luck. Their outcomes weren't just bad, they turned violent immediately. I need to dispose of mine fast, or at least give it to someone that I know won't try to harm me.
Come to think of it, Sherry is still mad at me for something. Believe it or not I do consider her a friend and don't want her angry at me for whatever I did to piss her off. If I give this to her and say it's a gift that might be enough to make her forgive me. And at least as an introverted researcher she shouldn't pose a massive risk should my luck prove similar to that of my two friends and she suddenly develops a murderous hostility.
I start heading in the direction of her research station when I glance out the window and spot her in the garden below. She's having tea with… Princess Alexia? Well looks like Sherry's finally making another friend, good for her.
Now that I know where she is I can gift her the chocolate immediately.
Wait, Alexia's already tried to kill me once. Is it possible this is a bad time?
… Nah. If anything, it's the perfect opportunity. She'll want to keep up her perfect princess act in public and will refrain from making another attempt on my life with Sherry around. And since there's probably at least a dozen people aware of who she was having tea with so she can't just kill Sherry to eliminate the only witness.
Now if I'm correct about the chocolates there's a non zero chance Sherry will be sent into a homicidal rage. I could fend her off of course but that would put more focus on me than my mob persona allows. However if Alexia is there and acting on her best behaviour I can simply hide behind her. As the noble princess she'd be forced to protect her image and defend me.
I'm such a genius!
I march into the garden where they're chatting. Alexia spots me first.
"What are you doing here Pooch?"
"C-Cid!"
"I'll be quick, I'm just here for Sherry," I say. Alexia somehow manages to choke on her tea and is sent into a coughing fit.
Ignoring that, I turn to Sherry. "Here, I got you these," I say, placing the box of chocolates on the table in front of her.
I keep a careful eye on her expression to see whether she takes this as a peace offering or reacts poorly.
Much to my dismay her face flushes red with anger as she glances down, her body tense and gripping the teacup tightly. Damn, I should have trusted my instinct about the cursed chocolate. Now she's even angrier with me than before.
I glance at Alexia ready for Plan B: Hide behind my ex-girlfriend. Unfortunately she seems to be shaking, with her eyes open wide. She's clenching her hands tightly and I even see them itch towards the sword strapped to her side.
… It's then that I realise the gaping flaw in my glorious master plan.
Alexia won't have to worry about Sherry tattling on her serial killer tendencies if Sherry also makes an attempt on my life. They'd probably just bond over my murder or something. Hell no!
I elect to let my mobness live to fight another day and make a hasty retreat before either of the girls can stop me.
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To my continued misfortune I ran out of the frying pan and into the fire.
"There you are Cid, I've been looking for you."
I glance over my shoulder and judge my odds. It's better to head back and take my chances with the two girls. Sure they'll try to kill me. But I've been preparing my mob-fu techniques and fake blood for just this scenario. It's the safest choice.
"Hey are you ignoring me?" Claire grabs my ear. "Don't think you're off the hook for training just because yesterday's session was light. Especially after leaving without Noelle yesterday!"
"I don't need to get stronger."
"Of course you do," she says. She glances off into the distance where the sun is setting. "Something big is coming and I need you to be able to defend yourself."
Sigh. I see she still hasn't outgrown her chunni phase. She's been like this ever since we were kids.
"But before that, how was Mitsugoshi? Anything caught your eye?"
I decide it's better to keep the crowbars a secret. They might come in useful for some Eminence shenanigans that I'd rather not be linked to Cid. Or even if I just keep as a memento of the old days it would still stand out for a mob character to own them.
"Just the chocolate. But between you and me there's something wrong with them. I'm not sure if they're cursed or got the ingredients from some kind of haunted field or what. They almost got us killed, and perhaps succeeded against Po and Skel."
She looks confused. "Killed? They shouldn't be poisonous. Did they really taste that bad?"
"Oh we didn't taste them. I meant when we tried giving them to girls."
She goes completely still. "You gave them to girls!?? Did you learn nothing from how your relationship with Alexia turned out!? You're too young for dating, those black widows will just take advantage of your good nature!"
"It's not like that. I tried giving them to a friend of mine in a completely non-romantic way. But she got angry at me all of a sudden."
Claire lets out a sigh of relief. "Looks like I don't have to worry then. At least you didn't give them to Alexia in a foolish attempt to win her back."
"No, of course I wouldn't do something like that. Though, she was there when I gave Sherry the chocolates."
Claire just gives me a look that I have difficulty parsing. "You gave a girl chocolates… in front of your ex-girlfriend?"
I nod.
"Oh Cid... I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed... So I'm going to go with both."
"Hey, disappointed? What'd I do?"
"That fact that you don't know makes it worse." She grabs my wrist and starts dragging me somewhere. "Now come on, the training ground awaits. I'm going to be gone for a short while so let's get as much work in now while we can."
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I enter the hideout where Zenon has been living for the past week. It takes longer than I'd like for him to detect my presence, we really need to work on his mana sensing some more. When he does he rushes to greet me.
"Lord Shadow!" He goes down to one knee and kneels before me. "I am at your service My Lord."
"Rise my faithful servant. I have come to check on the status of your hard work."
I look at his body warped and changed by the transformation he underwent after consuming too many of those pills. Personally I think he looks pretty badass right now. But it comes with its drawbacks. He can never practise the sacred art of mob-fu looking like an end of dungeon boss, after all.
For that purpose I've been working on how I can cure him. From the looks of things it's just a mana overload that hasn't settled down. If I can get his magic circuits back into balance he should return to normal. Plus we can finally make some gains in his strength without this unsightly borrowed power being a factor.
"I've been working hard on controlling the slime as you taught me Master," he says as he holds the blob out. It shifts and morphs, forming the shape of something approaching a sword. Even if it is a bit wide. I run my finger along the blade, it's progress but still a little blunt.
His forehead is creased in concentration as he focuses on keeping the sword shape.
"It's not bad, the blade still needs to be sharper. And make the entire thing thinner so it's more aerodynamic. Your issue at the moment is control rather than strength so we'll focus on more dexterous weapons. When you've gotten the shape of a rapier perfected you can start modifying it more to a style that suits you."
"Of course My Lord! To think you're able to keep your sword and clothing together in battle... Your control is astounding!"
"Not just in battle. I won't consider your slime control ready for combat until you can keep it in shape 24/7. You must be able to go about your day with it under your control and everyone around you none the wiser."
His eyes widen. "24/7… To think that's where your control is at. No wonder I lost to you."
"You'll get there," I say. "When you have your control at an acceptable level we have a mission."
"A mission? Something from the Rounds?"
"Nothing so important as that. This is more of a personal endeavour. We are going to raid a business called Mitsugoshi."
"Mitsugoshi? That name sounds familiar… Have they offended you somehow My Lord? If so I shall make them pay dearly."
Crap, I should have thought of an excuse for why we're attacking them. I can't say I want my family's business to fail, it'll make me look like a jerk. I need to come up with a convincing lie. I quickly glance around the room for a burst of inspiration, and my eyes land on a wanted poster for Solaris.
"I have reason to suspect it's affiliated with Garden of Eden."
"Those girls who have been attacking the Cult? To think you would discover their affiliates so easily… Your investigative skills are without match My Lord!"
"Yes yes, but it is crucial that no one find out why we're attacking them."
"Understood My Lord."
"Great. Now let's have another look at trying to cure that mana overload of yours."
I've been doing some experiments on him. Like I said before, the pills seemed to have driven his mana into an overflow. Barely controlled, it's stopping just shy of running completely out of control. The only thing preventing that from happening seems to be that the flows of mana are just below a threshold which would cause that kind of runaway effect.
If anything it's like there's something his body is missing that's preventing the flows from increasing in size to the point that something terrible would happen.
The point though is that it shouldn't be too difficult to balance them out and return his mana back to normal.
A few hours later I make some progress, and Zenon stands before me as his usual handsome self.
"I should have known your powers would be greater than even the Beads of Diablos. Thank you My Lord."
"This is just the beginning, Zenon. Soon all the eyes of the world will be on us, wondering with baited breath what our next move will be. You must prepare for that time."
"All shall be as you command My Lord!"
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Elsewhere, in a hidden room of Mitsugoshi
"Let us begin this meeting."
Gamma raised her hand. "Will Lady Solaris not be joining us?"
Alpha looked at the indigo haired elf. "Not this time. She is busy with her work involving the Academy and preparing countermeasures against Shadow after witnessing the explosion he caused. She trusts me to handle our business today in her absence."
"But… but surely that explosion was simply the result of an artefact like the Royal family believes, right?"
"Gamma, you should know better than to underestimate our enemy which has ruled this world from the shadows for milenia. And even if they turn out to be correct and it's merely an artefact, it would be the height of foolishness to assume that the effect can't be replicated a second time."
"This Shadda guy sounds tough!" Delta said, both hands on the table and wagging her canine tail excitedly. "But no one's tougher than the Boss-Lady! She'll hunt him down for sure!"
"Yes, I have the utmost faith in Solaris to pull through as she always has. But this is just another example of the kind of foes we will need to prepare for when we ultimately face off against the Rounds knights. For now we have no indication that Shadow is even the strongest in the Cult, as he has yet to obtain the rank of Round after all."
"So we must get strong enough to assist her in fights against this level of enemy…"
"Delta will hunt Shadda for the Boss-Lady!" Her tail was wagging even faster now.
"No Delta," Alpha scolded the wolf therianthrope. "Solaris's orders stand. We win this by making our moves carefully. Avoid fighting him solo, take him out with planning and tactics."
Delta pouted and sat back down, whining.
"Now onto the first bit of business. How is Mitsugoshi doing in the Midgar branches during the first week?"
Gamma stood and gathered her papers for her own report.
"Our opening day sale was a roaring success, thanks to Lady Solaris's wisdom and Eta's genius. Our top three selling items were: Chocolate, coffee, and suits. Furthermore we had a surprise appearance by none other than Lady Solaris's younger brother, so Number 337 was assigned to show him around the store. According to her report the only things he were interested in were chocolate, and," she squinted at the report. "Crowbars? She must have made a mistake, my apologies Lady Alpha. I'll have it corrected at once."
"It does seem strange," Alpha said. "From what I've heard of the boy, he isn't interested in construction or anything else one would typically require a crowbar for. Has this been mentioned to Solaris?"
"No Lady Alpha. Should I inform her?"
Alpha thought to herself. "There's no need to bother her with something trivial like her brother's buying habits. Perhaps it's for a new hobby or some other purpose. Leave it for now, and put the report away somewhere unchanged."
"Of course. That is all I have to report."
"Very good. Then let's get onto the next item on the agenda," Alpha took a poster and rolled it out on the table. "The Goddess Trial. We need to gain access to the Sanctuary. Beta is currently placing herself in the area undercover in her civilian identity. Solaris will be taking Delta and myself to investigate as there will likely be powerful enemies. Epsilon is currently on a mission in Oriana and will meet us there as soon as she's done. While we're gone those remaining here will need to be doubly vigilant against attacks by Shadow and the rest of the Cult."
"Will such caution be necessary, do you think?"
Alpha wandered over to the window and looked out at the Midgar streets below. People hurried about, heedless of the secret war being waged over their future. In the distance the Academy stood proudly, an institution which should stand for learning that had already been thoroughly infiltrated and corrupted by the enemy. Hopefully soon to be liberated...
"With the appearance of Shadow the game is changing, Solaris believes large events are on the horizon. Are you aware that after the fight, Zenon's corpse was never recovered?"
"He was completely vaporised by the explosion then?"
"That, or Zenon is still alive."
Gamma gasped. "Surely that can't be so. Why would Shadow attack his own ally only to let him live? And why would Zenon remain hidden if so?"
"So what?" Delta asked. "If he's alive then Delta can just hunt him as well as the Shadda. The boss lady and I can kill them both!"
"I don't like the feeling of this. My instinct tells me there's a missing piece I can't see. It's possible Shadow spared him for some unknown reason. After all, who can know what cruel, deranged plots Shadow is stirring up in his head right as we speak…"
Meanwhile on the other side of the city.
I stayed up all night preparing, but it was worth it. I have now perfected 48 secret techniques to lose a fight in the most embarrassing, mob-like way possible so that my opponent shines even more by comparison! Right on time for today's match against Princess Rose! Muhahahah!!!