At the back of a group of several dozen people walking down the street, Cid glanced at the smiling Sona Sitri beside him, who was watching him closely, then looked away.
"What do you think of your boss, Rias, and my assistant, Tsubaki?"
When Cid said nothing, Sona Sitri smiled, adjusted her glasses, and took the initiative to start the conversation.
"They're both great. They're kind, they're good people... Though if you call a Devil a good person, does that count as an insult to Devils?"
Taking it as nothing more than casual small talk, Cid planned to brush her off with a few perfunctory answers, splitting his attention three ways and letting his body's instincts and subconscious deal with Sona Sitri on their own.
"For old-school Devils, yes, that would be an insult. But both Rias and I belong to the new school, so to us, it's a compliment."
"But is kind really the only thing you have to say about Rias and the others? Why not be a little more specific? For example, which of them do you think is more outstanding?"
Even after receiving such an obviously perfunctory good person card, Sona Sitri's smile did not change. She gently explained it to him.
"More specific, hm? ...Rias is a good Devil and a good master. She treats her Peerage as family, and at the very least, that's how Rias's Peerage sees it. It's just a shame I never had the chance to become part of Rias's Peerage."
"Tsubaki Shinra is the same. She may look cold on the outside, but she's actually surprisingly clumsy. When something happens that stirs her emotions too much, there's a very good chance her brain will suddenly stop working."
"As for which of the two is more outstanding... all I can say is that the world favors them both equally. A plain mortal like me isn't qualified to judge."
At that reply, the smile vanished from Sona Sitri's face. She narrowed her eyes and stared at Cid.
An expert. A truly high-level player. He had dodged every important point from start to finish and even handed out a good person card in reverse.
Before meeting Cid properly today, almost everything Sona Sitri knew about him had come from Rias.
After throwing out all the clearly unreliable lovestruck nonsense, all Sona Sitri really knew was that Cid had a very gentle personality, was quite popular with Rias's Peerage, and was only average in terms of strength.
She did not think much of the obviously questionable feelings between the two of them, but as a close friend, the only thing Sona Sitri could do was offer her blessing.
Originally, she had intended to stay neutral, with a slight bias toward helping Rias if the pressure became too much for her. That was, until she saw her other best friend, the [Queen] Tsubaki Shinra whom she trusted most, all tangled up with Cid at the back of the group. The moment she saw that, she knew she had to step in.
She really did not want to think badly of the person her best friend liked, but there was no way she could insult her own intelligence by convincing herself that Tsubaki Shinra just happened to be walking beside Cid.
If she was supposed to believe that Tsubaki Shinra's stiff limbs, flushed face, and unmistakably lovestruck look were all just because she was feeling unwell, then she might as well start making some malicious assumptions about Cid instead.
And after that brief round of probing just now, her suspicion that Cid was a scumbag had risen exponentially.
"Well then, Cid-kun, let's talk about something you boys might be interested in. What kind of man do you think Rias likes?"
A smile returned to her face as Sona Sitri put on an inquisitive, gossip-loving expression.
"I don't know."
"Haha... Come on, Cid-kun, tell me. I'm really interested in Rias's standards when it comes to choosing a partner. If you tell me, I'll tell you my Queen's standards in return."
Though I do not actually know what Tsubaki's standards are myself.
Slowing his pace, Cid was pulled out of his three-way split focus by a strange flutter in his heart. Once he checked his memories, he instinctively glanced at the smiling Sona Sitri beside him.
"...All I can say is, believe in love."
He tossed out the reply casually, then turned his attention back to the strange flutter that had just appeared.
How weird... His subconscious and his body were actually in conflict.
The source of that flutter was the clash between his subconscious, which was following the body's desires, and the command of his conscious mind. So it sent a signal to his conscious mind and forced it to choose.
To put it simply, his usual boss, the soul, suppressed everything that stepped out of line. But just now, because the boss did not want to deal with Sona Sitri, it chose to go idle and left the third brother, the mind, to handle her instead.
Then, with the boss absent, the second brother, desire, started giving orders to the third brother, telling him to act in accordance with the body's desires and do the exact opposite of the boss's basic command, which was to brush her off.
Put even more plainly, it was a classic case of saying no while the body was honest. Like when an elder offers you a money envelope and you protest out of politeness while quietly opening your pocket at the same time. The only difference was that in this case, the second brother, desire, had already beaten the boss, the soul, and started taking control of the body.
While Cid was puzzling over this conflict caused by his body's desires, Sona Sitri's expression had already turned dark.
She understood what Cid's subconscious was trying to say. He was openly admitting that he was a scumbag, and even threatening her in reverse by implying that he had already made her two best friends fall for him.
"Do not talk as though you are so certain. I have never experienced love myself, so I do not know what it feels like, but I do not believe love can make a person lose their reason."
"Know your limits. Try to have everything, and you will lose everything. Treasure what you already have. Endless greed will only bring about your own destruction."
Forcing herself to stay rational and suppressing the urge to slap Cid, Sona Sitri spoke expressionlessly.
"You're absolutely right, which is why I never do anything beyond my abilities."
Cid nodded in agreement, then took out a piece of chocolate from his backpack and offered it to her.
"Want one?"
"Hm?"
Sona Sitri looked at the chocolate in front of her, then at Cid, who seemed completely unaware of the clash hidden in their exchange just now. After thinking for a moment, she took it as Cid backing down, gave a light laugh, and accepted it.
"It's a little too sweet."
Unwrapping it, Sona Sitri looked ahead at Tsubaki Shinra, who was busy helping with the work and had not noticed anything happening over here at all. Then she put the chocolate in her mouth and gave her verdict.
"It's rare to meet someone with normal taste. I think this chocolate is way too sweet too."
He took out a box from his backpack as well, unwrapped it, and popped a piece into his mouth. The sweetness was so excessive it could practically be called overloaded with sugar, and Cid could not help frowning.
"Heh. Then why are you carrying so much of it around?"
Remembering the chocolate she had just seen Tsubaki Shinra accept, Sona Sitri's gaze shifted. She could not understand why Cid carried so much of it around if he did not even like it.
"I don't like it, but someone around me does. She gave me a whole pile of it."
Thinking of Gamma's shamelessness in practically hinting that she wanted back the chocolate she had just given him, along with the pages of glowing reviews on the Mitsugoshi Company website, Cid gave a helpless smile and pulled out another box.
"I honestly do not get why anyone in this world likes this kind of chocolate. Maybe... that's just love."
The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.
Sona Sitri froze. She looked at the calm and self-possessed Cid in front of her. The smile was still on her face, but her fists clenched tightly, and for a moment she had the urge to drag Cid right in front of Rias and the others and expose his true colors.
"I have to admit, this round goes to you."
After thinking it over for a moment, Sona Sitri slowly relaxed her clenched fists and gave up the idea of telling Rias what Cid was really like.
They had grown up together since childhood. She knew Rias's personality far too well. Rias had always valued emotions, and when it came to love, she had probably already gone full lovestruck fool.
If she really dragged Cid in front of Rias, Rias probably would not believe a single word they said. In the worst case, they might not even be able to stay friends anymore.
As for her own [Queen], Tsubaki Shinra...
Before today, Sona Sitri would have thought Tsubaki Shinra was the same as her, the rational type who would never be swayed by love.
But after seeing how Tsubaki Shinra acted in front of Cid, she had already classified her as just as love-addled as Rias.
"Even though I do not think your delusions are likely to come true, and no matter what you say I will never support you, I still have to ask. Do you have the confidence and resolve to see this all the way through to the end?"
She thought Cid's idea of building a harem was absurdly unrealistic. With strength as weak as his, he would be lucky if he did not end up marrying into someone else's family instead. Still, just in case, Sona Sitri asked one more question.
Cid was briefly taken aback by the question, and his eyes lifted toward the sky ahead.
"Hmm... I think getting to the end with luck and wisdom should not be a problem."
"Heh. At least you're still a man."
Sona Sitri let out a mocking laugh. Cid did not mind, but the way he looked at her was starting to become increasingly strange.
"Tomorrow..."
"Sona, Cid, why are you two all the way back here? Wait, why are you standing so close together?"
Sona Sitri had been about to say something else, but Rias suddenly appeared in front of them. The moment she saw Cid and Sona Sitri standing close together, her brows instinctively drew together.
The two exchanged a glance, then casually moved apart as if nothing had happened.
"Rias, what is it? Did something happen to the group?"
After greeting her, Sona Sitri stepped forward and took the initiative to ask why Rias had come.
"No. I just noticed you and Cid were not up front, and I was a little worried, so I came to find you."
After a few casual words, the obviously distracted Rias quickly ended the small talk and turned her attention to Cid.
"Cid, can you tell me where you were last weekend? Were you attacked by a group of people?"
"Yeah, a bunch of masked people did come after me. I just got lucky. Someone nearby stepped in and helped drive them off. Why are you suddenly asking, Rias?"
"And you're asking me why?!"
Rias's voice suddenly rose, her tone full of anger. At the same time, Akeno Himejima and Koneko Toujou came over to stand beside her, their expressions uneasy.
"Why would none of you tell me? You, Akeno, and Koneko too. Why would none of you say a word after being attacked and injured? If I had not felt the bandages under Koneko's clothes, I would still have been stupidly thinking none of you were attacked..."
"Uh... I was rescued at the time, and I was not really hurt, so I did not think it was a big deal and did not report it."
"You still should have told me. I'm the team leader. If something happens to any of you, you are supposed to report it to me immediately, not sit there thinking you can carry it all on your own..."
Akeno Himejima and the others said nothing. They simply lowered their heads and accepted Rias's scolding.
"Um... Rias, pay attention to the people around us. If you want to lecture them, you can do it after we get back."
At Sona Sitri's reminder, Rias glanced around and saw that the surrounding crowd had started paying attention because of her raised voice.
"Hmph. Fine, I will leave it for now. We will settle this after we get back."
She gave an annoyed snort, but restrained herself and did not let it explode on the spot. Rias decided to settle accounts later.
"Sorry, Rias. We just did not want you to worry."
"Mmm..."
Seeing Akeno Himejima and Koneko apologize, the anger in Rias's eyes softened a little.
"I know you were worried about me. Worried I would let other people's anger cloud my judgment during the negotiations. But you saw the result yourselves. Other than Sona and Sairaorg, who were already easy to talk to, the others did not show up at all."
At that point, Rias's face darkened again, and blazing anger flared in her eyes.
"That idiot not only thinks being alone means he does not need to worry about being attacked, he even turned around and called us weaklings for sticking together..."
"Alright, alright. Once you beat him, Rias, you can insult that guy however you want. But the two of us need to head back to the front now. Sairaorg cannot hold things together by himself."
After roughly estimating the timing and figuring about how long Sairaorg could keep it up alone, Sona Sitri pulled herself together and prepared to take Rias away.
This operation had been initiated voluntarily by the heirs of three Underworld noble houses. In theory, that meant the three of them had to stand out front. Only that would be enough to intimidate the people lurking in the shadows.
Just like this time. The reason they had gone to so much trouble to gather everyone together was obviously not to celebrate the first operation. It was for the heirs of their three families to make it clear to others that these thirty-odd commoner Devils were under their protection.
Only by letting more people see the heirs of those three families together with these commoner Devils would the people secretly watching understand that the commoner Devils on Itogami Island were now under their protection.
Unfortunately, only the three heirs had joined together. If they could have brought in the other heirs enrolled at Saikai Academy as well, both their security and deterrence would have been even stronger.
"Come on, Cid. Up front."
Cid shook his head at Rias's order.
"No. I'll stay in the back by myself. It's easier to run from back here."
Hearing that, Rias could not help laughing.
"Don't worry, Cid. I cannot guarantee the next few days, but at least today, you do not need to worry about getting attacked out on the road. With three family heirs sticking together, nobody will dare make a move. Those rats definitely will not dare show themselves either."
Rias, do you realize that sounds exactly like the kind of line that gets proven wrong immediately?
Listening to Rias's voice, Cid looked up at the sky, that thought flashing through his mind.
The next second, a bolt of lightning came crashing down from the sky toward the Devils.