This. Is. The best!
Not only he went out for his Eminence stage, but he also learned that there are actually at least 6 more people that were willing to play out his fantasies!… Or maybe not and they just instructed Nu to be the thirteenth? Who knows…
Reminder that this is our Protagonist.
He also managed to check out the first part of his brand new plan. What plan? Well, you see, there are Heroes, Villains, and Eminence in Shadows. He has already taken the role of Eminence, and the (fake) Cult was designated as the Villains group, so the only part left blank is Heroes group! And of course, he can't just throw the Shadow Garden girls into that group, because they are already on his, Eminence, side, and he doesn't like to change the lore midgame, so he needs to take someone else into his spectacle.
And that's where Alexia, his girlfriend, comes into play! She's a perfect candidate, and here's two reasons why:
1. She's a princess, and everyone knows that princesses are either damsels in distress waiting for a brave hero to save them or future heroines bravely protecting their country and the world as a whole from evil demonic forces. You would think that because he saved her once she would fall into first category, but actually it works a bit different since…
2. He's Eminence in Shadows! That's right, he can play as a hidden mentor for the Hero figure that initially seems suspicious but becomes irreplaceable over time, all the while his civilian persona is muttering encouraging words and cuddle her so she won't feel lonely! And then he can make Grand Reveal to shock her! "But wait, Cid, you were Shadow the whole time? The guy who gave me advices on how to become stronger?" Man, he can already feel the ecstasy!
Oh, but no borrowed power like super magical swords that have their own sentience and will only give in to the chosen one with indomitable spirit and will to sow good in this world. That's way too lame, plus, as he once said, "There's no road to almighty through borrowed power!" So yeah, maximum that he would allow is something like slime suit since that thing actually requires precise control over magic in order to be useful, and that would serve as a good training arc.
Actually, he would need way more Heroes than this since, well, the Chosen One trope is good and all, but he needs a replacement ready in case things go south, and he can't really just change a Hero midplay, can he? Especially considering the new Hero will need a new training arc, new bonding arc, new everything! So better running multiple Heroes parallel with each other.
…Hmm, in that case he might actually need multiple identities. As in, if all the Heroes were to interact with his Cid Kagenou persona surely it would seem suspicious, right? It's as if that unassuming mob is actually the main character here…
Oh! Oh! And then once all the Heroes come together and defeat the Villains, he will leave some clues on how to contact him! For example, defeating all members of Shadow Garden (or maybe not, it would probably traumatize the girls if they were to be beaten up all of sudden) and Demon Diablos (well, since he doesn't actually exist, Cid will need to take the role himself) will allow them to collect pieces of artifact which will be absolutely useless like some kind of a rock until all pieces come together. And once it happens, it would release a powerful magical surge and open up some kind of portal (note to self: research how to use teleportation), then the way to Shadow will be unlocked, like he's some super secret true final boss! And this will be their hardest battle where they all would need to combine their powers! And either he gives in and crumbles into dark particles or laughs it off and crushes them with absolute power!… Well, that would depend on their performance during the show.
And then he will go under radar and stay low for, hmm, a hundred or so years? Then he will make a new batch of Heroes and Villains and play again! Or better to think of something new so it wouldn't be so boring to go through all that again? Oh, the possibilities…
"So that's how it is…" Alpha nodded upon hearing Gamma and Nu's report.
Now that she thinks about it, everything was actually on the surface. Alexia Midgar's style was extremely similar to the one the First Shade and Master Shadow used, but unlike Shadow Garden members who were taught it either by Shades and or by Shadow himself, Alexia was developing it on her own. Alpha knew that everything Master Shadow taught them was of his own creation, meaning that he would be extremely interested in a potential master in weapons creating their own style, even if a bit amateurish and somewhat similar to his own.
Alpha even felt a bit ashamed for not realizing their Master's plan sooner…
"Alpha-sama, what are you planning to do next?" Nu inquired, "We now have a precious information about Cult hideouts thanks to Shadow-sama incredible planning, allowing us to capture several members of theirs, both high-ranking and fodder."
"Correct," Alpha agreed, "However, if I deduced his intentions right, we will have to wait for some time before launching our attack."
"And that would be…" Gamma gasped, "after Bushin Festival!"
"Indeed. No doubt several members of the Cult would appear on such important event, allowing us to easily track them down and find even more covers of theirs," she lovingly caressed the letter in her hand, " and it's all thanks to our Lord's wisdom that we can make our operations as effective as possible."
All members present happily nodded in agreement.
"But…" Alpha's expression suddenly turned ominous, "Are you certain that there's absolutely no romantic feelings involved from Master Shadow towards Alexia Midgar?"
Gamma and Nu gulped nervously. They didn't check on that one…
Alexia calmed down.
In retrospective, it was silly to worry about Cid that much. Yes, she made a mistake. Yes, it pissed Cid off. Yes, he will probably be pretty angry at her. Yes, she will have to apologize and compensate him for that. But he will not suffer anything irreversible.
Rose Oriana is a kind-hearted student. She would not do anything unnecessary. In fact, if she and Cid explain the situation, she will probably agree to let him off on surrender. Nobody would even object that, since everyone knows how strong the current champion is. In fact, most people might take it as a wise decision on his part and get a closer look at him, possibly opening up a career path!
Yes, Alexia has to admit: she overreacted. It should be a given, considering that her first and best friend suffered from her no more than a day after her confession. She will make it up for him, though.
For now, she has another thing to worry about. Iris staring daggers at her.
You see, she came out to take a breather at night. She accidentally met a group identifying themselves as Shadow Garden, which quickly proved to be a mistake as real Shadow along with his subordinate (a beautiful woman, by the way; is he a womanizer?) quickly dispatched two of them without even moving from their place, and third one? Well, Alexia heard a chilling scream from the side where that woman was, and it was not a female's voice…
And now it was morning. Her sister found Alexia on her knees and staring at the direction where Shadow disappeared. She can still remember his words. Instead of killing her here for disrespecting him, he laughed at her and asked to find him when she becomes stronger so they can fight to their hearts content. That was not a mere boast about his power, that was genuine feeling from his side as he wished for someone equal to challenge him. Why did he think it should be her, though? Is it because their blades, as he said, were similar? Probably… that's why he wanted to see her grow?
There were now three people who genuinely said that her style is something to be proud about. Her sister, Iris. Her boyfriend, Cid. And her future rival (since he allowed it himself), Shadow.
Ah, right, Iris. She was still angrily staring at her and waiting for something. Alexia just blinked innocently, causing Iris to open up a conversation on her own:
"So… Shadow Garden was not the one who killed our knights."
"Mhm", she picked this profound and full of wisdom answer up from Cid, "this Shadow guy said they were nothing but puppets in hands of someone else."
"Yes, Cult of Diablos. These two groups fight each other, and we still know nothing about their goals. Well, we could deduce something about Cult based on documents recovered from place of explosion, but we know nothing about Shadow Garden other than it exists, it's strong, and they have two extremely powerful individuals…"
"Shadow and… Alpha, that strong girl, right?" 'Seriously, during both times I met them I saw no men other than Shadow himself, and he was surrounded by extremely beautiful girls! Is he making a harem?!'
"Correct. And…" Iris sighed sadly. "I met unexpected problems when trying to form a new Order. Approval and financing that should be extremely easy to get for me as a princess were suddenly recalled, forcing me to fund it from own savings, at least until the situation resolves. And, considering our circumstances, we can't even afford ourselves to increase our manpower, as any potential candidate could be a spy from either Cult or Garden."
"Hold on a second, Garden? I can understand being wary of Cult, but Shadow Garden? Didn't they basically save me and a bunch of other people from torment and slavery?" Alexia's brows quirked.
"As much good intentions they may have, they are still, unfortunately, illegitimate organization running around in our kingdom," Iris made a stern expression, "and I can't put much trust in them, not unless they're willing to become subjects of Midgar."
"Oi-oi, you aren't seriously going to antagonize them, now will you?!"
"I will, if I have to," Iris' calm red eyes met Alexia's disbelieving red eyes.
"You do realize how strong he is, right? He practically evaporated the whole underground facility with his power! Screw that, the remnants of his strike made a freaking light column illuminating the whole city! I even heard someone thinking it was Goddess personally descending to punish the sinners!"
"And we both agreed that it couldn't be anything more that artifacts. You were not in your mind considering how many blood Cult drained and how many drugs they applied to you, and neither were witnesses," Iris calmly retorted.
"Oh yeah?! Well, today I was in perfectly sane state when I met Shadow again! And I can vouch that his power did not seem any bit lesser, in fact, I think he were even stronger than before!" Alexia tried to jump up from her bed, only to be held back by Iris.
"I did not wish to do this, Alexia," she smiled sadly, "but I have to put you under the house arrest."
"What?! I still have to talk with Cid about the upcoming tournament! Let me go! I said let me go this instant! I have to meet him!" unfortunately, the night's events left her pretty drained, so she fell back on the bed moments after, having no power to stand up again and only being able to stare daggers at her sister.
"…And even if you are right, I am still a princess of this kingdom, and I have a duty to perform. No matter how much stronger he is, I will not falter against him," Iris gently ruffled Alexia's hair. "Now, rest. I will let you free at Bushin Festival's day so you can watch how your beloved Cid performs."
As Iris promptly closed the door under the sounds of her little sister slowly drifting into sleep, she couldn't help but think…
Who was this man, Shadow? What relation does he have with her Alexia to meet her not once, but twice, and let her go peacefully? And by the looks of it, he did not wish to bring harm upon her. On the contrary, Alexia noted that their styles were extremely similar, to the point where Shadow was elated enough to sincerely wish for her further development so one day they could cross blades.
That left her with a question…
Was she really right in putting themselves against Shadow Garden, too?
