"Stare…"
Cid watched as Nagisa Akatsuki stood in front of Kojou Akatsuki with a dark expression, her sharp gaze fixed firmly on him. Meanwhile, he calmly scooped up a spoonful of omelet rice and put it into his mouth.
Delicious.
Perhaps because all the housework in the Akatsuki household was handled by Nagisa Akatsuki alone, her cooking skills were incredibly good. If it were not for his lack of money and the need to keep a low profile, Cid would have seriously considered paying her to be his personal cook.
"Cid, help me. Help me."
No words were spoken out loud, but the look Kojou Akatsuki shot toward Cid clearly conveyed that message.
Hah.
He did not know what exactly had happened, but was this what they called a natural Eminence in Shadow? Folding immediately like that.
Sure enough, through hard work and training, he could surpass these natural born background characters and Eminence in Shadow types.
A victory for hard work over talent.
My win.
"Nagisa, I'm hungry. Can we eat?"
Normally he would stay completely neutral. After all, this was someone else's family matter.
But defeating a natural Eminence in Shadow had put him in a good mood.
Hearing his words, Kojou Akatsuki sent him a grateful glance, and Nagisa Akatsuki's attention shifted as well.
She stood up, brought two plates of omelet rice out from the kitchen, tossed one onto the table in front of Kojou Akatsuki, and sat down across from him.
"Kojou, I believe that even though you often look at girls with those perverted eyes, your sexual orientation is normal. So Kojou, you had better not do anything that disgraces the Akatsuki family name. Otherwise…"
Alright. The target had not shifted at all.
Whatever. He had already done his part. Time to watch the show.
"Nagisa, what are you even talking about? I don't understand. How is my sexual orientation abnormal?"
"And I already told you, I don't look at people with perverted eyes. I just… I just…"
Hah. Foolish, Kojou-kun.
Pretending to be clueless may be a universal skill for background characters, but sometimes playing dumb only makes the other person angrier and backfires.
Bang!
Just as Cid expected, Nagisa Akatsuki slammed the table in anger.
"Just what? Or are you saying that when you stare at girls on the street it's because you're a vampire and want to drink their blood?"
"I… I…"
Kojou Akatsuki immediately began stammering under Nagisa Akatsuki's questioning.
Of course, from Cid's perspective, that could simply mean Nagisa Akatsuki had accidentally hit the mark.
After all, in many stories there were comedic situations where the protagonists eliminated the correct answer right from the start when making choices.
Thinking about it, Cid could not help laughing inwardly.
There was no way something that ridiculous would happen to Kojou Akatsuki, someone who was also an Eminence in Shadow like him.
The chances that Nagisa Akatsuki had casually guessed Kojou Akatsuki's true identity were about as absurd as the Cult of Diablos actually existing just because he had casually made it up while bluffing the Seven Shadows.
"Anyway, I hope your sexual orientation actually matches the fact that you're always staring at girls. I don't mind. Honestly, it would be best if you brought a girlfriend home soon."
"I still don't understand why my sexual orientation is supposed to be abnormal! Fine, I admit I look at girls sometimes. But why do I have to get a girlfriend just to prove my orientation is normal?"
"You don't understand. Yes, you don't understand. It's best if you never understand. And you really don't understand."
Listening to the two siblings argue while eating his omelet rice, Cid was stunned by the amount of information hidden in their conversation.
Kojou, your sexual orientation actually has problems!!!
And you often stare at girls with perverted eyes!!!
Wait a second.
Sometimes he went shopping with Kojou as well, and most of the time Kojou spent it staring at his neck.
It was the kind of gaze that locked onto prey, the kind that wanted to tear open the prey's throat.
He had never seen Kojou Akatsuki staring at girls.
Could it be…
Is this the purity of a natural Eminence in Shadow?
He could even suppress his own desires just to test him. Too powerful.
But if Kojou Akatsuki really had issues with his sexual orientation, Cid became a little curious who Kojou Akatsuki might actually like.
After all, with that kind of power, very few people in this world could resist him.
Could it be Motoki, the guy who was always hanging around Kojou Akatsuki?
Yes.
That must be it.
Ah.
Finished.
He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that at some point the omelet rice was already gone.
"Um… Nagisa, I'm done eating."
Hearing this, Nagisa Akatsuki immediately stopped arguing with Kojou Akatsuki and hurried over to Cid.
"You finished already? Cid-kun, how was it? Was it good? Did you like the taste? Do you want another serving—"
"It tastes great. More accurately, I'd probably like anything you cook, Nagisa. No need to trouble yourself. I have something to take care of now, so I'll be leaving. If you run into any problems with your studies, I'll help you tonight when I get back."
Knowing full well how talkative she could be, he cut her off before she could continue, avoiding getting dragged into her pace. Then he used an excuse and made a quick exit.
"Ah, okay then, Cid-kun. I'll come find you tonight. Oh right, Cid-kun, are you free tomorrow? I heard a new water park just opened by the beach on Itogami Island. Do you want to go check it out together? If you don't feel like going, I also have—"
"Nagisa, I'll definitely be free tomorrow. Just send me the location when the time comes. See you."
"Oh—o-okay. See you tomorrow, Cid-kun."
As Cid's figure disappeared down the hallway, Nagisa Akatsuki closed the door.
The moment it shut, her expression darkened instantly.
"Kojou!!!"
...
"Sir, is there anything else you need?"
"Hmm… Pack up the cat food for me, and grab me a bottle of watermelon juice as well."
After leaving the convenience store, Cid turned and headed toward the monastery on the mountain.
Strange, wasn't it? An artificial island that somehow had a mountain on it. And that mountain had existed for decades—long enough that people born on the island had almost forgotten it was man-made.
"Meow, meow, meow."
The place was an abandoned monastery. Under normal circumstances, it should have faded into obscurity with time and eventually been demolished. The only reason he discovered it was because of its unusual nature.
"Meow, meow!"
"Alright, alright. I bought you cat food. The person who used to take care of you hasn't shown up lately for some reason. You must be starving. Tsk. If she shows up again, I'm definitely making her reimburse me."
Stray animals were rarely seen on Itogami Island.
If one was discovered, the city management squad would immediately come to capture it. There were no animal shelters waiting for them, they were euthanized on the spot.
Most residential districts on Itogami Island prohibited keeping animals altogether. And with the dozen or so cats gathered in front of him, even neighborhoods that allowed pets would likely receive complaints from neighbors.
From a rational standpoint, most people on this island wouldn't keep animals at all. And even if they did, it certainly wouldn't be this many.
But there were always people whose compassion overflowed.
When they saw pitiful animals like these, they would secretly feed and care for them. Yet because of the rules, they could only keep them outside.
In that situation, what place could be more suitable than an abandoned monastery that hardly anyone knew about to house a group of kittens only a few months old?
But people are emotional—and rational at the same time.
At first, compassion drives them to feed the animals. But what comes afterward?
It becomes troublesome. The financial pressure builds. Eventually, they give up.
Just like childhood dreams—how many people truly stick with them until the end?
You couldn't exactly call this evil. After all, stray animals had no real place to survive on this island in the first place. Without people like that, they would simply die even sooner.
Even so, it still annoyed him.
Those eyes were just too pure. Too clean.
He was annoyed by that behavior. Annoyed at being deceived by those innocent eyes. Annoyed that the hard-earned Shadow Funds he had finally managed to gather were now being spent on cat food.
Cid never considered himself a good person.
Sure, he liked petting cute little animals. If he came across a lost cat or dog on the street, he'd help look for its owner. But he would never approach stray animals on his own, because he had no intention of adopting them.
He used to enjoy coming here on weekends to relax.
There were cats he could pet without responsibility. And their caretaker had such clear, sincere eyes. He believed she wasn't the type to give up halfway.
So when he realized she hadn't come for several days, he felt cheated.
If he ignored them, these cats would starve to death.
He had enjoyed petting them so much before—now it was time to pay the price.
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from the entrance of the monastery, interrupting Cid's thoughts.