What is the best way to train control?
Treading water and climbing trees? Maintaining a calm, still mind in the middle of a raging storm? Keeping your reason while fighting through absolute pain?
Cid did not deny that those were valuable training methods, but if someone only grew accustomed to harsh combat conditions, would they eventually hit bottom and rebound in the opposite direction?
It was like the Triple Magical Power Training Method. Crush the body, then manipulate Magical Power to regrow a stronger body to replace the old one. Enduring the pain of having one's flesh crushed while completing that entire process could indeed greatly improve control, but...
After long periods of suffering, the body's craving for comfort would rise along with it. As that desire grew stronger day by day, it would lower his tolerance in that regard.
Just as people who lived in darkness often yearned for light far more than ordinary people, being able to endure great pain and pressure did not mean one could suppress extreme pleasure.
Was there a way to solve this hidden danger? Of course there was!
Freedom did not mean doing whatever one wanted. It meant being capable of doing something while still controlling whether one wanted to do it.
Following that philosophy, when it came to training control, Cid chose everything.
It was like how one Vampire who could stop time for five seconds wanted to rule the world, while someone who could stop time without limit only wanted to do lewd things.
So there was only one answer...
"Cid-san, here's your tea."
"Ah, thank you, Asia... The tea is delicious."
Cid took a sip of the black tea Asia had brought him, then smiled and praised her.
Please do not pay too much attention to what he had just been thinking. It was only his usual wandering thoughts.
"Hehe, it's not that good, Cid-san."
Asia smiled shyly at the praise, placing her hands behind her back in embarrassment.
"Alright, Xenovia, what did you come to me for? If it was only about the will, you can leave now."
After Asia finished pouring tea for Xenovia, Cid looked at Xenovia, who seemed restless after being treated so politely by Asia, and straightened his expression.
"Cid, don't be so distant. I came straight to you the moment I returned to Itogami Island, you know."
"Heh. You were worried your will would get leaked, weren't you?"
Cid sneered and immediately exposed Xenovia's real motive.
"But... the moment you returned to Itogami Island?"
"Yeah. After finishing my examination at the Church, I took a plane back to Itogami Island."
Seeing Cid's confusion, Xenovia drank her black tea in one gulp and explained.
"I was hit by the Black Spot curse before, remember? Although Holy Son-sama cured that curse, the timing of when my curse disappeared doesn't match everyone else's."
"Doesn't match?"
Cid blinked. For some reason, his heart skipped. He felt like he had overlooked something.
"Right. When I woke up, the sunset hadn't completely gone down yet. But Holy Son-sama only appeared after two moons appeared in the sky. That means the timing doesn't line up with when I woke up."
"Ahaha, that does sound interesting. So, do you know why?"
Cid laughed awkwardly a few times and took out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. Fortunately, Xenovia seemed to be angry about something at the moment and did not notice.
"Captain Dulio thinks Holy Son-sama noticed me ahead of time, so before the performance of light spread across the whole world, he lifted my curse on the island first. But the problem is, I've never even met him!"
"Then Captain Dulio and Irina dragged me onto a plane and sent me back to the Church. Over there, I underwent a full day of examinations together with the residents of those three cities. After they confirmed the curse was gone, I asked Sister Griselda, who was taking care of me, for permission to return to Itogami Island and continue my mission.
"After that..."
At this point, Xenovia's voice carried a clear note of resentment.
"Captain Dulio actually told me to go back immediately because he hadn't approved my request. He said that if I didn't go back, I wouldn't be allowed to stay at the Church, so now I'm completely homeless."
"Why?! The Excalibur that was stolen is my weapon. I'm the one who was cursed. And now that we have to find the culprit, they're excluding me!"
"So where are you planning to stay now?"
"With you, Cid!"
Seeing Xenovia answer without the slightest hesitation, exactly as expected, Cid let out a cold laugh. He had already sensed something was wrong when Xenovia started acting pitiful earlier. The moment she said she was homeless, her real intention was obvious.
"I know this is a lot of trouble for you, Cid, but I can't help it. I took things too lightly when I came back. I brought my documents but forgot my wallet."
"Enough, enough. I already said you could stay for a month anyway. Your luggage is still here, so you can just stay later. But did you really need to go this far?"
Cid cut off Xenovia before she could keep playing pitiful and looked at her in confusion.
"Great! Thanks, Cid. If you ever come to the Church, let me know. I'll show you around Europe."
"As for your question... yes, it was necessary. That's my Excalibur. Why should I sit around at the Church and wait for Captain Dulio and the others to find it for me?"
"You really are way too stubborn..."
"Maybe. Sister Griselda says that about me all the time too."
Cid signaled for Asia to pour another cup while his gaze quietly shifted to the Holy Sword beside Xenovia, which was glowing with Holy Light.
"But your captain is right. If even your weapon was stolen, what can you do even if you find the culprit?"
"Hmph, hmph, hmph... It's sitting right in front of you, Cid, and you still haven't noticed? Who told you I only had one Holy Sword?"
Cid's perfectly timed prompting made Xenovia raise her head proudly. She lifted the Excalibur beside her and held it in front of herself.
"I am a natural Holy Sword Wielder who carries both Excalibur and Durandal. If that Devil hadn't ambushed me, even with Excalibur stolen, I could have used Durandal to cut that despicable bastard down in one strike... Wait, why is Durandal glowing?"
Noticing that Durandal in front of her was glowing, the smug look vanished from Xenovia's face. Her eyes widened, and she nervously looked around.
"Could it be... Holy Son-sama is nearby?"
Hearing Xenovia's words, Cid calmly took a sip of black tea without changing expression, while the finger wearing the ring Sherry had given him moved slightly.
"It... stopped again?"
"It's probably a coincidence."
"Is that really it? But just now..."
After hearing Cid's explanation, Xenovia stared suspiciously at the greatsword in her hands, fiddling with it as she tried to figure out what had just happened.
"By the way, Xenovia, what's this Holy Son you've been talking about? I thought I heard people calling him the Child of God."
"Cid, you don't know?"
Xenovia looked at Cid with slight surprise and blinked.
"Should I?"
Cid blinked back, just as confused.
"...It's about that white-haired boy. Right now, the Church is arguing fiercely over whether to acknowledge his identity as the Child of God. The main problem is that they really don't know him. I don't understand it either. Sister Griselda and the others clearly sent me here to find him, but now that he's been found, they refuse to acknowledge him."
I messed up.
Cid's gaze drifted aside. Only now did he realize his new identity seemed full of holes. After all, in this world, Gods really did exist.
"I only just found out. Anyway, Xenovia, now that you've got the fighting power, do you have any way to find the culprit?"
"Well... not really. Captain Dulio and the others searched for two days and didn't find a single clue. What can I do on my own?"
Xenovia picked up a cookie and ate it with an unhappy look. She really had rushed back for revenge on pure impulse.
"Hmm... Have you tried baiting them? The culprit stole Excalibur from your place, right? You could try using Irina Shidou's sword..."
Thinking back to his conversation with Sherry today, Cid felt that using one Excalibur as bait might draw out the men in black.
"No good, no good. We already tried that."
Xenovia waved her hand helplessly, rejecting Cid's suggestion. Of course the Church had thought of that. Irina Shidou had wandered the streets alone for an entire day, but no one had come out to attack her. The culprit had probably noticed all the people lying in wait and decided to lay low for now.
"I see. Then..."
Knock, knock, knock!
A sudden knock at the door interrupted Cid and Xenovia's conversation.
"Give me a second."
After saying that to Xenovia, Cid walked toward the front door. Hearing the continuous knocking, he placed his hand on the doorknob and pressed down.
"Thud!"
The door was shoved open in an instant. A black figure launched herself from the ground and pounced straight onto Cid. The force behind her was so strong that even Cid was pushed back several steps.
"Cid, Cid! Delta missed you so much!"
Her tail wagged wildly behind her. The cute, airheaded Therianthrope stuck out her tongue, clung to Cid, and rubbed against him nonstop.
"Delta? What are you doing here?"
Looking blankly at the adorably stupid Delta, Cid asked without thinking.
"Delta came to eat the feast Cid promised."
Her firm answer instantly reminded Cid that when he had been controlling Delta's body, he had indeed promised to treat her to a feast if she obediently stood still.
"Um... Delta, about that feast..."
"Is Cid trying to go back on his word again?"
"Could you not say again? I will treat you. I just need to deal with some things I picked up today that might be worth quite a bit of money first."
"Uu... Cid is trying to go back on his word. Delta is angry!"
Perhaps because he had delayed too long, lied too many times, and because of an idiot's intuition, Delta immediately bared her fangs at Cid.
"Cid, what happened? Why is there so much noise... Hey, you Therianthrope over there, let go of my friend!"
Hearing the commotion Delta caused, Xenovia poked her head out. The moment she saw the scene in front of her, she raised her sword toward Delta.
"That female over there is so arrogant even though she's so weak."
Sensing Xenovia's hostility, Delta also glared at her and bared her teeth.
"Stop. Don't fight. This is a misunderstanding..."
At the crucial moment, Cid stepped in and stopped the two of them.
...
"That's basically what happened. Delta is a friend I met a few days ago. She may look a little... well, like that, but she's just a simple-minded idiot. She definitely doesn't mean any harm."
"And Delta, Xenovia doesn't mean you any harm either. She was just startled when she suddenly saw that scene."
Sitting on the sofa, Cid explained things to the three of them. Coming up with an explanation on the spot that could fool both sides at the same time was quite a challenge, even for him.
After listening to Cid's explanation, Xenovia simply rubbed her chin and quietly thought, occasionally glancing at Delta as if something were on her mind.
Delta, who had nearly been cut, was also clearly unhappy with Xenovia. She turned her head away and ignored her completely, leaving the atmosphere in the room rather tense.
"Got it. Hello, Delta. My name is Asia. I'm also Cid-san's friend. It's nice to meet you."
Fortunately, Asia, who had no sense of the mood at all, broke the stalemate and cheerfully greeted Delta on her own.
"Grr..."
A beast-like sound came from Delta's throat. Being approached by a weakling like Asia made her whole body uncomfortable. Fortunately, Cid had a way to deal with her.
He imitated Zeta's merciless gaze and glanced at Delta from the corner of his eye. Even an idiot like Delta could understand what that look meant. Her urge to lash out immediately wilted, and she could only force herself to endure the discomfort of being approached by Asia.
"Hey, Cid..."
While enjoying Delta's awkward state, Cid noticed that Xenovia had come up beside him at some point. She avoided Delta and Asia, looking as though she wanted to whisper something.
"Is she really okay? Why do I feel like she looks familiar?"
Impressive, Xenovia. You only saw Delta once, and even then it was the "cold Delta" while I was manually controlling her, right before you passed out. And you still think she looks familiar?
"She's fine, she's fine. Delta may look like a Therianthrope who follows the law of the jungle, but she really is a good kid. Otherwise, weak people like me, Gamma, and Kuroka would have been killed a hundred times already."
"No, calling someone who follows the law of the jungle a good kid already sounds wrong. And who are Gamma and Kuroka, Cid?"
"Delta's animal caretakers. They also work part-time as the animals Delta rides on and stress-relief toys when Delta is in a bad mood."
"That sounds even worse. Why do you think it's normal to have one job that treats a Therianthrope like an animal to be cared for, and another job where people are used as stress-relief toys?"
Hearing Xenovia's retort, Cid could not help falling into deep thought. Why did he feel like Xenovia made a lot of sense? Could it be that he was the one whose common sense was wrong?
"Cid always goes back on his word. Last time, he promised to grant Delta's wish, then immediately changed his mind. Now Delta's feast is going to disappear too."
"There, there, Delta. Cid-san definitely isn't trying to go back on his word. Maybe he just..."
Cid stared blankly as tears welled in Delta's eyes and she cried in Asia's motherly embrace. The warm scene in front of him made Cid start wondering whether he really was that terrible.
"No! Cid clearly said Delta just had to stand still in front of those weaklings and..."
With the extreme speed of a background character, Cid covered Delta's mouth. In that instant, he felt the back of his shirt become soaked with sweat.
"Tomorrow. I'll definitely treat you to a feast tomorrow, Delta."
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