A woman dressed in a well-tailored knight's uniform entered Cid's field of vision, her long crimson hair resembling a blazing flame. At the same moment, Alexia heard the approaching footsteps and followed Cid's gaze toward the beautiful red-haired woman.
Then...
The fury in Alexia's crimson eyes froze. Her gaze went blank, as if the raging fire inside her had been doused from head to toe with a basin of ice water, leaving her chilled to the bone.
Of course, Cid preferred to describe it as bloodline suppression. Just as one mystery would submit to a greater mystery, the Second Princess's fury was nothing more than a tiny flame before her elder sister. First Princess Iris could extinguish it with a single breath.
Hah!
Feeling Alexia's grip loosen around his collar, Cid sneered inwardly. He seized the opportunity to remove her hand, retreated several steps, and straightened his clothes.
"Alexia? Cid? What are you two doing here?"
The red-haired woman was initially surprised to find Cid and Alexia together. Then, seemingly puzzled by how the two had ended up in this situation, she frowned and questioned them sternly.
"Onee-sama..."
Faced with her sister's question, Alexia called out to her, then looked uncertainly at Cid. Having freed himself from her grip, he was now standing with the utmost respect and deference.
Conflict flashed through Alexia's eyes. After apparently reaching some decision, she took a deep breath and met her sister's gaze without backing down.
"Greetings, Iris-sama..."
Cid's attitude was completely different from the relaxed manner he used around Alexia. He showed Iris nothing but reverence.
After all, Cid understood his own position. He was merely the son of a minor noble. If he ignored the proper etiquette between them and somehow ended up being forced to kill Alexia's sister, things would become extremely awkward.
To introduce her properly, the red-haired beauty before him was Alexia's older sister, the First Princess of the Kingdom of Midgar. Her exceptional swordsmanship had led to her crossing blades with Cid twice.
As for her personality, Cid had concluded from their private interactions that while Iris was every bit as unhinged as Alexia, she was surprisingly unlike the spoiled, scheming princesses from palace dramas he had read about. Instead, she was a good princess who loved her younger sister and cared deeply about her people.
She was merely a little crazy, which was hardly a serious problem. Surely she would not be crazy enough to secretly plan something as absurd as destroying the world.
Incidentally, Cid's impression of Princess Iris was that she would be perfect for a game of stacking blocks. Her body was exceptionally well constructed and capable of withstanding plenty of punishment.
There was also her absurd resemblance to Rias. Their hair was the same color, and even their voices sounded remarkably similar. On several occasions, Cid had almost mistaken Rias's voice for First Princess Iris's.
"Hello, Cid. It's been a long time. I believe it's been over a year since we last met. I never expected to run into you aboard this cruise ship. What a pleasant surprise."
Unfortunately, although Cid did not consider himself particularly close to Iris, the First Princess clearly did not share that opinion. She addressed him with effortless familiarity.
Anyone watching them might genuinely assume that Cid and Iris knew each other well, but they truly did not. As far as Cid was concerned, they had only met privately a few times and gone on several "incognito excursions" because of Alexia.
"Likewise. I never imagined I would meet the two of you aboard this cruise ship..."
Had I known you would be here, I definitely would have asked Gamma to put me on another ship. Unfortunately, I found out far too late.
Sighing and complaining inwardly, Cid blinked several times and looked at Iris.
"However, Iris-sama, surely you didn't come here specifically to see an insignificant person like me. I won't intrude upon your conversation with Princess Alexia..."
Cid smoothly attempted to excuse himself, but Iris stopped him the moment he took his first step.
"It's nothing important. Lunchtime was approaching and Alexia still hadn't appeared, so I came looking for her. Since we happened to meet, why don't you join us? Claire told me the two of you are very close. You must be curious about your sister's experiences on the World Battlefield, but I doubt Claire would tell you much herself. How about I tell you some stories over lunch?"
Iris placed a hand on Cid's shoulder and spoke with a bright smile, even giving him a playful wink. It seemed that she and Claire had become quite close on the World Battlefield.
No, my relationship with my sister is terrible. She is the person I least want to see right now. Ideally, I would receive news this very moment that Claire had been struck by a truck, sent flying, and left in a vegetative state.
"Really? That would be wonderful. Thank you very much, Iris-sama."
Cid desperately wanted to say what was truly on his mind, but since he obviously could not, he nodded instead and looked at Iris with apparent anticipation.
"Haha, it's nothing. I'm sure Claire wouldn't mind me telling you. All right, Alexia, let's go have lunch..."
Iris abruptly stopped midway through her sentence.
Alexia was staring at Cid and Iris with a resentful, scrutinizing gaze. Her bitterness was so intense that even Iris sensed something was wrong.
"Onee-sama, when did you and Pochi become so close?"
Iris tilted her head, seemingly confused by the question itself. After thinking for a moment, she answered without giving it much importance.
"Pochi? Alexia, are you referring to Cid? That's an unusual nickname, but never mind. As long as the two of you like it."
Iris casually commented on Alexia's nickname for Cid, completely oblivious to her sister's steadily darkening expression.
Perhaps this was simply the power of being the eldest sister. Cid had never considered Iris particularly dense, yet she seemed entirely immune to the overwhelming resentment radiating from Alexia.
"Onee-sama..."
Alexia's voice was already trembling with frustration, yet she still could not break through Iris's defenses. The First Princess was treating her entirely like a child.
"All right, all right. Honestly, I'll stop teasing you, Alexia. There really isn't much to explain about my relationship with Cid. We've simply met several times because of his connection to you. I must say, though, you've made an excellent friend. Cid has done an admirable job as your protector..."
First Princess Iris smiled warmly.
This time, Alexia stopped radiating resentment. Instead, her face turned pale.
It was not Iris's fault for failing to notice. Alexia was naturally fair-skinned, and only Cid's superhuman vision allowed him to spot the subtle change.
"That's impossible. How could Pochi's delusions possibly come true? It must have only been a dream. It has to be false. Aren't dreams supposed to be the opposite of reality?"
Cid had no idea what switch Iris's words had triggered inside Alexia.
She instinctively retreated two steps, her slender body trembling as she muttered in a voice too quiet for an ordinary person to hear.
"Enough!"
Alexia suddenly shouted, cutting off Iris's teasing.
Before either Iris or Cid could react, Alexia walked around them and headed out of the secluded corner.
"Alexia, what are you doing?"
At the critical moment, Iris called after her.
Alexia stopped, glanced back at Cid and Iris, then forced out two words through clenched teeth.
"Eating lunch."
With that, she strode away, leaving Cid and Iris staring at each other.
"Iris-sama, aren't you going after her?"
Several seconds passed without Iris making any attempt to move. Cid's eyes widened at her composure.
This did not suit Iris's sister-obsessed nature at all.
Iris gently shook her head, rejecting his suggestion. Her crimson eyes followed Alexia as she disappeared back into the ship, then she led Cid toward the restaurant on the deck.
"I'm sorry, Cid. Alexia didn't mean to be so rude. I don't know why, but she's been acting like this ever since she returned yesterday. I thought she was feeling better this morning, but now she's started again."
Iris recalled the inexplicable hostility in Alexia's gaze after she returned from inspecting the ship the previous night. No matter how Iris questioned her, Alexia had ignored her and kept her distance.
Knowing that chasing after her would accomplish nothing, Iris simply explained the situation to Cid.
Although she did not know where Alexia's sudden hostility had come from, Iris had complete faith in the bond between them. At worst, it was only a minor disagreement. If Alexia were given enough time to calm down, she would eventually work through it herself.
"You're certainly... very confident."
After hearing Iris's baffling confidence, Cid no longer knew how to advise her. He could only respond with an awkward smile.
These two lunatics really were sisters. In every other area, they behaved like rabid dogs, but when it came to their relationship, they became unbelievably hesitant and evasive. Both of them preferred burying their heads in the sand.
Whatever. This has nothing to do with me. I'll just watch the show.
"Of course. We may not have communicated properly very often in the past, but I'm still Alexia's older sister. Naturally, I understand her quite well."
Completely missing the implication behind Cid's words, Iris assumed he was praising her. She puffed out her chest with a confident smile.
"..."
"That's enough about that. Thank you for listening to our sisterly troubles, Cid. Since we're already here, let's eat first. How about I tell you about the foolish things Claire and I did when we first arrived on the World Battlefield?"
Cid maintained a smile while letting Iris's words go in one ear and out the other. He was debating whether to make his warning more explicit when he realized that they had already reached the restaurant.
Although Iris had phrased it as a question, she had already picked up a tray and begun selecting food.
Seeing this, Cid abandoned the idea of warning her.
It was best not to interfere in the affairs of two lunatics. He would simply trust Iris's strategy of giving Alexia time to calm down. Given the bond between the sisters, no matter how bad things became, surely it would not escalate to the point of them trying to kill each other...
Right?
"Hiss!"
Cid quickly simulated several possibilities in his mind and realized that, given their personalities, the chance of them turning on each other was not actually zero.
The thought frightened him enough to draw a sharp breath.
Marveling at his own imagination, Cid looked toward Princess Iris, who was enthusiastically piling food onto her plate.
He picked up a carton of milk from a nearby table and placed it on the tray held by a young girl beside him. She stared at him in astonishment, her plate already heaped with food.
"You shouldn't be a picky eater. Drinking plenty of milk is good for your health."
After setting down the milk, Cid casually stroked the girl's snow-white hair.
Hearing his words, the girl's shocked expression faded. She gave Cid an indecipherably complicated look before clutching her food and quickly running out of the restaurant.
Everyone she passed seemed unable to see her. They ignored both her young appearance and her clear violation of the rules.
She was very cute.
The delicate white-haired girl looked only thirteen or fourteen years old. Her frail, slender body, bright eyes, and timid, pale face naturally inspired affection in anyone who saw her.
However, the black-and-gold bodysuit made from black slime, which radiated a cool sensation, clashed with her pure and sickly appearance.
Cid would have to mention this to Gamma and the others next time. Employing child labor was going too far. Children were inefficient, prone to making mistakes, and employing them could easily get someone hanged from a streetlamp.
Watching the girl hurry away, Cid casually formed a slime bullet and fired it at a man blocking her path.
The projectile drew the man's attention away, preventing the panicked girl from colliding with someone who could not see her. It would have been a shame if all that food were spilled.
Come to think of it, what was her name?
Only after watching the girl safely leave the restaurant without bumping into anyone did Cid return from his wandering thoughts.
He had apparently never asked the young girl her name.
I think Victoria-chan mentioned her codename and real name before. They were No. 711 and Millia, right?
It seemed Gamma and the others had taken their exploitation to another level. They were making a child this young work, although they had at least equipped her with plenty of tools.
Cid withdrew his gaze and decided not to think about it any further.
At most, if he still remembered the matter the next time he saw Gamma and the others, he would ask them to do him a favor.
"Cid, I'm back with the food. Did Alexia come looking for you? She said she was going to eat, but then she disappeared. I have no idea what that girl is thinking."
Cid shook his head, indicating that he had no idea what Alexia was thinking either.
Then he looked at the plate in Iris's hands.
It was certainly a lavish meal.
He could worry about everything else after eating.