The heavy door was pulled open with force, letting out a long creak.
"Click!"
A hand pressed the light switch on the wall, and bright light instantly filled the dark living room.
"So this is Cid-san's house? It's so beautiful."
Asia squeezed past Cid and leaned forward, peeking inside. She looked around at the neatly arranged furniture and the understated yet refined decor, her eyes full of admiration.
"Beautiful? It's alright, I guess."
Cid glanced around his home. It looked clean at first glance, but since he hadn't summoned a Devil to clean for the past two days, dust had already gathered in quite a few hidden corners. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
"Don't just stand there staring, Asia. You're moving in anyway, so you'll have plenty of time to look around later. Let's get your luggage inside first. This room will be yours from now on, and I'll use the other one to store antiques."
Ignoring Asia's excitement, Cid turned around, carefully lifted two pieces of luggage, and headed toward the room he had picked out for her.
"Wait, Cid-san, I'll help carry them."
Hearing him, Asia quickly turned as well and crouched down to pick up a suitcase from the floor.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!
You don't need to carry those. Asia, just grab a broom and clean your room. I'll handle the luggage."
Seeing how rough her movements were, Cid hurriedly stopped her.
You really don't care about what's inside those antiques, do you?
Cid muttered inwardly.
After spending an afternoon with her, he had already come up with several reasons why Asia would make a suitable assistant.
First, Asia was a bit airheaded. Normally, that would be a drawback, but the problem was that he wasn't exactly smart himself.
If he were smart, he wouldn't have messed things up twice already.
The first time he fooled the Seven Shadows, it took them three years to confirm that the enemy he had made up, the Cult of Diablos, didn't exist at all. Just three years, and his lie was completely exposed.
The second time, he thought he had learned his lesson and could keep things going longer. In the end, it collapsed even faster. Just a few months later, everything fell apart. The Witches had actually taken his grand claims seriously.
Looking at it that way, wasn't the current situation pretty good?
At the very least, Asia didn't have the ability to see through his true nature, nor would she, like the Witches, actually turn his fantasies into reality.
Second, strictly speaking, Asia was a self-proclaimed nun and an unemployed drifter. That made it perfectly reasonable for her to stay by his side as cover. Unlike the Seven Shadows or the Witches, who had to meet him in secret even under normal circumstances.
All he needed to do was ask Gamma to draft a contract, have Asia sign it, and present a consistent explanation to the outside world that Asia was his live-in roommate. That would settle everything.
Third, Asia was actually quite wealthy. She claimed she only had a bit of money, but when he saw the antiques she said were given by Fallen Angels at the hotel, he immediately realized those items were definitely not the kind you would casually leave in a church.
If the place he had looted could still have that many valuable, aged antiques lying around, he might as well gouge his own eyes out.
Of course, it didn't really matter now. Asia had said he could take the antiques anytime he wanted. He wasn't that shameless, but since she had offered...
If he ever needed antiques to set the scene, he could just ask her and borrow them.
"Phew..."
After setting down the last piece of luggage, Cid let out a breath. He stood up, took out his phone, and dialed a number.
"M-Master?"
A woman's voice came through the phone, laced with confusion, surprise, and joy.
"Yeah, Gamma. It's me. I need something from you."
Cid replied calmly.
"My apologies for the reaction. What orders does Master have?"
"Uh... Gamma, you don't have to be so formal... Actually, never mind. Call me whatever you like.
It's nothing major. I just need you to draft a cohabitation contract for the place I'm currently living in.
If I remember correctly, you told me before that this house I'm renting is under Mitsugoshi Real Estate, right?"
"Yes, Master. I will have my subordinates prepare the contract immediately. Shall I set the rent to the lowest possible rate?"
"That works."
The voice on the other end fell silent. Cid could more or less guess that Gamma was issuing instructions to her subordinates.
A few minutes later, her voice came through the phone again.
"My lord, the contract is ready. I'll have Nu deliver it to you right away."
"Mm, good."
"..."
"..."
"My lord, forgive my boldness, but may I ask… who is the one so fortunate as to live with you?"
Hearing that, Cid's lips curled slightly, a trace of smugness slipping into his voice.
"Ah, it's nothing.
Just a new Shadow Guardian I picked up. She's a bit like how you all used to be, but also a little different. She didn't have anywhere to stay, so I let her move in with me for now (just like with you back then. The difference is, this time I didn't lie, though I still managed to fool her)."
"Thud!"
A loud crash came from the other end of the phone. Cid knew Gamma had been so shocked that she'd fallen flat on the spot.
Back then, the only reason he managed to spin that massive lie about the Cult of Diablos to the Seven Shadows was because communication technology was underdeveloped, and he had exaggerated the Cult of Diablos to an absurd degree. It was only thanks to all that combined that he kept it going for three years.
Now that the worlds had merged, and with his tendency to be picky about who he deceived, plus his habit of painting grand but intangible promises, the fact that he still managed to pull it off this time was honestly impressive.
"My lord… didn't you say you would walk alone in the darkness? Or are you planning to return? If so, may I join the Shadow Guardians you've newly established…"
After a long pause, Gamma's voice came through again, trembling slightly with excitement.
Unfortunately, there was no way Cid would grant that wish. Since he had already decided not to play the Cult of Diablos game anymore, he had no intention of going back on that.
"Sorry, Gamma. She's different from you all. She's more suited to be my subordinate. And besides, you're all busy right now, aren't you? (This time I'm really not lying. I got her on board with my own personal charm. She's different from you, so don't think about interfering. I'm not interested in straining our relationship either.)"
"...Yes, I understand."
Gamma forced those words out, her voice tight, then hung up.
Staring at the disconnected call, Cid was left with a single thought.
Why does it feel like Gamma's angry?
On the other end, the moment the call ended, Gamma could no longer hold back. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, her mouth opening soundlessly.
After a long while, she finally calmed down. Reaching out, she pressed a button on the desk, and Nu opened the door and walked in.
"Nu, investigate who that person is who's going to live with Shadow-sama. Find out exactly why that person was able to make Shadow-sama change his mind. Whether Shadow Garden can bring Shadow-sama back depends on this."
"Yes, Gamma-sama."