Fortunately, under his guidance, Rizevim had made some progress on the path of villainy.
[You've been reincarnated as a villain about to clash with the protagonist. Right now, you have two choices.
First, confront the protagonist head-on. In your current state, you have only a fifty percent chance of winning.
Second, attack the protagonist's loved ones nearby. If the protagonist goes to defend them, you die. If they don't, you die.
P.S.: You stand on the left!]
At the very least, when faced with this kind of scenario, Rizevim was no longer the reckless fool who would blindly choose to fight the protagonist head-on.
Under Cid's guidance, Rizevim came to understand one thing: when it comes to clashing directly with the protagonist, the chances of winning are practically zero.
Between the two options, the difference was clear. Choosing the first could lead to a huge loss or a huge victory.
But with the second, no matter whether the protagonist chooses to defend or not, the protagonist's "horse" is guaranteed to be gone. It either leads to a major victory or only a minor setback.
Since both are gambles anyway, why not choose the second?
Even in the worst case, the protagonist still loses something important.
In short, while Cid did not elevate Rizevim to his level overnight, he at least gave him a rough idea of how a proper villain should carry themselves.
In particular, he introduced Rizevim to his favorite kind of "villain dilemma," thoroughly upgrading that third-rate villain mindset that only knew how to manipulate the protagonist's parents into turning against him.
Did he really think he could break a bond built over more than a decade between a protagonist and their parents in just a single day?
If he had that kind of time, he might as well present a real dilemma. At the very least, none of those self-proclaimed righteous protagonists would dare to face such a question head-on.
While explaining his philosophy of evil, Rizevim kept interrupting with things like, "Are you sure you're not a Devil born in the wrong body?" "Take Lucifer's position, I'm not worthy, I'll serve as Beelzebub under you!" and "How did you even come up with ideas so despicable that even Devils would find them shameless?" all while staring at him with a strange expression.
Thinking back on that, Cid went online and searched for novels where the protagonist could neither win in a fight nor win in an argument. After finding some, he sent them to the contact he had added yesterday, Rizevim.
Hopefully, these would broaden his perspective, or at the very least stop him from acting like a third-rate villain and embarrassing himself.
"Hm?"
He had barely sent the message when Rizevim replied. Let's see.
He was asking where he could learn techniques like these.
Old man, are you seriously planning to become a terrorist? There's no future in that line of work these days.
Cid replied with a simple "No idea." After all, how could a mere background character possibly know where to find such dangerous technology?
Of course, he actually did know. In fact, most of those techniques were things he had casually developed himself while studying the knowledge in the library, based on terrorist methods from the anime in his previous life.
It was only natural. If you gave a Gundam fan the ability to build a Gundam, what kind of fan could resist making one?
No one could. Absolutely no one.
After putting his phone away, Cid turned to look at a nearby bookstore and fell into thought.
Since it was a rare chance to meet, he might as well get Beta a gift to show he missed her. If he remembered correctly, Beta loved listening to stories. And after the worlds merged, there were plenty of storybooks she had not read yet, which made them perfect as a gift.
With that decided, Cid walked into the bookstore, spent some time picking out a relatively obscure storybook he had not read before, and bought it.
As soon as he arrived at the harbor, a cruise ship happened to dock. Sensing the magical power he had spread out earlier, he noticed something interesting. Beta's magical power was already there.
He scanned the harbor and quickly spotted a tall figure with short silver hair.
With cat-like sapphire eyes and a tear-shaped beauty mark, delicate and refined features, and a calm, confident smile at the corner of her lips, the glasses resting on her nose gave her an intellectual charm. A pair of plump slimes hung from her slender waist, and her pointed ears made it clear to everyone watching that she was an Elf. She was his childhood friend, one of the Seven Shadows, Beta.
Despite her polite and elegant appearance, she was actually quite scheming. Yet in front of him, she turned into nothing more than a devoted fangirl.
"Hey, Beta…"
Cid raised his hand to greet her, but his voice suddenly caught.
Watching the silver-haired woman walk up to Beta and start talking to her, Cid lowered his gaze to the gift in his hand, the one he had originally intended to give her.
He recognized that woman. She was Alexia, the second princess of the Midgar Kingdom where he was born. Just like Beta, she had a scheming side.
He knew that Beta and Alexia were acquainted. His friend Rose had once told him they were close.
He had not believed it. Setting aside anything else, both of them were schemers. How could two people like that possibly be good friends?
But now, he was starting to believe it.
Gamma, the third member of the Seven Shadows who followed Beta, had not come to receive her, yet Alexia had. This...
He understood now. This was one of those small social circles girls formed.
The real question was, if Beta had already asked Alexia to come, why did she call him here as well? Did she not know that he and Alexia did not get along?
Could it be… Beta had entered a rebellious phase, and her scheming nature was now being directed at him?
Given Beta's personality, she should not do something like this…
Actually, no. She absolutely could.
Looking at the storybook in his hand, Cid thought for a moment before deciding to leave for now and give it to Beta another time.
"Pochi?"
Just as Cid turned and was about to leave, a surprised young woman's voice called out from behind him.
His steps did not stop. As if he had not heard anything, he only walked faster.
Rapid footsteps followed, and a hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him just as he was about to leave.
...
Ahhh!!!
I am about to meet Shadow-sama. Beta, think carefully, did you forget anything? There is still a little time. You could run back to your cabin and fix your makeup.
Calm down. Stay calm. Keep this smile. You have to leave a perfect first impression on Shadow-sama.
With those thoughts in mind, Beta stepped off the ship with a graceful smile, carrying herself with poise.
The moment she landed, she quickly scanned her surroundings and immediately spotted Cid within the crowd.
He looked ordinary, but Shadow-sama's unique elegance could never be hidden.
Those unfathomable black eyes that seemed to see through everything, combined with that distinctive aura, made him completely one of a kind.
To some people, Cid might appear to blend into the crowd, but in truth, he stood out effortlessly. And without a doubt, as someone directly taught by Shadow, Beta was one of those people.
At that exact moment, as Beta found him, Cid's gaze also landed on her.
It felt just like a classic scene from a novel where the male and female leads meet, and Beta's breathing quickened.
Remember this. This must be recorded. This will become a famous scene in The Chronicles of Shadow-sama.
The heroine, a beautiful Elf with silver hair and a tear-shaped beauty mark, and the hero, Shadow-sama who carries everything, reunite at the port. This is perfect.
"I have been waiting for you for so long, Natsume. You finally came."
Just as Beta, having noticed Cid's gaze, was about to wave, a woman's voice interrupted her.
As if noticing something, Cid lowered the hand he had just raised and stopped looking at Beta.
Turning toward the source of the voice, Beta saw Alexia walking toward her, with her silver-white hair and crimson eyes.
You background character who already had your moment, stop interfering with the meeting between the heroine and the hero!
Beta screamed inwardly at Alexia.