"By Captain Minamiya's orders, Fallen Angel Governor General Azazel, you are forbidden from laying a hand on Cid. If you harm Cid, I have the authority to lift the fire restrictions and take action."
Astarte recited the words mechanically as she stepped in front of Azazel. The Magical Power radiating from her made Azazel glance at her, and then he gave a soft laugh.
"You've misunderstood, young lady. I was simply showing goodwill to the gentleman before me, who may one day become the focus of the world. I have no intention of attacking him. Besides, with these two here, I don't even have the right to make the first move."
From Cid's point of view, Azazel really had been amused by Astarte. With the two strongest beings in the world keeping him locked down, how could he possibly dare to strike first?
But... the focus of the world?
Cid rubbed his chin, pondering the alarming piece of information Azazel had just let slip. A moment later, he realized something was wrong, and his face instantly went pale. Wait, was his extra disguise about to end just like that?
Fine cold sweat seeped out across his forehead. Glancing at the two people in front of him who had somehow started arguing, Cid's mind began racing at full speed.
Finally, as if a bolt of lightning had flashed through his brain, Cid abruptly looked at Asia, who was still bewildered and had no idea what was going on, then at Ophis, who was sitting on the sofa leisurely watching the show. He stepped forward, grabbed both Ophis and Asia, and dragged them over to the corner where Lilith was crouching.
"Father-sama?"
Ever since Cid had called out to her earlier, Lilith had remained shut down, clutching the big bump on her head and silently crying. Sensing them approach, she lifted her head and looked at them in confusion, unsure why they had come over.
"..."
Hearing Lilith's soft, limp voice, Cid's steel-like, merciless heart did not waver in the slightest. He merely looked calmly at Lilith, then at Asia, took a deep breath, and let it out.
"Cid-san, did something happen?"
Feeling Cid's gaze on her, Asia was still a little confused, but she asked about his condition with sincere concern.
Cid knew that what he was about to say would be utterly absurd and outrageous. Still, considering Asia's timid and helpless personality, Ophis's complete indifference to everything, and Lilith's newborn innocence and simplicity, he felt this plan might not be impossible to carry out.
Asia, as my assistant, the time has come for you to sacrifice yourself for me!
Huh?
Cid's impassioned voice suddenly rang out in Asia's mind. Asia froze on instinct, but before she could react, Cid had already moved.
"Lilith, there's something I think I need to tell you..."
He looked at Lilith with a grave, heartfelt expression. For some reason, Cid began to exude the air of an approaching storm, and the moment he spoke, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy.
"Cid-san..."
"?"
Unfortunately, aside from Asia, who was still relatively normal and noticed the change in atmosphere, Ophis and Lilith were both lolis with nerves far too thick for that. They simply tilted their heads adorably, wanting to know what Cid was about to say.
"Lilith, the truth is, Asia is also your mother."
Ignoring the two little ones' lack of reaction, Cid knew it was only temporary. Once he announced this news, even these two natural airheads would surely be shocked wide-eyed.
And just as Cid expected, after freezing for a moment, the two little ones blinked at the same time, then widened their eyes together. They looked at each other, then turned to Asia.
"?!"
My daughter isn't my daughter? My daughter's mother is Asia!
"!?"
Mom isn't my mom! I'm the daughter of Mother Asia?
"Eh, eh, eh!!! I-I'm Lily-chan's mother?!"
Why didn't I know that?
The two little ones were stunned, and Asia was even more stunned. At a loss, she turned helplessly to Cid for help, only to receive a look from him that said, I'm leaving this to you.
"...No. Asia doesn't have infinite power. Asia isn't Lilith's mother. Father-sama is lying to me."
Lilith frowned. As the person directly involved, she was the first to realize something was off. She looked up at Cid, puffed out her cheeks, and refuted him in a faint, sulky voice.
"I'm not lying, Lilith. Asia really is your mom. Look, Father-sama doesn't have infinite power either, right?
"According to the chick effect, the second person you saw was Asia. So if you think Asia isn't your mother because she doesn't have infinite power, then I'm not your father either."
"Huh?"
His explanation, which sounded perfectly logical while being complete nonsense, successfully crashed the brain of Lilith, a child who had only been born half a day ago. After all, when she first opened her eyes, the people she saw really were Asia and Cid. Why she had instinctively ignored Asia was indeed a problem.
"Then... I understand. I'll call Asia Mom."
After a moment of silence, Lilith seemed to reboot and nodded solemnly.
"Good. Then you have to respect your Mom Asia the same way you respect me and Ophis. If you behave, Asia will buy you bananas to eat."
"Mm!"
Cid spoke proudly. See? Innocent children like this really were easy to fool. Give them a little something, and they would call someone else Mom.
"Eh! Eh! Eh!!!
"Cid-san, this isn't right, is it? Lilith, Lily-chan... how is she my child?"
Seeing Lilith persuaded so easily, Asia's brain also crashed. She could not understand Cid's current motive at all, so she could only shake his arm with a helpless look, desperate to know what was going on.
Of course, Asia stood on tiptoe and whispered the latter half of that sentence into Cid's ear. It was not that she objected to becoming Lilith's mother. She simply could not understand how things had developed this way and wanted an explanation.
I'm just helping you reclaim the responsibility you should have taken on, Asia...
Cid's calm, unfathomable black eyes met Asia's panicked emerald ones, and his voice echoed in Asia's heart again.
I know you're panicking, Asia, but don't panic yet. This is just what we agreed on earlier. The time has come for you to take the Spear for me.
???
Listen, Asia. Because of Ophis, we've gotten dragged into a huge mess. So I'm leaving Ophis and the others to you.
??????
Ignoring Asia's confusion, Cid now had to deal with the final one. Only after handling Ophis could all of this come to an end.
Yes, this was the solution Cid had spent nearly a full minute thinking up. He had drawn attention because of Ophis. In that case, all he had to do was find a way to make himself no longer the exception, right?
What a perfect plan. Asia would gain an obedient daughter, Lily-chan would gain a new mother, and he would gain one more person to help share the attention.
And he did not need to worry about anything happening to Asia either. For some reason, Asia had a strange affinity with Dragons. Earlier, when Ophis had snatched bananas right off the street, she clearly could not understand Asia paying for them at all. Yet after sensing Asia's kindness toward her, Ophis still took the initiative to share a few bananas with Asia.
The only thing he needed to do was prove that his relationship with Ophis was not as deep as others imagined. He believed most of the attention would be drawn to Asia instead. It would still be troublesome, but choosing the lesser of two evils, this was already the best option.
"Cid..."
Of course, the premise of all this was that he could convince Ophis, who was basically the most difficult and hardest-to-persuade boss among the three... Wait, wasn't this basically a stomp?
Cid turned a sharp gaze toward Ophis. Sensing the lack of any real emotional fluctuation in her heart despite her daughter being taken away, and looking at Ophis's deliberately resentful expression, Cid smiled.
"Ophis, just let Lilith be Asia's daughter for a while. If you agree, I'll consider helping you deal with Great Red. How about it?"
The moment he said that, Ophis froze. She looked at Lilith, who had already cozied up to Asia, then looked back at Cid. For once, a conflicted expression appeared on her face.
"But Lilith is clearly my daughter."
She spoke one word at a time, sounding wronged. Although she did not pay much attention to this daughter of hers, Lilith was still split from her own body. Ophis had even been counting on using Lilith as a secret weapon against Great Red. Having her taken away just like this suddenly made her feel miserable.
"Don't worry. Even though Lilith has gained Asia as another mother, that doesn't stop you from still being Lilith's mother, right?"
"That's... allowed?"
"Of course."
Cid said this utterly ridiculous nonsense as if it were perfectly natural, but he was not at all worried that Ophis would refuse his proposal. After all...
"But isn't there only supposed to be one mother?"
"You need to be flexible. Think about it positively. If you agree, Ophis, then when Asia buys bananas for Lilith, you'll get a share too."
"Then... all right. But Cid, you have to keep your word."
All small fry. Not a single one could put up a fight.
Cid sneered disdainfully in his heart. Bullying children really gave him no sense of accomplishment.
Suddenly remembering something, Cid turned his head and looked at Asia.
"Asia, what do you think?"
"I-I don't mind."
Meeting Cid's gaze head-on, Asia stammered a few words, then finally blushed, hugged Lilith, and agreed.
Good. The next objective was now clear.
Turning his gaze toward the two people still arguing up ahead, Cid had already heard Astarte calling Natsuki Minamiya. Perfect. This was an opportunity.
"So I'm telling you, I really only want to get to know Cid-kun. I couldn't possibly attack him. Would this maid miss please stop blocking me?"
Azazel's tone was already starting to sharpen with irritation. As far as he was concerned, he had been more than patient with them. By now, they should have at least allowed him to come closer. But...
"Request denied. Captain Minamiya has ordered Astarte to prevent any possibility of Azazel attacking Cid.
"At present, Astarte has determined that the Fallen Angel Governor General may pose a threat to Cid, so you may not approach..."
What Azazel faced was a stubborn Homunculus under absolute orders, and this Homunculus had overheard everything between them.
"If you wish to speak with Cid, please maintain a safe distance of at least three meters. Otherwise, Astarte has the authority to lift the fire restrictions and initiate an attack."
Astarte stood firmly in front of Azazel, righteous and unyielding. Faint traces of Beast Vassal power radiated from her, her expression blank as ever, while she maintained a posture that suggested she could strike at any moment.
"Tsk..."
A trace of anger appeared on Azazel's face. If he did not need something from them, and if the two Infinite Dragon Gods were not here, being treated like this on any normal day would have made him either attack on the spot or turn around and leave.
But this time...
Out of the corner of his eye, Azazel could vaguely see Cid and the others in the corner. A troubled expression crossed his face. There was nothing he could do. The Infinite Dragon Gods were too important. If he had to suffer a little humiliation, so be it.
"Looks like you've run into some trouble, old man..."
Just then, Cid's teasing voice came from the side.
"I have run into a little trouble, yes, and it's trouble caused by you, Cid-kun. How about you discuss things with this little maid first, and we continue our earlier conversation afterward?"
Seeing Cid slowly approach, Azazel smiled and extended the invitation.
"..."
Astarte also turned to look at Cid. Although Natsuki Minamiya had ordered her to make sure Azazel did not get close to Cid, if Cid himself thought this distance was acceptable, then she would not object.
That actually sounds pretty good...
Cid rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes. After all, he was already tangled up in trouble now. Discussing the other party's plan in detail and seeing through it would effectively raise the success rate of his own plan.
"Hi, Natsuki-sensei..."
Cid turned and greeted Natsuki Minamiya, who had appeared at some point. He voluntarily stepped aside, allowing the visibly displeased Natsuki Minamiya to walk forward.
"We'll talk about your issue later. I'll get rid of this guy first..."
Natsuki Minamiya glanced coldly at Cid, left those troubled words behind, then walked toward Azazel with a dark expression.
"I seem to remember someone once using his own credibility to make a deal with me, promising that he wouldn't lay a hand on my ordinary student. So why do I get the feeling that what he said and what I'm seeing are a little different...?"
Her tone was meaningful. Golden chains were faintly visible in the void around Natsuki Minamiya, and a dangerous aura began to spread.
"Well... Miss Minamiya, could you listen to my explanation? I can swear..."
Azazel wanted to make a few excuses, but sensing that Natsuki Minamiya's aura had already locked onto him, and not wanting to fight her right now, he still chose to take a step back.
In any case, the Infinite Dragon God won't say anything on her own, and Astarte is a kuudere. I don't need to worry about this information leaking at all.
With that thought, Azazel smiled and left the Island Guard.