To Be A Power In The Shadows!

I was carried into a room and laid down on a bed .

The blood from my nose had dried due to the cold air outside, and someone was in the process of wiping it clean .

I took that as an opportunity to wake up .

“Ugh… where am I…?”

I made a show of looking around everywhere confused .

It was another private room . While the dimensions were the same as the room Zack was using, this room was a lot more modest, containing only necessities and no leisure items .

Clara was beside the bed, and one of her faction men was standing at the door giving me the stink eye .

“I"m so glad you"re alright . You were struck hard so try not to move right away . ”

“Huh, aren"t you…”

“Oh pardon me, I"ve yet to introduce myself . Though it"s likely you already know, I"m Clara Oriana . ”

“M-my name"s Cid Kageno . I, uh, see you took care of me . My utmost thanks…”

I spoke in a shaky voice as if trying my best not to offend the royalty before me .

“It"s all right . In the first place, you were unluckily caught up between our dispute . ”

“No, I—”

That was when the man in front of the door clicked his tongue .

“Lady Clara, I believe you"ve done enough . We have no need to concern ourselves with him any longer . ”

“Guin… I understand, but he"s still not able to move with his injuries . ”

“He might be a ploy to approach you, milady . We do not have time to deal with such minor things . We have a duty to our people, do we not?”

The guy called Guin was looking at me in contempt .

“You"re not wrong, Guin, but that doesn"t make it fine to ignore someone so injured right in front of me . ”

“Please under—”

“Enough . Guin, he doesn"t know anything . And to my eyes, he seems no criminal . Is that not so?”

Clara turned her eyes to me .

“I, yes . I accidentally ran into bodies left in alley by OWL . They said I was suspicious and…”

“If I can"t even help a single injured boy, how could I possibly try to protect my country?”

Clara declared and grasped my hand .

“—By your will . I shall be outside . ” Guin said and then left the room .

Before the door was fully closed, he gave me one last mean glare . But if I wasn"t seeing it incorrectly, it wasn"t just at me, but also towards Clara .

Once the door was shut, Clara let out a sigh .

“I apologize . He means well for me, it"s just…”

“No, I"m alright . ”

“Everyone"s under a lot pressure . Even I… The one who"s supposed to have this role isn"t even me, but…” Clara spoke glumly .

“Um…”

“Don"t worry about that . It"s really none of your concern after all . You"re, not from Oriana, are you?”

“Th-that"s right . I"m a student from the Midgar Magisword Academy…”

“—Eh? The Magisword Academy? Then, do you perhaps know of my sister?”

Clara turned and faced me curiously .

“Er, yes, I do know Miss Rose . I"ve spoken to her before . ”

“You have? Then do you know about the incident where she killed my father?”

“… Yes . I was among the spectators when it happened . ”

“Are you sure? Was it really her who did it…?”

“Yes, it was definitely Miss Rose . ”

“So it was…”

Clara"s shoulders drooped in defeat .

“Father had been strange for some time before, and I knew that she was looking for the cause . Really, why did it have to end up like this… Everyone is calling her a traitor to the nation now . I couldn"t believe it, I didn"t want to…”

I was somewhat at a loss as to what I should say .

I let out a sigh and decided to just speak what"s on my mind .

“The way I saw it, she had an important reason for doing what she did . I don"t know what that reason was, and I can"t say if you"ll be able to accept it even if you knew her reasons . What I do know is that Miss Rose had done it with the utmost of resolve . ”

“Resolve… is that how it looked? Haha, thank you, that made me feel somewhat better . You know, I really loved my sister who could do anything and everything . I looked up to her . So when I heard of the tragedy, I couldn"t, I still wanted to believe in her…”

Clara shook her head side to side, as if driving away the negativity .

“You must"ve gotten along with her well . ”

“Well actually, I faced her once in the Senbatsu Tournament during the G.o.d of War Festival . ”

“You have! What happened?”

“I completely lost . ”

“Well, you do look terribly weak . ”

Clara said with a mischievous grin .

“Cid, may I call you Cid? You can simply call me Clara as well . ”

“That"s kind of…”

“Oh, no need to be shy . In here, I"m a prisoner same as you . ”

“Uh, well… then sure . But only when in private, please?”

“Right . If Guin were to find out, I"d never hear the end of it . That aside, tell me more about how my sister was at the Academy . ”

And that"s what I did for the next few hours .

This might not seem like the thing a mob should be doing, but not to worry . I can fix it . I am simply one of Miss Rose"s many mob friends and because of that fact, I am a mob who Clara can talk to .

I was carried into a room and laid down on a bed . .

The blood from my nose had dried due to the cold air outside, and someone was in the process of wiping it clean . .

I took that as an opportunity to wake up . .

 .

“Ugh… where am I…?”.

I made a show of looking around everywhere confused . .

It was another private room . While the dimensions were the same as the room Zack was using, this room was a lot more modest, containing only necessities and no leisure items . .

 .

Clara was beside the bed, and one of her faction men was standing at the door giving me the stink eye . .

“I"m so glad you"re alright . You were struck hard so try not to move right away . ”.

“Huh, aren"t you…”.

“Oh pardon me, I"ve yet to introduce myself . Though it"s likely you already know, I"m Clara Oriana . ”.

“M-my name"s Cid Kageno . I, uh, see you took care of me . My utmost thanks…”.

I spoke in a shaky voice as if trying my best not to offend the royalty before me . .

 .

“It"s all right . In the first place, you were unluckily caught up between our dispute . ”.

“No, I—”.

That was when the man in front of the door clicked his tongue . .

“Lady Clara, I believe you"ve done enough . We have no need to concern ourselves with him any longer . ”.

“Guin… I understand, but he"s still not able to move with his injuries . ”.

“He might be a ploy to approach you, milady . We do not have time to deal with such minor things . We have a duty to our people, do we not?”.

The guy called Guin was looking at me in contempt . .

 .

“You"re not wrong, Guin, but that doesn"t make it fine to ignore someone so injured right in front of me . ”.

“Please under—”.

“Enough . Guin, he doesn"t know anything . And to my eyes, he seems no criminal . Is that not so?”.

Clara turned her eyes to me . .

“I, yes . I accidentally ran into bodies left in alley by OWL . They said I was suspicious and…”.

 .

“If I can"t even help a single injured boy, how could I possibly try to protect my country?”.

Clara declared and grasped my hand . .

“—By your will . I shall be outside . ” Guin said and then left the room . .

Before the door was fully closed, he gave me one last mean glare . But if I wasn"t seeing it incorrectly, it wasn"t just at me, but also towards Clara . .

 .

Once the door was shut, Clara let out a sigh . .

“I apologize . He means well for me, it"s just…”.

“No, I"m alright . ”.

“Everyone"s under a lot pressure . Even I… The one who"s supposed to have this role isn"t even me, but…” Clara spoke glumly . .

“Um…”.

“Don"t worry about that . It"s really none of your concern after all . You"re, not from Oriana, are you?”.

“Th-that"s right . I"m a student from the Midgar Magisword Academy…”.

“—Eh? The Magisword Academy? Then, do you perhaps know of my sister?”.

 .

Clara turned and faced me curiously . .

“Er, yes, I do know Miss Rose . I"ve spoken to her before . ”.

“You have? Then do you know about the incident where she killed my father?”.

“… Yes . I was among the spectators when it happened . ”.

 .

“Are you sure? Was it really her who did it…?”.

“Yes, it was definitely Miss Rose . ”.

“So it was…”.

 .

Clara"s shoulders drooped in defeat . .

“Father had been strange for some time before, and I knew that she was looking for the cause . Really, why did it have to end up like this… Everyone is calling her a traitor to the nation now . I couldn"t believe it, I didn"t want to…”.

 .

I was somewhat at a loss as to what I should say . .

I let out a sigh and decided to just speak what"s on my mind . .

“The way I saw it, she had an important reason for doing what she did . I don"t know what that reason was, and I can"t say if you"ll be able to accept it even if you knew her reasons . What I do know is that Miss Rose had done it with the utmost of resolve . ”.

 .

“Resolve… is that how it looked? Haha, thank you, that made me feel somewhat better . You know, I really loved my sister who could do anything and everything . I looked up to her . So when I heard of the tragedy, I couldn"t, I still wanted to believe in her…”.

Clara shook her head side to side, as if driving away the negativity . .

“You must"ve gotten along with her well . ”.

 .

“Well actually, I faced her once in the Senbatsu Tournament during the G.o.d of War Festival . ”.

“You have! What happened?”.

“I completely lost . ”.

“Well, you do look terribly weak . ”.

Clara said with a mischievous grin . .

“Cid, may I call you Cid? You can simply call me Clara as well . ”.

“That"s kind of…”.

 .

“Oh, no need to be shy . In here, I"m a prisoner same as you . ”.

“Uh, well… then sure . But only when in private, please?”.

“Right . If Guin were to find out, I"d never hear the end of it . That aside, tell me more about how my sister was at the Academy . ”.

 .

And that"s what I did for the next few hours . .

This might not seem like the thing a mob should be doing, but not to worry . I can fix it . I am simply one of Miss Rose"s many mob friends and because of that fact, I am a mob who Clara can talk to . .