Becoming a Shadow in the New World

"Now you know why. Look, it says here that some people in this world need several days, or even more than ten days, to successfully transform into demons. But apart from that, there are no major problems. It's just that their bodies are not suitable and they need to spend more time."

"That's fine, that's fine."

Hearing this explanation, Claire finally relaxed. She had already sold herself out; if she were told now that Sid couldn't become a demon, she would be ready to kill him.

"That's great! I thought I was going to disappoint my sister again. It turns out it just takes a little time."

No, the answer is wrong.

Seeing the happy crowd, Sid outwardly showed a relieved expression, but inwardly he rejected the answer Rias had just found.

The truth is that he never absorbed it; the demon chess piece was kept inside his body and isolated from it.

After all, putting aside the positioning function of the chess piece, just considering the fact that Rias might be overwhelmed by his backlash if she took him as her familiar, it's impossible for him to absorb the demon chess piece.

Who do you think he is? Even if Rias's brother, one of the Four Great Demons, dared to take him as a familiar, he would still be stuffed to death in no time.

The person who created this piece is quite capable. He can't find a universal reason why he can't use the Demon Piece, so he's stalling for time. He's not in a hurry; ten days or so is enough time for him to come up with a way to sabotage this whole thing.

"Alright, now that Sid is all set, Claire, let me tell you about the ranking game we're about to start."

After confirming that there were no problems with Sid, Rias began to talk to Claire about something else.

Chapter Forty-Eight: The Storm is Brewing

"I disagree."

"But as my family, Yiwu was originally participating in the ranking game with me."

"Then let my brother forfeit. Leave the fighting to me; my brother doesn't need to fight."

“This… Claire, you can’t protect Sid forever. Ranking games don’t really kill you. Just treat this as training.”

"Rias, have you ever experienced the feeling of almost causing your loved ones to die because of your own mistake?"

I've experienced it, so I can't allow myself to watch Sid get hurt again and be unable to do anything about it, even if it's just in a game.

As Sid walked along the road behind the school, the conversation between Claire and Rias in Rias's squad activity room echoed in his mind, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

His sister... seems to have some problems.

Claire erupted after Rias announced that three days later, Rias and her retinue would participate in a ranking game with her fiancé to determine whether their engagement was necessary.

Claire wanted to eliminate Sid and fight in Sid's place, which was of course unacceptable.

However, under Claire's insistence, Rias finally agreed to let him watch the ranking game from the sidelines, using the excuse that he hadn't fully absorbed the demon chess piece.

Of course, that's not important. Whether the demon chess piece will still be inside him in three days is a question. Claire's request is completely unnecessary. What he really cares about is Claire's attitude.

To be honest, ever since his sister took him to the City of No Return, he has felt that Claire's mental state has been problematic.

Specific manifestations include, but are not limited to, chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), thinking that one's right hand has some mysterious power, wrapping bandages around one's hand, and writing texts that are difficult to understand.

Now there's another one: his sister seems to have developed a strange obsession with him.

Remembering his sister's earlier threat to break his legs and lock him up, he's now a little worried about whether she's serious.

So... should he strike first and break Claire's leg?

Forget it, with current technology, a broken leg can be healed with some money and the world. Let's think about how to get the demon pieces out of him first, and make sure they can't be put back in once they're out.

His feet naturally turned right, into an empty alley, and he walked to a blind spot in the surveillance cameras. A magic circle for communication appeared in his hand.

Getting the Demon Piece out is simple. According to Sid's observation, one of the mechanisms in this piece's system is that it will save the owner's life at the cost of the piece itself, before the owner suffers a certain level of serious injury.

Creating the illusion of being on the verge of death is not difficult; the ranking game three days later will be an opportunity. The difficulty lies in creating a plausible and legitimate reason.

If it were a year ago… no, before Netheril was established, he wouldn’t have had this problem; at worst, he could just order the witches to carry out a terrorist attack.

Anyway, when he recruited those witches, he thought they were terrorists, so he wouldn't care if they died.

But now those witches have actually taken his promises seriously, formed Netheril, switched from being terrorists, and put him on the hot seat.

The only saving grace is that the one on the fire is "Roland Augusta," not "Shadow." If the identity of "Roland Augusta" is blown up one day, it can be used as a cushion for "Shadow."

Since we can't use Netheril's power, so... are we just leaving our hopes to them and resigning ourselves to fate?

"Cough, Cao Cao, cough, Cao Cao, cough, Cao Cao, alright, this is it."

The voices that came out of Sid’s mouth were, in succession: a lively youthful voice, a steady and deep middle-aged voice, and finally a voice with a cool and indifferent tone.

"teacher?"

The magic circle was connected, and Cao Cao's voice came from it.

"It is I, Cao Cao."

Sid replied very naturally.

"Teacher, is there something you need from me?"

"Heh, I just wanted to see how magnanimous you are right now, so you wouldn't say I didn't give you a chance."

Ranking game.

I've given you the hint; whether you can catch it is up to you.

The word that came out of Sid's mouth was one that even he himself found a bit too enigmatic.

But Sid wasn't worried that Cao Cao wouldn't understand. After spending more than half a year together, he had a complete understanding of what kind of person Cao Cao was.

He believed that Cao Cao would definitely investigate, and if he did, the news that Princess Rias of the Gremory family, who had recently gained considerable influence among demons, was playing a ranking game with Raiza, the third son of the Phoenix family, would surely reach Cao Cao's ears.

As for Cao Cao, a terrorist, knowing about this matter, coupled with the reminder from his teacher, Cao Cao would likely get involved and cause trouble.

"Teacher, you...you already know!"

Cao Cao's surprised and puzzled voice came from within the magic circle.

What do I know?

Sid almost said those words, but changed his mind the moment he opened his mouth.

"There's nothing I don't know or don't know. I just stand at a higher vantage point and have a broader view, that's all."

"...Thank you, teacher. I know what to do now. Thank you for your guidance."

What did I tell you? How come you're talking to yourself even more than I am?

"It doesn't matter, it was just a casual move. If you really want to thank me, let me see if your dream can leave a mark on my memory. If it really satisfies me, maybe there will be a surprise for you to see, hahaha..."

Leaving behind a string of laughter from the amused crowd, Sid quickly disconnected the magic circle communication; if they continued, he wouldn't know how to respond.

"Phew... I don't know what Cao Cao is thinking, but it's certain that he'll be planning a terrorist attack in three days. I'll just find an opportunity to get seriously injured in the attack and that'll be the end of it."

If things still go wrong, I'll transform into 'Roland Augusta' and forcefully use a deus ex machina to severely injure me. It might diminish 'Roland Augusta's' prestige, but it doesn't matter; 'Roland Augusta' is going to be a scapegoat for 'Shadow' anyway.

After reviewing the situation, Sid felt that things had suddenly improved and the advantage was now in his hands.

Stepping out of the blind spot of the surveillance cameras, the air seemed to sweeten, and the sunlight from the setting sun warmed him.

"Hmm, let's go train as extras in the Shadow Realm tonight."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Cao Cao, what did your teacher say to you that made you like this?"

Seeing Cao Cao become visibly excited after receiving a phone call, Geork asked in confusion.

"Nothing said."

As he said this, Cao Cao shook his head, but the barely suppressed smile on his face betrayed his thoughts.

"The teacher just told me what I initially wanted to do."

"What was the first thing you wanted to do?"

"Yes, what's wrong with me lately? I don't even dare to scheme against two mere Transcendent beings. How am I supposed to fulfill the promise I made to you back then?"

Cao Cao's smile turned sinister.

"Just because I'm afraid of attracting worldwide criticism, I want to give up this plan and choose to proceed gradually. Wouldn't that make me seem petty? Maybe it's because he knew about this that my teacher contacted me. I think... he must be very disappointed in me too."

The Holy Spear appeared in Cao Cao's hand, which he placed on his shoulder, his gaze sweeping over everyone around him.

"Prepare to hide, everyone."

If this succeeds, the whole world will remember us, and correspondingly, our opponents will be all the powers in the world.

Let's use this battle to establish the reputation of our Calamity Clan's heroic faction.

Finally, Cao Cao looked at Georg and Siegfried.

“George, tell Hades what he wants to see. We will let him see it in three days. Tell him to prepare the Dragon Eaters.”

"Siegfried, go contact the old Demon Lord faction and Li Zevim. Anyway, we've really offended the demons this time, and we're short on funds anyway, so let's pull off something big, big enough that the Mitsukoshi Trading Company and Netheril won't worry about us defaulting on our debts."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Ugh!"

Looking at the dwindling number of classmates around her and thinking about her current situation, Yukina Himeragi couldn't help but sigh, leaning on the table.

After waking up in Sid's bed at noon, she hurried back to the home that the Lion King organization had arranged for her, packed her backpack, and went to school.

The afternoon classes were very fulfilling, and Xiaonagisa was very grateful for the care and concern shown to her classmates. She was so grateful that she even forgot some things.