The Eminence In Shadow In Multiverse

The growl from his stomach jolted Cid out of his thoughts.

"Time for dinner."

Let's get one thing straight—

He hadn't bought groceries.

And his fridge?

Empty.

Cid slid off the bed, walked over to his desk, and opened another drawer.

Inside, neatly stacked, were several flyers adorned with intricate magical symbols.

Without even glancing at them, he grabbed one at random and strolled into the living room.

Holding up the flyer, he tossed it into the air.

It hovered mid-flight, spinning slowly as it expanded into a magic circle roughly a meter wide.

From its center, a tall, elegant figure began to materialize.

"Greetings. I am—oh, it's you, Cid."

The woman who emerged immediately relaxed, her formal tone vanishing.

"I was starting to wonder if you'd forgotten about me. It's been, what, a week? I thought maybe you'd overdone it last time and finally collapsed.

But seeing how healthy you look now? I'm relieved."

"It's you, Tsubaki. Same deal as always. Same request. I'll leave it to you."

"Ugh." She crossed her arms, pretending to pout.

"Why so lifeless? Don't tell me you've been summoning other demons behind my back?"

Without waiting for his reply, she waved her hand dismissively.

"Whatever. Since you're a regular customer, I'll cut you a deal this time."

"No need."

Cid shook his head.

"You already said it's been a while since I last called you. I'm perfectly fine.

Take as much as you need."

"…You…"

Tsubaki paused, her sharp eyes narrowing behind her glasses.

"I'm serious, Cid.

You've been looking half-dead lately.

If you keep trading desire like this, it's going to affect your body."

Cid shrugged.

"What else am I supposed to offer?

Desire's all I've got."

"Besides, if the trade's unfair, it'll just cause problems for you, right?

This stuff regenerates after a bit of rest anyway.

As long as it's useful to you, take it."

Tsubaki let out a long sigh.

"Fine.

But I'm still taking less this time.

If it's only every now and then, my master won't complain."

The woman before him—Tsubaki Shinra—was an era-defining hybrid demon.

With raven-black hair cascading down her back, sharp glasses, and an intelligent air, she exuded a strict yet elegant charm.

She was also one of Cid's go-to freeloader contacts.

To most people, demons were the embodiment of cunning, cruelty, and evil.

Creatures born from darkness that bartered souls and lifespans through twisted contracts.

And that image?

It wasn't wrong.

But it only applied to the old demons.

Thousands of years ago, World No. 1 had been consumed by a war between demons, angels, and fallen angels.

The casualties had been catastrophic—so much so that the survivors of all three races had turned to humans to replenish their numbers.

The result?

Chess Pieces.

Using forbidden magic, they could reincarnate humans into hybrid beings—part-human, part-monster.

These hybrids inherited the bloodline powers of their new species while amplifying their potential and strength.

The process wasn't cheap.

But the results were worth it.

It's not that pure humans couldn't obtain Chess Pieces.

It's just that hybrids had natural compatibility that made them more efficient candidates.

For a pure human to qualify?

It meant their talent and potential were so overwhelming that even the limits of humanity couldn't contain them.

Tsubaki Shinra was one such Chess Piece.

But to Cid?

She was nothing more than a convenient supplier—and occasionally, an overly concerned nag.

Each set of demon chess pieces could have only one King.

And the stronger the King, the greater the amplification of power granted to their pieces.

The other pieces?

They were merely the King's subordinates—their retainers.

But the number of pieces a King could command was limited.

Which meant that every King faced the same question—

Should they waste pieces on the average?

Or recruit only the extraordinary?

The answer was obvious.

And in a world where demons now relied on humans to reproduce, the old methods of trading in souls and lifespans had fallen out of favor.

These days, deals were sealed with money.

And the services offered?

They ranged from strength, wealth, and fame to more mundane requests—

Finding lost pets.

Therapy sessions for stress relief.

Even help beating video games.

Honestly, it was starting to sound less like a demonic pact and more like a freelance handyman service.

The first time Cid encountered a demon was shortly after he moved to Itogami Island.

It had been… who was it again?

He glanced at Tsubaki Shinra, who was currently busy cooking dinner.

Cid furrowed his brows, trying to recall.

Maybe… probably… it was Tsubaki?

When he learned that summoning demons required payment, he almost decided to call it quits.

After all—

Money was something he seriously lacked.

But then Tsubaki had made him an offer.

Apparently, his spiritual desires were of extremely high quality.

Good enough to use as currency.

Instead of demanding money, she offered to take his desires as payment.

It sounded sketchy as hell.

But Cid decided to give it a try.

The first time he let her drain his desires, he'd felt weak and sluggish.

It was uncomfortable—

But by the next day, he was back to normal.

Actually, no.

Stronger.

And that's when it hit him.

She couldn't keep up.

The amount of desire she took wasn't even close to his natural regeneration rate.

Cid immediately suppressed his emotions.

He kept his face pale and his movements lethargic, pretending to be weaker than he actually was.

But on the inside?

Champagne corks were popping.

If not for his rational side reining him in, he might've signed a long-term contract with her on the spot.

Tsubaki had mentioned that normal people needed several days to recover after each summoning.

And as a mob character, Cid knew he couldn't afford to recover too quickly.

But giving up this endless buffet of free resources?

Not happening.

So he devised a solution.

A brilliant plan that aligned perfectly with his mob persona.

Step 1: Sign contracts with multiple demons.

Step 2: Summon them on alternating days.

Step 3: Never let them talk to each other.