Eugene wandered around the department store, getting pulled to wherever Noir wanted to go. To be honest, he tried to keep his distance so that he wasn’t considered part of the same group as her, but Noir wouldn't allow him to play such a trick.
With a mischievous smile, she would call Eugene’s name out loud, get close to him, and pull on his arms as she clung to him.
After this was repeated several times in a row, Eugene eventually just gave up. While keeping half his attention on following Noir around, carrying her luggage, Eugene was rolling a few ideas over in his head.
He was thinking about his remaining two questions. What kind of questions would be the most meaningful? As planned, should he ask about the private army she might be harboring?
No, there wasn’t much meaning in doing so. To be honest, Eugene wouldn’t really be surprised if something like that did pop up when he returned to this city, but no matter how many troops were stationed here, in the end, the biggest challenge was Noir Giabella herself.
‘I also feel like it would be a good idea to turn the investigation towards the Demon King of Incarceration or Gavid Lindman,’ Eugene considered.
For example, he could ask her for the Demon King of Incarceration’s weak point…. Eugene unconsciously laughed as this thought popped into his head.
The Demon King’s weak point? Could there even be such a thing? Even if it did exist, Eugene didn’t think it was likely that Noir would know about it.
“What kind of thought is leaving you so distracted?” Noir asked curiously.
“I’m thinking about what to ask you,” Eugene answered with a blunt demeanor.
Eugene was getting annoyed by the music flowing in his ears.
Instead of listening to such music, Eugene even thought that it would have been better to just keep wandering around the department store while shopping. At least there, he had been able to keep moving. However, now, Eugene was forced to just sit in place.
After they had finished shopping, Noir and Eugene had arrived here, at a bar with a nice atmosphere, the soft sound of music in the background, accompanied by the rustling of cocktail shakers. Eugene and Noir were sitting in a corner seat, facing each other.
“You don’t need to ask them all today; it’s fine if you just ask me next time,” Noir said with a laugh as she shook her drink.
There was also a drink set in front of Eugene, but he had yet to pick it up. By now, the night had already started to give way to dawn, and the sun would rise in just a few hours.
Eugene harshly rejected her, “I have no intention of hanging out with you ever again.”
“You really are such a consistent person. I actually like that about you, but as a date, you aren’t fun at all,” Noir complained.
“A date?” Eugene repeated.
Noir smiled teasingly, “If what you and I are doing now isn’t a date, what else could it be?”
He didn’t have any energy left to try and refute her. Eugene let out a heavy sigh as he idly tapped his drink with his fingertips.
“I don’t understand you,” Eugene confessed.
“Oh, I’m so happy, Hamel,” Noir said cheerily. “It seems you’re finally willing to converse with me?”
Eugene didn’t show any reaction to Noir’s outburst. He just raised his head and stared straight at her.
He saw a smile on Noir’s face, which was illuminated by the warm colors of the lights above. Instead of saying anything, she also just waited for Eugene to speak.
“Converse? A conversation, huh…? Maybe, but I’m more in the mood to air some grievances,” Eugene muttered as he picked up his glass.
Noir felt moved by this action, and her lips stretched into a wide smile as she asked, “Hamel, are you actually willing to drink with me?”
Eugene denied this, “I just want a drink because I’m feeling like shit.”
“So that’s the case! Understood. Hamel, you can just keep drinking alone like that, and I will also keep drinking here by myself. Even though we’re sitting across from each other like this, we’re not actually drinking together,” Noi said with a giggle as she raised her glass.
Her drink casually approached his to try to clink their glasses together, but Eugene ignored her approach and just poured his drink straight into his mouth.
Noir returned to the topic, “So then, Hamel, what is it that you don’t understand about me?”
“Everything,” Eugene replied.
When Eugene lowered his empty glass, Noir promptly picked up a bottle and refilled it as if she had just been waiting for the chance to do so. As a strong, tan-colored liquor filled his glass about halfway, Eugene didn’t bother trying to stop her.
“Like why you keep fucking with me,” Eugene specified.
“That’s because I love you,” Noir claimed.
Eugene added, “I also don’t understand all the effort you’ve put into this city.”
“Heehee, you don’t understand it? I’m the one who doesn't understand what you mean by those words, Hamel. Haven’t I already told you what this city is for? In that case, isn’t it only natural that I put in my best effort to develop this city?” Noir asked as she leaned over towards him.
The new dress she had changed into had a low-necked design, so when she bent over like this, her cleavage was clearly visible. However, rather than her cleavage, Eugene’s gaze was drawn to the necklace swaying above it and the ring on the said necklace.
“I have seen your city,” Eugene said, “and it is overflowing with an incomprehensible level of narcissism. So much so that most of the things within this city have your name attached to it.”
The city’s name was Giabella City. Its theme park was named Giabella Park. The flying heads were called Giabella-Faces, and even the Castle’s name was Giabella Castle. The only exception was the trains, named the Dream Trains, but… apart from those, countless other things still had been named after Giabella.
“It’s said to be the greatest tourist destination in the entire continent, and it is indeed crowded with people. I also saw a lot of young children,” Eugene observed.
“....Ah,” Noir’s eyes widened as if she had realized what Eugene was trying to say. “Are you going to ask if I perhaps feel guilty?”
“I don’t necessarily want to focus on just that emotion,” Eugene said vaguely.
“Sorrow then?” Noir said with a giggle. “Or perhaps regret? Something like that?”
Without responding, Eugene just glared at Noir.
Eugene was well-acquainted with the demonfolk. Or at least, that was what he had thought. However — after seeing Helmuth in the present era — he sometimes doubted himself and wondered if he really did know them all that well.
During the era of war, the demonfolk were the enemy. There was no other way that they could be defined. In that era, for the humans, the demonfolk were enemies that needed to be fought at all costs. In order to achieve peace, the Demon Kings needed to be slain, and the demonfolk were to be driven back.
However, were all demonfolk really just enemies? In that regard, neither Eugene nor Hamel could be certain that that was absolutely the case.
In the end, the demonfolks were just another race, so among the countless demonfolk… perhaps there were a few demonfolk that didn’t want to harm humans and were friendly towards humans.
There had been no need to dwell on that thought at that time. That was because they were in the middle of a war. Rather than trying to distinguish between good demonfolk and bad demonfolk, Hamel had thought that it would be better to just consider all demonfolk as the enemy and kill every single demonfolk he encountered.
The present era was different. It was an era of peace. Three hundred years had passed since the war.
Should all the demonfolk born in this ear of peace still be considered enemies? Were the demonfolk born into this era’s Helmuth Empire, who got along well with the immigrating humans as if it was only natural, and who bore goodwill towards humans, really enemies?
Someday, war would break out.
Eugene didn’t think that he had much longer to wait until then. He could actually bring a start to the war right at this very moment. If he were to attack Babel right now without thinking of the consequences, the Demon King of Incarceration would surely order an end to the peace the Oath had secured for the past three hundred years.
“Are you thinking about the gap between your memories from three hundred years ago and the present era?” Noir asked as light shimmered from her purple eyes.
She couldn’t read Eugene’s mind. Noir wasn’t even able to dive into his consciousness and peek into his inner thoughts. Nevertheless, Noir could see through what Eugene was thinking and trying to say.
“You’re thinking that the world has changed from what you knew of it three hundred years ago…,” Noir said as she leaned back into her sofa, burying her body deeper into the cushions as she brought her drink to her lips. “Now that we’ve been rehabilitated , you’re wondering if… we truly need to be enemies. That is what you’re thinking, right?”
“Something like that,” Eugene admitted.
This wasn’t a problem that Eugene could just ignore completely. Once the Oath came to an end and the Demon King of Incarceration declared war, a significant number of demonfolk would be willing to go to war immediately.
In particular, the high-ranking demonfolk who had survived since the war era were sure to be overjoyed and would definitely leap headfirst into the war. Even now, many of those demonfolk who couldn’t wait for the coming war had already hopped over into the desert.
However, would all demonfolk agree to join the war? Wouldn’t there be some demonfolk who had become stained by the peace that had lasted for the past three hundred years? Perhaps the demonfolk born into an era where peace was taken for granted might not wish for war.
As the master of this city, there was an unending stream of tourists who chanted Noir’s name in worship every single day. Of all the demonfolk who were seen as the most familiar with, and closest to, humans, Noir was supreme even among them. So Eugene wanted to figure out what exactly it was that she wanted.
Eugene readied his second question, “Apart from how it has to do with me, how do you see the—”
“Hahaha,” Noir had burst into laughter even before Eugene had finished speaking.
She took a sip of her drink before lowering it to stare at Eugene. “Beginning from now, my answer will count as burning one of the two remaining questions you have left,” Noir warned him.
Eugene waited silently.
“In return, that means I will make sure to answer you seriously, without a single lie,” Noir promised.
Eugene nodded his head without making any protest. He didn’t have anything in particular he wanted to ask right now, so he thought that if he could hear some of Noir Giabella’s true feelings, it might be a worthwhile trade.
“Allow me to say this, Hamel,” the smile slowly disappeared from Noir’s face as she began to speak. “Whether it is guilt, sorrow, or regret, I have always wanted to be able to experience those sorts of emotions.”
Eugene pursed his lips.
“Every single one of the guests who make their way to this city has a desire in their heart. Whether it’s a man, woman, child, or elder, they’re all the same. They come to this city to fulfill their desires, to satisfy their dreams, and to come up with new dreams to pursue,” Noir’s lips twitched in a small smile. “That’s all there is to it. That is all they want from me, and in return, that is all I want from them. Right now, I am able to interact with them because they have something that I want, but if they don’t have anything…? Hamel, you should probably be happy with this answer, right?”
Noir’s voice grew softer, “If everyone who came to this city were to die while hating me, that would instead just make me happier.”
Noir was right.
That was the answer that Eugene had wanted from her. He had hoped that the Queen of the Night Demons hadn’t really changed over the past three hundred years. He had hoped that this era of peace hadn’t left a single mark on her.
Noir shook her head. “A war? Ahaha… that’s right, a war probably will break out. Though it’s a question of whether the war will come first, or if, between you and I, one of us dies first…. Hmm, this feels like an issue that I will have to give some thought to. If I were to kill you, would the Demon King of Incarceration declare a war?”
“Who knows,” Eugene shrugged.
Noir smiled, “In that case, let’s make an assumption. What would happen… if the Demon King of Incarceration were to declare war while both you and I are still alive? There probably will be quite a few demonfolk who won’t agree with the war. That was also the case three hundred years ago. However, is there even a need to factor them in? The demonfolk who don’t want war will just retreat on their own. As for me… haha, naturally, I will be on the front lines.”
Noir actually quite liked this side of Hamel. The man in front of her seemed self-centered and emotional, but surprisingly, he actually wasn’t. His actions that seemed emotional always had their own logic and reasoning behind them. His every action and choice always required at least some basis and justification for them.
Knowing this aspect of his character, Noir tried to fulfill Eugene’s expectations.
No matter what, it felt like Eugene… was afraid that the enemy he should hate had somehow changed. As the master of this city, Noir was adored by countless people. Eugene seemed worried that Noir may have become stained by that love and had come to love humans in the same way that they did her.
This was a pointless worry. It was fundamentally wrong. Noir did not love humans. But neither did she love demonfolk. The only two things she loved were herself, as Noir Giabella, and Hamel.
“Hamel, I am just me. The Noir Giabella that you have always known. Though perhaps you don’t actually know me all that well. Even so, it’s not like there’s a problem with that, now is there? I can assure you of this much: I… am the enemy that you must kill. If you think otherwise or have any doubts, then I am willing to prove that I am still your enemy,” Noir warned him.
Noir thought that Hamel seemed a little strange after he had arrived here in Giabella City. Until now, she had never once seen him waver… but after arriving in this city, she had seen Hamel doubt himself several times. Was it because of gaps in his memory? Could that really be all there was to it? Noir couldn’t be sure of the exact answer to that, but….
She actually found his hesitance quite loveable.
She didn’t know what side of her he had seen or what kind of illusion he may have had of her that was causing him to feel such self-doubt. However, the fact that he would have more burdens weighing down his heart when he fought with her would only add extra sweetness to their already beautifully embellished ending.
“Isn’t there any other way apart from becoming enemies?” Eugene calmly asked, his emotions having settled down.
He wasn’t in the grips of agony or self-delusion. He knew he was staring at Noir Giabella, not the Twilight Witch.
“No, there are no other ways,” Noir replied with a bright smile. “I love you, and I want to lie in bed together with you. But that said, Hamel, what I feel for you isn’t a mix of love and hate. I don’t hate you at all. However, the love that I hold for you cannot exist without one of us ending up dead.”
Noir’s desire for his death was motivated by pure love, without any hatred coloring it.
Eugene couldn’t really understand what Noir was talking about, but he didn’t have to think too deeply about it. He just gave up on trying to understand her.
Eugene felt himself relax once he had done so, “Hah.”
There was no point in feeling any regret. Eugene was relieved as he now knew that there was nothing wrong with his thoughts and the decision that he had come to.
“Haha, hahaha…,” Eugene burst into laughter as the tight pressure around his heart disappeared.
He thought it was fortunate he had decided to have this conversation with Noir.
As Eugene began to laugh without restraint, Noir also let out a graceful chuckle as she covered her mouth with one hand.
Noir sighed in pleasure, “Ah, even so… I’m quite grateful for our current peace, as it is all thanks to it that a day like this has come. To think that there would actually be a day where I could laugh with you over drinks.”
This current situation was one of the things that Noir would have never been able to imagine by herself, just like her own death. Hamel, who held such hatred of demonfolk, would sit down like this while facing her and share a drink with her. It wasn’t simply unimaginable but impossible, at least till now.
“It feels like a dream,” Noir said as she rested her chin on her hand and stared at Eugene.
She was the Queen of the Night Demons. She knew better than anyone else that there was no such thing as an eternal dream. She could give the illusion of eternity to those humans who longed for such, but in actuality, she was still held back by the restrictions of their reality.
There wasn’t much time left. After just a few hours, this romantic dream would be over. She felt like she had gained a slight understanding of why the human heart could be so greedy.
Indeed, wasn’t it because they hated this feeling of disappointment that they wanted their dreams to last forever?
While enjoying this feeling of disappointment, Noir whispered to Eugene, “There’s still some time left. Would you like to come up to my room?”
“Get lost,” Eugene grunted.
Noir wasn’t phased by his rejection, “Then let’s just talk about the old days together. That’s right, how about this? When I first met you in your dreams—”
Crack!
The glass in Eugene’s hand shattered into pieces.
* * *
Noir’s stories made the time pass quickly. But the stories from the old days that Noir wanted to talk about were all from the war era that only served to further stoke Eugene’s murderous intent, so in the end, they didn’t really fit the topic of nostalgia.
However, they did end up sharing quite a few other stories. Though more accurately speaking, Noir was the only one doing the talking as Eugene mostly just listened quietly.
Noir shared a few stories about the dawn of the new era.
The story of how Helmuth became an empire after the war had ended. Of how Noir had risen to the seat of a duke and how she had expanded her influence. She also revealed how many enemies she had devoured in pursuit of her own ambitions and desires.
“About Raizakia, that idiot was actually my biggest target. After that bastard had eaten his own children and had grown stronger. Right as his arrogance would have reached its peak, that was when I was planning on taking him down,” Noir said with a sigh.
Because of all the bright street lighting, the actual color of the sky was hard to see. However, both Eugene and Noir could sense that dawn was currently approaching.
“He could have eaten you instead,” Eugene pointed out.
“Eaten me? Ahaha, how absurd. Hamel, you also fought with Raizakia, didn’t you? That stupid and arrogant dragon, apart from being a dragon, didn’t actually have any other talents,” Noir said with a cackle as she walked right next to Eugene.
Every time she stepped forward, the lights in the surrounding buildings were switched off.
Noir paused thoughtfully, “If I had failed to hunt Raizakia… hmm, and if you hadn’t been reincarnated, I would have probably become a Demon King and challenged the Demon King of Incarceration. You didn’t know that, right? The reason I didn’t become a Demon King is solely you.”
Eugene grimaced, “You’re saying that as if you could become a Demon King whenever you wanted.”
Noir threw her head back and laughed, “Ahaha! That waste, Iris, was also able to become a Demon King, so what am I lacking to stop me from becoming a Demon King as well? Also, I already know the method to become a Demon King. I just don’t want to do it.”
Hypothetically, after she fulfilled her desire to kill Hamel, then, at that time—
Noir grinned and turned her head towards him to confess, “Hamel, I… I hate the dawn.”
She hated how the morning would wake people up from their dreams.
“I’ve always hated it in the past, but I feel like I will hate it even more from now on,” Noir said.
At some point, all of the city lights that had been centered on Noir and Eugene had been turned off. However, none of the people walking in the distance seemed to question this strange phenomenon.
As dawn lit up the streets, Noir felt her chest begin to pound at the sight of Eugene being touched by its faint light. Other emotions welled up within her and combined with those already present.
Feeling an inexplicable sense of deja vu, Noir whispered, “I wish it was twilight right now.”
If it were twilight, the time when the sun set and night began….
Her throat felt like it was burning with longing. Strangely enough, her eyes felt cold, and tears began to flow down her cheeks.
“Ahem,” Noir sniffed, to think that she would actually end up crying.
Noir couldn’t help but misunderstand the reason for the tears currently flowing down her cheeks.
Could it be that the end of a dream was really this disappointing? Noir chuckled as she held her left hand in her right. She stroked the ring on her ring finger.
Noir took a final look at Eugene, who was just standing there with a surprised expression, before turning away with a smile, “Well then, goodbye, Hamel.”