He had awakened from sleep, but he hadn't opened his eyes.
Was it because the sleep was so deep and sweet? Or because the bed was too comfortable? Both were true. His body was exhausted to the point that even a cold, hard floor would have afforded him deep, sweet slumber.
The bed Eugene lay in now was soft, warm, and even faintly fragrant.
Without a word, he assessed his situation.
He had awakened but couldn’t open his eyes because he was afraid to do so.
Silently, he carefully retraced his memories.
How did it come to this? Why was he sleeping like this? When exactly had he fallen asleep?
Before he fell asleep, he had been drinking with Molon, Sienna, Anise, and Kristina. The alcohol, personally brewed by Gavid, was a gift after Eugene’s victory in the duel with him. He had promised to drink it atop the corpse of the Demon King of Incarceration after defeating him.
Regrettably, Eugene hadn’t seen the corpse of the Demon King of Incarceration, but since he had won the battle, he figured it was alright to drink the bottle. Moreover, he thought there might not be another chance to drink it later.
Perhaps someone among his companions would die, or maybe Eugene himself…. He didn’t like to think about it, but the thought unavoidably crossed his mind. The sudden appearance of the Demon King of Destruction had prevented them from fully sharing the joy of victory, and they had solidified their resolutions and preparations. What was needed now was a celebration of the victory over the Demon King of Incarceration….With that thought, he drank with his comrades, and the taste of the alcohol was excellent. Eugene, who had never deeply scrutinized the taste of alcohol in his past life, couldn’t give a detailed review. Still, from how Kristina, who had recently acquired a taste for liquor, and Anise, a born drinker, took turns sipping and praising it, it seemed to be exceptionally well-made.
However, there were a few problems.
Warriors and wizards who had reached full control over their bodies found it hard to get drunk. Unless they consciously decided to get drunk , even the strongest of the spirits would be detoxified as soon as they entered their bodies.
The drinking started with a toast, with the intention of celebrating their win. Moreover, since it was a unique bottle left by the deceased Gavid, it was absurd to even think of finishing such a drink without getting drunk. Thus, they all started drinking with the intention of getting drunk.
‘Might as well get drunk and sleep it off for a few days….’
It was a reasonable thought, considering that all of them were considerably fatigued, both physically and mentally.
Then the next problem arose. It was an obvious problem if one took just a moment to ponder it. Both humans and demons tolerated alcohol differently. Even a strong drink that could intoxicate a seasoned human drinker in a few sips might be just a mild beverage for a demon.
Gavid’s liquor was strong.
They all drank it heartily without any intention of moderating their intoxication. But by the time they finished the liquor, they were mere beasts absolutely incapable of any rational thought.
And the first beast to fall was the wounded one, Molon. He had rarely gotten drunk in the past, but by the time they finished the bottle of Gavid’s liquor, Molon had collapsed headfirst to the floor.
However, no one took care of him. At that point, even Eugene was struggling to make rational decisions. If there was any consolation, it was that there was only one bottle of alcohol — half-filled at that, and they were even finishing it off.
— Five of us shared half a bottle — how could that possibly even wet our throats?
— Bring more!
When the bottle was empty, the beasts mimicked human speech and howled.
There was no humane understanding to be expected from the ladies. Eugene had given all the alcohol he had inside his cloak to the members of the general staff and thus suggested to his comrades that they might as well go to sleep. But such pleading proved utterly futile. If there was no alcohol, they should just bring more, declared the Saints, and the wizard, infuriatingly, grabbed the God of Victory by the scruff of his neck. The injured warrior who had fallen was left alone, uncared for, in the room.
And then, another problem arose. As was stated numerous times, everyone was far from sober. Molon couldn’t even muster a quarter of his usual tolerance and collapsed under the influence and fatigue. Everyone else was just like Molon. They were all maintaining themselves through sheer willpower, having long surpassed their physical limits.
And so... and so, he couldn't remember well.
Sienna had grabbed him by the scruff and dragged him out of the room. They went somewhere, into someone else’s room — maybe Sienna or Anise's... perhaps even Eugene's room. Anyway, he was detained there, and either Anise or Kristina brought more alcohol.
With more alcohol present, naturally, they drank more. As they drank, gradually... his mind, his reason, melted away. His mind became jumbled. It was to the extent that he couldn’t tell what he was saying, thinking, or doing — amidst cackling laughter and... nonsensical jokes and banter. And then….
He passed out.
Whether it was on the floor or the bed at that moment, he couldn’t remember, but now he was lying in... a bed, anyway. Though he had passed out heavily drunk, there wasn’t even a slight scent of stale alcohol on his breath. His clothes... they had definitely been magically laundered, and his body washed….
But that wasn't the problem. The problem was — he couldn’t feel his clothes at all. He was completely naked. But why? Had he gotten hot while sleeping and thrown off his clothes? Eugene didn’t usually have such a sleeping habit, but it was common for people to do things out of character when drunk.
Forcing himself to concentrate, Eugene tried to recall more details.
Yes, he had gotten drunk and... thrown off his clothes while sleeping. Perhaps even before he fell asleep. By taking them off, he might have also removed the lingering smell of alcohol, or maybe... maybe during his sleep. Eugene prided himself on his cleanliness, so it was entirely possible that he had magically cleaned himself subconsciously.
Eugene slowly examined himself but stopped abruptly.
Setting aside his own condition, what he needed to think about was something else.
First of all... where was this place? Whose bed was this? And why... why did he feel another warm body beside him?
The more he thought about it, the more it felt like sinking deeper into a swamp called hell, and Eugene was afraid of everything. What was even more frightening was….
That he felt more than just a single warm body.
'Mo... Molon?' Eugene thought tentatively.
It might be Molon. Hadn't he often slept next to Molon or Vermouth three hundred years ago? He had never slept naked, but... anyway, if the person beside him turned out to be Molon, that would be relatively….
Eugene gave a silent groan.
He knew all too well that it couldn't be Molon. The softness of the flesh that barely touched him could never belong to Molon.
Yes... Eugene decided to accept the reality. This was a situation he could not resist, even if he wanted to.
“A-hem......"
Before opening his eyes, he let out a light cough. The presence he felt on either side of him became more pronounced. The left side stirred, and the right side twitched.
"Hmm... h-hmm..."
He prolonged his coughing. Whoever was on the left pulled the blanket slightly towards themselves. The right held their breath.
That was all. No one acted any further.
But wasn't it the same for Eugene? Fearful of facing reality by opening his eyes and speaking up, he lay there, not opening his eyes and just groaning, waiting for someone else to initiate a conversation.
The silence continued.
For how long? Until when should he lie here without opening his eyes, groaning like a puppy in need, waiting for someone's touch?
He knew what he needed now. It was courage. He needed the courage to open his eyes and accept the mess he had made. He needed the courage to face reality and move forward.
Just as he was mustering the courage to open his eyes and get up, Eugene had a sudden thought. He felt an intense sense of discomfort. For how long, he wondered.
No, since when? The sides of the wide bed. Right and left. The soft skin. How long had it been since he had fallen asleep drunk, overwhelmed by accumulated fatigue and damage? It was impossible for everyone who fell asleep at the same time to wake up at the same moment. Someone else must have awakened long before he did.
But even now, there were still people beside Eugene. They should have awakened and left the bed in some way or another by now, yet they were still there.
“Could it be......"
Eugene’s eyes snapped open, and he looked to the left. A blemish-free white back, a slightly parted blanket, and abundant blonde hair. It was indeed Anise and Kristina.
"Were you pretending to be asleep until I woke up?" he accused after taking in the scene.
He looked to the right. There, he saw Sienna, even her shoulders red, curled up in a ball. As soon as she heard Eugene’s words, she trembled as if she were having a spasm.
"I... I just woke up." A voice came from the left. Slowly, a head turned towards Eugene. Her eyes were struggling to focus. Anise had been nervously chewing on her lips. She barely managed to say, "You see, Hamel, I really just woke up. As you know, I am but a soul left, and it’s been hard to shake off the aftermath of the battle…. And then I foolishly drank too much. So it was difficult for me to come to my senses, and this, this body isn’t even mine, right? I am ultimately at the mercy of the original owner, Kristina. I, I woke up, but Kristina was…."
A hand moved on its own and covered Anise's mouth. For a moment, two souls fought within one body. Eventually, the hand covering the lips fell away, and a gasp of breath escaped.
"It's a lie. It's absolutely not true. I woke up two days ago, but Sister said she was tired and stayed in bed. Sister even had a servant bring food to the room and continued to live in bed......!" Kristina accused.
Eugene couldn’t think of how to respond to their bickering and ended up just staring at the ceiling.
While it was customary to look someone in the face when conversing, Eugene found it utterly impossible at the moment. Firstly, he was doubtful whether the being before him was truly human, and secondly, he simply didn’t know where to rest his gaze.
"I, I…." Sienna spoke from right beside him.
Eugene flinched and turned his head, then looked back at the ceiling. Still curled up without turning around, Sienna’s shoulders and back were flushed so red that they were embarrassingly overt to gaze upon.
"I woke up about three days ago but I deliberately... deliberately stayed lying down,” she admitted.
Eugene continued to stare at the ceiling without a word.
"I wasn’t in a state to move right away... and, and I needed a bit more rest. And, you know, when you woke up, I thought maybe I should be here beside you,” Sienna continued.
"That…." Eugene barely managed to speak, faint memories surfacing. He swallowed hard and slowly sat up. "Before I fell asleep—"
"Stop."
He was cut off before he could finish speaking. Sienna, who had been curled up with her back turned, suddenly spun around and covered Eugene’s mouth with her hand.
"We, we didn’t do anything, okay?" she assured him.
"Mmph…." Eugene uttered a muffled acknowledgment from behind her hand.
"Nothing happened! We just slept in this bed. It's incredibly wide, you see? Understand?" Sienna continued firmly.
With his mouth covered, Eugene couldn't say anything, but he stared at Sienna. He was unable to comprehend the situation. Braving the embarrassment, he looked at Sienna's face and saw it predictably beet-red. At the same time, her eyes held a resolute determination that she would not be defeated.
"Why do you say nothing happened?" the Saints asked.
Anise and Kristina couldn't understand this resolve either. In such a situation, Sienna would typically obsess over everything that happened the night before, braving any embarrassment.
If Eugene didn’t remember well, she would slap him and forcibly jog his memory, resorting to childish, predictable, and tiresome declarations like take responsibility . But to say nothing happened?
"I…."
Sienna's lips quivered. Her eyebrows twitched diagonally, then shot up, and finally, unable to hold it back any longer, she shut her eyes closed. She covered her face, which remained flush with heat.
"I… I don’t like something like this,” she declared.
"You don’t like it?" the Saints asked, surprised.
"I was so tired! Drunk! I can't even remember it well! It wasn't romantic!" Sienna clarified.
Silence followed this declaration.
"I was not alone... not alone either...! There was the smell of alcohol! And, and my body wasn’t in good condition! So, so nothing happened. Okay?" Sienna continued weakly.
Eugene couldn’t understand why she was insisting so vehemently, but the Saints did. They truly empathized with Sienna's words and thought it absolutely had to be that way. Kristina clasped her hands together, deeply moved, while Anise nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, I'd rather not think of this as my first time either," Anise declared.
Sienna and Anise exchanged serious glances. Caught between them, still with his mouth forcibly covered, Eugene could only stare at the ceiling.
After a moment, Anise got out of bed. She quickly dressed in the underwear and clerical robes she had neatly laid aside. Soon after, Sienna removed her hand from Eugene's mouth. With a flick of her fingers, her undergarments and clothes wrapped around her.
"Eugene." Draped in a crisp robe and grasping her staff, Sienna turned to Eugene with a composed expression and said, "How long do you plan to stay asleep?"
"Leave him be, Sienna. Hamel isn’t usually a heavy sleeper, is he? We came to wake him up today and shook him several times, but he wouldn’t get up,” Anise spoke without changing her expression, casually altering what had really happened.
Watching them for a while, Eugene slowly nodded. "That’s right. Nothing happened,” he said.
"What?" Sienna questioned, her eyes wide.
"Nothing happened…," he repeated.
Sienna quickly approached him and grasped Eugene’s shoulder. Her face drew near, her eyes trembling and then moistening with tears.
"Re-really?" she asked.
"Yes, you said so…," Eugene muttered.
"Just because I think so doesn’t mean you should too!" Sienna shouted.
"What nonsense is this?" Eugene asked, baffled.
"I said nothing happened, but it doesn’t mean that nothing really happened!" Sienna cried.
"That’s... true,” Eugene agreed.
"Think of it as a dream... Ah, no, not a dream. Anyway, that’s it. Nothing happened, but it’s not like nothing really didn't happen; just think it didn’t…," Sienna muttered this nearly incomprehensible logic as she let go of Eugene’s shoulder.
The Saints, standing at a distance, nodded sincerely in agreement, but Eugene simply couldn’t.
"If you’re awake, don’t laze about. Get up now, Hamel,” said Anise.
"Right. We have to defeat the Demon King of Destruction,” responded Sienna.
"Listening to that makes me feel complicated. To have such a thing happen right before the final battle…," Anise muttered.
"What are you talking about? Anise, we didn’t do anything. And it’s not like we want to fight the final battle. It’s just that that bastard Destruction forced his way here,” Sienna insisted fiercely.
"My goodness! Now that you mention it, that’s right, Sienna," Anise agreed readily.
The two chatted back and forth as they quickly left the room. Left alone, Eugene blinked blankly, then slowly got out of bed.
As he dressed clumsily, faint memories became clearer and clearer, and his face burned.
"I want to die," he groaned.
The thought of stepping out of the room made him sincerely wish for it. But he couldn't stay holed up in his room forever. With a resolved heart, Eugene opened the door.
He stepped into the corridor and turned his head. Eugene's eyes immediately met with Molon's. It seemed Molon was just about to enter this room. For a moment, Molon blinked at Eugene, then broke into a mischievous grin and thrust both fists toward him.
"Hamel."
Two thumbs went up.
"Congratulations."
His bushy beard parted to reveal a flash of white teeth. Faced with Molon's beaming smile, Eugene found himself involuntarily clenching his fists.
What the hell is he congratulating me for? Stop spouting nonsense and get lost. Do you want to die? Although all these responses floated through his mind, Eugene initially kept his mouth firmly shut. It seemed no answer would wipe the grin off Molon's face.
"How long has it been?" Eugene finally asked.
"Exactly a week today,” Molon said with a broad smile.
"When did you wake up?" Eugene asked.
"Two days ago,” answered Molon.
"Why didn’t you wake me?" Eugene asked.
"Hamel. Even though I'm your friend, and theirs, I simply could not enter that room. Never. I didn’t want to enter either,” said Molon.
Eugene's shoulders shuddered at Molon’s uncharacteristically rational response. Once again, Eugene chose to end the conversation and shut his mouth.
Wasn’t a week quite reasonable compared to the half-year he had once slept? There was a saying: even rotting fish have their backbone. Surely, the Demon King of Incarceration wouldn’t crumble after just a week.
"Where are you going?" Molon called out as Eugene quickly moved away.
"I'm going to check on the situation over there,” responded Eugene.
"Then I’ll also—" said Molon.
Eugene interrupted with narrowed eyes, "Didn’t you see enough while I was out? Looks like you were watching until just now.”
"There were changes... the seal grew larger, and inside—" Molon said.
"Are the Nur swarming?" Eugene interjected once more.
"Yes." Molon nodded, then continued, "If it bursts, they'll pour out—"
His grumbling voice suddenly cut off. Eugene couldn’t walk any further and stood still, staring down the corridor.
In the distance, a large bouquet of flowers swayed as it approached.
"Ah."
Among the bouquet of vibrant flowers, Melkith’s head suddenly popped out. Like the flowers beside her, she flashed a radiant smile at Eugene and waved.
"Congratulations!"
Eugene no longer wanted to hear it.
Without hesitation, he opened a nearby window and jumped out.