Chapter 430: Giabella City (5)

Chapter 430: Giabella City (5)

Such a decision was really typical of both Hamel and Eugene.

Or at least, that was what Anise thought. Indeed, if she tried to imagine him coming up with a response to such a problem, that was the sort of response he would give. However... was he really, truly, unhindered by those emotions that he claimed didn’t belong to him?

As she thought about this question, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

It would be better if they had never learned this fact.

If that had been the case, there wouldn’t be any problems now. Anise and Kristina couldn’t help but sympathize with Eugene for having to remember that bond. She felt it was extremely cruel to force Eugene to make such a decision despite knowing about that connection.

Anise hesitated for a few moments before speaking up, “Apart from that, is there really no other way?”

“Why even look for a different method?” Eugene asked.

“Because you might regret it later if you don’t,” Anise tried to persuade him.

Eugene just gave a grumpy reply, “I can’t see that happening.”

Anise let out a sigh and placed a hand on Eugene’s knee. Then her calm blue eyes stared directly into Eugene’s golden ones.

Eugene looked away, “Even if it does become a regret, I’ll be the one to bear it.”

“I really don’t want to see you suffer like that,” Anise said sympathetically.

Eugene sighed, “Fine, then let’s just think about it like this. If I did accept Agaroth’s memories and emotions as a whole and decided that I couldn’t kill Noir, would you really agree with that decision?”

Anise considered her response, “If that’s what you truly decide to do, then I... I would do my best to try and convince you otherwise. Sienna would also do the same.”

“No, that’s not right,” Eugene shook his head.

Eugene also moved his hand and placed it on Anise’s hand, which was still resting on his knee. Then he leaned a little closer and looked directly into Anise’s eyes.

“Anise, Kristina,” Eugene addressed them firmly. “The both of you are my comrades. You’ve devoted yourselves to helping me, and you’re traveling together with me in order to slay the Demon Kings, right?”

“That’s right,” Anise hesitantly agreed.

“In that case, when I end up being swayed by memories and emotions that aren’t even mine and almost end up making such a foolish decision, the only thing that you two should do is swing that vicious iron flail you wield at the back of my head,” Eugene stated firmly.

Anise was struck silent.

“So what if Noir Giabella is the reincarnation of the Twilight Witch?” Eugene scoffed. “Noir doesn’t have any memories of that. Even if she did, it wouldn’t matter. From my perspective, the Twilight Witch was a fucking bitch, and the exact same thing goes for Noir Giabella as well. So, how do things look from your perspective?”

“Such harsh words,” Anise smiled wryly.

“What, you like cursing too, don’t you,” Eugene smiled back mischievously.

Witnessing such a smile appear right in front of her eyes was causing Anise’s heart to flutter for no apparent reason. She let out a snort and pushed Eugene’s face backward.

“Do you really think my own opinion would be all that different from your perspective of her? Especially since I’ve already experienced that terrible era with you, Hamel. So naturally, in my eyes as well, Noir is a bitch who deserves to be killed,” Anise said resolutely.

“That’s right. As such... don’t ask me things like whether or not there’s any other solution,” Eugene said as he turned his head away from Anise. “Also, that bitch, Noir Giabella, won’t accept any other solution either.”

“What do you mean by that?” Anise asked.

“That crazy bitch wants to either die at my hands or else have me die at hers,” Eugene said, frowning. “Her pride is extremely high, and her narcissism is terrible.”

“That’s stating the obvious,” Anise muttered as she looked out the window.

She was looking at the three Giabella-Faces floating in the sky as well as the towering, to-scale statue of Noir Giabella that loomed over the center of the city. The Lucky Giabella statue was holding a bouquet of flowers in its right hand and a purse in its left hand. The statue was meant to be a representation of the Giabella Dream, the faint hope of someday winning the jackpot at one of the city’s casinos and returning home.

“There is no one who is as narcissistic as she is,” Anise said confidently.

Even Sienna hadn’t put her own name on her various creations like the Circle Magic Formula, Witch Craft, and the Eternal Hole, but in Giabella’s case... there was Giabella City, Giabella Park, Giabella-Face, Giabella Castle, etc. Noir had stuck her name on almost everything related to her.

“That’s right,” Eugene agreed. “If I were to go up to Noir and tell her that I couldn’t kill her because I actually knew her from our shared past lives and that we should instead get along peacefully, what do you think she would say in response?”

“I don’t feel like she would take that well,” Anise said cautiously.

“She’ll probably kill everyone around me,” Eugene stated gravely.

He couldn’t even bear to think about it.

Eugene’s expression twisted into a scowl as he spat out, “If it’s Noir, then she would definitely do something like that.”

This showed a twisted sort of trust. Even though he hated her so much, Eugene somewhat understood Noir.

Just like how Eugene was rejecting Agaroth’s memories and feelings, Noir would also turn her back on the fact that she was the reincarnation of the Twilight Witch. Because to her, the only thing that mattered the most was her self-identity as ‘Noir Giabella.’

“Alright, I understand,” Anise finally acquiesced, letting out a sigh as she nodded her head.

Noir Giabella and the Twilight Witch, Anise had accepted that it wasn’t a matter that could be handled by arguing about it with Eugene. nove(l)bi(n.)com

Anise changed the subject, “What else do we do while we’re in this city?”

“Sightsee,” Eugene answered.

“Really?” Anise asked doubtfully.

“I don’t really have any desire to go to a casino, so we can wander around this area while sightseeing... then at night, I can investigate this city on my own,” Eugene revealed his plans.

The more colorful the city, the starker its contrast between night and day. Eugene wanted to take a look at the darkness of Giabella City. The blacker and more rotten that darkness was, the more his hesitation about Noir would disappear.

The conversation between the two fell flat. Neither Anise nor Kristina were in a hurry to say anything to Eugene and were satisfied just keeping an eye on him.

“Why do you keep staring at me?” Eugene eventually asked.

“Then would you rather I stop looking at you?” Anise replied with a sulky expression.

Eugene couldn’t be sure whether it was Anise or Kristina who had responded just now. The answer was probably both.

With a wry smile, Eugene drew her attention to the empty bottle on top of the table with a glance.

“Looks like I’ll have to apologize. I emptied a whole bottle of your favorite drink,” Eugene confessed.

“If we call for some alcohol, they'll bring up as much as we want, so why should you be sorry? Also, I don’t really feel like drinking right now, so you don’t need to worry about that,” Anise assured him.

“So even you have times like that?” Eugene asked in surprise.

“Yes, even I find myself feeling quite surprised. Even though I like alcohol so much, there are still times when I don’t feel like drinking. Thank you, Hamel, for teaching me something I didn’t know about myself,” Anise said sarcastically while pouting her lips.

After spending a few moments thinking about how to deal with Anise when she was in this state, Eugene stretched out his hand. When his hand eventually came to rest on her shoulder, Anise looked up at Eugene in surprise.

“Wh-what is it?” Anise stuttered.

Anise shouted back at her, [Kristina! Have you gone completely insane?]

“Such... such a shameful deed...!” Kristina falteringly laid the full blame on Anise, then bowed her head in apology towards Eugene.

Her face was so hot that it felt like it was going to explode, and her body also seemed to have lost any strength. Still keeping her head lowered, Kristina discreetly glanced up to check Eugene’s expression.

Naturally, Eugene’s face didn’t show any sign of anger. While relieved by this fact, Kristina still felt so ashamed of her own actions and the embarrassment visible on Eugene’s face that she slowly began to shuffle her feet backward.

Kristina stuttered, “S-Sir Eugene. I-I will head back to my room to offer a prayer to the Light.”

“Ah... yeah,” Eugene awkwardly responded.

“I-I-I hope that you... a-also, have a good day....” Despite stammering, Kristina somehow managed to finish her sentence, but her legs were shaking so much that she was finding it hard to walk.

Eventually, Kristina proved unable to walk more than a few steps before stumbling and grabbing onto the sofa.

“A-are you okay?” Eugene hesitantly asked.

“I’m fine! There’s no need to worry. Thank you,” Kristina quickly spat out before she tried to walk away once more.

Perhaps it was thanks to the anxiety and desperation in her heart that, this time, her shaky legs were able to move properly.

Boom!

The door that Kristina had gone through was slammed shut behind her. Trying his best to ignore the groans and screams that he could hear coming from the inside of her room, Eugene traced his lips with a finger.

To think that her tongue would actually slip in...! It wasn’t like he hadn’t had any experience of this kind of thing in his previous life, so why had he been so surprised when it happened? Eugene tried to calm down his rapidly beating heart as he sat back down on the sofa once more.

~

After some time had passed and the day had turned into evening, Mer and Raimira returned.

The two had put on even more accessories than when they had left the penthouse. In Mer’s case, she was just wearing a crown on her head, but Raimira had made great use of her horns, hanging several crowns on each of her horns like they were rings.

“What’s that?” Eugene asked, looking at what Mer was holding in her hand.

Mer answered, “It’s the Giabella Balloon.”

Did she even have to go so far as to make the balloons in her image as well? Eugene thought as he looked at the floating balloon depicting Noir’s face.

“Alright... did you have fun?” Eugene asked, changing the subject.

“Yes!”

“We didn’t even manage to see a quarter of the whole Square! Benefactor, it seems like this city is just packed full of hopes and dreams.”

Mer and Raimira rushed over to sit on either side of Eugene and started chattering away.

The two first talked about how many things there were to see and eat in this city, and then, after that, they talked about how their Special Special Coin had left so many people looking at them in envy.

“It looks like you’ve eaten plenty of snacks while walking around, so you might not need to even have dinner,” Eugene teased.

“That’s not true,” Mer denied.

“It has already been digested,” Raimira added.

Euguene received the response that he had been expecting.

He thought about going out to eat, but in the end, he ended up ordering room service because he was being considerate of Kristina and Anise, who had yet to come out of their room.

Eugene called out to them, “Do you want any dinner?”

“We’re fine...,” was the only reply he received.

That said, wouldn’t it be too pitiful to leave those two alone in their room while everyone else went out to eat? Time passed quickly as Eugene sat on the sofa, listening to Mer and Raimira chatter away, and the food they had ordered soon arrived.

“...What’s with that cake?” Eugene asked the server.

The dining table in the living room was soon filled with a luxurious spread of food, but the dish that stood out the most, even amongst all this extravagance, was a tall, several-tiered wedding cake.

Mer and Raimira’s eyes shook with desire when they saw the cake. It was covered not only in chocolate but also in various types of creams and fruits.

“This is the cake that our Queen has ordered for you,” the server replied.

Eugene scowled, “Take it away immediate—”

The moment he was about to order the cake to be removed from the table, he saw the despair rising up in Mer and Raimira’s eyes.

Eugene quickly gave in, “...Just leave it here and get lost.”

“Please enjoy your meal,” the night demons who had carried in the food bowed and withdrew from the room.

“Eat the cake after you’ve finished dinner,” Eugene instructed.

The two kids, who weren’t actually kids, let out loud squeals of cheers.

Thinking that there might be a few other dishes that Noir had ordered, apart from the cake, made Eugene lose his appetite for some reason, but what crime could the food have committed? In fact, the food actually tasted delicious.

While eating, Eugene picked up the remote control. When he turned on the TV, whose use he had become accustomed to while staying at a hotel the last time he was here in Helmuth, the very first thing that came on screen was the local news channel of Giabella City.

“...,” the whole table went silent.

The image of Eugene climbing into the Giabella-Face with Noir was being shown on screen. At this sight, Raimiara started choking as the food she was swallowing got stuck in her throat, and horrified, Mer peeked at Eugene’s expression.

However, Eugene simply changed the channel without showing any particular reaction. The channel he landed on this time was a news channel that aired throughout Helmuth.

[The Hero, Eugene Lionheart, was seen visiting Giabella City, which is ruled by Duke Giabella. Accompanied by the Saint, Kristina Rogeris, and holding the hands of two children, he looked more like a young father than a Hero.]

[For what purpose has he, the Hero, come to Giabella City? Could it be that he just came to enjoy himself in Giabella Park, which Duke Giabella has worked so hard to complete? Or perhaps, was he there to meet Duke Giabella?]

[Looking at the way he seems to have climbed into the Giabella-Face, we believe that it is most likely the latter, but, well, not even a year has passed since the Hero defeated the newborn Demon King....]

[He has been in hiding since then, so why show himself in Giabella City now?]

[This might be a sensitive topic, but hasn’t Duke Giabella always shown a great fondness for Eugene Lionheart? Even when Duke Gavid arrived in Shimuin to convey the will of the Demon King of Incarceration, didn’t Duke Giabella follow along with him?]

[Yes, it is said that the Hero and Duke Giabella left everyone behind at the banquet in order to have a private conversation alone....]

As the panelists continued to exchange conversation, Mer and Raimira’s shoulders couldn’t help but begin to shake in fear.

However, once more, Eugene didn’t show much of a reaction.

Instead, Eugene grinned and muttered to himself, “Even though I didn’t say anything, they already took care of it on their own.”