81. Sleep Won't Come

Say you’re meeting someone for the very first time. What’s the best way to win them over? My take? Probably making yourself look as good as you possibly can. There’s a reason people throw around sayings like “looks are everything” and words like “lookism.”

“Sorry, but you’re just not my style, Lady Eligos.”

But there’s also that phrase, “the fallacy of hasty generalization.” Not everyone sizes other people up through a lens tinted by their looks. I certainly didn’t.

“Is that truly so?”

Eligos took my hand and stroked it.

Ooh.

Her fingers glided over the back of my hand, impossibly soft for a demon’s. Or no. Maybe her touch was this soft precisely because she was a demon, all the better for seducing humans. Either way, the way she worked it was not the handiwork of a woman who’d reeled in a man only once or twice.

“Ahem. Aren’t you a little too close?”

We were still close enough to share each other’s breath.

“Because it seemed to me that this way you might grow more conscious of me.”
“I’m plenty conscious of you. You’re someone who’s going to play an important role, after all.”
“You are not conscious of me as a woman, though. I should like you to look upon me as one.”
“But you’re a demon, Lady Eligos.”
“Nowhere in all the Demon Realm is there a law forbidding a demon and a human from courting.”
“Is there even such a thing as law in the Demon Realm to begin with?”

At my question, Eligos let out a soft laugh. Her breath had been too close already; now her laughter was, too.

“No. What law could there be in the Demon Realm? Were there any, it would hardly be the Demon Realm.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”

In the middle of our exchange, Eligos abruptly laced her fingers through mine. She was fundamentally stronger than me, so even if I’d wanted to run, breaking free wasn’t an option.

“So let us try it, you and I.”
“Try what?”
“You know full well what I mean.”

Her fingers still threaded through mine, Eligos leaned into my shoulder. The wind blew, and her violet hair swayed and rippled at the edge of my vision. She must have come thoroughly prepared, because every time it stirred, the scent of flowers wafted off it. And just as that thought was crossing my mind…

“Take a breath of it.”
“Huh?”
“No back talk.”

She grabbed a fistful of her own hair and held it right under my nose. With no choice in the matter, I breathed in, and the scent of lavender reached my nose. Not bad.

Her red eyes looked up at me as she spoke.

“Well? How is it?”
“Not bad.”
“‘Not bad,’ she says. Now that is a rather hurtful thing to hear.”

It struck me that if you gave a haughty cat human form, this was probably what you’d get.

Hadn’t I volunteered for the night watch precisely to sort out my thoughts? So much for that. The scent of lavender had taken over my head completely, and before the smell could brand itself onto my soul, I pushed her away.

“I’ll say it one more time — you’re just not my type, Lady Eligos.”

Even as she let herself be pushed, she didn’t unlace her fingers from mine.

“And yet for someone saying that, your emotions are churning something fierce.”

When she pulled, I was dragged back in as if by a magnet, and she moved to lean her head on my shoulder again.

“That’s a separate matter entirely.”

I arched back out of the way. But as if she’d seen it coming, she didn’t so much as wobble.

“You lie every chance you get.”

Instead, she let her head drift down into empty air, as though my shoulder were still there.

That bizarre little maneuver snapped me back to my senses. Right. She was a demon. A creature that seduced humans and coveted their souls.

“What is it you wish to do with me?”

Like I said before, if you had to put Eligos in animal terms, she was a haughty old cat. The kind that loves only itself and can’t be bothered to spare any affection for anyone else.

I raised the hand laced with hers. Her gaze followed it up to our interlocked fingers. And so I…

“…What are you doing!”

…drove my forehead straight into Eligos’s, with everything I had.

Rubbing my throbbing forehead, I answered.

“You asked what I wanted to do with you, so I just did exactly that.”

At that, Eligos wrenched her brows into a scowl and cried out.

“You felt some fondness for me until just a moment ago — I am certain of it!”
“I’ve been plenty fond of you ever since you signed the Fifteenth Demon Realm over to me, though?”
“Not that sort of business arrangement! I mean fondness — regarding my very being as a woman you could want!”

Watching Eligos huff and seethe pulled me even further back to my senses. Yeah. This woman really was a demon, all right.

“Sorry, but just because I’ve got next to no resistance to women doesn’t mean my taste isn’t crystal clear.”
“A type? Says the wretch who’s never once been in a relationship! What blasted ‘type’ could you possibly have!”

At her retort, I swallowed a dry laugh.

“And who said I’ve never been in a relationship?”
“And from whom would I need to hear it? One look and I know.”
“What about me makes you say that?”
“I know it at a glance!”

Even after I’d been crammed into the body of a top-tier beauty like Arden, the unmistakable reek of the forever-alone just wouldn’t wash off, huh.

“Fine. I’ll admit I’ve never dated anyone. But never having dated doesn’t mean I have no taste.”

That much I’d grant her. What I couldn’t accept was the claim that never dating meant having no preferences at all.

“Every human being, every last one, lives carrying a dream.”
“What nonsense is this, all of a sudden?”
“Just hear me out. A dream isn’t only some grand thing, like wanting to become someone or accomplish something. As you know, humans are creatures of endless greed. Daydreams about a future girlfriend, about a windfall of money suddenly raining down from the sky, about how you’d spend the rest of your days once you became a landlord living off the rent.”
“What is a ‘landlord’?”
“It’s a thing, trust me. Anyway, humans live dreaming these vivid, utterly far-fetched dreams day in and day out. They know the dreams will never come true, but by holding on to them and living for them, they find hope in their lives.”
“…You truly believe such idle, far-fetched fancies can amount to a reason for existing?”
“Yes, it makes plenty of sense. The ones you took in as your kin were surely all people who once dreamed dreams like that, too. They simply fell into the Demon Realm and gave those dreams up.”

In an instant, Eligos’s mouth clamped shut. Her red eyes trembled, ever so faintly.

“And on that note — sorry, but I meant it when I said you’re not my type. My taste runs less to a cat lost in its own narcissism and more to an affectionate, puppy-like sort of woman.”

After glaring at me fiercely for a moment, Eligos rose roughly to her feet.

“…Where are you going?”
“My mood has soured. Go and seek out that fine puppy of yours to your heart’s content.”
“I won’t have to go looking — she’ll come back on her own. She’s only stepped out for a little while.”

Eve would come back. Without fail.

The moment I finished speaking, I watched Eligos’s back recede as she climbed into the carriage without so much as a glance behind her.

“There’s definitely a way to defeat Bael.”

She stopped short. Her body, half-risen into the carriage, went rigid as a statue.

“I take it that little seduction act was you trying to pry the method out of me one way or another. But I can’t tell you, so spare yourself the inefficient stuff from now on.”

Eligos turned her head halfway and fixed her gaze on me. From behind her violet hair scattering in the night wind, she gave a short reply.

“…So I shall.”

With a sharp clack, the carriage door swung shut.

In the now-silent forest, only the crackle of the campfire echoed hollowly. I gave the Demonblood Stone in my pocket a light squeeze.

It hadn’t been a bluff. The way to defeat Bael really did lie inside this Demonblood Stone.

Well — not that it’s doable right this second.

For some reason, sleep wouldn’t come. Turning the question over, I figured it was probably because this was the first time I’d ever been so completely alone.

Eve, always at my side, never slept. And it wasn’t simply that she slept little.

I tried to dredge up a single memory of ever catching her asleep, but…

Nothing.

For all the time we’d spent together, it had taken me until now to notice that Eve never sank into a deep sleep.

Eve talked a lot. Any time she wasn’t busy with something, she’d chatter and prattle on, her mouth never resting for a second. I used to hush her by claiming I was getting sleepy.

Only then, alone on this long watch in the dead of night, did I understand why sleep still wouldn’t come.

My original plan had been to keep watch until sunrise. But just as the camp’s silence was deepening, the coachman finally climbed down from the carriage and all but frog-marched me back to it, practically shoving me inside.

“Young Master, an old soldier’s stubbornness is not a thing to be broken. Come now, get some sleep.”

Bowing to that unyielding insistence, I made myself lie down, though with all the tangled thoughts churning through my head, sleep didn’t seem likely to come easily.

As if to mock that worry, my body proved far more honest than its owner’s frame of mind. The fatigue I’d built up rolled in like the tide, my eyelids turned heavy as lead before I knew it, and I sank straight down into the swamp of deep sleep.

“…Mm.”

When I opened my eyes, dazzling morning sunlight was already pouring in through the window, and from outside came the boisterous racket of my companions chattering over their meal.

Figuring I’d better get a move on myself, I opened the carriage door. And just as I was about to step down…

— Thunk.

The instant a heavy weight settled onto my shoulder, my whole body locked up.

“…?”

When I turned my head, vivid red fur filled my eyes, blazing like flame. A Red Hare had buried its muzzle in my shoulder and was working it over with its lips, slobbering away in utter devotion.

— Pffffrrr—! Smack, smack.

“Augh — hey…!”

I tried to fend it off, but the thing’s neck was so strong I couldn’t budge it an inch. My sleeve was slowly getting pickled in its drool when a boisterous voice rang out from somewhere far off.

“Ooooh! Master!”

A man came running over, grinning ear to ear. Taking in the sight of me being marinated in real time, he gave the Red Hare’s reins a yank.

“Neeeiiiigh—!”

Pulled off me, the Red Hare gave its long tongue a full clockwise loop, plainly reluctant to part. The man watched and burst out laughing.

“Looks like our Ruby’s gone and recognized you’re a hero, Master! This girl’s normally first-rate at being picky about people, but the second she laid eyes on you, look at her, launching a full-on affection offensive! What a clever girl! Hahaha!”

The man’s name was Jade. He and Sylvia were the only arena minions who’d come along with us.

“Her affection offensive’s a little on the soggy side, don’t you think.”

When I grimaced and shook out my shoulder, Jade, as if he’d been waiting for the cue, proudly thrust out both of his own shoulders. They were already soaked to a glossy sheen with the Red Hare’s saliva, the leather of his uniform darkened a shade or two.

“Hahaha! Handling a fine steed means a bit of damp like this is just par for the course! Behold — my shoulders are already flooded!”
“…I guess being a fine steed and all, even her drool is something else.”
“Yes! Our Ruby’s positively brimming with energy, so even the moisture in her mouth is on a whole different level!”

At Jade’s sunny answer, all I could do was press a hand to my forehead.

Jade was the only one who called me “Master” rather than “Young Master.” No matter how stubbornly I told him to use “Young Master,” he refused. In any case, it gave me a clear read on his character. He’d groveled his way through life so long he’d practically perfected the art of toadying.

“You’ve got the route memorized, I take it?”
“Yes! I’ve got it down perfectly! I might be a touch useless when it comes to fighting, but if there’s one thing I can vouch for, it’s my memory. Ah — actually, it’s not me I can vouch for, it’s our Ruby; she’s just that clever, you see. Even if I weren’t her owner, this girl could find any road like it’s nothing. It’s gotten to the point where I’m almost embarrassed to call myself her owner, hahaha!”

Jade handed all the credit over to Ruby and gave a servile little smile.

“By the way — why’s she named Ruby?”

The instant the question left my mouth, Jade’s eyes lit up with a manic gleam. A sinking sense that I shouldn’t have asked crept down my spine, but it came too late. The deed was already done.

“Ah! You’re curious why she’s named Ruby! But of course — of course you’d be curious! I never did explain it, after all! Oh dear, oh dear, this is entirely my oversight! Master, the reason this girl is called Ruby, you see, is…!”

He suddenly took on a grave, solemn expression and cleared his throat a few times. Then, to a man who’d merely tossed out one very simple question, he launched into an epic, reciting it as though he were reading aloud from some grand founding myth or the biography of a great hero. I stared blankly at his flapping lips for a while before my gaze drifted off to the mist threading through the forest.

“…And that’s why she’s Ruby! It’s not as though she’s named Ruby just for having red fur and being a mare, you see! Hahaha — does that clear up your question now, Master?”

Jade asked, puffing out his chest as though he’d emerged victorious.

“Ah, I see. It’s a good name.”

Sorry, Jade. Truth be told, I wasn’t really listening.