“Miss Claire!” I yelled.
The Demon Queen looked on in a daze as Claire collapsed before her eyes. Crimson blood flowed out of Claire’s body where she lay on the ground. The Demon Queen bled as well, from her flank, but she showed no sign of noticing that as she continued to stare blankly at Claire.
“Move it! You’re in the way!” I pushed aside the Demon Queen, forgetting my fear of her from only moments ago, and took a look at Claire’s wound. It was deep.
“Ah…aaaah!” The Demon Queen stepped back fearfully, falling to her knees and clutching her head. “Aaaaaaaaaagh!”
She screamed as though all the despair she’d experienced up until now was nothing compared to this moment—but right then, I really couldn’t give a damn.
“Lady Manaria, Miss Lilly, help me out!” I called, breaking them out of their stupor.
They quickly returned to their senses and ran forward, using their healing magic alongside me.
“Rae, we need to use an ultra-grade potion!” Manaria said.
“We can’t, she’s unconscious!”
“Feed her mouth-to-mouth or something, just get it in her!”
As Manaria suggested, I fed the potion to Claire mouth-to-mouth. Her lips were horrifyingly cold. Why was it that so many of our precious kisses had to be sad ones?
Together, we healed her as best as we possibly could. But her body kept getting colder and colder.
“Miss Claire, no… You promised me! You said we’d all make it home together!” I said as I wiped away my tears, not stopping my healing for a moment. She’d promised me, so there was no way in hell she’d choose suicide. There had to be more to this.
“Demon Queen!” Manaria yelled.
Shoulders trembling, the Demon Queen raised her head.
“Come over here and heal Claire! Are you really going to let her die like this?!”
The Demon Queen grimaced, her mind greatly conflicted. Her one desire had finally fallen into her hands, but it terrified her. My mirror image looked on in horror as the fear of loss that eternity had worn away reared its ugly head one last time.
“What are you waiting for?! Miss Claire will die at this rate! Please, Demon Queen, save her!” I pleaded without shame.
Only she could save Claire now.
“I-If I use the Loop System,” she said, “then—”
“I’m afraid I can’t allow that, Rei.”
“TAIM!”
Lilly’s tone had changed. TAIM was in control of her now. “I veto your usage of the Loop System.”
“What?! Why are you getting in my way?!” the Demon Queen demanded.
“Is Claire François’s death not what you wanted?” TAIM asked.
“Fine, I’ll just override you with—”
“Your administrator privileges, yes. Those will bring the Loop System online, but Claire François will be dead by the time the System finishes deliberating with itself.”
“That can’t be…!” The Demon Queen grimaced.
Staring down at her, TAIM calmly said, “Make the choice, Demon Queen: Lose her for all eternity or continue for all eternity.”
“Nngh…gaaaargh!” The Demon Queen was in terrible anguish as she staggered toward us. I quickly cleared the way for her as she knelt down by Claire’s side. “I’m tired of it all. I’m tired of spending eternities alone, and I’m tired of feeling my love for you slip through my fingers…”
“Demon Queen, please hurry!” I pleaded.
Manaria and Lilly echoed my pleas.
“Rae, please!”
“Rae!”
“I want to end it all… I’m done with life…and yet…” the Demon Queen said, her words carrying the weight of forever. “I still can’t give up on you!”
A pure-white light began to glow around Claire. It was brighter than even the pope’s Area Heal, likely being a magnitude stronger.
“The wound…”
“It’s healing…”
“A-amazing…”
The wound on Claire’s stomach began to knit, alongside the wounds on Manaria, Lilly, and me.
“Nngh…”
“Miss Claire?!”
“Rae?” Claire opened her eyes. Her pale face had regained its color. She seemed a bit out of it, but she smiled upon glancing over and seeing the Demon Queen beside her. As though everything had been planned, she said, “Yes… I knew you were still Rae, deep down.”
“Claire, you idiot!” Before I knew it, I was tugging Claire’s cheeks apart. She stared at me, surprised. Even I was surprised by what I was doing, but the words just wouldn’t stop pouring out. “What were you thinking?! What would you have done if the Demon Queen chose not to save you?!”
“R-Rae, calm down for me, will you?”
“This is calm! How could you do such a thing after our promise?! I was…so worried about you…” I couldn’t muster up any more words of complaint. I cried my heart out and pounded my fists against Claire’s chest like a spoiled child. “You dunce, you idiot, you fool!”
“I’m sorry, Rae. I’m sorry I scared you. Please forgive me.” Claire hugged me and apologized over and over as though consoling a child. Each time she apologized, I told myself I wouldn’t forgive her. But then she said, “But this wasn’t a blind gamble, Rae. Did you not notice Her Holiness was at the ready nearby?”
“Huh?”
She pointed behind me. I slowly turned my head around and saw the pope there with her usual expressionless look.
“Oh, you really didn’t notice, Rae? Huh. So that’s why your acting was so realistic,” Manaria said with a wry grin.
Then her earlier stupor wasn’t really a stupor at all—she was just waiting to see how things would play out?
“Lilly Lilium noticed as well, although that didn’t prevent her from being worried,” TAIM said with a wry smile.
Wait… So the only ones actually shocked at all were the Demon Queen and me?
“I want to die,” I said out of sheer embarrassment.
“I said I’m sorry, didn’t I?” said Claire. “I was hoping to trick the Demon Queen, but it slipped my mind that I might also trick you, similar as you are.” She sighed and hugged me tightly as I continued to sniffle.
“I’m definitely punishing you for this later, Miss Claire,” I said.
“Yes, yes, I understand. I’m more than happy to let you do as you please. More importantly… Demon Queen?”