The Demon Queen lifted her face, looking a little annoyed.
“You said you wanted to free this world from its curse of death and rebirth, did you not?” Claire asked.
“I did.”
“You might be right in calling the loops a curse. But those loops are a part of the world at this point. If they’re to be ended, it should be not because of your own feelings but by the will of the people of this world.”
The Demon Queen didn’t say anything back.
“In the first place, the only reason I’m even here today is thanks to the efforts and sacrifice of many,” Claire said. “My life doesn’t belong to myself alone; it’s shared by all those dear to me, and thus, isn’t mine to offer. If everyone chose to offer my death in exchange for the world, then so be it, but—”
“Absolutely not!” Lilly, Manaria, and I immediately interjected.
“You see? That’s what they would say.”
The Demon Queen remained silent.
“Oh, and what I said earlier about people not being meant to love for eternity was a lie.”
“Really?” The Demon Queen asked.
“For the most part.” Claire pulled the Demon Queen in as well, embracing us both. “Demon Queen, people can’t bear the eternity you desire. But what’s to prevent this moment right here, right now from lasting for eternity?”
“I don’t understand.” The Demon Queen shook her head.
Claire smiled. “Who’s to say time can erode the feelings we share in the now? Aren’t we the ones who decide what eternity means?”
Claire explained with an example: Was the love shared by a couple who could only spend a month together before disease separated them in any way inferior to the love shared by a couple that was able to stay together for life? Surely not. Hence, eternal love couldn’t possibly be something bound by time.
“Shouldn’t the only thing that decides whether a love is eternal be the depth of one’s feelings?” she asked.
In other words, even if one’s time with another couldn’t be long, if the feelings were genuine, they’d be eternal.
“People must decide what eternity means themselves,” Claire said. “You tried seeking an objective truth in something subjective. That’s where you went wrong.”
“I was…wrong?”
“Yes, very.”
The Demon Queen hung her head sadly.
“How much longer are you going to touch Miss Claire, Demon Queen? She’s mine. Hands off.”
“But…”
“No buts. How dare you make such a face after telling Claire to end her own life. Have some shame!”
“Now, now, Rae. Let’s not bully Rae too much, okay?” Claire chided.
“That’s so confusing, just call that one Demon Queen!”
We bantered back and forth, but I didn’t lower my guard against the Demon Queen one bit. There was no telling when she might go back to rambling her insane nonsense.
“There’s no need to worry about that, Rae Taylor,” said TAIM.
“Haven’t I already asked you to stop reading my mind like that?”
“Indeed, you have. Forgive me.”
“So, why is it I don’t have to worry?”
“The Demon Queen has already discarded her administrator privileges.”
I thought back to the ultimatum TAIM had given the Demon Queen. I supposed she had been asking her to choose between Claire or her administrator privileges.
“Then who’s the administrator now?” I asked.
“The privileges are in the middle of changing hands, but by default, the next administrator will be the one identified as vice-administrator, Claire François.”
“M-me?!” Claire exclaimed. Her surprise was understandable, as she had practically just been told that she would soon have power to rule humanity as a whole. “I’m sorry, but I will have to decline. I don’t think I’d be fit for the role.”
“You have the right to refuse, but you will temporarily need to occupy the role of administrator for the time being,” TAIM said.
“I see… That’s quite the bother,” Claire sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
“Indeed, quite the bother it is… It’s best we take care of the source of all this bother right here.”
In an instant, our surroundings became pitch-black.
“What’s going on?!” Claire exclaimed.
“TAIM, what are you doing?!” the Demon Queen demanded.
“What I was designed to do: Secure the continuation of mankind. Unfortunately, mankind itself has proven too frail to handle the duty.”
Her words were the last thing I heard before my consciousness faded to black.
When I next opened my eyes, I was under an unfamiliar ceiling. I sat up and looked around to find a hygienic-looking room. This was probably one of the Spiritual Church’s clinics.
I thought I’d call for someone when I noticed a person sleeping on my legs. “Lady Manaria?”
“Zzz… Rae…? Rae!” Manaria’s eyes shot open upon hearing my voice. After checking that I was awake, she hugged me tightly.
Ow, ow, ow! “Lady Manaria, that hurts!”
“Oh, sorry. I was just so happy to see you back. I thought you’d never wake up. Are you hurt anywhere?” She got off and looked into my eyes.
“Not really… Just where you hugged me, I guess.”
“Aha ha, you’re well enough if you can joke already. You’ve been asleep since we fought the demons. It’s been a month.”
“A month?!” I exclaimed. That explained why Manaria had reacted like that. “I must’ve made you worry, but I’m okay now. More importa—”
“I maintained your body with healing magic, so you shouldn’t have suffered any muscular atrophy.”
“Oh, um, thank you. More importantly, where’s Miss Claire?” I asked the one thing I’d been dying to know. I meant Manaria no disrespect, but the one who should’ve been by my side when I woke up was Claire, not her. Her absence made me fear the worst.
“Claire?” Manaria echoed.
“Yes. Did you not bring Miss Claire here as well? Where is she? Is she hurt?” This wasn’t one of those twist endings where the heroine passed away, right?
“Um, Rae? Can I ask you something?” Manaria asked with a quizzical look.
“Y-yeah?”
I could never have predicted the next words to leave her mouth.
“Who’s Claire?”