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The current Helmuth could no longer be called an empire, but Pandemonium had been the capital of the most powerful empire on the continent until just half a year ago. Since then, the empire had collapsed, and Pandemonium had been uprooted from its original location and planted in the former neutral zone between Yuras and Helmuth. The constantly illuminated streets and the concrete skyscrapers that had once symbolized Pandemonium had also disappeared.

“I still feel like it would have been better just to tear it all down,” Eugene said as he looked down on Pandemonium from the skies above.

The walls of the city had crumbled. Most of the buildings had also collapsed. The majority of the destruction had been caused by Melkith, and whatever remained had been almost completely destroyed by the descent of the Demon King of Destruction and the subsequent battle.

Eugene turned and asked, “How is it? Do you sense anything?”

As this casual question was tossed his way, Vermouth, who had been standing next to Eugene, reopened his closed eyes. He looked down on Pandemonium for a few moments and then slowly nodded.

“He swapped the two sides,” Vermouth declared.

“What?” Eugene frowned in incomprehension.

Vermouth explained, “The original city was swapped with the dimension on the other side of this space.”

As Vermouth’s finger drew a circle in the air, it created a slight gap in space through which a whole different vista was made visible.

Tall concrete skyscrapers could be seen on the other side of the circle. It was the same cityscape Eugene had seen during his last visit to Pandemonium.

“I thought that he had just torn everything down and built over it,” Eugene muttered as he crossed his arms and pondered this new information.

After considering the few options that met their requirements, Eugene had decided on Pandemonium as the new home of the Lionhearts. As for the minor problem that this vast area of land was far away from Kiehl’s borders… he had already discussed this matter with the Emperor.

The greedy Emperor had suggested that the Patriarch of the Lionheart clan be granted the title of the Grand Duke of Kiehl and that Pandemonium, which no one was currently claiming ownership of, be made the fief of the Grand Duke. His goal was to turn Pandemonium into the Lionheart Duchy. If that were to happen, then from the Kiehl Empire’s perspective, not only would they be able to cling on tightly to the Lionhearts, but they would even gain various other benefits, including a brand new duchy.

At present, Pandemonium was located on the border between Helmuth and Yuras. If Pandemonium were to become the Lionheart Duchy, the Imperial Family of Kiehl would easily be able to keep a close eye on Yuras and could even interfere in the ongoing internal affairs of Helmuth, which was slowly transforming itself into a republic.

—Well, aren’t you greedy?

Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out the way the Emperor wanted.

As a result, the Lionhearts refused the title of Grand Duke, and the ownership of this huge area of land now solely belonged to the Lionhearts.

And now, all they needed to do was think about how they should fill this large plot of land.

“The existing city is too high maintenance,” Eugene eventually decided.

Helmuth’s capital, Pandemonium, was able to maintain its constantly lit streets and its forest of skyscrapers because of the enormous amounts of dark power that had been provided by the Demon King of Incarceration. Of course, with Eugene’s strength, he might not be able to cover the entirety of Helmuth, but he could easily provide enough power to supply the needs of Pandemonium. However, Eugene didn’t want to do that.

Pandemonium had been an extremely deformed city from the very start. It could only exist thanks to all of the knowledge that the Demon King of Incarceration had been able to accumulate as he lived through one world after another. Since Eugene didn’t have any of that knowledge, he would soon reach his limits by just having to restore and maintain the city.

“I can design a new city for you,” a voice laden with amusement said, causing Eugene to glance back over his shoulder.

Standing there, with her arms crossed, was Noir. Just like Sienna had said, the doll’s body had changed appearance to match Noir’s soul.

Eugene had feared that maybe, just maybe… the doll\'s appearance would transform into that of Aria, the Twilight Witch, but the doll’s body appeared exactly the same as Noir’s had when she was alive.

She had died not as Aria, the Twilight Witch, but as Noir Giabella, the Queen of the Night Demons.

“If I have access to the Demoneye of Fantasy, I can raise buildings in an instant. Of course, I would require Sienna Merdein\'s cooperation to do so,” Noir said as she leaned closer to Eugene with a grin. “You remember Giabella City, don\'t you, dear? I made that whole place by myself. When I made Giabella City, my power and control of my Demoneye were still lacking, so I needed to oversee the construction personally. However, now….”

Eugene stared at Noir with a blank expression.

If he tore down all of the ruins left below, only a wasteland would remain. To build a brand new city on top of that, he would need to borrow the necessary manpower from elsewhere. He already had access to the dwarves, who were bursting to create something new and filled with extra vigor because of that. If he could get the support of the wizards of Aroth on top of that, as well as borrowing manpower from the various countries of the continent…

…just how long would it take?

Honestly, Eugene couldn’t even come up with a rough estimate. Eugene just didn’t have any experience with this sort of thing. However, considering the size of his future territory, it seemed like it would take several years at the very least.

“You know I’m not going to do something evil at this point, don’t you? In the first place, there is no way for me to rebel against you and Sienna Merdein,” Noir whispered quietly, noticing Eugene’s concern. “Because my soul belongs solely to you. Now that I have this chance, I want to enjoy my present with you.”

Eugene shook his head and said, “I know you can’t do anything stupid, but I don’t trust your… taste.”

“My taste? Oh my gosh! Hamel, I can’t believe I’m hearing such a thing from you, of all people!” Noir gasped, feeling offended.

“What’s wrong with me?” Eugene frowned.

“Do you really not know the answer to that? Hamel! You only ever wear one type of outfit! That same red shirt, and your cloak! And in rare cases, the Lionheart’s dress uniform!” Noir complained.

“What’s wrong with that?” Eugene asked defensively.

Noir lifted her chin and said proudly, “I am Noir Giabella. The head of the giant Giabella Corporation! My reach extends far beyond Helmuth, for I am the one who led the cultural trends all across the continent.”

During her lifetime, Noir ran several companies while also serving as one of Helmuth’s Dukes. Under her presidency, the three areas in which her Giabella Corporation had made a name were construction, entertainment agencies, and fashion. Noir might have died, but the legacy she left behind while she was alive still remained relevant within Helmuth and continued to have a great influence everywhere else.

Eugene silently recalled his memories of Giabella City.

In his mind, the city had been focused solely on the pursuit of pleasure.

Eugene frowned and said, “From now on, this territory will be ruled by the Lionhearts. If all of the buildings are colored with your crazy taste in design, what will the citizens of the territory think of us?”

“They would just think that the Lionheart’s Patriarch must be bursting with joy,” Noir grumbled with a pout on her lips. “Also, I have to say, Giabella City was designed like that in the first place because the city’s main purpose was to serve as a theme park. And my Giabella Construction Company doesn’t just make cities like that; it has made plenty of other ordinary cities as well. Do you know just how many cities I’ve constructed in Helmuth over the past three hundred years?”

“Let me ask Sienna for her opinion first. In any case, if I do leave it up to you, just how long would the construction take?” Eugene asked after a pause.

“Let’s see now… considering the size of the territory… hmmm… but what do you intend to do with that?” Noir asked as she turned her head.

Outside of the collapsed city walls, there remained the battlefield on which the Divine Army and the demonfolk armies of Helmuth had clashed and where the countless corpses of the Nur had lain before they had disappeared along with the death of the Demon King of Destruction.

“They say they’re going to make that area into a national park,” Eugene recalled. “They’re also going to build a huge memorial in the center of that park. And also… they said there will be lots of other stuff there as well.”

“By that, they probably just mean a war museum. But since it’s come to this, why don’t we also connect your territory to that place?” Noir said with a smile, her eyes shining with delight. “Wouldn’t it be much more symbolic to connect the park to the city of the Lionhearts, the ones responsible for saving the world? We could build a Heroes Square between the city and the park, or perhaps a Square solely for the Hero, and we can also put up your statue there.”

Eugene remained silent.

“Hamel, how about building the academy that you’ve always wanted to create over there as well?” Noir proposed. “It would fit in perfectly, and we could also put the Square and the Memorial right on the school grounds.”

The more Eugene listened to her speak, the more he felt inclined to leave the city\'s design to Noir.

As she watched Eugene’s expression begin to shift towards acceptance, Noir asked with a wide smile, “And didn’t you say that you wanted to build a river through the forest, as well?”

If Sienna had been here with them, her whole face would have been flushed red and she would surely have screeched at the thought, but Sienna wasn’t here right now.

She was preparing to move the entire forest that covered the Lionheart estate and was also making preparations to magically link the forest to the World Tree all the way in the Samar Rainforest once she had finished transplanting it here.

Sienna was creating this link to hasten the recovery of the World Tree, which would otherwise be forced into a long slumber lasting well into the future. There were currently three saplings of the World Tree growing within the forest on the Lionheart’s main estate. They were still very immature compared to the World Tree in the rainforest. Still, if the growing saplings were grafted to the World Tree by using magic to connect the two spatial coordinates… they might be able to wake Vishur from her slumber much faster than the Sage had initially planned.

“The river might be going a tad too far,” Eugene reluctantly muttered.

It’s not like it couldn’t be done if he truly insisted on doing it, but it would definitely seem a bit excessive to reroute an entire river.

Noir giggled at this response and nodded while agreeing, “It would definitely be excessive. We’re so far from the sea after all. In any case, if we include the park in the designs, then… hm….”

Noir rubbed her chin as she looked back and forth between the city of Pandemonium and the barren plains.

“How many citizens are you thinking of accepting?” Noir eventually asked.

Eugene shrugged, “Who knows….”

“You really haven’t given it any thought, have you? That’s fine. I’ll just have to think about it for you. Now let’s see… considering Pandemonium’s original population…. Hmm, once the city is completed, there will definitely be an overflow of people from all over the continent wanting to immigrate. If we consider future growth and adjust for the population density…. Do you intend to fill your territory solely with citizens from Kiehl?” Noir suddenly asked Eugene.

“Ah… well… no?” Eugene stuttered out a response as he glanced at Vermouth.

Vermouth shrugged, asking, “Why are you looking at me?”

“Well… don’t you have anything to contribute to these plans?” Eugene pressed.

“If it’s a problem like this, Molon would be more helpful than me,” Vermouth muttered.

Any further words from Vermouth were cut short as Noir muttered to herself, “Indeed, that does seem to be the case. After all, Vermouth Lionheart, after you settled down in Kiehl, you were solely obsessed with siring child after child.”

Vermouth stared at Noir with a trembling expression, unsure what to say. To be honest, he wasn’t adjusting well to her presence. Who would have thought that he would actually end up being able to have a conversation like this with the Queen of the Night Demons, Noir Giabella…?

Eugene cleared his throat, “If we only accept immigrants from Kiehl, that would be showing far too much favoritism to Kiehl.”

Noir nodded sharply. “Fine then. Hamel, let’s just start here. Exactly what kind of academy do you intend to establish? There’s no way it would be a place that just teaches accounting or something like that.”

Eugene hesitated, “Ah… we’ll teach swordsmanship… and other types of weapons… perhaps fighting in general? I also think that it would be good to teach magic as well. And also, well, maybe a few other things….”

Noir raised an eyebrow and inquired, “So you intend to teach your students anything they wish to learn? On top of that, you’ll be opening your city to everyone, so that people from any country can immigrate here. Are you just going to get rid of all racial barriers as well?”

Eugene shrugged and said, “I don’t know about Sienna, but I believe in treating all races equally. Elves and dwarves, for sure, but even giants or beastfolk—”

“What about demonfolk?” Noir asked with a mischievous smile.

Conscious of the chain he was holding in his pocket, Eugene replied, “As long as we make sure they have the right ideology.”

Noir changed the topic, “So long as the population is sufficient, we can somehow get an industry running, but what about your initial budget? Will you be opening up the Lionheart’s coffers?”

Eugene rubbed his chin. “There might be some sponsorship coming in from other countries….”

So far, no one had offered to fund the construction. However, if he were the one to ask them, they definitely wouldn’t be able to refuse.

Eugene’s response had Noir clapping her hands excitedly. She exclaimed, “Alright, so the initial budget needed to run the new city will be covered by the subsidies from the various countries. Once the city’s industry is running, I’m sure there’ll be enough circulation of funds to keep our finances in the green, don’t you think?”

Eugene murmured, “Well… I don’t see why not….”

“Alright then. To summarize… there will be no national or racial restrictions placed on the immigrants to the New Lionheart City. Anyone will be able to immigrate and live in the city so long as they follow the necessary procedures. With such a cosmopolitan city, you’ll surely be able to make a lot of money just from the tourism industry alone. On top of that, there will even be an academy that teaches a wide variety of subjects!” Noir’s excited clapping grew even louder.

“If we use your connections, we should be able to fill up as many teaching positions as the Academy requires. If that doesn’t work out, you can even go up and stand at the podium yourself. Hmm, on that basis alone, the academy is sure to attract at least ten thousand students. Perhaps we should consider charging admission fees. It would be easy for us to name our prices.”

“Well, isn’t that a bit…,” Eugene seemed hesitant.

“You’ll be able to teach practical martial arts, knightly training, magic, theology, and even spirit summoning…. Ah, and you can even include lessons from the dwarves as well, can’t you? What an amazing vision for a city, and so idealistic. You’re probably the only person in history who could create a city like this,” Noir said with an admiring sigh.

Eugene frowned and asked, “Are you being sarcastic or what?”

“Sarcastic! No, I truly am impressed. The Lionheart’s new city will be a much more impressive city than my own Giabella City, and I’m the one who will be responsible for building it, won’t I?” Noir smiled brightly as she embraced Eugene’s arms. “Should I also take a stand at the podium? An academy doesn’t necessarily only have to teach younger students. If there are classes for adults… but, hm, teaching sexual education to the younger students might be a nice change of pace as well.”

“Stop with that bullshit. So exactly how long will it take?” Eugene demanded, shaking off Noir’s blatant attempt to squeeze his arm between her chest.

Noir shook her head. “First of all, I have to summon my employees in the Giabella Corporation from Helmuth to get their advice. I’ll also need Sienna’s help.”

“How are you planning on using the Demoneye of Fantasy? You’re not going to do something too draining, like linking reality with your fantasies, are you?” Eugene asked cautiously.

“If I don’t do something like that, the time taken will be far too long. Don’t worry. I have no intention of turning the place into a nightmare. Like what we did in Babel, I will align my power with Sienna Merdein’s magic to alter reality…. That said, since creating something out of nothing is extremely difficult…,” Noir, who had been calculating various sums in her head, turned to Vermouth and asked, “Let’s use the materials from the abandoned city on the other side of Pandemonium, does that sound plausible?”

It wasn’t just Eugene who was having a hard time keeping up with the rapid pace of the conversation. As he had said, Vermouth had no experience when it came to such things, so he just nodded his head with a bewildered expression.

“One month,” Noir said with a bright smile. “In one month, I will create the most impressive city in the entire continent atop these ruins and plains. A city where the cultures and values of all races can come together, and they can enjoy various sensual pleasures—”

“No way,” Eugene interrupted Noir’s vision with a harsh rejection.

Noir pouted and grumbled, “Do you really think it makes sense for a city of this size not to have a red-light district? Hamel, even if you reject the idea, the people of the city will desperately desire its construction.”

Eugene finally conceded, “I won’t allow any succubus clubs.”

“Fine, we can draw the line on what is humanely acceptable by following the laws of the continent,” Noir snorted before shrugging her shoulders in a compromise. “Now, as payment for all of this construction, Hamel, how about compensating for my services with a night in your bed?”

Eugene scowled. “Are you insane?”

“Then how about just a kiss?” Noir kept trying.

“Get lost,” Eugene impatiently shooed her off.

“I always knew you were a cold-hearted person,” Noir calmly sighed, showing no signs of displeasure despite the repeated rejections.

As a first step, she had been promised ten years of life. If they could spend that amount of time together without trying to kill each other, then, as their hatred slowly faded away… Noir chuckled to herself with a seductive smile.

“Now that you’re alive again, you should have these back,” Eugene suddenly said as he reached to grab the necklace hanging around his neck.

Strung on the necklace were the rings that he had received from Noir during the moments when Giabella City had collapsed around them. The rings were a matching pair that had both Hamel and Noir’s names engraved onto them. Now that Noir had been resurrected like this, there was no longer any need for Eugene to keep wearing this necklace.

“I don’t want them,” Noir quickly said, just as Eugene was about to take the rings off of the necklace. “Strictly speaking, it’s not like I am currently alive, now am I? I still can’t have children either.”

“But you’re also not dead,” Eugene tried to argue.

“I still believe that I am actually dead. I’ve just been turned into something like an undead. As such, regarding those rings….” Noir raised her finger with a faint smile.

Click.

Her approaching finger tapped on the pair of rings hanging from the necklace. “You should keep them. Though, if you ever want to return those rings to me… huhu, it should only be after we get into a relationship where it would be appropriate for you to offer me a ring.”

“That sounds like a terrible idea,” Eugene said, shaking his head with a twisted expression.

But he didn’t move to pull the rings off of the necklace.

Openbookworm & DantheMan\'s Thoughts

Momo: Looks like Noir is back to building her enterprise, the savvy business woman that she is.