The Devil Takes the Night Shift

Chapter 13: The Devil Wanted to Have fun

Rame needed to go outside to take a break from everything. Even though she kept on a brave face, one that Juuto saw straight through. The truth was that she was really upset about not being able to go to the festival.

It was strange to her, since she had never went to one of these things before. Back on Enatis, the demons never celebrated anything. Not that they had much time to do so, considering the countless engagements of violence that occurred. She had never had this feeling before. Her normality was mostly spent on fighting or training.

But her new life here was so different from that. It was a lot more boring, that's for sure, but it also was a lot nicer. Not having to worry about potential death was a feeling she never had to experience. The demon lord never once thought in her life, that it was a way anyone could live.

Honestly, she was so happy to go to this festival. Everyone that walked in was talking about it. They all seemed so happy themselves. Even Juuto, who always tried to play it down, but she could tell from the tone of his voice that even he was looking forward to it. There were a lot of things that he liked, that he always tried to pretend not to.

That's what upset her the most, as she took another bite of her food. It wasn't that her life was in danger as this mysterious stranger was hunting her down. In fact, standing right here was more than enough to invite that sort of trouble. But she didn't care because...

She couldn't go to that festival like everyone else!

Rame audibly sighed from that thought. This was just the worst. It was a little funny that a demon lord would care for such a simple thing that was celebrated by one small town on a planet with billions. The girl couldn't even fathom just how many people lived on Earth compared to Enatis. When she took over the world, that was going to take a lot of effort.

As she finished up her meal, she saw the elderly lady walking out of the store. It seemed like now was a good time to end this break. She couldn't afford to let her emotions affect her work quality. And so it was time to make her return.

"Sorry about that boss." She said as she walked in. "It was a bit early to take a break, I'm sorry about doing that to you."

"It's fine." Juuto responded as she rounded the counter. He understood the real reason she did that. The man stepped aside to allow her to man the register, but he didn't want to just leave her with his work just yet.

"You know... I was just thinking." He started. This was kind of weird to him, since he had never taken initiative about these type of things. It just never was anything that he tried to do before. "Maybe you should come to the festival."

"What?" She was shocked to him be the one to bring it up. "Oh I see, you're thinking that if I go on my own. That would make things safer for everyone, because he could just single me out." Rame still figured that was too much of a risk. After all, that man would still be attacking her out in public. But she was actually missing the point of what Juuto was trying to say. Which only caused things to be harder on him.

"I meant together." He clarified.

"What? But what about-"

"Are we suppose to live our lives in fear?" He cut her off with a question of his own. "I mean, that guy's going after us no matter what happens. But when are we going to deal with him? A week, a month? What about during all that time we're going to spend looking for him?"

"I'm not scared of him." She replied. "I can take care of myself, but what about your friends that are going to be there?"

"I do." He admitted. "And I bet if they knew the truth, they'd tell us to go anyway."

"Apparently this neighborhood doesn't care about trying to survive."

"Because we've lived in peace for pretty much most of our lives." He told her. "Sorry, it might sound really naive, but people do believe in things working out in the end." Indeed, Earth had been through a lot in it's history. Especially with human history itself. While things were certainly happening in other places in the world, the country of Japan was one that didn't have to concern itself with surviving day-to-day life. It was even more quieter in a town like this, over the hustle and bustle of a big city.

She had never thought about it like that. All her life, things had to be done so that they might see the next day. Could these people possibly be so bored that they'd be willing to take such a risk? Of course, this was all a hypothetical situation they were talking about, but he seemed confident in his answer to her.

"And it's not because I want you with me or anything." He said very clearly to her. "But, I know you were really excited to go. So you shouldn't worry about what might happen. If that guy does show up again, then we'll take care of it like last time."

"I'd hope that no one will get hurt this time though." She knew what it took to regain her powers if need be. But it wasn't going to be something that he'd favor, that much she knew. "But, I really do want to go." She wanted to go so badly, she never even knew she could care about something so deeply. After everything in her life, it didn't even sound like a thing of interest for a girl like her. Yet it was the only thing that had been on her mind as of late.

"I'm willing to accept the risk for you." He said. "Please, you don't have to be the one to suffer alone." Her eyes widened in response to his words. That was the first time she had ever heard anyone say that to her. "I know it might sound stupid, but we can handle this guy together. I'm nothing special, but I'm still your friend."

"Then... let's go!" She put up her hand to him, to which he knew meant a high-five. So that's what they did...

"Aww, that's sweet." While they were chatting it up, someone had entered the store to make their purchases. That person being Asaga of all people. Embarrassed that anyone had just witness this display, especially one that they both knew. The two of them turned away from the other, blushing madly all the way.

"Uh, is that everything?" Juuto tried his best to regain his composure. "I see you got your food already."

"I thought you were done spying on me." Rame complained at him. She never knew what it was like to feel bashful, but she wasn't a fan of it.

"I am." He had a dumb grin on his face. "And I know about our little... Situation here." He leaned in to keep their conversation away from prying eyes. "I'm planning on going to the festival too." Originally it was to keep his eye on the demon lord, but after certain events, he wasn't going to worry about her. Now he mostly wanted to go to enjoy the fanfare that was promoted. However, he also wanted to go to be make sure that nothing funny went down without him.

"Right..." Juuto contemplated the situation that was probably was going to happen on that night. "You know, if we're all there. That guy's going to pull something."

"Then we'll just be ready for it." So their plan for the night was set. It could be all fun and game, but it could easily go sideways just as easily.