[no audible dialogue]
[Noir] Combat log, shared.
Mystere makes Kanata strong.
[Maria] Do you know the Three Laws of the Magi?
Promises a Magus must follow.
Growth of the contractor.
Between me and Mystere,
who is fulfilling that promise?
Well, this is quite the pickle.
Do I congratulate Young Kanata for the Histoire of his dreams actually existing,
or do I apologize for not believing in him in the slightest until now?
So you do believe me, Mam!
You mentioned Ideal, yeah?
I'd heard rumors of unidentified Coffins and flying Carriers before,
but if that menacing crowd chased you all the way to Tunis,
there must be more to this than we thought.
Sorry to have roped you into this.
Don't be. This is not the sort of thing you should keep to yourself.
Going completely off radar with no heads up like Tokio, on the other hand…
I think Tokio has some sort of plan.
Maybe.
But for now, best keep this on the down-low.
Got it.
[Mam] You too, Ciel.
Understood.
I know you wouldn't need reminding if Young Kanata were your master.
I--
I trust Ciel, even without a contract.
Kanata…
At any rate, I'll keep an eye out for these Ideal guys.
And what are you going to do?
We aim for Histoire!
We make Mom and Dad's dream come true.
And we're not giving Noir up. Not now, not ever.
Right.
[Mam] Of course.
Rock Town would most certainly feel incomplete
without its dopey little Magus.
[laughs]
[both gasp]
Hello. We're back.
You're awake, Noir?
Yes, welcome back--
-[groaning, malfunctioning] -[Kanata exclaims]
-You should be thrilled, hack. -[Kanata gasps]
The self-repair sequence is nearly complete.
Soon, there will be no need for the dud to lounge around all day.
Should only be a few more days.
Mystere will regain her former glory.
A few days?
Does that mean you'll remember where you made contact with Histoire?
[Mystere] Yes. We will be able to pinpoint the exact location.
Yes! [laughs]
Histoire is finally within grasp!
We're going to Histoire!
This means your Master's dream can come true too. Right, Mystere?
-[Mystere] Well… -Ciel.
It's gonna get hectic. We'd better prepare ourselves right away!
[Mystere] I see it now.
You dud. That's why.
[Mystere] Only two more days.
The hack was misled earlier.
The self-repair sequence will actually complete within two days.
[Noir] In two days,
what will happen to me?
[Mystere] You have been performing exceptionally well as my safe mode.
But still,
a dud is a dud.
This may be conjecture,
but you may have been utilizing Mystere's resources all this time.
Without Mystere's permission.
I'm
sorry?
When the self-repair sequence is complete, all resources will return to Mystere.
You probably already know what that implies.
Without those resources,
your current personality and all of your memories will disappear.
Simply put, it is death for a Magus.
[Noir] Death?
[Mystere] Mystere is not beholden to you in any way,
but she will still ask nonetheless, dud.
Do you accept this?
[Noir] Is the original Mystere strong?
Very strong.
Mystere is the Type Zero of first-generation Type Zeros.
The very top Magus of Project Pascale.
[Noir] Then,
you can make Kanata stronger.
If Kanata is stronger, he'll be happy.
If Kanata is happy, I am happy.
Is that so?
Then Mystere is satisfied.
Now it's just a matter of how the hack will respond to your death.
Not that Mystere cares anyway.
[Noir] If that is the role of a Magus, then I…
But…
I haven't been helpful at all so far.
I want to do something for Kanata just this once.
Okay, thanks for waiting, you two.
[Kanata] Wow!
Today's spread is grander than usual.
These are real, right?
[chuckles]
My latest song is all the rage.
I guess singers make more than Drifters.
Never mind the details.
Come on. Let's eat!
-Let's eat! -Let's eat.
Kanata, are you happy?
What?
Of course I am!
I get to eat delicious food with good company.
Who wouldn't be happy?
Happy?
Delicious food makes you happy.
[Kanata] What?
[Ellie] What?
You want us to teach you how to cook?
Yes.
[Ange] Where has this come from all of a sudden?
I want to be useful to Kanata.
But why us?
Why not get Ciel to teach you?
Ciel is a busy performer.
[Ellie] Well, I'm busy too!
I only just happened to be off-duty today!
Settle down.
It's Noir wanting to learn how to cook.
She's a Magus, so why not just install a cooking plug-in?
Are you insane?
Learning it step by step is what gets you the brownie points!
What?
-And so… -What?
…I will teach both you and Ellie!
Are you serious!
Otherwise you'll never be able to treat Kanata to a home-cooked meal.
[Ellie squeals]
Thank you, Ange.
And if you're going to cook, you're going to need real ingredients.
I hate to say it, but they don't come cheap.
Will my allowance be enough?
You get an allowance?
What do you spend your allowance on?
I like the mock cotton candy from the street stall.
I have this much left.
[both groan]
[together] Sigh.
[Noir] Does your head hurt?
[Noir] Ellie told me.
She said I could maybe get some real meat and vegetables here.
Hmm. A strange request from a strange customer.
I actually went home to Diamond Farm Nest the other day
and brought back an excess amount of produce.
Can I have some?
This is my allowance.
[all] Huh?
[all groan]
[groaning, sighing]
Does your head hurt?
Why do you need real ingredients?
For Magus and humans,
real ingredients are not always good value for money.
It's a secret,
but I want to cook for Kanata.
[gasps]
[screams, groans]
How touching!
Did you not just witness the pure heart of a maiden?
You all saw it, right?
[groaning, sighing]
I am willing to give them to you.
However, you must pay for it in labor.
Labor?
Right away!
What are these?
Bell peppers!
I've been meaning to share them with the good residents of Rock Town.
Deliver these to the people, and you will be compensated.
How thrifty, Michael.
What a cunning and clever guise
to dump the bell peppers you so detest.
I'll do it.
Hmm?
These are for sharing.
I heard.
Thanks for these.
Is something wrong?
Sorry, that blank expression of yours just makes me feel right at home.
[person laughs] Right! She sure does bring a sense of calm.
You're like a daughter to us.
You like the mock cotton candy, right?
You're a real Rock Towner, you know that?
I am?
Hmm?
Can you do something for me?
[person] Nice! It's got a good shine to it.
[sighs]
-Was it good? -Yes.
That's your payment.
Come back as a customer next time!
We feel a lot better with you around!
[electronic voice] The Blueschist Density for today will be 3,981pB.
Remember your anti-Blueschist umbrella if you're heading outside.
Hey, Theo. Is the storm here yet?
[screams]
It's a bell pepper!
The ultimate vegetable!
[Daniel continues screaming]
Never mind him.
This just means food wins out over his Silver Storm fantasies.
Noir, I meant to say it before, but thank you.
Thank you for protecting Rock Town with Kanata.
I didn't--
[Daniel] I don't know what exactly went down,
but I do know for a fact that you and Kanata fought for us.
We are grateful.
That bitter taste does wonders for clearing the mind!
Running errands all by yourself. You've certainly grown, Noir.
Grown?
[gasps] I'm sorry. You told me to look after Kanata,
but then I--
What?
The Three Laws of the Magi?
Don't worry about it.
That's just something humans made up ages ago.
You're fine.
You're helping Kanata grow.
And yourself.
Wow!
This is amazing, Noir!
[Noir] Does this mean we can cook?
This is plenty for a meal!
Well, shall we go all out?
Ange's cooking tutorial will now begin!
Let's go!
Let's go.
What the hell was that?
[crying]
[Ellie grunts]
Take that!
Flip!
[grunts, yelps]
Well, looks can be deceiving,
but I think we did all right!
Yeah, I guess it barely scrapes by with a passing mark.
Not bad for a first try.
Really?
We did it, Noir!
Yes, Ellie.
Now you just have to do it all by yourself for Kanata, right?
Yes.
You'll be fine!
I know you can do it!
Ellie…
I hope you'll stay by Kanata's side.
[Ellie] What?
Noir?
Come on! Let's eat before it gets too cold.
[Noir] Ange, before we do that…
[Ange] Hmm?
Is this really worthy of a commemorative photo?
[Ellie] Why not? It's her first ever home-cooked meal.
[timer running]
[shutter clicks]
[Noir] Thank you. Ellie, Ange.
[Kanata shudders]
[Ciel] There's no need to be creeping around.
But Noir, she's cooking!
She's never done that before!
[Ciel] Oh, dear. What are you? Her father?
-[Noir gasps] -[object hits floor]
Come on, relax.
But what if she cuts herself or gets burned?
You seem to be forgetting once again that we are Magus.
Let's just stand back and watch for now.
O-Okay.
Hmm?
[Noir] It is done.
[Kanata] Wow!
-This is great, Noir! -Yes!
-We'll have high hopes for you in future! -Yep!
Will you eat it?
Of course! Let's eat.
Let's eat.
[moans]
It's good! It's really good, Noir!
Really?
-It sure is! -Yeah.
[Noir] Thank goodness.
Kanata is happy.
Thank goodness.
I was finally
useful to Kanata.
[Kanata gasps] Noir!
Noir! What's wrong?
[Noir] Mystere's self-repair sequence is complete.
And I will disappear.
[Kanata, Ciel] What?
It's messy and I don't understand.
I am a bad Magus.
What are you talking about?
What do you mean a bad Magus?
A Magus makes its master strong.
That is its purpose.
But I--
Have you been worried about that all this time?
Who cares about any of that!
Kanata.
[Kanata] I was always alone.
I don't care if you're a Magus or whether you're useful.
When you came,
I was happy to have a family again!
[Noir] I'm
family?
[cries]
Kanata, are you sad?
I'm sorry.
I really am a bad Magus.
I'm a dud that makes her master sad.
Don't talk like that!
But it's okay now.
Mystere will be more useful to you than I ever was--
I said don't talk like that!
That is the only thing
I am able to do for you.
[Kanata gasps]
[Noir] You'll be fine, Kanata.
You have people by your side.
Plenty of people.
Even if I'm not there.
If I'm not there…
I'm gone.
I'm not there.
I've disappeared.
[Kanata] Noir!
[Noir] It hurts.
It's hurting.
Here.
[gasps]
[Mystere] What is that?
What is it that refuses to accept Mystere's self-repair?
[Noir] I'm sorry.
[Mystere gasps]
I don't want to disappear.
I don't want to leave
Kanata or anyone else!
The dud! You!
[grunts, shouting]
[Kanata] Noir! Noir!
Noir.
Mystere?
[cries]
[Kanata] Noir!
Translated by Rychelle Brittain