DKFTI 16

Ruru was tugging hard to pull the knife back out of the board. That day, Ruru saw with his own eyes the power of Apostle Aizen, which he had only vaguely guessed at before.

Ruru had never seen an Apostle in his life, and even hearing stories about them he had always been indifferent. Humans were all the same, weren’t they?

But the Apostle he saw in person shattered his assumptions with ease. And sharp-eyed Ruru was certain that this human, Aizen, had far greater ability than other Apostles.

“If it’s like this, you’ll get a rice bowl thrown at your head, saying you insulted human food rather than stirring up memories.”

Sibel looked at the pot bubbling cheerfully. The purple soup inside was boiling ominously.

“That does make sense.”

Shanti often cooked human food well, which was strange. Was it because the ingredients were unfamiliar?

Sibel lifted a fish that bled green and waved it in front of his eyes. It clearly wasn’t from the human world…

Its appearance made suspicion unavoidable. But Shanti had said it wasn’t easy to get human ingredients in the Demon Realm. In fact, Shanti often left the castle several times a day just to procure ingredients.

“But it’s already well past mealtime, Demon King.”

“Ag.”

Today Sibel had planned to personally serve the hero’s meal, so there was now a risk of starving him through lunch. With flour-covered hands he wiped his forehead and glanced at the clock.

He suddenly had an ominous feeling. He thought of someone with a bad temper. And a gluttonous raccoon too.

Humans and animals alike always grew ferocious when hungry!

Whatever the result, now it was time to bring something out. Sibel swept his gaze around the kitchen. Scattered, ruined ingredients, soups of every color, half-melted meat. A chaos where nothing stimulated appetite.

As Ruru sliced carrots happily wagging his tail, fox fur floated in the air all around him.

‘Gulp.’

In the end, Sibel made up his mind. And that was…

It was the courage to be hated.

***

“I said we’d see each other once a day, but this isn’t what I meant.”

At the 24-seat dining table glittering under a grand chandelier, Sibel and Aizen sat at opposite ends, with the tension of a battlefield hanging between them. Yes, this was a battle.

“Eat.”

“You should only say that when there’s something edible in front of me.”

Aizen looked coldly at the so-called dishes Sibel had placed before him. There were things you could tell without even tasting. The food laid out before him was exactly that kind.

It wasn’t about taste. Eating this would inevitably become a matter of life and death.

“…Are you complaining about side dishes while living off of someone else?”

“This isn’t complaining. If anything, it’s closer to a struggle.”

Neither of them showed any sign of backing down. Sibel was in the position where he had to feed him, and Aizen was in the position where he had to refuse to survive. The gap between them could not be closed.

“It took me seven hours.”

Sibel played his trump card.

“I could die within seven hours.”

But Aizen wasn’t easy either. This was a deal with life on the line.

The two of them locked in an intense stare-down. Aizen’s shining blue eyes burned with determination unlike ever before.

At the end of the long standoff, Aizen pressed his forehead and spoke.

“I see your scheme.”

“Ah.”

Sibel was shocked that his intention of sending Aizen back with the “taste of home” had been seen through so quickly.

Why is he so sharp?

Just as Sibel thought Aizen was more cunning than expected.

“You’re planning to get rid of me through food torture.”

“……”

“It’s pretty underhanded.”

A deep scratch marred Sibel’s heart. It had been a plan born of good intentions, but now he was branded a Demon King who resorted to food torture. And he hated that he couldn’t refute it.

Then Aizen picked up a fork and stabbed into the fish in front of him.

Thud, plop, plop.

Normally the flesh should stick firm and plump to the fork, but the fish fell off like jelly back onto the plate.

“Did you at least taste it?”

Sibel shook his head quickly.

If you were me, would you want to eat that?

“You’re not a complete idiot.”

Nod, nod. Honestly, Sibel knew it too. This was reckless, and the plan had already lost its meaning. He had only put it out because he didn’t want to waste the seven hours he had spent. And with Shanti absent, there was no one else to prepare a proper meal.

But there were raw vegetables, fruit, and already-baked bread that could still fill the stomach, so Sibel bit into the apple in front of him and waved his hand dismissively.

“I didn’t expect much. Just pick out what you can actually eat.”

What was conscience? At the very least, he wasn’t forcing rotten results into the hero’s mouth. Yes. That was conscience.

Sibel decided it was meaningful enough just to keep the promise of seeing Aizen once a day.

But then something happened.

As he rattled the food on the plate with his fork, Aizen did something shocking.

“What… are you doing?”

Aizen put the food Sibel had cooked into his mouth. Seeing that directly, Sibel was utterly flustered.

Hey, you, if you eat that you really might die within seven days.

He had already suspected Aizen might be either a masochist or a sadist, and this action only made that suspicion stronger. He’s eating that with a sound mind? Just bringing it near your nose was enough to make you want to vomit.

Ignoring Sibel’s gaping expression of horror, Aizen calmly chewed the garbage he had put in his mouth.

‘Gulp.’

For some reason, Sibel’s lips went dry. Soon a verdict would come out of that mouth. No, more accurately, there was a 99.9999% chance curses would spew out instead.

Thinking the plate might fly at him like Ruru said, Sibel pressed his arms to his sides. He steeled himself, ready to resort to an electric shock if necessary.

Aizen raised his hand and covered his nose and mouth. His brows creased, but he only shut his eyes and quietly called upon the name of the god he believed in.

Was this really something that required the power of religion…

“Really…”

Aizen’s voice was a little hoarse.

“This is serious.”

But his voice was softer than Sibel expected. Since he had anticipated Aizen would explode, the gentleness made him feel less nervous.

So maybe the food wasn’t actually so unbearable? Maybe, despite the appearance, the taste was just ordinary…?

“Cough.”

But when Aizen swallowed the food and coughed while grabbing a glass of water, that delusion vanished.

‘I should never eat this.’

If you lacked awareness, you ended up eating rotten food. Nod, nod.

As Sibel nodded to himself in satisfaction, Aizen drained the whole cup of water, then rested his chin on his hand and stared at Sibel, who was munching on an apple.

After watching him for a while, Aizen suddenly stood up.

“Hm?”

No matter how shocked you were, standing up and leaving the table like that was bad manners!

When Sibel glared at him, Aizen said firmly,

“Follow me.”

“……”

…Was this a ‘follow me to the rooftop’?

Sibel thought the inevitable had finally come, and quietly rose from his seat.

***

The place Aizen took Sibel to was not the rooftop. It was the kitchen.

At first Sibel thought he had come to check whether Sibel had used poisonous ingredients. But the moment they entered, Aizen took out utensils and began chopping vegetables.

He handled the cooking tools with ease and lit the fire. Sibel could only stare blankly as he watched.

“If you don’t burn it, the color doesn’t end up like that. Got it?”

His voice was gentle, he spoke like he was coaxing a child. It was unlike the Aizen he knew. Sibel seriously suspected whether this was some other demon wearing Aizen’s face.

“At the very least, no matter how stupid you are, you should know not to serve someone food unfit even for dog feed. Come on.”

The sarcastic tone proved it was indeed Aizen. Sibel realized he had misunderstood for no reason…

With lips jutting in a pout, Sibel opened his mouth, and Aizen held out a piece of stewed meat, blowing on it lightly before offering it to him.

Sibel reflexively bit down on it. The sweet fragrance of the sauce filled his mouth. His eyes went wide.

“You can’t say it tastes bad if you’ve any conscience.”

Sibel’s desire to give a scathing critique like a Michelin three-star chef has long since disappeared.

Sibel unconsciously nodded. Aizen smiled arrogantly at Sibel’s reaction.

It was a complete defeat.

It was truly strange. Aizen was no different from yesterday, yet seeing him wearing an apron and cooking made him seem more human.