When Beni seemed to understand, Ruan nodded and placed the fork in his hand.
“But Beni, you’re the more precious one.”
“……Me?”
“Because you have the exact same name as a rabbit I know.”
Beni’s lips twitched, but no words came out. Ben and Beni were quite similar, and more than anything, it was the first time he’d heard that he was more precious, so he didn’t want to deny it.
Whether the Demon King remembered his name as Beni or Ben wasn’t really that important anyway.
But why did the Demon King say “a rabbit I know” instead of “a rabbit I’m raising”? It was a bit curious, but for Beni, eating those fruits quickly was more of a priority. Since they’d spoil soon, he had to hurry and put them in his belly.
And so Beni learned about the surface world fruits called peaches, strawberries, and melons. There were strawberries in the Demon Realm too, but they weren’t as cute and small as the ones from the surface. Demon Realm strawberries were a bit more elongated, dark red in color, and covered in rather disgusting bumps. Still, they were delicious when made into jam.
Having devoured an entire plate of giant fruits, Beni’s stomach wasn’t just full—it felt like it might burst. Normally he should’ve eaten the chocolate cake, but if he ate any more now, he might just throw it all up, so he could only look at it with eyes dripping with regret.
But if it was going to be thrown away anyway…….
“Your Majesty.”
“Yes, Beni.”
“If all this food has to be thrown away…… can I take some with me?”
“Of course. You can take as much as you want.”
Beni’s expression, which had been stiff with worry that he’d say no, brightened instantly. If he took it back to his quarters and ate it with Ren, he’d be happy too. After all, no one could be unhappy in front of delicious food.
“Thank you! Then……”
Just as Beni was about to gather up the cake first, he belatedly realized he had nothing to carry it in. Then should he just carry one cake plate as best he could? It wouldn’t melt if he just stored it in his room, right? The weather had been cool even during the day lately.
Beni was mulling over these various concerns.
“When are you planning to eat it?”
At the Demon King’s question, Beni couldn’t answer right away. Since he didn’t know exactly where Ren worked, he could only see him when he came to their room.
“Umm…… I think I’ll eat it in the evening! That’s when the friend I’m staying with comes.”
Ruan’s eyes narrowed thinly.
“Friend? That blue-haired servant from earlier?”
Blue hair meant Pepe. Beni didn’t want to be misunderstood like that, so he waved both hands vigorously.
“No. I’m not friends with him at all. He doesn’t seem like a very good guy.”
The Demon King’s lips twitched at one corner as he nodded slightly. His face looked somehow satisfied.
“Then the servant you’re staying with?”
“He’s a friend named Ren, and his personality’s a bit prickly, but I think he’s a good kid.”
He’s kind of similar to me too. Beni swallowed those last words. Ruan gazed at Beni for a moment but didn’t say anything particular. He already knew who the servant Beni was staying with was anyway. A chimera from the slums, apparently.
He’d been keeping an eye on him since he didn’t get along with other demons and had a difficult personality, but seeing Beni’s reaction, they seemed to actually be getting along well.
“That’s fortunate. Then I’ll have the food you want to eat sent to your room separately in the evening.”
“Y-Your Majesty will?”
When Beni asked in surprise, Ruan bent at the waist with a playful smile.
“Why, would you like me to bring it myself?”
“No, no. You don’t need to do that!”
This time Beni didn’t just wave his hands—he shook his head vigorously side to side as well. The Demon King personally delivering food was absolutely something that should never happen. The Demon King was the most precious being in the Demon King’s Castle, after all. Though Beni’s reaction was completely natural, Ruan somehow looked sulky.
“Fine, then. I’ll have someone else deliver it.”
“Thank you! Then, um, that chocolate cake and cookies, and, um…… this, can you bring this too?”
Beni asked with a serious face, pointing at several desserts with his finger. It seemed wasteful since they’d be thrown away if he didn’t take them, so he felt like he’d chosen too many, but the Demon King just nodded. And somehow…… he even looked pleased.
Had the Demon King also felt uncomfortable about throwing away perfectly good food?
“Then should I clean up the rest? I’ll go get a tray I can carry……!”
“I’ve changed my mind. I’ll eat what you don’t take.”
“What?”
So suddenly? Then why didn’t you eat before……! Beni felt guilty for having eaten all those precious fruits. Watching Beni fidget restlessly, Ruan said,
“Watching you eat made me hungry. Will you come again next time, Beni?”
Beni flinched. The Demon King was definitely the number one dangerous person he should avoid at all costs. If they kept spending time together, he might suddenly remember his face. He definitely should, but…….
“If I can be of help, please call me anytime, Your Majesty!”
He felt elated, as if he’d been acknowledged as existing by the master of this Demon King’s Castle. Earlier, when he’d run into the Demon King, he’d thought the world was ending, but it wasn’t like that at all. Instead, he’d gotten to eat delicious things, and was even asked to do it again!
To think he was this useful. Beni, who’d only ever been told he couldn’t do anything properly and only wasted food, couldn’t control his emotions and lowered his head slightly with a beaming smile.
The Demon King looked at Beni with a deliberately calm face. But in truth, the Demon King was fiddling with a recording orb he’d attached under the table.
This recording orb had the function of recording exactly what it perceived through his senses, so it was currently capturing Beni’s appearance and everything he’d just said. Since he’d been recording from earlier, he must have filled the maximum recording time of 30 minutes.
It seemed there would be many additions to the Demon King’s Beni collection today.
Beni, who’d been smiling brightly, flinched slightly when his eyes met the Demon King’s.
“……Your Majesty.”
“Yes, Beni.”
“Are you feeling unwell……? Your eyes are all bloodshot……”
“Ah.”
Since it recorded exactly what was in his field of vision, the Demon King hadn’t blinked his eyes lest he miss even one expression, and he hadn’t taken any measures like using magic to moisten his eyeballs in case it made the video blurry. So the Demon King hadn’t blinked for 30 minutes without any assistance. Beni, who didn’t know this, couldn’t help but be surprised.
His two eyes that had been fine until earlier now had burst blood vessels and everything.
The Demon King was fine with his eyes being damaged since he could fix them again, but since Beni was so worried, he stopped recording.
Having barely soothed the constantly worrying Beni and walked him down to the bottom of the stairs, Ruan hurried back to the lounge. He needed to check if it had recorded properly. After all, it was a video he’d personally taken for the first time that included Beni’s ‘voice.’
He detached the recording orb he’d attached under the table and stopped the recording. He placed it on a nearby windowsill and tapped it once with his finger, and a window popped up in the air.
The first scene showed Beni struggling with all his might to put the plate in his mouth. It had been bewildering earlier, but watching it again now, the sight of him opening his mouth wide and not knowing what to do was achingly cute.
“Haah……”
Ruan, who’d been watching quietly, belatedly realized there was no sound.
“What the.”
Had it not recorded audio? Ruan frantically manipulated the recording orb, but fortunately it had just been on mute. Greatly relieved, Ruan turned up the volume, and at that moment.
[Th-this is…… thump thump thump, wha, thump thump, thump thump thump……]
Instead of Beni’s voice, a heavy sound like beating a large drum echoed through the space. It was so loud that he couldn’t hear what Beni was saying at all. What was this sound that suddenly seemed to come from a construction site?
Ruan listened with a frown before realizing.
It was his own heartbeat.
“……Aren’t I a fucking lunatic?”
Muttering in absurdity, Ruan fast-forwarded the video. To the most important scene where Beni had ‘directly’ told him to call anytime.
[If I, thump thump thump thump, thump thump, thump thump thump, please, Your, thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump……]
It was absolute chaos.
“Hah……”
