Perhaps this was Damian’s strong point. If he hated something, he hated it. If he liked something, he liked it. If he would do it, he’d do it, and if not, then not. He didn’t beat around the bush, didn’t embellish, and didn’t mix lies into his emotions.
A demon who didn’t know falsehood, and a human who believed that “a warm bowl could make the world a little better.” Rather than grand causes or lofty speeches, wasn’t this humble belief far more fitting for the owner of the Inn on the Boundary?
When I thought about it, they were a rather oddly well-matched combination.
…Well, the moment a demon was attached as a part-timer, it was already far from ordinary.
Still, it wasn’t bad.
“Ah, wait a second!”
I let out a shout at the thought that suddenly struck me. Before Damian could even turn his head to look at me, I had already flopped face-down on the floor with a splat.
As my forehead hit the floor, rough wood fragments scraped past, scratching me sharply. But I had no time to care about such pain.
“The magic circle didn’t activate after all! That goddamn scammer bastard!”
I rolled around on the floor, mercilessly pulling at my hair.
Beliefs be damned—this was fraud. In any world, fraud is a criminal offense!
Rage spread through my entire body, making me tremble all over. Damian, who had been watching my pitiful and miserable screams from the side, slowly blinked once before shaking his head.
And then, with an indifferent expression, he muttered as he passed by me.
“The weaker humans are, the more they lie. But stupid humans willingly fall for those lies.”
“……”
I hadn’t expected comfort, but somehow I felt painfully struck at the core.
Especially since those red eyes looking down at me truly had the expression of someone looking at something worthless…. Mm, I’m 100% certain that wasn’t my imagination.
But regardless.
“My 1 Gold~!”
Fraud was fraud, and a gold coin was a gold coin.
Whether this world or Earth, all humans are equal before money.
The injustice surged up to my throat in an instant, and I pounded the floor while screaming. Like a funeral dirge consoling the soul of the deceased 1 Gold.
***
The next morning, I grabbed Damian from early on and explained various things to him.
“Okay, starting from the left, this is Table 1. This bar seat here is for solo diners… no, for guests who come alone. So people without companions sit here. Ah, you can’t kick them out.”
“……”
“This is a dishcloth. When guests finish eating and leave, wipe the table with this, and bring the dishes to the kitchen… just make sure guests don’t sit in dirty spots!”
As Damian listened, the space between his eyebrows furrowed, and his lips slowly hardened into a flat line. It looked like all the noise of humanity was mixing together and assaulting his ears like cacophony.
Of course, I didn’t care.
No, I deliberately pretended not to notice. As the owner of a popular restaurant inn, boldness was a basic requirement.
“And when you get a request for the love spell, make a heart with both hands like me and say, ‘Slurp slurp, love in a bowl of gukbap….'”
“……”
“Ahem, I’ll handle this one.”
When Damian’s expression completely soured, I quietly lowered the heart I’d made with both hands and hastily shut my mouth.
Then, as if nothing had happened, I grinned quite shamelessly.
You know you lose if you get worked up, right? Lighten up that expression, you demon.
Whether my smile was annoying or he’d truly lost his will to fight, Damian let out a breath and shook his head once. His dark red hair swayed along with the motion, exuding an energy that was either irritation or resignation.
That gesture was also amusing, so I smiled even more brightly.
So, what was I doing right now? I was in the middle of training Damian for his inn part-time job.
Well, if I called him a part-timer, I had to give him work to do.
Of course, putting a demon in charge of serving wasn’t exactly sane, but wasn’t it human nature to make use of available manpower?
Damian looked down at me with his arms crossed. His red gaze slowly drew closer, casting a low shadow, but I couldn’t tell whether he was trying to threaten me or was simply dumbfounded.
Of course, even before that intimidating presence, I smiled resolutely.
“Now, if you just handle customer service, it’ll be perfect!”
“Why should I do this?”
“Well, soon the subjugation party will return and people will flood in, and fragile me working alone will be trampled by customers, break dishes, burn my hands, throw out my back and collapse. Then eventually the business will fail and the inn will close, and I’ll sit there crying, saying ‘If only Damian had helped with the part-time work….’ while dying miserably of starvation.”
I lifted my forearm in front of Damian’s eyes. Compared to him, it was about the level of a lightning-struck twig.
“Look at this. Do you think I can carry that heavy ttukbaegi with this arm?”
That’s what I said, but of course I could carry it. I was a healthy adult male, and though thin, I had practical muscle from daily life.
But standing in front of Damian, I was no different from a paper human. I waved my arm around and added with utmost tragedy.
“If I collapse, the inn will quickly become ruins. People will say, ‘There used to be a place with delicious gukbap here,’ while reminiscing. And I’ll become a ghost watching that scene, then turn into an evil spirit and appear in Damian’s dreams. Then every night, Damian will face me shedding tears of blood……”
“You’re noisy.”
Damian pretended to cover his ears, then covered my mouth instead. His large hand covered half my face in one go.
“Ugh!”
The view that even my bangs hadn’t blocked was cut off in an instant. I flailed my arms, struggling to remove his hand, but Damian didn’t budge.
Eventually, when my body swayed as I couldn’t keep my balance, only then did he remove his hand as if annoyed.
Soon my view opened up brightly. My forehead felt cool, as if my bangs had been lifted. I tidied my bangs with one hand while not stopping my mouth. Damian was now covering his own ears with both hands.
“Shut your mouth!”
“I’m not done yet! For a restaurant, greetings are most important. Greetings should use both eyes and mouth while smiling brightly….”
Just then, the door opened and a small bell sound flowed out.
Ding-a-ling—
“Welcome to the Inn on the Boundary!”
As I smiled brightly and looked toward the entrance, the person crossing the threshold at my cheerful greeting stopped walking. Between the familiar build and the pressed-down robe, blonde hair spilled out slightly.
It was Lionel. My big sucker!
In delight, I called out almost reflexively.
“Good morning, Your Highness! Are you here for some hot gukbap?”
“……”
At my bright welcome, Lionel looked at me with a strange expression.
…Ah, was it because I openly called him ‘Your Highness’?
But there’s no one else here? As I awkwardly scratched my head, I suddenly remembered Damian next to me and flinched, turning my gaze.
Fortunately, his hood was still pressed down well. I quickly grabbed his arm tightly and said.
“This is our new part-timer!”
Lionel’s gaze turned to Damian. After silently scanning him for a moment, Lionel said in a low voice.
“…You brought in something like you.”
…Was that an insult?
It must be an insult. There’s no way that young master would say anything nice to me.
I roughly brushed down my bangs, which had become a mess from being pressed by Damian, and guided Lionel to a seat.
“Please sit down, I’ll bring it right away!”
Lionel glanced at Damian, then sat down without a word. Since there was no particular confrontation between the two, I secretly let out a sigh of relief inwardly and moved toward the kitchen.
Just then. Thud, thud, thud.
Heavy footsteps slowly followed from behind.
I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. In this inn, there was only one creature that walked with that weight.
“No entry to the kitchen! Part-timers are in charge of the hall!”
Without turning around, I waved my hand and shouted. However, Damian didn’t even pretend to listen and stubbornly followed me all the way into the kitchen.
Well. If he listened, would he be a demon?
In the end, I ignored him hovering next to me and moved my hands. I transferred the broth from the pot into a ttukbaegi with a ladle, then generously piled boiled pork on top. While I scooped fluffy rice into a bowl, the kitchen quickly filled with warm steam.
Just as I placed the ttukbaegi and rice on a tray and was about to leave.
Swoosh—
A shadow stretched long behind me, and my hands became empty.
“Huh, why?”
When I turned around, Damian was holding the tray in one hand. I blinked two or three times in confusion, and Damian quietly answered.
“You said it would break.”
His gaze turned to my forearm.
Though it was a perfectly healthy adult male’s arm, it looked infinitely small before him. I was flustered inside, but soon realizing Damian’s intention, I dropped my shoulders and pretended to be weak.
“That’s right…. Yes, it is a bit heavy. Oof, I almost got muscle pain….”
As I patted my arm while speaking, Damian let out a short snort and headed outside.
“Hmph.”
This, this easy-to-handle guy!
I deliberately drained more strength from my body, pretending to struggle even more, and followed behind Damian. Then I watched him serve.
Damian stood in front of Lionel, set down the tray, and carefully moved the rice bowl.
A demon serving rice to the Crown Prince—truly a sight with no equal in the world!
The hand gestures moving the dishes to the table weren’t exactly polite, but they weren’t rude either. Rice bowl, side dishes, water cup…. Up to this point was just right. Every motion was somehow rough yet oddly neat.
Really, it would have been great if things had continued smoothly just like this.
The problem came next.
The moment Damian set down the ttukbaegi.
“……!”
“……!”
This crazy—!
I covered my mouth with both hands to keep from screaming. Well, of course, because Damian’s long, sharp fingernails had plopped right into the broth!
