I wondered why my heartbeat was recorded so loudly, but I’d set it wrong and even unnecessary senses were all connected. It was a mistake that happened because I didn’t often fiddle with the recording orb. Even Ruan himself thought it was ridiculous and let out a hollow laugh.
“Well, can’t be helped.”
Ruan fiddled with the recording orb before carefully putting it away. There would be many days to see Beni in the future, so before then he should learn from Marcel how to properly use a recording orb.
Ruan, who had been about to get up from his seat, suddenly hesitated. How was the food in the servants’ dining hall served? It was a question he’d never once been interested in before.
* * *
Beni scurried down the remaining stairs with excited steps. Besides cleaning, he’d been entrusted with the important mission of bringing back the Demon King’s runaway appetite. It was a satisfying situation that the things he had to do in this Demon King’s Castle were increasing.
But that feeling didn’t last long. Could he, who knew nothing, avoid disappointing the Demon King? Worry came flooding in.
It was good that his usefulness was increasing. But if he couldn’t do it properly, it would only be poison instead. In the first place, he himself couldn’t eat deliciously or eat much, so should he really take on this task?
His footsteps, which had been hopping just like when in animal form, gradually stopped. In the end, Beni headed toward the kitchen he’d been cleaning with his shoulders drooping slightly, just as before his conversation with the Demon King.
Beni had arrived at the first floor and was moving his steps toward the kitchen area, which was originally his section.
“Hwat!”
Suddenly a hand reached out from around the corner and pulled Beni’s arm. Since there was no time to resist, Beni was helplessly dragged along. His two topaz-like eyes grew huge as if they’d pop out.
When he came to his senses and looked ahead, the culprit was none other than—
“Ren?”
His roommate. He examined Beni with somehow serious eyes.
“What are you!”
Then Ren shouted, and instead Beni was bewildered. What did he mean asking “what are you” after grabbing and dragging him here? Beni narrowed his brow and asked back.
“Ren, did you hit your head or something? I’m Beni. We were in the same room this morning too!”
Ren looked at Beni silently for a while, then finally dropped his hand as if he’d finished confirming something.
“Seeing you babbling, I guess you’re fine.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The other guys said the Demon King took away that idiot servant who just came in, so I knew right away it was about you. So I came to check if you were fucked.”
Beni’s eyes trembled finely. Idiot servant…… Beni’s complexion darkened rapidly. Ren realized for a moment that he’d spoken too bluntly, but that was just his nature. If it were someone else, he would have ignored whether they were hurt or not, but since it was Beni, Ren looked troubled in a way unlike him.
“No, it’s not that you’re really like that……”
“Am I an idiot…… Does it show that much?”
He didn’t think he’d done anything particular in front of Ren, but his immaturity and inadequacy had already been discovered.
“No…… It’s not that……”
Seeing Beni clearly depressed, Ren’s voice trembled finely as well. Usually in the Demon Realm, if you cursed at someone, worse curses came back, and even if you praised them, curses often came back. Especially in the slums, it was like that.
So there was no way Ren could know how to comfort someone hurt by his words. While he fidgeted restlessly, Beni fell into serious contemplation. He, who had been called stupid and dull his whole life, couldn’t become smart overnight.
Thinking about it quietly, it seemed somehow natural that Ren had noticed he was an idiot. Then did Tallos and the Demon King also see him that way?
Ren eventually placed his hand on Beni’s shoulder with a tap and said,
“It’s okay, there are bigger idiots here.”
It was Ren’s own way of comforting, but even this was awkward so his expression stiffened rigidly. Beni smiled dimly and nodded.
“Mm-hm……”
He hadn’t wanted to be found out as dull so soon, but from the very first day they’d all figured it out enough to call him an idiot. How much longer could he last in this Demon King’s Castle? Beni pressed down on the top of his head with his fingertips for no reason.
As his mood became gloomy, his scalp tickled as if his ears were trying to come out. The aftereffects of spending 3 months completely as an animal seemed significant.
Ren felt guilty looking at Beni’s still sunken face, but didn’t know what more to say. After hesitating, Ren only left after Beni said he was fine.
After Ren disappeared, Beni looked around before sneaking toward a secluded spot. Only after confirming several times that there was no sign of people around did he release the force he’d been putting on his head.
Finally, white ears popped out.
“I can’t keep doing this.”
Beni crouched in the corner and fiddled with the tips of his long ears.
* * *
“Hey, dinner tonight is insane.”
Servants wearing white shirts rushed quickly past Beni. They said servants without aprons were mostly from Orte Palace.
Ren snorted at them.
“Servant food is all the same no matter how insane it gets.”
Beni didn’t think much of it either, since today he’d already eaten his fill of the fruit and desserts the Demon King had given him earlier.
No matter how delicious the menu was, since he shouldn’t leave food, he should only take as much as he could eat.
And the two who entered the dining hall froze in place.
“……What the fuck is this.”
Just this morning it had been soup with lumpy chunks and hard bread, that was all. Beni’s eyes grew wide as he stared at the tray of someone receiving their meal in front of him.
There was butter-grilled trout with a fragrant and savory scent, seafood chowder, and even dessert. Even Beni, who had only eaten twice in the servants’ dining hall, couldn’t help but realize this had dramatically changed.
Ren, who had been standing there dazed, firmly grabbed Beni’s hand and ran.
“Hey, get in line quick.”
This really was insane.
Having finished dinner, Ren let out a satisfied sigh and walked to the dormitory.
“Is the head chef quitting today or something?”
At the out-of-the-blue remark, Beni looked over and Ren shrugged his shoulders.
“Otherwise there’s no way they’d serve food that high-ranking officials would eat. In a mere servants’ dining hall.”
Beni also didn’t know what had happened and just nodded. As they entered the dormitory and climbed the stairs to the second floor, Tallos was standing in front of their room.
“Head Servant?”
“Tallos-nim?”
The two glanced at each other, then approached Tallos while bowing their heads. For some reason, he had something like a wheeled wardrobe as tall as himself next to him.
“Ah, Beni, you’re here. I was waiting for you.”
“Hello! What is this?”
“Let me bring it inside first before I tell you. Ren, open the door please.”
Ren, who had been standing there bewildered, unlocked the door with his key. Tallos pushed the mysterious storage unit inside and looked around the cramped room.
“Ren, move that table over there.”
“Oh, okay.”
As Ren moved the table, Tallos set down the storage unit in the corner next to the wardrobe. The already narrow room became even more tightly cramped.
“Whew, the room got even smaller.”
Tallos wiped his forehead and looked around the room again, but there was no space other than here. Having confirmed this was the best option, Tallos finally spoke to the two curious ones.
“These are items specially bestowed by His Majesty the Demon King.”
At those words, Beni’s complexion brightened a little, and Ren frowned. Beni seemed to know what it was and approached the storage unit.
“Can I open it?”
“Since His Majesty bestowed it to you, do as you please.”
The moment Beni was about to open the double-doored storage unit, Ren blocked him.
“Hey! What are you opening it wide for when you don’t even know what it is!”
“Ren, it’s okay. I asked the Demon King-nim for something earlier.”
“……You did?”
Beni nodded and opened the door wide, and inside was filled with all the desserts he’d seen earlier. Not only Ren, but also Tallos, who hadn’t been able to confirm exactly what was inside, had his eyes go round.
“……Whoooa.”
Ren’s mind grew hazy at the high-class desserts filling his room, and his legs gave out.
