The white rabbit trudged back to the dormitory without even thinking to shake off the dirt, fallen leaves, and all kinds of dust.
The Demon King…… Why did he take my doll…….
Lost in his sense of futility, Beni didn’t know how he made it back to his bed. He only tried to comfort himself just before falling asleep that he could just make the doll again.
‘How dare you make such a shabby burrow in my castle and hide here? Catch that rabbit immediately! Such trash-like doll!’
The Demon King’s roar full of anger, the demons of the Demon King’s Castle chasing him with furious faces. The rabbit ran for dear life, but strangely his feet wouldn’t move properly.
‘You stupid, dirty, lowly rabbit! Stop right there!’
Along with a shout that scraped like sandpaper, like the Count’s voice, he felt his hind legs being grabbed. Startled, he looked back and saw that what had grabbed his legs wasn’t a hand, but a snake. A snake with eyes of very deep purple-tinged green!
‘Squeak, screech—!’
The moment the rabbit screamed, Beni’s eyes snapped open.
“Huk.”
My legs! Breathing heavily, Beni immediately bolted upright, and thud!
“Urk, ack!”
He hit his head on the ceiling. He’d momentarily forgotten the fact that the ceiling was low because it was a bunk bed. Ren, who had been sleeping below, was also startled and fell while trying to get down from the bed without even opening his eyes properly, his feet getting tangled.
“Urgh, wh-what, what’s happening!”
Even in the midst of that, Ren urgently got up and looked above. Beni clutched his seemingly crumpled head and shook his head while forcing a smile.
“No, it’s nothing…… I just forgot the ceiling was low and sat up, sorry for waking you, Ren.”
“Ay shit, fucking scared me.”
Ren, his face full of drowsiness scrunched up, rubbed his chin while lying back down on the bed. He grumbled quietly for a bit before becoming quiet, seemingly having fallen asleep.
Beni laid his awkwardly raised upper body back down and let out a long, small breath.
The fact that the Demon King had taken his rabbit doll yesterday must have really bothered him. To have such a nightmare.
<If I can be of help, please call me anytime, Demon King-nim!>
Just yesterday he’d been so grateful to the Demon King for really sending delicious food to his room, but today he didn’t want to see him at all. Because if they happened to run into each other, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to manage his expression at all.
Though he was curious about what reason he’d taken that doll for…… He couldn’t let it be discovered that he was a rabbit beastkin by carelessly trying to find out.
This made Beni feel somehow uncomfortable about seeing Ruan again.
The Demon King probably isn’t that idle either…… So he won’t summon me today, right? Beni desperately hoped that today would pass without incident.
* * *
He’d certainly hoped for that.
“Beni.”
Beni had been summoned to the Demon King’s lounge. Unable to properly look at the Demon King sitting across from him, he was bowing his head deeply when he spoke quietly.
“Recently, some kind of wild animal snuck into my castle.”
Thump, Beni’s heart plummeted all the way down to the underground below. Last night, it seemed the Demon King had indeed discovered him as a rabbit. So that’s why he’d taken the doll?
Beni’s heart felt like it would burst. Unable to bring himself to say anything, he kept his mouth firmly shut, when the Demon King’s next statement made Beni’s complexion turn deathly pale.
“It’s white and plump-looking, so it seemed just right to stuff into a pillow and use.”
Squeak, the nightmare was about to become reality.
It seemed not all rabbits were liked after all. Beni’s heart naturally grew anxious, thinking that if he just stayed still like this, the Demon King would say he’d catch the rabbit living hidden in his castle. What if the reason he took the doll was to use some kind of tracking magic?
“Th-that rabbit is really kind and gentle and does a lot of good things……! It would be a loss to kill it……!”
Beni told a shoddy lie in his haste. When the Demon King was saying he’d pluck his fur to use as pillow stuffing, he had to say something. Beni thought it would be better than doing nothing and getting caught later.
Please let the Demon King listen to his words to some degree, Beni prayed inwardly. Desperation dwelt in Beni’s two eyes that shook unsteadily.
However, Ruan, without any response, slowly narrowed his two eyes. Propping his chin and slowly leaning his upper body forward, his lips opened as he stared intently at Beni.
“I haven’t said it was a rabbit yet though?”
The moment the words ended, a chilling sensation swept up Beni’s spine.
Ah. Because his heart was too anxious, he’d blurted out whatever came to mind and ended up caught by the scruff instead. His bright yellow eyes lost their way and began wandering through the air. The two red eyes staring directly at him seemed to be asking sharply. How did you know that.
“U-uh…… I mean, I’ve also seen that rabbit……!”
Beni, who had added another false excuse, couldn’t keep his hands still under the table. The more he spoke, the more things seemed to get tangled, but he couldn’t just shut his mouth now.
“Ah, so you saw a rabbit living hidden in the Demon King’s Castle and just pretended not to know?”
“Well, that’s……”
Things he needed to make excuses for just kept increasing. When Beni didn’t know what to do and couldn’t continue his words, Ruan, who had been maintaining an expressionless face, couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.
“I’m joking, Beni.”
“……What?”
“Actually, even if a rabbit is living here, it’s not a big problem.”
On Ruan’s face, which had just been looking at him suspiciously, a mischievous smile lingered.
“……Really?”
“Of course. I like rabbits, Beni.”
He’d been worried enough to have nightmares about it. He couldn’t sense any falsehood in the Demon King’s tone saying he liked rabbits. Beni’s face, which had been colored with fear and anxiety, immediately brightened.
“Me too, I like rabbits too……!”
Then did that mean he didn’t have to hide for those 3 months? Beni recalled those past days when he’d lived frightened and anxious all by himself. Though he’d been scared of possibly being discovered…… Thinking about it again, it hadn’t been that difficult.
After all, he’d lived more freely than when he was at the Count’s household. Still, after hearing that it didn’t matter if there was a rabbit, a slight regret remained that he didn’t have to be startled and run away when he saw the Demon King.
While Beni imagined what would have happened if the Demon King had caught him back then, Ruan was skillfully removing the grape skin and seeds with a fork and knife. Then he transferred them to a small bowl. Because the purple skin had been peeled off and the seeds removed, the shape of the flesh was somewhat squashed.
“It’ll be more comfortable to eat with a teaspoon, Beni.”
Beni looked at the green slime-like thing placed in front of him, then picked up a teaspoon and carefully scooped it up. The squishy shape made him feel resistant as it somewhat looked like sliced raw slime, but there was nothing that wasn’t delicious among the food the Demon King gave him.
Unlike its somewhat off-putting appearance, the soft and moist grape slid over his tongue. When he bit down with his teeth, the flesh burst with a pop, and along with sweetness, a rich and tangy fragrance filled his mouth.
Beni’s eyes grew large as he chewed and swallowed, then asked.
“Is this also fruit from the surface?”
“It’s called grape.”
“……This is a grape?”
There was something called grapes in the Demon Realm too. However, the Demon Realm’s grapes were grown more to keep monsters from approaching rather than being treated as fruit. Each berry had thousands of thorns growing on it, and if you got pricked, you’d show various weak but diverse poisoning symptoms from indigestion to skin rashes.
So even if they did consume them, they had to boil them thoroughly for ten days to remove the poison and thorns, then mix the mushy flesh with bread dough, ferment it, and bake it to eat. Because the method of making it was troublesome and required a lot of additional ingredients, it created an image of being a luxurious food, so unexpectedly nobles often ate it, and the Count especially liked this bread.
Beni had also eaten Demon Realm grapes that had been boiled thoroughly for ten days once, but it wasn’t very delicious because of its bitter taste and distinctive aroma.
Why were surface fruits so delicious even with the same name? Thinking about whether he might be able to visit the surface someday, Beni diligently scooped up the grapes the Demon King had prepared for him with the spoon.
As he was finishing eating like that, the Demon King, who had been quiet, put his hand into his breast.
“Come to think of it, I discovered a rabbit burrow yesterday, Beni.”
Rabbit burrow. Beni’s nerves instantly focused on the Demon King. Beni, who had stopped eating, waited for the Demon King’s next words with a tense look.
“When I looked inside, this came out.”
Saying so, what the Demon King pulled out from his breast was none other than the doll.
