I Was Supposed to Be Feeding the Pigeons, But Somehow I Ended Up Feeding a Beautiful Demon Lord Instead - 02 (Part 1)

Chapter 2 (Part 1)

The next day in the royal capital was ironically sunny again.

But the air in the city felt even more tense than yesterday.

The guards walking the main streets looked grim.

More posters recruiting volunteers had gone up on the square’s bulletin board.

“Extra! Extra! Terrible news! An elite unit of the Holy Knights has gone missing in the northern forest region!”

“Hero Leon-sama, return to the royal palace immediately!

Repeat, return immediately—!”

The boys’ shouts rang out like screams.

The northern front seemed to be turning into a quagmire.

The Holy Knights were supposed to be the nation’s guardians.

For them to vanish in the forest meant either some particularly nasty monsters were lurking there or it was a trap set by the Demon Lord’s army.

(…This right after yesterday. I hope Bel-san is okay.)

I turned my back on the uproar and stepped into the usual back alley.

What I worried about was not the fate of the country.

It was that exhausted woman I met in this park yesterday.

From how tired she looked, she had to be an official handling key duties for the nation.

With the Holy Knights wiped out, the palace bureaucrats were surely forced into nonstop work—dealing with the aftermath, supporting the bereaved families, and revising strategies.

I checked the paper bag in my pocket.

Inside was the promised cream bread.

And one more thing—a special drink that should help a body running on no sleep.

The peaceful park came into view.

My sanctuary.

And the place where I meet her.

“…You came.”

Deep in the park.

Under the big oak tree, on the bench, her figure was there.

The same as yesterday—hood pulled low over a thick robe.

But she clearly looked different from the day before.

Calling her slumped would be too mild.

Bel was practically melted on the bench.

Her upper body leaned heavily against the backrest.

Her neck bent sideways with a snap.

Her pale arms and legs hung limply.

Her round glasses had slipped a little.

The eyelids behind them were tightly shut.

I held my breath as I approached and gently sat on the edge of the bench.

The slight shake made Bel twitch.

“…Ugh…”

“Bel-san? You alive?”

“…Kazuya, is it.”

The moment she slowly lifted her face, I caught my breath.

Her face looked awful.

Skin white as porcelain had turned pale and translucent.

The dark circles under her eyes were deeper and darker than yesterday.

She had the lifeless look of an undead who had lived for centuries.

“…Sleepy. So sleepy, Kazuya…”

“All-nighter? Ever since then?”

“…Yes. My subordinates… were so noisy.

Raising cries of victory is fine, but they even started a banquet… I couldn’t sleep at all.”

A banquet.

That made sense.

Soldiers and knights on the front lines got carried away after one win and partied hard.

As middle management, she probably had to take responsibility for supervising them and even take care of the drunks.

With the Demon Lord’s army closing in, the lack of crisis awareness on the ground was staggering.

“That sounds rough.

I brought what I promised.”

I opened the paper bag and took out a white bread.

Different from yesterday’s anpan—a plump, glove-like shape.

Cream bread.

Bel’s vacant eyes opened a little wider.

“…Cream… bread…”

“That’s right.

Today it’s custard.

I used plenty of eggs and milk and cooked it until it’s nice and creamy.”

“…Eggs and… milk…”

She took it with trembling hands and brought it to her mouth in slow motion.

She bit in.

Soft bread dough mixed with rich custard cream in her mouth.

“……”

Bel froze.

Soon, the corners of her mouth softened slightly.

A warm sigh escaped with a whoosh.

“…Sweet.

…And gentle.”

“Right?

Sugar is best for a tired brain.”

“Yes…

Different from yesterday’s ‘an.’

This is… a melting sweetness like a mother’s love.”

She started devouring the cream bread eagerly.

Her eating was satisfying to watch, though her eyes still looked dead.

Sugar alone was not enough.

What she needed now was something to force her eyelids open—an instant wake-up.

“Bel-san.

Drink this too.”

I pulled out the other item.

It was coffee in a lidded cup.

Bel stopped eating and sniffed warily.

Steam rose from the sipping hole.

“…What is this black liquid?”

Bel took the cup curiously.

“It’s black coffee.

In my homeland, it’s essential for men who fight.”

“Essential… for men who fight…”

“It’s like a medicine to chase away sleepiness.

It’s pretty bitter, but it works.”

Bel brought the cup to her face and smelled the aroma drifting from the opening.

The deep, fragrant scent of roasted beans.

“…It smells like burnt herbs.

Not poison?”

“There’s no poison in it.

Doing that to someone who carries the nation would only hurt me in the end.

Come on, drink it while the sweetness from the cream bread is still there.”

Bel nodded as if resolved, put her lips to the cup, and sipped little by little.

The hot black liquid passed down her throat.

That was the moment.

Whoosh!!

Her purple eyes snapped wide open.

“—!? !?”

She coughed violently and glared at me with teary eyes.

“B-Bitter!

What is this, mud water!?”

“It’s not mud water.

Good medicine tastes bad.”

“…Wait.”

Bel clutched her chest and took rough breaths.

Then she stared hard at both hands holding the cup.