I Was Supposed to Be Feeding the Pigeons, But Somehow I Ended Up Feeding a Beautiful Demon Lord Instead - 20

Chapter 20

Rumors in the shopping district apparently spread at the speed of light.

When I went to Marie’s bakery, the whole shop somehow felt excited and restless.

The usual older ladies were whispering together at the register, and I caught sight of Marie with her face bright red, retreating into the back kitchen. When I strained my ears, this was what I heard.

“Marie-chan, so it’s finally decided, huh?”

“The other person must be from a really good place, right?”

“Yes, they say he’s like a prince on a white horse…”

White horse. Prince. Decided. When you put those together, there was only one possible answer. Marriage.

(Wow, so Marie-chan is getting married?)

I mentally clapped for her. Lately, some tough-looking security guards in black armor had been hanging around the shop, and Marie had seemed really scared, so I’d been worried.

She must have found a reliable husband who would protect the shop. Even in this day and age, there really are princes on white horses. Maybe he was actual royalty.

“How nice.”

Feeling all warm and fuzzy, I stuffed the leftover bread crusts into a bag. Today’s park topic was definitely going to be this.

◆

Three in the afternoon. The usual park bench. When I arrived, Bel was already there.

I had been curious about what happened to the pigeon strap I gave her, but sure enough, it was hanging securely from her staff.

And for some reason, it looked shinier than yesterday. Had she polished it?

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Bel-san.”

“…You’re late.”

Bel-san muttered in her usual grumpy tone, then snatched the ‘black bitter water (canned coffee)’ right out of my hand.

“It’s hot today… The sunlight feels like it’s stabbing my skin.”

She pulled her hood down even lower and let out a lazy sigh. It really was unseasonably hot. The cicadas were screaming so loudly it was almost annoying.

“Yeah, it is. But I’ve got some really happy news that’ll blow this heat away.”

“Oh? Did your salary go up?”

“No, no. Something much happier.”

I sat down on the bench and tossed some bread crumbs to the pigeons as I spoke.

“That girl Marie from the bakery? Apparently she’s getting married.”

Crack. Right beside me, something made a dry snapping sound. When I looked, the cup Bel-san had been holding was crumpled in her grip.

“…What?”

Her voice seemed to drop about three octaves. I kept talking, not noticing.

“Man, I’m so glad for her. Lately she’s been having nothing but bad luck, or at least she always looked scared. Now she can finally be happy—”

“…And?”

Bel-san’s words cut through mine like a sharp blade. When I glanced over, she had stopped drinking her coffee and was staring hard at a single point on the ground.

Her profile had gone completely expressionless, making it impossible to read what she was thinking.

“Huh? And… well, it’s happy news, right?”

“How do you feel about it?”

“Me? Well… I guess I feel a little lonely.”

I gave my honest opinion. If Marie-chan got married and either took over the shop or moved away with her husband, I probably wouldn’t be able to casually get free extras or chat with her the way I used to. It’s always a little sad when a familiar shop clerk disappears.

“…I see. So you do feel lonely.”

Bel-san murmured softly. At that exact moment—Kiiiiiiin… A high-pitched ringing like tinnitus echoed, and the air grew tense. The cicadas suddenly went completely silent.

“Huh?”

I looked up at the sky. The sun that had been blazing so fiercely just a moment ago was suddenly dimmed, as if covered by thin clouds. No… not clouds. The air itself looked… white?

“…What a foolish woman.”

Bel-san’s voice reached me. It carried a bone-chilling tone completely different from the usual grumbling she did in the park.

“Kazuya. You have no need to feel heartache.”

“Huh?”

“Becoming someone else’s woman… That is an act of betrayal against your kindness. It deserves a thousand deaths. No—in fact, if I erase that man and this entire country from the map, your sorrow would disappear, wouldn’t it?”

“W-wait, Bel-san? What are you saying?”

I hurriedly turned toward her. Something was seriously wrong with Bel.

A white frost-like substance was spreading from her feet. With a paripari-pari crackling sound, the grass beneath the bench froze solid in an instant.

“No way… Snow?”

Right in front of my eyes, white flecks fluttered down. It was snow. In the middle of summer, snow was falling.

“Cold…”

The temperature was dropping sharply. I, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt, couldn’t help shivering. My breath came out white.

When I looked around, the park fountain had frozen over, and the pigeons were huddled together, trembling.

What was this? Some freak weather phenomenon?

“B-Bel-san… it suddenly got really cold. Is this a guerrilla ice age instead of a guerrilla downpour?”

I tried to joke, but Bel-san didn’t laugh. She kept staring into empty space, muttering under her breath.

“I won’t forgive… Anyone who makes Kazuya sad, I won’t forgive… That marriage, I’ll reduce it to ashes… No—not ashes, I’ll turn them into ice statues so they can never shatter, even for eternity…”

“Bel-san! Bel-san!”

I shook her by the shoulders. Maybe the cold had made her mind go hazy.

Her autonomic nervous system was probably already messed up from overwork at the office, and now this sudden temperature drop. If she collapsed, it would be bad.

“Snap out of it! If you fall asleep in a place like this, you’ll die!”

The moment my hand touched her shoulder, Bel-san jolted. Slowly, she turned to face me.

Her eyes were dark like deep purple shadows, and somehow looked very sad.

“…Kazuya. Do you like that woman?”

“Huh?”

The sudden question caught me completely off guard.

“Like… you mean Marie-chan?”

“Yes. You find it unbearable that she will belong to someone else, don’t you?”

Bel-san took a step closer. The cold air radiating from her stung my cheeks. What kind of misunderstanding was this? I frantically shook my head.

“No no no! That’s not it at all!”

“…Don’t lie. Didn’t you just say ‘lonely’?”

“That was about losing a familiar shop clerk! It’s not romantic feelings or anything! To me, she’s like a little sister—or more like ‘a nice person who gives me delicious bread’…!”

I desperately explained. Somehow I had a gut feeling that if I didn’t deny it right here and now, something terrible would happen—not just to me, but to the whole world.

“You really don’t like her?”

“I swear. The one I like isn’t her—it’s the bread she makes.”

“…I see.”

Bel-san suddenly relaxed. At that moment, the fierce cold that had enveloped everything seemed to ease all at once.

“…Hmph. Don’t say misleading things. I almost jumped to conclusions.”

“Bel-san, what’s wrong with you? Your face is completely pale.”

Worried, I rummaged through my bag. Usually I only brought cold coffee, but today by chance I had also brought hot cocoa.

“Want some? It’s warm cocoa.”

I opened the cap and held it out; steam rose gently. Bel-san stared at it for a moment, then gave a small nod.

“…I’ll take it.”

She accepted the bottle, cradled it in both hands, and took a tiny sip.

“…Sweet.”

“Right? When you’re tired, sweet stuff is the best.”

While drinking the cocoa, Bel-san let out a soft hou and exhaled white breath.

The fierce, almost demonic intensity that had been on her face earlier melted away, and she returned to her usual slightly sleepy, childlike expression.

At the same time, the snow around us melted away rapidly. The sun came out again.

“That was some weird weather, huh?”

I looked up at the sky and laughed.

“…Indeed. This country’s climate has no emotional restraint.”

Bel-san said with a composed face while taking another sip of cocoa. The faint blush on her cheeks didn’t seem to be caused only by the warmth of the drink.

“Kazuya.”

“Yes?”

“Um… about that wedding gift or whatever… what are you planning to do?”

“Oh, right. Maybe I should get her something. But it’s still just a rumor, so I’ll ask her directly first.”

“Do that. …And anyway, marriage is something you should be much more careful about.”

Bel-san muttered while staring at the bottle’s opening.

“Finding someone to spend your whole life with isn’t that easy… Someone who knows the taste of anpan, who loves pigeons together with you, who sits beside you unchanged on stormy days and snowy days alike…”

“That’s really specific. Is that your ideal, Bel-san?”

“…Shut up. It’s just a general statement.”

Bel-san turned her face away, but her ears were bright red. I gave a wry smile and stretched beside her.

Well, somehow her mood had improved, and that was good.

In the end, a few days later, Marie-chan’s “marriage” rumor turned out to be nothing more than “the new ‘Wedding Brioche’ bread is finally complete.”

◆

“Report! The abnormal low-temperature phenomenon over the royal capital has disappeared!”

“What was the cause!?”

“Unknown! However, the observation team reports that a ‘sweet smell’ was detected near the park, the epicenter!”

“A sweet smell…?”

In the Demon Lord Castle’s strategy command room, Zest held her head in her hands. The temperature graph on the monitor was swinging wildly up and down.

It was almost like the wild, unreasonable emotional ups and downs of a girl in love.

“Demon Lord… what on earth are you doing…?”

Zest’s stomachache showed no sign of going away today either.