I Was Supposed to Be Feeding the Pigeons, But Somehow I Ended Up Feeding a Beautiful Demon Lord Instead - 21

Chapter 21

There are moments in life when, completely against your own will, you get dragged to some unbelievably crazy place.

For example, getting pulled into an izakaya by a pushy street tout, or being forced to tag along with your boss on a client golf outing. And the place I was standing in right now definitely belonged to that category.

“…Wow.”

I couldn’t help letting out an impressed sound. Spread out before me was a grand space so elaborate it could easily be mistaken for a movie set. The floor was polished black obsidian that made a sharp, hard clack-clack with every step.

Instead of chandeliers, huge skeletal specimens hung from the high ceiling, and the walls were decorated with menacing swords and spears as interior pieces.

At the far end, straight ahead, sat an impressive jet-black throne raised on a higher platform. Every detail, no matter where you looked, was crafted with insane attention.

“Recent theme parks really go all out, huh? It looks exactly like a Demon Lord’s castle. Which attraction is this one?”

When I asked, Bel—who was standing right beside me—suddenly started acting extremely suspicious, more than I’d ever seen before.

“Uh, ah… ummm…”

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, her eyes darted everywhere, and cold sweat poured down her face.

It all started just a few minutes earlier, back at our usual park.

◆

That day, I had just sat on the bench as usual and started eating my anpan when something in her robe began to shake violently.

A deep, rumbling bububububu… like the ground itself was growling. Bel pulled out a purple crystal orb that looked like a communication device, and the color drained from her face.

“Oh no…! I got the meeting time wrong!”

She jumped to her feet in a panic and shoved the half-eaten anpan into her mouth.

“Sorry, Kazuya! It’s an emergency summons! I have to get back!”

“Huh, you’re leaving already? That sounds rough.”

“Yes! If I don’t hurry, the ‘transfer’ won’t make it in time!”

With that, she raised her right hand toward the sky and began chanting something that sounded like a spell.

At the same moment, I noticed something she had left behind on the bench. My cloth bag.

“Ah, Bel-san! You forgot this!”

Out of kindness, I reached out to hand it to her—and the instant I grabbed the sleeve of her robe—

The world flipped upside down.

My vision warped and twisted, and the same stomach-dropping floating sensation you get on a roller coaster’s plunge hit me hard.

“Uwah!?”

By the time I shouted, it was already too late. The scenery changed in an instant, and the next thing I knew, we were standing in this dimly lit, majestic hall.

◆

“…Um, so basically,”

I looked around again, trying to sort out the situation.

“This is your workplace, Bel-san?”

Bel flinched hard at my question.

“N-no! It’s not! Absolutely not!”

“But you just said ‘I have to get back,’ and then we warped here, right?”

I reached out and touched the wall. It felt cool and solid, like stone.

“N-no, Kazuya! This is, uh… well, you see…”

At that moment, the massive door at the far end of the hall opened, and several soldiers in armor marched in. The second they spotted us, they leveled their spears and shouted.

“Who are you people! This is the throne room of Demon Lord Castle! Are you intruders!?”

Demon Lord Castle. Throne room. I see, so that’s the theme.

“Hii! Shh! Sh-sh-sh!”

Bel let out several short, sharp squeaks. She didn’t seem frightened by the soldiers’ intensity…

If anything, she was glaring at them with her index finger pressed to her lips in a clear “don’t say anything extra” gesture.

“Ah, got it, Bel-san.”

“Y-you do!?”

“This is a theater set, right?”

When I clapped my hands together in realization, Bel’s mouth fell open in shock.

“Th-theater…?”

“Yeah. Like some kind of workplace performance or something? Maybe a community center theater festival.”

At my deduction, Bel froze for a second, then started nodding furiously.

“Y-yes! Exactly! As expected of Kazuya, you catch on fast!”

Her voice cracked.

“This is… yes, exactly! It’s our department’s all-out production themed around ‘The Tragic Love Between the Demon Lord and the Hero’! A handmade show for the citizens! And I’m, uh… playing the Demon Lord role!”

“Wow, so Bel-san’s the lead? That’s a big promotion.”

“Y-yeah, well… you know, I normally have a lot of dignity anyway.”

The fact that she said it herself was kind of cute. I bowed politely toward the soldier actors.

“Sorry for barging in. I’m Kazuya, Bel-san’s friend. Just here to look at the set.”

The soldiers froze with “Huh?” written all over their faces.

“B-Bel…? You dare address our great Demon Lord so casually—”

“Enough! Be silent!”

Bel suddenly shouted in a deep, commanding voice.

“This person is… yes, the ‘special acting instructor’ I personally invited! Speak rudely again and I’ll cut your pay!”

The soldiers snapped to perfect attention.

“S-sorry for our rudeness!”

Amazing. They were completely in character. I walked toward the throne, genuinely impressed.

“Man, they really put effort into this. This throne looks super comfortable.”

I casually sat down on the throne. Not soft cushions… but the cold, hard feel of stone. Still, the angle of the backrest was perfect, and honestly it wasn’t bad at all.

“Phew. So this is what it feels like to be a king.”

The moment I crossed my legs on the throne, the entire hall seemed to freeze solid. The soldiers’ eyes bulged, their jaws looked ready to drop off. Bel’s face went deathly pale, her hand pressed to her forehead as she staggered.

“K-Kazuya… that spot is… um… how should I put it…”

“Oh, sorry. Is it an important part of the set? I shouldn’t have sat if it’s fragile.”

“N-no… it’s fine. If it’s you… it’s fine.”

Bel muttered weakly, then perched herself lightly on the armrest right beside me.

“…Since there’s no audience yet, I’ll take a little break here.”

With that, she leaned her head against my shoulder.

Hey, hey, the soldiers are watching.

I felt a bit embarrassed, but then I noticed she was trembling. The pressure of being the lead must be intense. I pulled the leftover anpan I hadn’t finished earlier out of my pocket.

“Here, sugar boost. Relax before the real performance.”

“…Thank you.”

Bel took the anpan and nibbled at it delicately while sitting on the throne. She looked less like a Demon Lord and more like a nervous rookie actress waiting backstage for her cue. The soldiers, watching the scene, started whispering.

“The Demon Lord… sharing the throne with a human man…?”

“That anpan… could it be the rumored ‘Fruit of Domination’!?”

“Look at how relaxed that guy is… he’s treating Demon Lord Castle like his own living room…”

They were clearly very dedicated actors.

There’s no way this could actually be the real Demon Lord Castle, and the chair I’m sitting on is the one feared by people all over the world… right?

“Well then,”

I said while folding up the anpan bag.

“I’ve seen enough of the set, so I’ll head out soon. Good luck with rehearsals, Bel-san.”

“Y-yeah… right. I’ll send you back.”

Just as Bel started to stand, the heavy door opened again, and this time Zest—Bel’s subordinate—entered.

As always, she had sharp eyes and a poised, confident demeanor. She radiated “competent woman” from head to toe.

“Demon Lord! The preparations for the emergency meeting are—”

She stopped mid-sentence, speechless. Seeing me sitting on the throne and Bel eating anpan right beside me, her glasses slid down her nose with a clack.

“…Y-You are… the one from the park…!”

“Oh, hi. Sorry for intruding.”

I waved casually while still seated. Zest’s face cycled rapidly from red to blue to white.

“Why… why are you here!?”

“Uh… I kind of got brought along by accident.”

“Brought along…?”

Bel hurriedly jumped in.

“Zest! Um, well… this person is today’s… guest!”

“Today’s Zest…? You summoned me?”

“No! G-U-E-S-T!”

What kind of comedy routine is this?

“A guest!? A human in the top-secret meeting!?”

“Yes! Sometimes you need an outside perspective!”

“…I see. An external advisor, then.”

That smile of hers was honestly terrifying. Something was being horribly misunderstood. Definitely.

“Interesting. Then let us witness your abilities.”

Zest clapped her hands once, and the soldiers immediately surrounded me.

“Uh, wait… what’s going on?”

“Don’t think you can just leave, Advisor.”

“I actually really want to leave…”

Zest declared coldly.

“You will stay and accompany us thoroughly until the meeting concludes.”

Judging from how panicked Bel looked, this was probably a real meeting.

Well, since they were allowing me to listen, it should be fine. Government offices usually value public opinions too. It’s like a public comment period.

Thinking this would be a good chance to see what Bel’s normal work was like, I let the soldiers lead me toward the meeting room.