I Was Supposed to Be Feeding the Pigeons, But Somehow I Ended Up Feeding a Beautiful Demon Lord Instead - 25

Chapter 25

I think middle management is one of the harshest jobs in the world. Pressure for unreasonable quotas comes from above, while complaints and demands push up from below. The only way to wash down all that stress is with stomach medicine and black coffee.

In my previous life, that’s exactly how my section chief was. He always cracked this unfunny joke: “Half my body is made of kindness, and the other half is pure stomach acid.”

That’s why, the moment I saw Zest, I felt an instant sense of kinship that didn’t come from being strangers.

It was a Sunday afternoon. After finishing my shopping at the market on the way home, I spotted her sitting at an outdoor table on the terrace of a café along the main street.

She wore a tight black suit and silver-framed glasses, looking every bit like the perfect example of a “capable secretary” straight out of a catalog. But deep creases were carved between her eyebrows, and she glared at the coffee cup on the table as if it were her mortal enemy.

“Hey there. Hello, Zest-san.”

When I called out, Zest snapped her head up. Her eyes locked onto me through the lenses.

“…It’s you.”

“What a coincidence. Taking a break from work?”

“…Something like that.”

She answered with a sigh and jerked her chin toward the seat across from her.

“Sit. I have something to talk about.”

It didn’t seem like I had a choice. I set my shopping bags at my feet and took the seat opposite her.

“I’ll ask straight out.”

The moment the waitress placed a glass of water on the table, Zest cut to the chase.

“What exactly is your goal?”

“My goal? Probably the egg sale. And then making a soft-boiled omelet when I get home.”

“Don’t play dumb. …I’m talking about her.”

Zest’s voice dropped lower. Her. She meant Bel-san.

“You’ve been getting close to her… to Lady Bel. What are you plotting?”

Her gaze was razor-sharp. This was the classic pattern: a coworker or subordinate worrying whether their respected superior was being deceived by some shady guy. Bel-san did have an air of being a little out of touch with the world, so it was only natural that people around her would worry.

“Plotting sounds so sinister. I’m just talking with her in the park, that’s all.”

“Just talking…? Taking her to a festival doesn’t feel like the distance of ‘just acquaintances.’”

Zest leaned forward across the table.

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Ever since she started associating with you, she… has changed.”

“Changed?”

“Yes. The icy, everything-freezing coldness she used to have has faded… and sometimes she stares out the window with a completely relaxed, goofy smile on her face.”

Maybe that was simply because the stress from work had eased up a bit.

“And then there was the recent ‘Anpan Strategy.’ In a situation where she would normally have crushed them with force, she chose negotiation—what basically amounts to bribery with food. …For our department, that’s an extremely serious matter.”

I see. From the perspective of someone as hardline as her, Bel-san’s softening approach must have felt incredibly frustrating. But personally, I thought the way Bel-san was handling things now was better.

“Zest-san. You respect Bel-san a lot, don’t you?”

“Of course! She is the supreme being. I swore to become her sword and her shield.”

“Then maybe you could trust her a little more?”

I took a sip of water before continuing.

“She’s trying really hard, you know. She always acts tough and talks big… but deep down she’s actually very sensitive and cares a lot about others.”

Zest’s face froze in surprise.

“From where I’m standing, she’s… a little clumsy, sure, but at heart she’s just a lonely, good person.”

Silence fell. The only sound was cheerful street music playing somewhere nearby, completely out of place. Zest stared at me with her mouth slightly open, not even noticing that her glasses had slipped down her nose.

“…Clumsy… lonely…?”

“Yeah. At the festival the other day, she even said it herself. ‘I want to make a world where everyone can live comfortably.’ She’s doing her very best in her own way.”

I chose my words carefully. Bel-san’s talk about “destruction and creation” had been pretty extreme, but at the root of it was genuine concern for the current state of things. It was exactly the kind of worry you’d expect from someone with such a strong sense of responsibility.

“So I just think it would be nice if she had at least one place where she could let her shoulders drop a little. Eating anpan, watching pigeons, spacing out… having time like that isn’t going to hurt anyone, right?”

After I finished, I felt a bit embarrassed. Man, I sounded way too preachy just now.

Zest stayed quiet for a long time. Eventually, her hand trembled as she pushed her glasses back into place.

“…I’m impressed.”

“Huh?”

“I… I had only ever looked at her as the ‘King.’ I believed strength was everything, that ruthlessness was true dignity.”

She gave a self-mocking laugh.

“But you… you saw right through to where her ‘soul’ really is. You accepted all of her loneliness, all of her burdens… and still chose to stand beside her.”

“Well, I’m just sitting on a bench with her, but sure.”

“That’s a figure of speech. Don’t nitpick.”

Zest straightened her posture and bowed deeply toward me.

“Kazuya-dono. No—Kazuya-sama.”

“Sama!?”

“I admit complete defeat. That discerning eye of yours, and the skill you have in completely melting her defenses… I have no choice but to acknowledge it.”

“Melting her defenses… please don’t say it in a way that invites misunderstanding.”

“You are the one who truly understands her… the only one worthy of being her irreplaceable ‘companion.’”

The conversation had taken a huge leap. Companion? Did she mean like a business partner?

“From now on, consider me one of your limbs as well. For her sake—and for yours—I won’t hesitate to offer even my life.”

“No… I really don’t need your life. For now, just make sure to stop her if she starts overloading herself with work.”

“Understood. Schedule management is one of my specialties.”

Zest nodded sharply. For some reason her eyes were sparkling. I tilted my head but figured, well, if it means more allies for Bel, that’s fine, and left it at that.

“Well then, I should get going. The eggs might go bad.”

“Wait. I’ll have you escorted.”

Zest snapped her fingers, and out of nowhere a sleek black luxury carriage appeared.

“Uh, I’m riding in this?”

“Don’t hold back. VIP treatment.”

In the end, I rode in that ridiculously fancy carriage all the way back to my apartment, shopping bags and all.

If anyone from the neighborhood saw this, they’d definitely start rumors that “Kazuya-kun’s gotten mixed up with some dangerous people.”

◆

That night, in the strategy command room of the Demon King’s castle.

“Hey, Zest. How was that human?”

Volg, the muscle daruma, asked with a grin. Zest answered coldly while flipping through documents.

“Correct yourself, Volg. Not ‘that human.’ ‘Kazuya-sama.’”

“Huh? With a honorific?”

“He is… a monster.”

Zest pushed up the bridge of her glasses with her middle finger.

“He nullifies Lady Demon King’s ‘absolute terror’ aura, extracts only the ‘lonely girl’s heart’ hidden behind it, and cherishes it… His mental structure is beyond normal human comprehension.”

“W-what…?”

“We merely prostrate ourselves before Lady Demon King’s power, but he has even dominated her ‘weakness.’ …There’s no way we can win.”

The meeting room fell dead silent. In the minds of the executives appeared the image of “the gentle guy who eats anpan.” But in their imaginations now, behind that gentle man loomed the shadow of a colossal mastermind secretly controlling even the Demon King.

“…So what do we do?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We are the Demon King’s army. We follow the strong.”

Zest smiled fearlessly.

“Understanding and carrying out Kazuya-sama’s intentions is the surest way to avoid displeasing Lady Demon King—and the shortest path to world domination.”

“I see…!”

“As expected of Zest, so smart!”

And so, a secret society called the “Kazuya Imperial Guard” was suddenly born within the Demon King’s army. Of course, the Kazuya in question had no idea any of this was happening. Right now he was probably in his apartment, happily fretting over how perfectly his soft-boiled omelet was cooking.

The world keeps turning today, too, on top of one magnificent misunderstanding.