I Was Supposed to Be Feeding the Pigeons, But Somehow I Ended Up Feeding a Beautiful Demon Lord Instead - 28

Chapter 28

Autumn is truly a wicked season. The sky stretches high and clear, the breeze feels pleasant, and above all, the bakery shelves turn brown. Sweet potatoes, chestnuts, pumpkins. The golden duo of carbs and fats wraps itself in the magic words “limited time only” and tempts me relentlessly.

“…Did I buy too much?”

I looked down at the bags in both hands and gave a wry smile. Inside were five of the new “Golden Sweet Potato Danish” and three “Rich Chestnut Cream Éclairs.” There was even a pack of “Salted Butter Rolls” for a palate cleanser.

No way I could finish all this alone. Well, if I head to the usual bench, I should have a powerful ally waiting. Despite her slender frame, she has a stomach like a black hole, so no need to worry.

As I walked toward the park, I hummed carelessly. It was a peaceful afternoon. At least, that’s what I thought until a few seconds later.

◆

It happened just as I reached the fountain plaza at the park entrance. Suddenly the air around me felt stagnant. The refreshing breeze stopped dead, replaced by a sticky, humid heat that clung to my skin.

“…?”

The moment I stopped walking, a black shadow swayed out from behind the bushes ahead. Not just one. Three, four… no, maybe ten in total. All of them wore black robes and hid their faces behind masks. At the center stood one especially large man. He was clad in rugged, spike-covered armor, and a massive axe almost as tall as he was rested on his back.

“…Found you.”

The man spoke in a low, earth-shaking voice. His eyes, peering from behind the mask, glared straight through me with a fierce glint.

“You’re the one. The root cause who seduced our king and led him into corruption.”

King? Seduced? I tilted my head.

…Ah, I get it. It’s still a bit early for Halloween, but there must be a cosplay event nearby, or maybe they’re filming an indie movie. The production quality is impressive—definitely theater troupe members.

“Oh, hello. Is this a stage play? I’ll just slip past so I don’t get in the way.”

“Troops…? Well, yeah, something like that.”

As I bowed politely and tried to walk by, the man slammed his axe into the ground.

GAAAN!! The stone pavement shattered, and fragments flew everywhere.

…Wait, was that real? Or is it styrofoam? Stage tech these days is incredible.

“Stop right there, human.”

“Uh…”

“I am Garand General, leader of the Demon Lord Army’s radical faction. I rank just below the Four Heavenly Kings.”

…So that’s the character setting. Ever since the capital fell to the Demon Lord Army, it’s all “Hail the Demon Lord” this and that. Can’t someone do something about it?

“Do you even know how pathetic the Demon Lord Army has become lately? The invasion war is on hold, the budget disappears into anpan expenses, and worst of all, the Demon Lord himself is fooling around in the park with a human man. Your crime is grave. You planted soft, weak ideas like ‘labor standards law’ into our supreme Demon Lord, pulled out his fangs… a crime worthy of ten thousand deaths!”

“Labor standards law? Ma—Demon Lord-sama?”

I blinked rapidly. What was he talking about? Was this troupe’s play something like “The Rebellion of the Corporate Slave”?

“Prepare yourself. I will take your head and display it at the castle gates to snap our Demon Lord back to his senses!”

Garand raised his hand, and the robed men around him began chanting spells in unison. Purple light gathered at their fingertips. Probably some lighting effect. It looked pretty nice.

“Dieeeee!!”

Garand swung his axe high and charged straight at me. The force was overwhelming. Professional acting. I almost clapped and shouted “Bravo,” but right then—

DOOOOOOM!! A deafening roar that pierced my eardrums rang out, and a pillar of black light poured down from the sky.

My vision went pure white. Then a violent gust roared through, and I instinctively shut my eyes and braced myself. A few seconds later, I cautiously opened them again. An unbelievable sight spread before me.

The stone pavement that had been right in front of me was gouged out in a roughly five-meter-wide crater, scorched black. The armored man and the robed figures who had been standing there were gone. Nothing remained except wisps of black smoke rising with a faint hiss.

“…Huh?”

I looked up at the sky. Not a single cloud in the blue expanse.

“Lightning…?”

It struck. Something definitely struck right in front of me.

A meteor? What happened to the troupe members? Did they run away during the explosion? Or was that part of the “teleportation” effect?

“…That was close, jeez.”

I pressed a hand to my pounding heart and checked the bags. The danishes were safe. Good. Anyway, this place felt dangerous now. Better hurry to the usual bench for safety.

◆

“…You’re late.”

At the bench deep in the park sat Bel in her usual black robe. She had her legs crossed and was reading a paperback. Her expression was as sullen as ever, but today the air around her felt strangely tense and sharp.

“Sorry, there was a little trouble at the entrance.”

I sat beside her and told her what happened.

“There was this huge explosion sound. Lightning, maybe? The theater people all vanished too. I feel like I got tricked by a fox or something.”

“…I see. Lightning, huh.”

Bel closed her book and spoke without much interest.

“They say autumn skies are fickle. Some unlucky bug must have gotten hit by divine punishment.”

“Bug…? They were people, you know.”

“To me, it’s the same thing.”

She declared it coldly, then dropped her gaze to the bag in my hands.

“More importantly, Kazuya. What’s that? It smells sweet.”

“Oh, this? New danishes. I thought we could share them.”

When I pulled out a golden danish from the bag, the sharpness vanished from Bel’s eyes in an instant, replaced by a sparkle.

“Oh…! What beautiful glaze. It shines like a crown.”

“Right? The smell of sweet potato and butter is irresistible.”

We bit into the danishes side by side. With a crisp, light crunch, rich sweetness filled our mouths.

“Mmm…! Delicious…!”

Bel’s cheeks softened. The tense atmosphere from earlier disappeared like a lie, and a gentle, flower-blooming aura seemed to surround her. Peaceful. Maybe what happened earlier was just an illusion, or maybe a daydream brought on by my hunger.

“…Kazuya.”

Halfway through eating, Bel suddenly spoke up.

“Yeah?”

“Those pesky flying insects buzzing around you have started to get on my nerves.”

“Flying insects? Oh, yeah, mosquitoes are still around.”

I looked at my arm. No bites, though.

“Exactly. Insolent flying insects. Stepping into my precious flower garden with muddy feet, and on top of that trying to scratch what belongs to me.”

Bel’s voice dropped a little lower again. Her gaze didn’t seem to be on me anymore—it felt like it was directed toward the entrance where the explosion had happened.

“What belongs to you? Who do you mean?”

Bel stared intently at me. Confused, I pointed at myself.

“M-me? Treating me like an object is kinda harsh.”

When I gave a wry smile, Bel suddenly snapped back and faced me.

“N-no! It’s just a figure of speech! I mean… contractor, or ally, something like that!”

“I know, I know. Bel-san is really responsible, so you’re always looking out for your subordinates and the people around you, right?”

I placed a hand lightly on her shoulder.

“Don’t get so worked up. Let’s just relax and eat.”

Bel stared at my hand, then let out a small sigh.

“You’re right. There’s no need for me to dirty my own hands… From now on, maybe I should extend the range of the automatic interception barrier a bit.”

“Hm? What was that?”

“Nothing. I said the danish is delicious.”

With that, she leaned against my shoulder. Her body seemed to tremble faintly, but I couldn’t tell whether it was from anger or from being overwhelmed by how good the danish tasted.

◆

At that moment, deep in the park bushes, Zest was shaking uncontrollably. She gripped a pair of binoculars in her hands.

“…I-instant annihilation…”

She had seen it. The instant Garand and the others tried to attack Kazuya, Bel—who was sitting on the bench—had merely twitched one finger while opening the danish bag with her other hand. That single motion had literally erased one of the Demon Lord Army’s most combat-heavy factions.

“Demon Lord-sama… for Kazuya-sama’s sake, you would turn even your long-time loyal retainers into ashes without hesitation…?”

Zest shuddered. To the current Bel, the Demon Lord Army’s discipline and loyalty were nothing more than dust compared to tea time with Kazuya.

“Kazuya-sama… just what kind of sorcery did you use to transform that tyrannical Demon Lord into such a maiden…?”

In the direction of Zest’s gaze, Kazuya was gently wiping a bit of pie crust from Bel’s mouth with his finger. Bel’s face turned bright red as she let him do it.

To anyone else, the scene looked like a sweet couple on a date. But to Zest, it resembled nothing less than critical maintenance on the safety device that held the fate of the world.

“‘Kazuya-sama’s danish holds value equivalent to military deterrence’…”

With trembling hands, Zest jotted the note down and quietly slipped away.

Her stomach pain had once again broken through its limits today.