Lord Demon is behind you

In Brave's previous team, Olga was always in charge of cooking.

Although the food she cooks is not so good that others will be moved to the point of bursting clothes after taking a bite, at least it is not a problem to deal with those picky noble teammates, which shows that the standard is quite good.

- It should have been like this.

...It should have been... like this.

"--What is this?"

Standing next to the wooden dining table, the devil rubbed his eyes several times in a row, repeatedly confirming the dishes on the table.

Probably because there is no waiter to serve the dishes in order, so a buffet-like method is directly adopted here, with more than a dozen plates lined up on the long table, probably to ask the two guests to take them by themselves.

However, the things contained in these plates are really——

"It should be for food... right?"

No, there is no need to question that.The things that are placed on the dinner table after being plated should be food no matter how you think about it.

However, looking at the black mass on the plate, the brave man became a little uncertain.

These things may have once been vegetables and meat, but now no one can tell what they are.It looks no different from black stones, and it smells like burnt food—what kind of horrific cooking method can make the ingredients look like this?

"No way, is this the food that cat girl specially prepared for the brave man!" The devil looked up and down in disbelief, "Hero, she actually has a grudge against you and wants to take the opportunity to kill you, right?"

— No wonder he felt that way.After the Demon King was defeated by the brave team, he followed the team back to the royal city as a loser. Of course, he also ate meals cooked by Olga himself during this period, and he knew her culinary skills very well.

"No, Olga shouldn't do such a thing."

The brave man replied with a heavy heart.

"Then what's going on? The things on this table are not food at all. It's just over-grilled charcoal. Could it be that she is fooling us?"

The demon king was inexplicably angry, and the brave man just looked blank.

——Why are you angry?

"...I think, no matter what, she should have no malicious intentions." Among other things, in the previous correspondence, her attitude was absolutely sincere.

Perhaps because of becoming a demon, he lost his cooking skills as a human.

The brave man pulled out the chair, sat down at the table, and picked up the knife.

"Wait...wait a minute, Brave? What are you doing?!"

"I want to eat."

As he spoke, the brave man extended his knife to the plate in front of him.He was not from aristocratic background, and his posture for holding the tableware was rough, but his hand was surprisingly stable—it didn't tremble in the slightest in front of such terrible food.

"Wait, wait, wait—!"

The Demon King grabbed his hand and almost yelled against his ear.

"This kind of thing should not be eaten, it must not be eaten! If you eat it, your health will definitely drop! Children will not confuse the coal under the stove with the food on the top. Brave, you are such a big man. You have to be more or less judgmental!"

"But," the brave man waved him away with a sigh, "if you don't eat, you won't be able to pass through this room."

"..."

The Demon King was speechless for a moment.

On the wall opposite this restaurant, there is a closed door with the words "open after the No. [-] test" is written on it.

"After all, it's the food that Olga worked so hard to prepare. I have to taste some of it. And if I don't eat it, I won't be able to give an evaluation, and the next path won't be opened—no matter what the reason is, You have to eat it here."

Don't say that these used to be ingredients anyway, even if it is real coal, you still have to eat it.

"No, no, that's why you should resist a little! She just asked you to give a rating, and didn't say that you must taste it. Faced with this kind of food that looks good, it is normal for people to refuse to try it!"

"So...why are you so excited?"

"This is my line, Brave, why are you so calm?! How can these meals look bad?? What if you die if you eat it——"

"Anyway, this is just a meal, I won't die."

Even if it is raw wood, such a small bite will not kill you.

"..."

The Demon King took a deep breath.

"Brave," he sat down across from him with a sullen face, "to me, nothing else matters, but this is food. In this world, the most unbearable existence I can tolerate is a chef who is overwhelmed! People are more annoying than rivals in love!"

This attitude... Does he have any psychological shadow in this regard?

"If the brave wants to know, it doesn't matter if I tell you..."

The Demon King looked unbearable.

"Actually, I have a sister who is this type. She loves to concoct biochemical weapons in the kitchen, and take out the things she makes and distribute them to all the creatures she can catch, no matter demons, monsters, or anything else—— "

"—So you still have a sister."

The brave man sighed with a completely wrong focus, and at the same time cut off a piece of pitch-black substance on the plate.

"Yes, there are many brothers and sisters in my family. Including me, there are eight in total."

"There are surprisingly many people..."

The brave man forked the cut part into the empty plate in front of him.

——Speaking of which, this seems to be the first time the Demon King mentioned his personal affairs, right?

Although the two have overcome many difficulties together, and the Demon King has a thorough understanding of the brave man's past and personality because of his long-term watching with a crystal ball, but conversely, the brave man's knowledge of the Demon King is still limited to "A demon lord who was once a demon king".

It's not that they haven't thought about improving their understanding - after all, they are companions who want to fight together, and there is always nothing wrong with deepening mutual understanding.However, how should I put it... I have never had a chance to ask.

Now that he had a rare chance, he took advantage of the situation and asked.

"But you are the only one who came to the human world to become the devil king? Are these brothers and sisters staying in the devil world?"

"Ah," the demon king seemed to be still angry, but replied briefly, "they are all dead."

"……Hey?"

The brave man's hand stopped in mid-air.

Why... the topic suddenly turned in a bad direction.

It seems that one second I was watching a warm family comedy drama, and the next second it suddenly turned into a heart-abusing ethics drama.

According to common sense, there should be no more questions here.Anyway, apologies and then...

"That nasty sister, because the food she made was too bad, she had to give it to others, and I killed her afterwards."

"—"

The brave man forgot to breathe for a moment.

What, this.

Did he mean...he himself... killed his own sister...?

——No, this is actually not a comedy drama or a sadistic drama, but—a horror movie.

However, when he said this sentence, the other party's face was also very ugly.

"No way, she doesn't have the consciousness of her poor cooking skills. Every time she makes a bunch of things that will die if eaten, she takes them out and forces others to eat them. She doesn't listen to anything. The guard died from food poisoning. Although my stomach is still strong, if this continues, she will die sooner or later, so..."

Did you just kill her first?

It is obviously a nonsensical beginning, but it has evolved into a surreal ending.The brave man couldn't make any response to this, he could only keep silent and freeze there.

"--what……"

After seeing the brave man's reaction, he suddenly realized that he had said something that shouldn't be said, and the Demon King suddenly became extremely disturbed.

"...Did it scare you? This kind of thing." He asked in a low voice.

"This one……"

The brave man couldn't answer.Rather than being scared, it’s better to say that there is a lack of reality: Are there really brothers and sisters in this world who would kill each other because of these things?

No, not right.In the example just now, the ones who appeared were not humans, but... demons.

By the way, this guy in front of him is a real demon lord.

For a moment, the face of the person sitting opposite seemed to be unfamiliar.The brave man is more clearly aware of the fact that the opponent is "not my race" than every time before.

"I'm sorry... As expected, I scared you, this kind of thing."

The Demon Lord huddled in his chair, all the more dejected, hiding his face behind the collar of his cloak.

It is estimated that he must really want to take back what he just said now.

"However, the demons themselves are such an existence. They talk to themselves, don't listen to others' opinions, and are completely unaware of the disasters they cause...Moreover, they unconditionally obey the law of the jungle. Even if the weak are accidentally stepped on by the strong Even if you die, you can't have any complaints."

"In the eyes of my sister at the time, I was too weak to defy her and could only eat the food obediently. I must be an ant that doesn't matter if I die. So she didn't take into account whether I would die at all... I don't want to hide it from you, that's what we are."

...what a horrible creature.To be honest, it's a little scary beyond imagination.

Humans only know that the demons are ferocious and terrifying, but they don't know that they are so "abnormal" in nature—at least the brave man himself doesn't know it at all.

If he knew, he might have refused to communicate with the Demon King from the very beginning.

Is this what my former companions, those girls, turned into?Will you give up everything you have as a human just to turn into this kind of emotionless monster?

"--how about you?"

The brave man honestly asked what was in his heart.

"Are you like that too?"

"me……"

The Demon King hid himself further in the cloak, and only half of his eyes were exposed, staring at the brave man's face nervously.

"Although I don't want to admit it... But, I am a pure-blooded demon. All these habits, talking to myself, acting on my own, dominating myself, and ignoring other lives—probably, I have inherited all of them."

"……yes."

He was simply.

Seeing that he admitted it straight away, the brave man was relieved a lot.In this way, at least it will not cause a crisis of trust among peers.

"However," he hastily added, "it won't be like this for matters related to the brave! I will definitely respect the opinions of the brave, and I will also pay attention to what the brave values. Those bad personalities , as long as you don’t like it, I’ll change everything, as long as you don’t hate me! As long as you, don’t hate me, then…”

"Even if you say that... can your nature be easily changed?"

The brave man felt a little confused.

This guy is a little too aggressive.In fact, he didn't ask him to change—although the traits of the Demon Race are really scary, at least for now, his nature has not caused any hindrance to the Raiders of the Demon King City.

Rather, it is helpful: it is precisely because the demons have no sense of compatriots that he can help humans deal with their own kind without any grievances.

"Of course, because I like brave men the most! With my love for brave men, I can overcome anything. Mere nature is nothing at all!"

...No, I don't think so.This is too far-fetched, there is no theoretical basis, and it is not something that can be done casually.

However, no matter how many times I heard a similar confession, it was still... shameful.

This does not even change due to the identity of the other party.Whether he is an enemy or a companion, a demon king or a demon, as long as he is stared at by those beautiful eyes and listens to the firm words from those lips, the brave man will be shaken unconsciously.

"Trust me—the superior demons will not lie. I swear by my bloodline!"

...If it's this guy, maybe he can do it.He is the kind of being who makes the impossible possible.

but--

That question came to the surface again from the depths of my mind.

--why?

Because I like brave men, I am willing to change myself for the sake of my sweetheart.

But why do you like the brave?As a demon lord, why would Albert Strelstein like a human being?

Why this—utterly irrational feeling?