...Gulp!
The throat of Dyoll rippled.
A shriveled, dried-up potato from the sack. A stew made as a test using that. Dyoll took a spoonful of it, and both Reivaj and Aged Kimchi turned their eyes toward him.
"Are you alright?"
Reivaj asked with a face full of concern.
It was understandable.
Everyone was starving.
And in that situation, Dyoll confessed he had kept some potatoes aside. Though, he admitted, their condition seemed off. So he would try eating it himself, as a test.
He had stepped forward with a solemn face.
Thus, Reivaj prayed. That his loyal servant would be safe. That nothing would go wrong.
Aged Kimchi felt the same.
He resolved inwardly that if he saw any strange signs in the servant, he would immediately pat his back and make him vomit the stew.
Then it happened.
The royal taster of Chuno stew—no Dyoll—suddenly began trembling all over.
So suddenly.
So violently.
To the point where it gave the onlookers a heart attack.
".....H-Hey?"
No way.
Please, no.
Reivaj's face turned pale.
Aged Kimchi immediately moved to act.
But at that very moment—
"Bwaaaa!"
Dyoll, who had been trembling all over, suddenly threw his head back. His eyes burst wide with euphoric madness as a thought ran through his head.
This flavor is unjust.
This flavor is violent.
And I was even starving.
This is basically cheating.
He had never experienced such taste. A joy so overwhelming it felt like his tear glands would burst on their own.
Of course, he had no idea.
The secret behind the flavor of the Chuno he had eaten was not only the devoted touch of the demons from the abandoned land, but also the unique flavor imparted by the feet of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Baal, who had stomped the Chuno with great care (?).
But since he didn't know, it didn't matter.
For the first time in his life, Dyoll felt the peak of human greed.
"Hehehe... huhp!"
He moved his spoon busily.
He devoured the Chuno stew in the pot. No, he drank it. He didn't care whether his tongue got burned or not.
'This... I'm eating this all by myself!'
He couldn't give it to anyone else.
He couldn't share even a little.
Even if it were his young master.
"My... precious!"
He finally shouted.
And bolted.
Hugging the Chuno pot to his chest.
To a place where no one could steal it from him.
He wanted to run far, far away.
But he failed.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Thump!
"...!"
Before he knew it, Aged Kimchi appeared beside him and reached out. There was no way to avoid it. He got grabbed by the scruff of his neck. He almost fell forward with a jolt.
'Nooo!'
He couldn't spill the treasure inside the pot.
If it spilled?
He would lick the dirt clean off the ground. That's how good it was. He didn't want to lose even a drop or a piece.
'Pleaseee!'
Dyoll widened his eyes.
He summoned the greatest focus of his life.
An illusion, as if time was flowing slowly. Within that, the pot tipping, about to spill. He reached out. To grab it. To hug it close like a precious treasure.
But...
Thump!
Aged Kimchi swiftly reached out.
He grabbed the pot.
He could feel the heat through his palm. But it didn't matter. Compared to the flames spewed by the demons, this was merely warmth.
And so, Aged Kimchi successfully caught both the pot that was about to spill and the rampaging Dyoll.
But Dyoll didn't stop.
"Ugh! Nngh! J-Just a moment! Please!"
"Hey, calm down. Stay still..."
"Just one bite! One more bite!"
"What is this even... Is it really okay? Hm?"
"I told you, I'm fine! Wait a second! Please! Just a bit!"
Dyoll struggled and begged, eventually sticking out his tongue, panting. Then, he tried to lick Aged Kimchi's thumb, which had stew on it from holding the pot.
Aged Kimchi's expression turned grave.
"...Don't tell me this is a hallucination. This food must be tainted."
"I think so too. Hey, Dyoll? Are you okay? It's me. Your young master. Do you recognize me?"
"I do, young master. I'm perfectly fine. Just, please, the bit on your hand, just one more bite, yes? Heh heh!"
"....."
Aged Kimchi and Reivaj looked at each other briefly. Then exchanged meaningful glances. Tsk, tsk. This guy—he was such a good, polite fellow...
"I'm afraid we'll have to throw it out."
"I agree. It really seems to cause hallucinations…"
"Nooooooo—!"
Dyoll screamed in desperation. But Reivaj calmly shook his head.
"This is all for your sake. For now, you need to rest and recover."
"Young Masterrrr!"
"Sir Aged Kimchi? Please hold my servant tightly."
Reivaj took the pot resolutely. He intended to pour it into the trash pit.
But then it happened.
"........"
Suddenly, without warning, a scent drifted from the Chuno stew and tickled Reivaj's nostrils. It tempted him. Lured him.
'...Maybe I should investigate the symptoms a bit more closely.'
That way, he could properly diagnose his servant's hallucination. Because his servant was precious. A good fellow. Someone he truly wanted to save.
Yes.
What he felt now was not temptation. It was a solemn sense of duty to protect the one who followed him.
So just a small taste, just a dab with the finger, just to sample it—this couldn't possibly be a sin.
No.
Rather, what could this be if not the noble noblesse oblige, personally enduring risk for the sake of one's subordinate?
...Poke. Slurp.
Having smoothly rationalized himself (?), Reivaj dipped his finger into the stew and popped it into his mouth.
The next moment, his steps halted.
Then his body began to tremble.
"...Huh? Young Master?"
Servant Dyoll, who had been watching the distant Chuno pot with yearning, asked in disbelief. Aged Kimchi, who had been holding the servant back, furrowed his brow with foreboding.
And then—
"Whoa? Whoa! He—He's running? Young Master's gone mad, seriously!"
Throwing aside his cane, Reivaj clutched the pot and began a full-fledged escape, driven by greed.
An unexpected chase between young master and servant. And with that, the heavenly aroma spread throughout the fortress city in real time.
It was the beginning of the legend of Chuno, destined to dominate the human realm.
***
"And that's why... we must sell Chuno."
"......."
Not dark, but moderately lit—the temporary conference room.
Silence filled the tent, where Zephyros and the Four Heavenly Kings were gathered.
Kim Jangcheol continued speaking.
"You understand the reason now, right? At this rate, we're doomed. We can't even think about the next harvest."
"Um, so... you mean, the potatoes we harvested this time can only be eaten, but not planted?"
Zephyros asked with a furrowed brow.
Kim Jangcheol nodded.
"Exactly. Nicely summarized."
"So then, what you're saying is, to secure seeds for the next farming season, we'll need to take some of the potatoes—Chuno—to the human world and sell them?"
"Yeah. That's exactly it."
Kim Jangcheol looked around at everyone.
"If we don't sell at least that, do we have any way to buy seeds?"
"......"
This time no one could answer including Zephyros. Everyone already knew. That they were dirt poor.
"Haa… If only the Demon King's Castle hadn't collapsed like that, I wouldn't have even considered this."
Kim Jangcheol sighed.
It was true.
The old Demon King's Castle had been a bit poor, sure, but even then, there were still a few things that could be brought to the human world and sold. Leftover scraps of treasure looted by the Demon King two generations ago, odds and ends, everyday utensils—stuff like that.
But now, even those are gone.
Wiped out. Buried completely when the Demon King's Castle crumbled. Even if they were to dig it all up, it wouldn't have any value left as merchandise.
'Damn it, Second Star Master, all because of that damned bug-slaying weed bastard…!'
Kim Jangcheol held back the bitter tears welling inside. Then he turned to everyone and asked,
"Does anyone else have a different opinion? Or rather, any demon?"
"…Um, pardon the interruption, but…"
At last, Hartok of the Four Heavenly Kings, who had remained silent the whole time, carefully opened his mouth and raised a question.
"I understand very well what the Demon King has said. I also fully understand the difficult situation we now face. But even so… would humans really buy the potatoes, the Chuno, that we are selling?"
"Indeed. I also find that point questionable. Who would willingly purchase agricultural goods from the demons…?"
Zephyros added quickly, as if he'd been waiting to say it.
Asurat was of the same mind.
"Normal humans would probably wet themselves in fear just from seeing us. Especially this guy over here."
Sirgi, who had been pointed at by Asurat, snapped.
"The kind of face that'd scare humans into peeing themselves is clearly yours. But whatever. I also doubt that what we sell would actually be bought by humans. Trade with humans? Looking like this? We'd be better off threatening them into buying it, or just invading the human realm instead."
"…But Baal could pull it off!"
"Hm? How?"
"Because Baal is pretty!"
"........"
Silence fell again.
Zephyros spoke with a grave expression.
"…As you can see, that's everyone's opinion."
"Then, Zephyros, what do you think?"
"To be honest, I also…"
Zephyros trailed off, glancing around at the Four Heavenly Kings. His gaze was oddly meaningful. That look made them bristle.
"…Why did you trail off and then look at me first?"
"Ah, Lord Hartok? That wasn't what I meant—"
"You looked at Hartok first, sure, but I think you stared at me the longest."
"A-A misunderstanding, Lord Asurat."
"…Then what about me, huh? You looked at me last. So I look even weirder than these rugged, grotesque guys? Hm?"
"Not at all. I'd never think that of you, Lady Sirgi."
"But Zephyros! You didn't even glance at Baal! I'm hurt!"
"…I'm sorry."
Having thus compiled everyone's thoughts, Zephyros turned to Kim Jangcheol.
"No matter how we try to spin it, our appearance is vastly different from humans. And not just different—it's bound to provoke fear and hostility. On top of that, it was only recently that the 4th Star Master invaded the fortress city on the border of the human world. So the fear and wariness humans feel toward us has likely grown even stronger. But…"
Zephyros pushed up his glasses and asked,
"Demon King, how exactly do you believe we can sell Chuno to humans?"
"Hmm, what do you think the reason is?"
"Perhaps… you simply haven't thought about it?"
"…Hey."
"My apologies. The truth is, I believe—"
"You believe?"
"That the Demon King has already devised a plan, and that is why he was bold enough to present such a reckless idea… and that through gathering our opinions like this, he is also subtly testing us once again… that's what I suspect."
"…Yeah. Half right, half wrong."
Kim Jangcheol let out a chuckle.
This is why he liked Zephyros.
He was sharp. Thanks to that, he always picked up on what he was thinking.
"Why would I test you guys? There's no need. I did hope maybe a better idea would come up, but unfortunately, it didn't."
"Then…"
"Yeah. I do have a plan."
Kim Jangcheol slowly stood up.
Then he looked around at everyone.
"I really spent the whole night thinking. How can we approach humans? How can we erase their fear and suspicion toward us and sell our Chuno? And finally, just as dawn began to break, I thought of it."
Zephyros and the Four Heavenly Kings.
All of them stared at Kim Jangcheol.
And they all thought the same thing.
Our Demon King.
Once seen as someone who acted in incomprehensible ways, but whose every action had a deeply profound meaning.
What sort of wisdom would he show us this time? What brilliant plan would he use to overcome this challenge?
And I—what role will I play in aiding the Demon King to illuminate the future of the abandoned land?
"The plan that will allow us to go to the human world and sell Chuno is…"
Thump… thump…
Everyone's hearts pounded.
An overwhelming anticipation bubbled up.
They couldn't wait to hear it.
The brilliant solution from the Demon King's own mouth—
Finally pierced their ears.
"We put a mole on our cheeks."
"......"
Huh?
"We'll disguise ourselves. Prettily."
"........"
What the f***?
Come again?
[T/L: I am not getting any support from webnovel platform, so please support me and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]