Chapter 5: Tear-Soaked Vongole Pasta

In the corridor of the ancient castle.

A small, cute, and not-so-insignificant girl stood alone in the middle of the wide hallway, muttering to herself.

She stood there blankly with a look of despair.

“I.. I can’t take this anymore!!”

Why was the one and only daughter of the Demon King, Devil, the pinnacle of the Magocratic Kingdom, first in line for the throne, the daughter of the supreme ruler, Beelzebub, so angry?

“Princess, it is time for breakfast.”

At the word “breakfast,” Beelzebub shot out of bed like a passionate young man searching for squid and rice stir-fry.
Ah! So cute!

“Hyaaawn… What’s for bweakfast today?”

Though she had woken up strong and mighty, she was still sleepy.
Beelzebub yawned, her tiny mouth wide open, and asked the servant for the menu.

“Yes, Princess. Today’s breakfast menu consists of eggs boiled in vinegar, toast made from bread with raisins and nuts, burnt and then scraped clean of the soot, raw salmon marinated in sugar and tomato porridge for fifteen hours, and to finish, milk blended with green chili peppers and the vinegar from the boiled eggs.”

Wow… is that really a… menu?
Are those dishes even made for human consumption…?
It’s probably best not to say such things.

“Okay… I’m gonna wash my face. Help me.”

However, as if the menu were familiar, Beelzebub’s expression didn’t change a bit.
With the servant’s help, she washed her face, changed into a magnificent dress, and moved to her seat for breakfast.

“Today as well, we have prepared a menu of delicacies for the Princess. Please enjoy your meal.”

Leaving behind the chef who bowed respectfully to her, Beelzebub, seated at the head of the table, examined the dishes placed before her one by one.

“Huh… what’s this…? Yesterday, I definitely wanted to eat these… why do they look so yucky now?”

“Gasp… D-Do you find something not to your liking, Princess?”

At Beelzebub’s disappointed tone, the terrified palace chef trembled as he asked.

“Mmm… no… you made it just like I asked yesterday…”

Although her words said it was fine… her expression said otherwise.
The palace chef wanted to ask more… but he held his tongue, afraid of having his head chopped off for impertinence.

“T-Thank you for the meal…”

“Haap…”

Finally, Beelzebub took a bite!
First, the raw salmon marinated in sugar and tomato porridge for fifteen hours.

“Keh!!! Ke-kek!! Cough, cough!! Eugggh…!”

The palace chef’s beheading was confirmed!

“Kuaaahhh!!! Princess!! Princess!!! Please… please have mercy!!! Hwaaahhh!!”

The screams of the palace chef, caught by the guards and dragged outside, filled the room.

“Hee… heek…!! Milk… milk…!!”

Needing to calm her terrorized tongue, Beelzebub thoughtlessly chugged the green milk beside her, but…

“Kyaaaaa! Bwehhh…”

Oh no!
Beelzebub has broken!
Well… she did last a long time, didn’t she?

And that’s what happened.

-Slam!-

“Daddy!!!”

The door to the Demon King’s office had become a free-for-all, but only for Beelzebub.
And…

“Ugh… so you’ve come, my daughter…”

The Demon King, looking as haggard as someone who hadn’t eaten in days, was barely managing his work at his desk, clutching his starving stomach.

“D-D-Daddy!!! What happened!! Why do you look so sick??”

“…A-Are you worried about this father? Sniffle…”

The Demon King was moved by his precious other half, who worried about him the moment she entered his office.

“Do not worry… It is merely… that I am hungry…”

“Huh?? Are you hungry too, Daddy? Me too… I’m hungry too…”

Just then! The sound of a small fishing boat and a battleship’s foghorn filled the office!

“Guroorororok…!”

“Guuurrrrrrrrgle…!”

“………”

“………”

A silent… yet meaningful pause filled the office.

“Daddy… I wanna eat the food Teo Ajeossi and I made together…”

Beelzebub clutched her hungry stomach and looked up lovingly at the Demon King.

“A-Ahem… B-But today is the monthly evaluation…”

“Sniffle… Hwaaaah… I’m… hungry…”

Ah! Beelzebub finally burst into tears!
The Demon King made the Princess cry again!!

“…But! One cannot receive a proper evaluation on an empty stomach with no strength!
Beelzebub? Step back for a moment. I need to open the portal.”

As Beelzebub shed chicken… no, sapphire-like tears, the Demon King quickly changed his tune!
As expected… do you have to be this good to be the Demon King?

-Woooong…-

“Yebbi!! Let’s go eat the food Teo Ajeossi made!!
Daddy, you have to do ‘Yebbi!!’ too!!”

(TL Note: Yebbi is a cute exclamation used by Beelzebub.)

When the Demon King opened the portal, Beelzebub smiled brightly, stretched her arms up high, and let out a cute cry.
Eh… surely the Demon King wouldn’t actually say ‘Yebbi!!’ and make a cute cry just like Beelzebub said?

“…Ye… Yebbi…”

Oh… he really did it?
As expected of the doting Demon King!

“Hmph!! Louder!! Put your arms up like me… Yebbi!!! Like this!”

“…Y-Ye… Yebbi!!!!”

“Good!!! I’m hungry! Let’s go, Daddy!!”

While the two pinnacles of the empire, acting nothing like their lineage, were cheerfully preparing to enter the portal, what was Teo, the untouchable, the lowest of the low in the world, who had been appointed as the cabin’s caretaker, doing?

“Kyaah!!! This is the life!
Wow… to sleep lying down for more than three hours without leaning on a rope…
Sniffle… T-Tears are coming to my eyes…”

In a corner of the now sparkling clean cabin, he had just woken up refreshed after sleeping on a mat, thinking it would be more comfortable (he was worried he’d get his limbs torn off by the Demon King if he slept on the bed).
A happy ending for all!

“Hehe… I finished cleaning the cabin by dawn!
And the Demon King said he’d come through the portal with ingredients around noon!
Until then, I’m free, free!”

-Plop!-

Teo dived onto the sofa in the middle of the living room.

“Guuuruuurururuk…!!”

Just then! The roaring sound of a V10 naturally aspirated engine filled the cabin.
Teo, who had been enjoying his leisure time sprawled on the antique sofa that was likely more expensive than his entire being, clutched his hungry stomach and began to rummage through the kitchen.

-Rustle, rustle-

“Hmm… I’m sure I saw some pasta while cleaning the house yesterday… where is it…?”

The bustling sound of him searching the kitchen spread leisurely through the early morning.
Filled with the thought of making breakfast using the leftover clams from yesterday, Teo was searching for the pasta he had seen while cleaning.

“Kya-ha!! Found it!”
“Vongole, you’re so on! Uhu… uhuhuhuhu… uhahahahaha!!”

Teo, who had let out a dark (not really) laugh that clearly showed his untouchable status, went out to the garden behind the cabin where he had pulled up radishes yesterday, picked some garlic and parsley, and began to prepare the Vongole pasta (not really Vongole since it wasn’t manila clams) with a flourish.

“Hmm-hmm~ First! Salt the water in the pot.”
“When the water boils, throw in a pinch… no, since I’m hungry, a whole fistful of pasta!”

-Swoosh!-

“Second! Slice the garlic thinly and chop the parsley in advance!”

-Chop, chop, chop, chop!-

“Third! Place the slightly undercooked pasta in a bowl to rest!”

-Swish!-

“Fourth! Heat olive oil in a pan, and add the star of the Vongole! (Not really.) Clams, the garlic I just sliced, and the expensive-looking white wine from the wine tank in the basement! Well… I feel like my limbs will be torn off, so… let’s skip that!
Stir-fry until one or two clams open up!”

-Sizzzzle!!-

“Fifth! The moment the clams open!
Add the resting pasta and a ladle of pasta water to the pan and reduce the heat to low!”

-Swoooosh!! Bubble… bubble…-

“Sixth! Once all the clams have opened!
Take them out! If you overcook them, they’ll get chewy like rubber! While you’re at it, set aside a few clams for decoration and shell the rest.”

-Clatter. Clatter!-

“Seventh! Turn off the heat and shake the pan!
This is how the water and oil meet the starch and mix together to become a thick~ sauce!
The professional term is manteca’re! If you can’t do this, you should just give up on pasta and go make banquet noodles!”

-Stir! Stir!-

“Finally! Add the shelled clams to the well-cooked pasta, mix well, then!
Plate the finished Vongole pasta, top it with the decorative clams, and sprinkle parsley on top, and…?”

-Click. Drizzle…-

“Done!!!
Kiyaaah!!! A perfect Vongole! (Not perfect since it’s not manila clams.) It’s done!!”

Our untouchable Teo, who had completed the perfect (not really) Vongole pasta with much fanfare and fuss, fell into deep thought with a serious expression, as if something was missing.

“Hmm… come to think of it… it’s a bit sad to just eat Vongole (not really)…”
“Sssip… h-just one glass… from the wine tank in the kitchen basement… just one glass of white wine… wouldn’t it be okay to drink… just one?”

Halt!! You insolent fool!
How dare you, Teo, an untouchable, covet the wine stored by the Demon King who provided you with room and board!
This is why they say you shouldn’t take in a dark-haired beast… or since he has white hair, is he just a beast?
Anyway, isn’t it because of people with thoughts like these that our ancestors came up with the wise saying that you shouldn’t take people in?

That’s what Teo thought… but…
Is a scoundrel a scoundrel?
His body was already opening the door to the basement where the wine tank was.

-Creeak! Thud… thud… thud…-

“Ugh… it’s creepy… the low temperature of the basement adds to it…”

As Teo described, the basement, designed to keep out even a single ray of light to maintain the freshness of the wine, was greeted only by the chilly drafts of the underground.

“Ooh… goosebumps…!!”

“Ugh… let’s just get one glass and go back up… I’ve got goosebumps all over…”
“Wait a minute… the Demon King isn’t even here… why do I have goosebumps all over…?”

While covered in goosebumps, Teo rubbed the arm with the worst of it and searched for the white wine tank.

“Wow… what kind of wine is this…? The aroma… no! This is red wine…”
“I’ll have to sneak some of this later when I eat meat!”

Teo quickly searched for the white wine tank with insolent thoughts.

“Ooh, goosebumps!!!”

“F-Found it!! Quick… quick!! S-Something feels wrong!”
“And the pasta shouldn’t get cold either… let’s hurry up and get out of here!”

-Glug, glug, glug!-

Feeling something ominous, Teo quickly poured a glass of white wine for pairing and rushed up out of the basement connected to the kitchen, but…

“Slurrrrp!!”

“Kyaa!! Daddy! This is so~ yummy!!
I think it’s even yummier than what we ate yesterday!”

“Hoho… eat slowly, Beelzebub. My! You’re getting it all over your mouth…”
“It’s a good thing we’re eating alone.”

“You mustn’t eat like this in front of the servants or officials. Franz will nag you.”
“Bring your face closer to your father, I’ll wipe it for you.”

“Heeek!! I hate Franz’s nagging!! Hate it, hate it!!”

“………”

Uh… the perfect Vongole (not really) that Teo had painstakingly made while clutching his hungry stomach was being devoured, down to the last drop of sauce, by the lovey-dovey father-daughter duo, the two strongest beings in the world, who had arrived without him even knowing.

“E-Eh? No way…?”

“Huh?? It’s Teo Ajeossi!! Teo Ajeossi!! You made this yummy thing, right??
It’s weally!! Weally, weally yummy!! It’s on a different level from the food at the castle!!”

“Hmm? Oh! The caretaker is here! Did you anticipate our arrival at this time and prepare such a delicious pasta?
You’re more perceptive than I thought! Very well done!”

“Uh… that… ha… haha…”

The gazes of the father and daughter turned to Teo, who had just crawled up from the basement.
Fortunately, the white wine Teo had pilfered from the basement wasn’t noticed by the Demon King…

“Hmm? This aroma… it’s the wine from the basement that I’ve been aging since the day Beelzebub was born, to drink together on her coming-of-age ceremony…”

Teo’s lifespan -80 years!

“…or not. It’s just the scent of white wine.”
“I was just thinking of white wine while eating this dish…”
“It seems I underestimated the caretaker yesterday.”
“To match my tastes so perfectly… remarkable.”

Teo’s lifespan +81 years!

-Snatch!-

Our Demon King snatched the white wine from the dazed Teo’s hand!
Since he was satisfied, Teo would surely be happy too, right?

“Drip…”

“Th-Thank you… I-I’m honored by your praise… M-My Lord…”

Ah! Today as well, Teo shed tears of satisfaction from bringing joy to the Demon King!
Hang in there, Teo! Enjoy it, Teo! Serve the Demon King with all your heart and soul, Teo.