A Feast for You (2)

“Haaam….”

The Demon of Sloth, Artania, enjoyed the ‘special feast’ brought and prepared by Parsih, then sprawled out in the corner of her room like a bum. Lying down with a full stomach made her yawn involuntarily. Because she flopped down haphazardly, her wavy golden hair stuck out a bit, and her ample breasts jiggled once. Her appearance gave anyone who saw her a languid impression. And she was actually languid.

‘When is Parsih coming?’

She smacked her lips, thinking of Parsih, who brought and prepared humans for her every time. A contradictory Demon who was an Imp hybrid, yet freakishly tall. Whoever the fucked-up Demon was who knocked up an Imp, their heights couldn’t exceed 130cm. They were basically dwarves. But Parsih inherited Imp blood and was still over 190cm.

‘Anyway, he’s a strange one.’

Artania’s height was around 158cm. Not short as either a human or a Demon, but when she stood in front of Parsih, she became an Imp. She didn’t like that fact very much before, but lately, she’d started to think it was okay. He was good at cooking… and he brought her lots of humans. For Artania, who hated even hunting and had settled in the swamp, he was a pretty good partner.

‘How did I even meet him…?’

She recalled her meeting with Parsih.

….

…

..

.

Meetings between Demons always involve coincidence. Because they don’t try to meet each other. It would be more accurate to say they weren’t interested. They didn’t exactly welcome their own kind either. Most Demons were thoroughly individualistic. So even when she met Parsih, it was just another ordinary day. As usual, she was trapping humans who fearlessly visited the swamp, recovering them, and chewing them raw when a Demon who was just disgustingly tall ran up in a fluster. His face looked greasy, which made him even more annoying.

“You! What do you think you’re doing!”

Artania couldn’t forget the harsh words Parsih had thrown at her back then. Barbaric, uncivilized, didn’t know how to eat… She was so dumbfounded by his barrage of insults that she retaliated by violently overturning the ground. As the owner of the swamp, Artania was skilled in water and earth magic.

The ground flipped over, and water gushed out. There was no way Parsih, who was at best an Imp hybrid, could avoid the magic of a true Demon, especially one with the epithet ‘Sloth.’ All the more so because Artania wasn’t weak just because she was lazy.

“Kkeueaek!!!”

His arms broke, and pieces of flesh fell off. Torn apart by the terrifying water pressure and sharp rock fragments, Parsih was a complete mess. Still, a Demon was a Demon, so he didn’t die from just one attack. Artania moved her heavy feet and approached him.

“Imp…?”

His face was ashen. The only ones with ashen faces in this world were Imps. She rolled her eyes and looked at Parsih. He was big. Not in a weird way, just incredibly big. Was he really an Imp? What the hell were the Imps I knew…? Looking closely, he had horns on his forehead. They were pathetic compared to hers, but they were definitely a symbol of a Demon.

“A Demon-Imp hybrid…? Puhahaha!!”

She burst out laughing.

No way. There was a Demon who fucked an Imp. Unlike other Demons, Artania knew a lot about sex. Sloth and lust were inseparable. However, she didn’t get addicted to masturbation like Gaolise. Her laziness overshadowed her lust. In the same vein, her appetite was also voracious.

Wiping away the rising tears, she looked at the tall Imp and said,

“Hey. What’s your name?”

She thought positively, ‘I haven’t had this much fun in a while,’ and asked the Imp, who was just panting.

“Kkeueuk… Par…sih, I-imnida….”

“What a shitty name.”

She sneered and flipped him off. Then she immediately turned around. What did she care if he died or not? Too lazy to finish him off, Artania left Parsih and returned to her abode.

Or rather, she was about to return.

“Wa, wait a minute!”

“…What?”

Turning her head again, Parsih was standing up on two perfectly fine legs. Hmm. How? Demons were said to have good stamina, but not enough to recover that quickly. She was a little suspicious, but she brushed it off with the thought, ‘It must be because he’s an Imp hybrid.’ She couldn’t be bothered to think more about it.

“I, I’ll cook for you!”

Artania tilted her head at Parsih’s sudden words. Cooking? For her, who had only ever washed humans who fell into the swamp, the cooking process was unfamiliar. Strictly speaking, this wasn’t cooking but preparation, but anyway. Artania didn’t feel the need for cooking. Why would she cook when it tasted good raw? The blood that burst when she bit into muscles and blood vessels, and the savory taste of the crunchy bones, were excellent in themselves.

“Piss off, you idiot.”

She was seeing all sorts of weirdos.

A Demon cooking? Why would she do such a bothersome thing?

“Never! You will never be able to forget it!”

“…….”

“I will let you taste the flavor of heaven!!”

The flavor of heaven, huh…

…Wait a minute.

I’m a Demon.

“Isn’t that like saying you’ll die?”

“It means it’s so delicious you’ll die eating it! Was my joke funny? I hope it was!”

Artania, who had chuckled at this terrible joke, was offended and tried to blow Parsih away as he was… but she was slightly tempted.

“…How delicious is it?”

As explained before, sloth, lust, and gluttony were a set. For her, who just lazed around and ate when food was piled up, the modifier ‘delicious enough to die’ was intriguing.

“Seeing is believing! Do you happen to have a separate residence?”

“…Why a residence?”

“Because I need a place to cook! Cooking methods are extremely limited outside!”

“Hmm…. If you do anything stupid, I’ll kill you right away.”

However, the situation didn’t change much even when he came to Artania’s castle buried underground. As Parsih said, she was living a life close to a barbarian, so there were no cooking utensils.

“Haa….”

“Are you sighing at me right now?”

“No! No, I’m not! Not at all! I was just surprised! Your castle is very beautiful!”

It was obvious flattery, but Artania felt good and ordered with a nod.

To try his hand at that great cooking.

“If it’s not good, I’ll kill you, so you better behave.”

“Aha! I won’t disappoint you!”

Parsih, licking his dry lips, took out all sorts of seasonings and wines from his subspace. Artania’s eyes widened.

“You know how to use space magic?”

“Yes! It’s my specialty!”

“But what are those things you took out? What’s that ceramic?”

“That’s not ceramic, it’s wine! This is pepper! That’s parsley!”

“Yeah, you’re great. So can I eat that?”

“No, no! These are ingredients! And cooking requires patience! Please wait a moment!”

“How long?”

“Hmm… Since there’s no oven or big pot, grilling would be appropriate! It’ll take time to prepare, so please wait about two hours!”

“Twooo hoooours?”

Artania was dumbfounded.

For her, the Demon of Sloth, waiting two hours was like an eternity.

“You’re full of shit. I’ll just ki―.”

“You!”

“….”

“You’ll regret it!”

“Why would I?”

“If you don’t eat this food! You’ll regret it for the rest of your life! I guarantee it on my horns!”

Parsih said in a solemn voice. Artania pondered. How delicious could it be for him to be acting like this? Was killing this bastard really the right thing to do? The thought didn’t last long. She couldn’t be bothered to think any deeper.

“…Do as you please. I’ll be sleeping.”

“A wise choice!”

And so, two hours later.

Artania woke up to Parsih’s thick hand waking her up like an alarm.

“What… shit! How did you get in here!”

“Space magic is my specialty! Haha!”

“What’s so funny! Why aren’t you leaving?!”

That annoying tall bastard.

Still, he didn’t attack while I was sleeping, so I guess he’s trustworthy.

“Now! The food is ready!”

The dish Parsih had chosen was ribs.

Because Artania’s captured humans had a particularly large amount of Mana gathered in their ribs. He briefly explained the cooking process. Remove all the internal organs except the heart and liver, and discard the useless limbs and head. Carefully separate each rib joint and divide them separately for easy eating. Don’t forget to be careful not to let the flesh fall off the bone.

And, grill it.

He couldn’t grill much because the iron plate he carried was small, but it was still more than enough for one person. The grilled liver and heart in between were decorated with fresh vegetables, making it look appetizing.

After that, Parsih explained what seasonings were used, how to eat it, and so on, but Artania didn’t hear any of it.

“….”

The intense scent of the piercing seasonings.

The unique funky smell of human meat.

The perfect decoration made her mouth water just by looking at it.

The only sentence dominating Artania’s mind.

This.

I can’t stand it.

Just as she was about to reach out her arm with a crazed look in her eyes―.

“Wait!”

Parsih stopped her by grabbing her hand. Artania, whose pupils had dilated in an instant, looked at Parsih with a murderous intent that made her breathless. He said, sweating profusely.

“There’s a way to eat it even more deliciously! If you eat it so greedily, there’s no point in cooking it!”

Parsih knew that she chewed humans whole, bones and all, so he was worried that she might eat it all in one go. If so, she wouldn’t be able to taste the true flavor of the meat. The Demon’s sense of taste could accept bones without difficulty, but for Parsih, who had learned to cook in human society, it was unacceptable.

Meat had to be judged by the meat itself.

She shook her head like crazy at the words ‘more delicious,’ and Parsih showed her how to eat the meat by demonstrating it himself. He picked up a piece of deliciously grilled rib and inhaled all the parts except the bone without leaving anything behind. Artania watched the scene with drool dripping from her mouth.

“There. That’s how you eat it. Do you understand?”

Nod nod. Her large breasts and golden hair swayed. She had somehow ended up listening to the orders of an inferior Imp hybrid, but she didn’t even think about that.

Because Artania’s expression as she bit into the meat looked happier than ever.

“Hahaha!! I’m so happy that you’re enjoying it so much!”

And that was the same for Parsih.

He had lived hidden in human society and happened to come across cooking, and he was amazed by the variety of methods. In particular, the discovery of seasonings could be called revolutionary. So he stole cookbooks and even disguised himself as a human to learn directly. That’s why Parsih, unusually for a Demon, knew how to write human languages.

Of course, the ingredients were humans. Demons didn’t like cows or pigs. They could eat them if they had to, but the difference in Mana concentration was too great….

Parsih boiled and ate the old couple who had taught him how to cook. He also ate the liver of a young child and tore apart the tough meat of a strong man. He had even made soup with the entrails of a married woman.

The problem was that he was too active, and the Holy Empire began to chase him with their eyes wide open. He was even temporarily given a title. The Demon of Cooking! It was a celebratory event to be given a title, but Parsih had only cooked corpses since the pursuit began. He didn’t have the ability to withstand the Holy Empire’s power. But it didn’t matter. What was there to fear if there was a customer who enjoyed eating it?

Above all, Artania was.

His first customer.

….

…

..

.

That’s roughly how they met.

Artania, who had fallen for the true taste of cooking, often… no, asked Parsih to cook every day. Parsih, who liked to cook, willingly obliged, and in the end, he even went so far as to procure the ingredients himself. Humans who fell into the swamp were too hit-or-miss, or something like that.

When she asked where he got them, he said he bought corpses with money.

When she asked where he got the money, he said it was a secret.

‘Well… it doesn’t matter.’

As long as it tastes good.

Artania was being trained to the level of being raised, but she didn’t notice.

Parsih himself didn’t think much of it either.

-Jiiing….

The sound of a gate opening.

Artania reflexively raised her head.

“Parsih! What’s for dinner today\?!”

Like Pavlov’s dog, her mouth watered when she heard the sound of the gate opening.

She ran up bbyol bbyol bbyol like a puppy welcoming its owner.

Ssuk! Parsih’s long legs poked out of the gate.

Soon after, Parsih, carrying a red-haired human, arrived before her eyes and shouted in a more joyful voice than ever.

“Greetings, Artania-nim!! Today, I!! Have brought an amazing ingredient!!!!”