Chapter 157 Sin Eating 2 (1/2)
Standing outside Belles and Begonia, Zero could already smell the heavenly pancakes. However, he couldn't see them with all the customers crowding outside the small shop. While he knew that the shop was popular among demons, Zero never expected the success to be so overwhelming. The clattering of dishes inside made Zero curious. Why would anyone make such a ruckus while eating? Freya said that it was bad manners and Zero didn't have a very good opinion about someone who didn't eat with good manners.
”What's wrong?” Mii asked Coux who was frowning.
”There seems to be a little trouble at hand. Allow me to take care of it. Could you lead Zero in from the back entrance?”
The strawcherry fairy nodded and ushered Zero away from the crowd. Although Zero had grown in height, he was still not tall enough to peer over the heads of most people crowding the shop's entrance.
Reluctantly, he followed Mii out of the rowdy crowd while Coux pushed through the mass of bodies.
In the shop, there was only one customer. Coux recognised him at once, it was their regular diner that they couldn't refuse.
”Good day, Lord Beelzebub. How is the food today?” Coux plastered on a false smile. There were stacks of dirty plates on the Demon Lord's left and right sides. Amaraline looked helplessly at the half-succubus while Qin Yun had to wrestle back a plate of pancakes that the Lord of Gluttony tried to steal.
Coux sighed inwardly. This has become a common occurrence ever since Lord Beelzebub has gotten his personal domain and territory. With Mammon taking care of Beelzebub's businesses and finances, the Demon Lord would come over to Belles and Begonia the moment school has ended. Lucifer was more than happy to see Beelzebub go as the Lord of Gluttony was eating everything the cafeteria had to offer. The half-succubus had a deal with Lucifer and Mammon to satisfy Beelzebub's food cravings in return for money and connections. Still, dealing with someone whose appetite rivalled Zero's wasn't easy.
”As usual, the desserts are too sweet for my liking. However, I must admit that sheep pies are delicious! I need twenty more of that sheep pie to take away. As for the new beverage... what's it called again?”
”Kumquat Squash?”
”Yes, that. It needs more honey. The sourness makes me hungrier.”
Coux felt her smile quake. For someone who'd eaten nearly fourteen plates of desserts, not counting the ones he'd successfully stolen from other customers, Coux didn't think it deserved such a harsh rating.
”My Lord, we can send over your order for twenty sheep pies and five complimentary stacks of pancakes to your dormitory later. Would that suffice for today?”
Beelzebub stopped stuffing his face for a while to consider. ”Can I also have two lamb legs to go?”
Coux felt her eyebrow twitch. That brat dared to bargain for more when she is handing out free food?
”My apologies, all the lamb we had were used to make sheep pies.”
”How about a pitch of Kumquat Squash?”
”My apologies, we do not have enough honey to cater that for your tastes. Honey is an expensive ingredient that can only be harvested once an Earth year.”
”... What about some Lemon Meringue Tarts?”
Coux was ready to throw something at the young Demon Lord when Zero came into her vision.
”It's no good to eat so much, you'll become obese.”
That statement made everyone grow silent. It was common knowledge that demons would never grow fat. Food simply converted into mana for them and many demons have different sources of food. For the Lord of Gluttony, getting fat was the least of his concerns.
”What's obese?”
Zero smiled and launched into a detailed explanation about the body's process of storing food into unhealthy fats.
”Also, it doesn't stop there. Overeating a certain kind of food can cause other health issues. Too much salt could cause hypertension, too many desserts can cause high cholesterol and even diabetes. Insufficient fibre will lead to constipation etcetera...”
Coux didn't know if such a lecture would have any impact on the Lord of Gluttony. However, Zero was determined to help someone walking the wrong path of dietary nutrition. Qin Yun was amused when she heard Zero's serious doctor advice. He would make a splendid, if not naggy, doctor in future.
Beelzebub let the spoon in his hand fall with a clatter and his eyes widened as round as saucers.
”Am I going to die? I've eaten too many things, I must have a lot of diseases by now... You have to save me!”
The turn of events didn't seem to surprise Mii. With Zero's blessing at work, no wonder the Lord of Gluttony was so wrapped around Zero's finger. Sadly, Zero didn't seem to realise this and was happy to teach Beelzebub more about nutrition.
Seeing that their most troublesome customer was being attended to, Coux took the opportunity to bring them to a VIP room so that Amaraline and Qin Yun could attend to the rest of the customers who were still waiting outside.
In the VIP room, Beelzebub wondered how he got himself into a private consultation session. Zero asked him questions that were completely irrelevant to his eating habits. All the Demon Lord wanted to do was go back to the dormitory and wait for his food to be delivered.
”Did you have a time in your life when you were starving?”
Beelzebub sighed. ”I starve everyday. My family was too poor to afford food to keep up with my appetite so I learned how to eat anything and everything.”
Zero took notes seriously and Mii watched from the sidelines while keeping an eye on the situation downstairs. Coux finally managed to stabilise the situation and Qin Yun could take a short break while Amaraline served the other customers.
”What kind of things have you taken to eating during that period of time?” Zero asked.
”I remember eating dead trees, rocks, dirt... basically anything I could find in that barren land was edible. At first, I fell sick eating them but as I grew used to them, I found that I could eat almost anything.”
Zero blinked. ”Does your stomach not hurt?”
Beelzebub shook his head. ”No. That's the funny thing. I never seem to be full either. It'sjust a constant emptiness inside that I need to fill.”
Zero hummed. This was a highly unusual case that Hua Tuo hasn't told him about. Perhaps it was a condition special for only the Lord of Gluttony. Like the Sage God of Medicine once told him, there would be many unknown diseases and illnesses in this world and beyond that couldn't be cured. Zero decided to become a doctor for the purpose of finding cures for the unknown. Right now, there was a perfect patient with an unusual condition. How could Zero not be thrilled?
”Don't worry,” he told Beelzebub who raised an eyebrow. ”I will find a cure for you without fail.”
Beelzebub snorted. ”Don't worry about it. I enjoy eating now that there is delicious food in the abyss. I just need to know what not to eat too much to prevent all the other diseases that you mentioned earlier. Hypertension and Diabetes sounded really scary. I don't want to be unable to eat anything that I like in the future.”
Zero decided that it might be a good time to inspect the Demon Lord with Mii's abilities. The strawcherry got to work right away and Zero was slightly stunned to see how much the status window has changed.
Name: Beelzebub
Title:
- Lord of Gluttony
Ruler of the Gluttony Domain in Hell
Race: Archdemon
Age: 16 Earth Years (160 Hell years)
Skills:
- Godly Metabolism
Allows food to be digested immediately and converted to energy
- Iron Stomach
Allows anything eaten to be digested
- Poison Resistance (Lvl 89/100)
Poison immunity to most poisons
- Curse of Gluttony
Allows food to be converted to mana
Sins:
- Anger
0/100
- Jealousy
0/100
- Laziness
0/100
- Greed
0/100
- Lust
0/100
- Pride
0/100
- Gluttony
Infinite/100
Zero blinked. Infinite Gluttony sin points? Zero wondered if this was the case for all other Demon Lords too. Still, the brunet had an idea.
”Beelzebub, can I try something?”
The Demon Lord blinked. ”Sure?”
Before he could take his words back, Zero placed a hand on his shoulder. The strangest thing happened and Beelzebub jumped backwards as if struck by electricity.
”What did you do?” he snarled. The moment Zero touched him, Beelzebub felt power being drained from him. It wasn't mana that Zero was draining either, Beelzebub felt it being drawn from his very soul.
Zero blinked. Beelzebub's complete change in attitude made him confuse. After re-inspection, Zero noted that the number of sins hasn't changed. However, Zero felt that he managed to absorb a small bit of pure energy from that brief contact.
They stared at each other for a long time before Zero explained what he did. Beelzebub glared at Zero.
”Were you trying to kill me? You know what? I don't care for your treatment at all now. If I have to abandon my sins to get better, you can forget about it. A Demon without sins will cease to be a demon.”