Chapter 205 - First Stop - Gluttony (1) (1/2)

Zero didn't know how long he'd slept for but his neck made a painful crack when he got up. It must have been hours judging from the pain. Beside him, Baal made himself extremely comfortable by snuggling towards his tummy with his head on Zero's lap. The young doctor felt his eyebrow twitch a little. If Baal could cover him with a blanket, why couldn't he shift him into a more comfortable position?

”Bell! Wake up, we've arrived!”

Baal moaned and decided that the wisest thing to do was to snuggle back into the blanket. Zero rolled his eyes. For an ancient Demon Lord, Baal can sometimes be no different from a child. The teenager sighed wistfully before yanking the covers off with one hard tug.

The Demon Lord tumbled out of Zero's lap and onto the hard carriage floor. He almost whined with tears in his eyes but remembered at the very last moment that he had an image to keep as a Demon Lord before settling with sulking. Zero wasn't amused with Baal's antics. If there was something he'd become mature in, Baal swore it was definitely nagging. The Demon Lord cursed his overly efficient secretary. She was definitely a bad influence on the worrywart teen doctor. Nobody needed an overly kind and concerned mother-hen to peck them over every single little thing. A man needs his space to breathe!

Zero wasted no time and rolled Baal out of the way with his knee before folding the blankets and placing them nicely on the seats again. The Demon Lord couldn't understand why Zero kept insisting on participating in menial tasks that could've been left to servants or done up with magic. The brunet insisted that it was a way of life and something about being centered to the world. Baal bet that it was Hua Tuo's teachings and groaned when Zero tried to influence him.

The teenager hopped out of the carriage and slipped on the muddy ground, landing on his bottom with an 'oof'. Baal merely morphed into a bird and settled down in Zero's hair. The young doctor was slightly annoyed at how cosy Baal seemed.

The Demon Lord was greatly startled when Zero shook his head vigorously and tumbled off into the mud. He morphed back at once with his face full of nastiness and glared at his giggling best friend.

Zero wasn't expecting to be hit in the face with something cold and awful smelling. The smile was wiped away almost instantly and he turned to look at his chortling pal. With narrowed eyes, Zero decided that payback was needed.

Baal dodged the returned favour cheekily and the two friends began a mini mud-slinging battle. Before long, the glares turned into mirth and hearty laughter. The rat coachman had departed, leaving the two to their own world. They were so engrossed that neither of them was aware of a new person's arrival.

”If I knew you were comfortable with the swamp lands, I wouldn't have taken a loan from Mammon to prepare a townhouse in haste for your arrival.”

Zero found the voice familiar and turned around. He ignored Baal's latest mud ball and waddled over in an attempt to hug the Lord of Gluttony only to be shunned.

”Don't you dare come near me reeking of mud!”

The teen then looked at himself and Baal who was also covered from head to toe in the same nastiness. Beelzebub didn't comment when Zero conjured up water magic to clean them off and wind magic to dry them. If anything, he was envious of Zero's portable bath system. While Beelzebub was a talented Demon Lord, he wasn't adept in magic at all. Still, he didn't comment and led them to the townhouses built for the esteemed guests.

”It's been a while, I'm so happy to see that you're doing well!” Zero gushed.

Beelzebub tried his hardest to not blush and turned away, coughing into a fist to regain his 'Lord-like' composure like how Lucifer and Mammon taught him to. Baal was doing his best not to laugh at the awkward manner Beelzebub carried himself with. Even as one of the most feared Demon Lords, Baal simply dismissed the etiquette expected of him. Beelzebub was trying too hard.

Even Zero noticed how stiff and different Beelzebub was behaving. Concern was written all over his face as he followed their host to their lodging. The youngest Demon lord did his best to ignore his ex-room mate's concern. He heard it from Lucifer and Mammon that Zero was making his rounds before returning to the material world. He didn't want to appear as weak or incapable in Zero's eyes especially when they parted so he did his best to hold his chin up high with back straight and chest puffed. It felt strange pretending to be someone of importance but it was something Beelzebub didn't have an opinion about. Ever since he was discovered as a Demon Lord, his life had made a complete one-eighty.

”Is Beel ok?” Zero asked Baal through their mental connection.

Baal didn't really answer. While Beelzebub was doing fine, he knew that this definition of 'fine' didn't constitute well in Zero's dictionary. As long as there was something bothering his patient, Zero will not give them the doctor's verdict of being 'fine'.

Beelzebub showed them to their rooms and told them to meet him in the main hall where they would then dine. Zero didn't manage to catch them Lord of Gluttony before he left. Disappointed, Zero flopped onto the bed and Baal took his leave.

”Holler if you want to go somewhere. Don't think that I'm letting you out of my sight...” Baal narrowed his eyes in warning and Zero nodded like a pecking hen.

The moment the door shut, Zero hopped off the bed. He called for Mii and Bob to appear before him. ”What's wrong with Beel? He was acting strange but he wasn't sick or injured...”

The Eternal Dragon appeared with a poof and the strawcherry fairy decided to continue working in Zero's mindscape.

”With all due respect, young master... Lord Beelzebub might be feeling a little out of place with his new status as a Demon Lord.”