Chapter 207 - Second Stop - Greed (1/2)
Zero parted from the Gluttony domain without tears. Beelzebub was glad to know that Zero no longer felt the guilt that came with the trouble he caused in the abyss. After all, the next Demon Lord he was visiting didn't take kindly to the young doctor's contributions in ways more than one. He only wished that Zero wouldn't buckle under all that pressure. Mammon had explicitly told him that should Zero choose to bother him again, he will make the teenager work his debt off. Beelzebub had to work for his loan and that was an experience that he never wanted to go through again. Office jobs and administration was a whole new level of torture, Beelzebub never wanted to go near the subject called Math ever again.
Baal was still sleepy. The food he ate still hasn't quite digested from last night and he looked at Zero with disgust at how the petite brunet inhaled breakfast worth for three ogres. That was some ungodly metabolism although Baal knew that it was more of a Zero cheat than a biological thing. Still, it was highly disturbing to see Zero eat so much. The thought of it made him ill and he rested in the carriage as they journeyed towards Mammon's castle.
Mammon was signing his name off on the bottom of some document when he heard a knock at his door with a very familiar magical energy. Knowing the lazy Demon Lord, he would never make an unannounced personal trip. This must concern a certain business ruining pest.
With a sigh, he put his feather pen down and pinched the bridge of his nose. ”Come in,” he said.
The door cracked open a little and Mammon know that a headache was coming up. In the entire abyss, there was only one person he knew who had the shade of hazel eyes and hair.
”What do you want? Didn't I say that I don't want to see you ever again or did Beelzebub not pass on my message?”
Zero looked sheepish. ”I just wanted to drop by and thank you for everything that you've done for me so far. I know it wasn't easy for you and that it was a lot of money investing in the business and firing one of your most capable employees... I just wanted to know if there was some way I could make it up to you before I left.”
That made Mammon grin evilly and Baal shuddered. Mammon would never pass up the opportunity to milk a cash cow dry and as one of Mammon's inner circle, he knew that the best thing to do was abandon Zero. There was no saving stupidity. Zero simply never learned.
Zero felt Baal run away and a bad feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. ”Bell...?”
”Why... since you've so politely offered I can't refuse it now, can I?” Mammon purred with a glint in his eye. Zero swallowed and wanted to bolt for the door but he stood his ground firmly. There were no take backs now that he had offered.
”Yes. Is there something I could do to help?”
Mammon grinned positively wicked at this point. ”Of course! Ever since Schaf was fired, I've been shorthanded. There simply wasn't anyone capable enough to replace him. I know that you can't be here for long but I know that you're rather capable. Now that I think about it, you've grown into such a fine young man. Surely helping out with some paperwork wouldn't be too much to ask right?”
Zero blinked. Paperwork? ”Sure! Just let me know what I should do.”
***
Zero laid on the couch in the staff break room deflated like a balloon and as white as a sheet. With Mammon barking orders every minute demanding for the impossible, Zero didn't know how he survived. He had no idea which files were for what and how the magic scrolls worked. To make matters worse, his clumsiness decided to kick in during the heat of the chaos. Beverages were spilt and the Demon Lord instantly booted him out. It was lunch break now but Zero didn't feel the slightest bit of hunger. He was too mentally exhausted to do anything and that was when Baal chose to make his entrance.
”How was the internship?”
Zero groaned and closed his eyes. ”Horrible...”
His friend merely laughed and patted his head. ”It usually gets better. Although he isn't an agreeable fellow, Mammon has groomed many of Hell's most capable businessmen under his tutelage.”
Zero couldn't deny it. He came in with no knowledge about business apart from basic Mathematics but now he knew what interest was. Also, Mammon's business processes made Zero think about how he should manage the Mana Lotus farm and the Herb farm in Half Moon Village. He wanted to ask Hua Tuo if he could pay the villagers something in exchange for their services to help him grow special herbs and invent special medical tools.
”Bell, do you think Mammon would be mad if I asked Schaf to help me set up a business?”
Baal blinked and then grinned. ”Well, why don't you ask him?”
Zero hesitated. ”I don't want him to be mad at me... he was really angry when I spilled drinks all over the magic parchments even though the documents were coated in protective magic to prevent any kind of destruction.”
Hearing that made the Demon Lord want to laugh but he held it in and fixed his poker expression. ”I'm sure that wasn't it. Mammon usually gets stressed easily when things don't go the way he wants them to be. It's not something he openly shows anyone. You know how he was the first time you met him... all stiff and proper. I'm sure a good shoulder rub will help.”