Chapter 31 - Volume 3 (1/2)

Volume 3, Chapter 1: I Became a First-Year Student, Part 1

A half-waning moon floated in the bowl of the starry night sky.

That night in the garden, surrounded by roses, a small wax candle was lit up upon a table. The person sitting next to it wore an indescribable expression.

The rest of the people there didn’t seem to mind such a trivial thing.

The sounds of someone lazily pouring tea, the sounds of the teacups filling up, and the sounds of breathing were all that could be heard… it was a quiet and enjoyable tea party for everyone.

Well… everyone other than me.

“Yurushia-sama, would you please stop clinking the cups.”

The silver-haired beauty, Millaine, suddenly cried out and stood up from her seat.

“But it’s dark.”

My eyesight in darkness isn’t much different than a normal human being.

Although my eyes don’t get tired and my vision doesn’t worsen and I can see magic and read faraway characters, something like night vision isn’t part of my Demonic powers.

I’ve been worried about dry eyes, recently.

*Clack*. I put my cup down, but since it was dark, I accidentally knocked a plate flying, the maid demon, Tina, caught it immediately, returning it to its position under the cup as if nothing had happened.

“How unrefined… Are you even an Aristocrat?! Are you even a Demon!?”

“Ehhhh… even if such a dreamy girl tells me that… ”

It seems that Millaine is holding on to an idealized belief about how nobles should behave.

What a serious child.

I’m a bit worried that the girl was drunk on the idea that Demons would say things like ‘In the world of Darkness’… Seriously.

All of a sudden, I felt like saying [My right eye is throbbing] (read: Chuunibyou reference)

Since that night, Millaine and I have been holding regular [Moonlit Tea Parties].

There were no human participants. That is, this was a tea party for the [Non-Humans] that lived in the Holy Kingdom.

By the way, even with their reduced numbers, Millaine had her maids in attendance. I also brought my attendants along. Those children devoted themselves earnestly as my attendants, melting away into the darkness, so it’s hard to tell if they’re actually here.

“You seem grumpy. You should eat more minerals. Would you like some wakame seaweed?”

“No thank you.”

Yeah, I really don’t want it either. I just really needed to get rid of the stuff since there is so much of it.

Even though I’m distributing it to the [Society for Turning Brightness to Darkness]’s members for free, the positive responses were few. It smelled strange to them.

“That seaweed? Yurushia-sama sent one wagon’s worth of the dried stuff, but I suffered when my stomach swelled after the meal, not to mention it tasting horrible…”

“………”

Did you actually eat it? Despite being a vampire?

My four attendants behind me also look surprised… Hey, Fannie? Your face became a Harlequin mask, it’s not good to laugh at that, you know…?

What a low amount of common sense, for a demon.

Really, Millaine-chan is quite dangerous. That child is too straightforward and adorable.

“Besides, no matter how good the tea is……”

“Well…… that is true.”

With my words, Millaine sat down angrily.

She understood, after all. Both demons and vampires don’t feel that human food is tasty.

Vampires like Millaine haven’t even noticed why.

“By the way, Millaine … I’d like you to try this.”

“Wha-, what… ”

Because of her terrible experience with the dried seaweed, Millaine drew away a little. Don’t give me those eyes…… I didn’t think that you would eat them.

“There isn’t a need to be so on guard… Noa.”

“Understood.”

As I called his name, the butler demon Noa bowed gently, and placed a newly-prepared cup of tea in front of Millaine.

“…This, is this just normal tea?”

Millaine is correct, but there’s more to it than that.

Noa took out something that looked like white haze, and, squeezing it like a fruit, several drops of something dripped into the tea.

“Millaine-sama, please try it.”

“………”

Millaine narrowed her eyebrows in suspicion.

Well, go on, go on. Although it was obviously suspicious, as she understood how [Strong] Noa was, she knew it wasn’t possible to refuse his suggestion. She accepted with a [Smile] and a “-Sama.”

Millaine timidly, put the cup to her mouth……

“ …… !?!?”

The [Flavor] made her eyes open wide, and I could see my reflection in those beautiful purple eyes.

“How do you like it, Millaine? The taste of a high quality [Soul]……”

Finally, with the help of my four followers, I am at last able to improve my [Eating habits].

To get rid of the likes and dislikes in the souls, we used the wisdom of ancient cooks and chose to mix them up.

Thanks to his [Unleashing] ability, Noa has made great contributions to producing this exquisite taste.

“Soul…? This? Really…”

She might have remembered the taste. Millaine was surprised at the [Soul-tasting tea], quickly gulping it down, setting aside her noble behavior.