Chapter 14

“Are you alri-”

Before Adam could finish his sentence, Eve had slapped her own cheek, causing him to take a step closer in concern.

However, Eve seemed unaffected by her reddened cheek and spoke cheerfully.

“By the way, where is your room, Hero? I’m not asking out of any impure intentions!”

“Oh.”

Maybe she should have left out the last part.

But she felt it was necessary to clarify, or else he might actually be in danger.

Fortunately, Adam didn’t seem to notice her underlying intentions. After a brief moment of thought, he responded.

“There’s the office, and then there’s a place where I sleep…”

“Don’t tell me you don’t have one?”

Eve glared at him with wide eyes, prompting him to quickly add more.

“No, I do have one. I just don’t use it much. I spend most of my time in the office.”

Hmm, well, she knew where the office was. She had seen him sitting there for days on end.

So, he hadn’t been sleeping properly even back then.

Eve asked him to lead her to his room. After some hesitation, Adam decided it was too awkward to refuse and led her to the door of his room.

‘It’s close to my room?’

It was only one room away.

Despite this, she had never run into Adam in the hallway, confirming her suspicion that he wasn’t getting proper rest.

Since he was holed up in the office all day, they had no chance to meet.

Adam hesitated with his hand on the door handle. Then, as if making a big decision, he turned to her and said,

“Please don’t get angry…”

“…”

For a moment, Eve’s mind went blank.

She had been wondering what could be going on inside, but she forgot all those thoughts instantly.

Her rational mind nearly flew out the window.

Looking up at him with such an innocent expression, he made her want to tease him.

Her heart suddenly felt like it was in pain, so Eve clutched her chest.

‘This is bad.’

She couldn’t believe she was already suspecting arrhythmia at her young age.

Eve pushed past Adam and flung the door open herself.

“I won’t get mad!”

And she regretted it within a second.

“What is this mess?!”

The room was like a garbage dump. Nothing was in its proper place. Living in such a pigsty was bound to make anyone feel perpetually down!

“Well, there are only demons and beasts in the Demon King’s castle, so there aren’t any humans to clean…”

Adam tried to explain.

Adam added in a barely audible voice.

“There’s no real need to clean, anyway.”

Pressed by Eve’s fierce gaze, Adam instinctively tried to make excuses but quickly shut his mouth under her intimidating glare.

“I’m cleaning this up right now! Hero! You do have cleaning supplies, right?”

This mess wouldn’t be fixed with just a broom and a mop. Ugh, were those spiders building webs over there?

“I haven’t looked, so I don’t know.”

“Ahhhh!”

“Please, calm down, Eve.”

“How can I calm down!”

Focusing on the Demon King’s castle and outside affairs had led to this unexpected mess.

Adam, as it turned out, had zero domestic skills.

How could he live alone as a hero for years and end up like this?

But then, she remembered that Adam was the type to endure everything, and she vented her frustration on the wall.

‘Right, this guy could sleep comfortably on the streets…’

If they had to sleep rough, Adam would lie down on the dirt without a single complaint.

So, in a place like the Demon King’s castle, which provided shelter from the elements, he wouldn’t care about anything else.

Even if that room was filled with garbage!

‘Wait, could there be more issues?’

Eve’s scream echoed through the castle once more.

“What is this food? Hero, what have you been eating? Spit it out, it’s gross!”

“It’s just ordinary bread.”

“You could kill someone with this baguette! Are you keeping it for self-defense?”

“…It’s edible if you spread butter on it. You just have to chew a bit longer.”

“Throw it out immediately!”

“But that’s my dinner for tomorrow…”

Ignoring Adam’s pitiful protest, Eve smacked his outstretched hand and started packing the inedible so-called food into a black garbage bag.

Initially hesitant to move freely, Eve’s frustration hit its peak.

“Are you a child of darkness, Hero? No wonder you’re depressed!”

“Oh, it’s too bright.”

Eve even ripped down the black curtains that made the castle so gloomy.

Amazed at how such strength could come from her small frame, she removed all the curtains.

“Hey! Aren’t you going to help?”

“I’m sorry.”

At Eve’s shout, Adam jumped to help, startled.

“Not you, Hero!”

How clueless! Why should the employer be doing the work?

Naturally, it was Abraxas, standing far away and clearly reluctant, who should be helping.

“I… I’ll do it. Human.”

Muttering about how humans are scarier than heroes, Abraxas hurried off to find a broom, looking thoroughly intimidated.

* * *

Eve had known from the beginning that Adam’s lifestyle wasn’t normal.

The fact that he was always awake in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep, and that I had never seen him actually sleeping, was troubling.

And then there was the matter of him not eating proper meals.

I thought I had solved most of the problems.

‘At least, I thought so…’

But there were still issues.

Among the essentials of life, clothing and shelter were somewhat resolved. He had clothes, albeit ragged shirts, and the Demon King’s castle provided ample shelter.

‘But food remains a problem…’

No matter how many times I threw away the old bread, Adam always managed to sneak some into his mouth.

Seeing him eat what could hardly be called food drove me crazy, so I snatched the bread from him and smacked Abraxas with it.

“Why are you hitting me when I’m just standing here…!”

Because standing there doing nothing is the problem!

The bread was so hard that even Abraxas felt the impact. How could he, as Adam’s subordinate, allow him to eat that?

‘Cooking myself is…’

When I asked Abraxas if beasts get sick or die from eating human food, he looked at me as if I’d asked the most ridiculous question.

“They may look like animals, but they’re still magical beasts. They won’t fall to a mere poison.”

And the other day, when I cooked hard for Adam…

“Be grateful that the hero didn’t eat that tasteless thing…”

‘Guess I’m not cut out for this.’

Despite the urgency, I was deliberately ignoring the obvious solution, not wanting to bring another lazy bum into the Demon King’s castle.

But people need to eat.

With a deep sigh, I made up my mind. I knocked on Adam’s office door and then barged in without waiting for a response.

Scanning the room with eagle eyes, I checked for any hidden bread.

“Hero, I’m going to the village for a bit, so don’t even think about rummaging through the trash bags for food. Got it? I’ll check when I get back!”

“…They’re really fine.”

“Hmph.”

“Understood…”

After firmly warning Adam, I went to find Abraxas.

“Abraxas, keep an eye on the hero.”

“Hey, human. Did you forget that I’m a demon and he’s the hero?”

Even though his power was severely limited by the oath, he was still a demon. Despite his strength, he was no match for the hero due to their natural opposition.

After pondering for a moment, I found a compromise.

“Then just guard the trash bags.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Abraxas nodded solemnly.

I left the Demon King’s castle and headed towards the village, hoping to find someone who could help with the cooking. There was only one person who came to mind, and despite my reluctance, I knew it had to be done.