Slave of the Demon King’s Castle 183

## Chapter 183 – Collusion (25)

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ryu finished about half of his meal and had completely shed the nervousness he initially felt.

His only interest was the food. Enthralled by the symphony of flavors filling his mouth, he waited for the next dish with eyes shining like a hungry puppy.

The mansion’s chef was certainly skilled and a grateful person who prepared meals tailored to Acer and Ryu’s tastes, but as Jane said, an artisan who poured their soul into the art of cooking was on a different level.

The meat was so tender it melted the moment it touched his tongue, and the soup was warm and deeply flavorful enough to warm his soul.

At this moment, the mansion’s chef was completely forgotten.

Seeing Ryu eat so deliciously, Jane asked,

“How is it? Is it good?”

Ryu replied, “Yes,” nodding vigorously.

Jane wore a proud expression as if she had made it herself. Being able to be so proud of her former subordinate was one of Jane’s greatest strengths. As Ryu resumed eating, he looked at everyone with a puzzled expression and asked,

“Aren’t you all eating?”

Charlotte wiped the soup from the corner of his mouth and replied,

“It seems everyone is full just watching you eat so deliciously.”

Low agreed with Charlotte’s words with a straight face.

“Sometimes you do say the right thing…”

In reality, they had only taken a few bites from the food on their plates, giving the rest to Ryu. Anyone would do the same watching Ryu stuff his cheeks like a squirrel and wear such a happy expression.

After finishing the first dish, Ryu, told that the next dish would take some time, cautiously got up from his seat, enduring the attention focused on him, and said,

“I’m just going to the restroom for a moment.”

Acer asked with a worried voice,

“Can you go alone? Should I go with you?”

Embarrassed by her overprotectiveness, Ryu said with a slightly displeased voice,

“I-I’m not a child, you know.”

Perhaps because it was a small restaurant? Hearing that the restroom was outside, Ryu headed straight out.

Finally escaping his seat and heading to the restroom, Ryu thoroughly washed his hands at the sink after finishing his business. Who knew a makeshift restroom built next to the building could be so clean? He thought, hoping that District 7 would soon have such facilities, and after roughly wiping the water on his clothes, he went outside, where someone addressed him with a questioning voice.

“Oh? Ryu, is that you?”

Ryu raised his head to identify the owner of the voice. As far as he knew, there was only one person with beautiful hair that was a subtle mix of white and light pink.

“Claire-senpai?”

Claire was walking down the street in casual clothes, perhaps having some business nearby, not in her school uniform. Claire seemed somewhat pleased to meet Ryu, greeting him with a welcoming smile.

“I watched your match. You made it to the finals?”

It felt like he was finally back in reality. Right, the person in front of him was the opponent he would face in the finals in a week. Claire smiled and shared her thoughts on Ryu’s match.

“It was quite impressive. A high-risk javelin throw, to succeed with that in a real match. And that speed… certainly an unavoidable, fatal blow for ordinary students.”

However, she spoke in a cold and resolute tone that made her previous gentle voice seem like a lie.

“But in your current state, it will be difficult to beat me.”

A confident tone and eyes filled with belief in her own skills. And then, a gaze that seemed to see right through Ryu’s inner thoughts. She genuinely believed she would win. Ryu was momentarily speechless by the spirit that seemed to have seen the future. If it were the old days, he wouldn’t have been able to say anything, but not now.

Ryu swallowed hard, met Claire’s face head-on, and replied,

“You never know.”

Claire’s lips slightly curved upward at those words, but Ryu didn’t see it. Claire simply desired it. Perhaps the boy in front of her was the only one who could quench this thirst. Claire extended her hand to Ryu for a handshake.

“Alright, then let’s have a good match.”

Grasping her hand, which was much firmer than it appeared, Ryu renewed his resolve.

When Ryu, having finished his conversation with Claire, re-entered the restaurant, he was met with a much more chaotic situation than he had anticipated. The food seemed to have already been served while he was in the restroom, with steaming plates on the table, and the food was a mess.

Acer slammed the table and stood up, raising her voice at Low.

“Why are you taking it all!”

In contrast, Low remained relaxed, her expression unchanged, and slowly opened her mouth.

“I’m just bringing the food Ryu will eat in advance, is there a problem with that?”

“I wanted to feed him! And what if Ryu doesn’t like that food?”

“Ryu likes the food I make and the food I give him the most. There’s no way he’d dislike it, right?”

The two, bickering over such a childish reason, didn’t seem to notice Ryu’s quiet entrance. It was Jane, who was watching the situation with amusement, who first noticed Ryu standing awkwardly.

She looked at Ryu and mouthed the words, “Get out.” Barely reading the movement of her lips, Ryu opened the door again and went outside as if nothing had happened. Following him, Jane left her seat, saying she was going to the restroom. Of course, they didn’t even glance at Jane.

Jane, having come outside the store, stood next to Ryu, who was leaning against the wall of the building. It had been a while since it was just the two of them. Ryu momentarily forgot the chaotic situation inside the restaurant and asked her with a welcoming heart.

“How have you been since then?”

At Ryu’s question, Jane playfully flicked his forehead and laughed.

“What? Are you making fun of me?”

It was a fact he had momentarily forgotten, but Ryu was the one who had rejected her confession. His face turned pale as he realized that having this conversation could be hurtful to her. Seeing him, Jane grabbed Ryu’s cheeks and said,

“Why are you making that face when you rejected such an amazing woman? I should be the one making that face.”

“S-Sorry.”

“Well, I’m doing fine. More than enough that you don’t need to worry about me.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Isn’t it uncomfortable being inside? How about coming to my district this time?”

“T-That’s…”

Seeing Ryu’s reaction, Jane burst into laughter. Then, she vigorously patted Ryu’s back and added that she was joking.

The side profile of Jane, playfully talking, didn’t show the same loneliness as before. Ryu, relieved for a moment, recalled what had happened earlier and cautiously asked a question.

“This might sound strange to say now, but do you perhaps know about Claire-senpai?”

Hearing Ryu’s question, Jane answered immediately without a moment’s thought.

“Claire? She’s famous. A genius who hasn’t missed a single victory since entering the academy.”

At the mention of Claire’s name, Ryu’s confidence began to waver again like a candle in the wind. If Jane remembered her to this extent, it meant she was quite skilled.

“I thought so…”

Jane, observing Ryu’s reaction, took a lollipop out of her pocket and forced it into his mouth, then opened her mouth.

“Shall I tell you an interesting fact?”

“An interesting fact?”

“There were many Demon Kings who wanted to bring Claire to their district. So much so that even Low, who has no interest in others, was slightly intrigued.”

It was the first time he had heard that Low was intrigued. The fact that Low, who always only paid attention to research and herself, was interested in someone else evoked a slight jealousy, even though he knew they were the same gender.

“But she rejected all of them, saying she wanted to focus on the academy for now, even when offered good proposals. Do you know that one of the rewards of the tournament is being able to freely spend time with one of us? Well, most students only want to eat a meal, ask for advice on their research, ask questions they’re curious about, or tour the district.”

He had heard it from Claire before. In fact, one of the reasons Ryu was trying to win the tournament was to use it to meet Acer. Now that he had reunited with Acer, that reward was no longer necessary.

“The problem is, Claire has never used that right even once.”

But that’s…

“Don’t you think it’s strange? A student in an academy created for us to choose them has rejected all of our proposals.”

“I don’t know what that girl wants, but it’s best not to get too close. You can’t know what those kinds of people are thinking.”

He definitely thought she was a good person. She helped when he was in trouble, gave advice when he needed it, and he had even admired her for a moment for acting only for the sake of others. But the cold energy hidden in those eyes he had seen earlier was something he had never seen before. That gaze, as if measuring others, was similar to what he had seen when he lived a life trapped in a cage in the past.

Just before he was overwhelmed by anxiety, Jane took the lollipop from his mouth and put it in her own, saying. Seeing the stick that came out of her mouth, he was reminded of her smoking cigarettes in the past.

“But if it’s you, wouldn’t it be possible to hear that child’s inner thoughts? She becomes honest with her feelings when she stands in front of you.”

“T-That’s an overestimation.”

“No, it’s not an overestimation. I’m the same way. I wanted to kiss you, but I’m holding back with this for now.”

Jane, who smiled slyly, took the lollipop out of her mouth again and shook it in front of Ryu for a moment. Ryu, who couldn’t possibly not know what that meant, couldn’t leave that spot for a while with a flushed face even after Jane laughed heartily and went back inside the store.