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“Thank you for your business,” the woman in the grocery store says as I leave. I’m carrying a bag with all the things I need to make this day special. I hear the whispers among the devils down here.
“There he is!” an eager young man whispers, his tail wagging from side to side in excitement.
“He? He looks like a she,” a young woman whispers. She eyes me. I can feel it. Her tail is forming a question mark.
“Don’t let either of them hear you say that!” a slightly older man whispers with his voice coated in fear.
I ignore them. I still haven’t decided if I like the fact that they are too scared to insult me. I have never hurt anyone who didn’t try to hurt me first, and as the only free human down here, a lot of people have tried.
I walk to the pale-white castle atop the hill. There is a perfect view of the city from every window except those on the west side that overlook the punishing grounds. There are whispers in town that the demon king enjoys watching the mortals get punished when he has nothing better to do. It’s not entirely a lie. The truth is that he enjoys watching the mortals get punished, even when he has better things to do.
“Welcome back,” the servant by the door Mimura Kouki, offers a small bow as I enter the castle. He always stands here, watching who comes and goes.
“Thank you, Mimura-kun. Is he working?” I ask.
“His Majesty? Yes, he started working shortly after you left.” Mimura says, looking satisfied. This does not show on his tail, as he has trained it to not reveal how he feels.
I nod, also feeling satisfied.
I walk to the kitchen where the maid, Okuda Manami, is waiting. She hurries over and takes my bag of groceries and places it on the kitchen counter before she bows to me, like Mimura did, but deeper.
“Welcome back,” she says politely.
“Thank you, Okuda-san,” I say. I unpack the bag and get ready while she finds everything I need to make the strawberry cake I plan to serve to the demon king later.
“I can’t believe it has already been a whole year since you came here,” Okuda says, laying out the recipe for me.
“Me neither,” I say. Time sure flies.
We work together in silence for the most part. I ask her to help me do some things and she does. She is more experienced in the kitchen than me, but she mostly just brews potions and poisons on the demon king’s request.
Once the cake is all put together, I put it in the fridge for cooling until the king is done with his duties. Okuda and I take a short break.
“He has grown kinder,” Okuda notes.
“Who? I ask, caught off guard. I know who the instant the question has left my mouth and feel a little stupid for it.
“His Majesty,” Okuda confirms. “He is doing his work. He doesn’t just yell at us and he is even being kind at times.”
I nod. He never really smiled in the beginning, except the devilish smile he wore when he was punishing people or watching people get punished.
“Everyone says this change happened only because you showed up,” Okuda says. “Kaede is happier too. It’s all thanks to you I think.”
“I haven’t really done that much,” I say. I stand up, feeling flustered from all the praise she is giving me.
“I’m sorry if I said something wrong!” Okuda exclaims.
I turn to her. “You didn’t,” I assure her. “I’m going to go set up the dining room.
I walk from the kitchen to the dining room where the servants, Isogai Yuuma and Maehara Hiroto are lining up everything for dinner. Both stiffen up as the door opens, but when they see that it’s just me, they relax again.
“I thought for a moment…,” Maehara trails off as he wipes some sweat off his brow.
“It’s just me,” I say.
“We’re not ready just yet,” Isogai says professionally, while folding one of the napkins.
I look at the table. It has been nicely laid with the blood red table cloth, the silver plates, six knives and forks and three wine glasses.
“This is a lot for just a normal dinner,” I say.
“It’s not just a normal dinner,” Maehara says.
“We’re celebrating too,” Isogai says. “It has been a year since you arrived. That’s an occasion worth marking.”
I really haven’t done that much, but everyone seems to think I have done a lot. I don’t know what to think. Maehara puts down one of the forks he has been polishing and walks over, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“Look, it’s a big deal to us,” he says. “Let us be happy.” He looks to Isogai and so do I.
Isogai nods in agreement. “It’s true. Our lives have improved dramatically in the past year. You can ask anyone. I’m sure they’ll be happy to tell you.”
Okuda already had. The thing is, I’m not really sure what I have done. I have done my best to show them the kindness they weren’t getting from their king, but other than that, I haven’t really done anything worth mentioning.
“You don’t believe us, do you?” Isogai asks.
“He doesn’t,” Maehara concludes. “Kaede is in her room. Go talk to her. She wants to see you anyway.”
I hesitate, not sure I want to hear more praise that I don’t think I’m deserving of.
“What did you come here for?” Isogai asks, interpreting my lack of activity wrongly.
“I was going to set the table, but you have already done that,” I say.
“Not quite yet,” Isogai says. “Hiroto, we better get a move on.”
“If things aren’t perfect, I don’t want to know what will happen!” Maehara exclaims before frantically picking up the fork and the cloth and going back to polishing.
“As Hiroto said, Kaede is in her room waiting for you,” Isogai tells me before he too hurries back to his duties.
I decide it’s best if I get out of their way and soon find myself heading towards the south wing where Kaede’s room is located. I knock on the door and she answers, requesting that I come in.
I step inside to see her sitting in the window, her hair done up in the same way it was when she died. Her tail is hanging down, reaching the floor and her little black horns are sticking out on her forehead.
“There you are!” she turns to me with a bright smile. “I was hoping you’d come by once you got back from your shopping.”
“Maehara-kun did say you want to talk,” I say.
“I do,” Kaede says. She moves to make space for me to take a seat next to her in the window. I do.
We sit in silence for a while, watching as the permanent orange light begins to fade in the sky behind us, signaling that night is about to fall.
“I want to thank you,” Kaede says and I sigh inwardly.
“What for?” I ask, expecting something similar to what everyone else had been saying.
“For coming here, for being my friend and for not caring that I’m a murderer,” Kaede says, looking down at her hands. “Everyone knows I escaped my punishment and everyone hates me for it. But you, you never cared. You just sat there and listened to my story and you bothered to try and understand me. I’m very thankful for all of that,” she says.
“Killing isn’t right, but I understand why you did it,” I say, wishing that I had known her and had been able to stop her. But all I could do was hear about the case on the news.
“You did say that,” she smiles at me. “I’m so happy a fellow mortal came here to stay.”
“I’m glad there is a fellow mortal here too,” I say, truly meaning it. Her presence had really made transitioning from the world of the living a lot easier.
We sit and talk for a time, about the usual stuff, the differences between here and the living world and exchange our newest experiences. It’s still a while before we are interrupted by Okuda knocking on Kaede’s door.
“His Majesty is calling,” she whispers while looking at me and I stand up and turn to Kaede.
“See you,” I say.
“I hope all goes well,” Kaede says, worriedly.
I walk past Okuda and to the west tower where I know I can usually find him. I’m not wrong to assume he is there now. He is sitting in the chair by the west window, looking at the last mortals still suffering their punishments.
“I finished work,” he says, not turning to me.
“I’m surprised you went,” I say.
“Well, someone was pestering me about it, so I had to, just so I could get away from listening to their demands,” he says. He still isn’t looking at me. The last glow of the sky falls through the window, making his hair even brighter red than usual.
“You wanted to see me,” I say, hoping to know why I was summoned here.
“Come sit,” he pats his lap, but I still refuse to sit there. I take the little stool in the corner and bring it over to sit on that instead. He frowns at me. I know he is watching me out of the corner of his eye. I can tell on the way his tail sticks out that he is annoyed.
“Nagisa, do me a favor for once,” he says, demandingly.
“I still haven’t forgiven you for that, so no. I won’t humor you, Karma,” I say, firmly planting myself on the stool to look out the window.
He laughs lightly. “I’m sorry for making the assumption that you were a girl. Are you happy?” he asks.
“So long as you aren’t sincere, no, I’m not happy,” I say.
“Fine,” he says. “I’ll convince you that I really do mean it. I’ll convince you that I don’t love you out of convenience or because you look like a girl. But I need some time.”
“You have had a whole year,” I remind him, feeling a little bitter.
We fall silent as the sky changes from dark orange to black and the last screams and cries from the punishment grounds die out. We don’t say anything until we hear a knock on the door. I call out, as Karma doesn’t bother to answer. Isogai opens the door.
“Your Majesty, Lord Nagisa, dinner is ready,” he announces before hurriedly stepping away from the door.
Karma stands up, his black cloak floating about him like the darkest of shadows. I stand up too and follow him out of the room. Isogai bows at us and I manage to offer him a smile before he hurries ahead to lead the way to the dining room and open the door for us. I now notice Karma offering him a nod too and Isogai bows deeply. I see Okuda, Fuwa and Kanzaki put the first dish on the table and as soon as Karma and I have taken our seats, all four servants leave the room. Karma and I have dinner mostly in silence. It’s a five course meal with all of my favorite foods. Finally, Okuda takes out the last plate and looks at me with questioning eyes. Knowing what she is asking, I nod. He is getting it now.
Karma and I sit at the table for a while longer until Okuda comes rushing up, carrying the cake she helped me make for Karma earlier today. She places it in front of him and he gives both of us a questioning look.
“What’s this for?” he asks.
I bite my lip. I know I should have expected that question, but I have no answer to it ready and waiting in my head. I know I can’t stay quiet forever. Who knows what he’ll do to some innocent soul if I did that?
“It’s my way of thanking you,” I say hastily. “I… I know I haven’t made it easy for you. I know I have said some mean things at times, even if I don’t feel it was uncalled for. I want to thank you for putting up with me and for being kind to me and for listening. And even if I don’t agree with your reasons for doing it, I want to thank you for taking me away from my life as I knew it and bringing me here,” I say.
Karma sits frozen for a time. His face doesn’t really show it, but his tail gives his emotions away. It is shaped in that stiff question mark shape it takes when he is taken by surprise by an unexpected compliment.
He doesn’t respond by words, but quickly digs into the cake and has finished it within a couple of minutes without saying another word. He looks at me then and while his tail still hasn’t changed its shape, there is clear determination in his eyes now.
“Close your eyes,” he says.
I don’t hesitate to follow orders this time. There are a lot of things I’m still not willing to do, but I do trust him, however weird it sounds to say you trust the king of Hell.
I sit still with my eyes closed. I hear him get up from his chair and walk around the table to take a stand behind me. He reaches around me and fastens something at my throat. I will not deny that I am curious, but I stay still until he is back at his seat and tells me to open my eyes.
I look down to see a small needle with a sapphire fastened to my robes. I look up at him, surprised and a little confused.
“It’s a symbol of a promise, one I want you to make,” Karma says.
“What kind of promise?” I ask, feeling a little worried.
“Don’t ask to leave, at least not until I have proven to you that I am sorry for making that mistake,” he says.
“Okay. I promise,” I say. What else can I tell him? I can’t leave no matter what I do unless he lets me. Even so, I’m skeptical. With how much he has been teasing me about my appearance during the past year, I’m beginning to doubt he has it in him to apologize. The problem is, I might still forgive him, even if he doesn’t manage to give me a sincere apology. I wish it was harder to fall in love with him.