Hell Inn: Rebirth - I Became a Chef in Hell

Chapter 68 Stolas Goetia

In fact, when he saw you bowing politely to him, Stolas paused for a moment before coughing at you to show his respect and good manners.

"...Damn it, did you have to put on this act, Stolas? I thought I'd been arrested again!"

Billy, who showed no mercy to any demon, was the first to break down.

Billys, who seemed to have a respectful distance from the nobleman but also a bit reluctant to part with him, rubbed his temples impatiently and muttered irritably, "Damn it... can you skinny devils stop treating us little devils like luggage, flying us around in the air?"

"...But...but Billitz, dear Billitz! If I hadn't come, I can't even imagine what bigger trouble might have happened to you...!"

The noble demon, who gasped in a voice softer than you could imagine, widened his eyes, his previous aristocratic demeanor completely gone.

Moreover, the key point in his statement was not even right.

And even bigger trouble? What do you mean? You're not talking about you, are you?

You never thought you'd end up being a burden to someone else, and you feel like you're feeling down again.

"Trouble? If we're talking about trouble, you're a step too late... well, maybe several steps too."

The lesser demon, who was significantly shorter than Stolas, rolled his eyes and pointed with his thumb at the kidnappers behind you whose heads had exploded.

"Our biggest troublemakers have become works of art by great artists. I reckon this place will become a popular photo spot soon... Little girl, if this really becomes a photo spot, you can make a fortune charging those idiots! After all, this was a gift from [redacted], right?"

Billy gave Viya a shrewd look that said, "We can make money together."

“...Ugh...annoying.”

Upon seeing Stolas, the little witch's face fell, and she pouted, making a dramatic face as she reached out and tugged at the knitted hat on her head.

"..."

"...Uh...okay...?"

Seeing that Billies still had the leisure to talk about such things with his daughter, Stolas, whose tone and pauses were similar to Viya's, peeked out with some suspicion.

But after seeing the scene behind you clearly, the male demon showed a rare expression of surprise.

"Wow, my goodness, this is so luxurious."

The nobleman demon, who seemed to appreciate the scene, first widened his eyes in surprise, then covered his mouth with his hand with a dignified gesture, but still couldn't suppress the "gurgling" sound that came out of his throat.

...They really are related; father and daughter look exactly alike.

After hearing the bird's low chirp, you couldn't help but glance at Stolas, and then at Viya next to him, who had her head turned away and didn't even want to look at her own father.

For teenagers, their father suddenly appearing in front of their friends in this way is probably... well... in some ways...

That's pretty strange, isn't it?

Knowing that you wouldn't get a chance to speak anyway, you obediently stood still and waited for things to end on Stolas's side.

"None of these things matter. Um, my little owl, are you alright?"

After exchanging a few words with Billies, Stolas hurriedly looked at Via, who was being held protectively in his arms.

"Are you hurt anywhere? Those filthy and...rude outsiders didn't hurt you, did they?"

With a worried expression, the tall male demon tenderly touched his daughter's cheek with his hand.

"...I'm fine. I'm not a little girl anymore, Dad."

Viya initially wanted to avoid Stolas's touch, but after hesitating for a moment, she let him rub against the corner of her eye.

“But I told you before I left, Dad... I’m just going out to meet friends. You’re making me look bad in front of them.”

"Young lady, what are you talking about? You should know what's going on, shouldn't you? I've told you before, those sinners from the human world in the Pride Ring are always eyeing our hot bodies. Look! You're being watched right now..."

Stolas, whose focus was clearly on something else entirely, picked up on Viya's words with an incredulous tone.

After all, in Stolas's heart as a father, Viya's safety was of paramount importance.

"dad!"

Upon hearing Stolas mention the adjective "hot body," Viya, feeling an unprecedented sense of embarrassment, widened her eyes and quickly stopped her father, who seemed about to say something more.

Billie was already on edge enough with Billie here, and she just hoped her dad wouldn't flirt with the little devil next to her in front of [the person in question].

Otherwise, she really would want to find a place to commit suicide painlessly.

"Yes, listen to your daughter, Stolas. If it weren't for that girl in the corner who doesn't dare to say a word, I don't know where your daughter would have ended up. At the very least, my employees and I would be in the sewers—in the form of corpses."

Billies, whose words carry a certain realistic dark humor, mocked in a nonchalant tone.

"...What? Shouldn't you be taking good care of her? How did things turn out like this?"

It seems that his daughter's matter is indeed more important than his lover's. Stolas is also clearly angry, but you, who have been observing from the sidelines, did not hear the bloodthirsty malice that often comes with trouble from the tone of his voice.

Stolas seemed to be angry simply because Billitz hadn't protected Viya properly—which seemed quite reasonable.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me we'd be running into a dozen or twenty Hell Supermen, did you? Those super-powered trash like the Pride Ring might be nothing to you magical nobles, but to us little devils, they're all Supermen, okay?!"

Billys's face fell as he emphasized "noble" in his voice. He tapped his shoulder with his weapon in a foul tone and turned his head away, unwilling to look at Stolas's face.

"Or do you think we little devils should risk our lives for the safety of nobles? Come on, neither your body nor the money you're paying you is up to that level."

The seemingly disrespectful native devil crossed his arms and spoke with increasingly sharp words.

……

In hell, it's true that whoever falls in love first loses everything.

As you reaffirm this idea, you stand in the corner and sigh inwardly.

“No, you should know that’s not what I meant! Mr. Billitz, your safety is of course just as important, I’m just worried…”

Stolas seemed to want to communicate with Billies, but the latter seemed completely unwilling and indifferent.

You keenly caught a glimpse of hurt and sadness in the eyes of this stranger who had suddenly appeared, but this emotion was quickly interrupted by Viya beside him.

"You don't need to worry so much, because before anything really happened, ■■■ had already taken care of things, Dad."

The little demon's gentle voice suddenly rang out, startling Stolas so much that he shuddered.

He tilted his beak and looked at you with a somewhat surprised expression, who was standing still and hadn't even changed his posture.

“■■■……? Oh, right…you.”

The tall, weak-looking male demon, who looked like a pushover who couldn't please either side, coughed twice before slowly walking over to your side and asking, "Do you know who I am, and who you were with today?"

“To be honest, I know a little about it, sir.”

Faced with Stolas's questioning, you bowed to him honestly and then replied clearly, word by word.

"In the Ring of Pride, only nobles possess such power, sir."

"It seems you are not just an ordinary, ignorant sinner."

Faced with your reply, the owl, whose face revealed neither joy nor displeasure, narrowed its eyes and continued to ask you in a voice that could only be described as gentle and clear: "Now that you know my and her identities, in order to avoid physical suffering, you'd better tell me your purpose in approaching us..."

"Hey! Dad! What are you doing?! Are you interrogating my friend?!"

Before Stolas could ask any more questions, Viya suddenly stepped in front of you.

"...Viya, of course I'm doing this to protect you!"

When he saw his daughter standing in front of him without even asking what happened, Stolas's eyes widened in surprise.

“You should have understood when she displayed her power before… And look at these dead with their eyes wide open… uh, hellish trash.”

Perhaps because he had never seen Viya protect anyone like this before, Stolas's tone carried a subtle sense of urgency and confusion.

"You should be able to understand that this lady could easily kill you, or use you to extract something from me, right?"

"...At least she won't follow me out today, and then suddenly appear to question her daughter's savior after everything is resolved."

Viya, who was stubbornly refusing to move in front of you, and the big owl, who didn't seem to intend to hurt her daughter, were both taken aback.

He knew that his teenage daughter was no longer as easy to coax as she was when she was little, but the repeated failures he experienced with her still hurt him somewhat.

But Stolas did not give up.

Although Via seemed unyielding, the good-natured prince patiently patted the young female demon on the shoulder and said earnestly, "My little owl, I am Stolas Goetia. We are the renowned Goetia family in Hell. Even sinners know how popular nobles are in Hell. You're still young, child... How could you know if these sinners who invited you out didn't have ulterior motives?... Uh, Mr. Billiz?"

After saying these words, the tall owl subconsciously gave Billy, who seemed to be sulking with him, a wink.

He hoped that Billies, who also had a daughter, would say a word for him.

"Yes, sinners are all a bunch of trash who don't know what they're thinking... Who knows what their brains, evolved from humans, are thinking?... My Satan, do you think I would say that?"

Because of his work, Billy often comes into contact with some outrageous criminals, and he usually scoffs at them the first thing he does... In fact, he did the same when he saw ■■■, because he does attack all rotten demons equally.

But ■■■'s performance throughout the day was just too perfect—well, perhaps now there's one more demon who agrees with Shirley's statement that "our inn's chef is perfect."

Billies sometimes wondered if ■■■ had no temper, or if she lacked the emotions a normal demon should have. Otherwise, how could her personality be so stable? She even had the mental capacity to do other things?

"……what?"

Seeing Billies's indifferent expression, Stolas, whose look was now more confused, widened his eyes and let out a short "coo" sound that seemed to indicate disbelief.

You can see that his feathers are flattened, which makes him look just like a frightened owl ready to defend itself.

...That's the attitude, isn't it?...You seem to have seen it on Viya before.

You glanced silently at the young female demon blocking your way.

"Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to find any flaws in the young lady before you, Your Highness."

Seeing Stolas's reaction, Billitz spoke slowly, his tone inexplicably tinged with schadenfreude.

"The person in front of you... is 'perfect' in some ways."

……

Stolas: "?"