Dinner time rolled around as we took it easy in the room.

Vahnia wheeled in the food on a  table with casters.

“Dinner is served. For starters, we have a salad made from twenty different varieties of vegetables!”

The vibrantly colored vegetables were plated into an aesthetic pattern. Rather than eating them, it might be more enjoyable to just look at them.

“Wow, it’s already this luxurious right from the start”

“It certainly is. When welcoming guests, the demon race places particular importance on making sure the appearance of the dish has impact. The art of plating dishes is especially common.”

“Indeed. This pattern is based on a magic circle that’s used to control people’s minds.”

Yeah, I’m not sure if I’m glad I got to hear that bit of information…

“Please, eat to your heart’s delight, absolutely no harm will come to you from this dish. We’ve also made sure that it’s not spicy so there’s no need to concern yourself about that either.”

It really wasn’t spicy but with all the different herbs mixed in, it had an unfamiliar flavor that I wasn’t accustomed to eating.

“Uu… It’s kinda bitter. Farufa might not really like this…”

“Nee-san, you won’t grow if you’re too picky with your food. Uu… so bitter…”

Salad might be a bit too difficult for the kids to eat.

“Oi, Vahnia, give the two girls something that they can eat,” ordered Beelzebub.

“U, understood!”

She came back with a meat karaage glazed with honey sauce. To be able to respond to such a request, her skills as a chef must be pretty good.

“Yup, this is tasty ♪"

“Delectable… I can eat any number of these…”

To be honest I’d rather they eat more veggies, but since this is a reception dinner I’ll let them off this time.

“Next is pottage made from crushed beans. We’ve cooked it in various spices to get rid of its herb-ness. [1]”

It really did have a complex flavor full of spice. It reminded me a little of ethnic cuisine.

“Farufa’s mouth feels tingly, this might not be okay…”

“Nee-san, you keep complaining about the food. Uu, this is a bit painful…”

It was yet another dish that kids wouldn’t be used to eating. These were all dishes that you’d only find delicious after you’ve become an adult after all.

“Vahnia, give the two something else”

“But, I’m about to go prepare the soup…”

“You must at least have fruit no? Come back with an arrangement of those!”

“U, understood!”

Vania once again dashed off and then came back with a plate of four different varieties of sliced fruit glazed with a sweet sauce.

“Yay, it’s sweet! Farufa is so happy~”

“It has just the right amount of tartness. It’s a flavor that one would never tire of”

“Whew… Thank goodness…” said Vahnia with her hand on her chest.

This is really putting a lot of stress on the chef. My apologies…

“Next we have seasoned stir-fried c.o.c.katrice eggs. Please eat them by wrapping them in lettuce. Ah… if the children don’t like lettuce then they can eat the eggs as is…”

“Mama, can we eat it without the lettuce?”

“Nope. You should at least eat that. It’s rude to the people who made it for you if you don’t”

At the very least I’ll have them eat the lettuce.

“The next dish is roc egg omelette! With an exquisite taste that spreads all throughout your mouth, do please enjoy it!”

This time, Vahnia confidently served the omelettes.

“This might be the best egg dish I’ve ever eaten in my life!”

The flavor was amazingly rich. And somehow, as you kept eating more of it, the more the flavor got even richer.

“I too had no idea that an omelette like this existed… It seems I still have a long way to go…”

Leica was also taken aback. Omelettes were her specialty after all.

“Oh Leica, you need not fret. This is the difference borne from the quality of the ingredients. An omelette made of roc egg costs a thousand times more than a normal one no?”

“A thousand times you say?!”

Leica, too, was shocked by the difference.

“That’s why it’s only natural for it to taste so delicious. Indeed, if Vahnia managed to make it taste bad, then I would have had made her write another apology.”

“Uu… Boss is so strict…”

Looks like Beelzebub is pretty strict as a boss.

“That was pretty tasty~ The food really did center around the eggs didn’t it”

Next we’re going to finish it off with dessert. Not bad.

“No, there should be more food coming. The next dish is lamb pie”

“Yes, I’ll go prepare it right away”

Ah, we weren’t done…

After that, five more dishes were served, not including dessert. I was really quite full by the end.

Farufa and Sharusha were patting down their swelling tummies.

“I ate way too much…” said Harukara as she ingested some herbs that helped ease indigestion.

“Thank you Vahnia. That was quite the dinner you prepared for us”

“No no, giving you the grandest welcome is my job. I’m happy as long as you enjoyed yourself”

This girl from the demon race did a pretty good job. She herself seemed quite satisfied with it and it showed on her face.

“I’ll certainly give you pa.s.sing marks for how well you handled the guests this time. You did well Vahnia.”

“Thank you very much, Beelzebub-sama!”

Vahnia lowered her head almost a little too formally. It made me realize that Beelzebub really was some sort of big shot.

“With this, you’ve completed all but one of your duties no?”

“Huh? Was there anything else left to do? Ahh, right, I still need to wash the dishes.”

“No, your apology letter”

“You still haven’t gotten over that?! I was almost certain that you’d forgive me if I did a good job with dinner…”

“Fool. This and that are completely different matters. You better write a good apology, one excellent enough to move even one such as I. If you don’t, I will lower your evaluation. Keep that in mind.”

“Understood…”

With dead-looking eyes, Vahnia slumped down.

“You’re pretty rough on your subordinates huh…”

“It’s her fault for skipping work and taking a bath. If you had happened to have taken offense to that, it could have been an issue on a political scale. This much is only natural!”

Beelzebub wasn’t one to leave any loose ends.

[1] Apparently j.a.panese people think vegetables like beans, cabbage, and cuc.u.mbers have a “gra.s.sy” smell that they want to get rid of like how we want to get rid of “gaminess” in some meat.