DEMON KING'S Love Redemption

Chapter 13 Cafe Incident

The morning air at Aethelgard Academy usually smelled of crisp dew and the scent of freshly baked wheat bread wafting from the central kitchens. But at seven o'clock sharp that morning, something entirely different was creeping through the corridors toward the main dining hall. It was an aroma so intoxicating it made one's stomach growl, yet it carried a bone-chilling sensation that prickled the back of the neck, as if Death itself were whipping up breakfast behind those doors.

Vann stood in a corner of the communal kitchen provided for students, his hands moving with uncanny precision. Before him, a prime cut of lamb sizzled on a heavy cast-iron skillet. His jet-black eyes were fixed on the meat with a level of concentration usually reserved for high-level destruction spells, though he was merely trying to find the perfect balance of cumin and black pepper.

Remember, Vann. Freya said demons are powerless against grilled lamb seasoned with plenty of cumin, he thought solemnly. If I give her this, she will feel 'safe' thinking she has the upper hand. It is a psychological tactic... and a bit of a bribe for her stomach.

Vann took a long, steady breath. The recipe was the easy part; his mana was the problem. Since the incident in the library yesterday, his dark mana had become hyper-sensitive to his emotions. Every time he recalled Freya's smile or how close their faces had been, the temperature around his hands would plummet.

"Damn it, focus," Vann muttered.

He tried to ignite the magical stove with a basic fire element. Instead of a normal orange flame, however, it flickered into a crackling, eerie violet. It didn't radiate searing heat but rather a dry, hollow warmth—the signature of a fire from the eighth circle of hell.

Smoke began to billow immediately, but it wasn't the usual gray haze. The vapor rising from Vann's pan was a deep, thick purple, swirling like a living fog with a mind of its own. It danced across the kitchen ceiling, forming faint, shadowy shapes that resembled laughing demonic faces before drifting out through the cafeteria doors.

Vann was too busy flipping the meat to realize his cooking looked less like a meal and more like a forbidden ritual.

"Vann? What are you doing in here?"

The voice made Vann jump. Elric stood in the doorway, his face as white as a sheet. His hand trembled as he pointed at the skillet.

"Are you... are you brewing a potion of mass destruction? Why is the smoke purple? And why... why does this meat make me want to kneel and weep at the same time?" Elric asked, his voice catching in his throat.

Vann lifted the pan with pride, unaware that the purple steam was currently encircling his head like a dark crown. "This is breakfast for Freya, Elric. Cumin-spiced lamb. According to the list of weaknesses we discussed yesterday.”

Elric took two steps back, bumping into a wooden table. "Vann, buddy... listen. I know you want to catch her eye. But people usually use flowers or love letters, not meat that looks like it was marinated in black dragon blood and served with a side of cursed smoke."

"Don't be ridiculous. It is just a minor mana leak," Vann replied casually. He grabbed a silver lunch box he had found in the dorms and placed the lamb inside. It looked delicious, yet it pulsed with a faint purple glow. He added a garnish of parsley, which somehow shriveled and turned black the moment it touched his sauce.

Vann then headed toward the bustling dining hall.

The moment Vann stepped into the massive hall, the chatter of students having breakfast died instantly. Heads turned one by one. Or rather, every eye was glued to the silver box in Vann's hand, which continued to vent thick purple vapors. The mist crawled across the marble floor, causing the academy cats to bolt for cover, their fur standing on end.

"Look at that... it is Vann again."

"What is he carrying? It smells like heaven, but my eyes sting just looking at the smoke."

"Is that a biological weapon? Quick, ready a protection spell!"

Vann ignored the fearful whispers. His gaze was locked on a single table in the center of the room where Freya sat with several elite students. She seemed to be reviewing her notes from the library, sipping her tea with the look of someone who hadn't slept a wink.

Vann walked toward her with a steady stride. With every step he took, students at the tables he passed scrambled to move their trays and get as far away as possible.

"Good morning, Freya," Vann's deep voice echoed through the now-silent hall.

Freya looked up. When she saw Vann surrounded by that mysterious purple haze, she nearly choked on her tea. She stood up abruptly, her hand instinctively reaching for the sword hilt at her waist before remembering that weapons were banned in the cafeteria.

"Vann! What are you doing?!" Freya hissed, her face a mix of wary suspicion and embarrassment at being the center of attention.

Vann set the silver box on her table with a soft clink. When he opened the lid, the purple steam surged out, forming a small skull-shaped cloud that dissipated into an incredibly savory aroma of spices.

"I brought you this. Based on our conversation at the library yesterday," Vann said in a tone he considered quite romantic. "Grilled lamb with extra cumin. I made it myself this morning."

Freya stared at the meat. Visually, it was perfect—juicy and golden-brown with the spices perfectly rendered. However, pulses of purple energy throbbed between the fibers of the meat. And the steam... it felt like pure dark magic converted into gas.

The surrounding students began to panic.

"He is trying to poison the Hero!" shouted Kael, who had just entered the hall, his face still wrapped in bandages from yesterday's duel. "Freya, do not eat that! That is the 'Cursed Meat from the Abyss'!"

Freya looked at Vann, then down at the notes in her hand. There, she had written: Demons are extremely weak against Roasted Lamb... their energy will be absorbed to digest it... the 'Fullness Paralysis' technique.

Is he actually handing this 'weapon' over to me? Freya wondered skeptically. Or is this his way of showing he can infuse darkness into anything, even food?

"Vann," Freya said in a low voice, "you realize how suspicious this looks, right? This food is giving off an aura that could knock someone unconscious just from a whiff."

"It is just the seasoning, Freya. I used a bit of my mana to keep it warm," Vann defended himself. "Try some. If you find it dangerous, you can stab me with your sword during practice later."