Hell Inn: Rebirth - I Became a Chef in Hell

Chapter 102 doesn't seem particularly clever.

"...Hesk, you look a little tired?"

During the swaying of the inn, you suddenly see Hesk dragging his feet out of the corridor.

The big cat sinner's expression looked even uglier than usual, and you always felt that his fur was messy.

"It's nothing, don't worry about me."

The big cat, whose expression seemed to be turning world-weary, muttered a couple of things to the air.

……

Okay, since they've already said that, it would be ungrateful of you to keep asking.

"Mimuz! We know you're in there! You rotten bitch!"

The rough shouting and cursing outside the door was clearly ill-timed.

You frowned, wanting to deal with those audacious scoundrels who dared to mess with the Shirley Hotel in one fell swoop, but a circular golden portal suddenly interrupted your train of thought.

The first to emerge from the portal was Vicky, who couldn't help but swear in Spanish, followed by Shirley, who asked in confusion, "What happened?", and finally Lucifer, who remained unhurried.

Lucifer's face was full of self-righteous indifference, as if he had seen this scene many times before.

After all, he is the King of Hell. Having spent so much time in Hell, he should be used to such things.

Later, you learn from Mimz that the people shouting and cursing at the door were a group of loan sharks, and that she not only lent them 50,000 but also stole their car and ran over the loan shark shark's girlfriend.

"It's just a loan shark debt, only 50,000? How much is the interest... Never mind, it's okay, I can pay it off no matter how much."

In the crumbling inn, you calmly and serenely pulled a large wad of hellish banknotes from your sleeve and began counting them.

"It was indeed wrong of you to hit his girlfriend, but you can't do it again... The same goes for loan sharks; the loan sharks in hell aren't loan sharks, they're khaki loans. If you're not careful, they can snowball into millions with interest..."

"As for their attack on the Xia Li Hotel, that'll probably have to wait..."

"...Fuck you, can't you wake up for once?!"

Angel, who looked furious, grabbed two clumps of hair from the sides of your face with both hands, pinched your face with one hand, and tried to stuff your banknotes back into your sleeve with the other.

The Spider Sinner looked somewhat devastated—it seemed that not slapping you directly was his last act of mercy.

You calmly hold up one finger, trying to tell Angel that you just want to resolve the issue relatively peacefully, as Shirley expects.

But a stone that shattered your inn's windows and is now ablaze doesn't think so.

Before the flaming stone fell in and smashed through your floor, you clicked your tongue and waved at it.

Then all the demons watched helplessly as the stone retreated along the trajectory from which it had come, and the shattered glass was restored to its original state.

You felt that Lucifer seemed to want to say something to Shirley, but after you repaired the window exactly as it was, he hesitated for a long time without saying anything, and could only look at you with a complicated expression.

But you didn't notice his subtle gaze; you only clapped your hands with a hint of impatience.

—And after your clapping ended, a huge dragon shadow suddenly appeared inside the inn.

"What's wrong, Number Three? Did you oversleep? They've already broken into the house and you're still sleeping?"

Standing in the center of the inn, your usually calm tone carried a hint of obvious dissatisfaction.

As soon as you finished speaking, the dragon shadow that had been entrenched inside the inn suddenly let out a low growl that sounded both aggrieved and in response.

With a chilling sound of scales scraping against the wall, the inn, which had been on the verge of collapse due to the commotion outside the door, instantly returned to normal.

After the dragon's shadow appeared, no matter how much the demons outside shouted and cursed, your inn remained silent. The loud noise that slammed against the inn's door turned into a soft "splashing" sound as it hit the water.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Lucifer and Mimuz, aside from the inn's demons who were already used to it all, had different expressions.

Lucifer was surprised, while Mimz breathed a sigh of relief.

She doesn't seem to care what kind of magic you use; she just wants to avoid or kill those loan sharks outright.

...And what has currently shielded the inn from all attacks is just one of your abilities—Dragon Shadow.

The dragon shadow is formed from your power, just like the jade tree you use to sleep on.

There are nine Dragon Shadows in total, each with their own personality and possessing certain characteristics and abilities of yours. They perform their respective duties daily, remaining loyal to you, and only appear when you need them.

The main reason you split into dragon shadows is because you have too many abilities, and these dragon shadows are both a part of your life and your weapons—like hotkeys with their own personalities.

You were too lazy to give them names, so you ended up just using numbers to refer to them.

Number Three is currently the best at defense in Dragon Shadow, and he is also relatively large, so you might as well order him to stay around the hotel to protect it.

When you threatened Alastor earlier, the shadow that appeared behind you was also him.

Number Three is great in every way; his temperament and personality are stable and he's not aggressive. The only downside is that he likes to sleep.

...But you still hope that this kind of belated attempt to fix things will never happen again.

Worried that it would be too late when he woke up, you stared blankly at him and, as a form of punishment, lashed your tail hard at the shadow that was still swimming on the ground.

You soon heard a pitiful whimper.

"Number Three, open the door."

"Ignoring your own shortcut keys," you said coldly.

Perhaps realizing that you were not in a good mood, Long Ying, who had originally wanted to act cute with his master, immediately opened the inn door in front of you.

The Eastern Sinner, who had been standing like a blade in the center of the inn, narrowed his eyes and strode quickly out the door.

The arrogant ring of crimson light filled everything within your sight. Before you could even see who was standing at the door, you expressionlessly reached out and unleashed a slash from afar.

It was just an ordinary, unremarkable action, yet the huge wooden stake that the impolite visitor had intended to use to ram your door was instantly split in two.

The fiery red glow of the cross-section of the wooden stake quickly turned to ashes in the air, leaving no trace.

"So, how are we now...?"

"Do you want to resolve this matter, or should I handle it?"

Before you could ask, "Do you want to talk to me calmly?", Vicky, who was also in charge of security at the inn, walked up to you with her short spear in hand.

"I……"

"No, no, no~ I'll leave this to you."

……

Okay, okay, you know you're the inn's punching bag, so it's understandable that Vicky interrupted you, but not everyone can interrupt your speech, right?

You opened your mouth, anger rising in your heart, but you couldn't utter a sound.

Alastor appeared behind you without you even noticing, and put his hand on your shoulder. He ignored your slightly different, angry expression and even spoke with a hint of indifference.

When you turn to look at him, he happens to be looking at you too. But when you look at him, he turns his head away again.

you:"?"

"Is everything alright, darling?"

Without looking at you, the old gentleman with his hands behind his back suddenly asked you this question in a light tone, seemingly unintentionally.

……

Is he asking you?

"Why are you asking this? Everyone was fine before they came to harass us."

Completely bewildered by Alastor's question, you instinctively replied to him in this way.

"..."

"very good."

Although Alastor still had that frighteningly smiling look, you always felt that he seemed to have originally wanted to say something else.

The male demon blocking your way simply turned his head and glanced at you lazily out of the corner of his eye before looking at the annoying intruders.

Wendigo looked as if he had found peace of mind after confirming something.

"Perhaps now is the time to remind everyone why I'm here."

"A reminder to all of you—"

"Don't mess with the broadcasting demon!"

As Alastor's threatening broadcast fell, several shadowy figures immediately sprang out from behind him like some kind of wild beast unleashed from its cage.

A force sharper than a blade, carrying the malice of a demon and unbridled mockery, pierced through the traders who came to collect their debts.

"So handsome!"

"Go for it, kill them all!"

You stood there, clapping sparsely and offering a perfunctory cheer for Alastor in a flat, emotionless voice.

While the reassuring and reliable broadcast demon is wreaking havoc, you stand with your hands behind your back closer to the battlefield, counting heads and occasionally telling the bloodthirsty Wendigo where anyone has been missed or who has escaped his encirclement.

The old gentleman handled the small fry who came to cause trouble with a measured approach. Although it looked unpleasant and bloody, he seemed to be killing with a playful attitude.

Especially the scene where he picks people up and throws them into his mouth, you'd think you were watching a cartoon from the last century if you didn't know better.

"Thirty-four traders, six lords, and two sinners. Two lords are trying to escape, and one sinner is preparing to attack you... Broadcast Demon, do you need my help?"

Having finished counting the magic number, you stood still and shouted at Alastor in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.

Alastor silently responded by crushing the sinner beside you, who seemed poised to unleash his power, with a single hand.

You, avoiding the splattering blood: "..."

Sigh, that guy who throws all his gentlemanly manners aside when he gets bloodthirsty.

You glanced disdainfully at the twitching mass of flesh at your feet.

The mass of flesh that Alastor had crushed into a pile of minced meat was beginning to regenerate at an extremely rapid pace.

Not wanting to watch the sinner's restoration process, you silently used your ability to gather up that blood-red "thing" and then, in one go, threw it hard to the other end of the Pride Ring.

—You guarantee that after that sinner is resurrected, he will fall to the ground and die again.

"...I'm going to devour every single one of you!!"

"Hehehehehehehehe...!"

Alastor's twisted, terrifying, and evil laughter echoed above the inn.

You hesitated for a moment, as if you wanted to say something but then stopped.

The Eastern Sinner glanced at Shirley and Lucifer, who seemed to be saying something, then turned back to look at Alastor, who was practically enjoying the blood and the screams of the weak, native hell creatures.

Although there seem to be more demons coming to collect debts from Mimz than expected... seeing how much fun someone is having, perhaps it's best not to disturb Alastor's playtime any longer.

With that thought in mind, you silently walked towards Shirley with your hands behind your back.

"See, Shirley, what did I tell you?"

“Sinners are violent and cunning perverts who do everything in their power to cause pain and destruction; it is pointless to try to save them.”

"You took in a dangerous and cunning demon, and rescued a dangerous stranger with powers you do not know from under the bridge. But look, they have conspired to commit a huge murder in the very place you used to redeem sinners."

"One ruthlessly kills everything in sight right in front of you, the other cuts off all their hopes of escape... Look how well they work together!"

"...Dad! Stop talking! They're protecting this inn! Although their methods might be more cruel than I expected, they're doing it all for me!"

"Why can they all trust me, but my biological father can't?!"

"The dangerous and cunning demon you speak of has been supporting and helping me from beginning to end, while the stranger with unknown power has been taking meticulous care of my emotions and all the demons in this inn. They are practically my family in hell."

"Dad, why do you always refuse to support my wishes? ...Is it because everything I do and my expectations of hell are always wrong in your eyes?"

……

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

Why does Xia Li's voice sound like she's crying?

……

Even Lucifer Morningstar couldn't make Shirley cry!

Even though you knew it was a problem between Shirley and her father, your protective instincts led you to instinctively stand in front of Shirley.

Because Shirley's voice sounded off, the usually rude and disrespectful Eastern sinner, whose tail hair would stand on end if a demon got close to the little princess, almost tripped and fell in front of the two members of the Hell royal family.

"■■■..."

After seeing you run towards her, Shirley looked at you with her moist but determined eyes.

She pursed her lips, puffed out her cheeks, and reached out a hand to grab your sleeve.

Shirley, who is always intentionally or unintentionally sheltered under your wings, seems to be angry with her father, but she also wants to prove that she can handle everything.

...But you feel that perhaps you should buy her some time so that she can sort out her emotions and logical thinking.

"Your Highness, please forgive my rudeness and impetuosity, but would you mind if I, a stranger from a foreign land, offered an objective perspective on the current chaotic situation?"

As you glance at Lucifer, who seems lost in thought, you gently reach out and grasp Shirley's hand in a gesture of comfort.

You are not Shirley's lover, nor are you family, but you are willing to give everything to help her because she is worth it to you.

You helped Shirley without any personal feelings involved—yet you were also full of them.

"...I swear to you, everything I said was only to help Shirley."

You stood beside Shirley with a serious tone and expression.

Lucifer seemed a little surprised that you would say that.

The not-so-tall King of Hell leaned on his cane, but when he raised an eyebrow and looked you up and down, you could sense a wariness and surprise directed only at you from this male demon who loved his daughter but couldn't express it.

"...Whatever, say what you want to say."

Lucifer, who didn't seem to have any expectations of what you said, glanced at Shirley and then muttered something before looking away.

"Let's first clarify the underlying logic. Right now, this inn belongs to your daughter. No matter what she wants to do, it belongs to Xia Li, and it belongs to your royal family, right?"

Not intending to discuss anything too complicated with Lucifer, you said this in your usual calm and rational tone.

"...Right? So what?"

Lucifer said this with a somewhat hesitant tone.

……

……

Oh, why do you think Shirley's father isn't particularly smart?