The Demon King of the Desert

Chapter 6

It felt like winter had blanketed the land the moment the sun fell. So odd it was to ever think about the fact that a place in the world could feel like the pits of hell one moment and then like a frozen wasteland the next. While you were quite tired, you hadn't a moment to even eat or drink anything for dinner. Once more, Demiurge asked you to wait as he took to fetching the dinner for the evening.

After you had gotten comfortable in the bedroom, he had offered a nightgown for you to wear that was a bit longer than you were anticipating for an average sized woman. It didn't have any sleeves, sad to say, making you shiver a bit. You tried to find warmth in the covers of the bed for the time being.

Demiurge opened the door, allowing himself in with a tray of food that was only meant for one. "Here we are." The devil joined you on the bed, letting the tray rest on a small bed tray he had crafted for such occasions as this.

Looking down at the food, you could see fish meat drizzled with some sort of sauce, rice, potatoes, and some strawberries you weren't anticipating to find. Your instinct was to go right for the fork yourself, but Demiurge beat you to it. Your fingers recoiled back to your palm, letting him get the food for you.

He carefully forked up a few pieces of the fish, making sure it was well marinated in the sauce before gathering some bits of rice and potatoes. "I've heard these few items together work well enough."

Opening your mouth, you accepted the food. The fish was a bit sweet tasting. Perhaps it was the sauce, you couldn't tell. The potatoes were seasoned as they were before, but both the sauce and the seasonings came to bring a bit of flavor to the white rice. It was a delicious meal.

After you managed to swallow the first bite, you could tell from his squinty expression he was trying to see if it was something you enjoyed. It was still pretty good.

"The meal tastes wonderful again, Demiurge. Thank you." You dabbed the corner of your mouth, trying to be rid of a bit of the sauce that tried to slip from your lips. "However, I can feed myself. I promise it's okay."

"I am aware you can," said the demon as he scooped up another bite for you. "But, you still need to regain your strength, and I don't mind feeding you."

You were still a bit weary, of course, but you weren't so exhausted you couldn't feed yourself. It was a very sweet gesture but one you didn't really need.

"But what about you?" you asked.

"Mm?"

"I know you told me that eating and all that isn't something demons need to do but, you still do it... don't you?"

The devil nodded. "We do. It doesn't hurt us not to sleep or eat, but doesn't benefit us if we do it either. The cannibals and meat eaters in my kingdom are freshly turned demons that are still under the assumption they'll die if they don't eat." He paused, glancing up at the top of the canopy bed to gather his thoughts. "However, I'm more inclined to believe the cannibals are doing it to spite the ones that they hunted." Even if his eyes remained squinted, you could tell they were gazing in your direction. "I will drink alcohol on certain occasions, but that's the gist of it. Why do you ask, my dear?"

Your lower lip moved inward, wondering how he would accept this sort of proposal. "Well... what if I fed you in return?"

Demiurge chuckled. It wasn't meant to be vile or anything of that sort, he just wasn't anticipating such a remark. "I don't require food like you do. I will be fine without it."

When he attempted to offer you more food, you nervously put your hand against his wrist to gently push it away. "I know you don't, but as a human, we sometimes feed the ones we care for too. Men may provide the meats and stuff, but the women are the ones that mostly make the meals for the family to eat." Sometimes it worked in reverse, or the man or woman did hunt and cook the meals, but it was rarely seen.