Taro coughed softly before he spoke up, his voice hoarse with exhaustion. “I’m getting hungry,” he said softly. “Do you think..you could get me something to eat? There should be some packets in that drawer over there.”
Hayate looked at the old man for a moment before nodding. He got up from the bed and walked over to the corner of the room. He pulled open the drawer and looked inside, his eyes scanning over the various packets inside it. His nose wrinkled in disgust.
They didn’t look very appetizing, just simple, bland plastic packaging with different flavours written on them in different colours. He reached in and picked up one of the packets, feeling it from the outside. As he did, he felt something slimy and squishy inside, with small solid pieces floating in it.
Hayate couldn’t help but grimace. This was supposed to be food? It looked more like some kind of medical goo or something. It couldn’t be healthy at all.
Hayate picked up a few more of the packets, feeling them from the outside. They all felt the same, the same slimy texture with some solid stuff inside. He looked over at taro, “now come on, you ain’t eating this liquid-shit. Don’t you have any fruits or something? Apples, banana’s etc.”
Taro looked at Hayate, a small smile on his lips. He knew Hayate had a point, the liquid food wasn’t the healthiest or tastiest option but it was the best thing he had. “Afraid not,” he said softly. “Those packets called neutri-gel are pretty much the only food available here other than some canned stuff, which taste even worse. Can’t get much when you’re not rich and fruits basically cost a arm and a kidney.”
Hayate couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This was all the food they had? It was pathetic, just liquid food that was probably full of chemicals and preservatives and some canned stuff that tasted worse? No wonder everyone looked so thin and sickly and pale ever since he came here. Hayate sighed.
Hayate opened and reached into his inventory and took out the item, [carpet of gluttony]. This was a lesser-legendary ranked item because it allowed the user to eat anything on it, all they had to do was choose the dish. In the game, it had a limited menu of what it could create and make edible, but he wondered now, in real life could his item have the same limits or could it really make anything. Of course, as a high demon, he didn’t really need to eat, but still...might as well try.
The carpet was a beautiful flat hand woven, thin object, about a meter long and wide made of the finest silk, with a pattern of golden swirls and leaves that sparkled in the light. The edges of the carpet were bordered with a glowing silver and gold trim, giving it a regal and luxurious look. It was almost too beautiful to step on.
The carpet was so soft and comfortable to touch that Hayate found himself stroking the material for a moment before setting it down on the floor beside the bed.
Once on the floor, the carpet shimmered slightly before changing slightly in appearance. The soft, woven fabric seemed to become even more luxurious and plush, almost as if it was inviting people to lie down on it and relax. There was even a pleasant, soothing scent rising from the carpet, like a gentle breeze of a summer day. The carpet felt so comfortable and soft, not to mention warm, that Hayate could just imagine lying down on top of it and falling asleep instantly.
It was so beautiful that Hayate couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness that such a wonderful creation would end up being used to eat on, as if it were a simple picnic mat. He had not used the carpet much in-game, but he remembered it well. He didn’t need to use it but his friends did. He wondered how it would feel to eat off of in reality...
Taro’s eyes widened as he looked at the carpet, his mouth agape. He had never seen such a beautiful rug before, let alone one that looked so expensive.
“That’s.. quite a rug..” taro said softly, his eyes staring at it. He knew how impressive the carpet was, and seeing his old friend’s expression reinforced that. The carpet looked so out of place in the room, like a beautiful flower blooming in a wasteland.
Hayate settled down onto the carpet, crossing his legs and folding them beneath him. He patted the area beside him, inviting taro to sit down. Taro looked at the carpet with still some surprise. He hesitated for a moment before sitting down beside Hayate, mirroring his pose.
Hayate closed his eyes and focused on what he wanted to eat. He had a taste for some chicken and so thought of fried chicken. As if by magic, the carpet obeyed Hayate’s thoughts. In the center of it, a shiny white glass plate appeared out of thin air, filled with 10 pieces of golden brown, crispy fried chicken. The chicken pieces were sizzling and hot, and a mouth watering aroma wafted from them.
Taro’s eyes widened as he caught sight of the fried chicken that had magically appeared on the carpet before him. He couldn’t believe it, ten golden-brown fried chicken pieces laid before him, still sizzling and looking incredibly delicious. Taro could almost taste them from the smell alone, his mouth watering profusely at the sight.
It had been ten years since he had eaten something like this. He couldn’t recall the last time he had seen a real, farm-raised chicken, and let alone eat it. The chicken in his day and age was all factory-farmed, pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, the meat barely edible.
But this chicken was different. It looked healthy and fresh, like it had been raised in a clean environment and fed good, natural food. The skin was crispy and golden brown, and the meat inside was juicy and tender. It would have been a luxury to eat such a piece of chicken in taro’s time. No, such chicken was eaten in taro’s time. But, not by normal people.
Hayate couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh as he looked at taro, the man’s expression was priceless, and Hayate had to tease him. He extended his hand and said with a mock-serious tone, “¥1000 per piece. Pay up if you want to eat.”
Taro was in a daze but when he heard what Hayate said he snapped out of it and glared at him. “1000 yen..you bastard, the biggest cheapskate of Tokyo.” He muttered, shaking his head.
Hayate let out another hearty laugh as he looked at taro’s expression, the old man looked ready to kill him. He was only joking of course, he would never charge taro for this food, he was just doing it for laughs.
“The hell you mean ‘the biggest cheapskate of Tokyo’ I am not.”
Taro rolled his eyes at Hayate’s comment. “Oh really?” he said, his tone dry. “You sure about that? No wait no – you’re not the biggest cheapskate of Tokyo, you’re the biggest cheapskate of the world. Demon bastard!”
Stolen novel; please report.
Hayate clutched his chest, feigning hurt. “What did you call me?” he said with a smirk. “Demon bastard? Well that’s a new one.”
“You’re lucky I’m too exhausted to punch you in the face right now,” taro said.
Hayate’s expression morphed into a glare for a second before he sighed and then looked at taro, his expression softening into its usual neutral look.
“Eat to your heart’s content,” he said, gesturing to the plate of fried chicken.
Taro didn’t need to be told twice, he immediately reached out and grabbed a piece of chicken. He took a big bite and he made a noise of pure bliss as the flavour’s exploded in his mouth. It was the best thing he had tasted in years, juicy, crisp, and so flavourful. There was no way he could eat that neutri-gel again.
As he chewed and savoured the chicken, taro’s eyes closed in satisfaction. It took him five seconds to finish the first piece and he was already picking up the second one and biting into it. This was heaven, this is what heaven must taste like.
It was heart-warming to see and Hayate couldn’t help but realize how long it must have been since taro had something decent to eat, and not that horrible liquid food stuff. He watched as taro ate, not even caring about the crumbs that fell on the carpet.
While taro continued to enjoy the fried chicken, Hayate got up and walked over to the shelf where he had seen some of those neutri-gel packets. He grabbed one and walked back to the carpet, holding it in his hand. The package felt cold and slimy in his hand, and it didn’t look very appetising and it was made by.. ishimaru industries.
It looked disgusting and he wondered how bad it could taste.
He opened the packet and looked at the gel inside, it was a slimy opaque liquid-like substance that looked like it would leave a horrible aftertaste in your mouth. He squeezed a bit of the gel onto his fingers before bringing it to his mouth. As he touched the gel to his tongue he almost recoiled at the bland, slimy, texture it had. It was like putting a spoon of snot in his mouth.
And the taste..it was even less than mediocre, there was no taste. It was like eating thick, viscous water. Hayate’s expression twisted with disgust as he quickly spit the gel out of his mouth onto the floor. It was absolutely disgusting. He had never tasted something so bland and flavourless, it was like he was eating plastic. Hayate felt like throwing up at the mere thought of having to eat that stuff everyday. How did taro eat that stuff every day? It was practically inedible.
Hayate looked over at taro, who was still devouring the fried chicken. He couldn’t believe that taro had been forced to eat that stuff every day. It was inhumane, and it made Hayate feel lucky that he had access to his carpet of gluttony or if he didn’t have that he didn’t even need to eat.
“I can’t imagine ever eating that stuff,” Hayate said to himself in low tone.
He shook his head, disgusted by the thought. He knew taro had no choice, it was either eat that or starve. But still, it wasn’t fair. No human being should have to eat that stuff. And the thought that thousands, if not millions of people all over the world had to subsist on that and other similar food made Hayate’s stomach churn.
It made him feel..angry?
Yes, that was the word for it, angry. Angry that people had to live like that. Angry at the ones responsible for the situation. It wasn’t just the food either, it was everything. The air was too polluted to breathe, the water was too contaminated to drink, the soil was too poor to grow crops. It was all just so..wrong.
And who was to blame for it all?
The corporations, the rich, the powerful, the elite. They were the ones who had caused this world to decay. They were the ones who had sucked it dry of everything that was good and replaced it with everything that was bad. They were the ones who had turned the world into an hell-like place. The earth. Is dead. The earth. A carcass.
At least that’s what Hayate was thinking.
He was getting lost in his thoughts, he was so caught up in his own head he didn’t hear taro speak to him.
“You alright there?” taro’s voice snapped Hayate back to reality.
Hayate shook his head a bit, trying to push his thoughts aside. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, his voice a bit hoarse. “Just..thinking.”
“I see,” taro said, studying hayate’s expression for a moment. “Anyways..umm...can I get some ...orange juice..it’s been a long time since I’ve drank it.”
Hayate raised an eyebrow, a little confused by taro’s request. Orange juice..that seemed like a strange thing to want after eating fried chicken. But then again but then again, it didn’t matter.
He didn’t blame the old man for craving something sweet.
Hayate nodded and turned his attention to the carpet. He closed his eyes, visualizing a glass of orange juice. He felt a faint shimmer of light and when he opened his eyes, there was a tall jug of cold, fresh orange juice on the carpet and two glass cups in front of them.
Taros face lit up as he saw the jug of orange juice. He couldn’t remember the last time he had drunk a cold, freshly-squeezed glass of orange juice. It was one of his favourites, but orange trees were too rarely found nowadays.
He poured some of the orange juice into his glass carefully, not wanting to spill any of it. He held the glass up to his nose, inhaling the familiar aroma of the sweet citrus fruit. The smell alone made him nostalgic, it reminded him of sunny days, of fresh fruits and vegetables, of the time when the air wasn’t so polluted you could barely breathe.
He took a sip of the orange juice and his eyes widened with surprise. It was so refreshing, so sweet and citrus-y, and it wasn’t watered down at all. It tasted like pure sunshine in a cup. It wasn’t synthetic or processed, it was real, and it tasted amazing.
Hayate picked up his own cup of orange juice and took a long drink. It was delicious, it was so refreshing and it washed away the taste of that awful gel from his mouth.
Hayate looked at taro with curiosity as he sipped on his orange juice. He had been wondering about taro’s family, or anyone, it seemed like taro lived alone and Hayate had found him in this poor condition.
“Taro..” Hayate said, his voice soft. “Who was taking care of you before I got here?”
Taros expression softened and he seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. “I..my wife died a few years ago and I was all alone. But we had a daughter and she takes care of me, she’s a single mother now though. My son-in-law was a gangster and a Criminal and got killed in gang violence. I have two grandchildren, one boy and one girl. They’re grown ups too. The boy is 22 and the girl is 20.”
Hayate was surprised at taro’s response, he had no idea that taro had a family, and grandchildren too. It was hard to believe that taro could have any living relatives given how sick and old he looked.
But it was also heartening to know that taro’s family was still alive. Hayate felt relief and contentment at the thought that taro wasn’t alone, that he had family who still cared for him. Unlike, Hayate.
Hayate pushed that thought to the side. “That’s...great to hear that you have a family,” he said to taro, trying to sound sincere.
The door to taro’s room opened gently and a woman in her late thirties or early forties walked in. She had long, dark hair with strands of grey in it that was tied back in a loose ponytail and sharp, hazel eyes that darted quickly around the room. She was lean and muscular, but not like a body builder, more like someone who had worked hard in manual labour or physical work. This must be taro’s daughter.
The girl looked around the room and her eyes widened as she saw the scene before her. Her father, a man that she thought was bedridden and on the verge of death, was sitting upright and looking healthier than he had in years sitting on a very expensive looking carpet that she had never seen before. A jug of orange juice sat next to them, more orange juice than she had seen in her entire life. And next to her father was a man, with horns on his head, a height of seven feet, and wings coming out of his back.
The girl’s mouth fell open and she was frozen in shock.
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Was this some kind of dream, or hallucination, or had the stress and grief of the past few months finally driven her insane? She shook her head, trying to wake herself up, trying to make sense of what was happening. But the scene before her remained the same. Then, The sound of her father’s voice broke the girl out of her daze. She looked over at him and saw him motioning for her to sit next to him. She blinked a few times, trying to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating, and then hesitantly walked over and sat down next to her father.
She looked at her father, who now looked less like a walking corpse, and more like a person again. She couldn’t believe the difference in his appearance, it was like night and day. “Sakura, i want to introduce you to someone,” said taro.