The Demon Lord Charlotte showed Pain around the castle she ruled over. She eagerly showed the human many features of the castle that she had always admired. Things like the moving paintings that could jump out and stab intruders, the river of lava that ran through the castle and emptied into a lavafall on the side, the giant forest behind the castle that housed giant spiders and bats, the tower at the top where they could board the Holy Princess as a prisoner, and so much more.

Pain found her excitement strange but let it go. He didn't know, but the Demon Lord had never had the opportunity to show someone around her home. She had trained from a young age to be the overwhelming ruler of her dark country. As such, she never was able to make friends with other children that lived throughout the land of Evuluss. This was her first time showing someone around, and she was excited to do so.

When the tour was over, she treated her new commander to a banquet. She guided him to a grand dining room with a long table that stretched across the whole room. His seat was at one end of the table, and hers was at the other.

A zombie with a chef's hat shambled through a door. He carried a platter with two dishes on them. He slid a platter in front of the Demon Lord then slowly made his way to the other end of the table. When he finally reached the other side of the table, he slid the plate to Pain before starting his slow walk back to the kitchen.

"Our head chef has prepared us a wonderful meal today!" the Demon Lord said excitedly.

"What was that!" Pain yelled from the other end of the long table.

"I said the meal would be wonderful today!" Charlotte yelled back.

"Hold on a minute."

Pain stood up. He grabbed his chair in one hand and the plate in the other. Then he walked down the length of the table, passing the zombie in the process to where the Demon Lord was sitting. He sat his chair on the side of the table and slid in.

"Wha- what are you doing? That is not proper etiquette!"

"Maybe, but we would have to be yelling to hear each other at this table."

"That is the proper etiquette!"

"But I don't want to yell while eating..." Pain said as he began to cut into his meal. He had been delivered a grey-looking slab of meat with some bland-colored vegetables. He hesitated before he brought the food to his mouth.

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"Say Charlotte," he said to the Demon Lord as he tried to stall for time before he needed to take a bite.

"Wha- Idiot, you need to refer to me as the Demon Lord, Milady, or Master!"

"You have wings on your back. Can you fly?" Pain asked, ignoring what the Demon Lord had said.

"Of- of course, I can fly!" The Demon Lord exclaimed. At the same time, her face turned red. She turned away from Pain. He did not know, but he had touched on a subject she was rather sensitive about.

Pain could tell he was not going to get anything out of her for a moment. He begrudgingly took a bite and chewed the meal slowly for a moment before swallowing. Then he nodded his head as if to confirm what he had thought.

"Yeah, that was bad."

"Bad! The meal? I'll have you know this meal was prepared by the finest chef in all of Evuluss!"

"I'd hate to eat anything made by a worse chef then," Pain said as he stood up.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"To the kitchen, I'm going to show the chef how to cook properly." Pain stormed off into the kitchen. The Demon Lord was left alone. She frowned; she had no idea what he was thinking. She ended up sitting at the table, drumming her fingers. She had no intention to get swept along, but a crash in the kitchen got her to follow after him.

The Demon Lord stormed into the kitchen. She entered along with the zombie that brought out the food.

"No, I told you to flip it! What are you doing? And you, I told you to mince it, why are you doing a julienne? You're only supposed to put a dash in! That was the whole container!" Pain was yelling furiously at the kitchen staff as he tried to direct them. The Demon Lord's mouth hung open as she watched the scene play out.

The head chef was known as Brutus, a ferocious orc who was famous for his victories in battle and delicious cuisine. If there was one thing he was known for, it was not a pushover. Yet, here was Brutus with his head hung low as Pain banged on the counter.

"Why can't you get this through your head. Are you an orc, or are you a donkey?"

"I'm an orc," Brutus said with tears in his eyes as he seared a steak.

The Demon Lord slowly backed out of the kitchen and returned to the table. She decided to pretend she hadn't seen anything. After a few more moments, the door opened again, and the zombie began to shuffle back out. He was stopped by Pain, who grabbed the back of the zombie's shirt.

"Hold on, why are you having a zombie deliver food? It will be cold by the time it gets to the table! Deliver it yourself!" Pain yelled. Brutus took the platter and hurried it over to the Demon Lord. He placed a plate in front of her. On the plate was a perfectly grilled, juicy steak with an assortment of brightly colored vegetables. A sauce was drizzled ornately over the food. The Demon Lord cautiously cut the steak and took a bite. Her eyes got wide at the first bite.

"This... This is the best meal I've ever had!" she exclaimed.

"Ah, thank you, milady," Brutus said after a sigh of relief.

Pain crossed his arms and gave a nod of approval.

"I have nothing left to teach you, Brutus. Go forth and make meals more delicious than this."

"Yessir. I will make meals that will surpass what you have shown me!" Brutus happily said as he ran back into the kitchen.

"Watching all those cooking shows paid off," Pain said to himself.

From that day forward, the meals in the castle would increase ten-fold. Citizens from all over Evuluss would come from all over to try even one bite of the fantastic food.