Hot Pot

Even in his sealed state, Pagliu was far beyond the level Athena could contend with, which was why she couldn't display her full strength before the Poison Dragon. However, facing Gangke, her greatsword immediately demonstrated astonishing power.

Athena brought her sword down in a heavy overhead strike. This time, she used the blade. Amidst a spray of sparks, Gangke's iron hammer was split in two, and his feet sank deeper into the ground. Athena's control of her strength was incredibly precise; after cleaving the hammer, the greatsword stopped right above the Horned Demon's head.

Chen Rui hurried to Alice's side, whispering an explanation before handing a basket to the little girl.

"Get lost, you lackey. Tell that coward Allen to come out!" Athena was no fool; she immediately guessed who was pulling Gangke's strings and slowly withdrew her sword.

Gangke felt the terrifying killing intent vanish from above his head. His forehead was drenched in cold sweat, and he knew Athena had shown mercy; otherwise, that fearsome strike would have done more than just cut a hammer in half. Just as the standoff continued, a loud shout rang out: "Stop!"

The one who spoke was none other than Chen Rui. The human pointed at Gangke and shouted, "Gangke, you have some nerve, daring to attack Lady Athena! Princess Alice is a noble princess; she hasn't even spoken yet, and you are already issuing orders on your own? Do you have no respect for the little princess, the eldest princess, or the Lucifer royal family in your eyes?"

"I didn't!" Gangke was flustered the moment Chen Rui accused him of ambushing Athena. It was clearly Athena who had struck first, so he hurriedly tried to defend himself, but Chen Rui's mention of the Lucifer royal family had hit a nerve.

The entire scene fell into an eerie silence, save for the sound of Alice crunching on a Green Dragon Fruit. She mumbled indistinctly, "You ambushed Athena? Do you have any respect for this princess and my sister?"

"I didn't! I do! I..." Gangke was startled, feeling that no matter how he answered, it would be wrong. He was momentarily speechless. "Little Princess, this human is too cunning, don't believe his words!"

"This human is indeed cunning," Alice nodded. Just as Gangke felt a glimmer of hope, the little girl pointed at Chen Rui with the hand holding the Green Dragon Fruit, her tone shifting. "However, he makes more sense than you do."

It was unclear whether it was the logic that made sense or the Green Dragon Fruit. Chen Rui was reminded of a corrupt official from a joke; regardless, it seemed that preparing the Green Dragon Fruit for Alice in advance was the wisest move he could have made.

"Chen Rui, in consideration of the fact that you didn't forget to pick fruit for this princess while gathering herbs, I will forgive you this time," Alice said, looking at the sweating, anxious Gangke. "Big guy, stop being a fool. Go tell Allen that if he wants to use this princess's hand to kill someone, he needs to have a better reason than everyone else."

A better "reason"? This was blatant bribery! It seemed this little girl understood everything; she was clearly just being unreasonable on purpose. Seeing that Alice wasn't pursuing the matter, Gangke felt as if he had been granted an amnesty and hurriedly retreated with his soldiers. Chen Rui sighed, feeling that the Demon Realm was still relatively simple. If this were the ancient times of his previous world, such a heavy accusation of disrespect to the royal family could have easily led to the execution of an entire clan.

"Let's go, Athena." Alice affectionately linked her arm with Athena's, as if she had never been angry at all.

"Isn't the little princess upset that I snuck out to play?" Athena intentionally shook Alice off, looking quite displeased. Jia, standing to the side, pursed her lips and smiled.

Alice was truly a master of the "black-bellied" art of knowing when to bend and when to stretch. She whispered something into Athena's ear with a flattering smile and cracked a joke. By the time they reached the palace gates, the two had returned to their sisterly intimacy. When Alice heard Athena mention that she had brought back some game, she couldn't help but drool, thinking of their last picnic, and looked at Chen Rui with a beaming smile.

Under that gaze, Chen Rui felt as if he had turned into meat on a skewer. He quickly said, "This time, there is a new way to eat it. Compared to roasted meat, it has a unique flavor, but I don't know if the little princess is afraid of spice?"

"Is it really as delicious as roasted meat?" the little girl asked in a low voice. After receiving a chest-thumping guarantee from the human in Athena's style, her volume suddenly rose: "The word 'fear' has never existed in the dictionary of the Lucifer royal family! I, Alice Lucifer, fear nothing!"

The palace guards, seeing the little princess so impassioned and righteous, cast looks of admiration. They all stood at attention, proud to be warriors of the Lucifer royal family, completely unaware that the true purpose of the little girl's grand declaration was to mooch a meal.

Alice enjoyed the reverent gazes of the crowd and marched toward Aldas's laboratory, fearless.

Upon arriving at the laboratory, Sli saw the three of them and hurried over to greet them. Chen Rui learned from Sli that Master Aldas had urgent business and had gone to the palace to discuss matters with Princess Shea.

With the assistance of the Lesser Devil, Chen Rui began to busy himself. Jia and Athena also helped from time to time, though Athena lacked talent in this area and mostly just got in the way. Bored of waiting, Alice picked up the Independent Diamond Chess set Aldas had left on the table. Chen Rui figured this exquisite new set wouldn't escape her clutches either, and the master would likely be back in the corner drawing circles.

After a good while, Chen Rui finally finished his work.

Alice, who had been sniffing the air intently, saw her eyes light up as she looked at the strange, large basin on the table with flames burning beneath it. She asked curiously, "It smells so good! What is this?"

"This is called Hot Pot. Come, try it." Chen Rui said, having Sli bring out tableware to distribute to everyone. He placed the sliced meat into the pot and added some side dishes. After the last barbecue, he had become familiar with the common seasonings of the Demon Realm, thanks to the gluttonous Alice having a complete set. Although the ingredients and seasonings here were far less abundant than in his previous world, there were a few unique spices that his old world lacked, which were more than enough to handle home-cooked meals.

Alice tried to mimic Chen Rui, attempting to pick up a slice of meat with the homemade chopsticks, but she couldn't get the hang of them. She simply grabbed a spoon, scooped it up with some broth, and put it in her mouth.

"Wow, so hot! So spicy!" Alice exclaimed exaggeratedly, but her hand moved faster and faster. Soon, not only the little girl but also Athena and Jia had fallen in love with this new invention, the Hot Pot.

"Don't rush, you can keep adding vegetables and eat while it cooks." Chen Rui handed some lettuce to Alice. Seeing the Lesser Devil standing respectfully to the side with drool dripping down, he said, "Sli, what are you doing? Come eat!"

"Sli can eat too?" Sli almost thought he had misheard. It took him a long time to react, and as he recalled the bullying he had suffered since he was small, his little eyes welled up with tears—Oh my god, what a great and benevolent master this was; it was practically a gift from the Demon God! Even without that contract, Sli would never betray his master! Unless... there were a hundred Black Crystal Coins placed in front of him! No, two hundred!

Chen Rui didn't have Alice's "mind reading" ability and had no idea about the bargaining going on in the Lesser Devil's heart. He added more food for his new servant; after all, one needed both the carrot and the stick. This touching gesture immediately caused the Lesser Devil to double the price of betraying his master to four hundred coins.

Deep-seated class consciousness meant that Sli ultimately didn't dare to dine at the same table as a royal like Alice. He took his bowl to a corner and ate, feeling that this was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted in his life.

After a whirlwind of eating, Alice patted her round little belly with satisfaction and looked at Chen Rui approvingly: "Chen Rui, you're not bad. I've decided, from now on, you are this princess's favorite subject!"

This resonant voice echoed in the laboratory, leaving the "favorite subject" with a face full of black lines, especially since his servant looked at him with such envy.

Fortunately, it wasn't the "male pet" mentioned last time; a single character difference, a world of distance.

Then again, if he really dared to be Alice's male pet or boy toy, he feared he would be promoted by the eldest princess immediately—to the rank of a eunuch.

"This is a great honor." Alice counted on her fingers: "A favorite subject is a close attendant to this princess. You must tell stories and make delicious food every day. You must hand over half of the Black Crystal Coins you earn, and you must pay the bill whenever this princess goes out to eat."

Wasn't this even more miserable than being a servant? Chen Rui broke out in a cold sweat and decisively shook his head: He had always been a man of integrity and never one to curry favor; he would leave such a great honor to someone else.

Athena had seen with her own eyes that Chen Rui had put the "antidote" into the Hot Pot disguised as seasoning. Alice, as expected, didn't suspect a thing and had eaten plenty, along with Jia. Her heart finally settled, and she secretly admired her human friend's wit. She spoke up, "Alice, stop messing around. We've finished the Hot Pot, let's head back early."

"Why do I always feel like you're speaking up for this guy?" Alice looked at Athena suspiciously, then glanced at Chen Rui. "Right, back at the city gate, you seemed to say that a certain human was your friend?"

Athena's face flushed slightly, but she admitted it openly: "That's right. Although we haven't known each other long, I think Chen Rui is a friend worth having, much better than that insidious and cowardly guy, Allen!"

"Chen Rui can tell stories and make fun and delicious things," Alice tilted her head and thought for a moment, then nodded: "Since he is Athena's friend, then he can barely count as Alice's friend too..."

Chen Rui felt a sense of powerlessness regarding Alice's criteria for choosing friends. Alice walked over and patted Chen Rui on the shoulder with the air of a gang leader: "If anyone bullies you in the future, just report this princess's name, and no one will dare touch you. Of course, that excludes me bullying you..."

Just then, Aldas's figure appeared at the laboratory door.

"Master!" Chen Rui walked up. "Come, try this new, delicious treat."

The Dark Elf master acted out of character, shaking his head without a word. Only then did Chen Rui notice that there was an unprecedented gloom and heaviness on Aldas's dark face.