Chapter 31 : 1st Irene Cup Large-scale Cooking Competition (2) 

“Elian…!”

As soon as I saw her grinning foolishly, I had an inexplicable urge to flick her forehead.

No, wait.

There was no reason to hold back.

Without hesitation, I gave Elian a solid flick on the forehead.

“Ow!”

Did she no longer consider this place to be the Demon King’s castle?

Elian, who had taken the flick head-on without even a protective barrier, let out a small groan.

“Why did you hit me all of a sudden?!”

“How could you bring so many people here? What if there’s a spy or someone targeting Luminil among them?”

My voice was sharper than I expected.

I didn’t even need to guess—I knew it was because of Luminil.

The moment I saw the incoming crowd, I immediately cast a protective barrier around Luminil.

And not just any barrier—a ridiculously strong one.

Yet, the unease wouldn’t leave me.

I had no idea who these people were or what they might try to do.

Elian, rubbing the spot where she had been flicked, desperately tried to explain.

“They’re all trustworthy! I’ve known them for at least two years. Plus, they all have positive feelings toward you.”

I couldn’t believe her words at all.

It had taken her barely 30 minutes to gather these twenty people here.

And she actually had the time to ask for their consent?

That made no sense.

At least, not to me.

“How did you manage all that in such a short time?”

When I asked, Elian unexpectedly gave a clear and precise answer.

“There’s a group chat that streamers use. I just asked everyone there. And, well… the Hero Tournament is coming up soon, right? I thought it’d be good for Irene to get to know more people…”

Her voice trailed off.

She knew she had caused quite a mess.

But still.

“Well, I get what you were trying to do, so I’ll forgive you. But don’t ever do this again.”

I decided to let it go.

If, as she claimed, these people had already been vetted, then they were probably trustworthy.

And it wasn’t a bad idea to establish some connections before the Hero Tournament.

But there was still one big issue.

“Besides, we don’t even have enough ingredients. There’s only enough food in storage for three people.”

“Oh, I know. That’s why I came up with a solution.”

Elian pointed at the people she had brought.

At first, I had no idea what she was getting at.

Then it clicked.

“I didn’t have time to buy proper meat.”

“I just got back from the sea, so I figured I’d cook some seafood.”

They each held a handful of ingredients, seemingly ready to present them.

Of course.

Elian was Elian.

I never expected her to prepare everything so neatly in just 30 minutes.

I started to feel guilty for getting mad earlier.

As I hesitantly tried to apologize, Elian burst into laughter.

“Awww, how adorable—no, I mean, how rare! The great and terrible Demon King is apologizing to me! What an honor!”

She was way too influenced by me.

Now she was straight-up messing with me.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead.

Before I could say anything, Elian beat me to it.

“You’re about to ask how we’re going to manage all these people, right? Don’t worry. You’re looking at the leader of the number one party in the Hero Guild and a top-tier streamer!”

“You say that so proudly.”

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?”

“That’s exactly why it’s annoying.”

Elian clapped her hands loudly, and all twenty people immediately turned to face her.

She dragged over an extra chair and placed it next to mine at the commentator’s desk.

Then she sat me down and plopped down right beside me.

“There! Now we’re all set. No problems with starting the cooking tournament, right?”

“Sometimes, I find your abilities truly impressive. It’s amazing, really.”

“Pfft, this is nothing.”

Chat Comments:

Elian: Gathering 20 people in 30 minutes is easy.

Seeing Irene completely dazed is opening up a whole new world for me…

She really is a big shot, huh.

LOL

Honestly, the only people who could gather 20 streamer heroes in such a short time are Elian or the Emperor.

Wait, I went to the bathroom for a second—why did this turn from a cooking battle into a full-blown tournament?!

Today’s surprise guest (even Irene didn’t know!): Elian!

Irene being flustered is way too cute, seriously.

LOL

“You’re all getting banned for calling me cute. From now on, only the Demon King is cute. Understood?”

Even though it might not seem like it, every act of streaming I do is for Luminil.

More precisely, it’s to erase her negative image as the Demon King.

To do that, as I mentioned before, I couldn’t be the one in the spotlight.

Silently, I pulled out an extra chair and gestured toward Luminil.

“With so many people here, wouldn’t it make sense to have an additional judge?”

“Wait, doesn’t that mess up the original plan?”

That was a fair point.

I even had a script under my table in case things went off track.

But somehow, this just felt right.

Besides, judges naturally get a lot of screen time—er, I mean, they appear the most in the broadcast.

After seating Luminil in the dead center of the judge’s table, I finally felt at ease.

Now, things felt like they were as they should be.

“Alright, let’s officially begin. From this moment on, the first round of the Irene Cup Cooking Tournament is—”

STARTTTTTTTTTTTT

I wanna taste it too! I wanna see Irene! Why do only they get to see her in person?!

Let’s goooooo!

Finally, it’s happening!

I cried because I wanted to participate in Irene’s cooking contest…

I’m jealous of those guys there. I should’ve started streaming too…

“I declare the tournament… begun!”

Fris was completely panicked.

It wasn’t because of the sheer number of people.

She had spent most of her life in a crowded casino.

It wasn’t the noise, either.

There was no place louder than a casino.

So what was the problem?

“Elves are real?! Wow, it’s such an honor to meet you!”

“…Uh.”

“You’re really an elf? That’s amazing.”

“…Yeah.”

The conversation never stopped.

It reminded her of the first time she had stepped into a casino.

She had already lost count of how many times she had heard, “Are you really an elf?”

Fris sighed.

And that wasn’t even the worst part.

Some people were approaching her just to get closer to Irene.

For Fris, it was absolute torture.

If she actually enjoyed talking, that would be one thing.

But she didn’t.

Irene was the only one who hadn’t been surprised about her being an elf and had treated her like a normal person.

Now, she was completely surrounded, drowning in attention.

“Fris seems uncomfortable. How about giving her a little space?”

A pink-haired figure stepped in front of everyone, blocking them.

“Oh… yeah, that makes sense. Sorry, we didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable.”

“My apologies. I didn’t realize…”

Finally, the crowd around Fris quieted down.

She lifted her head to see who the pink-haired girl was.

Of course—it was Luna.

She had seen her before during the subjugation mission.

Feeling relieved, Fris smiled.

“Thanks… Luna…”

“This is nothing. Now, do your best, Fris!”

With that, Luna returned to her cooking station.

How considerate.

Alright then.

If she was going to do this, she might as well give it her all.

Even if she had long forgotten most cooking recipes, Fris made up her mind—

If I’m going to cook, I’ll make the best dish possible.

Meanwhile, as Irene continued running the tournament, Elian had a thought.

I knew it… I wasn’t wrong…!

To everyone else, Irene was just a normal competition host.

But knowing what she was doing behind the scenes?

There was no way anyone could call her normal.

IRENE, I LOVE YOU!

User ‘eoguswk’ has been temporarily banned.

WHAT?! Is this a tyranny against Irene fans?!

Irene: Please support Luminil instead.

First-ever stream where loving the host gets you banned.

The Irene fan club adores Irene, but Irene adores Luminil.

LOL

Luminil has eaten an insane amount already.

Isn’t she full?

Irene: I’ve been checking on her constantly.

Thanks for your concern.

The truth is, no matter how many bans happen, over 70% of the viewers are here for Irene.

Behind the scenes, the things Irene was doing were downright terrifying.

She monitored the chat, temporarily banning anyone who openly adored her.

But if a question about Luminil came up?

She answered immediately.

At the same time, she interacted with viewers, judged the food, and kept the event flowing smoothly.

“What even is she?”

At this point, the cooking competition was irrelevant.

Irene’s identity had become the real mystery.

“Wait… why have I never questioned who Irene really is before?”

She was a strange person.

She wasn’t a demon, yet she voluntarily took on the role of a Demon King’s officer.

And before all this, no one had ever seen her before.

It was as if she had simply appeared out of thin air.

That wasn’t even the strangest part.

Thinking about it, Irene was a complete enigma.

Her magic was several times stronger than my own, yet no records of her existed anywhere.

Her first known appearance?

A place as unthreatening as [Unnamed] Demon King’s Castle.

She had been living in the Demon Realm for a long time, yet suffered no negative effects from it.

And despite supposedly having no prior interaction with other humans, she handled people as if she had done it her entire life—seamlessly taking control of conversations, effortlessly dominating interactions.

Her broadcasting skills were at least on par with, if not superior to, mine—someone who had been streaming for years.

Nothing about her was ordinary.

The fact that I was only now realizing this was almost laughable.

Should I try to find out who she really is?

But just as the thought crossed my mind, I decided against it.

“Who cares? It’s not like she’s an actual villain.”

If Irene was truly on the Demon King’s side, mercilessly slaughtering humans left and right, then maybe I’d have a reason to dig deeper.

But instead, here she was—hosting a cooking tournament, chatting with viewers, and playing the part of a fake villain.

Even Luminil, the so-called Demon King she served, wasn’t remotely threatening.

Not to mention, in the [Unnamed] Demon Realm, not even demonic beasts appeared anymore.

Calling this place a Demon King’s Castle was a stretch.

Luminil’s House would be a more accurate name.

There was no reason to investigate Irene.

Sure, she could be a little evil sometimes.

But she wasn’t a bad person.

Just as I was reaching that conclusion—

A voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“How could you be daydreaming in the middle of a competition? The food in front of you is getting sad, you know.”

Irene.

Before I even realized it, a spoon had appeared in front of my face.

And on that spoon…

A horrifyingly red, ominous-looking lump.

I turned to glare at Irene, suspicious.

She grinned devilishly.

“You said you’d be a judge, right? Then you have to eat it.”

I glanced to the side.

Luminil, who had already taken a bite, was clutching her throat, eyes filled with betrayal.

Even Irene, her face red and sweating profusely, looked like she was barely holding on.

This was clearly no ordinary dish.

“I-I really can’t handle spicy food… Can I skip this one—?”

“Did you forget the rule we set at the beginning?”

“…No cute appeals allowed.”

With that, I reluctantly shoved the burning red lump into my mouth.

And soon—

“AAAAAAGHHHH!!!”

“See? That’s a disqualification.”

Irene’s smug voice echoed through the castle.

And my screams filled every corner of it.