Chapter 200: The Terrifying Strawberry Cake, A Long Journey with a Goal
Just as Ren had predicted, the journey had taken its toll.
Mana Nakiri and her entourage from the WGO had spent nearly the entire day in a state of transit, their bodies moving across distances while their emotions weathered an even more turbulent storm.
Mana, in particular, had been pushed to her absolute limit.
She had cycled through tears of release, hysterical laughter, and profound relief—a cocktail of feelings that left her spirit light but her physical vessel utterly drained.
By the time the group had settled into the guest rooms on the second floor, sleep didn't just come to them; it claimed them.
Courage, Decora, and even the usually stoic Anne had succumbed to the heaviness of their eyelids the moment their heads touched the pillows.
Now, the world outside was wrapped in the velvet embrace of late night.
Tokyo, a city that famously never sleeps, had quieted down to a low, rhythmic hum.
Apart from the weary salarymen grinding through unpaid overtime in high-rise offices and the desperate students burning the midnight oil for their future exams, the majority of the population had surrendered to the dream world.
Of course, there were the creatures of the night—the gamers, the writers, and the restless souls—whose lives only truly began when the sun dipped below the horizon, basking in the artificial glow of screens and streetlights.
Inside the Dimensional Restaurant, the atmosphere was a sanctuary of warm, golden light.
Ren leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking softly in the silence.
His gaze was fixed on the creature sitting across from him—or rather, the trio of identical girls who shared a single soul.
Cerberus, the Triple Demon, stared back at Ren with three pairs of red eyes, her expressions mirroring his own.
The reason for this stare-down was simple: Cerberus was refusing to go to bed, and her justification was nothing short of outrageous.
"Cerberus," Ren said, breaking the silence with a calm, amused tone. "Do you really not want to go upstairs and sleep?"
"No! No! No!"
The refusal tumbled from the lips of all three girls in perfect, staccato unison.
They shook their heads vigorously, their white hair swaying like synchronized pendulums.
Ren raised an eyebrow. "So, what is the actual reason? Usually, you're the first to curl up on the rug."
The three bodies of Cerberus exchanged glances, a silent telepathic conversation passing between them.
Finally, the middle Cerberus leaned forward, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"I just don't want to sleep," she admitted, fidgeting with the hem of her suit jacket. "I always have this feeling... that if I close my eyes, Lucifer-sama will do something very interesting with Master while I'm not looking..."
Ren was momentarily stunned.
He blinked, processing the implication, before a soft chuckle escaped his lips.
"If watching a movie counts as 'something interesting,' then I suppose you're right, Cerberus."
The three Cerberuses froze.
Six eyes blinked simultaneously, filled with a mixture of confusion and disappointment.
"Just... watching a movie?" the left Cerberus asked, her voice tinged with incredulity.
"Just a movie?" the right Cerberus echoed.
"Yes," Ren confirmed with a nod. "Just a movie."
As the words settled in the air, the dynamic in the room shifted instantly.
The three Cerberuses turned their collective gaze toward Lucifer, who was sitting quietly on the sofa nearby.
The look they gave her was devastating.
It was a look of pure, unadulterated pity. It was the kind of look one gives to a boring relative who collects stamps or watches paint dry.
It was a look that said: Is that all you've got?
Lucifer, the Queen of Hell, the CEO of the underworld, was completely dumbfounded.
She hadn't even said a word. She was just sitting there, minding her own business, and yet she was being pitied by her own chaotic subordinates!
"Lucifer-sama! Lucifer-sama! Lucifer-sama!"
The chant rang out from the trio, their voices overlapping in a harmonious mockery.
"Hmm? What is it?" Lucifer asked, her brow furrowing.
"You're so boring..." the center Cerberus declared with a heavy sigh.
"I..." Lucifer choked on her own indignation.
"Master! Master! Master! We're going up to sleep now!"
With that, the Triple Demon turned on their heels and bolted toward the stairs.
Their footsteps pattered rapidly away, leaving a trail of giggles in their wake, until they disappeared from sight.
The lobby was left in a heavy silence.
Lucifer sat there, her head bowed low, her white horns casting long shadows against the wall.
She looked like a statue of defeat.
"Lucifer... you... uh..." Ren started, trying to find the right words to comfort the fallen angel.
Lucifer slowly lifted her head.
Her expression was one of grief greater than death itself.
Her red eyes shimmered with a mix of humiliation and disbelief.
"Ren..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "Did I just get called 'boring' by Cerberus? Was I actually pitied by that three-headed dog?"
Ren's mouth twitched as he fought the urge to laugh, but he nodded solemnly.
"It appears so."
Lucifer's eye twitched violently.
She slammed her hands onto the sofa cushions, her composure shattering.
"I am not boring at all!" she shouted, jumping to her feet. "I don't just watch movies! I do interesting things! I... I... Eh?!"
Her tirade was cut short as a white object flew through the air and landed squarely in her face.
She pulled it away to reveal a pristine chef's apron.
Ren stood up, a mischievous grin playing on his lips.
"If you're not boring, then it's time to prove yourself," he challenged, rolling up his sleeves. "Let's go. We're going to make some desserts."
Lucifer stared at the apron, then at Ren.
Her mouth twitched again, but a flush of color rose to her cheeks.
"Fine!" she huffed, tying the apron around her waist with aggressive precision. "I'll show you! I'll show everyone!"
The kitchen of the Dimensional Restaurant came alive with activity.
Ren and Lucifer didn't just throw ingredients together; they embarked on a culinary campaign.
The target: A Perfect Strawberry Cake.
But for the Queen of Hell, who was used to commanding legions rather than whisking egg whites, the battle was fierce.
"Whisk it harder, Lucifer," Ren instructed, watching her struggle with the bowl of cream. "You need to incorporate air until it forms stiff peaks."
"I am whisking it!" Lucifer gritted out, her arm moving in a blur. "Why does this white slime resist me?!"
The air filled with the sweet, intoxicating scent of vanilla extract and fresh strawberries.
Ren handled the sponge cake, his movements fluid and practiced.
He folded the flour into the batter with a gentle hand, ensuring the air bubbles remained intact to create that signature fluffy texture.
Lucifer, meanwhile, was tasked with the decoration.
She sliced the bright red strawberries with intense focus, treating each fruit like a sinner to be judged.
She arranged them on the layer of whipped cream, her tongue poking out slightly in concentration.
By the time the cake was finished, Lucifer looked utterly disheveled.
There was a smear of flour on her nose, her silver hair was slightly frizzy from the heat of the oven, and her apron was splattered with cream.
But in her hands, she held it.
A Strawberry Cake.
It wasn't perfect—it leaned slightly to the left, and the frosting was a bit uneven—but it was hers.
"Lucifer~" Ren called out, wiping down the counter.
"I... I've had enough!" Lucifer panted, leaning heavily against the island. "One strawberry cake is enough! Really enough! Ren, please... let's just go watch a movie!"
She felt like she couldn't even stand up anymore.
As the Queen of Hell, she possessed immense power, yet she was currently suffering from a suite of debuffs that no magic could cure: a sore back, aching shoulders, and legs that felt like jelly.
It truly was a terrifying strawberry cake.
Minutes later, the scene shifted to the cozy living area of the restaurant.
Ren sat on the sofa, a cup of steaming black tea in his hand.
Beside him sat Lucifer, curled up like a tired cat, with a large slice of the strawberry cake on a plate in her lap.
"What's wrong?" Ren asked with a teasing smile, taking a sip of his tea. "I was just asking if you wanted something to drink to go with that."
Lucifer let out a haughty snort, stabbing a piece of cake with her fork.
"No need! I'll just eat this strawberry cake! I made it, so I will conquer it!"
Ren nodded, accepting her refusal.
He turned his attention to the large screen on the wall, scrolling through a list of movies to watch.
While he focused on the screen, Lucifer—or Lucy, as Ren fondly called her in his mind—began to secretly watch him.
She didn't know why, but every time she suffered from these "debuffs" of exhaustion, she felt a strange compulsion to look at him.
Perhaps it was the way the soft light highlighted the silver of his hair, or the calm assurance in his posture.
There was no deep, Machiavellian plot behind it.
She just felt... at ease.
Watching him gave her a sense of profound satisfaction that ruling the underworld never quite provided.
Unconsciously, her covert glances turned into an open, intense stare.
"Lucy..." Ren's voice broke her trance.
"Hmm?" She blinked, realizing she had been caught.
"It turns out, Lucy, you are still very interesting," Ren said, his eyes still on the screen but a smile evident in his tone.
Lucifer's face exploded into a brilliant shade of crimson.
She glared at Ren angrily, puffs of steam practically rising from her ears.
She turned her head away sharply, puffing out her cheeks in a classic display of defiance, and shoved a large forkful of cake into her mouth.
This smelly man! He's doing it on purpose! How dare he tease the CEO of Hell!
Ren just smiled and shook his head.
He didn't know why, but he found an endless source of amusement in teasing Lucy.
Every time she showed that flustered, pouting expression, he found it incredibly endearing.
"Shall we watch this one?" Ren asked, pointing to a generic romance title.
"Hmph! Don't talk to me! I don't want to talk to you right now!" Lucy mumbled through a mouthful of sponge cake.
"Alright then," Ren said, his finger hovering over the remote. "Let's watch a horror movie instead."
"Ugh! No! That's too much!"
Lucy scrambled backward on the sofa, her exhaustion forgotten in a surge of panic.
"I'll really bite you! Let go of the remote! I'm not watching it! I'm not watching!"
She grabbed his arm, shaking it. "I'm sorry, okay! I'm sorry! Just not the horror movie! Ugh... it's too much for my heart!"
Ren looked at the panicked, pouting Queen, and his expression softened.
He smiled, reached over, and took the plate from her trembling hands.
He cut a small, perfect bite of the cake—cream, strawberry, and sponge in equal measure—and brought the fork to her mouth.
Lucy glanced at the fork, then at Ren's smiling face.
She hesitated, her pride battling with her desire to be pampered.
Finally, lacking any real grace, she opened her mouth and ate the piece.
"I really don't want to watch horror movies..." she whispered, chewing slowly.
"I know," Ren said softly. "I'm just teasing you."
"Hmph~"
Lucy had absolutely no way to deal with Ren.
Despite her title, she was exceptionally easy to coax.
However, the Queen of Hell still had her temper to maintain, so as punishment—or perhaps reward—Ren had to feed her the entire slice of cake, bite by bite.
Just as Lucy opened her mouth for another piece, waiting to be fed like a fledgling bird, she noticed Ren's hand stop mid-air.
"What's wrong?" she asked, puzzled. "You seem to have something on your mind."
Ren lowered the fork slightly, his expression thoughtful.
"Lucy... do you remember me telling you that the shop can be upgraded?"
Lucy nodded, swallowing the cake.
Then, her eyes widened as the realization hit her. She sat up straight, her lethargy vanishing.
"You mean... the shop is finally going to be upgraded? Right now?!"
Ren nodded.
Lucy immediately began to count on her fingers, reciting the names of the customers Ren had told her about previously.
"Let's see... there was the Food Wars group... the Armed Girls... the Pirate..."
She muttered the names under her breath, ticking them off one by one.
When she reached the most recent addition, her eyes lit up like stars.
"After counting Yagami Hikari... Yay! That makes twenty customers! So, it can be upgraded soon, right?!"
Hearing Lucy's excited calculation, Ren's mouth twitched.
He looked at her with a helpless expression.
"No, Lucy. There are only nineteen customers."
"Eh?" Lucy blinked. "But I counted..."
"Pikachu doesn't count as a customer," Ren explained gently.
Somewhere in the multiverse, a yellow electric mouse sneezed violently.
"Pikachu... doesn't count?" Lucy repeated, stunned. "Are you being polite? Or is the system discriminatory against rodents?"
She couldn't help it; a burst of laughter escaped her lips.
She didn't know what would happen if Pikachu ever found out he was the reason the shop couldn't upgrade, but the thought was hilarious.
"So, there's only one customer left!" Lucy exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air. "Just one! Yay!"
Ren looked at the excited Queen, intrigued by her sudden burst of energy.
"Lucy... you seem very excited about this. Why? Is it just for the sake of completion?"
"No!" Lucy shook her head, her eyes sparkling.
"Didn't you say before, Ren? After the shop upgrades, there might be a chance to physically enter 'Another World'!"
She leaned in closer, grabbing Ren's arm.
"Another World! It sounds like so much fun!"
Ren smiled, nodding in understanding. "I didn't expect the Queen of Hell to still have such a childlike heart."
"It's not about being childlike or not!" Lucy puffed out her cheeks again.
"Mainly, I want to find two Pokémon! I want to catch them! Anyway, I already have the Poké Balls you gave me!"
She patted her pocket where she kept the red and white spheres, ready for adventure at a moment's notice.
"Hmm. They are indeed very cute creatures," Ren agreed. "Then let's patiently wait for tonight's final customer."
He glanced at the clock on the wall. The hands were moving steadily toward the witching hour.
"The night is only halfway over, Lucy. Anything can happen."
Lucy nodded fervently.
Although she tried to look calm and composed, sitting back on the sofa and smoothing her apron, her eyes betrayed her.
They darted toward the front door every few seconds, watching for the tell-tale glow that signaled a dimensional arrival.
With an anticipated goal in mind, even a short wait felt like an eternity.
The silence of the shop returned, but this time, it was charged with electricity—the static of anticipation.
Ren cut another piece of cake and held it out.
"Open up."
Lucy opened her mouth, her eyes never leaving the door.