The dining hall fell silent.
It wasn't an uncomfortable or tense silence, but a strange one, hanging in the air, as if the entire world had decided to pause for one second longer than usual.
Kael and Serenna remained standing in front of the enormous royal dining table.
Neither of them said a word. There was no need. Their eyes kept scanning the same scene over and over, as if insisting enough might make reality change.
Empty plates.
Clean trays.
Glasses without a single drop.
Nothing was left.
Not even a forgotten crumb.
Not a single spilled sauce.
Not even the warm aroma of freshly cooked food.
Everything had been devoured.
The banquet prepared for the king had vanished as if it had never existed.
Kael let out a slow sigh—not one of anger, but of resignation.
For a fleeting moment, the image crossed his mind of the Seven Deadly Sins eating without a care in the world, laughing, enjoying themselves, as if the weight of the world meant nothing to them. And curiously, that didn't bother him as much as he thought it should.
Serenna, beside him, held a firm posture. Her hands rested in front of her, and her face was calm, though her eyes showed a faint trace of surprise.
Then, the dining hall door opened gently.
The sound was almost shy.
The maid who had woken Kael that same morning stepped into the room. One glance was enough to recognize her. Her purple eyes shone even in the dim light of the place, and her long dark hair fell carefully down her back.
The white apron she wore was neatly tied, yet her hands still clutched it nervously.
She took only a couple of steps inside the dining hall.
And stopped.
Her eyes slowly scanned the table.
First the trays.
Then the plates.
Then… the emptiness.
Her expression froze.
Her hands gripped the apron tighter, as if she needed something to hold onto to keep from losing balance.
For a long second, she seemed unable to comprehend what she was seeing. As if her mind refused to accept that everything she had prepared so carefully, with so much effort, with so many accumulated nerves… was simply gone.
She swallowed hard.
The sound was almost imperceptible, but Kael noticed it.
Slowly, the young woman raised her gaze.
Her eyes met Kael's.
He was smiling.
It wasn't a mocking or careless smile. Nor a forced one. It was a calm, sincere smile—the kind that appears when someone accepts a situation without wanting to turn it into a problem.
Kael scratched his hair with his right hand, a simple gesture that revealed a bit of embarrassment and a bit of resignation.
The maid took a few more steps toward him, eyes lowered. Unwillingly, the memory of that awkward morning moment returned to her mind. The hurried awakening. The unexpected encounter. The embarrassment that still hadn't left her chest.
"My King…" she began, her voice trembling. "Un-unfortunately your f-food is not re-ready yet… so… please… I beg you to wait just a few more seconds."
She bowed deeply in front of him.
Her small body trembled.
Not from fear of punishment. It trembled because speaking was hard for her. Because approaching other people was difficult. And doing so in front of someone as important as the king… was even worse.
Kael watched her carefully.
He didn't see clumsiness.
He didn't see incompetence.
He saw effort.
He saw nerves.
And he saw something that squeezed his chest just a little.
The young woman's hands were covered in small cuts. Some recent, others already healing. Clumsy cuts, the kind made by someone still learning to handle knives, someone pushing their body beyond what it could handle.
Kael took a step forward.
And then, without thinking too much, he knelt in front of her.
The movement caught everyone by surprise.
Some of the Deadly Sins opened their eyes in astonishment. Serenna took a slight step forward, but said nothing.
Gently, Kael raised his hand and began to stroke her head softly, running his fingers between the two small horns protruding from her dark hair. The gesture was slow, respectful, warm.
"Easy now," he said in a calm voice. "You don't have to push yourself so hard."
The maid went completely rigid.
She didn't know what to do.
She didn't know how to react to that touch, to that voice that carried neither orders nor reproaches.
Kael lifted his gaze slightly, still stroking her head.
"Serenna and I are going to eat out," he continued. "We'll find a restaurant. We'll decide where to eat, right Serenna?"
Serenna blinked, surprised by the naturalness of the moment, then nodded slowly.
"Y-yes… of course."
Kael looked back at the young woman.
"Tell me… what's your name?"
She hesitated.
Her lips moved, but no sound came out at first. Kael withdrew his hand from her head and carefully helped her stand, holding her just enough so she wouldn't lose balance.
"I… my name is Nyxelle," she finally answered, in a low voice.
"Nyxelle…" Kael repeated softly. "Nice to meet you."
He looked into her eyes and smiled.
"My name is Kael. You can call me that from now on."
The smile was simple. Direct. No titles, no distance.
Nyxelle froze.
Her face slowly began to turn red, as if the heat were rising without permission. She immediately lowered her head, trying to hide it.
"O-okay…" she said. "I… I'll go get your food… right… right away, Your Majesty… Kael."
And without waiting for a reply, she almost ran out of the dining hall.
The silence returned.
But it only lasted a second.
Then the laughter exploded.
"You're quite the conqueror, Mr. Demon King," said Aurom, spinning a gold coin between his fingers with amusement.
"She's right," added Agnitus, crossing his arms. "Living a romance right in front of all of us."
Laughter filled the dining hall.
One after another they began to laugh, as if that small scene had broken something invisible between them. They were no longer just the Deadly Sins and a newly appointed king. In that moment, they simply seemed like people sharing a lighthearted instant.
Kael scratched his cheek, embarrassed.
He didn't fully understand why they were laughing, but he couldn't deny it felt good to see them like that. Relaxed. United. Living something close to normalcy.
Happy, even if only for a moment.
And just when the laughter reached its peak…
The world stopped.
A blue screen appeared in front of Kael.
«Mission completed…»
The letters glowed softly.
«You have increased your system rank. Your system rank is now from F to E. Congratulations.»
Kael blinked.
«Your physical attacks now apply additional tears. You can cause bleeding even with blunt weapons.»
A smile appeared in his mind.
"This is amazing…" he thought. "Who would've thought the system actually has awesome rewards."
But the joy didn't last long.
The screen changed.
«New mission: visit the Elven Kingdom and secure an alliance.»
Kael's chest tightened.
«If you fail the mission, your penalty will be: fifty percent of your magical power blocked for one year.»
"What…?" he thought. "No. No, no, no."
He clenched his fists hard.
"What the fuck?!" he shouted in his mind. "Why now? When everything was going so well! Damn system! I'm never getting happy about your news again."
He took a deep breath.
Once.
Twice.
Then he raised his gaze toward the others and cleared his throat.
"Guys," he said firmly. "It's time to head to the Elven Kingdom to start some diplomatic relations."
He raised both hands enthusiastically.
"Who's with me?"
Silence fell like a curtain.
No one spoke right away.
And right at that moment, the door opened again.
Nyxelle entered the dining hall, carefully holding the lunch.