The Birth of the Greatest Cook and Kabuto King.
4: Chapter 4: Rejoice!
The Birth of the Greatest Cook and Kabuto King.
“Damn it, that inherently evil little shark brat.” Buyuan hugged his tail in a daze, somewhat lost in thought.
“Don’t you dare shake my resolve.
I’m the man who’s going to become the richest guy in New Eridu!” He gave his tail a light pinch, shook his head hard, and just then, his pocket vibrated.
A lilting ringtone drifted out.
“Wanna listen to the sea breeze alone~ Wanna watch the evening sky alone~ Carrying this flutter, escape these shackles~” Buyuan was a little surprised to hear his phone ring.
He eyed the unfamiliar number with puzzlement.
“Hello?
Who’s this?” “Buyuan, are you done with school for the day?” Belle’s cute voice came through from the other end.
“Yeah, I am.
Is something up?” “You stopped by our shop yesterday as a new neighbor, so today it’s only fair we treat you to a meal in return.” Just picturing it, Buyuan knew Belle had to be tilting her head and wagging a finger in the air right now.
“Oh, and we’ll be waiting for you at the hot pot place in Lumina Square.
It’s settled, see you soon~” With that, Belle hung up.
Seeing he had no graceful way out of this, Buyuan abandoned his path toward the metro, looked up the address, and set off.
“Over here!
Little Buyuan, over here!” From way down the street, Buyuan spotted the lively and cute Belle waving at him from the entrance of the hot pot restaurant.
“Belle, what are you doing waiting outside?
Where’s Wise?” Buyuan glanced around behind Belle.
“You should call me big sis~” Belle was clearly a bit miffed at Buyuan’s form of address.
“Or maybe Belle should be calling me big bro instead?” Buyuan leaned in a little closer, lowering his head.
“Eh?!” Belle flustered at Buyuan’s sudden proximity.
She froze for a beat, then scrambled backward.
Belle caught on immediately — he was calling her short.
She shook her hand right at him.
“Buyuan!” “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Sis Belle~” Buyuan had figured that since Belle dealt with strangers regularly, she could warm up to people pretty fast.
So he’d dared to push his luck a little.
“Just as expected~” Buyuan muttered under his breath, walking ahead.
His swaying tail gave away his inner delight completely.
‘Gah, hold it in, hold it in, Belle!
You are the legendary Proxy, Phaethon!
It’s just a tail!
Hold it in!’ Belle, following behind Buyuan, stared at that swishing tail swaying left and right.
In a daze, it felt like it had morphed into something strange — a white, fluffy steamed bun, bobbing hypnotically, luring her in.
Smack!
Buyuan heard a not-too-loud slapping sound behind him.
He turned his head, puzzled, and saw a faint red mark on the side of Belle’s cheek.
“It’s nothing!
Come on!
I’ll take you to Wise.” Belle instantly strode to the front to lead the way.
The two quickly joined up with Wise.
Because Wise wasn’t yet too familiar with Buyuan, and had been dragged along by his little sister, he was a bit on the quiet side.
Buyuan, naturally, couldn’t stand an awkward silence.
He proactively struck up topics, chatting with both siblings.
The meal turned out to be a resounding success.
Buyuan deepened his social link with the Wise-and-Belle siblings.
Buyuan ate his fill without spending a dime.
Buyuan sneakily teased Belle on the side.
Excellent.
No one lost out.
Everyone came out ahead!
Afterwards, Buyuan declined the pair’s invitation for a post-meal stroll by the river to digest, explaining he had to be home to sign for his Bangboo.
“Bye-bye, Buyuan!
It’s a promise!
Remember to bring Beelzebub over to visit tomorrow night~” Belle waved at Buyuan enthusiastically.
“Yeah, definitely, definitely.
Goodbye, you two.” After waving back, Buyuan jogged off towards the metro station.
Back home, Buyuan gave a few subtle sniffs.
He noticed his home carried a faint floral fragrance.
But the layout of his place was no different from what he remembered.
In the end, he had to give up figuring it out.
He waited on the couch for a little while, then heard a knock at the door.
“Mr.
Mo, your delivery has arrived.” “Coming, coming.” Buyuan hurriedly opened the door and was greeted by a delivery box as tall as a person, and a simple, honest burly bear Thiren.
“Let me help you carry it inside.” The bear Thiren enthusiastically picked up the package, ready to haul it in — only to discover the doorframe was absolutely not wide enough for a fully grown adult bear Thiren to pass through.
“Haha, sorry about that, Mr.
Mo.” The bear Thiren gave an awkward chuckle.
“No worries, I got it.” Buyuan mustered every ounce of strength he had, barely managing to lug the box inside.
Thank goodness, as a Thiren, his physical strength far exceeded an average human’s.
He helped the bear Thiren fill out the delivery form, gave it a five-star rating, and shut the door.
“Ehehe, my Bangboo~ my Bangboo~” Buyuan had been craving one of those squishy, bouncy little chubsters for ages.
Unpacking the box revealed a standing portable charging dock, and then — seated on its base, not yet activated — a purple Bangboo.
Just then, a purple figure flickered into existence.
While Buyuan was busy setting up the charging dock, it slipped inside the Bangboo’s body.
Beelzebub quietly opened her eyes.
Cautiously, she tested out her stubby little limbs, then glanced at Buyuan and went into standby mode.
What she didn’t realize, however, was that Buyuan’s face currently bore an expression of shock.
He was sneaking a sideways glance into the small mirror at the head of his bed.
After becoming a Thiren, his five senses had grown far beyond normal.
Since morning, he’d felt a vague, elusive gaze on him.
Combined with the mysterious floral scent that afternoon, there was no way he’d just let his guard down.
“No way…
this time it really IS Beelzebub?
Wait, judging by the demeanor, it’s gotta be Baal instead.” Buyuan stared at the Bangboo, stunned.
The little one had finished testing her limbs and put herself into standby.
“So that’s probably Raiden Makoto, huh.
Looks like she crossed over here together with me?
I’ve been to Teyvat before?” Buyuan’s mind fell deep into thought.
Looks like it’s not that I crossed over — I’ve just lost my memories.
“Forget it, I’ll pretend not to know.
I know my own personality well enough; no way I just blab everything.” “At the very least, she’s definitely not an enemy.
Huh, so I guess making games is out.” Buyuan felt a mix of regret and anticipation.
After all, Raiden Ei couldn’t cook — but Raiden Makoto was an absolute maestro in the kitchen.
Buyuan walked over to the Bangboo, putting on a show.
With deliberate theatricality, he rubbed the Bangboo’s forehead.
“Power on~” Sure enough, without him ever pressing the power button, the little one still opened her eyes.
Mhm-mhm~ (Good evening, Mr.
Buyuan~) Beelzebub hopped down from the couch, twisting her chubby little body.
Pfft~ Buyuan couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
Mhm?
(What is it?) Beelzebub tilted her head in confusion.
“Nothing.
Beelzebub, I’ll be in your care from now on~” Buyuan scooped Beelzebub up into his arms and gave her plump little body a thorough, vigorous squish.
Mhm!
Mhm-mhm!
(Let go of me!
This is outrageous!) Even without understanding Bangboo-speak, Buyuan could pretty well guess what she meant, watching her squirm frantically in his arms.
Set back down on the floor, Beelzebub turned, marched straight over to the broom, and without a word, started sweeping the place.
Watching his “Bangboo” clearly unwilling to engage in any bonding time with him…
Well then, I’ll just have to — pick up a video tape!
“Starlight Knight, launch!” …
Soon enough, as time slipped by, the streets outside grew quiet.
One by one, the lights winked out.
Buyuan was playing on his phone.
Belle: So cute!!
You designed her yourself?!
Buyuan: How about it!
Isn’t she just the best?
Tomorrow evening I’ll bring Baal over to visit you guys.
Belle: No.
18 and Eous really love making new friends.
Belle: Changed the name?
Was Beelzebub too long?
Buyuan: Yeah, Baal is easier to say.
Buyuan: Anyway, it’s settled then.
Get some sleep early too, Belle.
Buyuan: Good night~ Belle: Good night~ The moment he wrapped up that conversation, Buyuan hurriedly backed out of his chat with Belle and switched over to another one.
Buyuan: [Picture] [Picture] Buyuan: Ellen, look, this is my Bangboo.
Ellen: She’s really cute.
Buyuan: Her name’s Beelzebub, just call her Baal for short.
I’ll introduce you two sometime.
Buyuan: Get to bed early, good night.
…
Meanwhile, in a room on the third floor of the Victoria Housekeeping building.
“Excuse me?” Ellen was utterly dumbfounded.
This guy starts a chat with her, picks a topic, and then — without even waiting for her reply — just ends the conversation himself to go sleep?
“Excuse me?!
Is he sick in the head?!” In her agitation, Ellen completely failed to notice that her tail had drooped all the way to the floor, and the little cap that usually sat on it had fallen off.
In the end, she could only reply with a helpless “Good night” and flop sulkily onto her bed.
Buyuan naturally knew this was kind of a jerk move, but he had no idea what Ellen’s sleep schedule was like.
He didn’t know if she was tired right now, had no clue what to chat about, but felt it’d be rude to not message at all…
so he’d just handled it like this.
He reached over and scooped up Raiden Makoto.
Seeing the little one tilt her head in puzzlement, Buyuan gave her no chance to react.
Lights out!
Snuggle under the blanket!
Sleep!
Mhm-mhm!
Mhm—!
“Shut it.
What are you hollering about in the middle of the night?
Sleep.
Beelzebub is too long.
I’ll just call you Baal from now on.” Buyuan completely ignored the struggling Makoto in his arms.
“Good night, Baal.” Mhm.
The little chubster in his arms finally settled down and gave a quiet mhm.
The moon was bright, the stars sparse.
Tonight, New Eridu was at peace too.
Wiggle wiggle wiggle~ (Rejoice~) Wiggle wiggle wiggle~ (The Kabuto King of New Eridu is born~) Wiggle wiggle wiggle~ (He has gathered all the powers of flexing, with the bonus of the nine tails!) A tail in that illusory space swayed, emerging with a faint glow.
Two of Buyuan’s tails gave a slight swish, looking almost sacred in the shimmering light.
Mhm?
Raiden Makoto noticed Buyuan’s second tail, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
After all, she’d been tossed out by it herself.
Just as expected, the tail was gently curled around something — a toy that looked like a red kabuto beetle.
Then, stealthily, it tucked the object under the pillow.
Wiggle wiggle wiggle~ Poof~ The tail dispersed into a haze of soft, drifting specks of light.
Mhm?
So this guy left a fragment of his own soul inside his tail?
No wonder he didn’t even know about being a nine-tails himself.
Mhm-mhm.
(Well, might as well just sleep for now~) Makoto gently snuggled up to Buyuan’s chest and serenely closed her electronic eyes.
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