The Plague Doctor's House Call
Next patient, please. The pride of Bastion! Lunch break at the Rainbow Cup. The multipurpose room on the third floor. In the center of that space, kneeling politely, was the plague doctor cosplayer from the ruined world. Recently he'd been called by such dishonorable titles as the Demon of Terror or the Mad Demon. Having gone beyond mere demon role-play, he might have truly become one. Unable to control his demonic instincts(?), he had acted like a dog toward Noir's cherished disciple and ended up blowing off one of his own arms. The crow-headed freak.
“Hmm.” That would be me. Still, since the other party had also committed the minor fault of knocking off my arm, it was somehow acknowledged as mutual negligence. I avoided the punishment of becoming Croma sunbae's chair in a public place. I was relieved to protect an image that had nowhere left to fall.
In the meantime, Sion and her contractor decided I was about to get scolded again. They left a message that they'd return after lunch and fled to the commercial district. I wondered how much they trusted me. Even after seeing me missing an arm, they only sighed. Neither of them showed any panic or worry. Then again, since they'd watched me shove a hand into my own chest and melt like a slime before, they probably figured an arm would regenerate in no time. They weren't wrong, but it still stung a little. Come on, guys. Worry about me a bit too. Even a demon needs some head pats. Don't Japanese games handle that stuff well?
As I twisted my remaining arm this way and that, sulking over my party members' indifference, I felt a lukewarm gaze. I lifted my head—kept lowered to elicit sympathy—and saw a trio seated around a desk, each in their own style, as if preparing to judge or interrogate me.
From the left: a navy-blue bob and an expression as cold as ice. Yet to her own people, she was as warm as an oven set to two hundred degrees.
“The composition here looks pretty violent. Yeah, that's right.”
Noir, the half-elf who served as owner and head chef of the Rainbow Cup, and contractor of the demon Croma Ira.
“Haah, how long has it been since you caused trouble with that weird power, and you're at it again? There's no problem child crow quite like you~♡”
Right beside her in the center sat the mesgaki demon Croma Ira. Red twin-tails and a sly smile that instantly grated on the nerves suited her perfectly.
And finally...
“...So this is the famous Mad Demon. No, the Demon of Terror, Raven. I've wanted to meet you at least once. I never imagined it would be like this....”
A cool middle-aged man with a long scar over his left eye and a tough, stylish appearance. The sous chef of the Rainbow Cup and a 6-Tier adventurer. Ito Sakana.
But Ito Sakana! With visuals that screamed mafia boss, I'd suspected, but he really was Japanese? Other people gave off a mixed Eastern-Western vibe because of their hair or eye color, but this guy had black eyes and black hair like his contractor. He looked Asian from five hundred meters away. Even though it was our first meeting, he gave off the friendly aura of a sushi restaurant owner. I felt like I could get close to him. Of course, after spectacularly ruining the first impression, I wasn't sure it was possible. Still, if I ran my mouth enough to drag my image up from the bottom of the Mariana Trench to sea level, there might be a chance.
Now then, everyone. Kneel before the smooth tongue of this voice-phishing demon, Raven. I'll show you the true essence of deception I learned from Regina Gura sunbae.
“So. What Crow Oppa is saying is that he felt such thick fear from Sakana that it interfered with daily life, and he acted to remove it, right?”
“That's exactly it.”
In truth I had simply wanted a flamethrower! But collecting fear really did remove the related phobia, so it wasn't a complete lie. I knew it well after testing it on myself and last night's test subject.
Croma sunbae tilted her head with a doubtful expression, then let out a deep sigh.
“Haah, really. I had more I wanted to say, but if you did it to help our scaredy-cat fish, I have nothing left. At this point, shouldn't we be the ones apologizing?”
“Croma, calling him a scaredy-cat....”
“The scaredy-cat who's afraid of fire and only causes trouble for the boss should shut up for a moment. Can't you see the great demons are speaking right now?”
“No... That's... Haah, understood.”
“Chrome. Sakana is not a scaredy-cat.”
“Boss, stop taking his side for no reason and just keep quiet. If you nitpick every little thing, how am I supposed to talk? Yeah?”
“Yeah. That's right. I'll stay quiet.”
The self-proclaimed great demon, who had shut both of them up in an instant, crossed her pure-white legs and met my eyes again. Her two ominously red pupils glowed fiercely, as if they would burn away the mask of lies and pierce straight through to the truth.
“First, understand this one thing. I'm not doubting Crow Oppa's words. Demons aren't good at lying. In the first place, we don't even feel the need to.”
But.
“I'd like you to show me this fear-removal thing. Of course, I'm not asking you to do it for free. I'll give you a separate reward later.”
“No, Croma... I can provide the reward....”
Sakana's eyes sparkled in a way that didn't suit him, as if moved by Croma sunbae's words. The phrase “middle-aged man who cries easily” clearly existed for a reason.
“Ah, just shut up, you idiot fish. I'll take care of it. Okay?”
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't do things worth apologizing for in the first place. It's annoying.”
“As expected. Chrome is kind.”
“Hey, boss, didn't I just tell you to shut up a second ago?”
The two on either side gazed at Croma with warm eyes while she shuddered as if their looks gave her goosebumps. I'd thought it before, but the demons here were really more like fairies than actual demons. Why were they all so nice? It made my conscience hurt. To ease that pain, it seemed I needed to handle Croma sunbae's request perfectly.
Light
-Click.
I activated the completely useless “Red Eyes Flash!” light function on the Plague Doctor Mask. Flash! Two red dots rose on the pitch-black lenses, creating an unnecessarily mysterious and threatening atmosphere.
“...What is that?”
“Huh?”
“...?”
The Rainbow Cup trio flinched at the sight. It wasn't the ‘Demon Eyes that Pierce Fear,’ but I hoped it looked that way as I quietly stared at the man named Ito Sakana.
You've suffered a lot all this time, haven't you?
This Raven, a specialist PTSD therapist, would treat (plunder) your phobia, so just wait a little longer. It seemed the time had come to return to being the true Demon of Terror.
On the Air. It had been a while since my last surgery.
Flash!
“...What is that?”
“Huh?”
“...?”
The moment a red moon rose in the black demon's eyes, his entire atmosphere changed. As he rose from his kneeling position, an arm sprouted from the empty shoulder in reverse order of disassembly. The intimidated look of a child who had done wrong vanished. What now stood before them was something fearsome and alien. A demigod born from the terrors of intelligent beings, governing dread, fear, and revulsion. The Demon of Terror had descended upon the dungeon city.
I can't feel anything.
That was precisely why.
It's terrifying.
Intelligent beings fear what they do not know. Fear comes from the unknown.
-Tap.
Sakana swallowed dryly as he stared at Raven, who approached slowly. The more he looked into those red eyes, the more it felt like he was being sucked into flames. Cold sweat broke out.
Raven, standing before Sakana, quietly gazed above his head before speaking. His low, echoing voice sounded like multiple people whispering at once.
“Are you afraid of fire?”
As expected, the fear the Demon of Terror had seen in Sakana was his fear of fire.
To Raven's question, Sakana answered with a bitter smile.
“Yes, I am.”
“Then why?”
“That is....”
He didn't know. Not because there was no reason, but because there were too many. The flames that had suddenly burned his lungs. The indescribable, horrific burning pain he had felt upon contact with the fire. The flesh melting away, the muscles burning black and exposing bone in places. The death that had drawn near, and the loss of self that had drawn near. Weren't all those things the fear of fire?
“Sakana. Are you okay?”
At Noir's calm voice from the side, Sakana's mind—sinking into the swamp of fear—barely crawled back to the surface.
“Huk... Huk....”
His breath caught as if black smoke were strangling his throat. His body trembled. He had tried to hide it all this time so his colleagues wouldn't worry, but the truth was he was scared. He was insanely scared of fire. The fire that might bring all that pain, death, and loss back to him terrified him beyond measure. Clutching his chest that felt ready to burst, shedding tears like a child, Sakana confessed to the Demon of Terror that he feared fire.
Then, with a nod of understanding, the question came again.
“Then.”
May I take your fear away?
Nod.
With no strength left to speak, Sakana quietly nodded.
“I see. Confirmed.”
Raven stroked his beak in satisfaction, then slowly reached out toward Sakana.
Grab.
A large black hand touched Sakana's head.
“Ugh.”
The texture was firm yet somehow unknowably soft. Sakana felt a strange sensation as if his brain were being licked.
Collect
“...Huh?”
Sakana felt the fear that had constricted his entire body vanish in an instant.
Watching Sakana repeatedly exclaim in wonder while blankly touching his forehead, Noir asked Raven.
“Raven, is it finished?”
“Yeah. The fear of fire is gone. I, the Demon of Terror, guarantee it.”
“Then shall we check how well our Crow Oppa performed?”
Snap.
Croma looked at Sakana with a playful expression and lightly snapped her fingers. A tiny candle-sized flame rose from her index finger and flickered.
“Uwooooh! Hot fire!”
“...What are you doing, Croma?”
“What? You're really not scared? You don't feel anything at all? Even like this? Even like this?”
Croma thrust the flame toward his face as if to singe off his eyebrows. Delight rather than worry now filled her expression.
“Yes. I'm fine now.”
Saying so, Sakana grabbed Croma's finger and completely extinguished the flame. There was not the slightest hesitation in the motion, as if to prove fire no longer frightened him.
Sakana slowly opened his hand and stared blankly at his palm before smiling faintly.
“...I'm sorry for worrying everyone all this time. And, Sir Raven. Thank you. I don't know how to repay this kindness.”
“You don't need to thank me so much. I gained something as well.”
“Still....”
Though his expression was hidden, Raven's satisfied attitude left Sakana unable to continue.
...The world calls him the Mad Demon, but this person isn't evil. His appearance is a bit frightening and his actions a bit extreme, that's all.
Sakana suddenly felt he wanted to build a good relationship with Raven. If Raven had known, he would have been happy to gain an Asian acquaintance. But Raven was too busy containing his joy at the new addition to his collection to notice the mafia boss's heated gaze.
. . .
1. Phonophobia:Fear of sudden or loud sounds.
2. Ekrixiphobia:Fear of explosions or explosive sounds.
3. Aichmophobia:Fear of sharp or pointed objects.
4. Agliophobia:Fear of pain.
5. Pyrophobia:Fear of fire.
You're back, my small and precious flamethrower!
Good. Very good.
I smiled quietly behind the mask as I looked at my collection of only five fears. It felt a little strange, like a crow happily gathering shiny things in its nest, but good was good, wasn't it? I stared at the fear collection until satisfied, then put it away.
Turning my beak toward Noir, who was expressionlessly rejoicing over her disciple's complete recovery from his phobia, I thought:
Then the only things left are the free base and the mesgaki demon's secret reward?
I looked at Noir, who tilted her head with an expressionless face, and silently reached into my chest.
Shuk.
“Eh?”
“...Crow Oppa?”
“Uhh?”
Immediate shock and countless hooks rising in their minds. I took in their distorted faces one by one as I pulled the Injector from my chest and spoke calmly.
“Noir.”
“...Yeah.”
Now it was your turn.
“So don't be too wary.”
With those words I removed the bullets loaded in the revolver, absorbed them into my body, then:
Filling
Two fears absolutely necessary for a chef.
-Click.