The Heavenly Demon's Penalty Game (5)

The customers who entered the cafe at the start were all neatly dressed. They had come with the pure desire to see something cute. Their eyes sparkled at the sight of the various maids, and when I waited on them they couldn’t hold back their smiles, giggling away. I found it impossible to treat them badly. After all, I am a generous person toward those who show pure goodwill.

Fortunately their numbers weren’t that high. Even at peak times, only three or four groups would come in at once. That level of activity barely qualified as busy in my eyes. It simply felt like I was finally doing the job properly.

But once that initial wave passed, the difficulty began to climb. The first sign was the steadily increasing number of customers. More maids moved about inside, so the total workload stayed roughly the same, yet the need to read the room and handle tasks amid the bustling atmosphere was clearly far more demanding than the earlier relaxed pace.

After handling several such rushes, I started to feel the game’s genre shifting. What did cat-eared maids even matter in this game? It felt less like I was supposed to act cute toward guests and more like the focus had switched to actually working as a maid.

Above all else—

It had already been well over an hour, you brat! I trusted your words! Were you deceiving me?!

I had been willing to let it slide as light teasing, but this changes everything! Enry! I will have my revenge without fail! You had better look forward to it! Once I decide to take revenge, I have never once failed to achieve it!

You once said the broadcaster and the viewers are one and the same. I believe that applies this time as well. Since Enry is such a wicked human being, her viewers must be equally wicked. Unleash your malice toward Enry!

While I and the viewers were growing used to the game and laughing just like usual, the door opened and a new customer walked in. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was not a normal customer. Greasy hair, skin covered in blemishes, dirty clothes—the whole package. Considering how rare such people are in reality, it had to be an intentional game exaggeration. A clear “This guy is an obstacle. Beware” sign.

The aura flowing from him was unpleasant and put me on edge, but I was currently ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an employee. No matter how much I disliked someone, I could not deal with them by force. From my perspective—wanting to finish this game as quickly as possible—I preferred to avoid any penalties if possible.

“Um… shouldn’t you be cuter? I thought this was a maid café, so the maids should…”

This guy. He seems to share the same taste in pointless chatter as the little girl who runs this place. As an employee it would normally be correct to play along with his nonsense, but unfortunately I cannot afford to focus solely on him. I would appreciate it if he behaved himself.

I gently released a sliver of killing intent to press him down. Cold sweat immediately began dripping from the man’s forehead.

“…Y-yes! Yes!”

His face had gone deathly pale. It looked like he needed a long rest. I led him to an empty seat, brought over a menu, and the man—who had been terrified only moments ago—began studying it intently. When he looked up at my face again, however, some unpleasant memory seemed to surface. He stammered for a moment before placing an ordinary order like any other customer. His mental fortitude is rather poor. He clearly had something to say, yet a little pressure was enough to make him shut his mouth.

The kid who had rolled around under me during the last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Apis tournament had sent a sponsorship message. Oh? So she had been watching my stream too?

I had no choice but to play this game, yet she brought it herself and enjoyed it? Just what kind of hobby is that? I cannot understand it at all. Still, she is better than Enry, who lied to me without even properly enjoying the game herself.

Hmm. Then my initial judgment was correct. Good thing I taught him his place early. I was feeling rather satisfied with that thought when a shout reached my ears from far away.

Looking at the situation, it seemed one of the children working elsewhere had made a mistake. She kept her head bowed, repeating apologies over and over. When I went to see what the mistake was—

A person’s hands cannot always be perfect. Seeing him scream over a slightly messy drawing on an omurice made it impossible for me to stay silent. You should never apologize to someone like that. If you give in once, they will think they are right and throw a tantrum again next time. In moments like these, you must make them fully realize their own mistake.

“Ah, but—”

When I repeated myself, the man nodded desperately ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠several times. Once should have been enough, yet he is quite the diligent child. I moved to the side of the shouting man. His gaze landed on me.

Just as I had done with the previous man, I lightly pressed him down with killing intent. Yet this one did not back off. He flinched for a moment but then glared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back as if he refused to lose. Ho. His pride is higher than the last one.

Then I suppose I will threaten him a little more strongly. I slammed my tail against the floor and released a heavier wave of killing intent. The man’s mouth snapped shut. Hmm. So he cannot endure this much? An average person with strong spirit might endure it, but anything beyond that is impossible? If one is going to act as a predator, one must do it properly. Half-hearted submission is worse than doing nothing at all. The higher one raises oneself, the more painful it is when one is broken.

“…Yes.”

I turned away from the man who had shrunk back into his chair and looked at the girl beside him. The cat-eared girl with short purple bob hair still had her head down, completely deflated. I clapped her on the back hard enough to make a sound, forcing her to lift her head.

You fool. If you stay depressed and keep making mistakes, it will only take me longer to clear this game. You must pull yourself together and handle as many tasks as possible. Whether my will had reached her or not, the girl stared blankly at my face for a moment before breaking into a smile.

In the end it would take more than double the time Enry had originally promised. I could feel resentment toward Enry piling up neatly inside my heart. Enry. Just you wait. You will soon learn exactly how dangerous an opponent you have provoked.

I left the chat window that was now praying for Enry’s soul one by one and returned to the man to finish taking his order. Although he had been overflowing with complaints only moments ago, he was now staring at me with dazed eyes. What is it?

Watching the man’s breathing grow ragged, a small crack appeared in the mask I had been maintaining as an act. This is rather disgusting.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

…Sigh. Judging from everything so far, it looks like even more of this sort of thing will pop up in the future. At the earliest, another hour.

Definitely.