Demon Queen Anna, Minotaur General Bella, and Lady Roxane entered the cafeteria, which previously sounded quite rowdy from the outside. They had anticipated their demon brethren being lively during the feast, but they never imagined it would be as chaotic as it turned out to be.
In the center of the cafeteria, an impromptu performance stage was created by stacking and lining up cafeteria tables. On this makeshift stage stood their summoned hero, singing his heart out as their demon brethren cheered him on.
"Oh, my lovely sugar~ Give me your sweetest delight~"
[Flashback to half an hour before Anna's arrival at the Feast]
"Whoa! Hey, put me down, please! I can walk there on my own!" Alex protested while being carried and paraded by the demons. They were all heading to the cafeteria to celebrate the Demon Kingdom's victory over the heroes' invasion with a grand celebratory feast, and Alex had been swept up by these rowdy and festive demons without much of a fight.
Leading this march of rowdy and festive demons was none other than Mira, the mage cat beastkin who should have been helping the distressed Alex right now.
Noticing Mira at the front of the march, Alex tried to appeal to her for help. "Mira, help me out here! Tell these guys to put me down already!"
"No can do, Sir Alex! We are going to celebrate a grand feast, and you're going to enjoy it as well!" Mira argued back, ignoring the actual problem.
"I know I will! But that's not the point here!" Alex angrily retorted to Mira.
Along the way, this march of demons also encountered some of the castle's servants and guards. Some of them were surprised and shocked by the sudden march of these demons. However, many of them were excited to see this march and decided to join in as well, making the demon march even bigger than before. These new additions didn't really know what the march was all about, but they joined in because it seemed interesting and fun.
They all quickly marched through the castle corridor, which should have been quite wide and spacious, but their march almost filled the wide space of the corridor. They all went through a bunch of stairs as well to descend to the level where the cafeteria's floor should be, much to Alex's dismay as he felt almost like riding on a roller coaster with almost no safety equipment at all.
After marching for a few minutes through the castle corridors, they soon reached their destination: the large double doors of the cafeteria. A huge sign simply saying 'Cafeteria' was placed above the doors. Alex, who was still being carried by the demons, saw the sign of the cafeteria and was relieved that they finally reached the place for the feast.
Mira was the leader of this march; thus, she was the one who burst open the large double doors and entered the cafeteria first. "Everyone! Let's go!" She shouted in excitement as she entered the cafeteria.
"OOHHHHH!!!" The marching demons following her lead shouted in agreement. They all began to squeeze through the cafeteria's double doors, carrying Alex, who had already given up on protesting their rowdy behavior, along the way.
As Alex was carried into the cafeteria by the rowdy demons, he was met with a vast expanse of space. The room stretched out before him, rivaling even the large spacious room of the Demon Queen's throne room. Long rows of dining tables were neatly arranged throughout the cafeteria, each accompanied by its own lengthy cafeteria bench, providing ample seating for the demon guests, some of whom were already enjoying their meals. At the far end of the expansive room, a sizable serving area stood as a barrier between the bustling cafeteria and the bustling kitchen beyond. Here, cafeteria chefs and staff could be seen diligently cooking and preparing meals for the upcoming feast.
The rowdy and hungry demons began to march forward to the serving area of the cafeteria. Seeing an opportunity to get off, Alex immediately jumped off from the marching demon that had been carrying him from the throne room to this cafeteria. Alex could finally bask in the view of the cafeteria.
"Not bad…" He commented upon seeing the large cafeteria. It wasn't exactly the same kind of cafeteria as those on Earth; this one used the medieval-like stone structure of the castle, but it was quite a well-designed and comfortable-looking cafeteria for everyone to enjoy.
"It is, right!" Casey suddenly interjected on Alex's comment about the cafeteria. "This cafeteria has quite the long history, and its current owner is pretty adamant about the comfortable dining experience," she explained to Alex, earning a nod of understanding from him.
"I see…" Alex simply replied to Casey. "I would love to meet the person behind this cafeteria myself."
"Kahaha! You'll see him soon," Casey said with a mischievous grin, which confused Alex a bit. Then, Alex directed his attention to the rowdy bunch that were currently crowding the serving area of the cafeteria.
"Oi, chef! Where is the food?!" One hungry demon yelled to the kitchen staff who were currently cooking, his voice echoing through the bustling kitchen.
"Yeah! Where's the feast that you guys promised?!" Another demon chimed in, impatience evident in his tone.
"We're hungry here, damnit!" A third demon added, frustration lacing his words as he had been anticipating the arrival of the feast.
They all began to riot in front of the serving area, demanding the promised feast. Alex could only sweatdrop from seeing these demons' antics, as if they hadn't eaten for days. Though he also felt nervous, fearing that these demons might start trashing the place if they were not served immediately. However... someone was there with the kitchen staff to ensure these hungry demons behaved.
"Huh? You maggots don't know how to be patient, do you?" An ominous deep voice came from the kitchen. Everyone who heard it suddenly became fearful, knowing who the owner of the voice was. Suddenly, the serving area magically shifted sideways as if it were a sliding door. Then... a large menacing demon emerged from the opened serving area. This demon was covered with a dark-brown demonic aura that intimidated even the most menacing-looking demons in the crowd. "Your food will be ready when it's ready!" He sternly yelled at the rowdy demons clamoring in front of his kitchen. They all suddenly became meek in the presence of this demon. Alex was also surprised and taken aback by this menacing-looking demon that emerged from the kitchen.
"YES, CHEF!" All of the demons said in unison out of fear of this intimidating demon chef, except for one mage cat girl.
"Uncle Orso!" Mira cheerfully called out the name of the large menacing demon chef. Suddenly, the demon chef's dark-brown demonic aura vanished, revealing his appearance: a large fuzzy brown bear with a thick handlebar mustache on his snout. This bear stood on his hind legs like a humanoid and wore a white chef uniform with black apron and black pants, complete with a tall chef hat on top of his furry head.
"Ah, my dear-a Mira! Welcome to my-a Cafeteria!" The large brown bear, known as Uncle Orso, replied to Mira, throwing his large bear arms wide open as if he were welcoming her to the kitchen. Strangely, though, he spoke with a unique accent. 'Hold on... is that an Italian accent?' Alex thought to himself, vaguely remembering hearing this accent while watching a bunch of reality cooking shows featuring famous Italian chefs.
Mira then approached the large brown bear man without reserve. "Ahaha, give your dear-a uncle a hug!" He said to the approaching mage cat girl. Without hesitation nor reservation, Mira hugged Uncle Orso's large bear body, earning another hearty laugh from the large bear man.
"It's good to see you, Uncle Orso," Mira said to the large bear man while still hugging him.
"Ahaha, me too, dear-a Mira. You must-a have been quite busy!" The large bear man returned her hug with his own. After a while, they both separated, but still held a cheerful expression toward each other.
"Yes, dear uncle! I have been quite busy working on our Demon Queen's Hero Summoning project that I couldn't visit your Cafeteria, uncle..." Mira explained her circumstances to Uncle Orso, trailing off at the end with a somewhat solemn tone.
"Ah, it is-a fine, my dear. As long as you do not forget-a to eat-a properly, then that would make-a me the happiest uncle. Ahaha!" Uncle Orso comforted Mira, which earned a cheerful smile and nod of agreement from her. "Well, was the hero summoning a success? I heard that this hero has-a helped our Demon Queen in the battlefield against the heroes!" He exclaimed excitingly to her, earning another cheerful nod from her.
"Yes, uncle! It was very successful! The hero that we summoned from the other world was not only powerful but also really kind toward us demons."
"Ahaha! I see! Then... where is this-a hero? I would love to also meet this brave-a hero myself."
"Of course, uncle! In fact, we brought him along here." Anna pointed in Alex's direction. The demons crowding the service area then moved aside, revealing Alex standing alone in the middle of the cafeteria. Alex was surprised as everyone suddenly singled him out. Even Casey left his side, sporting a mischievous grin. Then, the large bear man began to approach Alex with an intimidating demonic aura surrounding him. Alex panicked a bit at the sight of the large figure darting towards him. Before he could retreat, the large bear man was already in front of him.
"So, you're the summoned hero...?" The large bear man spoke with a deep but clear voice, a stark contrast to his jovial Italian-accented attitude from before.
"Y-yes, sir. T-the name is Alex, sir." Alex nervously introduced himself to the large menacing demon bear man, who simply stared at him with his intimidating bear eyes.
After what seemed like an eternity for Alex, the large bear man's demonic aura disappeared instantly, replaced by his previous jovial and friendly demeanor. "Welcome to my Cafeteria, Signore Alex!" The large bear man welcomed Alex cheerfully. His sudden change in aura was quite a horrifying experience for Alex.
"Ah, yes! Thank you for welcoming me here, er... Mister Orso?" Alex hesitated, unsure how to address the large bear man.
"No, no, no. You are my dear-a Mira and our dear-a Demon Queen's friend. Call me 'Uncle Orso'!" Uncle Orso affirmed warmly, extending his hospitality.
"S-sure, I guess...? Thanks for having me... Uncle Orso?" Alex stammered, still feeling a bit uncertain about addressing the large, friendly bear man.
"Ahaha! Of course. A friend of Mira and Queen Anna's a friend of mine!" Uncle Orso reassured him with a jovial tone. "You are quite-a different from the first human that I have-a met before, but both of you have-a the same-a friendly aura!" Uncle Orso commented, confusing Alex but also piquing his curiosity.
'He had met a human before?' Alex thought to himself. Before he could inquire more about what Uncle Orso just said, suddenly, someone called Uncle Orso from the kitchen he came from.
"Chef Orso! It's ready!" said one of the kitchen staff to the large bear man.
"Aha! It's-a finally ready!" He said with a cheerful tone. Mira had a knowing look as she understood the meaning behind their short conversations. Uncle Orso then returned inside to his kitchen. After a while, the serving area that had been slightly open just enough for Uncle Orso to come out suddenly opened completely, allowing him and the kitchen staff to emerge from the kitchen, along with many, many servings of food alongside them.
"EVERYONE! THE FEAST IS READY!"