Difference and Food

Thud thud thud-

Akiol pinched the bridge of his nose and rapidly woke himself up. There was a constant knock at his door and he was already aware of who it was. Opening the door he looked towards Rue, "Need something?"

"A lot.", Rue furrowed her brow, "For now I hunger."

"Doesn't your kind live without food for weeks? How long has it been since you ate?"

"My kind? Only certain kinds of Demonfolk are capable of living under such conditions. As a wielder of Demonic Energy I require more energy."

"Right. Give me a moment I'll be out."

Moving to the bathroom Akiol cleared his face with water and looked at his reflection. With a frown he pinched through his hair and plucked a silver hair. Flicking it aside he rolled his shoulders to loosen them up and thoroughly checked the condition of his body. Indeed strenuous activity was still going to be troubling. As long as he didn't need to break into a full out sprint or participate in any fighting he'd be fine. 

One thing he noted was the constant feeling of discomfort. Massaging various parts of his body did little to alleviate this feeling. It was only when Akiol slowly moved Aura across his body did it finally go away. The moment he stopped the flow of aura the feeling crawled back.

Massaging his palm Akiol formed a face of worry. This felt similar to the symptoms of mana refinement addiction. Those who didn't properly refine their mana lines would find themselves constantly cycling mana throughout their body. A sense of incompletion would constantly plague themselves and often they spiraled into a sense of inferiority and depression.

Aura also had such properties? Akiol was sure this feeling was that of an incomplete mana line refinement process, he had touched upon such a feeling before during his own refinement process. Yet during his process of practicing with Aura he was positive he wasn't making any permanent changes to his body. So was this the feeling of his body falling apart? Was Aura keeping it together while also being part of the reason of it falling apart?

Flexing his hand Akiol shook off the concern. He already was planning on figuring out more about what Aura was. Additionally he already was making great effort to not push himself too much. If the feeling didn't subside he would consult Yielya and Kan'na.

Opening the door he ruffled his own hair, "Okay, anything particular you want to eat?"

"Something high in energy.", Rue answered with no hesitation.

"That's a harder ask. Since beasts don't have mana to increase the quality of their meat there isn't a clear option to fulfill those requirements."

"So what would you suggest?"

"We should broaden the options so you can figure out what satisfies your condition. That would mean we're going to a buffet."

"Buffet? The word holds some familiarity. . .", Rue made a show of trying to remember.

"Here it simply means a large selection of food you can select from. You pay a standard fee and they allow you to pick and choose. Some places have varying rules, but I'll find one that'll let you eat to your heart's content."

"You make me sound gluttonous.", Rue appeared offended.

"I merely meant you would be sampling a lot of dishes.", Akiol corrected himself without even a blink for a reaction.

Rue was growing steadily impatient with Akiol's straightforward attitude. Try as she might she couldn't get underneath the Hero's skin. . .

'I suppose he's an Ex-Hero now hm?', Rue thought to herself.

Shedding away her stray thoughts Rue innocently clasped her hands together, "Buffet it is!"

Akiol found himself startled by the sudden contrast of appearance. The once terrifying Demon Lord was now appearing incredibly naive and innocent. His eyes twitched about before he took a step forward, "Let's get moving."

Rue's eyes sparkled upon seeing this reaction. Something she could work with! Finally!

As they entered the elevator Akiol scrolled through his phone to find a suitable place they could visit. Rue found herself studying his every move to find just a hint of his previous reaction, but as expected Akiol's previous bewilderment wasn't showing. A slight disappointment but she still felt joy having finally gotten Akiol to crack, even if slightly.

The two walked the streets as Akiol continued to scroll through options. Considering the dense city the Landwell's were located near Akiol had several choices at his disposal. He simply was finding the one with the broadest options for Rue to have her free pick. As focused as he was on this task he couldn't help but notice Rue constantly examining him.

With a sigh he lowered his phone, "Is there something on my face?"

Placing her hands behind her back she smiled sweetly, "No? I just couldn't help but notice just how different yet similar you are."

"Is that so. . .", Akiol's gaze lingered before returning to the phone.

It didn't take much longer for him to settle on an option. With the two's strength it was easily a walkable distance but Akiol knew he shouldn't force it too much. Managing to secure a ride he and Rue eventually arrived to the buffet.

Pointing a thumb Akiol said, "Have you tried any of this world's food?"

"The most I was given was a strange fluid.", Rue shrugged helplessly.

A flash of pity shone in Akiol's eyes before it was whisked away. Opening the door for Rue he instead hyped up the experience, "You're in for a treat."

"Oh? It's of high praise?"

"I haven't tried this place specifically, but from my experience Earth has seriously advanced with their food. Worldwide trade allows for various produce and seasonings to be easily accessible, and thus flavor is a lot more common."

"Seasonings. . .", Rue bit her tongue in thought and remained silent as an individual approached.

"Good evening, table for two?", they asked.

Akiol nodded, "I saw on your website you offer an all you can eat option?"

"We do! There's a small fee if you have any leftovers however."

"That's fine. We would like that option."

"Certainly! In that case let me show you your tables."

It took a few moments for the two to reach their tables. The waitress pointed, "Over there is the buffet, you're only allowed one plate at a time. Since you have the all you can eat package feel free to grab another plate if you desire more."

"Thank you.", Akiol responded while eyeing Rue's reaction.

"In the meantime can I get you started with any drinks?"

"Just water is fine for now."

"Okay! I'll bring them to your table, don't hesitate to grab a plate whenever."

Once the waitress left Rue leaned slightly closer to Akiol, "Anything you recommend?"

"I'm unsure of the typical Demonfolk meal. If you want something with substance I'd suggest any form of meat. Just pick whatever looks appetizing."

Rue bit her inner lip before tugging Akiol's shirt. Pulling him towards the buffet table she gently grabbed a plate and looked at the options. Just as she reached for something Akiol gently caught her wrist, "It's consider rude to grab the food with your hands. They give you utensils."

Showing a pair of tongs Rue grabbed ahold of them and placed a cut of fish onto her plate. Moving about she grabbed a small sample of things of many colors. Fruits and vegetables, meats of all sorts. A chef moved to replace an empty container and found himself stunned at the colorful assortment. With a laugh he asked, "Getting your money's worth?"

Rue answered plainly, "I'm not paying."

This further amused the chef and he left without commenting further. Now satisfied with her pile of goods she looked to find Akiol with significantly less on his own plate. Comparing the two she asked, "It is all you can eat is it not? Why the small portion?"

"We can grab another plate. I plan to take my time eating though.", Akiol rose an eyebrow.

Shrugging Rue returned to their table and spotted glasses of water. Placing her plate she sat down and lifted the glass, "Glassworks at such a place? Such materials are used for the mosaics of the churches aren't they?"

"The glass here is made using a different material than ours. The crystal of our world is a lot more rare. Humanity here use a material found in sand, and it's significantly more common."

"How intriguing. Does that mean all the buildings that shone with reflective surfaces are also made of glass? I believed them to be more metallic."

"They are also made of glass, although one designed to be more tough.", Akiol confirmed.

"Fascinating."

Taking a drink of the water Rue twisted her nose, "Funny tasting water."

"That I can't comment on. It tastes fine to me."

Rue poked and prodded her food to see how it responded to touch. Akiol found this kind of action weird and picked up a fork, "Utensils remember? Only a few foods are acceptable to eat with your hands."

"How restraining. It's meant to provide energy is it not?", Rue twisted her nose and grabbed the fork.

Stabbing the fork into a slice of watermelon she ate it. Chewing it slowly and thoroughly until she spoke of her opinion on the fruit, "It's sweet!"

Poking about at more food she eventually swiftly stabbed another choice. This time a bit of green bean. Gently chewing these she nodded, "I see what you mean. Not disappointing at all!"

Just as she prodded and stabbed the third food item Akiol asked her, "Why do you do that?"

Staring at Akiol she slowly ate the third food item. This time it was a slice of brisket. Her eyes lit up at this and she savored the piece fully before asking, "Do what?"

"Poke your food."

"Hmm? A lot of the food from Demonfolk is served while still alive. For us certain foods must react upon being touched, it is how we know it is fresh. If it does not move there is a chance it has already gone bad. In this case I suppose it's habit, none of the food here seems to react like ours."

"Is the concept of cooking or seasoning not common for you?"

"Cooking is not unheard of, although I doubt any Demonfolk would call it that. Some prefer their meals warmed and will do so. Mostly by their own abilities. The Flamewrought often like to breathe fire on their meals before consuming them."

Akiol pictured the Flamewrought demons. They were four legged creatures with a head similar to that of a hammerhead shark. Vents scattered across their body to expel heat and steam, and upon being angered they would breathe out a jet of fire. 

"Is this the reason why they burn the farmer crops?", Akiol found himself guessing.

"There was a group of starving Flamewrought that I was informed of later, they too also burnt some of our food supplies. Perhaps out of desperation they decided to try humanity's food. I never targeted the farms. I only targeted the stockpile of food. I am aware it takes a while for the raw food to be processed."

"Sometimes.", Akiol frowned upon remembering the various Flamewrought he had hunted previously.

In order to adjust the topic he asked, "Then what about seasoning?"

Rue silently chewed on a bit of chicken with utter joy. Only when she finished savoring the piece did she answer, "I am unfamiliar with this word. What does it mean?"

"Certain items added to food for flavor. Such as this salt.", Akiol lifted a glass bottle of salt, "We called it Swemmin's Blessing back at our home world."

"It's meant for food? I had attacked stockpiles of Swemmin's Blessing a few times believing it was something required for Priests! Why does such a thing hold the name of the Goddess of water?", Rue shook her head furiously.

Akiol faintly recalled a port city was devastated by their loss of salt back then. It affected morale so badly that salt had to be imported for the wellbeing of the city. Originally Akiol believed this to be some sort of tactical genius by the Demon Lord meant to affect the trade routes and morale. To think it was a misunderstanding. . .

Rue savored a bit of mac and cheese, "This one is different than I had envisioned."

Returning back to the topic of seasoning she said, "The concept of adding things for flavor is not unheard of. A fruit we named Fire Poppler often carried a large amount of juice within it. Some Demonfolk enjoyed crushing a Fire Poppler over their meat."

"Fire Poppler?", Akiol found he could not recall this name.

"Humanity often used it as an ingredient for those potions. The ones that burn."

"The Ablaze Eyes? You guys eat those?"

"It's favored by the Demonfolks more oriented around heat. Even the Flamewrought don't set them alight.", Rue confirmed.

The Ablaze Eyes were highly favorable to create their world's equivalent of incendiary explosives. Due to its highly reactive nature it was easily set alight once processed. Akiol had no idea it was considered a food item for the Demonfolk!