Chapter 7: The Demon Lord Who Can't Even Do Chores

The same morning after the chaos with Aria's mom, I was still trying to recover from the absolute disaster. My pride as a demon lord had taken a massive blow, and yet here I was, sitting on the couch, trying to regain some semblance of dignity.

Aria had been avoiding me all morning, clearly embarrassed by her mother's behavior. I could hardly blame her, but that didn't stop me from feeling like I was sinking deeper into a hole.

I was Leonard Nightfall, a demon lord, not a perverted nobleman who sneaked into people's homes and got caught sleeping on the couch. But that's what the entire morning had felt like. A giant misunderstanding.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hall, and I braced myself, thinking it was Aria's mom returning to deliver some scolding. But no, it was Aria herself, looking more than a little flustered. She walked into the room, holding a tray of food in her hands.

"Good morning," she muttered, avoiding eye contact. "I... made breakfast."

I blinked in surprise. "Wait, you made breakfast for me?"

Aria's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "I figured you might be hungry. Don't get any weird ideas, though! It's just food."

I nodded quickly, overly eager. "I wasn't thinking anything weird at all!"

She didn't seem convinced, but handed me the tray anyway. As I grabbed the food, I realized I had no idea how to behave now. Aria was acting all weird, and her mom's suspicion still hung in the air like a thick fog.

"Look," Aria began, her voice serious. "We need to clear this up. My mom really misinterpreted the whole thing last night. She thinks you're... well, not exactly what you say you are."

I groaned, sinking back into the couch. "I told her I wasn't trying anything weird, but no one believes me! I'm a demon lord! Why would I sneak into your room or... or..." I trailed off, my face heating up again.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she said, rolling her eyes. "But I have to deal with my mom, okay? She's, uh, a bit protective. So... if you could just keep it down and be normal for a while, that'd help a lot."

I nodded earnestly. "I'll be on my best behavior. I swear I won't do anything weird."

Aria sighed. "Great. Then you can help me with something."

I looked at her, confused. "Help? With what?"

"Chores," she said, her voice flat. "You're staying here, so you're not getting a free pass. I'll be working, so you'll have to take care of a few things around here. It's the least you can do after making such a scene last night."

I raised an eyebrow. "Chores? But... I'm a demon lord. I'm not exactly—"

"I don't care," she interrupted. "You're not above doing basic things around here. You've got two hands, right?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but she shot me a glare that immediately silenced me.

"Fine," I muttered. "But I'm not cleaning your floors."

Aria smirked. "You're not just cleaning floors. I'll have you take care of a few things. You can start by chopping the vegetables. Just don't do anything crazy."

Chopping Vegetables – The Demon Lord's Biggest Challenge

How hard could chopping vegetables be, right? I was a demon lord. I'd fought legendary battles, conquered kingdoms, and summoned devastating storms. Surely, chopping vegetables would be beneath me.

But as I stood in the kitchen, knife in hand, staring at the pile of carrots and potatoes, I realized something. I had no idea how to chop vegetables. I mean, I had known at one point, but after being transported to this strange world, I'd completely forgotten.

"Okay. It's just a carrot. You can do this," I muttered under my breath, trying to channel my inner demon lord confidence.

I raised the knife and brought it down. The result? An uneven mess of slices that could only be described as tragic.

"No! This is beneath me!" I muttered, sweating as I tried again. But the next attempt was even worse. The carrot ended up sliced into a pile of jagged, uneven pieces that looked more like puzzle pieces than food.

I glanced nervously over my shoulder. What if Aria walked in and saw this disaster? She'd never let me live it down.

"Okay, okay, focus. I'm a demon lord. I can do this!" I swung the knife down again, only for it to slip out of my grip and clatter across the floor, sending a few slices flying off the counter.

Suddenly, I heard a voice from behind me.

"You're doing it wrong, you know."

I whipped around to see Aria standing in the doorway, arms crossed, watching me with a mix of confusion and disbelief.

"I... I was just testing the... uh, sharpness of the knife," I stammered, trying to salvage the situation. "And the technique. Just a test."

"Uh-huh," Aria said with a smirk, clearly not buying it. "You're supposed to hold the knife like this, and don't use so much force. It's not a battle, you know."

I looked at her, my pride burning. "I know how to chop vegetables! I'm just... I'm just not used to these inferior knives!"

Aria raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Sure. Do you need me to show you again, or are you just going to keep embarrassing yourself?"

My face burned red. "I'm fine!"

But the damage was done. Aria walked over and showed me how to chop the vegetables properly, each slice perfect and neat. I stood there like a fool, completely defeated.

Later That Day: The Grand Cleaning Disaster

After the vegetable-chopping debacle, Aria handed me the next task: cleaning the living room. This, I thought, would be easy. A demon lord shouldn't have trouble sweeping the floor, right?

Except, of course, that I had never done anything like this before. I swung the broom awkwardly, knocking over a stack of books in the process. A loud thud echoed as the books fell, scattering everywhere.

"Really?" Aria called from the other room, her voice barely audible. "What are you doing in there?"

"Nothing! Just cleaning!" I shouted back, desperately trying to pick up the mess, only to knock over a vase of flowers in the process.

In the end, I somehow made a bigger mess than when I started.

As I looked around the room in complete defeat, Aria came in again. She took one look at the chaos and sighed. "You are hopeless, aren't you?"

I sank to my knees, unable to face her. "I am Leonard Nightfall, a demon lord... and yet I cannot even clean properly."

Aria raised an eyebrow, her face softening just a little. "Well, don't feel too bad. It's not like I expected much from a demon lord with no common sense."

I groaned, my face buried in my hands. "This is not how I envisioned my life would go."