Chapter 8: The Demon Lord’s First Mission (and Disaster)

The following day was supposed to be a fresh start. Aria had insisted I get some work done so I didn't completely waste her generosity. "You'll be useful around here," she'd said, "and maybe you'll start acting like a real adventurer."

I had no idea what she meant by "real adventurer," but I had a sinking feeling that it meant more than sitting around feeling sorry for myself.

After breakfast (which I somehow managed not to ruin, though I had no idea how), Aria handed me a small scroll. "This is your first guild mission. It's a simple delivery. No fighting involved, just... well, delivering the goods."

I stared at her, trying to make sense of the situation. "Simple delivery?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Do you know who I am? I'm Leonard Nightfall, a demon lord! A task as mundane as delivering goods is beneath me."

Aria crossed her arms, giving me a knowing look. "Well, if you want to eat and sleep here for free, you'll do it. Plus, you're barely an F-rank adventurer, so it's not like you have much of a choice."

My pride was severely wounded, but I was starting to understand the gravity of my situation. I had no power here. I had no minions to do my bidding, no army to command. I couldn't even chop vegetables without making a mess. The least I could do was deliver a package.

I took the scroll from Aria and set out on my first mission, trying to walk with the confidence of a demon lord, but instead feeling completely out of my element. I arrived at the merchant's shop to pick up the crate and was handed a small wooden box wrapped in thick twine.

As I walked down the street with the crate in hand, I tried to carry it like some grand treasure. My posture was stiff, my chest puffed out. This was nothing, right? How could I possibly mess up carrying a crate?

Well, of course, this was Leonard Nightfall we were talking about.

As I walked, I felt the crate slipping from my grip. Panic hit me. No! I can't drop this! I thought, but in a frantic attempt to adjust my hold, I swung my arm too far.

The crate went flying.

It soared through the air and collided with a nearby fruit stand, sending apples, oranges, and bananas flying in every direction.

My heart stopped. The merchant who had given me the crate was standing nearby, his jaw dropped in disbelief.

"What did you do to my crate?!" he shouted, rushing toward the mess.

"I—I didn't mean to!" I stammered, frantically trying to pick up the pieces of fruit. "I'm Leonard Nightfall, a demon lord! I didn't—I wasn't trying to—"

The merchant looked at me incredulously, his eyebrow twitching. "A demon lord? What kind of demon lord throws crates around like a clumsy fool?"

I stood there, cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I—I'll fix it! I'll pay for the fruit! I just didn't—"

The merchant sighed deeply, rubbing his temples. "You better. Just take that crate to the tavern without breaking anything else."

I nodded, hastily picking up the crate, trying to ignore the fruit stand disaster. With renewed determination, I headed toward the tavern, still cringing from the fiasco.

When I finally arrived at the tavern, the burly tavernkeeper greeted me with a suspicious look. "You the one with the crate?"

"Yes, yes!" I said, holding up the crate with what little dignity I had left. "I'm Leonard Nightfall, the demon lord, and I've—"

The tavernkeeper eyed me skeptically. "Uh-huh. Yeah, alright. Just put it down here, 'demon lord.'"

I placed the crate carefully on the counter, trying to maintain some semblance of grace. But as I straightened up, my hand slipped off the crate's lid, and it toppled forward onto the floor with a loud thud.

The crate popped open, and out spilled a pile of beer mugs.

"Wha—?" I muttered, blinking in confusion. "What... what's this? I thought it was supposed to be something else!"

The tavernkeeper raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me you've been carrying beer mugs this whole time?"

I stood frozen, unable to process what had just happened. "I—I thought it was... something more important!"

The tavernkeeper shook his head slowly. "Well, at least you delivered the mugs in one piece, I guess. But you're not exactly what I expected from a 'demon lord.'"

I tried to apologize, but the tavernkeeper waved me off, clearly uninterested in hearing more. "Just don't break anything else, alright? And get out of here."

I bowed quickly, desperate to escape the situation. "Of course! I—I'm leaving!"

As I turned to walk out, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me.

"Leonard?"

I froze, my heart sinking. Oh no, not Aria.

I turned around to see her standing in the doorway, arms crossed, looking so disappointed that I nearly wilted right there. "What happened to the delivery?"

"I… I didn't…" I stammered, struggling to make sense of the situation. "It's just that... I didn't know it was beer mugs! And I accidentally broke the fruit stand..."

Aria raised an eyebrow, clearly trying not to laugh. "Well, at least you completed the mission... kind of. Good job, 'demon lord.'"

I groaned, my face turning bright red. "I swear, I'll do better next time! I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

Aria couldn't help but smirk at my complete failure. "Let's hope so. I'm starting to wonder if you can even do something simple without causing chaos."

I groaned again. "This wasn't how I envisioned my great return to the world."

Aria just shook her head. "Well, if you're going to keep screwing up, at least do it with style next time, alright?"

With my tail between my legs, I followed her back home, already dreading the next mission that would surely involve more disastrous attempts at normal life.