Despite not being actively involved in the actual process, Feisha wasted no time in finding out the conclusion of this particular event.
Firstly, Gin was grounded. Which is to say that from now on he's not allowed to set foot within nine metres of Hughes' room without explicit approval. The reason for this particular number was that Gin's room was ten metres away.
Secondly, to everyone else, they retained their Cold War status. Which is to say…Dea was still out of the loop.
Lastly, Gin signed a repentance treaty, the contents of which were closely guarded. Feisha's repeated attempts of coercion and bribery were all met with failure.
And so, inside the dining hall, a sweet-to-the-point-of-diabetes couple was replaced with one of that exuded tension like carbon dioxide.
Feisha's life became a little brighter with new entertainment:
1. Watching Gin pitifully beg for attention.
2. Watching Dea and Antonio skirt around each other awkwardly.
He realised for the first time since his arrival that maybe the absence of TVs didn't matter so much after all. At the end of the day, all shows stem from real life - and whose life was as entertaining as his right now?
———————————-
Dea evidently placed a clear distinction between his 'love life' and his work life, not at all neglecting his responsibilities. All staff were called to a meeting about their next guest.
Feisha noticed Isefel's face darken as soon as the beginnings of a name pa.s.sed through Dea's lips. And when Dea finished, Gin's face did likewise.
"Is there something special about this Borja person?"
"He's Abaddon's son," Gin helpfully supplied.
"…Is he on TV a lot?" asked Feisha, at a loss.
"I bet you've never read the bible before."
"Does reading the cover count?"
Hughes cut in. "Abaddon is one of the seven lord demons."
A pause.
Feisha turned to Dea. "Well- But that's his father, not him, right?"
"He's called the seven-and-a-halfth demon king in h.e.l.l," said Dea.
"Why?"
"Because he's still a child."
"No, I meant, why is he considered a demon king?"
Dea replied with a blank expression. "Mischief."
Phew. "It's normal for little kids to be mischievous sometimes, isn't it?"
"Have you seen a kid who's mischievous to the point of destroying whole cities?" asked Gin.
"You don't see adults who do that either," replied Feisha.
"Have you seen a kid who's mischievous to the point where he goes to Heaven to look for someone to annoy and ends up provoking a Holy War?"
"Erm- Back at home, we can't exactly come back after going to heaven."
"Have you seen a kid who's mischievous to the point of collecting vampire teeth, faerie ears and dwarf legs?"
"I never really got the chance to see any vampires, faeries or dwarfs," Feisha said stiffly.
"…Do you want to sit down?" asked Gin.
"It's okay, I'm not tired."
"But looking at your knees shake is making me feel tired."
Feisha sat down, shooting Dea a desperate look. "Can't you turn him down?"
"Why?"
"Because you can't exactly put ears back on after you rip them off! And besides, he might not even give it back to you," Feisha exclaimed.
Gin coughed lightly. "I forgot to mention that he only collects from corpses."
"How do I know he won't kill me first, then collect?" Feisha stood up abruptly.
"What do you even have for him to collect?"
A pause.
"Like, er, intelligence?" Feisha said, waving his hand a few times.
Gin didn't miss a beat. "Okay, I'll make sure to inform him that your brain fluid is great and worth collecting."
Receiving no help on this end, Feisha turned to Dea. "Can't you say that we're fully booked?"
There was a resounding silence in the room.
Apparently Noah's Ark could hold all the species in the entire universe without filling up.
Borja is definitely included in 'all the species'.
"This is the first time I've stressed over the fact that a room was booked out," Feisha sighed.
Hughes tried to comfort him. "Don't worry too much. Borja is a very curious child; you'll be fine as long as he doesn't take an interest in you."
Seeing Hughes cut in, Gin's att.i.tude immediate did a complete 180. "I'll give you a role model: Layton."
Layton was clearly still holding a grudge over Feisha's prank. "Hmph, who are you calling uninteresting?"
"Is that an offer? All of us would love it if you take one for the team and go entertain that little demon," Gin suggested kindly. "In fact, we'd all happily help you in that endeavour."
Layton turned away with a huff.
Feisha anxiously looked at his clothing. "So in lieu of the current emergency, should I be finding a pair of pants that have crossed axes embroidered onto them to wear?"
Everyone: "…"
———————————-
Feisha ran up to Isefel with a face full of anguish. "I want to take a few days off."
This time, Isefel was finally not in the pool but reading a book next to it. "Reason?"
"I don't feel well."
Isefel just looked at him.
Feisha swooned a bit, slurring his words: "I feel…faint…"
"Rejected."
Feisha immediately returned to normal. "Why?" he asked, indignant. "He's going to take my brain fluid! G.o.d knows how much I try to conserve it, why should I give it to him!?"
"That's just Gin's speculation."
"Well- Prevention is better than cure, you know?" said Feisha. "Let's say he actually wanted my brain fluid - would you jump out and save me?"
A flash of confusion pa.s.sed over Isefel's face.
"Mm," he replied after a few seconds.
"What's 'mm' meant to mean!? Don't try to fool me; I'm not some moron who becomes ecstatic over the sound of someone clearing their throat," Feisha said furiously. "And besides, that brat's Dad is a demon king in h.e.l.l, are you even up to the task? If you can't then contact the chairman of the board, why don't you? At least he'd ease my anxiety a bit."
"Abaddon paid twenty thousand gold coins as deposit."
"…People shouldn't to be too greedy, angels should be even less greedy and fallen angels just need to punch the off b.u.t.ton on their greed, hm? They say that a n.o.ble man makes his wealth in just and ethical means; life is more important than money, you know?"
"I will distribute one tenth of that at the end of the month as a bonus."
A pause.
"This place has bonuses?" Feisha asked, elated.
"There will if we accept this guest."
Feisha looked up, twiddling his thumbs and furiously calculating in his mind. There were eight staff members in total at the hotel, two thousand gold coins divided by eight, everyone gets two hundred and fifty at the end. Not exactly a fortune, but it's better than nothing.
He turned to Isefel, serious again. "When is he coming?"
"In half an hour."
———————————-
Having gotten used to seeing guests pop out of the darkness, Feisha was momentarily taken aback at the sight of a silver bullet-shaped s.p.a.ceship. It was almost like if cavemen in gra.s.s skirts suddenly came into contact with an ARMANI branded suit-wearing modern human driving a Ferrari, cigarette hanging out of his mouth and singing "I love you" into the phone in his hand.
Of course, this person was also breaking multiple traffic laws. Just like in sci-fi movies, the door opened by itself and a set of long metal stairs materialised a second after.
Feisha wiped his hands on his pants; the little demon was about to come out!
Just as that thought formed in his mind, a silhouette appeared in the doorway. Snowy pale skin, ink-black vest and pants. His b.l.o.o.d.y red eyes crinkled in excitement: "Yoo-hoo! I see the number of species in this zoo hasn't increased. Eh, where's Mr Isefel? Why isn't he here to welcome me?"
"He said that he'd rather not get eye cancer," Gin said coolly. " Eye drops have been rather expensive lately."
Borja took a flying leap off the ship and landed squarely on the back of Asa's feet, who doubled over from the pain.
"What kind of t.i.tan are you, reacting this much to a little kid stepping on your feet?" Gin scoffed.
Asa turned to look at him with tears in his eyes.
Gin was momentarily speechless. Anyone would be, after seeing a three-metre-tall t.i.tan getting bullied by a kid not even a third of his height.
On the back of Asa's feet were rows of little dots oozing with blood.
"Sorry Asa, I was wrong about you," sighed Gin.
Borja raised an eyebrow at the t.i.tan. "You'd be dead if you were Achilles."
Gin cut in before Asa even had a chance to speak. "Don't you know that Achilles' weak point was his heel and not the back of his feet? Mr Never-pa.s.sed-an-exam-always-forgets-your-homework Borja?"
All Borja could do was stamp his feet. "I don't want to talk to you. I hate you, get the f.u.c.k out of my sight you f.u.c.king detestable pretentious lecherous disgusting despicable vampire who deserves to rot in heaven!"
"Thank you for your well wishes. I'm pretty sure that other than h.e.l.l, every single world would be honoured to go to heaven."
Borja suddenly calmed down, looked past Asa and right at Feisha, who was trying to hide. "Why is this human so ugly?"
A pause.
Feisha stepped forward, turned to the side and bowed while smiling. "Your room is fully prepared, Mr Borja. Please allow me to show you the way."
"Pfft, you're an interesting human. I like you."
Feisha cursed inwardly, he should've worn those pants with axes embroidered onto them.
"This way please, Mr Borja," Hughes said softly.
Borja glanced at him, uninterested. "Hmph, Gin only likes trash."
"Don't tell me you really want to put something in that stomach of yours then get it shaken out, Mr Borja," Gin sneered ominously.
As if recalling a bad memory, Borja's face immediately darkened. He turned to Feisha. "Oi, human. Didn't you say you were gonna show me the way? Why aren't we leaving?"
Feisha turned on his heels and walked away.
Translator's notes
"Is there something special about this Borja person?"
The conclusion I've come to after reading through half a dozen articles on Abaddon that Google gave me is that Abaddon doesn't actually have a son. Religious mythology is a fickle thing though, so Borja might be present in a religion that Google neglected. Keep an open mind.
"[…] They say that a n.o.ble man makes his wealth in just and ethical means […]"
As per usual: 君子愛財，取之有道jūn zǐ ài cái, qǔ zhī yǒu dào (lit. Man loves wealth, has principles in getting it) -Confucius