Chapter 23: Three-Headed Dog? Three-Bodied Dog?
Because of Cerberus's unexpected arrival (and her lack of modern clothing), Ren and the two demons returned to the Commercial Street in the afternoon.
Neither Ren nor Lucifer were short on money, so the shopping trip was less about budgeting and more about keeping Cerberus from biting sales clerks.
"Ma... Ren, Ren, Ren! What is this thing?! There's a dog on it that I don't recognize!"
Ren was startled. He looked at Cerberus, who was holding a large handful of grilled squid skewers she had procured from a street vendor, pointing excitedly at a window display in a pet shop. She looked like a curious child in a candy store.
Cerberus desperately wanted to call him "Master," but Ren had explained that shouting "Master" in public while clinging to a man would cause misunderstandings that even magic couldn't fix. So, she was trying her best to use his name.
Ren turned his head to look. His expression turned strange.
He looked at Cerberus and said gently, "Cerberus~"
"Ma... Ren! What is it! Is it treasure?"
Ren pointed at the colorful bag in the store window. "Do you think that thing is delicious... or hot meals are delicious?"
"Meals made by Ren?"
"Mmm~"
"Meals!" she shouted without hesitation.
Ren nodded and then softly said, "If that's the case, there's no need to look at that thing, because you won't use it, even though there's a dog on it. It's a trap."
Cerberus tilted her head, her dog ears twitching under her hair. She looked puzzled.
Lucifer also saw this thing for the first time. She frowned, adjusting her sunglasses. "What is this thing? There's no name written on the bag in demonic script."
Ren sighed, looking at these two important figures from Hell acting like tourists.
"That's Dog Food... kibble. It's processed food specifically for dogs. Generally speaking, the taste is very light, dry, and cardboard-like. And compared to regular meals like braised pork, it's far inferior. It's for dogs who don't have personal chefs."
Cerberus was excited when she heard it was specifically for dogs—a cultural product of her people! But when she heard later that the taste was "light" and "inferior," her face fell.
She immediately decided that this thing called dog food would disappear from her dog's life. I am a sophisticated Hellhound, she thought. I eat cooked meat.
Finally, after accompanying Lucifer and Cerberus for another sweep of the street—buying more clothes, snacks, and a specialized dog bed that Cerberus insisted on sleeping in as a human—Ren returned to the Restaurant.
As soon as they entered, Cerberus excitedly ran upstairs to claim her territory, her footsteps thundering. It only showed that despite her form, she still had a dog's mindset.
Lucifer stood in the hallway, looking at the several extra bags in her hand. She looked at Ren, who was carrying twice as much without breaking a sweat.
"I really don't know how you make money~" she mused. "You spend it like water, but your shop is empty half the day."
Ren chuckled as he locked the door. "I've done many things to make money in the past~ Before the Restaurant."
"Like what? Assassin? Mercenary?"
"Like.... an athlete? A fighter?"
Lucifer was startled. She looked Ren up and down.
Her face filled with disbelief. Ren clearly looked like a normal person's build—lean, tall, elegant. He didn't look like the hulking brutes she associated with fighters. She couldn't see any particularly bulging muscles under his loose shirt.
He looks more like a scholar, she thought.
Lucifer decided to test it herself. She was the Queen of Hell; she could touch what she wanted.
But as she walked next to Ren and reached out to touch his arm, Lucifer's face turned a strange shade of red. It was her first time actively touching a man with the intent to... grope? No, inspect.
Finally, Lucifer took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She lowered her head and pinched Ren's arm through his sleeve.
Then she froze.
It was like pinching steel wrapped in silk.
She looked up, using some force with her hand, trying to find a soft spot. There wasn't one.
Ren just looked at her with a playful smile, not moving an inch. "Satisfied?"
Lucifer noticed his teasing gaze. She took a sharp intake of breath. Her pride flared.
Then, under Ren's puzzled gaze, she abruptly lifted the hem of Ren's jacket and shirt.
Whoosh.
She exposed his midsection.
Seeing the exquisitely sculpted abdominal muscles beneath the clothes—an eight-pack defined by years of training, scars fading but visible—Lucifer was completely stunned.
It wasn't just show muscle. It was functional, dense muscle. The body of a warrior.
"Master, Master, Mas... Lucifer? What are you doing with Master? Are you undressing him?"
Hearing Cerberus's voice from the top of the stairs, Lucifer snapped back to reality.
Her face flushed crimson. She dropped his clothes immediately.
She lightly coughed, smoothing her hair. "Nothing. Cerberus, why did you come down? Go unpack."
Cerberus didn't take it seriously. She bounded down the stairs and shouted at Ren, ignoring the awkward atmosphere.
"Master, Master, Master! My room is right next to Lucifer's! I can smell her through the wall!"
Ren nodded, fixing his shirt. Then suddenly, he thought of something.
"Eh? Why does Cerberus always say things three times? 'Master, Master, Master'. Is it a tic?"
Cerberus was startled. She tilted her head and looked at Lucifer for help.
Lucifer sighed, recovering her composure. "Because Cerberus is originally a Three-Headed Hellhound... also known as a Three-Bodied Hellhound in her demon form. You can understand that the Cerberus in front of you is actually three personalities sharing one consciousness. In Hell, she often manifests as three separate girls."
Ren was startled. "Three girls?"
He reached out and pinched Cerberus's face.
"You should have told me earlier~"
"Told you what?" Cerberus asked, her cheek squished.
Ren sighed, shaking his head. "Of course, to tell me about your three-bodied nature~ One person's amount of food isn't enough for three souls, is it? Are you hungry? Did I starve two-thirds of you?"
Cerberus was stunned.
In her human form, she actually didn't eat much more than a normal girl because the bodies merged. But Ren's first thought wasn't "that's weird," but "are you hungry?"
Ren's words made Cerberus's eyes redden instantly. Tears welled up.
Since she could remember, no one had ever been so kind to her. People feared her, used her, or ignored her. No one worried if she was full.
Ren was startled by the tears. "What's wrong? Why are you about to cry? Did I pinch too hard?"
Cerberus directly hugged Ren, burying her face in his stomach.
"Master, Master, Master! I'm not hungry! I'm full of love!"
"Then why are you about to cry?"
"I am not! It's sweat!"
Cerberus is not the kind of person who expresses every bit of emotion or grievance she feels; she usually bottles it up behind a cheerful bark. In this respect, she is like any ordinary girl; she only remembers things little by little, slowly accumulating them until they overflow.
Lucifer chuckled softly from the side. She was the Queen of Hell, yes, but she was still a female with a heart. She was also Cerberus's Master, the only one in Hell who would pay attention to her head-pats. She naturally knew Cerberus's thoughts.
He's captured the dog, too, Lucifer thought. Dangerous man.
Cerberus clung to Ren all afternoon, following him like a shadow, which made Ren quite helpless but accepting. Cerberus had no idea how much impact her clinging—especially with her "excellent figure"—would have on a normal man. Fortunately, Ren had iron willpower.
The sky gradually darkened.
Because there was an extra Cerberus tonight (conceptually three of them), Ren specially made a little more food. Although he knew that Cerberus's appetite was actually no different from a normal girl's in this form, he still prepared a feast.
"Lucy..."
Ren called out as he set the table.
"I know what you're going to say," Lucifer interrupted, sitting at the counter. "You don't need to ask. I'm not going back tonight. The judgment below is still ongoing anyway. Justice can handle the paperwork."
Cerberus's eyes lit up. She pounced on Lucifer, rubbing her cheek against the Queen's shoulder. "Yay! Sleepover!"
Lucifer smiled helplessly; this silly Hellhound could sense that today was her happiest day in centuries.
Ren checked the clock.
"It's already this time. It's time to open the doors for business."
Lucifer chuckled softly and said, "At this time, your 'curse' won't take effect, right~? Since we are already eating?"
"Curse?! Who dares to curse Master?!" Cerberus growled, looking around for invisible enemies. "I'll bite them!"
Ren smiled when he saw Cerberus's fur bristling (metaphorically). "It's not the curse you're thinking of; it's just a playful term for bad timing. Let's eat first. I specially made a little extra this time~"
"Master! My appetite in human form really isn't that big!"
"Got it. Eat up. Let's try something different this time~"
Saying that, Ren lifted the lid from the large serving platters in front of him.
Three dishes that looked incredibly appetizing came into view.
Cerberus almost drooled. What 'not a big appetite', what 'feminine reserved' Lucifer taught her... none of that mattered compared to the delicious food in front of her!
"Master, Master, Master! What are all these?!"
Ren said with a smile, pointing to each one.
"Honey Roasted Spare Ribs, Water Boiled Beef (Shui Zhu Niu Rou - Spicy Sichuan Beef), and Pork Liver and Spinach Soup~"
The dog didn't know what any of them were. The names were complex. But her instincts told her they were all super delicious. No... now, she'd probably think anything Ren gave her to eat—even a shoe—was super delicious. A dog's world is that simple; there's nothing but her Master.
At this moment, in front of a luxury hotel in the city.
A white-haired man with black sclera eyes—Kure Raian—leaned impatiently against the door of a sleek black sedan. He shouted at the closed tinted window.
"What is that guy doing?! So slow! We're going to be late!"
Inside the car, a purple-haired girl (Kure Karura) glanced at him, then silently put on her headphones to block him out. A hint of a smile played on her lips, as if she was thinking of something interesting—specifically, meeting her crush.
Another voice drifted from the hotel entrance.
"Coming, coming~ You seem very angry, Raian-chan?"
Raian spun around. "What were you doing?! We've been waiting for ten minutes!"
"Makeup, of course. A lady has to look her best."
A black-haired girl with medium-length hair, an excellent figure, and a beautiful, somewhat lazy face walked towards him. It was Kure Fusui, Raian's younger sister (and Karura's cousin).
She shot back a retort before he could even complain further. "That's why you're so far behind Ren in charm. Such a boring, impatient man~"
Raian twitched. "Shut up! Get in!"
The white-haired man took a deep breath to suppress his urge to kill, then got into the car. The engine roared.
The car sped towards Ren's small shop, carrying the chaos of the Kure Clan.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city.
A tall, lazy-looking man with dark skin and white facial tattoos emerged from a bathroom in a stadium. He checked his watch.
"Just in time," Gaolang Wongsawat muttered.
He put on a sharp suit over his muscular frame and walked out into the night.
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