Chương 39: Meal Delivery & the Red Devil's Speech

A procession of attendants arrived, bearing large lacquered trays laden with an extravagant feast.

"Finally!" Shuten Dooji declared.

"Let's take a break from the interview. I'm hungry." The drinks came first. Crew members handed out chilled gourds of black lacquer, inlaid with mother-of-pearl depictions of ancient battles. They were filled with an alcoholic liquid named the 'Oni's Tear.' For the cervitaurs, attendants served bamboo cups of steaming, fragrant tea.

"Here you go, Boss," a crew member said, handing Shuten Dooji two gourds.

"Not bad, kid," the champion grinned.

"You didn't trip this time." He turned and offered one of the gourds to Galan.

"Here. Hold this."

"I assume we'll be opening it after your grand speech?" Galan asked, taking it.

"Hah! Nothing gets by you, Foreign God," Shuten Dooji laughed.

"This rice wine will be one you remember for a long time. Oni's promise. Also..." He picked up another gourd.

"Give this to Mountain Goat. He looks like he could use one." Galan turned to Ootake Maru, who was deep in thought, his expression serious.

"Here," Galan said, offering the gourd.

"Whatever you're thinking about, it doesn't matter right now. Just focus on the party. I'm sure everything will work out." Ootake Maru looked up, surprised.

"Oh. Thank you, Lord Oda." He took the drink. Meanwhile, the attendants had placed wooden tables at the edge of the hot spring, piling them high with food. There were platters of chilled fruit, glistening slices of shrimp and tuna sashimi, skewers of grilled chicken and eel, and mounds of savory rice balls.

"Alright," Shuten Dooji said, standing up. The water streamed off his massive frame. The party was silenced in an instant. He lifted his gourd high, his voice unusually solemn. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Everyone... I know you've been waiting for the party. But first, I want to tell you who I really am." Galan noticed that even the guests outside the party were listening now.

"A long time ago, on the slopes of Mount Ibuki... I wasn't a champion. I was just another young, hot-headed oni with more muscles than sense. I picked fights I couldn't win. I should've ended up as dust long before I got anywhere." His eyes glimmered with a mournful sheen.

"But I never did. Because there were always others to bail me out. Hoshiguma, who shattered a cavalry charge meant for me. Torakuma, who dragged me out of a ravine after a disagreement with a mountain god." He paused, looking down.

"They... amongst many others... will not be here to drink with us this evening." A heavy silence fell over the crowd. Galan felt the sharp pang of grief radiating from the champion. Then, Shuten Dooji snapped his head up, baring his fangs in a wide grin.

"But the best way to honor the fallen is not with tears! It's by living a life so loud, so full of food, rice wine, and good fights, that the echoes of our party reach them all the way in the Spirit Realm!" A roar of cheering erupted.

"Banzai! Kanpai!"

"For that is why we fight! For the happiness of all yookai!" He raised his gourd.

"To my crew! To Iba, who keeps losing bets! To Kuma and Guma, the ones who kept me from being burned by my own fire! And lastly, to all of you who came to cheer me on!" He uncorked his gourd.

"With that, let us enjoy this feast!" The hot spring erupted into more cheers. Galan watched Shuten Dooji return to his boisterous self, but the moment of sincerity lingered in his mind. So he can be sincere if he wants to. He turned to Ootake Maru, who was staring into the water with sorrow in his eyes.

"Sir Ootake Maru," Galan said, uncorking his own gourd.

"Are you going to open that?" Ootake Maru looked up.

"Oh, of course." He opened his drink.

"Wait, did you just say 'Sir'?"

"Yeah. Thought you'd prefer that over 'Big Broni.' Or would you prefer 'Senior'?" Ootake Maru smiled faintly.

"Hnh.

'Sir' will do just fine, Lord Oda." Just then, Shuten Dooji tapped Galan's arm, offering a wooden bowl filled with shrimp and tuna.

"Want some?"

"Nice." Galan reached for a piece.

"Take the whole thing. Share it with Mountain Goat over there. Maybe he's hungry."

"Alright." Galan turned back to Ootake Maru, who was lost in thought again. Hell, and I thought I was the overthinker.

"Here, have some." The gesture startled the blue oni.

"Oh, yes. Thank you."

"Look, you really need to stop doing that," Galan said, genuinely concerned.

"I'm sorry, Lord Oda. I was... thinking about things." Galan sighed.

"Let's talk about it in that corner." He pointed to a quieter spot. Ootake Maru nodded.

"Very well."