Betrayed, I Knocked Demon Lord's Door - Chapter 57: Chapter 57

"Uh... focus?"
"Wrong!" Andrew suddenly bellowed, making Leon jolt in confusion.
'What the hell? Could've just said it—why shout like he's trying to cook with sound waves?'
"The most important thing in cooking... is love," Andrew said, squinting as he spoke in a grave, sorrowful tone. "And your dish? It's completely, utterly heartless."
Leon blinked. "My cooking skills are bad."
"Wrong again. Love has nothing to do with skill. You can mess up a dish all you want, but if you cook with love, it tastes different. You can tell. The same ingredients—two outcomes. One made with love, the other without—it's night and day."
Leon fell silent.
Damn... he was actually starting to believe the guy.
It was just a basic dish—tomato and scrambled eggs. Under Andrew's guidance, it looked way better than what he usually managed at home. But taste-wise... something was still off.
Strangely enough, it didn't even compare to the bland tomato eggs he'd made in Caitlyn's kitchen.
Andrew nodded as Leon sank into thought. "You get it now? Love matters."
"Yeah, but the problem is... I'm not even cooking this for her," Leon said, sounding genuinely conflicted. "How am I supposed to put in any love?"
If it were Caitlyn eating it, sure, maybe he could fake some passion. But for some random guy? What was he supposed to do—pour his heart into a dish for Andrew?
"Wait, Andrew, don't tell me you cook with love all the time?" he asked, squinting in suspicion.
Andrew shrugged. "Of course... I don't. I was just saying it for your benefit." Then he grinned. "But when you cook for her—that's when you pour your heart into it. She'll know. Trust me."
He clapped Leon on the back. "Alright, keep training. If this disgrace of a tomato egg dish gets traced back to me, I'll lose all credibility."
Leon sighed, but the fire in his eyes reignited.
He wasn't one to quit. Hard work always paid off.
"I'll leave you to practice for now," Andrew said, checking the time. "Lunch rush is about to hit. If you have questions, ask later. After the wave passes, I'll give you a proper lesson."
"Got it."
No. 3 Canteen was infamous for its crowd. The lunch rush alone could drown a man.
Naturally, no one had time to babysit Leon.
But he wasn't there to be coddled. Instead, he blended into the chaos, soaking in every detail with a keen eye.
As soon as Andrew disappeared into the fray, his demeanor snapped into a whole new persona—a beast.
"Move, move, move! Everyone, check your gear—hats, gloves, aprons! If I catch anyone touching a ladle without washing their filthy hands using Andrew's Five-Step Wash Technique, I swear you'll wish you were never born!"
Leon nodded in silent approval. Harsh? Yes. But the hygiene discipline was solid.
Taste could be subjective. But food safety? Non-negotiable.
Ekavine City had always done well in this area—props to Kathleen for that.
Leon maneuvered through the busy kitchen like a shadow, absorbing the energy. It was hot, loud, and packed with life... yet oddly, he felt alone in it.
All this excitement, and none of it had anything to do with him.
He pressed his lips together. 'I wonder what Caitlyn's doing right now... maybe thinking of me?'
He glanced at his phone.
No messages.
He let out a long sigh and muttered, "You'd better be pretending to be tsundere... or I'll just—die of heartbreak here."
Classic Leon. Pathetic—but only when it came to Caitlyn.
Andrew truly was a legend. Arwen hadn't been exaggerating.
From his corner, Leon watched the man command the entire kitchen like a general—knives flying, instructions barking, managing chaos with brutal efficiency.
He was nothing like the sleazy joker from earlier, and not at all like the carefree mentor from before.
"Ugh, I'm beat..." a young cook slumped down beside Leon, wiping his hands.
He glanced at Andrew, then at Leon, then crouched low and whispered, "Cover for me, yeah? I need to catch my breath."
Leon chuckled. "Slacking, huh?"
"You're one to talk," the guy grinned. "This place is madness. Gotta sneak in breaks when you can. By the way—what's your deal? Why's Andrew personally training you? And you're just standing around, and he says nothing."
"I'm a VIP. Just here to learn," Leon said breezily.
"Ahhh, makes sense."
Leon, eyes still on Andrew's deft knife work, asked curiously, "Hey... did he used to train with swords or something?"
The guy blinked. "Who, Andrew? Yeah. Used to be a Hunter back in the day. A pretty big deal too. I heard he was one of the stronger A-Rank sword users."
Leon raised a brow. "And now he's a chef?"
"Yep. Love story, actually. Guy used to have this beautiful wife who adored good food. He started learning to cook just to make her happy, and somehow ended up a top-tier chef in Ekavine City. Real romantic."
Leon squinted. "Romantic? I literally saw him hitting on students earlier."
The guy's smile faded slightly. He looked down.
"He... might flirt, yeah. But he's never laid a hand on anyone. Just chats, maybe a meal here and there. People offer themselves to him, but he never accepts. Not once."
He hesitated, then added, "Seven years ago, he entered a world-class culinary competition. Won it. Beat out everyone and got the gold. The title of 'Top Chef.'"
Leon leaned in. "And?"
The guy's tone dropped. "His wife... was planning to surprise him at the Human Alliance. But she was caught in an Abyssal Rift event before she got there. She was pulled into the rift..."
Leon frowned. "So she died. And he broke, turned into some wandering flirt to numb himself?"
"Pretty much. He met his wife back when they were students at Ekavine Academy—she was this gorgeous lit major, really famous on campus."
"Man..." Leon sighed, shaking his head.
The world might look peaceful now, but after years of being a hero, he'd seen too many stories just like this—far too many.
A family like Dewayne's, making it through in one piece? That was a rare miracle.
The mood sank. The young man slowly stood, brushing off his hands, getting ready to rejoin the chaos of the kitchen.
But just before leaving, he paused and muttered under his breath—
"Andrew nearly saved her," the guy murmured, lowering his voice.
Leon blinked. "What do you mean?"
The young man continued, his voice growing heavier. "When they were sucked into the Abyssal Rift, Andrew's wife—Elsie—and a kid ended up stuck together.
"Since it was near Human Alliance territory, they had a slim chance of survival, assuming no beasts found them.
"The moment Andrew got word, he didn't hesitate. Charged straight into an uncharted Rift. That's when all those world-class chefs realized—he wasn't just a top-tier cook. He was a damn good swordsman too.
"But fate wasn't on his side. Elsie got caught in a dense mist—spawned by a super A-Rank beast and a swarm of smaller ones.
"That fog cut off all senses, even A-Rank Hunters' spiritual perception couldn't pierce it. He found her bag just outside and figured she was trapped inside... so he ignored everyone's warnings and dove in like a madman."
Leon didn't speak. The ending was already clear in his mind.
"Just a little too late." He could already fill in the blanks.
The young man inhaled sharply. "He tore through wave after wave of beasts. The blood ran like rivers, soaked the earth. He screamed her name over and over... until he heard a child cry out for him. He cut through the last beast just in time to save the kid."
His voice cracked. He drew in a shaky breath, fists clenched.
"Elsie... she was just a few steps away. A beast had her—was tearing into her... When Andrew turned toward the noise, it was already too late. All he could pull from that monster's jaws... was half of her."
"It was my crying that brought them..." he choked. "I didn't know... I didn't know she was trying to draw Andrew's attention. I didn't know she let the beast take her—to save me. I didn't mean for her to die in my place... I thought... I thought once Andrew got there, we'd both make it out alive..."
His voice broke completely, and the tears finally came, spilling down his face, unstoppable.
"Keith, enough." Andrew was suddenly behind him, eyes red, voice trembling.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I killed Elsie..." Keith sobbed.
Andrew gently pulled him into a hug. "You didn't do anything wrong, kid. She wanted you to live."
Leon stood frozen, unable to say a word. His chest felt tight. 'Why did I have to be so nosy...'
The rest of the day's training was quiet. Awkward.
Andrew said he was fine, that he'd moved on. He even treated Keith like a foster son.
Of course, there was no real son to compete—Elsie hadn't lived long enough.
Later, Andrew sat on the stone steps outside, lighting a cigarette, staring off into the hazy sky. "Sorry for the outburst," he murmured. "Back then... I yelled too.
"I think I drew the beasts too close. If Elsie hadn't told Keith to cry... maybe they'd both have died before I got close. But with that fog... what else could they do? Anyway. Just rambling. You're heading back, yeah? Be careful. And... sorry for earlier."
"It's fine," Leon muttered, walking away, heart heavier than before.
Did he really look like someone who had moved on? Not to Leon.
Leon let out a long breath, glanced up at the sky, and turned to leave.
He hadn't seen Caitlyn all day—and after hearing Andrew's story, his heart felt unusually heavy.
He missed her. Badly. Terribly. Desperately.
Thankfully, nothing like that would ever happen to them. Caitlyn was strong—far stronger than most people knew.
"Maybe I should bring her something..." Leon muttered as he started up his scooter.
Behind him, Andrew was still sitting there, gazing into the distance through the drifting haze of cigarette smoke. Who knew what memories he was seeing?
Leon had seen loss. Plenty of it. But watching Andrew's face just now... that did something to him. Left a little crack inside.
"Should've kept my damn mouth shut..." he muttered, half annoyed with himself.
Still—he smiled faintly. He was going home. Back to Caitlyn. Back to their quiet little world.
He found a cake shop and picked out a small dessert, something sweet for the girl waiting alone at home. Then, gripping the box tightly, he raced back on his scooter.
At home, Caitlyn sat curled on the couch, wrapped in a thick coat and blanket, pale-faced and hugging a pillow tightly.
Then, the familiar hum of an engine outside made her eyes flicker. She looked toward the door instinctively, only to freeze.
A moment later, she clamped her lips shut, pulled the pillow closer, and turned back toward the TV, pretending to be utterly engrossed.
Hmph. Just because I spent the whole day aching and waiting in this freezing house doesn't mean I missed him or anything.
The door opened behind her. Leon's voice rang out:
"I have returned, newly ascended. Demon Lords fall beneath my feet—tremble, for I am supreme. Do you yield?"
Leon stood there, awkwardly straightening up. "Okay, now I feel stupid."
Still no response. Caitlyn didn't look his way.
"You didn't send any messages all day," she said flatly, eyes fixed on the screen. "Just one transaction alert. I figured you were out shacking up in a hotel with some random woman. Not planning to come back."
Leon stared at her side profile... then broke into a slow smile. "So you missed me?"
"Leon, kindly correct your narcissistic delusions." She shot him a frosty glare and hugged the pillow tighter, refusing to speak again.
Leon shook his head, stepping closer.
'Not missing me, huh? Then why is your face so pale from sulking all day...?'
He stopped in front of her and said gently,
"Caitlyn, remember what I told you? If you want me to come back, just one little message. And I'll tear through fire, flood, and monsters to get to you."