Chapter 14: An Olive Branch

Chapter 14:
An Olive Branch

 

WHEN THE DRUGSTORE emptied out, Ejil turned to me with a guileless expression. “About Noela, Doctor…”

“Hrm? What’s up?” It never turns out well when Ejil approaches me about Noela.

“Is it possible that she doesn’t take me seriously?”

“You just realized that?”

“She should already respect me, right? After all, I’m the demon king.”

“Frankly, I don’t think she even acknowledges that.”

“I mean, I’m worried that my friendship with her isn’t progressing,” Ejil sighed.

“Wow,” I said. “You’re legit spilling your guts.” Is Ejil saying that he thinks he and Noela are already friends? I’m sure she wouldn’t say that. “So you want a closer relationship?”

“I knew you’d understand without me explaining!”

Not long ago, Ejil had impersonated me to mess with Noela. He snuck into her room without permission and did a bunch of other things that raised her hackles. And when I say, “raised her hackles,” I mean it—when Ejil worked a shift, Noela did chores with Mina to avoid him.

“Regardless of the world, workplace relationships are rough, huh?” I murmured.

“I’d like a prescription that’ll make Noela and me closer, Doctor.”

“A prescription can’t improve your relationship, bud.”

“I don’t need her to be my girlfriend! I just want to reach a point where we’re less than lovers, but more than friends!”

“I’m not sure I can help with that, Ejil.”

“Then how about a prescription for a physical relationship?”

I smacked his head. “You’re disgusting.”

If I created a product like that, it’d be a mess. But…hrm…the fact that Ejil brought this up means that, deep down, he understands that he’s out of Noela’s good graces.

“I’ve got it,” I told Ejil. “I can’t create a product that’ll magically improve your relationship with Noela—but I can make something that at least lets you chat as coworkers.”

Ejil gazed at me, teary-eyed. “You always save me in the end, Doctor!”

Frankly, though, I had no plan. “Hang on,” I told him.

Entering the house, I found the werewolf girl in the living room. “Hey, Noela. When Ejil’s working in the drugstore, you hang out here, right?”

“Arroo? Something wrong with that?”

“Do you hate Ejil?”

Noela went quiet in thought. How rare.

“Different from hate.”

“Hunh. That’s surprising.”

“Impossible to stomach Ejil!” Noela said firmly.

Yikes. “Impossible to stomach” is completely different from “hate.” Still, when Ejil spoke to Noela, she responded; she’d have ignored him outright if she had zero interest. But what exactly does not being able to “stomach” him mean? People in Japan say that kind of thing a lot. On a personal level, I saw it as dislike for someone’s appearance, movements, expressions, scent, hygiene, speech patterns—that kind of stuff.

“What exactly can you not stomach?” I sat next to Noela on the sofa.

She plopped down in my lap as usual, wagging her nice, fluffy tail. “Silly laugh. Too confident.”

Well, he rules the monster and demon folk. I understand why he’s got a big head and idiotic laugh.

“Can’t stomach flirting,” Noela added.

“Ha ha…probably because you’ve written him off.”

“Also, Ejil no smell like Master,” she concluded.

“Probably because he’s a demon,” I pointed out. “I don’t know much about people’s odors, but you can smell the difference between Ejil and me, right?”

Noela nodded. “Like Master’s smell. Hate Ejil’s.”

That might be pheromone-related. Like how girls can’t handle their dad’s B.O. after a certain point. “Gotcha. Thanks.” Noela seemed bewildered as I moved her off my lap.

I made my way to the lab and started working immediately. People have genetic affinities for certain scents. If I create a product using the DNA of someone whose smell Noela likes—me—that should work. I shook the bottle, finishing the unique formula.

 

KR’s Genetic Juice: Beverage containing Kirio Reiji’s DNA.

 

Perfect. If Ejil ingests this, he’ll absorb my genetic sequence. And what people eat affects their body odor, so this was all working out quite nicely. I headed back to the drugstore.

“Listen, you won’t get anything out of this product right off the bat,” I told Ejil. “Put it in your food for about a week, and it’ll change your DNA so you smell like somebody Noela likes.” I handed him the new product.

“A-amazing, Doctor! How can I possibly repay you?!”

“Don’t mention it. It’s an employer’s job to keep the workplace friendly.”

“I’ll follow you until my last breath, Doctor!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” I calmed the overwrought Ejil down.

For the next seven days, Ejil carefully used the genetic juice as I’d instructed. I couldn’t tell you what changed, but Noela was immediately confused, often looking from me to Ejil as if comparing us. After a week, the fluid ran out, and I decided to figure out whether Ejil’s scent was like mine with Mina’s help.

“The first annual ‘Guess Which Scent Is Reiji’s!’ contest begins now!” Mina, the experiment’s emcee, announced excitedly. She held a ladle like a microphone, and her face grew redder by the second. “Woo-hoo!”

“What wrong, Mina?”

“Has something happened, woman?” Ejil demanded.

“Hey, Mina? You can be yourself for this.”

“Y-you should’ve said so!” Mina blushed. “Now I look like a weirdo who freaked out about nothing!”

“You didn’t just look like one.”

“Oh, gosh. Enough.” She crouched, overwhelmed by embarrassment.

Since Mina was beside herself, I stepped up to explain the test to Ejil and Noela. “I’m going to dump the formula on Ejil, myself, and this tomato.” Tomatoes were Noela’s least favorite food. “Then Noela will sniff out which one is me.”

“Garoo!” Noela looked at me confidently. “Noela never mistake Master.”

That was partly thanks to visual information—which was why this test would be blind. “Okay, Noela, close your eyes.”

Mina blindfolded the werewolf girl. “You shouldn’t be able to see in front of you now,” she told Noela, checking to ensure that was the case.

“What ladle for, Mina?” Noela demanded. “First annual contest? Will there be second?”

Don’t torture her anymore, Noela! You can’t see that Mina’s so embarrassed, she’s half crying!

Ejil and I put boxes over our heads, and we covered the plated tomato with a box. Since Noela was going to sniff the boxes, Mina made sure the werewolf girl didn’t peek. Ejil and I shuffled around and swapped places, then rested the boxes covering our heads on the table.

Box A contained the genetic-juice-drenched tomato—Noela’s worst enemy. Box B covered Ejil’s head, and Box C was me. Guided by Mina, Noela thrust her nose at each box. Ejil said nothing; since this was the moment of truth, his poise was exceptionally self-disciplined and stoic.

Noela sniffed Box C, tilting her head. “Garr…roooo?”

Heh heh! And she was so full of confidence.

In terms of scent, there wasn’t much that distinguished Ejil from me, which meant the genetic juice worked quite effectively.

“Can you tell which box is Mr. Reiji, Noela?” Mina inquired.

“C? B…? Garroo…” Noela sniffed the boxes in order again. “Know it!”

“Then please tell us your answer.”

“Master in Box C!”

Mina untied Noela’s blindfold, and Noela pounced on the right answer—in other words, me. But, hey, the genetic-juice formula still worked like I hoped.

“Noela guess right!” the werewolf girl declared. “Praise Noela, Master!”

“You bet.” I stroked her head gently.

The usually overbearing Ejil simply placed Box B on the table and looked toward the sky. He closed his eyes in disappointment.

He had a lot riding on this, I reflected. “I could tell you weren’t totally sure at first, Noela.”

“Yes,” agreed Mina. “What gave Mr. Reiji away?”

“Wasn’t sure if B or C!” Noela explained. “But at end, B breathe heavy.”

Wait. He did?

“Knew right away, Ejil,” she concluded.

“When Noela sniffed me so resolutely, I couldn’t stop myself,” the demon king sighed.

I’m changing my mind about him being stoic. “You’re just a pervert.”

“But your new product is the real deal, Doctor!” Ejil insisted. “If I apply it daily, Noela will sniff me every single time! Bwa ha ha ha!”

Noela looked as though she was staring at a pile of garbage. “This side of Ejil, can’t stomach,” she snapped.

“Bwa ha ha! I smell like the good doctor now, Noela!” Ejil spread his arms, beckoning her.

She smacked him with her tail. “Hate Ejil!”

“Bwaah—?!”

This is no good. Changing Ejil’s scent won’t patch things up. It’s true that Noela can’t stomach his natural odor, but he has tons of other flaws.

So I explained the demon king’s motivations. “Hey, Noela, Ejil wants to be friends with you.” I told her simply that, since we all worked at the drugstore, it’d be great if we were on good terms.

“Make sense.” Noela seemed to grasp the situation. She shook Ejil’s hand, silent and seemingly embarrassed.

“Noela…” Ejil looked close to tears. “So this is what it means to be in love with a minx!”

“Ejil, this why can’t stomach.”

Nevertheless, Ejil and Noela got just a bit closer that day.