Ball of Nothing 391 Seed Fund

Beelzebub's restaurant had improved so much and Zero wondered how the Belles and Begonia cafe was faring. The food was something that made Zero want to melt into a puddle. Hell's cuisine never tasted better and the Demon Lord was quite the gourmet, pushing standards even higher than Zero could imagine. If the Mega Gourmet competition was divine, Finest Taste offered food that was out of the world.

Mammon and Coux enjoyed the small reprieve from work and they indulged the village leader in small talks. Zero told them stories about his adventure in a summarised form and asked how Ball was.

"My Lord is still sleeping, I don't think he will be awake for many more years to come. However, if you write him letters and send them to the castle, I will keep them for him when he wakes up, however many there might be. I'm sure he wouldn't mind spending some time reading them."

Mammon sipped the Poxie tea and looked at the doctor. Although Zero looked similar on the outside, he could tell that something about that naive child had changed. Zero was no longer full of burning passion for the unknown even though his curiosity was still smouldering beneath his calm facade. The boy had matured a lot and in some ways, Mammon saw traces of Baal in the doctor. That snarky and savage attitude that sometimes slipped out was very Baal-like.

"So, what brings you here? You were on your way to Derby Desert with an urgent mission. Surely, you didn't stop by Hell for a sight-seeing trip."

Mammon didn't beat around the bush and Zero smiled. "Of course not. I'm not the same brat I was two years ago who only knows how to inconvenience others. You can say that I'm back again to make up for the troubles I've caused. I have a little deal to strike with you and Coux and the rest of the Demon Lords but I think the both of you would be good enough representatives because everyone else is indisposed."

Curious when Zero said that, Mammon raised a brow. Ever since he had been taking Hua Tuo's prescription, he was feeling a lot better even though he was as overworked as Coux. Zero didn't usually come with deals to make. If anything, the Demon Lord would have thought that he came running to them because he had a favour to ask.

Zero didn't talk too much and let his actions speak for themself. Before the food arrived, Zero poured the thousand gold coins he received from King Darius onto the table. Some of the coins emptied from his dimensional bag slid off the table as the pile grew bigger. Coux and Mammon lifted the edges of the table cloth to prevent more from falling and Zero watched as the last of the gold coins trickled out of the sling bag.

They collected the fallen coins and stacked them neatly, counting it expertly to confirm that there really were a thousand gold coins as Zero mentioned.

"This is the equivalent of 10 dinnites on Earth. It's worth about a billion pork sandwiches. I want to entrust them to Soul u0026 Sins United Bank as well as Interdimensional Travel Agency. Naturally, the mediator for business between Hell and Earth would still go through Half Moon Trading."

Unlike Mammon who didn't understand what 10 dinnites could do, Coux gaped in disbelief. Even the Van Doux family didn't have this kind of wealth during their prime. 10 dinnites was enough to buy a small country.

"Where did you get so much money from?" Coux asked and Zero grinned.

"From the King of Rocket Mountain. Working for royalty can pay quite handsomely. Also, I still haven't completed the job for Magnus Hilda. I assume that there could be a second reward even if it isn't anything as great as this. I'll be honest, I need more money. Hence, I want to use this amount of money as a seed fund. I'm not a businessman, I'm a doctor and I can't let Schaf shoulder the burden all by himself. This is my proposal. I want you to help me grow this seed fund and create an interdimensional currency exchange standard between Heaven, Hell and Earth for now. I need a bank that I can go to for withdrawal and deposit of different currencies but nobody is doing it yet."

When Coux and Mammon heard this, they became very excited. Zero had truly matured during his travels. As part of the Onion Union, they were more than thrilled to help Zero with what he wanted to accomplish. However, Mammon had one question.

"How much money do you need us to grow? When do you need that money?"

Coux was also curious. 10 dinnites was more than what anyone could ever need. Why didn't Zero think it was enough?

At this, the doctor frowned. "There is a country I want to buy and people I want to free. Have you heard of slavery?"

Coux nodded. "You can't be thinking of abolishing slavery, right? It's legalised in some kingdoms. Some slaves count on it to pay off their debts. They offer themselves willingly to slavery. Slaves can even buy their freedom back so it is best not to interfere with the slavery system."

Mammon agreed with Coux but Zero didn't. He got angry and glared at them. "How can you say that? Have you seen how slaves are treated? They don't even get treatment because their owner doesn't feel the need to spend money on broken goods. I heard about how humans in Smargdas were capturing other races like elves, fairies and beast folks. Some of the Half Moon Villagers were formerly slaves even if they betrayed the village. Ruth was a slave, I found him at the function house. As a doctor, I don't like how lives are being treated so cheaply."

Mammon's expression hardened. "It is what it is, Zero. Are you going to tell me to abolish slavery in the abyss as well? It's been our way of life for as long as I can remember. The strong ruled over the weak."

Zero's eyes hardened as well. "If you truly believe in that then you know better than to disagree with me. I respect you but I'm not against fighting it out with you to convince you that I am at the top of the food chain. I might still be clumsy and rough around the edges when it comes to life experiences but make no mistake, I am the void. Nothing that enters the void ever comes out unless I will it. Chaos energy is still the biggest enemy of all living creatures but I am an exception. I might lose my consciousness and slumber for another million years but I can't die. I'm the true definition of unending. Even Gods perish over time. Do you really want to talk about the rule of the strong over the weak with me?"

The tension was sharp enough to draw blood but everything diffused when Beelzebub arrived in person with a few waiting staff behind him.

"Lunch is here, let's not talk about too serious a matter, shall we? There is always more than one way to skin a cat, let's not get hasty. Goose liver with pungent berry sauce, anyone?" the Lord of Gluttony asked and gave Zero a wink.

Chapter end

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