Chapter 5: The Breakfast

Indigo had a nightmare about whales.

It was rather ironic, but the butterfly lover who had a moth phobia, the ever-sweet Ines Coeurdor, had an inexplicable fear of whales. Dolphins and orcas made her uneasy, but the larger whales? The gentle giants of the sea? The favorite for charities to encourage civilian support? That was the one thing people never understood, Ines was terrified of them. And now as Indigo Caligo, her fear manifested into nightmares.

She curled in a ball in her bed. In her mind, she was four, crying every time she saw Monstro's evil grin before devouring the tuna. The whale was roaring viciously in her nightmare, scaring her more than the children turning into donkeys. Her father immediately got rid of the Pinocchio DVD.

She clutched onto her pillow. In 2nd grade, her father had come with her as a chaperone to the aquarium. She had no problem with the other marine life, but she hid behind his jacket the moment they went in the underwater tunnels underneath the sea mammal tanks. The moment she saw the shadow of a sperm whale, a pygmy one to boot, the other children laughed when she ran away to cry in a bathroom.

She whimpered fearfully, eyes shut. In 6th grade, in French class of all things, a classmate did a presentation about the myth of Perseus saving Andromeda. He even created his own rendering of the myth, a human sized collage artwork on canvas of the myth. While the other students applauded his poetic interpretations and some students fawning about the heroic romance, the twelve-year-old Ines remained petrified. The collage of Cetus. A sea monster whose name was used to name all whales cetaceans. To further emphasize Cetus being a mythological whale, her classmate had used only cut out whale pictures for the depiction of Cetus. In other words, seeing a monstrous whale made of smaller whales cut out of magazine paper caused her to be traumatized.

She begged in her sleep to be left alone. Last May, when freshman year came to an end, Ines had to deal with Anais Ruggiero inexplicably destroying Ines' science fair project on African insect diversity. Ines didn't even retaliate against Anais. Heck, she thought having her science project made others uncomfortable. So, she accepted it. Still, it didn't stop the actual school bully to torment Anais.

The only fun thing in this damn fair, destroyed by the loser who doesn't even have it. You're such a jealous bitch, Anais.

The bully got his nose broken by Anais. Ines tried to hold her back, just to get thrown in mud. Adults had the teens disperse, Anais was being suspended, and a few days later, the school was getting an auditorium lecture from the town's theologist, whose house was right across the street from the science fair field. The theologist reprimanded the school for allowing such acts of envy to poison the students and that sinners self-corrupting in envy will die only to be tortured by Leviathan. After the lecture, the students had dismissed the theologist like some fanatic charlatan. Ines was scarred by the idea that a giant whale like Leviathan existed in Hell, waiting to throw sinners in frozen waters before throwing them inside his stomach of burning envy. Not his envy, but the envy of those he consumed. Ines had been so scared, her father got rid of any of his bookstore's works referencing or detailing the Prince of Hell whose supposed existence in the fearing hearts of humans scared his daughter.

Indigo's nightmare worsened. She now found herself trapped by four walls. They glowed, transforming into an aquarium surrounding her.

"Leave me alone…" She begged.

Four whales started swimming in the tank. They swam in circles until each of them froze on a wall.

"Leave me alone…" Indigo kept begging.

The real life whales suddenly shifted into the four different whales of her flashbacks: Monstro, the aquarium pygmy whale, the Cetus collage, and the theologist's manuscript picture of Leviathan. Unusually for whales, their mouths stretched into disturbing smiles. Their eyes glowed purple. Their mouths opened, overwhelming Indigo in a titanic vapor.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Indigo screamed and shook. "DAD! HELP ME!"

"Time to awaken from your dream, dearie!"

Indigo catapulted upward on her bed. Yet again, her wish of not really being in Hell was extinguished. She had slept in the only pair of clothes Angel Dust could spare for Indigo to use as pajamas that were relatively close to her size and definitely not lingerie. Indigo was relieved that he had some pink sweatpants to spare, but still, the T-shirt? The only T-shirt modest enough to actually fit her was a tour shirt of some famous Hellborn singer, Verosika Mayday. Apparently, one of Angel Dust's 'clients' had the idea that a T-shirt of Ms. Mayday's 2019 tour TITS DON'T LIE, complete with a picture of the popstar showing off her bare body with only breast pasties as clothing (pasties being as pink as her skin), was a decent tip to give to a prostitute for giving you a blowjob.

Honestly, Indigo still couldn't believe she was in Hell.

The next obvious hint that she was in Hell? Alastor stood in front of her, a black colored package in his red tipped hands.

"Good morning, my blue friend! Lovely nightmares? I didn't want to interrupt them, but awakening was required when you started squirming like bait surrounded by fish! What troubled you?" He asked.

Indigo rubbed her eyes and stared at the red deer in annoyance. Angel Dust and Husk had warned her yesterday that Alastor was prone to sadistic humor and only helped the hotel because, in Husk's alcoholic wisdom, 'the Overlord wants to watch motherfuckers fail redemption for his own entertainment'. Angel Dust's warnings were a bit gentler, like the typical warning of being wary with strangers. Indigo just didn't bother hearing Vaggie's rants. The moment Vaggie tried to give her opinion to Indigo about 'the pompous cheesy talkshow shitlord', Indigo just left to check on her butterflies and caterpillars digging around the garden.

Good news, the Julia butterflies had come to the garden for some odd reason. Bad news, because of the departed bug infestation, Angel Dust had been called back to work. Indigo really didn't want the spider demon to go work for the demon that nearly hunted her upon arrival, but Angel Dust somewhat reassured her that he'd be back.

"Morning, Mister Alastor." Indigo sat up. "Did my butterflies get in your room?"

"How sweet! I'm afraid not! My room scares any living thing!" He presented Indigo with the package. "I've talked with Charlie and Angel Dust last night. Seeing as our effeminate fellow will be busy today, it's been agreed that I assist you today for your little gardening shopping!"

"To… help me get the seeds?" Indigo frowned. "Where?"

"Why, Rosie's Emporium! In the Cannibal Colony just outside the city!" Indigo's gulp caused Alastor to chuckle. "Not to worry, my dear! You won't be encouraged to feast like my comrades or become their breakfast! No, but the Emporium is a fascinating bazaar, a retail paradise! Many demons will find good things to boost their cultural decorum! Along with gardening supplies, we can also acquire some attire for you! Besides, I owe my friend Rosie a visit for breakfast and I already told her I was bringing the hotel's newest patron with me. She just adores new potential customers!"

Indigo hoped that 'potential customers' wasn't a synonym for 'potential food'. To play along, she nodded and opened the package. In it were a sleeved, black drop-down dress, black flats, and a black cloche hat with a ghostly white butterfly on it. Indigo gasped at how pretty it was. "Mister Alastor, it's very nice of you, but I can't possibly accept this!"

"Naturally! Besides, Nifty is cleaning your only clothes and I doubt you'd want to walk around wearing… that." Alastor waved his hand at the TITS DON'T LIE T-shirt. His smile had a grimaced and his tone suggested that he might as well think the T-shirt was carrying the bubonic plague.

Then again, Indigo didn't want to wear her PJs on the street either. She conceded and took the package with her to the bathroom, shooing out in frustration the caterpillars that nested in the bathroom. Indigo was really getting annoyed by the butterflies emerging from her body, especially when they acted like a hive. They turned the hot water, they used the soap to make bubbles float everywhere, and they organized everything on the counter. They lifted the towels, they brushed her hair…

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She shouted at them. Red admirals chased them out of the bathroom, yet some took the opportunity of dressing Indigo in her new dress. "COME ON!"

"How adorable, they treat you like the queen of the beehive!" Alastor laughed.

"Yeah, I know the term!" Indigo got angry. "'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!' Right now, I want space! And I don't like being angry!"

Out of nowhere, Alastor twirled his microphone-headed staff. He slammed it down on the dark brown floor and the room darkened. Living shadows hissed from behind the furniture, scaring the butterflies into hiding. Some froze into place on the wall covered by glow-in-the-dark star and butterfly stickers, a few on the nightstand's lamp, and the list could go on with the insects blending on the curtains, bedsheets, and mobile. A good portion flew right into Indigo, morphing her dress's skirt into one of butterfly hindwings, framing her collar and sleeves with eyespots, and creating tiny sapphire butterfly ornaments on her flats' tips.

Indigo tried holding in the screams as the last butterfly disappeared and Alastor summoned the shadows away.

"Quite the spectacle with your minions, my dear!"

"Mister Alastor, I apologize in advance if I sound awful… but unless you happen to cry, hiccup, or explode tiny shadows that do things you don't want them to do or touch you in places you don't want them to touch you, I don't really want to hear how you find it entertaining…"

"Spectacle, dear, not entertainment!" Alastor walked over to her and brushed away a swallowtail that tried to hide in Indigo's hair. Even though she felt the tip of his claws as he fluffed her hair with his hands, Indigo was surprised that she wasn't annoyed by his action. "The spectacle is none other than your insects' peculiar devotion to you. They are like an army of extra arms connected to your spirit, and in your case, quite dependent on your emotions. It isn't entertaining, however, when the suffering is caused by unintentional brattiness!" Alastor snapped his fingers and the cloche hat landed in his hand. "Such great powers given to you upon death won't immediately be tamed on the first week, Indigo. If you desire to move forward and survive, you must find the right pace for control. It could be weeks, months, or even a year before you fully control it. Fail to control it properly and Hell will be merciless. Do you understand?"

Indigo nodded. His words made sense to her. What didn't make sense to her, however, was her sudden vision flip. In a matter of seconds, Alastor's regular form seemed to change. It was like he was glowing in the dark… Or more specifically, the strange rainbow colors emitting out of him. Orange, yellow, and red glowed from his heart's area like a raging fire while green, blue, pink, and purple dimly appeared near his liver. The presence of purple, probably smaller than plankton near Alastor's liver, suddenly growled in frustration.

Not enough.

Indigo blinked in startlement. Alastor seemed to be his regular self.

"Is everything alright, dear?" Alastor tilted his head.

"I don't know…" Indigo shook her head. "Why don't we go?"

Minutes later

It was hard to enjoy the car ride.

Despite being an Overlord who enjoyed strolls to inadvertently scare others, Alastor owned a red-and-black 1936 Ford Brewster Town Car. The vehicle caused Indigo to geek out; vintage vehicles were a classic in her hometown's festivals. Along with helping her father in his stand promoting the bookstore with books matching the festivals' themes or time periods, Ines used to love it when she and her father would stand by vintage cars and get pictures taken. The interior of the vehicle even smelled like it came from the 1930s. Alastor obviously kept a radio on his dashboard. Indigo didn't mind the jazz music playing from it as she watched the landscape outside.

Usually, car rides were fun for her. But instead of passing green forest, she had to deal with Hell's equivalent of New York city. Cracked grey sidewalks, bone lampposts, eyes on nearly every building, blinking every time a demon passed buy. Vandalism was everywhere, either with graffiti or posters mentioning porn movie screenings, some simp trying to get people to call them, and at least some posters warning people against the Radio Demon. Demons were loading merchandise or drugs into stores while some shot a random passerby, took their wallet, and ran off. The few trees she saw were awfully saturated and infested by crows waiting to attack the nearest corpse.

It was worse when Indigo blinked and the weird vision returned. It acted like a strange thermal vision, but Indigo didn't know what were the rainbow signatures she was picking up from the demons' hearts and livers. And her stomach seemed to be displeased in many of the strong colors by the hearts. Red in every single demon? Could care less. Orange in a demon murdering his treacherous partner? Gross. Yellow in a cannibal throwing her leftovers out the window? Disgusting. Green in a storeowner putting a window sign telling customers that gun prices had gone up? Gag. Blue in an orgy at a parking lot? Throw up. Pink in an alcoholic passed out on the bench? Boring. But the purple in the heart of a prostitute ranting to someone on the phone how unfair it was that she didn't get any clients while her most successful fellow whore did? Indigo couldn't control her hands clutching against the window.

Why was it the purple that drove her crazy? God, she hoped that Miss Charlie wasn't serious about demons having internal rainbows.

"You might want to restrain your hunger, my dear!" Alastor poked her head. Indigo blinked and regained her regular vision. She groaned and slouched on the seat.

"I'm sorry, Mister Alastor…" She rubbed her temple. "It's not even day three for me and I'm seeing things!"

"Did our fellow Angel Dust tempt you into trying out his hidden, powdery stash?" Alastor took a right turn. Skyscrapers diminished as they got to the edge of Pentagram City.

"What? No!" Indigo gagged. "I don't do drugs, and Angel Dust wouldn't…" She paused and stared at Alastor in confusion. "Hang on… I didn't know Angel Dust had a hidden drug stash. How do you know?"

"My dear, I am one of the hotel's co-owners as well as chief promoter and financial backer! It would be beneath my promises to not observe the activities of the residents. Especially when until now, our primary patron had the habitude of smuggling drugs, alcohol, and sinful indulgences. He finds new hiding spots every time Vagatha or Charlie catch him. I happen to know where he hides them, but I retain the information to myself. After all, tattle telling isn't entertainment!"

Indigo could have expressed how disturbing it sounded to her, but she held herself back. In life, nobody likes a tattletale. As a child, Ines had seen classmates ganging up against a girl who informed a teacher about a classmate bringing a plastic toy gun, considered a hazardous, non-authorized toy on school grounds. Tattle tellers were shunned, so she refrained from it.

She had also held her tongue when it came to the truth about why she stopped ice skating…

They entered the Cannibal Colony. Indigo's stare shifted from depressed to genuine curiosity as they now drove through a small Americana town. There had to be at least five butcheries per block, skull vendors, and cursed antique shops, and unholy sites dedicated to Satan or Beezelbub. Jazz music echoed through the streets. At one point, Alastor stopped so that a tram of bones could roll by and denizens in vintage clothing could come out. Some that got out immediately ran after the first demon wearing casual clothing they could find, thus helping Indigo understand why Alastor gave her the attire. It made sense to her as to why some shopkeepers dragged corpses into the shops or used bones for outdoor décor.

Why was she looking at all this in fascination rather than revulsion? When she blinked again, she saw the yellow glows in the heart. She heard the echoes reminding her that she was surrounded by… something disgusting.

Yet she found the Cannibal Colony's design a bit… appealing.

"Planning to jump out the window?" Alastor teased.

"What? No!" Indigo stopped looking at the window. "I'm just curious by the overall design. This town reminds me a bit of home… except, you know, without the people planning to make arepas out of you."

"Do entertain me, Indigo. What was your former home like?"

"Well…" Indigo tried to put the most careful words out there. "It's a small town in Maryland, an hour or two away from Baltimore. It has a lot of trees, a small lake… and it's fun when it snows…" She then realized that Hell probably doesn't have snow. "Have you seen snow when you were alive, Mister Alastor?"

"I never really left good old Louisiana, dear."

"You're from Louisiana? I always wanted to go there!" Indigo beamed. "My dad and I always hoped to see la parade du Mardi Gras." Indigo covered her mouth when she realized she spoke in her native French tongue. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever for? It's a delight to encounter another bilingual character!"

"I'm not bilingual. I speak Spanish along with English and French."

"Well! I see that education has improved on the surface! Consider me slightly envious of your talents, my dear!"

In her odd comfort, Indigo heard voices echo.

Envious?

Pathetic!

Mister Alastor's envy is more pathetic than mud puddles!

His pride, wrath, and gluttony… What a revolt!

Real envy is needed.

They finally reached Rosie's Emporium.

Indigo was amazed by the mall-sized Victorian palace of grey bricks, crimson glassed windows, blood red tiles, and white columns. The red doors had blinking cyan eyes, which blinked every time someone stepped in and out of the emporium. Two demons tossed down a banner, FRANKLIN AND ROSIE'S EMPORIUM, with the word FRANKLIN being crossed out with black paint. The workers were replacing it with a banner entitled ROSIE'S EMPORIUM.

"Did Franklin leave the emporium?" Indigo asked.

"Indeed! After she made the mistake of being outdoors during the last extermination!" Alastor pulled towards the alley and lowered his window, revealing himself to the emporium's employees. They gleefully greeted him and let them drive the vehicle inside the private garage. "My dear Rosie's been meaning to update the banner nearly all year, but she has been rather busy! Being the Overlord of Retail will do that to any businesswoman!"

"I guess." She should have guessed that the Overlord of Radio was friends with the Overlord of Retail. Indigo could imagine human capitalists bowing before Rosie. And Angel Dust had told Indigo last night that Mister Alastor was entertained by the Great Depression's stock market crashes. How he would have loved the recent one!

Alastor stepped out of the car first. A valet opened the door and held his hand out for Indigo, escorting her out. "Thank you, sir," Indigo nodded.

Indigo's stomach grumbled again. As an employee guided Alastor and Indigo to a staircase leading straight to Rosie's quarters, she could hear the valet making some comment about the Radio Demon bringing a nice sinner over for once. Indigo marveled at the polished oak staircase and bone banister fashioned in Art Nouveau, one wall painted with corpse flowers and Venus Flytraps in the same art style, while the other wall was entirely of glass and revealing the emporium's 6 levels, each filled with hundreds of customers going through various aisles.

And Dimitri used to think that Macy's was purgatory!

Once they reached the black door at the very top, Alastor politely dismissed the employee. "Now, my dear, I trust that you'll be just as polite as you already are, right?"

Indigo nodded.

"And do smile! And you know what they say! You're never fully dressed without a smile!"

Indigo put on a nice, small smile. "I guess you have to deal with poorly dressed people every day. Poor you."

The next five seconds of Mister Alastor staring at her, Indigo feared she accidentally provoked him. She was surprised that he burst into laughter, a laugh track following him. "Ha! All of Hell! Poorly undressed! You truly are a wild card, my dear!"

The door to the office opened. Indigo was almost surprised by the presence of Mary Poppins' twin sister… if Julie Andrews wore a desaturated maroon dress, mute pink skin, well brushed short white hair, and a big red sunhat with feathers, flowers, and a skull. Her eyes were pitched black and her black lipstick-covered lips revealed her pearl white fangs smiling like Alastor.

"Alastor! If your goal was to turn your expected arrival into an unexpected surprise, you failed!" The woman laughed.

"Guilty, my dear Rosie!" Alastor bowed before Rosie and the lady curtsied. He then gently nudged Indigo. "Dear Rosie, as I eagerly shared with you, joining us today is the newest addition to the princess's project! Hell's newest arrival, Indigo Caligo!"

Indigo did her best to curtsy before Rosie. The demoness stared at the younger one, her pitch-black eyes void of pupils blinking in confusion. "Is this one of your jokes, Alastor?" Rosie asked. "This adorable butterfly, a sinner? I've known your indentured Nifty to murder men, but this one doesn't have a single sinful bone in her!" She squinted. "She doesn't even have any physical sins either!"

Indigo lowered her head. Unfortunately, her stomach decided to growl now. And the pain struck her ribs, she wobbled. Alastor caught her and helped her stand up.

"My goodness… a sin-devourer… Bring her in, Alastor! Thank goodness I chose today to pull out the spices!"

Alastor led Indigo inside Rosie's Art Nouveau themed office. He helped her sit down on the nearest seat. "My dear, you should have mentioned you were starving!"

"I didn't want to be rude, Mister Alastor," Indigo apologized. "Besides, I had that second serving of your jambalaya last night. I don't even know why I'm hungry."

"No, not the food. Though it's good to know you enjoyed last night's dinner. No, I meant you should have informed me on your hunger for sin."

The coffee table was full of food: teacups, pitchers of hot water, jars of ground coffee and tea leaves, cut out waffles, pies, and cucumber sandwiches. No bigger than cinnamon jars were seven containers. Each glowed from a different color. When Indigo blinked, whatever rainbow colors she saw in demons, they also glowed in the jars. Rosie started opening them and scooped some granulated spice glowing red.

"Alright, sweetie. You just need to trust me. All I need is for you to try a little bit of each to see which one you need. Think of it as medicine."

Indigo nodded. Alastor kept his hand on Indigo's shoulder while Rosie put the spoon full of granulated redness in her mouth. Indigo choked at the terrible bland flavor. It was worse than the bland mashed potatoes they used to serve at her elementary school. The following diarrhea had led her father to make her lunch for school. "Too bland."

"Bland? The sin of pride, the sin of all sinners, the sin of this ring, is bland?" Alastor said. "No wonder you are such a humble pie!"

"Maybe some wrath…" Rosie had Indigo try the granulated orangeness. Indigo panicked at the spiciness going down her already heated-up stomach. It was worse than the time she accidentally overheated her cuchuco and burned her tongue. "Too spicy."

"The sin of wrath, too spicy?" Alastor said.

"Maybe some gluttony?" Rosie was starting to get worried. Indigo could see her sickly appearance on the mirror above the fireplace. The female Overlord gave her a spoonful of the yellow grounded substance. She shook her head. Gluttony tasted like the poor homemade concoction of honey and lemon her grandfather would give her whenever she got a sore throat.

"Too sour and sweet."

"Greed, maybe?" Rosie was panicking.

The taste of the green spice had Indigo cover her mouth to avoid throwing up. It tasted ghastlier than the time she drank soy milk without warming it up first. "Too cold." Rosie gave her some blue-colored spice and Indigo shuddered in disgust.

"Lust is revolting, isn't it?" Alastor asked Indigo.

"Too sweaty…"

"Those are the most popular 5 sins for sin-devourers and she's repelled by all of them!" Rosie took a deep breath and took a scoop of a spice resembling purple yogurt. "I sincerely hope it's not this…"

The moment it went into Indigo's mouth, the sensations in her exploded. The boiling in her stomach turned to vapor as the delicious flavors went down. What a feast for Indigo! It was like in a single teaspoon, she had eaten all her favorite dishes, drinks, and desserts in seconds. She even tasted Mister Alastor's jambalaya.

I can't fucking believe how confident Trixie is! I wish I had her pride, but no! I try to be confident and everyone fucking laughs at me!

Indigo didn't know what just happened, but whatever it was, this sudden ghostly venting about some Trixie's confidence, it brought more flavor to the deliciousness. She took a deep breath and noticed her healthier complexion in the mirror. "Wow… the things that happen for a spoonful of sugar!" She chuckled. "I'm really sorry for the inconvenience, Miss Rosie."

Alastor merely patted her on the shoulder.

"Well, Alastor… you sure know how to find them! But still, a sin-devourer, so young, and hungry for envy… That might be a problem…" Rosie closed the jars.

Indigo froze. "Wait… what did I just eat?"

"Sins in jars, my dear!" Alastor put some coffee beans in a teacup and filled it with steaming water. "Rest assured, you did not resort to cannibalism without consent! You, my dear, happen to be one of the few lucky souls capable of digesting the literal sins out of sinners!"

Indigo cupped her mouth. "I ate sin? Oh my god… Is that going to make me sinful? I ate envy, right, I'm going to get envious?" As Indigo freaked out, butterflies started popping from the furniture, impressing Rosie. The Overlord caught one of the bugs in her hands and observed it.

"Emotion-empowered…" Rosie let it fly off. "It's nothing to really worry, Miss Caligo. Sin-devourers are merely sinners very much like you… Sinners that, well, never sinned."

"An ironic label!" Alastor stirred his coffee.
"The details of how they deserve Hell are always blurry, but one thing's certain. Sin-devourers are condemned to feast on sins, one dedicated sin per devourer. It has no effect on the actions and spirit of the sin-devourer, but it's an ugly experience," Rosie explained. "Even if you've eaten regular food, your body will torment you for not consuming the sin, and it will crave for where it's strongest: a demon's heart. In your case, for some odd reason, you must feast on envy."

Indigo hugged herself. "But… isn't it still cannibalism to eat sin from another person's heart?"

"I wouldn't really call sins lurking in demons' hearts cannibalism, my dear. More like internal maggots that you can pull out of corpses. The sins in my spices are all collected from corpses. Unlike you, Alastor and I have no need to devour it."

"But it is entertaining to taste the former sinners' plights as seasoning!" Alastor chirped in. "Rosie, my dear! How much would you want from me to acquire envy supplements for my newest companion?"

Indigo gasped at Alastor. He was willing to ask Rosie for assistance in acquiring medication for Indigo's… newfound hunger?

"Alastor, you're such a card!" Rosie asked. "From you, nothing! Give me until this Sunday and I'll do my best to create those supplements! I've done it before to other sin-devourers, but envy is not easy. All I ask is that Miss Caligo follows… certain agreements."

"What kind, if I may ask?" Indigo frowned.

"Just three." Rosie raised three fingers. "First, do not tell anyone else other than Alastor or me that you're a sin-devourer. As much as I don't believe in the princess's project, I feel like she should lure authentic customers. Not customers that could be potentially brainwashed by some demon who could drain their sins out. Secondly, never feel the sin you devour. But you're such a darling, I doubt you're truly envious." Rosie's compliment made Indigo smile. "Lastly, and this is important, since I've witnessed it. Once you start using the supplements after each meal, NEVER attack a demon to directly consume the envy from their hearts. You won't be envious, but bad things can happen if you as much as take a bite!"

Indigo nodded. "I'll do the opposite of Adam and Eve."

"Fantastic!" Rosie poured herself a cup of tea. "Coffee or tea, my dear?"

"I would like some tea, please." Indigo relished the smell of peppermint coming from the teacup Rosie gave her. Mister Alastor wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Alastor, please refrain on showing your disgust," Rosie chided. "I understand your dislike of tea, but please."

"I do apologize, my dear Rosie!" Alastor cut himself a slice of pie, revealed to be a meat pie. Indigo hoped it wasn't meat, so she stuck to picking out a small cucumber sandwich. "How is business currently at the Emporium? It will almost be a year since Franklin died and the Emporium is far more lucrative!"

"Yes, without my ex-partner leeching off the profits, it certainly has." Rosie rolled her eyes. "This season has definitely made profits, what with the gluttons and cannibals shopping for Thanksgiving and the merciless shoppers on Black Friday. I definitely anticipate many customers, what with the holidays and Extermination Day fast approaching."

"If I may ask, Miss Rosie, how do you keep yourself safe from exterminations?" Indigo asked. "I've only been in Hell since last Monday night."

"Oh, you poor dear!" Rosie patted Indigo's hand. "Well, for one, as Overlords, Alastor and I have the resources and powers to place protective charms on our territories. Any outside of it will be fair game to those cursed angels, thus why many try to go into hiding. Exorcists will treat any demon the same at the tip of their blades."

"Besides the royal family and the Seven Deadly Sins themselves, no demon can possibly be safe!" Alastor chuckled. "Oh, the misery to the poor unfortunate souls left on the streets! I simply cannot wait to broadcast their screams this year!"

Rosie shook her head. "He's impossible sometimes," she told Indigo. "Risking his person to stroll around the city and broadcast the exterminations." Rosie waved it off. "Switching back to matters, Alastor, please tell me you're not promoting another one of the princess's silly designs. None of my customers are even touching the brochures I generously agreed to put on display, the girls and I used it for our last bonfire banquet."

Indigo wished she could slap herself. If Miss Charlie was distributing her kindergarten doodles in Hell's version of Macy's, she might as well think that going insane was her universal retribution.

"Satan, no!" Alastor laughed and then pointed his staff at Indigo. "We finally got lucky, Rosie dear! Our newest arrival is bringing more diverse, step-followed ideas to the hotel! Besides her amazing capacity of creating beasts of the Lepidoptera order just from her emotions, Indigo Caligo here is an inspirational artist! She accompanied me here to explore the Emporium's gardening department to collect what she needs to remodel the garden! A design that would 'tempt those with virtue'!"

Rosie clapped her hands. "A garden! What a fantastic idea! Only the cultured would truly appreciate a garden!"

"Thank you." Indigo nodded.

"What kind of floral beauties are you aiming for?"

"Brooms, alliums, azaleas, balms, lotuses, magnolias, and speedwells. I apologize, but may I ask for a sketch pad?"

Rosie snapped her fingers. Her office drawer opened and a sketchpad, accompanied by a pencil, floated into Indigo's hands. Perhaps due to the Overlords not being as suffocating as Miss Charlie or Vagatha, Indigo was more at ease sketching out her draft. "I apologize if it sounds pathetic because of Miss Charlie's hotel, but my idea is to redo the garden and plant rings of plants around the fountain, almost like to imitate the rings of Hell, but it subverts into rings of virtue. I was raised to treat mistletoe as a way to ward off evil, so I think of growing mistletoe on the fence. Planting everything is one thing. I won't lie, I'm more of a gardener than a landscape contractor. Say for example the lotuses. We'd probably need someone to design a sort of circular pond. I also know nothing about designing stone pathways, plumbing ethics, or basic foundations."

Indigo didn't notice the pleased look Mister Alastor had at her suddenly confident presentation. Rosie, in the meantime, looked at the sketch layout with interest.

"For a young sinner, you certainly think things thoroughly, my dear!" Rosie picked up the sketchpad. "As much as I don't believe in the princess' cause, your draft is a very good connection with it while also encouraging your style. You thought of a fitting design and I like your choice of subtle, not too common flowers fitting the pink and purple gradients. You're also very thoughtful about the capacities you lack."

"Truly gifted indeed!" Alastor sipped his coffee.

"I just don't know anything about reaching out contractors in Hell," Indigo admitted. "I don't think I want to trust Miss Charlie into this aspect."

"Why not?"

"Either we accidentally turn this into a community garden or Miss Charlie tries to find contractors and they refuse by laughing." Indigo sighed. "Mister Alastor, please don't take this the wrong way and please don't tell Miss Charlie, but she REALLY hasn't thought of her redemption plan thoroughly. I just… I really wish to bring my contributions, but I don't think I can make it work with her… methods."

Rosie and Alastor both chuckled at her bluntness.

"My dear Indigo Caligo, you truly are a card!" Rosie applauded. "I honestly fail to understand what you did to get in Hell, but you're truly something that can't be missed out on! Alastor dear, please do consider your newest protégée as welcome to explore the resources and connections my emporium has to offer!"

"Thank you ever so much, Rosie!" Alastor raised his teacup. "Truly, Indigo, things will change for the hotel with you around!"

Meanwhile

As Indigo and the two Overlords were continuing with breakfast, two cars pulled by Rosie's Emporium. A small, hot red car waited on the turn while a limousine ahead of it dropped off its sole passenger.

"Remind me again why we're doing this again, Katie?" The demon covered by a gas mask questioned.

"To get the newest hot story!" Katie Killjoy flicked Tom Trench on the forehead. "The juicy shit from that girl's family will bring a fucking ton of reviews! Just the stuff I need and that our boss needs!"

"By stalking an upper-class heir?" Tom hesitated. "Katie, the last time we made fun of one of these, the studio got destroyed by the brawl with the princess. Do you honestly want to… GAH!"

Katie poured the hot coffee she was drinking onto Tom's pants.

"Charlie's stupid pet project is almost forgotten! We need the better hot stuff!" She looked out her car's window. The limousine went to park elsewhere and its sole passenger went inside Rosie's Emporium.

"The boss is having you risk your tits to get scoop on an Ars Goetia!" Tom protested through his hot pants. "And we're doing it on the turf of his rival's ally!"

"Shut up, Tom! Park near the damn building! I can see it now! Octavia Goetia's Family Fiasco will be tonight's main story!"