Everyone in the room, including Big Hopkins, was a standard gourmand and glutton, content and delighted, dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to all kinds of food.

As the host, Uncle and Nephew Thani occasionally added scrambled eggs, yogurt cheese or an oyster topped with lemon juice for Hopkins, while others took advantage of Hopkins' occasional drop in his knife and fork to toast him, with huge beer glasses, the bull's blood or golden wine was a little cloudy, lacking aroma but mellow and powerful—all the local grapes were deeply rooted in the volcanic soil rich in iron elements, and they produced fruit with high acidity, so the wine was more firm and special. It's imbued with an unbridled beauty and uninhibited wildness – almost inevitably reminiscent of this place, its people and its other specialty, Masoye.

Sasha was equally glad to satisfy her appetites, and old Andreana, the thin old woman, was waiting for him, and she could see that little Hopkins' angelic beauty and good upbringing had easily won her affection, and she watched the strange little guest closely, and recommended to him her best dishes—all of them, and she diligently sandwiched the fragrant tender slices of beef topped with sweet basil sauce into the bowl of Sasha, and a small spoonful, followed by a small spoonful of macaroni, Remove the head and tail of the shrimp and the cod steak that is no bigger than the palm of your hand.

It was clear that the elder Andreana had taken into account the necessarily limited appetite of Sasha (a child under ten years old), but the numbers eventually caught up with the capacity, and when the adult men were getting better, the children had to start enjoying desserts, biscuits dipped in wine, banana pies and ice cream.

Perhaps attracted by the honey on the banana pie, a fat wasp buzzed and flapped its wings to descend from the sky, and the sand stopped its fork.

Old Andreana squinted her eyes, and suddenly reached out and grabbed the wasp who had gone to the wrong place, her hand was clenched into a fist, and the inside was empty, and the wasp continued to buzz inside, and Sasha's forget-me-not eyes widened slightly, and old Andreana smiled at him: "Honey," she said sweetly, "wait for me later, I have to put it outside." She said this, and staggered away from her place, while Sasha's eyes were fixed on her fist without blinking, until she turned past a bush of gorse that was too dense to be seen again.

Something touched his leg under the dining table.

Sasha immediately pricked up his knees, pursed his lips and lowered his eyes to look down - he at first thought it was a free dog, but then he realized that it was a man, a child, most of his body and face hidden in the shadow of the dining table.

"Hey." A thin voice said, "We meet again." ”

He grabbed Sasha's ankle, and with that force he struck out from under the table with agility and dexterity.

Chegalle saw him right away.

"Good appetite, Uncle Bissandi." The chocolate-colored boy grinned, and as he stretched out his hands to stroke his hair to make them decent—he had come from black oat grass, and his hair was ripped up to rival a hen's nest: "...... Well, I heard you've got a guest here, Uncle Bisandi, and I think I'll have to come and have a look. ”

Chegalle pouted, "You're a little piggy who smells meat, little bastard...... Well, sit down and let old Andreana feed you. Also, I said you could just call me by my name. ”

"It's not going to work, the old man will smash my ass, he said many times, it's either Don or Uncle Thani," the boy said bluntly, "Of course, I prefer the latter one, too many people call you Don, I don't want to be like everyone else - it's too boring." ”

"Beelzebub." With a helpless and somewhat pleasant look, Chegalle tilted his head in the direction of the chocolate boy: "The old man's child, his mother was a foreigner, and died very early, so whenever he went out to work, he entrusted the child here - old Andreana loved children, especially Beelzebub. ”

"I can see he's well taken care of." Hopkins said that this kind of behavior is not uncommon in Masoyeli, at least on the surface, Masoye is more like a large and complex family, the leader is the "father" and the others are the "children", the children must respect and obey the parents, and the parents must also take care of the children - whether it is money or emotion, "Don" is never stingy in this regard, and if something happens to someone, the relatives left behind, such as elderly parents and widows, will always receive unusually generous pensions. It is not uncommon to order subordinates or to adopt orphans who are left unattended, and more often, trusted subordinates will go in and out of the residence of the "Don" like brothers and nephews - their parents, wives and children will also be regarded as relatives of the "Don", women and women go to church, gossip and do housework, the old people get together to play chess or fish, and the children of the "Don" hang out with their peers intimately - if nothing else, in the near future, A large part of the latter will inevitably take over the position of their father or uncle and become the arms and henchmen of the new generation of "Don".

But Beelzebub was too young for Mayare, who had already come of age ten years earlier, and too big for Mayare's son, whom Hopkins knew, and who was not yet married.

Who knows, maybe it was really just a simple act of kindness, the kind without any motive or intention.

"Hello, my name is Beelzebub." The boy brought a chair himself, sat down next to Sasha, and old Andreana, who had let go of the wasp, brought him plates and knives and forks - the latter two were completely superfluous in Sasha's opinion, and the boy with the name of the Great Demon was obviously better at using his ten fingers, although it was not a big deal for his age and the occasion he was in, but to the great pain of little Hopkins, for every thing he ate, he would add a serving to his peers with care, from chocolate to minced meatloaf, From baked apples to octopus salad...... Unaware of the sand at all. All Hopkins needs now is a cup of tea.

In Sasha's previous upbringing, it was rude to refuse food from someone in front of him, but before that...... He had to consider what little stomach he had left, and the boy's fingers, and as far as he could see, the ten fingers, which were slightly lighter than the others, were in direct contact with—ryegrass, dirt, his feet, his shins, the marble tabletop, and...... A mountain of delicacies stacked on his plate.

"Why don't you taste it? I can swear to God that everything is good! …… Or do you want to order something else? ”

Sasha turned his head to look at him, wondering if he had been tricked on purpose—in his purple-blue eyes, the boy involuntarily stopped chewing, he looked a little helpless, and a little panicked: "...... Can I know your name? He said in a very small voice, repeatedly pinching a piece of pear soaked in sugar water in his right hand, and the juice left from his hand and formed a small stain on the table, "My name is Beelzebub." He repeated nervously.

"Sasha. Hopkins. ”

"Sudden Burst. Suddenly, Testo? ”

Sasha was silent, he tugged at Hopkins' sleeve and pushed the plate of food that should not be underestimated—he knew that his father must be watching over him at all times—and of course, he knew exactly what was going on here!

"I'm sorry." He said, then jumped out of his chair and walked away without looking back.

Beelzebub, the only one who was alarmed, looked at old Andreana, "Uh, what did I do wrong?" ”

"I think our little guest may be a little tired," said old Andreana, touching the boy's head with understanding and sympathy, "he will love the library," the old woman looked up at Chegalle, and after receiving an approving look, continued, "you can have lunch first, and then go take a shower, change your clothes, and then come and talk to him." I'll bring you some more mint tea. ”

Beelzebub was quickly pacified (though a little frustrated), and he threw himself into his food again violently, while the adults exchanged sneering glances, and Chegalle winked at the Great Hopkins as fast as a telegram.

"Children should be with children," Chegalle handed over his cup, and Hopkins touched him gently, "Sasha went to school before?" School...... What do you think? ”

"Overall it's not bad." "It's a pity," Hopkins said...... Something will always happen. ”

"He can continue here...... go to school or something," Meyare interjected, "...... Our school is more pleasing to the children, at the very least, the children are not insulted and beaten by their teachers, and they never have to worry about homework and exams - we are more human-oriented here, of course, if he wants to, he can also learn something seriously, I make sure that every teacher has two strokes, bachelor's, master's, doctorate...... Everything, computers, labs, libraries – I guess you're going to be here for a while? ”

Chegalle glanced at his nephew, "That's it," he looked at Hopkins sincerely, "You saved my life, Hopkins, and I will tell everyone on this island that you will be respected and protected, that you are the same as I am." ”

He reached out and patted Hopkins on the shoulder.

***

The feast, which I didn't know whether to be called breakfast or lunch, finally ended at three o'clock in the middle of the day.

Some of them, including Meyare, had to go to work, and they left after a brief apology to Hopkins, and Chegalle and others—strong and capable lads, who rarely took their eyes off Chegalle, and were armed and secretive—could not escape Hopkins' eyes, but as Chegalle said, he was Chegare's savior, and he had privileges on the island, and for a long time the ghouls did not have to show their fangs.

"I've got some great cigars," Chegalle said, "and go try one, or two, and then we'll go and get some rest." ”

He grabbed Hopkins' arm, and with great initiative — indicating that this was not a casual but dispensable invitation — Chegalle wanted to have a private meeting with Hopkins, and he was so eager that he was not even empathetic enough that Hopkins had to back the meeting with Sasha a little.

As they passed through the foyer, they met Beelzebub, the boy who had slipped off the table about half an hour earlier, when he had been in good spirits, and who looked terrible now—he was weeping, his face was red (which is not easy, for a swarthy face), and his tears crackled like rain on the marble mosaic floor.

"What's wrong with you? Beelzebub? Chegalle asked softly, he always seemed to be patient and tolerant of the boy.

Beelzebub shook his head in despair, "He's a boy. He sobbed, heartbroken, "a boy. ”

***

"Can I know what happened at noon?"

The ghoul had to keep his curiosity to the end of dinner, when he was able to be alone with Sasha.

Sasha. Hopkins looked up from the book—a large book, standing upright half as tall as a sasha," with a blank face: "He wants to pursue me." ”

"He didn't realize you were a boy?" If it was four or three years ago, it would have been explained, at that time Sasha could only be described as small and cute, but now this Sasha is ready to enter puberty. Hopkins...... His pretty face was childish, but his muscles and bones had become solid, his contours were prominent, and his body was thin and long—he grew taller every night.

"He seems to think that all people with purple eyes are women," Sasha's pronunciation was blurred by the two pathetic front teeth that would take nearly half a year to grow, and presumably only Hopkins, who was familiar with and adept at dialysis language and psychology, could figure out what he was trying to say the first time: "Because his mother was purple eyes—so he had to marry a wife with purple eyes...... But I think his father showed him a picture of Elizabeth Taylor. "The purple iris often means that its owner may have carried the recessive gene for albinism, which is rare, and for so many years, Hopkins has seen only Sasha and Sasha's own mother, Catherine, have purple eyes—Beelzebub is a little smaller than Sasha, and Catherine, who died when Sasha was full moon, certainly could not have given birth to him.

"So you explained it to him?"

Purple blue eyes flickered, "Not all the time, everyone can communicate in words," Sasha smirked, "I think I need the most simple and understandable way to explain." ”

"I took my pants off."

(To be continued)