The next morning, I woke up on the cold stone floor with a loaf of bread as a pillow.

  Let me repeat that. A loaf of bread. As a pillow.

  This was my life now.

  I sat up, stretched, and immediately regretted everything. My back hurt. My neck hurt. My pride, which I'd thought was already at rock bottom, somehow found a shovel and kept digging.

  < System Notification >

  Good Morning, Demon Lord Varus! You have survived your first night in the dungeon. Current Status:Mildly Depressed, Moderately Hungry, Completely Confused About Life Choices.

  "Thanks. Really. That helps."

  I stumbled to the oven area—sorry, the bakery area—and stared at the supplies. Three bags of flour (found in a chest labeled "Emergency Supplies" which raised SO many questions), a bucket of water, salt, and my endless supply of summoned yeast.

  I could make maybe... ten loaves. Twelve if I stretched it.

  And then what?

  I was just starting my morning bake—kneading dough, setting the oven temperature, trying not to think about how my evil lair now smelled like a Parisian café—when I heard footsteps.

  Multiple footsteps.

  Oh no.

  "HELLOOOOO!" Lila's voice echoed through the dungeon entrance. "BAKER! I BROUGHT FRIENDS!"

  I froze, hands covered in dough, as a group of adventurers marched into my lair.

  There were five of them. Five. Plus Lila. Six total humans in my demon lord dungeon, and my only weapon was a half-kneaded loaf.

  Lila strode in first, arms spread wide like a game show host presenting the grand prize.

  "Behold!" she announced. "The Demon Lord's Bakery!"

  The adventurers behind her stared at me.

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  I stared back, dough dripping through my fingers.

  "...Hi?" I said.

  "IT'S SO SMALL," said a dwarf with a magnificent beard. He looked around, unimpressed. "I expected more... dungeon-y stuff. Where are the traps? The monsters? The creepy decorations?"

  "Still in development," I mumbled.

  "AND HE'S COVERED IN FLOUR," added an elf woman, wrinkling her nose. "Is this a bakery or a laundry accident?"

  Lila waved away their complaints. "Ignore them. They're rude. Also hungry. Very hungry. What do you have?"

  I looked at my counter. One finished loaf. One in the oven. And a pile of raw dough.

  "...Bread?" I offered.

  The dwarf's eyes narrowed. "Just bread? I traveled three dungeon levels for JUST BREAD?"

  < System Notification >

  Warning! Customer Satisfaction Dropping! Impress these adventurers or risk bad reviews!

  Bad reviews?! There were REVIEWS now?! I hadn't signed up for this.

  "Wait!" I held up my dough-covered hands. "It's not just bread. It's... artisanal. Hand-kneaded. Made with demonic passion."

  The elf raised an eyebrow. "Demonic passion?"

  "?," I added desperately.

  Silence.

  Then Lila stepped forward, grabbed the finished loaf, and tore off a piece. She handed it to the dwarf.

  "Try."

  He sniffed it suspiciously. Took a bite. Chewed.

  His expression shifted from skepticism to... confusion. Then surprise. Then something that looked almost like religious ecstasy.

  "...By Moradin's beard," he whispered. "This is... this is the best bread I've ever tasted."

  The elf's eyebrow went higher. "You're joking."

  "I AM NOT JOKING, WOMAN." The dwarf grabbed the entire loaf and took another massive bite. "This is MAGIC. Genuine bread magic."

  Suddenly, all the adventurers were pushing forward, hands outstretched.

  "Me next!" "I want some!" "How much for a whole loaf?"

  I looked at my one remaining loaf. My raw dough. My complete lack of preparation for this situation.

  "Uh... one silver per loaf?" I guessed.

  "DEAL," said the dwarf, throwing a silver coin at me.

  And just like that, chaos erupted.

  Thirty minutes later, I was exhausted.

  Five adventurers (plus Lila) had somehow consumed eight loaves of bread. EIGHT. I'd been baking non-stop, my Perfect Kneading technique working overtime, my Oven Temperature Control getting a serious workout.

  But somehow... it was working.

  The dwarf—his name was Brogar—had bought three loaves for himself. The elf—Serena—had grudgingly admitted the bread was "acceptable" while finishing her second loaf. Two human fighters had started an argument over who got the last piece of a particularly crusty boule. And a quiet rogue type had been slipping coins onto the counter and leaving with loaves hidden in his cloak, like he was buying illegal goods instead of baked goods.

  Lila sat in the corner, looking smugger than any person had a right to look.

  "Told you," she said, kicking her feet up on a rock. "Told you this would work."

  "You told me NOTHING about eight loaves worth of customers," I panted, sliding another tray into the oven. "I'm ONE DEMON. I have LIMITS."

  "Clearly not," Serena muttered, reaching for more bread.

  < System Notification >

  Quest Complete: Open for Business You have successfully established a functional bakery! Reward:100 XP, Title: "Small Business Owner"

  Bonus Objective Complete: Serve 10 customers without being murdered. Reward:+50 XP, Reputation: "Surprisingly Edible"

  I stared at the notification.

  "Surprisingly Edible"? That was my reputation now?

  Brogar clapped me on the back so hard I nearly fell into the oven. "You're alright, bread demon! I'll be back tomorrow. Bring my cousins."

  "Please don't—" I started, but he was already gone.

  One by one, the adventurers left. Serena gave me a curt nod that was probably the elven equivalent of a standing ovation. The rogue vanished without a word, but another silver coin appeared on the counter.

  And then it was just me and Lila.

  "Eight silver," I said numbly, counting the coins. "I made eight silver in one morning."

  Lila grinned. "Told you. Capitalism, baby. Now you can afford... I don't know. A chair. A real pillow. Maybe some decorations that aren't 'dungeon chic'."

  I looked around my bakery. The stone walls. The oven. The pile of empty flour sacks. The satisfied customers.

  It wasn't world domination.

  But somehow... it didn't feel like a loss.

  < System Notification >

  New Quest Unlocked: Expansion Pack Upgrade your bakery to accommodate more customers. Requirements:50 Silver, 10 Units of Wood, 1 Table (???) Reward:200 XP, Increased Customer Capacity

  "I need a TABLE," I said flatly. "The system wants me to buy a TABLE."

  Lila burst out laughing.

  And for the first time since waking up in this ridiculous situation, I found myself laughing too.