Muzuri Conchita

"It's an honor to meet you, Duke Muzuri Conchita."

- AB-CIR

Muzuri Conchita was a Duke of the Beelzenian Empire and the sixth head of the Conchita Family. Famed as a gourmand among the nobility, the duke accepted the legendary baemu into his home for his daughter Banica's birthday celebration. Inadvertently cursing his entire household, Muzuri unintentionally brought his family to ruin.

Early Life
Muzuri was born into the Conchita family sometime in the EC 200s. Becoming the head of his family and one of the Five Dukes, Muzuri embarked on a diplomatic engagement with the prime minister of Elphegort. During their meeting, he met the prime minister's daughter, Meguru, and instantly fell in love with her. Determined to marry her, he overcame numerous obstacles and eventually succeeded in his endeavors. At some point, his became well renowned as a gourmand for his eating habits.

Cursed Banquet
"It is Banica's birthday celebration today. It would be wonderful to treat this to all the other servants!"

- Muzuri regarding the baemu

In November, EC 296, Muzuri sired a child with his wife. Despite his desire to name her "Muraramurajakotasupopopo," he gave in to Meguru's choice to name her Banica, only complaining to a chamberlain about the decision later. Later, he oversaw the arrival of several gifts from the lords of the Beelzenian Empire and looked at them all in wonder. Marveling over the trinkets from Duke Oruhari and Sir Yocaski, he caught sight of a sword and shield and wondered who they were from, before Ron telling him they were from the empress herself. Merely remarking that this was expected of Ron to remember such things, the Duke marveled at so many wishing Banica a happy birthday.

Discussing the guests' later arrival with Ron, Muzuri then complained about how he wished to be by his daughter's side. When Ron remarked that as husband and Duke he had duties to fulfill, the lord complained that they were bothersome. Afterwards, as Ron announced that a new gift of livestock was delivered to the mansion, the shocked Muzuri asked Ron to have a look and see if it was a rare animal, stating that it would have to be an ingredient in Banica's feast if so. Stating that the meal couldn't be commonplace cuisine, the Duke waited for Ron to return and asked him if the livestock looked like a delicious animal.

Told the gift had already been moved to the barn, Muzuri entered and asked the stockman about the rare animal. Directed to the estate's pigs, the gourmand recognized the red-furred pig and exclaimed excitedly that it was the baemu. When the stockman questioned this, he mused he couldn't expect him or Ron to recognize it; when asked, he explained it was a rare kind of Tasan pig that was legendary among gourmands. When the stockman mused the taste must be delicious, Muzuri admitted he didn't know, explaining that, while none of his acquaintances or himself had ever eaten it, the Emperor of Tasan was known to have been very fond of it.

As the stockman wondered who sent it, Muzuri asked him what the cartman said and learned that the pig had merely appeared on the cart; thinking it over, the Duke cried out that it was a gift from God, as the wild baemu appeared to have gotten onto the cart by chance. He went on to note how their food was already provided for with the other animals, and so there was no reason for someone else to send any; he concludes that God, to celebrate Banica's birth and reward him for his daily deeds, has sent him the baemu. He announced they'd eat the baemu for dinner tonight, refusing to wait for the other guests and explaining he wished to boast to Oruhari and Earl Vincent about eating it. He then ordered the stockman to carry the beast into the kitchen.

Right afterwards, Muzuri ran to the kitchen and instructed the surprised cook that he wanted to use the baemu for dinner, asking if he could do it. As the cook confirmed he could and began to muse about the taste, the Duke declared that he had decided it was delicious. Asked if he should cook it like a regular Tasan pig or just use the organs, Muzuri assured him not to get more out of the meat if it was anything like a normal Tasan pig. Asked about the creature's belly, he replied he didn't have high expectations and began to tell the cook to start work immediately, before being cut off by the straining baemu.

As the pig went wild, Muzuri drew out his sword and slew the animal. Praised by his cook, Muzuri remarked he needed to clean up and left the chef to begin his work. After cleaning up, Muzuri sat with his wife in wait for the banquet before the head cook came and told him there was a story about the baemu. The Duke asked if there was a problem and, when instructed, followed the cook into the kitchen. There, the cook showed him a wine glass from the baemu's stomach. Muzuri asked if the pig swallowed the glass; when the cook was unable to say and only noted how the glass wasn't damaged at all, Muzuri examined the object for himself and mused that the pig may really be from God.

He then asked the head cook what his problem was and listened as the chef explained his concern that more debris were in the pig's stomach. The gourmand then asked if they couldn't eat the baemu and heard that he should at least not eat the stomach or risk dying; Muzuri cut him off and asked if it wasn't his job to prevent that. As the cook continued to protest, Muzuri cursed and declared that if he died eating the baemu, it would be his long-cherished ambition. When the cook brought up Banica, Muzuri only told him to tell Banica that her father was a great man who died seeking the greatest of foods in the event of his death.

When the cook conceded, Muzuri asked him about the wine and that if he had tasted any of the baemu yet. Hearing that the liver had tasted the best to the cook, Muzuri told him to keep working and left. He then returned to the dining hall with a smile and waited as the cook served the dishes. Taking first taste, Muzuri ate the dishes in silence and, when finished, raised his head and declared it was delicious. He then demanded the cook make more and declared that he would treat all the servants with the dishes as well.

As the entire household ate, he noticed that Meguru hadn't eaten and urged her to at least take a bite. Though Meguru replied she had no appetite, Muzuri insisted she have at least a bite, as it wasn't often that would be able to eat baemu. When Meguru ate and declared the piece to be delicious, he then attempted to feed Banica part of the pig's heart before being stopped by his wife. Told the infant was unable to eat such things, Muzuri moped that he understood but had thought the child might be able to eat it. Regardless, he continued to happily eat at the banquet.

Ten Years of Gula
"I don't know whether the incident of this time is the same as your current one, but if you hold off the disease—no, this "curse" as you call it, for ten years, you might be alright."

- AB-CIR to Duke Muzuri

The next day, Muzuri was alerted when the head cook was found dead; as Ron reported his suspicions that the baemu was the cause, the Duke had the entire household examined and regained his composure after no more incidents occurred that day. When more of the staff began to die over several days, Muzuri was approached by the family doctor again and asked how he was. Stating he was alright, the Duke exclaimed that nonetheless the servants were dying and asked the doctor if he had found a cause. He then listened in surprise to the doctor’s explanation that he found hay and cutlery in the bodies of the stockman and chef, learning it was an unknown illness that the doctor couldn’t treat. Demanding to know what he was supposed to do, he was advised to take counsel from a mage at the foot of the mountain.

Enraged, Muzuri raged at the doctor for suggesting such a dubious person and threw a candle stick at the doctor. Declaring that, if he valued his neck he would leave, the Duke drew his sword and brandished it at the frightened doctor, who fled. Nonetheless, Muzuri summoned the mage the next day. As the figure bowed to him and introduced himself as AB-CIR, the Duke commented on the strange name and heard the mage reply he liked it, but might change it sometime. Asking if that wasn't his real name, Muzuri learned from him that worthy mages changed their aliases regularly. Muzuri pointed out that he was already a famous mage and listened as AB-CIR mused he should change his alias sometime soon.

Exploding that such things didn't matter, Muzuri forced the topic back to the mysterious deaths and related how one of the chamberlains died vomiting sewing scissors. He continued on to relate his anxiety that everyone, even himself and his family, were in danger, before hearing AB-CIR state he understood what the problem was. The shocked Duke was then questioned if he acquired anything strange and Muzuri related how everyone had eaten the baemu, then asking if the animal was the cause. The mage only noted it was amusing, to the Duke's surprise, and then asked about a wine glass; in response, Muzuri recounted how the glass was found in the pig's stomach. Asked where the wine glass was now, Muzuri told him how it had been moved to his treasury.

Told that the glass was the source of the mysterious illness and to discard it, Muzuri ordered Ron to bring the object immediately and learned how the pig was a contractor with the demon and that it, as well as anyone who partook of it, would become mindlessly eating puppets. Asking if it was a demon's curse, AB-CIR then told the Duke that he and his household had contracted the Gula disease, explaining the history of the village Gula that was struck by it. As the mage received the glass from Ron, Muzuri asked if, with the object gone, no one else would die. Told that the disease would still continue to kill, the furious Duke exclaimed he hasn't solved anything, only to hear that there was a man in Gula who survived the disease.

Asked what measures were used, he learned that the man in Gula only earnestly ate to keep his belly full until ten years had passed. Muzuri questioned if there was really no other way, only to listen to the mage respond there was none and tease him about this being his dream as a gourmand. Incensed, the Duke began to draw his sword from his sheath before returning it and remarking it was enough to have a solution. After AB-CIR left, Muzuri instructed the rest of the household on the mage's counsel.

Desperate for survival, Muzuri imposed heavy taxes on the people, taking food from everyone within his dominion. As other servants began dying over time, Muzuri continued to confiscate goods to feed those that remained in the household. Six years later, he watched silently as on one occassion Meguru shoved food down their young daughter's throat and then continued his meal. As time passed he continued to resist impulses to devour the inedible, such as broken glass and candle flame, while watching as his entire household suffered. EC 306, two months prior to the ten year period being over, crop failure caused famine and starvation across his territory.

Muzuri oversaw the daily deaths in his mansion as a result. Sitting alone in his chair, Muzuri looked upon the ruined household and heard his wife complaining about her empty stomach, watching her wander in with Banica and looking for food. When Meguru stopped and looked upon a nearby corpse, Muzuri looked in her eyes and felt a chill, asking if she was still uncertain about what to eat. When his wife eventually approached and asked for his sword Muzuri refused, appalled. As she asked again the Duke tried to decry what she was planning to do before his wife attacked him for the weapon.

Weak with hunger as he desperately resisted and telling her to stop, Muzuri recognized Meguru's madness and took his sword, slaying his wife with it. In the following two months, Muzuri was one of the only members of the Conchita household to survive the disease, alongside Banica and Ron. Due to his policies leading to the famine that struck his territory, Empress Juno stripped the Duke's authority over his territories and Muzuri became debilitated from anxiety.

Later Life
Around this time, Muzuri instructed Ron to hire Arte and Pollo to watch over Banica. He later betrothed his daughter to Prince Carlos of the Marlon Royal Family in EC 311 but the engagement was cancelled in February the following year. In August of EC 321, Muzuri suffered heart failure. On his death bed, the Duke became overjoyed when he heard his family's territory would be returned and his daughter, famed as "Gourmet Noble Banica", would succeed him with the people's support. Smiling, the feudal lord died.

Legacy
Following his death, Banica inherited his title as one of the Five Dukes. His daughter later contracted with the demon responsible for the curse Muzuri inadvertently brought in. With the famed Gourmet Noble Banica becoming infamous as "Evil Food Eater Conchita", Muzuri's former territory and family line ended again in ruins following Banica's apostasy and later autocannibalism. Muzuri's grandson from Banica became adopted by a servant to Empress Juno afterward and eventually led to the famed hero, Germaine Avadonia.

Historically, Muzuri's murder of his wife was credited as being the cause of heart failure like himself and became well known as the father of the legendary Banica. In the USE, a waiter working at the Graveyard restaurant regaled the stories of Muzuri's experience with the demon-possessed wine glass to customers as part of the waitron's tales of Evil Food Eater Conchita.

Personality and Traits
"Oh, but his Lord Duke is quite the gourmand or something of the sort. Doesn't that mean it's like a dream come true?"

- AB-CIR regarding the "curse's" cure

Muzuri was a stubborn, passionate, and jovial man with a love of foods. Becoming a well renowned Gourmand, Muzuri developed an obsessive desire to seek out and taste the world's rarest and most delicious foods, as well as entertaining himself with gourmet meals on a regular basis. As a result, he would become excited when faced with an opportunity to eat a rare food and was convinced that the rarer a food was the more delicious it was bound to be. After being cursed by the Gula plague, however, Muzuri's love of food deteriorated as he ate purely for survival and was attracted to dangerous, inedible "food."

This pursuit of the world's cuisine also lead Muzuri to become reckless as he lived life with a strong passion, willing to die if it meant he could taste the world's greatest foods. The Duke was often stubborn and couldn't be dissuaded if he set his mind to any one goal, whether it was for love or cuisine. His will was strong enough that even his love for his daughter couldn't be used to sidetrack him from his goal.

While refusing to listen to reason, Muzuri also had a temper and could lash out at individuals under stress. Always carrying his sword at his waist, he would sometimes end up drawing it from its scabbard and threaten to kill someone with it if already in a rage or fearful. As the Gula disease ravaged the household, Muzuri's temperament worsened and he became desperate to survive with the others, ignoring his responsibilities and heavily taxing the populace.

Despite this, the Duke was above all a generous man that was good to his servants and family. In particular, Muzuri held a deep love for his daughter and wife and had worked hard to secure the latter's marriage during their courtship, while overjoyed at the former's birth. Wanting to share everything with them, Muzuri would become frustrated when taken away from his family for any length of time and insisted on their eating his most treasured meals. During the Gula plague, he was anguished to see his wife and daughter's suffering, but willing to let it pass as long as they were both alive by the end. Before his death, he also grew immensely proud of his daughter for her own work as "Gourmet Noble Banica."

Skills and Abilities
"No... I should rejoice for finding a solution alone. So we'll be all right if we continued eating for ten years?" "With his Lord Duke's position, it would be possible. You could collect the territories food even if it's by any means—right?"

- Duke Muzuri and AB-CIR

As a Duke of Beelzenia, Muzuri had a vast wealth in lands, livestock, and the taxation of his subjects and consequently was able to live a very luxurious lifestyle. Additionally, he had many connections in the Beelzenian nobility and was friends with several prestigious feudal lords; his family's blood ties to the Beelzenian Royal family, as well, allowed him privileges and attention that other nobles did not have. However, after being stripped of his authority due to its abuse worsening the famine in his terrority, Muzuri was largely powerless and completely subservient to the will of the royal family.

In part because of his wealth as Duke, Muzuri was able to accumulate a wide array of rare and delicious foods, and subsequently had developed his palette as a connoisseur of fine cuisine. Famed among other gourmands for his knowledge and appetite, Muzuri was well educated on the rare foods of the world and their history, such as the baemu pig, although initially never seeing one for himself. He was also trained in swordplay, carrying the weapon with him at all times and able to kill a wild animal with a well-placed strike.

Despite his education and refinement, however, he had a poor memory when it came to the finer details of social politics. Instead, he trusted such details, such as the coat of arms used by the Beelzenian Royal family, to his chamberlain and was unable to recall them offhand. While a big man in relation to his diet, Muzuri was physically weaker than his wife Meguru. Muzuri also suffered from heart disease.

Character Connections
Meguru Conchita: Muzuri's wife. Muzuri held a strong attraction to Meguru at first sight and worked hard to obtain his marriage to her; falling deeply in love with her, he wished to share with her all his greatest experiences and love for food. After their household was cursed with Gula, Muzuri was heartbroken by his wife's transformation and blamed himself for her cruelty. Recognizing that she had gone insane, Muzuri saw no other choice but to kill her, despite his love for her.

Banica Conchita: Muzuri's daughter. Muzuri was overjoyed at Banica's birth and loved her completely, wanting to spend all his time with his daughter and sharing his joys with her. Despite this, after the family was cursed, Muzuri resigned to watch Banica suffer as long as she was alive by the end of the ten years; after surviving the Gula, he continued to be concerned about her welfare and died proud of her accomplishments.

Ron Grapple: Muzuri's oldest chamberlain. Muzuri trusted Ron greatly and shared a close confidential relationship with the servant, confiding in him his occasional frustrations and consulting with him over the concerns of the household. As well as this, he relied on the chamberlain to keep track of important details and the hiring of new servants.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Muzuri's name is a torsion of the English word "cannibalism", the reverse of his Japanese name making up the "lism"; the name of his daughter, Banica, makes up the "canniba" portion of the wordplay.
 * Conchita is a Spanish diminunitive of the name Concepción, meaning "conception"; the history and culture of Beelzenia, Muzuri's native country, is partially inspired by that of Spain.

Curiosities

 * When asked about the origin of the name "Muraramurajakotasupopopo" that Muzuri wanted to name Banica, mothy stated: "Ask Mr. Muzuri."