The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 15

by Satoshi Wagahara

  “You don’t even remember her at all?”

  “Well, c’mon, do you remember every conversation you had with your friends or your mom in kindergarten or first grade or whatever?”

  “No, but…”

  “’Cause maybe I don’t look it, but I’ve lived at least a few times longer than Maou has. And really, living in the demon realms has kinda kept me busy for most of that time. It’s been superfun. So no, I’m not gonna remember my ancient history too much. To me, maybe Ignora’s my mother by blood, but to put it in a way you’d get, it’d be like finding out your archnemesis is, like, your great-great-great-great-great-grandmother from three hundred years ago. It’s all so way, way in the past, and we really oughta be thinking about now instead.”

  That wasn’t something she really wanted to hear from Urushihara, whose life now mainly consisted of holing up in the closet and leeching off Maou’s hard work, but it was clear that Urushihara had no sentimentality for Ignora.

  “The past is the past, dude. Sometimes people get motivated by it, and sometimes they don’t. In this case, I’m the leader of the side that doesn’t, and Laila’s the leader of the side that does.”

  “That kind of thing, huh?”

  “Yeah. I dunno how much Laila and Gabriel told you, but judging by that look on your face, I guess a lot, right? The Cataclysm of the Devil Overlord and everything Ignora did and all that.”

  “Um… Pretty much.”

  It wasn’t the kind of conversation one normally had over French fries at the MozzBurger in front of the rail station, but she did hear a lot.

  “So yeah, it’s really none of my business, and that means it’s even less the business of someone like Ashiya or Maou, who wasn’t even born yet. Maybe it’s different for Emilia—I dunno if she’s immortal now or not, but whatever. But honestly, I don’t really see Maou saying yes to Laila. I mean, that’s the whole reason why me and Ashiya are going around with demonic force in our pockets. Y’know, just in case Laila does something stupid in an attempt to drive Maou into action.”

  “Really…?”

  Chiho understood what Urushihara meant, but it was difficult for her to swallow. Why, though, she couldn’t say.

  “Plus,” he added, picking up on this, “wouldn’t that be better for you?”

  “Huh?”

  “You don’t want him and Emilia to say yes, do you?”

  “W-well, I………………………………… No. You’re right, I don’t.”

  Several images projected themselves upon her brain during that pause. If she could believe everything Laila said, her desire to keep Maou and Emi on Earth was essentially the same thing as telling Ente Isla and everyone who lived on it to take a hike. The “good” Chiho inside her kept shouting about how she wouldn’t allow that, but there was no point lying about her current feelings to Urushihara. Not being truthful right now, when he was being oddly frank with her for a change, would keep her from getting the answers she sought.

  “I mean, all I really want is to keep Maou and everyone from leaving. Why would they even be willing to just abandon their lives and get involved with all that? That’s kind of how I think about it.”

  “Yeah. I’m not exactly a fan, either. Like, why do we have to throw away this totally chill and stable environment just so we can go risk our lives somewhere far away?”

  Chiho noted that Urushihara’s stable lifestyle was being supported by the difficult sacrifices of many, many people around him. But now, of all moments, wasn’t the time to sass back at him.

  “I know that it’s super-selfish of me,” she said. “If that’s what Maou and Yusa decide to do, I have no right to make them give that up. But Laila and Gabriel are just being way too arbitrary here.”

  “I totally agree. They’re the ones who made this mess. They oughta clean it up.”

  Again, Urushihara was one to talk, but he was right. They couldn’t clean up their own mess, so instead they were going on about the end of the world in an attempt to get Maou and Emi to do it. Chiho couldn’t accept that. Hearing Gabriel talk about “the boss of us parasites” at MozzBurger the other day cleared the air on a lot of previously opaque mysteries, but that was all still just history. It didn’t change what he and Laila wanted the demons to do for them.

  Chiho hadn’t seen Laila or Gabriel since that day, but looking at how Emi closed the gap between herself and Laila a little, it seemed like they were a step or two past the stalemate from before. Maou still hadn’t made his intentions clear, though, and for Chiho, this December remained a month fraught with unease.

  “Plus, you probably know more about this than I do, but Maou’s gonna be pretty busy soon, yeah?”

  “Oh, yeah, you’re right.”

  Just as she recalled during Kaori’s conversation, Chiho had a strong hunch about something that would keep Maou from accepting Laila’s terms. Something that, if you knew Maou as intimately as she did, would be the first thing to cross your mind.

  “And if he’s busy, that’s gonna affect Emilia substantially, and I haven’t heard anything about Laila and her reconciling yet… By the standards of your life span, hey, no big rush, right?”

  Hearing that said by Urushihara, who had lived several times as long as the centuries-old Maou, Chiho was oddly convinced. Certainly, if the Devil King made the choice Chiho and Urushihara assumed he would, it seemed like things on Earth could go along as usual for at least another two or three years. By that time, Chiho would be in college, enjoying far more freedom of choice and a better idea of where her emotions lay in all this.

  “Like, this thing’s exactly what Maou’s been gunning for this whole time, right? I seriously doubt he’s gonna throw it all in the garbage so he can skip out on this whole planet.”

  “I…I don’t think so, either. And Yusa probably thinks the same thing.”

  Chiho took a notebook out of her bag and examined the MgRonald shift schedule written inside. Maou’s shifts for today and the next several days had been crossed out and rewritten in a few spots.

  “Yeah, he’s been working at this for so long,” she lovingly observed as her finger traced over what she wrote in the old shifts’ place. The handwritten note read:

  “Maou full-time training!!”

  Just as Chiho and Urushihara were chatting, Emi Yusa, rapidly approaching the seven PM end of her shift, raised a curious eyebrow at the figure walking through the automatic doors, likely the final customer of her workday.

  “Hello! Come up to the counter when you’re ready.”

  The customer needed no instruction, recognizing Emi the moment he went inside. He headed straight up to her.

  “One Teriyaki Burger meal with large fries and a large hot coffee.”

  “All right.”

  She punched the order into the register, stated the price, accepted the customer’s thousand-yen bill, and provided the change. A few more moments and his order was arranged on a tray and in his hands. Without another word, he took a seat, not even stealing a glance at her.

  “That’s uncommon.”

  Here was Shirou Ashiya, going to MgRonald during the dinner hour and eating a full meal. For him, this was highly unusual—eating out alone and upsizing his meal to boot. Plus, he was sitting on a barstool fiddling with his smartphone the entire time. It was so unlike the Ashiya she knew, she began to wonder if this was a nefarious angel posing as him.

  “Saemi, aren’t you going off?”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah.”

  It was Akiko Ohki, one of the veteran part-timers, calling at her from behind. Emi looked up at the clock that was just a bit past seven now, removed her visor, and gave a sidelong glance at Ashiya as he continued pecking away at his phone.

  “Hey, once I clock out, can I order dinner from you guys?”

  “Oh, you want me to put it in as a crewmember meal now?”

  “Sure thing. Umm, I’ll get a Bacon Pepper Burger Set with a side salad and orange juice.”

  “Got it. Go ahead and ge
t changed, and I’ll have it waiting for ya.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  Emi gave a light bow to Akiko and then went back to the staff break room. As she changed, she thought about Ashiya’s potential motivations.

  “He ought to know that the Devil King and Chiho aren’t working today…but I guess he didn’t have any business with me?”

  Their eyes definitely met just now…but maybe it’s because Emi just happened to be the only cashier on duty at the time. Either way, Ashiya couldn’t have just come to MgRonald for dinner on a whim. He had a reason, and Emi didn’t know what it could be.

  Once back on the dining floor, Emi found Akiko waving at her. Paying for the crewmember meal—a 30 percent discount, essentially—she picked up the tray, pretended to search for a seat for a few moments, and then sat directly in front of Ashiya. The barstool seating at MgRonald featured a partition that ran across the long table, making sure that customers facing one another didn’t have to deal with awkward stares, but he still had to know Emi was right there. But Ashiya, faintly visible through a gap between two partition panels, kept staring at his phone, slowly working through his fries. Emi, for her part, popped open the plastic case on her salad and began spearing the red leaf lettuce with her fork.

  “What do you want?”

  Ashiya spoke first. The restaurant was relatively empty, and it was only Emi and Ashiya at the bar seating, so they could hear each other well enough.

  “What do you want?” she countered. She couldn’t see Ashiya’s expression through the panel, but then he couldn’t see her. “Why are you at the Mag this time of night? Don’t you have dinner to cook?”

  “We are all eating separately tonight.”

  “Huh. Don’t see that every day.”

  In fact, it was beyond shocking.

  For Maou, at least, Emi could imagine him eating dinner out today easily enough. The schedule provided last month had him on shift right now, but following subsequent plans, he was away from the store today, along with manager Mayumi Kisaki. Takefumi Kawata and Akiko Ohki, the next most senior crewmembers after Maou, were both handling manager duties in his place—but there was no way Ashiya wouldn’t be aware of his roommate’s whereabouts.

  “You’re letting Lucifer do whatever?”

  “I do not see how that involves you.”

  He had a point, but as someone who understood the financial situation at Devil’s Castle, Emi was honestly worried. Plus, it simply wasn’t like Ashiya to leave Urushihara unleashed like this.

  “If someone I know starts acting totally uncharacteristic like this, I’m going to be worried about that, all right?”

  “Oh-ho! So you think you have an iron grasp on everything involved in our lives?”

  “Not everything but probably ninety percent, yeah. Enough that I know how weird this is for you.”

  “Do not interfere with customer privacy. You are on staff, are you not?”

  “You know, whenever you try turning society’s rules against me like that, for better or for worse, it’s usually because you’re doing something you don’t want me or Bell to know about.”

  “…” Ashiya fell silent, seeming a little peeved behind the partition.

  “Well, whatever.” Emi stopped pushing him. “I dunno what’s up with you, but yes, that was rude to you as a customer. I’m sorry.”

  “Mm…”

  “Take your time. I’m leaving once I finish dinner.”

  “…”

  The sounds of Emi finishing her meal continued but not for long. In a few minutes, she stood up and began to take her tray to the garbage.

  “Yusa.”

  Ashiya’s sudden voice stopped her.

  “Have you seen Ms. Suzuki recently?”

  “—!”

  Emi gasped and turned around. Ashiya was still sitting on his barstool, back turned to her.

  “…I haven’t seen her in about two weeks. She did…text, but…”

  “Ah. Good, then.”

  “What about her?”

  Was there something too sharp in her voice? Emi regretted the question almost immediately. It totally revealed that she knew all about what was going on between them. Rika had asked her for advice the day before she had approached him; that smartphone of his was Rika’s personal recommendation even—and Emi knew how it all turned out in the end.

  What Emi didn’t know was the whole process in between. All she knew was that she hadn’t seen her in two weeks, and the text Riku had sent simply read, “It didn’t work out. Thanks anyway for your help.” Their lack of communication since was starting to create a cloud of anxiety for her—and now Ashiya was treating her question with silence. Should she take it to mean he was done with her?

  All kinds of emotions were starting to form a voice in her mind. What happened to Rika? What did he do to her or say to her? If Emi could, she wanted to drag him out of the restaurant and make him lay out all of yesterday’s events to her right this minute. But after a few short moments, Emi bottled it all up, turned her eyes away, and left.

  “Oh, right, you’re off now, Yusa?” Kawata asked at the exit, fresh from a delivery run. “Take care on the way home.”

  “Yeah. You, too.”

  She gave him a quick nod, not bothering to look back toward the demon at the counter.

  Leaving the restaurant’s heat, she was greeted by a cheek-tingling cold, the sun a lost memory today. It drove her forward, down the Koshu-Kaido road alone, so she could stop by Suzuno’s place and pick up Alas Ramus.

  The frigid air cooled her head enough to make her think that leaving without demanding a response from Ashiya was the right thing after all. She knew Rika had a thing for Ashiya—really, Ashiya was the only one who didn’t know. Having Rika say “It didn’t work out” must have meant just one thing.

  Emi didn’t feel it presumptuous to assume that, if Ashiya had pulled a Maou and asked for time (or even said yes to her), Rika would be right at her door again seeking advice. Besides, by the time Rika approached her, she had already drummed up enough drive to maybe confess her love to him and was just de facto asking Emi for permission. But Ashiya simply refused it all—and now that he had, there was nothing Emi could do or even should do.

  “What…did I even want for her?”

  She didn’t want to see Rika hurt. But she doubted Ashiya could have ever made her happy or had any real desire to.

  “Haaah…”

  The white breath she sighed out, from a heart unable to come to terms with itself, seemed to draw an image of Chiho in her mind.

  “This is so selfish of me…”

  Was Emi fine with Chiho and Maou being an item but not Rika and Ashiya? She began to suspect that she knew all along Rika had no chance, and it sickened her. Maou was being ridiculously indecisive, and as Laila, Suzuno, and Ashiya all pointed out yesterday, he didn’t have it in him to act totally heartless toward the girl who admired him. Meanwhile, Ashiya had shed a fair bit of his callousness toward the human race in general, but during his whole time on Earth, he had always stuck to his guns. He was a demon, and someday he would return to Ente Isla and help conquer it again.

  If he had turned Rika down a little while ago, maybe Emi, despite their friendship, would’ve seen it as merely one less obstacle to taking that demon down. But now she had seen him, and Maou, and Urushihara as individual people. She was different now. The remaining traces of her old Hero’s soul was asking what she was hung up about, but right now Emi Yusa knew this person named Ashiya had hurt Rika’s feelings, and it enraged her.

  “It’s so selfish…”

  It was. It was extremely selfish. This rage of hers wasn’t appropriate, for someone who had gone on for so long about killing them and hoping they’d die soon. But the truth was two of her most valuable friends were in love with people from different worlds, different species.

  Wincing at the disorganized noise that prevailed in her heart, Emi came across someone familiar at the intersection up ahead. “…In
this cold?” she couldn’t help but blurt out—a voice mixed with annoyance, resignation, and a slight tinge of happiness that not even she picked up on. Not joy exactly—nothing that lofty. Just pure, childlike happiness.

  “Oh, um, hello, Emilia. Back from work?”

  It was Laila. How long had she been standing here, shopping bag hanging from her wrist? Ever since that apartment visit, they had crossed paths here a few times, Laila choosing this spot on the way home to ambush her. Her motives were obvious. The gap was ever so slightly narrower between them now, and she wanted to close it further. But the clumsiness of the move, coupled with the outright hatred Emi felt for her not long ago, made the situation seem almost comedic.

  She didn’t take this path home every day. Sometimes she had a quick bite elsewhere with the crewmates she had become decent friends with. Sometimes she stopped by the store to shop for Alas Ramus or Suzuno or Nord, her father. If Laila wanted to see Emi, she could always just wait at Room 101 in Villa Rosa Sasazuka. She knew that.

  “How many hours have you been standing here?”

  “Huh? Oh, um, no, I was going to your father’s place today, and I was just done shopping along the way, so…”

  “Your nose. It’s bright red. And that bag’s from the supermarket across from Sasazuka Station.”

  “Oh…!” Laila instinctively brought a hand to her nose.

  “You know you can just stay at Father’s place if you’re cold.”

  “N-no, but then I wouldn’t be able to talk alone with you…”

  Laila’s motives made sense. She was a long-lost mother, struggling to find the right distance to take in this relationship. But the logic she chose made her sound like a stalker.

  “…I’ll take that.”

  “Huh? Ah!”

  With a small sigh, Emi took Laila’s shopping bag.

  “That—that’s pretty heavy, Emilia…”

  “With as many shopping trips as I’ve done with Bell and Alciel, this is nothing.”