“That’s right, Big Sis! The place evil, annoying angel runs!!”
““Uh, wa—!!””
Chiho and Suzuno panicked, as Acieth treated Alas Ramus the way she always did. Fortunately, the novelty of a young child in front of her caused Kaori to pay it no mind.
“You’re so cute! Wow, and she’s so small, but she’s got a big vocabulary, huh? You guys are pretty far apart in age to be sisters, huh, Acieth?”
“Oh,” Acieth replied, “not as much as it looks.”
“…Whozzat?” Alas Ramus asked, a little suspicious at the unfamiliar face.
“Oh! Um, uh, hi, my name’s Kaori Shoji…”
Kaori found herself flustered, unsure how to deal with such a young child. Chiho deftly stepped in.
“Alas Ramus? This lady’s my friend. You can call her your big sis Kaori!”
“…Kao-Sis?”
“Oh, man, that is soooo cute! I’m about to have a nosebleed! I would totally wanna take care of this little girl if I knew her! Especially if this little angel calls me something like that!”
“My big sis is not angel, Kaori!”
Acieth had such an aversion to the word angel that she once again made Chiho’s and Suzuno’s hearts skip a beat. Kaori still didn’t notice.
“Aww, but Maou… I mean, I’ve only met him a few times, so I only kinda recall his face, but he’s got black hair, right? If they’re related, it must be a pretty distant relation, huh?”
“Y-yeah, I guess… Ha-ha-ha…”
“Distant? He is the dad of her, you can say.”
“Y-yeah! They’re so close, it’s almost like father and daughter!”
Again, Chiho and Suzuno scrambled to rein in the fallout from Acieth’s incessant bombshells.
“Father and daughter, huh…?”
Kaori, meanwhile, was too busy finding enlightenment about the joys of life to notice how unnatural all this talk was.
“K-Kao?”
“Sasachi, you know, I think I’ve found the most totally natural way to camouflage this ever…hee-hee-hee…”
“Kaori?”
“K-Kaori? What do you mean?”
“Okay, listen. Alas Ramus is related to Maou, but Yusa takes care of her, too. Acieth and Alas Ramus are sisters, and you and Suzuno are friends with all of them, Sasachi. Do I have all that right?”
“Y-yeah…”
“So far, yes…”
Chiho and Suzuno held their breath, dreading what could come next. Kaori grinned back at them.
“There’s only one way you all can give Maou chocolate!”
Then, she began laying out the plan—a plan that, when she heard it all, made Chiho seriously wonder why it never occurred to her.
“Alas Ramus making chocolates?!”
“Shhh! Please be a bit quieter, Emilia!”
Later, at seven that evening, Emi came to Room 202 to pick up Alas Ramus, only to find Suzuno looking notably more haggard than usual. The tale she had for her, of Acieth all but attacking Chiho at her high school, gave her a throbbing headache.
Thanks to that, not only had Chiho’s friend, Kaori Shoji, made contact with Alas Ramus, but she had also suggested a way to use the child to help give Valentine’s chocolate to Maou without applying undue pressure on him. As Kaori put it, making chocolate together with the little girl, who served as Maou’s “daughter,” would be acceptable enough to the guy without making it awkward. The whole story made Emi want to faint on the spot.
“Um, Bell?”
“Y-yes?”
“Looking back at everything…”
“Y-yes…”
Emi’s low voice seemed to echo like a demon’s.
“If we could’ve taken down Alciel, the whole Devil King’s Army would’ve crumbled by itself, wouldn’t it?”
“…Perhaps.”
“What is with the Devil King? I mean, seriously! Why is he just so…so incorrigible the moment Alciel is gone?!”
“I suppose the real mastermind was in the Room 201 kitchen the whole time.”
“Oh, this drives me up the wall! I was just telling Akiko at work a few hours ago that I hope Maou doesn’t get all weird talking with Chiho about the chocolate he got!”
“I—I suppose I am responsible in part for that…”
“It’s the Devil King’s fault for acting like such a freak in front of Acieth when he accepted that gift!”
“There—there was nothing freakish about it. As Acieth put it, he immediately realized it was merely a token of politeness…”
“Then why couldn’t he take care of it by himself instead of looking shocked and getting other people involved?!”
“That, um, well, yes…”
A valid point, Suzuno thought, even as she wondered why Emi was having such a mood-swingy day today.
“Suzu-Sis, Suzu-Sis!”
As her mother buried her head in her hands, Alas Ramus—playing around with a pile of books and magazines in one corner—tugged at Suzuno’s kimono, pointing at an open page.
“I—I like this!”
Whether she had understood their conversation or not, she had it open to a Valentine’s Day feature. It included a large picture of a “Tree of Love,” complete with colorful hearts as the fruit, apparently on sale at a famous chocolatier in the trendy Harajuku district of Tokyo.
“Nh…!”
Suzuno tensed up and closed the magazine before Emi could glance at it.
“A-Alas Ramus, that, um, that can wait until you are older. It, er, it is quite expensive.”
“Expensive?”
“Yes, expensive. All right? So be a good girl and do not show that to Mommy or Daddy, okay?”
“…Okeh!”
She didn’t seem totally convinced, but Alas Ramus still relented. Suzuno wiped the mental sweat away from her mind. The sight of that colorful chocolate tree reminded her a little too much of the Tree of Sephirot, and that could put pressure of a much different sort on Emi and Maou.
“So… All right. I mean, pressure or not, I can see that making chocolates with Alas Ramus isn’t a bad idea. But if we do that…” Emi balled her hands into fists, so hard that Suzuno worried her nails were breaking skin. “If we do that, it means I have to join them!!”
“I suppose so, yes,” Suzuno replied, averting her eyes. She couldn’t deny it. Even if Chiho wasn’t in the picture, if she was making a present for Daddy, Alas Ramus would naturally want Mommy to pitch in. But no matter how much their animosity had lessened over time, there was no way Emi would volunteer to join a gender-specific event featuring a man like that as a recipient of favors. However, once she calmed down from that first onrush of emotion, Emi’s voice took on a surprisingly calm demeanor.
“…And, you know, I was prepared to at least go through the motions with Valentine’s.”
“Oh?”
“Like, Christmas, New Year’s… Once we’re back in Ente Isla, Alas Ramus isn’t gonna experience any of that. Compared with that, there is a tradition kind of like Valentine’s Day over there. Plus, Alas Ramus even said she wanted to give Daddy some chocolate.”
“She did?”
“I kind of explained the custom to her.”
“You did?!”
This was a double surprise for Suzuno. The way this event worked, if Alas Ramus knew about it, Emi would naturally have to join in as well. But in terms of people both of them could logically give chocolate to, that was limited to Nord, Maou, Ashiya, and Urushihara. Suzuno watched wide-eyed as a grinning Alas Ramus flipped through the pages of another Valentine’s Day chocolate catalog, before turning toward Emi.
“You were planning to give the Devil King a gift?”
“Well, Maou and everyone else in the Hatagaya location.”
But Kisaki, as she now explained to Suzuno, had put the kibosh on the tradition Emi had learned at the Dokodemo office.
“I feel bad for Chiho. I know she’s really serious about this. But if we could’ve just treated this as everyone having a
little fun and trading a few goodies with one another, we could’ve done it without getting preoccupied with a bunch of crap. That’s why I thought I wouldn’t mind it too much.”
“But you can no longer camouflage it in the workplace, so since you taught the custom to Alas Ramus, you are forced, in a way, to follow it and give the chocolate yourself?”
“Well…yeah.” Emi’s voice was more halting now. “…I know it’s not my place to say it, but I’m in the same boat. I can’t have the Devil King think about a bunch of extraneous junk, so I thought some camouflage would be a good idea. Now, after today, I feel like everything I worried about is coming true.”
“Today, meaning the chocolate this Kusuda gave him in the training class?”
“Kusuda, huh? That was her name?”
Emi’s eyes grew a shade colder as she repeated it.
“You know how serious-minded the Devil King is.”
“Y-yes, I do.”
“So like… We aren’t at each other’s throats any longer, but if I give him some chocolate on Valentine’s, I thought he might start thinking a bunch of weird stuff again.”
“A bunch of weird stuff?”
“Um, how can I explain it? I think our relationship right now is kind of mercenary in nature. I owe him for this, he owes me for that, kind of thing. He wound up helping me when we got attacked in the subway, so I have to repay the favor, and so on. And I don’t mind that, but…”
Suzuno listened on silently as Emi attempted to summarize her feelings with a rapid barrage of words.
“But me personally giving him chocolate… It’s not like that other stuff. And maybe it’s just a polite custom, but I’m giving it to him as a way of expressing positive emotions, right? But I don’t have the confidence to dare to feel ‘positive’ about him, and I think that’s true for him, too. I can’t kill him anymore, and he knows that, but still…”
“Ooh?”
Emi pulled Alas Ramus (and her catalog) toward her, placing her on her lap.
“If I gave him something this amazing, I think that relationship is going to change, somehow.”
The child had the catalog open to a selection of offerings from Tokyo’s department-store bakeries, from well-known, showstopping pieces to more budget-friendly options for gifts given out of duty more than love.
“…Do you think so?”
“Probably, yeah,” nodded Emi, not looking too confident about it. “I don’t hate the Devil King any longer, you know. But I haven’t forgiven him. I know he understands that. So…”
Turning the page, she came upon a feature showcasing recipes for making chocolate treats at home.
“So I don’t think I need to buy him something cheap from the store, just for the show of it. I’m sure Alas Ramus wants to give him something, though, and if she wants to, I’ll be glad to let her. But… I’m sorry to Chiho, but I want Alas Ramus cooking for her daddy to be separate from her thing. I’m kind of hoping she can find another way to ‘camouflage’ it, if that’s what she wants.”
“Emilia…”
“And she went on about not wanting to put pressure on the Devil King, but she really does need to gradually step up that pressure. Like, you know him. He really isn’t thinking about it at all, because he assumes she’ll let him off the hook until this battle is over. And then, when this comes along, I’m sure he’ll be writhing and wailing about it again.”
It sounded extremely likely to Suzuno.
“So if Chiho wants to give the Devil King chocolate, I think she could throw her honest feelings at him, like she always has. Oh, but…”
Emi looked up, chuckling.
“What does Chiho herself think? Does she want to go with Kaori’s plan?”
“That…is a rather delicate question.”
Chiho had been pretty enthusiastic at first, going all “Wow, yeah, you’re right!” toward her friend. But:
“Has she contacted you about it at all, Emilia?”
“No.”
Emi took her phone out, checking for new messages. There was nothing at all from Chiho.
“You think maybe she agreed to it as a way to gloss things over with a friend who doesn’t know about Ente Isla?”
If Chiho wanted Alas Ramus’s help with this, she would naturally have to get Emi involved. But the way things stood, she’d likely hesitate to bring any Valentine’s proposals to Emi’s doorstep. The reason was simple: She didn’t want her personal quest to make Maou clarify their relationship to trump the entire group’s quest to storm the heavens and defeat Ignora.
“Devoting herself to the Devil King like this is such a waste of time.”
“Indeed. I am with you on that.”
“But it never runs on logic, does it? That kind of…”
…Love never does.
“…Hey, Bell?”
“Yes?”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“No.” The reply came almost unnaturally fast.
Emi blinked in surprise. “No?”
“Well…not to sound lovelorn, but my family’s position did not allow me my own choice when it came to partners, and there was never really a man who made me want to…push against them on that.”
It made sense. Suzuno had led a hard life, in a way different from Emi. She didn’t have any time to let herself get infatuated with some lofty ideal of love.
“What about you, Emilia?”
“Mm… Well, I… I think I may have.”
“You think?”
“I’m just not sure you’d normally call it love. I’m talking about my father, after all.”
“Oh.” Suzuno laughed. “That would be different.”
It was like a young child declaring to the family that she’d marry her father someday.
“I never had a mother, really, and whatever I did, I always had my father staying right behind me. So… I mean, someone who’s strong, who’s worth relying on, and maybe who’s got a screw loose sometimes, but who’s always looking out for me…”
“…Wait. Emilia, do you mean…”
“No. No, not like that.”
“Mommy?”
Emi buried her face behind Alas Ramus’s head, hiding a smile that nobody else could see.
“But maybe so, if I could forgive him in my heart.”
That was the truth, the purest words to ever come from her.
“…There’s no point thinking about it. If Chiho wants to go with that plan, I’ll consider it, then. I promised Eme and Al that I’d head over to them today, so unless something comes up, I won’t even see Chiho until Valentine’s Day itself.”
“Ah, yes.”
A little dumbfounded, Suzuno watched as Emi put down Alas Ramus and got to her feet.
“Are you staying in Sasazuka today, Bell?”
“I think so. Acieth kept me from working on my vegetable garden for long, so I would like to get it in decent shape first.”
“All right. I need to return to Eifukucho and get my clothes and stuff in order before I go, so I’ll head out for now. We’re going home, Alas Ramus. Clean up your books, okay?”
“Okeh!”
At her order, Alas Ramus closed all the books she had strewn on the floor and stacked them up at the corner—her personal approach to cleanliness. Emi pulled her coat on, putting a wool cap on her child before turning to Suzuno again.
“Hey, Bell?”
“Hmm?”
“You cooked a lot of food for the demons with Chiho and Alciel, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Did the Devil King ever tell you what he likes foodwise?”
“Well, when we were conversing once, Chiho mentioned that, for all the scolding the Devil King gives Lucifer, their tastes are actually rather alike. They enjoy dishes with bold flavors: meat, carbohydrates, and the like. A very childish palate, to put it in a bad way. But he hardly shuns vegetables or fish, either. I would not call him a particularly picky eater, I suppose.”
“Hmm. What about s
weet stuff?”
“I have not seen him have many, but when I had just arrived in Japan, Alciel mentioned using his rice cooker to bake a cake, and Chiho has delivered ice cream to their apartment before. He is familiar with the genre, at least.”
“All right. Thanks. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye-bye, Suzu-Sis!”
“Of course. Take care. You too, Alas Ramus.”
The two made sure their shoes were fully on before turning and waving. Suzuno heard their footsteps down the stairs outside as she stood up to lock the door.
“Hmm?”
Then, she stopped, gripped by the feeling that something was off.
“Hmmmm?”
Did Emi say something odd just before leaving? Something she’d normally never say at all? Suzuno brooded over it, her head tilted to one side, but soon turned the latch on the door, failing to pinpoint what exactly bothered her. She looked at the clock. It was a bit early still, but she decided to get her things and head to the public bath.
“Oh…”
Then, she realized what had bothered her, and it brightened up her face. That was right—it was usually Chiho who worried about the demons’ food preferences. This was the first time Emi had demonstrated any interest at all, so it had thrown Suzuno a bit.
“Of course, of course. That’s what it was.”
But then, the clear skies in Suzuno’s mind began to cloud up, turning into great, swirling, gray edifices that could start storming at any moment.
“Wait…”
Emi had wanted to know what Maou liked to eat.
“Waaaait…”
But what on earth for?
“Emilia?”
She called for her out loud, in the direction she’d walked off to, not really sure what to feel.
“Mommy, wait, wait! Too fast!”
Alas Ramus was pumping her legs at full speed to keep up with Emi, who was walking unusually briskly through the dark Sasazuka night. The pom-pom on her hat bounced around with each stride she took.
“Oh! I-I’m sorry.”
Emi, apparently having no idea she was going so quickly, stopped and turned around. Alas Ramus, maintaining her momentum, wound up running right into her leg, wrapping her arms around it.
“Mommy, boom!”
“Ahh! Oh, Alas Ramus, that’s dangerous!”
The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 16 Page 6
