“I mean, I knew in advance that call center jobs are tough, but my first job was with kind of a big educational company. We were mostly dealing with the mothers of small children, right? I figured there wouldn’t be anything too scary about them.”
“…You didn’t think so at first, I bet.”
Emi grinned. She could see where this was going.
“Yeah. One time, when I was just starting out, this old man called with a question and told me I’m the reason why Japan is going down the toilet.”
“Wow. Pretty big leap in logic.”
Akiko nodded without going into further detail. “It’s like…I don’t know, the more normal someone is, the more extreme their mood swings and stuff can be. Like, I almost liked it better if they started the call all angry or peeved, because maybe they’ll yell at ya, but you can still deal with them.”
Emi had a memorable sequence of screaming and lecturing along these lines once, from another elderly person who put the entire weight of Japan’s future upon her shoulders. The general flow: Modern electronics have to stop leaving older people in the lurch like this. → You young people are so focused on these gadgets, Japan’s manufacturing is spending its money on nothing but heavy industry and electronics. → It’s deplorable how young people think they know everything about the world through their little phone screens. → And there’s so much poverty in rural areas, and agriculture is about to fall apart. → You should be ashamed of yourself, working for a company that’s screwing Japan so badly. → Why don’t you try going outside for a change. → See, you’re exactly why this country’s going to hell in a handbasket!
All this over the course of around three hours.
She wasn’t the sort, of course, to let irrational insults and shouting faze her, but the exchange stuck in her mind even now, partly because it happened early on when she wasn’t used to the work and partly because she never did figure out what the customer even called for. The guy just hung up after extracting a promise from Emi that she’d vote in the next general election. Fortunately, that was a pretty extreme example, setting the standard for epic calls across the office for a while afterward—to the point that the floor leader and several of Emi’s friends, Rika Suzuki included, treated her to dinner for it.
“So, you know, at the time, it really depressed me. Like, am I ever gonna find a job or anything? It’s easy enough when you’re dealing one-on-one with customers in person, but if I’m at a desk with a phone, it’s gonna be such a trauma dealing with those calls, I bet. I guess you and Ms. Kisaki are used to it enough that you can run the phone orders here, though, huh?”
“Well, keep in mind, you always remember the craziest calls because they were so crazy. Ninety-nine percent of them are nothing like that. I’m sure you’ve taken a lot of normal calls, too, Akiko, so I bet you’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, I know, but it’s kinda hard to forget being called a murderer just because you’re trying to sell teaching materials, y’know?”
Emi was sincerely curious about the sequence of events leading to that, but the minute hand on the clock was dangerously close to the end of her break, so she hurriedly put on her crew cap and headset.
“Oh, but why were we talking about this again?”
“Hmm? Oh, right!” Akiko, almost done dressing, clapped her hands. “So I’m pretty sure one of your friends is in the dining room, Saemi.”
“Huh? One of my friends?”
“Yeah, a girl. I think I’ve seen her a few times before. She’s got that classic young-lady business suit on, so I thought maybe she’s a friend from a previous job.”
That would describe exactly one person in Emi’s life.
“…Hey, Emi.”
“Oh, it is you, Rika! What brings you here?”
The sight of Rika Suzuki, looking a bit abashed as she sipped a large coffee in a corner of the first floor, made Emi smile as she walked up.
“Are you off work?” she asked.
“Y-yeah. I got off a little bit early today, so, um, I was free this evening, so I thought I’d stop on by to see you.”
“Oh, really? Well, I’m sorry, but I’m still on for a while. Till ten tonight sadly…”
“I know. I asked.”
“Huh? Oh, you did?”
Emi wondered who told her. Just like Chiho, Rika was fully clued in on the situation surrounding Emi, Maou, and Ente Isla. She had been in more frequent contact with Chiho and Suzuno as of late; one of them must have provided the info. Either way, though, why would she come here when she knew Emi still had four hours of work left?
“Ah, I’m sorry,” Rika hurriedly added, perhaps picking up on Emi’s internal pondering. “I knew you were working late, but, um, I couldn’t help myself, or—like—I figured seeing you would help me chill out a little.”
“…Is something wrong or—?”
Even Emi could tell something was amiss by now. Rika was talking a mile a minute, she kept staring into space before turning her eyes back toward Emi, and she kept nervously squirming around in her seat. It made Emi recall a time not long ago when she similarly lost her cool.
“Well, um, you don’t have work early tomorrow, do you, Emi?”
“No.”
“Okay. I can wait, or like, if I’m distracting you, I can kill some time somewhere else first.”
“No, no, not distracting…”
“Okay, so, uh, you mind if we chat a bit after you’re done tonight? Dinner’s on me.”
“Well, of course, but what’s up? Seriously.”
“Ahhhhhhh…I’ll tell you later.”
It was rare to see Rika act this indecisively.
“You really are gonna distract me if I don’t know, Rika! If you need some advice, I could spend my shift thinking about the issue until I get off.”
“Hmmm, you think? Because it’s nothing that big, really…”
This was completely impossible. She was acting hideously unnatural.
“But okay, so, um…”
“Yeah?”
After all her previous hesitation, it still took Rika two or three more deep breaths to gain the will to continue.
“So earlier…Ashiya called to ask me out…”
“………Oh…………………………… Oh, okay.”
Emi could hear her own voice from some corner of her mind reminding her that this was what happened last time, too. She did indeed have trouble focusing for the rest of her shift.
THE HERO ATTEMPTS TO WRANGLE THE UNWRANGLEABLE
“Hello, Bell? Sorry to call you so late. I know this is sudden, but do you think I could stay at your place tonight? …Yeah, I just finished up work, but something came up… Rika came to my MgRonald. She’s got something important to talk about, and we’re not planning to be that late, but I’m not sure I’ll make the last train.”
“Very well. Please give Rika my regards. Hngh!!”
“Huh? …Okay, um, thanks. I’ll send a text or something when I’m coming back, okay?”
“Right. I think I will likely be up late tonight as well, so there is no need to… Curse you!! Feel free to contact me whenever you think you are… Shut up! Ready to come here.”
“A-all right. Thanks…”
Things certainly sounded boisterous on the other end. Besides Suzuno’s voice, there was also a mixture of shouting and jeering. It didn’t seem to be her late arrival that bothered Suzuno, but the dull, rhythmic thudding in the background that served as a kind of background music to the whole call also gave Emi pause.
“Ah, yes. Laila is waiting at her apartment. She has something she wishes to discuss with you.”
“What?”
Emi winced. But it was nothing she could complain at Suzuno about.
“Concerning something wholly different from the request she had of you before, it seems.”
“You didn’t ask what it was?”
“I did find out, yes… Just keep quiet, you! I am on the phone, so knock it off!!”
“Bell?
”
By the sounds of things, someone was in the room with Suzuno. And if this was the way Suzuno was addressing them, it couldn’t have been anyone but her three demonic neighbors.
“Are you busy right now, maybe?”
“In a way, yes, but no worries. I have control over the situation. Alas Ramus is on my side as well.”
What could be going on? Emi had trouble even imagining.
“Anyway, I did find out, but I think it best that you hear it directly from the mouth of Laila, Emilia, so I will refrain from telling you. She said she will wait as long as necessary, so feel free to visit her ahead of me. She should be awaiting you in Nord’s room.”
“…Okay.”
“Farewell, then… All right, if you have an excuse, I would like to hear it!”
It was with that ill-boding statement that Suzuno chose to end the call.
“What was that all about…?”
Judging by the clues, it seemed most likely that Maou had done something to invite Suzuno’s ire upon him. But what did “Alas Ramus is on my side” mean? The sight of Alas Ramus abandoning him would hurt Maou far more than any physical blow Suzuno had to offer.
“…Ah, well. Before that…”
Emi used her phone to tell Emeralda, still shacking up at her apartment in Eifukucho, that she’d be staying with Suzuno tonight. After receiving her acknowledgment, she let out a sharp exhale.
“Right. This is what I should focus on!”
Rika wound up waiting in the dining hall all the way until Emi’s shift ended. It wasn’t the first time she had gone to her for Ashiya-related advice. However, something was much different this time: Rika knew all about Ashiya’s real identity. She had never seen him in demon form, as the Great Demon General Alciel, but she knew both his history and what goals he had in mind as he lived out his daily grind.
Even so:
“Ashiya called to ask me out…”
Which meant—
“…………………What should I even do? Ugggh.”
She looked at the clock. It was already fifteen minutes past ten. It’d be mean to make Rika wait much longer, and stewing here in the staff room would just get her home later and make her more of a thorn in Suzuno’s side.
“Guess I’ll have to see how this flows.”
Her resolve firmed up, Emilia marched resolutely out of the room, said her good-byes to Akiko and the rest of the crew, and left the building with Rika.
“I’m sorry this is so sudden.”
Rika followed behind Emi, her body looking a measure smaller than usual.
“Oh, it’s fine. Sorry I made you wait so long. I know we were talking about dinner, but you ate a pretty decent amount, didn’t you, Rika?”
“Yeah, I guess, but whatever you want to have, Emi!”
“It’ll probably have to be a bar at this point, I’d imagine.”
“A bar…? You okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? We’ve been to lots.”
“Yeah, but you aren’t actually twenty yet, are you?”
“Oh, thaaaat.”
Emi’s actual chronological age hadn’t reached twenty—when Japanese people could legally drink. This apparently bothered Rika’s conscience.
“There was no real regulation on that where I’m from, and I’m pretty sure I’m twenty-one by now as far as my Japan registry goes, so I’m fine along those lines. But would you prefer to talk about this sober?”
“N-no, no, not that. I’m just not sure I can really keep my cool right now, so…”
She hadn’t been keeping it for a long time now, but Emi nodded anyway. Alcohol right now, she reasoned, would make Rika ramble her way to oblivion without getting anywhere.
“There’s a diner down this road a little bit. Does that work?”
“Sure. Sorry.”
Rika was nothing but apologies tonight.
“It’s all right. But…you know, you don’t have to treat me. Depending on how this goes, Rika, I might have to drop some truth bombs on you that you won’t like. Let’s have dinner like normal.”
“…Okay.”
Their destination settled, Emi and Rika trudged their way to the diner, their legs feeling heavier than usual. It was past ten thirty now, and the diner was more empty than not. Taking a nonsmoking booth, they gave their orders—Rika opting for the free-refills drink bar, Emi attacking her post-shift hunger with the clams vongole pasta set with soup, salad, and drink.
“Kinda feels like a while since it was just you and I eating together, huh?”
“Yeah. Too bad we aren’t taking the same route back home any longer. I’m glad you’re willing to come here all the time to see me, but I still feel kinda bad about it.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it! I mean, regardless of the circumstances, you’d feel kinda weird hanging around the office you got fired from, right?”
“I don’t think it’s that bad. I mean, all the restaurants and stuff you took me to around that office really helped me get used to Japanese cuisine, Rika. I’ll travel to you next time, so how ’bout we invite Maki and so on if we’re all free?”
“Yeah, the scene keeps changing all the time over there! Remember that Russian place we all kept going to? That closed down last month.”
“Aw, no way! I really loved the beef stroganoff there.”
“Yeah, they kept all the furniture and opened up this pasta joint there, but it just wasn’t any good. Like, with all the Italian and stuff in the area, you can’t afford to disappoint with the food like that. There were a lot of the old fixtures and stuff in the place, too, so it felt sad.”
“Yeah, with all that fancy Russian stuff they had on the walls, it’d be weird if they opened a ramen or rice bowl joint in there.”
“Well, it’s never a problem if the food’s good. Too bad the good places can’t all stay open like that, y’know?”
As they darted from one light subject to the next, the (coincidentally) pasta dinner set arrived.
“Wow, looking at that makes me kinda hungry now.”
“Why don’t you get something?”
“Mmm, I didn’t really do much exercise today, so I dunno if I want anything heavy…hmm…”
Rika agonized over the subject for a few more minutes before deciding against it. Emi was done with her meal not long after, and Rika took the cue to pour herself a cup of herbal tea from the drink bar, mentally prepping herself. She turned toward Emi in the booth, straightening up her posture.
“So…”
“Yeah?”
Emi nodded at her as she took a swig of water.
“I think I called you about pretty much the same thing a while ago, Emi, but… You know, this time, Ashiya called me to ask for help purchasing a cell phone.”
“Wow, so he’s using you as his personal electronics consultant again?”
Back when Maou had purchased a TV, Ashiya had mentioned to Rika that he was considering a phone purchase of his own, asking for her advice. He wound up not buying one that day, and with the multiple waves of drama to deal with afterward, Ashiya still didn’t have a mobile phone to his name.
“That’s the general idea,” Rika said, choosing not to deny it. “But he said he wanted to apologize for all the stuff that happened and for not telling me about everything. So he asked me out to dinner.”
“Bfft!!”
The instinctual muscular reaction from Emi almost made her crush the glass of water in her clenched hand.
“T-to dinner?!”
It was a standard tactic to use whenever a man asked a woman out. But if the man and woman were Ashiya and Rika, that changed things.
“S-so then?”
“I had no reason to turn him down, so I said okay. Probably a little too eagerly.”
Emi had no way of knowing where this eager approval was made, but she could tell that Rika was ready, willing, and able to accept the invite the moment she received it.
“Oh…”
She paused for a moment
, embarrassed. Then she imagined the two of them having dinner out. It made her want to cradle her head with both hands. This was Ashiya she was talking about. Ashiya who (for reasons different from most others) had no motivation whatsoever to dress gaudily or brag about himself with others. If this was Maou, there would be some of that bragging. He’d probably be inspired to take her to kind of a nicer restaurant. Emi had seen him engage in this kind of date scene once before, and while it wasn’t until later when she learned Ashiya had coordinated his outfit for him, between that and his work attitude, she had learned early on that Maou could hold himself pretty well during more formal occasions.
Meanwhile, flip that over, and you had Ashiya. He had a clean-cut image and took good care of his looks, but unlike with Maou, Emi had no recollection of him wearing anything memorable at all in public. The more she tried to recall some occasion—any occasion—the more she just remembered him in shorts during the summer or T-shirts while out handling chores. With each memory, less and less of his body was covered.
“S-so where will you be eating?”
“I dunno, but I think I understand your worries there, Emi.” Rika let out a wry smile at her clearly disturbed friend. “I know how Maou and his friends live. If we wind up at Manmaru Udon for noodles or MgRonald even, I’m not gonna complain.”
“I think you probably should, actually.”
If that was what Rika was willing to accept, Emi wasn’t sure what advice she could offer.
“But that’s not what you wanted to talk about, right?”
“Well, no point asking you what Ashiya eats, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I mean, you told me you might have some truth bombs, but… Yeah. That sort of thing.”
“What sort of thing?”
“I mean, what I want to talk about… Basically, I’m afraid it’s gonna be a rehash of all the stuff I already know from you and Maou and stuff. I think it’s just gonna be Ashiya personally apologizing to me, in terms of what he wants to say to me, I mean. Like, he told me that already.”
“Yeah…”
Emi hadn’t had much to contribute besides “yeah” for much of this conversation.
“So, you know…”
Now Rika was starting to get fidgety again.
The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 13 Page 7
