Both Hiroshi’s speech and manner of presenting himself were now a far cry from the sluggish demeanor of the past. Maou didn’t detect any holy force within him, but between his eyes and his language skills, he knew he was more than just another middle-aged man.
<“…Common Vezian, is it?”> Maou said, matching his tongue. <“From the eastern part of the Western Island?”>
Apart from Holy Vezian, the language of choice on the westernmost section of that island—the part the Devil King had never managed to conquer—Maou didn’t need any demonic force to make himself understood in any language on Ente Isla.
<“Sorry,”> he continued, <“but lemme ask the questions first. I had thought I knew about everyone who came from Ente Isla or elsewhere. I want to know where you come from. Besides, you might be the first clue I’ve had yet.”>
<“Clue?”>
Maou nodded and turned to Tsubasa. <“I was too surprised earlier to ask you, but I think I better right now. Were you born from a Yesod fragment?”>
That, to him, seemed worth confirming first, before moving on to her “sister.” Maou could hardly contain his excitement at having this gift from Ente Isla appear out of nowhere for him. But Tsubasa’s reply was light and airy as always.
“Yes! I surely am!”
And she gave it in Japanese, too.
“Pop, you are sure you will say everything?”
“…” Hiroshi was still suspicious of Maou’s motives. Tsubasa apparently took that as her “go” sign.
“Well, okay, Pop. I think it is okay. Maou isn’t an ‘angel.’ I see that, too.”
She rubbed Hiroshi’s arm in an attempt to quell his fears, her purple eyes aimed right at Maou.
“My name is Acieth Alla. ‘Tsubasa,’ it is a fake name.”
Acieth Alla. Maou took a deep breath at the name, oxygen flowing through every vessel in his body.
<“‘Alla’…? Wing? Is that why you went with Tsubasa? The same word in Japanese?”>
“Uh-huh! I like sound of it!”
Maou simply nodded. <“So you and Acieth aren’t connected by blood, right? You made up that Sato name, too, didn’t you?”>
The idea of Hiroshi being his real name seemed ludicrous by now. He had to have another one, just as the Devil King Satan had the name Sadao Maou.
<“I took the name Sato from…a man I encountered, not long after I arrived in Japan.”>
<“Just a normal Japanese guy? You didn’t reveal who you were, did you?”>
Hiroshi (provisional name) shook his head. <“No. He was a strong, gifted man, and so kind to me despite my total lack of knowledge about Japan. No matter how many times I fell, I picked myself up and kept aiming for my dreams. I did whatever work I was offered. It was fun to me, every day.”>
Maou didn’t ask how hard it was for him. He wasn’t stupid enough to, because he knew that he himself was the main and most direct reason for all this.
<“You boarded the carriage from the observatory. Have you been living in Mitaka this whole time?”>
<“No. We were near Shinjuku at first, but we moved to Mitaka because Sato heard what Tsubasa…what Acieth dreamed of, and he made some introductions for us.”>
Maou groaned. They could have run into each other at any moment. For that matter, it wouldn’t have surprised him if they had picked up on Maou’s and Emi’s activities to some extent by now.
<“…Okay, so I don’t know your real name, but I think I might know the names of some of the people you’re involved with.”>
“Why is…talking like the merry-go-round like that?”
There was no telling how much longer Tsubasa—or Acieth Alla—was going to continue indifferently commenting on their conversation.
Then Maou realized something. <“Hang on. You can’t speak Common Vezian?”>
“Uh-uh. But I understand it! Like this…” Acieth pointed at her temple, then Maou’s forehead.
<“An Idea Link? Wait, so you can’t use it, though?”> he asked the man.
<“Regrettably, I have neither the knowledge nor the talent required to cast magic. It has…not been easy for me,”> Hiroshi stated.
Maou nodded. Hence the literacy issues, he supposed.
<“So, these people you say you might be familiar with…?”> Hiroshi asked.
<“Yeah…”> Maou fixed his gaze on Hiroshi again. <“But if I’m going to reveal it, I want to be sure you’re willing to work with me. I’ll help you and Acieth out as much as I can, too. So don’t run away on me, all right?”>
Hiroshi’s eyebrows lowered. <“I am not a child, either. Given the Common Vezian we are speaking, I hardly expect we can be strangers now. But you, as well—if you’re willing to go this far, you had best not do anything to oppose me. I am worthless with magic, but I think I am capable of defending myself well enough.”>
Maou noticed Hiroshi turning his eyes toward Acieth as he spoke. He opted against bringing it up. <“Well, you said it. I’m just saying, I don’t want you chickening out on me.”>
He paused a moment, grinning, before coming out with it.
<“My allies and I are searching for Emilia Justina. She had been located here in Japan, but she returned to Ente Isla several weeks ago and we’ve lost contact with her since. Do you know anything about—”>
“Emilia?!”
The reaction was dramatic. The bold, defiant glare Hiroshi had been aiming at Maou up to now dissolved in an instant. The moment the name “Emilia” came up, it was like all of the blood immediately rushed up into his head.
With his two long, powerful arms, Hiroshi placed his hands on both of Maou’s shoulders. He brought his face up close to him, excited to the point of nearly hyperventilating.
<“Y-you know Emilia?! Do you know where Emilia is right now?! H-how could she possibly be in Japan?!”>
The voice was deep and booming enough to make passersby stop and give him strange looks. Hiroshi was in no position to care about them.
<“Calm down! Stop shouting like that! You’ll attract attention!”>
<“How…how can I calm down at a time like this?! Where is she?! Where is Emilia?!”>
“I told you, calm down!” Maou said, finding himself reverting to Japanese as he waved his hands at Hiroshi.
<“Come on already!”>
<“…All right. Listen to me. Emilia was definitely in Japan, all right? But certain things happened a few weeks ago that drove her to go back to Ente Isla for a bit.”>
<“Are you…kidding me?”>
<“But it’s now been two weeks since the date she said she’d return. We’re not capable of traveling to Ente Isla to look for her. It’s a long story. That’s why you’re the only lead we have right now on where she is. A complete stroke of luck!”>
“Luck? How rude!”
Hiroshi, ignoring Acieth, staggered over to the shuttered reception window, leaning against it before gradually dragging his body downward to the floor.
“Hey!” Maou extended a hand to support his arm, not wanting Hiroshi’s emotions to draw the attention of someone important. “Don’t make this any harder on us, all right?”
<“Emilia… Emilia’s…”>
“Great… So you know Emi, huh? I should’ve known, I guess…”
If Acieth was cut from the same cloth as Alas Ramus, that meant they were both linked by their Yesod connection. Perhaps with Emi’s holy sword, too. But this wasn’t the sort of reaction an involved party would make if they were aware of Maou’s and Emi’s activities over the past year or so. It must’ve been the case for Acieth as well.
And it gave Maou the inspiration to go back over all of his and Emi’s relations—all of the Hero’s and Devil King’s—over the past few months. His brain powered into overdrive, and before another moment elapsed, it arrived at a conclusion.
“Hang on, are you Emi’s… Emilia’s…?”
<“Emilia… Emilia is my daughter… My precious daughter!”>
<“…Oh.”>
“Pop�
��s real name is Nord. Nord Jus…Jus… Um, what was it?”
Acieth’s uninvited aside provided Maou all the confirmation he needed. So there they both were—Nord Justina, Emi’s father, and Acieth Alla, child of the Yesod Sephirah. It was a completely unexpected piece of luck. There’s no way I can let this pair disappear on me, Maou thought.
“Hmm?”
Then the mobile phone in his pocket started ringing. He couldn’t think of anyone who’d need to call him at this time of the day. Probably Ashiya, he supposed, using Urushihara’s computer to call him and find out whether he passed the test or not. Maou had much bigger fish to fry right now—two of them, in fact—and it couldn’t have possibly been anything more important. He decided to ignore it and interrogate the man in front of him while he had the chance.
He didn’t receive it.
“Pick up the phone now, you stupid Devil King!!”
“Wagh!”
“Aiggh?!”
The screamed command thundered across Maou’s mind like a sledgehammer. He nearly lost consciousness for a moment, but he still had the mental strength to take his phone out of his pocket. It was from an unlisted number—and before he could even push the “OK” button, the shouting came back.
“Devil King! I know I’m connecting to you. Answer me right now!”
“Wha… Suzuno?! What’s with you all of a sudden?”
It was definitely Suzuno’s voice, brought vividly to his mind via Idea Link.
“This is your fault for not picking up! This is an emergency! Come back to Sasazuka as soon as you possibly can!”
“Huuuh? Come back? What’re you…?”
Maou looked up at the two people in front of him. Nord, Hiroshi no longer, was sitting in a shattered heap on the ground. Acieth was staring goggle-eyed at Maou for some reason, in a state of total surprise over something or other.
“I’m kind of busy right now, okay?” Maou pleaded, bringing the phone to his ear—an unnecessary step for him, but one he made to avoid suspicion. “I still haven’t gotten my license yet, so it’s not like I can just wheel back home right now…”
But Suzuno wasn’t listening. She had reason not to.
“We received an SOS from Chiho!”
“What?!”
“Devil King! Is it raining where you are?!”
“Y-yeah, it’s comin’ down like a typhoon out there…”
“It’s centered right over Sasazuka! This typhoon-level storm descended into Tokyo from out of nowhere, and it’s blowing wind and rain all across the city! And it’s parked over Sasazuka…right on top of Chiho’s school!”
“Wh-what the hell?!”
This was crazy, and he had no idea what any of it meant. But there was no reason for Suzuno to lie about it. And, as if to back up her story, the building’s PA system squawked to life.
“Um, this is a notice to everyone inside the testing center. We are about ready to announce the results of the motor scooter licensing examination, but due to inclement weather, we will need to delay the start of the on-road exam. Please consult one of our staff at the test registration window for more details. All applicants renewing their automobile licenses should also—”
“A typhoon? That’s ridiculous…”
“Whether it is an angel, demon, or human, I cannot say, but someone is using today’s bad weather to deploy a massive incantation over the city! You need to come back here, now! I don’t know how long Lucifer and I can hold out! It is right over Chiho’s school!”
Then, having said her fill, Suzuno shut off the Idea Link.
Maou grabbed his head. “What in the hell, man? I—I can’t just run home now! I still got these guys to deal with!”
If Chiho was in danger, he wasn’t about to weigh that against the fate of his test score. But even if he shot out the door right now, he had a bus and a train to ride before he reached Sasazuka. It’d easily take an hour or so. Even if he shelled out for a taxi, the driver couldn’t go too quickly in this weather. And above everything else, he couldn’t simply abandon these two golden opportunities that just dropped in his lap.
I knew I should’ve kept some of the demonic force I gave back to Farfarello!
It had taken Maou a month to realize that, but it was approximately one month after he could do anything about it. He never imagined that Emi, by far the strongest out of them all, would disappear on him.
“…Guess it’s taxi or nothing!”
It was the only practical method to bring these two with him to Sasazuka. The potential fare waiting at the end physically pained him. He’d have to put it on the card and worry about the details later.
“Hey, uh, Maou?”
“What?!”
“Are you in the hurry, or something?” Acieth gingerly asked.
“Yeah, but I don’t even know what I should be doing right now. It’s driving me nuts!”
“That woman’s voice, it came from Idea Link, no?”
Maou eyes shot open. “You heard that just now?”
“Uh-huh! More or less.”
There wasn’t any “more or less” about it. But she was right. Maou recalled how Suzuno’s initial bellowing startled her as well.
“So what do you do? Because if you go now, that is not good for us.”
“Well, yeah, me too! If I could, I’d take you two with me and teleport our asses back to Sasazuka right now!”
“Sasazuka?”
“Yes! The neighborhood I live in! Goddammit! If I could still fly, I could get directly over there, too!”
He didn’t have much idea how much distance was involved as the crow flies, but a Devil King flying at full speed would probably reach Sasazuka in pretty short order. Besides, although he was too flustered to remember it right now, Satan also had the ability to open Gates whenever he wanted.
“So you want all of us to fly?”
“Yeah, and I can’t, all right?!”
“Me, Maou, and Pop, yes?”
“Yes! Look, we don’t have time to talk. I need to catch a taxi… And will you stop feeling sorry for yourself down there? Get up! We’re both gonna have to ditch the test again!”
Maou was trying to work the haggard Nord back to his feet when:
“Huff!”
He suddenly floated. Physically. Into the air. Inside the test center.
“Hey, whoaahh!!” Maou shouted, flailing in order to reach the ground again. But before he could:
“Maou, Pop, huff!”
Acieth gave them both a look, then lifted her body into the air, just like Ashiya in demon form.
“A-Acieth! We’re being too conspicuous! Way too conspicuous!”
They surely were. Three human beings, up in the air—physically, and emotionally to boot. Acieth ignored the chatting around them as she used her mind to pull Maou and Nord close to her, float out into the torrential downpour, and then soar into the dark, cloudy skies.
“Aaaaaagghh?!”
The sheer speed of their ascent made Maou scream out loud. Acieth paid it no mind. He could tell she was using some kind of telekinetic power to free them from the bonds of gravity, but since there was no magical barrier or other protection, he and Nord were rapidly soaked by the rain surrounding them.
“Maou, which way?!”
“Which what?! I have no idea where we are!”
“That lady, she said it was the weather magic, yes? It must be there!”
“Whoooooaaaaahhhh!!”
Before Maou could even gauge the geography beneath him, Acieth shot off toward the eastern skies, not bothering to keep either of them upright in the process.
“We need hurry, yes? Let’s go!”
“W-wait a sec! I need to get my body—gaaahhhh!!”
“Here we goooooooooo!!”
“……”
Accompanied by Maou’s scream and Nord’s voiceless groan, the three of them set off from the Fuchu Test Center eastward to points unknown.
THE DEVIL IS A LITTLE LATE TO THE PUNCH
Ashiya was at an impasse.
The eyes Rika Suzuki used to stare at him, as she knelt politely on her side of the low table, felt sharper than the edge of the Better Half blade. He had never dueled directly with Emi’s sword, but if anything, he would have preferred that sight before him right now. That, at least, could be countered with physical force.
“Ashiya, why aren’t you saying anything to me?”
“I…um…”
He was once called a tactical genius. Now, kneeling at a table, Ashiya was incapable of coherent speech.
They were alone in Devil’s Castle. The tatami-mat floor was starting to dampen a bit along the edge facing the backyard. Rika was rotating her gaze between the rear window and Ashiya.
Between them, sitting on the table, were two small, empty bottles.
“I’m asking you to tell me.”
“Uhmm, I-I completely understand what you wish to say, but…”
“Y’know, I always thought there was something a little mysterious about you, but I didn’t think we, we were, um…close enough that I could start to get all nosy and stuff, so…”
Despite stumbling a bit midway, Rika’s voice remained sharp, probing.
“When you bought that TV, too, I just figured, like, ‘Ahh, I could ask him some other time,’ but…you know.”
“Y-yes…”
The rain outside had lowered the temperature considerably, but he could tell that his back was drenched in sweat.
“And, if you don’t mind me being honest with you right now, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on.”
“I…I suppose not, no…”
All Ashiya could do was crack a smile, one even damper and more sorry looking than the half-dry laundry piled on the floor.
“So I’m gonna ask you one more time.”
“Y-yes?”
“Where did Suzuno and Urushihara just run off to?!”
She was no longer phrasing it as a question. It was an order.
“And in this rain, too!”
A finger shot toward the window.
“They jumped right out of there!”
“Nnnh…”
The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 8 Page 10
