The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 1 (6 page)

“You should know as well as I do, Emilia, how much your schooling and past experience affect your social position here in Japan.”

“Yeah. So? That’s ‘Emilia the Hero,’ by the way!”

“Look, try to use your brain a little, all right? In Japan, we’re magicless. Powerless. The only power we
can
get our hands on is the title of a salaried employee!”

Maou belted out a howling laugh, the laugh that once sowed seeds of terror across Ente Isla.

“So heed my words, Emilia the Hero. My ultimate goal is to become a full-time employee in this world!”

“I…don’t see how that affects me.”

Emilia was frozen on the spot, unsure how to react to this unexpected declaration.

“Soon, the day will come when I outclass even my store manager. Then, as a full-timer, I will build up my stores of cash and social currency. Before long, I will wield enormous powers, forcing massive armies of people in Japan to grovel before me! Then I will use
this power as a weapon to invade Ente Isla once more! Well, Emilia? Think you have what it takes to stop me?”

Ashiya could only stand to the side, unable to speak as he listened to the speech unfolding in terrifying fashion.

Chopsticks still in hand, Maou stared proudly at the plainly dumbfounded Emilia.

“…You are
so
stupid.”

After a moment, Emilia averted her eyes. Maou, noting this, puffed up his chest in glorious victory.

“Hah! I thought so! A mere human could never comprehend the extent of my glorious spiritual strength!”

“If I may,” interjected Ashiya, “I think she said that precisely
because
she comprehended it.”

After a sigh, Emilia continued, obviously crestfallen at this anticlimax.

“This is just exhausting me… I don’t know if it even matters anymore. I’m going home.”

She wiped her reddened eyes before shooting Maou another glare.

“But I hope you don’t have the wrong idea. I don’t understand you at all, and I am definitely
not
going to let you run free. I still have some of my power left. I could kill you anytime I want. But if I do that, I won’t have any way back home. So if I want to get back home, then I won’t be able to kill you. And that’s how it is.”

What did she hope to accomplish, admitting up to her own predicament? It puzzled Maou as Emilia laid it bare for all the world to see, as if nothing could be more natural.

“It wouldn’t be fair if you told me about yourself and I didn’t return the favor, would it?”

This threw both Maou and Ashiya for a loop.

“Well, how wonderfully thoughtful of you.”

“So…until I find a way to procure both your defeat and my pathway back home, I’m not going to take your life. But don’t let your guard down yet!…Ugh.”

The fatigue was written upon Emilia’s face as she walked toward the door.

“Also, my name here in Japan is Emi Yusa, all right? Try not to mess it up.”

“Yeah, sure thing.”

Emilia opened the door, then turned back toward the two men.

“Also, what kind of name is ‘Sadao’? That’s, like, a grandpa’s name.”

Then she slammed the door shut behind her, kicking up dust apartment-wide. Ashiya stared at the door, still reeling. They could hear her tramping down the stairway, and then all was silent.

The Devil King spat at the unseen “Emi’s” back.

“All the Sadaos in Japan are gonna make you beg for mercy!”

“Hi there! Are you dining in today?”

“I want to talk to you. Outside.”

The MgRonald in front of Hatagaya station was staying fairly busy today. Enough so that Emi, dressed in a gray business suit instead of the morning’s casual outfit, didn’t even bother hiding her peeved annoyance as she stood in front of Maou’s cash register.

“To go, then? Okay, what would you like to order?”

“I want you where we were last night once you get out of work. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“Can I make that into a value meal for you today?”

“Come alone.”

“Just the sandwich? Certainly! If I could just have you wait one moment by the side here… One Big Mag, please!”

“You better show up. This isn’t so I can fight you.”

“Thank you very much! Come back soon!”

Emi briskly paid for the current seasonal burger, accepted the bag, and left.

All Maou could think, the businesslike smile never leaving his face, was
Dammit dammit DAMMIT
repeatedly. There was no way this little “talk” was going to go smoothly.

“Maou?”

A voice called for him from behind.

“What’s up, Chi?”

It was Chiho Sasaki, one of the new part-timers. She was a second-year high-school student whom Maou had mentored during her training period. Even now, as a full crew member, she still turned to Maou whenever something came up.

She put her medium-length hair up during her shift, and her natural-born brightness and guileless smile made her a hit with the customers. Maou appreciated how quickly she soaked in all the knowledge she needed for the job.

“That was kind of a weird customer, wasn’t it?”

“You mean the…woman just now?”

“Right. Kind of creepy, huh? And she kept on muttering, too.”

“Yeah, well, we get all kinds in here.”

“Do you know her? It sounded like you were having a conversation.”

Yes, he knew Emi. No denying that. Thinking about it, he realized that Emi, at age seventeen, could be just as old as Chiho. It was funny how they made the exact opposite impression on people. Emi seemed far more mature than her years betrayed…or, more likely, she had a childhood that forced her to grow up fast.

“Mmm, yeah, a little.”

Maou hoped to drop the subject as quickly as possible, but Chiho’s sense of curiosity was unlikely to let that ambiguous response pass without comment.

“Ooh! Something’s
up
!”

“What?”

Chiho peered at him from below, hands clasped together behind her back.

“And she
was
kinda pretty, too, huh? Huh? Huh, Maou?”

“You don’t have to say ‘huh’ three times, Chi! Like, what makes you think her and me are—
Hello
there!”

By this point, the instinct to loudly greet every customer who passed through the entrance was embedded into his brain stem.

“Will this be for here, ma’am?”

This time, Chiho took up the register. They were out of the rush, so anyone was free to take the front counter as long as they knew the job. Chiho was still new here, but whenever there was a spare moment, she readily sought out and accepted new duties. Maou was impressed enough that he willingly took a step back and let her take over.

The customer was a kindly-looking mother with baby in hand, a boy who might or might not have been old enough for school yet was clinging to her side. It was a pretty common sight to see at the semiresidential Hatagaya restaurant, once the lunch period ended and the herds of office flacks cleared out.

The mother’s eyes darted between Chiho and the menu as she placed her order. Suddenly, Chiho’s fingers came to a halt over the register keys. “Just one moment, please,” she said before turning to Maou.

“Um…Maou?”

“Yep?”

It was generally frowned upon for full employees to whisper at trainees in front of customers. Instead, requiring crew members to discuss issues with customers and solve them together helped train the staff and gave customers a better impression of the place. Chiho pointed out the family with her eyes as she continued.

“This customer’s son has issues with allergies.”

“Allergies? Certainly. Do you know which types of food trigger these allergies?”

It was still Chiho’s duty to attend to the customer. Maou worked through her to address the customer’s concerns as politely as possible.

“It looks like shrimp, crab, and some fruits, too.”

Maou nodded and provided a colorful menu to the mother as he explained her options.

“Well, products that include shrimp are required by law to be specifically mentioned on food menus, so as you can see here, it’s used in all of our seafood products.”

“Oh!”

The mother, as well as Chiho, seemed oddly impressed by this presentation.

“Regarding fruit, the government recommends informational displays for kiwifruit, oranges, peaches, and apples. Out of those, apples are the only type used in certain types of seasonings that we use. This includes the sauce on the Teriyaki Burger, for example, as well as some salad dressings. Over on our side offerings, it would also be best to avoid our seasonal fruit-flavored ice cream selection, as well as the vegetable juice.”

Both the mother and Chiho were held enrapt by this lecture, as Maou pointed out the menu items to be avoided. Satisfied by this, the mother made her choices.

“By the way, ma’am, would you like to use our microwave?”

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

Chiho and the mother responded in almost identical fashion. Maou motioned toward the mother’s infant as he continued.

“If you have any baby food or other products meant for microwave preparation, we’d be happy to assist you with that. If you don’t mind my intrusiveness, I thought you might like your youngest to enjoy lunch with you and your son.”

The mother glanced at the baby in her arms, a wide grin on her face, before nodding.

“Well, thank you very much! Here… This should take about forty seconds to cook.”

She took a vacuum-packed pouch out from her shoulder bag as she spoke. Maou accepted it, then handed it over to Chiho.

“Here, Sasaki, put this in for twenty seconds. Make sure it’s ready alongside the rest of the order.”

Employees in Japanese restaurants were expected to refer to each other by last name in front of their customers. Chiho took the vacuum pack and was about to trot toward the kitchen when she stopped herself.

“Didn’t she say forty seconds?”

“That’s for a household microwave. We’ve got an industrial one here that’s at least twice as strong, so twenty ought to be enough.”

“Oh! All right!”

Chiho nodded respectfully toward Maou before disappearing into the rear kitchen.

Maou took up the reins from there, accepting payment, arranging the order on the tray, and handing it to the customer. He wound up being thanked multiple times by the grateful mother. Just another small step on the path to a full-time position. And, from there, to conquering Japan. He could physically feel the steadily forward progress on his skin today.

“Mmm? What is it, Chi?”

Chiho, who had reappeared by his side at some point, looked up toward him, practically in awe.

“That was
amazing
, Maou!”

“Huh?”

“I mean, look at you! Did you memorize all that stuff about allergies and what kind of ingredient goes in what?”

“Well, it’s all in the training manual, isn’t it?”

Maou replied as if nothing could be less unexpected. Chiho’s excitement continued apace.

“But that’s still amazing! And you even thought about the baby food, too!”

“Yeah… Well, that kind of thing’s tougher during the rush, but when you have the time for it, it’s nice if you can be flexible with customer needs. It helps make a better long-term impression.”

To Chiho, young and chock-full of desire to perform her job well, this was enough to make her sigh in rapt admiration.

“That’s just so…so
cool
, Maou! So grown-up and responsible!”

“Ha-ha… Still just a part-timer, though.”

The only thing that could have intensified Chiho’s look of awed respect was if the background behind her were literally spewing rose petals in all directions. Suddenly, though, she snapped out of it, her face serious once more.

“Oh! Speaking of which, Maou, were you okay after the earthquake yesterday?”

“Um…”

It was always difficult—as difficult as trying to control the Gate to another world—to predict what kind of sudden new directions a teenage girl would take a conversation. It was astonishing to Maou, and something he had been introduced to only once he had Chiho for a coworker, but he was well used to it by now.

“Yeah, no real problems. I live in a junky apartment, so I guess my roommate thought it was a pretty big one, but it didn’t shake
that
much, you know? I didn’t even feel anything.”

“Oh? Uh… Oh! I guess so, huh?”

Chiho, judging by her reaction, wasn’t expecting this response. She had this very unnatural way of acting surprised that was in itself surprising.

“That’s what all my classmates said at school when I asked them, but for me, it was, like, so awful!”

“Really?”

Spotting Maou’s apparent interest, Chiho began to gesticulate wildly to emphasize her harrowing experience.

“My mom said there was this really loud noise, like something exploded, and it shook really bad, too! When I got back home, all the CDs and stuff had fallen off my bookshelf! It was the worst!”

“Wow. That bad?”

“Oh, you don’t think I’m lying, too, do you, Maou?”

Chiho puffed up her cheeks in protest, eliciting a laugh from him.

“Oh, I’m not, I’m not. So then what happened?”

“Well, then we had to clean up all the dishes and stuff that had broken! My dad was calling around all over the place!”

“Calling who?”

“Oh! My dad’s a police officer, but he was home yesterday because he was off duty. But he used to be a regional director and one of the emergency contact points for the town assembly, so he made a bunch of calls to all his contacts. The ward’s disaster management office told him that it wasn’t a big earthquake at all. It was a real bummer!”

“Huh.”

“Maou?”

“… …”

“Hey! Maou!”

“Mm? Oh. Sorry. I just thought that sounded kinda weird, you know? Like, only your house getting affected.”

“Yeah, isn’t it?… Oh, uh, by the way?”

“Hmm?”

She had been excited up to now, darting from word to word, but now Chiho’s voice was toned down a notch as she expectantly looked at her coworker.

“You said you had a roommate just now?”

Something about her eyes made Maou want to avert his own.

“Yeah. An old general of mine.
Friend.
Friend of mine, from way back.”

The “living on a shoestring with my old friend” cover was something he had decided upon with Ashiya in advance. It had the side benefit of being almost 100 percent true. Maou sighed to himself.

“Is-is it your…g-girl—”

“He’s a guy, Chi. Just the two of us, slumming it in our ancient apartment building.”

“Eh? Oh? Ohhhh. I…see. Yeah…I get it. Good!”

“What’s good?”

“N-nothing! Are…are you on the first floor, Maou?”

“Nah. Second. My friend didn’t feel anything on the second floor, so I guess that’s why I didn’t think it was anything big. The place definitely woulda been shaking if it was. What about you? Do you live in a condo or something?”

“No, it’s…um, it’s a house. Uh…”

“Hmm?”

“If…if you’d like, we could—”

“Come on, kids.”

The conversation was interrupted by Mayumi Kisaki, head manager of the Hatagaya restaurant. She had the body proportions of a
model and stood a good head taller than Maou. Her long black hair, easily sleek and shiny enough for her to star in shampoo ads, was tied back, the colorful MgRonald uniform doing wonders to accentuate her body.

“Oh! Ms. Kisaki!”

“No personal conversations while you’re on duty, please. Have you completed the evening floor check yet, Chi?”

“Oh! I’m sorry! I’ll go do it right now!”

Every two hours, someone had to go around the store to ensure everything was clean and in the proper place. Chiho hurriedly took a checksheet from the shelf beneath her register and flew away from the counter.

“You try not to spoil Chi too much either, okay, Marko?”

Kisaki’s eyebrows were furrowed, but Maou knew she wasn’t truly angry. Unless someone from the executive office was lurking around, she preferred to keep things relaxed on the floor, referring to every employee by a nickname and refusing to let anyone call her “Manager.”

She was one of MgRonald’s most well-known managers. More than a few male regulars stopped by just for a chance to chat with her, and she had appeared several times in the ads they printed on the paper place mats. Why an intelligent, attractive woman with such a perfectly shaped body was content with running a fast-food joint was a mystery. The only secrets she guarded more closely were her age, height, and weight.

“But didn’t you tell me not to be so harsh on her, Ms. Kisaki? She’s probably gonna be the first student in a while to settle into a regular shift schedule.”

Just as Maou finished the sentence, they heard the sound of assorted objects falling to the ground beyond the door in the staff room next to the customer seating, where the crew stored cleaning equipment and other accessories. She must have knocked some of it over by accident. Chiho’s frantic “Sorry about that!” could be heard above the noise.

“Well, yes, but the home office is starting to send people in unannounced to check up on things. If we let the private chat go too far, it might come back to bite us later on.”

Fair enough. Even weirdos like Emi were spying on this place. There was no telling who else might have their eyes on it.

Of course, Maou had yet to see Kisaki have to apologize to anyone from the main headquarters. It seemed more like they actively tried to avoid her, in fact.

“Anyway, Marko, you mind doing an afternoon stat check for me?”

Maou tapped away at the register, printing out a receipt listing customer and sales figures for the slow afternoon period between the lunch and dinner rushes. Kisaki took a glance at the receipt and nodded, apparently satisfied.

“Nice! We’re gonna make our daily sales target easy today. Great job, people! You all get one free drink on me. Let’s keep it going through the dinner rush, all right? Oh, and Marko, that was a perfect ten, how you treated that customer just now. Keep setting a good example for the new guys, okay?”

Besides meeting her daily sales goals and keeping things positive and upbeat with the crew, Kisaki was a woman of few motivations. Hence why she was so ready to give Maou raises. Everything he did to improve his output and drive sales was exactly what she wanted to see.

Maou firmly believed that surpassing her would be the first concrete step along the path to world supremacy.

“Oh, by the way, did the earthquake yesterday affect you at all, Ms. Kisaki?”

“Earthquake? Was there one?”

That was about all the attention Kisaki paid the query as she pored over the sales figures. She had a condo somewhere nearby, but if that was her reaction, it was doubtful she felt anything at all.

“Ah, nothing worth worrying about at this point, I guess.”

He felt a twinge of guilt about Chiho, but for now, he knew his primary concern should likely be his upcoming late-night conference after work. Maou was on duty until closing time at midnight, so it
would likely come at the same time as yesterday. The more he thought about it, the more it plunged his mind into a state of depression.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

Emi, drawn up to her full height, was waiting for Maou at the darkened residential intersection. Since their last encounter, she had changed into a blouse and a trim pair of jeans. There was nothing in her hands, but there was no telling what kind of hidden weapon she might whip out and fling at him.

Kisaki’s free drink—MgRonald’s signature Platinum Roast Ice Coffee—was safely ensconced in Maou’s right hand, ready to be thrown at a moment’s notice.

“I just wanted to ask you something.”

His hips were firmly planted upon the saddle of Dullahan, allowing him the option of escape if times called for it.

“Do you even
have
any intention of returning to Ente Isla?”

“Huh? What’re you talking about?” Maou honestly failed to grasp her point. “Of course I do.”

“So you don’t want to spend the rest of your life in this world?”

“What, are you kidding me? What’s this all about, anyway?”

“I was watching you work earlier.”

“Wha—Where?! Not the bookstore again!”

Emi ignored the question.

“Your smile. Your snappy responses to questions. The trust the manager and the other employees put in you. That flexible approach you took with customers—that takes real
talent
. You’re, like, the ideal Maggie’s employee.”

“What, are you from Osaka?”

The battle over how to correctly abbreviate the name “MgRonald” was intense and heated, cleanly splitting the nation of Japan in half vertically, with both sides doggedly sticking to their preferred version. Maou knew that, and as a resident of eastern Japan, he knew that “Ronald’s” was the only correct—the only
sane
—version.

“When we talked this morning, I thought you were just spouting nonsense to me on purpose. But watching you work today…you were really telling the truth, weren’t you?”

Emi shrugged. “And, you know, if you’re
willing
to live out life as a bright, happy young man in this world, I’m perfectly willing to not kill you. That girl you worked with—you know, the cute one? It looked like she’s got a thing for you.”

“Yeah. I was pretty much the guy who gave Chi all her training. She’s only been a full crew member for a coupla days, but she learns quick, and she’s really good at being polite with customers…so…”

The Devil King was boasting about some rather unexpected feats.

“Think about it. If you live out your life here, everything’s going to be fine. Peaceful! You can make the area around Hatagaya station happy for everyone. And I wouldn’t have to fight anyone I don’t have to. Would you consider it, at least? You, and Alciel, living here until you’re dead and buried?”

“Alciel is a valued assistant of mine, I’ll grant you that. But why would I want to live all the way to old age with him?”

“Well, you know, I heard that sort of thing is getting popular these days.”

Maou scrunched up his face at the concept.

“Look, Emi, are you…
suggesting
something, when you’re ordering me to live with another man my whole life?”

“No! Of course not! I just wanted to…bring up the idea, all right?”

Emi took a breath. “I just want you to give up Ente Isla for me. I want you to give it up, and find a new life for yourself here. On Earth.”

Maou was quick to respond.

“Not happening. I’m gonna make my way back to Ente Isla…and it
will
be mine.”

He meant every word of it. He had lost a great many things, but the strength behind his avowal still rang true.

That much was clear to Emi as well.

“…All right.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes. That’s it. Now it’s been decided. I will chase you down for all time, until you are dead by my hand.”

“So the same as before. Great.”

Maou placed his feet upon Dullahan’s trusty pedals. He pumped them once, defiantly, hoping to place a final exclamation point on their conversation, when:

“Yagh!”

He felt a dull force thunk against his front wheel. Losing his balance, he fell lamely to the ground.

Even Emi, who was about to briskly walk away from the scene, was surprised at the sheer artistic grandeur behind the wipeout. If he were a little closer to the side of the street, he might have cracked his head open on the curb.

The cup of iced coffee in his hand arced through the air, the liquid and ice splattering across the pavement.

“What was
that
?”

Without thinking, Emi ran back to Maou, helping him back up.

“Oww… Man, that came out of nowhere. Did I run over something?”

“Hah! And you call yourself Devil King! Get it together, won’t you?”

“Shut up.”

Emi inspected the bike as he supported Maou’s side. His eyes had teared up a bit from the shocked surprise.

“That’s a new bike, too, isn’t it? Oooh, too bad.” She pointed at the front wheel as he brought the kickstand down.

“Aw, man, it’s flat!”

Falling to one knee, Maou groaned in pain as he realized the enormity of it all.

For a moment, Emi reveled in the sight.

“Come on, Dullahan! You can pull through this! It’s just a flesh wound! I’ve only just purchased you!”

But seeing Maou whine emphatically at a cheap fixie made her feel a twinge of empathy instead.

“You don’t have to act like that. It’s just a flat. Just bring it to the
bicycle shop tomorrow. It’s only a thousand yen or so to patch up the tube. Replacing a tire costs more, but…”

“R-really?!”

Maou’s hands still tightly embraced Dullahan as his head turned toward Emi, who edged backward in response.

“Um… Yeah. Really. But get away from me! You’re all dirty! It’s disgusting!”

“I am
not
disgusting! But…okay. I’ll go get it fixed first thing in the morning. Thanks for the help.”