The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 3 (13 page)

“No!!”

Her mouth opened even wider than before.

“…And there you have it. If anyone else has any brilliant ideas, feel free to start convincing Alas Ramus anytime. Me and Emi’ll help you out as much as we can.”

“Chiho Sasaki, are you willing to see that—
aghh
!”

Urushihara’s snark from the inside of the closet was sharply silenced. Suzuno, standing right next to it, had given the door a loud smack.

“But, Your Demonic Highness, if you are together with Emilia and Alas Ramus…”

Chiho stepped up to drive off Ashiya’s complaint first.

“…I’m sorry, Yusa, but would you mind going together? For her sake?”

“Uh? Chiho?”

Ashiya, Suzuno, and Emi all looked up in surprise at this unexpected advice.

“I mean, just think of it as watching over Maou to make sure he doesn’t do anything weird. That’s okay by you, right?”

“……”

“Besides, Maou’s never even been to an amusement park before. I mean, he’s barely even walked as far as Shinjuku from here in Sasazuka, and that’s only two miles or so. Doesn’t that make you nervous, someone like that carrying a baby around the city?”

Maou remained silent. He knew Chiho didn’t mean to paint him as a poverty-stricken drudge, no matter how successful she had just been at it.

“That, and we still don’t even know why Alas Ramus is here in Japan, either. What if there’s some other bad guy like Sariel around here and he tries to go after Alas while Maou’s wandering around by himself? What if Maou gets killed, even?”

“…You truly would make a fine attorney, Chiho.”

Suzuno whispered it softly to herself.

There was no evidence that Alas Ramus’s life was in danger, but considering the circumstances that brought her to Devil’s Castle, there was no way to claim that Chiho’s worst-case scenario was totally implausible.

“But what about you, Chiho…?”

“Oh, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m just saying, if we’re really worried about Alas Ramus here, we should try to be together with her as long as possible so we don’t have anything to regret once it’s all over.”

Having clearly, curtly, said her fill, Chiho placed her hands on her
hips and looked down upon the happy parents. Emi hung her head in resigned disgust.

“Chiho!”

The Sasazuka neighborhood was dark by the time Chiho set off for home, only to have a voice from behind stop her.

“Huh? Oh, Suzuno.”

Suzuno was running in from behind, her geta sandals clacking sharply over the murmur of urban life.

“What’s up? Did I forget something?”

“No, nothing of that sort…”

Suzuno brushed back the hair stuck to her sweaty brow.

“It may not be my place to say this…but I hope you will not mind.”

“What is it?”

“What…? Well, I… I am referring to Emilia and the Devil King, going out together…”

“Ohh… Well, if you’re worried about Maou getting slashed into ribbons following some argument with Emi, I guess I can’t blame you.”

“No, I… There
is
that, yes, but it is not what I mean.”

After all the effort spent catching up to her, Suzuno was now annoyingly evasive about her intentions. Chiho, feeling an odd sense of sisterhood with her, smiled.

“I do kinda worry, though. After all, I don’t think Yusa hates Maou as much as she says.”

The observation would be enough to make Emi faint on the spot if she heard it. But Suzuno chose not to deny it.

“But Maou told me that he’s trusting me and all, so…”

“What?”

“…Hee-hee! Oh, nothing.”

Chiho put a finger in front of her mouth.

“But if we’re going to worry about anybody here, I don’t think it’s me. Yusa’s leaving them alone tonight, too, right?”

“Ah. Yes. She has yet to find the resolve to stay together with them, she said.”

“In which case, I bet
he’s
gonna pitch a huge fit once Yusa goes home. Ashiya, I mean.”

“Alciel?”

Suzuno looked upward in confusion.

“My liege! It is far too dangerous! Please, I beg you to reconsider!”

Chiho’s prediction had already come true by the time Suzuno returned to the apartment building.

“Calm down, man. You think that after all this, Emi’s gonna choose
now
to murder me in public?”

“Even if Emilia herself poses no threat, think about Ms. Sasaki’s hypothesis. What if someone out there should seek to take Alas Ramus’s life, in the worst case…?”

“Look, seriously, calm down! If that’s true, then it’s true whether we go out or not, okay? You think that barricading ourselves in here and locking all the doors and windows is gonna be enough to protect her from some assassin from Ente Isla or the heavens? I mean, eesh, if I’m gonna pee my pants over somebody who I don’t even know if he exists or not, I’m gonna die of heat stroke in here
way
before anybody kills me!”

“Your Demonic Highness, the bite of a single termite has the power to make a mighty castle wall crumble!”

“That’s not even the right metaphor, man! You’re talkin’ about trying to block a bullet with a shield made out of cardboard! What’re we gonna do if we keep Alas Ramus in here day and night and she winds up like Urushihara, huh?”

“The girl boasts much higher qualities than
that,
my liege! When she finishes her meal, she brings her dish to me for cleaning and thanks me for the food!”

“Oh, so you’re saying I’m below Alas Ramus now?!” the shut-in interjected.

“Exactly!”

“Urushihara!!”

“Dude, you guys are being
so
unfair!!”

All the windows were open, allowing Suzuno to hear the entire verbal sparring match. It was enough to bring the headaches back all over again.

“What are you fools squabbling about? I can hear every word!”

“Welcommmmme, Suzu-Sis!”

Alas Ramus raised a chubby arm to greet Suzuno. She was near the door, ripping up some newspaper sheets for fun, totally disinterested in her semilegal guardian’s immature whining.

“Oh. Um… Yes. Good to be back.”

Suzuno’s cheeks reddened once more. The nickname was not one she was used to.

“Suzu-Sis, it’s Sepila!”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Alas Ramus pulled at Suzuno’s kimono sleeve in order to show her a color page taken from an old newspaper. It was an advertisement for a family minivan.

A photo of the car was printed front and center, cartoony cityscape in the background, as the ad copy touted the massive amount of space inside. The back door was open, with a large flock of helium balloons pouring out the rear.

“Sepila!”

“Hmm…? Oh, um, I see.”

Suzuno gave only the most halfhearted of replies, unable to tell what Alas Ramus was trying to say, before turning to Maou.

“Where is Emilia? Has she gone already?”

“Yeah, she left pretty quickly after Chi did. You didn’t see her on the way out?”

“No… But it surprises me that her departure has not sent Alas Ramus into a crying jag.”

“Well, she promised Emi that she wouldn’t act up, so. We’re aiming to put the plan into action on Sunday.”

“Your Demonic Highness, you must give this more thought…”

“Ketter, Netack, Market, and… no Binah. Daddyyy, no Binah!”

“Uh, what?”

Alas Ramus batted her hand against her beloved car ad as she called for Maou.

Suzuno whispered into Ashiya’s ear as she watched from behind. “If you are that concerned about this, Alciel, then let us surveil them in secret.”

The suggestion was enough to make Ashiya turn a ghastly shade of white.

“We have more than enough discount coupons. You can, at the least, keep track of their movements.”

“B-but…”

Ashiya groaned his disapproval before suddenly taking on a far more brooding countenance.

“Even if my liege took the free pass and Emilia paid her own way, Alas Ramus would receive little in the way of a discount for her child admission. And even at half price, when you factor the train costs into the equation… Depending on timing, they may have to eat at a restaurant as well, and that only makes things worse…”

Suzuno needed no extrasensory psychic powers to guess what troubled Ashiya’s mind.

“Look, Alciel.”

Suzuno grabbed one of the coupons left on the table, turned it over, and showed it to Ashiya.

“This amusement park charges no admission for entry. Prices are assigned for each of the attractions instead. Even if you did nothing apart from shadow them, the transit costs are all you need to be concerned about.”

“Ah… I…I see.”

“—So will you all just
go
already? I’ll be right here at home, soooo…”

Just as Ashiya was beginning to soften, Urushihara’s voice chirped out from the closet. The sound was enough to harden Ashiya’s expression once more.

“No! It cannot be allowed! Damn you, Urushihara, you’re set to take advantage of my extended absence to purchase more same-day-shipping folderol from that accursed Jungle.com!”

“……”

The extended silence was all the confirmation required.

“If you wish to go, then go. I will gladly stand guard over Lucifer.”

“Dude!”

“…What are you scheming here?”

Ashiya glared at Suzuno, face twisted with concern, as Urushihara impotently protested behind the door.

Maou, for his part, was silently cleaning up the scraps of newspaper Alas Ramus had strewn around the room.

“I am every bit a resident of this building as you are. If some trouble were to truly befall us, do you think Lucifer would be capable of providing any support by himself?”

“Ngh… You…”

“Whoa, dude, Ashiya, stop acting like you reluctantly agree with her!”

“More to the point, if someone related to Alas Ramus does enter the scene, he or she may not necessarily be the rogue that Chiho suggested. If her true parents were to appear, we must provide an environment for Alas Ramus that will allow us to proceed with things in a smooth, harmonious manner. There is the chance of some ruffian attempting harm upon her, of course…but given the location of the previous Gate that was opened, there is a very good chance of this visitor appearing in Villa Rosa Sasazuka him- or herself. In such a case, do you think Lucifer is capable of handling them on his own initiative?”

“Ngh…nnnnngh.”

“Dude, Ashiya, make her take that back! Say
something
, at least!”

“Of course, I suppose we can worry about that once the day arrives.”

“Nnnnnnngggggggghhhhhhhhhh.”

Leaving Ashiya to redline his brain into oblivion and Urushihara to plead his nonexistent case, Suzuno turned toward Maou.

“And if something should befall you, I suppose there are worse fates than having Emilia come to the rescue.”

“Mmm, yeah, I guess so. I might get my demonic power back, too, y’know, if there’s a lot of people around.”

He had apparently listened in on the conversation as he took care of Alas Ramus.

“Hoad! Tiperay!”

The girl was still flashing the auto advertisement around the room.

“Still, there’s not much point worrying about it if we don’t know what’s even going to happen. I’ll just worry about the most likely scenario, which is that absolutely nothing happens and it’s just another normal day.”

“Hm? How do you mean?”

“What do you
think
I mean?”

Maou gave Alas Ramus a pat on the head. Upon noticing it, she shifted her focus from the advertisement to thrusting her arms upward, trying to grab at the hand.

“I’m gonna keep on working. That’s all. If I can’t keep this girl fed, then we’re screwed, besides.”

“Ugh. I can’t take this.”

Back home, Emi collapsed in the front foyer, not even bothering to remove her shoes.

Alas Ramus
was
a cute, heartwarming child, like any baby her age would be. But, thinking about it, she was still a total stranger, one she had absolutely no personal connection with.

“It’s too much for me to deal with…”

She groaned to herself as she fetched the bag she had just flung away, sitting on the edge of the main hallway to remove the fasteners on her sandals.

“…Why am I acting like such a wimp?! I’m just acting as Alas Ramus’s stand-in mother. It’s not like I’m a c-c-cuh-
couple
with…”

Even talking to herself, the word proved devilishly difficult to blurt out.

“No! No way, no how, not
ever
!”

Putting a final exclamation on her spirited defense to no one in particular, Emi hung her head downward, brushing the hair away from her sweat-covered neck and forehead.

“…I should probably go to the hair salon or something…”

Just as she said it, the cell phone inside her bag began to belt out the
Maniac Shogun
theme song.

Jolting herself to attention, she hurriedly fumbled through her bag and answered the call.

“H-hello?!”

“Oh, hellooooo? This is Emeraaaaalda.”

“Huh? Eme?! I-I’m not looking forward to it or anything, all right?!”

“What are you taaaalking about? Oh, did I catch you in the middle of worrrk or somethiiing?”

Emeralda Etuva, Emi’s traveling companion on Ente Isla, gave a confused response to Emi’s spirited apology.

“Oh, um, no, it’s not, not like, it’s all right.
Totally
all right.”

“Oh? Well, all riiight. You sound pretty agitated, thooough.”

Beneath her easygoing manner of speech, Emeralda could be a surprisingly sharp woman. You would need to have at least some shrewdness on hand to retain such a lofty position as hers in the largest nation on Ente Isla’s Western Island.

“I just wanted to call you because I’m getting a little worrrried.”

“Worried? I-I’m working, all right?! I haven’t forgotten about my obligations as the Hero or anything!”

Despite her best intention, everything Emi said now sounded like an excuse.

“…Oh, gooood.
Such
a relief.”

“Huh?”

“One of my ‘reeds’ told me the Church was up to something seeeedy, so I didn’t want anything bad to happen to youuuu, Emilia.”

“Reeds” was probably the way she referred to her spies. And “something seedy” was probably something related to Suzuno.

“Oh? Well, I wouldn’t be worried. There’s somebody with the Church here who made contact with me, that much is true. But she’s not like Olba. She can listen to reason.”

Emi proceeded to give Emeralda a quick summary of her past experiences with Suzuno and Sariel.

Emeralda was leery at the idea of the top Church official making such close contact with Emi at first, but not even she thought everyone at the Church was inherently evil. Emi’s summary of how she came on to the scene, and her role in the battle that ensued, seemed to put her friend’s mind at ease.

“You made it sound like just another day, Emilia, but that sounded terribly daaangerous, no? That angel is still there with you, yes?”

“Well, yeah, but… We got some strong allies here in Japan, too, let’s just say. I don’t think we’ll need to worry about him too much for now.”

She was referring, of course, to the charming, tyrannical despot that managed the MgRonald near Hatagaya station.

“Of course, I still don’t really know why they’re so intent in getting my holy sword back from me.”

“Hmm… And come to thiiiink of it, we’ve never given much thought to the sword’s orrrigins, either. The Churrrch says it was bequeathed to us by the heavens years and years ago, but that’s just their storrry, hmm? I had best pursue this question some more on myyy end.”

“Thanks. Try not to overdo it, though, okay? I’m sure you have your government work to think about, too. How’s the reconstruction effort going?”

“Ooooh, you’d better not aaaask me. I’m likely to whiiine at you for the remainder of the day.”

Even before the arrival of the Devil King’s forces, the five great islands that formed the land of Ente Isla did not enjoy the most harmonious of relations with each other. Today, with the Central Continent all but ceasing to function as a hub for trade and cultural affairs, one could only imagine all the political infighting taking place among the nations as each struggled to become the next Isla Centurum.

“But it amaaazes me to hear that Crestia Bell, the inquisitor feared as the ‘Scythe of Death,’ is such a small and demure wooooman! If you think she can be trusted as an ally, well, that is wonnnderful news.”

Emeralda’s voice turned upward as she aimed to guide the conversation away from darker subjects.

“When it comes to ‘small and demure,’ I’d say you still take the cake, Emeralda.”

“Yesss, well, when I walk around the castle, I am often mistaaaken by the palace guard for a lost chiiild and the like.”

Emeralda, just as compact and baby faced as Suzuno, apparently lacked the kind of personal air of dignity that would normally befit her role as court alchemist for the Empire of Saint Aile, which was positioned strategically within the Western Island.

“So was that all you were warning me about?”

“Ah, yes! There was thaaat, yes, but I also had a question for youuu. Has Laila come over there?”

“Huh?”

Emi was caught unprepared for this sudden change of subject.

“She said she was traveling to the marketplace outside of the castle a little while ago, but she’s not been heard from siiince. I know she didn’t have much freedom to travel arooound much, so I figured if she was going somewhere, it’d be to you, soooo…”

“Well, I mean, even if she did, I don’t know what my mother even looks like… But, wait a sec, you were
living
with her?”

“Liiiving, or let’s call it… Oooh, I hesitate to use such a term with you, Emilia, but perhaps you would say ‘crashing’ in my home?”

“Oh… Oh.”

Emi failed to come up with any other reaction.

“Well, anyway, there hasn’t been anyone else here lately apart from Sariel and that Crestia girl, and… Agh.”

Her voice climbed several octaves midsentence at this point.