The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 4

by Satoshi Wagahara

  “This may be a divine bit of fortune, Your Demonic Highness, but we must prepare thoroughly…lest we allow the golden ticket to fall through our hands!”

  Amane didn’t suggest much apart from some study beach sandals, but it wasn’t as though they could set off with a T-shirt, shorts, and nothing else. They were staying there for two weeks, which entailed bringing at least enough clothes for that.

  “I expect, my liege, that four days’ worth of a wardrobe should be enough. We should be fine, as long as we are diligent with our laundry.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think they got a uniform or anything, so we better bring stuff we won’t be embarrassed to work in.”

  “Ah. Yes. In that case, my liege, we had best divide our wardrobe between business and pleasure. Knee-length shorts should suffice for the job.”

  “I could just roll up the legs on my jeans, but… I dunno. Like, when everyone’s usually got the same uniform on the job, it’s kind of weird to think about wearing other stuff.”

  “Yes. I can imagine. You recall the four different emblems our demonic forces wore on Ente Isla, my liege, representing the continental army they were aligned with.”

  “Huh. Maybe we could just buy a bag of T-shirts at UniClo. That way we’d match, at least.”

  “Ah, that reminds me of our days in short-term temp work, my liege. Remember how they’d force us to purchase uniforms from them?”

  “Oh, yeah, with the company logo and stuff, right? We still got some of those, but I think they’re all long-sleeved.”

  “Quite true. Certainly not late-summer outdoor gear.”

  As Maou and Ashiya organized their baggage, ransacking their way through the clothing carefully stored in the closet, Urushihara stared on without so much as a whisper.

  The look on his face was strangely resolute. Some bizarre twist of divine providence was driving him to help them out.

  But his performance earlier in the day—oil still stuck to the dishes after he washed them, shirts folded into oddly-shaped parallelograms, blankets falling to the ground after he hung them out to dry—went beyond incompetence and made him nothing but a nuisance. So he sat silently in a corner instead.

  “Like, everyone sucks at it at first. Why’re you being so mean?”

  The drive to help was a thing of the past. He was back to moaning about his plight.

  Maou and Ashiya were once leaders, powerful generals charged with unifying thousands of demons to a single cause.

  Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he’ll eat for the rest of his life. But if it was the fallen angel, ex–Great Demon General, and commander of the Western Island invasion force, he’d call out for pizza and go home before you could hand him the fishing rod.

  The Hero Emilia’s rebellion began at the Western Island. Maou was starting to wonder if it was his appointed general’s lack of leadership skills that had spelled his ultimate doom.

  And even if he kept himself from dwelling on the connection between failing to stop the Hero’s advance and failing to wash dishes properly, the what-if thought of being blown to Earth with this talentless shut-in instead of the gifted, hardworking Ashiya made him shiver.

  “Ashiya…I can’t even tell you how glad I am you’re here.”

  He placed a hand on Ashiya’s shoulder as the heartfelt words came out.

  Ashiya stared blankly at the hand for a moment. Then, once his brain processed what Maou meant, he kneeled before him in a panic.

  “I…I, I appreciate such a kind, magnanimous compliment, my liege, but what drove you to say that all of a sudden?! …Uh, I mean, I would never bristle at your lofty praise, but…”

  Ashiya looked around the room, flustered, before his eyes settled upon something.

  “U-Urushihara! Go wrap our plates in that stack of pennysavers and put them in a box. You can surely do that, at least.”

  “I’m not that stupid!”

  Urushihara was genuinely put off by Ashiya’s command—so plainly brought on by his awkward embarrassment—but he didn’t have anything to retort with. Pouting, he stood up, brought the newspaper and cardboard boxes to his spot in the corner, and silently began to wrap up the kitchen breakables.

  “Y’know, though…I don’t wanna encourage Urushihara or anything, but do you really think he’s okay?”

  “You mean how I might be wanted and stuff…? I didn’t notice any surveillance cameras or anything when we were on the run, but…”

  The way he so freely discussed his short-lived career as a street mugger in Japan like it was the day’s weather was suitably demon-like.

  “Yeah, but you don’t look too much different now than you did as a demon. Try to use your head a little when we’re out there, okay?”

  “Well, what, dude? I wasn’t thinking that this would happen.”

  Urushihara sullenly turned his back to Maou, who was currently busy trying to wrangle the cape from his Devil King days. All the frills and embroidery made it devilishly difficult to fold properly.

  “Oh! Your Demonic Highness? I think we had best put some insect repellent inside your cape. It’s thick enough that it might get moth-ridden in this humidity.”

  The ex–Devil King was not interested in Better Castles and Gardens cleaning tips.

  “…I wasn’t exactly picturing myself mothballing this cape two years ago, either. No point dwelling on the past, y’know?”

  Scowling at Urushihara as he tried to stifle a snicker, Maou meekly followed Ashiya’s suggestion and stuck a packet of repellent into the box.

  “I mean, did the cops even arrest Olba?”

  After Maou quelled Olba and Urushihara’s conspiracy to destroy the city with his newly recovered demonic force, Olba was taken in by the local police force. That much, the demons saw for themselves.

  “I’m pretty sure they did. For weapons charges, at least.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. It’s been a while ago, but I saw it talked about on the net. Guess it wasn’t exciting enough to show up on TV or in the newspapers.”

  “Uh, that’s kind of bad news, isn’t it?”

  “I would doubt that, my liege.”

  Ashiya interjected.

  “I read the same coverage myself. It described him as a foreign national who entered Japan illegally and was destroying property with a gun. They speculated that he was some kind of secret agent or mafia operative. He was already suspected of armed robbery before that point, as well…”

  “Yeah. Not like we took that much from people, though. The big sites probably wouldn’t pick it up unless we actually killed someone.”

  “Pfft. Good thing we got the criminal right here to set the record straight. Where’d you see that, Ashiya?”

  “Oh, on our computer. Or Urushihara’s, I should say.”

  Ashiya turned to the laptop PC that was now exclusively Urushihara’s net-browsing device.

  The fallen angel insisted, of course, that the computer was coming with them. Along with their wireless hotspot. Of course.

  “He may just be an idle layabout these days, but back when that happened, I was quite ready to turn him over to the authorities.”

  “Whoa! Dude! You really didn’t trust me that much? That’s kind of a mean way to put it.”

  “From that day to this one, have I ever said or done anything that indicated I ever trusted you?”

  Ashiya’s icy sneer silenced Urushihara.

  “But regardless. Ever since then, my liege, there’s been nothing related to the events surrounding Olba.”

  “Nothing reported, anyway.”

  Maou’s hands stopped as a thought came to him.

  “Hey, Urushihara. Olba didn’t use up all his holy energy, right?”

  “I don’t think so. He definitely went all-out fighting you and Emilia, so I dunno if he has enough force left to open a Gate or anything. But…what? You worried he’ll do something nasty in Japan with it?”

  “Well…pretty much, yeah.�
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  “Hmm… ’Cause I wouldn’t believe it.”

  Urushihara shrugged.

  “Olba doesn’t know what happened to me, and besides, he’s got Emilia to worry about too, right? There’s no way he could break out of jail and try to get revenge on her. Not without some more holy energy. His only choices are either to finger me as his accomplice or use some of his magic to bust out. And it’s not like going back to Ente Isla would help. Bell’s trying to expose the corruption in the Church. No way he can get back to a position where he has any power over the archbishops. Not any longer.”

  “Yeah, it’s that ‘fingering you’ thing I’m scared of the most. If people find out I’m harboring a criminal, that’d make me seriously unhireable.”

  “If the long arm of the law ever makes its way to Devil’s Castle, I will refuse to admit any knowledge of you, you realize. My liege must be protected!”

  “Great, thanks! But the cops have already been here, remember? And they didn’t do anything.”

  “Oh… Yeah. When Suzuno crushed my bike.”

  Maou was chewed out by an officer at Devil’s Castle for leaving the twisted remains of the first Dullahan in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan City Hall. At first, Maou feared the cop had burst in to seize Urushihara.

  “So it’ll be fine, dude! We’re just going to Chiba for a little bit. It’s not like they got my poster up in the train stations. You guys are way overthinking this.”

  “You’re kind of underthinking it, man… Maybe we should poke around a little when we have some free time, though.”

  In some ways, the presence of Olba Meiyer was like a tiny fish bone stuck in the throat of the demons’ peaceful coexistence in Japan. Like a sesame seed between the teeth or a piece of lettuce in some unreachable corner of the mouth, it was something that could make them anxious at the drop of a hat.

  “Are you done wrapping those dishes yet, Urushihara?”

  “Yeah. I mean, they’re mostly plastic, dude. They’re not gonna break on you that easy.”

  Even when demonstrating a desire to help, Urushihara couldn’t help but whine. Ashiya took the bait.

  “If the coating comes off of them, they might become infected by all kinds of horrid bacteria!”

  “Ugh. Sorrrrr-eeeeee. Neverrrr miiiiiind!”

  Urushihara put his hands to his ears.

  “Damn youuu…! Oh, have you contacted Ms. Kisaki yet, Your Demonic Highness?”

  “No, I’m about to. I figured I’d say good-bye in person. The construction guys are gonna start showing up today, but she said she’d be around ’til the evening.”

  “Very well. In that case, perhaps the sooner, the better, yes? I think our belongings are squared away, by and large. Now we just need to shop for supplies.”

  “I could buy the stuff for you on the way back.”

  “No need. We have to buy some manner of luggage, after all, and I think I know how large a one we’ll need. Unless you have a preference, I can purchase sandals and such while I’m out as well. That, and I have someone I need to say farewell to myself.”

  “Oh, do you?”

  Maou never heard anything from Ashiya about his acquaintances, or where, if anywhere, he worked. As he asked the question, he began to realize how little he really knew about his aide’s private life.

  Although he never asked for details, he knew Ashiya still engaged in the occasional temp work to beef up the Devil’s Castle coffers, aiding the budget for their search for demonic power (a quest Maou mostly put out of his mind these days).

  It was best to grant this request to his closest confidant. Besides, he knew Ashiya had their shoe sizes memorized. That’s just how he was.

  “Well, cool. Thanks a lot.”

  “Yes, my liege. I hope things go well with you and Ms. Kisaki…for the sake of all of our tomorrows.”

  “Yeah, and our food budget after that, too.”

  As he saw the two of them off, each walking down the streets of Sasazuka for their own respective purposes, Urushihara had an uncharacteristic bout of worry.

  “Are they, like, really plotting to take over the world, or what? Isn’t that what they’re working for? If not that, what?”

  Suzuno, Chiho, even Emi asked the same question at one point or another. But at this point in their acquaintance, there was no way Urushihara could guess where Maou’s true intentions lay.

  Scaffolding was already set up in front of the MgRonald, an anti-dust tarp covering most of the exterior. Maou heard a voice calling for him as he approached.

  “Maou! Are you feeling okay?!”

  Chiho claimed she was there to schedule shifts for the second half of August, once the remodel was complete. But she demonstrated far more concern for Maou, whose googly-eyed swoon in her living room last night would no doubt be a family story shared around the holiday table for years to come.

  “Yeah. Thanks again for last night. It was just kinda…well. Yeah. It’s fine. Fine like wine.”

  His landlord began to belly-dance across his brain. He felt dizzy for a moment.

  Chiho stared up at him, brooding, but refrained from speaking further. Starting tomorrow, after all, he’d be off to some faraway workplace, someplace she would never see.

  “Wh-What’s up, Chi?”

  Maou sensed this sudden change in atmosphere. Chiho weakly shook her head.

  The awkwardness continued as they accompanied each other inside, hoping Kisaki would help them cast it away.

  “Oh, you found somewhere good, huh?”

  Kisaki nodded her firm approval as Maou explained that he’d be working at a beachside cabana in Chiba that his landlord had pointed him to.

  “So you’re coming back, right?”

  “Huh?”

  The unexpected question made Maou hesitate.

  “Well, you aren’t gonna commute from Sasazuka to Choshi every day, are you? I didn’t know if you had a place up there, or you were planning to move or something.”

  Kisaki studied the handwritten shift request form Chiho gave her, eyes turned away from Maou.

  “You’re free to work wherever you want to, of course. But I’ve raised you to the point where you’re practically my right-hand man around here. It’d be a shame to let you go.”

  She was smiling, albeit flatly. But she never told a joke unless she wanted people to laugh, and she never lied to her staff. What she said just now was Kisaki’s honest appraisal of him.

  “I’ll be staying up there for just a little bit. I’m definitely gonna be back.”

  Maou knew it, too. That was evident in the sudden strength behind his voice.

  The self-assured conviction to his words even lightened Chiho’s heart slightly.

  Kisaki betrayed a satisfied grin and finally looked Maou in the eye.

  “Perfect. I haven’t forgotten how you talked about being a successful permanent employee here someday. Your performance up to now tells me you definitely weren’t lying. That much I can see.”

  “I kinda messed this up, though…”

  “Aw, come on. You’ve been a model employee here from the start. Seeing you make these kinds of mistakes sometimes reminds me that you’re human, you know? It’s cute. Make as many as you want, I say, as long as you can make up for them. Because that experience will help you down the line. Trust me.”

  Being called “human” to his face gave Maou mixed emotions. Kisaki, blissfully unaware of this, flashed another grin.

  “Besides, this is what you get for ignoring an important notice and possibly affecting our business. You better work harder than ever once we’re back open, okay?”

  Maou, feeling Kisaki pat him on the shoulder, felt something warm bubbling up from beneath his eyes.

  “And I know you’re off for two weeks, Chi, but try not to kill yourself once you’re back, okay? I know you like working with Marko, but you should spend your summer on something besides work a little. While you’re still young, if you follow me.”

  “Ms. Kisaki!!�
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  Kisaki’s light reproach gave Chiho the impression her boss knew she hadn’t given up on eloping with Maou.

  It was enough to put Maou out of sorts as well. His eyes wandered off somewhere as Kisaki smiled warmly at the two hormone-laden young adults in front of her.

  Then she changed the subject.

  “By the way, Chi, I saw that you didn’t ask to be transferred or anything. Don’t tell me you’re gonna run off to Choshi on me, huh? ’Cause Marko’s going there, if you didn’t know.”

  Chiho’s eyes rolled into her sockets.

  “Uh, you, I, um, that.”

  Her response was understandable enough as it was. The frenzied side glance at Maou midway made it all the more clear.

  “Well…I’ve always wanted to go there…not just because of Maou or anything…”

  “Oh?”

  “Have either of you heard of the Choshi Electric Railway line?”

  Maou had, of course, given he was the one who brought it up first last night. Kisaki’s eyes turned upward for a moment as she scanned her memory.

  “Choshi Electric… Oh, isn’t it that local line that was about to go out of business, but one of the workers sold a bunch of sesame crackers or whatever to keep it running?”

  “That one, that one. I read a news article about how a high-school girl in Choshi, the same age as me, was involved with developing the sweets they sold. It was like, wow, here’s this girl my age trying to help out the rail company and her hometown, so I thought I’d like to see what it’s like sometime.”

  Kisaki and Maou exchanged glances as Chiho launched into her inspired speech.

  “You always were serious-minded like that, weren’t you?”

  Her boss sighed a sigh that could easily be interpreted as a chuckle in the right conditions.

  “Huh?”

  “Oh, nothing. I’m just impressed at that intellectual curiosity of yours, is all. Just make sure you get your parents’ permission first, all right? It’s a pretty long field trip.”

  A common-sense response in Kisaki’s mind, but it was enough to take Chiho’s slightly eased heart and encase it in darkness once more.

  “Right. Certainly.”

  Chiho tried to sound as cheerful as she could in response. But she wasn’t sure Kisaki heard it that way.