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.
“Um, listen, um, I don’t know if this is related or not, but…”
There was no point hiding it. Emi decided to plow forward, revealing all she knew about Alas Ramus while deliberately skirting around who the girl thought her parents were.
“A small girrrl, done up like an apple? I’ve never heard of such a person, or devvvil for that matter, and here in the Western Island, we’ve not detected any large Gaaates opened lately apart from Crestia Bell’s.”
“You haven’t? …Hmm. I guess not.”
Ente Isla was a large place. There were countless alchemists capable of producing a Gate. Emeralda was a top bureaucrat from a powerful country, but she wasn’t omniscient.
“Well, sorry, but I don’t have any leads here, either. I figure maybe she’s related to Laila somehow, but maybe I’m overthinking it. I’ll keep my eyes open, though, not that I’m capable of too much at this point.”
“Oh, no no no. She was always something of a free spiiiirit, so she may decide to drop by my doorstep todaaay for all I know. I just thought I’d let you knooow. And I’ll see what I can dredge up about that child without arousing too much suspiiicion. Bye for nowwww!”
“Oh, wait, Eme…!”
With that, Emeralda ended the call. Alas Ramus was one thing, but Emi had never even laid eyes upon Laila once in her life. Even if she did care, there was almost nothing for her to go on. Excessive worrying about her was pointless.
“…Oh, well, I guess. She couldn’t be that dangerous if she’s my mother, anyway.”
Emi finally removed her sandals and left the front foyer.
Turning on the air conditioner and her TV set simultaneously, she flopped down on a chair.
“…Yeah. I really better hit the hair salon. Don’t want to look all sweaty and exhausted in front of him.”
She played with her hair with one hand as she muttered to herself.
The TV just happened to be playing an advertisement for some event or another taking place in Tokyo Big-Egg Town.
It was some kind of weird tie-in between one of the Sunday morning action hero shows for boys and a “magical transforming heroine” series for girls.
The next four days passed without incident. Everyone was prepared for something unforeseen to happen with Alas Ramus, but things remained surprisingly routine.
Not even Emi received any further information or contact from the “source” she had leaked her current situation to earlier.
The only very palpable changes were that Urushihara started to proactively bring his dishes to the sink for rinsing—apparently having his hygiene compared unfavorably to a two-year-old’s finally got to him—and everyone at Devil’s Castle got better at handling the diaper-changing process.
It was irresponsible for the gang to assume that tomorrow would be just as uneventful as today, but the combination of child-rearing and work duties left them with little time to ponder the future.
They had to find a routine they could fall into without too much fuss, or the dual responsibilities were going to suck the life out of them. That didn’t apply quite as much to Suzuno next door, but not even she had the time to attend to every little detail.
Either way, however, four days passed without major incident for everyone involved, and Sunday morning quickly descended upon them.
That day, Maou and Ashiya were drummed awake by Alas Ramus at seven in the morning. She remembered that it was the day of their big outing with Mommy, of course.
The demons had reluctantly agreed to meet with Emi at one PM in front of the Tokyo Metro Kourakuen subway station. Emi, try as she did, couldn’t get out of her scheduled work shift in the morning.
Maou’s work between today and the day they all agreed to visit Tokyo Big-Egg Town was nothing short of punishing.
According to Chiho’s testimonial, he was a dervish of activity from start to finish, attending to every MgRonald duty like a man possessed.
He was willing to fight tooth and nail for every yen he could possibly lay his hands upon. The assistant manager hourly wages at MgRonald were nothing to brag about, but it was still something.
That meant less time to spend with Alas Ramus, but Ashiya and Suzuno took turns taking her on walks and bringing her to MgRonald, ensuring she remained in a cheerful mood.
Emi, meanwhile, was largely out of the picture. Her sole interaction with the toddler was over the phone, just once, when she gave a call to Suzuno.
It was funny that she could tell it was Emi by voice alone, but in a way, it was funnier how the idea of a telephone didn’t seem to faze her at all. She must have been too young for it to bother her.
It was still only nine by the time they were done with breakfast.
“Daddyyyy, can we go yet? Can we go yet?”
Alas Ramus was unable to wait another second, constantly tugging at Maou’s arm. Maou lightly brushed her off each time, but suddenly, he slapped his knee in realization.
“Oh, right. Man, I’ve been working so hard lately, I totally forgot. Hey, Ashiya, I’m going out for a sec.”
“Your Demonic Highness, where are you going?”
“Over to Mr. Hirose’s. I gotta talk to him about my bike.”
Dullahan II was still practically new; it hadn’t even been a week since Maou made Suzuno purchase it. What could he have to discuss with its seller?
“About you, that is, little one.”
“Oo?”
Alas Ramus tilted her head upward as Maou patted it.
Soon, in no small part so Maou could get Alas Ramus out of the house, the two of them were walking hand in hand, enjoying the Sasazuka morning.
The shutter had just popped open in front of Hirose Cycle Shop at the Bosatsu Street shopping center when they arrived.
“Mr. Hirose!”
“Hmm? Ohh, mornin’, Maou! What’s…up?”
Hirose was still shaking the cobwebs from his head this early in the morning. The sight of what Maou brought along with his hand was like someone splashing water in his face.
“Hey, uh, you can put luggage racks and stuff on the bike you sold me a bit ago, right?”
“Y-yeah, but…you didn’t…”
“Wahbf!”
Maou picked up Alas Ramus, fully enjoying Hirose’s quivering response.
“Do you have any seats that would fit a little girl this size?”
They spent the next little while browsing child s
eats with the dumbstruck Hirose before turning home.
“Man, that was refreshing. I couldn’t have predicted his response any closer.”
In the front yard, still not quite fully lit by the morning sun, Maou then spent the next little while attaching the five-thousand-yen child seat to Dullahan II’s front handle.
“That was terribly devious of you, Your Demonic Highness. What if this leads to certain untoward rumors around the neighborhood?”
“Oh, it’s fine. I told him I was just watching her for some relatives.”
Ashiya still scrunched up his face distastefully. Maou paid it no mind.
“…My liege, may I ask you a question?”
“Yah?”
“There may be little point asking now, but what made you resolve to take in Alas Ramus in the first place?”
“You don’t like it?”
“No, not…not as such, Your Demonic Highness, but I merely thought that leaving her in Crestia’s care would have presented little in the way of issues to anyone…”
“Yeah, well, I guess it’s pretty much you, Suzuno, and Chi taking care of her anyway, huh? Sorry ’bout that.”
“No, no, not at all…”
“You know, I just figured that, if something bad did happen in the end, I better be the one who steps up and takes responsibility for it. We don’t have any proof of anything, and I sure don’t remember anything about her, but…”
Maou gathered up the remaining plastic alongside the hex wrench included with the chair.
“But, you know, I got a little worried.”
He tapped himself on the forehead several times before returning to his room, leaving Ashiya confused behind him.
Ashiya’s gaze shifted between the upstairs room and the shiny and new yellow child seat on the bike. He shook his head before following his leader inside.
“Your Demonic Highness, please—please—be careful out there! You are dealing with the Hero, and there is no telling when or where she may strike!”
Ashiya made sure to read Maou the riot act before he left. Back in the demon realm, these roles would generally have been reversed.
“Chill out. If things get that bad, I’ll just haul ass over to security, okay? Whatever happens to me, I’ll make sure Alas Ramus stays safe.”
The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 3 Page 12