Whether that was a good thing or not, none of them could say quite yet.
Right around the end of summer, a shadow clearly began to cast itself over the constantly feuding, yet oddly peaceful relationship between the Devil King and the Hero.
In the other world, after Maou tasted defeat at the hands of Emi, the resulting power vacuum had been filled by the Malebranche tribe led by Barbariccia, aiming to build a new Devil King’s Army in order to stage another Ente Isla invasion. They were buoyed by Olba Meiyer, a powerful Church official and former ally of the Hero, now hell-bent on destroying both her and the Devil King. Olba sent Farfarello, one of the Malebranche’s top generals, to Earth in order to convince Maou and Ashiya to lead their so-called New Devil King’s Army. Both Emi and Suzuno feared the worst at this wicked invitation, but despite all the catastrophes they predicted, both Maou and Ashiya refused the offer.
They could have easily sent Farfarello back to the demon realms, as they did with Ciriatto back in Choshi, or have Emi shred him to bits for them. But the boy accompanying Farfarello made matters complicated. It was Erone, a child borne from the Sephirah known as Gevurah—one of the fruits of the tree of Sephirot, the fabled Tree of Life that grew in the minds of all Church followers in Ente Isla.
Erone was similar to Alas Ramus, who was born from the Yesod Sephirah and fused with Emi’s holy sword. This occasionally gave her powers that far outclassed even the Hero and Devil King.
It remained unclear why a Sephirah child was working for one of the leaders of the Malebranche—and while Farfarello was one thing, it would be rash to do anything ill-advised to this boy. It could create new enemies for Maou and the others not just among the Malebranche, but among the heavens as well.
And even worse, Farfarello and Erone—people who had to be dealt with delicately, if at all—found out that Chiho was someone important to both Maou and Emi. If this kept up, the Malebranche—once they realized that there was no cajoling Maou or Ashiya to join their horde—might decide to take her hostage to force their hand.
Chiho, of course, had just as much care in her heart for Emi and Suzuno. Enough so, in fact, that she convinced them to teach her the telepathy-like Idea Link magic, so that she could send them an SOS whenever danger approached. Maou, for his part, realized there were limits to his haphazard approach to ensuring Chiho’s safety. To put a final stop to the threat, he borrowed Emi’s and Suzuno’s powers to transform himself into the Devil King Satan—a process he made sure Farfarello bore full witness to. That was enough to indicate that all three girls played vital roles in his global conquest—and naming all of them as Great Demon Generals was enough to make Farfarello and Erone return to the demon realms without a fight. Being named as Demon Generals in front of the Malebranche enraged Emi and Suzuno, of course, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
This entire effort might have saved Chiho from any immediate threat from Farfarello or his tribe, but if time passed and things changed on the Ente Isla side, there was no telling what kind of presence this Chiho Sasaki, the new Satan-endorsed Great Demon General, would have in the minds of the people. It was certainly no permanent solution to Maou and Emi’s problems.
So there it was, all laid out: the Malebranche attempting to rebuild Maou’s army; the new child of a Sephirah; the continued mystery of what went on in the heavens. They could all feel the ill winds of another world brush against their faces—but, in the end, they had to work today if they wanted to eat tomorrow. That was how they all greeted September, a still-all-too-warm end to the summer.
Even with sunset coming just a smidge quicker than before, the sky was still ever-so-bright past seven PM, more than lively enough to light the way along the path to Sasazuka Station along the Keio Line. Emi was walking along that path with Suzuno, holding the full and satisfied Alas Ramus as she nodded off. Chiho and Maou were behind them.
Whenever Emi and Alas Ramus paid a custodial visit to Devil’s Castle, Maou made every possible effort to ensure Chiho joined in on dinner. Chiho gave the reason to everyone herself: “If I’m not here, you two will just start fighting, won’t you?”
With Farfarello’s chaos still fresh in their minds, Maou and Emi were now trying even harder to keep things harmonious with Chiho—even if it meant her pushing them around a little. Chiho might not have known about it, but they had inadvertently heard from Chiho herself what she thought about Maou and the gang. It was so pure, so straightforward, that there was no resisting it.
But even without such weighty issues forcing their hands, having Chiho for dinner made Alas Ramus happy and ensured everyone got something decent to eat. As if to repay her, an unspoken rule was established somewhere along the line that Maou and Suzuno would walk Chiho back home for her. It was the least they could do.
“So, Emilia,” Suzuno asked along the way, “what did you mean by ‘returning home’?”
That line of conversation had fallen by the wayside over dinner.
“Oh! Hey, yeah!” Chiho interjected as she chatted with Maou about their jobs. “What did you mean, Yusa?”
“Oh…”
Three women walking alongside each other down a narrow side road meant that Maou had no way of inserting himself into the conversation. He trudged along, gauging the three of them as they sauntered shoulder to shoulder.
Emi looked at both of the girls’ curious eyes and exhaled a little sigh.
“I’m just sick of waiting any longer.”
“How so?”
“…Ever since I found the Devil King here in Japan, I’ve had to deal with all this trouble I never expected. And I’ve made my way through it all, somehow, but…like, what’s my goal here, really?”
“Your goal, Yusa?” asked Chiho, eyebrows raised.
Emi shrugged, dejected. “You know, Chiho: I’m the Hero. I have the hopes of mankind on my shoulders. And, you know, the reason I came to Japan in the first place—”
“Currryyyy…mnngh…”
“Hee-hee! ……Sorry.”
Maou couldn’t help but laugh at the topic Alas Ramus chose to bring up as she talked in her sleep. It was like she chose it on purpose. A sharp glare from Emi, up in front, made his apology uncharacteristically meek.
“…The reason I came here was to slay the Devil King for trying to conquer Ente Isla. Or that’s what it was supposed to be, anyway.”
Her glinting eyes turned toward the withered Maou as she spoke.
“I am aware of that much,” Suzuno added, still puzzled, “but how is that connected with any desire to return home?”
“Well…” Emi began, turning back forward, since Maou wasn’t giving her any further reaction. Her eyes settled down on the baby in her arms, now in a deep and self-assured sleep. “Then Alas Ramus came along, so I couldn’t just go slashing at the Devil King any longer…and then all these angels and demons came raining down on us like hailstones. Trying to get all of us mixed up, you know?”
“True enough.”
“Kind of funny to think that us three’re the only humans in this whole mix, huh?”
Chiho’s observation was ignored.
“So all these outside forces that weren’t involved at all before I came here are sticking their noses in my business, and I’m getting sick of it. I just figured that…you know, maybe I should try going back to Ente Isla once. They can mess with me all they want to over there.”
“So you’ll come back and beat up all the bad guys?”
“Oh, how should I put it…?” Emi replied, dubious about how directly Chiho had decided to frame it. “I mean, it’s like all these different guys have been after my holy sword since right around when Bell showed up, right?”
“Indeed,” Suzuno interjected. “Lord Sariel was verily obsessed over it at first.”
“But that’s because it had to do with Alas Ramus, isn’t it?”
The archangels Sariel and Gabriel had both publicly proclaimed to Emi that they wanted to extract the Better Half from her—by
force, if necessary. Ever since they’d learned that the sword had a Sephirah fragment at its core, heavenly forces had been trying hard to collect it as part of their quest for Yesod pieces—bits of which formed the very root of both the Better Half and Alas Ramus. Everyone here now knew that. But it didn’t mean they had to like it.
“Right, and the angels are one thing, but that demon Ciriatto was gunning for Yesod fragments in Choshi, too. It’s looking a hell of a lot like the Malebranche forces on the Eastern Island right now have a Yesod piece or two. And Erone’s another fruit of the Sephirah, and yet he’s tagging along with a demon.”
“I suppose the easiest way to explain it,” deadpanned Suzuno, “is that the heavens are connected to the demons somehow.”
“Wh-where’d that idea come from?”
The three girls turned around at once to find a peevish Maou squirming under their gazes as he strolled along.
“Yeah,” Emi said, “how are we gonna explain this guy, then?”
“True. The Devil King failed to even realize that Alas Ramus was born from the Yesod fragment he once possessed. And I fail to see any plausible motive for the heavens to side with the Malebranche forces that sprang up after the Devil King’s demise.”
“Look, I dunno what you’re talking about, but would you mind not killing me off, please? I’m just fine!”
“So I was thinking,” Emi said, ignoring Maou’s Devil King status report. “We have too little to go on with Erone—and Gevurah, too—where he fits in. On the other hand, we kinda know a lot about Yesod at this point. So why do you think Sariel and Gabriel are so hot after Yesod fragments?”
“Huh?”
Chiho arched an eyebrow, failing to see Emi’s point.
“Hey, uh, we’re about to reach the station, so…”
Maou, meanwhile, continued to be ignored.
“I mean, why is it only Yesod that’s been broken into fragments? They’re only collecting those fragments because someone broke it and spread the pieces all over the place.”
“Talk about a pain in the ass,” Maou threw in, knowing that nobody was listening. Spotting a soda can on the street, he picked it up to toss it in the garbage can next to a nearby vending machine, only to find it full. He opted to perch it on top of the can lid instead.
“Oh… Now I get it.”
“Huh?”
Suzuno nodded confidently to herself, much to Chiho’s confusion. Emi, meanwhile, used her free hand to point a finger at Chiho’s hand.
“…Oh!”
The hand had a ring on it that housed a single small, purple gemstone. It was a Yesod fragment, just like the one in Emi’s sword and on Alas Ramus’s forehead.
“I don’t know for sure who broke it, but if we’re talking about who scattered the pieces, I think that’s pretty clear right now. We’ve got this one right there, besides.”
During the whole rigmarole that led to Chiho obtaining this ring, she also had certain memories implanted into her mind. Memories of a faraway world that Chiho could never have comprehended. One from the past, perhaps. A small, wounded demon, and a man standing in a field of wheat.
“Your…mother, Yusa?”
“Yep. Pretty much.” Emi rolled her eyes as she took her hand away. “So I thought maybe I could track her footsteps on Ente Isla from back before I was born, or when I was still too young to remember anything. Like, maybe that’d help me find something, you know? I’m not expecting miracles, but if something pops up, then great.”
If Emi could turn back time, there was one regret she had wanted to right for a while. After Emeralda and Albert came to rescue her from Urushihara and Olba, she had a chance to revisit Ente Isla—a chance she wished she could’ve taken, even for a short time. Laila, Emi’s mother, had apparently lived with Emeralda for a short time.
But Emi didn’t take the chance. She had no allies on Earth at the time, and leaving the Devil King alone for a moment was unthinkable. Even if he didn’t do anything nefarious, if he decided to move addresses while she was gone, it’d be back to square one with her search. After having spent nearly a year living by herself in Japan, there was no way she’d toss all her progress down the toilet that way.
She absolutely couldn’t ask Emeralda and Albert to keep an eye on him, either. Emi was a simple farm girl at the core, but they both had high positions in government. Once peace returned to human society, they would have responsibilities to live up to. In a Devil King–free world where the old Church and nation rivalries were about to be rekindled anew, their talents were sorely needed back home, not on another world. Plus, by the time the demons were routed from Ente Isla, Emi’s strength was at a level such that it’d take Emeralda, Albert, and Olba taking her on together to have half a chance at defeating her. Lucifer—Urushihara—had survived the fight under the Shuto Expressway, but practically speaking, if it came down to a fight against three arch-demons, Emilia the Hero was the only one capable of dealing with that.
If only Chiho had been a more important presence in the demons’ lives earlier. If only Suzuno had arrived a little bit sooner. Emi knew it was pointless to wish for that, but she wished it anyway. Instead of that, Chiho had spent the past half year building a solid emotional relationship with Maou and his friends. For that matter, Suzuno wouldn’t be in the picture in the first place, if Urushihara and Olba hadn’t made that power grab. It was all this happenstance, all these little mistakes and mistimings, that kept things from going the way Emi needed them to go. Not that she could do anything about it.
Besides:
“Ngh…mmmhhh… We going home, Mommy?”
Somewhere along line, they had arrived at the Sasazuka Station turnstile. The noise from the PA system and the passing trains must have woken Alas Ramus up. She wrinkled her face as she took in the surroundings, her sleepy eyes turned upward.
“Oh, you up, Alas Ramus?” The sharp-eyed Maou, quickly noticing this, approached her to grab one of her hands. “Hey, come visit me again real soon, okay?”
Chiho and Suzuno waved behind Emi, flashing bright smiles.
“See you later, Alas Ramus!”
“Be a good girl on the way home, now.”
The situation made Emi think a bit. If everything had gone the way she wanted, there probably wouldn’t be any soft, gentle moments like these. Lately, she had started to think that maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.
“Sorry I didn’t get to play with you too much today, kiddo. I’ll make up for that next time, okay?”
“Okeh! Promise!” The now-wide awake Alas Ramus thrust her hand toward Maou. Sticking out a single index finger was still too fine a motor skill for her.
“Sure thing. Promise.”
“…What were you doing today, anyway? I almost never see you use that computer.”
It was a surprise for Emi, seeing something take priority over Alas Ramus for Maou during her visits. Maou would never forget to take time out for her normally, no matter what.
The answer wound up coming from an even more surprising source.
“Well,” Chiho stated, “Maou’s gonna need to get a license soon.”
“A what?” This was apparently news to Suzuno as well. She gave him a look. “You mean a…driver’s license?”
That was what the term usually meant. It was hard to imagine Maou gunning for, say, an airline pilot’s license at this point in his life. As far as Japanese law was concerned, he was an adult and therefore had every right to apply for one—but that wasn’t what concerned the girls.
“And Alciel gave you permission for this?”
“Color me…impressed.”
“Oh, that’s the part you don’t believe?” Maou’s face soured. “Who do you guys think he is to me, anyway?”
“Yeah, but getting a license costs money, doesn’t it? You have to go to driving school and all that, no? Do you have that kind of cash? Are you even planning to follow traffic laws in the first place? You are the Devil King, right?”
“Indeed,” Suzuno
added. “You know those young men that hand out tissue packs advertising driving schools in front of the supermarket or whatnot. The programs for even the cheapest of them start at a hundred thousand yen or so, am I right? I sincerely doubt Alciel would allow such an outlay, and I even more sincerely doubt you have the patience to save up such an amount, either.”
“Why do I have to get all this abuse just because I said I’m getting a license, huh? What’s so bad about the Devil King being licensed?”
“The idea of the Devil King seeking permission from government authorities to do anything is laughable.”
As Emi said this, Suzuno eagerly nodded at her logic.
“Geez, guys,” a defeated Maou spat out. “I didn’t say I was getting a car license or anything.”
“Oh, so what, then?”
“Something special?” Emi asked. “I’ve never seen you show an interest in anything besides MgRonald stuff. Something related to cooking or hygiene or something? Those cost money too, y’know.”
“I’d like to get my food hygiene specialist certificate sooner or later, but…”
“I knew it.”
“I might need it if I go full-time, is all I’m saying. But that’s not it.” Maou coughed, trying to regain control over the subject, then puffed his chest out. “So get this—I’m gonna apply for a motor scooter license!”
The sound of an express train roaring through Sasazuka Station passed above his head.
“…Okay, I better get going, girls.”
“Have a safe trip.”
Emi walked right past Maou, his chest still puffed out.
“Oh, come on, guys!” Chiho protested. “You could at least give Maou some kind of reaction! He’s about to cry!”
“Aww…” Emi groaned. That was a tough order to follow, even if it came from Chiho. “I mean, all that lead-up, and that’s…it? Not to pick on motor scooters or anything, but—Chiho, what kind of license do you think a Devil King would really want to get?”
The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 8 Page 2