The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 2 (13 page)

Much of this also stemmed from the aggravation at the living vegetable called Urushihara taking root in the corner with no end in sight, although neither Maou nor Ashiya himself had consciously realized this yet.

Emi and Suzuno had left the Devil’s Castle in advance, Emi
expressing a wish to show Suzuno some spots around town before work began.

Maou, meanwhile, walked next to Chiho down the sidewalk, the bag containing the assorted plastic containers Chiho had brought along safely ensconced inside the front basket of Dullahan, the Devil King’s trusty steed, as he wheeled it along.

“…Too bad you don’t have a seat or a carrier on the back of your bicycle, Maou.”

“Dullahan, you mean. But, hey, you can’t expect that much from a used fixie, right?”

“Well, it’s still too bad.”

Chiho flashed a chiding smile. Maou was nonplussed.

“Yeah, but if you sat on the back of this thing, I could be cited for upward of twenty thousand yen, you know? I’m skirting the law already when I use an umbrella in the rain.”

Maou was only aware of this thanks to Ashiya having given him an extensive rundown of the fines and penalties involved with Tokyo bicycle law, as well as the potentially disastrous effects this would have on their finances.

Chiho rolled her eyes, giving Maou an exasperated look.

“I know
that
. I didn’t say I wanted to do it or anything. I kind of meant something else.”

“Mm?”

“Oh, nothing. But anyway, once we reach Sasazuka station, we can just take Koshu-Kaido Road toward Hatagaya.”

With that, Chiho slowly began walking half a step ahead of Maou. He obediently walked behind, still pushing Dullahan. Glimpsing her back, it dawned upon Maou that Chiho lived in a freestanding house. With her family, no doubt. If he kept going, he’d wind up being face-to-face with her folks.

“H-hey, uh, Chi?”

“Mm? What is it?”

Chiho swiveled her face behind her.

“So, uh…thanks for giving me such a lavish breakfast. It was great.”

“Oh, it’s nothing compared to Suzuno. But I appreciate the compliment.”

He could tell there was more than a trace of doubt in her voice, but Maou decided to press on with the question in his mind.

“Listen, uh, are your parents cool with this?”

“With what?”

The weirdly diffident response was enough to stop Maou dead for a moment.

“Oh, uh…I mean, you know, Chi. A girl like you, hanging out in a place like we’ve got? Did your parents mind much?”

“Oh, that?”

Chiho put a finger to her chin as she thought over her answer. The question seemed to faze her little.

“Well, they didn’t say anything, anyway. I told them exactly where I was going, and my mom gave me a bunch of pointers while I cooked, too. Mother-approved, I guess you could say!”

The reply far exceeded expectations.

“Wh-what about your dad?”

Two months ago, when Maou and Chiho were caught up together in a collapse inside an underground mall in Shinjuku, Chiho’s policeman father was one of the first responders. Back there, she seemed less than willing to be seen together with Maou, but…

“Well, I kinda didn’t tell him where I was going last time. It’s fine today, though.”

“Oh. Just fine, huh?”

“Mm-hmm. He actually kinda cried this morning, too, like ‘Oh, you’ve finally got someone you want to give a home-cooked meal to’ and stuff.”

Mother-
and
father-approved. Even more unbelievable.

“Oh, that reminds me. What’re you gonna do for your lunch bento today? Suzuno’s out with Emi right now, right?”

“What am I gonna do…? Well, I didn’t really think about it.”

He had little reason to. The bento that so violently jostled Chiho’s world was the very first Suzuno had made for him; it was hardly
a regular custom yet. So Maou gave the honest truth, a response Chiho replied to without turning around.

“Well…if you’d like, would you like me to make one?”

“…For me?”

That was the most intelligent response Maou was capable of. Chiho stared at him sourly.

“Would I have asked you if I was making it for someone else?”

“Well, no, but…hey, why not? I’m sure Ashiya would be happier with me eating whatever you make instead of living off junk food all the time.”

His formal permission granted, Chiho’s sulky glare immediately transformed into a bright flower blossom of a smile as she skipped into the air.

“Ooh, great! I’ll make sure it’s nutritious and stuff, then. Wouldn’t want Ashiya to worry too much about you!”

Maou may have been slow on the uptake in certain ways, but he still had over a year’s worth of experience living in Japan under his belt. Even he saw the meaning behind a teenage girl going out of her way to cook for some guy she wasn’t even related to.

But there was still something bothering him.

“Well, about that, Chi…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t we…you know, worry you at all?”

“Oh…you mean, you guys?”

Chiho scoped out their surroundings.

“You mean about how you’re demon aliens and stuff?”

The lack of anyone nearby had apparently made her comfortable enough to blurt it out. Her summer skirt rustled in the breeze as she turned around.

“Yeah, kinda…”

Maou was speechless, not expecting it to come out so easily after she’d danced around it at first.

“Well…I guess I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. Maybe you guessed it when you saw me with Emi this morning, but we like to text each
other every now and then. So I know a little bit about what you were up to back on Ente Isla or whatever.”

Chiho took a light breath, breaking a sweat under the pre-noon sunlight.

“But before I knew that, Maou, I kinda started liking you, so…”

The words just seemed to pour right out. Maou’s eyes shot upward.

Watching them, Chiho laughed nervously.

“Oh, you don’t have to look at me like that. You must’ve understood what Albert told you, right?”

“Uh, no, uh…”

Chiho prompted him along, albeit without much forcefulness.

“Don’t just stand in the middle of the street like that. There’s a car coming.”

Scurrying back to the edge of the street, Maou watched as a Nekoto Transport shipping truck whirred by.

“But did you notice yet, Maou? The reason why I’ve been so distant these past two months?”

“Not…really, no.”

“When we went to work, right after you fought Urushihara, you asked me if I wanted my memories erased.”

“Y-yeah…”

Chiho took a deep breath, then turned back around. The early-summer sunlight traced across the edges of her billowing skirt, along with the corners of her warm, soft smile.

“Well, I don’t want to forget about the people I like. Ever. No matter what.”

The wind lapped against her ever-so-slightly reddened cheeks as Chiho let her hair blow freely.

“…!”

Maou swallowed. Chiho giggled a bit in response.

“You don’t have to act all shocked to death every time, Maou. Are you really trying to conquer the world, or what?”

“Uh…well, I mean…”

“At least keep walking!”

Chiho had completely taken over the conversation.

“Yusa tried to stop me at first. She said she didn’t want me to regret anything, falling in love with you. But this was all my doing in the first place, you know? I started liking you, and if I want to stop, I’ll do that on my own terms.”

A steel rod plunged straight into the fluffy, cotton candy–like feelings that surrounded them, one that even Maou was defenseless against.

Every iota of her resolve was now revealed, embedded in her smile. Maou had no way to respond.

“Chi…”

“So, you know, even if you see me as nothing but the new girl at work, that’s all right. That, and me liking you… Those are two different things.”

The sunbeams from above told Maou that there was not a single trace of guile within Chiho’s smile.

The Devil King, rendered silent and frozen thanks to a few simple words from a human girl, not even two decades of age, would certainly not be a good role model for his minions back home to follow.

“…This is exactly why you humans can be so scary sometimes.”

“Exactly. And you should be particularly careful around women. Men get the wrong idea a lot about this, but if you mess with us, you’ll pay for it. Big-time.”

“I’ll make a note of that.”

Maou chuckled to himself as he nodded. It was apparently enough for Chiho.

“Well, today’s your first day as shift supervisor, right? Good luck with that.”

With that somewhat forced attempt at changing the subject and lightening the mood, Chiho confidently strode forward.

“Yeah, right. I’ll try my best not to have my entire paycheck garnished.”

He was quick to accept the gesture.

“You are a proud artisan, Sadao. Taking on such heavy responsibility…and blessed with such a loyal, respectful crew, no less.”

“Exactly! I’ll have to try my best not to drag you down! …Um…”

“Hmm?”

“Mm.”

“Huh?”

Maou completely failed to notice that someone else was walking next to him.

“You are truly loved, Sadao.”

“S-S-Su…”

“Suzuno?!”

Maou and Chiho leaped back in unison.

“S-S-S-Suzuno! Wh-when were
you
over there?!”

Chiho confronted Suzuno, her previously cherry blossom–tinted cheeks now the shade of an overripe apple.

Suzuno was supposed to be out with Emi, but now, out of the blue, she was right alongside Maou and Chiho.

She had a faintly elegant air about her, clad in her kimono and lacquer-coated sandals, carrying a large, traditional
kinchaku
drawstring bag. But how did she, and the rhythmic clacking of her wooden sandals, escape their attention?

“Wh-when did you show up, how much did you hear, why didn’t you say anything, why are you here, didn’t you leave
before
us?!”

Chiho, nose bright as a Christmas reindeer’s, furiously blazed away at Suzuno.

“I caught up to you barely a minute ago. My ears picked up the conversation beginning with ‘even if you see me as nothing but the new girl at work.’ I hesitated to speak up because even from afar, I could tell this was an intimate conversation. We did indeed leave early, but I realized I had left my belongings at home, so Emi proceeded on ahead while I returned to fetch them.”

Coolly and dutifully, Suzuno answered each of Chiho’s emotionally charged questions.

“Nnnnhh!!!!”

Chiho’s entire body now shone dark red. Steam began to blow out of her nostrils.

In other words, someone had just overheard her confessing her deepest emotions for Maou.

“Worry not. Witnessing the way you treated Sadao this morning, it was plain to surmise your feelings, Chiho.”

“S-S-S-S-Suzuno?! You’re saying that on purpose! In front of
him
!”

“On purpose how? Any why is your face such a bright shade of crimson?”

“That’s what happens when you
say
stuff like that, I’m really embarrassed, what are you even
thinking
?!”

“That may be, but it would be an even queerer thing if I failed to surmise as much. Besides, your feelings are already quite clear. It does not bother me to hear them out loud once more…”

“I’m not talking about that! Maybe you’re right, but it’s still embarrassing to me! Ugh! I mean… Ugh!”

“Chi, Chi, calm down a little…”

“In fact, Chiho, I find it quite virtuous and attractive, how clearly and blissfully honest you are with your own heart…no matter who it may be pointed toward.”

“Um, that wasn’t a knock on me just now, was it?”

Suzuno remained forthright and honest as she spoke. Chiho, meanwhile, was almost at the boiling point.

“……!!!!”

She let out a voiceless scream, her face resembling the top third of a stoplight.

“Agh! Hey! Wait! Chi!”

Without a word, Chiho snatched Dullahan away from Maou, stomped on the pedals with astonishing force, and was off at full speed.

Maou, left behind, extended a helpless hand toward Chiho as she executed a tailslide around the corner and out of sight. Then he glared at Suzuno.

“Mm. Quite loved indeed.”

“Eesh. You didn’t have to prod her like that. She’s going through a lot at her age.”

Maou hung his head in disappointment, scratching his forehead.

“Ughh… Hopefully Chi won’t get in an accident, zooming off like that.”

Suzuno’s eyes flew open in response.

“…That is a surprise.”

“What is? The fact I’m actually worried about someone else?”

“If I may be so rude as to say so.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think you’re the first to say that. Man, do the folks I know really have
that
little trust in me?”

The Devil King was now in full-on crabby mode as Suzuno suddenly asked a question.

“What do you think it means to be loved by someone?”

Maou wiped the sweat off his forehead with a sleeve—whether it was the heat or something else, he couldn’t say—before knitting his brows.

“What, are you running a survey or something?”

“No… I meant nothing particularly profound by it.”

“And you expect me to believe
that
after what you saw? …Well, it’s hard to say, just having it asked like that. I don’t want to just brush it off or whatever, but if Chi trusts in me that much…and, more to the point, if her parents do…then I guess I’ll have to be just as sincere with them. Not that I know what to
say
to anyone yet. Why’re you looking at me like that?”

He had given an honest reply to this goofball question, and yet Suzuno was now looking back at him like some exotic animal she had never laid eyes on before.

“…Did I say something weird, or…?”

“Huh? Ah, ah…ah, no, n-not at all. It was merely a touch surprising to me.”

“
What
is?! And, look, shouldn’t you go regroup with Emi anyway?”

“…Ah. Yes. Right.”

Suzuno shook her head, as if shaking the cobwebs out of her brain. Maou took another sleeve swipe at his forehead.

“I’m sure she’s over at Sasazuka station. Lemme show you a shortcut.”

“A…?”

Suzuno once again seemed caught off guard. Maou ignored it.

“You see that alleyway? Walk a little ways down and you’ll reach the Bosatsu Street shopping area. Make a left there and follow the line of shops down, and you’ll wind up right in front of the station.”

“Er…yes. Certainly. Thank you.”

“Also, if you wanna find a job, you’re probably gonna need a phone for people to contact you with. I know you don’t have much scratch to work with right now, but you better buy a cell phone ASAP. There’s a shop or two by the station, but if you don’t see anything you like, I’m sure Emi knows where you could go downtown. Anyway, have a good one.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

Taking another look down the path Chiho took, Maou breathed a dejected sigh before turning his back to Suzuno and heading back toward his apartment.

Suzuno couldn’t help but watch him go. As she did, Maou suddenly turned back around after a few steps.

“Good luck finding a decent job! Try not to let all the crowds freak you out downtown.”

And then he walked off, not bothering to wait for Suzuno’s response.

She stood there for a few moments, finding herself unable to move.

“Did you find your bag?”

Emi, waiting in front of the Sasazuka station turnstile, walked up to Suzuno upon spotting her. Suzuno nodded, still in a slight haze.

“Yes…yes, safe and sound. I apologize for making you wait.”

“Not at all. Is something up? You look a little off.”

“No…but…are we boarding the…um, train? Right now?”

Emi didn’t know why she added a question mark after the word
train
, but paid it no mind as she nodded.

“Yep. It’s only one station from Sasazuka to Shinjuku, but it’s still kind of far to walk. Oh, and watch you don’t take the train to Motoyawata, either. That’s two extra stops, and it puts you way at
the far edge of Shinjuku, too. Do you have a passcard or anything? You’ll have to buy a regular ticket if you don’t, but setting up a fare card now will make it a lot easier in the future.”

“Um…yes. About that.”

Suzuno took a look around her surroundings, plainly a tad confused.

“If I may be honest with you, I have yet to board a train in my life.”

She had a knack for making these jaw-dropping revelations in the plainest, most everyday tone of voice possible.

“…What?”

Emi had no idea how old Suzuno was, but eyed her suspiciously regardless. What kind of far-off forbidden kingdom did she live in if she was old enough to live alone, but still hadn’t seen the inside of a train car?

“And what is this
fair card
I keep hearing about? Is it used to gain access to the market fair?”

“What?”

“Hmm?”

There was something odd about how Suzuno just pronounced that.

“I…apologize if I said something strange.”

“Uh,
strange
isn’t the… Um. Well. Anyway, let’s just buy a ticket, all right? I’ll explain what a passcard is later. Tickets are…”

She stopped once she noticed Suzuno standing statuelike in front of a ticket vending machine.

“…Um, can I ask an honest question? How the heck did you make it to Sasazuka?”

This was starting to get silly. She didn’t even know how to purchase a ticket? Whether she was born in Japan or Mars, she had made her own way to Tokyo. It wouldn’t have been impossible for her to completely avoid public transit the entire way, but it certainly would be inconvenient.

Suzuno, meanwhile, was unable to hide her perplexed mood next to the doubtful Emi.

“Well, I apologize if I am somewhat lacking in local knowledge. I used a Gate to come right down upon Sasazuka.”

“Oh, right, that makes…”

The sheer matter-of-fact way she put it made Emi almost fail to pick up on it at first.

“…What was that?”

Her face tensed up. Something told her she had just heard one seriously important confession.

“I said, I came down directly upon Sasazuka through the use of a Gate and have been busy assembling my new identity in the city, so until I grow more familiar with city life here, I’m afraid that I…”

“W-wait! Wait!”

Emi’s pulse surged. She brought a hand to her chest, as if trying to suppress it, and gave her surroundings a close look before bringing her darkened face closer to Suzuno’s.

“A-are you from Ente Isla?!”

This had come almost immediately after Emi concluded Suzuno was harmless. A tad off-kilter, but harmless. Emi’s mind was already plunged halfway into panic mode.

Even Suzuno reacted with surprise at the question, her eyes wide and pointed toward Emi.

“Had you not noticed?!”

How could I have been expected to?
Emi thought as she pressed on.

“You never breathed a
word
of it to me!”

“But you said it yourself! You said you were after the Devil King!”

“What?!”

“I was a tad surprised, as I never thought you would use that name in front of the man himself. But then you advised me not to take any rash action. That I should ‘keep my distance’ from him, or I would be unhappy!”

“Whaaaaat?!”

“I have been through a great number of trials and tribulations in my life, but if it is the Hero advising me to stand down, then stand down I shall. However, even if I pulled up stakes at that very
moment, I had no place left to go. Thus I asked you for assistance—assistance you promised to give. Along with your contact information, no?”

“Whaaaaaaaat?!”

Emi was awash in a sea of confusion, but the truth behind Suzuno’s explanation was starting to dawn on her.

Then, the full truth finally hit home. That conversation, just outside of the Devil King’s doorstep, was the result of Emi and Suzuno gravely misunderstanding each other.

“So you did
not
say that because you knew of my true colors?!”

“How the hell was
that
going to show me who you really were?!”

Emi felt she had the right to be angry.

“You found nothing at all strange about it?! This dainty young girl, freshly moved into her new apartment, briskly meddling with the lives of the three men who live next door? You thought it was a perfectly everyday occurrence?!”

“Yes! I did! And having you act like I didn’t is really pissing me off!”

This
was her reward for preoccupying herself with keeping this strange young girl from getting wrapped up in her destiny. Nobody was “getting wrapped up” in anything. She was involved from the start.

“Then what did you possibly mean when you asked if I was ‘aiming for’ the Devil King?!”

“Huh? That… I mean…”

There was no way Emi could tell the truth. That she’d mistakenly thought Suzuno was attracted to him. She thought the embarrassment would overwhelm her for a moment, but it was really Suzuno’s fault she made the mistake in the first place.

“W-well, why did
you
ask me if I was ‘in a close relationship’ with him?!”

The reply came clear as day.

“Because I had word that you fought alongside the Devil King!”