Chapter 2
The Demon King’s Daily Life is Turned Upside Down
The afternoon of the day after Demon King Castle was thrown
into chaos.
After peeking inside for a moment, Chiho quietly knocked on
the door to Unit 201 of Villa Rosa Sasazuka.
She could hear a shuffling sound from inside, drawing closer
to the door.
“Ashiya-san?”
After she called from outside, the sound of the door
unlocking was heard and Ashiya, who had large bags under his eyes, stuck his
face out.
“…Hello… thank you for coming, Sasaki-san…”
His voice was full of fatigue, and there was not a trace of
his usual energy and ambition.
“Is everything alright now?”
“…She just went to sleep a moment ago… anyway, please come
inside.”
“Yes, excuse me.”
The two of them lowered their voices and closed the door to
the apartment with the utmost care, so as not to make too much noise.
Once Chiho took off her shoes and came inside, she put down
what she was carrying instead of heading further in right away.
The noise that the vinyl bags rubbing against each other
made sounded like an explosion. As Ashiya hurried to get in between the bags to
stop the noise, a motorcycle flew by right outside the apartment.
Ashiya and Chiho held their breaths and froze, then turned
around simultaneously to look at Alas Ramus, who was taking a nap under the
shadow of a bamboo screen.
They both let out a sigh of relief as she kept sleeping
without stirring at all. However, their expressions immediately grew serious
again.
“These are… all the things I bought that I thought would be
useful.”
Chiho brought out the contents of the bag, making sure not
to make any loud noises.
“Baby formula, sugar-free yogurt, and some microwaveable
baby food that you can try… what did you do for her dinner last night?”
“We cut up some udon that we received from Crestia and
boiled it together with eggs and fish cakes until it was all soft, and she ate
it willingly. She has no problems chewing, either. She drank water too, so she
seems okay with eating human food.”
Chiho nodded, and took some more items out.
“Here are some baby wipes for when she has an accident, and
this is a children’s toothbrush. Please don’t use any toothpaste since she
can’t spit it out yet. And here is some bottled mineral water.”
“Toothbrush… that’s right, she
didn’t brush her teeth last night… and what are these small water bottles? Are
they different from the mineral water?”
“That’s called oral hydration solution.”
Ashiya blinked his tired eyes at the strange words that he
had never heard before.
“It’s really hot right now, right? If she gets dehydrated,
she can drink this to get back her sodium and sugar content along with water.
Just think of it as a baby sports drink.”
“How is it different from an ordinary version?”
“It’s made in a way that won’t stress a child’s body. You
can make it from normal tap water too, but you don’t have a water filter here,
right?”
Chiho turned her eyes to Demon King’s Castle’s sink, which
had a silver-colored faucet.
“Tokyo’s water quality has improved from what it was before,
but that doesn’t mean anything if the house or apartment’s water pipes are old…
I thought it would be better to use cleaner water for her whenever possible,
especially since she came out of an apple. Also, this is only for emergencies,
so make sure this isn’t the only thing you give her to drink.”
“…I see.”
Ashiya nodded, impressed by Chiho’s expertise.
“And use this when you give her drinks.”
Next to come out of the bag was a plastic cup with a lid,
which had a straw sticking out of the middle.
“This has a cover inside the
straw, so it won’t spill even if you knock it over. Since she can already talk
that much, her sucking strength should be pretty good, so this will be fine for
her… oh, are there straws in Ente Isla?”
“There are… I think, but since they’re a human invention…
Emilia or Crestia should know…”
“If Alas Ramus-chan doesn’t know how to use a straw, please
use this.”
Next, Chiho took out some drink cartons that read, “Barley
Tea for Children.”
“Does it really matter whether barley tea is for children or
not?”
“Yes, it does. Ordinary barley tea, whether it’s cold or
hot, will taste bitter if you don’t make it well. But anyway, it’s not so much
the content of these cartons that is important, but that the cartons themselves
are perfect for practicing.”
“Practicing using straws?”
“Yes. To help the baby understand that if you suck on it, a
drink will come out, an adult can squeeze the carton gently to send some up the
straw. Then the baby will stop trying to resist using the straw, and start
sucking on it on their own.”
“…”
Ashiya was on the verge of tears as he listened to Chiho.
“And these are all diapers!”
Chiho handed over diapers of all shapes and sizes. The type
that could slip on like pants; the traditional type that was fastened with
tape; diapers of one type after another was taken out of the bag.
“Please try them all one after another, and see which kind
is the best for her.”
As he took the diapers that were handed to him, Ashiya could
no longer contain his emotions and buried his face in his hands.
“You… you’ve aided us all this time, in so many different
ways… I, Ashiya, don’t even have the words to thank you with…”
“Please, you’re exaggerating.”
“No… if you so desire, Sasaki-san, I would even go as far as
to say that once my lord has taken over Japan and formed the new demon army, I
would like for you to be an arch-general!”
“I will have to decline that, thank you.”
Chiho pondered for a second whether it was really alright
for the demon army that planned to take over the world to make someone a
general just for offering baby advice and goods.
Even though she had nothing to do with that, she still
worried for them.
“Besides, Maou-san was the one who gave me the money to buy
all these things, and what I did was more or less just small errands for you.
Oh, and here are the change and receipt. Please give these to Maou-san.”
“…Yes, yes… I, Ashiya, shall deliver them even if it costs
me my life…!”
Chiho smiled awkwardly, as she wasn’t quite sure how to
react to someone putting their life on the line for some change and a receipt,
and added,
“Besides, it was fun for me.”
She looked at Alas Ramus, who had been sleeping peacefully
without stirring ever since Chiho had come in.
“My cousin on my father’s side got married recently, and
they already have a child. Whenever I visit them, I play with and help take
care of their child, so I’ve learned a lot from his wife about how to take care
of a baby.”
“…I see…”
“Besides, besides, um,”
Chiho made an expression that somewhat resembled being
nostalgic, but clenching her left hand and blushing in her cheeks, she mumbled,
“If I can someday… with Maou-san… wouldn’t that be…”
“Um, Sasaki-san?”
“Huh? Um, um, um, no-no-no-nothing! It’s nothing!”
Chiho shook her bright-red face and waved her hands in the
air all at once. She then realized something, and asked Ashiya,
“Where did Urushihara-san go?”
Urushihara the ultra-NEET, Debt Generator and Budget
Destroyer of Demon King Castle, who had lost both his title as an angel and all
sense of consideration for others, was nowhere to be found.
In fact, the laptop was
missing from the desk that he always sat in front of.
“Did he run away?”
Knowing Urushihara’s character, positive reasons such as
going out to work or to do grocery shopping could not possibly be the case. In
the first place, he wasn’t exactly in a position where he could just walk
around in public.
“Humph… if he had any resolve, I wouldn’t be this tired in
the first place.”
Ashiya frowned and criticized Urushihara under his breath,
then let out a great sigh.
“…As you guessed, Alas Ramus’s crying and energy last night
were beyond what any of us could have imagined.”
Unlike the cries of a newborn baby, those of one who had
learned to speak somewhat and realized the effect that had on its surroundings
usually indicated that they had some kind of need to be met.
Chiho had had some prior family commitment and had to leave
for home in the evening, so did not know what had happened afterwards.
She tried to remember what had
happened before she left.
********
Alas Ramus’s speech development was much farther along than
her apparent age would suggest.
Alas Ramus, who had said,
“Daddy is Satan,” then pointed to Emi and called her “Mommy.”
However, just like Maou had denied everything, Emi also
denied being the mother after recovering from the initial shock.
Of course, the other four had been just as shocked at first,
but none of them seriously thought that there had been some sort of “mistake”
between Maou and Emi. The demon king and hero mixed even less than oil and
water, and repulsed each other more than similar polarities of magnets. Alas
Ramus’s apparent age also suggested that it couldn’t be the case, and
obviously, the two had no recollection of having done anything of the sort, nor
any desire to do so.
However, predictably, denying their parenthood made Alas
Ramus cry as if she had beenset on fire.
“Hey! There, there, Alas Ramus. You do have a mommy and a
daddy. But she and I aren’t your pare—”
“WAAAAAAAH NOOOO! SATAN IZ MAI DADDIIIIEEE!!!”
Since she cried and screamed at the top of her lungs with
her tiny mouth, her words were barely intelligible.
“Man… what are we supposed to do?”
“…”
“Hey, Emi…”
“…”
“…Hah!”
“Kyah!”
Maou clapped right in front of Emi’s face as she just stood
there with a blank expression, completely at a loss as to what she should do.
Caught by surprise, Emi fell down on her butt and Suzuno
hurried over to her to help her up, but—
“MOOOMMMYYYYYY!!!”
She was tackled immediately by Alas Ramus, whose face was
covered in tears and snot. Alas Ramus’s voice was muffled, but she most likely
kept screaming “Mommy” as she buried her face into Emi.
Having no chance of dodging, Emi had no choice but to accept
Alas Ramus into her arms.
“BIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
“Uh, um, uh,”
The force that thumped into Emi was surprisingly heavy.
A clinging, crying child. Something that she must protect
with every fiber of her being as the hero.
However, this child claimed that she was its mother. With
her elbow bent at an awkward angle, Emi had no idea what to do in this
imagination-defying situation, and could not decide on her next course of
action.
“I-I don’t know what I’m supposed to…”
As Emi looked up while being completely baffled…
“Stop looking at me like
that!”
Everyone in the room was looking at her to see what she
would do next.
“Urrrrrgh… you guys haven’t forgotten, right? This little
girl stopped my holy sword with her bare hands! She might not be an ordinary
baby!”
“But Emilia, that does not have to do with the matter at
hand. Consider the emotions of the little girl who thinks of you as her
mother.”
“Bell! You’re just saying that because it’s got nothing to
do with you!”
“BIEEEEEEEEEEE!!”
“Wha-what’s so bad about this, Yusa-san!? I-I would love to
switch places with you!”
“Chiho-chan, you’re saying that because you have an ulterior
motive…”
“MOOOOMMMYYYYY!!”
“Geez, I already told you, I’m not your mommy… geez…”
As if finally giving in, but timidly, Emi placed her hands
underneath Alas Ramus.
Either way, she began by picking her up to calm her down,
“…”
This time, Emi was surprised by how light she was. Alas
Ramus had no trace of the great force she had when she tackled Emi.
Her skin and body were so
soft, as if just a slight force might break her. Emi’s own words, “stopped the
holy sword with her bare hands,” crossed her mind. As Emi picked up Alas Ramus
slowly and cautiously, Alas Ramus, who had been sticking her face into Emi’s
stomach, raised her face.
“…”
Emi looked down with a slight frown, as she saw a shiny
silver bridge of snot extending from the baby’s nose to Emi’s shirt.
“Hic… sniff… mommyyyy…”
Even as she cried with all her soul and strength, her large
pupils captured Emi’s gaze as she looked to her for assurance with a little
girl’s trust.
“Fi-fine… okay…”
Emi “held” Alas Ramus in a manner that implied she had given
up.
Alas Ramus’s chin rested on her shoulder, and her pudgy baby
arms held her neck and shoulder tightly.
“Hic… mommyyy… fweeeh…”
Alas Ramus changed from crying her lungs out to letting out
small sobs, having calmed down somewhat.
So adorable, but what am I supposed to do about this? But
she’s so adorable. What do I do? Those were Emi’s honest thoughts.
Emi stroked the back of her
yellow dress to settle her down, and asked Maou,
“So… what are we going to do now?”
“What are we going to do now? What are we supposed to do?”
“I’m the one asking you.”
“I don’t know, but you look like a natural at this.”
“…Do you not realize that saying those words are the
equivalent of putting a noose around your neck?”
“Hey, I’ve been wondering for a while, but how did this kid
know that Maou is Satan?” asked Urushihara while looking at Alas Ramus and
Maou.
“Unlike mine, Maou’s demon and human forms look pretty
different, don’t they?”
“How should I know? She did sniff my hand earlier, so maybe
that’s how she knew?”
“Maou, all your hand ever smells like is MgRonald.”
“It’s a great smell!”
Maou retaliated to the wrong point.
“…But what can
we do?”
Wondered Maou after snapping back at Urushihara, looking at
Alas Ramus with a troubled frown.
Alas Ramus, about to fall through Emi’s arms, wiggled
slightly and hugged Emi’s neck tightly again. Emi also adjusted to support Alas
Ramus’s bottom.
“Oh, could it be what they call ‘imprinting?’ Maybe when she
saw Maou-san and Yusa-san, she mistook you two for her parents?”
Chiho suggested as she raised her hand, but Maou shook his
head.
“That sounds possible, but if that were true, she wouldn’t
have said Daddy is Satan.’ Alas Ramus didn’t say ‘Maou,’ or even ‘Demon King,’
but ‘Satan.’ Could she have heard someone call me ‘Satan?’”
“Oh, you’re right…”
“Well, the name ‘Satan’ is as common as rocks in the demon
world, but she came all the way to Japan and called me ‘Satan.’ I think we can
be sure that when she said ‘Satan,’ she didn’t mean anyone else but me.”
“Th-then, Maou-san, are you going to accept Alas
Ramus-chan!?”
“Chii-chan, Chii-chan, you’re getting worked up.”
Maou replied wearily to Chiho, who seemed desperate for some
reason.
“You intrigued me when you mentioned that ‘the name Satan is
as common as rocks,’ but what is your point?”
Suzuno steered the conversation forward, and Maou nodded.
“The simplest explanation is this, isn’t it? Someone
camouflaged Alas Ramus as an apple and sent her to me, and…”
“…We don’t know whether they’re a friend or an enemy, but
they’ll be here soon, right?”
Emi, who was holding Alas Ramus, finished the thought with a
serious expression.
“Pretty much. I probably shouldn’t say this, but it’s most
likely got something to do with you again. No matter how you look at it, she
doesn’t seem like she’d be connected with someone from the demon world.”
“…Shut up… I actually do feel bad that Chiho-chan got
dragged into this because of me.”
“What about the rest of us? What are we, chopped liver?”
“Ho-how do you know that this has something to do with
Yusa-san?”
Emi looked at her right hand, which was holding Alas Ramus
at the moment. She then answered
Chiho’s worried question,
“This little girl stopped the holy sword with her bare
hands, and reacted to me, its wielder. That’s more than enough evidence.
Chiho-chan, you still remember how Sariel wanted my holy sword, right?”
When the angel Sariel had attacked just a few days prior,
both Chiho and Emi had been kidnapped. He had attempted to forcibly take the
holy sword from Emi using his special power, “Wicked Light of the Fallen.”
“Sariel never said why he wanted the holy sword. As if I’d
let him take it before I’ve finished off this beggar demon king. We still don’t
know the reason behind all of this, and now, a little child capable of stopping
the holy sword in its tracks has shown up. It’s impossible to say that this isn’t
related somehow, isn’t it?”
“Don’t pretend to be thinking logically just so you can mix
in some insult towards me.”
Emi then asked Chiho, ignoring Maou’s quip,
“Come to think of it, what’s going on with Sariel? What’s he
doing now?”
Chiho’s answer was short, blunt, and to the point.
“He’s getting fat.”
“Huh?”
“He comes to eat at MgRonald every day just to see
Kisaki-san, and he always supersizes everything. He’s realized that she loves
whoever contributes to her profit margin. But because of that, he’s gotten
surprisingly fat in just a little over a week.”
Sariel’s plan failed because Maou had reawakened his demon
king alter ego, but the angel had now wholly became his once-fake identity of
Mitsuki Sarue, manager of the Hatagaya Station Branch of Sentucky Fried
Chicken.
Having fallen in love at first sight with Mayumi Kisaki, the
manager of MgRonald and Maou’s supervisor, Sariel abandoned heaven and all his
missions so he could come to MgRonald every day without fail.
Since Kisaki wasn’t always working there, he sometimes came
face to face with Maou, the temporary shift manager. However, Sariel had even
proclaimed that he was willing to become a fallen angel for Kisaki.
He seemed to be aware that Kisaki knew what his intentions
in coming to MgRonald were, and was so polite to Maou and Chiho that it became
disturbing. It was as if he was trying to pretend that his previous violent
acts had never happened.
“…Well, I don’t know if that
idiot angel has anything to do with this, but I hope he doesn’t get involved if
we get into some sort of trouble. He hurts our business with all his antics.”
“Sariel… the holy sword incident aside, I do not believe he
is involved directly with Alas Ramus,” added Suzuno.
“It is not that he had run out of sacred power in our
previous battle, but rather that he is choosing of his own free will not to
return. If he had something to do with Alas Ramus, he would have flown here the
instant she appeared.”
At those words, Urushihara checked on his security cameras,
Chiho peeked out into the public hallway from the kitchen window, and Ashiya
glanced outside through the door.
“Besides, the name ‘Alas Ramus’ is not from a Heavenly
language. It comes from a human language widely used in Ente Isla.”
“What?”
“The meaning of ‘Alas’ is ‘wing,’ and that of ‘Ramus’ is
‘branch.’ Furthermore, the words come specifically from the central trading
language, ‘Centrumian,’ that is used exclusively in Isla Centrum.”
The language had earned its title from being used as a
common language for standardizing units of measurement and contract
negotiations in Isla Centrum, which was the center of trade and commerce due to
its location in between the north, south, east, and west continents.
Those who spoke the central trading language were mostly
government officials, high-order clergy, or traders, but it was the only
language that would be universally understood in all of Ente Isla.
“In other words, somewhere in
Ente Isla, she has a parent who gave her this name. We do not know whether that
person is a human or an angel, but they cannot possibly be a demon…”
Regardless, they still had no idea who had given her that
name and with what purpose. “So either way, we can only react to whatever’s
coming at us next. We have to wait for someone who we don’t even know if it’s a
friend or a foe, while holding this mysterious Alas Ramus in our arms.
Maou concluded with a serious expression. Even Emi and
Suzuno listened to Maou’s words. “Whatever you say, in the end, it all boils
down to who’s going to take care of Alas Ramus, doesn’t it?”
Urushihara’s interjected, moving the conversation along. At
that moment, the demon king’s castle became silent aside from the cries of
cicadas.
“I thought she was quiet for a while. So she fell asleep,
huh.”
Maou looked at Alas Ramus, who slept while still resting her
head on Emi’s shoulder.
“…I don’t want such a little girl to get dragged into some
sinister plot.”
Emi sighed, and stroked Alas Ramus’s back.
“Aside from the whole apple thing, she’s basically just a
little baby girl. Goochy goochy goo…” Maou had some fun and poked her in the
cheek. Emi glared back at Maou.
“Hey, knock it off. She’s finally asleep.”
After being scolded, Maou pulled his hand back.
“Sigh… I’m so jealous,
Yusa-san…”
Chiho watched the three of them act like they belonged
together. Even though she thought it was adorable, she couldn’t help but feel
jealous and puff her cheeks out.
“Chiho-dono, Chiho-dono. Your true feelings are written all
over your face.”
Suzuno pointed this out to Chiho, causing her to realize
what she was doing.
After pulling Maou away from his fooling around with Alas
Ramus, Emi let out a deep sigh.
“I can’t take her home with me. I live on my own, and my job
keeps me too busy to have the time to take care of her.”
“But Demon King Castle is even more ill-equipped to take her
in. Our budget can’t handle another mouth to feed, and we’re a group of three men.”
Ashiya also objected right away. Not only did they already
have a dead weight that ate food and contributed nothing in return, but the
three men lived in a six-tatami room with no air conditioning. They couldn’t
make it a worse environment to raise a little child in if they tried.
“I’m sorry… I want to help, but I can’t think of any reasons
that would convince my parents.”
Chiho also chimed in with an apologetic tone.
“You do not need to concern
yourself, Chiho-dono. This is an Ente Islan problem.” Suzuno patted Chiho’s
shoulder to make her feel better.
“I do not want to see a little child with no relatives
shuffled around among adults because she would be an inconvenience to them.
Besides, I do not have a job, so I do not mind taking her in. I also have
experience in the caretaking of large numbers of children.
Although Suzuno’s appearance would suggest that she was
about the same age as Chiho, if not younger, considering her position and her
history with the Church of the Divine Creed, she was actually the oldest of the
girls in the group.
The rest of the group already knew that bringing her age up
would be the equivalent of throwing their own lives away, but going by age and
her experience from being in a clergy, they all thought Suzuno would be the
most qualified of them all.
Moreover, the image of her wearing a yukata, which was more
or less her default housework uniform, with an apron on top and a bandana on
her head, carrying Alas Ramus on her back in a baby strap just somehow seemed
right.
In response to Suzuno’s proposal, Emi, Ashiya, Chiho, and
even Urushihara, who never even tried to help, made expressions of relief.
“…”
Maou was the only one who did not loosen his face.
In an atmosphere where things had finally began to calm down
because of the ideal plan to have a clergywoman from the Church of the Divine
Creed take care of the little baby who seemed to be somehow related to the
Evolving Holy Sword, Better Half, Maou repeatedly looked from Emi, to Alas
Ramus, to his own hand.
“…Um, Maou-san?”
The first person to take notice of that was, unsurprisingly,
Chiho.
“Is… something wrong?”
“Yeah. There’s one thing… no,
two things that I don’t get.”
Maou answered while looking at Emi, and not Chiho.
“I might be overthinking it, but…”
Muttered Maou as he placed his hand on his forehead. Chiho
tilted her head, not knowing what Maou was trying to say. He continued to
mumble and think out loud without waiting for an answer from Chiho.
“…Why didn’t she say, ‘Mommy is Emilia’…?”
“What?”
Chiho widened her eyes, as his
answer changed the flow of the conversation abruptly. But more importantly, at
that precise moment, Chiho felt an indescribable pain run through her heart.
She tried to ignore that pain.
She knew that “Emilia” was Emi’s real name. She also
understood that Emi and Suzuno were Maou’s enemies.
But this thought ran across Chiho’s mind.
“Will I… ever be more than just ‘Chii-chan’…?”
She was an ordinary high school girl who knew of their
secrets, but she did not have any special powers.
The unanswered confession aside, when she had been kidnapped
by Sariel, Maou had declared that she was “a subordinate whom he must protect.”
She only knew about them, and that was all. Both at work and
outside of work, she was always being protected by Maou.
Even in a moment like this, the inner tension between her
rational self, which realized that she had to accept who she was, and her
yearning self, which wanted to be treated as his equal, pierced her heart.
“Hm? Did you say something, Chii-chan?”
“…Sorry, it’s nothing.”
Chiho was ashamed of not being fully focused on the
situation at hand, and drew back from the circle that surrounded Alas Ramus.
Of course, Maou did not even notice Chiho’s heartache, and
after showing signs of hesitation, said something no one was expecting.
“It’s decided, then. Alas Ramus
will stay in Demon King Castle.”
******
“…So where did Urushihara-san actually go?”
As Chiho repeated her question while remembering the chaotic
events of the previous day, the answer came to her from an unexpected place.
“Maaaan, it’s so hot. Ashiya, are we eating yet?”
The sliding screen to the closet opened with a rattle, and a
sweat-covered Urushihara emerged from it.
“Oh? You’re here, Chiho Sasaki?”
Chiho was at a loss for words at the sudden turn of events.
Upon a closer look, she saw that a flashlight, the laptop,
and a mini-fan were inside the closet.
Urushihara came out of the closet as Chiho watched him, then
walked over to the refrigerator with a nonchalant expression, took one of Alas
Ramus’s bottles of barley tea, and returned to the closet.
“Well, make yourself at home.”
Said Urushihara, as the useless robot cat wannabe closed the
sliding screen.**
**This is a reference to Doraemon, a
cat-like robot who also slept in a closet.
“…Ashiya-san…”
“I saw nothing.”
Said Ashiya, with no energy in his voice.
“I do not want him to cross my field of vision ever again.
Last night, my lord and I took turns trying to get Alas Ramus to stop crying,
but she never showed signs of stopping and kept asking, “where is mommy? where
is mommy…?” Lucifer has been spending most of his time in the closet since last
night.”
“Urushihara-san should just shrivel up and die from
dehydration.”
Chiho empathized with Ashiya from the bottom of her heart.
When Maou had said that he was going to take Alas Ramus in,
Suzuno, who had been the first to volunteer as her caretaker, opposed him.
But when Alas Ramus woke up
and said that she wanted to be with Daddy, Suzuno agreed to it surprisingly
easily.
“A child’s wishes are to be respected. However, I will take
her out of your arms as soon as I see the first sign of you doing anything that
would be detrimental to her upbringing,” warned Suzuno.
And since she possessed holy power stronger than the three
demons combined and lived right next door, her words carried weight.
However, the “Mommy” problem
still remained. Unlike Suzuno, Emi was not their neighbor. Alas Ramus was
seemingly satisfied with being able to live with Maou, which solved their first
problem. However, she was already glancing nervously towards Emi, who was getting
ready to leave to go shopping with Suzuno like they had originally been
planning to.
“Mommy, are you leevin me again?”
She asked with tearful eyes. Emi was at a loss for words.
“…?”
Maou tilted his head at Alas Ramus’s question, and said to
her in a persuasive tone,
“Hey, listen, Alas Ramus, Mommy is going out juuust for a
little bit.”
“gowing out?”
“Yep, she’ll be right back!”
“…weally?”
Emi hesitated as Alas Ramus looked at her with a clinging
expression. Maou mouthed, “Just go with it!” to Emi from behind Alas Ramus.
“Re-really. I’m coming back.”
“ah’ll be a good girl and wait for yu den.”
Alas Ramus nodded, faithfully believing every word that Emi
said. Everyone except Urushihara felt like they had been stabbed in the heart
with a dagger.
Because of the Alas Ramus incident, it was nearly evening
when Emi and Suzuno left. Chiho also had to go home, so she only knew what had
happened to that point. However…
“Did Yusa-san not come back?”
“No, she did come back with Crestia… however, that’s when
the trouble began.”
“Alas Ramus thought she was going to sleep together with
Emilia.”
At that moment, the door to Demon King Castle opened and
Suzuno came in with some shopping bags, just like Chiho had.
“Hi, Suzuno-san.”
“Alciel, here are the bento and vitamin drink that you
wanted.”
Suzuno bluntly handed the bags over to Ashiya, who
took them lethargically and said, “…I’m not going to thank you. How much was
it?”
“The ginger-fried pork Orion-bento was five-hundred yen. The
vitamin drinks are for me, but I will let you have one.”
“…”
Ashiya took out a five-hundred yen coin and handed it to
Suzuno without saying a word, got up, and took off the bento packaging.
*Orion-bento is a spoof on Origin-bento.
“Excuse me, Sasaki-san, I’m going to eat my lunch now…”
“Huh? Oh, ye-yes, please, don’t mind me.”
“What? Lunch?”
Just then, Urushihara slid open the closet screen and poked
his head out after smelling the ginger-fried pork. But,
“Silence, parasite.”
The great archdemon general who had conquered the Eastern
Continent of Ente Isla in just one year gave Urushihara an expression and voice
so filled with unbelievable malice and hatred that it seemed it would
physically injure him. Surprisingly, Urushihara said nothing in return and
retreated behind the sliding screen.
And then, Ashiya slowly proceeded to eat the bento without
paying any attention to Suzuno or Chiho.
“To think that Ashiya-san would pay for and eat an
Orion-bento…”
Chiho made a perceptive comment on just how abnormal an
action this was for Ashiya, and wiped a tear from her eye.
“Her crying last night defied all imagination. Even I, with
a wall between her and me, was forcibly woken up multiple times.”
Upon a closer look, Suzuno was
actually wearing makeup. Just how extremely rare this sight was could not be
overstated, for she almost never wore makeup. The corner of her eyes slumped
downwards tiredly. She must have been severely affected.
“There was an incredible uproar this morning as well. She
adamantly refused to let the demon king leave for work. She must have thought
that the demon king would not return either since Emilia left after coming back
once.”
“I see… but it’s not like Yusa-san can just stay here
overnight, either.”
As she was a woman and the hero, she absolutely could not
stay over at Demon King Castle, thought Chiho.
But in actuality, Emi had already stayed the night there
once before. Ignorance is bliss.
Staying at Suzuno’s room may
have been another possible solution, but wouldn’t work either. Suzuno only had
the bare minimum of cosmetics, and since it was the middle of the summer, Emi
would need a change of clothes.
However, if she kept going back and forth between here and
Emi’s apartment in Eifuku town, the bathhouse in Sasazuka would be closed
before she could go there. She had work the next morning, and couldn’t possibly
go in without taking a bath.
“It is not as if Emilia does not care at all, but she cannot
disregard her real world responsibilities, either.”
Said Suzuno, as she took out a cellphone from her yutaka
sleeve, opened it, and showed the screen to Chiho.
The name “Emilia” was written on the screen. And right next
to it was a message that read:
“I’ll stop by tomorrow. I really feel bad about this, but
please take care of her.”
Chiho read the message, but she was more interested in the
fact that Suzuno had a cellphone to begin with. She looked back and forth
between the phone and Suzuno.
“Suzuno-san, you bought a cellphone?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. I purchased it yesterday. I asked Emilia for
help, and she taught me numerous things.”
“Yay! Let’s exchange numbers! It’s a Docodemo phone, right?”
Suzuno’s phone was not the
popular slimphone, but rather an ordinary flip phone.
“E-exchange? I am not certain how the process works. I
believe there is a infrared sensor gun feature on this phone.”
Suzuno searched for a feature that might defeat a gigantic
monster for a while, looking all over her phone with a frown on her face.
However, she eventually gave up and handed it over to Chiho with a look of
defeat.
“…My apologies, Chiho-dono, but I cannot make heads or tails
out of this. I would like your assistance.”
“Sure, but are you really okay with me messing around with
your phone?”
“I do not mind. It was just purchased, so all I have done
with it is save Emilia’s number.”
By no means did Chiho consider herself to be a gadget
expert, but if it was just a cellphone, she was confident that she would be
able to figure out how to use it from playing around with it, even if it worked
slightly differently from her own.
However, when Chiho flipped the phone open, there was
something strange about it.
Chiho also had a Docodemo flip phone, but the numbers
printed on Suzuno’s phone were very large.
Additionally, obnoxiously large keys for numbers “1,” “2,”
and “3” sat on the top row of the number pad. She had not seen anything like
that on her phone, her family’s phones, or her friends’ phones.
And to top it all off, there was a dedicated “help” key at
the bottom left of the number pad.
“Suzuno-san, is this… is this a Docodemo ‘Super-Easy
Phone?’”
At Chiho’s question, Suzuno made a shocked expression and
nodded.
“Astounding, Chiho-dono! You can tell models apart just by
looking at them!?”
“We-well, sure, kind of.”
“I have no attachments to any particular model, and I do not
require any function other than communication. Furthermore, I have no
confidence in being able to use a phone well, so I asked for the
absolute-easiest one, and this is what was given to me.”
As Suzuno explained confidently, Chiho stopped thinking too
much about it.
TV commercials always portrayed the Super-Easy Phone to be
targeted at elderly people who were not adept at using technology. However,
there was nothing preventing a member of the younger generation from using one.
Soon enough, Chiho found the infrared function on Suzuno’s
phone and exchanged their contact information by matching her phone’s sensor to
Suzuno’s.
“Here, it’s done. I saved my number on your phone,
Suzuno-san.”
“You have my gratitude. My knowledge of phones stops at
black rotary phones, so even though I tried to read the manual, I did not
understand even the very basic vocabulary.”
Suzuno said in an embarrassed voice, and took her phone
back.
And at that precise moment,
“…daddyyy…”
Everyone in the room froze, and
turned to look at the origin of the voice.
Alas Ramus, who was supposed to have fallen asleep just a
little while ago, had gotten up slowly and looked around sleepily.
“Ngh…”
Ashiya was taken by surprise, causing him to choke on his
ginger-fried pork and let out a muffled cry.
“wheah is daddy?”
Seeing that neither Maou nor Emi were in the vicinity, Alas
Ramus’s face turned red in a matter of seconds and she began crying like a
faucet had been turned on in her head.
“DAAAAAAADDDYYYYYY!!!”
And she exploded. Ashiya forced the pork down with a gulp of
barley tea and rushed over to try to calm her down, but he had no idea how to
stop her shrieking.
“Excuse me, Ashiya-san.”
However, Chiho calmly asked Ashiya to step aside.
“Ashiya-san, is this diaper…”
Alas Ramus was wearing a diaper, but it was bulging to the
point of nearly bursting.
“Yes, I bought that yesterday.”
Suzuno was the one to answer.
“After Emilia went home, Alas
Ramus had a great accident. We completely forgot about being prepared for such
things, but since the pharmacies were already closed, we had to resort to
buying some from the convenience store next to the station…”
Upon a closer look, there was a small bag of diapers that
had been opened violently next to the bathroom.
“…Ashiya san, no wonder.”
“Wha-what is it?”
“Of course she would cry. You didn’t change her diaper even
once the entire night?”
Chiho said sternly as if scolding him, took out a new
diaper, and placed it on the tatami mat.
And after lying Alas Ramus on top of it,
“Ashiya-san, there’s a bottle that looks like a syringe in
the bag that I brought. Could you fill it with the water from the faucet and
bring it to me, please?”
“Ye-yes, but um, the water from the faucet is lukewarm.”
“That’s actually better. Please hurry.”
After giving quick instructions, as Ashiya and Suzuno looked
on, Chiho used one hand to hold and lift both of Alas Ramus’s legs, and her
other hand to remove the taped-on diaper.
“Okay, let’s get your bum nice and clean!”
After taking the bottle, she slowly squeezed the warm water
onto Alas Ramus’s bottom. Ashiya and Suzuno were shocked for a second, but the
running water quickly disappeared into the absorbent diaper.
Chiho then put down the bottle
and used a wet wipe to clean any leftovers. Next, she placed the used wipe in
the diaper, lifted Alas Ramus’s legs just a little bit higher, and pulled the
diaper out from under her and put it aside.
After doing all of that single-handedly in one smooth
action, Chiho gently placed Alas Ramus’s bottom on the new diaper that she had
laid out beforehand, and quickly fastened it with tape.
Before anyone could even blink, Alas Ramus, who had been
crying like a typhoon, calmed down. Ashiya gaped at Chiho and Alas Ramus with
his eyes wide open.
“…Since she kept screaming for Emilia, I just assumed she
was lonely…”
“Well, you’re not wrong, but babies often don’t know how to
precisely say what they want. If something’s bothering them, they just repeat
phrases they already know over and over again.”
Chiho rolled up the old diaper and trash together and threw
them into the flammable trash bin.
She then wiped her own hands with the wet wipes, picked up
Alas Ramus, and rubbed her cheek against the baby’s apple-like face.
“See? You don’t like being dirty, riiight?”
“ouuuuh.”
Alas Ramus replied, but it was unclear whether she was
agreeing or just making a noise.
However, it was clear that the reason for Alas Ramus’s crying
last night had been the dirty diaper.
“It’s okay. Daddy and… Mommy… will be back soon! So be a
good girl and wait for them, okay?”
Chiho felt some form of inner
resistance against calling Emi “Mommy,” but she knew it was pointless to brood
over something like that in front of a little baby, so she just let it go and
said what she thought would best calm down Alas Ramus.
“yesh.”
Alas Ramus looked straight back at Chiho through her teary
eyes and nodded with a gentle smile.
“Geez… you’re so cute. That’s a good girl.”
Chiho nearly melted at the adorable sight of Alas Ramus
wiping her tears with her tiny little hands.
“Huh…?”
At the exact moment Alas Ramus stopped crying, Chiho saw a
purple, crescent-shaped mark appear on the baby’s forehead. Her entire body
started to emit a glow in the same color as her one-piece dress.
But in a blink of an eye, the mark and glow disappeared.
No drastic change had occurred to Alas Ramus during that
series of events, but Chiho sighed upon being reminded once more of her
mysterious origin from an alternate world.
Chiho knew that all she could do was pour out her love on
the little child, and she hugged Alas Ramus once again.
“Wapu!”
Alas Ramus let out a surprised cry.
Ashiya fell down on his knees at the sight before him.
“No, I cannot even be compared
with Sasaki-san… I’m ashamed to have boasted of myself as a knowledge general
at one point in my life… A diaper change that used the abilities of the diaper
itself to bring out its maximum potential… I feel as if a blindfold has been
removed from my face…”
Ashiya was probably the only demon aiming for world
domination in the universe who would lament about not knowing to change a
baby’s diaper, but his remorse over his lack of knowledge on the subject matter
was genuine.
Not knowing how to respond to Ashiya, Chiho looked up at the
clock on the wall and tried to change the topic.
“What time will Yusa-san be back?”
“She will not return until her job is over, so I would
assume the eighteenth hour at the earliest.”
“Suzuno-san, you know Yusa-san’s shift schedule?”
“I do not know, but I have ambushed her before.”
Chiho had no idea what Suzuno was talking about, but she
remembered something and looked at the bag that she had brought.
“Suzuno-san, there’s a notebook with a pink cover in my bag,
and right inside that, there’s a folded piece of paper. Can you get that and
open it for me?”
“Of course, just wait for a second… is this it?”
Chiho, who still had her hands full holding Alas Ramus,
looked down at the paper that Suzuno was holding in front of her.
“Maou-san is acting shift manager from morning until after
lunchtime today, and Kisaki-san will come in after peak time, and… oh, he’s
getting off early today. Four in the afternoon, huh?”
What she was referring to was
not a typical electronic timesheet, but a handmade shift chart that Kisaki
handed out to every employee. According the chart, Maou’s shift ended at 4 PM.
The current time was 2:30 PM. Chiho looked from the time on
her phone to the shift chart and then,
“How about this? Why don’t we take Alas Ramus-chan to
MgRonald?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“What?”
Ashiya and Suzuno looked at Chiho with a confused face.
“She’ll get really bored if she’s holed up in here for so
long. If we take her out for a walk, she might get in a better mood, and she’ll
see her “daddy” sooner, right?”
“Daddyyy!”
Alas Ramus happily raised her arms while still being held by
Chiho as she reacted instantaneously to the word “daddy.” She absolutely adored
her daddy.
However, Ashiya raised his face from a depressed posture and
disagreed.
“I have no idea what reasons my lord had for taking in Alas
Ramus, but I still do not think it would be best for her to be out in the open
unnecessarily while we still are not certain about her situation…”
“No, I actually concur with
Chiho-dono. Even if we do not completely understand her situation, perhaps
something may come to light if we take the initiative. Furthermore, the social
system set in this world is not so simple as to let the likes of you take care
of some unknown child. For example, what if Alas Ramus becomes ill and you have
to take her to a hospital? How would you take her to the doctors with no proof
of guardianship or insurance?”
Ashiya had no response to Suzuno’s insightful rebuttal.
Suzuno looked at Alas Ramus, who was happily being held by
Chiho as if her crying just a few moments ago had all been lies and
imagination.
“Do not worry. As I am now, I am confident that i will be
able to fend off some demons or angels. And if some more light is shed on this
situation, we will be able to decide on our next course of action. Would that
not be beneficial to you as well?”
“That… may be true, but…”
“Besides, Alciel, no matter what the situation may be, or
who might be behind everything, do we all not share the common desire to
protect Alas Ramus?”
“I don’t share that at aaaaall.”
The entire room ignored the sound that came from the closet.
“So I believe that it is in the best interest of Alas
Ramus’s health for us to take her out on a walk.
Do you not?”
Suzuno then turned to look at the closet.
“Besides, I feel that that existence over there is going to
have an adverse effect on child development.”
“I agree.”
Chiho nodded emphatically.
“Hey, you’re insulting me again, aren’t you.”
Urushihara realized that he was
being insulted, but since he stayed in his closet, he seemed not to have a
shred of motivation to change his attitude.
“…Very well. However, as the subordinate of the demon king,
I cannot just simply hand over Alas Ramus, who my lord has decided to take
under his care! I will permit it only if I am to come as well!”
Said Ashiya with food in his mouth as he quickly stuffed the
rest of the bento into his face, then proceeded to chug an entire vitamin drink
in one go.
This lack of eating manners was another example of abnormal
behavior from Ashiya, who usually took great care to conduct himself in a
respectful fashion. However, as soon as he finished the drink,
“Ugh-”
Ashiya let out a grunt, and fell face up.
“Ashiya-san!?”
Chiho frantically ran over to help Ashiya, but after
struggling painfully for a few seconds, his eyes closed as peacefully as if he
had just died,.
“Ahsheel bedtime!”
Alas Ramus said happily while the blood instantly drained
from Chiho’s face. Chiho wondered if Suzuno had done something to the drink in
order to kill Maou and his underlings.
“Su—-…”
However, Ashiya began to snore as soon as that thought ran
through her head.
“…It seems like that finally
did him in.”
Suzuno shook her head with a tired expression.
“Even I, who was next door, was woken up multiple times. I
cannot begin to imagine what it must have been like for Alciel, who was right
next to her.”
Suzuno picked up the small bottle that Ashiya dropped as he
collapsed, while keeping an eye on the closet.
“This is what I received from Emilia yesterday. This may
have been somewhat of a rough method, but Alciel probably would not have rested
on his own. I noticed last time, but whenever Alciel collapses, it triggers
events around them.”
Suzuno showed her the vitamin drink bottle. “Holy Vitamin
Beta” and some words written in a language Chiho had never seen before were
printed on it.
“…What does the bottle say?”
“The label is in the Ente Islan language. Just think of it
as medicine that weakens a demon’s physical strength.”
From Suzuno’s cautious glances at the closet, Chiho
understood that it was something she didn’t want the demons to find out about.
“Oh, come to think of it…”
Chiho looked at Ashiya, who seemed to be sleeping
uncomfortably, and then at Alas Ramus.
“Earlier, you said ‘Ahsheel’… Alas Ramus-chan, you can say
Ashiya-san’s name?”
“ou?”
Alas Ramus, who was still in Chiho’s arms, looked back at
Chiho with a finger in her mouth. Chiho looked back into her big eyes and
thought for a moment.
“Alas Ramus-chan,”
“yesh?”
She answered energetically with arms raised high. With just
that, Chiho felt as if her cheeks would melt off.
“My name is Chiho!”
“Chioh?”
“Chi-ho. Your daddy calls me Chii-chan.”
“Chii-cha!”
Then Alas Ramus’s face lit up as if she had remembered
something.
“Daddy’s fwend!”
“Alas Ramus.”
Suzuno interjected from the side.
“Chiho-dono is an older figure to you. “Chii-chan” is too
informal.”
“Ouu? Ou?”
“Let’s see, try calling her ‘Chiho-oneechan.’”
Alas Ramus looked up to Chiho
while concentrating all her strength in her body in a strange way, as she took
Suzuno’s slight scolding seriously.
“Chio… Chi, Ne… Ou,”
And as she tried her best to replicate Suzuno’s suggestion,
“Chii-neecha!”
Alas Ramus finally settled into a name.
“Ahhhh! You’re too cute!!”
Chiho could not hold her emotions back anymore, and rubbed
her cheek against Alas Ramus over and over again.
“Chii-neecha! Chii-neecha…!”
Alas Ramus repeated the name over and over again while
pointing at Chiho, as if she was confirming it.
“…ou,”
She then stared at Suzuno, who stood next to Chiho.
“Wha-what is it…?”
Suzuno gulped, as she faced a different kind of pressure.
“This big girl’s name is Suzuno-oneechan!”
Said Chiho, as she astutely inferred what Alas Ramus was
seeking, and since she had done this once already, her reply was much faster.
“Suzu-neecha!”
Alas Ramus pointed decisively, as if giving an order.
Suzuno’s face immediately turned red.
“Suzu-nee… yes. I suppose, that is acceptable, yes.”
“Chii-neecha! Suzu-neecha!”
Just like when she had said Maou and Emi were her parents,
Alas Ramus said the two names over and over again as if she were
double-checking.
“Aaaaah! Geez! Soo cuuuute!”
“S-stop repeating it over and over again! Ugh… no! Stop
looking at me like that! This is inexcusable! You are too adorable!”
As the two red-faced girls were raising their voices and
getting excited,
“…You’re both so simple.”
They glared intensely at the closet where the mood-killing
voice had come from.
Suzuno stepped over Ashiya on the floor, stood in front of
the sliding screen, and pounded on it loudly several times.
“Wha!?”
Instantaneously, Urushihara could be heard being rattled
inside.
“Anyway, it is as you heard. Chiho-dono and I will be
taking Alas Ramus on a walk. Tell Alciel that when he awakens. We will be back
when either the demon king or Emilia finishes with their work.”
“Geez, you scared me. Yeah, yeah, do what you want. Just
please pretend that I don’t exist, no matter what happens.”
“We were all planning on doing exactly that, but you will
not be struck by lightning if you try to make yourself useful by passing on a
message.”
“…Why does it feel like there’s a category for me and a
category for everyone else? Aren’t you both humans?”
“Why do you not listen to your heart? Danger unites friends
and foes alike, but without fail, you always look out for yourself and no one
else.”
“Loosifah, yooseless?”
Questioned Alas Ramus, as she
watched the conversation between Suzuno and the screen. It seemed the voice had
reached inside the closet as well. Some sense of stirring could be felt from
within.
“Children are honest and learn quickly.”
And Suzuno delivered the final
blow.
***
3:00 PM.
A cry echoed like thunder throughout the Hatagaya Station
MgRonald.
“Daddy!!”
The sound was aimed precisely at one direction, and moved
quickly towards one man.
Time within the restaurant stopped, and all present turned
to look at the source and target of the sound.
One crew member stopped right in the middle of helping a
customer, while another dropped a stack of trays, and another forgot to take
their finger off of the drink dispenser, causing a great waterfall of orange
juice.
A melody that announced when fries were done played in the
background, not fitting at all with the sudden change of atmosphere.
The man who was struck by that heaven-shattering lighting
froze in place for a moment, with a dazed expression that resembled that of
someone who could not believe his own eyes, ears, or the entire world. However,
as he was showered by looks from the entire restaurant crew, light quickly
returned to his eyes.
“!!!!!!”
It was the very definition of a voiceless scream.
Sadao Maou launched himself using an invisible catapult that
he had just obtained, leapt into the air with one leg, and took flight.
“Daddyyy!”
Chiho and Suzuno froze like statues as they suddenly changed
the atmosphere of the restaurant when they stepped in. Meanwhile, the small,
small apple girl, Alas Ramus, who was in Chiho’s arms, saw nothing other than
her beloved Daddy running to her at full speed.
“Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-what
do you think you’re doing!?”
Maou pressed them for an answer with a face was so pale that
he might foam at the mouth and faint at any second.
“What were you thinking, bringing her here!? Hey! Come on!
This isn’t funny!”
“Uh, um, I’m sorry, but we thought it would make Alas
Ramus-chan happy…”
“She kept crying, saying she wanted to see Daddy. We thought
that maybe if she were in a happier mood, she may remember something, and that
is why we brought her here.”
Feeling the tense atmosphere in the restaurant and knowing
that she may have made a mistake were causing Chiho to panick, but Suzuno was
not fazed in the slightest.
And Alas Ramus, who could not care less about what was
happening around her, started fidgeting violently in Chiho’s arms and extended
her hands towards Maou.
“Daddy! Daaaaddy!”
“He-stop! Don’t move around so much, it’s dange…”
“St-stop calling me that over and over! Please!”
Chiho almost let Alas Ramus fall, but Maou caught her just
in time and supported her.
“Daddyyyy!”
Alas Ramus, who was caught by Maou, wore the biggest,
brightest smile ever, and hugged his neck tightly.
“Daddyyy! Ah came to see yuuuu!”
“O-o-okay, ahahaha…”
As Maou laughed dryly,
“Is that Maou-san and Sasaki-san’s child?”
“No way. If that were true, I’d murder Maou-san in his
sleep. No, I’d drown him.”
“Where’s Kisaki-san? If she hears about this, this place
will get turned into a sea of blood.”
“Crap! The fries! The fries are getting burnt!”
Voices of curiosity, agitation, and questioning could be
heard behind his back.
“Ahahaha… Maou-san, I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done
this…”
Chiho noticed a great shadow approaching behind the backs of
the frowning Maou and smiling Alas Ramus, and made an expression that was, in a
way, more horrified than even Maou’s.
“What is the matter, Chiho-dono? Your face is pale. Were you
under the sun for too long?”
But Suzuno’s misplaced concern did not reach Chiho’s ears,
because…
“Maaaaaa-kuuuuun?”
The manager of the restaurant, Mayumi Kisaki, stood with an
expression that resembled a terrifying mask.
“Hyeh!!”
“Ou?”
Maou snapped to attention with a force that could have
popped his spine out.
“If my eyes and ears didn’t deceive me, that little girl
Chii-chan brought in called you ‘Daddy,’ didn’t she? Hm?”
“…yessshedid.”
Maou answered honestly, realizing that Kisaki’s voice
carried great pressure that would not forgive even a hint of a lie.
Both Maou and Chiho waited with pale faces for the next
lightning strike that would inevitably come from Kisaki.
However, seeing that Kisaki did nothing for the next few
moments, Maou turned around slowly and fearfully.
“You’re Maou and Sasaki’s
friend, Kamazuki-san… was it?” Suzuno nodded simply.
“May I borrow Sasaki for a little while?”
Kisaki asked unexpectedly.
“…I do not- I mean, … Sure, I don’t mind…”
Remembering the last time she had met Kisaki, she quickly
changed the way she carried herself and her manner of speech.
“Thank you. Hey, Maa-kun, show Kamazuki-san to her seat.
I’ll take the child.”
“Huh? Su-sure, bu-but—”
Maou hesitated for a second, but Kisaki ignored him and took
Alas Ramus from his arms. Seeing
Alas Ramus give a big grin in Kisaki’s arms, he let out a
sigh of relief. However,
“Chii-chan, come to the staff room for a bit. Maa-kun, you too,
when you’re done taking her to her seat.”
At those words, his blood pressure dropped sharply.
Chiho seemed to have a similar reaction. Kisaki walked
crisply towards the staff room, followed by a grave-faced Chiho.
“…I apologize. Perhaps I was too shallow in my thinking.”
Suzuno apologized as she watched and felt the obviously
tense atmosphere. However, she still did not understand what was happening.
“Seriously!… is what I’d like to say, but you two did this with
the best intentions for Alas Ramus in mind, so I’m not going to complain to
you. The A/C doesn’t blow directly on those seats over there, so just pick one
and wait there.
Suzuno looked in the direction Maou pointed at, and then
back at Maou again.
“I thought you would be more angry.”
“Huh? Why would I be angry? Well, looks like it didn’t turn
out well, but you were just trying to help me in the end, so I should be
thanking you. Sorry about all this.” said Maou earnestly as he looked directly
into Suzuno’s eyes.
“…Humph, the demon king acting like an admirable being.”
Suzuno could not look back at his sincere eyes, so she
avoided eye contact by pouting and looking away. Why should the king of all
demons thank her honestly over and over again?
“Why shouldn’t the demon king
be admirable? Anyway, just go take a seat over there and…”
As Maou frowned at Suzuno’s reaction,
“Fu…! Oh the wretched, scorching heat of the third hour
after midday that robs me of my senses! The time has come for me to cool my
heart by receiving the gift of a luscious soft-serve from the beautiful
goddess!! Oh, my beloved goddess! I have once again come into your presence at
this hour to deliver you my love!”
The noisy pervert entered the restaurant, sprouting
perverted noises and making noisy, perverted gestures.
The man was none other than Mitsuki Sarue, the manager of
the Hatagaya Station Sentucky, also known as Archangel Sariel, who had resolved
to become a fallen angel when faced with Kisaki’s beauty.
When Chiho had said that he ate every meal there every day,
that apparently included snack time as well.
Sariel actually had a handsome face, which was his only
redeeming quality. He scanned the restaurant quickly with his deep, violet
eyes.
And then, he found the beautiful goddess to whom he had
eternally dedicated himself in front of the restaurant’s staff room.
And also the existence that said goddess held in her arms.
“Ngah!”
Letting out a strange cry, Sariel froze, his body colder
than the soft-serve he had come for.
“He really did grow fat.”
Only a few days had passed since Suzuno had last saw Sariel.
However, in just that short period of time, the somewhat short angel’s cheeks
and neck had grown unnatural bulges.
The sound of Suzuno’s voice alerted Sariel to Maou and
Suzuno’s presences, and he turned his head toward them like a broken puppet.
“Have the heavens forsaken me?”
Sariel asked a pointless question.
“Is this… divine retribution from God for abandoning my
duty? Has my eternal goddess’s heart… been won by another man, and she
responded to him, and is that the manifestation of their love!?”
Seeing that Sariel was having a very obvious
misunderstanding, Maou had no idea how to respond.
“Ehh, I’ll leave him to you.”
And he decided to delegate that task to someone else.
“What? He-hey!”
Maou ran away and followed Kisaki and Chiho to the staff
room before Suzuno had a chance to object.
“Crestia Bell! Is this a dream!? Tell me that this is a
dream! If this is because of the wrongs I have done in the past, I repent for
everything! I may have been fickle with women, but this time, I am completely
dedicated! Please, listen to my confessions and ask for God’s forgiveness on my
behalf!”
“Why is an archangel such as yourself asking to perform a
confession to a human clergywoman, sir!?”
Even if they had once been
enemies, he was an archangel whom the clergy treated like a god. She could not
stop herself from speaking politely, but the archangel who had came down to the
human world was, despite common belief, as endlessly selfish as the demon king
himself.
“So this is what was meant in this morning’s horoscope that
I would have terribly bad luck! Oh,
God, why! Why have you given me this cruel trial!?”
Suzuno got a headache just from imagining what the
confessions of a womanizing archangel whose mood fluctuated with the horoscopes
would be like. And as a woman, she wanted nothing to do with an confession that
would confirm what she was imagining, either.
“Sariel-sama, you have no knowledge of the origin of that
little child over there, correct?”
Suzuno nonchalantly asked a leading question, taking
advantage of the fact that Kisaki was holding Alas Ramus.
“Yes… but how I wish that I were her origin…”
Sariel broke down into feeble sobs and gave an uncensored
answer. However, with that one sentence, Suzuno verified that Sariel had no
direct relation to Alas Ramus.
“…Very well. Please, tell me of your sins..”
Suzuno resolved to hear Sariel
out in order to extract more information from him, but as she imagined what
“confessions of sins” she might hear, her headache grew worse. “…Well then,”
Maou and Chiho stood next to
each other, and jumped at her voice. Their stomachs dropped as they braced
themselves for what yelling might come.
“How old is she?”
However, the first question Kisaki asked was not at all what
they were expecting. Kisaki rocked Alas Ramus back and forth gently, naturally
handling the little child.
Maou and China reflexively looked at each other.
“Three…? No, she’s not big enough for that. I’m guessing
she’s a little younger than two? Right?”
“Huh? Oh-um, yes. You’re probably right.”
“Probably? You haven’t even asked her parents how old she
is?”
They would have loved to know that themselves, but seeing as
her parents were still a mystery, there was nothing they could do.
“Well, I guess that’s not that strange. If someone asked me
how old my niece is, I wouldn’t be sure either. It’d help me remember when she
starts attending grade school, though.”
However, Kisaki did not press the question further. As a
matter of fact, she answered it herself.
“Relax. I’m not here to yell at you. Besides, there’s a
little child here.”
However, any human being who would be able to relax upon
hearing that would certainly be an oddity.
“I’m going to have to ask you this awkward question, but
this child really isn’t yours, right?”
“Of course not! …but I wish she was…”
Chiho’s quiet mumbling that expressed her true feelings
didn’t escape Kisaki’s ears.
“You’re free to wish for whatever you want,
but you should keep something else in mind as well.” Said Kisaki as smiled and
continued to play with Alas Ramus, all the while maintaining her authoritative
tone that would subjugate even the demon king himself.
“You two aren’t dating, right?”
“Ri-right.”
“That’s… right.”
Chiho turned to Maou, who denied it immediately, and also
nodded.
Kisaki laughed with a slight frown as the young man and
woman replied.
“Did you think I was going to lecture you on bringing
romance or family matters into the workplace? But really, I wouldn’t have to
give you this lecture if you two were actually seeing each other in the first
place.”
“Huh?”
Maou answered with a silly voice as he was caught completely
off-guard.
“It doesn’t matter whether it was Maa-kun who asked
Chii-chan to help or Chii-chan volunteered. But look, have you really thought
about what everyone else and society might think of a high school girl going to
and from a man’s house to take care of his baby?”
As the conversation took a turn that neither of them were expecting
at all, the two made no attempt to hide their surprise.
“Bu-but, there’s no one else Maou-san can count on, and
there’s seriously nothing going on between us…”
“Chii-chan, you might not
understand this yet, but society is shallow and quick to draw conclusions.
Rumors spread faster than light, and even worse, they have no single form.”
“…!”
“!!”
Chiho tried to say something at the moment Kisaki shifted
her eyes to Alas Ramus, but Maou stopped her right in time.
It was unclear whether Kisaki saw that from the corner of
her eyes as she tickled Alas Ramus’s cheek with her finger. Alas Ramus laughed
cheerfully and said,
“yuu smell like daddy!”
And she smelled Kisaki’s hand happily.
“Really? Just like your daddy?”
Kisaki also answered cheerfully.
“And when some young people who are just as shallow as the
rest of society are told something like this, their answers are always the
same. ‘What does society know about us!?’ Just the fact that you aren’t
reacting like that shows that you two are already mature for your age.”
Kisaki placed Alas Ramus on her knees, wrapped her hands
around her belly, and spun around in her chair slowly. Alas Ramus smiled again.
Watching them, Maou lowered the hand he had used to stop
Chiho and said quietly,
“I don’t know nearly enough about the world or anything else
to say something like that.”
Kisaki stopped the chair’s spinning with a little squeak,
and smiled as she lifted Alas Ramus up high.
“Miaaaa! hahaha!”
Alas Ramus let out a fun cry, most likely from enjoying
that.
“By being able to say that, you’re finally halfway there to
becoming a man.”
Kisaki returned Alas Ramus to Maou, looked at the clock in
the staff room, and relaxed her shoulder.
“Maa-kun, you can take off for today. It’s a little early,
but we’re not so busy that having one less person working would make a
difference.”
“Uh-really? But…”
“You’re her ‘daddy,’ right? Then you should value the time
you spend with her more than some measly future hourly wage. I’ll consider your
request for more hours.”
After saying that, Kisaki put on her crew cap on and quickly
left the staff room.
“…Maou-san, what did she mean by more hours?”
Asked Chiho, with an unsatisfied look on her face.
“I’ve got another family member I have to support now, so I
have to work harder. I might even have to send Alas Ramus to school someday.”
Maou played with Alas Ramus in his arms, and answered in a
way that made it difficult to tell how serious he was.
“Are you really going to take in Alas Ramus-chan?”
“Well, I’m not exactly taking her in.”
Replied Maou, as he poked Alas Ramus’s forehead.
“I just want to take care of her until the mystery is
solved, that’s all. I’ll give her back as soon as her real parents show up.”
Chiho noticed that Maou had also been preoccupied with her
forehead when he had originally been thinking about whether to take Alas Ramus
in.
“Hey, Chii-chan. A little while ago, your mom and dad said
it was okay for you to come to my place, right?”
“…Yes.”
Chiho stiffened.
She knew that Maou respected Kisaki as a great member of
society. Whether or nor that was acceptable for a demon king from an alternate
world aside, Chiho feared that Kisaki’s lecture had made him change his mind.
However,
“I know what Kisaki-san just said, but I’m asking you
despite that…. could I put my trust in you for a little while longer?”
“Of co… huh?”
Chiho had fully expected him to ask her to stop helping, and
her eyes widened when the words that came out of his mouth were the complete
opposite.
“For the time being, everything is normal and peaceful, but
Emi and Suzuno are originally my enemies, so… what I’m trying to say is,
Chii-chan, you’re the only human I know who I can trust completely.”
“…”
“And I know I’m being unfair, asking you this while still
not giving you an answer, but um, there might be some bumps and troubles down
the road, but if you could help me out here, I’d really appreciate it.”
“…”
“…Chii-chan?”
Chiho just had her mouth open with a blank look for a while,
but then,
“…He-hey!? Wh-why are you crying!? Chii-chan? Huh? Did I say
something wrong!?”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
Maou panicked as Chiho’s reaction caught him completely
off-guard. Chiho finally noticed her tears after seeing Maou’s reaction, and
took out a handkerchief to wipe her face.
“Um, so-sorry, I, I was um, happy…”
“I-I’m so sorry! It was my mistake! I’m older than you and a
demon king and asking to rely on you, Chii-chan, I shouldn’t have… wait, what?”
“I’m happy because you said you trusted me, Maou-san.”
“Huh? What? Huh? You’re ha… wait, then, wh-why are you
crying?”
Chiho smiled, while a cloud of question marks appeared over
Maou’s head.
“Ehehe, sorry. That’s just how humans are.”
“I-I don’t get it… but, er…”
“I know… that you can’t give me an answer… right away. No
matter what your answer might be… I’ll wait for it… so…”
Chiho fought back her resurging tears and took Alas Ramus’s
hand.
“chii-neecha?”
“I’ll do my best to help you, Maou-san.”
“O-Okay. Um, sorry ‘bout that. Thanks.”
“Of course!”
This time, Chiho gave a great, big smile. Maou had no idea
how to react, and pretended to readjust his crew cap.
“Oh, that’s right, Maa-kun, in that drawer, there’s…”
Kisaki chose that exact moment to walk back in.
“!!”
Watching Maou and Chiho freeze in place, Kisaki drew her
eyebrows together.
“…That’s it, I’m not hiring another female crew member for a
long time. Geez…”
She was not someone they could play it off as a joke with.
Even the equal opportunity employment law was powerless against the Kisaki law.
Kisaki walked in quickly with a sour expression and took out
an envelope from the office desk.
“I got these from a newspaper seller, but I’d never use
them, so I was going to give them to you.
But…”
Kisaki sighed, then looked at Maou and Chiho.
“You understand what I just said, right?”
Said Kisaki, who proceeded to put the envelope on Maou’s
head and left again.
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