Hataraku Maou-sama! - Volume 14 - Chapter Aft

THE AUTHOR, THE AFTERWORD, AND YOU! 
This afterword includes some mild spoilers. If you’re the type to read the back of the book first, take caution. 
In the afterword to The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 13, I boldly declared that my magazine-published stories would “make it to print in novel form sooner or later.” Well, “sooner” came sooner than I thought! Volume 14 wound up being the first short-story collection since Volume 7. 
It’s not that there’s some rule stating I have to put out one of these every seven volumes (and technically the Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 0 prequel came out in Japan first, so it’s actually been eight volumes), but anyway, if you read the stories in the book, it should help you understand the world of Devil on a deeper level than before. I’d like to pretend to believe so, at least, but I’d be lying. Half of what I cover seems to have to do with kitchen appliances, for example. 
Let’s take a look back at each story, and the way that it weaves a picture of each character’s life. 
The Hero and High Schooler Become Friends 
This one begins several days after the end of Volume 1. It shows, I suppose, that this “typical girl you’d find anywhere” was really strong-minded even before anything happened to her. They were all so innocent back then, weren’t they? This was also around the first time Emeralda demonstrated her proclivity for gluttony, despite her tiny frame. 
You know, though, is it me, or do conveyor-belt sushi places not have much along the belt any longer? Instead, everyone’s just tapping at their order panels to snag what they want first. Ah, well. 
The Devil Looks Back on the Frugal Life 
This guy probably ranks number one or two in the “characters who lead the most stressful lives” leaderboard, and I wanted to reward him a little. 
As mentioned in the story, feeding honey to a baby under twelve months of age, before their intestinal system fully develops, may lead to a case of juvenile botulism. This bacteria isn’t something that dies when you boil it, so make sure you don’t give an infant that young any processed foods with honey in it, either. 
The Devil Snags a New Phone With the Hero’s Money 

Like I said in the afterword to Devil, Vol. 5, the reality depicted in the story is set around what you and I would consider the year 2010. That’s partly because that was when I wrote the prototype that eventually became Devil, but now I’m starting to see the real-life stores, companies, services, and systems I’m modeling the ones in Devil after cease to exist as I write this, in 2015. In an era where smartphones are all over the place, the term “cell phone” might start to fall off the face of the earth before too long. 
The Hero Is Amazed by the Enemy General’s Vast Powers 
You really do see these holes show up. It’d be funny if it didn’t feel like such a disgrace. Distressed jeans are in these days, but if you see holes anywhere besides the knees and cuffs, then that kind of goes beyond “distressed,” I suppose. Personally, when I start to get holes in the front pockets, that’s usually my cue to buy a new pair. 
The Devil Learns About His Boss’s Past 
Finally, a mystery from Volume 2 gets wrapped up! The story of a fierce rivalry from days untold! No, seriously! 
Yuki Mizushima, manager of the Fushima-en location, is an imported character from the anime version, just like Takefumi Kawata, Akiko Ohki, and Kotaro Nakayama. I enjoy her as a character, but she mostly showed up in anime-original situations, like when all the women showed off their swimsuits or got involved in serious horror situations—real high-impact set pieces like that. Those scenes never really put the spotlight on her, so I tossed her in here since I thought that’d be my best bet for giving her something to work with. 
It always hits you right there, doesn’t it, when someone all proper in their work outfit drops the façade and cuts loose in their own clothing? 
A Few Days Ago: The Hero Is (About to Be) a Part-Timer! 
This is a smaller prequel covering the days right after Emilia Justina came to Japan, dovetailing nicely with Devil, Vol. 1. It’s also the only tale in this book that hasn’t been published anywhere else before. 
I know you guys have been waiting a long while for this. Yes, this is why Emi’s fancy apartment is so cheap. Being the Hero, and being alone, meant she had to face obstacles that not even Maou and Ashiya got to experience. 
Simply living life can be a grind in a lot of ways, but as they say, you can’t take it with you. This volume offers a peek at how these characters honestly are—a little laid-back, as they struggle to survive each day. Hopefully it’s served as a kind of refresher that softened the hearts of everyone who picked it up. 
See all of you in the next volume!