Hataraku Maou-sama! - Volume 15 - Chapter 3

THE DEVIL KING IS OUT OF THE OFFICE (3) 
After Emeralda left Room 101 with a much better understanding of Nord’s feelings, she headed over to the MgRonald by Hatagaya station, back on her original objective—observing Emi and Chiho at work. It was her first visit since their combined birthday party, but luckily she still remembered the way there. 
It was evening, and the sky was already starting to turn red by the time Emeralda spotted Chiho sweeping the walkway in front of the entrance. 
“Oh? Emeralda? Are you here to have dinner?!” 
She greeted her with a smile as she ran up to her. There wasn’t a trace of jealousy nor any other dark emotion on her face—and Emeralda noticed she was wearing the Santa hat Emi mentioned. 
“Did Yusa know you were coming?” 
“Nooo, I didn’t saaay anything.” 
“Ooh, I bet she’ll be really surprised! Here, come on in! It’s cold out here!” 
Stepping inside, the entire staff was in Santa hats, just as promised. It certainly made for a festive atmosphere, although it didn’t change much else. 
“Do you know how to order and stuff?” Chiho asked, unsure if Emeralda was up on Japan’s fast-food culture. 
“I think I’ll be fiiine. If I mess up, I’ll just pretend to be a forrreigner and ask for help. Certainly a lot of decoraaations up, aren’t there?” 
“Oh, yes! We put up all our Christmas stuff today. I’ve never worked here when it was like this, so I was kinda looking forward to it. Um, I need to get back to work for now but enjoy your dinner!” 
“Keep up the good worrrk,” Emeralda replied as Chiho took her dustpan and broom back outside. Then she got in line in front of the register, head swiveling around as she took in all the unusual sights. She spotted Emi a bit beyond the counter, talking to someone with some strange machine attached to her ear. Kisaki, the manager, was also recognizable as the tall woman working upstairs. 
With the lines backed up, Chiho opened another register to work through the backlog, winking at Emeralda as she did. 
“…Hmmm?” 
As she waited for her turn, Emeralda noticed something odd. The number of people working didn’t match the total written in Emi’s schedule. It wasn’t like she had spotted everybody on duty yet, but even she could tell someone was missing. 
“Wherrre’s the Devil King?” she whispered to Chiho once she reached the register. 
“Maou is out training today again,” she whispered back. “He’ll be back later.” 
Come to think of it, Emi had mentioned that Maou was busy with that stuff yesterday. Emeralda briskly completed her order with Chiho’s support, but they needed to cook up a new batch of fries, so she took her seat with a burger, a drink, and a number card. Off in the kitchen space, she saw Chiho calling for Emi. Their conversation seemed like nothing unusual from Emeralda’s perspective; maybe they were getting along better than Emi feared. 
In the end, it was Emi who delivered Emeralda’s fresh-cooked fries to her. 
“What brings you here?” she asked, keeping an eye out for any nosy customers nearby. 
“Ohhh, you were all worked up yesterday, so I was kind of concerrrned…” 
“…You liar. You just wanna gawk at us all.” 
“I will not denyyy thaaat,” Emeralda replied, grinning wryly. “But I can’t do that if the Devvvil King isn’t here. I heard he was in traaaining, but what kind of training is it? I thought he was already the main forrrce running this place.” 
“…Oh, I guess I didn’t mention it. He’s training to become a full-time employee, so he’s been gone practically every day lately. I guess he’s gonna be salaried before too long.” 
“Salaried…? Whaaa?!” Emeralda half jumped out of her seat. “So the Devil King wants to pursue life as a laaaborer in this world?!” 
“That’s always been his goal, I guess, so none of the demons were too surprised by it. Yesterday, he was going around with Ms. Kisaki in this business suit that looked so bad on him, but today he’s out alone, visiting a MgRonald with a different configuration from this one.” 
Deliveries and MgCafés were far from the only unique things a MgRonald location could potentially boast. There were Mini-Mags, located inside supermarkets, big-box stores, and food courts with a common shared seating space. There were drive-thru MgRonalds, mostly along national highways. There were locations inside amusement parks and such, open limited hours and subject to different operational rules. 
“If he goes full-time, there’s no predicting what kind of store he’ll be assigned to, so he’s going around all the different offices and locations to build up experience and stuff.” 
“Wow. So maaaybe it won’t be long before he’s managing this restaurant, huh?” 
“I don’t know if it’ll be this one. But it won’t come that easy.” 
It went without saying that only the most talented of crewmembers got a chance to undergo full-time training. However, that didn’t necessarily result in a permanent position, either. It wasn’t the way most people went up the MgRonald ranks, and while not even Kisaki as a manager knew how it fully worked, there were cases in the past where people trained for nearly a year while part-timing and still didn’t get offered a full-time spot. 
“Well, the Devil Kiiing never liked Laila to staaart with, so I doubt he’ll take her request nowww, huh? He has a goooal he’s working hard for, and now he’s about to achieeeve it.” 
“………………Maybe.” 
That reply sounded incredibly noncommittal. 
“Sorry, I need to go back to work.” 
“Of—of courrrse! Sorry to get in the waaay!” 
“It’s fine. Take your time… Thank you for calling MgRonald by Hatagaya station. My name is Yusa, and I’m ready to…” 
The moment she stepped away, she pushed that machine back into her ear, talking with someone. Emeralda watched her go about her business for a while, until Chiho approached. “What did you think of your meal?” she asked. “That’s a special winter season set. It wasn’t available at the birthday party.” 
“Oh, it was verrry good! But I would probably gain weiiight if I ate it every day, wouldn’t I?” 
“Ha-ha-ha! I’m sure you would.” 
“Emilia was telling me the Devil Kiiing has a lot on his plaaate right now.” 
“Oh, you heard about his training? Yeah, he’s been working here this whole time so he could nail that opportunity. Whenever he shows up here these days, he’s got this crazy resolute look on his face.” 
“Reeeally?” 
“Yeah. He’s in, like, super high spirits. I worry every time that Yusa will pick a fight with him about it, but—you know—I think she’s kinda rooting for him, too.” 
“Hmm. That’s a little uuunexpected.” 
“Well, lately, who can say? They sure aren’t at each other’s throats like they were before they came back from Ente Isla.” 
For a moment, Emeralda recalled Emi’s concern. At the very least, Chiho, from her vantage point below her, didn’t seem to exude even the slightest shred of envy. 
“But since Maou’s been so busy, we haven’t been able to all eat dinner together in Room 201 the way we normally do, which is kind of a pity. I was hoping we could use this as an opportunity to all get friendlier with one another, but it’s proving kinda hard to work out.” 
Hearing this, Emeralda decided to ask a somewhat malicious question. 
“But if Emilia and the Devil King get a little toooo friendly with each other, you know, they might get maaarried and raise Alas Raaamus together, hmm?” 
Would she freak out? Would she snap back at her? Would she deny it? For Chiho, the answer was none of the above. 
“Mmm, I don’t think I’m losing out personally…but if it happens, it happens, I guess.” 
Emeralda looked back blankly. Chiho responded by looking as bold as possible, nostrils flared. 
“But I’m not just gonna sit there wringing my hands! If it comes to it, whether it’s a Hero with a holy sword or a Great Demon General, I’m ready to fight back with everything I got!” 
“Uhh…hmmm?” 
Before Emeralda could figure out which Great Demon General she meant… 
“Besides, I love Maou and Emi a lot, so no matter what happens, I’m confident we’ll all stay friends!” 
There wasn’t a single dark cloud to this ringing declaration. It was clear this was Chiho’s true emotion coming out. In other words, Emi had nothing to worry about. 
“There’s no beating youuu, no…” 
Emeralda began to feel like such a petty woman for prodding this young woman like that. Relenting on that front, she instead whispered about some other business of hers—something she didn’t intend to handle here. 
“I’d like to discuss something eeelse with you later on…” 
It was about planning a Christmas party for Alas Ramus, a topic that instantly made Chiho’s eyes light up. They agreed to head for Devil’s Castle after work, where they’d try to win over Ashiya and the gang. 
The two of them arrived at Room 201 at around six in the evening. 
“A Christmas party? Why the heck would you come up with something ridiculous like that?” 
Urushihara’s whining was summarily ignored by the rest of Room 201. 
“That’s a great idea, Emeralda! Alas Ramus has been working just as hard as Yusa, hasn’t she?” 
“Could I ask you to help me handle the decorations?” Suzuno asked Chiho. “I have ample time at hand, so if we need to purchase anything, leave it to me.” 
“If it is for Alas Ramus’s sake,” Ashiya reflected, “so be it.” 
“Thank you sooo much, everyonnne. I knew you’d see it my way!” 
“I didn’t agree with you! Hey! Hey…” 
With even Ashiya signing on for it, Urushihara felt obliged to be the lone voice of dissent on the matter, as pointless as he knew it’d be. 
“But no matter the size, location will be an issue.” Ashiya looked around the room. “If we are to hold this for Alas Ramus, there will no doubt be more people invited. Our own apartment will not be enough space.” 
Room 201 was the kind of place that needed only seven people—Maou, Ashiya, Urushihara, Emi, Chiho, Suzuno, and Alas Ramus—to get packed to the gills. That didn’t include party planner Emeralda, Alas Ramus’s little sister Acieth, Acieth’s semi-adopted brother Erone, and Amane and Nord, always accompanying Acieth and Erone when they were together. With all of them, there’d be no room to breathe, and this wasn’t just a gathering of people, either. As a Christmas party, there’d be more food on the table, not to mention the decorations Suzuno mentioned. 
“We cannot hold it at MgRonald, I suppose, like we did with Emilia and Ms. Sasaki’s party. What do you think?” 
“Yeees, Bell, about that…” Emeralda shot an eye toward Ashiya and Urushihara. “I think Emiiillia’s apartment would be niiice.” 
“…What?” 
“Okay, uh, I’m not going.” 
“Urushihara!” 
The offer made Ashiya’s eyebrows clamp down and Urushihara get even more bratty. 
“Bell, have you and Sasaki seen Emilia’s plaaace?” 
“I have. It should be able to hold all of us. But what does Emilia think?” 
“I haven’t aaasked her yet. We can’t have all of us together on the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth aaanyway, and we can’t do this without the Devvvil King, so…” 
“Hmm… I doubt my liege would say no if it is for Alas Ramus’s sake, but holding it at Emilia’s residence…?” Ashiya’s eyebrows quirked up, as if just realizing something. “Thinking about it, neither I, nor Urushihara, nor probably my liege himself knows where the Hero lives.” 
“Huh?” 
It was Chiho who lobbed that surprised gasp. Suzuno, already made aware of this by Emi, sat silently and watched how things unfolded. 
“None of you demons know it?” 
“I am aware it is an apartment in Eifukucho, of course. But I just now realized that I do not know the address. I do not think I have even seen it.” 
“You’ve never been there before?!” 
“Why would Maou need to go there, dude? It’s usually her coming in here, beating up on all of us, then leaving.” 
“Well, yes, but…” 
Chiho had to accept that Urushihara’s point-blank assertion was on the mark. 
“I doubt Emilia has ever had any interest in inviting us over,” added Ashiya. “And we did not have free rein over demonic power at the time. If we tried tracking down and invading the Hero’s home, she might have defeated us right then and there.” 
It was easy to forget given their current friendlier relations, but Maou and Emi were supposed to be mortal enemies. It surprised Chiho a little. 
“But regardless,” he continued, “if we used Emilia Justina’s apartment, I doubt she would want us over. However, I also doubt Alas Ramus would be willing to participate if my liege was not in attendance. Perhaps we should consider another site?” 
“I appreciate your concerrrn, but I have another reeeason for wanting to borrow her space. I think at least one person will attend precisely becaaause we hold it in there.” 
“In there? You mean Laila?” 
“Yeees, her exaaactly,” Emeralda said, nodding at Chiho. “I think, with recent eveeents, Emilia and Laila are a bit closer than befooore. But giiiven that, I think it’s important to show Laila that her scheeeme isn’t going to be accepted thaaat easily by them…” 
“Meaning that Emilia will use teaching Alas Ramus about Christmas as a sign that she’d prefer to take root here in Japan?” 
The day she had run into Rika and Maki, Emeralda had been seriously concerned that there wouldn’t be a next year. She didn’t want Emi to accept Laila’s request at all. 
“I apologize if this is immodest to aaask, but do any of you—Alciel, and Luciferrr, and Ms. Sasaki, and Bell—do aaany of you think Emilia and the Devil Kiiing should take Laila’s offer?” 
The four of them exchanged glances for a moment. 
“Alciel and Luciferrr, you listened to Laila in this room, and I thiiink you know what Gabriel told us about, too. And the more I heeear, the less I feel Emilia and her cohorts need to lend a haaand at all…” 
“Well, yeah… I mean, dude, as someone who was there at the time, it’s like, hey, do whatcha want. If Maou’s up for it, that’s a different story, but…” 
“Even if His Demonic Highness says yes, I am still against it. Right now is a vital time in my liege’s career. If he creates yet more work for himself and shuts away his future as Devil King, everything would go to waste.” 
“I agree,” Suzuno added. “I want to respect their choices, but I see so little good faith on the other side of the equation.” 
“Yeah,” said Chiho. “Like I told Urushihara earlier, maybe I feel some sympathy for the angels’ past, but I think Gabriel and everyone are being way too unreasonable.” 
“Indeeed.” Emeralda beamed victoriously. “I think Emilia and Laila growing cloooser is a different discussion from Emilia listening to her taaale. Emilia has so many people who cherrrish her. There’s so much in Japan and Ente Isla she holds as precious. I think we need to show Laila that it won’t be easy to convince her otherwiiise.” 
“Yeah, but that’s just Emilia, right? What about Maou, dudette?” 
“He is traaaining so he can become more strongly connected with Japaaan, isn’t he? I doubt he needs any more conviiincing to turn down Laila by now.” 
Chiho and Ashiya both nodded. 
“Yeah…” 
“True enough.” 
“And I knowww we are kind of taking advaaantage, but I can think of another invitee who will be an equally great help if we hold it in Emiiilia’s place.” 
“You mean…” 
Emeralda nodded before Suzuno could guess. “Maki might be difficult, ignorant as she is of the situaaation, but wouldn’t Rika be interested in attending?” 
““…”” 
Chiho’s and Ashiya’s faces tensed up. Urushihara and Suzuno picked up on it. 
“I think Laila should knowww that Ms. Sasaki isn’t the onnnly friend Emilia holds dear in this country, no?” 
Emeralda pleaded her case, unsure how to read this nervousness on their part. 
“I know this might be a paaain for you demons, but if you’ll agree to this paaarty, I’d like to hold it in Emilia’s apartment. I’d be happy to cover all the costs apart from Alas Ramus’s giiifts, and I’ll persuade Emilia to agree to it, toooo.” 
“Well, my gal, if you’ll cover for it, then it’s all up to what Maou thinks, huh?” Urushihara turned toward Ashiya, trying to gauge his opinion. Ashiya kept his stony look on his face. 
“My liege is already an extremely busy man. Whether he agrees to it or not, I cannot say whether he is able to participate.” 
“Oh, I knowww. It all comes down to whether Daddy is up for it. We can work out the other arraaangements later.” 
It was a very Japanese way of arranging things—making sure the patriarch was around for it, despite the long hours he spent at work. 
Soon, Emeralda bowed at Ashiya and left Room 201. Chiho spent the next little while half cajoling the unenthusiastic Ashiya and Urushihara and half chatting about Maou’s work before realizing how late it was getting. 
“Well, I better get home myself.” 
“Oh, are you leaving? Would you like to have dinner?” 
“Thanks, but I didn’t tell my mom I’d eat here, so I need to get back… Urushihara, if Maou says yes, you better show up, too!” 
“I’ll, uh, do my best?” he blankly offered back. 
“Ms. Sasaki?” Ashiya said as Chiho put her shoes on by the front door. 
“Hmm?” 
“Let me walk you home. I have some shopping to do anyway.” 
“Oh? Um, sure.” 
She had walked home alone fairly often lately, there being no particular threat to her life to speak of—but even discounting that, Ashiya’s offer seemed a bit sudden. Before she could say yes, he was already grabbing the ultralight down jacket hanging off a drawer handle and walking out the door behind her. 
“…I apologize,” he said the moment they were off apartment grounds. “My walking you home and shopping were, ah, just excuses.” 
“I thought as much, yeah.” 
It wasn’t a surprise to Chiho. She figured there must be a reason for Ashiya’s uncharacteristically pushy behavior. 

 

“Ah, but I will gladly walk you home, however, and I do have an item or two to pick up, so I did not intend to lie to you. But, er…” 
“Is this about Rika?” 
“…It is,” he admitted, walking a step behind Chiho. “Have you met her before?” 
“Yes,” she replied, “on the same day you did.” 

“I see.” He nodded, looking more hesitant than Chiho had ever seen him before. “It makes sense, then. Emilia seemed entirely unaware.” 
His voice indicated to her that, if Emi were to find out what Ashiya did to Rika, he feared she’d react aggressively to it. 
“I don’t think Rika’s said anything to her. She told me she didn’t feel she could, really.” 
“Ah…” Ashiya took a deep breath and fished his brand-new smartphone out of his pocket. “I apologize,” he said, choosing his words carefully for reasons Chiho couldn’t fathom. “I suppose Ms. Suzuki’s been forced to…look out for us in the Devil King’s Army. For our weaknesses.” 
“Hee-hee-hee! You say that,” Chiho replied in a deliberately cheerful voice, “but it’s that weakness that attracts us all to you. Not that I want you weak forever, of course. On that front, at least as far as I can tell, you’re still a lot more sincere than Maou is.” 
Ashiya looked down at her, a little surprised, then broke into a grin. “I suppose I have no right to chastise my liege. Honestly…” 
Sasazuka station and the Jizo Street shopping center next to it were now in full-on Christmas mode. The flashy lights and decorations looked like something from a different world. 
“I thought the whole human race was this disposable thing.” 
Chiho wasn’t sure she had ever heard Ashiya let out such an unbelievably human sigh before. It was the first time Ashiya had ever sighed about anything he had done in the past. 
“I have no regrets…but I still cannot get it off my mind. I keep worrying about how she has been since.” 
“Oh, I don’t think Rika’s the type of woman to break down in tears just because her crush turned her down.” 
“That is exactly why I am concerned. About…assorted things.” 
Ashiya turned his eyes toward Chiho. He was absolutely right, and Chiho understood that all too well—but it was nothing either of them could solve just by thinking about it. So she decided to turn the topic toward something more accessible. 
“Would you like me to talk to Maou about holding the Christmas party at Emi’s place?” 
“No, I think it best if I bring it up, so everyone in the Devil King’s Army is on the same page as quickly as possible. You heard what Emeralda Etuva said.” 
“All right. Maybe that’s for the better, yeah. Maou hasn’t really been at MgRonald when I’m there. Now that I think about it, we haven’t seen each other in a little while.” 
“No? I suppose going full-time makes things more difficult, yes.” 
They continued to casually chat about Maou and the restaurant. Before long, they were at Chiho’s door. 
“Well, thank you for joining me. And if we do hold that party, you’re invited, of course.” 
“I…” 
“This might be kind of impertinent of me to say, Ashiya…” 
“Hmm?” 
“But I feel like both you and Rika are making a big mistake. I wasn’t there to see it, of course, but looking at you, I’m pretty sure about that.” 
“Ah…” 
Chiho gave him a big smile. “You really can’t chide Maou right now, I don’t think. Because maybe you think you’ve given an answer, but really you haven’t.” 
“Huh?!” 
“And with that, thanks again. See you later!” 
Leaving that epic riddle for the utterly confused Ashiya to ponder over, she went inside. 
“I haven’t…?” 
Too serious-minded to understand what she meant, he went back home to the apartment—and immediately back out again to do the shopping he forgot about. 
 
“Hmm… I don’t know if I’ll be able to make my own. I need to think about what we do with them afterward…” 
The next day, back on the clock, Chiho gave a questioning look to the Christmas decorations dotted around the dining space. 
“What’s up, Chi? Something about the decorations bothering you?” 
“Oh! Ms. Kisaki!” 
Mayumi Kisaki, the manager, gave Chiho a curious look as she pointed at the golden tinsel right above their heads. 
“Is it falling down?” 
“No, I was just using some free time to think a bit about what makes for good Christmas decorations…” 
“You should be using that free time to find work to do,” Kisaki quipped, putting a hand to her hip for emphasis. 
“Oh, um, sorry.” 
“So did any of the decorations look off to you when you did your rounds?” 
“…No, ma’am.” 
“Good. Back to work, then. Marko’s not here today, so we’re a man down this shift. It’s gonna be a packed dinner rush, so hang in there.” 
“Okay!” 
Chiho followed her behind the counter, thankful that Kisaki didn’t gripe at her further about being idle. 
“Where’s Mr. Maou today, by the way?” 
“A MgRonald managed by a friend of mine. Different configuration but Marko’s already been there a few times, so today’s training ought to go pretty smoothly.” 
“The one at Fushima-en?” 
“Oh, you know it?” 
The Mag at the Fushima-en theme park had enlisted Maou to fill in on several occasions before. 
“MgRonald locations in theme parks during the season are pretty unique setups. The way I hear it, they’re always a part of the cycle during training periods like this.” 
“The way you hear it? Don’t they tell you about the training schedule in advance?” 
“…” 
Kisaki paused, taking a quick look around the dining space. “This isn’t something I learned until I sent Marko off to training,” she solemnly replied, “but even if you undergo the full-time training, the chances of you becoming a salaried employee aren’t actually that high.” 
“Really?” 
“Only HR and the main office know what happens in training. Now that we’re past the initial portion where I’m accompanying him around, the managers like me only get told when a trainee’s coming, and that’s about it. Mizushima, my friend at the Fushima-en location, would normally be able to give him some inside advice along those lines, but there are so many home-office people involved right now that I doubt she’ll be able to.” 
Kisaki looked down for a moment, deep in thought. 
“I think Marko’s a great crewmember. But the way the office manager put it to me, great crewmembers aren’t always the kind of people that pass this training. I don’t really know what standards they’re looking for myself. I believe in Marko, of course, and I want him to try his best at it…” She took off her hat and mike for a moment, adjusting them. “But part of me kind of wants to show him a bigger world than this, you know…?” 
“Ms. Kisaki?” 
“…Ah, never mind. Now we’re really getting into nonwork-related topics.” 
With that wavering statement, Kisaki returned to work. 
“Weird,” Chiho said to herself. “It’s not like she doesn’t want Maou to be a full-timer, but…” 
Kisaki knew full well how driven Maou was to earn that position. But the way she put it just now, the idea of Maou continuing up the MgRonald career track seemed to give her genuine concern. 
The dinner rush was exactly as hectic as Kisaki said it’d be, with Chiho barely having a moment to breathe until her shift ended at ten in the evening. 
“Oh, you getting off now, Chiho?” Emilia asked. 
“Yeah. Sorry to leave you, Yusa.” 
Despite sharing most of her shift with Emi today, the two of them engaged in almost no conversation. Only when Chiho was seated in the break room, trying to gather up the energy to change out of her uniform, did Emi have a chance to chat a bit. 
“Sure was crowded today, huh?” 
“You said it,” Emi replied. “And it’s like every single delivery today’s on the far edge of our radius, too. I think Kawata’s been out driving in the cold all day, poor guy.” 
“Yeah, he said working outside is pretty easy once you get used to it, but not in this weather, I bet.” 
“Totally. And I don’t really see the point of the Christmas tree sticker on his helmet, either.” 
These MgRonald-logo holiday stickers, sent from the main office, looked quite literally tacked on. Kisaki was griping about them earlier, too. 
“Oh, speaking of that, was Ms. Kisaki talking to you about decorations?” 
“You saw that?” Chiho stood up and pointed at the Christmas tree drawn on the break room calendar. “I was just looking at the decorations, figuring out what kind we should get. Looking back, I kinda stopped paying attention to them once I stopped being a kid.” 
“Ohh, I see. I bet Eme reminded you of them, huh?” 
“Yeah.” 
Emi smiled and took Chiho’s hand. “I’m sorry. I know Eme’s super gung ho about this.” 
“Oh, no! I’m really looking forward to it. We don’t get to all eat together so much lately, and I dunno if Emeralda told you or not, but it’s kind of turning into a rally for our cause. It’s really exciting.” 
“A rally?” 
That sounded hyperbolic to Emi at first, until she realized what Chiho meant. 
“Ohh, right, is that why Eme wanted to invited Laila and Rika?” 
“Yep! We’re not gonna let go of our friends that easy!” 
Chiho was aflame with enthusiasm. It was almost too bright for Emi to look at. 
“So I thought I’d go out and do some handmade decorations and stuff, but it’s a little different from making stuff for the Tanabata festival.” 
“Maybe. It’s not like we’re gonna go climb up a mountain and chop a tree down or anything.” 
“Right. And things like tinsel and tree ornaments—I’d have no idea how to make those myself anyway, so we’re gonna need to invest a little bit of money, I think.” 
“Do we really need to go all the way like that…?” 
“Totally! We can’t take it easy on this if we want Alas Ramus to enjoy Christmas!” Now Chiho was burning even brighter. “But I don’t wanna go too far, of course, or I really will wind up like Maou after Tanabata. So I was just thinking that I’d need to discuss it with someone if we’re gonna spend money on it, and then Ms. Kisaki showed up.” 
She smiled awkwardly at Emi. Emi smiled back. 
“Yeah, Tanabata was pretty rough…” 
Not long after Suzuno came to Japan, Maou picked up a little bamboo decoration to celebrate the Tanabata festival in July from a regular customer who lived nearby. He decorated the MgRonald with it, and between that and the other crew-crafted decorations, the setup really wowed all the midsummer customers. But then Tanabata ended. This was a living bamboo plant, so they couldn’t just abandon it. They allowed customers to snip off pieces of it before the festival ended, but most of the bamboo grass was still there after it was all over, so Maou wound up bringing it back to the apartment. He couldn’t put it out with the garbage—the guy who gave it to him might notice—so it just sat on the outer corridor for a few days, getting in everyone’s way. It eventually withered up despite Maou’s best efforts, so he was forced to dispose of it in piecemeal fashion with the rest of the household trash over several days. 
“I don’t know what drives the Devil King to do stuff like that.” 
“Huh?” 
“Like, is that good for the company, him playing it by ear like that?” 
“How do you mean?” 
“Well, customers usually like the stuff he does, right? He owes a lot to Kisaki for letting him do it, of course, but…” 
“Yeah…” 
Emi sat down across from Chiho, her face serious. “But in a business like MgRonald, what people want the most is, you know, this homogeneous package, right? And the Devil King’s bamboo stuff was pretty off script.” 
“Oh.” 
Chiho recalled back when the MgCafé space first opened in the Hatagaya station location. The coffee clearly tasted different depending on whether Kisaki or Maou made it. Chiho didn’t see what the fuss was—if the coffee’s good, the coffee’s good—but as Maou put it, if Kisaki wasn’t around, he’d be forced to give customers what he knew was an inferior product. 
“And you know what? I had a customer tell me the other day that Ms. Kisaki’s coffee is going down in quality.” 
“Really?!” 
This was a shock to Chiho. There was no way Kisaki, of all people, would slack off on the job. Did this mean…? 
“Right.” Emi nodded. “It didn’t get worse; it had just gotten normal. On script. Akiko heard the same rumors I did about it. It was kind of funny, but…” 
“Ms. Kisaki was trying to keep it homogeneous, too…?” 
“That’s what I’m thinking. I mean, I don’t know for sure. It’s not really something I can ask her point-blank. But looking back at Tanabata and how Maou handles his customers, I think he’s been able to get away with a lot of it because he’s got Kisaki watching out for him.” 
The fact was that quite a few trainees never got a full-time job offer. And between Kisaki’s ramblings, the “normal” coffee, and Maou’s “nonhomogeneous” workplace habits, perhaps there were more obstacles to Maou’s career efforts than Chiho thought. The company had its own vision of how to maximize profits, and there were standards behind that vision, which couldn’t be quantified in monetary figures. To put it another way, MgRonald wanted to build a trust with customers, and that trust couldn’t go too far above or below the norms that had been established over time. Maou and Kisaki’s work was going above and beyond these norms, and it could even be affecting people’s trust in the other MgRonalds around them. Being able to provide better service, but deliberately avoiding doing so, might seem terribly unfair at first glance. But if you don’t put an upper limit in place, you might find people who inadvertently destroyed that trust and made things worse for others. 
To Chiho, Maou pursuing a full-time job was directly correlated with him and Emi staying close to her for the foreseeable future. This new realization put a pall over her heart. Realizing this, Emi felt obligated to say something. 
“You know, I want him to keep trying. I don’t want him to give up.” 
“Oh?” 
Chiho gave her an astonished look. It wasn’t like Emi to voice her support so clearly like that. 
“I mean,” Emi replied with a nod, “if he gets that job, then he can stay devoted to that, Ente Isla can fully rebuild itself, and we’ll never have to worry about him invading or doing anything else stupid ever again.” 
“Yusa…” 
“And you know, sometimes I come over to his place with Alas Ramus to check up on him. Seeing if he’s doing anything dumb, I guess you could say. And every time I do… You know, I really want to be around next year. I want to celebrate Tanabata and Christmas again, with you, and Alas Ramus, and everyone else I hold dear. I mean…” 
She stood up and headed toward her locker. 
“I’m sick of living in this kill-or-be-killed world. So I’ve decided. I’m sorry, but we’re gonna have to make Alciel cry—in two different ways. First, he’ll be weeping for joy when Maou gets that job, and then he’ll be wailing when he realizes the demons will never get to take over our world.” 
“…! S-so you’ll…!” Chiho half leaped out of her folding chair and embraced the still-changing Emi from behind. “You’ll do it, Yusa! You’ll really do it!” 
“……I can’t beat you, Chiho. It’s all happening just the way you want it. It drives me nuts.” 
Her voice grew softer, her face still turned away. 
“I…I’m not going to fight anymore.” 
 
Marveling at the sight of Chiho and the rest of the group giving him astonished looks, Gabriel picked up where he left off about Ignora, Satanael, and Lucifer. 
“Yeah, so Lucifer was born after we left our home planet, after Ignora found a way to make ourselves immortal. But it was still in the experimental stage at that point—kind of like, we’re pretty sure we can do it, know what I mean? You won’t really know if you’re invincible against disease or old age until at least a few years pass. But anyway, the lab found a way to deal with the pandemic, and the whole world was freakin’ out big-time about that. And then, like I told ya at the start, people got into fights over the tech, and it pretty much ruined our planet.” 
“W-wait a moment! You are abridging yourself far too much!” Suzuno protested. 
“Yes, I’m well awaaare that the discovery triggered a waaar, but what about it was enough to destroy the entire plaaanet?” Emeralda added. 
“And besides, that doesn’t explain how you wound up on Ente Isla’s moon!” Chiho exclaimed. 
Gabriel raised both hands to quiet his guests. “Chill, chill, chill! There were a lotta reasons for it, all right? But just like Crestia Bell said a second ago, there’s nothing particularly surprising or noble about any of it. It’s just a cavalcade of terrible events that proved just how stupid the human race really is.” 
When the pandemic first took root, the first nations to fall were the economically disadvantaged ones, with less of a developed military. Their populations weren’t wiped out by the disease, but it did decimate their numbers enough that they couldn’t continue as a going concern. As small as these nations were, their downfall wasn’t something the world economy was prepared to absorb. The larger powers scrambled to preserve their own finances, and as Ignora and her team continued their research, tensions across borders rapidly approached the breaking point. 
Once word got out that the lunar lab’s work might provide a solution to the disease, many nations sent people and money to the facility, in hopes of reaping the benefits ahead of anyone else. The lunar base itself was a melting pot of sorts, with Ignora, Satanael, Camael, Raguel, Gabriel, Sariel, and Laila all from different nations, but they had grouped together to try to save the planet. 
Once the day came when Ignora’s results were formally announced, their home planet began to crack along its national borders. Her country attempted to summon her back home, as did Satanael’s. Anyone even slightly involved with the immortality research received similar orders. But from the researchers’ point of view, their work had only just begun; it wasn’t anything they could put to practical use yet, so going home right now was unthinkable. Satanael and Sariel served as their representatives, trying their best to negotiate with each nation, but their efforts failed to bear fruit. 
In fact, the world began to lodge all kinds of shortsighted accusations at the international group formed to manage the lunar base. All sorts of loony stories started going around—researchers being held against their will on the moon, spies being sent to kidnap team members, countries laying claims to the spaceport that all the lab’s goods went through. Everyone wanted the immortality formula, no matter how foolish their efforts made them look. 
Some nations even tried to duplicate the research themselves, using the information released by the facility and moon colony to the press as a guide. This led to acts of terrorism, carried out by people who believed that one nation hoarding its research was a crime against humanity. This research was supposed to save the world; instead, it plunged the world into chaos—and the pandemic kept spreading the entire time. 
The harmful particles in the air that had covered Gabriel’s home planet triggered several symptoms at the same time, in multiple areas of the body at once. If someone caught it, unless the victim was very lucky, there was no saving them. Once these particles made their way in through the respiratory organs, they blocked both the body’s digestive functions and the nervous system’s ability to send and receive signals. If they struck the lungs, they would drastically impact the victim’s breathing ability; if they got into the blood, they would turn into a substance that caused blockages and cardiac issues. 
This disease struck people in different ways. Some could live out their entire natural lives without being affected, while others would present multiple symptoms after a single, tiny exposure. Most traditional medical approaches were quickly exhausted. All in all, over 30 percent of the population caught this disease, and given that it killed over half its victims within five years, the effects on the world’s average life span and population were devastating. By the time the immortality research began to look like the “real thing,” so to speak, the human race was willing to fight to the death with one another for even an incomplete version of the findings. 
Leaving the planet wasn’t an option. Colonies on the moon and elsewhere were accessible only to the highest reaches of society, and there was no guarantee that the harmful particles littered across the star system wouldn’t get you there, too. The disease even took a few people in Ignora’s laboratory, forcing Gabriel to sound the hazard alarm multiple times. 
Even so, these were still the good old days—back when the rule of law still prevailed among the larger nations. 
The lunar researchers did their best, finding ways to extend the deadline on their return home while advancing their immortality research. However, the lab was facing more and more obstacles that had nothing to do with academic or technical issues. As chief of security, Gabriel was faced with the grim task of shifting the directive for his personnel from controlling outside threats to actively fighting them off. 
Still, Ignora, Satanael, Laila, Camael, and everyone else involved with the research worked tirelessly on, believing that all this strife would come to an end once their job was complete. Facing up to the threat of kidnapping or attacks from foreign nations—or even worse, their own—they went over to the giant tree on the moon to gather samples many times, figuring out not only how to become immortal but how to mass-produce the miracle. In the midst of this storm—none of it their fault—their only support was their fervent desire to save the human race. 
Then one day, it happened: Gabriel learned about it from Laila first—Ignora and Satanael were engaged in a heated argument. 
“This child is the greatest hope the human race has,” Satanael shouted. “The dawn of a new age, one that will bring the light of new dreams to our imperiled future!” 
Ignora refused to back down. “But it’s complete! It’s finally completed! I’ve done it! We can save the world now!” 
As out of the loop as he was, Gabriel knew what this meant. Immortality was near. 
Then all of a sudden, a warning alarm sounded off across the entire facility. Gabriel sent a message out asking what was up; he was greeted by the screams of the dying. 
“And y’know what they said? ‘It’s Caiel and Sikeena! They’re here! They’re mowing us down! Get everyone out of here!’”