Hataraku Maou-sama! - Volume 18 - Chapter 2

The Hero, Understanding the Difficulties Faced by a Successor 

“Huh?!” 
Once Maou regained consciousness, he saw the eye-piercing light which had turned on. He frowned and looked at his watch, it was currently two in the morning.
It appeared that Maou had not lost consciousness for that long, but he was surely still holding the renovation invoice for the room. 
“Uu……” 
With a hazy consciousness, Maou shook his head and got up. Urushihara and Camio were still curled up at the top level of the closet, shivering. 
“Seems like I have no choice but to ask Nord or Lailah for help tomorrow. Then again, Lailah did not seem to be
downstairs, did she go back to Gunma?” 
He did not know what Urushihara and Camio saw, but Maou felt uneasy leaving Kinanah in the care of the pair who had been tormented by the Landlady, and it was also a cruel to push this onto them. 
Even if Maou and Ashiya could not tolerate Urushihara’s usual actions, they would always become very tolerant only when it came to matters related to the Landlady. 
“Both of you, have a good rest tomorrow. Go to sleep first. Else you won’t be able to hold up.” “……!
“…………… Chirp……” 
The pair still had some reaction to Maou’s words, so he decided not to continue upsetting them, and for the first time in a long while, he pulled the futon out of the closet without having to worry about damaging it by accidentally getting it stuck on something and lay down. 
“Oh~~, the smell of tatami.” 
After lying down, the smell of dry grass grew stronger and Maou reluctantly pulled the invoice in front of his eyes. It was written that these apartment sized tatami used were a standard model produced in Kumamoto prefecture.
Maou did not know if close to 9000 yen per piece was considered expensive or cheap, but with this, he could understand why many families changed the tatami regularly. 
“…… Over 90,000 including tax huh.” 
But as a price to pay for improving living conditions, it was a little harsh. 
Even if it was Maou’s fault (rather, it should be Kinanah’s), but asking for payment without any prior notification still
made him feel it was rather unreasonable. 
Of course, using the reason of severe breaking of rules, the Landlady could persuade Maou to move out within a
reasonable amount of time…… 
But the three residents have always used this room in a very reasonable and law abiding manner, so this would still be inexcusable. 
“Ashiya would be angry…… no, he was already angry earlier…… then again, are we able to pay this amount?” 
When Maou remembered how angry Ashiya was when he saw the destruction Kinanah caused, Maou could not help but stand up and opened the door below the vanity. 
The valuables in the Demon Fortress were kept below this vanity, and Maou took out the passbook containing his salary payment. 
“…… It’s not enough.” 
Maou said, holding his head in his hands. 
Even if the payment method could be discussed, no matter what, dragging it out was not an advisable strategy. 
Since the Landlady considered their situation and relaxed the rules to help them prepare an environment to rear Kinanah, if they did not show their sincerity, it would go against moral principles. 
However---- 
“Hmm~~ I thought there will be more savings.” 
Because Urushihara encountered a door to door sales scam, he almost caused a 40,000 yen loss to the household finances. 
40,000 yen was equivalent to two months of food expenses for Maou, Ashiya and Urushihara. 
Ever since that incident, to guard against unexpected incidents such as illness or injury, Maou and Ashiya worked together to surpass the level of thriftiness, making a huge effort to save money. However, even with that, the most they could withdraw in one sitting was 80,000 yen. 
And until the pay day next month, their savings would not increase. 
In addition, with the current situation, it was confirmed that there would be no shifts in July. 
When Maou went to Ente Isla to save Emi who was imprisoned, he did receive compensation for the time when he was unable to work, but within Maou’s social circle, there was Acies, whose food expenses equated to Maou and the other two. 
Even if Shiba Miki and Nord helped to pay for half of Acies’s food expenses, the quality of the business products Maou bought when he participated in the full-time employment training could not differ too much in quality when compared to the others around him, which resulted in a significant amount of money spent. 
“Ente Isla’s gold or jewels should definitely not be relied on at this time.” 
Just like what Urushihara said before, if not for the fact that they were going along with Maou’s wishes, they did not
need to work in Japan at all right now. 
With the power of Maou, Ashiya and Urushihara, it would not be a problem for them to bring any number of valuable objects from Ente Isla to Japan. 
However, that Landlady----- Shiba Miki was still one of the members of the Sephirah clan who were the guardians of the world. Maou did not think she would accept that method. 
Most importantly, Shiba allowed Maou to live freely because she knew that Maou and Ashiya seriously wanted to integrate into Japanese society. 
If Maou used the valuables he had stolen from the humans of Ente Isla in the past, he might not be able to step on
Earth’s soil ever again. 
“Over 90,000 yen including tax…… ugh…… other than Urushihara’s bills, I also bought many desserts during White Day, so a few thousand yen will have to be deducted for next month. Regardless of how thrifty we are, considering Kinanah’s food expenses…… ugh.” 
Maou squatted on the sparkling floor in front of the vanity, staring closely at the numbers on the passbook which would not change. 
Just the stress from the Battle to Defeat God and the huge change in work environment caused him enough worry, with the appearance of a new finance problem, he felt his stomach beginning to hurt. 
However, after thinking about the reason he ended up in financial difficulty, he suddenly remembered one thing. Other than the numbers on this passbook, he should have other resources he could use.
It was not anything like a temporary income or an allowance. 
But something more formless, like a bill…… “……Ah!!”
Maou could not help but stand up, then looked towards his feet. 
Ever since he came to Japan, he had been working hard to stabilise his dangerous financial situation. At that time, did he not prepare insurance for himself?
Right now was the time to use that insurance. 
The next day, seven in the morning. 
Emi, who was preparing to take out the newspaper ordered by Nord from the newspaper basket installed on the door, froze after seeing something strange from the narrow delivery slot on the door. 
“What’s wrong, Emilia.” “Did something happen?” “Mama?”
After hearing the voices from her father who was preparing breakfast on the kotatsu similar to the one in the Demon Fortress, and Alas=Ramus and Iron who were waiting to shout, ‘Let’s eat’, Emi sighed deeply while still bent over at the waist. 
“Sorry, the three of you can eat first.” 
Emi placed the newspaper on the shoe rack, put on her sandals, and walked towards the common corridor. 
“…… This early in the morning, what is the matter?” 
After closing the door tightly, she addressed the head next to her feet while feeling half bewildered and half irritated. 
“I have a request.” 
Through the delivery slot, Emi saw Maou who had kneeled in the dim corridor without pressing the doorbell. 
“What?” 
They had met each other last night, so what was going on? 
Emi deduced that it should have something to do with what happened in Room 201 yesterday, but she still could not guess what Maou wanted to say. 
“You still owe me a favour from before.” 
Completely mismatching his kneeling posture, Maou spoke with an arrogant tone. 
Emi wanted to say ‘What stupid things are you saying now, but immediately remembered the ?favour? she owed. 
“Yeah, thinking about it, there was something like that. Because you didn’t say anything about it later, I forgot about it as well…… coming here so early in the morning, do you want a Moped that badly?” 
Emi owed Maou a favour. 
Which would be the compensation for missing workdays and the reward for saving Emi who was imprisoned in Ente Isla. 
The payment for the compensation for missing workdays and the fees and damages incurred from the rescue operation had already been completed, but considering that the other party was his enemy, Maou requested for an additional reward for the rescue. 
Which would be Emi having to buy the Moped which Maou wanted. 
“Earlier on, you said that as long as the price isn’t too expensive, I can pick whatever I want, right?” 
“I did say that before. But a commercial use Moped like the GYRO ROOF would be too crazy. I remember a new model
of that would cost around 50,000 yen. I can only pay 10,000 yen at most……” 
Emi was speaking, but Maou interrupted her. 
“Let me switch it to that!!” 
After saying this, Maou handed Emi a piece of paper directly. 
Of course, that was the renovation invoice the Landlady left behind last night. 
Emi took the paper which had many small words written on it, and after sweeping over it with sleep gazed eyes, she laughed out loud immediately. 
“You got screwed huh.” 
“Whatever you say. This is all the fault of those guys from Heaven.” “Just based on the result alone, it might be so.”
With a troubled smile, she handed the invoice back to Maou. 
“Can the Landlady accept this method?” 
“It’s fine as long as I obtain the money legally in Japan.” 
Referencing Japanese law, was it really legal or was there the right for negotiation when it came to the Demon King having creditor rights towards the Hero? However, Emi was already used to Maou’s personality. 
“I get it. Should I give it to Landlady-san directly? Or is there a remittance order?” 
“Of course there’s a remittance order, but administrative fees will be needed for that. I need to confirm something with Landlady-san, so I hope I can contact her and pay her directly.” 
“You’re hopeless. Since you already said that I owe you a favour, you should be less petty about it.” 
“Having to talk about such an embarrassing thing with other people, what should I do not come across as petty.” Emi felt that what Maou said was conflicting in various areas, but this was also Maou’s way of showing his sincerity. Or more accurately, if this incident did not happen, he might have even forgotten about the Moped.
“I understand. I have questions to ask Shiba-san as well. I’ll withdraw the money, can I take a look at that invoice first?” “I’m grateful! Sorry!”
Maou got up and put his hands together in thanks. Emi said with a smile, 
“How many times have you thanked me already? Could it be that you owe me more favours than what I owe you?” “Haah~~ this and that are two different issues. With this, I don’t have to be scolded by Ashiya!”
If Maou and the others were arrested by the police, they might ask Emi to go over again. When Emi remembered past events, she showed a troubled smile again.
“How about arranging it for tomorrow morning? You only start working in the afternoon, right?” 
“That’s true, it would be better to settle it earlier. Alright. By the way, are Lucifer and Camio doing alright later? The
last time I saw them yesterday, they were looking really dazed.” 
“I checked just now, they were sleeping properly within the closet, so they will probably revive on their own later. Their hair colour and feathers have also reverted to their original state.” 
“Is there a need to be that spooked? Based on what my father said, a lot of renovators came, but nothing that special happened.” 
“I don’t know either, but from how Nord, Gabriel and Iron can interact normally with Landlady-san, she probably has
some characteristic which is only detrimental to us demons.” 
“I know that as well, but at this stage, aren’t you curious about it?” 
“I might be curious, but I don’t want to ask her directly either…… haah, anyway, I’m really sorry, but I have to go to work now. As for the specific time, we’ll talk about it later at the store!” 
“Alright alright, be careful on your way there.” 
Maou left hurriedly after saying what he wanted to say. After Emi watched him leave and sighed, she returned to the room. 
“I heard the two of you talking, did something happen?” 
“We were just calculating the money owed. After the renovations on the room were completed, it seemed that they were asked to pay a rather large sum of money. Fu, I’m digging in.” 
“Should I re-heat the miso soup for you?” 
“No, it’s alright. After I’m done eating, I’ll wait for a while before going to the bank.” “Bank?”
“The bank. That is the place Maou and the others go to when they want to deposit or withdraw money.” “…… I don’t know it.”
“Alas=Ramus will know it when you grow up.” 
Because Emi felt that it was amusing how Iron, who looked younger than Acies, was acting like an older brother, she could not help but smile. 
“Alas=Ramus is already an older sister!!” 
And the sight of the small Alas=Ramus protesting, was also very cute. 
“Does Alas=Ramus want to go out for a walk?” “Yes!!”
“No matter how quickly you eat, we won’t go out immediately. I’m only starting work this afternoon, you can eat slowly.” 
“No! I want to go out!” 
It seemed like she told Alas=Ramus too early, after Emi shrugged helplessly in her head, she matched Alas=Ramus’s
pace and with big mouthfuls, she ate the breakfast her father made. 
Then, for unknown reasons, even Iron, with intentionally crude movements, opened his mouth wide to eat his rice. 
“Oh my, all of you, chew carefully and eat slowly, alright?” 
As if he was reminding children, Nord said this with a smile. Seeing this, Emi smiled after exchanging glances with Alas=Ramus and Iron. 
Then, the sounds of someone running downstairs with huge steps was heard from the public staircase. 
After hearing Maou heading to work with a wall and windows between them, Emi sighed after drinking a small mouthful of miso soup. 
Can she really continue to immerse herself in this stable time? 
Eating breakfast leisurely, setting up a plan to go out, and when it was noon and nighttime, she will surely continue having her meals like this. 
The Church Knights in Ente Isla have already mobilised all their forces, quietly intimidating those who have gathered at the Demon Fortress. 
Ashiya, Suzuno, Emerada and Lumark were definitely working hard to deal with this situation. 
The evidence for this was that even Suzuno, who would contact Emi frequently even if she was in Ente Isla, had not made contact with Emi since a few days after Emi returned to Japan after being defeated by the mysterious astronaut. 
The occupations borne by Suzuno and Emerada meant that they had no choice but to return to the Western Continent. And lastly, Ashiya contacted Emi, telling her that it was inconvenient for the two of them to make contact with Japan. 
At this time, they finally saw the true identity of their enemy. 
But for Emi, forget about suppressing the enemy, she was defeated without even making contact with the other party, and even if it was only a few days since that incident happened, she was eating happily with her family as if there was nothing to worry about in this world. 
“Emilia, it’s alright.” 
Perhaps he had sensed the thoughts in Emi’s heart after seeing that her chopsticks had stopped, Nord opened his
mouth and said this. 
“You have already worked harder and battled with your life on the line much more than anyone else in this world. At least rest properly at this time. Even if you rest now while waiting for the news from your comrades, you won’t receive any judgement from the skies.” 
“…… Yeah, you’re right.” 
How did she get found out? 
“Of course I would notice, no matter how many years have passed, you’re still equally easy to read.” 
Even if it was like that, Emi did not wish for Nord to say it in front of Alas=Ramus. After that, she was also a ?Mother?
now. 
“Grandpa, Mama, what’s wrong?” 
“It’s nothing. Rather than that, Alas=Ramus, you haven’t eaten your green peas.” “…… Don’t want.”
On Alas=Ramus’s plate, only the green peas were left in a large amount. 
She suddenly became picky with food recently, but Em could not tell if this was a sign of growing up or it was just a change. 
“Be good and finish them, Alas=Ramus. You’re the older sister, right?” “……Uu.”
In fact, the plate belonging to Iron, who did not lose to Acies in terms of his appetite, was so clean that not even a drop of sauce was left. 
Alas=Ramus looked at Iron’s plate and her own, then sighed. 
Emi was still troubled over how to handle this situation, but Nord stood up before Emi. 
“I wanted to say that being picky with food isn’t good, but the oil would taste bitter after cooling down right? Come, let Grandpa re-heat this for you.” 
Nord should be younger than 50 years old, but he was already acting like a proper grandfather, which Emi found amusing. 
“In the end, it’s just a problem of whether you want to do it or not. If one could only accept the most correct answer,
then there will not be any progress.” 
Nord placed the peas Alas=Ramus left over together with a small amount of corn into a small flat pan used to fry eggs and re-heated them. Watching her father’s back, Emi remembered the times when Alas=Ramus had just merged with the holy sword. 
At that time, Emi, who had never taken care of any toddlers before, was very troubled, not knowing if she could take care of Alas=Ramus by herself. 
She had experienced many failures before. 
However, with the help of Suzuno, Chiho, Ashiya and Urushihara, who did participate in it, she gradually got used to the tasks of raising a child, and her number of times she felt troubled had decreased. 
“If there is something you have to do, there will always be a way no matter how roundabout, huh.” “It’s done. Alas=Ramus, can you still eat?”
“ ’Jobu!” 
With a speed which could not be imagined from how picky she was before, Alas=Ramus ate the butter scented stir fried peas and corn. While Emi was in awe with her father’s judgement, because she was worried about Alas=Ramus ingesting too much oil and salt, she decide to prepare food which were lower in calories and less salty for lunch. 
“Hello everyone…… ah.” 
Four forty five that afternoon, Emi, who had come to work to take over the lunch period employees, saw Iwaki for the first time in the employee room. 
A bespectacled petite lady wearing a uniform. 
Emi immediately realised that she was the new Shop Manager who Chiho messaged her about. 
However, the other party did not seem to realise that Emi had entered the Employee Room. Iwaki was staring intently at something which looked like a part time job information magazine, copying information on a blank piece of printing paper. 
“Erhm……” 
Emi felt bad for interrupting someone when they were focused, but Emi could not ignore her either, so she could only approach and start a conversation. 
“Ah! Uh, erhm, nice to meet you. I am Iwaki, who has been sent here this time.” 
The new Shop Manager Iwaki stood up frantically, and quickly gave an introduction. 
“Nice to meet you. My name is Yusa Emi. I’m looking forward to working with you.” 
Emi also bowed her head. 
“Yusa-san…… ah! I heard that you’re the employee who’s the best at telephone services.” “I don’t know if I am the best at it or not……”
The person who made such comments which made others feel troubled must be Kisaki. 
“But I am just a new person who started working here four months ago. There are still many areas I am unsure of, so
I hope you can continue to guide me in the future as well.” 
This was not being humble, Emi had never felt that she was the best performer. Even if she quickly became familiar with the matters within the store with Maou’s help, but this was completely different from the ability to perfectly respond to the customer’s requests. 
Within the regular menu, there are still many food items which Emi had never personally prepared before, and she had replied thus because she felt that she had not moved passed the newbie stage. 
“…….!” 
But for unknown reasons, Iwaki showed a rather shocked expression behind her spectacles. 
“Shop Manager?” 
“…… Sorry about that. I should be learning from you instead. Kisaki-san said she would come after evening time to
handover more things to me, but there aren’t many staff for the dinner shift today, please do your best.” “Alright, I understand.”
Emi answered in a straightforward manner and walked naturally into the changing room to change. 
After Emi changed and came out, she discovered that Iwaki was writing something again, so she bowed slightly and reported for work. 
Emi took the chance to glance over the name list of the people working today, herself, Maou, Akiko and Kawada had shifts today. Chiho would arrive at six, and Kisaki would return to the store after that. After confirming that the manpower was not that low, Emi breathed a small sigh of relief and entered the dining area. 
Emi felt that her first meeting with Iwaki was not a bad experience for the both of them. However she felt a vague emotion which resembled anxiety coming off Iwaki.
“Oh, Emi, thanks for the hard work. Sorry for bothering you early in the morning.” 
“Hello. I have already made the preparations, any time tomorrow would be fine. I greeted Shop Manager Iwaki just
now too.” 
Maou, who happened to be at the first floor counter, initiated a conversation with Emi, so she turned her head slightly to look towards the door of the Employee Room. 
“I see. Did she say anything?” 
“We only greeted each other normally.” 
Emi looked perplexed. Maou frowned slightly, but immediately shook his head and said, 
“I see. Then that’s fine.” 
“Why have you been speaking so vaguely since yesterday? What are you hiding?” “Sorry. I’m not trying to hide anything.”
Unexpectedly, Maou apologised honestly. 
“You’ll probably find out tonight. Sorry, it’s hard for me to not be bothered by this.” 
In the end, Maou did not explain anything clearly, but from the flow of the conversation, he seemed to be troubled over something related to the work in the store. 
“Sure, sure. I don’t know what is going on, but it must be hard to be the Shift Manager…… oh, a call.” 
At this moment, the notification of a delivery call was heard from the headphones, so Emi rushed towards the ordering counter. 
This call came from a small company quite some distance from the store who frequently used the delivery service. 
There would not be any problems now, but if Maou and Kawada went on deliveries at the same time, the manpower would be a little lacking. 
“Should I consider getting a driving license.” 
After ending the call and watching Maou leave, Emi said this distractedly. 
Currently, due to her past work experience, she was arranged to specialise in taking calls, but other than her, there were of course other employees who could take up this task. 
During the day, there were many housewives around, resulting in many people having driving licenses. The problem was that the fixed group of employees at night were the relatively younger employees, and out of all of them, only Maou and Kawada could make deliveries. 
Emi had heard Maou mention a few times that the company did sponsor their employees when it came to obtaining driving licenses, so there were no disadvantages to trying it out. 
Just as Emi was thinking this, 
“Welcome!” 
She heard Akiko’s cheerful voice, so Emi stood in front of the counter and smiled with all her might, getting ready mentally. 
Even a new person who had only worked for four months knew that many customers flood in during the peak period. This just happened to be a very bad time in which Maou had just left the store for delivery.
Using the headphones, Emi asked Iwaki who was in the Manager Room for assistance, and as if she understood the situation, the latter rushed out immediately. 
“The Hanami Burger is ready!” 
“I received 10,000 yen from you. Please check.” 
“With the purchase of a Happiness Meal, you can choose one toy from here now…… no, I’m sorry, the toy this time cannot be chosen…… no, because this this type of packaging, I do not know the contents as well, I am really sorry about this.” 
“Thank you for waiting! This is the MgRonalds in front of Hatagaya station, my name is Yusa! Are you ordering a
delivery?” 
“Good morning, I am opening another counter! Sorry to keep you waiting. The customers waiting at the front, please
move to this counter!” 
“Sorry for the long wait. The meal will be delivered to you when it is ready, please place this number plate on the table
where it can be easily seen……” 
“Maa-kun went out? Kawacchi, stay in the store, I’ll deliver this order. A small cola and milkshake…… and three pies……” “The customer who ordered takeaway for Teriyaki Chicken Burger and Big Mac Meal! Thank you for waiting!”
The dinner period that day was a challenge which they barely overcame. 
Emi, Akiko and Kawada knew that Chiho and Kisaki would come and help them later, but with the increase in employees, the customers increased as well, so there was no time to take a breather at all. 
Even so, they still pulled through thanks to Iwaki’s help. 
When everyone first knew that Kisaki was leaving, they had worried about what they should do if the Shop Manager who took over was not good at being at the front lines, but they had worried for nothing. 
Simply put, Iwaki’s actions were correct and fast. 
The coordination between Iwaki and the employees was so smooth that it was hard to believe that it was only her second day at the store. She also knew the locations of the equipment and the condiments very well. 
After nine o’ clock at night, the flow of people finally came to an end. “Today was crazy.”
“I sweated a lot.” 
Chiho was finally able to talk a little. 
“So it would become like this when a lot of people come at once. I ran up and down many times, now my feet are aching.” 
Iwaki also relaxed a little and said this in a casual tone. 
In the end, Maou, Kisaki and Kawada were busy making deliveries, and no one was able to stay at the café counter on the second floor all the time. 
Therefore, depending on the situation, Iwaki, Akiko or Chiho had to help out on the second floor and everyone needed to go up and down the stairs repeatedly. 
As a full time employee, Iwaki wore low heeled flats, so she probably felt more tired than them. 
“However, it’s rare to encounter a situation where the second floor and the deliveries are lacking in people. And normally, all the Mopeds would not constantly be out on deliveries. Today is considered a really difficult day.” 
Chiho commented. 
“That’s right. Rather than there being too many customers, it’s more like the volume of orders was too large. Normally, we would not be this busy with these numbers.” 
Akiko voiced her agreement. 
“But the number of deliveries have increased recently. It feels like the situation where all three Mopeds are used are happening more often. However, with the scale of our store, there will be no place to put the Mopeds even if we increase the number.” 
With a troubled smile, Emi described this situation in where they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. 
“I see.” 
Iwaki nodded, agreeing with the analysis of the three female employees. She operated the touch screen of the cashier, pulling up the number of customers, mumbling to herself, 
“After experiencing it for myself, I discovered that this store is really amazing.” “Eh?”
“Of course, this could be concluded from the revenue, the customer trends and other data, but after experiencing it
personally, it can be discovered that……” 
Iwaki pushed up her spectacles and sighed. 
“unexpectedly, it was not simply because there are a large number of customers.” 
In the first place, this topic made it difficult for Emi to carry on the conversation, and Iwaki’s side profile looked like
she was troubled over something, making it harder for her to answer without much thought. 
Emi was well aware how outstanding Kisaki was at managing the store, so perhaps she might be feeling the pressure of taking over that job. 
Chiho seemed to have realised this as well and looked worried, but for unknown reasons, she looked strangely uneasy as well. 
Thinking about it, Maou, who seemed to be hiding something, seemed to hint that everything would become clear once Chiho came to work, was it related to this matter? 
“……” 
Maou, Chiho and Iwaki seemed to be hiding something, making Emi uncomfortable. Just as she was thinking this.
“Once! Night was used to highlight my Goddess’s castle, stage curtains which spurred others on!” “Eh?! What?!”
A bright male tenor was suddenly heard, causing Iwaki to look up in surprise. 
“But what of it now, the night curtains which lower again and again, seem to continuously remind me that the day I
will part with my Goddess approaches, a cruel Hell’s requiem!” “Wah……” 
“Ah……” 
“Oh……” 
“What’s happening?!” 
Chiho, Emi and Akiko immediately sensed the identity behind that voice and became expressionless. 
That was Sariel’s love poetry, something that they had not heard in a long time. 
Because Sariel rarely appeared at night, there were a few customers who did not know him, so they stared in the direction of the entrance in shock. 
Emi and Chiho tried to look for the Shift Manager at the Sentucky Hatagaya branch who was skilled at keeping a watch on Sariel, Furuya Kanako, but unfortunately, it appeared that she was not working today. 
“Oh my, Shop Manager Iwaki, thank you for taking the time to go over and greet us this morning! And Sasaki-kun, Yusa-kun, Ooki-kun. I thought that the number of customers would start to decrease at this time, so I came.” 
“Eh. Ah, thank you for your concern, erhm, you are Shop Manager Sarue?” 
The Shop Manager working in the same industry nearby coming to visit as a customer was very normal, but Sariel’s
actions and speech which did not adhere to any common sense made it difficult for Iwaki to handle it well. 
From their conversation, they should have met before, but Iwaki seemed to have not heard about this side of Sariel from anyone else. This caused Emi and Chiho to exchange looks with each other. 
No, even if she probably heard about it before, it would be hard to believe until she saw it for herself. Both of them concluded this silently. 
“Yusa-san, Ooki-san, just leave it to me.” 
“I understand. Shop Manager, don’t worry, Chiho-chan will handle him.” “Eh? Eh eh eh? W, will that be alright?!”
“It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine. Ah, Saemi, I’m going to check the freezer.” 
Pushing the matter to a high school girl to handle caused Iwaki, who was being pulled to the back by Akiko and Emi, to feel shaken, but Akiko and Emi were already on alert, fully prepared. 
Depending on Sarue’s actions, Iwaki would probably react as expected and call the police or ban him from entering the store. Ignoring whether there was a need for Chiho to stop her or not, the events might blow up to the point of no return. 
Therefore, this was the best arrangement currently. 
“…… Welcome, Shop Manager Sarue, did you come here to eat?” 
If it was Sariel in the past, he would probably have pulled out a bouquet of flowers by now, but looking at him carefully, he was wearing a suit today. Based on appearance alone, he looked like a normal working adult. 
“No, I came today to pass something to Maou.” 
This caused the love poem from earlier to feel more out of place. Since he was looking for Maou, why did he need to recite love poems? 
“Are you looking for Maou-san? Didn’t you say those strange things because you wanted to see Kisaki-san?” 
Chiho, who had already known Sariel for some time, could not help but ask this, 
“Once I think about how it would not be long before I would be unable to see Shop Manager Kisaki even if I come here, my heart feels like it’s going to be torn apart. These painful feelings caused me to naturally say those words. Of course, if I can see Shop Manager Kisaki today, that would be the best.” 
And in the end, it was because of this. 
Therefore, Chiho sensed many signs of danger and felt deeply that she needed to warn Sariel properly before he did something stupid. 
“…… Shop Manager Iwaki is a normal person. If you do something reckless and cause her to call the police, there’s nothing I can do to help you.” 
“I know that. Do you think I would act inappropriately towards that cutie wearing lovely spectacles?” 
Chiho, who did not expect that there were really guys in the world who used the word ?cutie?, could not help but
want to rebuke, ‘Don’t you think your actions a few dozen seconds ago are considered inappropriate?’, saying what
she should say. 
(T/N: Sariel uses ????? (kyuto) here rather than the standard term of ???? (kawaii) for cute, which Chiho found unusual for a guy to say.) 
“Only Kisaki-san is able to accept how Shop Manager Sarue is acting. Please do not recite poems like ?Why do I feel sad when Kisaki-san is not around?when in front of Shop Manager Iwaki in the future.” 
“Fufufu, relax, Sasaki Chiho. I’m not the type of man who is that unaware of the situation around me.” 
If it was about his devotion of Kisaki-san, she might be able to agree, but about how aware he was of the surrounding situation, there should be a lot of room for debate. 
“As a working adult, I plan to build a good relationship with her. Considering the future, I have to protect my image
after Shop Manager Kisaki leaves…… after Shop Manager Kisaki…… after Shop Manager Kisaki leaves…… uuuuuu……!” 
The angel who just bragged that he could read the atmosphere, immediately bawled without caring about the stares from the people around him, but Chiho did not soften her stance and said, 
“Please do not sprawl on the counter and cry, this will trouble the other customers. If you have something to pass to Maou-san, I can keep it with me…… ah.” 
Just as Chiho gave a warning with a cold and flat tone, Maou happened to return, the safety helmet under his arm. 
“Maou-san, Shop Manager Sarue is looking for you.” “Ahh, you came at the right time.”
Maou put the thermal bag and helmet used for deliveries back to their storage positions, and as he walked towards Sariel, from the corner of his field of vision, he confirmed that Iwaki was looking in this direction. 
“Oh my, I apologise that you had to come over when you’re so busy, Shop Manager Sarue.” “…… Hey, Maou-kun. What day is it today?”
“2nd of April.” 
“…… Shop Manager Kisaki will leave this weekend.” “Yes.”
“I wish it was a lie.” 
“Since 1st April, this place is already Shop Manager Iwaki’s store.” “Tell me all of this is a lieee……”
“Even if I say that it’s a lie, reality would not change. Oh, so this is it.” 
Chiho had not noticed because she had heard one of Sariel’s love poems after a long period of not hearing any, but he
was holding an A4 sized brown envelope in his hand. 
After Maou took that envelope from the hand of the bawling Sariel, he peeked at the contents within. 
“Sorry about that, thanks for the help.” 
It was only in this moment did Maou respond to Sariel in a serious tone, then used his hand to pat the shoulder of the crying archangel, saying this with a troubled smile, 
“I caused you some trouble, if you don’t mind, let me treat you to a cup of coffee.” “I want to drink coffee made by Shop Manager Kisaki!!”
“Sure, I get it. Kisaki-san is not back yet, why don’t you wait here for a while? I will help you ask her.” “Yeah…… yeah…… uuuuuu”
Maou was strangely kind to Sariel. In some way, this scene was also weird. 
But perhaps Maou’s comforting words took effect, because Sariel followed Maou to the second floor without protest. “W, what’s going on?”
Chiho mumbled to herself, feeling perplexed. At this moment, from the earpiece, the voice of Maou who had just gone upstairs was heard. 
Sorry, but is there anyone who can inform Kisaki-san about it when she returns and ask her to come up to the second
floor? ?
“I understand. I will help to pass on the message. Ah, she just came back. Kisaki-san!” After Maou said this, Kisaki had returned after completing her delivery.
After Chiho shot a meaningful look at Emi who was behind the counter, she ran towards Kisaki. When Chiho said that Sarue was crying on the second floor, Kisaki replied with a troubled smile, “It can’t be helped then. Saemi, are you free now?”
“Ah, yes.” 
Kisaki addressed Emi, who had been standing next to Iwaki. 
“Sorry about this but can you and Shop Manager Iwaki come along. I will ask Aki-chan and the others to go down and man the counters. Shop Manager Iwaki, please follow me until halfway up the stairs. With this, you would get a rough idea of what kind of person he is.” 
“Eh? Eh?” 
“Shop Manager, don’t worry. I will go together with you.” “Ehhh?”
Iwaki, who still had not grasped the situation, was pulled by Emi from the counter to the middle of the stairs leading to the second floor. 
“Then, I’m going up first.” 
After Kisaki said this to Iwaki, she walked up to the second floor. 
“S, Shop Manager Kisaki ooooo……!” “Eep.”
Iwaki suddenly heard a scream mixed with happiness and sadness, resembling that of heavy oil floating on the sea while reflecting various colours, and flinched in fright. 
At this moment, 
“It’s alright, this person basically only acts like this towards Kisaki-san.” 
Emi realised the task she was entrusted with, and moved next to Iwaki, as if she was trying to alleviate Iwaki’s
nervousness. 
“I, I don’t, I don’t know what to do anymore…… uuuuuu.” 
“Please get along with Shop Manager Iwaki in the future. I remember you like Americano……” 
Parts of the conversation between Kisaki and Sariel could be heard from the stairs. 
“Shop Manager Saure is someone who can separate private and work matters. And there is someone in the opposite store who is in charge of monitoring him. Even though he is like this, please don’t be too afraid of him……” 
From a personal standpoint, Emi did not want to defend Sariel at all, but she thought that she could not make Iwaki too afraid of Shop Manager Sarue. 
After Emi said this, Iwaki nodded in a dazed manner. 
“Uh, erhm, Shop Manager Kisaki did explain this to me before, it’s just that his behaviour when I went to greet him
this afternoon was too different, and I simply didn’t think that such a person would truly exist, so I got a shock.” 
Actually Emi and the other employees at the store in front of Hatagaya station normally thought this. Then, perhaps he had handed Sariel over to Kisaki to handle, Maou walked over with a troubled smile.
“You might get a shock at first, but he just tends to use more passionate words when talking with females and is basically still considered a polite person. Most of the employees are already used to him, if you feel like you can’t handle him, you can throw him to other people to handle.” 
“Alright……” 
Iwaki listened to Maou’s explanation while feeling stunned. “Erhm…… thank you, I’m alright now.”
Then, Iwaki, who had been focused on listening to the conversation between Kiaki and Sarue, showed a complex expression. 
“I have worked at a huge store in a busy area and seen many shocking customers. Don’t worry, I will treat him like a neighbour and will not depend on everyone too much. Thank you for your concern.” 
““?”” 
In contrast with what she said, after Iwaki experienced the first shock, her complexion did not look good. But since she had said this, Maou and Emi were unable to say anything more,
“I still have some matters to handle, so I’m heading to the back first. Please call me if something happens.” 
And could only quietly watch Iwaki walk to the Employee Room. 
“She got a fright after all.” 
“It’ll be strange if she didn’t.” 
Emi said worriedly, and as if he felt it was normal, Maou crossed his arms. 
“Haah, but it’s not appropriate for us to say anything more. Let’s go downstairs first. I feel bad leaving the first floor to Chi-chan and the others.” 
“That’s true.” 
When the two of them went downstairs, they noticed that Chiho was waiting for them anxiously. 
“S, Shop Manager Iwaki looked really troubled, is she alright?” “She’s fine…… probably. Right?”
“P, probably.” 
Maou and Emi knew how much of an impact Sariel’s existence could cause on normal people, so they could not give a
definite answer. 
In addition, before Sariel came. Emi had already discovered that Iwaki was acting a little strange. 
“By the way, what did Sariel pass to you?” “Ah, this?”
Maou held up the envelope in his hand. 
“Actually I wanted to show the both of you this thing later. How about tomorrow, when we go to Landlady-san’s house…… oh yeah, Chi-chan is on spring break now, right? Are you free tomorrow morning?” 
“Yes, I’m free, did something happen?” 
“Ah, it’s a little embarrassing to say, but I’m going to apologise to Landlady-san.” 
“Eh?” 
Maou explained simply that the commotion which happened in the Demon World earlier caused the Landlady to find out about the damage in Room 201, which led to him being asked to pay for the renovation fees in the end. 
“I plan to make use of the favour Emi owes me to pay this bill. In addition, it’s about time we get rid of some unpredictable factors, so before I came to work this morning, I asked Sariel to prepare this.” 
After Maou said this, he tapped on the brown envelope. 
“The price would be to treat him to one cup of coffee made by Kisaki-san.” “Eh.”
Chiho felt that this was the first time she saw Maou’s ?evil?side. 
Then, perhaps he had noticed Chiho’s expression, but Maou shifted his gaze away awkwardly. 
“I feel bad for Kisaki-san and Shop Manager Iwaki, but if this can make Sariel protect this area for the next three years,
isn’t that a good bargain?” “That might be so.”
Because doing this felt like they were involving Kisaki who did not know anything, Chiho’s tone became slightly stern. 
“When I went to save Emi before, I also asked him to protect this place just in case, right?” “I get it. So, in the end, what is that?”
Maou remained alert to Akiko’s and Kawada’s positions and said in a low volume. 
“Yeah. After consolidating the explanations from Sariel, Gabriel, Lailah and Urushihara, I noticed that some parts were
not consistent.” “Not consistent?”
“Yeah. The incident from earlier clearly made me understand how the lack of information can lead to such a fatal situation. Therefore, I want to consolidate the information which we had heard from various places and arrange them properly. I asked Sariel to tell me everything he knew about Heaven, then compare it with the information Emi had heard to consolidate them. During this process, I discovered a matter which we must consult Landlady-san about.” 
“Something related to Heaven?” 
Maou nodded in response to Emi’s question. 
“Especially since Chi-chan would not participate in this plan directly, I hope she can get a clear picture of the situation.
The chances for us to meet would definitely decrease later on, so I don’t want her to worry unnecessarily.” 
After Maou said this, Chiho looked up in surprise, but hung her head downwards immediately. 
“Did you hear this from Kisaki-san?” “Yeah.”
“Huh, what’s the matter?” 
Emi saw the two of them with serious expressions and panicked, but Chiho looked up immediately and looked towards Emi with a determined gaze. 
“I plan to resign this month.” “Eh……?!”
April of the third year of high school. Even if Emi had imagined this scene a few times before, but after hearing Chiho herself say this, she was still shaken. 
“It’s to prepare for exams and next year. Therefore, I……” “Chiho-chan……”
“In order to be able to hold my head high and said that I have worked hard after the end of the Battle to Defeat God,
I want to focus on my responsibilities. So……” 
Chiho’s eyes showed a firm determination as well as some loneliness. 
“I have already used my full power during the Jirga. After this, I can only pray for Maou-san and Yusa-san to return
victorious.” 

“After I called a part time job information magazine service which I am acquainted with, he said that he can help us squeeze one advertisement in, but for the rest, we would have to wait for two weeks……” 
After Sarue left with great reluctance, Kisaki and Iwaki sat facing each other within the manager’s office in the MgRonalds in front of Hatagaya station, discussing what they should do with regards to the future work shift arrangements. 
“Thanks a lot. It’s a huge help. However, just the thought of five people who are capable of handling today’s situation
leaving makes my stomach hurt. Especially Sasaki-san, she’s really an amazing girl.” 
“Amongst all the high school student employees, she is definitely the most outstanding one. The characteristic is different, but it can be said that the gap caused by her leaving is as large as the gap caused by Maeyama-san’s.” 
“She would definitely leave?” 
“She is a third year high school student. Not only would her parents disallow it, she is also very firm on this. Since she
said this herself, it would be useless regardless of how much we try to persuade her to stay.” “Haah……”
Iwaki, who was already small in stature, seemed even smaller now. 
“The types of business operations have increased, yet the budget for manpower is on a decreasing trend. Even if we hire experienced people later on, it would still be better to take the chance to increase some manpower when the current manager is still around. The managers in this area might be transferred soon.” 
“I, I understand.” 
“For the employee working the night shift, only Maou and Yusa are more stable. Kawada is very dependable as well, but he is in fourth year of university this year, and he said that he would take over the family business after graduation. Therefore, if we depend on him too much, it might be very difficult later on. Ooki is also in third year of university, so she might start her looking for a job in the summer.” 
“…… Does job hunting start that early? I have already forgotten.” 
“Because the news that said the ban is lifted during the summer of fourth year, many people believe that it starts at that time. But it’s not like that at all. In reality, one of the employees who resigned last year told me that he had received an unofficial hiring notice from a large corporation in March of his third year.” 
Kisaki provided more information on the other employees, and finally, she said, 
“Luckily, the currently remaining employees are ?adults?. So even if it’s a little forced, they will have to quickly be influenced with Shop Manager Iwaki’s style.” 
“…… Is it really alright?” 
Iwaki asked this uneasily. Kisaki nodded firmly and replied, “Employees who leave over this won’t stay for long anyway.” “……!”
“I have put the name cards of the other part time job information magazines’ point of contact in the file. I have informed them about the change in Shop Manager beforehand, so they should know the situation here very well. There is quite a lot of freedom with regards to the layout. As for the budget for publishing the advertisement, as long as you call and notify the manager, you would probably get an approval without having to explain too much.” 
After that, Iwaki and Kisaki continued to discuss for a while. 
One hour later, ten o’ clock at night. 
“The three of you, thank you for the hard work. It’s time for Chi-chan to end work, right?” 
The ones manning the first floor counter were Chiho and Emi who happened to be mentioned earlier. 
“Yeah, it’s 10pm. Sasaki-san can leave now.” “Yes, thanks for the hard work.”
“I’m ending work for today as well. Why don’t we go back together?” 
In that moment, Chiho remembered that the direction of Kisaki’s home should be different from hers. “You have something you want to discuss with me, right?”
It seemed like Kisaki still remembered that Chiho had something she wanted to discuss. 
“Yes, I’m in your care.” 
Chiho accepted Kisaki’s goodwill and the two of them left the store. Emi, Akiko and Iwaki watched the two of them leave.
“Shop Manager Iwaki?” 
Emi noticed that Iwaki’s side profile as she looked at the pair seemed a little stiff, so she initiated a conversation. 
“……Ah, sorry. Is Maou-kun upstairs?” 
“No, he went out for delivery. We only get sent to the second floor if customers come.” “I see, I understand…… can I take the chance to take a look at the second floor?”
“Eh?” 
Iwaki’s question caused Akiko to show some confusion, but Emi immediately interrupted and nodded, 
“Yes. It’s alright.” 
“Sorry about this. This is the first time I am working at a store with a MdCafe, so I wish to take the chance to see how normal operations are like while there aren’t a lot of people.” 
After Iwaki said this quickly, she went up to the second floor without waiting for their reply. 
“What’s wrong with the Shop Manager? Even if she goes up to the second floor now, there shouldn’t be anything to do.” 
It was ten at night now, even if she wanted to start cleaning up, it would be too early. 
Even if that was the case, there were no customers, so even if she went upstairs, there would be nothing to do. 
“Perhaps it’s some task that only employees from the company can do, or that Kisaki-san handed over some operations
to her.” 
“Ah, that’s true. Shop Manager Iwaki is working hard to maintain the atmosphere which Kisaki-san had created.” 
At least from the point of view of the employees, many employees already understood that Iwaki was not the type of person who would slack off during work. 
But. 
“I am going up as well to take a look.” “Eh?”
Just as Emi walked briskly to leave the area behind the counter, Akiko could not help but express her surprise. 
“It should be fine if it’s Yusa-san. It’s probably a no-go for us.” 
At this moment, Kawada walked out of the kitchen. 
“At times like this, it would be better for Yusa-san who had not worked here as long to go. Our viewpoint would be too biased towards Kisaki-san.” 
“Ah.” 
At this point, Akiko finally understood. 
“That’s true. It would be hard for her as well.” 
“It’ll be that way even if we didn’t intend for it to happen.” 
“But I can empathise. Shop Manager Iwaki should be around the same age as us. Kisaki-san does give the impression that she is someone from another world, but Shop Manager Iwaki feels more like myself after a few years. Ah~” 
Ever since she knew that Nakayama Koutarou beautifully achieved an unofficial hiring notice in third year of university and that Maou did not pass the full time employment exam, Akiko would become very anxious when the topic of employment comes up. 
“I don’t think I will be able to become a company employee!” 

Chiho and Kisaki walked on the pavement at a pace which was much slower than normal. 
Even if it was for the sake of discussing things with Chiho, as the person in charge of the shop, Kisaki still did not wish for a high school girl to roam to other places after work. 
“How is it? Can you get along with Shop Manager Iwaki?” 
“I feel that she’s a kind person, and I wish to be of help to her…… honestly, I felt very sorry to tell her that kind of thing
on the first day she took over.” 
“This can’t be helped. I have expected that it would turn out like this. To her, knowing earlier than better than knowing
later on.” 
Chiho was talking about the timing in which she raised her resignation request. 
“More accurately, we are really grateful that that your parents were willing to let you work until April. If it’s Satahata
High School, there should still be time to start aiming for Todai or Kyodai, right?” 
“I won’t be able to do it. There does seem to be a senior who decided to re-take the exam and got into Kyodai this
year.” 
Chiho remembered that outside the staff room, as if they were celebrating someone obtaining an Olympic gold medal, a banner praising the performance of a senior whose face or name Chiho did not remember had been hung. 
“My results aren’t that good, and my performance in club activities aren’t eye-catching. Perhaps because it’s like that,
the people around me did not give me any pressure to further my studies.” “That’s really amazing.”
Kisaki said this, and after Chiho asked for the reason while feeling perplexed, Kisaki replied, 
“This means that the adults around Chi-chan respect your decision. The reason why they allowed you to work until the first semester of your third year is because they believed that you would seriously choose your own future. Under normal circumstances, it would be about time for the adults to remind you to properly prepare for exams.” 
“Kisaki-san is the first person who would say such things to me directly. For my mother, the most she would tell me would be to think about it properly and that I should do things in moderation.” 
“It’s not easy to say such things. I have also been nagged by my parents many times before. Because my target for my results was not to lose to Tanaka Himeko, so the results for the subjects I am bad at was the same as hers.” 
After Kisaki gave an embarrassed smile and added, ‘That was because I was young and aggressive at that time’, she
begin a topic on her own. 
“I might have said this before, amongst the adults around Chi-chan, my opinions are probably the most irresponsible. With this as a pretext, I still think that Chi-chan should try to pick a better university. Regardless of what kind of lifestyle you will choose in the future.” 
Chiho had discussed the future paths with Kisaki before. 
With a serious expression, Chiho had asked Kisaki for a discussion when Chiho was about to resign. With this, even if it was not Kisaki, they would sense that she was troubled over her future. 
“How did Kisaki-san choose the university which you think you could attend?” 
“My situation could only be described as normal. I went to cram school, took mock exams, matched the mock exam grades with the admission grades published by the university, picked the subjects I was good at, confirmed the date of the exam, and choose the university I had the chance to attend by method of elimination. I clearly wished to enter the food and beverage industry in the future, but I still did not have any concrete plans. Now that I think about it, I only thought that since I wanted to open a store, it would be better to study management or business.” 
“I, I see.” 
It was an unexpected answer. 
Even without any special research, Chiho also knew that Kisaki’s method of choosing her future path was very normal, and that many people around the world used this method. 
“Isn’t this natural? Ten years ago, I was just a high school girl. It’s not an age where I would think too deeply and I don’t
have that kind of personality either.” 
For no apparent reason, Chiho thought that Kisaki had such a mature personality since kindergarten. 
To elaborate further, even if it was a little rude to say this, Chiho could not imagine Kisaki as a high school girl. 
“Not considering high school, I was quite hardworking in university. I was not so outstanding to get first or second place. This isn’t something to boast about, but I never failed to make the grade even once. I All Green-ed it, so to speak. Ah, it’s been a long time since I said this term. Do you know what is All Green?” 
Once Chiho shook her head, Kisaki spoke with a nostalgic smile, 
“Actually it’s just attend classes as much as possible, achieve the required attendance days, and pass every exam and report.” 
“Isn’t…… isn’t that very normal……” 
“It’s difficult to imagine, but there are many people in university who cannot achieve this. Some people fail their reports, and there are others who could not fulfil the required attendance days. If All Green is achieved until the third year of university, it would be much easier during the job search. This is because the number of classes to attend in fourth year would decrease, increasing the amount of time for the job search.” 
The information about university which Chiho obtained from Emi’s and Rika’s junior, Shimizu Maki, had felt very new
to her, but Kisaki’s words, in a different sense, felt new and interesting as well. 
Judging that the conversation had warmed up enough, Chiho decided to shift the conversation towards the main topic. 
“Erhm, can I ask you a rather strange question?” 
Then as if Kisaki had already prepared for it, she showed a rare teasing smile. 
“I don’t have a boyfriend now, you know.” 
To get an answer to what she planned to ask caused Chiho to blush slightly, but her curiosity still won. 
“Now…… that means……” 
“It’s rather inappropriate for me to say this about myself, but I was rather popular during my student days.” 
That was obvious. 
If even Kisaki was unpopular, then where does that leave the rest of the population? 
However, from Kisaki’s expression, it did not seem to be a good memory. 
“However, the strange thing is, even if I was the one who was confessed to, I was not the one who ended the relationship. Because it’s the same pattern every time, it was really laughable. I really did not understand why they expressed their interest in me so passionately at the beginning.” 
“Eh?! What happened!” 
“It can’t be seen before dating, but the guys seem to think that I’m very scary, and not cute enough.” 
If Sariel heard this, he might immediately prosecute the people who said this. 
“It might be because I’m not the type to fall passionately in love, so it gives others the impression that I’m especially cold and aloof. The reasons for breaking up tend to be because of attitudes towards studying or the future. Therefore, even if I had boyfriends before, it felt like I went through university with Himeko and Yuki always around me. Actually, I don’t really remember what I did together with my boyfriends.” 
What was perplexing was that even if Kisaki was like that, she still insisted that she was not friends with Tanaka Himeko. 
“I have always lived for myself and had never felt troubled over my own life because of someone else’s sake. Therefore,
I am definitely unable to provide and answer which the current Chi-chan wants.” 
Since Kisaki had said things so clearly, Chiho had no choice but to admit that she had been seen through completely. 
“Haah, as a woman who had lived ten years longer than you, I can only tell you that your crushes in high school would normally result in nothing.” 
“Ugh……” 
Even if it was true, having someone else point out her own feelings so accurately made her blush out of reflex. 
“Even if you are that rare exception, with the environment you have now, it would be better to think about yourself when choosing your future path after high school. The end result would also be better for Maa-kun.” 
“Argh……. uuuuuu.” 
Kisaki finally even mentioned Maou’s name. 
“You might have heard it from him before, but earlier on, I invited Maa-kun to start a business with me in the future.” “Y, yes, he mentioned it before.”
“Maa-kun didn’t answer, but I felt like he didn’t reject it either.” Chiho knew that Kisaki’s analysis was very accurate. 
“Honestly, even if I could start the business with the most ideal conditions, the salary given to Maa-kun at the beginning would be much lower than the standard amount earned by those around his age. And it might even fail in the end. If you want to be together with him when he’s in that situation and you’re not prepared to earn money, you would probably feel uneasy in various ways. 
Preparations to earn money on her own. 
Chiho softly said the most normal way to do so in Japan. 
“Become a full time employee?” 
How many times had she come across this term this year? 
Chiho had not faced this term before, but Chiho’s dreams and the future she hoped for could not be separated from
this term. 
“And a company with a good salary and employee benefits would be best. If you want to enter that kind of company, it’s best to aim for a famous university or a university with high standards. You might not really understand if we talk about companies now, but if you wait until the age you can understand it only to be unable to choose the company you wish to enter, it would be meaningless.” 
The explanations were different, but what Kisaki said was actually exactly the same as what Shimizu Maki said before. 
Since two adults with no connections to each other said the same thing, this meant that it must be a very normal way of thinking. 
“I’m only saying this now, but when I first saw Chi-chan’s resume, I did not expect anything from you at all. The contents of the resume was very normal, just like a normal high school student. I thought you would not last very long.” 
“Eh?” 
“But after the interview, I completely changed my opinion of you. Do you still remember what you said at that time?” “A, actually I don’t really remember.”
Chiho only remembered that she did not answer that well and felt she would not get hired. 
Thinking about it now, she seemed to have mentioned about club activities, but she could not remember any of the details. 
“You said that you wanted to earn money for things you want to do. When I heard this, I thought you were an
admirable child.” 
“Did I say such things before!” “Yeah.”
“Ehhh…… I, said things like, I really wanted money?” 
Chiho remembered that one of the reasons she hated herself at that moment was because she was too frank about money, this caused her to momentarily show a gloomy expression. 
However, Kisaki shook her head and replied, 
“You didn’t say that you wanted money but wanted to earn money on your own. You were clearly very nervous then, and you could not properly express what you wanted to say, but you did say that you wanted to use the money you earned to freely buy the equipment for your club activities.” 
“I, I feel that there’s not much difference.” “It’s completely different.”
Kisaki declared. 
“You knew very clearly that if you didn’t work, you would not be able to obtain the money you wanted.” “I, Isn’t this a normal way of thinking?”
“It would be good if it was really that normal. It’s usually not like this. If that was so, there would be no need for the part time job advertisements to use their largest font to show the hourly pay. It can’t be helped when it comes to high school students, but for many people, even if they become university students or adults, they would misunderstand
that once they get ?hired?, it meant that they have already obtained a non-existent amount of money.”
Thinking about it now, when Chiho first started working, Yoshiya had helped her calculate how much she could earn in a day and showed how envious he was about it. 
“Talking about wanting money during casual chats is very normal, right? I also buy lottery tickets frequently, hoping I can gain something without working. However, if a person really wants money, they would have to work seriously. Ignoring those companies with really bad working environments or those who give unfair salaries, within a normal range, people would have to work seriously to be able to earn money. The general public often ridicule the customer facing portion of MgRonalds, saying that they are just exploiting their workers, but MgRonalds is still a famous huge company. After getting over the hardest part, a person would be able to receive benefits which are much better than that of other companies.” 
“Benefits?” 
“Benefits are not limited to working hours and salary details. There’s the usage of no pay leave, social insurance, sufficient maternity leave and childcare leave, and the understanding and generosity of the company’s internal departments while using these entitlements. To female employees, lawful management is considered a very important
part. Of course there are exceptions, but usually, the bigger the scale of the company, the ?environment beneficial to work and personal life planning?would be more mature. The actual salary paid by these companies are not bad as well. If you wish to support Maa-kun’s dreams with realistic methods, I would suggest that you aim to enter this kind
of company and work hard. However……” As if she was teasing Chiho, Kisaki smiled,
“New environments would usually trigger the ending of relationships started during the student years. Some people
will end up meeting even better partners because of this.” 
“T, that won’t happen! Other than Maou-san, I……I…….ah……!” 
Chiho fell completely into Kisaki’s trap, and even if it was night, it could be seen that her face was obviously red. 
“I know Chi-chan is not that type of person. I am more worried that even if Maa-kun falls into degeneracy, you would not leave or abandon him and end up sinking into a swamp. 
“Ah……uu……ah.” 
 
She felt embarrassed about everything. The fact that she confessed about her single-minded devotion, as well as the fact that Kisaki had also seen through her feelings for Maou. 
“I hope that Maa-kun can pull himself together, this is also for the sake of your future.” 
“N, no, me, and, Maou-san, we’re not dating yet…….” 
“That’s even more reason to think so. From the view of an outsider, it’s worrying that you have sunk that deeply without even dating yet. Chi-chan should care about yourself more, else you would not have any ability to help others later. You’re still a high school student, so Maa-kun and the people around you probably do not request much from you. However, if you wish to become someone needed by others, the world or Maa-kun after becoming an adult in five or ten years, you have to properly think about what you should do right now and work hard seriously.” 
Kisaki first declared, “This might be a selfish thought”, then continued, 
“At least if Chi-chan continues to hastily choose your own future path, even if you come to my company or store later on for an interview, I might not hire you. Doing so would not help you or Maa-kun at all.” 
“……Ugh!” 
Chiho breathed in sharply. 
This was one of the things which needed to be confirmed, decided after her discussion with Rika. 
Whether she should write joining Kisaki’s company as her future path. 
“Some things cannot be seen clearly or cannot be done because you’re too close to it. You have to first learn various
special methods before you can be at their side. If not, you would only cause both parties to fall together.” 
In the meantime, they have arrived in front of Sasazuka Station. 
With a smile, Kisaki placed a hand on Chiho’s shoulder as the latter was looking down. 
“Don’t worry. You’re the type who can still work hard even while feeling lost. That effort will definitely help you in the future. In addition, even if Maa-kun becomes jobless in the future, I have the power to help him, you don’t have to worry about him too much right now. Understand?” 
“……Yes.” 
Kisaki might not have seen through Chiho’s thoughts. 
Somewhere in Chiho’s heart contained the expectations that she could be together with Maou if she worked at Kisaki’s
store, and she had showed this naïve thought which had no basis. 
Kisaki treasured Chiho and Maou a lot, so she would not allow this naïve thought. 
“It’ll be fine. In a strange way, every adult responsible for their own life have their own personality and charm. As long as you work hard with all your might, that dense man would definitely realise that the girl who likes him is such an amazing person and would try very hard to keep you at his side.” 
“T, that, that kind of thing……” 
As if she was about to get crushed by all kinds of embarrassed feelings, Chiho used her hands to cover her blushing face. 
Kisaki mentioning Maou, the immaturity of the discussion contents, or old events being discussed in depth, all of these things caused Chiho to feel troubled and ashamed. 
“I am rather envious of you. Because at your age, you were able to accumulate that many beautiful experiences which can allow you to be this troubled.” 
“……Eh?” 
“No, it’s nothing, it’s not good for you to stay out this late. Since I’m already here, I might as well send you home.” “Eh, that’s too much.”
“It’s too late to be saying such things. Since it’s such a rare chance, for the rest of the way, can you tell me what’s so
good about Maa-kun?” “Eh?!”
Kisaki slowly applied pressure on Chiho, who had only been able to say ‘Eh’ since a while ago. 
“I know he’s not a bad man. He works hard and strives to improve, and his appearance isn’t bad. But I still do not understand what part about him can make such a girl like you so infatuated with him.” 
“Ki, Ki, Kisaki-san?!” 
“I never had that much luck with men, and I don’t plan to grasp that kind of luck. But how should I say it, even if I am an idiot when it comes to love, after hearing news about my peers getting married or having children, I would still think about what is it about their partners which attracts them.” 
“W, what are you talking about?!” 
“What was the cause of it? Thinking about it, I remember Maa-kun was responsible for your training.” “Please let me offff!”
“Ah, wait a moment! It’s my fault!” 
Chiho ran ahead once she saw that the traffic signal had turned green, so Kisaki could only give a troubled smile and follow closely behind. 
As she reflected that she had gone too far in teasing a young person, Kisaki felt envious towards the mental state of the person who was running forward honestly. In the end, Kisaki finally caught Chiho and sent her back to the Sasaki home while placating her. 

“Are you alright?” “……Yusa-san.”
Iwaki seemed to be in a daze behind the café counter. 
“What’s wrong? Did something happen downstairs? Or are there customers who want to buy coffee?” “No, erhm.”
Even though Emi followed Iwaki upstairs, she did not have any concrete plans. She was just bothered by the fact that Iwaki seemed to be troubled by something. Just as Emi felt lost on how to express this, Iwaki was the one who backed off first. “I’m sorry. Actually this is no good.” 
“Shop Manager……” 
“Once the employees find out that I’m afraid, then I have lost the right to be a Shop Manager.” 
Iwaki showed a weak smile and as if she had given up, she lowered her head. 
“I’m just a part time worker, so I’m not too sure about that, but it’s because of stress after all?” 
“Honestly, normal stores cannot compare to this place. I knew when I saw the data, but after actually coming to this store, perhaps it’s a sense of unity? It can clearly be seen that the whole store was operating beautifully with Kisaki- san at the core, and even the customers are part of that. It makes people think, that’s why this store is able to create this kind of result.” 
Iwaki looked towards the empty café seating area. 
“It made me feel very strongly that regardless of how much effort I put in, I won’t be able to achieve such a thing.” 
Emi was not so irresponsible to just say ‘It’s not like that’. 
Once there’s a change in personnel, the environment will change. 
Moreover, the Shop Manager was the pillar of the whole store, so even if the succeeding new Shop Manager completely copied the behaviour of the previous Shop Manager, they would not be able to create the same atmosphere. 
There was no one in the world who was exactly the same, so once there is a change in personnel, the environment would definitely change along with it. 
“However, the most surprising, would be you employees.” “Us?”
“That’s right. Everyone are adults. I’m not referring to age, but the ease of communication. What has to be done to
gather so many people like this? Sasaki-san would be the best example of this.” “Everyone feels that Chiho-chan is amazing.”
Emi, who had ties with Chiho outside of work, knew this very well, but even those adults who were not that acquainted with Chiho felt that that she surpassed the standard of a high school student. 
“The fact that a high school student is willing to become one of the main staff is precious enough, but she’s still more polite and capable than the adults, this is a miracle. The store I was at before was really bad.” 
“The store you were at before refers to……” 
“I used to work at a large branch store in a busy district. Not only was the turnover rate of the employees really high, there were also many messy types of customers. Anyone working in the food and beverage industry will have this kind of experience, but there are people who end up disliking their job because they encountered really bad customers and don’t report to work anymore.” 
Emi frequently heard of this topic when she worked at docodemo call service centre in the past, and Emi herself had also picked up a few really bad calls. 
However, Iwaki did not seem to be talking about this kind of normal situation. 
“Some people even make you wonder why they applied for this job in the first place, as they just strangely disappeared suddenly. It was not because of obvious reasons such as making a huge mistake or encountering a bad customer.” 
“What happened?” 
The only high school student Emi knew was Chiho, so she asked this out of curiosity, and as if she was remembering the past, Iwaki answered, 
“For example, it was only after calling an employee who had not arrived despite their work shift starting did we find out that they were starting an overseas exchange programme that day, and they were unable to rush over because they were already at Narita airport.” 
“Eh?” 
“It was less than a week from being hired.” “Eh, that’s too strange.”
“I don’t understand it as well. In the end, not only did that person not return the uniform, contact was lost just like that. Exchange programs aren’t something which are decided at the last minute. Haah, it was probably an excuse because they hated the job.” 
Even Emi could not help but show a troubled smile at this example which exceeded all common sense. 
“Another one would be an employee who chose to resign because they could not tolerate customers touching their hands. That employee said when accepting payment or giving change, or when passing the tray to the customer, they would feel disgusted if they come into contact with a customer.” 
“Eh……” 
“Reacting like that is normal. When he first applied for the job, he even actively said that he wanted to be a front line staff. I don’t expect him to shake hands with customers, but having unintentional bodily contact with customers is a really normal thing. Even now, I still feel curious about what would happen if he touches an employee’s hand while shopping on a normal basis.” 
“T, that’s really crazy.” 
“Haah, it’s not restricted to high school students, even among adults, there are many people who make others wonder what they are thinking. For example, female university students who go to the beauty salon during work hours, or a forty plus year old man who got fired for stealing because he took a whole loaf of bread which was meant to be sold because he wanted to eat it at home.” 
Even when Emi was listening to other employees talking about what happened in the MgRonalds in front of Hatagaya station in the past, she had not heard of such crazy situations. 
At least ever since Kisaki became the Shop Manager, there were practically no employees who resigned for reasons other than those of necessity, such as furthering students, getting employed, moving to a new house or family. 
“I was the Assistant Shop Manager in my previous store, so I was also responsible for interviewing the employees.
Seeing the people I hired disappear because of strange reasons is really depressing. And……” 
Iwaki looked at the area around her feet. 
“For the employees in this store, working diligently is a natural thing to do, so they would not slack off when others
are not watching. This kind of environment is like a dream. I’m afraid of destroying this environment.” 
With a floor in between them, she was probably looking at the employees who were currently working diligently. 
“How can that be…… you’re thinking too much.” 
“No, this is Shop Manager Kisaki’s magic. It’s not just me, no one else would be able to achieve this. This is a secret, but when the news of Shop Manager Kisaki being transferred to Consumer Insight spread, everyone termed the available position at the store in front of Hatagaya Station as the Bad Golden Lot.” 
“Bad Golden Lot?” 
“Because even if it’s the best environment, no one would be able to maintain it.” 
Emi felt it was an apt description, but if she really said that out loud, Iwaki might interpret it as a lack of trust. However, after Iwaki said all this, her expression relaxed slightly.
“I’m sorry. You still have to work hard to familiarise yourself with this work environment from now on, and you still have to listen to the complaints from a new Shop Manager.” 
“No…… it’s fine.” 
“I have my responsibilities and will work hard to build up my own store…… thank you for listening to my rant. I will find an opportunity to repay you for this.” 
Just as Iwaki smiled in relief, a customer came upstairs. 
“Welcome! Yusa-san, I can handle this. You can go down first.” “Ah, alright. Then I’ll be leaving……”
Emi looked back in worry, but when she saw Iwaki prepare the meal for the customer with practiced movements, she felt that she had done everything she should have done. 
At least the heavy atmosphere felt at the beginning was starting to dissipate. After Emi went downstairs, Akiko and Kawada looked in her direction on reflex. After Emi nodded slightly, the two of them relaxed slightly and returned to work. They were worried about Iwaki in their own ways as well.
“It would definitely be alright.” 
When Iwaki succeed Kisaki’s store, she probably was carrying a huge pressure which was unimaginable by Emi, who was only a part timer. 
However, just like what Iwaki said, the employees of this store were mature people. 
As long as Iwaki did not betray them with bad intentions, they would probably respect and support her. 
Then during this period of time, just like her title, Iwaki would slowly become the Shop Manager of this store. 
“Successor huh……” 
“Why are you suddenly talking about this?” 
Just as Emi mumbled this, Maou, who had gone off someplace before, suddenly talked to her from where he was standing beside her. 
Not feeling much surprise, Emi turned to face him. 
Maou was carrying a helmet and the thermal bag under his arms. It appeared that he had just returned from a delivery.
“Welcome back. It’s nothing. I just chatted a bit with Shop Manager Iwaki.” “Ohh. The Shop Manager is on the second floor?”
“Yeah. A customer went upstairs.” 
“I see. Then I’ll change and go up. Ah~, Chi-chan has already gone home, right?” 
“Yeah, I was worried about not being able to go home with her today, but Kisaki-san said she would send her back.” “Oh. I see. Then there’s nothing to worry about.”
Maou nodded and put the thermal bag back on the shelf. 
“……Hey.” 
“Hm?” 
“This is just an assumption.” “Alright.”
“Assuming I defeated you before, how do you think this world will turn out?” 
“Huh? Why are you asking this? Must I answer it now? This isn’t something which can be answered in a few sentences.” “…… That’s true. Sorry.”
Emi reflected and realised that she had asked a weird question. 
“I’m just a little bothered. If you weren’t around, what will happen to the Demon World and the Demon King Army?” “Nothing much. It’s simple.”
After Maou carefully checked that Akiko and Kawada were not nearby, and replied nonchalantly, “Ashiya and Camio will handle everything properly. It has been like this since the beginning.” “…… It’s the same even now?”
“We have thought about how to handle things when the worst case scenario happens. Don’t worry. We will no longer cause too much trouble to you humans again.” 
“Eh…… what’s that supposed to mean……” 
“We’re still at work now. I tell you about it when there’s a chance later. Currently, Ente Isla and Japan are all important to me.” 
Maou left the confused Emi behind and went to the second floor. 
Iwaki was behind the counter, holding the tablet used to order stocks to check the amount in storage. 
Maou waved once, and after notifying Iwaki that he had returned, he said softly, 
“Therefore I have to properly support Shop Manager Iwaki. This place will be Shop Manager Iwaki’s store in front of Hatagaya Station from now on.” 
Maou expressed that he would properly support Shop Manager Iwaki, who would soon be his new superior. 
He was currently situated within a scene which could be seen anywhere in the world, which would be changes in staff. Maou believed that this would definitely create a future for the lives in the Demon World.
Ashiya was currently preparing for this. 
At that time, the store in front of Hatagaya Station might face a despairing situation due to severe shortage of staff. 
“There’s three months left. Considering the situation over there, it’s about time to seriously think about things.” 
In order to extend his hand towards the future, he believed it was time to start doing things which could be done even while it looked like nothing could be done within the daily life in Japan. 
“Firstly, I have to pay the renovation fees of the apartment.” 

With regards to the Battle to Defeat God, Maou and the others did not know much about what they should know. 
However, after experiencing the battle which happened in the underground of the Demon World, they realised that they still did not know anything about what they have to know. 
Therefore, Maou, Emi and Chiho, visited Shiba’s house together. 
In order to pay the debts from the renovation of Room 201, as well as to further understand the truth about the Sephirah and the world. 
The day after various complex developments in human relations occurred in the store in front Hatagaya Station, Maou
steadied his shaking knees and pressed the doorbell to Shiba’s house. 
“Alright, I have received it. But listen well, okay? It’s strange for me to say this, but I am a reasonable landlady. If something happens next time, I hope you can tell me as soon as possible. 
“…… Alright, I’m really sorry about this.” 
In the living room of Shiba’s house, in a very stiff manner, Maou repeatedly bowed his head in apology. 
After Emi, who was beside Maou, received a receipt from Shiba, she glanced sideways at Maou who had broken out into cold sweat, and Chiho, beside Emi, also watched the developments while feeling worried. 
The landlady was a creature who would not show whatever she was feeling on her face, but the Shiba home was her territory, so Maou was currently like a caged bird who had been captured here. 
He was very worried that this house would swallow him up anytime. 
How were Acies, Iron and Gabriel able to nonchalantly stay in such a scary place? 
Or more like, Emi and Chiho were not that afraid of the Landlady, so why were the demons, including himself, so afraid of the Landlady? Regardless of how many times Maou asked himself this, he could not get an answer. 
Right now, they could only conclude that the Landlady phobia afflicting Maou, Ashiya, Urushihara and Camio was probably something like acrophobia, trypanophobia and claustrophobia, a condition which could not be analysed and had no reasoning behind it. 
“Other than this, all of you seem to have other things to ask me today?” 
Shiba asked while looking at Maou, Emi and Chiho in order. 
“You intentionally asked Amane to take Alas=Ramus, Acies and Iron outside, what do you want to ask?” “Landlady-san.”
Maou squeezed out all the courage he could muster and asked, 
“What exactly is a Yadorigi?” 
With regards to the matters related to Heaven, this was what Maou and the others needed to know the most. 
Maou and the others only roughly knew that this referred to the merging of the Sephirah children with the humans of the world where the Tree of Life took root. 
However, as a human from Earth, Chiho could also use the Yesod fragment from Ente Isla; the fragment residing inside Emi could turn into a weapon; there was the case of Iron, who could move independently without having to merge with others, there was no consistency between these situations. 
Only the merging between Maou and Acies and the merging between Emi and Alas=Ramus had some similarities. Other than that, it could only be described as ?Mysterious jewels which generate a strong power?. 
To elaborate further, the actual examples of humans merging with Sephirah only happened with Acies and Alas=Ramus. Maou and the others did not even know if the other Sephirah children could cause the same phenomenon. 
No matter how low the probability was, if the other Sephirah children could initiate the same phenomenon, then the chances of victory for Maou and the others would decrease greatly. 
In other words, the Sephirah children other than Yesod and Geburah might merge with the battle forces in Heaven. If what Acies told Maou before was to be believed, she could not merge with angels.
However, it was unknown if the other Sephirah were like her. 
In fact, when Iron was at the Eastern Continent, he had been with the angels. 
Acies said that it was impossible for him to have merged with angels but considering that Iron showed a ?berserk?
state in the Shinjuku underground later on, they currently could not eliminate the possibility of the Sephirah children
changing sides and merging with the angels. 
Most importantly, Maou and Emi could not wield their powers while going against the will of Acies and Alas=Ramus. 
Maou had been put at a disadvantage many times because of how whimsical Acies’s power was, and Alas=Ramus had caused Emi’s holy sword to turn dull many times. 
“The Sephirah children term the human they merge with as ?Yadorigi?, but a Yadorigi originally refers to the party which merges with the human, in other words, the parasitic side. With the situation between me and Acies, no matter how I see it, it appears that I am the one who is being invaded, and Acies is the parasite.” 
As he said this, Maou realised that this relationship could be applied to their daily lives as well, but he did not say it. 
“But Acies said I am the Yadorigi of the Sephirah, what is going on? Why do Sephirah want to merge with other people?” “Why? Is that all you want to ask?”
“Eh?”
“I can tell you, but the answer would probably be slightly different from the information Maou-san needs, yes?” Maou looked perplexed because he did not understand Shiba’s words, but Shiba did not explain further, nodded
slightly and said, 
“The final objective of the Yadorigi system is what I roughly mentioned before, for the sake of the prosperity of the humans who were chosen. But before that, there’s an even more fundamental reason. This is not anything complicated. Maou-san, from your perspective, what do I look like?” 
“Eh?” 
This sudden question caused Maou to become speechless. He knew the answer.
Even though he knew, Maou realised that during the situations in the past, he had never thought of the Landlady as a
human?.
“A h, human, right?” 
Maou felt like he was forced to give a wrong answer. 
The Landlady seemed to have interpreted Maou’s hesitation as him being unable to understand the intentions behind this question. 
“That’s great. I was worried about what to do if you said that I did not resemble a human.” 
Maou could not tell if she was joking or not. 
Anyway, after the Landlady smiled radiantly, she turned towards Chiho. 
“Sasaki-san, have you ever taken biology classes in school?” “Biology classes? Yes, I took them.”
“It is said that, the traits, characteristics and actions of all living things, not just limited to humans, exist because of
three purposes. Then, what are those three purposes?” 
Maou and Emi looked at each other on reflex. 
Perhaps she had noticed their behaviour, so Shiba added on, 
“This probably applies to demons and angels too, yes?” 
After saying this, Shiba continued to look towards Chiho, and after thinking for a while, Chiho answered, 
“Uh, I remember it’s…… for the sake of obtaining food, defence and reproduction.” “Perfect answer.”
Shiba nodded in satisfaction. 
Obtaining food, refers to absorbing other organisms to sustain life. 
Defence, refers to fighting against internal and external pressures to preserve life. Reproduction, refers to passing on their genes to future generations.
Simply put, all life were equipped with the instinct to preserve their species. 
“The Sephirah and the Tree of Life are still alive.” “Alive……”
“We can also create future generations as humans. You know this, but Amane’s father is my older brother, and the Binah Sephirah. Our parents, the Tree of Life, will also take various measures to leave behind descendants. When the Sephirah children cause humans to become more prosperous, and root themselves in the human world, the Tree will fly away. Finding the next generation of humans, heading to new planets……” 
“T, this means the Tree of Life and the Sephirah choose humans in order for themselves to live on?” 
Emi asked this sternly. 
“You are correct.” 
Shiba nodded nonchalantly in response to Emi. 
“Yusa-san, are you angry? With regards to us acting like gods and choosing human species, with the species which do
not get chosen going extinct.” “……”
“I feel that this anger is the arrogance from the human species. And after we make a choice, we do not simply inhabit the strongest species and live our lives. There are cases where fusion with other human species had occurred, and cases where the genes of the non-chosen humans disappearing completely are rare. In the end, the Sephirah and the Tree of Life are just a part of the great cycle of life.”
It was different from the situation he imagined, but Maou felt like his doubts in his mind had been cleared. In the past, Rika had asked ?Why did the Tree of Life and the Sephirah choose humans?. 
The reason why the Sephirah children, who possessed a large amount of power individually, intentionally merged with humans was simply to build a world suitable for the Sephirah children to live in. 
And after the Tree of Life confirmed these results, it would fly away and find a new planet for the new Sephirah children to create an environment suitable for them to live in. 
“But…… if it’s like that, then you guys should be the Yadorigi……” 
“This is simply a difference in perception. When humans are facing a crisis affecting their survival, many of them would borrow our powers to some extent. The Earth in the past was the same. However, from our point of view, the important part is which party is the one having the power in the survival of a species. Simply put, this is a subjective issue.” 
It felt like it was just a difference in explanation, but with this, they could understand it. From the point of view of the Sephirah, they were the ones providing assistance. 
In fact, Emi and Maou had been saved by the Sephirah power many times. 
Anyway it was just an issue of how humans and Sephirah perceived each other. The term Yadorigi did not encompass any deep meaning. 
With this, the issue came back to Shiba’s initial question. 
Shiba was considered a mature Sephirah, an adult. Is there something more important they had to ask her? After falling silent for a few seconds, the one who spoke was Chiho.
“……The connection with the Yadorigi…… simply put, are there other people who able to separate a human and the Sephirah children when they are merged like with Yusa-san’s situation?” 
“There are.” 
Shiba’s answer was too direct, surprising the trio. “Is, is it a method everyone can do?”
“I said this before, there are three ways to undo the connection with the Yadorigi. The first one is the merged human dying, the second one is the Sephirah children dispelling it by their own will, the last one is known as the Last Resort.” 
After Lailah appeared in front of Maou and the others, Shiba had said these words in Urushihara’s hospital room, but
at that time, she did not explain what the Last Resort was. 
“Even if it was called the Last Resort, it does not mean that a huge sacrifice would be made when it’s used. It’s just that under normal circumstances, this situation would rarely happen, and we normally would not make that judgement, so that’s why we call it the Last Resort. That phenomenon is simple. In fact, I had done it in front of Maou- san.” 
“““Eh?””” 
In other words, Shiba had separated Maou and Acies before. 
And the method used was extremely simple. Just knowing this plunged Maou and Emi into confusion. 
“It’s very simple, you know. The other Sephirah children just have to think about separating them, then make contact with that child.” 
“Ah, Emilia, welcome back uwahhh?!” “Hey, where’s Mother?!”
Emi broke the door to Room 101 and started to interrogate Nord. 
“H, hm?! She returned to her Nerima apartment three days ago and has not returned since. She didn’t specially contact
me today either……” 
“She didn’t contact you?!” 
“I, I don’t know why. She didn’t pick up even if I called, though she would occasionally send me a message……” “H, hey, Emi, calm down a little! Nothing will happen here right now……”
“No one knows that, right?! Even Shiba-san and Amane-san cannot guarantee that their defences are impenetrable. I
have to hear Mother’s explanation anyway, I’m going off first!” “Ah, hey, Emi!!”
“Yusa-san!!” 
Emi ignored Maou and Chiho’s shouts and immediately rushed outside, flying in the sky. 
“Don’t worry! I will return before work starts today!” 
After saying this, Emi flew away directly. Maou watched the flight path Emi left behind---- 
“Someone will see……” 
And his shoulders slumped in frustration. 
With this, she will have to merge together with Alas=Ramus again in less than a minute. 
“Her easily agitated personality came from her mother.” “If she heard you say that, she would probably get mad.” “Don’t tell her, alright.”
With a troubled smile, Maou said this to Nord who had walked out of the room. 
“What happened?” 
“There are a lot of problems. Haah, we can only leave the task of dealing with Lailah to her. Have Iron and Acies not
returned yet?” 
“Yeah…… is it really serious?” 
“It’s probably be very serious. Though it might have been a situation we needed to think about from the start.” 
Maou’s tone was light, but his gaze was the same as the expression Chiho who was beside him, containing no signs of cheerfulness. 
“Our ?enemy?, might not be just the angels.” 

Using so much force that it seemed like Emi planned to push the doorbell of Room 306 of Nerima’s Royal Lily Toyotama Park into the wall, the doorbell was pressed a few times in succession. 
The situation inferred from Shiba’s words might fully overturn what Lailah and Gabriel knew, and other than the fact that Lailah was Emi’s mother, she was also one of the key members of the Battle to Defeat God, so she could not disappear under any circumstances. 
“What in the world…… is she doing……!” 
Emi could not help but look between her hand and the handle of the front door, but once she thought that Royal Lily
Toyotama Park was one of Shiba’s properties, she could only abandon the idea of breaking the door and entering. 
“That’s right, from outside!” 
After Emi confirmed that no one was watching, she jumped from the common corridor to the external stairs without any hesitation, and from there, she floated along the wall until she came to the balcony of Lailah’s room. 
The window was covered by a thin curtain, but because it was a lace curtain, the inside of the room can still be vaguely seen. 
Emi focused to confirm the situation within the room, then breathed in sharply. 
“……Ugh!!” 
Someone had collapsed within the room. 
Even after a few seconds passed, that person did not move at all. 
“Mo……!” 
Emi almost shouted this out of reflex, and at this moment, she finally realised that the window was not locked. 
“Mother?!” 
Emi opened the window and ran into the room. 
The person collapsed on the floor was definitely Lailah. 
“Good, she’s still alive.” 
Emi confirmed that Lailah was still breathing. 
Lailah was strangely covered in dust and her hair felt oily to the touch, but once she was picked up by Emi, Lailah groaned softly. It looked like rather than fainting, she had simply fallen asleep. 
Perhaps because her posture had changed suddenly, Lailah coughed once in Emi’s arms, then opened her eyes slightly. “……Ah, Emilia……what’s wrong?”
“You’re still asking me what’s wrong! Because you did not even contact Father, I came over to take a look. No one
responded when I pressed the doorbell, and from the window, I saw you had collapsed……!” 
Just as Emi was about to say, ‘You made me so worried about you’, she found that she was unable to speak. 
Even if the distance between her and her mother had almost disappeared, she was still unable to express her feelings honestly. 
It was not known if Lailah had sensed her daughter’s hesitation. Lailah showed a faint smile and got up slowly. “Sorry…… I have been rather busy the past three days.”
“I, I see, the work at the hospital piled up too much?” 
“That’s one of the reasons, but it’s mainly because I need to take care of some personal matters.” “What do you mean?” 
Lailah spoke as if there was a deeper meaning to her words, causing Emi’s heartbeat to increase. 
However, underneath the sunlight shining in from the window, Lailah, with dark eyebags under her eyes, strangely showed a proud smile and spread her arms, causing a disconnect with what she said just now. 
“Look, Emilia, have you noticed anything?” “What is it?”
Feeling perplexed, Emi shifted her gaze away from Lailah who had a fearless smile on her face and looked around her. 
No matter how much she looked around, this was Lailah’s room, a place she had been to before. 
It was a normal apartment room, a western style room with one computer…… “……!”
At this moment, Emi finally realised one thing. She and Lailah were standing on the floor.
And around her, she could see the walls, furniture and door. 
“This is the hardest I worked in ten years, pwah!!” 
After a long time of not doing so, Emi silently hit her mother’s face. “W, what are you doing!”
“Do you know……what kind of situation we’re facing right now……?” 
“Because I know, that’s why I’m working hard to throw out what I don’t need!! You!! Don’t you know how Satan’s room was like, and what happened later!!” 
“I was the first one in the world to know!!” Lailah’s room was originally a Demon World.
No, after actually going to the Demon World, Emi felt that it was such a strange space that the term Demon Word would not be enough to describe it. 
A ton of stuff, not arranged, not thrown away, and just turned into a huge mess. 
However, the whole Justina family had worked together, and just barely made this space into one in which a person could live normally. 
“You did not contact Father for the past three days because you were cleaning up the room?! We just did a huge clean up before, what did you do to revert it to that condition again?!” 
“That’s why I hardened my heart this time and cleaned everything up properly. It’s decluttering, decluttering!” “Why is an angel talking about decluttering!!”
“Amane-san told me…… I heard Shiba-san forcefully repaired Satan’s room and a lot of money was spent doing so.” “That’s right!” 
As someone who had just paid that money, she felt so angry that she no longer knew what she was angry about. 
“She even said that Shiba-san might inspect this place, so I became frantic.” 
Unlike Maou, Lailah did not damage the room, but if she turned the room into the state it was before, it would probably give the Landlady a bad impression. 
“…… The Church Knights in Ente Isla are going to attack soon, and the situation may turn into one where we are unable to fight with Ignora, aren’t you too relaxed about this.” 
“I, I don’t want to be told that by you guys! At this time, you guys are still working, right! This is the same. Since there’s
nothing urgent to do, then we should take the chance to solidify the foundation of our life!” “Stop saying things that the Demon King would say.”
By saying that, Emi would find it hard to retort. 
“We just received some really bad news. After taking a bath, can you come over to Sasazuka?” “Bad news? Did something happen?”
“Just like the astronaut from earlier, this concerns the foundations of our strategy.” 
Emi finally regained her stern expression and told Lailah the facts. 
“The Sephirah children, might become our enemy.